Tag: Chris Hubbard

Giants injury report: Darius Slayton out vs. Panthers

New York Giants wide receivers Darius Slayton and Bryce Ford-Wheaton are unlikely to play in Week 10 against the Carolina Panthers.

Editor’s note: Darius Slayton did not travel with the team to Germany and is officially out in Week 10.

The New York Giants took the field on Thursday for their second of three practices ahead of a Week 10 game against the Carolina Panthers in Munich, Germany.

Beforehand, head coach Brian Daboll delivered the unfortunate news that wide receivers Darius Slayton and Bryce Ford-Wheaton are unlikely to travel and will subsequently miss Sunday’s game against Carolina.

On the flip side of that coin, both kicker Graham Gano and punter Jamie Gillan continue to progress and are likely to suit up in Week 10. Gillan is all but guaranteed to play and Daboll says Gano has a strong chance.

The coach also revealed that offensive lineman Greg Van Roten should be “OK” to play on Sunday.

The Giants’ full Thursday injury report can be found below:

Did not participate: WR Darius Slayton (concussion), WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton (Achilles), OL Chris Hubbard (illness)

Limited participant: K Graham Gano (hamstring), P Jamie Gillan (hamstring), TE Theo Johnson (knee/back), LB Ty Summers (ankle), NT Dexter Lawrence (NIR), OL Greg Van Roten (shoulder), LB Matthew Adams (calf), S Jason Pinnock (abdomen), LB Darius Muasau (hamstring)

Full participant: None

[lawrence-related id=735668,735670,735665]

Giants signing OL Chris Hubbard off 49ers’ practice squad

The New York Giants have signed offensive lineman Chris Hubbard off of the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad.

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll said on Thursday that the team may sign a veteran offensive tackle to replace the injured Andrew Thomas (foot) and he stayed true to that statement.

Before practice on Friday, Daboll revealed that the team had signed Chris Hubbard off of the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad.

Hubbard, 33, originally signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted rookie free agent out of UAB in 2013.

After five seasons with the Steelers, Hubbard spent time with the Cleveland Browns (2018-2022), Tennessee Titans (2023), and the aforementioned 49ers (2024).

The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Hubbard has appeared in 94 career games with 58 starts. Much of his time has been spent at tackle but he can also play inside at guard.

In 2023, Hubbard earned a Pro Football Focus grade of 68.2. His career-best came in 2020 as a member of the Browns (71.9).

[lawrence-related id=734629,734616,734639]

49ers practice squad raided by Giants after bad injury news for OL

The 49ers lost some internal OL depth.

The New York Giants are raiding the San Francisco 49ers practice squad for offensive line help after news came down that starting left tackle Andrew Thomas would miss the rest of the year with a foot injury.

According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, Giants head coach Brian Daboll told reporters the team is signing veteran OL Chris Hubbard off the 49ers’ practice squad.

Hubbard spent training camp and the preseason with the 49ers on the recommendation of former 49ers offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill, who was teammates with Hubbard last year in Tennessee.

While there appeared to be some chance Hubbard would compete for the starting right tackle job after holding down that spot for the Titans in 2023, the veteran OL never made a real push for that job.

He wound up getting cut and returning to the practice squad in mid-September as internal OL depth for the 49ers. His exit will leave San Francisco short on experience on their practice squad.

Without Hubbard, Isaac Alarcon and undrafted rookie Drake Nugent are the only two internal depth options for San Francisco on the offensive front. Neither player has played a snap in the NFL.

With an open practice squad spot the 49ers could opt to add another offensive lineman. Chances are they’ll wait until after Week 7 to see what their injury situation looks like to make another move. They may also wait until their Week 9 bye to do anything major when they can have time off to assess where their roster stands.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

 

Raiders ripped in home opener by winless Panthers 36-22

The Raiders fell back to earth hard to get run out of their own building by a bad Panthers team.

These Raiders are nothing if not interesting. Last week they defied the odds to beat the Ravens 26-23 in Baltimore. This week they come home and defy the odds again…losing badly to what was previously a hapless Panthers team.

This wasn’t even really a close one. The Panthers drove right down the field on the opening drive for a touchdown.

The Raiders responded with a three-and-out.

To be fair, the Raiders did eventually score a touchdown to tie it up. The big play was a 54-yard bomb to Tre Tucker and Alexander Mattison finished it off with a touchdown run to tie it at 7-7.

But the scoring stopped for the Raiders after that. Meanwhile the Panthers continued their deluge of scoring. And they did it on the arm of Andy Dalton.

Dalton made several gorgeous, perfect throws, including two touchdown passes — one to Diontae Johnson and the other to Adam Thielan — to put the Panthers up 21-7 at the half.

The Raiders got the ball first in the third quarter, but could do nothing with it. The Panthers got the ball and drove for a field goal.

The ensuing drive, Antonio Pierce made another one of the head scratching decisions to go for it in their own territory. On fourth and one, they attempted a QB keeper and it was stopped for no gain to give the Panthers the ball at the Vegas 37. They added another field goal off the field position alone to make it a 27-7 game.

By this point, the Raiders had converted just two third downs and twice turned the ball over on downs. Only this time the defense wasn’t bailing them out.

Andy Dalton was 22 of 31 for 286 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 131.9 passer rating. That’s 36-year-old backup Andy Dalton. And his top receiver Diontae Johnson had six catches for 108 yards and a TD.

The mostly Raiders crowd was booing loudly as the Raiders offense floundered and the defense was getting gouged by Andy Dalton and the Panthers offense.

They would add another touchdown in the fourth quarter, just for good measure to go up 33-7.

Minshew would throw a garbage time TD and two-point conversion, both to Jakobi Meyers to get into double digits. Then he would throw a garbage interception to CB Mike Jackson at his own 25. They added another field goal to make it a 36-15 game.

Another garbage time TD, this time from Aidan O’Connell to Tre Tucker gave us our final score of 36-22.

Dalton continued his ownage of the Raiders in his career. He became the first QB this season to throw for over 300 yards (319) with three touchdowns in a game. He is now 4-0 in starts over the Raiders, with three different teams.

Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard finished with 114 yards on the ground while averaging 5.4 yards per carry.

The Raiders fall to 1-2 on the season. The Panthers improve to 1-2 on the season.

49ers officially add veteran OL to practice squad, release DE

The 49ers announced a practice squad swap on Wednesday.

The San Francisco 49ers traded out some internal defensive line depth for some offensive line depth.

In a practice squad move ahead of Wednesday’s practice, San Francisco signed veteran offensive lineman Chris Hubbard to the 17-man unit. To make room they released veteran DE Jonathan Garvin.

Hubbard was with the 49ers during the preseason and battled for the swing tackle job. He was let go and the team opted to bring back veteran Brandon Parker instead of Hubbard when they made some offensive line moves prior to Trent Williams’s return from his hold out.

Having Hubbard gives the 49ers quality OL depth on their practice squad. He joins Isaac Alarcon and undrafted rookie Drake Nugent on that portion of San Francisco’s roster.

Garvin’s release isn’t a huge surprise and it may bode well for Yetur Gross-Matos’s chances to play in Week 2. The 49ers elevated Sam Okuayinonu from the practice squad in Week 1 to provide depth while Gross-Matos missed the game with a knee sprain. If he can’t go in Week 2, Okuayinonu would be the likely replacement again with Garvin no longer on the club.

The 49ers added Garvin during the preseason when injuries started to hit their defensive line. He played 77 snaps across three preseason games, tallying three pressures and five run stops according to Pro Football Focus.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

49er signed veteran OL because a former 49ers OL told them to

How Daniel Brunskill played a key role in the 49ers signing Chris Hubbard.

Here’s a wild thing from 49ers offensive line coach/run game coordinator Chris Foerster’s press conference Friday.

San Francisco added veteran offensive tackle Chris Hubbard over the offseason, presumably to add depth they lacked at a key position, but perhaps to also push Colton McKivitz for the starting right tackle job. Hubbard, a 10-year NFL veteran, has 58 starts across 94 games. Last season he started at right tackle all nine games he played for the Titans.

Hubbard during his time in Tennessee played alongside former 49ers offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill. That’s significant because San Francisco, according to Foerster, actually vetted Hubbard’s fit in their offense with Brunskill.

“Hubbard, you see it too because Tennessee did have some similarities,” Foerster said. “There were some similarities. You could see more of what we do in Hubbard. And then here’s the catchall, [Tennessee Titans OL Dan] Brunskill was there and Dan Brunskill is a [head coach] Kyle Shanahan favorite. And so, if Brunskill gave him the check and said, ‘This guy can do it for you guys.’ Kyle was like, ‘Yeah, well Brunskill says we can do it. I don’t care what you say, this guy’s playing for us.’ So Danny said the guy was actually really good at it. And he felt was a good transition. Even though he didn’t exactly coach him in Tennessee, like we coach him. Dan felt like the guy could make the transition. And so whatever I thought, went backseat to Brunskill, but we think the guy can do it.”

Foerster is likely having some fun here and making it seem like his input didn’t count. It’s hard to imagine the 49ers would’ve chosen the assessment of a former player over that of their coach if Foerster had staunch anti-Hubbard opinions.

If Brunskill is right and Hubbard thrives with the 49ers they might have to consider a job for him in their front office someday.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Former Browns offensive tackle Chris Hubbard signs with 49ers

The veteran heads to San Francisco

Former Cleveland Browns right tackle Chris Hubbard is heading to San Francisco to add much-needed depth to the offensive line. Hubbard spent five seasons in Cleveland, and after a shaky start, he made some big starts for the playoff run during the 2020 season.

Hubbard really grew under Bill Callahan’s coaching and showed he could play both inside at guard as well as outside at tackle. But the injuries have limited Hubbard in the last few seasons, including landing on IR last year after making nine starts for the Titans.

The 49ers need offensive line depth outside of Trent Williams last year the offensive line was inconsistent so adding a player with inside and outside versatility is a great move. Hopefully, Hubbard can stay healthy this season and be a boost off the bench for the 49ers.

The Browns also added a depth piece to fight for a roster spot along the offensive line on Tuesday.

Ex-Titans OT Chris Hubbard signing with 49ers

Former Titans right tackle Chris Hubbard has reportedly found a new home.

Former Tennessee Titans right tackle Chris Hubbard has found a new home, with the veteran reportedly expected to sign with the San Francisco 49ers.

The news comes from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Hubbard is getting a one-year deal worth $1.375 million to play in San Fran.

Hubbard was signed by the Titans last offseason and ended up earning the starting right tackle job after the original favorite for the role, Jamarco Jones, imploded during training camp.

The 33-year-old was serviceable in the role, giving up four sacks and 18 pressures in 292 pass-block snaps. He finished with PFF grades of 67.8 in pass-blocking and 64.1 in run-blocking. Granted, not great numbers by any stretch, but the bar was low for Titans tackles last year.

Hubbard’s season ended after just nine games after he suffered a biceps injury that landed him on injured reserve. The Titans deployed Dillon Radunz in his stead and the former second-round pick had a strong finish to his third campaign.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

What Titans should do with pending free agents on offense

The Titans have 11 pending free agents on the offensive side of the ball. Here’s our verdict for what they should do with each.

The Tennessee Titans have a grand total of 26 pending free agents to make decisions on this offseason, with 11 of them coming on the offensive side of the ball.

With a new head coach in Brian Callahan, whose philosophy centers around being a more pass-heavy offense, the Titans are expected to transition from a run-heavy unit, especially after the emergence of quarterback Will Levis.

As a result, their priorities on that side of the ball have changed from what they were with Mike Vrabel at the helm, which could have a significant impact on their decision-making with their free agents.

With the start of free agency less than one month away, we’re taking a look at each of Tennessee’s pending free agents on offense to make a determination about who should stay and who should go.

Here’s what we came up with:

12 free agents Giants could target based on coaching hires

These 12 free agents could become free agent targets of the New York Giants based on their offseason coaching and coordinator hires.

The New York Giants significantly overhauled their coaching staff this offseason, changing two of their three coordinators while also switching out a multitude of assistant coaches.

Because of those changes, the team will need to readjust their personnel by way of free agency and the 2024 NFL draft in an effort to match talent with the new schemes.

As a reminder, here are the notable coaching changes:

  • Defensive coordinator, Shane Bowen
  • Special teams coordinator, Michael Ghobrial
  • Running backs coach, Joel Thomas
  • Offensive line coach, Carmen Bricillo
  • Tight ends coach, Tim Kelly

These new arrivals create an interesting dynamic headed into free agency. They are intimately familiar with several of the available players and have developed trust with them over the years.

While that doesn’t necessarily mean any or all of them will be signed by the Giants, there is likely to be some crossover.

Here is a look at 12 impending free agents the Giants could target based on the above coaching changes/hires.