Tag: A.J. Klein

Former Panthers LB A.J. Klein retires

Can we get one last “LUUUUUUUUKE” for an old friend?

Rashaad Penny wasn’t the only familiar face to hang up his cleats on Tuesday.

Former Carolina Panthers linebacker A.J. Klein has announced his retirement from the NFL. The 33-year-old delivered the news in the following Instagram post this afternoon:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C-DHRm4RY9y/?hl=en

A two-time First-team All-Big 12 defender and the 2011 Big 12 co-Defensive Player of the Year, Klein was selected in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft by the Panthers. The Iowa State University standout played his first four pro seasons in Carolina—where he amassed 146 combined tackles, 4.0 sacks, four forced fumbles and an interception through the 2016 campaign.

After hitting free agency for the first time in his career, Klein then went on to sign a three-year, $15 million deal with the New Orleans Saints in 2017. He started in 42 of his 43 games for the Panthers’ NFC South rivals over those three seasons—totaling 193 tackles, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions.

Klein also picked up stops with the Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens.

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22 former Panthers on this year’s Divisional Round rosters

Here are 22 names from this weekend’s Divisional Round action that Panthers fans may recognize

While the Carolina Panthers are busy trying to find a new power duo, quite a few of their former players are right in the middle of playoff action.

Here are 22 ex-Panthers who are gearing up for this year’s Divisional Round games:

5 things to know about new Bears LB A.J. Klein

The Bears acquired A.J. Klein as part of the Roquan Smith trade with the Ravens. Here are 5 things to know about the newest Bear.

The Chicago Bears acquired linebacker A.J. Klein from the Baltimore Ravens as a part of the Roquan Smith trade. Klein was in the middle of his first season with the Ravens before being traded to Chicago.

Klein is a solid player, who has started many games as a linebacker, so he will add good depth to the Bears’ rebuilding defense. He also is someone who plays special teams. That is a huge plus to bringing him aboard in Chicago.

Here are five things to new about the Bears’ newest linebacker, A.J. Klein.

Updated look at Bears’ linebacker depth after Roquan Smith trade

Following the Roquan Smith trade, here’s a look at where the Bears’ linebacker depth stands.

The Chicago Bears are trading star linebacker Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens for 2023 second- and fifth-round picks, along with linebacker A.J. Klein.

The linebacker group was already a big question mark this season — and that was before Smith was dealt to the Ravens. There are a number of unproven commodities at linebacker, but there should be options for some younger players, like Jack Sanborn, to get additional reps.

Following Smith’s departure, here’s a look at the Bears’ linebacker depth, which now features four linebackers on the active roster:

Grading the Bears’ trade of LB Roquan Smith to the Ravens

It will take years to fully evaluate the Roquan Smith trade to the Ravens, but here is our initial grade of the move.

The Chicago Bears were giving out treats in the form of star players on Halloween as they traded linebacker Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens for a second and fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, as well as veteran linebacker A.J. Klein. The trade was general manager Ryan Poles’ latest and arguably most notable attempt yet at rebuilding the roster for the future. It’s the second deal the Bears have made in a week after trading defensive end Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles last Wednesday in exchange for a fourth-round pick.

Entering the 2022 season, Smith was viewed as the unequivocal leader of the defensive unit after other veterans such as Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks moved on to other teams. But Smith and Poles got off to a rocky start due to a standoff with a contract extension. Smith was entering the final year of his rookie contract and wanted to be paid top dollar, but he and Poles couldn’t agree on a figure and Smith held out of most of training camp before returning just before the start of the regular season.

Now, Smith heads to Baltimore to help the Ravens keep the AFC North division lead and will become a free agent at the end of the season. The Bears, meanwhile, add two more draft picks to their arsenal to help them rebuild for the 2023 season and beyond. Smith finishes his Bears season with a league-leading 83 tackles, four for loss, 2.5 sacks, and two interceptions.

The complete evaluation of this trade won’t be complete for a few years, but here is our initial grade of the move as the Bears continue to look towards the future.

Ravens announce inactives for Week 7 vs. Browns

The Ravens announced their inactives for their Week 7 matchup with the Browns

The Baltimore Ravens will take on the Cleveland Browns in Week 7. The Ravens had a plethora of players listed on the final injury report for this matchup on Friday with some of them being forced to sit out on Sunday.

On Baltimore’s final injury report on Friday, the team announced that running back J.K. Dobbins (knee) would miss Week 7. The following day the team announced that Dobbins was placed on injured reserve and that running back Gus Edwards would return off the physically unable to perform list.

On Sunday, Baltimore released their inactives list ahead of the Week 7 matchup. Cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis, outside linebacker A.J. Klein, wide receiver Tylan Wallace, running back Mike Davis and guard Ben Cleveland will not suit up in Week 7.

The Browns also released their inactives for the week on Sunday, that featured seven players, which included playmaking cornerback Denzel Ward.

Ravens announce inactives for Week 5 vs. Bengals

The Ravens announced their inactives ahead of a Week 5 Sunday night matchup with the Bengals

The Baltimore Ravens will take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football in Week 5. The Ravens are still one of the more injury-ravaged teams in the NFL, and the latest inactives list showed just that.

On Sunday, Baltimore released their inactives list ahead of the Week 5 matchup. One key player returns to the Ravens for the first time since Week 1 of 2021, while a few other key names won’t suit up for the team in the key divisional matchup.

Rumors began swirling around early in the week that offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle) would make his season debut on Sunday. Those rumors turned out to be true, and the return of the seven-year veteran will certainly give Baltimore a boost.

Players who were announced on Friday to not suit up for the AFC North primetime matchup were wide receiver Rashad Bateman (foot), running back Justice Hill (hamstring), guard Ben Cleveland (foot) and outside linebacker Justin Houston (groin). The other two inactives of the week are linebacker A.J. Klein and cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis.

Ravens HC John Harbaugh shares thoughts on signing of LB A.J. Klein

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh shared his thoughts on the signing of linebacker A.J. Klein

The Baltimore Ravens have been doing plenty of roster shuffling over the course of the 2022 season so far. They’ve seen multiple different contributors go down with injuries over the course of the year, so the team has added players to both their active roster and their practice squad.

On Thursday, Baltimore officially signed linebacker A.J. Klein off of the New York Giants practice squad to their active roster. On Friday, head coach John Harbaugh gave his thoughts on the signing, saying that he’s always admired Klein, discussing some of his traits as well as his professionalism.

“I can comment on that one. _(laughter)I always have admired A.J. [Klein] coming out at Iowa [State], and then throughout the years playing against him. He’s a really good football player; he knows how to play, he’s a big, physical guy, he’s a good athlete, into it. You can already see just the first couple days here his professionalism and how excited he is to be here. So, it’s just another addition [that] I think it’s going to help our defense.”

Ravens sign LB A.J. Klein to active roster from Giants’ practice squad

The Ravens signed linebacker A.J. Klein to their active roster from the Giants’ practice squad

The Baltimore Ravens will take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5 of the 2022 season. The game will fall on Sunday Night Football, which will mark the first prime time game of Baltimore’s season.

The Ravens have been shuffling their roster around in the wake of injuries, and on Wednesday made an addition to their active roster in linebacker A.J. Klein. The team signed him off of the New York Giants practice squad, and he was at Baltimore practice on Thursday as a participant as he begins to learn a new defense.

Giants sign safety Landon Collins, lose A.J. Klein to Ravens

The New York Giants are reuniting with 2015 second-round pick Landon Collins after he spent three seasons in Washington.

The New York Giants held their weekly workouts on Monday and it produced a new signing in the form of an old face.

The team has signed free agency safety Landon Collins, whom they originally selected in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft, to their practice squad. He will likely to activated for Week 5.

Collins spent four years with the Giants, earning three trips to the Pro Bowl and one All-Pro nod, before being allowed to walk as a free agent in 2019. He promptly signed with the Washington Commanders and spent the previous three years there, although his time was riddled with injury.

In 2020, Collins suffered a torn Achilles tendon, causing him to miss nine games. He missed an additional four games in 2021 as the result of a foot injury, and was designated a post-June 1 release in March of this year.

In his even NFL seasons, Collins has appeared in 94 games (94 starts), recording 676 tackles (482 solo, 41 for a loss), 16 QB hits, 10.0 sacks, seven forced fumbles, 39 passes defensed, 11 interceptions and one touchdown.

Collins owns a 54.7 Pro Football Focus grade (82.5 against the run) in 2021. He earned a career-best grade of 82.4 in 2016 as a member of the last Giants playoff team.

Although he’s had some issues in coverage, Collins has never been “in the red” as a run defender or pass rushers. He’s also only ever been in the red (2020) as a tackler once.

With Xavier McKinney excelling in coverage, Collins provides a solid option for Wink Martindale in terms of blitzing and run defense.

Collins takes the place of linebacker A.J. Klein on the Giants practice squad. He is being signed to the active roster by the Baltimore Ravens.

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