Tag: Joel Heath

Lions DT Joel Heath suffers season-ending injury in OTAs

Heath was trying to make a comeback after opting out in 2020

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The Detroit Lions suffered their first injury of the 2021 season on just the second day of offseason activities. Defensive tackle Joel Heath suffered a torn ACL in the noncontact drills at the team facilities in Allen Park.

Heath, who signed with the team as a future/reserve free agent this offseason, will miss the season, per a report from NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. The former Michigan State standout was hoping to make a return to the field in 2021 after opting out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns. Heath had starting experience at nose tackle from his seasons with the Houston Texans.

Heath’s injury is sure to stoke the fires of the NFLPA, which strongly urged players to not attend OTAs out of fear of injuries. The Lions players initially stated they would opt out, but the veterans showed up en masse this week for the noncontact drills and coaching.

Former Spartan Joel Heath signs contract with Detroit Lions

Former Michigan State Spartan Joel Heath has signed a reserve/future contract to play with the Detroit Lions.

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Former Michigan State Spartan Joel Heath has signed a reserve/future contract to play with the Detroit Lions. Heath spent the first four years of his career as a member of the Houston Texans, but was on the Denver Broncos roster last year. Heath opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and never played a snap for the Broncos.

Heath has recorded 30 tackles over 32 games in his career and has also recorded three sacks across four years of play. Now Heath has a chance to play for his college state team. Heath will look to be the first Spartan to play for the Lions since Drew Stanton did in 2011.

This is basically a “prove it” year for Heath, especially after taking a year off. He’s going out there to show teams that he can be a reliable player, and that he doesn’t have any rust.

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Lions sign DT Joel Heath to reserve/future contract

Heath played four years with the Houston Texans

The Detroit Lions have signed defensive tackle Joel Heath to a reserve/future contract.

Heath joins the Lions after being waived earlier this month by the Denver Broncos. He opted out of the 2020 season due to concerns over COVID-19 and never played for the Broncos.

The 27-year-old Heath played his first four seasons with the Houston Texans. He played in 32 games, starting 16, from 2016 through 2019. He was a primary starter for the Texans in the 2017 season as a nose tackle. Heath has 34 total tackles and three sacks in his career.

Heath should be a familiar name to fans in the Mitten State. He played collegiately at Michigan State from 2012 through 2015. The 6-6, 308-pound Heath will now get a chance to compete for a spot with the Lions’ new regime.

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Joel Heath reinstated to Broncos’ roster, placed on Reserve/Opt-Out list

The Broncos added Joel Heath back to their roster and then placed him on the Reserve/Opt-Out list.

The deadline for NFL players to opt out of the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic passed nearly three weeks ago. Before that deadline, the Broncos cut defensive lineman Joel Heath.

Under special conditions, some cut players can be retroactively added to the opt-out list, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. If a player receives a high-risk diagnosis or has a family member die or get hospitalized with COVID-19, that player can opt out after the deadline.

One of those conditions must have applied to Heath because he was reinstated to Denver’s roster and then placed on the Reserve/Opt-Out list, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Former Broncos cornerback Shakial Taylor, recently cut by the Giants, was also added to the list.

Heath was signed by Denver in March and cut four months later.

The Broncos now have three players on the opt-out list: right tackle Ja’Wuan James, nose tackle Kyle Peko and Heath. The league had 69 total opt outs this offseason.

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Denver Broncos depth chart prediction: Defensive line

Which defensive linemen will make the Broncos’ 53-man roster this year?

As we continue our 2020 depth chart prediction series for the Denver Broncos, today we’re going to be looking at the defensive line.

Previously, we predicted the QB, RB, TE, WR and OL depth charts.

DE NT DE
Shelby Harris Mike Purcell Jurrell Casey
Dre’Mont Jones McTelvin Agim DeMarcus Walker
Joel Heath Kyle Peko Christian Covington
Jonathan Harris

It’s pretty easy to predict the Broncos’ starting lineup. Harris and Purcell will likely keep their starting spots and Casey will presumably fill the role previously held by Derek Wolfe. It’s the backup spots that are undetermined.

Jones and Walker figure to serve as important rotational pieces and Agim is essentially a lock to make the team after being selected in the third round of April’s draft.

Last year, Denver carried six defensive linemen on the initial 53-man roster. If that’s the case again in 2020, Covington and Heath might only make the team if one of the team’s top six defensive linemen suffers an injury this summer. Peko and Harris figure to be longshots as well.

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Projecting Broncos’ DL depth chart before the NFL draft

Here’s a look at the Broncos’ projected defensive line depth chart going into the NFL draft.

With the NFL draft a little more than one week away, here’s a look at the Broncos’ projected defensive line depth chart as it stands right now:

DE NT DE
Shelby Harris Mike Purcell Jurrell Casey
DeMarcus Walker Joel Heath Dre’Mont Jones
Jonathan Harris Kyle Peko Deyon Sizer
Jay-Tee Tiuli

Denver has three solid starters in Harris, Purcell and Casey but none of those guys are long-term answers at their respective positions. Jones could become a reliable starter in the future but the Broncos will need two more starting defensive linemen in the coming years.

Walker has shown potential but he might be best-suited as a rotational defender. This season, Walker and Jones will provide excellent depth as defensive ends but Denver will want more help at nose tackle.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Broncos add several defensive linemen in the draft, bringing in help at nose tackle and defensive end.

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Broncos made 3 roster moves last Friday

The Broncos are bringing back Shelby Harris, Joe Jones and Joel Heath.

Broncos fans were delighted to learn on Friday evening that the team is bringing back defensive lineman Shelby Harris on a one-year deal. The contract is not yet official but the two sides have agreed to a deal worth up to $3.25 million.

Harris (6-2, 290 pounds) recorded 49 tackles and six sacks last season and led all defensive linemen in the NFL with 9 pass breakups. Right now, Harris is projected to be one of the team’s starting defensive ends in 2020.

In addition to agreeing to a new contract with Harris, Denver also made two other roster moves just before the start of the weekend.

The Broncos officially re-signed linebacker Joe Jones to a one-year contract and re-signed defensive lineman Joel Heath to a one-year deal, the team announced on Friday evening. Jones (6-0, 240 pounds) is a key special teams player who will also provide depth at inside linebacker.

Heath (6-6, 300 pounds) was awarded to Denver off waivers following the Super Bowl but he became a free agent on March 18. Heath will likely serve as a rotational defensive lineman this season.

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Broncos claim DL Joel Heath off waivers

The Broncos claimed former Texans defensive lineman Joel Heath off waivers.

In addition to signing 15 players to reserve/future contracts, the Denver Broncos also acquired a player off waivers on Tuesday.

The Broncos claimed nose tackle Joel Heath, who was waived by the Houston Texans on Saturday. Denver will officially acquire Heath’s rights on Feb. 3, the day after Super Bowl LIV.

It’s an interesting move for the Broncos because Heath is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March. Denver might be planning to place a tender on the 6-6, 302-pound defensive lineman.

Heath entered the league as a college free agent out of Michigan State with the Texans in 2016. He played in 25 games in his first two years in the NFL, totaling 32 tackles and three sacks. Heath was plagued by injuries during the 2018 season and only dressed for two games this year.

Shelby Harris, Mike Purcell and Kyle Peko were the Broncos’ nose tackles this season. All three of those players are set to become free agents in 2020, but Purcell and Peko will be restricted free agents.

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Are the Texans planning to sit LT Laremy Tunsil out for the Titans game?

The Houston Texans made roster moves on Saturday that indicate they will have LT Laremy Tunsil inactive for Week 17’s tilt with the Tennessee Titans.

The Houston Texans may declare left tackle Laremy Tunsil inactive for the Tennessee Titans game, not even dressing him for the Week 17 rematch with their AFC South rivals.

A series of roster moves on Saturday suggests the 10-5 division champions won’t dress the former 2016 first-round pick, who was limited all week in practice with an ankle injury and declared questionable on the final injury report.

On Saturday, the Texans waived defensive lineman Joel Heath, and in a corresponding move they promoted offensive tackle Elijah Nkansah from the practice squad to the active roster.

Dropping Heath is one of the moves the Texans make when they add a player due to an injury at another position.

Case in point: in Week 12, coming off of a 41-7 beat down in Baltimore, safety Jonathan Owens was signed to the active roster from the practice squad as Justin Reid would be out for the rematch with the Indianapolis Colts with a concussion. As a result, the Texans waived Heath.

However, when the club lets go of Heath, it doesn’t mean that he is out of their plans. After they got through Week 12 and Reid was back, they waived Owens and signed Heath back to the active roster.

With Heath dropped for Week 17, the game relatively meaningless in terms of getting out of wild-card weekend, and Tunsil, a Pro Bowl left tackle, battling an ankle injury, all signs point to Nkansah being the swing tackle as tackles Roderick Johnson and Chris Clark help the Texans get through the final 60 minutes of the regular season.

Texans add DE Joel Heath, WR Steven Mitchell to active roster

The Houston Texans brought back familiar faces in DE Joel Heath and WR Steven Mitchell.

The Houston Texans announced four transactions on Saturday, including the addition of two former players to the active roster.

Houston signed defensive end Joel Health to the active roster and also signed receiver Steven Mitchell.

Heath was let go prior to the club’s Week 12 Thursday night 20-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts to make room for tight end Jordan Thomas, who was coming off injured reserve.

With linebacker Dylan Cole sustaining a torn ACL in the victory that moved Houston to 7-4 on the season, a spot opened up on the 53-man roster, and Heath will fill it.

To make room for Mitchell, the Texans waived safety Jonathan Owens, a second-year player from Missouri Western State. With the Texans having a mini-bye and not back in action until Dec. 1, there should be enough time for safeties Justin Reid and Mike Adams to clear concussion protocol and shore up the thin safety spots.