Tag: Cyrus Jones

41 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 41 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 41 jersey number

The New England Patriots are officially 41 days away from the start of their 2023 regular season. So we’re continuing our countdown series today by listing every Patriots player that has ever worn the No. 41 jersey.

Patriots defensive back and burgeoning special teamer Brenden Schooler currently wears the number. It could soon become a jersey number that grows in popularity as he continues to find success within the organization.

Schooler, who is entering his second year, received high praise late last season from special teams legend Matthew Slater, who believed he was playing at a Pro Bowl level.

There have been a total of 20 players associated with the No. 41 throughout Patriots’ franchise history. Let’s take a look at every player that has worn the number.

Alabama countdown to kickoff: 5 days

We are only 5 days away from the start of Alabama’s 2022 football season.

The Alabama Crimson Tide will take the field for the 2022 college football season in 5 days, as Utah State visits Bryant Denny Stadium on Sept. 3.

This will be Alabama’s first season-opener at home in quite some time, as the 18-time national champs are usually selected for a nationally televised kickoff game at a neutral site against a big-time opponent.

Here at Roll Tide Wire, we will be counting down the days until [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and his team take the field.

Today, with 5 days remaining, we will take a look at a guy who was a lockdown corner and an outstanding punt returner for the Tide, [autotag]Cyrus Jones[/autotag].

Jones played for Alabama from 2012-15 where he totaled 106 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and seven interceptions. Jones would also add over 1,000 yards in return yardage with four touchdowns.

Cyrus Jones’s Photo Gallery

Cyrus Jones seeking NFL comeback after heart surgery

Former Alabama DB and return specialist Cyrus Jones eyes an NFL comeback after having open heart surgery due to an undiagnosed heart issue.

Former Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones entered the NFL in 2016 by way of the New England Patriots second-round pick. His professional football career was abruptly put on hold when team doctors for the Denver Broncos discovered he had an undiagnosed heart condition that required open heart surgery.

The discovery was made in November of 2019 in Denver after was was cut by the Baltimore Ravens and he signed with the Broncos. When he got to the high-altitude city, he met with team doctors because he wasn’t feeling well.

Now, after successful open-heart surgery, the Crimson Tide product is eyeing a return to the NFL, he tells the Baltimore Sun.

“When you go through something like that, it forces you to dig deep and kind of figure out who you truly are, what you’ve really got in you and how much you’re willing to sacrifice to get back out there and chase your dream again,” said Jones. “I found out that I’m even more unbreakable than I thought I was. I’ve been through a lot in my career and having all that thrown on top of it definitely could have been a catastrophic thing. I could have just kind of given up, but that’s never been me.”

Jones has spent three years in the league on three different teams serving as a return specialist, but can’t seem to find a long-term landing spot.

He’s appreciative Baltimore cut him, because without that happening, he never would have had his life saved.

“If I would have not got cut by Baltimore, I would have never found out what was really going on with me,” Jones said. “The congenital thing I was born with, that was overlooked my whole life — luckily, the unfortunate didn’t happen. They say the majority of the time, you never know until the worst thing happens — you drop dead — and, after the fact, they figure it out. So somebody has been watching over me this whole time, for 26 years.”

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on Cyrus Jones as he looks to return to the NFL!

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4 remaining free agent cornerbacks the Jets can bring in for depth

Jets Wire takes a look at four free agents New York could look to add in an effort to bolster its cornerback depth.

The beginning of training camp has not stopped general manager Joe Douglas’ pursuit of additional cornerback depth.

New York put in a waiver claim for M.J. Stewart before he wound up with the Browns, indicating that Douglas has an eye on beefing up the position before the beginning of the regular season. Fortunately for the Jets, there are still a few serviceable free agents left for the taking. Logan Ryan would have been an ideal cornerback acquisition for New York, but he views himself more as a safety at this point in his career. That makes him a non-factor in this equation, but it doesn’t mean the Jets can’t land an impact player.

With that being said, here are four free agent corners that could help address New York’s lack of depth at the position.

Dre Kirkpatrick

Syndication: USATODAY

Dre Kirkpatrick endured an injury-riddled 2019 season and is now 30 years old, but he is probably the Jets’ best bet at adding a cornerback who can factor heavily into their rotation this upcoming season.

The former first-round pick deflected four passes and made 33 tackles in limited action last year. If anything, that indicates that he still has some good football left in him. He might not be a starter anymore, but New York doesn’t need him to take on that kind of role. It just needs an insurance policy that it can count on.

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Cyrus Jones underwent open-heart surgery this week

Former Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones underwent open-heart surgery this week in Denver, Colorado. 

Former Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones underwent open-heart surgery this week in Denver, Colorado.

According to the Baltimore Sun, an anomalous coronary artery is a heart defect that causes an artery to grow in the wrong place. It’s the condition that affected UCLA basketball player Shareef O’Neal, the son of Shaquille O’Neal. Shareef O’Neal missed his freshman year after being diagnosed.

Jones was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. In 2018, he bounced back and forth from the Baltimore Ravens to the Patriots until finally staying with the Ravens in late 2018. That year, Jones had a HUGE 70 yard punt return for a TD against the Oakland Raiders in week 12 which earned him the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

On November 12, 2019, the Ravens released Jones. One day later, the Denver Broncos claimed him off waivers. And then on November 26th, Jones was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list.

For the Ravens this season, Jones had 12 returns for 113 yards as well as 4 tackles.

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Broncos added a cornerback, lost an offensive lineman last week

The Broncos signed cornerback Shakial Taylor to their 53-man roster last week.

Some fans in Denver might not have noticed that the Broncos made two roster moves over Thanksgiving weekend.

Denver claimed cornerback Shakial Taylor off waivers after he was cut by the Colts. To make room for Taylor on the active roster, the Broncos placed cornerback Cyrus Jones on the reserve/non-football injury list.

Jones has an illness that will apparently keep him out for a while.

Taylor (5-11, 175 pounds) entered the league as a college free agent out of Kansas with Indianapolis in May. He spent part of the year on the Colts’ practice squad and dressed for five games, totaling seven tackles.

In addition to adding a cornerback last week, Denver also lost a reserve offensive lineman. Corey Levin left the Broncos’ practice squad to sign with the Bears, joining Chicago’s 53-man roster. NFL rules allow practice squad players to sign with another team’s active roster.

Denver filled Levin’s former spot on the practice squad by bringing back rookie quarterback Brett Rypien, who was cut last week to make room for Drew Lock, who was activated from injured reserve.

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Broncos might add a cornerback this week

Broncos general manager John Elway might add a cornerback to the 53-man roster ahead of Sunday’s game against the Chargers.

Broncos cornerback Duke Dawson is in the concussion protocol and might not be able to play in Sunday’s game against the Chargers. With Dawson potentially sidelined this week, coach Vic Fangio said Monday that the team will consider adding another cornerback to the roster.

“We need to look at that and Cyrus’ [Jones] illness affects that too,” Fangio said. “We were already kind of light back there as you guys know. Yeah, we need to look at that.”

Jones missed last week’s game and his status for Week 13 is uncertain. One option for Denver would be to promote rookie cornerback Alijah Holder from the 10-man practice squad to the active roster. If Holder is promoted, the Broncos would have to make a corresponding move to make room for him on the 53-man roster.

Fangio said Denver’s decision to potentially add a cornerback to the roster will not influence the team’s decision on quarterback Drew Lock, who is a candidate to be promoted from injured reserve to the active roster. The Broncos will need to create a roster spot for Lock, too.

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Cyrus Jones will be DB first, returner second for Broncos

The Broncos plan to take a look at cornerback/returner Cyrus Jones primarily as a defensive back.

The Denver Broncos picked up cornerback/returner Cyrus Jones off waivers last week, adding more depth on defense and on special teams.

Jones (5-10, 200 pounds) entered the league as a second-round pick out of Alabama with the Patriots in 2016. He failed to live up to his draft status as a cornerback and has bounced back and forth between New England’s roster and the Ravens’ roster over the last four years.

Jones has been used primarily as a returner in the NFL and he’s been plagued by fumbles, fumbling once on a kickoff and six times on punt returns. Denver may use him in nickel situations.

“He’s obviously a DB who has played some nickel in his past,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said on Nov. 14. “He’s primarily been a punt returner where he’s gotten most of his time. We’ll see.”

Diontae Spencer has been Denver’s returner this year and it sounds like his job in safe. Jones will likely serve as a rotational defensive back and as a backup returner.

“We liked him to some degree,” Fangio said of Jones. “We want to see what he is as a DB first and foremost and then that he can return punts is a bonus.”

Jones, 25, has recorded 31 tackles in his career and has totaled 655 return yards (on kickoffs and punts) and has scored one touchdown.

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Broncos make 2 roster moves

The Broncos claimed former Patriots and Ravens cornerback/returner Cyrus Jones off waivers.

The Denver Broncos have waived cornerback Coty Sensabaugh to make room for newly acquired defensive back/returner Cyrus Jones, ESPN’s Field Yates first reported Wednesday afternoon. The news has since been confirmed by multiple media outlets.

Denver announced the move on Wednesday evening.

Sensabaugh (5-11, 187 pounds) joined the team in October and dressed for the last four games, totaling two tackles. He is 30 years old.

Jones (5-10, 200 pounds) was selected by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft out of Alabama. He has spent time bouncing back and forth between the rosters of the Patriots and Baltimore Ravens since then, appearing mostly on special teams.

Jones has returned 12 punts for 113 yards this year, averaging 9.4 yards per return. Denver cutting a cornerback to make room for Jones likely means that Diontae Spencer‘s job is safe, at least for now. Spencer has averaged 8.2 yards per punt return this season and has caught five passes for 31 yards and rushed twice for 14 yards.

Jones, 25, is the second ex-Patriots cornerback the Broncos have acquired this season. Denver traded a sixth-round pick to New England in exchange for nickelback Duke Dawson in August.

Jones was waived by Baltimore earlier this week to make room for nose tackle Domata Peko, who played for the Broncos from 2017-2018.

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Ravens promote CB Iman Marshall from injured reserve

Rookie cornerback Iman Marshall was added to the Baltimore Ravens’ 53-man roster after spending the last 10 weeks on injured reserve

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The Baltimore Ravens have activated rookie cornerback Iman Marshall from injured reserve to the 53-man roster, according to the team’s Twitter.

Marshall had missed the final three preseason games with an undisclosed injury and was placed on injured reserve shortly after the Ravens finalized their 53-man roster in early September. Marshall returned to practice on Oct. 28 as one of Baltimore’s two designated-to-return spots and can officially play in Week 11 against the Houston Texans.

It’s unclear how big of a role Marshall will have on defense moving forward. With the trade for cornerback Marcus Peters, the Ravens have four starting-caliber cornerbacks in Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Carr, Jimmy Smith and Peters they’re already trying to shuffle into the lineup. The defense has drastically improved from earlier in the season and given Marshall’s inexperience, it seems unlikely he’d be much more than extra depth if he actually plays at all on defense.

Even if Marshall doesn’t contribute much for the remainder of this season, any playing time will be valuable experience towards his development. The Ravens have liked to slowly develop cornerbacks in-house as they’ve done with guys like Maurice Canady, Humphrey, Smith and Tavon Young. It’s a strategy that emphasizes patience but has worked out well for Baltimore over the years.

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