Tag: abram smith

D.C. Defenders improve to 5-0 with win over St. Louis

D.C.’s other professional football team remains undefeated after winning over St. Louis.

Football is alive and well in the nation’s capital. The XFL’s D.C. Defenders were 4-0 and headed to The Dome at America’s Center Saturday to play the St. Louis Battlehawks in a game to determine first place in the XFL’s North division standings.

After a sluggish start in the first quarter, the Defenders picked things up in the second quarter to go on to defeat the Battlehawks 28-20 and move to 5-0 on the season. D.C. is the XFL’s lone remaining undefeated team. The Houston Roughnecks were 4-0 until Thursday’s loss to the Seattle Sea Dragons.

St. Louis jumped on the scoreboard first when kicker Donny Hageman connected on a 36-yard field goal around six minutes into the second quarter.

That apparently caused the D.C. offense to wake up.

D.C. running back Abram Smith took the handoff and went 62 yards for the touchdown to give the Defenders a 6-3. lead. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu found Josh Hammond on the 2-point conversion to extend the lead to 8-3.

Just before halftime, Smith again found paydirt, scoring from five yards out to extend the lead to 14-3, where it stood at halftime.

The third quarter began much like the second when Hageman made another field goal to make it a one-score game. How did D.C. answer? With Smith, of course. Smith takes the D’Eriq King handoff and goes untouched for a 70-yard touchdown.

The 2-point conversion was again no good, and the Defenders held a 20-6 lead.

The Battlehawks finally found the end zone when quarterback A.J. McCarron found wide receiver George Campbell for a five-yard touchdown. The Battlehawks failed to convert on the 2-pointer.

With it a one-score game, how would the Defenders answer?

King would score from 10 yards out, and Ta’amu would be successful on the 2-point conversion to give D.C. a 28-12 lead. McCarron led St. Louis on another touchdown drive, but it wasn’t enough, giving the Defenders a season sweep of the Battlehawks.

Next up for the Defenders are the aforementioned Roughnecks in what should be an outstanding game.

Smith had arguably the best individual performance in the XFL this season, rushing for 218 yards and three touchdowns.

Abram Smith, Defenders stomp Battlehawks in XFL 2023

A 202-yard rushing effort by Abram Smith propelled the D.C. Defenders in XFL 2023 play

When he was a youth, Abram Smith wanted to give up football because getting tackled wasn’t fun.

His mom told Smith that he should be the hammer and not the nail.

Smith went to play at Baylor and now excels for the undefeated D.C. Defenders in the XFL.

On Saturday, Smith kept hammering St. Louis as D.C. won its fifth straight, 28-20.

Smith rushed for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns. Smith had 62- and 5-yard scoring runs in the second quarter as the Defenders built a 14-3 lead.

He added a 70-yarder in the third quarter.

The Defenders went ahead 28-12 in the fourth quarter on a D’Eriq King 10-yard run.

St. Louis cut the deficit to 28-20 on a 50-yard AJ McCarron touchdown pass and 2-point conversion with 4:19 left.

The Battlehawks got a chance to tie — or win — the game with two minutes left.

On a third-and-2, McCarron was sacked and the Battlehawks faced a fourth-and-10 with 1:20 left.

McCarron found Brian Hill by the sideline and the running back ran down the sidelines before stepping out with a first down.

Hill then caught another pass for 11 yards and another first down.

However, the Battlehawks’ comeback died on the next play when Defenders DB Michael Joseph made his fourth interception of the season.

Up next for the undefeated Defenders is a home game a week from Monday against the 4-1 Houston Roughnecks.

 

24 former Saints players getting another shot in the XFL spring league

7 of the 8 XFL teams have rostered former Saints. Some were only here long enough to pour a cup of coffee, but we’re rooting for all of them in their next opportunity:

The XFL is returning for its 2023 season, with opening day rapidly approaching. And there will be a lot of former New Orleans Saints players crowding the sidelines in Saturday’s kickoff game between the Las Vegas Vipers and Arlington Renegades — it’ll be broadcast nationally on ABC, beginning at 2 p.m. CT.

Seven of the spring league’s eight teams have at least one former Saints player on their roster. Some of these players were only in New Orleans for a few weeks, just long enough to learn the playbook and pour a cup of coffee. Others were draft picks, free agent signings, and fan-favorites.

But at some point they all walked onto the practice field on Airline Drive in a helmet with a fleur-de-lis on it, and we’re rooting for them as they chase their second shot at playing pro football. Here’s the full list:

Giants work out Darrell Henderson, other running backs

The New York Giants hosted several running backs on a tryout basis on Tuesday, including ex-Ram Darrell Henderson.

The New York Giants hosted a trio of running backs for tryouts in East Rutherford on Tuesday, including former Los Angeles Ram Darrell Henderson.

The 25-year-old Henderson was a third-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft and spent his first three-plus years in Los Angeles. He was waived in late November and promptly claimed by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

That stay was short-lived as the Jags waived Henderson just two and a half weeks later.

In 50 career games (28 starts), Henderson has rushed for 1,742 yards and 13 touchdowns with a 4.4 ypc average. He has also caught 66 passes for 474 yards and four touchdowns.

In addition to Henderson, the Giants worked out running backs Abram Smith and Nate McCrary.

