Tag: Cory Littleton

Panthers sit D’Onta Foreman, Cory Littleton for Wednesday’s practice

In addition to sitting D’Onta Foreman and Cory Littleton, the Panthers kept Brian Burns and Ikem Ekwonu limited in Wednesday’s practice.

The Carolina Panthers began their string of Week 14 practices with a pair of starters off to the side.

One of those players was running back D’Onta Foreman, who was listed with a foot injury. Foreman, a regular non-participant on Wednesdays since overtaking the lead duties out of the backfield, has rushed for 563 yards and four touchdowns this season.

Joining him was linebacker Cory Littleton, who was nursing an ankle injury. After getting the starting nods against the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens between Weeks 10 and 11, the seventh-year defender missed Week 12’s victory over the Denver Broncos.

Here’s Wednesday’s report, which also includes a few other big names, in full:

Injury Wed. Thurs. Fri. Game status
LB Cory Littleton Ankle DNP
RB D’Onta Foreman Foot DNP
DE Brian Burns Knee Limited
OT Ikem Ekwonu Knee Limited
DB Myles Hartsfield Ankle Limited
DT Matt Ioannidis Calf Limited
TE Giovanni Ricci Neck Limited
S Xavier Woods Knee Limited

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Panthers LB Cory Littleton mocks Rams WR Allen Robinson for arguing with official

Panthers linebacker Cory Littleton decided that it would be fun to mock Rams receiver Allen Robinson for arguing with an official.

With 8:33 left in the third quarter of Sunday’s game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Carolina Panthers, Rams receiver Allen Robinson made an incredible sideline catch for a 15-yard gain on third-and-5 from the Los Angeles 47-yard line.

Panthers head coach Steve Wilks challenged the ruling that it was a catch, and that had Robinson arguing with an official as the replay review happened. Panthers linebacker Cory Littleton, who played for the Rams from 2016-2019, decided that it would be fun to mock Robinson as Robinson went through his argument.

The officials decided that Robinson’s catch was valid, but at least Littleton got his licks in as he was waiting for that ruling.

Panthers, LB Cory Littleton agree to terms on one-year deal

The Panthers have added another linebacker to the defense—tackling machine Cory Littleton.

With a ton of focus under and around center for the Carolina Panthers, their defense’s alarmingly thin linebacking corp has gone a bit overlooked. But what’s most important is that the team itself hasn’t overlooked the spot this offseason.

As announced by the team on Sunday night, they’ve agreed to terms on a one-year deal with linebacker Cory Littleton. Along with Damien Wilson earlier in the week, Littleton is now the second backer to sign on in Carolina out of free agency.

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A Cory Littleton reunion would make sense for the Rams

Cory Littleton was released by the Raiders and it would make sense for the Rams to bring him back to address their need at ILB.

The Los Angeles Rams picked a perfect time to have a glaring need at inside linebacker. The Seattle Seahawks released Bobby Wagner, the Arizona Cardinals released Jordan Hicks, and the Las Vegas Raiders parted ways with Cory Littleton.

The Rams elected not to tender Troy Reeder, meaning that he’ll be an unrestricted free agent when the new league year begins. With Reeder likely gone, Los Angeles should do everything they can to ensure Ernest Jones has a formidable running mate in 2022.

While Littleton isn’t in the same tier as Wagner, bringing him back to Los Angeles would be a wise move for the Rams.

Littleton spent four years with the Rams before signing with the Raiders in free agency back in 2020. The athletic linebacker would work his way up from being a special teams contributor to begin his career, to a starting inside linebacker that tallied 125-plus tackles and two-plus interceptions in 2018 and 2019.

During his time with the Raiders, Littleton struggled to have the same success he had with the Rams. In his two-year stint with Las Vegas, Littleton accrued a total of 180 tackles and zero interceptions.

Despite his woes with the Raiders, Littleton is still only 28 years old. And above all, for a team like the Rams that relies on compensatory picks to give them more draft capital, signing Littleton wouldn’t affect the formula due to him being released.

If I were the Rams, I’d attempt to sign Wagner or Hicks to shore up my inside linebacker spot. But if Wagner or Hicks are out of Los Angeles’ price range, or if they are interested in signing elsewhere, then Littleton is worth taking a chance on (again) for next season.

Cory Littleton could be ideal backup option if Packers lose De’Vondre Campbell

The Raiders are releasing LB Cory Littleton, who could be an ideal secondary option if the Packers can’t keep first-team All-Pro LB De’Vondre Campbell.

Potentially relevant news for the Green Bay Packers down the road: The Las Vegas Raiders are releasing linebacker Cory Littleton, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

Littleton, a coveted free agent in 2020, lasted only two years with the Raiders. But he’s still only 28 years old and could be an ideal backup option if the Packers can’t re-sign first-team All-Pro linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, who will be an unrestricted free agent in six days.

The connections here are obvious but important. Littleton played his final three seasons in Los Angeles under Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry, who was the Rams linebackers coach from 2017-20.

