Tag: Drue Tranquill

49ers, Aaron Banks, advance to Super Bowl 58

A former Notre Dame player on both sides of Super Bowl Sunday!

Super Bowl 58 is set for February 11 between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas.

The Chiefs defeated the Ravens earlier in the day and on Sunday night it was the San Francisco 49ers mounting an epic second half comeback to beat the Detroit Lions and capture the NFC title.

Former Notre Dame offensive lineman [autotag]Aaron Banks[/autotag], who was drafted by the 49ers in 2021, started for San Francisco on Sunday.  He’s the only former Notre Dame player on their roster.

The Super Bowl matchup guarantees that one former Notre Dame player will win the championship and walk away with a ring as [autotag]Drue Tranquill[/autotag] and the Chiefs advanced earlier in the day.

Who wins on Super Bowl Sunday?

Either Banks or Tranquill will join the club that 45 former Notre Dame players are already in.

Tranquill Leads Chiefs in Tackles in Winning AFC Championship

Drue and Gold!

The Kansas City Chiefs defense was downright nasty against the Baltimore Ravens, holding opposing quarterback Lamar Jackson and company to just 10 points.

The Chiefs didn’t allow the Ravens to get their running game going, allowing just 81 rushing yards all afternoon.

Helping lead the way on the Kansas City defense was former Notre Dame star [autotag]Drue Tranquill[/autotag] who led the Chiefs with eight tackles.

Tranquill is in his first year with the Chiefs after spending from 2019-2022 with the Chargers.  He recorded 79 tackles and 4.5 sacks during the regular season.

Tranquill and the Chiefs will take on the winner of the 49ers vs. Lions game in Super Bowl 58 on February 10.

7 Saints free agents targets to watch in Ravens vs. Chiefs

There are plenty of Saints free agents targets to watch in Ravens vs. Chiefs. Which of these players could come to New Orleans in 2024?

There are a handful of former Kansas City Chiefs players playing key roles for the New Orleans Saints — starting safety Tyrann Mathieu, of course, but also his former Chiefs teammates Khalen Saunders and Tanoh Kpassagnon along the defensive line. Could more of them be wearing black and gold in 2024?

Saints fans should tune into Sunday’s AFC Championship Game between the Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens to get an early look at the upcoming free agent class. Both teams could lose players in the spring, and opportunistic squads like the Saints could pounce. Here are some pending free agents from both sides who may fit what the Saints are looking for this offseason:

NFL Playoffs: 11 Former Notre Dame Players Remain in Conference Championship Games

Who are you rooting for Sunday?

As great as the day of the Super Bowl is, this coming Sunday is on my shortest of lists for the best sports days on the calendar.

The AFC and NFC Championship games take place and this year there are plenty of Notre Dame representatives in the games.  In fact, all four remaining teams have a former Notre Dame player which means the Irish will see their total Super Bowl winners all-time grow.

Who wins Sunday’s games?  That’s something we’ll give you our predictions on as well but here are the 11 former Notre Dame players to be on the look out for when you watch the two games with a trip to Super Bowl 58 on the line!

Chargers projected to receive compensatory pick in 2024 NFL draft

The Chargers are projected to have an additional seventh-round pick.

In the 2024 NFL draft, the Chargers will likely have an extra pick, according to Over The Cap.

Compensatory picks are awarded to teams who lose out on significant players in free agency and are awarded to those teams the next year.

The pick given to teams is calculated on a formula that includes a number of qualifiers, including the average per year (APY) of a contract signed, the percentage of snaps a player plays, and their awards and accolades for their performance, such as the AP All-Pro list or PFWA’s list.

Over The Cap projects Los Angeles to receive a seventh-round comp pick for their loss of linebacker Drue Tranquill, who signed with the Chiefs last offseason.

Tranquill has appeared in 18 games, including the playoffs, with eight starts, and has amassed 89 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a pass deflected.

The NFL will announce the finalized compensatory picks closer to the draft.

