Tag: Deejay Dallas

Emari Demercado’s injury will change running back roles vs. Patriots

DeeJay Dallas likely will get his first extended role on offense as the team’s third-down back with Demercado on injured reserve.

The Arizona Cardinals have lost second-year running back Emari Demercado for at least the remainder of the regular season, as he was placed on injured reserve on Saturday with a back injury.

His absence will change the dynamic of the running back room and their roles in Week 15 when the Cardinals face the New England Patriots.

Because Michael Carter was not elevated to the active roster, the Cardinals will only have three backs available.

Demercado’s role was as the team’s third-down back, so someone’s role is about to expand.

Based on what we saw in the preseason, the most likely change is that DeeJay Dallas, who plays almost exclusively on special teams and is the team’s primary kick returner, will fill the role. That would cause the least disruption. He worked the third-down role in the preseason.

If it isn’t him, James Conner could see his role expanded or rookie Trey Benson could play the role, something he hasn’t done really this season.

The role is primarily as a blocker in pass protection, but he will also have to catch passes and can be expected to get carries on draw plays.

Dallas has played only five offensive snaps this season.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Cardinals’ 2024 nominee for Salute to Service Award is….

Find out who the Cardinals’ nominee for the league’s Salute to Service award is in 2024.

As part of Veterans Day in the month of November, the NFL and USAA announced nominees from each NFL team for the annual Salute to Service Award.

Nominated by the Arizona Cardinals organization is running back and kickoff returner DeeJay Dallas.

The award recognizes players, coaches, staff and alumni who make exceptional efforts to honor and support military and veteran communities.

“USAA and the NFL founded the Salute to Service Award to celebrate the impactful military appreciation efforts throughout the league and to inspire fans to do the same,” said Major General (Ret.) John Richardson, USAA senior vice president and head of military affairs. “It’s our mission to bring greater awareness to the commitment and sacrifice embodied by the military community, and each Salute to Service nominee sets an example of how we can all show our appreciation in return.”

Three finalists will be selected by a vote of the fans with one vote per day per person allowed until voting closes on Nov. 30. The finalists will be announced in January and the winner revealed during NFL Honors three days prior to Super Bowl LIX. The nominees, along with what earned them the noimination, can be accessed at nfl.com/SaluteFanVote.

Dallas spends time honoring the sacrifices made by homeless veterans at MANA House in Phoenix. He also founded the DeeJay Dallas Foundation that connects the community with homeless veterans and their families and partnered with the USO and NFL players to host a virtual fundraiser that raised $100,000 to empower service members’ families that are impacted by the deployment of loved ones supporting U.S. military operations in Europe.

He supports veteran activations in Maricopa County and served as an ambassador for the NFL by working with the city of Springfield, Ill., to build a Purple Heart Museum, which will create a lasting legacy for the league and our nation’s veterans and service members.

Dallas said being a nominee “really means everything to me, me being a military kid myself, my brother being in the Army now. I just really appreciate the sacrifice and the hard work that those men and women put in. We sleep well at night knowing that they’re ready to do work for us and protect us. I appreciate them and I appreciate being a nominee.”

His brother, Amauri Mountain, is private first class, 11 Charlie, in the 82nd at Fort Bragg, Calif, and now in his second year. When asked if there are any otherfamily members with military backgrounds, he laughed and said, “It’s a long list.”

Dallas went on a USO trip with tight end Trey McBride shortly after signing with the Cardinals last March and also was involved in Seattle when he was with the Seahawks doing some things with Gold Star families.

He said, “I look for any way to give back to family members of service members and service members themselves because I know the sacrifice that families and service members make. So I try to sacrifice a little bit of my time to acknowledge them, and make them feel appreciated.”

