Will Davis

AFC Notes: Mohamed, Steelers, Davis, Pats

The Texans placed linebacker Mike Mohamed on injured reserve this week, despite the fact that he says he has almost recovered from his calf injury. Mohamed tells Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle that he’ll talk to his agent, Ken Landphere, to determine what happens now — they may pursue an injury settlement with Houston, allowing the linebacker to reach free agency.

“I want to play this season,” Mohamed said. “It won’t be here, but I want to play somewhere and get back on the field. I’m almost back from the injury, so it’s kind of frustrating to go on injured reserve, but I understand that they didn’t feel like they could wait.”

While the Texans would like to bring back Mohamed when he’s healthy, an injury settlement prevents a player from re-signing with his old team for at least six weeks. During that time, Mohamed is a good bet to find a new job with another team.

Here’s more from across the AFC:

  • After missing a pair of field goals in the Steelers‘ loss last night, Josh Scobee has now missed four field goals and an extra point through four games with his new team. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggests that finding someone who can convert kicks on a consistent basis should be a top priority for Pittsburgh moving forward. Meanwhile, longtime Steelers kicker Jeff Reed, who hasn’t played an NFL game since 2010, still wants to make a comeback and says he’d love a shot to try out for Pittsburgh (link via CBS Pittsburgh).
  • Less than two weeks into his stint with the Ravens, cornerback Will Davis already looks better than he ever did with the Dolphins, writes Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. As Salguero outlines, it’s the latest case of a player becoming more productive with a new team after leaving Miami, a worrisome trend for the Dolphins.
  • The Patriots have been active on the trade market during the last few weeks, and acquired two more defensive players this week. With the November 3 trade deadline just over a month away, Andy Hart at CSNNE.com wonders if Bill Belichick will look to land some help at cornerback as well.

Ravens Acquire CB Will Davis From Dolphins

3:41pm: It’s a 2016 seventh-round pick going from the Ravens to the Dolphins, according to Baltimore (on Twitter).

3:19pm: The Ravens have acquired cornerback Will Davis from the Dolphins, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). The Dolphins have been shopping Davis all month long and it appears that they have finally found a taker.

Davis, a 2013 third-round pick, was placed on IR in November of 2014 after tearing his ACL. Up until that point, he had only been playing on slightly more than 20% of Miami’s defensive snaps. Coming into this summer, Davis told reporters, including Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, that he was feeling pretty strong, albeit not at 100%. The fact that Davis found his way back to the practice field at all in June was impressive since an ACL tear typically requires a nine-to-12 month layoff.

Some speculated that Davis could put himself in the mix for the starting cornerback job opposite of Brent Grimes, but things did not pan out that way. Instead, Davis found himself on Miami’s roster bubble. The Dolphins didn’t get a massive return here, but they did get something for their former third round choice rather than nothing.

Dolphins Shopping Will Davis

In advance of this week’s cutdown to 53 players, the Dolphins are calling around and offering players who aren’t in their plans to other teams, writes Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. According to Salguero, one of the players on the Dolphins’ trade block is cornerback Will Davis, who is being shopped by the club.

Davis, a 2013 third-round pick, was placed on IR in November of 2014 after tearing his ACL. Up until that point, he had only been playing on slightly more than 20% of Miami’s defensive snaps. Coming into this summer, Davis told reporters, including Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, that he was feeling pretty strong, albeit not at 100%. The fact that Davis found his way back to the practice field at all in June was impressive since an ACL tear typically requires a nine-to-12 month layoff.

Some speculated that Davis could put himself in the mix for the starting cornerback job opposite of Brent Grimes, but things did not pan out that way. As it stands, Davis is on Miami’s roster bubble and ostensibly teetering towards getting bumped off the team. The Dolphins are now going to find out if they can get something for their former third round choice rather than releasing him outright.

Minor Moves: Saturday

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

  • Running back Cierre Wood, who signed with the Seahawks‘ practice squad earlier this week, was let go by the team today, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (via Twitter).

Earlier updates:

  • With tight end Brandon Bostick ruled out for tomorrow’s game against the Eagles, the Packers have promoted Justin Perillo from their practice squad to the active roster, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter). To make room for the incoming tight end, the club has released offensive lineman Jamon Meredith.
  • The Dolphins have placed cornerback Will Davis on injured reserve after he tore his ACL during Sunday’s game, the team announced on Twitter. Davis, a 2013 third-round pick, had been playing on slightly more than 20% of Miami’s defensive snaps. To fill his roster spot, the club has signed CB Jalil Brown, who spent training camp with the Dolphins.

AFC East Notes: Will Davis, Marrone, Jets

Earlier today, we learned that Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin suffered a fractured ankle during last night’s loss in Miami, but McKelvin wasn’t the only player to sustain a significant injury during the game. Here’s the latest out of the AFC East, including an update on a Dolphin whose 2014 season is over:

  • As first reported by James Walker of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Dolphins cornerback Will Davis tore his ACL against the Bills, and will be sidelined for the rest of the season. Davis hadn’t seen the field much on defense in recent weeks, but the team will miss his contributions on special teams.
  • Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin confirmed to reporters, including Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter link), that Davis will be placed on injured reserve soon. However, the club isn’t overly concerned about its depth at cornerback and will evaluate over the weekend whether to add a corner to replace Davis or use the newly-available roster spot to bolster another position (Twitter link via Walker).
  • As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk details, Bills head coach Doug Marrone doesn’t feel as if he’s coaching for his job. Still, having taken over as the Bills’ owners earlier this season, Terry Pegula and Kim Pegula will likely be keeping a close eye on Marrone’s performance the rest of the way, with changes possible at year’s end.
  • While it’s too early to call the Jets‘ 2014 draft a bust, the early returns on the 12 players selected by the team haven’t been great, writes Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com.

AFC Notes: Louis, Dareus, Thomas, Taylor

With Donald Thomas injured, Lance Louis, who hasn’t played since November 2012 because of a torn ACL injury, is working as the Colts’ first-team left guard, shares ESPN’s Mike Wells. Louis appeared to be an emerging talent in 2012 when he started the first 11 games for the Bears, and Colts GM Ryan Grigson took notice: “I was sitting watching the Bears (on tape) with Tom Telesco when we were preparing for them. I look at the tape and I said, ‘Who’s No. 60?’ I look him up in the system and the guy ran a 4.72 (40-yard dash) at 309 (pounds) coming out of San Diego State. He was faster than some of the receivers who are going to go in the second round this year. So, we’re watching that and we’re thinking, in free agency, this guy is going to break the bank because he’s the best player on their line. He gets his knee blown out and things change. We stayed on him all (last) year and the knee’s fine now and we have him here for two years. Hopefully he gets back to that level of play where he’s a good starter. He’s a guy who is completely off the radar who we’re optimistic about.”

Here’s more from around the AFC:

  • A pair of off-season arrests for Bills defensive lineman Marcell Dareus has thrown his long-term stability into question, prompting Adam Schein of SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio (highlighted on the web by Pro Football Talk) to ask head coach Doug Marrone if Dareus “gets it.” The coach’s response? “That’s a good question.”
  • Steelers 6-4, 330-pound defensive lineman Cam Thomas, who signed a two-year, $4MM deal in March, is working at nose tackle and five-technique, writes Mark Kaboly of Triblive.com.
  • Dolphins cornerback Jamar Taylor, a 2013 second-rounder, played just 40 snaps as a rookie after a pre-draft kidney ailment and subsequent sports hernia affected him. He’s healthy now and competing with Cortland Finnegan and Will Davis for available playing time between the No. 2 corner and nickel back jobs, writes ESPN’s James Walker, who also notes the Dolphins got just 1,126 snaps by their rookies last year, third-fewest in the league.
  • It was a tale of two seasons for Chiefs cornerback Marcus Cooper in 2013, writes ESPN’s Adam Teicher, who identifies Cooper as a young player who must improve. A seventh-rounder claimed on waivers, Cooper immediately “looked like he belonged,” earned the third cornerback job and “played better than either of the two starters for the first half of the season,” according to Teicher. However, Cooper’s play deteriorated during the second half of the season and he was demoted. At 6-2, 192 pounds, Cooper has the dimensions and physical tools the Chiefs desire, but the team needs more consistency out of him.
  • Because of free-agent departures, there’s competition for jobs up and down the Chiefs roster, details AP writer Dave Skretta.
  • MarQueis Gray, an undrafted college quarterback out of Minnesota, converted to tight end and stuck with the Browns last season, appearing in 12 games (two starts). The team is again tapping into his versatility, this time trying him at fullback, according to George M. Thomas in the Beacon Journal.

Extra Points: Dolphins, Olson, Jets

The Dolphins selected four players in the first three rounds of the 2013 NFL Draft. The rookies had underwhelming seasons to say the least, and the Sun Sentinel’s Chris Perkins takes a look at the group. Third-overall pick Dion Jordan contributed mostly as a third-down pass rusher in a season riddled by injuries. Cornerback Jamar Taylor and guard Dallas Thomas also suffered through injures while cornerback Will Davis struggled to crack the defensive back rotation.

In spite of the player’s issues, the sophomores are confident they will rebound.

I feel like it was a learning experience for all of us,” said Taylor. “We all came here on our high horse and we got humbled real quick… There’s no doubt in my mind the Dolphins drafted the right players last year.

I’ve got high expectations on myself. I can’t really worry about what everybody else thinks. As long as I get the respect of my teammates and the coaches and myself, and just prove myself right, that I know I can do it, that’s all I worry about.”

Thomas is now the team’s starting left guard, but as Perkins points out, none of the other players are starters. It will be difficult for Jordan, Taylor and Davis to dethrone the veterans ahead of them on the depth chart.

Let’s see what else is going on around the NFL…