Top CB Prospect Shavon Revel Tears ACL
It’s way too early in the season to be producing any significant draft content. Unlike last year, when Caleb Williams was Sharpied in as the No. 1 overall pick shortly after the prior year’s draft, there doesn’t appear to be any sure things in the 2025 NFL Draft class. Still, one of college football’s most exciting cornerbacks, Shavon Revel of East Carolina, was a good bet to be a Day 1 selection. That draft stock took a hit today with a torn ACL that will end Revel’s senior season, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Revel’s path in football has not been a usual one. Heading to junior college out of high school, Revel was a major piece for the Louisburg College Hurricanes. Still, he didn’t jump off the page as a JuCo recruit, and as a three-star corner, Revel signed with the nearby Pirates.
His first year with the team didn’t amount to much as he appeared in nine games and only totaled eight tackles. Revel broke out in his junior year last season. He gained a reputation as a lockdown corner in the AAC, recording 13 passes defensed and an interception. His electricity showed up all over the field, helping him tally four tackles for loss, a sack, and a fumble return for a touchdown, as well. His senior season was off to a hot start, too. In only three games, Revel already had two passes defensed and two interceptions, including one that he returned for a 50-yard touchdown.
ESPN’s draft specialists were extremely high on Revel in early rankings. Mel Kiper listed him as the second-best cornerback prospect behind only Michigan corner Will Johnson (and, technically, Colorado’s Travis Hunter). Jordan Reid, Matt Miller, and Field Yates all ranked Revel in their top-five players at the position, as well, with Reid even tagging him as the No. 14 overall player in the class.
It’ll be interesting to see how the injury impacts Revel’s draft stock moving forward. Revel was being compared to another top Group of 5 talent in Quinyon Mitchell, a first-round pick for the Eagles this past year. With elite size at 6-foot-3, 193 pounds, and amazing production in the short sample of a year where most expected quarterbacks to avoid him, Revel will almost certainly hear his name called at some point next April. Exactly when he hears his name called, though, will depend on his recovery and his interviews in the pre-draft process.
NFL Injury Updates: Higgins, Herbert, Seahawks
The Bengals have operated through the first two weeks of the season without two of their top targets from the 2023 NFL season. Tyler Boyd found his way to Tennessee in free agency, and Tee Higgins has missed the first two games of the year with a hamstring injury. Quarterback Joe Burrow will be happy to see one of the two return in Week 3 against the Commanders, according to Ben Baby of ESPN.
Higgins has been limited at practice throughout this past week, but the fifth-year wideout claimed that “he feels 100% healthy and…should be able to play at full strength” this Monday night. Higgins broke 1,000 yards receiving in his second NFL season despite missing three games, and he’ll be challenged to do so in 2024 after missing two already.
Star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase may be just as happy to see Higgins as Burrow is. The only major receiving threat in the team’s first two games, Chase has been limited to 10 catches for 97 yards so far this season. Andrei Iosivas and Trenton Irwin have been the beneficiaries of Higgins’ missed time, and they’ll hope that their early efforts have earned them some targets as WR3 and WR4 moving forward.
Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:
- Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has been seen very little at practice this week after getting rolled up on in last week’s game. Per James Palmer of Bleacher Report, Herbert told reporters he had been dealing with a high ankle sprain. Herbert also mentioned that a decision hasn’t been made yet on whether or not he’ll play this Sunday.
- The Seahawks will likely be without four starters in Week 3. Running back Kenneth Walker and linebacker Jerome Baker are both doubtful, while outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu and right tackle George Fant have already been ruled out. Per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic, Walker could return in Week 4 after missing two contests. ESPN’s Brady Henderson adds that the team is hopeful Nwosu will be back by then, too. He’s reportedly “progressing really quickly,” according to head coach Mike Macdonald.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/20/24
Friday’s practice squad moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: DE K.J. Henry
Henry started three of 10 game appearances for the Commanders last year as a fifth-round rookie. He registered 1.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, and two pass deflections in 2023.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/20/24
Friday’s minor transactions to end the week:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed to active roster: DT C.J. Brewer
- Waived: CB Keenan Isaac
After not seeing the field since 2022, Brewer has been called up as a standard gameday practice squad elevation in each of the first two weeks of 2024. With the NFL rules restricting practice squad players to three elevations in one contract, this was going to be necessary eventually in order for Brewer to appear in a fourth game. If Brewer is waived and re-signed to the practice squad, his three-game limit should reset.
