Joe Schobert

Titans Cut Two Linebackers

The Titans moved on from a pair of linebackers today. The team announced that they’ve waived linebackers Ola Adeniyi and Joe Schobert.

Adeniyi joined the Titans prior to the 2021 campaign. During his first season in Tennessee, the linebacker collected 21 tackles and 2.5 sacks while playing a role on both defense and special teams. After re-signing with the organization this past offseason, the 25-year-old got into two games before being sidelined with a neck injury. He was activated for Week 13 but was a healthy scratch for Week 14, an indication that his spot on the roster could be at risk.

Schobert, a former Pro Bowler with the Browns, joined the Titans’ practice squad in late September. He was signed to the active roster in mid-November and got into six games (one start) for his new squad, compiling 16 tackles.

The Titans added pass rusher Tarell Basham last week and immediately threw him into the fire, with the 28-year-old logging 26 defensive snaps. With Zach Cunningham eyeing a return from injured reserve, pass-rushing snaps were clearly drying up, leading to today’s moves.

Titans Place CB Caleb Farley On IR

Caleb Farley will miss at least the next four weeks. The Titans announced that they have placed the former first-round cornerback on injured reserve.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), Farley suffered a disc injury on Sunday. He’ll undergo more tests to determine the severity of the injury and how much time he’ll ultimately miss. ESPN’s Turron Davenport writes that Farley is feared to have suffered a herniated disk, an injury that would likely require surgery and knock him out for the rest of the 2022 campaign.

It was thanks in part to a back injury that Farley fell down the draft board to the Titans during the 2021 draft. Farley got into six games as a rookie before suffering a torn ACL, and while there was hope that he’d return as a starter in 2022, that hadn’t been the case through the first half of the season. The 24-year-old has started only one of his nine appearances, collecting 10 tackles. Prior to his injury, he hadn’t played a defensive snap since Week 5.

The Titans made a handful of additional moves on Tuesday. The team promoted linebacker Joe Schobert and defensive lineman Larrell Murchison from the practice squad. Schobert has seen time in three games for Tennessee this season, compiling nine tackles and one forced fumble. The former Pro Bowler has seven seasons of his experience, including an 112-tackle campaign in 2021. Murchison, a Titans fifth-round pick in 2020, has collected one tackle in three games this season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/22/22

Here are the league’s minor moves going into Week 7:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

AFC Injuries Update: Titans, Paye, Edmunds, Poyer

Injuries continue to bite the Titans on the defensive side of the ball. This week, the team will play without three starters as head coach Mike Vrabel has ruled out safety Amani Hooker, edge rusher Bud Dupree, and linebacker Zach Cunningham, according to Turron Davenport of ESPN.

The Titans already have six players on injured reserve from the defense alone, as well as five more from the offense. Vrabel also announced that the team will sit linebackers Olasunkanmi Adeniyi and Joseph Jones, as well. This all in addition to the recent loss of rookie wide receiver Treylon Burks to IR.

Tennessee has elevated practice squad linebacker Joe Schobert and wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick to make up for the loss of Cunningham and Burks, respectively. Dupree and Hooker’s absences will likely mean more playing time for second-year linebacker Rashad Weaver and backup safeties Joshua Kalu and Ugo Amadi. Amadi has some starting experience from his time with the Seahawks.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the AFC, starting with a division rival of the Titans:

Titans Place WR Treylon Burks On IR

Treylon Burks will be sidelined for at least the next four weeks. The Titans rookie wideout has been placed on injured reserve, according to Jim Wyatt of the team’s website.

The first-round rookie was injured during the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s win over the Colts. Burks was carted off the field and was later diagnosed with a turf toe injury. He had already been ruled out for this weekend, but the team is now sidelining him through the end of the month.

Following a standout career at Arkansas that saw him earn first-team All-SEC in 2021, Burks was selected with the 18th-overall pick in this year’s draft…the selection the Titans acquired after dealing A. J. Brown to the Eagles. Burks was relatively productive in his first two games, hauling in seven of his 11 targets for 102 yards. While he saw an uptick in offensive snaps during Week 3 and Week 4, he was limited to only three catches between the two games.

Veteran receiver Robert Woods will still guide the receivers room, but the team will have to dig into their depth chart for some reinforcement. Tennessee is also rostering the likes of Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Cody Hollister, and rookie Kyle Philips, with veteran Josh Gordon among the WRs on the Titans practice squad.

