Tag: Albert Huggins

Cowboys Huggins ejected at Rams joint practice after shoving opposing staff

Watch Cowboys Albert Huggins makes unprompted hit on Rams staffer at joint training camp

There was some unsportsmanlike conduct on display at the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams when a Rams staff member was shoved to the ground by Cowboys defensive tackle Albert Huggins during drills Wednesday.

Everyone participating in the drill became emotional and Rams members insisted the Cowboys “didn’t want to practice” after the bizarre unprompted hit on an unpadded assistant.

This choice by Huggins led to his being ejected from the practice by Cowboys coaches and the full transcript of the event states he flipped off the Rams as he walked away from the practice.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has since made a statement on the incident at the joint practice, emphasizing that the Cowboys do not condone unsportsmanlike conduct and Albert Huggins has made an apology.

NFL reporter Todd Archer shared Coach McCarthy’s statement on Twitter.

Huggins could be in trouble if the Cowboys head coach sees him break professionalism again, however, despite McCarthy’s resolution of the drama, he is unlikely to make the 53-man roster as he is a recent acquisition that has not performed for the team.

Cowboys player apologized for shoving Rams staffer to ground during practice

Mike McCarthy said Albert Huggins apologized after shoving a Rams staffer to the ground during practice on Wednesday

Tempers flared a few times during Wednesday’s Rams-Cowboys joint practice, particularly after Dallas defensive lineman Albert Huggins shoved a Rams staff member to the ground during a pass-rush drill.

It was a completely unnecessary move by Huggins, which Rams players and coaches took issue with. Huggins was immediately kicked out of practice and rightfully so. On Thursday, Mike McCarthy spoke about the incident and said it’s been addressed by the Cowboys internally.

He also said that Huggins apologized, which McCarthy is “comfortable with.” McCarthy didn’t see it happen initially because he was on the other side of the field, but after seeing the video of Huggins’ push, he called Sean McVay again to apologize.

Below is McCarthy’s full statement on the matter.

Struggling Cowboys DT kicked out of practice for shoving Rams assistant

After a rough outing in the preseason opener, a DT made a bad mistake in joint practice. | From @KDDrummondNFL

It was all good about a week ago. On August 6, the Dallas Cowboys signed DT Albert Huggins in a move to bring them more bodies along the interior and giving him a long shot at making an NFL roster. Huggins arrived on a Tuesday and two days later he was involved in a joint practice session with the Los Angeles Rams. That was a precursor to Sunday’s exhibition action between the two teams as both squads had their first preseason snaps.

That experience did not go well for the five-year veteran. He stood out for all the wrong reasons as he took on a mammoth 32 snaps, 45% of the total for the defense, and was visibly being moved on a regular basis. He had just one assist and graded out at a 39.4 (of 100).

He must have been holding a grudge.

After being dominated on Sunday the last thing Huggins likely wanted to hear was the team announce they were having a second go with joint practices.

Huggins screwed up.  Playing beyond the rep, he continued onto the Rams side of the faux line of scrimmage and shoved one of their non-padded assistants to the ground. The action almost caused a fight and led the Cowboys’ coaching staff to end his day prematurely.

New defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is known to be a disciplinarian, so it will be interesting to see how much leeway Huggins has. That will be based on temperament and how much different he’s been in practice to what he was in the game.

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Former Clemson DL placed on IR, out for season

A former Clemson defensive lineman has been placed on injured reserve and is out for the season. The New Orleans Saints placed defensive tackle Albert Huggins on IR, ending his season before it really even began. Huggins suffered the season-ending …

A former Clemson defensive lineman has been placed on injured reserve and is out for the season.

The New Orleans Saints placed defensive tackle Albert Huggins on IR, ending his season before it really even began.

Huggins suffered the season-ending leg injury in the fourth quarter of the Saints’ preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers last Friday.

It was an unfortunate injury for Huggins, who, per Saints Wire, “had carved out a role for himself as the only real nose tackle on the team and was getting valuable snaps in the interior rotation.”

During his Clemson career (2015-18), Huggins tallied 83 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, 25 quarterback pressures and a pass breakup in 911 snaps over 46 games (four starts). He was a member of the Tigers’ 2016 and 2018 national championship teams.

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images 

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Report: Saints re-sign Albert Huggins, one of their three ERFA’s

Report: New Orleans Saints re-sign backup DT Albert Huggins, one of their three exclusive-rights free agents

This is a good move: the New Orleans Saints re-signed backup defensive tackle Albert Huggins, who was on track to become an exclusive rights free agent. Huggins’ return was first reported by Sports Illustrated’s John Hendrix.

Huggins, 24, landed with the Saints last summer and finished the season having played the fourth-most snaps among defensive tackles (219). That trailed Shy Tuttle (a restricted free agent), David Onyemata (who is entering a contract year), and Christian Ringo (an unrestricted free agent). Before joining the Saints, Huggins bounced around the NFL a bit after a solid college career at Clemson.

Retaining him is good for depth. Huggins joins a thin position group along with Onyemata, Malcolm Roach (194 snaps played last year), and Braxton Hoyett (just 15 snaps). The Saints should still consider their other options in upgrading the defensive tackle rotation. Onyemata alone produced more quarterback pressures (32) than every other defensive tackle to play for the Saints last year combined (31), per Pro Football Focus play-by-play charting.

As for what exactly an exclusive rights free agent is: these are players with just two accrued seasons behind them, who can be re-signed by their teams at a minimum salary. Unlike restricted free agents, other teams won’t have the opportunity to make them a better offer. New Orleans’ other two restricted free agents to consider are defensive tackle Jalen Dalton, who missed the season with a tough preseason biceps injury, and tight end Juwan Johnson, who created some splash plays after converting from wide receiver.

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Will Clapp returns to Saints practice squad among latest roster moves

Will Clapp returns to Saints practice squad among latest roster moves

Thursday’s update to the daily NFL transactions wire listed several roster moves for the New Orleans Saints, most of which have to deal with their practice squad. A couple of players who were waived before New Orleans’ Week 7 game with the Seattle Seahawks are back in the fold ahead of Week 8’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here is what you need to know:

3 free agents sign with Saints in time for rookie minicamps

The New Orleans Saints brought in three free agents before their rookie minicamps, adding Albert Huggins, Easop Winston, and Sutton Smith.

The Saints veteran players have already said through the NFLPA that they won’t be attending voluntary workouts this offseason while the COVID-19 pandemic persists, but rookies and inexperienced pros hunting for roster spots are already setting their sights on New Orleans. The Saints still have jobs up for grabs, which these players can get an early leg up on during rookie minicamps from May 14 to May 16.

Here’s what you need to know about each new addition, which brings the total roster up to 81, with nine spots remaining before the Saints hit full capacity:

Browns work out 2 defensive linemen

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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Detroit Lions Week 17 inactives: Matthew Stafford and Frank Ragnow ACTIVE

The Detroit Lions have declared their game-day inactives for their Week 17 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.

The Detroit Lions have declared their game-day inactives for their Week 17 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.

After elevating C Evan Brown and DT Albert Huggins from the practice squad this week, the Lions’ roster has increased to 55-players. On a traditional week, the Lions would need to reduce that roster down to 46-players, but because they kept eight offensive linemen on their active game-day roster, they are now eligible to expand their roster to 48-players, meaning they need to declare seven of their 55-players inactive.

Here are those seven players.

Lions inactives list

  • WR Kenny Golladay (hip) — Ruled OUT
  • RT Tyrell Crosby (ankle) — Ruled OUT
  • IOL Joe Dahl (back) — Ruled OUT
  • LB Jamie Collins (neck)
  • OG Logan Stenberg
  • DT Albert Huggins
  • S Bobby Price

Golladay being ruled out means the Lions will once again start Marvin Jones, Danny Amendola, and Mohamad Sanu. Expect Quintez Cephus to get plenty of playing time, as he is the only receiver on the current active roster signed beyond this season.

Despite Crosby, Dahl, and Stenberg being ruled out, the Lions still have a starting offensive line they feel comfortable with — but if anyone gets injured, things get messy real quick.

Collins gave it a go on Friday and tried to get himself ready for today, but he was not healthy enough to play. Jahlani Tavai will replace him as the starting MIKE, and last week, it was Jarrad Davis stepping up as the second linebacker.

Huggins was elevated as insurance, but with Danny Shelton active, Huggins was not needed.

Price was signed to the active roster yesterday, and with him being inactive today, it’s a sign they wanted to get him under contract for future purposes.

Vikings’ inactive list

Detroit Lions activate Danny Shelton, sign Bobby Price, elevate 2 from practice squad

The Detroit Lions announced six roster moves ahead of their Week 17 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, including activating defensive tackle Danny Shelton from injured reserve and signing safety Bobby Price from the practice squad to the active roster. Other roster moves include elevating center Evan Brown and defensive tackle Albert Huggins for tomorrow’s game, activating practice squad linebacker Anthony Pittman from the Reserve/COVID-19 list, and releasing defensive lineman Frank Herron.

The Detroit Lions announced six roster moves ahead of their Week 17 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, including activating defensive tackle Danny Shelton from injured reserve and signing safety Bobby Price from the practice squad to the active roster.

Other roster moves include elevating center Evan Brown and defensive tackle Albert Huggins for tomorrow’s game, activating practice squad linebacker Anthony Pittman from the Reserve/COVID-19 list, and releasing defensive lineman Frank Herron.

Shelton was added to injured reserve with a knee injury in early December, and after three weeks he worked his way back to practices. He has been activated to the roster in hopes of playing against the Vikings on Sunday, but his knee could still keep him from the game, as he was added to this week’s injury report and listed as questionable.

With Shelton being a potential game-time decision, it explains the elevation of Huggins from the practice squad. With the Vikings’ strong running offense, the Lions appear to want to have at least one nose tackle other than John Penisini on the game-day roster.

Herron, who is more of a 3T/Big DE, was released in order to make room for Shelton.

Price will take the vacated roster spot of safety Jayron Kearse, who was released earlier in the week. In Week 17, he will mainly contribute on special teams, but Price is an athlete with upside and this move appears to be more about the future. In the grand scheme of roster development, Price will give the Lions four safeties under contract heading into the offseason.

Brown was called upon to replace Joe Dahl at center last week, contributing on 28 of the Lions’ 53 offensive snaps. This week, Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow is expected to be back in the lineup — he is listed as questionable — but Dahl remains out and the Lions will turn to Brown to back up the position once again.

One final note: Pittman, who was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list two weeks ago, has cleared the league protocols and will return back to the practice squad.