10 players work out for Broncos, including Nigerian DL Kenneth Odumegwu

The Broncos brought in 10 players for workouts on Monday, including Nigerian defensive lineman Kenneth Odumegwu.

The Denver Broncos brought in 10 players for workouts on Monday, according to the NFL’s transaction wire (via KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis).

One of the most interesting players on the list is Kenneth Odumegwu, a Nigerian defensive lineman who entered the league as a member of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program with the Green Bay Packers in 2023. He grew up playing soccer and later switched to basketball before being recruited to Osi Umenyiora’s football camp. The 23-year-old lineman is yet to appear in a regular season game in the NFL.

Former CFL draft pick Luiji Vilain is also on the list. The 26-year-old linebacker turned down a chance to play in Canada and opted to instead join the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He has dressed for five games (four with the Vikings and one with the Carolina Panthers), totaling four tackles.

View the full list of players below.

10 players worked out for Broncos

  1. DT Kenneth Odumegwu (No College)
  2. LB Chris Garrett (Concordia, St. Paul)
  3. LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams (Rutgers)
  4. LB Donavan Mutin (Houston)
  5. LB Luiji Vilain (Wake Forset)
  6. DB Christian Holmes (Oklahoma State)
  7. DB Zech McPhearson (Texas Tech)
  8. DB Chris Wilcox (Bringham Young)
  9. DB Damarion Williams (Houston)
  10. DB A.J. Woods (Pittsburgh)

Denver’s 53-man roster and 17-player practice squad are both full, so if the Broncos add any free agents, the team will have to cut somebody to make room for any potential new arrivals.

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Best and worst PFF grades from Panthers’ preseason win over Bills

Bryce Young and Jack Plummer delivered for the Panthers in Saturday’s preseason finale.

The Carolina Panthers wrapped up their 2024 preseason with a pretty exciting showing against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.

We saw quarterback Bryce Young orchestrate a beautiful opening drive in his summer debut, undrafted rookie Jack Plummer explode for 278 passing yards and a handful of other youngsters try to make their case for the team’s initial 53-man roster.

But what did Pro Football Focus see?

Here are the best and worst PFF grades for Carolina in their 31-26 victory:

Best of the offense

Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images

1. TE Jesper Horstead: 95.2
2. QB Jack Plummer: 90.4
3. WR Terrace Marshall Jr.: 87.4
4. TE Feleipe Franks: 83.5
5. QB Bryce Young: 82.2

Young and Plummer combined for 370 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Horsted ended as the game’s leading receiver, reeling in a pair of catches for 63 yards. Marshall Jr. added three receptions, 39 yards and an impressive score of their own.

Worst of the offense

Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

29. WR Jonathan Mingo: 54.7
30. WR Michael Strachan: 54.3
31. RG Mason Brooks: 53.7
32. LT Tyler Smith: 44.5
33. WR Xavier Legette: 42.0

Legette was charged with a drop on his first and only target of preseason play.

Best of the defense

Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

1. DE Jayden Peevy: 89.7
2. OLB Luiji Vilain: 86.3
3. S Nick Scott: 83.2
4. ILB Shaq Thompson: 80.7
5. S Jordan Fuller: 71.7

Vilain notched four total tackles and half a sack.

Worst of the defense

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

30. OLB Derrick McLendon: 43.3
31. CB Chris Wilcox: 42.9
32. DT Shy Tuttle: 41.5
33. CB Troy Hill: 36.9
34. CB Quandre Mosely: 28.2

As a trio, Wilcox, Hill and Mosely allowed five receptions and 40 yards over six targets.

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Panthers sign 5 players on Monday

The Panthers made a handful of moves on Monday.

The Carolina Panthers were quite busy on Monday.

As announced late this afternoon, the team has signed five players as they enter the final week of the 2024 preseason. Amongst the additions are cornerbacks Chris Wilcox and Quandre Mosely—both of whom worked out for the Panthers today.

Wilcox was a seventh-round selection of the NFC South rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021. The Brigham Young University product—who has also picked up stints with the Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Chargers—has yet to appear in a regular-season contest.

The same can be said for Mosely, who has bounced around the league since signing as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys in 2022. Along with Dallas, the 25-year-old has made stops in Seattle, Tampa Bay and New England.

Both are joined by running back Jaden Shirden, wide receiver Sam Pinckney and cornerback Willie Drew—all undrafted rookies who have already spent time with the Panthers this offseason.

To make room for the signees, the Panthers placed cornerback Anthony Brown and quarterback Jake Luton on injured reserve, waived/injured cornerback Lamar Jackson and wide receiver Tayvion Robinson and waived running back Dillon Johnson.

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Chargers sign CB Chris Wilcox to practice squad

The Chargers added a cornerback to the practice squad.

The Chargers signed cornerback Chris Wilcox to the practice squad on Friday.

Wilcox, a seventh-round draft pick by the Buccaneers in 2021, came out of BYU, where he finished with 84 tackles, three for loss and eight passes defended.

Coming out of college, he was known for his speed, having been clocked at 4.39 in the 40-yard dash.

Wilcox was waived by Tampa Bay before the start of his rookie season but was claimed by the Colts and had a short stint on Indianapolis’ active roster before being signed to the practice squad.

In 2022, he spent time on the practice squads of the Colts and Cardinals. After the season, he signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers before being let go following the preseason.

Wilcox has yet to appear in an NFL game.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 44

Today’s installment focuses on the dozen players who wore No. 44 over the years as of Aug. 2023.

The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history of interest tied to them.

In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball played in them, their unretired jersey numbers pack in some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league. To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history, with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.

Today’s installment focuses on the dozen players who wore No. 44 over the years as of Aug. 2023.

Three Boston Celtics alumni on the move in reassessment of NBA’s 2002 class

Let’s take a look at which Celtics alumni landed where.

As Hoops Hype’s staff keep themselves busy reassessing the draft orders of the last few decades over the years, there are always a fair number of Boston Celtics alumni making moves in their re-drafts as a result.

In the H/H’s reassessment of the 2002 NBA draft class, a total of just three Boston alumni ended up seeing their draft stock shift with the benefit of hindsight lifting their fortunes. And while they won’t see any pay raises or anything else of that sort given the fictitious nature of such an exercise, it’s also nice to see this group get their flowers, too.

Let’s take a look at which Celtics alumni landed where.

Colts officially waive Rodrigo Blankenship among several roster moves

The Colts announced several roster moves, including the official waiving of Rodrigo Blankenship.

The Indianapolis Colts officially waived kicker Rodrigo Blankenship among several roster moves, the team announced Tuesday.

Blankenship’s erratic outing in Week 1 was the final straw for the Colts. Not only did he miss the game-winning field-goal attempt from 42 yards, but he also proved to be a liability on kickoffs.

The Colts brought in two kickers to the practice squad while making a number of moves Tuesday. Here’s a look:

Predicting the Colts’ next round of roster cuts

The Colts must cut four players before Tuesday’s deadline. Here’s a prediction.

Once again, the Indianapolis Colts must cut their roster down by four players to shrink the roster to a total of 80 players.

The Colts currently have 84 players counting against the active roster following their latest transaction, which placed rookie tight end Andrew Ogletree on the injured reserve list.

Because defensive back Marcel Dabo does not count against the active roster, the Colts technically get an extra roster spot.

With the second preseason game over, the Colts have until Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET to make their cuts. The final roster cuts from 80 to 53 players will come Tuesday, Aug. 30.

Here’s our prediction for the next wave of roster cuts by the Colts:

Stock report from Colts’ preseason loss to Lions

Here is the stock report from the Colts’ preseason loss to the Lions.

The Indianapolis Colts got through their second preseason game with a 27-26 loss to the Detroit Lions on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Without the majority of starters on the field, the Colts got a good look at the deeper parts of the depth chart. On both sides of the ball, we saw some players raise their stock with one preseason game left. We also saw some players lower their stock going into the preseason finale.

The stock reports are always fluid. It changes from player to player. A factor that might damage the stock of one player may not have the same impact on another. Most of it is circumstantial, and things can change on a dime in the NFL.

But with the second preseason game now behind us, here is a look at the stock report from Saturday’s loss:

Stock report following Colts’ first preseason game

Stock report following the Colts’ first preseason game.

The Indianapolis Colts have gotten through their first preseason game, which means it’s time to evaluate the stock of a number of players throughout the roster.

The stock reports are always fluid. It changes from player to player. A factor that might damage the stock of one player may not have the same impact on another. Most of it is circumstantial, and things can change on a dime in the NFL.

But with the first preseason game now behind us, we got a solid look at all three phases of the game.

Here’s the stock report following the Colts’ first preseason game: