Category: Latest News

Ray Lewis jokes he’d return to Ravens to play with QB Lamar Jackson

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is the talk of the NFL world and has some even joking about returning to the field.

[jwplayer 1vROLFUW-ThvAeFxT]

The Baltimore Ravens seemingly have something special going for them this season. With dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson leading a unique offense that has been on fire, they sit at 7-2 with a hefty lead in the AFC North standings and a hold on the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff race. It has legendary former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis joking about suiting up again.

On Showtime’s “Inside The NFL,” Lewis jokingly said he told owner Steve Bisciotti he still has “two quarters left” in him and he could come back to play with Jackson this season.

Lewis especially praised Jackson and Baltimore’s offense for being able to stretch out drives when needed. Against the New England Patriots in Week 9, Jackson led back-to-back touchdown drives late in the game that took just under 18 minutes off the clock in a 37-20 victory. While Lewis had a Hall of Fame career with Baltimore, he never played on a team with an offense as capable as what the Ravens have right now.

“If you all are holding the ball for seven minutes on a drive, and then nine minutes on a drive, I’m like, ‘Man, I’ve never had that in my career,'” Lewis continued.

The Ravens lead the league in time of possession, holding the ball for 34:07 per game, and points per game (33.3), so Lewis has a solid point here. The offense being able to sustain drives has helped keep an inconsistent Baltimore defense stay fresh late in games. In previous years, we’ve seen the defense falter in the second half and give up leads. But by putting up enough points early and keeping the ball out of the hands of the opposing offense, Baltimore has coasted to huge victories in recent weeks.

While Lewis is joking about a return to the sport after retiring seven years ago, it highlights just how quickly Jackson has earned respect in the league. With his leadership and playmaking ability, Jackson has clearly won over not only his own teammates but has seen plenty of opposing players give him high praise. As chants continue to grow for Jackson to win the NFL’s MVP award this season, the Ravens will continue to see people jump on his bandwagon.

Jackson’s energy and the respect he’s earned could cause priority free agents to choose the Ravens over more money from lesser teams. That could pay dividends as general manager Eric DeCosta continues to build up a young but talented roster.

Ravens place rookie DT Daylon Mack on injured reserve

The Baltimore Ravens placed rookie defensive tackle Daylon Mack on injured reserve after signing two veteran defensive tackles this week.

[jwplayer rzKgNnfu-ThvAeFxT]

The Baltimore Ravens made a whole host of roster moves over the last few days. In addition to activating rookie cornerback Iman Marshall from injured reserve, the Ravens signed two defensive tackles in Justin Ellis and Domata Peko. To help make room for the roster additions, Baltimore placed rookie defensive tackle Daylon Mack on injured reserve.

Mack was listed as “questionable” for Week 10’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, after being limited in Friday’s practice with a knee injury. Mack played in just one game this season — being a healthy scratch through seven others. With the signings of Ellis and Peko, the move to injured reserve was to be expected.

It will allow Baltimore to get more experienced defensive linemen on the field, especially with Michael Pierce’s ankle injury potentially keeping him out of the lineup. But it still allows the Ravens to continue developing Mack for the future. As a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft, there were no expectations that Mack would become an immediate contributor but could hopefully grow into a solid depth player or potential heir for guys like Pierce and Brandon Williams down the line.

According to the team’s site, Mack becomes the 10th Ravens player to head to injured reserve this season — all on defense.

Former Browns GM Michael Lombardi says Titans were split between Marcus Mariota and Ryan Tannehill ahead of 2019 season

The Titans weren’t even through Week 6’s shutout loss to the Denver Broncos before they benched Mariota in favor of Tannehill.

The Tennessee Titans acquired former Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill ahead of the season to serve as an insurance policy for starting quarterback, Marcus Mariota.

But the Titans weren’t even through Week 6’s shutout loss to the Denver Broncos before they benched Mariota in favor of Tannehill.

The team hasn’t looked back since, and Tannehill has completed 97-of-136 passes for 1,161 yards, with eight touchdowns and four interceptions.

Before Tannehill took over, Mariota was 94-of-159 passing for 1,179 yards, with seven touchdowns and two interceptions.

[lawrence-related id=22633]

According to former Cleveland Browns general manager Michael Lombardi on his “The GM Shuffle” podcast, the move to hand over the reins to Tannehill could have come much sooner than six games into the season.

He claims to have been informed of quarterback controversy earlier in the year, and that the decision to keep Mariota as the starter came down to the opinions of the front office.