Smith is an undrafted rookie who currently plays for the DC Defenders of the XFL, while McCrary is a two-year journeyman with just a single NFL carry.

None of the three were immediately signed to a contract. Their workouts do not appear to be a reflection on the health of the Giants’ backs, none of whom appeared on Tuesday’s projected injury report.

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Here are the 13 former Saints players who were selected in the 2023 XFL draft

Some familiar faces could be playing in the XLF next year. Here are the 13 former Saints players selected in the 2023 XFL draft, from RB Abram Smith to TE Alize Mack:

The XFL will be back in 2023, prompting the spring league to launch its draft in Las Vegas this week. A draft pool of 1,700 players from a wide array of backgrounds were available in the three-day event, with the XFL’s eight teams ultimately selecting hundreds of prospects hoping for their big break.

And there were quite a few former New Orleans Saints players in the mix, including some NFL draft picks and even a couple of players currently signed with the Saints practice squad, meaning they may have to choose between a flyer contract with New Orleans or this XFL opportunity after the 2022 season concludes.

A total of 13 former Saints were picked throughout the XFL draft. Here’s a quick recap:

Browns host 10 players for workouts on Friday including Kenny Stills

The Browns hosted 10 free agents for tryouts today, including veteran wide receiver Kenny Stills

We found out earlier this morning the Cleveland Browns were hosting former Buffalo Bills’ defensive tackle Prince Emili. However, it turns out the Browns actually hosted 10 players today, and one of them was veteran wide receiver Kenny Stills.

All-in-all, the Browns hosted a quarterback, an offensive tackle, three defensive tackles, two running backs, and three wide receivers. The three defensive tackles are the clear emphasis here, especially after the Cleveland defensive interior was torn to shreds against the Atlanta Falcons.

We take a look here at each of the ten players and give a bit of background on each of them.

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Seahawks work out four players, sign one to practice squad

Here’s who came in and who they signed.

The Seahawks brought in a few more free agents for workouts on Tuesday, including a couple running backs. In the end, they added one of them to their practice squad for more depth while Travis Homer is out with his rib injury.

Here’s who came in and who they signed.

49ers work out former Baylor RB

The 49ers don’t have a running back on their practice squad, so it’s not a surprise to see they worked out a running back.

The 49ers on Monday worked out former Baylor running back Abram Smith per the NFL’s transaction wire.

Smith wasn’t selected in this year’s draft, but he signed on with the Saints shortly after the draft. He spent all offseason in New Orleans before being let go at final roster cuts.

It’s not a huge surprise the 49ers are working out a running back. They let go of RBs Trey Sermon and JaMycal Hasty, but both were scooped up by other teams. Sermon landed with the Eagles while Hasty signed on with the Jaguars.

Smith had a fascinating college career. He wasn’t utilized as a running back in his first two seasons and collected 46 yards on just 12 carries. In his junior year he played linebacker for the Bears and posted 48 tackles, five tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks. Then in his final year he had a monster year at running back with 1,601 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 257 attempts.

The 49ers’ practice squad doesn’t have a running back and they have one practice squad spot open. Having an in-house option to elevate to the active roster in the event of an injury is probably smart even though San Francisco is carrying four RBs on their active roster.

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Saints cut rookie running back Abram Smith

The New Orleans Saints waived rookie running back Abram Smith. Does recent Alvin Kamara news take them out of the running back market? via @DillySanders:

Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson reports that the New Orleans Saints have waived Abram Smith, a rookie running back out of Baylor. This was expected after the developments with the running back competition, Smith just couldn’t make an impact with Dwayne Washington and Tony Jones Jr. looking more consistent running the ball and contributing on special teams. Smith does offer a lot of potential, and will likely find himself back on the Saints practice squad if no one else picks him up before Tuesday’s roster cuts.

Should the Saints feel like they still need to go to the open market for some help, former Las Vegas Raiders running back Kenyan Drake is still a free agent. They could also make some calls as there should be some trade activity in the next couple of days as well.

In all likelihood, though, the Saints will stand pat where they are for now as it seems as though Alvin Kamara will not be suspended this year as previously thought. They have plenty of depth behind him on the roster now, with Mark Ingram looking rejuvenated on two touchdown runs to close out the preseason, and they shouldn’t worry about bringing in another back while there are bigger concerns — namely adding a new backup tackle to replace the injured Trevor Penning.

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1 player to watch at each Saints position group in preseason finale

Highlighting a player to watch at each Saints position group in their preseason finale against the Chargers:

The New Orleans Saints preseason will close out on Friday night when the Los Angeles Chargers visit for this summer’s only exhibition game at the Caesars Superdome. It’s the last opportunity for many players to make their case for a roster spot – New Orleans must whittle the depth down from 80 players to just 53 after this preseason game, and probably 40 or more of those roster spots are already spoken for. Many guys will just be hoping to earn a practice squad contract. The Saints have built a highly competitive team.

So there will be plenty to tune in for when they kick off with the Chargers. We’re highlighting one player from each position group who deserves some attention. Some of them are guys on the roster bubble who can change their fortunes with a big night, others are recent high draft picks who need to show more progress before the regular season begins. Others could be on their way out if they don’t meet expectations. Let’s run through the list: