NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was the team’s only offensive starter not to play against the Bills in Saturday’s preseason game and he isn’t expected to be on the field for any of their other exhibition matchups this summer.

That was the message from head coach Frank Reich after Saturday’s game. Taylor is set to work against the Lions in joint practices this week and the coach said he and General Manager Chris Ballard believe that will be enough to get ready for the regular season.


“Yeah, that’s likely the case. That’s really what Chris and I talked about. I can’t see that changing for any reason,” Reich said, via Kevin Hickey of USAToday.com. “We’ll get good work this week against the Lions, he’ll get to see a different defensive scheme and players. We’ll thud that up a little bit. So, he’ll get some work there and I think that’ll be enough to get him ready.”

Taylor led the NFL in carries last season and he’ll be in line for the same kind of workload this season, so it’s easy to see why the Colts don’t feel the need to see him work in games that don’t count in the standings.

PFT

 

Why take a chance of injury with Taylor in games that don’t count?

 

The other thought is that for a joint practice they might still be wearing the nerf hats over the helmets. So if you're going for just one appearance with contact, the joint practice might be a little safer while also giving better opportunities to control the types of touches he has without bothering with things like down and distance.

Some teams make a bigger deal than others about going through the whole pre-game schedule (certain amounts of stretching, etc) just to get the routine ingrained before the regular season. But he can still do all that stuff if they care about having him participate in it.

 

Eagles trade J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to Seahawks for DB Ugo Amadi

The J.J. Arcega-Whiteside era is over in Philadelphia.

NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Monday that the Eagles have traded the receiver to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for nickel corner Ugo Amadi, per sources informed of the situation. The Eagles have since announced the trade.

A second-round pick out of Stanford in 2019, Arcega-Whiteside struggled to gain traction during three seasons in Philly. As a rookie, he caught 10 passes for 169 yards and one score in 16 games. In 2020, he snagged four passes in eight games for 85 yards. And in 2021, he netted just two receptions for 36 yards in 16 games played.

The Eagles drafted JJAW believing the big-bodied receiver could be a red-zone weapon. However, that hope quickly fizzled as the wideout struggled to gain any separation from DBs and didn't win in traffic.

With Philly revamping its receiver corps, Arcega-Whiteside was on his way out. The 6-foot-2 WR even added 12 pounds and moved to tight end this offseason in an effort to make the roster. No dice.

He'll try his luck in Seattle, competing for a roster spot. Pelissero noted that the Seahawks plan to move him back to wide receiver. A fresh start could be what the doctor ordered for JJAW. With the Seahawks dealing with injuries at receiver, importing Arcega-Whiteside could help with depth if he gets up to speed quickly.

Amadi mostly played nickel in three seasons in Seattle after being drafted in the fourth round in 2019. He brings starting experience to Philly, having made 12 starts in 47 games, netting one interception and 54 tackles in 2021.

Earlier in the day, reports out of Seattle indicated the Seahawks planned to cut Amadi.


Instead, we get a swap of players who wouldn't likely make the final rosters in their respective cities. Now Arcega-Whiteside and Amadi have a fresh chance to make a squad before rosters are set.

NFL.com

 

Texans' Lovie Smith: Rookie RB Dameon Pierce 'definitely caught my eye'

The great Chris Wesseling used to remind me every preseason: We look for standout traits, not team results.

The point was simple. Analyzing teams in preseason action is folly. With clubs not scheming versus opponents and most veterans rarely playing much, if at all, we won't get a good gauge of how a team will truly function. But every year, a few players, particularly rookies, stick out like a sore thumb as they run with backups.

Last year, it was Denver's Javonte Williams who flashed in exhibition action, foreshadowing his ability as a tackle-breaking maven.

Through the first week of preseason action, the player who stood out for me was Houston Texans rookie running back Dameon Pierce.

Entering the game with the backups Saturday against New Orleans, Pierce shined from his first carry, sticking his foot in the ground, cutting it up and dashing for a 20-yard gain. On five carries, the rookie earned 49 yards (9.8 YPC), displaying burst through the hole, excellent balance and vision and power through tackles.

"Dameon Pierce definitely caught my eye and everybody's eye that was watching him," coach Lovie Smith said after the game, via the team's transcript. "And that's what we've seen in training camp also. He's a good football player."

Pierce has generated hype during Texans camp and has the potential to push starter Marlon Mack for reps if he continues to shine.


"I think (Pierce) ran the ball extremely well tonight," quarterback Davis Mills said. "His average was over nine yards or something, per carry. If he can keep doing things like that, it will open up our offense in a big way."

