Tag: Jonathan Wynn

Panthers sign former Lions DE to their practice squad

Today, they signed one of them to their practice squad: former Lions defensive end Jonathan Wynn.

The Panthers hosted three defensive linemen for tryouts on Tuesday. Today, they signed one of them to their practice squad: former Lions defensive end Jonathan Wynn.

Wynn (6-foot-5, 265 pounds) played his college football at Vanderbilt. He totaled five sacks, 9.5 tackles for a loss and seven passes defensed in 40 games. He went undrafted after his senior season in 2017 and eventually was signed by Detroit. He spent much of the 2019 campaign on the Lions’ practice squad and was only on the field for 12 snaps in live games.

When signings like this happen, some fans assume it’s because he can offer inside information about the Lions or their playbook. That usually seems far-fetched, as is the case here.

Signing Wynn is about adding more depth on the edges. Stephen Weatherly was recently placed on the injured reserve list and Yetur Gross-Matos, Marquis Haynes and Austin Larkin were all listed as questionable last week.

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Panthers host 3 defensive linemen, 1 linebacker for Tuesday tryouts

The team hosted three free agent defensive linemen and one linebacker for tryouts.

The Panthers are looking to add some defensive front-seven help based on today’s official NFL transaction report. The team hosted three free agent defensive linemen and one linebacker for tryouts.

Here is a look at who came in Tuesday.

LB Daniel Bituli (Tennessee)

Bituli (6-foot-3, 252 pounds) was one of the three players who came in for visits last week, including QB/TE Tommy Stevens, who was signed to the practice squad yesterday. Bituli offers more depth at linebacker and on special teams after Adarius Taylor was recently placed on injured reserve.

DT Myles Adams (Rice)

Adams (6-foot-2, 284 pounds) should be a familiar name for Carolina fans. He was one of the team’s original 17 undrafted free agent signings this offseason. Adams was cut just before the regular season began and put in some time with the practice squad early on. At Rice, he totaled 4.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for a loss in 39 games.

DE/OLB Jamal Davis II (Akron)

Davis (6-foot-4, 235 pounds didn’t get much playing time as a rookie last year. He wound up playing 16 just snaps for the Dolphins. During his last two seasons at Akron he racked up 7.5 sacks and 31.5 tackles for a loss.

DE Jonathan Wynn (Vanderbilt)

Wynn (6-foot-4, 260 pounds) wasn’t on the field much in 2019, either. He played only 12 snaps, in his case with the Lions. Most of the time was passed going on and off Detroit’s practice squad. In college, he only had five sacks but he did knock down seven passes.

These tryouts and visits have usually gone to players who wind up on the fringes of the practice squad. Speaking of which, the team has waived tight end Seth DeValve from the practice squad and hosted kicker Taylor Bertolet for another visit.

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Lions officially place Justin Coleman on IR, add DE Kareem Martin to the practice squad

Lions officially place Justin Coleman on IR, add DE Kareem Martin to practice squad, release DE Jonathan Wynn.

The Detroit Lions made a series of roster moves on Tuesday, confirming an earlier report of starting nickel corner Justin Coleman being placed on injured reserve and swapping out defensive ends on the practice squad.

Coleman injured his hamstring during the Week 1 loss to the Chicago Bears, and appears to be on an extended healing path as his stint on IR will keep him out for at least the next three weeks. That would put him on track to potentially return in Week 5, but with the Lions being on a bye that week, he won’t see playing time until Week 6 at the earliest.

The Lions did not make a corresponding move on the active roster, so at the time of this publishing, the Lions only have 52 spots on their 53 man roster filled. Expect that move to be announced in the next 24 hours.

On the practice squad, the Lions released defensive end Jonathan Wynn and signed defensive end/pass-rushing outside linebacker Kareem Martin.

Martin (6-6, 262) was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round (pick 84 overall) of the 2014 draft, and after his rookie contract expired he joined the New York Giants on a 3-year deal. After missing a majority of 2019 on injured reserve with a knee injury, the Giants released him this past offseason in a cap saving move.

Martin has failed to live up to his draft status. He played as a pass-rushing outside linebacker in both stops in the NFL, but he is too stiff to play the JACK linebacker in the Lions scheme. Expect him to follow the path of another former-Giant, Romeo Okwara, during his time in Detroit, shifting between the DDE, 5T, and 3T.

Lions release 6 players including Chris Lacy, Travis Fulgham

Releasing them now gives those vets a chance to try and land elsewhere

Six Detroit Lions veterans woke up to the U2 song “Sunday Bloody Sunday”. The team announced it has cut all six players after less than a full week in the building for training camp.

The most notable here is Travis Fulgham. His agent announced his release on Saturday and the team confirmed they are dumping the 2019 sixth-round wideout.

WR Travis Fulgham
G Josh Garnett
DB Michael Jackson
WR Chris Lacy
LB Christian Sam
DE Jonathan Wynn

Lacy’s name is the biggest surprise here. With the reports of Fulgham being released on Saturday, some speculated Lacy might be the biggest beneficiary.

There is a theme here with all these players. All have at least some NFL experience and all were unlikely to earn more than the final roster spot in Detroit in 2020. Releasing them now gives those vets a chance to try and land elsewhere. With no preseason games to audition for other teams, a straight early release like this is their best chance to latch on and show something in another training camp.

Establishing the 53: Rounding out the Lions’ DL

Examining the Detroit Lions defensive linemen and debating who and how many players they will keep on the 53-man roster.

It’s never too early to examine and speculate about the Detroit Lions roster. Currently, the Lions have 90-players on their roster, and come September, there will likely be some difficult decisions to make when determining their final 53-players.

Previously, in this series of articles at Lions Wire, we rounded out the running backs group, declared a winner in the fullback versus H-back competition, added an offensive weapon, narrowed down the offensive line, and in this piece, we will shift to the other side of the ball and focus on the Lions defensive line — projecting who and how many will make the 53-man roster.

Setting the table

The Lions defensive line primarily operates out of a three-man front, deploying a down defensive end (the DDE lines up on the offensive tackles outside shoulder, but will also shift inside to the 3-technique), a nose tackle (the NT splits time evenly between the 1- and 3-technique) and a defensive tackle (the DT lines up from the 3- to the 5-technique). In this set, the Lions will also line up a pass-rushing JACK linebacker opposite the DDE — for this exercise, the JACK will be discussed further in a linebacker article.

Because this is a hybrid front, the Lions will also operate with four defensive linemen, substituting a back-7 player (linebacker or defensive back) in favor of a big defensive end (BDE). The BDE will line up at the 7- or 9-technique (outside the tight end) in four-man fronts but will also rotate through at DT in three-man fronts.

For a frame of reference, last year the starters at these spots were:

  • DDE = Trey Flowers
  • NT = Damon Harrison
  • DT = A’Shawn Robinson
  • BDE = Da’Shawn Hand

Identifying starters

Despite losing two starters on the defensive line, the Lions front-four starters for 2020 are clear. Flowers will resume his role at DDE, Hand returns to his role at BDE/DT, while Harrison and Robinson were replaced in free agency by Danny Shelton at NT and Nick Williams at DT.

In three-man sets, expect Hand and Williams to rotate through the DT spot equally, regardless of who technically starts.

Erik’s take: You can write these four names in pen on your depth chart.

DDE reserve battle

After seeing over 53-percent of snaps last season, Romeo Okwara appears destined to resume the reserve DDE once again in 2020.

Jonathan Wynn runs third on the depth chart here but unless an injury happens the odds are against him. Add in the fact that JACK linebacker Austin Bryant can also flex to the DDE position and Wynn’s most optimistic outlook could be the practice squad.

Erik’s take: Okwara in, Wynn to the practice squad.

DT/BDE reserve battle

Last season the Lions kept four players at DT/BDE — Robinson (who has been replaced by Williams), Hand, Mike Daniels (who is still a free agent), and Kevin Strong. One of the reasons the Lions rolled with four players was due to Hand’s injury, but if he is healthy heading into this season, they may elect to keep only three players at this spot.

Strong returns to the roster, and as things sit right now, he appears to be the front runner for the third DT role. His primary competition will be seventh-rounder Jashon Cornell, a converted DE who shined last season at Ohio State after pushing inside to the 3-technique. Frank Herron, who was added to the Lions roster for the final month of the season, rounds out the group but he is staring at an uphill battle.

Erik’s take: Strong gets the nod in this projection, but he’ll be looking over his shoulder at Cornell who is headed to the practice squad. Herron is out.

NT reserve battle

Like at DT, this is another three-person battle between a returner, a draft pick, and a late addition to the roster.

After going undrafted in 2018, John Atkins has seen action each of the last two years, playing in 14 games and starting six down the stretch last season. His primary competition will be sixth-round pick John Penisini who has received a tremendous amount of praise for his upside in this type of NT role. Olive Sagapolu received a futures deal with the Lions last January, but like Herron, he lost his leverage once the Lions drafted a player at his position.

Erik’s take: Penisini is a perfect fit for this role and my gut feeling is he passes Atkins in the final weeks of the preseason, earning a spot on the 53. Atkins could push Strong for a deep reserve role but he’s more than likely headed to the practice squad. Sagapolu is out.

Conclusion

No real big surprises here, and while things can definitely shakeup during camp amongst the reserves, here’s where the depth chart stands in this projection:

  • DDE: Flowers, Okwara
  • NT: Shelton, Penisini
  • DT/BDE: Hand, Williams, Strong