Tag: john ridgeway

Commanders DC Jack Del Rio pleased with his defense

Jack Del Rio praised his defense and coaching staff, but understands the challenge Minnesota presents on Sunday.

Jack Del Rio knows this week’s opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, presents his defense with many challenges. Yet, he did offer plenty of praise for his defense as a whole Thursday when he met with the press.

Del Rio has employed a five-man front at times in several games this season.

“That was our approach based on last week’s opponent (Colts) and our game planning. Every week we try to put together a plan to stop the people that we’re going against and utilize those we have available. I thought the guys handled it well.”

The Vikings (6-1) winners of five straight certainly have offensive weapons that concern Del Rio. Regarding WR Justin Jefferson, “He has a lot of talent, size, speed, athletic ability, route running, hands. He’s a good player.”

“I think [Vikings HC] Kevin [O’Connell] has done a great job up there. Kirk’s a good player. He’s been a good player for a long time. The right head coach at the right time for Kirk and his career.  They can run it; they can throw it, the boot game, and play action games. It’s legit.”

Del Rio praised his defensive coaching staff.

“The position coaches are breaking down our next opponent already. So they’re working ahead in their respective areas. It’s the power of the staff, the group working on what is best, thoughts, ideas within our system. We like to bring a plan together and take it to the players.We’re still in the middle of it as we get this red zone and third down day in today, it’s a big day. It’s a lot of work.”

A position coach Del Rio singled out was DL coach Jeff Zgonina. “Well, Jeff has to get some credit. I mean the group’s responded well to him. We brought a young guy in that ended up playing. JR [Jon] Ridgeway. To bring him along and have him play as big impact as he did last week in the game, that’s gotta be a credit to the coach to get him ready.”

Del Rio a fine former linebacker himself, really likes his defensive line play.

“Big Jon [Allen] and Daron [Payne]  have been playing terrific and played very well in last week’s game. The entire group is prepared to understand what the responsibilities are and we’re working well together, playing with good efforts. We roll them all throughout the game.”

Ridgeway has shown Del Rio some promise to plug up the inside.
“That was big Phil’s [DT Phidarian Mathis] role until he got hurt. He [Ridgeway] stepped in; we were fortunate to be able to pick him up on waivers and added a guy that we liked in the draft coming out. He’s been a great addition for us.”

Del Rio named two defensive backs deserving praise last week. Kam Curl was given the green dot last week in the absence of Cole Holcomb. “He’s the guy we want to have on the field all the time. Also, Benjamin St- Juste, “He has done great; he’s matured. He’s been really good throughout the offseason. He’s very professional and working the right way, playing good football for us.”

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Commanders’ sudden change of mind on defensive tackle position

There are suddenly depth concerns at defensive tackle after losing two players in two weeks.

Did you notice how soon the Washington Commanders changed their mind regarding a defensive tackle?

It all started in the season opener when Phidarian Mathis was injured early against the Jaguars. Mathis was lost for the season. So, the next day (Sept 12) Washington placed Mathis on Injured Reserve and signed Donovan Jeter to the active roster.

Jeter who played his college ball at Michigan, is listed as 6-foot-3, 325 pounds. He was undrafted (2022) and subsequently signed by the Steelers, went through training camp and the preseason and was one of their later cuts. Chicago called to sign him to their practice squad, but when Washington called to sign him to the active roster, he signed with Washington.

Head coach Ron Rivera told reporters he liked signing Jeter. “Big, stout, physical young man more so than anything else. I like his first-step quickness, his ability to get into the crease and hold the point.”

After one game in Detroit, Jeter is gone. The former Commander was in on 18 defensive snaps, and 7 special teams snaps. Jeter recorded one solo tackle. Perhaps he didn’t look as big, stout, physical, or possess the first-step quickness Rivera thought he’d seen on tape?

On Monday, after the Detroit loss, Rivera cut Jeter and signed John Ridgeway, another tackle, who had been released by Dallas. Interestingly enough, NFL teams very much avoid cutting the players they draft in their very first year. It is a public admission that they really missed on that player when drafting him.

So, inquisitive people like myself can’t help but inquire, “Why did Dallas not keep a player they drafted this year in the 5th round?

Perhaps like Jeter, might Ridgeway also have only one game to show if he is going to be retained as well?

Commanders claim 2022 Cowboys’ draft pick off waivers

John Ridgeway was a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

The Washington Commanders desperately need depth at defensive tackle. After losing second-round pick Phidarian Mathis for the season last week, the Commanders signed Donovan Jeter to the active roster and Benning Potoa’e to the practice squad last week.

With starter Jonathan Allen battling a groin injury, the Commanders moved Potoa’e to the active roster for Sunday’s game.

During Sunday’s loss to the Lions, reserve Daniel Wise was injured, and head coach Ron Rivera said Monday they were waiting for the results of his MRI to determine the severity of his injury.

The Commanders added another player to the room Monday, claiming former Cowboys’ fifth-round pick, John Ridgeway, off waivers. In a corresponding move, Washington released Jeter.

Ridgeway made Dallas’ roster coming out of training camp but was released on Saturday when the Cowboys signed quarterback Cooper Rush from the practice squad. The Cowboys preferred to have Ridgeway back, and there was also interest from other teams, according to Michael Gehlkin of the Dallas Morning News.

The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Ridgeway played at Illinois State for four seasons before transferring to Arkansas for his final season. Ridgeway recorded 39 tackles, including four for loss and two sacks in his final season.

Ridgeway now has an opportunity to establish himself as a key depth player for the Commanders this season.

 

Cowboys rookie DT John Ridgeway claimed off waivers by rival Washington

Dallas had hoped to re-sign the immense Arkansas product to the practice squad, but multiple teams put in a waiver bid for him. | From @ToddBrock24f7

A roster flip-flop that the Cowboys had hoped would be strictly procedural has cost them one of their fifth-round draft picks from this past spring.

Defensive tackle John Ridgeway was awarded to the Washington Commanders on Monday. The Cowboys had waived the Arkansas product over the weekend in order to get the roster down to 53 players for Sunday’s game versus Cincinnati.

The Commanders were one of multiple teams to put in a claim on Ridgeway, according to reports, but were the highest-ranking team in the waiver order.

Chosen 178th overall, Ridgeway was drafted for his immense size (6-foot-5, 320 pounds) and nasty attitude. He quickly became a fan favorite due to his “Vanilla Gorilla” nickname and colorful interview answers. But the rookie appeared to struggle in camp and was inactive for the Week 1 opener against Tampa Bay.

The Cowboys have elected in this early part of the season to do some weekly shuffling with their roster. as a way to keep a maximum of players in-house. Backup quarterbacks and several other specialists have been left on the practice squad to be gameday elevations. For Week 2, quarterback Cooper Rush and kicker Brett Maher had to be signed to the active roster. And Jayron Kearse and Connor McGovern were left off short-term injured reserve in hopes that they’ll be back in fewer than four weeks.

With all of that maneuvering, the team needed to make room on the roster, even if only temporarily.

Ridgeway was one of those cuts for Week 2. And while the Cowboys had hoped to re-sign him back to the practice squad, the move did require exposing Ridgeway to waivers, where another team could claim him for themselves.

Now the fifth-round pick will suit up for a division rival. The Commanders visit Dallas in Week 4.

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55-man Roster: Cowboys waive draft pick, send DE to IR to ready for Bengals tilt

The Cowboys waved goodbye to a draft pick, sent a lineman to IR and shuffled the roster to prepare for the Bengals game. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys made a series of roster moves on Saturday. With injuries stacking up in last week’s 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was assured there were going to be changes made ahead of the next tilt. With the Cincinnati Bengals coming to town for a Sunday afternoon face-off, the Cowboys have decided how they are going to attack things.