At Florida, Pierce wasn't a featured back, netting just 206 carries in his final two college seasons, but was used heavily in the red zone, earning 13 rushing TDs in 2021. There are still aspects of his game the rookie will need to improve, including receiving -- a hot pass from Jeff Driskel caromed off his hands for an INT Saturday. But as far as being a pure runner, Pierce owns the talent to make noise in his first season.

"I think it's a little early. It will work itself out," Smith said when asked about Pierce pushing for starting reps. "Every time you go out and you practice a play, they tell you something. We're in no big hurry. It's a while before Indy gets here. Dameon has been impressive in practice. And we expected him to come tonight and do some of the things that he did. We'll just keep fighting through. Next week, another guy may have a good game. But it's safe to say that we like Dameon for sure."

NFL.com

 

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson calls George Pickens a ‘freak of nature’



After practice on Monday, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson spoke to the media and he was asked about his teammate George Pickens. Pickens has takend the NFL world by stomp and the bandwagon filled up quickly. Even Johnson has been impressed by the rookie’s playmaking.

“He’s a freak,” Johnson said. “That’s a special talent, you can’t teach some of the things he does. I just be watching like, man, I be amazed at how he catches the ball sometimes. He’s young. He’s getting better on the daily.”

Pickens has impressed everyone with the ridiculous amount of big plays and ridiculous catches he has made. Pickens really took advantage of all those extra snaps while Johnson was doing his hold-in while he waited on his new contract.

If the Steelers offensive line can improve in pass protection, the trio of Johnson, Pickens and Chase Claypool should be as hard to defend as and three receivers in the NFL.

STEELERS WIRE

 

Report: Dawson Deaton tore his ACL in Monday’s practice

The Browns are hurting at center.

They lost starting center Nick Harris to a season-ending injury on the second play of the preseason opener. Three days later, rookie center Dawson Deaton was carted off the practice field with a knee injury.

An MRI confirmed Deaton tore an anterior cruciate ligament, Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports.

The Browns, who are replacing JC Tretter, still have Ethan Pocic and Brock Hoffman at the position with Pocic expected to start.

Cleveland drafted Deaton in the seventh round out of Texas Tech. He started 35 games for the Red Raiders in his college career.

YAHOO
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Tough breaks for the Browns continue...

 

Ravens activate CB Marcus Peters, S Ar’Darius Washington off of PUP list

The Baltimore Ravens went through a plethora of injuries during the 2021 season. While they started 8-3 through their first 11 games, their injuries caught up to them en route to suffering through a six-game losing streak to end the year.

Two of the players that Baltimore lost were cornerback Marcus Peters and defensive back Ar’Darius Washington. Peters tore his ACL right before the year began, which was a crushing blow to the Ravens’ secondary. Washington on the other hand broke his foot in a mid-season practice, which caused him to miss the rest of the year.

On Monday, Baltimore received multiple pieces of good news, as Peters and Washington were activated from the physically unable to perform list and took the field for practice for the first time this offseason.

The Ravens’ secondary struggled mightily in 2021, registering bottom-five finishes in multiple different categories. The team also finished tied for 29th in turnovers on the year, something that having a player like Peters would have helped with tremendously. Both Peters and Washington will likely be eased back into action, but the fact that they were able to return to the field is a great sign for their availability in Week 1.

RAVENS WIRE

 

Separation begins in Chargers’ running back competition



Through the first 13 practices of Chargers training camp, the needle was hardly moved in the competition for the second running back spot between Joshua Kelley, rookie Isaiah Spiller, and Larry Rountree.

However, as live tackling became permitted when the Bolts met the Rams in the preseason opener last Saturday night, there was finally some separation in the positional battle.

Kelley received the start and looked like a completely revamped player. He was confident, decisive, and explosive in his carries and comfortable in the passing game as a receiver and blocker. The third-year player finished with 16 yards on three carries and 28 yards on three catches.

“Josh has done what he’s done throughout camp,” Staley said, “which is just be really steady and strong.”

Spiller, on the other hand, showed great vision and power – finding small creases and running through them. Like, Kelley, Spiller was also a factor as a receiver. He ran for 34 yards on ten carries and caught one pass for 10 yards.

“Isaiah had a couple good runs in traffic, where it was crowded,” Staley said. “He moved the pile.”

As for Rountree, he had three rushes for 8 yards and did not have a catch.

“It was good to play all of them and it was good to play all of them on special teams,” Staley added.

Kelley, Spiller and Rountree will have the joint practices with the Cowboys this week and the remaining preseason games against Dallas and the Saints to make their cases to the coaching staff.

CHARGERS WIRE

 

Patriots lose Malcolm Butler for season



Malcolm Butler‘s comeback season in New England was short-lived.

