Tag: Demarcus Christmas

Steelers add former Titans kicker Sam Sloman to offseason roster, waive defensive tackle

As anticipated, the Steelers announced addition of kicker Sam Sloman to offseason roster.

As expected, the Steelers signed former Titans kicker Sam Sloman on Thursday. To make room for Sloman, defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas was waived/injured. Christmas will revert to the reserve/injured list if he clears waivers.

The Sloman signing not only gives competition to the kicker position — the only spot previously without it — but having Sloman on the could provide insurance for veteran Chris Boswell. Boswell missed three late-season games last season with hip and groin injuries. The Los Angeles Rams selected Sloman in the final round of the 2020 NFL draft. Though he won the kicking gig in training camp, the Rams released him after seven games.

The Titans snapped Sloman up for their practice squad and activated him for Week 17. He became a hero of sorts after converting all five extra points and two field goals, including a walk-off field goal that won Tennessee the AFC South.

Boswell is clutch. In 2020 alone, he converted 34 of 38 extra points and made 19 of 20 field goals. His job is not in jeopardy, but a little competition is always good to light the proverbial fire.

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Steelers add former Titans kicker Sam Sloman to offseason roster, waive defensive tackle

As anticipated, the Steelers announced addition of kicker Sam Sloman to offseason roster.

As expected, the Steelers signed former Titans kicker Sam Sloman on Thursday. To make room for Sloman, defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas was waived/injured. Christmas will revert to the reserve/injured list if he clears waivers.

The Sloman signing not only gives competition to the kicker position — the only spot previously without it — but having Sloman on the could provide insurance for veteran Chris Boswell. Boswell missed three late-season games last season with hip and groin injuries. The Los Angeles Rams selected Sloman in the final round of the 2020 NFL draft. Though he won the kicking gig in training camp, the Rams released him after seven games.

The Titans snapped Sloman up for their practice squad and activated him for Week 17. He became a hero of sorts after converting all five extra points and two field goals, including a walk-off field goal that won Tennessee the AFC South.

Boswell is clutch. In 2020 alone, he converted 34 of 38 extra points and made 19 of 20 field goals. His job is not in jeopardy, but a little competition is always good to light the proverbial fire.

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Pittsburgh Steelers host defensive tackle for visit

Injuries to Cam Heyward and Tyson Alualu leave the Steelers with a need at defensive tackle.

Per the NFL transaction report, the Steelers hosted defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas for a visit on Tuesday.

Christmas was a sixth-round draft selection by the Seattle Seahawks in 2019. He was placed on the PUP list during rookie training camp and never activated. The Seahawks released him in October after he failed to make the 53-man roster.

The 6’3, 302-pound Florida State product played in 51 games (38 starts). He contributed 105 tackles (10.5 for loss), 3.5 sacks, 13 defended passes and two fumble recoveries.

Pittsburgh is in the market for run-stopping depth at defensive tackle after suffering two injuries on Sunday — after and during being gashed for 265 yards rushing. A visit is just a visit, but still, scouting reports are mixed about his abilities as a run defender and note weaknesses in pass pro.

Injuries to Cam Heyward (quad) and Tyson Alualu have been deemed not serious by head coach Mike Tomlin, but neither participated in practice on Wednesday.

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Seahawks cut Lance Lenoir from practice squad, sign Demarcus Christmas

Seattle executed a couple of roster moves on Thursday – the Seahawks cut Lance Lenoir from the practice squad and signed Demarcus Christmas.

The Seattle Seahawks announced a couple of practice squad roster moves on Thursday. Seattle has released wide receiver Lance Lenoir and signed defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas.

Both players were with the Seahawks in training camp but were waived during the initial 53-man roster cuts. Lenoir was added back to the practice squad the next day.

Christmas now takes his place on the practice squad roster.

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Seahawks host defensive linemen for tryouts and visits on Tuesday

The Seattle Seahawks hosted a number of defensive linemen for tryouts and visits on Tuesday in the wake of Rasheem Green’s shoulder injury.

The Seattle Seahawks will always continue the search to beef up and strengthen their defensive line. Seattle hosted two players for visits to the facility on Tuesday – former Seahawk defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas and defensive end Breeland Speaks. The Seahawks also had defensive end John Daka in for a tryout.

The visits come on the heels of an injury to one of Seattle’s defensive ends during the Week-1 win over the Falcons. Rasheem Green briefly left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury and was still bothered by it on Monday.

Christmas was with the Seahawks over the summer but was waived during the initial 53-man roster cuts.

