53-man roster – Page 60 – Syndication Server

Lions coordinator Brayden Coombs: C.J. Moore ‘has had an outstanding camp’

Detroit Lions special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs recently said safety C.J. Moore “has had an outstanding camp”.

Getting coaches to comment on a player’s progress during the offseason can often be a chore. So when a coordinator brings up a player unprompted and then praises him, it’s worth taking notice.

That’s exactly what happened on Sunday when Lions special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs virtually met with the Lions media and brought up safety C.J. Moore and his contributions during training camp.

“Hesitate to single anybody out, but I would say, C.J. Moore is a guy who has had an outstanding camp,” Coombs said. “I would say first off, you talk about just a great kid, hard worker, has worked for everything.”

Moore, an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi in 2019, made the Lions roster last season based on his ability to contribute on special teams as a starting gunner. But Coombs has asked Moore to change roles this offseason and he has taken on Tavon Wilson’s old role as Personal Protector (PP).

The “PP” is a massively important role on special teams as he is the last line of defense for the punter, typically setting up five-yards back from the long snapper. The PP is responsible for recognizing the punt rush formation and making blocking adjustments accordingly.

“To be perfectly frank,” Coombs continued, “(Moore) is a guy probably that I underestimated coming in as a new coach and probably I was just wrong on just going off of the tape and my perception of him coming in but has really just kind of took the bull by the horns.

“You know, the guy had multiple tackles as a gunner last year, was a starting gunner and I’m sure you guys have seen – kind of I came in and asked him to move to PP, and not only the PP, but moved him to be the backup PP and he never complained. Never tried to convince me that he was best where he was, just really embraced it, dove in headfirst, wore me and ‘Mule’ (Don Muhlbach) out all offseason just learning the protection aspect of playing that position and did a great job, has really earned everything that he is getting right now in terms of playing time and opportunities.”

As the Lions fifth safety on the depth chart, Moore entered camp firmly on the roster bubble, but his ability to stand out on special teams could earn him another year in the NFL.

“So, that would be a guy (Moore) that I am very, very excited with, excited for, and really proud of,” Coombs continued. “I would say, just the way he handled everything, the way he approaches everything on a daily basis. We have a team of 53 guys like that, we’ll be in great shape. There’s a lot of other guys I could rattle off, but a guy who’s really stood out in camp as one of our best players would be C.J.”

Go ahead and find a spot for him in your 53-man roster projections.

Broncos only have 3 players remaining from Super Bowl roster

The Broncos only have three players remaining from their Super Bowl 50 roster.

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After cutting tight end Jeff Heuerman last month, the Denver Broncos now only have three players remaining from their Super Bowl 50 roster.

Here’s a look at the team’s roster from 2015 and an update on where the players are now.