Butler, the veteran cornerback who signed with the Patriots in March, was placed on season-ending injured reserve today. It’s unclear specifically what kind of injury Butler suffered, but he hasn’t practiced since last week’s preseason opener.


The 32-year-old Butler spent his first four NFL seasons with the Patriots, and he had the game-winning interception in Super Bowl XLIX. But his last game in New England, a bizarre benching in Super Bowl LII, was a career lowlight, the reasons for which have still never been fully explained.

After that game Butler played three seasons with the Titans, and then last year he signed with the Cardinals only to announce his retirement at the end of the preseason. Early this year Butler said he wanted to play again and the Cardinals released him from the reserve/retired list, making him a free agent.

The Patriots also placed Joejuan Williams on injured reserve, meaning they’ve lost two cornerbacks for the season today.

PFT

 

Chargers, Derwin James agree to new contract



The Chargers were always confident that safety Derwin James would be ready to get to work in time for the season, and with good reason: James has now agreed to a new contract.

James, who was declining to participate in practice while he negotiated a new deal, has agreed with the Chargers on a contract that will make him the NFL’s highest-paid safety, according to multiple reports.


The Chargers selected James with the 17th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, and he’s been a first-team All-Pro twice, first as a rookie and then last season. He also missed most of the 2019 season and all of the 2020 season with injuries, which has to be a concern, but for the Chargers it’s not a big enough concern to keep them from getting a deal done.

James was slated to make $9.05 million this year on the fifth and final season of his rookie contract. He’ll make much more than that this year, and the Chargers see him as a big part of their defense for many years to come.

PFT

 

The Chiefs have offered an update on wide receiver Mecole Hardman after he left Wednesday’s practice on a cart after landing awkwardly while trying to catch a pass.

According to the team, Hardman suffered a groin injury. Hardman was able to walk off the field on his own power before taking the cart to the back, but the did not offer any word on how serious the injury may be or how long Hardman might be off the field.


The wideout was not the only Chiefs starter to leave with an injury on Wednesday. Defensive tackle Chris Jones also made an early exit and the team announced that he’s dealing with a sore back.

Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) and running back Jerick McKinnon (hamstring) did not practice at all for the Chiefs Wednesday, so there’s likely to be a lot of hope for better injury news in the days to come in Kansas City.

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Joint practices between the Panthers and Patriots have not gone smoothly this week.

Fights have peppered both sessions, with multiple players being ejected the past two days. On Wednesday, the conflict sprang up once more when Panthers safety Kenny Robinson flattened Patriots returner Kristian Wilkerson in what was supposed to be a "thud" (not full contact) drill. Robinson stood over Wilkerson, who was in visible distress, NFL Network's Mike Giardi reported, sparking a fracas.

That wasn't the last of it. Another scuffle broke out when Christian McCaffrey -- the Panthers' star running back who has missed most of the last two seasons due to injury -- was knocked down and visibly angered, enough to engage what was essentially the entire Patriots defense. During that fracas, a fan was clipped by a helmet. She was later deemed to be OK and received free tickets to an upcoming game, per Giardi.

Each time a scuffle breaks out, practice is interrupted, robbing the two teams of valuable time to improve through competition. Robinson was kicked out of Wednesday's practice, his second straight ejection in as many days, and running back Chuba Hubbard was also tossed.

Panthers coach Matt Rhule is entering a pivotal third season and knows his team can't afford to waste time, so he was understandably upset about the nearly half-dozen nonsensical fights that have broken out over the last two days.

"It's just unfortunate that a day of so much good football -- and I know a lot of it will be about what happened -- the decision of one or two guys impacts a lot of different people," Rhule said. "No. 1: My thoughts are with the woman that was hurt over there, hoping that she's OK. ... And obviously we sent Kenny [Robinson] off the field.

"I didn't really see the hit, but I did see him standing over the player. That's not how we want to practice. Things happen in football, there were some good, clean hits. But we don't stand over somebody and taunt them. It can affect their livelihood, so we sent him off. The officials sent Chuba [Hubbard] off, I don't know what Chuba did, but the officials sent Chuba off, said he threw a punch."


News of Tuesday's collection of fights seemed to indicate there was more fighting than practicing. When Wednesday's practice began and more fights followed, it started to feel as if the entire exercise was a lost cause.

Rhule's comments appear to reject that belief. Still, ask anyone on either side and they'll respond with two facts: scuffles are part of camp, but they don't help anyone.

"It's definitely something we don't want," Patriots corner Jalen Mills said, via the Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan. "It's not competitive football."

They might also cost Robinson his job. Rhule didn't rule out cutting the safety after the two fights.

"Two days now that practice was affected by a guy," Rhule said. "We'll have to talk about it."

The two sides face off this Friday in preseason action. We'll see if they've worked out their differences by then.

