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Jags Activate DT DaVon Hamilton

October 28th, 2023 at 4:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

OCTOBER 28: Hamilton was activated from IR on Saturday, per a team announcement. The move comes in time for him to make his season debut in Week 8, and with less than one week remaining in his activation window. Even if the 26-year-old is unable to suit up on Sunday, his return will be welcomed by a Jacksonville defensive front which has remained stout against the run in his absence. This move will use up the Jaguars’ first IR activation of the season.

OCTOBER 12: Prior to placing DaVon Hamilton on IR, the Jaguars labeled his back injury a non-football-related medical issue. Doug Pederson revealed no return timetable existed. But the recently extended defensive lineman is now on his way back.

Hamilton returned to Jaguars practice Thursday, starting his 21-day activation clock. Players generally receive return designations earlier in the week. While Hamilton returning on a Thursday does not bode too well for his Week 6 availability, the Jags have until Nov. 2 to pull the trigger on his activation. The Jaguars have not used an IR activation this season.

Jacksonville handed Hamilton a three-year, $34.5MM extension this offseason, displaying confidence in the former third-round pick as a central defensive line cog. The fourth-year D-tackle has been out of action since late in the Jags’ training camp, but he looks to be close to putting this back issue behind him.

Hamilton’s return would strengthen a Jags run defense that already ranks fifth. The team is coming off holding the Bills to 29 yards on the ground. Pro Football Focus graded Hamilton as a top-30 interior D-lineman last season, touting his inside pass-rushing ability while still tabbing him as above average against the run. After working as a spot starter during his first two campaigns, Hamilton moved into the lineup on a full-time basis in 2022, starting 14 contests.

The Ohio State product established new career-high marks in tackles (56) and TFLs (five) in 2022, and he passed on playing out a contract year en route to free agency. To entice him to do so, the Jaguars presented a $20MM guarantee at signing.

The Jags extended both Hamilton and Roy Robertson-Harris up front this offseason, and they have D-tackle Folorunso Fatukasi signed long term as well. The team has made major investments in its front seven, having three cogs signed to veteran deals and three first-rounders (Josh Allen, Travon Walker, Devin Lloyd) in the fold as well. The Jags are on a two-game win streak, having rebounded in London. They are gunning for their first repeat division title since winning the AFC Central from 1998-99.

Jaguars Moved Close To Acquiring Vikings’ Danielle Hunter In Offseason

October 25th, 2023 at 11:44am CST by Sam Robinson

The Vikings upset the 49ers on Monday and have only three games remaining against teams with winning records. Even without Justin Jefferson for a stretch, the 3-4 team has reason to view a second straight playoff berth as within reach. That would obviously impact the Vikings’ willingness to sell, introducing another Danielle Hunter complication.

Minnesota has until 3pm CT on Oct. 31 to trade Hunter, who leads the NFL with nine sacks and 12 tackles for loss. The Pro Bowl edge rusher is in a contract year and cannot be franchise- or transition-tagged next year, due to a contract reworking early in training camp. While the Vikings could lose Hunter for nothing in free agency, he obviously represents a vital part of their defense for the 2023 stretch run.

[RELATED: Vikings Not Expected To Trade Kirk Cousins]

Prior to reaching that August resolution with Hunter, the Vikings discussed him in trades. The Jaguars recently came up as a suitor, and ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano ties the AFC South team more closely to the current trade piece, indicating Jacksonville came close to finalizing an agreement to acquire Hunter during the offseason.

The Jaguars make sense as a buyer, having spent heavily to fortify their defense in 2022 and largely standing pat on that side of the ball this offseason. At outside linebacker in Mike Caldwell‘s 3-4 scheme, the Jags have Josh Allen and Travon Walker in place as starters. In a contract year, Allen is on pace for his most productive NFL slate. The former top-10 pick has seven sacks, 14 QB hits and two forced fumbles through seven games. No other Jaguar, however, has more than 2.5 sacks. Walker’s 2.5 QB drops do not completely define his season, as the 2022 No. 1 overall pick does rank 27th with 12 pressures. Allen’s 23 pressures sit second leaguewide.

Jacksonville also rosters underwhelming 2020 first-rounder K’Lavon Chaisson, whose fifth-year option the team declined in May. Dawuane Smoot recently made his season debut, coming off a torn Achilles sustained in Week 16 of last season. The two backup OLBs have combined for one sack and five QB hits. Having won four straight, the Jags have solidified their status as the AFC South favorite. They certainly make sense as a team that would be interested in a front-seven upgrade, with Trevor Lawrence still on a rookie contract.

