Tag: ameer speed

Former Georgia Bulldog signs with the Chicago Bears

Former UGA, Michigan State cornerback has signed with the Chicago Bears’ practice squad

Former Georgia Bulldogs cornerback Ameer Speed, who transferred to Michigan State as a senior, has signed with the Chicago Bears practice squad.

Speed played in 13 NFL games as a rookie during the 2023 season and recorded nine total tackles. In 2023, Speed played with both the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts.

Speed played at Georgia from 2017 to 2021 during his college career. He recorded 25 tackles during his time with Georgia. Speed started at times at UGA, but he was usually not an every down player.

At Michigan State, Speed saw much more action. He recorded 62 total tackles in the 2022 season with the Spartans.

The New England Patriots drafted Speed with the 214th pick (sixth round) of the 2023 NFL draft.

Former Colts CB Ameer Speed signed to Bears practice squad

Former Indianapolis Colts cornerback Ameer Speed has been signed to the Chicago Bears practice squad.

Former Indianapolis Colts cornerback Ameer Speed now has a new home.

According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Houston, the Chicago Bears signed Speed to their practice squad and released Ro Torrence as the corresponding move. Speed will wear No. 38 for the Bears.

Speed was released from the Colts practice squad just over a week ago. Speed, along with McTelvin Agim, were released to make room for new additions Adam Gotsis and Gregory Junior.

Speed, a former sixth-round pick by New England out of Michigan State, joined the Colts during the 2023 season after being released by the Patriots. He ended up being a core special teams contributor, playing 153 snaps across five phases in the team’s final eight games.

Defensively, Speed played three snaps for the Colts last season, appearing in Weeks 15 and 18 against Pittsburgh and Houston.

Speed then spent training camp and the preseason with the Colts before being released during roster cutdowns. He was then signed back to the practice squad, where he spent the first two weeks of the 2024 NFL season before his subsequent release.

It’s common across the NFL to see team’s churn the back end of their practice squads on what can sometimes be a weekly basis. On Tuesday of this week, the Colts did just that, making two more practice squad moves at the defensive line position.

Colts reportedly release cornerback from practice squad

The Indianapolis Colts are reportedly releasing one of their cornerbacks from the practice squad. Here is what you need to know.

Tuesday can often be a day in the NFL where roster moves are made. For the Colts, heading into Week 3, they’ve reportedly released cornerback Ameer Speed from the practice squad.

Speed joined the Colts during the 2023 season after being released by New England. He proved to be a core special teams contributor during the second half of the season, playing 153 snaps across five different phases in the final eight games.

Speed then spent the offseason and training camp with the Colts. He was released during roster cutdowns and then immediately signed back to the practice squad.

He has not been elevated for either regular season game this season.

With Speed released, a spot on the practice squad is now open. My guess is that with both DeForest Buckner and Laiatu Latu dealing with injuries and the Colts having McTelvin Agim as the only defensive tackle on the practice squad and Genard Avery as the only defensive end, an addition is going to be made at one of those position groups depending on whether or not Buckner or Latu is available this week.

It’s been reported by Ian Rapoport that Buckner is considered a “long-shot” to play on Sunday against Chicago, while Latu “should be fine,” reportedly.

Cornerback was a position of surplus for the Colts on the practice squad with four players on the team in that capacity, and Speed ended up being the odd man out.

Colts vs. Raiders: Final injury report for Week 17

Here is the final injury report for the Colts and Raiders in Week 17.

The Indianapolis Colts (8-7) and Las Vegas Raiders (7-8) released their final injury reports Friday ahead of the Week 17 matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Here’s a look at the final injury report for the Colts in Week 17:

*DNP = Did Not Participate — LP = Limited Participant — FP = Full Participant*

Notes

  • RB Zack Moss appeared to have a setback with his forearm injury so the Colts will be down a player in the backfield.
  • WR Michael Pittman Jr. is expected to play after clearing the concussion protocol but considering what happened last week, this is still a situation to monitor.
  • RT Braden Smith is expected to make his return from a three-game absence (really four) after practicing in full all week. Still, he’s listed as questionable.
  • CB Kenny Moore II popped up on the injury report Friday with a new injury so that will certainly be something to monitor.

Here’s a look at the final injury report for the Raiders in Week 17:

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Colts vs. Raiders: Updated injury report for Week 17

Here’s the updated injury report for the Colts and Raiders in Week 17.

The Indianapolis Colts (8-7) and Las Vegas Raiders (7-8) released their updated injury reports Thursday ahead of the Week 17 matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Here’s a look at the updated injury report for the Colts in Week 17:

*DNP = Did Not Participate — LP = Limited Participant — FP = Full Participant*

Notes

  • The Colts returned to practice Thursday after starting the week with a walkthrough.
  • WR Michael Pittman Jr. is progressing through the concussion protocol and shed his non-contact practice jersey.
  • RT Braden Smith practiced in full for the first time since suffering his knee injury.
  • RB Zack Moss seems to be on track to return as he’s practiced in a limited fashion to begin the week.

Here’s a look at the updated injury report for the Raiders in Week 17:

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Colts vs. Raiders: Initial injury report for Week 17

Here is the Wednesday injury report for the Colts and Raiders for Week 17.

The Indianapolis Colts (8-7) and Las Vegas Raiders (7-8) released their initial injury reports Wednesday ahead of the Week 17 matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Here’s a look at the initial injury report for the Colts in Week 17:

*DNP = Did Not Participate — LP = Limited Participant — FP = Full Participant*

Notes

  • The Colts held a walkthrough Wednesday so participation levels are estimations.
  • WR Michael Pittman Jr. started off the week with a limited tag, which is encouraging. This will be a situation to monitor throughout the entire week, though, even if/when he’s cleared.
  • RT Braden Smith would have practiced in full, which is a major deal considering he hasn’t practiced since injuring his knee in Week 13.
  • RB Zack Moss would have been a limited participant if the team practiced, showing he’s making progress after not practicing at all last week.

Here’s a look at the initial injury report for the Raiders in Week 17:

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2 ruled out, 6 questionable in Colts vs. Bengals

These are the players with injury designations for the Week 14 matchup between the Colts and Bengals.

The Indianapolis Colts (7-5) and Cincinnati Bengals (6-6) are just about set for a Week 14 matchup at Paycor Stadium.

On the final injury reports for the week, the Colts ruled out two players, both starters, and listed three others as questionable. The Bengals didn’t rule out any players and had three others listed as questionable, two of whom can be considered starters.

Here are the players with injury designations entering the Week 14 matchup:

Colts claim CB Ameer Speed off waivers

The Colts claimed Ameer Speed off waivers from the Patriots.

The Indianapolis Colts claimed cornerback Ameer Speed off waivers from the New England Patriots and waived wide receiver Amari Rodgers, the team announced Friday.

Speed, 24, was a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft by the Patriots out of Michigan State (2022) and Georgia (2017-2021). At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, Speed is an athletic freak. He has 32 5/8-inch arms, and he posted a 4.34 in the 40-yard dash with a 10-foot-3-inch broad jump at his pro day.

The rookie played in five games this season and played 51% of the special teams snaps in New England before he was waived Thursday, Oct. 19.

Speed will likely work on special teams while fellow rookies Julius Brents and Jaylon Jones work as the outside cornerbacks.

Rodgers was waived as a corresponding move and now brings the number of receivers in the wide receiver room down to five.

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Patriots make their first cut with 2023 rookie draft class

The Patriots have released a rookie 2023 NFL draft pick

The New England Patriots announced they have released rookie cornerback Ameer Speed on Thursday.

Speed, a former Michigan State standout, was the 214th overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft. He was always facing an uphill battle given the bevy of talent the Patriots had at the cornerback position.

However, multiple injuries in the defensive backfield opened opportunities for him to get on the field. Most of his work came on special teams with him taking 73 snaps in total on the unit as opposed to the 10 snaps he had on defense.

Speed finished his run with the Patriots with three total tackles.

This isn’t necessarily the end of the road for the 24-year-old defensive back. Instead, it’s back to the drawing board in attempting to land another opportunity elsewhere.

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Patriots’ top 10 defensive players in Week 5, per PFF grades

These were the Patriots’ top-10 defensive players in Week 5, per PFF grades

Defense is about the only hope the New England Patriots have left this season, and that couldn’t have been more evident than Sunday’s 34-0 blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints.

It was another afternoon of horrific turnovers for the offense with one being a pick-six after a poor throwing decision from quarterback Mac Jones. The Saints dominated the battle of field position and time of possession by a 39:34-20:26 margin.

The defense didn’t really have much of a chance in the game.

Keep in mind, it’s also a defense that lost two of its best players, cornerback Christian Gonzalez and linebacker Matthew Judon, to injuries in the previous week. The good news is the unit continued to fight valiantly, even when clearly facing an uphill battle.

There was still tremendous effort on display for a team that currently looks like one of the worst in the NFL. Unfortunately for the Patriots, defensive effort alone doesn’t win football games. At some point, the offense has to find ways to execute and put points on the board.

Let’s take a look at the top-10 defensive players from Sunday’s game, per Pro Football Focus grades.