Player	Current Status
4. P Britton Colquitt	With Minnesota Vikings
8. K Brandon McManus	Still with team
10. WR Emmanuel Sanders	With New Orleans Saints
11. WR Jordan Norwood	Retired
12. WR Andre Caldwell	Retired
13. QB Trevor Siemian	Free Agent
14. WR Cody Latimer	With Washington Football Team
16. WR Bennie Fowler	With New Orleans Saints
17. QB Brock Osweiler	Retired
18. QB Peyton Manning	Retired
20. DB Josh Bush	Free Agent
21. CB Aqib Talib	Free Agent
22. RB C.J. Anderson	Free Agent
23. RB Ronnie Hillman	Free Agent
25. CB Chris Haris	With Los Angeles Chargers
26. DB Darian Stewart	Free Agent
29. CB Bradley Roby	With Houston Texans
30. DB David Burton	Retired
31. DB Omar Bolden	Retired
33. DB Shilo Keo	Free Agent
35. RB Kapri Bibbs	Free Agent
36. DB Kayvon Webster	Free Agent
37. CB Lorenzo Doss	Free Agent
40. RB Juwan Thompson	Retired
43. DB T.J. Ward	Retired
46. LS Aaron Brewer	With Arizona Cardinals
48. OLB Shaq Barrett	With Tampa Bay Buccaneers
51. ILB Todd Davis	Still with team
52. ILB Corey Nelson	Free Agent
53. OL James Ferentz	Free Agent
54. ILB Brandon Marshall	Free Agent
55. LB Lerentee McCray	With Jacksonville Jaguars
56. OLB Shane Ray	Free Agent
58. OLB Von Miller	Still with team
59. ILB Danny Trevathan	With Chicago Bears
61. OL Matt Paradis	With Carolina Panthers
65. OG Louis Vasquez	Retired
68. OL Ryan Harris	Retired
69. OG Evan Mathis	Retired
73. OL Max Garcia	With Arizona Cardinals
74. OL Ty Sambrailo	With Tennessee Titans
76. OL Tyler Polumbus	Retired
78. OT Ryan Clady	Retired
79. OL Michael Schofield	With Carolina Panthers
80. TE Vernon Davis	Retired
81. TE Owen Daniels	Retired
82. TE Jeff Heuerman	Free Agent
84. TE Mitchell Henry	Died in 2017 from acute myeloid leukemia
85. TE Virgil Green	With Los Angeles Chargers
88. WR Demaryius Thomas	Free Agent
89. TE Richard Gordon	Free Agent
90. DL Antonio Smith	Free Agent
91. DL Kenny Anunike	Free Agent
92. DT Sylvester Williams	With Los Angeles Chargers
94. OLB DeMarcus Ware	Retired
95. DE Derek Wolfe	With Baltimore Ravens
96. DL Vance Walker	Free Agent
97. DL Malik Jackson	With Philadelphia Eagles
98. DL Darius Kilgo	With New England Patriots

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COVID-19 offseason makes it ‘very difficult’ for Broncos to evaluate players on roster bubble

COVID-19 will make it even harder for the players on the Broncos’ roster bubble to make the 53-man roster.

It’s been a unique offseason in the NFL.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, teams didn’t have on-field organized team activities or minicamps this spring. There won’t be any preseason games this month, either.

That’s bad news for players on the bottom of the Broncos’ roster who are trying to make the team. It’s going to make roster cuts even more difficult than usual for Denver’s staff.

“It makes it very difficult,” general manager John Elway said. “It makes it a lot more difficult, especially with no preseason games also. We’re going to have to see everything we can in the 14 padded practices that we’re going to have before the opener. What it does is it really creates less of an opportunity for those guys to make our football team.

“We’re going to have to find guys with the expanded practice squad, which we have spots for four veterans. We’re going to have to find the right guys to be able to expand the practice squad with. It definitely hurts the opportunities of those CFAs [college free agents] to get out there and really show us what they have — even more so without preseason games.”

If running back Phillip Lindsay didn’t have a pro day, OTAs and preseason when he entered the league, he might not have even made the Broncos 53-man roster. There’s no replacement for games, even if they are exhibition games.

“You can’t evaluate them totally until it’s live action,” coach Vic Fangio said. “Who can tackle, who’s willing to tackle and who can break tackles, it will be an adjustment for everybody.”

Denver will probably do some live drills during camp and the team might have a scrimmage at their stadium. The team will have an expanded practice squad but even that might not stop some players from falling through the cracks. Hopefully the Broncos don’t miss out on the next Lindsay.

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Broncos might have to cut 10 players before training camp

NFL teams are expected to have 80 players on their rosters going into training camp. The Broncos currently have 90 players on the roster.

The Denver Broncos might have to make some roster cuts before training camp even begins.

NFLPA leadership informed players during a call on Tuesday that NFL rosters are expected to have 80 players at the start of camp, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. That means 10 cuts might be on the way for Denver.

After the draft, the Broncos signed seven college free agents. Some of those players might be in danger of being cut before even getting to camp.

Denver signed wide receiver Zimari Manning, quarterback Riley Neal, wide receiver Kendall Hinton, running back Levante Bellamy, offensive lineman Hunter Watts, cornerback Essang Bassey and safety Douglas Coleman III following April’s draft.

Of those seven players, Bassey and Coleman seemingly have the best chances of making the 53-man roster because of Denver’s (lack of) depth in the secondary. Bassey was one of the top undrafted free agents available this year.

