Tag: Justin Ellis

Dolphins swap defenders on the practice squad

Miami has moved on from a DB and signed a DL.

The Miami Dolphins have been making moves all season, and heading into Week 14, they continue to do just that.

On Wednesday, Miami swapped players on their practice squad, as they released defensive back Verone McKinley III and signed defensive lineman Justin Ellis.

McKinley, 23, was originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon in 2022, and he split time between the active roster and the practice squad as a rookie. In his first season, he recorded 16 tackles, one interception and a pass defensed in 10 games. He’s yet to appear in a game this year.

Ellis, 32, worked out for the Dolphins on Tuesday. He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in 2014. He spent six seasons with the black and silver before joining the Baltimore Ravens for three years and the New York Giants for one. In 117 games, he’s recorded 182 tackles (eight for a loss), five quarterback hits, three tipped passes and 1.5 sacks.

This move should mean good things for the health of safety Jevon Holland, as well as the other safeties on the roster, but it could also mean that someone on the defensive line is a little nicked up.

Dolphins worked out trio of defensive linemen on Tuesday

Dolphins host tryouts on Tuesday.

The Miami Dolphins have lost linebackers to injury in back-to-back games, as Jaelan Phillips suffered a torn Achilles against the New York Jets, and Jerome Baker sustained an MCL injury against the Washington Commanders.

With that, the Dolphins are checking in on some defensive linemen, which could be in an effort to solidify the front seven.

On Tuesday, Miami held workouts for Trevon Coley, Carlos Davis and Justin Ellis.

Ellis, 32, was originally a fourth-round selection by the Oakland Raiders out of Louisiana Tech. After six seasons with the Raiders, he joined the Baltimore Ravens for three seasons and spent 2022 with the New York Giants. In 117 career games, he’s recorded 182 tackles (eight for a loss), five quarterback hits, three tipped passes and 1.5 sacks.

Coley, 29, went undrafted in 2016 after a collegiate career at Florida Atlantic. In his seven seasons as a pro, he’s bounced around between the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears and Washington. He’s appeared in 44 games, recording 100 tackles (14 for a loss), seven quarterback hits, 3.5 sacks, two tipped passes and two fumbles recovered.

Davis, 27, was a seventh-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers back in 2020 after playing for Nebraska in college. He spent three seasons with the Steelers before signing with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason. However, he didn’t make the final roster. Davis is currently on the roster of the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL. In 12 career games, he’s recorded 12 tackles (three for a loss), one sack and one quarterback hit.

The Dolphins may not end up signing any of these three, but they are names to keep in mind in case there are more injuries to Vic Fangio’s front.

Falcons agree to terms with former Giants DL Justin Ellis

Former New York Giants DL Justin Ellis has reportedly agreed to terms with the Atlanta Falcons.

Former New York Giants defensive lineman Justin Ellis has reportedly found a new home, with the veteran set to sign with the Atlanta Falcons.

The news comes from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, and it comes after Ellis was brought in by Atlanta for a workout recently. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 32-year-old Louisiana Tech product and former fourth-round pick spent last season with Big Blue, appearing in all 17 games (four starts) and finishing one sack and 22 combined tackles (two for loss).

He also chipped-in on special teams.

Prior to his stint in New York, Ellis spent the first five seasons of his career with the Raiders, who drafted him in 2014. He has also played for the Baltimore Ravens.

Overall, Ellis has played in 117 games (54 starts) over his nine-year career, totaling 182 tackles (eight for loss), 1.5 sacks, five QB Hits and three passes defensed.

He’ll now look to show enough to make the cut with the Falcons.

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Sign or pass: What Giants should do with pending free agents

Giants Wire takes an early look at the New York Giants’ in-house free agents and breaks down who should be re-signed and who should go.

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen is entering his second offseason with the club and after a roaring start, he’s ready to turn the Giants into perennial winners.

It won’t be easy. Like last year, Schoen will be faced with several difficult decisions when it comes to retaining players. It appears to be a foregone conclusion that quarterback Daniel Jones will be back but at what price is the only question.

Schoen suggested the team will let the ’emotion’ of this season die down before making key decisions because it’s never a good idea to ‘shop hungry.’

That aside, here is a quick list of impending free agents the Giants will have to make decisions on.

Giants fall to Eagles: Winners, losers and those in between

The New York Giants fell to the Eagles, 38-7, on Saturday and here’s a look at our winners and losers (and those in between) from the game.

The New York Giants’ postseason ride ended abruptly at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday night after getting completely dominated by the top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles, 38-7.

Here are the very few winners, multiple losers and in-betweens from the debacle.

Giants fall to Cowboys: Winners, losers and those in between

The New York Giants fell to the Cowboys, 28-20, in Week 12 and here’s a look at our winners and losers (and those in between) from the game.

