Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here’s an updated look at the Colts’ practice squad.
The Indianapolis Colts made already some recent changes to the practice squad since it was initially put together following roster cuts this week.
Here’s an updated look at the practice squad entering the final weekend before the regular season:
These were the toughest cuts from our Colts’ final roster projection.
The Indianapolis Colts have until Tuesday afternoon to cut the roster down to 53 players as the preseason officially comes to an end.
This is no easy task, and there will be plenty of surprises along the way. After three preseason games and joint practices with two separate teams, the Colts have to use all the information they’ve gathered to compile the best collection of 53 players moving forward.
The process, of course, doesn’t end with the initial 53-man roster, and it’s likely that changes will come immediately the day after through the waiver wire.
As we went through with our final roster projection ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, there were some difficult choices made regarding players on the roster bubble. It could be due to the fact that they played well in a crowded room or they didn’t show quite enough to be worthy of a spot.
Here’s a look at the eight toughest cuts we made in our final roster projection for the Colts:
Here’s our instant analysis from the Colts’ preseason win over the Eagles.
The Indianapolis Colts wrapped their preseason Thursday night with a win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
The team scored on five of its 10 drives, creating 393 yards of total offense, 127 yards rushing on the ground, and a 42% third-down efficiency rate.
Behind the strength of their ground game and contributions from all three quarterbacks, the Colts secured a 27-13 win behind their scoring in all four quarters.
Here’s the instant analysis from the preseason Week 3 win:
Check out the Madden NFL 24 launch ratings for Colts WRs and safeties.
With training camp right around the corner for the majority of teams, EA Sports has started unveiling “Madden NFL 24” launch ratings ahead of the release date for the game.
The first group to be revealed in these launch ratings were the wide receivers and safeties. Only one member of the Colts at these positions was given a rating above 80, which was wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.
Here’s a look at the launch ratings for the wide receivers and safeties on the Colts in “Madden NFL 24:”
The Colts signed 12 players to futures contracts.
The Indianapolis Colts signed 12 players to Reserve/Futures contracts, the team announced Monday.
As is typical protocol following the end of the regular season, the Colts will be preparing to expand their roster to 90 players for the offseason. Much of that includes signing players to futures contracts.
The expansion of the roster to 90 players doesn’t go into effect until the start of the new league year, which is March 15. That’s why it’s technically a reserve contract. This is essentially stating the player will be on the 90-man roster when the time comes.
There is no limit to how many futures contracts the Colts have as long as they are within the 90-man limit when the new league year rolls around.
Here’s a look at the 12 players signed to futures contracts to begin the offseason:
The Colts announced several roster moves, including the official waiving of Rodrigo Blankenship.
The Indianapolis Colts officially waived kicker Rodrigo Blankenship among several roster moves, the team announced Tuesday.
Blankenship’s erratic outing in Week 1 was the final straw for the Colts. Not only did he miss the game-winning field-goal attempt from 42 yards, but he also proved to be a liability on kickoffs.
The Colts brought in two kickers to the practice squad while making a number of moves Tuesday. Here’s a look:
The New York Giants have signed four players, including safety Andrew Adams, and parted ways with four others.
The New York Giants announced the addition of four players on Tuesday, including safety Andrew Adams.
In addition to Adams, the Giants have also signed wide receiver Marcus Kemp, offensive tackle Kamaal Seymour and defensive end Nick Williams.
All four players had worked out for the team on Monday.
Adams entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of UConn, signing with the Giants following the 2016 NFL draft. He spent the first two seasons of his career with Big Blue before stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2018, 2019-2020, 2021), Detroit Lions (2019) and Philadelphia Eagles (2021).
The 32-year-old Williams was a seventh-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2013 NFL draft. The Kansas City Chiefs signed him off of the Steelers’ practice squad in 2014 and he remained with the team into 2016. After being waived by the Chiefs, he briefly joined the Miami Dolphins and later spent two seasons with the Chicago Bears.
Kemp signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted rookie out of Hawaii following the 2017 NFL draft. He’s spent most of his career with the team save for a brief stint with the Dolphins in 2020.
Seymour joined the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 but was waived last May with a non-football injury. He has never appeared in an NFL game.
To make room for the four signees, the Giants waived defensive back Henry Black, defensive tackle Jabari Ellis and wide receiver Travis Toivonen, and terminated the contract of cornerback Maurice Canady.
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The New York Giants are going to look very different (and somewhat thin) at safety in 2022.
The New York Giants are entering a new era at safety in 2022 after parting ways with last year’s two starters — Jabrill Peppers and Logan Ryan.
New defensive coordinator Wink Martindale likes to use his safeties in pressure packages and they are expected to be very aggressive in the new scheme.
The unit is coached by Jerome Henderson and Mike Treier, holdovers from Joe Judge’s staff.
Here’s a quick rundown of the key names to know at safety heading into training camp.
Free agent S Henry Black, who played in all 17 games for the Packers last season, signed with the Giants.
The New York Giants signed former Green Bay Packers safety Henry Black. The addition was officially announced by the team last Wednesday.
The Packers originally signed Black as an undrafted free agent out of Baylor in 2020. He played in 25 games over two seasons in Green Bay but was not retained as an exclusive rights free agent, making him an unrestricted free agent capable of signing with any team.
Black produced 46 tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and two passes defended, including an interception of Kyler Murray on a deflected pass during last season’s win in Arizona.
Black, 25, operated primarily as the No. 3 safety and on special teams over 17 games with the Packers last season. He was on the field for 262 defensive snaps (or 24 percent of the defense’s snaps) and 315 special teams snaps (74 percent).
The Packers are moving forward with Vernon Scott, Shawn Davis, Innis Gaines, and rookies Tariq Carpenter and Tre Sterling as the players competing to backup starters Darnell Savage and Adrian Amos at safety.
The Raiders signed defensive lineman Tyler Lancaster on Wednesday. Cornerback Kevin King and outside linebacker Chauncey Rivers are the Packers’ only free agents left unsigned.
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The #Chiefs had former #Packers safety and special teams ace Henry Black in for a free-agent visit on Tuesday per report.
The Kansas City Chiefs continue looking at ways to improve their roster depth ahead of the 2022 NFL draft.
According to a report from Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson, the Chiefs hosted former Green Bay Packers S Henry Black on a free-agent visit on Tuesday. Black (6-foot, 204 pounds) is a former undrafted free agent out of Baylor, who played in 54 collegiate games, tallying 119 total tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, six passes defended and two interceptions for the Bears. He played both safety and linebacker during his time at Baylor.
Black signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2020, but he didn’t make final roster cuts. Black spent time on the Green Bay practice squad over the past two seasons, but also appeared in 25 total regular-season games since his rookie season, recording 46 total tackles, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, two passes defended and one interception.
NFL source: Packers free agent safety Henry Black visited Chiefs today: @PFN365 #NFL #Packers #Chiefshttps://t.co/pCJ6bm3E21
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) April 19, 2022
The Packers utilized Black as a sub-package safety and he played over 250 snaps on defense in 2021 despite never starting a game. He played 55% and 73% of the team’s special teams snaps, respectively, over the past two years too, boasting multi-phase special teams ability.
Black looks like a potential replacement option for a player like Daniel Sorensen, who played a lot of snaps on both defense and special teams in Kansas City. He’s only 25 years old and with just two seasons in the league, there is plenty of room for growth and improvement.
Interestingly, Black was in town to visit on the same day as his former teammate, Baylor S JT Woods. The draft-eligible safety was in town for a top-30 visit with the team on Tuesday.
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