Allen is tied to a $10.89MM fifth-year option, and Smoot is back on a low-cost deal (one year, $3.5MM); Walker and Chaisson are on rookie contracts. The Jags hold just more than $6MM in cap space. A team that would acquire Hunter past Week 8 would owe just more than $5MM. Of course, the Vikings would need to be interested in reopening Hunter trade talks. Prior to their Monday-night upset, however, the Vikes were taking calls on their soon-to-be 29-year-old pass rusher. While the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora expects Hunter to be dealt, the Vikings do face a complicated decision.

After talks with the Jags and other teams fell apart, the Vikings agreed to terms with Hunter one a one-year deal worth $17MM guaranteed. While Hunter’s incentives are classified as not likely to be earned, the three-time Pro Bowler’s torrid pace puts him on track to collecting additional cash. Hunter will receive $1MM for reaching 11 sacks, another $1MM for 12.5 and another $1MM for hitting 14. The former third-round pick posted 14.5 sacks in 2018 and ’19, but he is on pace for more this season.

Minnesota resides in the historically rare position of being unable to tag either of its top two 2024 free agents, with Kirk Cousins‘ 2016 and ’17 tags making a third tag untenable (thanks to the 2006 CBA introducing the 144% bump for a third tag; no team has tagged a player three times since the Jaguars and Rams respectively cuffed Donovin Darius and Orlando Pace in 2005). While Cousins expects contract talks to resume in 2024, Hunter having never hit the open market points to a high risk the Vikings lose the veteran pass rusher for nothing (perhaps a 2025 compensatory pick) next year.

With Bradley Chubb going for first- and fourth-rounders last year, the Vikings will likely be able to do better than the third-rounder that could come their way via the compensatory system. Minnesota’s upset of San Francisco makes it less likely the team becomes a deadline seller, Graziano adds. Still, Hunter’s trade value and the team’s playoff prospects will make for a fascinating decision before next week’s deadline.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/24/23

October 24th, 2023 at 7:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Released: CB Quavian White

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/23/23

October 23rd, 2023 at 7:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s practice squad additions and subtractions:

Dallas Cowboys

Jacksonville Jaguars

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/23/23

October 23rd, 2023 at 7:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

  • Signed off Panthers’ practice squad: RB Jashaun Corbin

San Francisco 49ers

This marks a New York return for Corbin, who went to training camp with the Giants. A UDFA out of Florida State, Corbin signed a reserve/futures contract with the Giants in January but did not make their 53-man roster. The Panthers had kept Corbin on their practice squad since early September. Rather than promote Corbin to their 53-man roster to block this New York return, Carolina will let him join the Giants’ 53. Corbin joins Saquon Barkley, Gary Brightwell and fifth-round rookie Eric Gray as running backs on Big Blue’s 53-man roster. Both Brightwell (hamstring) and Gray (calf) suffered injuries in Week 7, creating a need at the position.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/21/23

October 21st, 2023 at 8:30pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are the minor moves made around the league in advance of the Week 7 slate of Sunday games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos 

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Restored to active roster (from suspension exemption): DE Charles Omenihu

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants 

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Dulcich already had one IR stint this season due to an aggravation of last year’s hamstring injury. The 2022 third-rounder has appeared in only two contests so far this season, and in the most recent one he suffered yet another setback. As a result, he will once again be shut down for at least four weeks.

The Giants’ decision to again promote DeVito points to starter Daniel Jones missing another game. Indeed, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports Jones is considered a “longshot” to play tomorrow against the Commanders. It will in all likelihood be Tyrod Taylor under center for New York in Week 7 while Jones continues to recover from his neck injury.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/19/23

October 19th, 2023 at 5:47pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions:

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

The Chiefs moved on from Montrell Washington to make room for old friend Mecole Hardman. The former fifth-round pick was serving as Kansas City’s primary punt returner in 2023, returning eight punts for 61 yards. While he’s been limited to special teams duties in 2023, Washington got into 78 offensive snaps with the Broncos in 2022.

Giants Did Not Submit Offer To Re-Sign Evan Engram In 2022

October 19th, 2023 at 10:54am CST by Sam Robinson

Tight ends did not factor prominently into the Giants’ surprising 2022 run to the divisional round. While the team’s pass-catching group doubled as one of the NFL’s worst, no Giants tight end topped 275 receiving yards last year. This led to the Darren Waller trade.

Prior to sending the Raiders a third-round pick for the former Pro Bowler, the Giants finished out a five-year relationship with Evan Engram. The 2017 first-round pick went through an up-and-down tenure in New York, eventually relocating to Jacksonville after a mediocre contract year.

Although the Giants hired a new GM-HC tandem last year, the Joe Schoen–Brian Daboll regime has not been hesitant to pay players acquired by previous front offices. Daniel Jones re-signed in March, and subsequent offseason extensions for Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas commenced. The team re-signed Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard as well. But the Giants cut off their Engram partnership after five seasons, letting him hit the market and sign a one-year, $9MM Jaguars deal. This came after the Giants did not make an offer to retain the talented but inconsistent tight end, per Michael DiRocco and Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com.

