Tag: Chris Finke

How Twitter reacted to Gator Bowl: Irish side

Just guessing you’re very happy right now.

If a 100-yard pick-six wasn’t going to intimidate Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, nothing would. After South Carolina’s O’Donnell Fortune picked off a [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] pass to tie the score on the aforementioned play, everything looked like it would come apart in the end. Instead, Buchner wrapped up game MVP honors with this 16-yard touchdown pass to [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag], giving the Irish a 45-38 they wouldn’t relinquish:

As soon as the Gamecocks turned it over on downs with the help of some dumb penalties on their part, Irish fans were ready to celebrate the program’s first bowl victory in three years. It punctuated a 9-4 season that will serve as a passing grade for [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag]’s first season at the helm. To end with that and a ranking in the final poll is a good year in anyone’s book. If you don’t believe that, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t, take a look at some of these postgame tweets from Irish fans:

How Twitter reacted to Notre Dame-Clemson: Irish side

You’re happy, right?

It had been 40 years since an unranked Notre Dame team last defeated a top-five team. That came when the 1982 Irish upset Dan Marino and top-ranked Pittsburgh. Clemson wasn’t the top-ranked team entering Notre Dame Stadium in 2022, but the final outcome was no less impressive. The Irish beat the Tigers, 35-14, almost two years to the day of them beating this same program in the same location.

Irish fans in South Bend and beyond will be celebrating this one for a long time. If a national championship wasn’t in the cards, this was the next best thing. All reservations about [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] have gone out the window, at least for the moment. There no longer appears to be a limit on the possibilities with him at the helm in the years to come.

Here are some of the best reactions to the big win on Twitter, many of which came from program alumni:

Every Notre Dame player currently on an NFL training camp roster

Lots of former Irish talent in the NFL

Part of being an alumnus of a supremely successful collegiate football is seeing them getting an opportunity at the next level. For Notre Dame, the list of former players getting their shot in the NFL is large, very large. Find out below every former Irish star (in alphabetical order) and which NFL team they are with in training camp.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

6 Standouts from Friday’s Bears training camp practice

Here’s who stood out during one of the hardest Bears training camp practices to date.

The Chicago Bears put their foot on the gas pedal on Friday morning during their latest training camp practice at Halas Hall and it showed. After a day off, head coach Matt Eberflus and the Bears re-took the field for what has been described by multiple players as their hardest practice yet.

Practices have been a mixed bag up to this point, with the offense struggling at times to find their footing and the defense working to establish a mentality of creating turnovers. As practice got underway, however, players on both sides of the ball began to stand out by making plays. Here’s a list of players who we believe had a great practice on Friday morning.

Bears claim WR Chris Finke off waivers

Chris Finke spent time with Kansas City last season when Bears GM Ryan Poles was the Chiefs executive director of player personnel.

The Chicago Bears have made their first post-NFL draft move at wide receiver. But it might not be the kind of splash fans were hoping for.

The Bears claimed wide receiver Chris Finke off waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs, the team announced Wednesday.

Finke, a former undrafted free agent by the San Francisco 49ers in 2020, is a former teammate of Bears tight end Cole Kmet during his time at Notre Dame.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that there’s a Ryan Poles connection with this addition. Finke signed with Kansas City in May 2021, which is when Poles served as the Chiefs executive director of player personnel.

Finke suffered an injury during OTAs and was waived with an injury settlement before re-signing with the Chiefs on a reserve/future deal on Jan. 19. He was waived Tuesday.

Finke joins a Bears wide receivers room that includes Darnell Mooney, Byron Pringle, Equanimeous St. Brown and new rookie Velus Jones Jr.

[listicle id=506961]

Former Notre Dame receiver Chris Finke claimed by Chicago Bears

Think he’ll get something done in the Windy City?

Chris Finke hasn’t had the best luck sticking with an NFL team so far. In 2021, he signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted rookie free agent but didn’t get further than the practice squad. He also has had a couple of stints with the Kansas City Chiefs but never really had a shot with them either. Now, he’ll get a chance with the Chicago Bears, who have claimed him off waivers.

Finke walked on with the Irish in 2015. He then played 47 games over the next four years. He caught 106 passes for 1,251 yards and eight touchdowns during that time.

Finke’s had a career-high 86 receiving yards and one touchdown in the Irish’s 2018 win at USC. His lone two-touchdown game was in 2019 at Duke. In both games, he was the first Irish player to reach the end zone.

Here’s hoping Finke finally will be able to have the NFL opportunity he undoubtedly has been waiting for.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Chiefs waive WR Chris Finke from 90-man offseason roster

The #Chiefs waived a receiver from their 90-man offseason roster on Tuesday.

The Kansas City Chiefs waived a reserve/future signing at the wide receiver position.

According to the NFL’s official transaction report, the Chiefs have waived WR Chris Finke. An undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame who spent time with the San Francisco 49ers in 2020, Finke spent most of the 2021 offseason in Kansas City after signing with the team back in May. The 5-9 and 186-pound receiver, Finke finished his college career with the Fighting Irish with 1,251 receiving yards and eight touchdown receptions.

