NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Free agent defensive end Jadeveon Clowney visited Baltimore on Tuesday. He left without signing a deal with the Ravens, but Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reports that the Ravens have presented Clowney with a contract.

Anderson adds that Clowney is taking some time “to think it through.”

He has signed four consecutive one-year contracts that averaged almost $10 million a season, but he didn’t sign his one-year, $12.25 million deal with the Titans until Sept. 6, 2020.

He isn’t likely to get anything close to that this season as he has had no interest until now.

Clowney, 30, totaled only 14 sacks and 42 quarterback hits the past four seasons combined, while missing 19 games.

Clowney’s 2022 season ended unceremoniously when he was sent home from practice on the Friday before the season finale and told not to return. It came after he harshly criticized the organization, the coaching staff and teammate Myles Garrett in an explosive interview.

Since the Texans made him the No. 1 overall pick in 2014, Clowney has spent five years in Houston, one in Seattle, one in Tennessee and two in Cleveland. He has $81.8 million in career earnings but has never had a double-digit sack season while averaging five sacks a season.

He made three Pro Bowls with the Texans, the last coming in 2018.

PFT

 

Browns signed DT Shelby Harris, formerly of the Seahawks, to a contract.

Harris visited with the Browns in late July and is now set to join the team. The veteran DT spent last season with the Seahawks, starting 15 games while totaling 44 tackles, five TFLs, and two sacks. The soon-to-be 32-year-old has started every game he’s appeared in since 2019 and brings plenty of experience to a Browns defense that hopes to improve on last year’s eighth-worst run-stopping unit.

 

Steelers Depot’s Alex Koroza believes TE Darnell Washington will be a “big-time red zone weapon” as a rookie.

Koroza noted that Washington hadn’t seen the ball much in camp, but when he had, it was in the red zone. He expects similar usage for the rookie in the regular season. Koroza counted eight receptions for Washington in 11-on-11 drills, four of which were touchdowns. That all checks out for the hulking rookie. He was used extensively on play-action and as a blocker at Georgia but was firmly stuck behind future first-round pick Brock Bowers on the depth chart. Washington isn’t on the redraft radar, though he could emerge as a touchdown vulture to the Steelers players fantasy managers are currently drafting.

 

Chargers waiting for word on Joshua Palmer injury

The Chargers are waiting for word about the severity of an injury wide receiver Joshua Palmer suffered in practice on Thursday.

Chargers head coach Brandon Staley told reporters that Palmer was injured after going to the ground while making a touchdown catch — which made its way to the team’s social media feed — during 7-on-7 drills. Palmer then went inside the team’s medical tent and Staley said they expected to know more after further evaluation.

Palmer had a team-high 72 catches for 769 yards and three touchdowns last year.

A serious injury would hurt Palmer’s chances of matching those numbers. The arrival of first-round pick Quentin Johnson along with healthy seasons for Keenan Allen and Mike Williams could have the same effect.

NBC

 

George Kittle has adductor injury, Ray-Ray McCloud broke his wrist

The 49ers are dealing with some injury issues in their receiving corps right now.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Thursday that tight end George Kittle has an adductor strain and wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud broke his wrist. Kittle is expected to miss a week, but McCloud’s absence will be longer.

McCloud needs surgery and is expected to miss about eight weeks, so he won’t be available until the regular season is underway. The 49ers will have to carry him on the active roster through final cuts because putting him on injured reserve now would close the door on having him return later in the year. He would be able to return after four games if he is put on injured reserve after the cut to 53 players.

In addition to playing wideout, McCloud is also the team’s leading kickoff and punt returner. Seventh-round pick Ronnie Bell could be an option to take on those roles.

Shanahan also said that linebacker Dre Greenlaw didn’t finish practice because of a hamstring injury. Defensive end Drake Jackson is dealing with a hamstring injury as well.

PFT

 

Thursday night's preseason opener for the Houston Texans and New England Patriots is more important than the average preseason game.

The Texans will start rookies C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr., selected second and third overall in the 2023 draft, respectively. Houston is in rebuild mode but can't afford to remain at rock bottom this season. The team traded its 2024 first-round pick to the Cardinals to move up to draft Anderson Jr. third overall.

Thursday will be the first glimpse of whether the Texans' big gamble will come back to haunt them or not.

For the Patriots, perhaps their best opportunity at exceeding expectations and competing for a playoff spot is with their rookie class having a big year. Head coach Bill Belichick said earlier this week that he'll primarily play his young guys who lack NFL experience in the preseason opener.

That means multiple rookies including wide receivers Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas, defensive end Keion White, linebacker Marte Mapu and cornerback Christian Gonzalez should expect significant playing time. No one will win a starting role in Week 1 of the preseason, but Thursday's game is a crucial litmus test to see where New England's rookie class stands a month before the regular season begins.

Boutte, drafted in the sixth round (187th overall), had the play of the day at Patriots training camp on Monday, per NBC Sports Boston. The following day, Douglas, also selected in the sixth round (210th overall) showed off his speed and route running by breaking free from defensive back Myles Bryant.

Gonzalez, Mapu and White were New England's first three picks and are exciting players to watch at each level of the Patriots defense. Rookie quarterback Malik Cunningham should play as well with starting quarterback Mac Jones unlikely to suit up for the game. Jones sat out last year's preseason opener against the New York Giants.

Cunningham has great athleticism, which could make him an intriguing addition to the New England offense as a wildcat quarterback, similar to how New Orleans uses Taysom Hill.