In addition to Dallas, there are 14 other players, 12 team staff members, two former players and coaches, and one late owner who are this year’s nominees:

Atlanta: Chris Millman, senior vice president of sports philanthropy and community engagement

Baltimore: Steve Clagett Jr., director of learning and development

Buffalo: Matthew Smiley, special teams coordinator

Carolina: Austin Corbett, center

Chicago: Travis Homer, running back

Cincinnati: Bryan Wilburn, stadium service technician

Cleveland: Shaun Huls, director of high performance

Dallas: Zack Martin, guard

Denver: Keith Bishop, former player, vice president of security

Detroit: Carl Jones II, photographer

Green Bay: Lukas Van Ness, defensive end

Houston: Marc Lewis, director of applied sports science

Indianapolis: Trey Mock, mascot

Jacksonville: Travon Walker, defensive end

Kansas City: Mitch Holthus, radio play-by-play

Las Vegas: Robert Spillane, linebacker

L.A. Chargers: Morgan Fox, defensive end

L.A. Rams: Matthew Stafford, quarterback

Miami: Blake Ferguson, long snapper

Minnesota: Aaron Jones Sr., running back

New England: David Andrews, center

New Orleans: Nate Degen, fan engagement coordinator

N.Y. Giants: Wellington Mara, late owner

New York Jets: Tony Richardson, former player

Philadelphia: Lane Johnson, tackle

Pittsburgh: Rocky Bleier, former player

San Francisco: George Kittle, tight end

Seattle: Mike Macdonald, head coach

Tampa Bay: Brian Ford, chief operating officer

Tennessee: Alyssa Gallegos, campaign planning coordinator

Washington: Jeremy Reaves, safety

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

The Cardinals’ DeeJay Dallas broke the seal on the new kickoff rules with a blazing fast TD return

Here’s Exhibit A on why NFL coaches will ignore the new kickoff rules as much as possible.

The NFL’s new kickoff rules might change how we view special teams. However, the early sample size suggests that coaches will just ignore the rules rather than put their team in danger of surrendering a back-breaking touchdown.

The Arizona Cardinals’ DeeJay Dallas isn’t going to help matters there.

With Arizona locked in an epic battle against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon, Dallas fielded a ball from his own four-yard line in the “landing zone.” He proceeded to use that space as a launch pad to torpedo through the Bills’ third phase for an incredible 96-yard touchdown return.

Now you see why NFL coaches will likely try to ignore the new kickoff rules as much as possible:

 

All credit to Dallas for capitalizing and getting a full head of steam, even if a Cardinals’ comeback attempt fell apart in the final moments. He was a bright spot in a very promising afternoon for Arizona. And he might personify a great reason why special teams coordinators will genuinely avoid putting balls in play even more than usual on kickoffs.

WATCH: DeeJay Dallas takes kickoff 96 yards to the house!

The return and two-point conversion pulled the Cardinals within three points.

The new kickoff rule yielded mixed results for the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. They were penalized once for not getting the ball into the landing zone and also gave up a big return.

But free agent pickup DeeJay Dallas showed why the Cardinals gave him a three-year contract.

After the Bills took a 31-20 lead in the fourth quarter, Dallas took the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for the touchdown.

It was the first kickoff return for a touchdown since David Johnson did in Week 2 in 2015.

The Cardinals scored the two-point conversion to make it a three-point game.

Check out the play:

 

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

 

DeeJay Dallas of Cardinals with first dynamic kickoff TD return

The Cardinals got the first dynamic kickoff return touchdown

The newfangled NFL kickoff rule saw its first TD return in the first week of the season.

The Arizona Cardinals’ DeeJay Dallas collected a Buffalo Bills dynamic kickoff at the four-yard line and was off and running.

Ninety-six  yards later, Dallas had a touchdown and after the PAT, the Cardinals were within 31-28 in an exciting game in Orchard Park.

Cardinals RB DeeJay Dallas wants to play the Seahawks Week 1

Watch Dallas calling out the Seahawks at the end of practice for the Cardinals.

With Kendrick Lamar having verbally decimated Drake, we will have to look elsewhere for the next great beef. Perhaps former Seahawks running back and kick returner DeeJay Dallas could be part of it.

Tonight the NFL is releasing the full schedule for the 2024 season, and apparently Dallas wants a piece of his former team. Watch Dallas calling out the Seahawks at the end of practice for the Cardinals.

Unless he runs back a kickoff for the first time in his career, Dallas probably won’t get much of a chance at a revenge game. James Conner is firmly established as a strong No. 1 option in their backfield and Arizona also drafted Trey Benson out of Florida State, considered one of the top three running back prospects in this draft class. So, much like last season Dallas is a distant third on the depth chart at this spot.

As for the video, it’s objectively hilarious that he’d have bad feelings about the Seahawks because it was absurd that they kept him as long as they did. As a rusher, Dallas has averaged 4.2 yards per carry in his career and has as many fumbles (4) as scores, which he hasn’t done since the 2021 season.

