Daryl Worley

Ravens Activate RB J.K. Dobbins, Sign CB Daryl Worley

For the first time in nearly a year, J.K. Dobbins is back with the Ravens at practice. The team took its starting running back off the active/PUP list Monday.

Suffering a torn ACL and sustaining LCL and meniscus damage during the team’s final preseason game last year, Dobbins has not played since his rookie season. Monday’s news does not necessarily mean Dobbins will be in uniform when the Ravens open up their regular season, but it obviously helps open the door to that reality. The third-year back can begin ramping up in full toward debuting with his teammates in Week 1.

The Ravens also signed cornerback Daryl Worley, who worked out with the team over the weekend, and moved linebacker Vince Biegel on IR. This marks somewhat of a reunion for Worley, who finished last season with the Ravens. The veteran cover man, however, played in just one game with the 2021 Ravens. He has played for five other teams over the course of a six-year career.

Dobbins became a key presence as a rookie, averaging six yards per carry and rushing for nine touchdowns. He did this largely as a reserve, starting just one game as part of a deep backfield. The Ohio State product will be brought along slowly ahead of the regular season.

The knee injuries suffered by Dobbins and Gus Edwards threw Baltimore’s backfield into disarray last season. No Ravens running back topped 600 yards in 2021. Veterans Latavius Murray and Devonta Freeman led the way, each clearing the 500-yard mark as part of a committee composed of late free agency additions. Le’Veon Bell was also briefly part of this coalition, as was Ty’Son Williams. None of these players are with Baltimore this year.

The Ravens still face significant questions about their backfield ahead of Week 1, due also to Edwards remaining on the active/PUP list. Teams have until August 23 to move players off the active/PUP list. Doing so avoids a player being shut down for the season’s first four games. Like Dobbins, Edwards is finishing up ACL recovery. Veteran Mike Davis and sixth-round rookie Tyler Badie are now part of the team’s backfield equation.

Despite his nomadic NFL run, Worley is still just 27. He worked as a primary starter for the Panthers and Raiders from 2016-19 but has been more of a depth piece since. The former third-round pick was with the Bills, Cowboys and Lions prior to catching on with the Ravens to close last season.

Biegel suffered a torn ACL last week. The Ravens had signed him in May. This represents another bad late-20s break for Biegel. The 29-year-old defender missed the 2020 season because of an Achilles tear. The former starter recovered to return as a Dolphins backup last season, yo-yoing on and off Miami’s practice squad.

NFL Workout Updates: 8/7/22

Here’s a look at some of the notable workouts from around the league this weekend:

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/25-12/26/21

Here are the NFL moves from Christmas and today:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/21/21

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: G Nathan Gilliam

Lions Drop Daryl Worley

The Lions have released defensive back Daryl Worley from the practice squad, per a club announcement. In a related move, they’ve re-signed offensive lineman Tommy Kraemer to the 16-man unit.

Worley was on the Lions’ 53-man roster earlier this year, dressing for three games and appearing in two. His last outing came against the Rams in Week 7, when he got torched twice by Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp for touchdowns. The latter of the two proved to be the game-winning score and the last of Worley’s time on the varsity squad. The Lions brought him back on a PSQ deal, but that’s now over after one week.

The 26-year-old has bounced around the league since coming in as a 2016 third-round draft pick of the Panthers. After spending his first two seasons in Carolina, the defensive back has had stints with the Eagles, Raiders, Cowboys, Bills, Raiders (again), Cardinals, and Lions. His most recent, significant action came in 2019 when he made 15 games for the Raiders. Last year, he started in five of his 10 games, split between Dallas, Buffalo, and Las Vegas.

After their bye week, the Lions will aim for their first win of the year against the Steelers.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/4/21  

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Buffalo Bills

  • Signed: OL Jacob Capra, WR Austin Proehl

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs 

  • Signed: TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Lions Release CB Daryl Worley

Daryl Worley had a rough game on Sunday against the Rams, and the performance likely contributed to him losing his job today. The Lions have released the veteran cornerback, reports Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).

Worley got burned on a 59-yard pass from Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp at the end of the third quarter, and he gave up the subsequent touchdown (from Stafford to Kupp) that proved to be the game-winning score.

The 26-year-old joined Detroit’s practice squad back in September, and he ended up appearing in three games for the Lions, collecting two tackles. Worley saw time on 17 defensive snaps this past weekend. There’s still a chance the cornerback lands back on Detroit’s practice squad, but in that case, his performance on Sunday likely buried him deeper on the depth chart.

Worley has spent time with a number of teams since being selected in the third round of the 2016 draft. Since spending his first two seasons with the Panthers, the defensive back has had stints with the Eagles, Raiders, Cowboys, Bills, Raiders (again), Cardinals, and Lions. He started 15 games for the Raiders in 2019, and he started five of his 10 appearances in 2020 while playing for Dallas, Buffalo, and Las Vegas.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/22/21

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Dallas Cowboys

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Keanu Neal; as a high-risk close contact, per The Athletic’s Jon Machota (on Twitter), Neal can return after a five-day isolation period

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

Tennessee Titans

Lions Place Ifeatu Melifonwu On IR

The Lions have placed cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu on the injured reserve list (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). To take his place, they’ve promoted fellow corner Daryl Worley from the practice squad to the active roster. 

Melifonwu will need at least a few weeks to recover from the thigh injury he suffered on Monday night. Lions head coach Dan Campbell isn’t exactly sure when he’ll return, but he did tell reporters that the rookie will be out for a “significant amount of time.” It’s a bad blow for Detroit — the third-rounder out of Syracuse was enjoying a strong start to his pro career. He notched a fumble recovery in his Week 1 debut and earned a start in Week 2 against the Packers.

Of course, the Lions were already without Jeff Okudah, who has been ruled out for the season. Amani Oruwariye will remain the starter at one of the cornerback spots, likely with help from former undrafted safety Bobby Price.

Worley should factor into the banged-up secondary as well, especially since he has 54 career starts to his credit. Still only 26, Worley’s resume includes five interceptions and 37 passes defensed.

Ravens CB Chris Westry Suffers Torn Meniscus

The injuries keep coming for the Ravens. Cornerback Chris Westry is expected to miss at least a month after suffering a torn lateral meniscus, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (and passed along by ESPN’s Jamison Hensley).

Westry, a former undrafted free agent, ended up playing the third-most snaps among Ravens cornerbacks on Sunday, collecting three tackles. The team was already relying on the bottom of their depth chart after losing cornerback Marcus Peters to a season-ending injury, and Westry’s latest injury is only going to make matters worse.

Thanks to their depleted cornerbacks depth, the team is naturally looking for reinforcement at the position. Earlier this week, Hensley tweets that the Ravens worked out four cornerbacks, including Buster Skrine, Daryl Worley, Winston Rose, and Grant Haley. That’s a mix of experience and youth, and the team will presumably add one cornerback to their active roster sooner than later (the organization already added Kevon Seymour to their practice squad).

While this latest injury is certainly frustrating, Ravens fans have probably come to expect it by now. Per Hensley, the Ravens have already placed 15 players on IR this year, including nine players over the past 24 days.