After spending his rookie season as an undrafted cornerback for Tampa Bay in 2023, Isaac was waived before the start of this year. He was claimed by the Panthers, but his time in Carolina didn’t last long as he was waived a week and a half later. He re-signed with the Buccaneers amidst a number of injuries in the secondary before today’s departure.
Raiders DE Malcolm Koonce To Miss Season
The Raiders got some bad news to start the season when it was announced that breakout pass rusher Malcolm Koonce would miss at least the first four games of the season after being placed on injured reserve the day before the season opener. Today, that news just got a lot worse as Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report breaks that Koonce a serious knee injury suffered in a recent practice will in fact end his 2024 campaign. 
The team had been holding out hope that Koonce would be able to make a return at some point in the season if the injury wasn’t too severe, per Schultz. After weighing several options, though, it was determined that a surgery was necessary, one that would end Koonce’s 2024 season.
A former third-round pick for Las Vegas out of Buffalo, Koonce spent all but five games of his rookie season sitting out with injury. Despite not making his NFL debut until Week 13 and although he only played seven snaps, Koonce delivered a sack in his first game of professional football. He would repeat the feat a week later, while only playing 15 snaps. Those 15 defensive snaps were the most action he’d see in his first two years as he spent most of his sophomore campaign on special teams.
After the depth chart cleared out a bit with the departures of Chandler Jones and Clelin Ferrell, Koonce was finally able to get ample snaps on defense last year, starting 11 games. Making the most of his time, Koonce delivered a breakout season, tallying career highs in total tackles (43), sacks (8.0), tackles for loss (9), quarterback hits (17), and forced fumbles (3). With Koonce heading into the final year of his rookie deal with plenty to prove, the Raiders were excited to have Koonce as a productive pass rusher across from defensive star Maxx Crosby this season.
This news is obviously toughest on Koonce, who, after two years, had finally distanced himself from an injury-plagued rookie season. The fourth-year defender was likely looking forward to putting forth another career year in a contract year, setting himself up for a big payday via extension or free agency. Instead, teams will have to speculate off of the 2023 season (his freshest work), and any deals he signs will likely be heavily dependent on a physical.
Another member of the 2021 NFL Draft class, Janarius Robinson has stepped up in Koonce’s absence so far this season. Robinson hasn’t registered a stat in the first few weeks of the season, but Las Vegas doesn’t have much choice but to stick with him as they work to find someone to work across from Crosby. Former first-round pick Tyree Wilson suffered a knee sprain in the team’s season opener and missed last week’s win over the Ravens as a result.
With Wilson and Koonce out, the team signed Charles Snowden from the practice squad to the active roster and filled his spot on the taxi squad with another former first-round pick in K’Lavon Chaisson. The team was already seeking options to add more pass rushers, but with the Koonce news today, they’ll be even more pressed to make a move.
Bills Work Out Two Kickers
Bills kicker Tyler Bass was signed to an extension a year and a half ago, but Buffalo may be having a bit of buyer’s remorse. Some recent inaccuracies have made many question his standing as the Bills’ kicker of the future, though the team has claimed that they don’t have any intention to replace him. That tune may be changing as Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports that the Bills worked out kickers Anders Carlson and Cade York today. 
Bass has been nothing if not consistent. In his first three seasons, Bass missed four field goals attempts in each regular season. He upped that to five misses in 2023. His rookie season saw him miss two field goals and an extra point attempt in the playoffs, and his second trip to the postseason the next year saw him miss two more extra point attempts. He cleaned it up with a perfect postseason in 2022, though he didn’t attempt a kick over 40 yards, but 2023 saw him miss three postseason field goal attempts, including one late in the team’s divisional round loss to the Chiefs.
Just over two weeks ago, Bills general manager Brandon Beane was telling the media that the team was not considering adding competition to the special teams room for Bass. Nonetheless, we had thoughts that any early struggles might lead to some interest in other options on the free agent market. Five days after watching Bass log his first miss of the season, in come Carlson and York.
As a sixth-round rookie last year for the Packers, Carlson likely doesn’t inspire confidence for an increase in accuracy. In 2023, Carlson missed six field goals and five extra points, and as a result, was waived before the start of this year. A fourth-round pick in 2022, York missed eight field goals in his rookie season and two extra points, as well, for the Browns. He started the season as the kicker for Washington but was waived after missing both of his only field goal attempts in Week 1.
