Bradley McDougald – Syndication Server

Jags list 2 coaches as unavailable for Week 17’s game, add Griffin to Reserve/COVID-19 list

the Jags made multiple moves Friday and placing Shaquill Griffin on the Reserve/COVID-19 list was one of them.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made several moves and decisions Friday to help get them prepared for their trip to New England to take on the Patriots. Among them was the decision to list defensive Line coach Tosh Lupoi and defensive quality control coach Patrick Reilly as unavailable for Sunday’s game.

Both were deemed unavailable because of the NFL-NFLPA COVID-19 protocols, and if Lupoi is unable to make the trip, assistant defensive line coach Sterling Lucas would step in and fulfill his role for Sunday’s game.

The Jags also announced that one of their defensive team captains, Shaquill Griffin, was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. With the news being announced just after 3:45 pm EST, it appears Griffin won’t be able to play Sunday as he would need at least 48 hours to register two negative tests to take the field. That said, the Jags could turn to Nevin Lawson or Tre Herndon to play in his place Sunday.

Lastly, the Jags made two signings, adding punter J.K. Scott to the active roster from the practice squad and signing safety Bradley McDougald to the practice squad.

Scott joins the Jags after spending three seasons with the Green Bay Packers from 2018-20 where he registered 194 punts for 8,654 yards and had an average of 44.6. He was drafted by them out of Alabama in the fifth round (172nd overall) after being a two-time All-SEC specialist in 2014 and 2016.

As for McDougald, he entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013. Along the way, he’s also played for the Tampa Bay Bucs, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, and Tennessee Titans and has participated in 107 games. He’ll enter his Jags tenure with 477 career tackles, and 10 picks.

Titans release S Bradley McDougald, DL Anthony Rush

The Titans parted ways with a pair of defenders on Tuesday.

The Tennessee Titans parted ways with a pair of players on Tuesday, releasing safety Bradley McDougald and defensive lineman Anthony Rush.

McDougald, who was originally a practice squad signing before being promoted to the active roster, started and played 40 snaps at safety in Week 2 after Amani Hooker was placed on Injured Reserve ahead of the contest.

The veteran struggled, giving way to fellow safety Dane Cruikshank, who ended up logging 36 snaps versus the Seattle Seahawks.

With McDougald gone, the Titans are down to just three safeties on their roster in Kevin Byard, Cruikshank, and Matthias Farley. Rookie Elijah Molden and Chris Jackson are also capable of playing the position.

It remains to be seen who will start next to Byard in Week 3 against the Indianapolis Colts, but chances are it’ll be Cruikshank and not Farley after the former saw significant time on Sunday.

Rush played 15 snaps in Week 1, but just one in Week 2. Tennessee is now down to just four defensive linemen on their roster in Jeffery Simmons, Denico Autry, Teair Tart and Larrell Murchison.

With the releases, the Titans have two open spots on their roster. It’s possible Tennessee will fill those holes with a pair of practice squad promotions in the coming days.

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Titans add Clayton Geathers, Bradley McDougald among 7 roster moves

The Titans made seven roster moves on Monday.

The Tennessee Titans added a pair of safeties to their roster on Monday and waived four other players in slew of roster moves ahead of their 14th training camp practice, which will take place at Nissan Stadium on Monday night.

The team announced the additions of veteran safeties Bradley McDougald and Clayton Geathers. The former has nine years of experience in the NFL, while the latter has five years of service. Based on their experience, these players are more than just camp bodies.

McDougald has 105 career games (82 starts) under his belt and spent the 2020 campaign with the New York Jets, playing in seven games. Geathers, who has appeared in 56 games (34 starts) over his career, did not play in 2020.

On top of those moves, the Titans waived tight end Deon Yelder after just one day, defensive back Reggie Floyd, 2021 UDFA and punter, James Smith, and defensive back Maurice Smith (injured). Cornerback Kevin Peterson was placed on Injured Reserve as well.

The Titans continue to shuffle their options at safety, as the team just added Floyd last Wednesday, along with Tedric Thompson. Safety Dane Cruikshank has been absent from practice with what we would assume is an injury.

Tennessee will have to trim its roster down to 85 by Tuesday, the first of three cutdown days. The next two will come on Aug. 24 and Aug. 31.

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Lack of safety depth is a concern for Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers could afford to add a veteran at the position.

Two months into the offseason and the Chargers have done a fine job of reconstructing a roster under first-year head coach Brandon Staley.

For the most part, each position group has quality starters followed by depth, but Los Angeles’ situation at safety still remains a bit shaky.

Prior to the draft, there were only three players at the position – Derwin James, Nasir Adderley and Alohi Gilman. The team added two more; Mark Webb, a seventh-round pick and Ben DeLuca, an undrafted free agent.

James will be returning from his second lengthy injury that he’s suffered with the Chargers since being drafted in 2018.

Even though can Staley unlock Adderley’s potential in 2021, he’s still coming off a rough sophomore season.

