Tag: Brian Johnson

Washington Football Team signs ex-Saints kicker Brian Johnson

Washington Football Team signs ex-Saints kicker Brian Johnson

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Former New Orleans Saints kicker Brian Johnson is signing with the Washington Football Team following an injury to starter Joey Slye, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Johnson was recently released by the Saints in favor of Brett Maher and initially landed with the Chicago Bears practice squad before getting called up to Washington’s active roster.

Washington lost Slye to a hamstring injury midway through their Monday night win over the Seattle Seahawks, electing to keep their offense on the field for subsequent two-point conversion attempts and fourth downs in opposing territory. Now Johnson will get an opportunity to step in while Slye recovers over the next three weeks on injured reserve.

Johnson, 22, connected on all 8 of his field goal tries for the Saints but only went 5-of-8 on extra point attempts in four games. The rookie out of Virginia Tech was waived once Maher finished recovering from a preseason groin injury, having been New Orleans’ first choice to step in for Wil Lutz. Johnson signed with the Saints after their game against Washington earlier this season, replacing the struggling Cody Parkey.

He’ll have an opportunity to help the frisky Washington squad which is currently the projected seventh seed in the NFC playoff picture with a 5-6 record, trailing the reeling 7-4 Dallas Cowboys on top of the NFC East.

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Bears announce roster moves ahead of Thanksgiving matchup vs. Lions

The Bears placed Duke Shelley on IR, promoted Margus Hunt to the active roster and signed Brian Johnson to the practice squad on Tuesday.

The Chicago Bears (3-7) are gearing up for a Thanksgiving matchup against the Detroit Lions (0-9-1), where Chicago is looking to snap a five-game losing streak and avoid rock bottom.

Ahead of Thursday’s game against the Lions, the Bears made several roster moves on the active roster and practice squad, which includes one veteran landing on injured reserve.

Here’s a look at the roster moves the Bears made on Tuesday ahead of Thursday’s game vs. Detroit:

Saints bring back veteran kicker Brett Maher to the practice squad

Saints fans wanted a different kicker, and now they’ve got one: the team is signing Brett Maher to its practice squad

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Well, alright. ESPN’s Mike Triplett first reported Tuesday that the New Orleans Saints will sign free agent kicker Brett Maher to their practice squad. The move follows some struggles for rookie Brian Johnson, who missed a pair of extra point attempts in last week’s 23-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

Maher was the first kicker the Saints signed to fill in for injured Pro Bowler Wil Lutz this season, but he suffered a groin injury in pregame warmups before their first preseason matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. Maher went on injured reserve soon after and was later released with an injury settlement. He can be elevated from the practice squad twice this season before the Saints must sign him to the active roster to continue playing, assuming he unseats Johnson.

Here’s what I wrote of Maher when he first signed with the Saints back in August:

“Maher, 31, first entered the NFL as a punter back in 2013 and has bounced all around ever since, working as a placekicker full-time in 2014. He’s spent time with six different NFL teams (twice with the Jets and Cowboys, plus stops in Washington, Cleveland, Houston, and Arizona) and three CFL teams over the years, though his only extended action came with Dallas.

He’s connected on 49 of 66 career field goal tries (74.2%) and missed just once on 69 extra-point attempts in 29 games. Maher also singlehandedly won the first victory in the Ottawa Redblacks’ franchise history by making all six field goals in an 18-17 surprise. So we’ve got that going for us.”

The Saints have had a carousel of kickers move in and out of the building this season, ranging from Lutz and Johnson to Maher and Aldrick Rosas. Now they’ve turned again to Maher (who will turn 32 next Sunday, when the Saints kick off with the Philadelphia Eagles). In-season kicking competitions are rare, but not unheard of. Hopefully he can be an upgrade.

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Saints kicker Wil Lutz says he won’t play in 2021 after post-surgery setback

Saints kicker Wil Lutz says he won’t play in 2021 after post-surgery setback

This is really tough. New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz announced Tuesday that he suffered a setback during rehab from preseason core muscle surgery that will require him to shut down for the 2021 season. The 2019 Pro Bowler injured a groin muscle last year and tried to work through it in training camp, but ultimately had to go under the knife. New Orleans designated him to return from injured reserve last week but now we know he won’t be kicking in 2021.

It’s a huge loss for the Saints, who relied on Lutz to kick several game-winning field goals in his career so far. He’s achieved an 86.6% success rate on field goals while connecting on 97.3% of his extra-point attempts, and he’s going to be very difficult to replace.

The good news is that rookie kicker Brian Johnson performed well in the rain against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night, nailing two field goals from 21 and 33 yards as well as his lone point-after try. But that’s a far cry from the expectations Lutz has earned over time. We’ll see how Johnson performs as the season continues after he took over from a carousel of kickers including Brett Maher, Aldrick Rosas, and Cody Parkey.

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Saints designate Wil Lutz to return from injured reserve

The New Orleans Saints designated Pro Bowl kicker Wil Lutz to return from injured reserve, opening his practice window for three weeks:

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Help is on the way. The New Orleans Saints designated Pro Bowl kicker Wil Lutz to return from injured reserve on Monday, opening his 21-day window to practice with the team. It doesn’t mean he’s a sure thing to kick against the Seattle Seahawks in New Orleans’ next game on Oct. 25, but it does give us an idea of when Lutz will be available.

So if he isn’t ready for this week’s kickoff, Lutz could return in subsequent games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Atlanta Falcons. He’s been unavailable since early in training camp after undergoing core muscle surgery, and the Saints have struggled to replace him. Two of his potential replacements — Brett Maher and Cody Parkey — suffered similar groin injuries during pregame warmups to knock them out of action, while Aldrick Rosas was too erratic to trust any longer.

Now it’s up to Brian Johnson, signed off the Chicago Bears practice squad, to step up. Johnson must remain on the 53-man roster for at least three games, which lines up neatly with Lutz’s practice timeline. At some point New Orleans will have two kickers on the roster which isn’t that big of a problem given how often players can be promoted from the practice squad on game days.

The Saints played a couple games this year with only 51 of 53 roster spots filled thanks to that loophole, so rostering Johnson and Lutz together (albeit briefly) isn’t something Sean Payton or any other New Orleans decision-maker will be losing sleep over. Stay tuned for any other players designated to return from injured reserve in the days ahead, but we may have to wait until Thursday’s initial injury report for clarity.

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Saints signing K Brian Johnson off Bears practice squad to replace Cody Parkey

The Saints will replace kicker Cody Parkey with Brian Johnson, who is being signed off the Bears practice squad.

The New Orleans Saints will replace kicker Cody Parkey with a newcomer from the practice squad of the Chicago Bears.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Saints are signing kicker Brian Johnson off the Bears practice squad.

Sean Payton’s team was in need of a kicker after placing Parkey on injured reserve.

Johnson, 23, is an undrafted rookie free agent from Virginia Tech.

He was perfect during the preseason, making field goal attempts from 54 yards and 44 yards and all three of his extra-point attempts. He also kicked 10 times, creating four touchbacks.

Johnson will become the Saints’ third kicker of the regular season. Aldrick Rosas replaced Will Lutz to start the season and was the kicker for the first four games. He was released last week. Parkey replaced Rosas but was injured during last week’s win over the Washington Football Team.

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Saints signing K Brian Johnson off Bears practice squad

The Bears have their answer at kicker in Cairo Santos, but they’re losing their insurance in Brian Johnson from the practice squad.

The Chicago Bears have finally found their answer at kicker in Cairo Santos, but they’re losing their insurance from the practice squad.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the New Orleans Saints are signing kicker Brian Johnson off Chicago’s practice squad. That means Johnson will join New Orleans’ 53-man roster, where he’d have to remain there for three games.

Funny enough, the reason the Saints are signing Johnson is because of another former Bears kicker. Cody Parkey signed with New Orleans last week, and he injured his groin during pregame on Sunday.