It’s not quite clear why the Bills aren’t more interested in adding veteran competition like free agents Brandon McManus or Randy Bullock, instead opting for young, inaccurate legs, but what’s important to note is that they’re bringing in competition at all. The Bills might still have confidence in Bass moving forward, but at the very least, they’re bringing in some other names to light a fire under their current kicker.
Packers Place Rookie RB MarShawn Lloyd On IR
Packers running back Josh Jacobs has been extremely impactful on his new team so far this season, despite not having reached the end zone yet. 104 total yards in Week 1 followed by a 151-yard rushing performance this weekend show that Green Bay seems to have hit on the free agent market at running back. Jacobs can’t rush 32 times a game like he did last week, though, making depth at running back crucial. That depth took a hit today when rookie third-round pick MarShawn Lloyd was placed on injured reserve, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. 
Lloyd sat out of the team’s season opener, appearing on the injury report as questionable with a hamstring issue. After a week of limited practice, Lloyd made his NFL debut this past weekend, despite still appearing on the injury report. In his lone game appearance, Lloyd ran as the RB2 behind Jacobs. He played three fewer snaps than second-year back Emanuel Wilson but earned one more carry and a target in the passing game.
With Lloyd now joining A.J. Dillon on injured reserve, Wilson will be stepping into a much bigger role as RB2 behind Jacobs. Jacobs can shoulder most of the work, but Wilson will likely need to contribute more than the 14 carries for 85 yards that he had as an undrafted rookie last year.
Joining Wilson on the depth chart will be Chris Brooks, who was signed from the practice squad to take Lloyd’s place on the active roster. Also an undrafted rookie in 2023, Brooks spent last year with an explosive Dolphins’ running backs crew, rushing for 106 yards on just 19 carries.
Brooks and Wilson will try to help make sure that Jacobs’ yoke isn’t too heavy as a workhorse. With Lloyd out for at least four weeks and Dillon perhaps not in the Packers’ long-term plans for the season, it will be important to keep Jacobs fresh however they can.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/17/24
Tuesday’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: S Jason Taylor II
- Released: G Marquis Hayes
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Josh Woods
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: S Russ Yeast
Cincinnati Bengals
- Released: WR Shedrick Jackson
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: WR Jaelon Darden, RB Royce Freeman
Denver Broncos
- Signed: OLB Andrew Farmer
Houston Texans
- Signed: C Scott Quessenberry, TE Irv Smith, DT Tommy Togiai
- Released: T Braeden Daniels, LB Max Tooley
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: TE Peyton Hendershot
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: K Tanner Brown
- Released: T Ty Nsekhe
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: T Jackson Carman
- Released: WR Robbie Chosen
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: T Marcellus Johnson
- Released: T Ricky Lee
New England Patriots
- Released: WR Jalen Reagor
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: S Caden Sterns
- Released: TE Kevin Foelsch
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: CB D’Shawn Jamison, WR Jaray Jenkins, CB James Pierre
- Released: WR Shaquan Davis, CB Zyon Gilbert
Washington Commanders
- Signed: CB Kevon Seymour
Woods joins the Falcons’ practice squad after a workout last week that also included veterans Kwon Alexander and Rashaan Evans.
The Browns are adding Freeman after the seven-year veteran was released by the Cowboys before the regular season. Freeman could potentially pitch in as the team keeps working without Nick Chubb.
Yeast becomes the next former-Rams defensive back to join the Panthers. Current Carolina defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero used to serve as the secondary coach in Los Angeles, and Yeast joins Jordan Fuller, Nick Scott, and Troy Hill as former students of Evero to sign a deal with the Panthers.
Chosen’s time off the Dolphins’ practice squad could be a short one. Chosen was called up as a standard gameday elevation twice in the first two weeks of the season, reaching his limit for the year. If the team re-signs him to a new practice squad contract, his count should start over.
Reagor saw 11 games and a start last year for New England, catching seven passes for 138 yards as a deep threat. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the Patriots will be giving him similar opportunities this year after this release.