Gilman doesn’t offer much position flexibility.

Webb, the wide receiver convert, didn’t start playing on the defensive side of the ball until 2017.

It’s easy to think that L.A. will have a dynamic defense with James on the field, but considering he’s only played five games in total the past two seasons, the team can’t consider it a complete guarantee.

In addition, under Staley, this will be a defense that relies heavily on their defensive backs.

Bradley McDougald, Bobby McCain, Malik Hooker, Adrian Colbert, Andrew Sendejo, Tre Boston, Kenny Vaccaro and D.J. Swearinger are just to name a few free agent safeties that could be brought in on one-year deals.

The Chargers banking on what they have at the position isn’t surprising, knowing that Staley is capable of getting the most out of his defensive players.

However, for a team that has been hit with the injury bug for years now, they should know that having more might actually be better.

It sounds like Bradley McDougald’s Jets tenure is over

Bradley McDougald’s shoulder injury will keep him out for the rest of year and will likely end his tenure as a Jet.

Bradley McDougald’s Jets tenure is likely over.

Adam Gase said Wednesday that he doesn’t expect the safety to come back from a shoulder injury “any time soon,” per the New York Post’s Brian Costello. McDougald is eligible to come off the injured reserve list, but he doesn’t appear ready. With only fives games left in the season and the Jets out of the playoff hunt, there’s no reason to rush McDougald back.

With McDougald set to become a free agent at the end of the year, his time as a Jet appears over after just seven games. McDougald recorded 36 total tackles, three pass defenses and one fumble recovery. McDougald had a 41.0 overall grade, per Pro Football Focus. That is considered replaceable on the PFF grading scale. McDougald was targeted 16 times and allowed 13 receptions.

McDougald was acquired in the trade that sent Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks. He was expected to be a solid replacement for Adams, but it just didn’t work out that way. Once McDougald went out with the shoulder injury, it was hard to see him regaining his starting job with the Jets having high hopes for rookie Ashtyn Davis.

McDougald will hit the free agent market coming off the shoulder injury with hopes of finding a new team. It’s hard to envision the Jets bringing him back given their situation at safety.

Jets injury report: Blake Cashman injures hamstring again

Oft-injured linebacker Blake Cashman is out again with a separate hamstring injury, while Bradley McDougald is eligible to return from IR.

While the Jets came out their 20-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 12 mostly clean, Blake Cashman finds himself on the shelf again.

It’s been a rough 2020 for the second-year linebacker out of Minnesota. He was placed on injured reserve after injuring his groin in the first quarter of Week 1. Cashman returned for Weeks 6 and 7 before dealing with multiple hamstring injuries, which knocked him out for multiple games.

Now, Cashman is dealing with a separate hamstring injury that will sideline him again for a couple of weeks, according to Adam Gase. Cashman played 52% of New York’s special teams snaps in Sunday’s loss before exiting the game due to injury. He finished the contest with a tackle.

In four games this season, Cashman has played just three snaps on defense. He’s seen a majority of snaps on special teams, where he has six combined tackles.

In another injury news, starting last week, Bradley McDougald was eligible to come off injured reserve. Right now that appears unlikely as he recovers from surgery on his shoulder, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

McDougald’s absence from the lineup has allowed Marcus Maye to return to his natural position, where he’s seen a surge in production. As for Ashtyn Davis, the rookie out of Cal has done a more than adequate job of filling in for the injured McDougald.

Jets injury report: Breshad Perriman, Jamison Crowder to miss game vs. Chiefs

The Jets will be without Breshad Perriman and Jamison Crowder on Sunday against the Chiefs.

Just when the Jets were starting to get healthy again, they lost their top two wide receivers.

Breshad Perriman is out for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs, as he’s still in concussion protocol after taking a massive hit from Micah Hyde last week against the Bills. Jamison Crowder (groin) is doubtful after failing to practice on Friday.

Blake Cashman (hamstring) is also out after not practicing on Friday. Bradley McDougald (shoulder) is out, as he didn’t practice at all this week.

Sam Ficken (groin) tried to give it a go in practice over the last two days, but he’s not ready to kick in a game. Sergio Castillo will be called up from the practice squad to take Ficken’s place for the second consecutive game.

Josh Andrews (shoulder), Frank Gore (hand), Jordan Jenkins (rib/shoulder) and Connor McDermott (illness) are all listed as questionable.

Meanwhile, the Jets also waived Daeshon Hall due to a failed physical, per the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson.

As for the Chiefs, Mitchell Schwartz (back) and Sammy Watkins (hamstring) have been ruled out.

Adam Gase upping the intensity at Jets practice

Adam Gase has intensified his practices after the Jets 0-4 start.

Adam Gase decided to spice things up a bit in practice this week.

In preparation for this week’s scheduled game against the Arizona Cardinals, Gase had the team doing competitive drills right from the start of practice. With the Jets 0-4, Gase knows something needs to change.

“We get the blood flowing a little quicker than normal,” Gase said, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “Not recommended by sports science, but at this point, we’re going to do everything we can.”

The Jets have also done more walkthroughs and have expanded their meetings. Gase said that the players have come forward with ways to improve practice, which he called “outstanding communication.”

While Gase is praising his players for more insight on better ways to prepare for a game, he also said that “everyone has to put forth more effort” in order to get out of this 0-4 hole.

In the past couple of weeks, Jets players have publicly stated that the team’s practices were not intense enough. Both Avery Williamson and Bradley McDougald stated that the practices started off slow.

At the end of the day, a team is as only as good as it practices. Clearly, the Jets weren’t practicing well the first four weeks and that showed in their four losses. We’ll see if a change leads to different game results.

Adam Gase responds to critical comments on Jets’ practice habits: ‘I haven’t necessarily felt that’

Jets head coach Adam Gase responded to comments about New York’s practice habits on Wednesday.

Adam Gase is not in agreement with the recent criticisms that have been offered about the Jets’ practice habits.

Following New York’s 31-13 loss to the 49ers in Week 2, Bradley McDougald said the Jets have been struggling in practice. Avery Williamson reciprocated those thoughts while appearing on his weekly WFAN guest spot with Joe Beningo and Evan Roberts on Tuesday.

“I definitely can agree with [McDougald] at times; sometimes in practice, guys are missing tackles or we’re not doing things right, we haven’t been as crisp as we should be at times,” Williamson said. “Or starting fast – he’s definitely correct that at times, we don’t start fast at practice. We haven’t the last two weeks, but that’s something we have to fix ourselves, because you can’t come out sluggish in games and expect to win. It’s tough to recover when a team you’re playing is that good.”

On Wednesday, Gase told reporters Williamson texted him to clarify his comments and that he felt they were not being reported the way he meant them, per the New York Post’s Brian Costello. Gase responded to the comments, saying that players can voice their concerns during the week if they have any.

“Nobody said anything during the week. I felt like we had really good tempo to practice,” Gase said. “Sometimes, an individual guy, if he wants to change something, I mean…we talk about it every week, it’s not like it’s not an open forum. If somebody doesn’t like the way something’s going, we can easily speak up.

“If that’s the feeling they have, we have a chance to ramp it up and make sure we’re doing what we need to do in individuals and pick up the tempo. I haven’t necessarily felt that.”

New York is off to a poor start this season, but there is still time for the Jets to fix things and put a winning product on the field as they did at the end of last season. Digging out of an 0-2 hole is tough, but it’s not an impossible task — even for a team that has looked out of sorts.

Whether it be changing practice habits or making tweaks to their routine, the Jets still have the opportunity to flip the script before it’s too late. At the end of the day, it comes down to the players working with the coaching staff hand-in-hand to make that happen.

“We’re in this together,” McDougald said. “Nobody’s coming in to save us…right now, people are probably looking at us like, ‘Oh we got the Jets this week. I’m going to get my numbers up.’ Until we can stop other teams from thinking like that or we go out and punch somebody in the mouth and we make them deal with us four quarters at a time, none of it matters.”

Avery Williamson critical of Jets’ practice habits: ‘We haven’t been as crisp as we should be’

Jets linebacker Avery Williamson voiced his concerns with New York’s poor practice habits while appearing on WFAN Tuesday.

Winning habits on the practice field typically translate to victories on Sundays. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that the Jets are off to an 0-2 start in 2020.

“I definitely can agree with him at times; sometimes in practice, guys are missing tackles or we’re not doing things right, we haven’t been as crisp as we should be at times,” Williamson said. “Or starting fast – he’s definitely correct that at times, we don’t start fast at practice. We haven’t the last two weeks, but that’s something we have to fix ourselves, because you can’t come out sluggish in games and expect to win. It’s tough to recover when a team you’re playing is that good.”

The struggles the Jets are experiencing in practice are a poor reflection on Adam Gase and his coaching staff. Yes, the players have to take the practice seriously, but it is on the head coach and his staff to have a plan in place to avoid slow starts and bad habits that carry over into games.

“We have to fix it. Thankfully, we have another opportunity to do it,” Williamson said. “I’m just going to go out there and make sure I have positive energy and hold myself and my teammates accountable to make sure we are better in practice. You have to make sure everyone is doing their part, because we have to win some games, and it starts on Wednesdays.”

As for Williamson himself, he’s focused on settling in and returning to form after taking the field in a regular season game for the first time since 2018. The veteran linebacker played sparingly in his season debut against San Francisco but is eager to turn in a standout performance against the Colts in Week 3 now that the butterflies have subsided.

“It felt good and I haven’t had any pain or anything in practice,” Williamson said. “I definitely was nervous, I think I woke up at like 5 a.m. Sunday morning because I was so amped up, but it felt good to get back out on the field. I was a little wide-eyed, but I got a lot more comfortable as the game went on. It’s like getting your football senses back. I’m ready to go crazy this week.”