Speaks was originally selected by the Chiefs in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft and appeared in all 16 games as a rookie. He spent last season on the injured reserve after undergoing knee surgery. While on the IR, he was suspended four games for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.

The Seahawks also hosted defensive back Michael Jacquet and guard Andrew Jones for tryouts.

No other transactions were listed for the Seahawks on Tuesday so if any signings were executed, we’ll have to wait until Pete Carroll addresses the media on Wednesday to find out.

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Should the Seahawks pursue free agent DT Josh Mauro?

The Seattle Seahawks need a veteran, run-stuffing defensive tackle, and free agent Josh Mauro is a cheap, versatile option.

The Seattle Seahawks, like clockwork, always add a veteran defensive tackle to help shore up the run-defense. Guys like Al Woods, Shamar Stephen and Sheldon Richardson have been brought in over the last few years to do exactly that, filling a niche role for one season before departing.

With Jarran Reed and Poona Ford locked into starting roles, the Seahawks are left with young, unproven guys like Bryan Mone and Demarcus Christmas vying for that third tackle role – making the likelihood of another addition very high.

While they could pony up a good chunk of their remaining cap space on a guy like Damon Harrison or Mike Daniels, or a reunion with Brandon Mebane, they could also opt to go a cheaper route and look at someone like journeyman Josh Mauro.

Mauro starred at Stanford from 2010-2013, and after going undrafted he has bounced around the league quite a bit over the past six seasons, playing for the Cardinals, Steelers, Giants and the Raiders.

He’s played all across the defensive line, a versatility that coach Pete Carroll will love, although he’s primarily succeeded at plugging holes and stopping the run, only tallying three career sacks and 11 quarterback hits in 72 games.

Mauro is not one of the flashier options remaining on the open market, but he’s an upgrade over Christmas and Mone and would provide Seattle with a versatile veteran who can plug holes up the middle and line up on the outside if necessary.

In an offseason that could look quite different thanks to COVID-19, an experienced veteran might be much preferred for a key area of need for the Seahawks, and Mauro is the best remaining option that won’t break the bank.

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Why Southeast Missouri’s Josh Avery could make Seahawks roster

Josh Avery has the size and maturity to make an impact for the Seattle Seahawks as a run-stuffing defensive tackle right away in 2020.

The Seattle Seahawks brought in a whopping 17 undrafted free agents from the 2020 class to compete for spots on the active roster.

Most years, teams are lucky to get one UDFA to make the squad, as they are primarily brought in to give the team extra bodies during training camp.

However, the Seahawks have had plenty of luck in the past, going all the way back to Dave Krieg and including Jermaine Kearse, Doug Baldwin and more recently, defensive tackle Poona Ford.

In fact, the Seahawks had an interior defensive tackle make the roster as an undrafted free agent two years in a row, as Ford was followed by Michigan’s Bryan Mone in 2019, who appeared in four games for the Seahawks.

If they are going to keep the streak of undrafted defensive tackles alive, hope will rest with either Cedrick Lattimore out of Iowa or Josh Avery out of Southeast Missouri.

While Lattimore went to a more notable school and posted good numbers, his size (six-foot-three, 295 pounds) is more suited to a five-tech in Pete Carroll’s defense, rather than a big run-stuffer in the middle, which is what the Seahawks need.

Avery is listed at six-foot-three and 322 pounds, plenty big enough to plug holes up the middle in a reserve role. Plus, Avery is already 24 years old, and the Seahawks made it clear they are looking for more mature rookies this season, in light of the pandemic that limits their opportunities to see players on the field before the season begins.

With Ford and Jarran Reed expected to start on the interior defensive line, Avery will compete with Lattimore, Mone, and Demarcus Christmas for the backup DT role, assuming the team doesn’t sign a veteran – something they have done in each of the past few seasons.

While it won’t be an easy path, it never is for undrafted free agents, Avery has the size and maturity to make an impact for the Seahawks in year one, and if he does well in training camp he could be a surprise addition to the roster, or at least the practice squad, in 2020.

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Why Iowa’s Cedrick Lattimore could make Seahawks roster

The Seattle Seahawks are thin on interior defensive tackles, and former Iowa star Cedrick Lattimore is a candidate to steal a roster spot.

The Seattle Seahawks brought in a whopping 17 undrafted free agents from the 2020 class to compete for spots on the active roster.

Most years, teams are lucky to get one UDFA to make the squad, as they are primarily brought in to give the team extra bodies during training camp.

However, the Seahawks have had plenty of luck in the past, going all the way back to Dave Krieg and including Jermaine Kearse, Doug Baldwin and more recently, defensive tackle Poona Ford.

In fact, the Seahawks had an interior defensive tackle make the roster as an undrafted free agent two years in a row, as Ford was followed by Michigan’s Bryan Mone in 2019, who appeared in four games for the Seahawks.

If they are going to keep the streak of undrafted defensive tackles alive, hope likely rests on Iowa’s Cedrick Lattimore.

Lattimore is a beastly six-foot-three and 295 pounds. He started all 13 games for the Hawkeyes last year, recording 44 combined tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, four QB pressures and a fumble recovery.

He also won the Iowa Coaches Appreciation Award on defense, and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten as well.

Lattimore’s path to a roster spot is less crowded than many other UDFA, simply because Seattle has a lot less interior defensive linemen standing in the way.

Jarran Reed and Poona Ford will start on the inside, and right now the third DT spot is an open competition between Mone, Demarcus Christmas and the two undrafted guys, Lattimore and Josh Avery.

Seattle is expected to sign a run-stuffing veteran, potentially Mike Daniels or Damon Harrison, but if they opt to use that money elsewhere than Lattimore could contend for a spot on the opening day roster, extending Seattle’s streak of hitting on undrafted defensive tackles to three years in a row.

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Will Bryan Mone make an impact for Seahawks in 2020?

The Seattle Seahawks only have three defensive tackles with NFL experience on their roster, and one of them is Bryan Mone.

The Seattle Seahawks biggest area of need between now and the start of the 2020 regular season is along their defensive line.

While most will focus on the lack of a big name pass rusher, this team is also severely lacking depth on the interior defensive line. After losing Al Woods to free agency and cutting Nazair Jones, Seattle is left with Demarcus Christmas, Bryan Mone and two undrafted free agents – Cedrick Lattimore and Josh Avery – as options to backup Jarran Reed and Poona Ford.

The Seahawks almost always sign a veteran defensive tackle to serve as the No. 3 lineman, and there are still plenty of options left on the open market, including Mike Daniels, Damon Harrison, and Brandon MeBane.

However – if the team opts to save some cap space and go with internal options instead, perhaps the most likely candidate to win the job outright is Mone, an undrafted free agent who joined the team last May.

Mone is a hulking presence, standing six-foot-three and weighing a whopping 366 pounds. He made the team out of camp last year in part thanks to Reed’s six-game suspension. He ended up pinballing between the practice squad and the active roster, appearing in four games and 89 total defensive snaps.

He didn’t do much with the opportunities he was given, recording just three combined tackles and one pressure, but he is the only other DT on the roster outside of Reed and Ford with any NFL experience.

Christmas was a sixth round pick by the team in 2019, but he missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury. Lattimore and Avery are both camp fodder, and while either could impress, the odds of making the team with such a limited window of exposure to the coaching staff thanks to COVID-19 are even trickier this season – giving Mone the upper hand.

Mone is the best bet for that No. 3 tackle role on the roster as things currently stand, but it would be a surprise if this team didn’t aggressively pursue a veteran upgrade on the interior over the next few weeks.

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Should the Seahawks pursue defensive tackle Mike Daniels?

The Seattle Seahawks target a veteran defensive tackle late in free agency, and Mike Daniels and his pass rushing acumen are a perfect fit.

Every year, the Seattle Seahawks find a veteran, run-stuffing defensive tackle late in the free agency period to serve as their no. 3 tackle in the middle.

After Al Woods signed elsewhere in free agency, and Seattle did not select a defensive tackle during the draft, it looks like the plan is once again to find a replacement on the open market.

However, considering Seattle’s desperate need for more pass rush, perhaps they’ll look for a veteran defensive tackle who is less of a run-stuffer and more of a pass rusher to help them in that regard.

If that’s the case, Seattle should be on the phones with the representatives of Mike Daniels, a longtime Packers defensive tackle who played last year with the Lions.

Daniels, who turns 31 on May 5, is an eight year veteran who has 235 combined tackles and 30 sacks to his name, along with a Pro Bowl appearance in 2017.

He only appeared in nine games with Detroit last year, thanks to injuries, but he still managed a very solid 70.1 grade from Pro Football Focus – a sign there is plenty left in the tank.

The Seahawks have Jarran Reed and Poona Ford pencilled in to start on the interior, with Demarcus Christmas, Nazair Jones and Bryan Mone competing for backup spots.

An addition like Daniels would immediately bolster the depth up front, while giving Seattle another potential pass rushing threat – which they sorely need.

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