That process includes waiving fifth-round rookie, DT John Ridgeway. Predicted to not even make the initial roster after a lackluster preseason showing, Ridgeway was inactive for Week 1 and will now have to clear waivers before making it to the practice squad. The Arkansas product was a fan favorite in the interview circuit, but didn’t impress the coaching staff once the pads came on. The Cowboys have also placed DE Tarell Basham on injured reserve. To fill their spots, QB Cooper Rush and K Brett Maher have been signed to the active roster. In addition, Dallas is elevating QB Will Grier and center/guard Alec Lindstrom from the practice squad.

 

 

Predicting 7 players Cowboys will make inactive vs Buccaneers

Here’s @KDDrummondNFL taking a look at the Cowboys roster, where they have surplus and what their strategy might be in choosing the group that will be inactive.

The Dallas Cowboys have announced their 55-man talent pool they have to choose from for Sunday night’s season opener against the Pirate Ship Brady. Of course NFL rules don’t allow the club to bring all 55 players into the water, rather they have to leave some of their roster on the sideline, playing dress up, hopefully getting motivated to force their way to the game-day roster.

For now though, the Cowboys coaching staff led by Mike McCarthy has another job to do, after the week worth of swim lessons. He and the coordinators will have a battle over which seven end-of-roster guys will be best served staying on the beach.

Starting in the 2020 season, game-day active rosters, which used to be limited to 46 players per team, can be bumped up to 48, as long as at least eight of those 48 are offensive linemen. The Cowboys have eight lineman on the regular roster, and all three backups are much needed. Here’s our best guess at the seven players, who almost to a man have waited all offseason for their chance to play, just to get it snatched from them in a numbers game.

Cowboys lose 2 players to injury in practice vs Broncos

Rookie NT John Ridgeway appeared to suffer a leg injury; TE Ian Bunting took a hard hit on a punt return. Both left the field on their own. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Thursday’s much-anticipated joint practice between the Cowboys and Broncos featured plenty of chippiness, a few minor skirmishes, and two Cowboys players who appear to have suffered injury scares.

Tight end Ian Bunting took a hard shot while blocking on a punt return. According to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, a cart was driven onto the field, but the undrafted fourth-year man out of Michigan was eventually able to walk off on his own.

Reports after practice reveal that Bunting is dealing with some neck soreness, but X-rays were negative.

Rookie nose tackle John Ridgeway also took a blow during a different portion of work. He looked to sustain some sort of injury to his right leg during the defense’s 11-on-11 period with the Denver offense. He, too, left the practice field under his own power with trainers and headed for the locker room.

The Arkansas lineman came into camp with a nasty reputation and is quickly living up to it. He scuffled with his own teammates this past week in Oxnard.

Both players will reportedly remain under observation from trainers as the Cowboys prepare to play the Broncos on Saturday in the preseason opener for both teams.

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‘Eat a couple cows’: Rookie DT John Ridgeway to beef up after heat, speed of early practices

The huge Illinois native joked that he lost weight working during a sweltering minicamp, but the rookie had a plan on how to get it back. | From @ToddBrock24f7

It’s been quite a month for John Ridgeway.

The defensive tackle woke up as a Dallas Cowboy for the first time the morning of May 1, having been drafted by the team in the fifth round just the day before. On May 7, he celebrated his 23rd birthday. On May 13, he signed his rookie contract with the organization and attended his first day of minicamp. May 24, his first day meeting the Cowboys veterans at Day One of OTAs.

And while there’s no word on how Ridgeway spent his Memorial Day weekend to close out the month, there’s a good chance he was following the example of so many others and hitting a holiday barbecue. Or two.

Mother Nature wasted no time in welcoming the Illinois native to his new North Texas home, blasting Frisco with temperatures that neared 90 degrees on the very first day of rookie work.

And while Ridgeway likely experienced a few southern scorchers during his time at Arkansas, the conditions proved to be a whole different animal when combined with the torrid pace of an NFL practice.

“I’d definitely say the speed,” Ridgeway answered when he was asked recently about the biggest adjustment from college, “because the NFL is go, go, go, go. In college, you can take a couple of plays and catch your breath. But you’re going against All-Pros everyday. So you can’t take any reps off at all.”

By Day Two, head coach Mike McCarthy and the staff elected to dial things down slightly, thanks in part to the mercury having climbed even higher.

The massive player nicknamed “The Vanilla Gorilla,” who stands 6-foot-6-inches and weighed in at 328 with the Razorbacks, admitted that the Dallas heat and humidity- not to mention battling with enormous rookie offensive lineman Tyler Smith- had already affected him physically.

“I’m about 320 [pounds] right now, 318,” he told reporters before adding with a laugh, “I’m sure it dropped today.”

As with so many other things about his life right now, though, that will evolve in the days, weeks, and months to come.

“I haven’t talked to the strength and condition staff, but I’m sure they’ll probably cut me down a couple pounds and build me back up.”

Which leads us to what will undoubtedly be one of the more enjoyable parts of the big man’s rookie summer.

John Ridgeway doesn’t know exactly how he’ll be used in a defensive tackle rotation that also includes Osa Odighizuwa, Neville Gallimore, Quinton Bohanna, and Trysten Hill. He doesn’t know yet if he’ll be asked to line up in 3-technique, as a nose tackle, or a two-tech.

But he has a pretty good idea of how he’ll pack on any pounds that happen to melt away during Cowboys practices in the sweltering Texas heat.

“There’s probably some cows in Texas?” he asked with a grin. “You got hogs or something here? Probably eat a couple cows a week or something.”

Here’s hoping Ridgeway found himself a brisket or two at a Memorial Day cookout as OTA work resumes for the team on Tuesday.

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PHOTO GALLERY: A look at Arkansas draft picks with their new team

Treylon Burks, John Ridgeway, and Montaric Brown all have new homes. Here’s a peek at what they look like in their new uniforms.

Arkansas Football had three players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, which is the most since 2019, when three Razorbacks were also taken in the draft.

[autotag]Treylon Burks[/autotag] was taken 18th overall by the Tennessee Titans in this year’s draft, making him the first Razorback to be taken in the first round since 2018, when Frank Ragnow was selected 20th overall by the Detroit Lions. Burks was the highest draft pick from Arkansas since Darren McFadden went 4th overall to the Oakland Raiders in 2008.

The next selection from Arkansas was [autotag]John Ridgeway[/autotag], who was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys with the No. 178 overall selection. Ridgeway becomes the third Razorback to be taken by Dallas, which is surprising considering the proximity of Dallas to Fayetteville, and the fact that the Cowboys are owned by Arkansas alum, Jerry Jones. The last Razorback to be taken by Dallas before Ridgeway? Felix Jones in 2008.

The last selection from Arkansas in the 2022 draft was [autotag]Montaric Brown[/autotag] with the 222nd overall pick. Jacksonville has been a popular destination for former Razorbacks, as five former Hogs have been selected by Jacksonville since 2000, with the most recent being Brandon Allen in 2016.

Here is a look at what these former Razorbacks look like in their new uniforms.

3 things to know about Cowboys nose tackle John Ridgeway

A look into how Arkansas’ Ridgeway landed in Dallas, why the Cowboys were so intrigued. | From @TimLettiero

Simply put, Dallas lacks big, physical run stoppers up the middle of this defensive front and John Ridgeway fits that play style to a T. One of the Cowboys’ four fifth-round picks, he is likely to see a fair bit of play time as this roster is deep on 3-tech defensive tackles but only have DT Quinton Bohanna as a run-stop specialist.

These guys are block occupiers who allow more talented pass rushers to attack the QB while also plugging up lanes in the run game. Far from a sexy position and pick, Ridgeway offers a lot that defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will love. Here are a few notes about who he is, what he’s done and how he fits at The Star.