Tag: Bunmi Rotimi

Commanders place DE Bunmi Rotimi on injured reserve

Rotimi was competing for one of the backup defensive end spots behind Chase Young and Montez Sweat.

The Washington Commanders made a roster move on Sunday, one day after a 24-14 preseason loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Washington placed defensive end Bunmi Rotimi on injured reserve after he suffered a leg injury during Saturday’s game.

The injury is unfortunate for Rotimi, who was looking to make the roster as a reserve defensive end behind Chase Young and Montez Sweat. The 27-year-old Rotimi initially signed with the Commanders in July 2021 but was released as a part of Washington’s final cuts. The Commanders signed him to the practice squad the next day.

Rotimi spent much of last season on the practice squad before he was activated to the 53-man roster after Young’s knee injury. Rotimi played in nine games for Washington, starting one game. He recorded 10 tackles and one sack last season.

Rotimi played college football at Old Dominion and entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He spent time with the Chicago Bears, the Arizona Hotshots of the now-defunct AAF and the New York Guardians of the XFL before landing with Washington last summer.

The Commanders have yet to announce a corresponding move and may not with Tuesday’s deadline to trim the roster to 80 players.

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Washington inactive players vs. Seahawks

Washington’s inactive list does not include Curtis Samuel. Some good news for the WFT.

The Washington Football Team announced their Week 12 inactive list for the Monday Night Football game against the Seattle Seahawks from FedEx Field, and it contained some good news.

First, the inactives: Wide receivers Dax Milne and Antonio Gandy-Golden, cornerback Corn Elder, center Tyler Larsen, defensive end Bunmi Rotimi and tight end Ricky Seals-Jones.

A notable name missing from the inactive list is wide receiver Curtis Samuel. Samuel, who has missed all but two games this season with a groin injury, will play vs. Seattle, although he will be on a “pitch count” per head coach Ron Rivera.

With Samuel expected to play, quarterback Taylor Heinicke will finally have his full complement of weapons. Tight end Logan Thomas will also play, after being activated from injured reserve earlier on Monday.

Washington has won two consecutive games and could move into the No. 7 — and final — playoff spot in the NFC with a win over the Seahawks. Seattle enters Monday night’s game on a two-game losing streak.

With Montez Sweat and Chase Young injured, what now?

Casey Toohill, Shaka Toney and Bunmi Rotimi have a major opportunity with the loss of Montez Sweat and Chase Young.

The WFT defensive line has lost both Montez Sweat and Chase Young.

Sweat, a first-round draft choice out of Mississippi State in 2019, suffered a broken jaw against the Broncos in Week 8.

Young, the second overall selection in the 2020 NFL draft, suffered a torn ACL in Week 10 against the Buccaneers.

 

What now?

Ron Rivera, Jack Del Rio and defensive line coach Sam Mills III are forced to think, “What is best for the team, and how does the defense march forward?” It seems uncaring, but they must accept a “So what? Now what?” mindset and prepare this team. It’s their job.

Who will have to step up at defensive end?

Casey Toohill, a seventh-round draft choice by the Eagles in 2020, was signed by Washington last season and appeared in eight games. The 25-year-old defensive end played 29 defensive snaps last week against Tampa Bay, collecting one solo tackle while assisting on three others.

Shaka Toney was selected by the WFT out of Penn State in the seventh round (No. 246 overall) in 2021. At 6-2 and 238 pounds, perhaps his size will limit his snaps, and coaches may attempt to use him exclusively in pass-rushing situations. Toney was called upon for nine defensive snaps against Tampa in Week 10.

Bunmi Rotimi played at Old Dominion, went undrafted and was signed by the WFT last offseason. At 6-3 and 273 pounds, the 26-year-old lineman may be pressed into a role where he will be needed to also help against the run. He has appeared in recent games against the Packers (six snaps) and the Buccaneers (eight snaps).

Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden often said, “Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

Toohill, Toney and Rotimi are going to be thrown into the proverbial fire.  Many WFT fans will wish them good luck.

Wooden also often said, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”

Washington places defensive end Montez Sweat on injured reserve

Montez Sweat to IR was expected so Washington could add another pass-rusher to the roster until he returns.

Washington announced during the bye week that defensive end Montez Sweat fractured his jaw in the Week 8 loss to the Denver Broncos. The timetable for Sweat’s return was set at 4-6 weeks.

Washington didn’t immediately place Sweat on injured reserve, but head coach Ron Rivera said on Friday the move was coming. On Saturday, Washington officially placed Sweat on IR — with a designation to return.