Littleton thrived under Barry, producing a breakout season as a full-time player in 2018 before cementing his status as a top free agent with a superb year in 2019. He received strong grades as a tackler and in coverage and finished as the No. 6 linebacker in overall grade at Pro Football Focus during the 2019 season.

The Packers were reportedly interested in Littleton during free agency in 2020. We highlighted Littleton as an ideal free agent option, but the Packers couldn’t compete with the Raiders’ lucrative, multi-year offer.

Littleton struggled through two disappointing seasons with the Raiders, but this could work in two helpful ways for the Packers – first, to reduce his price on the open market, and second, to fuel his desire to get back in a defensive system like Barry’s.

During the 2021 season, Campbell spoke frequently about how Barry and the Packers scheme finally helped unleash him as a player, allowing the veteran linebacker to maximize his athletic skill set in a variety of ways.

Could Littleton go down a similar path in Green Bay in 2022?

The potential extends past the defense, too. Littleton, once a special teams ace in Los Angeles, played overall 300 special teams snaps for Rich Bisaccia with the Raiders. Bisaccia was hired to coach special teams in Green Bay last month. He’ll know a bunch about Littleton.

The Packers would almost certainly prefer to retain Campbell, who had a terrific first season in Green Bay. He re-energized his entire career while serving as the playcaller and leader in the middle of Barry’s defense.

But if the money in the market pushes him out of Green Bay, and it certainly could, Little would represent a strong secondary option.

Connections are so important in the NFL, and the ties between Littleton and Barry are obvious. If the Packers still like his skill set in Barry’s defense, Little could become the next reclamation project at inside linebacker in Green Bay.

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Raiders Week 15 snap counts vs Browns: Cory Littleton barely sees field in favor of Divine Deablo

Cory Littleton saw his fewest snaps since joining the #Raiders two years ago. They opted for rookie Divine Deablo instead.

Cory Littleton has been a starter at linebacker for the Raiders the past two seasons. He has started in every game in which he’s appeared…until Monday.

For the first time since Littleton signed a free-agent contract with the Raiders in the 2020 offseason, he didn’t start. Not only did he not get the start, but he also played just five snaps.

Meanwhile, rookie Divine Deablo started his second game alongside veteran KJ Wright who played every snap with Denzel Perryman again out with an ankle injury.

It’s possible the Raiders were just using this combination for this game expecting a run-heavy attack and Littleton is a weakside linebacker. But it’s also an indication the Raiders are liking what they see from Deablo and are getting him snaps with big plans for him.

Also worth noting is Malcolm Koonce didn’t play a single snap in the game. Another sign the Raiders were focusing on stopping the run as Clelin Ferrell and Carl Nassib are better options in that area.

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Raiders head coach updates several key injured players

Raiders head coach updates several key injured players

The Raiders are a bit banged up at the moment. So, Interim Head Coach Rich Bisaccia had a long list of updates Monday.

“As of right now these guys will be day-to-day: [Darren] Waller, Patrick [Onwuasor], [Denzel] Perryman, Nick Kwiatkoski, and Cory Littleton,” said Bisaccia.

Waller missed the game with a back and knee injury. Bisaccia went on to say that Waller has earned the right to be day-to-day. That is to say, he’s so important to this team they will be watching his injury closely and the moment he feels good enough to go, he’ll be back on the field.

The rest of the players listed are all linebackers. Onwuasor missed Sunday’s game against Washington while Perryman, Kwiatkoski, and Littleton were all injured in the game.

“We know that Kenyan Drake is going to need surgery,” Bisaccia continued. “He’ll be leaving in a few days and going to Birmingham (Alabama) to take care of his ankle.

Drake has a broken ankle and will miss the rest of the season.

There was some potentially positive news among the injury updates.

“Two guys we hope to have back in practice,” Bisaccia added. “We got [Trayvon] Mullen back last week, we’re hoping to get a little bit more out of him, and hopefully he looks better at the end of the week. And we’ll get [Darius] Philon back it looks like on Wednesday and hopefully have a report on how he does at the end of the week.”

Sounds like a decent chance Mullen will play against the Chiefs next Sunday. He was designated for return last week. Philon will be designated for return this week, opening his 21-day window to be activated.

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New Raiders DC challenging LB Cory Littleton ‘physical nature’

New Raiders DC challenging LB Cory Littleton ‘physical nature’

A lot went wrong with the Raiders’ defense last season. That isn’t exactly new; there has been a lot wrong with the Raiders defense for several years. The difference this time was the team had made a few big investments to try and change things.

The largest of those investments was that of linebacker Cory Littleton, who was widely considered the best all-around linebacker on the free-agent market and one of the best coverage linebackers in the league.

It’s a tough pill to swallow that somehow Littleton just forgot how to play football when he arrived in Las Vegas. More likely it was a matter of other factors that were in play. The lack of an offseason certainly didn’t help, but more so it was a coaching issue.

