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Orleans Darkwa

Jets Interested In RB Orleans Darkwa

March 1st, 2018 at 9:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Free agent running back Orleans Darkwa has garnered interest from the Jets, a source tells Connor Hughes of NJ.com.Orleans Darkwa (Vertical)

[RELATED: Jets Interested In Dion Lewis?]

Darkwa, of course, spent the pass three-plus seasons working in the cross-town Giants backfield, but it’s unclear if Big Blue has any interest in retaining him. Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com recently indicated Darkwa could be a low-cost option for the Giants, but if the 26-year-old receives other offers, he could conceivably move on.

The Jets now have a vacancy in their backfield after veteran running back Matt Forte announced his retirement on Wednesday. Gang Green still has Bilal Powell and Elijah McGuire under contract, but Darkwa would likely serve as something of a power back if he becomes the third member of a Jets triumvirate.

Darkwa, a former undrafted free agent out of Tulane, began his career with the Dolphins but has mostly played in New York. Last season, Darkwa posted the best year of his career by setting new highs in starts, attempts, yards, and touchdowns.

Giants Notes: Darnold, Richburg, Pugh

February 26th, 2018 at 3:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dave Gettleman fired Marc Ross shortly after he took over as Giants GM, but the longtime Big Blue VP of player evaluation may have shed some light as to which players previous Giants scouts were high on and whom the franchise could target with its No. 2 pick. Of the quarterbacks, Ross singled out Sam Darnold during an appearance on NFL Live (via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com). He identified Saquon Barkley as well and even pointed to Notre Dame guard phenom Quenton Nelson.

“You have to look at a quarterback, ut it has to be the right guy. You can’t just force a guy,” said Ross, who interviewed to be the Giants’ GM in December. “The right guy for them, on and off the field, I would think would be Sam Darnold. He’s ultra-talented, he’s a playmaker, he’s a winner. And he’s also very clean off the field. What I mean by that: no issues, great leader, great teammate, great person.”

Darnold would have a chance to develop while Eli Manning — whom the current regime immediately took off the trade market, judging by everything that’s been said thus far this offseason. Ross’ stance on Nelson mostly comes from Gettleman’s comments regarding the franchise being desperate for offensive line upgrades, and it would be unusual for a guard to go this high. But he did seem to echo a theme he’d heard while in his previous post with the Giants.

“All the years of talking about, ‘The Giants need O-line; the Giants need O-line,’” Ross said, “they may even go that route.”

Here’s more Giants news prior to the team’s trip to Indianapolis.

  • Weston Richburg will likely leave as a free agent, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv notes, but the Giants will probably gauge his price at the Combine. Raanan reports multiple teams view the longtime Giants center as a quality starter despite the concussion that cost Richburg 12 games last season. A 2014 second-round pick, Richburg performed better in 2015 and ’16.
  • The Giants will also likely examine Justin Pugh‘s interest in coming back at the Combine, Vacchiano writes. Pugh’s 2017 injury-marred season will not deter the Giants from re-signing him, Raanan reports. A back injury cost Pugh eight games last season, but it looks like the 2013 first-rounder will be a higher priority to retain than Richburg. Pugh did not undergo surgery and said he would like to be back with the Giants next season. It won’t be cheap, however, and Raanan listed the Jaguars — who have Pugh’s college coach (Doug Marrone) and former NFL coach (Tom Coughlin) as key organizational pillars — as an obvious fit if the guard/tackle leaves the Big Apple.
  • Ross is high on Baker Mayfield but doesn’t see an obvious fit in New York. The Giants had a meeting scheduled with Mayfield at the Senior Bowl that didn’t end up taking place, and the Heisman Trophy winner has said a job learning behind Manning would be ideal for him.
  • Orleans Darkwa could be a candidate to return on a low-cost deal, Raanan and Vacchiano note. Raanan expects the running back to have suitors on the market. New York will probably be looking to upgrade at running back after struggling on the ground again last season, but Darkwa would make sense as a complementary back. He led the Giants with 751 rushing yards last season and averaged 4.4 per carry.
  • While technically forbidden because of tampering, Vacchiano notes the Giants will “absolutely” know where they stand with UFA guard Andrew Norwell. The former Gettleman UDFA find with the Panthers has been linked to the Giants, but considering the issues teams have had finding and developing linemen this decade, Norwell could potentially eclipse Kevin Zeitler‘s record guard deal come March.

Extra Points: Hawks, Lions, Texans, Giants

November 29th, 2017 at 9:47pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Seahawks had hoped to re-sign Dwight Freeney after cutting him last week, but the Lions claimed him off waivers before they could so, as Freeney explained to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Seattle needed to reinforce its depth at linebacker, and waiving Freeney was simply the easiest move the club could make. That’s not to say there wasn’t a financial component to the Freeney’s release, as Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times noted last week. Nevertheless, Freeney now heads to Detroit, a team that had interest in signing him at several points earlier in the season, tweets Birkett.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • Linebacker Brian Cushing is now eligible to return to the Texans after serving a 10-game PED suspension, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle writes. Houston has a one-week roster exemption for Cushing, whom Wilson reports is still in excellent shape. That exemption expires next Monday, and head coach Bill O’Brien didn’t commit to placing Cushing on the Texans’ active roster before the club’s Week 13 contest against the Titans. Cushing did not appeal his most recent PED ban, the second of his NFL career.
  • Giants running back Orleans Darkwa earned a $150K bonus by surpassing 500 yards rushing for the season on Sunday, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. While New York’s offense has been extremely poor as a unit, Darkwa has been surprisingly effective. In 10 games (seven starts), the 25-year-old Darkwa has averaged 4.6 yards per carry and ranks as a top-15 back in DVOA, DYAR, and success rate, all of which are Football Outsiders metrics. Darkwa is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the spring after earning $1.1MM in base salary this year.
  • The Dolphins have designated offensive lineman Eric Smith to return from injured reserve, reports Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Smith, a rookie undrafted free agent out of Virginia, earned a spot on Miami’s 53-man roster before going down in October. If activated, he’ll earn something of a multi-game tryout over the rest of the regular season. The Dolphins have already placed three other offensive lineman on IR this year, so Smith could see playing time down the stretch.
  • The NFL has agreed in principle to a deal that would donate nearly $100MM to social causes put forth by the league’s players, according to Jim Trotter and Jason Reid of ESPN.com. However, several members of the Players Coalition — a group led by Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins that negotiates with owners — have since departed, citing a lack of communication on the unit’s proceedings. The agreement does not tackle the league’s ongoing debate regarding national anthem protests, per Mark Maske of the Washington Post.

East Rumors: McCloughan, Giants, Rowe

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:00am CST by Rory Parks

Former Redskins GM Scot McCloughan filed a grievance against Washington for the balance of his contract, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, and in-house litigation is moving forward. The Redskins refused to pay McCloughan after firing him, alleging that they had cause for doing so (which is believed to be McCloughan’s struggles with alcoholism). McCloughan’s contract requires him to file a grievance with the league rather than file suit in an independent court, which is standard among contracts for front-office employees and coaches, who are not represented by a union.

Now let’s take a look at more notes from the league’s east divisions:

  • James Kratch of NJ.com believes Giants O-lineman Justin Pugh will be looking for $11MM annually when he hits free agency after the season, with around $30MM guaranteed. Kratch adds that Big Blue will be interested in re-signing Orleans Darkwa, who is also a free agent at the end of the year, though the club will not break the bank for him.
  • Giants head coach Ben McAdoo might have ceded play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan, but as Howie Kussoy of the New York Post rights, McAdoo retains “veto power” if he does not approve of a play that Sullivan calls.
  • Eagles CB Ronald Darby practiced this past week for the first time since the ugly ankle injury that he sustained in Week 1, and while his absence as not hurt Philadelphia yet, the team needs him back on the field. As Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes, there is no exact timetable for Darby’s return to game action, but it should only be a matter of time at this point (though he is not expected to play tomorrow night against Washington).
  • Patriots CB Eric Rowe is set to miss tonight’s game against Atlanta with a groin injury, meaning he will have played less than 21.6 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. As Mike Reiss of ESPN.com points out, If Rowe plays in more than 50 percent of New England’s defensive snaps this season, the team will send a 2018 third-round draft choice to the Eagles to complete the trade that sent Rowe to the Pats. However, if he plays in fewer than 50 percent of the snaps, New England will send a fourth-rounder to Philadelphia, so it is looking increasingly likely that it will be a fourth-round pick heading the Eagles’ way in 2018.

Giants To Re-Sign Orleans Darkwa

March 9th, 2017 at 11:22am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Giants will re-sign running back Orleans Darkwa, tweets Kimberley Martin of Newsday. Darkwa was not tendered a restricted free agent contact and is now presumably back on a cheaper deal.

Over the past two seasons, Darkwa has managed 30+ carries per season in New York, but has only managed four yards per carry. The 25-year-old will now head back to the Giants and attempt to carve out a role for the 2017 campaign, a task that may have been made simpler by Big Blue’s release of veteran back Rashad Jennings. Currently, the Giants’ backfield is comprised of Shane Vereen, Paul Perkins, and George Winn.

Extra Points: Colts, Okung, Panthers, Ngata

March 6th, 2017 at 3:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Restricted free agent defensive tackle Zach Kerr has yet to be tendered an offer by the Colts and an NFL source tells Stephen Holder of the Indy Star that indications are he won’t be tendered at all. Kerr’s playing time vacillated last year but he still finished out with 2.5 sacks. Since joining the Colts as a UDFA in 2014, he has played nose tackle, defensive tackle, and defensive end. In related news, the Colts have decided against tendering an offer to linebacker Josh McNary.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

Giants Place Orleans Darkwa On IR

November 29th, 2016 at 4:32pm CST by Zachary Links

Orleans Darkwa headed to the injured reserve list, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweets. The running back has been dealing with a leg injury and he’ll need to take some time off to recover. To take his place, linebacker/safety Eric Pinkins has been promoted from the practice squad.Orleans Darkwa (vertical)

Darkwa entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Tulane in 2014. After spending time on the Dolphins’ active roster and practice squad, he found his way to the Giants. He has been a low-cost rotational piece for the G-Men ever since. Darkwa’s season ends with 30 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns..

As Darkwa exits, fellow running back Shane Vereen is getting ready to make his return. The veteran probably won’t suit up this week, but we may see him on the field in December. For now, the Giants have Rashad Jennings, Bobby Rainey, and rookie Paul Perkins at running back. Right now, Jennings is seeing the most action of any Giants back, but the share of carries could tilt towards Perkins down the stretch of the season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/12/16

April 12th, 2016 at 8:59pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

  • Mike Remmers has signed his restricted free agent tender with the Panthers, agent Brett Tessler tweets. The Panthers first acquired Remmers when they signed him off St. Louis’ taxi squad in October of 2014. Looking at how he has improved his value since that point, they might regret keeping him on the practice squad rather than the 53-man roster. Pro Football Focus (sub. req’d) rated Remmers as the 43rd best tackle in the league last season, giving him significantly higher marks for his run blocking than his pass blocking.
  • The Ravens (on Twitter) announced that they have waived tight end Chase Ford. Ford inked his restricted free agent tender just a few weeks ago but his $1.671MM salary was non-guaranteed. It’s possible that Ford has been removed from the roster to make room for Dennis Pitta, who is attempting to return to football in 2016. Pitta and Baltimore agreed to a restructured deal earlier today.
  • The Patriots announced that cornerback Justin Coleman has signed his ERFA tender, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. Coleman made 21 tackles in 10 games (two starts) last season.
  • Giants running back Orleans Darkwa signed his ERFA tender, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Giants cut linebacker Nico Johnson with a failed physical designation, according to Wilson (Twitter link). New York had elevated Johnson off its practice squad at the tail end of last season.

ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/4/16

March 4th, 2016 at 6:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we rounded up the latest decisions on restricted free agent tenders. Now, we’ll shift our focus to the day’s exclusive-rights free agent tenders, for players with fewer than three years of NFL experience. here’s the latest:

Giants Place Michael Cox On IR, Sign Darkwa

November 12th, 2014 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Giants have made a change to their 53-man roster, placing running back Michael Cox on injured reserve and signing another running back, Orleans Darkwa, off the Dolphins’ practice squad to replace Cox, the team announced today in a press release. Cox suffered a fractured lower leg during the fourth quarter of the Giants’ loss to the Seahawks on Sunday.

Cox, who turns 25 this week, joined the Giants in 2013 as a seventh-round draft pick out of Massachusetts. In his year and a half with in New York, Cox has 26 rush attempts for 76 yards, five receptions for 21 yards, and has occasionally handled kick returns for the club as well. As for Darkwa, he has spent time on both the Dolphins’ active roster and practice squad this season after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent out of Tulane.

The Giants also updated their practice squad, announcing the release of safety Kyle Sebetic, which was first reported yesterday. Cornerback Josh Victorian, who worked out for the team this week, has been added to the unit to fill the 10th and final slot.

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