Giants announce Tommy DeVito will start at QB vs. Packers in Week 14

After facing Justin Herbert, Jared Goff and Patrick Mahomes over the last 3 games, the Packers will get Tommy DeVito at QB against the Giants in Week 14.

The Green Bay Packers will face rookie Tommy DeVito at quarterback when they travel to New York to play the Giants on “Monday Night Football” in Week 14.

Giants coach Brian Daboll announced DeVito as the starting quarterback on Tuesday.

DeVito, an undrafted free agent out of Illinois, has started the last three games for the Giants at quarterback, leading New York to a 2-1 record. The Giants won back-to-back games over the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots entering the bye, and DeVito had a passer rating over 100.0 in each game.

Overall, DeVito has completed 66 of 105 passes for 697 yards, seven touchdown passes and three interceptions. He is completing 62.7 percent of passes and averaging 6.6 yards per attempt, and his passer rating is 92.4. His success rate as a passer is 33.3 and his QBR is 14.4, both among the lowest among quarterbacks in the NFL this season. He has also taken 28 sacks across just 256 snaps.

The Giants designated Tyrod Taylor for return from injured reserve to start this week, but Daboll’s announcement means Taylor won’t be ready to play before Monday night. Starter Daniel Jones is also on injured reserve with a season-ending injury.

The inexperience of DeVito will be a welcomed change for a Packers defense that has faced Justin Herbert, Jared Goff and Patrick Mahomes over the last three weeks.

Here are all the teams that have fewer offensive TDs than Christian McCaffrey through Week 13

Christian McCaffrey has more touchdowns than all of these teams’ offenses:

Christian McCaffrey on Sunday continued his outstanding 2023 season with another touchdown against the Eagles. His rushing TD in Philadelphia was his 12th rushing score of the year and his league-leading 17th total touchdown.

While McCaffrey has scored more touchdowns than any other player, he’s on a prolific enough pace to eclipse some of the league’s worst offenses in the TD-scoring department.

Through Week 13, here are all the offense with fewer touchdowns than McCaffrey:

Predicting the Saints’ 6 remaining games and final record

Predicting the Saints’ 6 remaining games and final record: Can Dennis Allen and Derek Carr get this team to the playoffs?

How does the New Orleans Saints’ loss to the Atlanta Falcons change your perception of the black and gold? Is any game left on their schedule looking like an easy win? The Saints are still in the hunt despite their 5-6 record, but it’s tough to see a path to the playoffs even with some winnable matchups lined up ahead of them.

There are six games left for the Saints to right the ship and prove they belong in the playoffs. Here are our updated week-by-week predictions for the rest of the 2023 season:

Raiders waive former Saints linebacker Jaylon Smith

The L:as Vegas Raiders waived former New Orleans Saints linebacker Jaylon Smith, who logged just 25 snaps with them in one game:

Jaylon Smith’s time with the Las Vegas Raiders may have been short-lived. The former New Orleans Saints linebacker left the practice squad for a better opportunity with the Raiders, but he was let go after playing just 25 snaps in one game. The Raiders announced Wednesday that they had released the former Pro Bowler.

Smith will hit the waiver wire, as all veterans released by their teams this time of the year, and he’ll become a free agent should he not be claimed by anyone. Could he return to the Saints’ practice squad? Are the Raiders hoping to sign him to their own practice squad after clearing waivers? He could still play for them in three games as a regular elevation, and the Saints don’t appear to have room for him in their lineup. It’s something to monitor, but a reunion with New Orleans feels unlikely.

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Ranking the New Orleans Saints’ 7 remaining games from easiest to toughest

Ranking the New Orleans Saints’ 7 remaining games from easiest to toughest: Which matchups are most challenging?

We’re about to jump into the back seven games of the New Orleans Saints’ 2023 schedule, and few games look like easy wins given their 5-5 record at the bye week. But while every opponent brings different challenges, it’s worth acknowledging that some teams bring more to the table than others.

With that in mind, here are our rankings for the Saints’ remaining games, ordered from least-worrying to most difficult:

Jason Pierre-Paul picked a unique new jersey number to wear with the Saints

Jason Pierre-Paul picked a unique new jersey number to wear with the Saints, representing his fourteenth year in the NFL:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Czo9tHMPBjC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

The newest member of the New Orleans Saints has made a unique choice for his jersey number: Jason Pierre-Paul announced his formal signing with the Saints practice squad on Tuesday, including an edited photo showing the pass rusher in his new uniform, featuring the No. 14 jersey. Pierre-Paul said it’s to represent his 14th year in the NFL in a post from his official Instagram account.