Pierre played a big part in the Steelers’ secondary in 2021 and 2022, starting six games and logging an interception in each season. His role was extremely reduced last year with the arrivals of Joey Porter Jr.. and Patrick Peterson, but his experience could be crucial in a position room that only rosters five cornerbacks as Cameron Sutton remains on suspension.
AFC Contract Details: Brown, Ramsey, Heyward, Carter, Bell
Here are some details on recent contracts reached around the NFL:
- Spencer Brown, T (Bills): Four years, $72MM. Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 provided some contract details on Brown’s recent extension. The deal comes with a $6.4MM signing bonus and a $16MM option bonus that will pay out in 2025. An additional $7.1MM roster bonus will hit in 2026. The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia added the distinction that most of Brown’s $7.14MM base salary in 2026 will be vested in 2025.
- Jalen Ramsey, CB (Dolphins): Three years, $72.3MM. Per OvertheCap.com, Ramsey’s new extension comes with $24.24MM guaranteed at signing. The deal also contains a guaranteed 2025 roster bonus of $4MM paid in March and a guaranteed 2025 option bonus of $18.98MM due in Week 1 of next year. He can receive option bonuses of $8.14MM and $8.84MM in 2026 and 2027, respectively, and roster bonuses of $2MM from 2026 to 2028.
- Cameron Heyward, DT (Steelers): Two years, $29MM. While we had mentioned that most of Heyward’s guarantees came in the form of his signing bonus, OvertheCap.com shows us that the remaining guaranteed money comes from Heyward’s 2024 base salary of $1.3MM. Heyward can earn roster bonuses of $13.45MM in 2025 and $12.95MM in 2026.
- Michael Carter II, CB (Jets): Three years, $30.75MM. ESPN’s Rich Cimini tells us that Carter’s deal comes with a $6MM signing bonus that is included in the contract’s $13MM of guaranteed money at signing. There’s an additional $5.4MM guaranteed for injury. The deal also contains a guaranteed 2025 option bonus of $4MM.
- David Bell, WR (Browns): Two years, $2.44MM. Wilson tells us that Bell’s contract has base salaries of $1.11MM and $1.34MM. Bell can earn an additional $50K in a workout bonus in 2025.
NFL Injury Updates: Bell, Herbert, Armstead, Rodgers, Vea, Pacheco
The Browns were able to escape Duval with their first win of the year but saw wide receiver David Bell carted off the field in the third quarter. According to Josh Alper of NBC Sports, head coach Kevin Stefanski told the media that Bell had been diagnosed with a dislocated hip.
While surely a painful situation, Bell seems to have avoided a more serious outcome. Despite leaving the field on the cart, Bell will be able to fly home with his teammates and seek treatment in Cleveland.
Here are updates on a few other injuries from around the NFL this week:
- On a big day for the Chargers, there was a moment of worry when quarterback Justin Herbert got “rolled up” in the game, per Kris Rhim of ESPN. Los Angeles performed an x-ray on their starting passer, but more tests will be necessary to determine the extent of Herbert’s injury. The 26-year-old was noticably limping after the game.
- While the notable injury in Miami on Thursday night was clearly that of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, left tackle Terron Armstead was also notably absent from the second half of the Dolphins‘ loss to Buffalo with a shoulder injury. In an update the next day, head coach Mike McDaniel clarified that Armstead avoided the worst-case scenario and would be returning “sooner than later,” per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. There was initially some fear that the injury could be a season-ending ailment, but it seems Armstead’s absence will only a couple weeks at most.
- After sitting out the entire 2023 season due to a gambling suspension, Eagles cornerback Isaiah Rodgers missed the team’s 2024 season opener with a hand injury. This week, we found out from Rodgers that his hand was broken on the last day of training camp when a teammate went to punch out a ball and punched his hand instead, according to Andrew DiCecco of 975TheFanatic. His hand is improving, and he has returned to practice.
- Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea suffered a knee injury in today’s win over the Lions. Following the game, it was reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero that Vea is believed to have suffered an MCL sprain. The veteran lineman will undergo further MRI testing tomorrow to determine the severity of the injury, but the team is optimistic.
- Lastly, from the afternoon slate of games, Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco suffered an ankle injury in the team’s walk-off win over the Bengals today. Per ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, Pacheco is set to undergo tests and x-rays on his ankle. The team was extremely cautious with the young rusher, though, as he was seen leaving the stadium on crutches and in a walking boot.