Finke suffered an injury during OTAs in 2021 ahead of training camp, which ultimately landed Finke on injured reserve. The team would later release him from injured reserve with an injury settlement in early August.

Kansas City eventually re-signed Finke on a reserve/future deal on January 19th. Unfortunately for Finke, it appears he won’t get another shot to stick in Kansas City after the additions they’ve made at wide receiver.

[listicle id=129316]

Chiefs host WR Chris Finke on a visit

The #Chiefs hosted a familiar face at the WR position on a visit on Tuesday.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

The Kansas City Chiefs hosted a familiar face for a visit on Tuesday.

Former Chiefs WR Chris Finke was in for a visit per the NFL’s official personnel notice. An undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame who spent time with the San Francisco 49ers in 2020, Finke spent most of the 2021 offseason in Kansas City after signing with the team back in May.

He’d suffer an injury late in OTAs ahead of training camp, which ultimately landed Finke on injured reserve. The team would later release him from injured reserve with an injury settlement in early August.

Listed at 5-9 and 186 pounds, Finke finished his college career with the Fighting Irish with 1,251 receiving yards and eight touchdown receptions. He has special teams upside and returned punts for Kansas City during OTAs.

It seems unlikely that Finke would be signed to the practice squad with Gehrig Dieter, Daurice Fountain and Cornell Powell already occupying spots. It is a possibility as four players were released from the practice squad on Tuesday. The more likely scenario here would be the Chiefs signing Finke to a reserve/future contract. That’d give him a shot to get a full and healthy offseason with the team in 2022.

[listicle id=117517]

Chiefs release WR Chris Finke from IR with an injury settlement

“The Slippery Fox” didn’t last long in Kansas City as the #Chiefs released WR Chris Finke from injured reserve with an injury settlement on Monday.

The Kansas City Chiefs have released WR Chris Finke from the injured reserve list with an injury settlement according to the NFL’s official transaction report.

The former Notre Dame and San Francisco 49ers receiver, nicknamed “The Slippery Fox” joined the Chiefs’ 90-man offseason roster back in May. The undrafted free agent receiver was competing for a reserve and special teams role in Kansas City, but suffered an injury during the early goings of training camp practice.

The Chiefs waived Finke with an injury designation, meaning that if he cleared waivers, he would revert to team’s injured reserve list. Finke did ultimately end up on injured reserve in Kansas City. From there, he had the option to stick around or come to an agreement with the team on an injury settlement to pursue opportunities elsewhere. Today, we found out that he chose the latter path.

Finke’s release doesn’t clear any roster space on the 90-man offseason roster for Kansas City. He already didn’t count against the roster while on injured reserve.

In other Chiefs transaction news, DB Armani Watts officially passed his physical today, meaning he can officially be activated from the active / physically unable to perform list. This was expected after he was spotted making his return to practice today.

[listicle id=95637]

Chiefs place OL Kyle Long on PUP, TE Nick Keizer on non-football injury list

The #Chiefs have placed OL Kyle Long on the active/PUP list, TE Nick Keizer on the active/non-football injury list and WR Chris Finke on IR. More here:

The Kansas City Chiefs made a few more transactions on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s initial training camp practice.

According to the NFL’s official transaction report, the Chiefs have placed OL Kyle Long on the physically unable to perform list and TE Nick Keizer on the non-football injury list.

Long, who suffered a leg injury during OTAs, is expected to miss training camp with his injury. A move to the PUP list was expected given the expected duration of his injury. He was placed on the active/PUP list, which means he’ll continue to count against the 90-man offseason roster. He can be activated at any point throughout training camp with this designation, which means if he’s ahead of schedule on his injury, he’ll be able to practice and play with the team.

Keizer’s placement on the active/non-football injury list comes as a bit of surprise. The veteran tight end hadn’t been absent from OTAs or mandatory minicamp. Heading to the non-football injury list and not the PUP list suggests that he suffered his injury training away from the team. With an extremely competitive tight end group this season, missing any significant period of time could be a big deal for Keizer and any shot he had to make the team.

If Long and Keizer remain on these respective lists through 53-man roster cuts, the team will have to choose to activate the players or send them to reserve versions of each list. If they are sent to the reserve versions, they’d both be required to miss six weeks of the NFL season before they can return to practice and be activated to the 53-man roster. If they aren’t healthy after those six weeks, the team can then choose to send them to injured reserve.

The Chiefs now have two players on both the non-football injury list and PUP list, with a total of four players who are injured counting against the 90-man offseason roster. Long and Keizer join DE Malik Herring and DB Armani Watts.

In addition to these two transactions, the Chiefs placed WR Chris Finke on injured reserve. He was waived with an injury designation on Monday, clearing waivers and reverting to the injured reserve list. The receiver can now choose to heal up and return to action when he’s ready or the team can come to an agreement on an injury settlement and he can go pursue another opportunity.

[listicle id=95292]