Though it isn’t reflected on the team’s website roster (where Pierre-Paul is not yet listed at all), this means that Pierre-Paul will be designated as a linebacker, even if he primarily plays defensive end. The No. 14 jersey only recently became available for linebackers and defensive backs after being limited to offensive players, kickers, and punters. If Pierre-Paul were listed as a defensive end, the only other options for him would have been Nos. 59, 60, 61, 63, 65, 66, 69, 72, 76, and 79. For the most part, those are all thoroughly swaggerless.

Pierre-Paul wore No. 4 with the Baltimore Ravens last year; before that, he had only used No. 90 in the NFL and in college at USF. He wore No. 91 at College of the Canyons in California and No. 9 at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas after using No. 98 at Deerfield Beach High School in Florida.

So he’ll be using No. 14 for the first time in his football career. Former Saints quarterback Andy Dalton used it last season after running back Mark Ingram II wore it a year before; the number fell in disuse for decades until wide receiver Tommylee Lewis brought it back in 2020. Let’s hope Pierre-Paul wears it well.

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Report: Free agent DE Jason Pierre-Paul to sign with Saints

CBS Sports insider Josina Anderson reports that free agent defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul plans to sign with the New Orleans Saints after a productive workout:

There’s that pass rush help the New Orleans Saints were looking for. Free agent defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is planning to sign with the Saints, as first reported by CBS Sports insider Josina Anderson. Pierre-Paul was flown into New Orleans on Monday for a workout which went well enough for the Saints to offer him a contract.

“I killed the workout,” Pierre-Paul told Anderson before putting pen to paper. “You can tell I’ve been active (and) not just sitting around. The head coach called me in his office to talk about it. I’m still figuring things out.”

Pierre-Paul, 34, was a first round draft pick by the New York Giants back in 2010; the South Florida product went on to earn three Pro Bowl nods and All-Pro recognition in 2011, totaling 94.5 sacks and 21 forced fumbles in 179 regular season games. He most recently played for the Baltimore Ravens after a four-year run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

We’ll see whether Pierre-Paul is going to sign with the Saints’ practice squad or 53-man roster. Either way, he’ll be available for their next game with the Atlanta Falcons after coming out of the Week 11 bye. New Orleans has rostered Cameron Jordan, Carl Granderson, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Kyle Phillips, and Isaiah Foskey (who is dealing with an injury) while stashing Niko Lalos and Jordan Willis on the practice squad, so someone will get bumped out of the rtoation to make room for him. Stay tuned for official word that the deal has been completed.

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Taysom Hill stamps his place in NFL history with latest touchdown

Taysom Hill stamped his place in NFL history with his latest touchdown catch:

Not too shabby. Taysom Hill stamped his place in NFL history with his touchdown catch against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, joining four other players in the “10-10-10” club. Frank Gifford, Red Grange, Charley Trippi, Jimmy Conzelman and Hill are the only players in league history to throw 10 touchdown passes and score 10 apiece as a runner and receiver.

It’s actually something Hill had already accomplished if you include the playoffs, but now you can leave that qualifier out. Hill has been a reliable scoring threat for the New Orleans Saints with 10 touchdown receptions, 10 touchdown passes and 26 rushing touchdowns in his career during the regular season.

The most recent player to reach the milestone was Gifford, the former New York Giants halfback who was a dynamic do-it-all threat in his illustrious 136-game career from 1952 to 1964. He ended his career with 34 rushing touchdowns, 43 touchdown catches and 14 touchdown passes. Gifford won an NFL championship with the Giants and earned eight Pro Bowl nods, plus four spots on the All-Pro team. Those are lofty heights for Hill to chase, but it’s great company to keep.

Update: Hill later threw a touchdown pass against the Bears, giving him 11 such scores in his career.

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NFL mock draft 2024: New projection with 6 months to go

Who should the Jaguars be eying in the 2024 NFL draft?

The Jacksonville Jaguars spent many years giving their fans more reason to look at the updated draft order rather than the playoff picture. That’s not the case in 2023, though.

After four straight wins, the Jaguars are currently leading the AFC South.

But Jacksonville’s roster isn’t perfect either. What should the Jaguars do with their first round pick if they wind up picking near the tail end of the first round again?

Here’s a projection of what the first round of the 2024 NFL draft could look like with about six months until it begins in Detroit next April: