Tag: Darren Fells

Deshaun Watson’s tight ends have scored 21 touchdowns

Watson threw a fifth of his touchdowns to a bunch of cast-off tight ends in Houston (two of the castoffs from the Browns, in fact). Njoku’s deal is betting Watson can take him to the next level:

The Cleveland Browns have made a few big investments this offseason, especially on the offensive side of the ball. While Denzel Ward (extension) and Jadeveon Clowney (one-year deal to return) have signed deals on the defensive side of the ball, the offense is where the money has been spent.

Amari Cooper was acquired in a trade with three years, $60 million remaining on his contract. Deshaun Watson was also acquired in a trade and then given a huge new five-year deal. Then, last week, the Browns signed David Njoku to a big four-year agreement.

This comes after extensions for Nick Chubb, Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller during the 2021 season.

Njoku’s contract has left some scratching their heads. Cleveland seems to be paying for what the former first-round pick could do instead of what he has proven so far on the field. In five seasons, Njoku has 148 receptions for 1754 yards and 15 touchdowns.

In less than 3.5 seasons as the starter for the Houston Texans, Watson threw 21 touchdown passes to his tight ends as noted by Charles Goldman from Chiefs Wire:

The Texans weren’t loaded at the position either. In 2018, Watson’s first as the team’s full-time starter, Jordan Thomas led Houston’s tight ends with four touchdowns. In 2019, former Browns tight end Darren Fells tied with DeAndre Hopkins for the team lead with seven scores. Finally, in 2020, Watson’s last with the Texans, Fells had four and, another former Cleveland player, Pharoah Brown had two.

Throwing mostly to cast offs and blocking tight ends, Watson still threw a fifth of his touchdowns to the position.

The Browns are betting that Watson will make Njoku better but, with Njoku being the best tight end Watson has had, perhaps it will go both ways.

Darren Fells clears waivers, will sign with the Buccaneers

Fells is expected to join the Buccaneers practice squad before being moved to the active roster in Tampa Bay

Former Lions tight end Darren Fells cleared waivers after Detroit released him earlier this week. None of the other NFL teams claimed the remainder of his one-year contract, which made Fells a free agent and provided no salary relief for the Lions.

But Fells, 35, has quickly found work elsewhere. Per his agent, Fells will sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It will initially be a deal to be on Tampa Bay’s practice squad but is expected to result in Fells being on the Buccaneers’ active roster.

Primarily a blocking and red-zone specialist, Fells caught four passes for 43 yards in seven games with the Lions, his second stint in Detroit. He asked for his release during the bye week after being a healthy scratch in the Week 8 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Lions waive Tom Kennedy in series of post-bye roster moves

The Detroit Lions waived WR Tom Kennedy in a series of post-bye roster moves

The players returned to Allen Park for the first Detroit Lions practice since the team departed for the bye week. The commencement of post-bye football saw the Lions make some moves at the bottom of the roster.

Detroit announced it waived tight end Darren Fells and wide receiver Tom Kennedy from the active 53-man roster. Fells had asked for his release and the Lions granted the veteran’s wish.

Waiving Kennedy, who caught his first NFL reception in Detroit’s Week 6 loss to Cincinnati, is a little more surprising. The third-year pro has served as the top reserve slot receiver over the last few games and also offered some ability as a return man.

As anticipated, the Lions signed rookie Brock Wright from the practice squad to take Fells’ spot on the active roster. There is still one roster opening on the active roster. Detroit also created another opening on the practice squad by placing rookie WR Javon McKinley on the injured reserve/practice squad list.

Expect Kennedy to sign with the Lions on the practice squad once he clears waivers on Tuesday.

Lions to waive TE Darren Fells at his request

The Detroit Lions are going to waive veteran TE Darren Fells at his request

The second edition of the Darren Fells era in Detroit is coming to an end. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, the Lions are releasing the veteran tight end at his request. Several local sources confirmed the move and Fells’ status on Monday.

Fells has played in seven games, starting five, but has seen little action as a receiver. The 37-year-old has four receptions on five targets, netting 43 total yards. He was inactive in the Week 8 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles as a healthy scratch.

The move will temporarily leave the Lions with just one tight end, T.J. Hockenson, on the active roster. Undrafted rookie Brock Wright has played as a practice squad elevation in the last two weeks and figures to take Fells’ spot on the 53-man roster.

Fells previously played for the Lions in 2017. While he hasn’t been involved in the passing game, the affable Fells has been a good blocker and one of the few veteran leaders on the team. He will be subject to waiver claims as a veteran released after the trade deadline. If nobody claims Fells, the Lions are responsible for the remainder of his $1.075 million contract.

 

 

Lions vs. Eagles: Inactive players for the Week 8 matchup include Jamaal Williams, Darren Fells

The Lions inactives for the Week 8 matchup include Jamaal Williams, Darren Fells

The Detroit Lions will be down one of their two tight ends on the active roster for Sunday’s matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. Blocking TE Darren Fells is among the inactive players for the Lions in Week 8.

Fells appears to be a healthy scratch. He was not on the injury list during the week. The Lions did call up rookie Brock Wright from the practice squad to help fill the role, though Wright struggled blocking in his NFL debut last week.

Running back Jamaal Williams is also inactive. Williams, the Lions leading rusher, was questionable for the game with a thigh injury. Starting slot CB AJ Parker is also out after being listed as questionable. Parker suffered a neck injury in the Week 7 loss to the Rams and was in and out of practice all week.

For the Eagles:

Lions vs. Rams: Best and worst PFF grades from Week 7

The Detroit Lions best and worst performers in PFF grades from their Week 7 loss against the Los Angeles Rams

Amongst their luggage, the Detroit Lions brought their bag of tricks against the Los Angeles Rams. It wasn’t enough to overcome the high-powered Rams as the Lions lost their seventh straight this season to a 28-19 defeat.

The majority of the populous did not give the Lions a shot at even competing with a potential Super Bowl contender, figuring they would get embarrassed out of Los Angeles. However, with two fake punts and a successful onside kick, the Lions were able to steal processions away and gave them a shot at potentially stealing this game away from the Rams. Unfortunately, the Lions were not able to capitalize on those efforts due to untimely mistakes but let me tell you, that is probably the most entertaining Lions game in quite some time.

Considering how often the Lions have been set as major underdogs this season, they have held tight against tough teams, giving some hope that the Lions are heading in the right direction. You can see the improvements the players are making and the coaching staff taking each loss as a lesson learned and applying for future matchups.

With this week’s top PFF performers, who can see the massive steps forward taken amongst the player, the bottom players are trying to find their footing.

Lions PFF grades: Best and worst players against the Bears from Week 4

The Detroit Lions PFF grades reflect the continued struggles in the secondary and average showing from the offense against the Chicago Bears

The Detroit Lions seemed to be on the up and up competing against the top-tier teams this season. Heading into Week 4, you had to believe they were feeling good against the Chicago Bears team that gave up nine sacks the previous week. The only kicker was they competing against the Bears and themselves, turning to be their downfall.

With poor execution, sub-par defensive play, and the constant shot footing, the Lions could not get anything figured out until it was too late. Also, to add injury to insult, the Lions lost their best defensive player, Romeo Okwara, for the season, making a poor defense much weaker in the long run.

There weren’t too many stellar players this week, and it reflected in this week’s PFF grades for the Lions.

Lions PFF grades: Best and worst players against the Ravens

The Detroit Lions PFF grades are in and here are the best and worst performers against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3.

The Detroit Lions were in the midst of nailing their first victory of the season until Justin Tucker did some nailing of his own, hitting a record-setting 66-yard field goal to give the Baltimore Ravens a 19-17 victory over the Lions. Even with the controversy surrounding the game, the Lions were able to contain a dangerous Ravens offense for the most part and seemed up to the battle against a potential Super Bowl contender.

Heading into Week 4 against division rival, the Chicago Bears, the Lions will look to build upon the foundations and mend the potential cracks before they get out of control.

Here are the Lions best and worst players from their Week 3 matchup against the Ravens.

Lions vs. Ravens film study: 4 things I learned from the rewatch of the Week 3 game

Here are the top takeaways from the film review of the Lions loss to the Ravens in Week 3.

Going back for another helping of the Detroit Lions’ soul-crushing loss in Week 3 to the Baltimore Ravens

Thanks to the magic of the internet, I was able to rewatch the full Lions-Ravens game in Week 3 including the all-22 coach’s tape. It provided a fresh and broader perspective on just how the two teams reach the 19-17 final score.

Here are the top takeaways from the film review of the Lions loss to the Ravens in Week 3. This is meant to be a companion piece to the initial takeaways from the real-time first watch of the game on Sunday.

Lions vs. Ravens: Stock up and stock down following Week 3 loss

Which Lions raised their stocks and which ones fell in Detroit’s loss to the Ravens in Week 3

The Detroit Lions are now 0-3 after another close, hard-fought loss. This one came at home against the Baltimore Ravens, and it took an NFL-record 66-yard field goal as time expired to lift the visitors to victory.

Several Lions had standout performances. Some of them were good, some of them were regrettable.

Here’s the stock report for the Lions after the Week 3 loss to the Ravens.