Tag: Jeremy McNichols

49ers roster moves: RB Jeremy McNichols signs 1-year deal

The #49ers signed one of the four veteran RBs they worked out Monday:

The 49ers on Tuesday signed running back Jeremy McNichols to a one-year deal. In a corresponding move to clear a roster spot, they waived undrafted rookie RB Ronald Awatt.

McNichols was one of four RBs to work out for the 49ers on Monday. He spent two games with the 49ers in 2017 during his rookie season, although all 26 of his snaps in San Francisco came on special teams.

With their first preseason game coming up, the 49ers will likely rest their starting RB Christian McCaffrey. They’ll likely aim to limit the workloads for RBs Tyrion Davis-Price and Jordan Mason as well, leaving the door open for playing time in the backfield.

Undrafted rookie Khalan Laborn, and now McNichols figure to shoulder most of that extra workload in the preseason opener.

In 34 career games with the 49ers, Colts, Jaguars and Titans, McNichols has 364 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown on 90 carries. He also has 40 receptions for 295 yards and one TD through the air.

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Former Titans RB Jeremy McNichols signs with Atlanta Falcons

Jeremy McNichols is the latest former Titan to sign with the Falcons.

Former Tennessee Titans running back Jeremy McNichols has found a new home, signing with the Atlanta Falcons, the team announced on Thursday.

McNichols, 26, carved out a role for himself as a third-down back with the Titans over the past two seasons, especially in passing situations.

This past year, McNichols was given the opportunity for an increased workload after Derrick Henry was lost for the regular season.

He rushed for 156 yards on 41 carries and saw a season-high eight carries in Week 14. McNichols also posted a career-high 240 receiving yards and one touchdown during the course of the campaign.

With the emergences of D’Onta Foreman and Dontrell Hilliard, McNichols took a backseat. He was released a day before the Titans’ final regular-season game and re-signed to the practice squad after clearing waivers.

The Boise State product is reunited with Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, who served as the Titans’ offensive coordinator from 2019-2020, with the latter year being McNichols’ first in Nashville.

He will also join a bevy of other former Titans in Atlanta, including linebacker Rashaan Evans, quarterback Marcus Mariota, tight end Anthony Firkser and defensive coordinator Dean Pees.

McNichols will look to earn a roster spot in training camp as the backup to Cordarrelle Patterson. Also vying for the role are Damien Williams and rookie Tyler Allgeier.

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Falcons sign former Titans RB Jeremy McNichols

The Atlanta Falcons signed veteran running back Jeremy McNichols on Thursday.

The Falcons added more competition to what’s becoming a crowded running back room in Atlanta, signing veteran Jeremy McNichols on Thursday.

McNichols, 26, was drafted in the fifth round of the 2017 draft and bounced around before spending the last two seasons with the Tennessee Titans. He played for Falcons head coach Arthur Smith in 2020, posting a career-high 204 rushing yards that season.

In 2021, McNichols was featured more as a receiver, catching 28 balls for 240 receiving yards and one touchdown.

The Falcons will also be moving second-year defensive back Avery Williams to running back, the team announced on Thursday.

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6 Titans who saw their stock fall the most in 2021

Anthony Firkser is one of six Titans who saw their stock fall the most in 2021.

Similar to the five Tennessee Titans whose stock rose, we’ll also be breaking down several players who saw their stock drop in 2021.

Coming into the season, Anthony Firkser had the opportunity to grab regular snaps as the Titans’ No. 1 tight end. Before the season, he was one of Mike Vrabel’s four offseason award winners, earning a parking spot at training camp next to the Titans head coach.

However, Firkser failed to live up to the hype and take the next step during the 2021 season, leaving a glaring void at the tight end position all season long.

The 26-year-old played in 15 games, including one start, but saw fewer targets and, therefore, receptions than 2020. In all, Firkser hauled in 34 receptions for 291 yards and two touchdowns.

Our first player to make this list, Firkser is one of three tight ends hitting free agency this offseason. Did he do enough to be brought back next year?

Let’s look at a five other players whose stock fell the most in the 2021 season.

Titans add Jeremy McNichols to practice squad, sign 2 to futures contracts

The Titans are bringing back Jeremy McNichols and have inked two futures deals.

The Tennessee Titans announced four moves on Tuesday, including their first two futures contracts signings.

Two of the moves involved the practice squad, with one of them being the addition of running back Jeremy McNichols. He was waived last week to make room for the eventual return of superstar running back, Derrick Henry.

Another running back, Jordan Wilkins, has been placed on the team’s practice squad Reserve/COVID-19 list. Wilkins was signed to the practice squad in December and made his Titans debut in Week 18 with 13 special teams snaps.

The two players signed to Reserve/Futures contracts are linebacker Kobe Jones and defensive back Chris Williamson.

Williamson has appeared in five NFL games (one start), all of which came in 2021 with the Atlanta Falcons. He was originally a seventh-round pick of the New York Giants in 2020.

Jones, who was a 2021 UDFA of the Falcons, has yet to get into an NFL game. He also spent time on the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad.

After securing the No. 1 seed in Week 18, the Titans will get the week off before returning to action the following weekend in the Divisional Round, with their opponent yet to be determined.

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Titans waive Jeremy McNichols among 4 moves, don’t activate Derrick Henry

This confirms that Derrick Henry will not suit up in Week 18.

The Tennessee Titans made a handful of moves on the Saturday before their Week 18 game against the Houston Texans, but activating running back Derrick Henry from Injured Reserve wasn’t one of them.

This confirms that Henry, who has been out since Week 8 with a foot injury, will not suit up in Tennessee’s season finale on Sunday. The next time we see The King will be in the playoffs.

The moves the Titans did make tallied four, the most surprising of which being the team waiving running back Jeremy McNichols.

McNichols had played well behind Henry in 2020, and earlier in the year in 2021, particularly as a blocker and pass-catcher. That continued when filling in for The King in a three-man rotation with D’Onta Foreman and Dontrell Hilliard.

It appears, at least for now, that McNichols’ role will be taken by practice squad running back Jordan Wilkins, who, along with defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand, are standard practice squad elevations for Week 18. Both players will revert back to the practice squad following the contest.

Finally, the Titans promoted defensive lineman Kevin Strong to the active roster. Strong and Hand could both play a role against the Texans, as fellow defensive linemen Teair Tart and Naquan Jones have been ruled out.

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D’Onta Foreman, Titans react to RB’s Week 17 showing vs. Dolphins

Titans RB D’Onta Foreman is ready to do whatever is asked of him when Derrick Henry returns.

Much like before the Derrick Henry injury, the Tennessee Titans leaned on their run game en route to claiming back-to-back AFC South division titles after Sunday’s 34-3 win over the Miami Dolphins.

Back when Henry went down in late October, much of the national media wrote off the Titans as Super Bowl contenders. However, Foreman, who was added to the team’s practice squad in early November, has been a workhorse in Henry’s absence.

On Sunday, the 25-year-old averaged 5.1 yards per carry on 26 attempts, collecting 132 rushing yards and a touchdown.

It took a couple of drives for the ground game to gain some traction, but running back D’Onta Foreman ripped off a 14-yard run down to the Dolphins’ one-yard line to set up the Titans’ first score of the game in the first quarter.

After settling for a field goal deep in Miami territory to make it a 10-0 Titans lead, Foreman trotted into the end zone on a 21-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, making it a 17-3 advantage in favor of the home team.

With Dontrell Hilliard, who put the victory on ice with a 39-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter, and Jeremy McNichols, the Titans’ ground game has more than gotten by without No. 22.

The early rumors have suggested that Henry could be back for the team’s Week 18 matchup against the Houston Texans. However, that was in the scenario where the Titans had not yet clinched a playoff berth.

With a win next week, the Titans would secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

As for what the future holds, Henry is likely to return in the playoffs, leaving Foreman and Hilliard’s expanded roles uncertain.

“I am not sure what the plan is, but whatever my role will be, I am going to do my role, do everything I can to help the team win,” Foreman said. “At the end of the day, the Titans gave me this opportunity, so I am just so thankful.”

Here was Foreman’s complete reaction to his performance, along with input from his teammates and head coach.

Titans’ Mike Vrabel encouraged by rushing attack after Week 11

“There were some good clips in the run game, and some good production,” Vrabel said.

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The Tennessee Titans found some success moving the football on the ground in Week 11 against the Houston Texans, which was also the third game Tennessee didn’t have the services of Derrick Henry.

In the first two games, both of which came against top 10 run defenses in the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, the Titans averaged just 2.7 and 2.3 yards per carry, while also failing to surpass 70 yards in either contest.

The Titans averaged 4.1 yards per carry and crossed the century mark versus a Texans defense that ranked as the second-worst against the run going into the game.

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was encouraged by what he saw in the run game.

“There were some good clips in the run game, and some good production,” Vrabel said, per John Glennon of Sports Illustrated. “Then with the way the game was going, it pretty much dictated, unfortunately, that you couldn’t stick with it. (But) I thought the run game was headed in the right direction.”

Going into the game, we expected D’Onta Foreman to lead the way in carries because he had been Tennessee’s best back the past two games, but that turned out not to be the case.

Instead, Adrian Peterson led in carries with nine, and had a team-high 40 rushing yards. Dontrell Hilliard had the most touches, seeing seven carries and a team-high eight receptions en route to finishing with 82 total yards.

Whether it was his work in the passing game or on the ground, Hilliard, who averaged a team-high 5.0 yards per carry as well, was Tennessee’s best back on Sunday.

Foreman, on the other hand, had less rushing yards (25) and yards per carry  (3.6) than both Peterson and Hilliard. He was the Titans’ least-effective back.

Despite the overall success running the football, Vrabel says there are some things that need improvement.

“There are always going to be cuts we can (improve) and talk about split-second decisions that could have been better,” Vrabel admitted. “I really believe that it was on the right track and the game dictated that we couldn’t really run it more than we did.”

Jeremy McNichols, who sat out in Week 11 with a concussion, might make his return in Week 12. It’ll be interesting to see how the Titans handle that.

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Fantasy start or sit Week 11: D’Onta Foreman, Adrian Peterson, Jeremy McNichols

Only one Titans back is a viable starter this week against the Texans.

In two games without their superstar rusher, Derrick Henry, the Tennessee Titans have struggled to move the ball on the ground, which has been bad news for fantasy managers who have a stake in either Adrian Peterson, D’Onta Foreman or Jeremy McNichols.

In Week 10 against the New Orleans Saints, Titans backs combined for 23 carries for 58 yards, a putrid 2.5 yards per tote.

Foreman led the way with 78 total yards, including a team-high 30 rushing, while Peterson had 21 to McNichols’ seven. Foreman also led all Titans backs in carries with 11.

While it has been ugly without Henry, there are a few reasons for hope this week.

For starters, those two aforementioned matchups came against the Saints (No. 1) and Los Angeles Rams (No. 10), two teams that sport a top 10 run defense.

Also, in Week 11, the Titans draw a very favorable matchup against a Houston Texans defense that has struggled mightily against the run.

So, with that in mind, can you trust any Titans back this week? Let’s find out now.

Fantasy start or sit Week 10: Adrian Peterson, Jeremy McNichols, D’Onta Foreman

Titans running backs will have a tough test in Week 10 against an elite Saints run defense.

Life without running back Derrick Henry didn’t get off to a great start for the Tennessee Titans, at least as far as the team’s rushing attack is concerned.

While the Titans did notch an upset victory over the Los Angeles Rams, the team saw its rushing attack struggle en route to totaling just 69 yards on 29 carries (2.7 yards per carry).

Tennessee deployed three running backs throughout in Jeremy McNichols, Adrian Peterson and D’Onta Foreman. Peterson led the way with 10 carries, followed by McNichols’ seven (and three catches) and Foreman’s five.

Despite getting the most carries, Peterson did not look like the best back. Instead, it was Foreman, who passed the eye test and posted the best numbers on the stat sheet.

With all that in mind, can fantasy managers deploy any of these three backs on Sunday in what will be a difficult matchup against the New Orleans Saints? Let’s find out now as we go over some start or sit advice.