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Mike Evans, who is set to hit the open market, had his best season in years under new Panthers HC Dave Canales.
With new head coach Dave Canales leading the transition, the Carolina Panthers have completely overhauled their offensive staff this winter. And with new faces comes new connections for the organization.
Here are 13 pending offensive free agents, in areas of particular need, with ties to Canales’ staff:
The Bucs made a number of moves with their practice squad official on Wednesday.
We've signed LB J.J. Russell to the active roster and waived TE David Wells.
More moves ⬇️
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) November 22, 2023
The Buccaneers announced a series of roster moves today, the most significant of which being the signing of linebacker J.J. Russell from the practice squad to the main roster. To make room for Russell, Tampa Bay released tight end David Wells.
The elevation of Russell is no doubt in response to LB Lavonte David’s groin injury suffered during the Bucs’ Week 11 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, adding linebacker depth heading into their upcoming game against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Bucs also added cornerback Quandre Mosley, wide receiver Raleigh Webb and linebacker Vi Jones to the practice squad while cutting safety Jaquan Johnson and CB Don Gardner. Johnson was added to Tampa Bay’s practice squad late last year while Gardner was briefly on the Bucs’ main roster down the stretch in 2022.
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These five players are the lowest-graded so far by PFF’s metrics:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offense has fired on all cylinders more often than not, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t without its problems.
The Bucs have a great passing offense, ranking sixth in EPA/play in the statistic, but struggle in the run game considerably — Tampa Bay is one of the worst rushing teams in the league. A part of this is the interior offensive line, which hasn’t been nearly as productive as the tackles in Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke have been.
Pro Football Focus has graded every Bucs player so far this year, and some of those weaknesses show in their lowest-graded Tampa Bay offensive players (minimum 30 snaps):
Pro Football Focus didn’t think these offensive players had a great showing in Tampa Bay’s 27-17 win over Chicago:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers vastly improved on offense from Week 1 to Week 2, but not every offensive player was a big contributor.
The Bucs put up over 400 yards of offense in their 27-17 win over the Bears, but there were still some struggles to be had. The team’s red zone offense will have to improve if Tampa Bay plans to be a serious contender in 2023, as the team put up only 20 points on offense for the second game in a row. There’s also the matter of the run game behind running back Rachaad White, as White played well while other running backs failed to produce.
Pro Football Focus graded every Bucs offensive player who played meaningful snaps on Wednesday, and while we took a look at the best-graded players earlier in the week, this list includes the five worst:
The New York Yankees have four pitchers that threw perfect games and each one’s first name begins with a ‘D.’
The Titans made four roster moves ahead of practice on Saturday.
The Tennessee Titans mad four roster moves ahead of their next practice on Saturday. The team announced the signings of tight end David Wells and cornerback Deante Burton, the latter of which was reported earlier in the day.
In addition to those moves, the Titans waived defensive back Terrell Bonds and wide receiver Brandon Lewis.
Here’s what we wrote about Burton earlier in the day:
After going undrafted out of Kansas State in 2018, Burton, who converted from wide receiver to cornerback, was signed by the Atlanta Falcons.
He has appeared in 11 games (no starts) since then, eight of which came with the Cowboys the past three seasons. Burton has eight combined tackles and one forced fumble in his career and has done the majority of his work on special teams. He has also appeared in games with the Houston Texans.
Wells went undrafted out of San Diego State in 2018. He has spent time with the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals.
The 27-year-old has appeared in three games during his career, all of which came in 2021 with the Cardinals. Wells played 12 snaps on offense and one on special teams, but failed to record a stat.
The Titans saw injuries to cornerback Chris Jackson and tight end Tommy Hudson in the preseason opener to the Baltimore Ravens. It isn’t clear if either is serious, but it’s possible these moves are in response to that.
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Here are some players over the years for the Cardinals to wear No. 84.
The Arizona Cardinals are now exactly 12 weeks away from the start of the 2022 regular season. In 84 days, they will take the field at State Farm Stadium in Week 1 to take on the Kansas City Chiefs.
No. 84 is currently worn by tight end David Wells and has been worn by many players, dating back to the 1950s.
Below are a number of players who have worn No. 84 over the years below.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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Colts make a move on the practice squad.
The Indianapolis Colts signed tight end Michael Jacobson to the practice squad and released tight end David Wells from the practice squad, the team announced Tuesday.
Jacobson was among the trio of tight ends the Colts worked out on Monday. The group also included former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver and recent tight end convert Jordan Matthews.
Jacobson signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in August and spent some time on the practice squad before being released on Sept. 25.
Wells was signed to the practice squad last week before the team’s first win of the season against the Miami Dolphins.
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Colts held a workout for 4 players on Monday.
The Indianapolis Colts held a tryout for four players on Monday, per the league’s transaction wire.
This seemed to be more of a random workout rather than the team looking for specific positions. The four players included wide receiver Anthony Johnson, tight end David Wells, offensive tackle Derwin Gray and safety Ronnell Perkins.
The Colts are dealing with injuries at just about every position. The most important one comes at quarterback where Carson Wentz has not one but two ankle sprains. It’s unclear whether he will be playing in the Week 3 game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium.
The Colts are also dealing with injuries to right tackle Braden Smith (foot), left guard Quenton Nelson (back), linebacker Darius Leonard (ankle) and cornerback Xavier Rhodes (calf).
The Colts started 0-2 for the first time since 2017 and will be looking to bounce back in their first divisional game of the season.
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The Atlanta Falcons have added another tight end, signing David Wells on Friday and placing Ryan Becker on the injured reserve list.
The Atlanta Falcons have added another tight end, signing David Wells on Friday and placing Ryan Becker on the injured reserve list. Wells, 26, was an undrafted free agent out of San Diego State back in 2018, signing with the Dallas Cowboys as a rookie.
Primarily a blocker, Wells provides good depth to a Falcons team transitioning to more two and three tight end sets, and he can contribute on special teams
We have signed TE David Wells and have placed TE Ryan Becker on the Reserve/Injured list. https://t.co/QmJHlR4Hjs
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 20, 2021
After failing to catch on in Dallas, Wells landed in Kansas City on the Chiefs practice squad before being released again. The New England Patriots signed Wells back in July but cut him earlier this week.
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