Bryan Bresee on track to lead the NFL’s defensive tackles in sacks

Sacks aren’t everything for a defensive tackle, but there’s a lot to be said for leading the league in them. Bryan Bresee is on track to do just that:

Sacks aren’t everything for a defensive tackle, but there’s a lot to be said for leading the league in them. And Bryan Bresee is on track to do just that. The New Orleans Saints’ second-year pro is up to 6.5 sacks through 12 games, a big improvement over his rookie numbers (4.5 in 17 games). That ranks second-most in his position group.

So who’s on top? That would be New York Giants star Dexter Lawrence, with 9.0 sacks in 12 games for himself. But Lawrence’s season has ended on injured reserve after he suffered a dislocated elbow. He isn’t expected back in 2024, which sets a clear goal for Bresee to chase through these last five games. His next challenge comes against Lawrence’s teammates on the Giants, who have allowed 40 sacks as a team. That’s tied for seventh-most. For comparison, the Saints have allowed the seventh-fewest quarterback sacks with 23.

This would be an impressive achievement for Bresee if he can get there, but he’s already made some big strides through two years in the NFL. It’s encouraging that he’s improving, but he isn’t a finished product just yet. He’s still getting pushed around and washed out on running downs. He struggles to disengage against an opponent advancing uphill. If he can continue to learn on the job and make improvements, and clean up that part of his game? The sky might be the limit for the young pro.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Kendre Miller to be ‘all gas, no brakes’ after return from injury

The move from Dennis Allen to Darren Rizzi took Kendre Miller out of the doghouse. It should lead to greater usage when he returns from injured reserve:

Kendre Miller’s New Orleans Saints career hasn’t really been able to get off the ground due to injuries. Injuries have limited the former third-round draft pick to just 10 games in two seasons.

The frustrating part about Miller is you see why the Saints selected him when he plays. He only played in two games and carried the ball nine times this year, but he looked like a great complement to Alvin Kamara.

And Miller may have the chance to truly showcase this upon his return now that Darren Rizzi is the coach. Dennis Allen was publicly critical enough to assume he and Miller had a bad relationship in private.

It was reported Miller didn’t need to be put on injured reserve, and that was a Dennis Allen decision. The change at head coach takes the running back out of the doghouse.

Per LouisianaSportsDotNet’s Ross Jackson, the plan is for Miller to be “all gas, no brakes” when he comes back from a hamstring injury. That could be as early as this week against the New York Giants.

Miller should see plenty of carries per game if this is the approach. The Saints will be without Taysom Hill for the rest of the season, and Miller should be the secondary rushing option over Jamaal Williams.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Tyrann Mathieu not expected to miss time due to shoulder injury

Tyrann Mathieu left the Rams game with a shoulder injury, but the Saints expect him to return against the Giants next week:

After making a tackle on Kyren Williams, Tyrann Mathieu exited the New Orleans Saints Week 13 showdown against the Los Angeles Rams with a shoulder injury. The injury occurred in the third quarter and the safety never returned to the game.

Mathieu was seen on the sideline with a brace on his arm with his helmet on. That was a good sign, and there’s more good news on the way. Per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, the Saints do not view the shoulder injury as a serious injury. The expectation is for Mathieu to return to the lineup next week against the New York Giants.

Mathieu has had to deal with a litany of injuries this season. He’s maintained a frequent presence on the injury report, but he has yet to miss a game. That trend isn’t expected to change this week. Expect Mathieu to appear on the injury report during the practice week and hope for limited participation instead of DNP.

The secondary’s communication is led by Mathieu. If he isn’t able to go on Sunday, New Orleans will have to replace his play on the field and his leadership. Neither is an easy task.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Former Giants QB Daniel Jones signing with Vikings practice squad

Former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is signing with the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad.

Former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is signing with the Minnesota Vikings, reports Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports.

Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Jones is joining the Vikings practice squad and won’t immediately be on the active 53-man roster.

Jones, the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft, was released by the Giants on Nov. 22. He passed through waivers and was free to sign with any team. Per Schultz, Jones picked the Vikings due to Minnesota’s playoff positioning and “quarterback-friendly” offensive scheme under Kevin O’Connell.

The Giants benched Jones after losing five consecutive games going into the bye week. Over 10 starts by Jones, the Giants were 2-8.

Jones completed 63.3 percent of his passes, averaged 6.1 yards per attempt, threw eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions, and had a passer rating of 79.4 in 2024. He took 29 sacks.

The Vikings are 9-2 under former first-round pick Sam Darnold, who is enjoying a career revival under O’Connell. Nick Mullins is currently Darnold’s backup.

The Giants lost the first start by new starter Tommy DeVito coming out of the bye on Sunday to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Across six seasons, the Giants were 24-44-1 in games started by Jones.

[lawrence-related id=736699,736697,736689]

The Saints could learn from the Giants’ fallout with Daniel Jones

The Giants didn’t let Daniel Jones’ bloated contract stop them from parting ways. The Saints shouldn’t let Derek Carr’s deal scare them when the time is right, either:

It finally happened. The New York Giants have been talking around a split with one-time franchise quarterback Daniel Jones for the last few years, and on Friday they granted his request for a release after benching the former starter. Jones is expected to clear waivers and consider his options as a free agent in the weeks ahead.

The New Orleans Saints could learn from this. The Giants found out they had signed a lemon and took action to get out of their contract with an underperforming quarterback. They didn’t let the steep guarantees and dead money involved with moving on from Jones keep them from pulling the trigger. When the time is right, the Saints should do the same with Derek Carr — if things get to that point.

Right now Carr is playing some of the best football of his career. Since returning from an oblique injury he’s connected on 55 of his 83 passes (66.3%) to gain 753 yards, scoring five touchdowns without throwing an interception. And that’s with both of his top wide receivers unavailable for much of the last three games.

His 106.4 passer rating this season is the highest of his career. His 3.2% sack rate is second-best in his 11 years. More-comprehensive stats like adjusted net yards per attempt (ANY/A, which includes both negative and positive plays like interceptions, sacks, and touchdowns) have him rated highly, too. Klint Kubiak has him playing at a higher level than you may think.

So Carr’s job probably isn’t in jeopardy. That doesn’t mean it’ll never be. We saw how lifeless the offense looked for much of last season. He’s 11 years deep into his NFL career without a playoff win to his name. If he hasn’t already hit his peak, he’s got to be close.

We aren’t to the point where the Saints should be trying to move Carr just yet. But it could get here in a hurry, like it did for the Giants and Jones. New York is on the hook for more than $44 million in dead money for the rest of this year, with a $22.2 million dead money charge on the books in 2025. How does that compare to a hypothetical split between Carr and the Saints?

Signing bonus proration would cost the Saints an extra $10 million against the salary cap (which they can’t afford) to release Carr right this minute, so that’s not happening. But they do have a decision to make in the offseason. Releasing Carr before June 1 would barely break even, saving $1.3 million while being stuck with more than $50 million in dead money. That calculation made sense for the Giants. It probably won’t be something the Saints can stomach.

But waiting until after that June 1 deadline? That would result in $30 million worth of savings. The Saints would pay $21.4 million against the cap in dead money for 2025, then another $28.6 million on the 2026 salary cap, and then they’re clear by 2027. We could certainly see things take a turn through these last six weeks and the offseason that follows that makes this their best choice. The question is whether the Saints’ new head coach wants Carr, and how they can get under the salary cap, then sign new players, without touching Carr’s $51.4 million cap hit until well after the draft in April.

So right now the math says their best solution is (very likely) sticking with Carr. That doesn’t mean it’ll be best path forward in six months or this time next year. Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener could develop into a legitimate starter, a new head coach could have his eye on his own quarterback, or something else unforeseen pops up. That’s how the NFL goes, sometimes. And as we’ve seen with Jones and the Giants? Sometimes the writing is already on the wall.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Chargers sign CB Eli Apple to practice squad

The signing of Eli Apple came after a flurry of injuries to players in the position room.

The Chargers signed cornerback Eli Apple to the practice squad.

The addition of Apple comes after Asante Samuel Jr. was placed on injured reserve last week, and Kristian Fulton and Deane Leonard exited the Week 6 win over the Broncos with their respective injuries.

Apple played with the Dolphins during the 2023 season. He began his career with the Giants, who selected him with the No. 10 pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft. He was there until 2018, with the Saints from 2018 to 2019, with the Panthers for 2020 and the Bengals from 2021 and 2022.

In 98 games (82 starts), Apple has 381 tackles, three forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries, 60 pass deflections and six interceptions.

49ers legend throws ceremonial first pitch at Giants game for 49ers Night

The legendary 49ers linebacker fired the ceremonial first pitch at Oracle Park on Saturday night.

The San Francisco 49ers’ Bay Area neighbor, the San Francisco Giants celebrated the start of the NFL season with an ode to the 49ers on Saturday night at Oracle Park.

The Giants hosted “49ers Night” at Third and King Street in San Francisco on Saturday evening for their matchup with NL West divisional opponent, the San Diego Padres.

Along with dishing out 49ers’ gold and red-themed hats to fans, a legendary member of the 49ers fired the ceremonial first pitch to kick off Saturday night’s tilt. Seven-time Pro Bowler and member of the 49ers Hall of Fame, Patrick Willis toed the rubber for the first pitch. Willis showed off his arm, not bouncing the pitch for a strike just outside the zone.

Via @NBCSGiants on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/NBCSGiants/status/1835126764894667107

Despite Willis and 49ers fans being in the building, the Giants didn’t have an answer for the Padres on Saturday night. Bob Melvin’s Giants got throttled 8-0, for the third straight shutout loss. The Giants haven’t mustered a single run in 27 innings as they fell to a 72-77 record on the season.

The Giants are set to wrap up a three-game series with the Padres on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. PT.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Former Packers S Anthony Johnson  Jr. claimed off waivers by Giants

Former Packers S Anthony Johnson Jr. was claimed off waivers by the Giants on Wednesday.

The Green Bay Packers made a few surprise cuts on Tuesday while trimming their roster down to 53 players. Among the biggest surprises was the team’s decision to part ways with safety Anthony Johnson Jr. If the plan was to sign Johnson to the practice squad, that plan was thwarted by the New York Giants, who claimed Johnson off waivers on Wednesday.

Johnson, a 2023 seventh-round pick out of Iowa State, made the initial 53-man roster as a rookie. He appeared in 12 games, including four starts, logging 24 tackles, three pass defenses, and one interception.

Johnson was off to a strong start to begin this year’s training camp, earning praise from head coach Matt LaFleur.

“He’s had an outstanding camp up to this point,” said LaFleur. “I think it’s a very competitive situation. He’s really learned a ton. He’s made a huge jump I would say, in my eyes, to this point from last season. Now he’s got to go out and do it as we get to some live bullets in terms of those preseason games. So, it will be interesting to see how he does. But I’m excited for him.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson had just an average preseason, finishing with four tackles and a forced fumble for a defensive grade of 66.7.

While Johnson may have not done anything specifically to lose his spot, he was a part of one of the team’s most competitive position groups. Last year’s safety group was defined by inconsistency and a lack of play-making, pushing the Packers to go out and sign Xavier McKinney and add three safeties during the draft.

McKinney, Javon Bullard, Evan Williams, Kitan Oladapo, and Zayne Anderson comprise the current safety room. Anderson’s status as a stalwart special teamer may have been the deciding factor between him and Johnson.

However, the Giants see potential in Johnson and will give him an opportunity to contribute in 2024.

Giants v. Texans: QB Daniel Jones throws multiple interceptions

Watch #Giants Daniel Jones throws two interception in match v. #Texans

New York Giants Daniel Jones had a tough preseason match against the Texans, the quarterback just signed a new contract with the team this year, battling injury after injury during his fight to remain as QB for the Giants.

Jones has faced a lot of negativity regarding his performance and there was talk the Giants would draft a new rookie quarterback to possibly replace him after last seasons consistency issues and his health-related availability.

Texans safety Jalen Pitre intercepted this throw by Jones in last night’s match, it appears Jones practically threw the ball right to Pitre just outside the end zone, easily allowing Houston to score.

Unfortunately for Jones this wasn’t his only big gaffe in this game, minutes later in the same quarter he threw a second interception, aiming for a teammate under heavy blocking by the Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. on the sidelines way downfield.

Jones able to get things back on track somewhat as the game progressed but the result was still a 28-10 loss to the Texans. He will definitely have to put in some more reps if he is going to be a regular season starter.

Veteran DB Jalen Mills released by Giants

Veteran cornerback Jalen Mills was released by the New York Giants this week after spending his duration with the team on the non-football injury list due to a calf strain and being unavailable to participate in the entire Giants training camp.

Veteran cornerback Jalen Mills was released by the New York Giants this week after spending his duration with the team on the non-football injury list due to a calf strain and being unavailable to participate in the entire Giants training camp.

Mills, who played for the New England Patriots in 2023, and was just signed by the Giants this year, never took the field for his most recent team. His contract guaranteed $300,000, a sum the Giants seem fine parting with since it freed up room to sign safeties Raheem Layne and Jonathan Sutherland.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news on Jalen Mills this morning on Twitter.

Jalen Mills will likely see a bid soon now that he is a free agent, reports indicate he has recovered from his injury at the time of being released and the Super Bowl Champion with valuable postseason experience has put up a consistent number of tackles in previous seasons for the Philadephia Eagles and New England Patriots.