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Jets Rumors: QB, Winfrey, Other Injuries

December 3rd, 2023 at 6:03pm CST by Ely Allen

The Jets continue to see struggles at the quarterback position. Hours after hearing that Aaron Rodgers would likely not work his way back to a starting role this season, the situation at the position became even more dire as third-string starter Tim Boyle was benched in today’s loss to the Falcons in favor of veteran Trevor Siemian. The team is currently undecided on whether or not the switch will be permanent going into next week, per Josh Alper of NBC Sports.

New York was trailing Atlanta early in the second half, and Boyle had completed just over half of his passes for 148 yards in what was a fairly uninspiring performance. When Boyle threw an ill-advised pass that ended up in the hands of an over-the-top safety, head coach Robert Saleh put the 29-year-old on the bench, sending in Siemian, the recent journeyman.

Siemian, who despite playing for four different teams has started a game in each of the past five years, didn’t fare much better than Boyle against Atlanta. While Saleh hoped the move would spark the offense, Siemian failed to lead the team to any points, completing only 5 of his 13 pass attempts for 66 yards. He also fumbled the ball three times, losing one to the opposing defense.

With that failed experiment, Saleh has yet to make a decision on what the plan will be next week. Asked if benched former starter Zach Wilson could make a return to the first team, Saleh replied that Wilson is “always in consideration.” With Rodgers not likely to return, Saleh will need to figure something out with the options available to him.

Here are a few more rumors coming out of East Rutherford:

  • Defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey made his season debut today after being a standard gameday elevation from the practice squad. Unfortunately, that’s where his 2023 campaign will end. In today’s loss, Winfrey suffered a “really bad” foot injury that Saleh proclaimed would leave him done for the season, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
  • Also sidelined in the loss were veteran tight end C.J. Uzomah and undrafted rookie wide receiver Jason Brownlee. Per Cimini, Uzomah suffered a sprained MCL and Brownlee left the game with an ankle injury. Taking away offensive weapons from the Jets’ arsenal surely doesn’t help the team’s struggles at quarterback.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/2/23

December 2nd, 2023 at 4:51pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s gameday callups and minor moves heading into Sunday:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

The Chiefs have ruled out running back Jerick McKinnon for tomorrow’s game against the Packers, necessitating some extra depth at the position. The team will turn to Prince, an undrafted free agent who has spent the entire season on Kansas City’s practice squad. Prince had a breakout season at Tulsa in 2022, finishing with 813 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns.

Winfrey, a 2022 fourth-round pick, was cut by the Browns last July after being investigated for pulling a gun on a woman. He joined the Jets practice squad in early November and will finally earn his first promotion of the season. Winfrey got into 13 games for Cleveland last year, collecting 22 tackles and 0.5 sacks.

At age 36, Irvin will be making his debut for a sixth NFL team. The veteran pass rusher signed with Detroit midway through November and will finally have a chance to extend his streak of regular season appearances to 12 straight years. The only absence on the Lions’ front-seven will be linebacker Alex Anzalone, so Detroit may be looking to stand Irvin up to help the team’s depth at linebacker.

 

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

December 1st, 2023 at 1:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

With Week 13 underway, the picture at the top of the NFL draft board continues to become clearer. Plenty is yet to be determined with respect to the top of the order, however.

The Panthers’ ongoing struggles led to Frank Reich‘s firing, but the Bears own Carolina’s top pick this year due to the 2023 swap which landed Bryce Young via the No. 1 selection. Chicago being able to have the top pick once again – coupled with their own selection landing in the top-10 – would make the Bears a team to watch closely come April. The race for the top two or three slots (and, as such, the ability to draft QBs Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, along with wideout Marvin Harrison Jr.) will also be a key late-season storyline for the Cardinals and Patriots.

The Commanders have lost three straight games, overshadowing a promising season from first-year starter Sam Howell. After deciding to move on from defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat at the trade deadline, the team’s defense has continued to struggle. DC Jack Del Rio is out as a result, and head coach Ron Rivera‘s position is not believed to be on strong footing. A top-five pick could make the job in Washington more attractive presuming a opening arises this offseason.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2024 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. Here is an updated look at the current draft order:

  1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
  2. Arizona Cardinals: 2-10
  3. New England Patriots: 2-9
  4. Chicago Bears: 4-8
  5. Washington Commanders: 4-8
  6. New York Giants: 4-8
  7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 4-7
  8. New York Jets: 4-7
  9. Los Angeles Chargers: 4-7
  10. Tennessee Titans: 4-7
  11. Las Vegas Raiders: 5-7
  12. New Orleans Saints: 5-6
  13. Green Bay Packers: 5-6
  14. Los Angeles Rams: 5-6
  15. Cincinnati Bengals: 5-6
  16. Buffalo Bills: 6-6
  17. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
  18. Denver Broncos: 6-5
  19. Atlanta Falcons: 5-6
  20. Minnesota Vikings: 6-6
  21. Seattle Seahawks: 6-6
  22. Indianapolis Colts: 6-5
  23. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-4
  24. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  25. Miami Dolphins: 8-3
  26. Detroit Lions: 8-3
  27. Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-3
  28. Dallas Cowboys: 9-3
  29. Kansas City Chiefs: 8-3
  30. San Francisco 49ers: 8-3
  31. Baltimore Ravens: 9-3
  32. Philadelphia Eagles: 10-1