Other Raiders linebackers in recent times have complained of Paul Guenther’s playbook not just being extensive and complicated. So, his ousting late last season can’t just be seen as a convenient scapegoating situation.

The Raiders brought back all three of their starting linebackers this year, only drafting depth. It’s clear they are hoping new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley will be the difference at that position. The longtime NFL defensive mind has special plans for getting the most out of Littleton.

“I’ve been impressed with his speed. He’s a very skilled linebacker,” Bradley said of Littleton. “One of the things is his physical nature, that’s the things we’re looking at right now and challenging him on. He has it in him. What I think’s great about Cory is the match-ups he allows us to have. He’s really a skilled cover guy. . . I think the other thing we see with him is he’s really a good edge setter. I think he has the ability to maybe to be more of an outside linebacker for us too.”

In Bradley’s four years with the Chargers, the outside linebackers were pass rushers. They were attacking a good portion of the time as opposed to dropping back into coverage.

While Littleton had no sacks for the Raiders last season, Bradley likely sees potential in the 7.5 sacks the 27-year-old linebacker had over his previous two seasons with the Rams. Not to mention his 259 combined tackles. That’s what Bradley means when he says “He has it in him.”

We got a preview of what the Raiders linebackers are capable of doing when out from under Guenther in the final three games of last season after Guenther was let go.

Nick Kwiatkoski had his best tackling game of the season in week 15. Then Littleton had his two best tackling games of the season in the final two games while Nicholas Morrow finished things off with a sack and a team-leading 11 tackles in the finale.

Bradley came into the NFL as a linebackers coach. He knows how to get the most out of his linebackers and he’s used to getting it.

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Ranking the top 25 players on Raiders roster: 11-15

Ranking the top 25 players on Raiders roster: 11-15

After revealing players 25-16 over the last two days, we head into the top 15 players on the Raiders roster:

15. LB Cory Littleton

Some people may be surprised to see Littleton ranked this high after the season he had in 2020. I don’t think it’s fair to write him off after one season. Consider the situation he found himself in. He joined a new team, with a complicated defense, in a year that had no offseason.

As a free agent, he was considered the best all-around linebacker on the market. I am not ready to let one down season erase that. I see a bounce-back year for Littleton with a full offseason in a more simplified system under new DC Gus Bradley.

14. OG Richie Incognito

At times Incognito looks just as dominant as he ever did. But he’s missed 18 games the past two seasons and is about to turn 38 in July. I don’t expect he will be at the level he was known for in 2017 and before when he was a durable Pro Bowl player, but he will be far from a liability on the line either.

13. WR Hunter Renfrow

Third-and-Renfrow is absolutely a thing. Defenses know Derek Carr will be looking for his reliable slot target on third down and yet Renfrow still manages to get open and move the chains.

He upped his game last season from his outstanding rookie season, catching seven more passes (56) for 51 more yards (656). He also did a solid bit of punt returning, averaging 11.5 yards per return on 23 returns.

12. DT Johnathan Hankins

Probably the most under-appreciated player on the Raiders’ defense. He’s started every game the past two seasons and appeared in every game since being signed early in the 2018 season. He clogs the middle and puts up tackle numbers you don’t normally see from a nose tackle, averaging 49 combined tackles the past two seasons.

11. G Denzelle Good

Good was seen as a quality reserve guard when the Raiders claimed him off waivers from the Colts in 2018. Last season he proved he was a whole lot more. A career guard, he stepped in at right tackle for a couple of games early in the season and then moved back to guard to replace the injured Incognito for the rest of the season. He made himself a must re-sign and a starter after the team traded away Gabe Jackson this offseason.

Continue on to rankings players 6-10

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Raiders coach Jon Gruden expects future ‘greatness’ from free-agent disappointment LB Cory Littleton

Coach Jon Gruden says LB Cory Littleton is primed for greatness in a Las Vegas uniform.

There are more than a few reasons the Raiders had a disappointing 2020 campaign. Near the top of the list is the year’s free-agent haul. And on top of that list is linebacker Cory Littleton.

He signed a three-year, $35.2 million contract wtih $22 million guaranteed at a position of extreme need for Las Vegas. He underwhelmed early, along with the rest of the defense, and struggled to make an impact all season, also like the rest of the defense.

But coach Jon Gruden is still optimistic. He even said there’s some Raider greatness within Littleton yet to be unleashed.

“We really like him. I think the greatness in Littleton has yet to be seen as a Raider,” Gruden told reporters on Monday. “I think he’s got an every-down linebacking skillset. I think he can be a leader of our defense. I think he can be a centerpiece here.”

Littleton carries a dead cap value of $19 million next season along with a cap hit of $13.7 million, so the Raiders are counting on him to fulfill even a fraction of Gruden’s hopes.

But with Littleton and fellow free-agent signing LB Nick Kwiatkoski on the roster and plenty of other areas to address on defense, the Raiders have little choice but to hope these two disappointing signings can step it up. If the Raiders can improve their front four and their pass rush, the duo should be solid enough to help Las Vegas’ next defensive coordinator stop the opponent.