To fill Sweat’s spot on the roster, Washington signed DE Bunmi Rotimi from the practice squad to the active roster.

Washington will now count on the group of James Smith-Williams, Casey Toohill, Shaka Toney and Rotimi to fill Sweat’s shoes, opposite of Chase Young. What Washington really needs is Young to raise his level of play during Sweat’s absence.

Through eight games this season, Sweat has 11 tackles and four sacks.

Washington (2-6) hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2) in Week 10 from FedEx Field as it tries to end a four-game losing streak.

Washington protects three practice squad players for Week 10

Washington protected three practice squad players for Week 10.

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The Washington Football Team protected three players ahead of Sunday’s Week 10 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Defensive end Bunmi Rotimi, quarterback Kyle Shurmur and offensive tackle David Steinmetz were protected by Washington on Tuesday.

Washington often chooses to protect different players each week, likely based on injuries at specific positions. In Rotimi’s case, defensive end Montez Sweat is out with a fractured jaw for at least a month. That leaves Chase Young, James Smith-Williams, Casey Toohill and Shaka Toney as the defensive ends on the active roster.

Toney doesn’t have a lot of experience and has battled an injury.

Shurmur is protected again because Washington only has two healthy quarterbacks on the active roster in Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen. It will be interesting to see if Washington protects Shurmur if Ryan Fitzpatrick returns to the roster.

Washington protected Steinmetz with uncertainty on the offensive line. While Brandon Scherff, Sam Cosmi and Ereck Flowers returned to practice and Cornelius Lucas is also expected back, it’s still too far away from Sunday to see who will be available.

Washington hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

7 XFL players who should be targets for the Browns

The Browns found help from the AAF last year and can find more in the XFL in 2020

The XFL is in full swing and unlike its 2001 predecessor, it appears here to stay. But like the 2001 version, there are actually a ton of players that will be given an opportunity to play in the NFL. Last season the Cleveland Browns gave a few Alliance of American Football stars a chance, and a couple landed on the final roster including Garrett Gilbert and D’Ernest Johnson.

The XFL looks to be full of even more talent. Here is one player from each positional group that would be a great addition to the current Cleveland roster.

Phillip Walker, QB, Houston Roughnecks, 5-11, 216 pounds

Walker went undrafted in 2017 after having an extremely productive college career at Temple and leading them to their first back to back double-digit win seasons in school history. He bounced back and forth from the practice squad to active roster for the Indianapolis Colts from 2017-2019 and after his latest release decided to take his talents to the XFL.

Most people have been focused on Cardale Jones and his season has been more statistically impressive, but Walker is younger at only 24 years old, has less talent around him and has a more similar playing style to Baker Mayfield. Walker also had an uphill battle to even start in the XFL as Connor Cook was slated to be the team’s poster boy. Through two games, Walker has completed over 60% of his passes for 449 yards, seven touchdowns and just one interception.

De’Veon Smith, RB, Tampa Bay Vipers, 5-11, 223 pounds

It was not surprising that Walker went undrafted in 2017, but Smith going undrafted was shocking. Smith has the resume of a mid-round selection as a productive back coming from Michigan and the size to take on an NFL workload, but his vision was rough. Smith was with the Miami Dolphins for a short time in 2017 and the Washington Redskins for a period in 2018, but that was the end of his NFL road. Despite being signed by the Orlando Apollos of the AAF, he joined the team deep into the season.

Smith is on one of the worst teams in the XFL and has very little help in front of him, but has managed to carry more than his share and be extremely productive with 27 carries for 125 yards and a solid average of 4.6 yards per carry.

Smith is currently second in the league in rushing and has clearly worked on his biggest weakness, which should result in an NFL team taking another chance on the 25-year-old. Cleveland should be taking a deep dive into the Ohio native’s film.

Dan Williams, WR, Tampa Bay Vipers, 6-2, 215 pounds

“Tha Threat” had a statistically spectacular collegiate career at Jackson State and followed that up with an equally impressive pro day, where he ran his forty at 4.51. However, he failed to get drafted and received a shot with the New York Jets. He likely went undrafted due to his lack of explosion in his cuts and this has also been the reason he has struggled to stick in the league.

In addition to having a cup of coffee in New York, Williams spent time in Washington and was actually in Cleveland for a month in 2019.

Like the players listed above, Williams is still young at only 25 and has obviously put in serious work to make himself a more explosive and agile weapon on the perimeter. Williams has nine receptions for 145 yards through two games and has accomplished that despite the quarterback position already in flux for Tampa Bay.

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