Then again, Seattle can’t exactly take any running back lightly these days. No team in the NFL has allowed more rushing yards over the last two seasons.

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Trey McBride, DeeJay Dallas visited US troops in Poland

McBride and Dallas spent some time abroad as part of an NFL-USO tour.

The Arizona Cardinals had a pair of players go across the world to participate in the NFL-USO tour in Poland from April 2-5 last week.

Tight end Trey McBride and newly signed running back DeeJay Dallas visited US service members in six military bases in Poland.

From the Cardinals’/NFL press release about McBride’s and Dallas’ trip.

During this year’s tour, Trey McBride and DeeJay Dallas interacted with service members to learn about their roles in the military and received mission briefs from senior leaders on their mission in Poland. They also observed military equipment demonstrations, participated in an Army combat fitness test, and joined in on a Madden gaming tournament with service members – all while conducting meet and greets and sharing meals with service members. The players also had a unique opportunity to meet with service members from the Arizona National Guard, who are ardent Arizona Cardinals fans.

These USO tours with NFL players is a longstanding tradition. Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald would join them.

It had to be a cool experience for both of them.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Seahawks losing Damien Lewis, Drew Lock, DeeJay Dallas to free agency

Let’s get caught up on some of the latest Seahawks free agent news from around the league.

Today has been much slower compared to yesterday, but let’s get caught up on some of the latest Seahawks free agent news from around the league.

Last night left guard Damien Lewis agreed to a massive four-year deal with the Panthers, worth a reported $53 million total.

A short time ago we also learned that running back DeeJay Dallas is also leaving. According to Jordan Schultz, he has agreed to terms with the Cardinals, but there are no details on how much as of yet.

Finally, just moments ago we received word that Drew Lock will also be leaving Seattle as a free agent. According to Adam Schefter at ESPN, Lock is getting a one-year, $5 million deal from the Giants.

None of these headlines should really come as a surprise, aside from the outlandish size of Damien Lewis’ deal with Carolina.

So far the Seahawks have been characteristically quiet in free agency. They have not signed any outside free agents as of yet and have only reported to be- re-signing tight end Noah Fant and defensive lineman Leaonrd Williams.

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Cardinals adding former Seahawks RB, special teams ace DeeJay Dallas

Dallas played four seasons for the Seahawks, mostly on special teams.

The Arizona Cardinals reportedly added four defensive players in free agency on the first day of the NFL free agency negotiating window. On the second day, they are adding depth on offense and special teams.

According to Bleacher Reports’ Jordan Schultz, the Cardinals are going to sign running back DeeJay Dallas.

Dallas will be 26 years old this coming season. He was drafted in the fourth round in 2020 by the Seahawks.

He has been a core special teams player for the Seahawks for years. He has surpassed 225 special teams snaps in three straight seasons.

He also has returned punts and kicks. Last season, he averaged 10.6 yards on 25 punt returns and 25.9 yards on 17 kick returns.

On offense, he has rushed 112 times over four seasons, averaging 4.2 yards per attempt and has caught 61 passes for 396 yards. He has played 599 offensive snaps in four NFL seasons.

His career suggests he will compete with Emari Demercado for the role as third-down back and play special teams.

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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Seahawks special teams unit ranked 6th for the 2023 season

One small silver lining is that they continued to perorm relatively well on special teams.

Both the Seahawks offense and the Seaahawks defense performed under our expectations this season. Those are the main reasons why the team is now in the middle of their first head coach search in 15 years. One small silver lining is that they continued to perorm relatively well on special teams.

In Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings, Seattle came in at No. 6 for the 2023 season, scoring 300 points. At the top of the list were the Texans, while the Rams were on the bottom. That’s the third straight year that the Seahawks have finished high on Gosselin’s list, a credit to the work of special teams coordinator Larry Izzo.

If we have one gripe with this group it’s the mediocre returns of DeeJay Dallas, whose hands and decision making should make him easy to replace next season with an upgrade at both kickoff and punt returner. Dallas’ continued presece on the roster may have been one example of Pete Carroll allowing his love of certain players and coaches to cloud his better judgment.

We haven’t heard much on Seattle’s head coach search yet, but if there are internal candidates under consideration you’d have to assume Izzo will be on the list. The news cycle should pick up soon as teams are eliminated and potential candidates to replace Carroll as head coach get vetted, one way or another.

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