AFC Divisional Round picks: Who the experts are taking in Ravens vs. Texans

The NFL experts have made their picks, and the Baltimore Ravens are favored to defeat the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional Round

We’re a little over 30 hours away from the Ravens (13-4) and Texans (11-7) kicking off the AFC divisional round of the playoffs on ESPN.

Houston advanced to the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs for the fifth time in franchise history with a 45-14 win over the Browns in Super Wild Card Weekend.

The playoff win earned the Texans a rematch against the Ravens, and they’ll return to M&T Bank Stadium hoping to avenge a 25-9 loss in Week 1.

With kickoff fast approaching, here’s the NFL expert picks.

Ravens divisional round preview: 10 things to know about the Houston Texans

We’re looking at ten things to know about the Houston Texans ahead of their AFC Divisional Round matchup against the Baltimore Ravens

The Texans advanced to the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs for the fifth time in franchise history with a 45-14 win over the Browns in Super Wild Card Weekend.

The playoff success earned Houston a rematch against the Baltimore Ravens, and they’ll return to M&T Bank Stadium hoping to avenge a 25-9 loss in Week 1.

The Texans are a different team since that humble welcome to the NFL moment for C.J. Stroud, and all the former Ohio State star has done is shatter records and lead his team to the postseason as a rookie.

With final preparations for Saturday’s kickoff underway, we’re looking at ten things about the Houston Texans.

Texans waive S Grayland Arnold among Week 9 transactions

The Houston Texans have waived safety Grayland Arnold as part of their roster moves ahead of Week 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Houston Texans tinkered with their secondary ahead of their Week 9 encounter with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at NRG Stadium.

Houston waived safety Grayland Arnold. The former Baylor product generated 18 combined tackles, a tackle for loss, and a forced fumble through seven games for the Texans. Grayland played 143 defensive snaps for the Texans along with 110 special teams snaps.

The Texans signed cornerback signed cornerback D’Angelo Ross from the practice squad to the active roster. Ross has played three games for Houston and logged three tackles.

As part of Houston’s standard elevations from the practice squad, the Texans are sending up guard Dieter Eiselen.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=1416]

Texans release CB D’Angelo Ross

The Houston Texans have released cornerback D’Angelo Ross.

The Houston Texans are parting ways with a veteran cornerback.

The Texans announced Monday they have released D’Angelo Ross from their active roster.

The former 2019 undrafted free agent played two games for the Texans. Ross was on the field for 35 special teams snaps across two games against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5 and the New Orleans Saints in Week 6.

The 26-year-old previously played for the New England Patriots from 2019-21 and then spent time with the Miami Dolphins in 2022 as a member of their offseason roster. Ross joined Houston in late November as a member of the practice squad and later signed a reserve/future contract at the end of the season.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=1416]

39 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 39 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 39 jersey number

The New England Patriots have officially reached the 39-day mark in our countdown series to their 2023 regular season opener. Today, we’re listing every Patriots player that has ever worn the No. 39 jersey.

Fan-favorite running back Danny Woodhead is a name that many Patriots fans remember. The former undrafted free agent came to New England from the New York Jets and served as a reliable third-down option for quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots offense.

He was just one of those special players that fit into the offense perfectly and consistently found ways to make plays.

However, one of the true forgotten Patriots on this list is former Los Angeles Rams All-Pro running back Steven Jackson. He made a pit stop in New England at the tail-end of his career and appeared in two games for the Patriots. It was an unlikely pairing that barely lasted a month.

Of course, Woodhead and Jackson weren’t the only ones to wear the number. Let’s take a look at every player throughout Patriots’ franchise history that has ever worn a No. 39 jersey (via Pro Football Reference).

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.

Texans sign former Patriots CB D’Angelo Ross to the practice squad

The Houston Texans signed former New England Patriots cornerback D’Angelo Ross to the practice squad.

The Houston Texans may be 1-8-1 and en route to having lucrative picks in the 2023 NFL draft, but general manager Nick Caserio and the player personnel department are still evaluating available talent in 2022.

Caserio and company are going back to a familiar well though. The Texans signed former New England Patriots cornerback D’Angelo Ross to the practice squad.

The 5-9, 190-pound defensive back played three games for New England in 2021, starting in one of them. Ross tallied three combined tackles as he played 60 snaps on defense and 13 on special teams.

The Patriots signed Ross as an undrafted free agent from New Mexico in 2019. Ross was a member of the Miami Dolphins throughout the club’s offseason program and until the end of preseason. The 26-year-old was also drafted by the St. Louis BattleHawks in the recent XFL draft.

Dolphins waive DB D’Angelo Ross with injury designation

This move isn’t too surprising.

The Miami Dolphins have continued their roster cuts, as they announced that they’ve waived defensive back D’Angelo Ross with an injury designation. This means that Ross reverts back to Miami’s injured reserve if he’s unclaimed on waivers.

The Dolphins signed Ross this offseason after he played his highest snap count of 2021 against them with the New England Patriots. However, his preseason performance wasn’t what Miami would’ve liked to see.

Like Quincy Wilson, who was released on Monday as well, Ross had the ability to play safety and cornerback, but the Dolphins still opted to move on from them despite there being concerns about the depth.

Be sure to keep up with all of Miami’s roster moves via the cutdown tracker.

[listicle id=452505]

2022 Dolphins position preview: Breaking down the safeties heading into camp

The top spots appear to be locked up.

The Miami Dolphins are beginning their first training camp with new head coach Mike McDaniel at the helm, as rookies reported last week and veterans arrive on Tuesday.

Fans will have to wait until Saturday to get their first peek at the team, as that is the first session open to the public.

Until then, it’s a great time to finish assessing the roster after an offseason of moves.

We’ve talked about quarterbacksrunning backswide receiverstight ends, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers, cornerbacks and specialists but now it’s time to finish the final position group and discuss the safeties on the roster.

Dolphins sign DB D’Angelo Ross to a reserve/futures contract

The Dolphins add another depth piece.

The Miami Dolphins are continuing to add to their roster, as they announced that they signed defensive back D’Angelo Ross to a reserve/futures contract.

Ross was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New England Patriots following the 2019 draft and has mainly been a practice squad player since that time. He appeared in the last four games of the Patriots’ 2021 season, including the Week 18 matchup against the Dolphins. In that game, Ross played a career-high 46 snaps.

Miami has some solid depth in their secondary, but that all could change if Xavien Howard gets moved. That would leave a large hole that no single player on the current roster could fill.

Regardless of whether or not that happens, Ross should have a chance to compete for a practice squad or a depth roster spot by the time training camp comes around.

[listicle id=444667]