Right now, the Broncos have 90 players on the offseason roster. At the end of training camp, the roster will be trimmed down to 53 players ahead of the regular season. Here’s our 53-man roster prediction for Denver.

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Updated 53-man roster projections for Chiefs ahead of training camp

An updated prediction of the 53-man roster for the Kansas City Chiefs ahead of training camp.

Right now, there’s a lot that we still don’t know about the NFL’s plans for the 2020 season. All options seem to still be on the table as it relates to the roster and how it’s handled in case of a positive coronavirus test. With that in mind, we’re proceeding as planned with our projections and we’ll update them accordingly when more is agreed upon between the NFL and NFLPA.

One thing to note about our projections is that there are roster changes related to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The changes allow NFL teams to elevate two players from the practice squad on game day, increasing game-day roster size from 46 to 48 and 53-man roster size to 55. The size of the roster remains at 53 at all other times, which is why projections are still referred to as “53-man.”

Here is a look at our updated projections for the 53-man roster in Kansas City ahead of training camp:

Quarterback (3):

Depth	Player
1	Patrick Mahomes
2	Matt Moore
3	Chad Henne

The return of Moore signals that the Chiefs will likely roll with three quarterbacks this season. In the past, with Mahomes at the helm, the team has felt the need to only carry one backup. The realities of the coronavirus change that because of the possibility of players testing positive throughout the season.

Fans of Jordan Ta’amu need not worry, though. He’ll almost certainly be back on the practice squad if he’s not claimed off waivers by another team during roster cuts. Teams seem to be most concerned about keeping players that they’ve trained this season, so I’m not sure we’ll see a lot of players getting claimed on waivers.

Carrying three quarterbacks is a necessary but difficult decision for a team as deep as Kansas City. It limits the number of players you’re able to carry at other positions.

QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DT | DE | LB | CB | S | ST

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Packers pre-training camp 53-man roster prediction: Offensive line

Predicting the offensive linemen who will make the Packers’ 53-man roster coming out of training camp in 2020.

With training camp scheduled to open in late July, Packers Wire will be spending the next month attempting to predict how Matt LaFleur, Brian Gutekunst and the Packers will construct their initial 53-man roster entering the 2020 season.

Up next is the offensive line, where the Packers return four of five starters but have intriguing depth battles ahead:

Players

David Bakhtiari
Corey Linsley
Billy Turner
Elgton Jenkins
Rick Wagner
Lane Taylor
Lucas Patrick
Cole Madison
Alex Light
John Leglue
Yosh Nijman
Cody Conway
Jon Runyan (rookie)
Jake Hanson (rookie)
Simon Stepaniak (rookie)
Travis Bruffy (rookie)
Zack Johnson (rookie)

Number kept to start 2019

Nine. The Packers traded away Justin McCray and kept four backups behind the five starters. Alex Light made the team as the swing tackle.

Roster prediction (10)

1. David Bakhtiari: The All-Pro left tackle is entering a contract year.

2. Elgton Jenkins: The second-year left guard is one of the NFL’s best young interior blockers.

3. Corey Linsley: The veteran center is reliable and steady, but like Bakhtiari, he’s also entering a contract year.

4. Billy Turner: A 16-game starter at right guard, Turner will have to beat out Lane Taylor for the job in 2020.

5. Rick Wagner: The former Raven and Lion will be the front runner to replace Bryan Bulaga at right tackle.

6. Lane Taylor: The Packers retained him for 2020 with a team-friendly restructure. He’s good enough to beat out Turner for a starting job.

7. Lucas Patrick: He can play all three interior line spots, including center, making him the ideal backup lineman.

8. Alex Light: He struggled in spot duty in 2019, but the Packers don’t have any other options with experience at offensive tackle, making him the early favorite.

9. Jon Runyan: The two-time All-Big Ten pick will transition to guard as a rookie but he could give the Packers help at offensive tackle in a pinch.

10. Jake Hanson: A four-year starter at Oregon, he could be the future at center after 2020.

Cut (7)

1. Cole Madison: He’s coming back from a major injury, and the Packers just used three draft picks on interior linemen. He needs a big summer to stick.

