Tag: Eric Fisher

The NFL’s best available free agents as training camps begin

As training camps begin, and the preseason is nearly upon us, here are the best free agent players left in the NFL.

Rookies and veterans are reporting to training camps around the NFL, which means that our long national nightmare of life without professional football is nearly over. Yay, but for a lot of veterans in the league, there’s still an element of waiting by the phone to hear from their agents regarding interests from NFL teams.

Not every veteran — even veterans who are still playing at a high level — have homes when training camps start. A lot of the players listed below will find those homes before preseason games begin in early August, and some will have to wait longer. (Yes, there are veterans who would prefer to eschew training camp entirely, and that has something to do with it).

So, as we head into the pre-preseason, here are the best players who, at this point, are still looking for their new NFL destinations.

The best NFL free agents remaining, pre-minicamp edition

As workouts and mandatory minicamps get underway in June, here are the best free agents left on the open market.

The end of May presents NFL teams with a brief respite in the action before offseason workouts begin at the start of June, and mandatory minicamps get underway in mid-June. From there, it’s a mad dash to the preseason, and all that comes after.

As teams prepare for minicamps and training camps, they’re also looking at the remaining holes in their rosters that they were unable to fill through the first wave of free agency and the draft. Even as summer comes, there’s still a fairly long list of players available as free agents who can help those teams fill those holes. Surprise releases can add to that talent, as the Arizona Cardinals’ release of receiver DeAndre Hopkins did last week.

The All-22: What DeAndre Hopkins has to offer his next NFL team

So here are the best remaining free agents left on the open market.

Dolphins claim OT off of waivers, place another on IR

One tackle in, one tackle out.

With just one week left in the Miami Dolphins regular season, they’re continuing to make moves.

On Thursday, the team announced that they placed offensive tackle Eric Fisher on injured reserve, likely ending his season, unless Miami made the Super Bowl. To fill his spot, the Dolphins claimed offensive tackle Geron Christian off of waivers.

Christian, 26, was a third-round pick by Washington back in 2018. He spent three years with them before spending 2021 with the Houston Texans and most of 2022 with the Kansas City Chiefs.

In his career, he’s appeared in 48 games, starting 16.

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Former Chiefs OT Geron Christian claimed on waivers by Dolphins

The #Chiefs released OT Geron Christian on Wednesday. On Thursday, he was claimed by the #Dolphins.

The Kansas City Chiefs released OT Geron Christian to make room for Mecole Hardman on the 53-man roster on Wednesday. As we expected, Christian has been claimed by another team that is still in contention for the playoffs.

The Miami Dolphins announced on Thursday that they’d claim Christian off waivers from Kansas City. In a corresponding move, they placed another former Chiefs player on injured reserve — Eric Fisher.

A former third-round draft pick in the 2018 NFL draft by Washington, Christian appeared in just 10 games with Kansas City this season. He played 11 snaps on offense and over 50 snaps on special teams. He had been a healthy scratch since Week 12 when Lucas Niang made his return from the Reserve/PUP list. The year prior in Houston, Christian played 560 snaps at left tackle.

It’s not often that teams see starting-caliber offensive tackles become available this late in the season. The Dolphins took advantage this time around and are poised to profit should they somehow make it through to the AFC playoffs.

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Former Chiefs LT Eric Fisher to sign with Dolphins

Former #Chiefs LT Eric Fisher will reportedly sign with the #Dolphins who are dealing with injuries to both Terron Armstead and Austin Jackson.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2013 NFL draft is officially back in the league.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Miami Dolphins are signing former Chiefs LT Eric Fisher to their roster. This comes after injuries to both starting LT Terron Armstead and starting RT Austin Jackson, the latter being placed on injured reserve in a corresponding move with Fisher’s signing. Fisher played the majority of his career at the left tackle position in Kansas City, including starting Super Bowl LIV, but he played the right tackle position during his rookie season with the Chiefs.

Fisher was released from the Chiefs ahead of the 2021 NFL offseason after suffering an Achilles injury in the AFC title game. The team ended up trading for Orlando Brown Jr. and completely revamping their offensive line after the Super Bowl LV loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Fisher would return to action in 2021 with Indianapolis Colts, starting 15 games at the left tackle position. He’s clearly been waiting for the right opportunity as he hadn’t yet signed with a team this season. His last game played was with the Colts against the Jaguars on Jan. 9 of 2022.

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Dolphins sign former No. 1 overall pick, place Austin Jackson on IR

Miami finds another tackle on the street.

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Injuries have played a big part in the Miami Dolphins’ 2022 campaign, to this point, as they’ve lost a number of impact players to long-term ailments.

Now, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Dolphins right tackle Austin Jackson, who was just activated off of injured reserve at the beginning of November, has found his way back there for the second time this season. He’ll be forced to miss the next four weeks, so he may return for the final week of the regular season and the postseason if Miami makes it.

In a corresponding move, Miami has signed veteran offensive tackle Eric Fisher to their active roster. Fisher was the first overall selection back in the 2013 draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. He spent eight seasons with Kansas City, earning two Pro Bowl nominations and winning a Super Bowl.

After suffering a torn Achilles in the AFC Championship Game two years ago, he spent 2021 with the Indianapolis Colts.

In his career, Fisher has played a majority of his snaps on the left side, but he played all 1,057 snaps on the right side for Indianapolis.

This move gives Miami another veteran option on both sides with Terron Armstead still dealing with a pectoral injury. Miami relied on Greg Little and Brandon Shell last week, while also elevating Kendall Lamm from the practice squad.

Fisher, despite being on the street for the year, could be a better option.

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How Chargers can replace Rashawn Slater for remainder of 2022 season

The Chargers have a few options for the next man up.

The Chargers will be without star left tackle Rashawn Slater for the rest of the season after he suffered a ruptured biceps injury in the loss to the Jaguars.

Still very early in the season, Los Angeles will have to figure out a plan to have Justin Herbert’s blindside protected.

They can stick with what they have in Storm Norton as the starting left tackle, but yesterday’s performance exemplified that he is not ready for that responsibility as he allowed eight pressures on 25 pass-blocking snaps.

Or, the team could move Norton to right tackle and Pipkins to left tackle. Pipkins performed admirably well last season at left tackle, allowing just three pressures on 43 pass-block snaps.

While replacing Slater’s skill level in a pinch is impossible, there are a few ways the team can still get competency from the position.

If they choose to look at outside options, let’s take a look at how the Bolts can replace Slater.

Bleacher Report says Ravens should sign this veteran OT after injuries in Week 1

Bleacher Report said that the Ravens should sign this veteran offensive tackle after the injuries the team suffered in Week 1

The Baltimore Ravens were able to pick up an impressive 24-9 win over the New York Jets in Week 1 of the 2022 season. While the win was full of plenty of positives, the team wasn’t able to escape the game unscathed.

Baltimore lost both offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James and cornerback Kyle Fuller to season-ending injuries over the course of the contest. When putting together a list of free agent signings that should happen after Week 1 injuries, Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report said that the Ravens should sign veteran offensive tackle Eric Fisher, discussing how he believes the team needs a swing tackle regardless of the health of All-Pro Ronnie Stanley.

“The former No. 1 pick started 15 games for the Indianapolis Colts last season, and while he did give up seven sacks, he scored a 68.2 grade from PFF. Patrick Mekari graded out at 60.3 in his 32 snaps last week….Mekari’s natural position is inside at guard or even center. Regardless of when Stanley is ready to go, the Ravens need a swing tackle to replace James. Fisher is the most proven option available right now.”

Baltimore is awaiting the return of Stanley, but the loss of James is a blow to their depth at the offensive tackle position. Fisher has plenty of NFL experience, but for now it appears as if the team is confident in their current backup options such as Patrick Mekari and others.

The NFL’s best remaining free agents

NFL free agents can still make a difference, even this close to the regular season. Here are the best players still on the open market, for whatever reason.

One week from today, the NFL’s 2022 regular season officially begins when the Los Angeles Rams host the Buffalo Bills. Teams have already been busy between wrapping up their training camps, prepping for Week 1, and both waiving and claiming players based on the league’s mandated roster cuts last Tuesday.

There is one more aspect of team-building that every franchise will pay some level of attention to at this point: Are there available free agents who can help our team for the right price? There are still valuable free agents on the open market. Some are recovering from injuries, or bad seasons, or they’ve already fielded multiple offers, and they’re either weighing the best opportunity, or just waiting for training camp to end so they don’t have to deal with that.

Here are our best remaining free agents with one calendar week left to go before the regular season; don’t be surprised if the majority of these guys get snapped up somewhere before the Rams and Bills kick things off.

5 replacements Saints should consider with Trevor Penning out indefinitely

Eric Fisher, Jason Peters, and Alex Leatherwood are among replacements the New Orleans Saints should consider with Trevor Penning injured, via @DillySanders:

The New Orleans Saints will need to rush to the open market with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reporting that rookie tackle Trevor Penning is out indefinitely with a torn ligament in his foot. He was likely not going to make a push for a starting spot yet, but looked to be solid depth while he developed. Now, their current backup tackle is Derrick Kelly who is likely not ready to be thrown into action in the regular season.

There will be more names available in the coming days with roster cuts looming, but for now there are a couple of very intriguing names available to the Saints if they want to get a head start: