Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
We’re looking at 10 stats to know for Week 3 matchup between the Philadelphia #Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football
The Eagles and Buccaneers are among seven undefeated teams in the NFC, and the two clubs will meet in an intriguing matchup on Monday Night Football.
Baker Mayfield has been efficient while avoiding turnovers.
At the same time, his counterpart from Oklahoma, Jalen Hurts, will look to remain undefeated, while owning one of the best win percentages over the past two years.
With preparation for the matchup underway, here are ten stats for Week 3.
We’re looking at 10 potential replacements for Philadelphia #Eagles slot cornerback Avonte Maddox, who’ll be out indefinitely after having surgery on torn pectoral muscle
The Eagles are used to playing without Avonte Maddox over the past two seasons and they’ll go an indefinite amount of time without their slot cornerback in 2023.
Philadelphia is already down a starter at middle linebacker, and the team will lose their slot cornerback after he sustained a pectoral injury.
In Rapoport reports that Maddox will be out indefinitely and could miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery.
#Eagles DB Avonte Maddox will have surgery this week to repair a torn pec, sources say after an MRI and additional opinions. The injury will keep him out indefinitely, potentially for the season.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 18, 2023
Maddox underwent an MRI on Friday, and after receiving a second opinion, he’ll have the surger
With Maddox and McPhearson out, the Eagles to make at the slot cornerback and it could involve Mario Goodrich.
Rookie backup cornerbacks Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks are viewed primarily as outside cornerbacks, while a potential wild card could be athletic rookie safety Sydney Brown.
With Philadelphia yet to make a statement on the news, we’re looking at ten potential replacements for Maddox.
Here are 12 notable cornerbacks who are still available in free agency:
On Wednesday, ESPN NFL insider Field Yates suggested that the Carolina Panthers add some cornerback depth before the offseason comes to an end. But let’s be honest, we really didn’t need a reminder.
Between injuries to starters Jaycee Horn and Donte Jackson as well as the lack of reliable reinforcements behind them, the Panthers are still quite thin at the position. So, if they end up dipping back into the free-agent market this summer, here are 12 corners that could get a call.
Penn State has 40 players currently in the NFL, 13 of them are primed to be free agents when the new league year starts.
Penn State has 40 players currently in the NFL, 13 of them are primed to be free agents next week.
Penn State has long been a storied program in the college football ranks and they have always produced quality NFL talent, including several Hall of Fame players. In the mix of it all, the present crop of Nittany Lions in the league is well-represented at nearly every position.
Here are the 13 looming free agents that have played inside Beaver Stadium that will be looking for new deals when the NFL league year begins on Tuesday.
The Rams have lost another defensive back to injury. Grant Haley is likely headed to IR with an ACL sprain.
Add another player to the ever-growing list of injured defensive backs for the Los Angeles Rams. Sean McVay said on Monday night that Grant Haley suffered a Grade 2 ACL sprain in Sunday’s win over the Panthers and will miss the next 4-6 weeks.
McVay said he’s likely a candidate to be placed on injured reserve, which would force him to miss at least four games.
“Grant Haley got a Grade 2 ACL sprain, probably four to six weeks and he’s a likely candidate for IR,” McVay said.
The Rams have a bye in Week 7 so if Haley is placed on injured reserve, he would need to miss the four games after the bye.
Haley had played 129 defensive snaps in the previous three weeks combined, filling in for the injured Cobie Durant, Troy Hill and David Long Jr. Durant, Hill and Long should all be back after the bye, however, so the Rams are getting back some reinforcements in the secondary.
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The Rams were without 3 of their top 4 CBs and a key safety, yet they still held Kyler Murray and the Cardinals in check
The Los Angeles Rams went into Week 3 without several key players in their secondary. Troy Hill is on injured reserve, Cobie Durant hurt his hamstring the week prior and David Long Jr. injured his groin in the week of practice. At safety, Jordan Fuller also suffered a hamstring injury in practice and wound up missing Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Looking at their depth chart, the Rams were missing four of their top seven players in the secondary. That left Jalen Ramsey, Nick Scott and Taylor Rapp as the only Week 1 starters who were healthy this Sunday.
Yet, the Rams still managed to hold Kyler Murray to 314 yards passing on 58 attempts with zero touchdowns. Marquise Brown and Greg Dortch played well, catching a total of 23 passes for 220 yards, but all things considered, Los Angeles held Arizona’s passing offense in check to the tune of just 5.4 yards per pass attempt – Murray’s lowest output of the season.
Sure, the Cardinals didn’t have DeAndre Hopkins, Rondale Moore or A.J. Green, but it’s not as if Brown and Zach Ertz are slouches, nor is Dortch. And Green played a third of the game before getting injured.
As concerning as it was that the Rams were severely shorthanded in the secondary on Sunday, it’ll actually benefit them in the long run. With everyone healthy, Derion Kendrick and Grant Haley wouldn’t have played a snap this early in the season. They didn’t see the field on defense in the first two weeks of the season when the Rams were at (or near) full strength. On Sunday, Kendrick played 75 snaps and Haley played 67 in their first action of 2022. Neither was perfect in coverage – according to Pro Football Focus, Kendrick gave up nine catches on 16 targets and Haley allowed five on six targets – but they played better than the Rams probably expected them to.
As the season progresses and more injuries inevitably occur, the Rams can feel confident knowing players such as Kendrick, Haley and Durant have played meaningful snaps in regular-season games – something that wouldn’t have happened if Hill and Long hadn’t gotten hurt. You never want injuries to occur, but there is a silver lining in all of this.
Ramsey, for one, can’t wait for the rest of the secondary to get healthy, knowing just how deep the defensive back group goes.
But I thought… nvm lol this secondary room just gon keep working & having each others backs. S/o to all the guys & can’t wait til we all healthy! https://t.co/TROuutNOvU
— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) September 26, 2022
Injuries happen and the Rams have already proved they might have the deepest secondary in the NFL. When Durant and Long return, hopefully this week, Los Angeles might even consider giving Kendrick and Haley some opportunities alongside Ramsey.
Hill will take a little longer to get back, needing to miss at least three more games, but the Rams can survive in the meantime. Sunday’s performance showed that.
So long as Ramsey can stay healthy and help lead this young group of defensive backs, Los Angeles will be just fine.
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Here is every former Penn State plater on an NFL roster to start the new NFL season in 2022.
The start of a new season in the National Football League is here and there will be a good amount of Penn State flavor throughout the league this season. Penn State will have the eighth most players on an NFL opening day roster this season with 34 players appearing on an NFL team’s 53-man roster to start the season (plus two additional players on injured reserve and another on the physically unable to perform list). In all, Penn State claims 44 players are on NFL rosters to start the year with the inclusion of practice squad players.
That includes nine players who were on the Penn State roster in 2021, including wide receiver [autotag]Jahan Dotson[/autotag], defensive end [autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag], and safety [autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag]. Dotson is one of four Penn State players on the Washington Commanders, the most of any NFL franchise to start the season.
Former kicker [autotag]Robbie Gould[/autotag] continues to be the elder statesman of the Nittany Lions football family in the NFL. Gould, of the San Francisco 49ers, is entering his 19th season in the NFL.
Here is a look at every Penn State player on either an NFL team’s 53-man roster or practice squad at the start of the 2022 season.
The Rams face the Bengals in their preseason finale on Saturday and these 5 players should have every fan’s attention.
The Los Angeles Rams are set to conclude their preseason schedule versus the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday night. It will be a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl, though, not many of the starters in that game will be active in Saturday’s contest – if any at all.
With it being the final week of the preseason, this is the final chance for certain players to earn a spot on the 53-man rosters for the regular season. Even if a player has a strong showing on Saturday and doesn’t secure a spot on the active roster, it could be enough to catch the attention of another team.
Taking all of that into consideration, here are five Rams players to watch in their preseason finale versus the Bengals.
James Franklin has been hitting the recruiting trail with plenty of success. Here’s a look back at his first signing class at Penn State.
The first recruiting class for a head coach is always important, when you are the coach at a power five school it is setting the tone. The tone a coach sets with that first class can be the wave that is ridden for his tenure and [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag], looking back, nailed his first class.
His first class featured a ton of wins and positive results while at Penn State but it also provided a ton of talent to the NFL as well. While for Penn State fans, what is done in State College is most important, there is an argument suggesting sending players to the NFL may be even more important for getting strong future classes.
Let’s take a look back at the first recruiting class signed by Franklin since his arrival at Penn State, and where some of those players went following their time in Happy Valley.
Odell Beckham Jr. is among a handful of ex-New York Giants to earn a Super Bowl LVI ring as members of the Los Angeles Rams.
The Los Angeles Rams are Super Bowl LVI champions after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
The game saw Matthew Stafford & Co. overcome a multitude of injuries to complete a comeback victory, culminating with Cooper Kupp hauling in the game-winning touchdown over ex-New York Giants cornerback Eli Apple.
Speaking of ex-Giants, several will wake up on Monday morning as champions. Here’s a look at which former blue bleeders have a ring coming their way.
