Tag: hamstring

Giants activate pass-catching tight end Darren Waller (hamstring) vs. Saints

The Giants activated pass-catching tight end Darren Waller (hamstring) for Week 15’s game with the Saints. He’s torched Dennis Allen’s defense before:

This could be a problem. The New York Giants will activate tight end Darren Waller (hamstring) from injured reserve and dress him for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, putting one of the league’s best pass-catching tight ends up against a defense that has struggled to defend them.

And Waller has torched Dennis Allen’s squad before. He caught a dozen passes against nine different Saints defenders back in 2020 with the Raiders, gaining 103 yards and scoring a crucial touchdown reception in a win for Las Vegas. He may be slowed by this hamstring issue, but Waller hadn’t lost a step prior to it — he missed five games and still ranks second-best on the Giants’ roster in catches (36) and yards (384).

So he’s going to be a challenging matchup for New Orleans. The Saints have allowed a combined 26 receptions, 329 receiving yards, and 4 touchdown catches to tight ends Cole Kmet, T.J. Hockenson, and Sam LaPorta in recent games. Waller is cut from the same cloth. Hopefully Allen has done a better job preparing his defense this week.

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Vikings won’t activate Justin Jefferson off injured reserve vs. Saints

The Vikings won’t activate Justin Jefferson off injured reserve for Week 10’s game. The Saints caught a big break without the All-Pro suiting up:

Whew: the New Orleans Saints just caught a big break, with the Minnesota Vikings declining to activate wide receiver Justin Jefferson ahead of their Week 10 matchup. Jefferson missed four games with a hamstring injury and returned to practice this week on a limited basis — but he isn’t ready to suit up just yet.

That’s good news for a Saints defense that gave up 10 receptions for 147 yards (plus a 3-yard touchdown run) to Jefferson when he competed with them in London last year. Jefferson is one of the best in the game and his presence, even coming off an injury, would dramatically better Minnesota’s chances of moving the ball and getting into the end zone.

So in his absence they’ll have to rely on receivers like rookie draft pick Jordan Addison, who has caught seven touchdown passes in his first nine games. Minnesota’s receiving corps is led by T.J. Hockenson, whose 60 receptions are more than any other tight end this season. Hockenson’s 547 receiving yards are second only to Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, and the two players are tied for the most first down conversions (31) among their peers. Even if Jefferson isn’t playing, the Saints can’t afford to overlook the Vikings’ weapons and quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who brings his own challenges to the table.

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Paulson Adebo questionable vs. Packers as he deals with hamstring injury

Saints corner Paulson Adebo questionable vs. Packers as he deals with hamstring injury | @DillySanders

The New Orleans Saints may be without a key defensive back when they head to Green Bay to take on the Packers this Sunday, as Paulson Adebo deals with a hamstring injury.

Saints head coach Dennis Allen shared that Adebo is nursing a new injury and will be questionable to play this week when talking to the media on Friday. The third-year cornerback has had a nice start to the season, coming down with an interception in the opener.

When it comes to replacing him, the Saints have a couple of options. You could see Alontae Taylor to move out from the slot to the boundary and have someone like Ugo Amadi come into the slot (though he’s dealing with his own injury after hurting his knee Thursday). If they want Taylor to stay in the slot, Isaac Yiadom is likely the player that would see some time. He was seen practicing in that spot Friday. The Saints could also call up Anthony Johnson, Faion Hicks, or Cameron Dantzler from the practice squad if they want more depth on game day.

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Report: Panthers won’t have top CB Jaycee Horn (hamstring) vs. Saints

Report: Panthers won’t have top CB Jaycee Horn (hamstring) vs. Saints | @southexclusives

The bad news keeps coming for the Carolina Panthers. After losing to an Atlanta Falcons team without a functional passing attack by two touchdowns, they learned they’ll be without top cornerback Jaycee Horn. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Horn suffered a hamstring injury in Sunday’s loss which will sideline him for “multiple weeks” including Week 2’s Monday night game with the New Orleans Saints.

Horn, the son of iconic Saints wideout Joe Horn, has been highly effective when healthy. But injuries have limited him to just 17 of 35 possible games to start his career. He will miss his third game against the Saints in five opportunities. In the two games he did play, he registered an interception in both outings. Coincidentally, the Saints have lost each game Horn has played in.

Fortunately, the Saints have a strong trio of receivers who could take advantage of that void. Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Michael Thomas combined for 18 receptions and 262 yards in Week 1, with Shaheed catching a critical 19-yard touchdown pass in the one-point win. With Horn pre-emptively ruled out, look for Carolina to lean heavier on Donte Jackson, CJ Henderson, and Troy Hill in prime time.

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Report: Rookie Saints RB Kendre Miller (hamstring) OUT vs. Titans in Week 1

Report: Rookie Saints running back Kendre Miller (hamstring) will not play vs. Titans in Week 1 kickoff game

You hate to see this. TheScore’s Jordan Schultz reports that New Orleans Saints running back Kendre Miller will not play in Sunday’s matchup with the Tennessee Titans — meaning the rookie will have to wait at least another week to make his NFL debut.

Miller hasn’t practiced in two weeks due to a hamstring injury, which appears to be unrelated to the knee issue that sidelined him throughout the summer after turning pro. His breakout 2022 season at TCU ended with a damaged meniscus, but he recovered from that to play in the Saints’ preseason games only for a new hamstring problem to take him out of action.

It’s really unfortunate. Miller has a big opportunity these first three weeks with Alvin Kamara serving an NFL-ordered suspension. Without either of them in the lineup, the Saints are left with Jamaal Williams, Kendre Miller, and Tony Jones Jr. (called up from the practice squad Saturday) on the depth chart going into Week 1’s game against the Titans. Expect some touches for versatile fullback Adam Prentice and a heavy dose of Taysom Hill, who broke out last season as a runner with career highs in carries (96), rushing yards (575), and yards per attempt (6.0). Hill’s 7 touchdown runs last year led the team, and Williams’ 17 scoring runs paced the entire NFL.

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Cowboys’ Tyler Smith to get MRI on hamstring; Jerry Jones: ‘It hopefully is not serious’

From @ToddBrock24f7: Jerry Jones says every team lacks the OL depth they want, but things at left guard look especially bleak if Smith can’t go Sunday night.

Tyler Smith came in as a 21-year-old rookie, learned a new position in training camp, and then switched back to his usual spot right before the 2022 season. And all the first-round draft pick did then was lead the entire Cowboys team in game snaps for the year.

Now entering his second season, Smith is suddenly a question mark to be there when the offense takes its first snap of the 2023 regular season. Smith left Monday’s practice after just a few minutes, complaining of tightness in one of his hamstrings.

It’s a troubling development less than a week before visiting MetLife Stadium to face the rival Giants in Week 1. It’s even more worrisome, given the team’s apparent lack of depth along the offensive line.

But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones offered an encouraging prognosis on Smith’s hamstring on a radio appearance Tuesday morning.

“We felt better about that as we visited and assessed it after practice,” Jones told Shan & RJ on 105.3 The Fan. “You always are concerned initially, but as he got acclimated a little bit there off of it, it hopefully is not serious enough an injury to impact him Sunday.”

Early reports classified Smith’s injury as “minor,” according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Tulsa product is scheduled to get a precautionary MRI on Tuesday, with the team’s next practice set for Wednesday.

Jones is optimistic that the official results will back up the team’s first impressions and that Smith will be available to take his spot at left guard in New York.

“Nothing that we’ve evaluated keeps him out of it at this point.”

The Cowboys need to hope Dr. Jerry’s diagnosis is correct.

The team website has no second-string left guard even listed; fifth-round rookie Asim Richards is considered the third option at the position. Along with right-side staple Zack Martin, undrafted rookie T.J. Bass is the only other guard on the active roster.

Backup offensive linemen Josh Ball, Matt Waletzko, and Chuma Edoga are currently nursing injuries. Earl Bostick Jr., Alex Taylor-Prioleau, Sean Harlow, and Brock Hoffman are the current practice squad linemen in Dallas, but none of them has made a regular-season appearance for the team.

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Yet Jones says that’s simply life in today’s game.

“We feel very good about this roster, where it is. As pointed out- and [it’s] true- your depth in the offensive line would be [a thin spot] that I would go to. Get in line; I don’t know of a team in the NFL that doesn’t say that,” Jones explained. “That means that you’re going to be playing some games out there with, potentially, a little concern there. That’s why you need an offense that can execute when there’s not perfect protection, or [it’s] not perfectly run-blocked. You’ve got to have a team that can adjust when they don’t have the perfect offensive line.”

The Cowboys famously never got their best five offensive linemen on the field together for a single snap in 2022.

And now the first snap of 2023 is in jeopardy, too.

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Seahawks Devon Witherspoon, Jaxon Smith-Njigba limited at rookie camp

The Seahawks are being extra cautious with Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba at rookie camp as both are coming off hamstring injuries.

The Seattle Seahawks welcomed the 2023 NFL draft class on Friday for the team’s annual rookie minicamp. The two first-rounders, cornerback Devon Witherspoon and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, were present at the VMAC but were very limited participants in the day’s activities.

Coach Pete Carroll and his staff are going to be extra cautious with the rookies, who are both coming off injuries.

“Both guys had hamstring issues in the offseason, so we just want to make sure we know where they are,” Carroll told reporters. “We don’t want to go too far, too fast, there’s no reason at this point. They can still get all the learning done, there’s a lot of walkthrough plays in this process we go through, so they can get the learning and see what’s going on. They’ve been on zoom calls since the draft with our coaches, so they do understand what’s going on, now they’re putting it together.

“But we’re assessing more than anything to make sure we know where we are.”

Per the Seahawks’ website, Witherspoon did get in some early work before retiring to the sideline and Smith-Njigba was able to manage individual drills but sat out the team portion of the workout.

The Seahawks rookies and invitees return to the field on Saturday for the second day of camp.

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Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney suffers hamstring injury vs. Chargers

The #Chiefs’ injury situation at receiver has officially become worse with Kadarius Toney questionable to return with a hamstring injury.

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The Kansas City Chiefs were already thin at receiver heading into this game and things are now worse.

Late in the second quarter, Chiefs trade acquisition Kadarius Toney suffered a hamstring injury. There was no stoppage for the injury, so it’s hard to tell what exactly happened to Toney, but the team has ruled him questionable to return.

Availability was one of the big knocks on Toney when the Chiefs traded for him. He missed six weeks this season already due to a hamstring injury when he was with the New York Giants. Hopefully, this is only a minor injury and the team is just exercising some caution.

With Toney sidelined, the Chiefs are now down to just five receivers on the 53-man roster. Those players are Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Justin Watson, Skyy Moore, Cornell Powell and Marcus Kemp. Those last two are practice squad elevations this week. It’s hardly an ideal situation, especially with Kansas City down seven points at halftime.

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Seahawks WR Dee Eskridge returns to practice after hamstring injury

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Dee Eskridge returned to practice on Sunday after sitting out both preseason games with a hamstring injury.

Now entering the final week of training camp, the Seattle Seahawks saw a couple of players return to the practice field including wide receiver Dee Eskridge.

“Yeah, finally, we finally got him on the practice field,” coach Pete Carroll told reporters on Sunday. “He got hurt in the first 10-minutes of practice the first day. So, it’s the first time we got to see him. He worked really hard to get out there and we tried to ensure that once he’s out, he stays out.”

Eskridge, who was selected by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft out of Western Michigan, has missed both preseason games as a result of his hamstring issue. Luckily for the second-year receiver, he has a number of weeks before the regular-season opener to fully recover.

“Every day that he’s on the practice field will be the next day to see on how he recovers from it,” Carroll said. “But that was good work and he looked really explosive today. That’s just the way he always shows it. Somebody said, we got three weeks to get this knocked out.

“Let’s see if he can contribute.”

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Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny now ready for ‘start’ to his season

After a number of injury setbacks, Seattle Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny is now ready for a late “start” to his 2021 season.

This might finally be it for Seattle Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny . . . a long-awaited start to his season.

“I think this is a start for him,” coach Pete Carroll told reporters on Monday. “I don’t really think that he has had a chance yet to start the season. This was the best opportunity that he’s had and I’m hoping that we can jump from here.”

This year, like most throughout his career, Penny has been sidelined at times due to injuries. He first spent some time on the injured reserve due to a calf issue and now finally made it back from his latest – a hamstring injury. Carroll is hoping he can finish the season strong.

“He is important to us, we need him particularly without Chris (Carson’s) factor in here,” Carroll said. “They are totally different style runners, but yet they both factor into the explosiveness of our game. It’s great to have him going, and I’m really hoping that he can have a solid week, come back, build one on another, and see if we can get rolling here as we finish up the year.”

Penny’s next shot to impress will be this Sunday in Houston when the Seahawks are slated to kick off against the Texans at 10:00 a.m. PT.

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