Tag: Azur Kamara

Chiefs re-sign DE Azur Kamara to practice squad

The #Chiefs brought back a familiar face to fill their final spot on the practice squad.

The Kansas City Chiefs have filled their final open spot on the practice squad ahead of Week 9.

According to the NFL’s personnel notice for Tuesday, the Chiefs re-signed DE Azur Kamara on the practice squad. The former Kansas Jayhawk was a late addition to the 90-man roster this past offseason, signing with the team just before the start of training camp. He stuck with the team through training camp and the preseason, recording four total tackles, one sack and one pass batted in three preseason games.

Kamara was waived during 53-man roster cuts, but he signed to the team’s initial 16-man practice squad. Just five days later he was waived from the practice squad to make room for former Cardinals S James Wiggens. Kamara hasn’t been with any teams since his release from the practice squad, but he did try out for the Denver Broncos on October 22nd.

Kamara’s return to Kansas City comes as the team finds itself without DE Frank Clark for two weeks as he serves a two-game suspension.

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Chiefs make a pair of moves on the practice squad

The #Chiefs terminated the practice squad contract of a former Kansas Jayhawk in order to make room for S James Wiggins.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a pair of moves on the practice squad ahead of Week 1 of the NFL season.

The team has officially signed S James Wiggins after hosting him on a successful tryout on Monday. A former seventh-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2021, Wiggins spent a portion of last season on the practice squad and then was elevated to the active roster in Arizona. He finished the year on injured reserve with a knee injury. Wiggins was released during 53-man roster cuts this season, mostly due to the Cardinals having good depth at safety.

Wiggins was a former teammate of Chiefs rookie S Bryan Cook at the University of Cincinnati. They spent two seasons together, though Cook was ineligible to play for one of those seasons. If healthy, Wiggins has the potential to be a contributor in Kansas City, especially on special teams.

In order to make room for Wiggins on the practice squad, the Chiefs released DE Azur Kamara. The former Kansas Jayhawk was a late addition to the offseason roster this year, but had a solid preseason in Kansas City with one sack and four total pressures. Unfortunately, with six defensive ends already on the 53-man roster, Kamara’s spot on the practice squad became somewhat expendable for the Chiefs.

The team still hasn’t made a corresponding move on the 53-man roster with Blake Bell heading to injured reserve. It’s possible that they might wait until after the first week of the season as a mechanism to avoid guaranteeing a contract of a vested player. The Chiefs can still elevate two players from the practice squad via standard elevation for Week 1 if necessary so that they have a full slate of players to choose from.

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Chiefs make a pair of moves on the practice squad

The #Chiefs terminated the practice squad contract of a former Kansas Jayhawk in order to make room for S James Wiggins.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a pair of moves on the practice squad ahead of Week 1 of the NFL season.

The team has officially signed S James Wiggins after hosting him on a successful tryout on Monday. A former seventh-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2021, Wiggins spent a portion of last season on the practice squad and then was elevated to the active roster in Arizona. He finished the year on injured reserve with a knee injury. Wiggins was released during 53-man roster cuts this season, mostly due to the Cardinals having good depth at safety.

Wiggins was a former teammate of Chiefs rookie S Bryan Cook at the University of Cincinnati. They spent two seasons together, though Cook was ineligible to play for one of those seasons. If healthy, Wiggins has the potential to be a contributor in Kansas City, especially on special teams.

In order to make room for Wiggins on the practice squad, the Chiefs released DE Azur Kamara. The former Kansas Jayhawk was a late addition to the offseason roster this year, but had a solid preseason in Kansas City with one sack and four total pressures. Unfortunately, with six defensive ends already on the 53-man roster, Kamara’s spot on the practice squad became somewhat expendable for the Chiefs.

The team still hasn’t made a corresponding move on the 53-man roster with Blake Bell heading to injured reserve. It’s possible that they might wait until after the first week of the season as a mechanism to avoid guaranteeing a contract of a vested player. The Chiefs can still elevate two players from the practice squad via standard elevation for Week 1 if necessary so that they have a full slate of players to choose from.

