Category: Irish in NFL

Social media reacts to Ian Book’s 2023 preseason debut with Eagles

Hope he gets another chance to win people over.

Former Notre Dame quarterback [autotag]Ian Book[/autotag] has one NFL regular-season game to his name with the New Orleans Saints in 2021. The Saints cut Book last season but immediately was claimed by the Philadelphia Eagles. However, he did not see the field with them. He hopes that will change in 2023, but he’s got a long way to go to win the Eagles’ fan base over after his preseason debut against the Baltimore Ravens.

The most notable moment of Book’s night was when the Ravens’ Daryl Worley sacked him for a 21-yard loss. His passing wasn’t any better as he completed only one of four attempts for 11 yards. Even though he only played in the fourth quarter, it was more than Eagles fans needed to see to judge his performance.

Social media was ripe with criticism for Book in a way only Eagles fans could dish out. Hopefully, he can use this as motivation assuming he gets another chance:

Notre Dame great retires from NFL

Tip of the cap to Tuitt for a fantastic football career

Notre Dame has had very few players as impactful as [autotag]Stephon Tuitt[/autotag] over the last couple of decades and it was no surprise when he turned into a second round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2014.

On Wednesday Tuitt announced his retirement from the NFL.

Tuitt played in 91 regular season games for the Steelers since then, starting 79 of them and recording 34.5 sacks along the way.  Tuitt also played a part on five different Steelers teams that reached the postseason.

Much speculation had been had about if Tuitt would return to the Steelers in 2022 after missing 2021 due to his brother’s untimely death and a back injury that showed up in training camp.

All the best in retirement to one of the best to ever do it at Notre Dame.

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Detroit Lions sign former Notre Dame receiver Avery Davis

Good luck, Avery.

[autotag]Avery Davis[/autotag] hasn’t played a competitive football game since before the 2021 season ended. Two ACL tears over the past two seasons have kept him on the sidelines, including for all of the 2022 season. Now, he’s going to get a chance the NFL. The Detroit Lions announced that they had signed Davis before Saturday’s practice, and he’ll have a chance to grab one of the final two receiver spots on their depth chart.

From 2018 to 2021, Davis had 66 receptions for 862 yards and eight touchdowns. He began his collegiate career as a running back before moving to receiver after his first season on the field. If for some crazy reason the Lions decide to try him in the backfield, he had 34 carries for 156 yard but did not score from there.

It will be worth seeing if Davis can survive the preseason, especially without having seen game action for so long. One could say it’s an unforgiving way to find out. Then again, he’ll never know unless he tries.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Gallery: Hall of Famer Bryant Young

Congrats to a legend!

Late Thursday night at the annual NFL awards show the 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame class was announced and the latest former Golden Domer is headed to Canton as legendary defensive lineman Bryant Young was elected.

Young played his entire NFL career with the 49ers after being drafted in 1994 but had quite the Notre Dame career as well as he was a key component to a program that saw wins in major bowl games following the 1991, 1992, and 1993 regular seasons, and we all know how 1993 should have ended.

In honor of Young being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame take a look back at his incredible career with the best photos of him both at Notre Dame and with the 49ers:

Notre Dame and Pittsburgh Steelers Stephon Tuitt through the years

Stephon Tuitt caused havoc on opposing offenses both at Notre Dame and with the Steelers. Enjoy a look back at his stellar career here.

Although [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag] received the press clippings during Notre Dame’s 2012 run to a 12-0 regular season and national championship game appearance, it wasn’t a certainty that he was the best player on the Fighting Irish defense that season.

As great as Te’o was there was a defensive line that was smothering that consisted of the likes of a young [autotag]Sheldon Day[/autotag], veteran [autotag]Kapron Lewis-Moore[/autotag], and a couple of stars in [autotag]Louis Nix[/autotag] and [autotag]Stephon Tuitt[/autotag].

Tuitt went on to the longest NFL career of any player from that team and on Wednesday announced that he was hanging up his cleats for good and retiring.

Here is a look back in photo form of Stephon Tuitt during his rise to stardom at Notre Dame and during his NFL career which was spent entirely with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

 

Notre Dame football: Former Irish tight end signs $50 million deal

Pay Day for Cole!

They don’t call Notre Dame “Tight End U” for nothing.  For years the Irish have seen tight ends have their names called in the NFL draft and go on to have significant careers at the next level.  One such player just found generation wealth at that level.

Cole Kmet, a recent graduate of Notre Dame who last played for the Irish in 2019 inked a four-year contract extension with the Chicago Bears this week.  The deal is worth $50 million with $32 million of it guaranteed.

