Bleacher Report says Chase Young picked the wrong team

Chase Young was the Saints’ biggest free agency signing, but Bleacher Report says he chose the wrong team:

Chase Young signing with the New Orleans Saints was the team’s biggest splash in free agency, but it didn’t come without some drawbacks. Young needing neck surgery has taken some of the shine away from the signing, however, he remains the biggest name they signed this offseason.

But there are some analysts still criticizing the move. Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay says it was a bad decision for both, and that Young picked the wrong team:

“Injuries have been a big part of the Ohio State product’s NFL story thus far and are already derailing the start of his tenure in the Big Easy. While he may have recovered from a career-altering ACL and patellar tendon tear he suffered in 2021, he recently underwent a neck procedure that will keep him sidelined during the leadup to the 2024 season.

Even if New Orleans felt Young is still capable of taking a leap this year, it likely wouldn’t be able to reap the benefits beyond the upcoming season and would struggle to afford his next contract.

The Saints are already projected to be a whopping $69 million over the 2025 salary cap and would be hard-pressed to fit a market-value deal in for Young if he performs at or above a level commensurate with his current pay.

Considering the team isn’t exactly a contender right now—especially with the NFC South race looking much tougher following Kirk Cousins’ decision to join the Atlanta Falcons—this signing doesn’t make sense and doesn’t really benefit either party.”

Kay comes to this conclusion even factoring Young’s neck surgery. Yes, Young is likely a one-year rental. It can be a Band-Aid until next year or maybe it’s security in case the Saints can’t get an edge rusher in the NFL draft. Projecting the future beyond this season for a player on a one year contract feels unfair. Maybe his tone will change when he realizes the contract isn’t fully guaranteed.

But Kay doesn’t explain how Young chose the wrong team, instead focusing on how the Saints chose the wrong player and contract. The Saints aren’t in a position to lay down and give up just because Kirk Cousins makes the NFC South more difficult. Nothing about how the Saints have constructed their roster says to give up on 2024. They aren’t Super Bowl contenders, but they remain in the divisional race. Chase Young was signed to put the best quality on the field this year which is always the goal.

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NFL changes injured reserve rule for the end of preseason

The NFL changed its injured reserve rule for the end of preseason. Players won’t be let go and brought back the next day as procedural moves anymore:

The NFL announced multiple new rules changes this week during the owners meetings in Orlando, Fla., and one area of focus off the field of play was the way that injured reserve works to start the regular season.

That’s big news for every team, but especially the New Orleans Saints, who have had to start out players like Trevor Penning and Malcolm Roach on injured reserve after preseason before later activating them.

In the past, players who were injured during training camp or preseason with an opportunity to return had to be rostered on the first day of the regular season; otherwise they were not eligible to be activated once healthy. With this change, teams can have two players on the injured reserve list while making roster cuts down to the final 53 during the preseason. That’s going to keep some players from being released, waived, and later re-signed as procedural moves early in the season.

It could also save room for an extra roster spot in the case of someone that is certain to make the roster gets injured. As an example, in 2022 when Penning got hurt during preseason, the Saints could have kept another player around longer as opposed to saving that spot for him on the Week 1 roster. It’s a good change that is going to give teams more options to keep players who have earned the opportunity while allowing those with injuries time to recover.

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Ryan Ramczyk’s injury outlook has taken a dramatic turn for 2024 and beyond

Ryan Ramczyk isn’t making the desired progress after his knee surgery, and there is a “real possibility” he will not be able to play in 2024 and beyond:

Whatever news the New Orleans Saints have received in the last month about Ryan Ramczyk’s health has drastically changed their tone on his 2024 outlook. At the end of February, Dennis Allen described Ramczyk’s surgery as a little clean-up procedure, and said “He’s got a knee that he and we are going to have to manage, but we feel much better about where he’s at today than where he was a month, month and a half ago.”

Fast forward a month and now it’s unsure if he’ll play next season at all. Allen shared bad news with reporters at NFL ownership meetings on Tuesday. It sounds like the surgery was initially thought to be successful, but Ramczyk’s knee is not responding well. This is concerning for the future. His knee has been an issue for a while. The Saints have been mitigating it with set rest days during the week. If his knee isn’t responding well to the surgery, his career may be over. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Saints are bracing for life without him in 2024 and, possibly, beyond.

