Tag: Eric Tomlinson

Broncos to re-sign a pair of cut players on Wednesday

Broncos plan to re-sign DL Mike Purcell and TE Eric Tomlinson after they place TE Greg Dulcich and CB Michael Ojemudia on IR today.

NFL teams get creative during roster cuts.

Players who go on injured reserve before the initial 53-man roster is set are not eligible to return during the season. But players who do make the initial roster are eligible to return from IR after sitting out four games.

So teams often carry an injured player on the initial roster and then move him to IR the next day. Denver Broncos general manager George Paton said Tuesday that the team plans to use that strategy with two players this year: tight end Greg Dulcich (hamstring) and Michael Ojemudia (elbow).

To be able to carry Dulcich and Ojemudia on the initial 53-man roster, though, the Broncos had to cut two players who would be able to return the next day.

Denver chose tight end Eric Tomlinson and nose tackle Mike Purcell as the cuts making room for Dulcich and Ojemudia on the initial roster. Because they are both veterans, Tomlinson and Purcell are not subject to the NFL’s waiver wire — they simply became free agents right away.

As soon as Dulcich and Ojemudia are placed on IR on Wednesday, the Broncos plan to re-sign Tomlinson and Purcell to the 53-man roster.

Creative? Complicated? Maybe a combination of both. Whatever the case may be, Tomlinson and Purcell should be back on the active roster soon.

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Broncos reach agreement with TE Eric Tomlinson on 1-year deal

The Broncos have a new blocking tight end to pair with Albert Okwuegbunam.

The Denver Broncos have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with tight end Eric Tomlinson, KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis reported Tuesday. The contract will not become official until the NFL’s new league year begins on Wednesday afternoon.

Tomlinson (6-6, 263 pounds) entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of UTEP with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015. He went on to spend time with eight different teams from 2015-2021, most recently with the Baltimore Ravens.

Tomlinson, 29, will presumably be asked to contribute primarily on special teams with his offensive contributions coming mostly as a blocker. He caught just one passes for seven yards in 17 games with the Ravens last year.

The seventh-year tight end has hauled in 18 receptions for 201 yards and one touchdown in 68 career games (41 starts). He will likely get a chance to be the team’s No. 2 tight end this season behind Albert Okwuegbunam, who is poised to serve as Denver’s primary receiving tight end in 2021.

We are tracking all of the Broncos’ free agency moves on this page.

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Ravens make multiple roster moves ahead of Week 10 matchup vs. Dolphins

The Ravens made a series of roster moves ahead of their Week 10 game against the Dolphins

The Baltimore Ravens are set to face the Miami Dolphins in Week 10 of the 2021 season. Baltimore currently stands on top of the AFC North at 6-2, while Miami has struggled for most of the season as they boast a 2-7 record.

Ahead of their matchup with the Dolphins, the Ravens made a series of roster moves just a few hours before kickoff. They announced that they have promoted tight end Eric Tomlinson and cornerback Chris Westry to the active roster, while also elevating guard James Carpenter and guard/defensive lineman Kahlil McKenzie from the practice squad to the active roster.

The promotion of Tomlinson to the active roster casts doubt over whether tight end Nick Boyle will be able to suit up in this game. Boyle has been out since the middle of the 2020 season with a serious knee injury. Westry suffered a torn meniscus in Week 1 against the Las Vegas Radiers, and now makes his return to the active roster.

For their practice squad elevations, Baltimore decided to beef up their offensive line with the elevations of Carpenter and McKenzie. Carpenter has years of experience at left guard, while the Ravens are cross-training McKenzie, who is a defensive lineman, to play on the offensive line.

Ravens elevate two practice squad players to active roster for Week 9 game vs. Vikings

The Ravens activated two of their practice squad players to the active roster for their Week 9 game against the Vikings

The Baltimore Ravens have seen positive contributions on the field from practice squad elevations all season long. With how many injuries they have gone through, they’ve needed production from elsewhere, and so far they’ve done a good job of finding it.

Ahead of their Week 9 game with the Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore elevated two players from their practice squad to the active roster in tight end Eric Tomlinson and offensive lineman/defensive lineman Kahlil McKenzie according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. The team also promoted offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi to the active roster.

As Zrebiec notes the Ravens ended up not activating tight end Nick Boyle from injured reserve, so he will not play on Sunday. Baltimore has two games in a span of five days over the next two weeks, so it makes sense for the Ravens to not want to activate Boyle and put him through two full games in such a short amount of time.

Tomlinson will play Boyle’s role once again on Sunday, as he has been for the entire season up to this point. McKenzie is an interesting activation, as Zrebiec notes.

Now that Ogbuehi is officially on the 53-man roster, he will provide some depth at the offensive tackle position, while even potentially being asked to play big snaps depending on who the team decides to roll with at right tackle.

Ravens protect four players on practice squad ahead of Week 9

The Ravens protected four players on their practice squad ahead of their Week 9 game with the Vikings

The Baltimore Ravens returned from their bye week at the top of the AFC North thanks to a Cincinnati Bengals loss to the New York Jets in Week 8. Baltimore will try to keep their hold of the top spot in their division by beating the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9.

Ahead of their game with Minnesota, the Ravens protected four players on their practice squad in tight end Eric Tomlinson, offensive lineman James Carpenter, offensive lineman Cedric Ogbuehi, and inside linebacker Joe Thomas.

Tomlinson was recently released and re-signed to the team’s practice squad, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see him get called up for Week 9, especially if fellow tight end Nick Boyle still isn’t ready to return to action. Both Carpenter and Ogbuehi could provide some offensive line depth, but it seems more likely that Ogbuehi would get a call up between the two players based off of the injures that the team has sustained at the tackle position. Thomas would provide some inside linebacker depth after Malik Harrison was placed on the Non-Football Injury list.

Ravens make roster moves involving three players on Monday

The Ravens made roster moves involving three players on Monday

The Baltimore Ravens have done plenty of roster shuffling this season with how many injuries they’ve sustained on both sides of the football. The team has put together an impressive 5-2 record through eight weeks, finding ways to win with contributions not only from their stars, but from plenty of unsung heroes as well.

On Monday, Baltimore announced roster moves involving three of their players in tight end Eric Tomlinson, offensive tackle Andre Smith and inside linebacker Malik Harrison. The Ravens first announced that they had moved Tomlinson to the practice squad, which involved releasing him and then re-singing him to the practice squad.

Shortly after, the team announced that they had placed Harrison on the reserve/non-football injury list while placing Smith on the Practice squad reserve/injured list.

Harrison was hit by a stray bullet in Cleveland, and his placement on the reserve/non-football injury list means that he’ll miss at least then next three weeks as he recovers.

It’s unclear what Smith was put on the practice squad reserve/injured list for, but he is currently out of practice squad elevations.

 

Ravens place two WRs on injured reserve, sign TE Eric Tomlinson

The Ravens placed two wide receivers on injured reserve and signed veteran tight end Eric Tomlinson

The Baltimore Ravens surprised a few people when they decided to keep seven wide receivers on their final 53-man roster. The talent of the players that they kept is unquestioned, it was still unexpected in some circles due to the fact that the team needed depth elsewhere.

Miles Boykin was the primary surprise, as he had been sidelined for most of training camp with a hamstring injury. It wouldn’t have been shocking if he had been placed on injured reserve outright or just released. However, Baltimore values him as a player and trusts his talent, so he remained with the team.

On Wednesday, the Ravens announced three roster moves, all involving players on the offensive side of the ball.

It’s unclear how much time both Boykin and Bateman will miss. Bateman is expected back sometime in September by the team, while not much has been said about Boykin’s injury.

Tomlinson was expected back with the team after he was cut on Tuesday. Head coach John Harbaugh said fellow tight end Nick Boyle isn’t ready to play yet, but he did return to practice on Wednesday, which is a good sign. Tomlinson could be on the roster only until Boyle is ready to play, or the team might just decide to carry four tight ends altogether.

Ravens activate TE Nick Boyle from PUP, cutting veteran TE Eric Tomlinson

The Ravens activated tight end Nick Boyle off of the PUP list while cutting another tight end in Eric Tomlinson

For a while, the Baltimore Ravens have been trying to figure out how their tight end position will look in Week 1 of the 2021 season. Mark Andrews is going nowhere as the team’s No. 1 tight end, but outside of him there have been a bunch of questions including when will Nick Boyle return from his season-ending injury he suffered in 2020, who will be Baltimore’s third tight end and more.

After head coach John Harbaugh said that that Boyle still isn’t ready to play, the team activated him off of the physically unable to perform list, signaling that they will either put him on injured reserve or that he’s close enough to playing where he doesn’t need to miss six weeks.

It was also reported that the Ravens were cutting tight end Eric Tomlinson.

Despite parting ways with the veteran, Tomlinson could return if Boyle is unable to play for the first few weeks of 2021, especially if Baltimore puts their star blocking tight end on injured reserve. Perhaps there is already a deal in place where after the Ravens bring back Tomlinson after Boyle is moved to injured reserve.

Tomlinson was signed after Boyle went down during the 2020 season, and performed well as primarily a blocking tight end. He filled Boyle’s role, which is exactly what they needed at the time.

Nick Boyle reportedly had recent ‘cleanup’ knee surgery, timeline to return unclear

Nick Boyle reportedly had recent ‘cleanup’ knee surgery, timeline to return unclear

The Baltimore Ravens certainly felt the absence of tight end Nick Boyle once he suffered a gruesome season-ending leg injury in their Week 10 loss to the New England Patriots. He is one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL who is a great system fit for what Baltimore does on offense.

Many are anticipating Boyle’s return to the football field. The veteran was recently placed on the Active/PUP list, but that didn’t come as much of a surprise, especially considering the nature of his injury. However, it was reported on Tuesday that Boyle recently had “knee cleanup surgery”, which makes his timetable to return a bit cloudy.

If the recent surgery keeps Boyle out into the regular season, the Ravens have plenty of options to hold down the fort until he returns such as Josh Oliver, Eric Tomlinson and more. It’s of the utmost importance to make sure that Boyle is 100% healthy before returning to the field, and it seems like Baltimore is being cautious with not only Boyle, but the rest of their injured players as well.

It’s better for the tight end to miss a few weeks now and get back to full strength as opposed to pushing things and getting injured early in the season. Even though many want to see Boyle back in uniform as soon as possible he’ll be out there soon enough, and when he is, the Raves will have made sure he’s healthy and ready to go.

John Harbaugh ‘not too worried’ about Ravens’ tight end situation

The Baltimore Ravens have plenty of talent at the tight end position. John Harbaugh is excited about getting guys from the position in pads

The Baltimore Ravens have one of the best tight ends in the league in Mark Andrews. They also boast tight end Nick Boyle, who has developed into one of the best blocking tight ends in football. However, the team has plenty of other young talent at the position that will be competing for a roster spot for the upcoming 2021 season.

When asked about how the young tight ends currently on the team look so far such as Eli Wolf and Josh Oliver, head coach John Harbaugh had glowing things to say, and seemed excited to see how the battle at the position will play out over the course of the next few weeks.

“…Those are guys are flashing. They look really athletic. Let’s not forget Tony Poljan from Virginia there. You saw him make some catches today. He’s probably more of a guy that’s going to show up even more when the pads come on. So, I think all those guys have done exceptionally well. I cannot wait to see them again in pads and, like we said, play out, in terms of who plays the best in those situations. So, I’m not too worried about our tight end situation; they look good out there so far.”

Harbaugh singled out undrafted rookie Tony Poljan as a name he’s excited to see in pads, but players like Wolf, Oliver, Jacob Breeland, and even Eric Tomlinson could make some noise as they battle for the No. 3 tight end spot. Baltimore didn’t use three tight ends in 2020 nearly as much as they did in 2019, where it was a big part of their offense.

It feels like the team is gearing up to use three tight end sets to their advantage during the 2021 season. Putting multiple tight ends on the field at the same time can force defenses to put heavier personnel in, which can help the passing game, especially on play-action throws. The Ravens currently have a plethora of talent at tight end, and might have to make some tough decisions as they decide who will make the final 53-man roster.