Tag: austin proehl

Panthers tryout invitee Austin Proehl: This city deserves a winner

WR Austin Proehl—a Charlotte native, the son of Ricky and a tryout invitee for the Panthers—believes Frank Reich and his staff are building something special.

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Austin Proehl isn’t under an official contract with the Carolina Panthers, at least not yet. But he didn’t have to be to speak about Charlotte’s desire for a champion.

The son of former Panthers wideout, offensive assistant and receivers coach Ricky Proehl—who was invited as a tryout player for this weekend’s rookie minicamp—spoke with reporters following Saturday’s session. And he knows, from the past experiences with his father, that the Carolinas deserve better fortune on the field.

“I spent a lot of time here,” Proehl said. “A lot of days, a lot of nights. Whether he was coaching or playing—it was pretty cool being in the stands, being on the sidelines. When me and my brother were ball boys here, it was just cool. A lot of the guys are the same. And this city deserves a great team, a winning team. And I think Coach [Frank] Reich and his staff they brought in here are gonna bring that to this city. I think what they’re doing here is special.”

Proehl, who was born in Charlotte on Oct. 11, 1995, is all too familiar with the Queen City. Not only did he go on to attend nearby Providence High School, but he also played his college ball at the University of North Carolina.

And now, coming off a season in the XFL with the St. Louis Battlehawks (and dad), he’s hoping to get back to his roots in the area as a signee for Reich and the Panthers.

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Former Tar Heel Austin Proehl gets NFL tryout

Former Tar Heel Austin Proehl gets NFL tryout after stint with XFL.

After landing a tryout for the Philadelphia Eagles former North Carolina wide receiver [autotag]Austin Proehl[/autotag] has another tryout lined up.

Per multiple reports, Proehl is set to tryout for the Carolina Panthers as well this upcoming weekend. It will be the second tryout for Proehl this offseason as he looks to make his return to the NFL.

Proehl was a seventh-round pick for the Buffalo Bills in 2018 but, unfortunately, never got a chance to display his route running on Sundays. So instead, Proehl bounced around a bit, being a practice squad member for the Tennessee Titans, LA Rams, and Chargers. After a brief return to Buffalo as a practice squad player, then a short stint with the Giants in 2022, Proehl took his talents to the XFL, lacing up for the St. Louis Battlehawks.

The receiver was a consistent target for the Battlehawks, snagging 19 passes for 181 receiving yards and a touchdown in six games. The XFL was formed to give fans more football and players more opportunities, which was Proehl’s exact outcome.

Proehl played for the Tar Heels from 2014 to 2017. During that span, Proehl finished with 1265 receiving yards on 91 receptions.

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Panthers extend tryout invitations to three more XFL players

The Panthers have extended tryout invitations for three more XFL players, including the son of a beloved wide receiver.

Even after wrapping up a pretty important draft and picking through its ensuing free agents, the Carolina Panthers still have some roster spots to fill—and they could be doing so with an awfully familiar name.

As announced on Sunday night, the team has extended tryout invitations to three XFL players. The trio includes offensive tackle Derrick Kelly, center Dohnovan West and receiver Austin Proehl—son of former Panthers wideout Ricky Proehl.

A Charlotte native and University of North Carolina product, Proehl has made stops with eight different professional squads over the past six years. Originally a seventh-round pick of the Buffalo Bills back in 2018, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound pass catcher has also picked up NFL stints with the Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Chargers and New York Giants.

Proehl began his second run in the XFL in 2023, as a member of the St. Louis Battlehawks. He reeled in 25 catches for 223 yards and a touchdown over nine games.

The 27-year-old also has an invite from the reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.

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Ex-Giants shined during 2023 XFL regular season

The 2023 XFL regular season has come to a close and several former members of the New York Giants shined bright.

The 2023 XFL season is now in the history books with the league moving forward with playoff football. But it’s never too early to look back and see which players dominated throughout the year.

More than 25 former members of the New York Giants suited up for the XFL’s third iteration and many of them were among those who shined.

Here’s a quick look at those Giants, how they fared, and where they stacked up against the XFL’s other competition (if the numbers are noteworthy enough).

XFL at the midway point: How are ex-Giants faring?

A look at how several former members of the New York Giants are faring in the XFL as the league hits the midway point of its season.

The XFL returned for its third iteration this year and is now being run by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

The season is officially through five weeks — their midway point — and there has been some solid action and interesting moments, many of which have a distinct New York Giants flavor.

Nearly 25 former Giants are playing in the league (several others coaching) and they have made their presence felt. In fact, several of the current league leaders are ex-Giants.

Here’s a look at how some of those players are faring.

A.J. McCarron leads St. Louis to dramatic XFL 2023 victory over Seattle

The St. Louis Battlehawks are 2-0 after their second comeback victory

A.J. McCarron specializes in overcoming XFL 2023 deficits.

The former star quarterback at Alabama led a comeback and game-winning drive for the second time as the St. Louis Battlehawks upended the Seattle Sea Dragons 20-18 on Thursday night.

The Battlehawks (2-0) trailed by 12 points, took the lead, only to fall behind with 1:21 left when Ben DiNucci hit Jordan Veasy with an 8-yard TD pass.

The 3-point conversion failed and McCarron took the field with 71 seconds left.

He led a 50-yard drive that concluded when Donny Hageman III connected on a 44-yard field goal as time expired.

The winning kick was set up by a short pass from McCarron to Austin Proehl for 9 yards that set St. Louis up at the 26 with 4 seconds left. Proehl’s dad, Ricky, played 2 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks in his long NFL career.

Hageman had missed a 50-yard field goal by about a foot on the drive prior to the one that saw Seattle (0-2) take the lead.

New York Giants waive Austin Proehl

Former UNC football wide receiver Austin Proehl has been waived by the New York Giants as roster cuts begin.

Former UNC football wide receiver [autotag]Austin Proehl[/autotag] wont be suiting up for the New York Giants in 2022.

As part of roster cuts to get down to 85, the Giants officially waived Proehl with an injury designation. The move means Proehl’s time with the Giants is over after he signed a futures deal with the franchise back in February.

The 26-year-old has bounced around the NFL after being a seventh-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 2018. He’s also spent time with the Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Chargers in his NFL career. He’s also played for the Seattle Dragons of the XFL back in 2019 before the league ceased operations.

Proehl appeared to suffer a leg injury back on August 9th, leaving Giants practice early. He did not return to practice in the days after.

The former UNC standout has yet to appear in an NFL regular season game.

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Giants trim roster to 85 by waiving Jeremiah Hall, two others

The New York Giants waived TE Jeremiah Hall and two others on Tuesday, trimming their roster to the league-mandated 85.

The New York Giants had to trim their roster down to 85 by the close of business on Tuesday, but they didn’t wait that long.

Just prior to the start of practice, the team announced that tight end Jeremiah Hall and defensive back Gavin Heslop had been waived. Wide receiver Austin Proehl was also waived/injured.

Hall, who had been receiving first-team reps at times, is the biggest surprise among those waived. It’s especially surprising given the team’s lacking depth at the tight end position. He had also been receiving snaps at fullback/H-back in the absence of Andre Miller (forearm).

The Giants now have just four healthy tight ends on the roster: rookies Daniel Bellinger and Austin Allen, Chris Myarick and Jordan Akins.

Heslop and Proehl were deep down on the depth chart.

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2022 Giants training camp preview: Wide receivers

The New York Giants have a deep and talented group of wide receivers but there are still many questions and concerns.

The New York Giants wide receivers group is currently a huge question mark at the moment. Injuries, inconsistency and a poor offensive game plan plagued the unit lat season.

This year, with a new approach on offense under first-year head coach Brian Daboll and coordinator Mike Kafka, the air is said to be clear again to throw the football.

The unit has a new position coach in Mike Groh, who will try to marshal up this once promising group.

Here is a quick preview heading into training camp.

Giants assign numbers to newly signed free agents

The New York Giants have begun to assign (potentially temporary) jersey numbers to their newly signed free agents.

The first wave of free agency has officially come and gone in the NFL, and to no one’s surprise, the salary cap-crippled New York Giants were very calculated with their moves.

There were no big-splash signings, but the team did focus a lot of their early attention on quality veteran offensive linemen. They also added a few bodies to the quarterback room and signed some depth at wide receiver.

Other signings were also made, but nothing necessarily worth writing home about.

What will interest fans however, are the new jersey numbers being assigned to some of the incoming free agents. But we want to remind everyone before they rush out and buy a jersey: these numbers are potentially temporary and subject to change.

Not all jersey numbers have been assigned yet, either. We will continue to update this post as the Giants work to hand out the digits.