Offensive tackle now jumps back to the top of the list of Saints draft needs. You can’t hope Ramczyk will fully recover over the next five months. You need to plan for his replacement. Not doing so will only set New Orleans up for failure. Ramczyk could end up being healthy enough to play next season, but it’s clear his time in football is winding down.

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Texas RB Jonathon Brooks gets an optimistic injury update via the Dallas Cowboys

Brooks tore his ACL in November but could still be one of the first RBs selected in the 2024 NFL draft

One of the top running back prospects in the 2024 NFL draft got an unusual boost and vote of confidence from Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones. During the NFL owners’ meetings, Jones provided an optimistic medical update on Texas running back Jonathon Brooks.

One of the top RBs in the draft, Brooks has been difficult to slot or fully evaluate due to a late-season knee injury with the Longhorns. Information about his progress had been tough to come by before Jones, the son of owner Jerry Jones, spoke at the meetings in Orlando on Monday.

The Cowboys have some insider knowledge on Brooks’ injury and progress. His ACL surgery was performed by Dallas’ team doctor, Dr. Dan Cooper.

From Nick Harris of the Cowboys’ in-house website and media team, quoting Jones:

“It always helps when one of the doctors you’re very familiar with does the surgery. That’ll be very helpful. Obviously, he’s a guy we follow right in our backyard in Texas. He’s got a lot of skill sets. If it wasn’t for the injury, might would’ve ultimately been rated the best back in the draft. Any time that a back is coming off an injury, you have to take those things into account.”

Brooks tore the ACL against TCU on November 11th and was not able to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine.

Jones continued, via Harris,

“Our understanding is that he has a great chance to be ready to not miss anything, start training camp and go to work. We’ll see. I don’t want to preempt anything. I haven’t seen the medical reports, but from a periphery basis from afar, going to the combine and things like that, I think he can be a player that can start first day of training camp. Not start, but participate right away.”

Latrell Wrightsell Jr. leaves Grand Canyon game with head injury

Latrell Wrightsell Jr. out for the remainder of Grand Canyon game in the round of 32

It’s a massive blow for the Alabama Crimson Tide, but [autotag]Latrell Wrightsell Jr.’s [/autotag] afternoon is over after suffering a head injury in the first half against Grand Canyon University. Wrightsell was contesting a GCU three-point attempt when he closed out a little too close and contacted the GCU shooter. Wrightsell hit the deck hard and was down for a second, but once he got up he immediately went to the locker room and was ruled out. To add salt to the wound, he was also called for a foul on the shot and the Antelopes got three shots from the charity stripe.

Alabama takes a comfortable 38-30 lead into halftime against Grand Canyon, but things can change in an instant in this tournament. Sears and Griffen have combined for 26 of the Tide’s 38 points and will have to continue to find ways to score in Wrightsell’s absence. It is still to early to determine what his status might be next weekend if the Tide can advance to the Sweet 16.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Jaylen Blakes injured after scary fall during a breakaway

Duke guard Jaylen Blakes left the Blue Devils’ second-round game against James Madison after a scary fall on a contested breakaway.

Duke easily breezed past James Madison on Sunday evening, but for a brief moment in the second-round game, the score no longer mattered.

Junior guard Jaylen Blakes got out ahead of the Dukes’ defense on a breakaway possession during in the second half, and he tried to elevate for a dunk. JMU’s Noah Freidel caught up to him, however, and he got his hands on the ball to reject Blakes’ scoring effort.

The ensuing contact turned the Duke guard, however, contorting his body in mid-air before he landed hard on his head and neck area.

The third-year Blue Devil stayed down on his back for a few minutes, with head coach Jon Scheyer and the training staff swiftly moving over to make sure he was okay.

Blakes made it to the locker room under his own power, so any potential injury wasn’t close to the worst-case scenario. The team has not announced any status updates on his condition as of Sunday evening.

Breaking News: Notre Dame Quarterback Possibly Out For Rest of Spring

Not what you want to hear…

Projected Notre Dame starting quarterback Riley Leonard is possibly done for the spring.  This comes after head coach Marcus Freeman announced that Leonard had another surgery to address the stress fracture in his foot.

Freeman made the announcement on Saturday following the surgery that was done on Friday stating that it was the same foot and ankle that had the procedure done on it earlier this year.  He added that Leonard could return to practice this spring in some capacity.

Notre Dame’s spring session ends on April 20 with the annual Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium.

We will have more on this story at Fighting Irish Wire as it develops.

 

Grading the Saints’ signing of former 49ers DE Chase Young

We know the contract terms and 2024 salary cap hit. So how do you grade the Saints’ signing of Chase Young? Here’s our take:

It took a while for all the details to come to light, but now we know the structure, risks, and true costs of Chase Young’s contract with the New Orleans Saints. So now the fun part: evaluating it with a simple letter grade.

This is complicated, so stay with us. Young signed a one-year contract carrying $13 million in guarantees, and so long as he’s active and healthy for all 17 games, he’ll see every dollar. But his salary cap hit in 2024 is just over $3.4 million. How did the Saints do that? Why not pay it off all at once?

Young’s contract is structured to include $7.99 million in 17 per-game roster bonuses, of which 16 are treated as a signing bonus for accounting purposes. So they’re guaranteed now and spread out over the next five years to more easily fit on the books. The Saints will get a $470,000 cap credit next year for any games that Young misses in 2024.

So if this is a one-and-done deal the Saints will be paying $3.4 million for Young in 2024 and as much as $9.1 million in 2025 as dead money. If Young misses extensive time that 2025 dead money figure goes down significantly. It’s about as team-friendly a deal as it gets while also making concessions for the player. Young has a lot of incentive to recover quickly from offseason neck surgery and get back on the field in time for Week 1.

But Young is worth the risks. When he’s healthy, engaged, and firing on all cylinders he looks like the best pass rusher in the NFL. The Saints are hoping to get that version of him more than what the San Francisco 49ers saw after trading for Young last year: a slow-footed player who shied away from contact, and who they allowed to leave in free agency without a fight.

Grade: B

So with all this in mind, we’re grading this move with a B. Young looks like a good pickup, not a great one, and his availability is our greatest concern. It’s reassuring that the Saints protected themselves financially but fans have seen too many talented defensive ends go missing for weeks on end because of injuries in recent years. Hopefully Young can end that streak rather than continue it.

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Caleb Foster to miss NCAA Tournament, Jon Scheyer confirms

Caleb Foster will miss the remainder of the season with a stress fracture injury, Jon Scheyer confirms.

Duke freshman guard Caleb Foster will miss the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his ankle, head coach Jon Scheyer announced on Thursday.

Foster had not played since he suffered the injury against Wake Forest on Feb. 24, missing the rest of the regular season. After he became a pivotal part of the Blue Devils’ rotation late in the season, starting 15 games and averaging 25.4 minutes per game, he will now be out for Duke’s NCAA Tournament run.

The freshman guard averaged 7.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game before he got hurt. He was also efficient from beyond the arc, shooting 40.6% from deep, the second-best mark on the team in the regular season.

Sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor returned to the starting lineup in place of the injured Foster. The Australian will likely continue to be the starter during Duke’s NCAA Tournament run.

Duke’s NCAA Tournament run begins against No. 13 Vermont on Friday evening with tipoff set for 7:10 p.m. ET.

Saints shouldn’t let signing Chase Young stop them from drafting another pass rusher

The Saints shouldn’t let signing Chase Young stop them from drafting another pass rusher. They need more firepower regardless of Young’s health:

Even if Chase Young was fully healthy, the New Orleans Saints should still consider drafting more pass-rush help in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. Young’s uncertain health status ahead of neck surgery only makes the statement more true. The signing allows you to not reach for an edge rusher, but it shouldn’t keep you from drafting one if an impact player is there.

There are enough talented pass-rushing defensive ends on this roster to make the sentiment questionable, however, the room isn’t quite set up for the future. Chase Young is on a one-year contract. Tanoh Kpassagnon is a free agent next year. Payton Turner will be as well unless the team picks up his fifth year option. As a matter of fact, an impactful rookie could make Turner expendable during camp. Alabama’s Dallas Turner and UCLA’s Laiatu Latu have been popular picks for the Saints in recent mock drafts.

Carl Granderson, Isaiah Foskey, and Cameron Jordan are the only core edge rushers under contract for 2025. There’s questions within that triumvirate moving forward as well given each player’s age, past production, and injury outlook. There are bodies at the position, but the position shouldn’t be considered stable. Signing Young makes you feel satisfied with your 2024 outlook, so drafting an edge rusher at No. 14 isn’t a must-have, but it should be seen as a priority. It could still be a huge benefit for this year and moving forward if the right guy falls to New Orleans.

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