NFL.com
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This is why im not a fan of 'joint practices'. Too much bullshit and how in the world can you work on new plays without secrecy? Can em!

 

Normally I'm in favor of joint practices because of the reduced practice schedule. Teams have fewer practices now than they did under the 2006 CBA along with fewer padded practices and the elimination of most of the extra "walk through" sessions. Most teams used to have a full scrimmage the week before the first preseason game. (Atlanta held theirs at local high schools, calling it "Friday Night Lights".) But you can't do that anymore because practices can't be that long.

But... things also don't normally get this ugly. My understanding is that Wilkerson and Robinson got into it in the first practice, and there was apparently some bad blood remaining. So Robinson decided to be a total punk and nail Wilkerson - and then stand over him, as taunting after you take a cheap shot on a guy obviously makes you the baddest m..f.. on the field.

I'd love it if Rhule made a statement by releasing his ass before the game - or perhaps benching him and then releasing him in the next roster cuts. Quick recap on Robinson... was ejected from a bowl game for targeting. Was kicked out of West Virginia for academic fraud. His best performances as a pro were in the XFL. Panthers wasted a 5th round pick on him in 2020. He spent 2020 and 2021 bouncing between being a special teams player and the practice squad. He played defense in one game in 2021. His receiver was targeted five times. All five were receptions, for 83 yards - that's 16.6 yards allowed per pass attempt and a 158.3 QB rating.

So he's probably on the ropes, with UDFA rookies likely to outperform him on the field. And his way of upping his game is to disrupt practice two days in a row with that nonsense.

Keep the joint practice, but can his ass.

 

The latest from Atlanta... the Falcons have released nobody (undrafted rookie WR Tyshaun James, an example of "looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane") and signed almost nobody (WR KeeSean Johnson, backup for Arizona 2019-2020, practice squad for Eagles last year, training camp with 49'ers this year but already released) to replace him.

Nothing to see here. These aren't the droids we're looking for. Move along...

 

Report: Rookie Drew Ogletree will miss the season with a torn ACL



Colts rookie tight end Drew Ogletree injured his knee in Wednesday’s practice, and coach Frank Reich expressed pessimism about the extent of the injury afterward. An MRI confirmed the bad news.

Ogletree tore an anterior cruciate ligament, ending his season, NFL Media reports.


“We’ll wait and see what the docs say,” Reich said. “It didn’t look good. Tough, tough guy, though. Just going up to him, he’s wanting to get himself off the sideline so the team can play. That’s a guy we want. We’re hoping for the best, but it looked like a pretty significant knee injury.”

The Colts selected Ogletree in the sixth round out of Youngstown State, and he made one catch for 5 yards in the preseason opener.

Mo Alie-Cox, Kylen Granson and third-rounder Jelani Woods are atop the depth chart at the position in Indianapolis.

PFT

 

The NFL doesnt like ACL's... lot going down this season.

 

Cowboys nickel cornerback Jourdan Lewis injured his hamstring late in Wednesday’s joint practice with the Chargers, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports. Lewis will undergo an MRI on Thursday.

Although he could miss the rest of the preseason, Lewis expressed optimism he can return in time for the Sept. 11 season opener.


“I should be back for the first game,” Lewis said, via Gehlken.

The Cowboys moved Anthony Brown into the slot last year when Lewis missed a game with COVID-19, and Kelvin Joseph played left corner. The team also has rookie DaRon Bland to play the nickel spot.

Lewis started 13 of 16 games played in 2021 and made a career-high three interceptions, a career-high 11 pass breakups and 1.5 sacks.

PFT

 

Romeo Doubs: Aaron Rodgers just wants us to see what he sees



When Aaron Rodgers speaks, people in Green Bay listen and that was the case with the quarterback’s comments about the team’s young receivers this week.

Rodgers said those players have to be much more consistent when it comes to things like route running if they are going to be successful this season. That resulted in a Wednesday morning meeting featuring Rodgers, the team’s other quarterbacks, the wide receivers, and members of the offensive coaching staff.


Seventh-round pick Samori Toure said it was “just really giving us advice” from Rodgers and veteran wideouts about what the team is looking for at the position. Fourth-round pick Romeo Doubs said that getting on the same page as Rodgers was the key bit of business.

“Aaron spoke to us about what he likes or what not just based on concepts or what he sees. . . . He just wants us to see what he sees,” Doubs said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. “So then that way we can be able to react faster, play faster and just be able to dominate and continue to be who we are.”

Some of this work could have gone on during the offseason program, but Rodgers didn’t take part in the voluntary sessions and that left the bulk of the heavy lifting for the summer. It will continue for the next few weeks before the Packers hit the field in Minnesota on September 11.

PFT

 

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