Tag: Aaron Brewer

Titans’ Jeffery Simmons confident about facing ex-teammate Aaron Brewer

Jeffery Simmons lined up against Aaron Brewer in practices for four years and is set to face him as an opponent for the first time Monday.

For four years, the Tennessee Titans’ two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons faced center Aaron Brewer in practices. Now, he’s set to line up across the line of scrimmage from his former teammate Monday night when the Titans play the Miami Dolphins.

Brewer, 26, signed a three-year deal with the Dolphins in free agency to replace Connor Williams in the middle of the Miami offensive line. And Simmons feels confident that the Titans’ rookie defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat can win the matchup.

“He’s still the same player,” Simmons told reporters Wednesday, via ESPN’s Turron Davenport. “I practiced against ‘Brew.’ I know him. He’s quick going lateral. He’s a guy I feel good about our nose tackle lined up over him, especially with his strengths.

“I’ll be able to tell [Sweat] a couple things throughout the week that, when I practiced against ‘Brew,’ that I saw in ‘Brew’ that we still see on film. But ‘Brew’ is a fiesty player — that’s the reason why he’s in this league. He’s good at what he does and he’s good at the type of offense [the Dolphins] run.”

Through the first three weeks of the year, Brewer has a 73.2 grade on Pro Football Focus (third best among Dolphins offensive starters) and has been credited with allowing three pressures and no sacks.

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6 ex-Broncos will face Denver in Week 3 of NFL preseason

Six former Broncos players will return to Empower Field at Mile High to play against their former team on Sunday.

A half-dozen ex-Denver Broncos players will return to Empower Field at Mile High to play against their former team on Sunday.

The Arizona Cardinals have six ex-Broncos on their roster — two on offense, two on defense and two on special teams. Denver is set to host Arizona in Sunday’s preseason finale.

Cardinals offensive lineman Elijah Wilkinson joined the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of UMass in 2017. He dressed for 45 games in four years in Denver, earning 26 starts moving between guard and tackle.

Arizona running back Tony Jones went to training camp with the Broncos last summer but did not make the squad after preseason.

Cardinals defensive back Delonte Hood spent time on Denver’s practice squad in 2022 before being released in 2023.

Arizona cornerback Michael Ojemudia was picked by the Broncos in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft out of Iowa. He played in 21 games with 12 starts from 2020-2022 before being waived.

Cardinals long snapper Aaron Brewer landed in Denver as an undrafted free agent out of San Diego State in 2012. He spent four years as the team’s long snapper before being released in 2016.

Arizona kicker Matt Prater played for the Broncos from 2007-2014, converting a then-NFL record 64-yard field goal in 2013. Denver replaced Prater with Brandon McManus during the 2014 season.

Sunday’s game will be nationally televised on CBS.

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Veteran Aaron Brewer fends off rookie for long snapper job

Brewer will be the Cardinals’ long snapper for the ninth straight year after rookie Joe Shimko was released.

One understated position battle has been decided for the Arizona Cardinals. They now have only one long snapper on the roster.

Veteran Aaron Brewer has won the job over undrafted rookie Joe Shimko.

The Cardinals announced some roster moves on Tuesday, including the release of Shimko, cementing Brewer’s status on the team.

This will be Brewer’s ninth season with the team and his 13th in the NFL.

Shimko will now hope to land with another team with a tryout, and perhaps the Cardinals will consider bringing him back later if Brewer gets hurt.

Brewer is 34 years old and, while he played in all 17 games last season, missed multiple games in both 2021 and 2022.

But Brewer’s win means the trio of specialists that the Cardinals had last season will return in its entirety this season.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Mike McDaniel sees a silver lining in Aaron Brewer’s injury

Aaron Brewer is “week to week” with a hand injury, but Mike McDaniel is trying to find the positives.

The Miami Dolphins will be without Aaron Brewer for a while after the team’s starting center suffered a hand injury in a training camp practice last week.

Miami allowed linemen Robert Hunt and Connor Williams to leave in free agency during the offseason and can’t exactly afford to lose players up front. But Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel sees a silver lining — at least it happened now.

“I look at it like this – most of the time you’re not fortunate enough to have no health-related issues on the offensive line for a whole season,” McDaniel said Friday night after the Dolphins’ first preseason game. “So it’s better to have this scenario now than for the first time in Week 10. You’d prefer not to have it at all, but that’s not always reality.”

Brewer, who McDaniel described as “week to week” with his injury, will likely be replaced in the lineup for the time being by Liam Eichenberg, a versatile veteran who was competing for a starting spot at guard.

Earlier in camp, the Dolphins offense was bogged down by snapping issues. The temporary loss of Brewer could exacerbate those problems by limiting his reps with Tua Tagovailoa ahead of the regular season. But as McDaniel said, it may also allow the Dolphins to prepare a contingency plan for the possibility of offensive line shuffling in the near future.

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Snapping issues bogging down Dolphins offense in training camp

Aaron Brewer and the other centers are having issues getting the ball to Dolphins quarterbacks cleanly.

The Miami Dolphins allowed center Connor Williams to walk into free agency and a reunion with the offensive lineman appears unlikely. But the team’s transition to 2024 acquisition Aaron Brewer isn’t off to the smoothest start.

Through the first week of training camp, snaps from Brewer and the team’s other centers have struggled to get the ball to Dolphins quarterback consistently.

 

 

 

 

 

Is it a problem that needs to be addressed with the addition of a new potential starting quality center? Or is it an issue that can be ironed out with more reps before the season begins the fall?

For now, Mike McDaniel isn’t too concerned.

“I’ve become more wise in my coaching years, and snap issues used to just trigger me to all end,” McDaniel said Sunday. “Now the process, I still get triggered, but it’s really fast because it is a part of the process that you that you have to understand. When you have quarterbacks and centers and guards playing with different people at the beginning of the camp and you’re using multiple snap counts and you’re going against multiple looks, it is something that I’m used to.

“You wish it didn’t happen, but the main thing is you want to see some improvement and development as the time goes on. If you have the same issues with the same players continuously, that’s when it’s a huge red flag. Otherwise you’re just making sure that the issues that you had are addressed and worked on and hopefully those are corrected.”

If the Dolphins eventually decide it’s a “huge red flag,” Brewer has experience as a starting guard in the NFL. But that decision would need to come soon, because they’re running out of time to add Williams or another starting quality center to the roster.

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46 days till the Cardinals’ season opener against the Bills

The Cardinals are 46 days from their season opener. No. 46 Aaron Brewer has been an impact player for eight years.

The Arizona Cardinals have opened training camp. But they are still weeks away from the start of the regular season. As of today, Wednesday, their season opener on the road against the Buffalo Bills on September 8 is in 46 days.

The Cardinals have had an impact player on the roster for years wearing No. 46.

That player is long snapper Aaron Brewer.

Brewer has been the Cardinals’ long snapper for the last eight seasons and is vying for a ninth season at 34 years old.

He will battle undrafted rookie Joe Shimko in training camp for the roster spot. It is one of the key position battles in camp.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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2024 Cardinals roster preview: LS Aaron Brewer

We will preview every player on the Cardinals’ roster heading into training camp. This is about long snapper Aaron Brewer.

The Arizona Cardinals will open training camp July 23 and begin the process of preparing for the regular season, forming the roster and determining starting jobs and roles on the team.

Leading up to the start of camp, we will take a look at every player on the offseason roster, their background, their contract, their play in 2023, questions they face and their roster outlook.

Next up is long snapper Aaron Brewer.

Background

Brewer was signed by the Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and played four seasons in Denver. He was released on March 8, 2016, and was signed by the Bears eight days later. However, he was released in the cutdown to 53 players on Sept. 5 and then was signed by the Cardinals on Sept. 28. Overall, he has played 179 games and 115 with the Cardinals.

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Connor Williams ‘not likely’ to re-sign with Dolphins, per his agent

NFL agent Drew Rosenhaus said his client Connor Williams probably won’t be back in Miami next year.

After missing about half of the 2023 season due to injury, former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Connor Williams has spent the past few months sitting on the free agent market.

With training camp not far off on the horizon, Williams’ agent Drew Rosenhaus told WSVN’s Josh Moser that a return to Miami isn’t likely for the interior offensive lineman.

“On behalf of Connor, I’m sure he’d be open to it, but I wouldn’t say that it’s likely that he would return here with the Dolphins,” Rosenhaus said. “I certainly wouldn’t rule anything out, but the Dolphins signed a fine center in Aaron Brewer from the Tennessee Titans and made a big investment.”

Williams was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 and spent the first four years of his career there. But ahead of the 2022 NFL season, Williams signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the Dolphins.

After spending the majority of his time in Dallas as an offensive guard, Williams was moved to the center position with the Dolphins and played his best football. He had a then-career-high 78.4 Pro Football Focus grade in 2022 and an 86.5 grade in 2023 before his season-ending ACL injury in Week 14 against the Tennessee Titans.

Despite the late injury, Williams is on pace to be ready for the beginning of the season, according to Rosenhaus.

“Connor has had remarkable recovery, nothing short of miraculous, really looking good for the start of the season,” Rosenhaus told Moser. “There’s a lot of teams interested in him. But I’m just delighted for Connor. Did not anticipate him going to training camp with the team and felt like it might be something during the season before he played. But now he’s done an awesome job and we’re gonna see Connor Williams in someone’s training camp.”

While Williams looks to be nearing a return from injury, it seems less likely he will be rejoining the Dolphins, especially as he looks for an opportunity to play center again.

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Ex-Titans OL shockingly lands ahead of Lloyd Cushenberry in center rankings

In a recent rankings of NFL centers, the Titans’ starter from last season was surprisingly ranked ahead of Lloyd Cushenberry.

The Tennessee Titans gave themselves a massive upgrade at the center position after the team didn’t re-up with Aaron Brewer, who ultimately signed with the Miami Dolphins, and signed Lloyd Cushenberry to a big free-agent deal.

To be fair, Brewer actually posted a better PFF grade than Cushenberry in run-blocking last season, with Brewer scoring 6.3 points higher than Tennessee’s new center.

However, the gap was much wider in pass protection. Cushenberry gave up just one sack and 14 pressures in 647 pass-block snaps, earning him a PFF pass-block grade of 76.4 in pass protection.

Meanwhile, Brewer surrendered six sacks and 34 total pressures in 622 pass-block snaps and finished with a PFF pass-block grade of 52.5, 23.9 points lower than Cushenberry’s.

Despite all that, PFF’s Thomas Valentine ranked Brewer three spots higher than Cushenberry in his center rankings ahead of the 2024 campaign. Brewer was 11th, while Cushenberry was 14th.

Here’s what Valentine said about Brewer:

Brewer spent one season as the Titans’ starting center before signing a three-year, $21 million contract with the Dolphins. He is known more for his run-blocking abilities, earning a sixth-ranked 78.7 run-blocking grade in 2023. The Dolphins will hope Brewer can improve as a pass-blocker.

And here’s his write-up on Cush:

Cushenberry had a career year in 2023 with the Denver Broncos before earning a payday with the Titans in free agency. The former third-round pick earned a 73.2 grade in 2023, ranking 10th among centers, and allowed just 14 quarterback pressures.

Now, this is not to say that Brewer is terrible, but anyone who watched him last season knows damn well he isn’t the 11th-best center in the league.

The eye test doesn’t bear that out, nor do the numbers. We haven’t had the pleasure of watching Cushenberry close-up yet, but even PFF’s numbers show he’s better than Brewer.

If you follow PFF at least somewhat closely, you’d know that the outlet tends to have a bit of a love affair with Brewer and often overrates him more than anyone else.

However, simply ranking him ahead of Cushenberry is downright egregious.

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New Dolphins OL Aaron Brewer shares insane diet he went on to gain 40 pounds in college

How Aaron Brewer gained 40 pounds in just months at Texas State.

College and professional athletes often have to undergo intense training programs to make sure they’re in the best shape to do their job on the field each and every week, but offensive linemen have a different type of challenge.

Those who are responsible for protecting the quarterback and providing lanes for their running backs need to maintain their mass, which can be difficult for a smaller player attempting to make it at a lesser-known program like Texas State.

New Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Aaron Brewer recently shared on “Drive Time with Travis Wingfield” that when he was in college he had to gain 40 pounds in just months to be ready to perform, and his diet to do so was crazy.

“I don’t know if many people know, but In college, I played underweight as well,” Brewer said. “When I first moved to college I was like 220, and so I had to put on about 40 pounds in the summer and got up to about 270… Here’s what they had me doing. I literally, I’d wake up in the morning. I’d eat two PB&Js and drink chocolate milk. I’d go eat breakfast and eat another PB&J and drink a protein shake. I’d finish that and go eat lunch – PB&J and a protein shake. Dinner – PB&J and a protein shake. Before I go to sleep – two more PB&Js and some chocolate milk. And, I was doing this every day. Chugging every day. PB&Js every day. Wake up go to sleep, same thing.”

Luckily, Brewer doesn’t have to go through that type of rigorous diet again to maintain his shape in the NFL, and his athleticism is actually one of the benefits of his smaller frame.

In Miami, he’ll have to continue being quick enough to beat defenders to the spot and also be strong enough to move their oftentimes much bigger bodies out of the way.