Tag: Austin Seibert

Blake Grupe’s injury, not performance, prompted Saints to try out new kickers

The Saints hosted a group of free agent kickers for tryouts on Tuesday, but the decision was prompted by Blake Grupe’s injury, not the rookie’s performance:

The New Orleans Saints hosted a group of free agent kickers for tryouts on Tuesday, but the decision was prompted by Blake Grupe’s injury, not the rookie’s performance. Grupe was a late addition to the injury report before Week 12’s game with the Atlanta Falcons after pulling a groin muscle.

He played through it in Atlanta — making five of his six field goal tries — but NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill says the Saints consider Grupe to be “day to day” while receiving treatment. The rookie has a chance to play this coming Sunday for Week 13’s game with the Detroit Lions, but it’s worth bringing in a backup; veteran kicker Austin Seibert signed with the Saints practice squad just in case Grupe can’t play.

Still, Grupe’s first year in the NFL has been a bit of a roller coaster. The good news is that he’s nailed all 19 of his extra point attempts while getting a touchback out of 89.5% of his kickoffs (tied for sixth-most in the NFL). The bad news is that he’s 24-of-30 on field goal attempts (80.0%, which is eighth-lowest) with two misses in his last three games. His coaches have stood by him amid the highs and lows, but he needs to be more consistent. Getting healthy will obviously help.

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Saints to sign kicker Austin Seibert to their practice squad after tryout

The Saints are signing kicker Austin Seibert to their practice squad after a successful tryout on Tuesday:

Here’s the fallout from Tuesday’s group workout: NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported that the Saints are expected to sign kicker Austin Seibert to their practice squad. The Times-Picayune | Advocate’s Matthew Paras confirmed news of Seibert’s signing.

This comes after Seibert auditioned alongside other veteran specialists including longtime Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby. The Saints were already short a player on their 16-man practice squad after Jason Pierre-Paul left town for a better opportunity with the Miami Dolphins, so they won’t need to let anyone go to make room for him.

Seibert, 27, was a fifth-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2019 NFL draft out of Oklahoma. He’s spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and New York Jets in the time since, and he’s made 45 of his 56 field goal tries (80.4%) in his NFL career. He’s also hit 56 of 62 extra point attempts (90.3%).

Blake Grupe is dealing with a minor groin injury, so it’s smart to add a backup in case he’s unable to go for this Sunday’s game with the Detroit Lions. Stay tuned.

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Lions add Devine Ozigbo to practice squad on busy Monday for ex-Lions looking for work

Lions add Devine Ozigbo to practice squad on a busy Monday for ex-Lions looking for work

Devine Ozigbo is back on the Detroit Lions practice squad after a brief bout of unemployment. The Lions signed the veteran running back onto the practice squad on Monday after releasing him late last week in the move to sign linebacker Trevor Nowaske to the active roster.

It was a busy Monday on the NFL transaction wire for a lot of former Lions around the league. Specifically, the weekly tryout circuit featured several players who have spent some time in Detroit, including a wave of offensive linemen who played for the Lions this past preseason.

OT Ryan Swoboda – Atlanta Falcons

OT Bobby Hart – San Francisco 49ers

DB Saivion Smith – Tennessee Titans

K John Parker Romo – Titans

K Austin Seibert – Titans

None of the former Lions were signed as of Tuesday morning.

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Busy day for ex-Lions on the NFL’s transaction wire

Several ex-Lions appeared on Tuesday’s NFL transaction wire, from releases to tryouts

The NFL publishes a daily transaction report, one that runs the gamut between roster cuts, players being placed on reserve lists to those trying out for teams and everything in between. Tuesday’s transaction list was crowded with updates on former Detroit Lions players.

Foremost on the list is Trey Flowers. The New England Patriots released the defensive end from the team’s PUP list. Flowers has not played this season and managed just 65 snaps for the Miami Dolphins in 2022 after the Lions released him following the 2021 season.

One-time Lions OL Tommy Kraemer is back on the New Orleans Saints practice squad. Kraemer was signed from New Orleans’ practice squad to their active roster last week, then waived on Monday. He’s played seven offensive snaps in two games with the Saints.

Another former Lions offensive lineman, Obinna Eze, had his practice squad contract terminated by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Eze signed with Pittsburgh’s practice squad after Week 3 but was unable to stick.

There were a few ex-Lions hitting the tryout/workout circuit this week, too:

QB Jeff Driskel tried out for the Colts (Monday)

DT Bruce Hector also tried out for the Colts

K Austin Seibert tried out for the Raiders

OL Ross Pierschbacher tried out for the Cardinals

CB AJ Parker tried out for the Seahawks

DB Juju Hughes tried out for the Raiders

As of Wednesday morning, none of the players were signed.

 

Jets announce roster moves ahead of Week 2 game against Cowboys

Tim Boyle officially moved to the active roster.

The Jets announced a few roster moves Saturday ahead of their Week 2 trip to Dallas to take on the Cowboys (4:25 p.m. ET on CBS). Those moves include having their backup quarterback in place.

The Jets signed QB Tim Boyle to the active roster. Certainly not a surprise as Zach Wilson was the only quarterback on the 53-man roster this week after the Jets placed Aaron Rodgers on injured reserve (the corresponding move to cornerback Brandin Echols returning from suspension).

To make room for Boyle, the Jets released WR Irvin Charles from the active roster. They could certainly bring him back on the practice squad at some point. The Jets now have six wide receivers on the 53-man roster: Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman, Randall Cobb, Xavier Gipson and Jason Brownlee.

The Jets also announced the signing of kicker Austin Seibert to the practice squad and named him of of their two practice-squad elevations for this week, along with linebacker Sam Eguavoen.

Seibert will kick in place of the injured Greg Zuerlein this week. Zuerlein suffered a groin injury Thursday and is out for Sunday. Eguavoen is elevated for the second time this season. He played 17 special-teams snaps against the Bills. A player can be elevated three times from the practice squad without being added to the 53-man roster. A fourth elevation would require the team to sign the player to the active roster.

Greg Zuerlein ruled out for Week 2, Jets sign Austin Seibert

Greg Zuerlein ruled out for Week 2, Jets sign Austin Seibert

The Jets have downgraded kicker Greg Zuerlein to out for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys with a groin injury. Zuerlein suffered the injury during Thursday’s practice and did not practice Friday, leaving his game status in doubt.

Zuerlein was initially listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report. He is now officially not going to play in Week 2. In his place will be former Browns, Bengals and Lions kicker Austin Seibert.

Seibert appeared in three games last season for the Lions and went 4/5 on field goals and 12/12 on extra points. He is a career 80% field goal kicker (44/55) and a 90% extra-point kicker (55/61). That includes a perfect 25/25 on field goals within 40 yards.

Lions waive K Austin Seibert before Week 5

Waiving Seibert leaves the Lions without a kicker on the active roster

The Detroit Lions are boldly entering the Week 5 matchup with the New England Patriots without a kicker on the active roster. Detroit waived kicker Austin Seibert on Friday.

The Lions had waived K Dominik Eberle on Tuesday after Eberle missed two extra points in last Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Eberle was kicking in place of Seibert, who was battling  groin injury.

Detroit does have a kicker on the practice squad in Michael Badgley. He should be elevated from the practice squad if not signed outright to the active roster for Week 5.

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Lions injury report: 3 players out, 5 more limited as team prepares for first game

Lions injury report: 3 players out, 5 more limited in practice as Detroit prepares for Week 1

The Detroit Lions have released their first injury report of the 2022 season while just days away from their first regular season matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Did not practice: DL John Cominsky (illness), OL Tommy Kraemer (back), DL Levi Onwuzurike (back)

While three players sat out of Wednesday’s practice, only one is of real concern at the moment.

Reserve offensive lineman Tommy Kraemer is currently held out of practice due to a back injury. This injury comes as starting right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai was recently placed on injured reserve.

Kraemer is one of a few players who could fill in at right guard, especially since he did so several times last season as an undrafted rookie. He played well enough to stick around again this season and the coaches seem to have faith in the young versatile lineman. If this back injury is serious enough to hold him out, the team may have to rely on Logan Stenberg in his place.

Onwuzurike’s injury is old news and even coach Dan Campbell knows that it will take some time for him to be healthy. That said, it does bring up some concerns about the former second-round pick and his availability on game days.

Cominsky missed practice due to an illness and should be ready to go for Sunday, where he will surely be in the interior defensive line rotation.