2. John Leglue: His positional versatility could be really attractive, especially if he proves he can play out on the edge.

3. Yosh Nijman: A potential summer surprise candidate. He’s big and athletic but might need more time before he’s ready to be the top backup at tackle.

4. Cody Conway: Time spent on the practice squad to end last season will help his chances. So will his experience at left tackle. Another year on the practice squad could be in his future.

5. Simon Stepaniak: The sixth-round pick is coming back from a significant injury. He’ll probably need time before he’s ready to contribute.

6. Travis Bruffy: He has good feet and three years of starting experience at tackle. It wouldn’t be surprising if he made a run at a roster spot during camp.

7. Zack Johnson: The Packers are deep on the interior, but Johnson could really help his chances by looking capable at right tackle. Likely practice squad candidate.

Updating roster prediction

QB (3): Aaron Rodgers, Tim Boyle, Jordan Love
RB (4): Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams, A.J. Dillon, Tyler Ervin
WR (6): Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, Devin Funchess, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Jake Kumerow, Equanimeous St. Brown
TE (4): Marcedes Lewis, Jace Sternberger, Robert Tonyan, Josiah Deguara
OL (10): David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Corey Linsley, Billy Turner, Rick Wagner, Lane Taylor, Lucas Patrick, Alex Light, Jon Runyan, Jake Hanson

How Lions will likely approach potential roster cuts ahead of training camp

With potential roster cuts ahead of training camp looming, how would the Detroit Lions adjust their roster to maximize player evaluation?

As teams prepare to adjust to COVID-19 protocols, there are still several questions facing the NFL and NFLPA before teams open training camps at the end of the month. Will there be preseason games? How long will camps last? While agreed upon player safety protocols and a possible practice squad expansion also remain undecided.

One move that appears likely to happen ahead of July 28th is the reduction of roster sizes from its current maximum of 90 players down to a reported 75 or 80-players.

On the surface, it may seem pretty straight forward to just release the bottom 10-15 players on the roster, but the timing of these cuts make it a bit more complicated.

Teams use training camp to get into shape, work through existing injuries, absorb the playbook, develop team/positional chemistry, evaluate players, look for hidden talents, and many other things. By taking away players from this equation, teams will have to adjust their approach to training camp and in turn, they will have to be selective on where their team can afford to go lighter at a position.

When examining the Detroit Lions 90-man depth chart, general manager Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia will have to consider several factors including:

Is there a position group where they have an excess of players?
Do they want more youth at one position?
More veteran leadership at another?
Are there players who are practice squad eligible that they may want to keep around for long-term development?
Keeping balanced groups on each side of the ball for one-on-one training sessions

At quarterback, the Lions only have three players — Matthew Stafford, Chase Daniel, and David Blough — and it would be shocking to see them move on from any of them at this point, but the offensive skill players will surely take some hits.

With six running backs, two fullbacks, 12 wide receivers, and five tight ends, the Lions could lose three of four players from these skill groups. Do they need two fullbacks? How about a fifth tight end? The wide receiver group would surely see losses but with the amount of running they do in training camp, they can’t afford to lose too many or they won’t have enough bodies to run routes if they are all gassed.

The offensive and defensive lines will also likely see two to three losses on each side of the ball, which will impede the Lions’ ability to roll through three lines — as they typically do this time of year.

The Lions currently have 13 linebackers — 11 off-the-ball and two JACK linebackers — for two main reasons. First, they are trying to shore up a previously weak position group by adding multiple players and looking for standouts. And secondly, because this is where teams are typically finding players who can excel on special teams under the recent rule changes.

Based purely on numbers alone, the Lions can afford to lose two to three players from the linebacker group, but it will surely impact their ability to train on special teams.

Corners may be the most important position group on defense, and with the Lions having nine on the current roster, can they lose any of them? They have eight safeties, but with three of them being undrafted rookies, this seems like a more vulnerable group.

Again, special teams come into play here and the defensive backs with the least amount of experience could be on the chopping block, which is a shame. We may not get the chance to find out if there another C.J. Moore-type in this group.

