Tag: Daren Bates

Houston Texans announce cuts, trim roster to 77 players

The Houston Texans have announced roster transactions that bring their total number of players on the active roster to 77.

The Houston Texans have gotten a head start on their cutting down to a 53-man roster for the 2020 regular season.

On Monday, the club announced they had released inside linebacker Daren Bates, whose primary role on the team was to play special teams, given his familiarity with special teams coordinator Tracy Smith.

The club also waved quarterback Alex McGough and defensive tackle Albert Huggins.

With the Texans cutting these three players, they have 77 players on their active roster. Even though the Texans have got a head start, they still consider themselves in training camp.

“I think we’re still in training mode a little bit here,” coach and general manager Bill O’Brien said Monday. “We’re still working against each other and trying to clean some things up. We had a tough practice yesterday. It was a hot, humid day and guys competed hard, so we’ll back off a little bit today. We’re still working against each other.”

The loss of the three players means more reps to go around. The Texans have two quarterbacks on the roster in Deshaun Watson and A.J. McCarron. Inside linebacker features two starters in Zach Cunningham, Benardrick McKinney, and two special teamers in Peter Kalambayi and Dylan Cole. Veteran P.J. Hall and rookie Ross Blacklock can pick up more snaps with Huggins not on the roster.

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Former Auburn linebacker: Gene Chizik ‘didn’t help sh*t’

A former Auburn linebacker is critical of the role Gene Chizik played as head coach for the Tigers.

Let’s go ahead and count one former Auburn defensive back as not a fan of Gene Chizik.

On the latest episode of Raw Room, Daren Bates spoke clearly on his opinions of his former Auburn coach stating that Chizik “didn’t help sh*t” and thought of himself “as a God.”

Bates experienced the ups and downs of the Chizik tenure at Auburn as player from 2009-2012, helping the Tigers win the national championship in 2010 while also being on the 2012 team that finished 3-9 and 0-8 in SEC play, ultimately getting Chizik fired.

“How the f*ck do you go 3-9 and still get $7 million?,” Bates asks at one point.

Bates led the 2011 team with 104 total tackles and finished third on team with 8.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 quarterback sacks and nine quarterback hurries. He went undrafted in 2013 but quickly caught on with the St. Louis Rams where he played from 2013-15. After spending one season in Oakland with the Raiders, he signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2017 where he played three seasons.

Bates recently signed with the Houston Texans.

You can take a full listen to the interview here. Please note that it is NSFW.

 

Texans shuffle linebackers, strengthen special teams

The Houston Texans have released ILB Jan Johnson and signed LB Daren Bates and brought back LB Anthony Kukwa, both of whom have special teams utility.

The Houston Texans have retooled the depth of their linebacking corps to help out with their special teams unit.

Houston released inside linebacker Jan Johnson and will bring back linebacker Anthony Kukwa, who is also a long snapper. The Texans have also brought in linebacker Daren Bates. Both of the veterans have a history of working with Texans special teams coordinator Tracy Smith.

“So we released Jan Johnson and we added Daren Bates,” coach Bill O’Brien told the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain. “He’s been a very productive special teams linebacker. He played at Tennessee and Oakland and Tracy Smith had a familiarity with him. And then we also added a long snapper, linebacker named Anthony Kukwa.”

Bates was with the Oakland Raiders in 2016 when Smith was an assistant special teams coach under special teams coordinator Brad Seely. Kukwa was part of the Raiders’ offseason program after leaving Lake Erie College in 2017 and becoming an undrafted free agent the same year.

The move demonstrates the Texans seek to comprise their roster of veterans with experience rather than invest heavily in undrafted free agents such as Johnson, which is one of the twists the 2020 season is taking due to the effects from the COVID-19 pandemic and the lost offseason.

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Daren Bates bids farewell to Titans after signing with Texans

Daren Bates has bid farewell to the Titans with a post on social media.

After calling the Tennessee Titans home for the past three seasons, linebacker Daren Bates is moving on and will play for the Houston Texans in 2020 after reportedly signing with the team following a successful tryout on Saturday.

Bates, who served as a special teams ace and a hype man of sorts in the locker room for Tennessee, took to social media to bid farewell to his former team.

As Bates pointed out, it won’t be long until he sees his former mates, as the Titans will square off with the Texans for the first of two meetings in Week 6 at Nissan Stadium. Tennessee will then travel to Houston in Week 17.

Bates was originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams in 2013, where he spent his first three seasons in the NFL. He played with the Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders in 2016.

In three seasons in Nashville, Bates established himself as a key special teams contributor. In 45 career games with the Titans, the Auburn product played just 51 snaps on defense, but over 1,000 on special teams.

It was apparent the Titans might be moving on from Bates earlier this offseason when they signed fellow inside linebacker and special teams ace, Nick Dzubnar, to a one-year deal.

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Report: Texans to sign former Titans LB Daren Bates

Daren Bates has finally found a new home.

After spending the last three seasons with the Tennessee Titans and spending an extended amount of time on the free-agent market in 2020, inside linebacker Daren Bates has finally found a new home.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, the Houston Texans are signing the special teams ace following a tryout on Saturday.

Bates totaled 10 tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovered for the Titans in 2019. He played 11 snaps on defense and 291 on special teams.

Being that he’s remaining in the same division, Bates will now face his former mates twice this coming season. The Titans square off with the Texans in Week 6 at home and Week 17 on the road.

Prior to joining the Titans in 2017, the 29-year-old spent his first three seasons in the NFL with the St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams, the team that signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Auburn, and then one with the Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders.

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Titans free agents who can still be re-signed to fill a need

Which Titans free agents could the team still re-sign to fill a need?

The Tennessee Titans went into the 2020 offseason with over 20 free agents to make decisions on, and nine of them remain unsigned at this late stage in free agency.

They are as follows:

Logan Ryan | CB

Delanie Walker | TE

Ryan Succop | K

Cameron Wake | OLB

David Fluellen | RB

Kevin Pamphile | OL

Daren Bates | ILB

Wesley Woodyard | ILB

Tramaine Brock | CB 

Of those nine players, who could the team still realistically re-sign to fill a remaining team need? Let’s take a look.

Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Succop | K

While Succop was the root of the Titans’ kicking struggles last season, don’t rule out Tennessee bringing him back to improve the competition at kicker during training camp.

In fact, general manager Jon Robinson recently said the team was “not closing the door” on a reunion with its former kicker.

“Had a great meeting with him when we decided to release him there and just told him to get healthy,” Robinson said. “Certainly, we were not closing the door on maybe potentially looking at him again.”

Whether it’s Succop or another veteran, the Titans need to add more to a competition that will take place between Greg Joseph, who attempted just one field goal in the two-tone blue, and UDFA Tucker McCann.

Yes, Succop was a disaster in 2019, but it’s important to note that his knee might have been the cause of his issues. Prior to that, the former Titans kicker was one of the more consistent players at his position.

It certainly wouldn’t hurt to kick the tires on Succop and see if he can earn his way back onto the roster over two inexperienced kickers.

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Titans-Patriots: a look at defensive snap counts

Here’s a complete look at the defensive snap counts.

The Tennessee Titans were counted out by many against the New England Patriots after barely edging their way into the postseason, but will be the team facing the Baltimore Ravens next week after recording a 20-13 win on Saturday night.

The Titans came up with some big plays on both sides of the ball to come away with the victory, with cornerback Logan Ryan totally redeeming himself by intercepting Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on the team’s final drive after dropping what would have been an interception returned for a touchdown right before halftime.

Safeties Kevin Byard and Kenny Vaccaro, along with Ryan were in action for all 61 of the game’s snaps.

Linebacker Harold Landry didn’t make as much of an impact as we’re used to seeing from him, but he was in action on 60 snaps.

Safeties Amani Hooker and Dane Cruikshank and linebacker Daren Bates were very active on special teams snaps per the usual, on the field for 25 of those.

Here’s a complete look at the defensive snap counts.

The Titans are set to face the Ravens at 7:15 p.m. CST on Saturday in M&T Bank Stadium.

Titans add RB Dion Lewis to Thursday injury report

Here’s a complete look at the injury report for both teams.

Another name was added to the injury report as the Tennessee Titans took the practice field on Thursday ahead of this week’s game against the New Orleans Saints.

Wide receiver Adam Humphries (ankle), running back Derrick Henry (hamstring) and cornerback Adoree Jackson (foot) all did not practice.

Wide receiver Corey Davis (ankle) and running back Dion Lewis (ankle) – who was not listed on the report yesterday – were both limited participants.

Linebacker Daren Bates (shoulder) and Wesley Woodyard (knee), as well as wideout Kalif Raymond (knee) practiced in full capacity.

Here’s a complete look at the injury report for both teams.

The Titans and Saints are set to kick off at 12 p.m. CT at Nissan Stadium on Sunday.

RB Derrick Henry, LB Daren Bates miss practice for second consecutive day

Here’s a look at the complete injury report for both teams.

The Tennessee Titans took the practice field on Thursday in preparation of this week’s meeting with the Houston Texans, but were missing a handful of their usual players.

Linebacker Daren Bates (shoulder), running back Derrick Henry (hamstring), wide receiver Adam Humphries (ankle) and cornerback Adoree Jackson (foot) all did not practice for the second consecutive day.

Defensive tackle Jurrell Casey (knee) was a limited participant again on Thursday.

Center Ben Jones (thumb), cornerback LeShaun Sims (ankle) and safety Kenny Vaccaro (concussion) were each upgraded from limited participation to full participation.

Here’s a look at the complete injury report for both teams.

The Titans and Texans are set to kick off at noon CT on Sunday in Nissan Stadium.

Four Titans miss Wednesday practice

Here’s a look at the complete injury report for both teams.

The Tennessee Titans took the practice field on Wednesday in preparation of this week’s game against the division rival Houston Texans after defeating the Oakland Raiders on the road last week.

But the team was without four of its usual players.

Linebacker Daren Bates (shoulder), running back Derrick Henry (hamstring), wide receiver Adam Humphries (ankle) and cornerback Adoree Jackson (foot) all did not practice.

Defensive tackle Jurrell Casey (knee), center Ben Jones (thumb), cornerback LeShaun Sims (ankle) and safety Kenny Vaccaro (concussion) were limited participants.

Here’s a look at the complete injury report for both teams.

The Titans and Texans are set to kick off at noon CT on Sunday in Nissan Stadium.