Johnson proved to be a reliable kicker during training camp and preseason, where he was able to connect on some deep kicks. But Johnson never stood a chance to make the 53-man roster because of Santos.

Santos has been a pillar of consistency for the Bears at a position that had snakebitten them a few years ago. Santos has connected on all 7 field goals this season, and he’s made 34 consecutive field goals dating back to Week 3 of last season.

Bears protect four practice squad players for Week 5

The Bears have protected four practice squad players ahead of Sunday’s game against the Raiders, including RBs Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce.

The practice squad has become even more important for NFL teams with injuries and COVID-19 designations. Teams are allowed to designate up to four practice-squad players every week that are protected from being signed away from other teams.

The Chicago Bears have protected four players on their practice squad this week ahead of Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders — running backs Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce, as well as defensive lineman Margus Hunt and kicker Brian Johnson.

With David Montgomery sidelined 4-5 weeks with a knee sprain, the Bears need all the help they can get at running back. Damien Williams and Khalil Herbert will be the main guys filling in for Montgomery, but it’s not a surprise to see Nall and Pierce, who re-signed to the practice squad Tuesday, protected. One of them figures to be promoted to the active roster in place of Montgomery, who will likely be placed on short-term injured reserve.

Hunt’s protection could be an indication that Akiem Hicks’ groin injury, which he sustained on the first play of last week’s win against the Lions, might be a concern this week. We’ll see how things unveil during practice this week.

Protecting Johnson is a smart move should anything happen to Cairo Santos, who now owns the longest active streak of consecutive made field goals with 32.

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Eagles held a pre-draft meeting with Florida WR Kadarius Toney

Eagles held a pre-draft meeting with Florida WR Kadarius Toney

The Eagles have needs on both sides of the ball and if Philadelphia goes defense at No. 12 overall, a former Florida Gator not named Kyle Pitts could be the option.

Kadarius Toney is booming up draft boards after blazing a 4.39 40-yard dash on Wednesday and after his pro day, the electric wide receiver confirmed that he’s held a pre-draft meeting with the Birds.

Toney is an electric athlete who can make plays at all three levels of the field and he could fit well into Nick Sirianni’s multidimensional offense.

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Jalen Hurts on the excitement of finally getting to play for Eagles QB coach Brian Johnson

Jalen Hurts on the excitement of finally getting to play for Eagles QB coach Brian Johnson

While the local and national media sits around waiting for Carson Wentz to make a statement, Jalen Hurts has been making the media rounds during Super Bowl week in Tampa.

Hurts started the Eagles’ final four games of the 2020 NFL regular season and while Philadelphia is still putting together a coaching staff, the quarterback is working to get better.

During a Tuesday afternoon interview with CBS Sports, Hurts talked about the offseason process, what Nick Sirianni could do at quarterback and an exciting tidbit that could tell a lot about the looming competition.

Sirianni hired former University of Florida offensive coordinator Brian Johnson to be the Eagles’ new quarterbacks coach and the talented offensive assistant is also a Hurts’ family friend.

Johnson actually played quarterback for Hurts’ father, Averion Hurts, in high school, then tried to recruit Hurts when Johnson was at Mississippi State coaching Dak Prescott.

Hurts spoke about the excitement that comes with being coach by Johnson after all these years.

“Coach Brian is like family — I’ve known him since I was 4 years old,” Hurts said Tuesday. “My dad actually coached him at Baytown [Texas] Lee High School. I grew up watching him play. Got a lot of love for him. Crazy how it works. He was actually recruiting me to go play at Mississippi State when Dak left.”

“So now it’s kinda all fell into the right place, I guess, so I’m excited to be working with him,” said Hurts, who was speaking publicly for the first time since the end of the season.

When Hurts transferred from Alabama, the Florida Gators made his final list because of Johnson’s presence on the staff.

Hurts eventually chose Oklahoma and head coach Lincoln Riley.

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