The New York Giants fell to 7-4 on the season with a 28-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. It wasn’t as ugly as some anticipated, but it wasn’t necessarily pretty, either.

The Giants blew an early second half lead and couldn’t seem to get anything going again until it was too late. In a game of inches, they came up a few short entirely too many times.

The opportunities were there but Brian Daboll’s group just couldn’t capitalize.

Here’s some winners, losers and in-betweens from Thursday’s loss.

Giants defeat Texans: Winners, losers and those in between

The New York Giants defeated the Texans, 24-16, in Week 10 and here’s a look at our winners and losers (and those in between) from the game.

The New York Giants defeated the Houston Texans, 24-16, at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon to lift their record to 7-2 on the season.

Here are some winners. losers and in-betweens from the game.

Andrew Thomas, Leonard Williams were highest-graded Giants in Week 2

Pro Football Focus grades are out and Andrew Thomas and Leonard Williams led the way for the New York Giants in Week 2.

The New York Giants defeated the Carolina Panthers, 19-16, in Week 2 but it wasn’t necessarily pretty. Big Blue struggled in a lot of areas, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

In particular, their offensive line appeared to take a step back. With the exception of left tackle Andrew Thomas, that is. He led the team with a 87.5 grade from Pro Football Focus.

Just behind Thomas were wide receiver Richie James (72.6), and tight ends Tanner Hudson (69.1) and Chris Myarick (66.7).

Other notable offensive grades include running back Saquon Barkley (65.9), wide receiver Sterling Shepard (59.9) and quarterback Daniel Jones (51.5).

The lowest-graded Giants on offense were offensive linemen Mark Glowinski (50.2), Jon Feliciano (39.9) and Joshua Ezeudu (22.3).

Defensively, Leonard Williams led the way with an 83.4. He was followed by cornerbacks Darnay Holmes (77.2), Fabian Moreau (69.5) and Adoree’ Jackson (67.2).

Other noteworthy defensive grades include linebacker Oshane Ximines (66.1), safety Xavier McKinney (60.0) and nose tackle Dexter Lawrence (58.3).

The lowest-graded Giants defenders were linebacker Tomon Fox (43.7), defensive lineman Justin Ellis (30.6) and linebacker Tae Crowder (30.2).

The highest-graded Giant on special teams was the aforementioned Chris Myarick, who logged an 81.2.

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Oshane Ximines, Andrew Thomas were highest-graded Giants in Week 1

New York Giants LB Oshane Ximines and LT Andrew Thomas earned the team’s highest Pro Football Focus grades in Week 1.

The New York Giants rallied from 13 points down to defeat the Tennessee Titans, 21-20, in Week 1. And while the team’s play was far from perfect, they performed well enough under a new coaching staff to get the job done.

On the defensive side of the ball, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence had a noteworthy performance but he didn’t lead the unit in Pro Football Focus grades. That distinction went to edge rusher Oshane Ximines, who led the entire team with a grade of 86.0.

Lawrence earned a 79.1 and was followed up by cornerbacks Aaron Robinson (73.4) and Adoree’ Jackson (71.5), and defensive lineman Leonard Williams (71.2).

Other defensive grades worth mentioning include linebacker Jihad Ward (69.7), safety Xavier McKinney (63.1) and linebacker Tomon Fox (56.2).

The lowest-graded Giants defenders were defensive lineman Justin Ellis (37.4), and linebackers Tae Crowder (29.0) and Austin Calitro (28.9).

On the offensive side of the ball, left tackle Andrew Thomas led the way with a 79.9. He was followed by running back Saquon Barkley (74.8), wide receiver Sterling Shepard (69.0) and tight end Daniel Bellinger (67.1).

Additional offensive grades include wide receiver Richie James Jr. (62.2), quarterback Daniel Jones (57.4) and wide receiver Kenny Golladay (51.0).

The lowest grades on offense belong to center Jon Feliciano (49.4), right tackle Evan Neal (40.1) and guard Ben Bredeson (38.0).

It’s also worth pointing out that rookie guard Joshua Ezeudu earned a pass protection grade of 0.0. The second-worst pass protection grade for a lineman belonged to Bredeson (38.0).

Defensive back Nick McCloud earned the Giants’ highest special teams grade (80.2).

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2022 Giants training camp preview: Defensive line

The New York Giants will see a mix of old and new across their defensive line in 2022.

The New York Giants’ defense will be under a different direction this season with the arrival of coordinator Wink Martindale, one of the best in the business the past decade.

The unit will be coached by the well-travelled line coach Andre Patterson and former Pro Bowl linebacker-turned-coach Bryan Cox.

The Giants are relying on a mixture of holdovers and newcomers to form a group that hopefully will become the foundation of Martindale’s scheme.

Here is a quick rundown of the defensive line heading into training camp.