Meanwhile, the Titans have activated linebacker Monty Rice from the PUP to the active roster. The 2021 third-round pick had 30 tackles in 10 games (four starts) as a rookie, but his season ended early thanks to an ankle injury. He landed on PUP to start the 2022 campaign. The Titans also promoted receiver Dez Fitzpatrick and linebacker Joe Schobert from the practice squad.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/1/22

Today’s minor moves around the league, including practice squad elevations for tomorrow’s action:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Titans Add LB Joe Schobert, Sign OL Le’Raven Clark Off Eagles’ Practice Squad

Joe Schobert will receive another chance. More than a month after a brief Broncos tenure, the Titans signed the former Pro Bowl linebacker to their practice squad. Tennessee also added Le’Raven Clark off Philadelphia’s P-squad. This will give the former Colts third-rounder another shot to stick on an active roster.

Schobert, who went off the 2016 draft board a round after Clark, is joining a fourth NFL team. The addition comes after the Titans saw starter Zach Cunningham, who was on the team’s injury report with a knee injury going into Week 3, leave Sunday’s contest with an elbow malady.

An ex-Browns regular who bounced to the Jaguars and Steelers during the 2020s, Schobert worked out for the Giants and Seahawks last week. But it will be the Titans who provide an opportunity. Although Schobert spent the first part of the season unsigned, he has been a starter throughout his career. After the Jaguars traded him to the Steelers in September 2021, he started 15 games for his new team. The Steelers, however, released Schobert in March.

Schobert, 28, logged workouts with the Broncos and Saints this summer, but after signing with the former, was back on the street eight days later. Still, the six-year veteran has been productive when on the field. Schobert led the NFL with 144 tackles in 2017, his Pro Bowl slate, and posted 141 stops for the Jaguars in his first season. The Jags gave Schobert a five-year, $53.75MM deal during their Dave CaldwellDoug Marrone regime’s final offseason. Midway through their short Urban Meyer period, the Jags sent Schobert to Pittsburgh.

The Clark addition comes days after the Titans placed Taylor Lewan on IR. The Pro Bowl left tackle is expected to miss the rest of the season. Tennessee used late-summer trade acquisition Dennis Daley as its left tackle against Las Vegas. Clark has played both tackle and guard as a pro, making 16 starts in six seasons.

Giants, Seahawks Host LB Joe Schobert

Free agent linebacker Joe Schobert has been a full-time starter over the past five years and has averaged over 126 tackles per season during that span, but he is quickly becoming a fixture on the NFL’s workout circuit. Per Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network, Schobert visited with the Giants and Seahawks this week (Twitter link).

The visit with New York did not produce a deal, as Big Blue opted to sign Jaylon Smith instead. For the moment, at least, Schobert does not have a contract with Seattle either, and he will continue to search for another opportunity.

In 2017, his first and only Pro Bowl campaign, Schobert led the league with 144 tackles, adding an interception, three sacks, three forced fumbles, and four passes defensed. The advanced metrics supported those surface level stats, as Schobert also earned a solid 68.7 overall score from Pro Football Focus, along with a terrific 77.6 mark for his work in run defense.

His proficiency against the run slipped in the following two seasons, although he showed improvement when dropping into coverage. Over the 2018-19 campaigns, the Wisconsin product allowed QB ratings of just 87.5 and 74.6, respectively, and his pass coverage grades from PFF were equally strong. All in all, it was easy enough to justify the Jaguars’ decision to hand him a five-year, $53.75MM deal in March 2020.

However, Schobert was miserable against the pass that year, conceding a 110.0 quarterback rating and landing a 43.7 PFF coverage grade. Though he paced Jacksonville with 141 tackles, the team elected to trade him to the Steelers last August. Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin reportedly believed that Schobert could return to his strong form as a pass defender, but that did not happen. Instead, Schobert struggled against both the pass and the run in 2021 — indeed, the Steelers featured the worst run defense in the league last season — and the club cut ties with Schobert and his hefty base salary in March.

Schobert visited the Saints several months later and signed with the Broncos in August following an injury to Denver starter Jonas Griffith. He evidently failed to make much of an impression, though, as the Broncos released him about a week later. It appears that teams have seen a significant drop-off in Schobert’s performance, and despite his gaudy tackle numbers, he has always struggled with missed tackles. A decline in other areas only magnifies the missed tackle concerns.

The Seahawks, who parted ways with franchise icon Bobby Wagner in March, are presently deploying Jordyn Brooks and Cody Barton as the starting inside ‘backers in their 3-4 scheme. Through the first two weeks of the season, both players have accumulated hefty tackle totals but have not graded out well in PFF’s eyes. In that sense, Schobert might have been redundant, though he certainly would have added some experienced depth, which the ‘Hawks presently lack.

Of course, the club could always circle back to Schobert if he remains on the open market or signs with another team’s taxi squad. Seattle also worked out fellow LB Blake Lynch, who started six games for the Vikings last year.

Broncos Release LB Joe Schobert, Place OL Tom Compton On PUP List

Joe Schobert did not last long as a Bronco. The veteran linebacker was part of Denver’s second wave of cuts, as the team made the necessary moves to reach Tuesday’s 80-man roster max.

The Broncos signed the former Browns, Jaguars and Steelers starter last week, after having brought him in for a visit earlier during training camp. After playing Schobert in their second preseason game, the Broncos moved on.

Denver did not devote many resources to its inside linebacker position this offseason, adding nontendered Philadelphia cog Alex Singleton. The team was preparing to use 2021 trade acquisition Jonas Griffith alongside Josey Jewell at linebacker, but Griffith’s dislocated elbow changed those plans. Griffith is expected to miss time to start the regular season, which led to the Schobert signing.

Schobert, 28, made the Pro Bowl in 2017 and landed a big-ticket Jaguars contract in 2020. The Jags moved on from the high-volume tackler last year, trading him to the Steelers. While Schobert became a Devin Bush replacement, starting 15 games after the early-season trade, little interest came his way this offseason. The Broncos, who also moved 2021 inside linebacker starter Baron Browning to the edge, should be expected to pursue other outside options at the position.

One of the Broncos’ options at right tackle, Tom Compton, will also not be on the team’s 53-man roster when the season starts. The team placed the veteran offensive lineman on its reserve/PUP list Tuesday, shelving him for at least four games. The Broncos also waived running back Stevie Scott and wide receiver Trey Quinn. Tackle Casey Tucker received a waived/injured designation.

Prior to Nathaniel Hackett reuniting with Billy Turner, the Broncos signed Compton to a one-year, $2.25MM deal. Both Turner and Compton began camp on the active/PUP list, but Turner began practicing last week. Compton, 33, underwent a summer back procedure, blunting his momentum after being a quality fill-in for 49ers right tackle Mike McGlinchey down the stretch last season. Turner, Calvin Anderson and Cameron Fleming are vying to be the Broncos’ latest right tackle starter. Whoever wins that competition will be Denver’s 10th Week 1 right tackle in 10 years.

Broncos To Sign LB Joe Schobert

In need of depth at the position, the Broncos are bringing in some experience to their inside linebacking corps. The team is signing veteran Joe Schobertreports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). 

During the team’s first preseason game this weekend, Jonas Griffith suffered a dislocated elbow. As a result, he is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks, making it likely that he will miss at least a few games to start the regular season. As a projected starter, his absence necessitated a move such as this one.

Schobert, 28, spent the first four seasons of his career in Cleveland. In his second campaign with the team, he led the league in tackles with 144. He remained a full-time starter throughout his tenure, but departed for Jacksonville in free agency on a five-year, $53.75MM deal.

After just one season, the former fourth-rounder found himself on the move again, as the Jaguars traded him to the Steelers last August. In his first (and only) year in Pittsburgh, Schobert started 15 contests and racked up 112 total tackles. As a key member of the league’s worst run defense, though, the Steelers cut him at the start of free agency. That left Schobert on the market until now.

A visit with the Saints pointed to a potential deal, given the team’s need in the middle of their defense. Instead, Schobert worked out for the Broncos last month, showing their interest in him even before the Griffith injury. Especially while the latter is sidelined, Schobert could see significant playing time behind Josey Jewell and, in all likelihood, Alex Singleton, who was the team’s best in-house option to step into a starting role.

With ILB seen as potentially the only weak point on what should once again be one of the league’s top defenses, the addition of Schobert should shore up the middle of the unit. Especially after Griffith returns, the Broncos will have a number of options at the position.