As expected, John Ross is cleared to return to Cincinnati Bengals practice and will fill one of the two slots allotted for players returning from injured reserve.
It’s an exciting development for Ross, who flashed plenty of big upside under a new coaching staff on his way to 328 yards and three touchdowns over four games.
Call it a big boon for rookie quarterback Ryan Finley too, as he’ll soon get a big-play weapon back on the field to provide offensive spacing as he tries to convince the front office he’s the long-term answer.
Perhaps more interesting is what this means for injured reserve. The final designated to return spot figures to go to either cornerback Darius Phillips or first-round tackle Jonah Williams.
As for Ross, he’s eligible to play December 8 at Cleveland.
Thanks to another perfect passer rating, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been nominated for another FedEx Air Player of the Week award
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson had a perfect game in Week 10 against the Cincinnati Bengals. No, seriously — Jackson had a perfect 158.3 passer rating. That has him in the running for the FedEx Air Player of the Week award.
It’s the second time this season Jackson has been nominated for the FedEx Air award, winning it in Week 1 for his other game with a perfect passer rating. But Jackson has also won the FedEx Ground Player of the Week award this season — making him the only player ever to win both awards in a single season.
Jackson has some tough competition this week, going up against Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. While Jackson has half the passing yards of Mahomes and fewer touchdown passes than Jones, he was the only player with a perfect passer rating in Week 10.
Jackson completed 15-of-17 passes against the Cincinnati Bengals for 223 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. While Jackson technically threw two incomplete passes in that game, one was a spike to stop the clock before halftime.
With how much criticism Jackson has gotten for his passing ability in his short career, it’s a little redeeming to see him up for yet another award specifically due to his arm.
The Cincinnati Bengals will keep an eye on Colin Kaepernick’s NFL workout over the weekend.
According to Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the team will evaluate the details of the process. No word on if the front office will have anyone in attendance, but it sounds like the Bengals will indeed join the fray of at least getting the film to evaluate the happenings.
The NFL announced Tuesday that Kaepernick would partake in a workout for teams on Saturday in Atlanta, including on-field work and interviews. Teams have been invited, though we’ve yet to see official attendance sheets make the rounds.
Kaepernick turned 32 earlier this month and hasn’t played since 2016.
From a Bengals perspective, paying attention to the happenings there makes some sense with Andy Dalton clearly on his way out the door, leaving — for now — only Ryan Finley as the future of the position.
PBG Builders is the company contracted to do the job, in collaboration with Smallwood Nickle Architects.
The Tennessee Titans open construction beginning next week to expand Saint Thomas Sports Park, which will “almost double its current footprint in Nashville’s MetroCenter neighborhood.”
PBG Builders is the company contracted to do the job, in collaboration with Smallwood Nickle Architects.
Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk and her staff toured multiple NFL facilities to make sure Tennessee’s facilities were on track with or exceeding the standards of the league.
The current 75,000-square-foot building will undergo renovations, and there will also be a new building near the practice field as a part of 60,000-square-feet add-ons.
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There will also be a 2,300-square-foot rooftop deck as a part of a new event space and a two-story, 39,000-square-foot parking garage with more than 100 extra parking spaces.
“We’ve added so many members to the Titans family over the past several years,” Adams Strunk said in a Titans Online report. “Evolving our workplace makes perfect sense from both a growth standpoint as well as maximizing our team’s overall effectiveness. This new facility will ultimately create the modern environment that will enable further success.”
With the expansion, the Titans’ growing staff will all be able to work in one space.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is the talk of the NFL world and has some even joking about returning to the field.
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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.
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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“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.
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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’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.
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.