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/28/23

November 28th, 2023 at 7:58pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: CB Cameron McCutcheon
  • Released: OL Grant Miller

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

After getting cut by the Patriots this past weekend, Will Grier is back with the organization. Considering the uncertainty surrounding New England’s QB situation, there was some speculation that Grier could get a look before the end of the season, and his addition to the taxi squad leaves that door open. The former Cowboys backup started two games for the Panthers back in 2019, going winless while tossing zero touchdowns vs. four interceptions.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/25/23

November 25th, 2023 at 6:30pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor moves and callups for Week 12’s Sunday slate:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/23/23

November 23rd, 2023 at 6:29pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Houston Texans

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo reportedly didn’t practice yesterday due to injury issues with his back, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN. Atlanta will make sure their backs are covered with the signing of Wright, just in case.

Wells was waived by the Bucs yesterday in order to make room on the roster for linebacker J.J. Russell. He finds his way back to Tampa by way of a practice squad contract.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/20/23

November 20th, 2023 at 7:47pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Activated from IR: TE Parker Hesse
  • Placed on IR: RB Jacob Saylors

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Signed: QB Drew Plitt
  • Placed on IR: G Jaxson Kirkland

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

With Mark Andrews sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Ravens have added some tight end depth. The team ended up opting for Scotty Washington, who got into one game with the Patriots as a rookie in 2022. The Wake Forest product was one of several tight ends to work out for Baltimore today, with the group also featuring O.J. Howard, Connor Davis, and Chris Myarick (per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston).

While Michael Thomas recovers from a knee injury, the Saints are turning to a familiar face. Marquez Callaway is back with the Saints after bouncing around the NFL in 2023. The wideout wasn’t re-signed by the Saints following the 2022 campaign, and he’s since spent time with the Broncos and Raiders. The former UDFA spent the first three seasons of his career in New Orleans, hauling in 83 catches for 1,069 yards and seven touchdowns.

Eric Rowe has found a new home after getting cut by the Panthers practice squad back in September. Rowe earned a pair of Super Bowl rings during his three-year stint in New England, and he followed that up with a three-year stint in Miami. Rowe got into 14 games (six starts) for the Dolphins in 2022, finishing with 56 tackles and two sacks.

Falcons QB Desmond Ridder To Start In Week 12

November 19th, 2023 at 8:23am CST by Rory Parks

When the Falcons return from their Week 11 bye to take on the Saints next Sunday, Desmond Ridder will be under center. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported this morning that Atlanta is turning back to Ridder with the expectation that he will remain the starter for the rest of the season.

Ridder, who started the Falcons’ first eight games of the year, exited the team’s Week 8 loss to the Titans to be evaluated for a concussion. While he quickly cleared the concussion protocol, head coach Arthur Smith said afterwards that he “didn’t think Des was right” and therefore allowed QB2 Taylor Heinicke to finish the game. Smith hoped to convey that Ridder was not kept on the sidelines for performance reasons, though Heinicke was named the Week 9 starter shortly thereafter.

At the time, we heard that the Falcons had not lost faith in Ridder, whom they selected in the third round of the 2022 draft, and were merely looking for a spark. It seems that the plan was always to reassess the situation during the bye week, and that reassessment has led Atlanta back to its second-year passer.

Heinicke suffered a hamstring injury during the club’s loss to the Cardinals last week, which forced Ridder back into the lineup. Rapoport makes it clear, however, that Heinicke’s injury was a low-grade one, so the decision to tap Ridder as the starter moving forward was not made for health reasons.

Although the Falcons are 4-6, they are just one game out of first place in the weak NFC South. And since Smith is in his third year at the helm and has missed the playoffs in each of his first two seasons, his job could be in jeopardy if his club fails to qualify for the postseason in 2023. Even if his seat is not as hot as some recent reports have indicated, he obviously will need to start winning soon to remain in Atlanta for the long haul. The fact that he is handing the keys to Ridder for a Week 12 battle with the division-leading Saints and for the home stretch of the season is something of a testament to his belief in the Cincinnati product.

“Sometimes you need a fresh perspective,” Smith said of Ridder this past week. “That’s what I think helped him. The reset, the refocus and working on things that I thought could help him, he’s done that.”

Ridder has flashed at times in 2023, but he followed up one of his strongest perfomances of the season in a Week 5 win over the Texans with a three-interception showing against the Commanders in Week 6, and he lost three redzone fumbles in the Falcons’ Week 7 win over the Buccaneers. He did play well when pressed into relief duty last week, completing four of six passes for 39 yards and piloting the offense to a touchdown that gave the Falcons a late lead.

For the season, Ridder has completed 65.4% of his passes for six touchdowns against six interceptions (which amounts to a subpar 84.1 quarterback rating, slightly below the mark he posted as a rookie). He has added 32 carries for 150 yards and four rushing scores.

