Ifeatu Melifonwu

NFC North Rumors: Vikings, Mundt, Melifonwu, Okwara

Over the past six years, the Vikings have seen plenty of defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, playing him twice per year while he was with their division-rivals in Chicago. According to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minnesota, when he hit the free agent market this offseason, the Vikings showed early interest in keeping Hicks in the division. The interest failed to materialize into deal, though, as Hicks signed with the Buccaneers this week.

The 32-year-old Hicks has enjoyed success in the NFC North, recording 31.0 of his 40.5 career sacks with the Bears, as well as 51.0 of his 73.0 career tackles for loss and 88 of his 111 career quarterback hits. The Vikings would’ve loved to pair Hicks next to Dalvin Tomlinson and Armon Watts, as he would serve as a bit of an upgrade over projected-starter Harrison Phillips on the defensive line. Unfortunately, though, Hicks will head back down to the NFC South as Tampa Bay looks to replace the production of free agent departures Ndamukong Suh and Jason Pierre-Paul.

Here are a few other rumors from around the NFC North, starting with another rumor from the Twin Cities:

  • After five seasons with the Rams specializing as a blocking tight end, newly acquired Viking Johnny Mundt is eager to redefine his career in Minnesota, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. During his time in Los Angeles, Mundt only ever caught 10 passes for 93 yards and is still looking for his first career receiving touchdown. Mundt will compete with Ben Ellefson and the rookie out of South Carolina, Nick Muse, for the No. 2 tight end spot behind Irv Smith Jr. Mundt followed former Rams head coach Kevin O’Connell and former Rams tight ends coach and passing game coordinator Wes Phillips in their move to Minnesota. Phillips believes in Mundt’s ability and experience and will likely call on Mundt to expand his career into a more complete tight end.
  • As a rookie, Lions defensive back Ifeatu Melifonwu got his playing time covering the slot and outside as a cornerback. Detroit drafted him with the versatility he showed in college in mind, though, and plan on seeing him at safety for some snaps this season, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. A quad injury limited his development last year, as he spent 10 weeks on injured reserve and had a limited return to the field when he was activated. Second-year defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn says he always envisioned Melifonwu being a Swiss army knife in the Lions’ secondary. As he enters the 2022 NFL season healthy, Melifonwu should get his opportunity to audition for that role.
  • Third-year Lions defender Julian Okwara has been spending time in two position rooms this year, according to Lions staff writer Tim Twentyman, as he works with both defensive line coach Todd Wash and linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard. Twentyman reports that the Lions are “cross-training him as both an on-the-ball defensive end and an off-the-ball linebacker.” Okwara has spent most of his time in the NFL as a defensive end, the position he primarily played at Notre Dame, as well. Head coach Dan Campbell explained, “We consider him in base as a linebacker, more of a SAM linebacker or on the edge. In sub or in nickel, he becomes more of that defensive end.”

NFL COVID List Updates

We are trying our best here at Pro Football Rumors to keep up with all of the updates throughout the league concerning players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. A lot of teams had high hopes during today’s testing as they were trying to get players activated in time for Sunday’s slate of games.

Here are updates as of 8:30 PM ET, Sat 12/18:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Eddie Goldman
  • OC Bill Lazor, DC Sean Desai, STC Chris Tabor in COVID-19 protocols

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DB P.J. Locke

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Four Coaches in COVID-19 protocols

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/11/21

Here is how teams finalized their Week 14 rosters:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/10/21

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals 

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: K Lirim Hajrullahu

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

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.

Lions CB Ifeatu Melifonwu To Miss “Significant Amount Of Time”

A key Lions rookie will be sidelined for the foreseeable future. Cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu suffered a significant thigh injury during Monday’s loss to the Packers, reports Tim Twentyman of the team’s website (via Twitter).

Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters that Melifonwu will be out of the lineup for a “significant amount of time,” and the rookie is expected to need at least a few weeks to recover. The injury occurred in the second half of last night’s contest, with Melifonwu suffering the injury on a 50-yard grab by Davante Adams.

Following a standout career at Syracuse, Melifonwu was selected in the third round of this past year’s draft. The 6-foot-3 defensive back had a fumble recovery during his NFL debut in Week 1, and he ended up earning his first career start in Week 2. The 22-year-old saw time on 30 defensive snaps last night, collecting a pair of tackles and defending one pass.

The Lions were already scrambling for cornerback depth; Melifonwu only got the start because Jeff Okudah suffered a season-ending injury. Amani Oruwariye remains the starter at one of the cornerback spots, with former undrafted safety Bobby Price appearing to be the next man in line.

Jets Notes: Mosley, Draft Plans, Hoyer

The Jets reportedly received trade calls on linebacker C.J. Mosley this offseason, and Rich Cimini of ESPN.com says Mosley remains a trade candidate. As Randy Lange of the team’s official website writes, new head coach Robert Saleh recently offered high praise for Mosley, calling him a tremendous leader and player. Saleh also said Mosley is good enough to thrive in any system, including the 4-3 scheme that Saleh plans to implement (Mosley has not played in a 4-3 since he turned pro).

But New York did sign Jarrad Davis in free agency, and the team has been speculatively linked to high-end linebackers in the draft, like Notre Dame’s Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. If GM Joe Douglas does select an LB with a Day 1 or Day 2 choice, that could make a Mosley trade more likely (though obviously the return on such a trade would be minimal given Mosley’s contract and the fact that he has played all of two games in the last two years).

Now for more notes on the Jets:

  • Although Gang Green is going to select QB Zach Wilson with the No. 2 overall pick, there is plenty of uncertainty as to what the club will do with the No. 23 overall selection. Cimini believes the team will ultimately go with a player to help Wilson, whether that’s an offensive lineman or a wide receiver. If that’s how Douglas is leaning, he might need to trade up to get the prospect he wants, and Connor Hughes of The Athletic tweets that Douglas has already done the “groundwork” on a potential move up the board.
  • Cornerback also profiles as a major need for the Jets, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them use the No. 23 pick or another early selection on a CB. According to Cimini, the club is intrigued by Syracuse corner Ifeatu Melifonwu, who looks like a second- or third-round talent. If the team doesn’t get a slot corner at some point in the draft, Hughes says the team could look to re-sign Brian Poole, whose 2020 season was cut short by injury but who has played well in his two seasons in the Meadowlands.
  • If the Jets don’t go with an offensive lineman with their second first-round choice, Hughes expects them to grab one with the No. 34 pick, and he also thinks they could pick up another blocker with one of their two third-round selections.
  • New York brought in veteran QB Brian Hoyer for a visit earlier this month, and he looks like an ideal backup/mentor for Wilson. Hughes reports that the team is likely to commence contract talks with the 35-year-old signal-caller after the draft.