On the kicking team the Lions have a punting battle brewing between Jack Fox and Aaron Siposs, which means the Lions are likely to keep both, but can they also afford to keep two long snappers where there is less of a battle?

In my latest Roster Stack: Summer edition, I identified 21 players in the final “have work to do” group, and while the cuts will likely come from this group, it’s worth noting that occasionally there are players who rise up out of this group during training camp — hello, Kevin Strong –, but unfortunately this year they may not get that chance.

Report: NFL teams considering smaller training camp rosters

NFL teams might take fewer than 90 players to training camps this year.

In a usual offseason, NFL teams take 90 players to training camp and play four preseason games before trimming the roster down to 53 players.

This year’s offseason certainly hasn’t been normal.

Because of COVID-19, the league is planning to have two preseason games instead of the usual four. Teams are also considering taking fewer players to training camp than usual, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter:

One source said he believed it’s likely that teams will go to camp with 80-man rosters, and another source said it’s “definitely not 90.” A third league source said he has “heard lots of discussion about 75 players potentially instead of 90,” especially with the reduction in preseason games and teams not needing as many players for camp as normal.

That would be bad news for players on the fringe hoping to battle for a spot on the roster this summer. Little-known prospects have already had the odds stacked against them this year because of the coronavirus.

Small school prospects often aren’t invited to the NFL combine but they are able to make up for that by putting in a strong performance at their school’s pro day. Because of COVID-19, many schools didn’t have pro days this year.

If the coronavirus had happened in 2018, Phillip Lindsay might not have been on the Broncos’ radar without a strong pro day. There might be similar diamond in the rough prospects this year who could be cut from the team before training camp even starts.

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Packers pre-training camp 53-man roster predictions: Quarterbacks

Predicting which quarterbacks the Packers will keep on the 53-man roster to start the 2020 season.

Up first is quarterbacks, where the Packers have a first-round pick and real intrigue behind Aaron Rodgers entering training camp:

Players

Aaron Rodgers
Tim Boyle
Jordan Love (rookie)
Jalen Morton (rookie)

Number kept to start 2019

Two. The Packers kept Tim Boyle – who produced a passer rating of 112.9 during the preseason – as the No. 2 quarterback behind Aaron Rodgers, cutting DeShone Kizer in the process. Undrafted rookie Manny Wilkins returned as the third quarterback on the practice squad.

Roster prediction (3)

1. Aaron Rodgers: The two-time NFL MVP will be motivated to have a big second season in Matt LaFleur’s offense. Coming off back-to-back so-so seasons and turning 37 years old in December, Rodgers needs to play exceedingly well over the next few seasons to prevent the transition to Love, the team’s first-round pick in 2020.

2. Tim Boyle: The selection of Love puts Boyle’s roster spot at risk but doesn’t necessarily guarantee he’s gone, especially with the coronavirus cloud hovering over the entire 2020 season. He’s going to be so far ahead of Love to start training camp, and keeping Boyle as the top backup would ensure there’s a quarterback with some experience in the offense behind Rodgers to start the regular season. He’s improved each of the last two summers and will be increasingly comfortable in his second season in the scheme. The circumstances give Boyle a terrific opportunity to remain the No. 2 to start 2020, even if new practice squad rules might encourage keeping only two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.

3. Jordan Love: The rookie has more talent than Boyle and is the team’s expected future starter, but he’s way behind after not having an in-person offseason workout program. Important on-field reps and drill work were missed. Playing catchup as a rookie quarterback during training camp won’t be easy, especially if there are restrictions and fewer preseason games, and there’s a chance all teams will want to carry three quarterbacks on the roster to start an unprecedented 2020 season. Letting Love start the season as the third quarterback might be the safest option for LaFleur and the Packers. Remember, he’s going to get about a month – at max – of in-person work with the team before the regular season begins. NFL teams are notoriously cautious at quarterback.

Cut (1)

1. Jalen Morton: The undrafted free agent from Prairie View A&M is facing a massive uphill battle to start his pro career. However, Morton could emerge as a valuable practice squad player if he proves worthy of further development during camp.