In three seasons Kmet has hauled in 138 receptions for 1,399 yards and nine touchdowns for the Bears.  Seven of those scores came last season as the Bears offense looks to take a significant step this fall.

For more on the Bears be sure to check out the work of our colleagues at Bears Wire. 

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Former Notre Dame star to start training camp on PUP list

Not the start he was looking for…

The 2023 NFL season hasn’t officially began yet but already it’s off to a less than ideal start for former Notre Dame wide receiver Chase Claypool.  The Chicago Bears wide receiver will begin the year on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) List when training camp opens later this week.

There are no details available yet as to what the cause is that will sideline Claypool and as a result we obviously don’t know how long this may go on.

Claypool was originally drafted out of Notre Dame by the Pittsburgh Steelers where he played from 2020 until the middle of last season when he was traded to the Bears for a second round pick.  That pick wound up being the 32nd overall pick in this past spring’s NFL draft.

Claypool has a big fall ahead as he’s on the final year of his rookie deal and will become a free agent following the season.  If he’d like to stay with Chicago he’ll need to improve on his 14 receptions for 140 yards (10 y/c) and no scores in seven games with the Bears last season.

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Marcus Freeman discusses his time with the Bears

Who would Bears fans rather have: Freeman or Matt Nagy?

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When Marcus Freeman was hired by Notre Dame following the 2020 season I remember looking up his career and being surprised to realize he was a Chicago Bears linebacker at one point.  I only say that because the Bears are the NFL team I back, despite their continued efforts to get me not to.

Freeman met the media for the second time as Notre Dame’s head coach on Sunday and discussed what he got out of his time with the Bears that lasted from the draft in April of that year to him being waived following the preseason’s conclusion.

“The growth with the Bears, you learn how to take defeat. I wasn’t there for that long and my butt got cut real fast. I was like, oof. Again, for me, it was a great learning experience because I was never outside of my comfort zone when I went to Ohio State. I grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and I went to Ohio State and had a lot of friends on that team and you were never really pushed outside your comfort zone. The minute I got to Chicago and I was by myself, my family was back home, I said, oh, this is a little bit uncomfortable. That helped me grow. It helped me get to this point where, hey, you can handle being outside your comfort zone. I use this in recruiting because I tell these guys, the unique part about Notre Dame, South Bend isn’t home to many of our players, maybe one or two. So everybody coming to South Bend is coming from outside and so they learn how to lean on each other and get through those uncomfortable moments. That’s why, to me, the young people that come here know how to get through the homesickness and those uncomfortable times that I went through all of the sudden when I’m in Chicago.” 

It’s safe to say Freeman’s stint with the Bears wasn’t memorable but certainly played a significant role in crafting him into the kind of coach and recruiter he’d eventually become.

For everything related to the Bears and what is hopefully soon a search for their new general manager and head coach, be sure to check out our colleagues at Bears Wire.

Related:

Marcus Freeman recaps busy first week as Notre Dame head coach

How Marcus Freeman sees being a ‘players coach’

40 players on NFL rosters to start 2021 season

Isaiah Foskey finally signs rookie deal with New Orleans Saints

Go get that money, Isaiah!

It took nearly three months, but former Notre Dame defensive end [autotag]Isaiah Foskey[/autotag] finally has his rookie deal in place. Foskey signed a four-year contract with the New Orleans Saints, who selected him as the 40th overall pick in the second round of this year’s NFL draft. He was last of the Saints’ rookie class to sign, but better late than never. He took to Twitter to celebrate the big bucks he now knows he’ll be making for sure:

The Saints have fallen into mediocrity since Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season, so they’re trying to return to that level of excellence. Foskey will help shore up a defensive line that hasn’t had a lot of young talent develop lately. Irish fans know how good he was at the collegiate level, but how well will his game translate in the NFL? All we know is if anyone with his drive and production came make it, it’s him.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Former Notre Dame star considering not reporting to NFL camp due to contract

It makes plenty of sense why he would do this

We all believed that former [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] guard [autotag]Zack Martin[/autotag] would have plenty of success in the NFL after his Irish career was over.

That’s exactly what has happened, Martin being named to the Pro Bowl 8-times, being named to the NFL’s 2010’s All-Decade team and being a first-team All-Pro six times as a member of the Dallas Cowboys.

With that resume, you’d expect that Martin was one of the highest paid at his position, but that isn’t the case. According to a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Martin is “considering not reporting to training camp due to his unhappiness with his contract and the team’s lack of interest in restructuring it.”

It seems as if the Cowboys have put other players ahead of Martin on their list to either extend or have their contract reworked. Schefter notes that the guard is making about $7 million less than the NFL’s top-paid guards.

It’s an interesting development and one where Martin has every right to ask to be paid more, especially considering the caliber of player he is.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen