Tag: Jake Gervase

Vikings sign S Jake Gervase, release WR N’Keal Harry

Gervase has played in 19 games for the Los Angeles Rams, mostly on special teams.

The Minnesota Vikings have ended the N’Keal Harry experience early.

On Thursday, the Vikings announced that they released Harry. In his place on the 90-man roster, they signed safety Jake Gervase.

Gervase, 27, has played 19 games for the Los Angeles Rams, with most of his snaps coming on special teams. In 2022, Gervase played a career-high 304 special teams snaps and did not register a snap on defense.

Gervase signed with the Rams as an undrafted free agent from Iowa, where he played for five seasons. In his final season, he led the team with 89 tackles and four interceptions and was named an honorable mention to the All-Big Ten Conference team.

Gervase will face a daunting task in making the Vikings’ 53-man roster, but a strong showing in their final preseason game could make things interesting. There are normally a few spots on the active roster reserved for special teams standouts, but the play of NaJee Thompson likely means there are fewer of those spots available.

Look: Did Jake Gervase snub Josh Allen after Rams-Bills game?

After the Rams’ loss to the Bills, Jake Gervase appeared to turn down Josh Allen’s handshake attempt

UPDATE: Allen clarified on Twitter that he was just asking if a player, Tyler Hall, was still on the team. Here’s a video from what he asked Gervase.

Gervase cleared things up on Twitter, too.

Below is the content of the original story.

Josh Allen put an absolute beatdown on the defending champs Thursday night, leading the Bills to a 31-10 win over the Rams. After the game, it seemed like Jake Gervase wasn’t interested in any pleasantries with the Bills quarterback.

A video from the broadcast showed Allen saying something to Gervase, attempting to talk as players came together on the field for postgame handshakes. Gervase appeared to reject Allen’s handshake, saying “nah” and shaking his head.

Maybe there’s more to the story, but it doesn’t look great on Gervase’s part after a 21-point loss in which he was inactive.

It’s worth noting Gervase and Allen did play each other once in college, a 24-3 win by Iowa over Wyoming. Gervase had four tackles and a pass defensed in the win.

Here’s another look at the exchange. Make of it what you will.

Former Iowa Hawkeyes standout Jack Koerner signed by the New Orleans Saints

Former Iowa Hawkeyes safety Jack Koerner is the next Iowa defensive back to join the NFL as he was signed by the New Orleans Saints.

Another Iowa Hawkeyes defensive back can be formally added to the list of those to successfully make the jump to the NFL. Reports have surfaced that former Iowa safety Jack Koerner has been signed to a contract by the New Orleans Saints.

Koerner was signed by the Saints immediately following the draft but then waived to clear roster space. He finds himself back in New Orleans as NFL preseason is about to get underway for nearly all franchises this weekend.

Koerner spent five years in the Iowa football program and undoubtedly made the most of it. Throughout his career he totaled 32 games started, 216 tackles, 16 pass breakups, and six interceptions.

His output and pedigree only adds credence to the cheat code that Iowa is for defensive backs to make it to the NFL. In New Orleans, Koerner will have the chance to learn from one of the best safeties in the game, Tyrann Mathieu.

While signed as a safety, Koerner will likely get his chance to make his mark during preseason on special teams. Special teams can get guys like him noticed and takes the same mentality that it does at Iowa to get on the field.

His path could be similar to another former Hawkeyes safety, Jake Gervase. Gervase bounced around the league for a while and was cut a few times but persevered until he ultimately raised the Lombardi Trophy as a member of the Los Angeles Rams last season. Gervase resigned with the Rams in May.

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Rams re-sign DB Jake Gervase

The Rams have brought back Jake Gervase, listing him as a defensive back after he previously transitioned to linebacker

There are still a few months until the regular season begins, so the Los Angeles Rams will be tweaking their roster a bunch between now and final cuts. They made another roster move on Monday, bringing back one of their own free agents by re-signing Jake Gervase.

Gervase became a free agent in March but after sitting on the market for a few months, he’s opted to return to the Rams. Los Angeles listed him as a defensive back in the transaction, which is notable because last year, Gervase moved to inside linebacker.

Gervase played two games last season, making two tackles – both on special teams. He hasn’t played a defensive snap since 2019, so he’s primarily a special teams player. Gervase originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2019.

Rams DB Jake Gervase’s youth football camp raises $65K for a great cause

Jake Gervase’s youth football camp raised $65K for families impacted by childhood cancer.

Oftentimes during the summer before training camp, NFL players host youth football camps either in the city where they play or back home where they grew up. Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald both held their own camps in the last few weeks, as did Rams safety Jake Gervase.

Gervase hosted his at the St. Vincent Athletic Complex in Davenport, Iowa, the city in which he was born and raised. It was the first year of his Rally for Reid Football Camp, honoring Reid Gleeson, a boy from Davenport who passed away at the age of 5 after battling brain cancer.

The camp benefited the Rally for Reid Foundation, which helps provide financial and emotional support for families impacted by childhood cancer. It raised $65,000 for the foundation, earning recognition from NFL Operations executive vice president Troy Vincent Sr. on Twitter.

Gervase was signed by the Rams as an undrafted rookie in 2019 and has bounced around from the practice squad to the active roster. He spent five years at the University of Iowa for five seasons after walking on, tallying seven interceptions in his career.

Rams sign DB Jake Gervase to reserve/futures contract

Jake Gervase will be with the Rams for the offseason.

The Los Angeles Rams announced on Monday that they have signed quarterback Devlin Hodges and safety Jake Gervase to reserve/futures contracts. Hodges announced the signing himself on Sunday, but the Rams now made it official by sharing the news – and specifying that it’s a reserve/futures deal for the offseason.

Gervase originally joined the Rams as an undrafted rookie in 2019, but he was waived last offseason before eventually landing back with the team on the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster for Week 15 as a COVID-19 replacement but otherwise spent the year on the practice squad.

Gervase played 13 defensive snaps for the Rams in 2019 but was limited to special teams in his only game against the Jets this season.

Hodges was a free agent after the Steelers didn’t re-sign him, and he’ll now get a chance to prove himself as a camp arm or potentially a reserve quarterback in 2021 behind Jared Goff, John Wolford and likely Bryce Perkins.

Rams promote Jake Gervase from practice squad as COVID-19 replacement

The Rams will be without Nick Scott on Sunday, so they called up Jake Gervase as a replacement.

The Los Angeles Rams are dealing with some COVID-19 trouble this week ahead of Sunday’s game against the New York Jets, losing Nick Scott and Bobby Evans for Week 15. They were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday and will miss the game, which opened the door for the Rams to promote a player from the practice squad as a replacement.

The team called up Jake Gervase to the active roster for Sunday against New York with Scott, the No. 3 safety, ruled out.

Gervase is a former undrafted free agent and appeared in two games for the Rams last year, playing 13 total defensive snaps.

Sean McVay said rookie JuJu Hughes will get increased reps against the Jets with Scott out, but Gervase could also get a chance to play.

Rams sign S Jake Gervase to practice squad, cut LB Daniel Bituli

The Rams made a pair of moves on their practice squad Tuesday.

The Rams didn’t make any trades before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, but they did make a roster move. According to the NFL’s official transaction report, Los Angeles signed safety Jake Gervase to its practice squad.

In order to make room for him, the team cut linebacker Daniel Bituli from the practice squad.

This isn’t Gervase’s first stint with the Rams, of course. He was signed by Los Angeles as an undrafted free agent last year and played two games. He was waived, signed and waived again this year and has not been on a team since the Rams cut him before the season.

He adds depth to a safety group that’s already pretty deep, especially with Jordan Fuller expected to come off injured reserve next week. Terrell Burgess is out for the year, however.

Rams activate Terrell Lewis, make 2 other roster moves

The Rams also brought back Jake Gervase and waived WR Brandon Polk.

After it was revealed on “Hard Knocks” that Terrell Lewis did in fact test positive for the coronavirus, he tweeted out that he’s doing well and “back in action.” He hadn’t yet been activated from the COVID-19 list, but on Friday, he finally came off reserve.

The team announced it has activated Lewis from the reserve list, making him eligible to return to practice. It was one of three moves made by the Rams ahead of Friday’s practice session.

They also brought back safety Jake Gervase and waived undrafted rookie receiver Brandon Polk.

The Rams waived Gervase on July 25 as part of their initial roster-trimming moves, but they clearly felt some regret about that decision. He was signed as an undrafted free agent last year out of Iowa and spent the early portion of the season on the practice squad. He debuted against the Falcons in October, mostly playing on special teams.

Polk is a smaller receiver out of Penn State, who the Rams signed after this year’s draft. For the Nittany Lions, he caught 27 passes for 367 yards in four seasons. He also returned 14 kickoffs for 304 yards.

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