Updating roster prediction

QB (3): Aaron Rodgers, Tim Boyle, Jordan Love

Establishing the 53: Wrapping up the mailbag, part 3

Answering the reader’s mailbag questions after Erik Schlitt’s Establishing the 53 series of articles at Lions Wire.

After the conclusion of my “Establishing the 53” series of articles, I posed a question to the #OnePride fan base on Twitter asking for any mailbag questions surrounding my conclusions.

I answered the three most asked questions in Part 1 of the Mailbag, focused on the linebackers in Part 2, but there are still a few more great questions to answer. So let’s wrap up the mailbag here with Part 3.

Note: questions may have been edited for clarity.

I suspect the Lions really want a fulltime FB, they would fear losing Blough off the PS, and they lust for safeties — which would mean 1 more making the team. — @jhsthethird

I agree with all three of these concerns and even addressed the need for an extra safety in part 1 of the mailbag when I added C.J. Moore back into my 53-man projection.

As far as a fullback, Nick Bawden is the obvious front runner and his contributions on special teams surely help his cause, but at the end of the day the Lions would likely have to go light at another position — keeping only five wide receivers or eight offensive linemen — to make room for him. It’s possible that happens, but it would go a bit against the grain of previous rosters constructions.

Unfortunately, the same issue with roster space applies to Blough as well. He has shown he has the mental makeup and potential to develop with time, but if the Lions were truly all in on him making the 53, they probably wouldn’t have given Chase Daniel the type of contract they did. If the Lions are truly worried they may lose him off the practice squad, don’t be surprised if they give him salary close to what he is making now ($675,000) to encourage him to stick around.

It seems that you have all but one draft pick sticking on the roster. Does that mean you think the Lions really did well in the late rounds of the draft? — @IgorPetrinovic

The one draft pick I didn’t have making my 53-man projection was seventh-round pick defensive lineman Jashon Cornell (Ohio State), as I had him being edged out by last year’s UDFA gem Kevin Strong. My exclusion is less a knock on Cornell and more of a compliment to Strong who flashed last season. If Cornell impresses in camp, he surely has a shot to make it into the rotation.

One of the reasons I typically include a lot of rookies from the Lions draft class is based on the methodical nature of general manager Bob Quinn. He rarely veers from his offseason game plan and when he identifies a player and uses draft capital on him, it’s generally for an immediate purpose.

For example, in the four previous seasons, Quinn has only cut the following drafted rookies in training camp:

2019: his final draft pick, PJ Johnson
2018: none
2017: final pick Pat O’Conner, and second to last pick Brad Kaaya
2016: second to last pick Jimmy Landes

Will the Lions add more depth to the DL/pass rush before the season? Looks to be a weak spot again this season. — @thespartyabides

The interior defensive line surely has the potential to be a weak spot with concerns surrounding Da’Shawn Hand and Kevin Strong’s health, Nick Williams’ lack of scheme familiarity, unproven rookies in Cornell and John Penisini, and the struggles to create pressure from this group last season.

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But if the Lions are going to add a player in free agency, the top name on the market is a familiar one: Mike Daniels.

Adding Daniels on an incentive-laden deal would be wise — if the Lions can get him on board with it — as he loves the Lions organization and coaches, and when healthy has the upside to fill an interior pass-rushing role the team desperately needs.

You have the Lions keeping 9 OL and 3 are tackles. With 3 IOL that are rookies or 2nd-year players. How likely is it that they stick with that much youth and clustered in the interior vs trying to add/keep a vet? Do you think they are satisfied with their tackle depth? — @KuehnObserve

I do think they are satisfied with their tackle depth, and while it’s not overly sexy having Kenny Wiggins as a fourth option, I believe they would rather lean on him in an emergency option rather than keep a roster spot for a player who can only play at tackle, like Dan Skipper or free agents like Demar Dotson and Andre Smith who are the top right tackles on the market.

As far as the interior, having three veterans and three rookie/sophomores is livable, especially if they keep a player like Oday Aboushi on speed dial.