Limited practice: LB Chris Board (knee), DB Ifeatu Melifonwu (hamstring), EDGE Julian Okwara (hamstring), OL Frank Ragnow (groin), K Austin Seibert (right groin)

While there’s no need to sound the alarms just yet, it is concerning that several of Detroit’s starters are already being limited in practice due to injuries.

To add on to the aforementioned injury to Vaitai, starting center Frank Ragnow is dealing with a groin injury at the moment. The former Pro Bowler missed a majority of games last season due to a toe injury and is now being held back by a groin issue. He isn’t ruled out for Sunday’s game, but the Lions can rest easy knowing they have reliable backup Evan Brown ready to go if needed.

Seibert’s groin injury comes after he too missed a large chunk of the 2021 season. While it hasn’t been reported on before, his injury may explain why the Lions re-signed Aldrick Rosas to the practice squad last week.

Linebacker Chris Board is dealing with a recent knee injury, but his limited status provides some hope that it isn’t too serious. Board should be in line for some reps at inside linebacker while playing predominantly on special teams.

Melifonwu and Okwara’s names appearing on this list inspire more optimism than concern as the two have missed many practices throughout camp and the preseason. This was Melifonwu’s first practice back in weeks and he may be sidelined for the game against Philadelphia. Okwara has been back at practice for a week now and is looking more and more likely to see the field in a limited capacity this Sunday.

Predicting the Detroit Lions player stats for 2022

Projecting the stats for Detroit Lions players in the 2022 regular season

The 2022 regular season kicks off in a few short days for the Detroit Lions. The roster is set, the plays installed and the gameplans ready to roll for Dan Campbell’s second season in Detroit.

Projecting the stats for the key players in Detroit is a difficult challenge. There are new schemes on both offense and defense, with each unit efforting to be more aggressive and proactive than they were a season ago. Many of the key players return, with some high-end newcomers also impacting the depth chart and stat projections.

All of these statistical projections are calculated on the assumption of each player participating in all 17 games. Injuries unfortunately will derail that, but predicting injuries is even harder than forecasting stats.

Here are the fearless predictions for Lions player stats in 2022.

Lions coach Dan Campbell hints at a leader in the kicking battle

Lions coach Dan Campbell hints at a leader in the kicking battle between Austin Seibert and Riley Patterson

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell fielded questions during training camp on Monday, and amongst them was just how well the kicking competition in camp between Austin Siebert and Riley Patterson is going.

Patterson signed with Detroit in mid-November last year, and appeared in seven games, booting 13-of-14 field goals, and a perfect 16-for-16 extra points in his debut. He was resigned in April as an exclusive rights free agent to compete with Seibert. Patterson replaced Seibert when the veteran went down with a hip injury that needed surgery after only signing with the Lions in September.

Both kickers are fairly young, and the Lions are looking for the long-term answer at kicker. They are utilizing this camp to have the two battle for the job. Both have limited games in Detroit, with six games for Seibert and seven for Patterson, so this camp battle is the best way to determine who will be the kicker for at least 2022, while the Lions determine if that long-term answer is even in the building.

So who exactly is leading the way for the Detroit Lions in 2022–and hopefully beyond–kicker? Coach Campbell was asked about how the kicker competition is progressing this far,

“I thought they both did a good job. But I felt really good about Seibert. I feel like he’s, right now, if you’re asking me today, he’s a tick better,” Campbell told reporters.

Hearing that after coming off a promising start to Austin Seibert’s Lions tenure, going 10-for-12 (longest of 52) and 5-for-5 in extra points before his season was cut short, is a huge plus for the former Cleveland Brown and Cincinnati Bengal. Especially considering that Seibert is coming off of surgery, and Patterson is fresh and has also looked promising thus far.

With these words from the head coach, it is possible to believe that Seibert could not only win the job for 2022, but may have a chance at landing in the Lions’ den long-term. So where does this leave Patterson’s chances of swinging the tides due to his performance?

Campbell had this to say about the battle,

“I thought (Seibert) did a hell of a job in there, just kicking. His kickoffs were outstanding. Now that being said, Patterson, Patterson’s still not banging away. It’s not like he’s not in there, and we still have a long camp to go. So, Patterson’s doing a good job, but I really like where Seibert’s at.”

As Campbell said, we do have a long camp to go, but each day is ticking by very fast, and in the short time we have left before final roster cuts, we would expect the kicking competition to have the flame turned higher.

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