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3 things to know about new Chiefs DE Azur Kamara

Get to know a few things about new #Chiefs DE Azur Kamara:

The Kansas City Chiefs recently added former Cowboys DE Azur Kamara to the 90-man offseason roster. Kamara played collegiately for two seasons at the University of Kansas, so plenty of Chiefs fans are already familiar with him. However, for all those who fall on the other side of the state line, Kamara might be entirely foreign.

Below is a quick look at three things the Chiefs Kingdom should know about their newest player:

 

Chiefs to sign former Cowboys DE Azur Kamara ahead of training camp

The #Chiefs are finally bringing in some help at the edge rusher position and it just so happens to be a former Kansas Jayhawk.

The Kansas City Chiefs are finally bringing in some reinforcements at the edge rusher position.

According to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Chiefs are set to sign former Dallas Cowboys DE Azur Kamara to the 90-man offseason roster. The team is quite familiar with Kamara, who played football at the University of Kansas for two seasons after transferring from JUCO. Ahead of the 2020 NFL draft, the Chiefs hosted Kamara for a private workout.

Kamara joined Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2020, but he spent the season on injured reserve. In 2021, Kamara made the 53-man roster as an underdog story and was heavily featured in their “Hard Knocks” TV series. He was active for just nine games with the Cowboys, but he recorded stats in just three games (three total tackles) He was released late into the season and claimed by the Carolina Panthers, who released him from their offseason roster back in May.

Kamara is a little bit undersized for what the Chiefs typically like at the defensive end position (6-4 and 245 pounds). He played defensive end and JACK linebacker with the Jayhawks, recording 51 tackles, six tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks as a senior. Could the Chiefs potentially get the most out of this 23-year-old prospect? We’ll find out soon enough with training camp kicking off tomorrow.

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Panthers release former Cowboys LB

On Wednesday evening, the Panthers parted ways with former Cowboys LB Azur Kamara.

There is now one less Kamara in the NFC South.

On Wednesday evening, the Carolina Panthers announced the release of linebacker Azur Kamara. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound defender joined the organization back on Dec. 21, 2021, when he was claimed off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys.

Kamara’s only official NFL action came with them ‘boys, as he played in nine games for Dallas this past season. One of those contests was actually against Carolina, in which he recorded a tackle during the Cowboys’ 36-28 win in Week 4.

A solid and long-limbed athlete out of the University of Kansas, Kamara ran an impressive 40-yard dash of 4.59 seconds at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine. He’s now, however, become expendable to Carolina after the 2022 draft as well as their subsequent undrafted free-agent signings.

With rookie minicamp starting on Friday, the Panthers will now have to part ways with two more players to hit the mandated 90-man roster limit.

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Lucky 7: CB Trevon Diggs, several other Cowboys get new jersey numbers

Trevon Diggs reverts to his old college number, while ‘Hard Knocks’ favorite Azur Kamara steps into a jersey full of rich Cowboys history. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys fans at home may well need a program come next Thursday night just to tell who’s who when the team takes the field in Tampa to kick off the 2021 season. Several jersey number changes were announced on Thursday.

Second-year cornerback Trevon Diggs will revert back to the No. 7 he wore at Alabama, taking advantage of the league’s new relaxed rule concerning single-digit jersey numbers. The No. 7 has been popular lately in Dallas; Ben DiNucci wore it most recently, kicker Lirim Hajrullahu also wore it for his short stint, and ex-punter Hunter Niswander had it prior.

But Diggs’s old No. 27 isn’t being abandoned. Safety Jayron Kearse will don that number moving forward, ditching No. 32.

Draft picks who survive camp and make it onto the regular roster are often issued new numbers as digit combos open up after cuts. Rookie linebacker Jabril Cox moves from No. 48 to No. 14, the number worn last year by backup quarterback Andy Dalton. First-year cornerback Nahshon Wright goes from No. 40 to No. 25. And defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa swaps his No. 75 for No. 97.

Undrafted linebacker and current Hard Knocks favorite Azur Kamara steps into a number with some historical significance. Having worn No. 43 thus far in his Cowboys football journey, he’ll switch to No. 54. That number, of course, has long been associated with some of the franchise’s biggest defensive names: Chuck Howley, Randy White, and- most recently- Jaylon Smith.

As noted by the team website’s Kyle Youmans, newly-signed quarterback Will Grier will adopt No. 3, while new running back Corey Clement will wear No. 43.

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2 roster decisions that may haunt Cowboys in future

There’s always second guessing, and there will be again with the Cowboys’ decision to let these two down roster players go to other orgs. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys haven’t been able to win a Super Bowl in over two decades, and although they’ve built several teams worthy of hoisting a Lombadri trophy over that time, the draught leaves them susceptible to second guessing when it comes to roster decisions. Over the last 48 hours, the team has whittled down their offseason roster to 53 players, while also adding 14 of a potential 17 practice squad candidates.

While most of the roster has seemed set for a while, it’s obviously a difficult decision in some areas on which player has a better chance to contribute to the club. Short term versus long term comes into play, as teams decide which veterans they’ll be able to bring back, which young players to risk being poached by other teams and sometimes even which prospects you risk pissing off. In the litany of moves, some happen to raise the eyebrow of a large percentage of the fanbase and for the Cowboys, two of those decisions centered around QB Garrett Gilbert and DE Ron’Dell Carter.

Best pass rush prospect for the Ravens in each round of the 2020 NFL Draft

The Baltimore Ravens need to continue to beef up their pass rush and will likely turn to the 2020 NFL Draft as their remedy.

Despite the additions of Calais Campbell and Derek Wolfe this offseason, one of the Baltimore Ravens’ biggest priorities heading into the draft will be to beef up their outside pass rush. The Ravens were the most blitz heavy team in the NFL in 2019, but despite sending extra rushers on 54.9% of their defensive snaps they still finished the season with the 12th fewest sacks.

Though Baltimore has outside linebacker Matthew Judon returning in 2020 via the franchise tag, they could use some help opposite him and potentially need his replacement. In order to remedy their pass rush and build towards the future, the Ravens will likely turn to the 2020 NFL Draft. But as we’ve seen in previous years, Baltimore won’t reach for a player and could look to any of the seven rounds for their player.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the best options for the Ravens in each round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

1st Round – Yetur Gross-Matos, Penn State

The two best edge-rushing prospects in the draft, Chase Young and K’Lavon Chaisson, will be long gone by the time the Ravens make their first pick at 28. But there’s a good chance Gross-Matos will still be available.

Gross-Matos ended his time with the Penn State Nittany Lions with 18.5 sacks as well as a whopping 36.5 tackles for loss. He played as an edge defender for most of his career but was often deployed inside on passing downs. His versatility would be an asset to Baltimore and make him a handy tool for defensive coordinator Don Martindale.

Gross-Matos is far from a finished product but he has enough skills to contribute as a pass rush specialist early in his career while he finetunes the rest of his game.

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Chiefs had private visit scheduled with Kansas LB Azur Kamara

The visit was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way that NFL teams handle their pre-draft meetings with players.

Prior to the pandemic, players were scheduled to take pre-draft visits with teams. Many of those visits didn’t end up happening and while some of them are being made up electronically, others have just fallen by the wayside.

According to Draft Wire’s Justin Melo, Kansas LB Azur Kamara had planned to take a pre-draft visit with the Chiefs, but that visit never happened due to the coronavirus shutdowns. While Kamara has made up one of his other scheduled pre-draft visits via FaceTime, he hadn’t yet spoken to Kansas City. This doesn’t necessarily mean the Chiefs won’t speak with Kamara ahead of the draft, it’s simply a reflection of how things are changing.

Originally from the Ivory Coast, the 6-3 and 245-pound Kamara was a JUCO transfer, joining Kansas in 2018 as a spot starter. He has played defensive end and JACK linebacker for the Jayhawks. In his senior season and only season as a starter, he recorded 51 tackles, six tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks.

The truth is Kamara needs some work to find success in the NFL. He’s still very raw as a pass-rusher, but he has some natural traits that coaches will want to work with. He likely won’t be a high draft pick but has the potential to be a priority free agent for a team like Kansas City.

Kamara projects as a linebacker for the Chiefs’ scheme, with the ability to line up off-ball and on the line of scrimmage. He’d likely be viewed as a replacement for the 6-2 252-pound Reggie Ragland, who joined the Detroit Lions in free agency.

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