Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Cardinals worked out a trio of interior defensive line this week.
According to the league’s transaction report on Thursday, the Arizona Cardinals had players at State Farm Stadium for tryouts. Apparently, they are looking for depth on the defensive line.
They hosted three defensive tackles, ultimately signing one.
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The Steelers signed street free agent Abdullah Anderson to their 90-man offseason roster on Monday.
The Steelers’ offseason roster continues to grow as the team announced on Monday that they’ve signed defensive end Abdullah Anderson to a one-year contract.
Anderson at 6-foot 3, 297 pounds, spent most of the 2020 season on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad and was active for one game.
The Chicago Bears signed Anderson as an undrafted free agent following the 2018 NFL draft. Most of his time in Chicago was spent on the practice squad, but he did appear in six matchups over the two seasons. Anderson recorded four tackles (one for loss), a quarterback hit and one sack in those games.
Anderson played college football at Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa., where he was the 2017 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and Brooks-Irvine Memorial Football Club FCS Collegiate Player of the Year.
The defensive line is now 10 players deep so far, including starters Cameron Heyward, Tyson Alulalu and Stephon Tuitt. Pittsburgh signed defensive end T.J. Carter just last week.
According to Trib Live’s Joe Rutter, Pittsburgh currently has 73 players under contract, 17 under the offseason roster limit of 90.
We have signed DE Abdullah Anderson. @BordasLawhttps://t.co/EqMpUecnSi
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 12, 2021
Both players have limited NFL experience
There won’t be games for another six months, but the Cleveland Browns continue to pursue GM Andrew Berry’s aggressive acquisition of talent. The Browns worked out two free agent defensive linemen on Monday.
Cleveland held a workout for DE Abdullah Anderson and DT Albert Huggins. Neither has been signed to a reserve/futures contract as of yet.
Anderson has three years of NFL experience, spending his first two seasons with the Chicago Bears. He played in six games as an undrafted rookie from Bucknell, logging one sack and four total tackles. Anderson spent the 2020 season on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad.
Huggins is from Clemson, where he started at defensive tackle. A 2019 undrafted free agent with the Houston Texans, Huggins has bounced around several NFL teams in his two seasons. He finished 2020 with the Detroit Lions and was elevated to the active roster for two games.
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The Bears have signed OLB Khalil Mack’s younger brother Ledarius Mack to the practice squad and released DL Abdullah Anderson.
It’s quite literally the return of the Mack. Well, not the Mack. But a Mack.
The Chicago Bears have signed outside linebacker Khalil Mack’s brother Ledarius Mack to the practice squad. The rookie outside linebacker signed as an undrafted free agent with the Bears earlier this offseason.
Return of the Mack. @leemack52 rejoins our team on the practice squad.@Hyundai | #DaBears
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 14, 2020
Ledarius spent the offseason and training camp with the Bears, but he was waived Sept. 5 as part of final cuts as the team finalized its 53-man roster. Ledarius, who joins the 16-man practice squad, replaced defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson, who the Bears released on Monday.
Ledarius’ big brother gave a scouting report of the younger Mack, referring to him as “explosive” during his time in camp.
“He’s jumping out on film,” Khalil said. “Very explosive, very explosive. You can tell that he’s talented. Things that [are] gonna affect that decision — it’s gonna come down to special teams. How he’ll be used out there, whatever that may be, but all in all, what I’ve seen, man, I’m proud of him.”
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DT Bilal Nichols took reps at nose tackle in the Bears’ first padded practice, and he and Akiem Hicks gave the offensive line some fits.
The Chicago Bears lost a vital member of their defense with nose tackle Eddie Goldman choosing to opt out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns.
While it’s certainly no easy task asking to replace someone like Goldman, that’s exactly what the Bears have to do. And there are a number of players that are willing to step up to the challenge.
Including third-year defensive tackle Bilal Nichols, who played nose tackle in place of Goldman in Chicago’s first padded practice of training camp. And according to The Athletic’s Adam Jahns, Nichols and defensive tackle Akiem Hicks gave the offensive line some fits in the run game.