A “prove it” deal made sense for Engram, who trudged through his worst season in 2021. Engram’s 408-yard season worked out to just 27.2 per game — by far a career-low mark. Then again, the Giants’ 2021 season was not exactly teeming with skill-position success. The team fired OC Jason Garrett midseason and promoted Freddie Kitchens, and when Jones went down with a neck injury, the Mike Glennon–Jake Fromm duo struggled to the point Joe Judge — viewed late that season as a fairly safe bet to stay for a third year — ended up on the chopping block.

Engram did eclipse 650 yards in two of his first four seasons, posting one of this century’s best rookie-year tight end yardage totals in 2017 (722) and making the Pro Bowl in 2020. The ’20 showing came after the Giants picked up the Ole Miss product’s fifth-year option. His Jaguars contract year brought a return to that form.

Indicating he expected to receive more interest than he ended up drawing, Engram said only four teams contacted him in free agency. With the Jaguars needing to offer $9MM — more than 2022 franchise tag recipients Dalton Schultz and Mike Gesicki received this offseason — it was clear at least one other team expressed reasonable confidence Engram could recover. After setting a Jaguars single-season tight end yardage record (766), Engram posted 12 receptions for 124 yards in the playoffs. This production led to the Jags tagging Engram and extending him on a three-year, $41.25MM deal. Engram entered the season as the NFL’s seventh-highest-paid tight end; through six games, the seventh-year pass catcher has 36 receptions for 301 yards.

After their successful 2022 slate, the Giants traded the No. 100 overall pick — the selection they received for Kadarius Toney before the 2022 deadline — for Waller. The ex-Raiders star is two years older than Engram, at 31, and has battled injuries in recent years. Despite a nagging groin issue, Waller has suited up for each Giants game. He has 28 catches for 282 yards in what has been a disappointing season for New York’s offense, which has seen injury trouble prevent a true evaluation of Jones or his skill crew. The Giants restructured Waller’s contract upon acquiring him, adding a $7.1MM dead-money charge were the team to move on in 2024.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/18/23

October 18th, 2023 at 7:39pm CST by Ely Allen

Minor transactions from around the league today:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

The Giants are dealing with an unprecedented epidemic at offensive tackle right now as their injury report starts to read like a phone book. Already missing starter Andrew Thomas and primary backup Matt Peart, New York went into Sunday night’s game with Evan Neal and Joshua Ezeudu bookending the line. Pugh had recently been brought in to help address the team’s depth at guard, but when Ezeudu exited the game with a toe injury, and was subsequently placed on injured reserve, Pugh kicked out and played the rest of the game at tackle with the first-team offense. Pugh will now serve as depth at tackle, as will Philips, who started his career in Baltimore as a guard before proving his versatility for the Ravens and Giants. He started five games for New York last year.

QB Updates: Tannehill, Lawrence, Garoppolo

October 16th, 2023 at 9:57pm CST by Ely Allen

Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who left Tottenham Hotspur Stadium yesterday on crutches, has reportedly suffered a high ankle sprain on his right leg, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. This type of injury routinely requires a decent amount of recovery time, putting his status for the team’s next game in doubt, but with a bye week between now and then, it’s not a guarantee that he will be unavailable the next time Tennessee takes the field.

Head coach Mike Vrabel relayed to the media that this injury looks similar to Tannehill’s injury last year, going on to specify that he was referencing the first ankle injury Tannehill suffered earlier in the season and not the one later on that would require surgery, per ESPN’s Turron Davenport. Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com reported further comments from Vrabel stating that, if healthy, Tannehill would still be the team’s starting quarterback.

Here are a few other injury updates to passers in the AFC:

  • On a short week, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence‘s status for this week’s Thursday Night Football trip to New Orleans is in question. According to Ian Rapoport, after he injured his knee in last week’s win over the Colts, MRIs revealed a slight knee sprain that could threaten Lawrence’s availability. Lawrence wouldn’t normally need to practice much in a short week anyway, but while nursing a knee sprain, they’ll likely only test his knee out to determine his status for this week’s contest. Backup quarterback C.J. Beathard would step in if Lawrence isn’t able to go.
  • After sending quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the hospital mid-game yesterday, the Raiders received “better than expected news” after a flurry of tests, per Rapoport. They sought out the hospital’s assistance with their superior equipment as they evaluated Garoppolo for injuries to his ribs and back and ruled out any internal injuries. While not ruling it out completely, Rapoport claimed it would be “a challenge” for Garoppolo to play this week. If he’s unable to go, either Brian Hoyer or fourth-round pick Aidan O’Connell would get the start in Chicago. Hoyer sealed the victory in relief of Garoppolo over their former team yesterday, while O’Connell got the start in the Raiders’ Week 4 loss to the Chargers.
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