Falcons HC Arthur Smith On Hot Seat?

November 14th, 2023 at 9:08pm CST by Ben Levine

Things aren’t going well for Arthur Smith and the Falcons. After losing to the lowly Cardinals on Sunday, the Falcons have now dropped three-straight games and six of their last eight. This has naturally led to some questions surrounding the head coach’s job security.

Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post opines that the Falcons will move on from Smith following the 2023 season. The reporter cites a rival general manager who believes Atlanta will look to make a change during the offseason.

“I think they’re making a change,” the GM told La Canfora. “This is Year 3, when you’re supposed to show something. [Owner] Arthur Blank isn’t getting any younger. …

“They can’t throw the ball downfield, they don’t have a starting quarterback, they took the running back way too high. [Smith] is a great guy, but he got hired to be a quarterback guy and they have all these top-10 picks and they can’t do anything with them. Somebody in the NFC South is going to save their job by winning the division, but I don’t think it’s him.”

Smith was expected to revamp the offense when he was hired as Falcons head coach in 2021. The team finished with identical 7-10 records in both 2021 and 2022, but it was the current 2023 campaign that was intended to be Atlanta’s breakout season.

Instead, the offense has continued to struggle. Desmond Ridder was inconsistent under center to begin the season, and replacement Taylor Heinicke didn’t fare much better. Further, the Falcons have invested significant draft capital into offensive players like running back Bijan Robinson, tight end Kyle Pitts, and wide receiver Drake London. Despite all three of those players being selected in the top-10 of their respective drafts, the trio has combined for only seven touchdowns this season. Smith has his fingerprints on the entire roster, and assuming the Falcons fail to make the playoffs, the head coach will surely find himself on the hot seat.

However, there may be hope for Smith in Atlanta. Jeff Schultz of The Athletic reports that Blank has been supportive of his head coach behind the scenes. While the owner previously indicated that he wanted to see progress from his squad in 2023, Schultz writes that this doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a change on the sideline. In fact, Schultz opines that the only way Smith loses his job is if his squad completely unravels or tunes the coach out.

For what it’s worth, Smith isn’t overly concerned about his job status. The coach told Schultz that he understands the criticism but isn’t paying much attention to the headlines.

“I’m an old lineman — I’m used to getting my ass ripped,” he told The Athletic. “In the old days, it was just you writing a column. Now there’s 7,000 forums for outrage. I get it. But you can’t worry about everything around you, things you can’t control. Like I said earlier, if you’re worried about that stuff, don’t sign up for professional sports.”

NFL Injury Roundup: Saints, Watson, Heinicke, Thibodeaux

November 12th, 2023 at 7:41pm CST by Ely Allen

The Saints played much of the second half of their loss to the Vikings today without quarterback Derek Carr after the veteran passer took a nasty-looking hit from Danielle Hunter. It was announced that he was out for the remainder of the game with an injury to his throwing shoulder and that he was being evaluated for a concussion, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Further reports, provided by Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, claimed that while the initial belief is that Carr avoided a major shoulder injury, he will undergo more tests in order to determine the severity. Head coach Dennis Allen told the media that Carr was only held out of the game because of a concussion, per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, and refused to comment any further on the situation.

In Carr’s absence, former starter Jameis Winston performed admirably. He only completed just over half of his pass attempts for 122 yards and threw two interceptions, but he also threw the team’s two touchdowns in order to bring the Saints within spitting distance of the Vikings. Despite Winston’s seemingly superior effectiveness, Allen assured the media that, when Carr is healthy, there is no quarterback competition.

Lastly, veteran cornerback Marshon Lattimore left the game, as well, with what is believed to be an ankle sprain, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. He will undergo an MRI tomorrow in order to determine the severity of his ankle injury.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:

  • Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was forced to leave the field at times today during the Browns come-from-behind victory over the division-rival Ravens. He suffered an ankle injury late in the first half of the contest and, though he remained in the game for stretches at a time, he was noticeably limping at times. After the game, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported that Watson was in a walking boot. Watson claimed that while “he doesn’t feel great now…(he’ll) be fine” and should be ready to go next weekend.
  • Yet another quarterback was forced to leave their game today due to injury when the Falcons‘ new starting passer, Taylor Heinicke, was forced to leave early in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. This required Atlanta to return to former starter Desmond Ridder for the remainder of the contest. Ridder was fairly effective, leading the Falcons on a touchdown drive before failing to convert the two-point attempt that would’ve given the team a three-point lead. The team would go on to lose by those two points after Arizona kicked a game-winning field goal. This likely doesn’t change the team’s quarterback situation, if Heinicke is healthy enough to play, but hamstring injuries can be lingering and might open up more opportunities for Ridder.
  • In a blowout loss to Dallas this afternoon, Giants outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux was knocked out of the game with a concussion, per NFL Network’s Jane Slater. Thibodeaux’s absence opened up some playing opportunities for Boogie Basham, who saw an increased role due to injuries last week, as well.
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