The Patriots are in arguably the toughest division in football, with the Bills, Dolphins and Jets all capable of making postseason runs. The AFC is also stacked with last year's Super Bowl champion, the Chiefs, as well as the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens, all teams built to make the playoffs this season.

New England was 8-9 last year and made some minor moves in free agency, including signing wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster and tight end Mike Gesicki.

Those moves aren't enough for the Patriots to return to the postseason for the first time since 2020. New England's rookies need to impress early for the team to have a legitimate chance in the AFC.

YARDBARKER

 

Tank Dell sure had a good half. 5 / 65 and a TD

 

With Josh Jacobs still absent, Raiders signing veteran RB Damien Williams

The Raiders still haven't found a solution for their Josh Jacobs problem. On Friday, they made a move to add some insurance at the position.

Las Vegas is signing veteran running back Damien Williams, his agent announced via social media.

Williams' career has never quite popped in a traditional box score, with 498 yards standing as his career-high mark in a single season (2019 in Kansas City). But Williams made his name when it mattered most in that campaign, gaining 290 total yards and scoring six total touchdowns in the 2019 postseason, including a 17-carry, 104-yard performance in Super Bowl LIV that saw Williams score the final two touchdowns in the Chiefs' thrilling win over the 49ers.

Since then, Williams has made two stops with NFC teams, spending 2021 with Chicago and 2022 with Atlanta. He saw just 42 carries combined in those two seasons but has managed to find a job at 31 years old with the Raiders, who are looking for experienced help at running back while Jacobs remains away due to a contract dispute.

Las Vegas placed the franchise tag on Jacobs after the Alabama product posted a career year in 2022, leading the NFL in rushing (1,653 yards) and tying a career-high mark with 12 rushing scores. Jacobs almost singlehandedly kept the Raiders' offense afloat last season, but with the value of running backs continuing to drop on the open market, Las Vegas declined to sign Jacobs to a long-term deal, instead securing team control of him for 2023 with the tag.

Jacobs has not signed the tag and remained away from the team throughout the offseason, and Williams' signing suggests the Raiders aren't close to bridging the existing gap with Jacobs. Zamir White, Ameer Abdullah and Brandon Bolden are among those on the roster at the moment, and the addition of Williams gives the Raiders another option to consider in Jacobs' absence.

Whether that produces a resolution regarding Jacobs remains to be seen.

NFL.com

 

Reporters at the Raiders practice just reported that DeVante Adams went down a bit ago. He was seen limping off the field, fitted with a sleeve of some kind (right leg) and headed into the locker room... no other details at the moment. So, no Jacobs around, Adams is a question mark... Raiders possible implosion is looming.

 

Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said Davante Adams’ leg injury isn’t “crazy serious.”
This isn’t the most comforting quote from McDaniels, but it looks like Adams will be okay after going down early in Friday’s practice before limping off the field. The Athletic’s Tashan Reed later added that, per a league source, the injury is minor. Adams’ injury will be worth monitoring over the next week or two, but fantasy managers can breathe a sigh of relief for now.

 

Fridays scores...

 

Saturdays Schedule...

 

I'd say Atlanta's game with Miami was LESS important than the average preseason game. The teams had two joint practice sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday and had referees on hand even for the one-on-one drills. Apparently both coaches used those practices as the competitive work for the starters and top backups and decided to leave the actual game for evaluating the reserves. If you know the player's name, it's pretty certain that he wasn't on the field. Atlanta had potential QB3 Logan Woodside play the entire game, while Miami used it for competition between backups Mike White and Skylar Thompson.

Don't bother watching the replay on NFL-N except for the last 5 minutes or so of the fourth quarter. Mop-up time in preseason is nearly always a waste of time, but it this case it's the only interesting part of the game. Miami has the ball and trails 6-3. Up to that point it wasn't as exciting as that score would suggest, though it was still less painful to watch than some of last year's Amazon Prime snooze fests.

The Dolphins drive fails, and they punt. Former CFL defensive back Dee Alford returns the punt 79 yards for a touchdown. The Falcons followed that with a pick-six and a strip sack. (They gave last year's second rounder Arnold Ebiketie a cameo appearance against Miami's garbage time offensive line. He simply took the ball away from Skylar Thompson as they fell to the ground.)

So... three last-chance Miami drives turn into two instant Atlanta touchdowns plus another turnover, and out of nowhere a 6-3 snoozer with a chance for the home team to steal the win at the end suddenly becomes a beatdown. Four or five guys on the fringe of each roster made pretty strong cases for keeping them around, but... who cares.

On to next week, when we'll actually see the starters for a snap or two.

 

Fields line - 3/3 129, 2 TD's Not bad at all.

 

Damar Hamlin’s stunning comeback has officially taken its next step.

Hamlin on Saturday participated in his first game action since suffering an on-field cardiac arrest in early January.

The third-year safety has taken the field against the Colts in Buffalo’s 2023 preseason opener. It’s the latest development in a progression that saw him cleared to practice, to practice in pads, and now to play in a game.

So far on Saturday, Hamlin contributed to the making of a stop on fourth and short.

In Buffalo’s first unofficial depth chart (which has yet to make its way to the team’s official website), Hamlin is listed as co-second-stringer with Cam Lewis, behind starter Micah Hyde.

The possibility lingers that Hamlin will be determined to be not one of the best 53 players on the team. That would force the Bills to potentially make what likely would be a hugely unpopular move, cutting Hamlin.

NBC

 

Saturdays Update...