“I was told this summer that the coaches really wanted to play Tannehill, but the front office was so endeared that they had to give this Mariota one more look,” he said.

[lawrence-related id=22641]

Regardless of whether or not this has any true substance to it, Tannehill is the man under center for Tennessee for the foreseeable future, and will be leading the charge as the Titans face the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars at 3:05 p.m. CT on Nov. 24.

Titans LT Taylor Lewan serves as an example of accountability to other NFL players

Lewan wasted no time taking responsibility for his blunders after Sunday’s 35-32 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Nissan Stadium.

Tennessee Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan has almost set the team back more than he’s helped them move forward this season.

The culprit? Penalties.

Lewan wasted no time taking responsibility for his blunders after Sunday’s 35-32 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Nissan Stadium.

He’s now committed a team-high of nine penalties this year, despite being suspended for the first four games. No other Titans player has more than six penalties to their name in 2019.

[lawrence-related id=22641]

“First of all, before we even start this whole thing, my penalties are f—–g awful. I am 100 percent at issue with that,” Lewan said, per The Tennessean.

It goes without saying that Lewan’s errors are not purposeful, and that he means well.

“It is not intentional. I do not mean to do it. My intentions are good. I am just trying to finish, and it is killing the team. I know that. You guys know that. No one needs to call me out because I’ve got a voice. I am completely screwing the team with the amount of penalties I have had, what, these last six games.”

In a league where so many players are entitled and want to skate around owning their wrongdoings, it’s refreshing in a way to see the Pro Bowl offensive lineman boldly calling himself out.

[lawrence-related id=22622]

The Titans are on a bye this week, but will get back to action when they face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 24 at 3:05 p.m. CT on Sunday in Nissan Stadium.

Lamar Jackson wins second straight AFC Offensive Player of the Week award

Lamar Jackson’s perfect passer rating and spectacular rushing won the Ravens quarterback his third weekly award of the 2019 season.

For his work in Week 10 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson earned another AFC Offensive Player of the Week award. It’s his second consecutive week winning the honor and his third of the season through just nine games.

Jackson completed 15-of-17 passes for 223 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, marking his second perfect 158.3 passer rating this season. Jackson also dazzled on the ground, adding 65 rushing yards and a touchdown on seven attempts, including a highlight-reel 47-yard scamper.

Jackson continues to pile up AFC Player of the Week awards, which has him in the mix for the NFL’s MVP award this season. With Baltimore sitting atop the AFC North standings and holding the No. 2 overall seed in the AFC playoff picture at 7-2, Jackson has helped put the Ravens at the top of the league. If he continues to play like he did in Week 10 against the Bengals, this won’t be Jackson’s last award this season, though he might have to miss the NFL Honors ceremony to prepare for Super Bowl LIV.

[vertical-gallery id=36838]

Draft heat check: Is it Tua Tagovailoa or Joe Burrow for the Bengals?

Is it Tua or Burrow for the Bengals? Vote in our poll.

The Cincinnati Bengals remain on pace to hold the top pick in the 2020 NFL draft — which means it is Tua Tagovailoa or Joe Burrow time.

While Ryan Finley still has plenty of time to show he can be the player of the future for the Bengals under center, it has always seemed like he wouldn’t do enough to nudge the front office toward a Chase Young on draft day.

So for right now, the question is simple — which one?

Do the Bengals prefer Tagovailoa, the Alabama passer with a 70.9 completion percentage with 31 touchdowns and three interceptions? Do they like his leadership, playing experience and ability to move in the pocket? Does the recent ankle injury scare them?

Or what about Burrow? Does his 78.9 completion percentage with 33 touchdowns and four picks outweigh the fact he’s only just now emerging as a top prospect?

What about age and locale? Will Tagovailoa survive the draft process’ look at his just being another Alabama quarterback surrounded by elite prospects? Will Burrow’s leap go under the microscope? Burrow was born in December of 1996, Tagovailoa March of 1998, which is another factor to keep in mind given the developmental track of young quarterbacks that is well established (Finley, December 1994).

Heck, the questions don’t stop there. Does Burrow’s head-to-head win over Tagovailoa mean much, or does the Alabama product get the benefit of the doubt for playing through injury?

No easy answer exists right now. But for fans, it sure beats the tar out of solely focusing on a winless team with no end to the struggles in sight. Vote below to determine who should lead the quarterback race for the Bengals right now.

[polldaddy poll=10457284]

[vertical-gallery id=24592]

Titans add OL Daniel Munyer, waive RB Rod Smith

The Tennessee Titans made roster moves on Tuesday, adding new offensive line help to the practice squad.

The Tennessee Titans made roster moves on Tuesday, adding new offensive line help to the practice squad.

The 27-year-old saw action in three games for the team after signing with them on Oct. 8. He also appeared on on 39 special teams snaps this season, recording no snaps on offense.

The team brought on offensive lineman Daniel Munyer, and waived running back Rod Smith from the active roster on the same day.

The news was originally reported by the team’s Jim Wyatt.

[lawrence-related id=22622]

The Titans enjoy a bye week for now, but will face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 24 at 3:05 p.m. CT in Nissan Stadium.

AFC North Week 11 preview: Big AFC North battle behind Ravens

The Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football is the game to watch as it sets up second place behind the Ravens.

The Baltimore Ravens ride high atop the AFC North standings, maintaining their lead in Week 10 by beating the Cincinnati Bengals.

All four teams inside the AFC North have had their bye weeks, meaning we’ll get a chance to see football from the entire division for the final seven weeks of the season.

With a tough schedule ahead for Baltimore, the coming weeks are an opportunity for the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers to make up some ground on the Ravens. It’ll start this week as those two square off in the national spotlight.

Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4) at Cleveland Browns (3-6)

Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images

First up on Week 11’s schedule is an AFC North rivalry on Thursday night. It’s the first time the Steelers and Browns have met and only the second division game Cleveland has played this season.

Pittsburgh has been heating up after their trade for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, putting together solid defensive performances en route to a four-game winning streak. The Steelers have come alive in spite of an offense that has been downright dreadful, ranking 28th in yards and 19th in points scored.

The Browns would love nothing more than to beat their division rival and put themselves back in the hunt for a playoff spot in front of a national audience. With a fairly easy remaining schedule, Cleveland could very well get to 9-7 and put themselves in the running for a wild-card berth. A loss here would all but eliminate them from contention.

This is a pivotal game for the division behind Baltimore and one worth watching.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Chad Johnson has some sage advice for Bengals fans during these trying times

The former Bengals star has a good take about the current situation.

Leave it to Chad Johnson to save the day for Cincinnati Bengals fans.

The former star Bengals wideout sees what everyone else does — the team is awful right now. Things have gone awry and the Zac Taylor-led squad is the last winless one standing.

That has its benefits from a 2020 draft perspective but the Bengals clearly went into this season with much bigger ambitions. Now, a quick glance at the schedule doesn’t reveal too many wins and the coaching staff is starting to purge the roster, first by benching Andy Dalton and by then cutting veteran linebacker Preston Brown.

But don’t fret — Chad has some much-needed good perspective:

And he’s certainly not wrong. Taylor and his staff have had a ton of growing pains. But A.J. Green and Jonah Willaims haven’t seen the field at all, just to name a few.

For fans of a winless team in November, it sure doesn’t hurt to switch gears and start thinking along these positive vibes normally only seen in the offseason.

As always, fans might benefit from letting Chad set the tone.

[vertical-gallery id=24078]

Ravens promote CB Iman Marshall from injured reserve

Rookie cornerback Iman Marshall was added to the Baltimore Ravens’ 53-man roster after spending the last 10 weeks on injured reserve

[jwplayer rzKgNnfu-ThvAeFxT]

The Baltimore Ravens have activated rookie cornerback Iman Marshall from injured reserve to the 53-man roster, according to the team’s Twitter.

Marshall had missed the final three preseason games with an undisclosed injury and was placed on injured reserve shortly after the Ravens finalized their 53-man roster in early September. Marshall returned to practice on Oct. 28 as one of Baltimore’s two designated-to-return spots and can officially play in Week 11 against the Houston Texans.

It’s unclear how big of a role Marshall will have on defense moving forward. With the trade for cornerback Marcus Peters, the Ravens have four starting-caliber cornerbacks in Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Carr, Jimmy Smith and Peters they’re already trying to shuffle into the lineup. The defense has drastically improved from earlier in the season and given Marshall’s inexperience, it seems unlikely he’d be much more than extra depth if he actually plays at all on defense.

Even if Marshall doesn’t contribute much for the remainder of this season, any playing time will be valuable experience towards his development. The Ravens have liked to slowly develop cornerbacks in-house as they’ve done with guys like Maurice Canady, Humphrey, Smith and Tavon Young. It’s a strategy that emphasizes patience but has worked out well for Baltimore over the years.

[vertical-gallery id=36838]