#Bears defensive lineman Bilal Nichols played nose today in place of Eddie Goldman. He said believes he can handle it. He and Akiem Hicks gave the offensive line plenty of problems early during some run-game work.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 17, 2020
The Bears have several players on their roster that could assume the nose tackle role in Goldman’s absence, including Nichols. Defensive line coach Jay Rodgers also said John Jenkins, Abdullah Anderson and Brent Urban will all get reps at nose tackle during training camp as they’re looking to find the guy to step in Goldman’s impressive shoes.
“We’d like to have options,” Rodgers told the media last week. “What you’d like to have is the best two, three, four guys out there on the field that you could possibly put out there with the ability to substitute when you need to and not have any drop-off. So we’re going to continue to train everybody at every position.”
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Chicago will be without NT Eddie Goldman, who opted out of the 2020 season. And while the loss is brutal, the show must go on.
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This season is going to look unlike any other in recent history. But it’s not just the COVID-19 pandemic that has already made the NFL unrecognizable to a degree. For the Chicago Bears, they’ll have to hit the field without one of their best defensive lineman.
Chicago will be without nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who opted out of the 2020 season due to health and safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. And while the loss is brutal, the show must go on.
The challenge with replacing Goldman is that you can’t replace someone like Goldman, which is why his loss is so significant. While the Bears certainly have some players that could very well take the next step, it’s hard to replace the kind of veteran experience that someone like Goldman has developed to help make him such an integral part of this defense.
“There are some guys on our team that do some things that Eddie does just as well; they just haven’t done it in that position for as long,” defensive line coach Jay Rodgers said, via ChicagoBears.com. “Eddie’s been the anchor point in the middle for five years now. Through experience, you learn. Eddie didn’t just arrive in his first year and have all that ability. He learned how to play the game. We’ve got some guys who are getting more experience in those positions and are learning to play the nose position at a high level.”
Still, the Bears need to find Goldman’s replacement this season, and it doesn’t sound like they’re going to look at free agency where nose tackle Damon Harrison still resides. Chicago feels comfortable with the guys they have, and they’re about to get a bigger workload. Rodgers said that veterans Bilal Nichols, John Jenkins, Abdullah Anderson and Brent Urban will all see some reps at nose tackle during training camp.
“We’d like to have options,” Rodgers said. “What you’d like to have is the best two, three, four guys out there on the field that you could possibly put out there with the ability to substitute when you need to and not have any drop-off. So we’re going to continue to train everybody at every position.”
Whoever lines up at nose tackle likely won’t have the same impact that Goldman would’ve. But there’s a reason why the Bears have one of the best defensive lines in the league — and it’s not because of just one player.
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Let’s take a look at the Bears’ defensive line heading into training camp.
The Chicago Bears are ten days away from reporting to training camp on July 28 and the defensive line is eager to get back on the field. Last year, a couple of injuries plagued the defensive line, especially with Akiem Hicks, but if the Bears can stay healthy in 2020, they have one of the best units in the NFL.
The Bears saw two players leave in free agency that played a productive role. Aaron Lynch returns to his home state to play with the Jacksonville Jaguars on a one-year, $1.1 million deal after playing in 16 games and totaling two sacks. Nick Williams signs with divisional rival Detroit Lions for two years, $10 million after a breakout year with six sacks, nine quarterback hits, five tackle for loss, and 42 total tackles.
Let’s take a look at the defensive line heading into training camp.
Playing in five games last season due to injury, Hicks is hungry to get back on the field. Ever since Hicks joined the Bears in 2016, he has played at an elite level where he has recorded more than seven sacks in each season besides 2019, five force fumbles, four fumble recoveries, seven pass deflections and 173 combined tackles.
The 2018 Pro Bowler is accompanied by Khalil Mack and newly signed Robert Quinn, which can help Hicks get his normal production and more. The 30-year old will be a key piece on the defense in 2020 after missing 11 games last season.
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