Notre Dame’s JD Bertrand named First-Team Academic All-American

The captain is quite smart.

[autotag]JD Bertrand[/autotag] was a captain at Notre Dame the past two years. Somehow, that didn’t take the linebacker away from his studies enough for his grades to suffer. In fact, he absolutely thrived in the classroom, and now, he’s been recognized for that.

Bertrand has been named a First-Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Communicators. He’s the 37th Irish player to be so honored and the first since [autotag]Drue Tranquill[/autotag] in 2016 and 2017. Other Irish honorees over the years include [autotag]Mike Golic Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag], [autotag]John Carlson[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Theismann[/autotag].

Bertrand was recognized by virtue of earning a 3.62/3.74 GPA. He also was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team alongside [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag] and [autotag]Davis Sherwood[/autotag]. There are some smart players on the Irish indeed.

Bertand’s current focus is preparing for the NFL draft. Whoever picks him, if anybody, will be getting someone with intelligence and leadership qualities. Hopefully, those will be on full display at the next level.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Chiefs-Bills: How Drue Tranquill turned tide of entire instant classic

No Notre Dame fan is probably surprised by this…

The Bills-Chiefs rivalry has become a seemingly annual marquee event in the NFL playoffs.

Not only do the teams meet often in January, but when they do downright classic games seem to always play out.

Sunday night was no different. The two exchanged blows for the first three-plus quarters. Kansas City retook the lead, 27-24, early in the fourth quarter and Buffalo seemed headed for its turn with the lead again after Josh Allen ran for eight yards to open the possession.

But former Notre Dame star linebacker Drue Tranquill had different plans, and his next three plays changed the tide in the thriller.

With Buffalo facing a second-and-2, Tranquill blew through the line of scrimmage and stopped James Cook for a loss of three. Instead of third-and-short or a potential first down, the Bills were behind schedule facing a third-and-5.

Former Purdue star George Karlaftis batted away Allen’s third-down pass attempt, and the Bills blinked.

Buffalo called a fake punt when Kansas City had just 10 players on the field on fourth down. Despite being short-handed, Tranquill read the fake, took out two blockers and allowed Cole Christensen and Leo Chenal to stop Demar Hamlin after a gain of just two.

The game went from exciting to just downright crazy from there. A Kansas City fumble out of the end zone and another wide right field goal attempt from Buffalo would have been laughed out of a Hollywood script meeting.

At the end of the day, that 27-24 lead proved enough for the Chiefs as they head to the AFC Championship game yet again. And the 27 proved enough largely because of what Tranquill did to start the quarter.

Check out photos of Tranquill from the Chiefs epic victory below:

Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo on LBs Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill: ‘Two guys that can run the show’

#Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo explained the advantage of having Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill on the field at the same time.

The Kansas City Chiefs were without linebackers Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill in Week 14 against the Bills. This time around, the Chiefs will have both players available in their divisional round matchup against Buffalo on Sunday.

During a team press conference on Thursday, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo explained what Bolton and Tranquill will bring to the defense against Josh Allen and the Bills offense.

“[We have] two mike linebackers on the field,” Spagnuolo explained. “Automatically, you’ve got two guys that can run the show and control things, I think, to be quite honest, when that happens it helps Nick [Bolton], he knows that Drue [Tranquill] can talk to the other half of the line because Drue knows the same exact thing he does. That’s part of the chemistry that I’ve talked about. Those two guys from the chin to the hairline, just the mental aspects of the game are outstanding.”

Spagnuolo feels that both players’ craft and film studying have elevated their play and his coaching simultaneously.

“Both of them, throughout the course of the year will go home at night, will go home at night, will watch tape, they’ll circle back in my office and speak of something that I may or may not have even thought of,” Spagnuolo continued. “They think like that, not every guy does. They are both like that, it’s great to have them on the field at the same time.”

Kansas City is the much healthier team heading into this game against the Bills and will be a much stronger unit this time around with Bolton, Tranquill, and Isiah Pacheco in the lineup.

Chargers 2024 offseason preview: Pending free agents, cap space, team needs, draft picks

Examining the Chargers’ offseason, including team needs, pending free agents, and salary-cap space.

After finishing 5-12, the Chargers are set to enter the offseason. While their focus is bringing in their next head coach, they will quickly have to shift gears and get ready for the roster reconstruction.

Los Angeles is still a couple of months away from the new league frenzy, but it’s not too early to look at what to expect then, starting with 27 players who are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents.

  • Essang Bassey
  • Will Clapp
  • Michael Davis
  • Austin Ekeler
  • Alex Erickson
  • Gerald Everett
  • Alohi Gilman
  • Will Grier
  • Jalen Guyton
  • Jaylinn Hawkins
  • Justin Hollins
  • Austin Johnson
  • Joshua Kelley
  • Dean Marlowe
  • Kenneth Murray, Jr.
  • Tanner Muse
  • Easton Stick
  • Cameron Tom
  • Nick Vannett
  • Nick Williams

Cap space

The Chargers are projected to be $44 million over the salary cap in 2024, the second-worst situation in the NFL.

Team needs

Interior defensive line: Brandon Staley made the point to bolster the interior part of the defensive line with the signings of Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson two offseasons ago. Joseph-Day was released after Staley was fired and Johnson will be a free agent. Nick Williams will be, too. That leaves Morgan Fox, Otito Ogbonnia and Scott Matlock. The Chargers need more juice up front with players who can rush the passer and defend the run.

Running back: Austin Ekeler and Joshua Kelley are set to hit the free agency market, leaving Isaiah Spiller as the primary back on the roster. After having lackluster rushing offenses the past few seasons, the Chargers need to make the point to add at least two backs to improve this positional group, one as a pure runner and the other with a multi-dimensional skill set.

Wide receiver: Mike Williams and Keenan Allen are still on the roster, but given they are slated for cap hits of over $30 million and the Chargers are going to be strapped for cash, they could be dealt to clear up some space. Even if Allen is brought back, he is not getting any younger. Joshua Palmer has shown that he can be a reliable receiver. The jury is still out on Quentin Johnston, who struggled in his rookie season. The bottom line is that Los Angeles still lacks speed and dynamic playmakers at the position.

Tight end: The Chargers needed to upgrade the tight end room last offseason and after failing to do so, they saw how crucial it was they neglected it. While they got some contributions from Gerald Everett in the passing game, Los Angeles didn’t have an impactful blocker, which was detrimental in the running game. Everett is set to be a free agent, leaving Donald Parham and Stone Smartt as the tight ends on the roster. They need a bonafide No. 1.

Secondary: The Chargers finished with the third-worst pass defense during the regular season. Some of the issues were attributed to Staley’s scheme and the others were the players. Michael Davis’ play was up and down. Davis will be a free agent. Asante Samuel Jr. made plays in coverage, but struggled as a run defender. As for the safeties, Derwin James was far from the player we’re used to seeing, often getting beat in coverage. Alohi Gilman was consistent, but he will be a free agent.

Center: The anchor of the Chargers’ offensive line of the past two seasons, Corey Linsley, is likely going to retire due to a heart issue that kept him sidelined for most of 2023. Will Clapp, who started in place of him, is a free agent. Brenden Jaimes got three starts to close out the season when Clapp got hurt and he played well, but they need a true starting center with experience.

Draft picks

The Chargers have the No. 5 overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft, and they are projected to have seven total picks.

4 soon-to-be free agents to watch in Chiefs vs. Dolphins

4 soon-to-be free agents for New Orleans Saints fans to watch in Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins, including former Ragin’ Cajuns OL Robert Hunt:

The Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs boast two of the strongest rosters you’ll find around the NFL, and both teams have some pending free agents who could be of interest to the New Orleans Saints. With the Saints looking to get faster and more athletic defensively while improving their run game on offense, here are some players we’re watching closely during Saturday night’s wild-card round playoff game: