Tag: active

Packers CB Jaire Alexander returns from injury, is active vs. Panthers

Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander is officially ACTIVE for Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

The Green Bay Packers will return cornerback Jaire Alexander on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. The two-time All-Pro is officially active for the first time since injuring his shoulder against the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 5 and missing the last six games.

The Packers listed Alexander as questionable entering the game. He will be an expected starter in the secondary.

Alexander, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, will play in his hometown for the first time in his NFL career. The Packers previously beat the Panthers at Lambeau Field in 2019 and 2020.

Alexander has practiced in a limited capacity for the better part of a month but has been unable to play, in part due to concerns over tackling. Even Alexander admitted the shoulder injury has been a debilitating one for a cornerback.

His return arrives at a desperate time for the Packers and Joe Barry’s defense. Not only do the Packers need to win three straight games after losing back-to-back games, but Barry’s defense is coming off a historically poor performance in which Baker Mayfield completed 22 of 28 passes for 384 yards and four touchdown passes in a 34-20 win over the Packers last Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Having Alexander return at cornerback would, in theory, give the Packers a terrific chance of bouncing back against rookie quarterback Bryce Young and the struggling Panthers offense on Sunday.

The Packers will be without receivers Christian Watson and Jayden Reed, who are both inactive with injuries. Starting linebacker De’Vondre Campbell and safety Darnell Savage were ruled out on Friday and are inactive on Sunday.

Cameron Jordan is active for Week 13’s game against the Detroit Lions

Cameron Jordan was a game time decision against the Detroit Lions. The durable New Orleans Saints defensive end is active for Week 13.

Cameron Jordan will be active for the New Orleans Saints game against the Detroit Lions despite not practicing at all this week with an ankle injury. It came down to the wire with Jordan being a true game time decision. The Saints are already thin at defensive end, so it’ll be interesting to see if Jordan plays in a limited capacity due to injury.

The durable Saints defensive end is a true NFL ironman. In his 13-year career, Jordan has only missed two games. Both came in the last two years with him missing a game due to COVID in 2021 and a fractured orbital bone in 2022.

Other defensive ends available on Sunday include Carl Granderson, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Isaiah Foskey, and Kyle Phillips. Foskey is making his return after missing two games with a quadriceps injury, while Phillips is active for just the second time this season.

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Cameron Jordan, Trevor Penning among key Saints players active vs. 49ers

The Saints activated a crowd of key players for Sunday’s game with the 49ers, ranging from Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport to Trevor Penning and Bradley Roby:

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Injuries have been a problem for the New Orleans Saints this year, so it’s encouraging to see so many important players back in the lineup. The Saints activated a crowd for Sunday’s game with the San Francisco 49ers, including multiple starters along the offensive and defensive lines with reinforcements arriving in the secondary. Here is who will be dressing out after having missed some time:

Jaguars S Rayshawn Jenkins active vs. Chiefs

Rayshawn Jenkins was cleared in time to return against the Chiefs.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will have safety Rayshawn Jenkins back in the lineup Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jenkins, 28, was questionable for the game after spending the week in the concussion protocol. He left in the fourth quarter of the Jaguars’ Week 9 win against the Raiders after suffering a head injury.

The sixth-year safety was the only player for the Jaguars who had an injury designation, leaving no surprises on the list of inactives Sunday morning:

Other notable active players for the Jaguars are rookie running back Snoop Conner and rookie cornerback Montaric “Buster” Brown. Conner got his first NFL action after James Robinson was traded, but has been on the field for only two snaps in two games. Brown was on and off the inactive list earlier in the year, but saw the field for 24 defensive snaps in Week 9.

The most significant absence for the Chiefs is wide receiver Mecole Hardman, who was ruled out Friday due to an abdominal injury.

Hardman has six touchdowns (four receiving, two rushing) through the Chiefs’ first eight games of the season. Kansas City signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Ronald Jones in the offseason, but he hasn’t yet taken an offensive snap with his new team.

TE Juwan Johnson officially active for Saints vs. Titans

TE Juwan Johnson officially active, but TE Nick Vannett inactive for Saints vs. Titans

Well this is perplexing. The New Orleans Saints activated tight end Nick Vannett from injured reserve this week, but he won’t be dressing out for Sunday’s game with the Tennessee Titans. Vannett was one of several healthy players deactivated for Week 10 — along with defensive end Jalyn Holmes and wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey.

Instead, the Saints are dressing out tight end Juwan Johnson after he was benched last week. They’re also activating wide receiver Kevin White, cornerback Ken Crawley (who also returned from injured reserve recently), and two players who were questionable to suit up due to injuries in wide receiver/running back Ty Montgomery and defensive end Carl Granderson.

Here is the full inactive list from both teams, and you can find our breakdown of the final injury report here:

6 quick takeaways from Saints’ final roster moves for Week 7

6 quick takeaways from Saints’ final roster moves for Week 7

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The New Orleans Saints brought several players back from injured reserve for Monday night’s game with the Seattle Seahawks, including veteran wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith and impact defenders Marcus Davenport and Kwon Alexander. They also elevated two players from the practice squad for Week 7, both of whom will revert following the final whistle.

Here are six instant reactions to these roster moves, and what they might mean moving forward:

Michael Thomas officially active for Week 9 vs. Bucs

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas is active for Week 9’s “Sunday Night Football” game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Well, that’s that: New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas is active for the first time since Week 1, having missed seven weeks due to injuries and a one-game benching. Thomas turned in several days of limited participation in Saints practice before dressing out for Sunday night’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The return of the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year can’t be understated, even if he’s playing on a pitch count. Having him back in the lineup will demand coverage assignments shifted towards him — and away from other weapons like Alvin Kamara, Emmanuel Sanders, and Jared Cook. It’s a lot for Drew Brees to work with.

Remember, linebacker Kwon Alexander (recently acquired in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers) is not yet eligible to play while the Saints have been granted a one-week roster exemption. He’s expected to debut next week against his old 49ers team.

Here is the full list of inactive players from both squads in Week 9:

From the Saints

  • LB Kwon Alexander (roster exemption)
  • OT Derrick Kelly
  • RB Ty Montgomery
  • CB Ken Crawley

From the Buccaneers

  • G Ali Marpet (concussion)
  • QB Ryan Griffin
  • WR Justin Watson
  • RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn
  • DL Khalil Davis

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Breaking: Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott expected to play vs Steelers

A prevailing conversation all week has been the availability of Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott for the Week 9 contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The star running back has been hampered by a hamstring injury this week, and was …

A prevailing conversation all week has been the availability of Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott for the Week 9 contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The star running back has been hampered by a hamstring injury this week, and was limited in practice throughout the week. Head coach Mike McCarthy indicated that he wanted to see Elliott warm up prior to the game before making a decision.

That warm up has happened and the assessment has been made. Elliott, who ranks fifth in the league in yards from scrimmage (741) will give it a go when the game kicks off at 3:25 p.m. central.

Elliott has scored six total touchdowns on the season, but has had an unusually bad year with five fumbles in eight games, a series of drops and a collection of pass protection issues. He has been hampered by the team’s inability to trot out a consistent offensive line, and his concentration lapses hurt the team in their early funk. Since the departure of quarterback Dak Prescott, defenses have keyed on stopping him, as he has only 157 yards on the ground in the last three games. He also only has 47 receiving yards on 10 catches since Andy Dalton and Ben DiNucci have been starting.

On Sunday, Garrett Gilbert will line up under center.

Tony Pollard is averaging the same 3.9 yards per carry as Elliott is, although his carries come with the benefit of less defensive attention when his number is called and without the average-slowing short-yardage carries Elliott is well known for.

If Elliott cannot go or has his workload decreased, Pollard could see the most work of his short career. Dallas also has UDFA rookie Rico Dowdle (three carries, 13 yards) and just activated UDFA rookie fullback Sewo Olonilua for the contest.

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Chargers activate playmakers DE Joey Bosa, WR Mike Williams vs. Saints

The Los Angeles Chargers will face the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football with DE Joey Bosa and WR Mike Williams active and ready.

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The Los Angeles Chargers are bringing all hands on deck for their “Monday night Football” game with the New Orleans Saints, including a pair of first-round draft picks: defensive end Joey Bosa and wide receiver Mike Williams are active for Week 5 after being listed as questionable to play on the injury report.

Bosa might be the best player on L.A.’s roster when healthy, but he’s been managing a flurry of injuries including knee, ankle, and triceps muscle issues. He’s bagged 43 sacks in 53 regular season games and should be a huge challenge for Saints left tackle Terron Armstead, but Armstead has handled players of his caliber before, including his big-name brother Nick with the 49ers.

With few pass-rush threats surrounding Bosa (his usual tag-team partner at the left end spot, Melvin Ingram, is on injured reserve) the Saints can commit more resources to tracking Bosa if he lines up at different spots across the Chargers defensive front.

Williams is the one to watch against the Saints defense. Memorably described on the Saints Twitter Podcast as “a rich man’s Brandon Coleman” for his ability to chip in just a few significant catches per game, Williams has averaged just 2.5 receptions per game in his NFL career against an astounding 42.3 receiving yards per game. He hasn’t hit paydirt yet in 2020, but he’s exactly the sort of touchdown threat the Saints defense has let slip past them at times. He’ll be playing through a hamstring injury.

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Adam Trautman, Malcolm Roach among surprise Saints inactives vs. Chargers

The New Orleans Saints benched prominent rookies TE Adam Trautman and DT Malcolm Roach for Monday night’s game with the Los Angeles Chargers

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The big headlines for the New Orleans Saints inactive list are the names dressing out: starters including defensive end Marcus Davenport, cornerback Marshon Lattimore, tight end Jared Cook, and left guard Andrus Peat will join their teammates on the field at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome against the Los Angeles Chargers.

But what’s a little more interesting is who didn’t dress for this Week 5 prime-time game. Two prominent rookies, tight end Adam Trautman and defensive tackle Malcolm Roach, are each healthy scratches. Trautman has been playing often and led the team in snaps played at tight end just two weeks ago, but he’ll be replaced on Monday night by practice squad call-up Garrett Griffin. Roach, one of two rookies to play 100-plus snaps in the first four games, is also taking a backseat to last year’s breakout Shy Tuttle.

Additionally, the Saints are activating wide receiver Austin Carr from the practice squad. Returns specialist Deonte Harris was ruled out with a hamstring injury, and while the logical choice to replace him on punts and kickoffs would be rookie wideout Marquez Callaway — one of the best punt returners in college football the last few years — the Saints may have liked what they’ve seen out of Carr better in practice. He’s rehearsed the role with Callaway and Harris before.

If nothing else, maybe he’s a buffer between Alvin Kamara and the kicking game should Callaway make a mistake. The Saints shouldn’t be putting their most important player in the kicking game. We’ll find out at kickoff in just an hour or so.

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