Tag: Jake Rudock

Top 25 passing seasons in Iowa Hawkeyes football history

What do the top 25 passing seasons in Hawkeyes history look like? Here’s the best passing seasons in Iowa’s black and gold.

While elite quarterback play and the University of Iowa might not be completely synonymous, the Hawkeyes have boasted some terrific signal-callers over their program history.

Chuck Long finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1985. Brad Banks did, too, back in 2002. Before those two, Randy Duncan had his own second-place Heisman Trophy finish in 1958 and Kenny Ploen earned the ninth-most votes in 1956.

During Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz’s tenure, Iowa’s quarterbacks haven’t always been asked or tasked to roll up big numbers in order to position the Hawkeyes for victories. Instead, the hallmark of great Hawkeye quarterback play under Ferentz has been ball security.

With that in mind, it doesn’t mean that some of the best performances under center still haven’t come over the last quarter century. In fact, some of the best quarterback seasons statistically have come during the Ferentz era.

What about Iowa’s entire history, though? Which quarterbacks have authored the best passing seasons in program history? Here’s a look at each of the top 25 Iowa single-season passing totals.

Former Lions, Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock retires

Rudock spent 3 seasons with the Lions after being a 6th round pick in 2016

Former Detroit Lions quarterback Jake Rudock has retired from the NFL after five seasons in the league.

Rudock was drafted out of the University of Michigan in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft but failed to beat out Dan Orlovsky for the backup quarterback role and was waived before the regular season began.

He then found himself bouncing between the practice squad and active roster from 2016 to 2018. In 2017, he competed once again for the backup role against rookie Brad Kaaya and ultimately won the job after a very heated training camp and preseason. That same season, Rudock appeared in three games, where he completed three of five passes for 24 yards and threw one interception.

Following his time in Detroit, Rudock spent two seasons with the Miami Dolphins.

At Michigan, he took the pre-med track, majoring in microbiology. Now that he is retired from football, a career in medicine may be the next chapter in Rudock’s life.

Former Michigan QB elevated to NFL 53-man roster

The former Michigan football QB was elevated to the Dolphins 53-man roster after Ryan Fitzpatrick was declared out vs. Buffalo.

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This weekend, two former Michigan quarterbacks will start in NFL Week 17, but could another also see some playing time?

We already noted that Chad Henne will get the start for Kansas City, and of course, Tom Brady is the man with Tampa Bay, as he’s getting the franchise to the playoffs for the first time in eons. But, quietly, another Wolverines QB has suddenly found himself in a position to possibly play this weekend.

Jake Rudock, the one-time transfer from Iowa, was drafted by the Detroit Lions, where he saw three game appearances. But when he was let go from the franchise, he ended up in Miami, where he has yet to make any in-game appearances. Since, he’s been demoted to the practice squad, cut and picked up back again a handful of times. Recently, he found himself back in Miami on the practice squad, and with current backup QB Ryan Fitzpatrick out with COVID-19 this week, the Dolphins elevated Rudock to the 53-man roster.

 

Of course, Tua Tagovailoa is the starter there and the Dolphins have yet to clinch a playoff spot — though it looks likely to be in, at least with a win. Should anything happen to Tagovailoa, or Miami gets up big — though it’s playing the red-hot, already-clinched Buffalo Bills, who may not initially rest their starters — then Rudock could come in to provide some respite for the former Alabama QB.

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With Mitchell Trubisky injured, Bears working out QBs Jake Rudock, Kyle Sloter

With Trubisky hurt and Bray the backup, the Bears decided to bring in some reinforcements at QB working out Jake Rudock and Kyle Sloter.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Chicago Bears have some uncertainty at the quarterback position.

Back-up quarterback Mitchell Trubisky saw the field for one play against the New Orleans Saints, where he kept the ball on a read-option and picked up three yards. It also proved to be costly as Trubisky suffered an injury to his right throwing shoulder on the play.

NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo reported there’s concern that it’s a structural issue. But “the extent is unclear at this point,” although the injury is expected to keep Trubisky out for a few weeks.

“It’s unfortunate, and I know that he’s bummed out,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said.

With Trubisky injured, the Bears are down to just Tyler Bray as the back-up to starter Nick Foles, who has his own history of injuries and not surviving an entire season.

So the Bears decided to bring in some reinforcements, working out quarterbacks Jake Rudock and Kyle Sloter on Wednesday.

According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears tried to sign Rudock off the Detroit Lions’ practice squad back in 2016 following an injury to Jay Cutler. But Rudock decided to stay with the Lions.

Sloter previously worked out for the Bears back in August. Sloter, who joined the NFL in 2017 like Trubisky, has absolutely wowed in preseason, posting an 11-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and averaging a 74% completion percentage and a 119.8 quarterback rating.

We’ll see if either has a strong enough workout to warrant signing to the practice squad as additional insurance.

Miami Dolphins make change on their 2020 practice squad at quarterback

Miami Dolphins make change on their 2020 practice squad at quarterback

It seems as though the Miami Dolphins will take the approach that if their charged with working down the depth chart to QB3, they’ll have bigger problems at hand than who is taking snaps at quarterback. After initially deciding to release young QB Josh Rosen, the Dolphins brought back young QB Jake Rudock thanks to his familiarity with the system. But now Rudock is also on the outs — he’s been released from Miami’s practice squad. Miami still has quarterbacks Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa on the active roster, but the team’s third quarterback will be a fresh face.

Undrafted rookie quarterback Reid Sinnett, who ironically enough was serving as the Buccaneers practice squad quarterback before the team signed Rosen in the aftermath of Miami’s decision to cut the third-year quarterback, will now serve as Miami’s practice squad signal caller.

Sinnett was a one-year starter for the University of San Diego Toreros in 2019, finishing 11th in the voting for the Walter Payton Award (FCS’ equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) and posting some impressive numbers — he completed 67% of his passes for 3,528 yards, 32 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while rushing for an additional six scores. The Dolphins must see a greater developmental ceiling with Sinnett than they did was Rudock, who at this point is a low-end player from a physical traits perspective and won’t move the needed with his ceiling as a player. And, given Rudock’s lack of market the last time he was available, he may be “on call” for the Dolphins should something happen to Tagovailoa or Fitzpatrick throughout the course of the season. If Rudock latches on somewhere else? Oh well and good for him — but the Dolphins seem to have seen enough to feel comfortably that he’s not the answer they’re looking for as a bottom of the roster quarterback.

Report: Falcons waive rookie WR Chris Rowland

There’s still over two hours remaining until the league’s 4 p.m. roster deadline and the Atlanta Falcons aren’t wasting any time. Rookie wide receiver Chris Rowland is the latest casualty.

There’s just two hours remaining until the league’s 4 p.m. roster deadline and the Atlanta Falcons aren’t wasting any time. Rookie wide receiver Chris Rowland is the latest casualty.

As reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jason Butt, the team has waived the former Tennessee State special teams standout..

Rowland, an undrafted free agent, was in a competitive battle with WR Brandon Powell throughout training camp to be the Falcons’ kick returner.

If Rowland clears waivers, expect to see him land on Atlanta’s 16-man practice squad. The team has also released QB Kurt Benkert, QB Kyle Lauletta, WR Laquon Treadwell and SS J.J. Wilcox.

Stay tuned for more updates and check out our 2020 roster tracker so you don’t miss a move.

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Report: Falcons worked out 2 wide receivers on Sunday

Following a report Sunday evening that the Atlanta Falcons worked out three quarterbacks, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated’s The MMQB is reporting the team worked out two wide receivers

Following a report Sunday evening that the Atlanta Falcons worked out three quarterbacks, Albert Breer of The MMQB is reporting the team worked out two wide receivers — Caleb Scott and Gregg Dortch — as well.

Scott is a former undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt that was waived by the Seahawks after signing a reserve/future contract with the team at the end of last season.

Dorch, another UDFA receiver from the 2019 draft class, previously signed with the Jets, Panthers and Rams but wasn’t able to catch on. The former Wake Forest wideout visited with the Buccaneers last week as well.

The three quarterbacks who worked out for the Falcons were Jake Rudock, Kyle Lauletta and Kyle Sloter.

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Report: Falcons working out 3 quarterbacks

The backup quarterback competition at Falcons training camp could be about to heat up. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the team is working out three different quarterbacks.

The backup quarterback competition at Falcons training camp could be about to heat up. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the team is working out three different quarterbacks.

Jake Rudock, Kyle Sloter and Kyle Lauletta are in town as the team looks for another camp arm. Rudock was a starter at Michigan before being drafted in the sixth round by the Lions in 2016.

Lauletta was a fourth-round pick by the Giants in 2018, and Sloter was signed in 2017 as an undrafted free agent by the Denver Broncos.

Atlanta released QB Danny Etling last week. Kurt Benkert is currently the team’s No. 3 quarterback.

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Does Dolphins’ QB transaction hint at Tua Tagovailoa’s availability?

Does Dolphins’ QB transaction hint at Tua Tagovailoa’s availability?

The Miami Dolphins announced yesterday afternoon that they were waiving QB Jake Rudock, leaving the Dolphins with three quarterbacks on their roster entering 2020 training camp. Between Ryan Fitzpatrick, Josh Rosen and Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins’ quarterback room has plenty of talent — but the team having three available passers entering training camp calls to question the availability of QB Tua Tagovailoa.

Tagovailoa recently declared himself “ready to go” for the 2020 season — and if Miami is willing to enter training camp with just three quarterbacks on the roster, then the team may agree with him. Teams typically carry “camp quarterbacks” to help with the workload of passes thrown around during the preseason workload — if Tagovailoa was going to be limited at the start of camp, then Miami would only have Fitzpatrick and Rosen available to throw passes.

One thing the decision to cut Rudock seems to indirectly suggest is that the more aggressive timetables for Tagovailoa appear to be materializing well — that despite suffering from a dislocated hip in November of 2019, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft may well be ready to take the field with the team with minimal restrictions on him. And if that is the case, then the quarterback battle for the Dolphins is sure to get interesting in a hurry. Yes, Ryan Fitzpatrick is a well-seasoned veteran with experience playing under Chan Gailey.

But if Tagovailoa is “as advertised”, his football instincts are something that will allow him to push for a starter’s role early in this process. Brian Flores and company will not care about the public opinion, but there will certainly be a push from those who follow and cover the team to see Tagovailoa if he’s healthy — too.

Ultimately, cutting Rudock may not mean anything regarding the timetable of “no restrictions” on Tua Tagovailoa. But it would certainly seem, on the surface, to be a promising omen that when Miami finally does strap on the pads to ramp up for the coming season, Tagovailoa will be full steam ahead.

Dolphins announce two additional roster cuts ahead of training camp

Dolphins announce two additional roster cuts ahead of training camp

The Miami Dolphins have had a busy weekend. The team traded for tight end Adam Shaheen from the Chicago Bears while simultaneously passing down a few roster cuts — difficult decisions ahead of training camp, especially when you take into consideration the players who were cut. The Miami Dolphins announced yesterday that they had released WR Ricardo Louis and waived QB Jake Rudock.

One would have to assume that the Dolphins would have preferred to keep both players for training camp, especially Louis — who the team targeted last season only to see him go down with an injury that cost him his second consecutive NFL season in 2019. Miami re-upped Louis’ contract this offseason, but the trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic seem to have forced the Dolphins’ hand. If the alternative to keeping Louis is dropping one of Miami’s physically gifted UDFA wide receivers (Kirk Merritt and Matt Cole), we seem to now know what priority the Dolphins are taking.

Any fringe wide receiver faces a tough task to make the roster — not because the Dolphins are loaded at the position but rather because they have a slew of depth at receiver and opportunities to push for playing time will not be easy to come by.

At quarterback, Rudock’s release isn’t too surprising given the Dolphins’ quarterback room status. The Dolphins have long-time veteran QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and they also boast two recent top-10 overall picks in Tua Tagovailoa and Josh Rosen. Regardless of Rosen’s struggles on the field last season during Miami’s rebuild, he’s still a physically gifted passer who will likely welcome a more simple offense in 2020 — like the one being brought to town by new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. Rudock was inevitably the low man on the totem pole and with padded practices looming on the horizon in a few weeks, Miami needs to be honest about how many quarterbacks they’ll realistically need to get through camp.

Holding on to QB4 instead of giving someone else a spot on the roster feels redundant — and apparently the Dolphins agree.