Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out the Madden NFL 24 launch ratings for Colts WRs and safeties.
With training camp right around the corner for the majority of teams, EA Sports has started unveiling “Madden NFL 24” launch ratings ahead of the release date for the game.
The first group to be revealed in these launch ratings were the wide receivers and safeties. Only one member of the Colts at these positions was given a rating above 80, which was wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.
Here’s a look at the launch ratings for the wide receivers and safeties on the Colts in “Madden NFL 24:”
The Colts signed WR Juwann Winfree.
The Indianapolis Colts signed free-agent wide receiver Juwann Winfree and waived defensive end Guy Thomas, the team announced Tuesday.
Winfree, 26, was a sixth-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos out of Colorado. He played in three games during his rookie season and was waived before the 2020 campaign.
Winfree spent the last three seasons with the Green Bay Packers, appearing in 12 games without making a start. He has nine receptions for 75 yards on 17 targets in his career.
Thomas joined the Colts roster this offseason as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2023 NFL draft.
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Former Packers WR Juwann Winfree, who played in 12 games for Green Bay between 2020 and 2022, signed with the Colts.
We have signed free agent WR Juwann Winfree and waived DE Guy Thomas.
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) May 9, 2023
Wide receiver Juwann Winfree, who played in 12 games for the Green Bay Packers over the last three seasons, signed with the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday.
Winfree was originally a sixth-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2019. He arrived in Green Bay on the practice squad in October of 2020 and eventually saw action in 12 regular-season games, playing 186 snaps on offense and 83 on special teams for the Packers between 2020 and 2022. He also appeared in one playoff game in 2021.
Winfree caught nine passes for 75 yards. He appeared in three games as a practice squad elevation (Week 1 at Vikings, Week 3 at Bucs, Week 6 vs. Jets) last season, catching one pass on four targets for 17 yards.
The Packers did not retain Winfree on a futures contract following the conclusion of the 2022 season, making him a free agent.
The Packers elevated receiver Juwann Winfree from the practice squad to the gameday roster for Week 6 against the Jets.
The Green Bay Packers elevated receiver Juwann Winfree from the practice squad to the gameday roster for Week 6. The move was announced Saturday, making Winfree available for Matt LaFleur and the Packers for Sunday’s showdown with the New York Jets.
The Packers need the extra depth at receiver, where rookie Christian Watson is dealing with a hamstring injury and is already ruled out for Sunday. Amari Rodgers has only played five snaps from scrimmage, and rookie Samori Toure hasn’t been active in any of the five games to start his NFL career.
Winfree has previously played in two other games for the Packers this season, catching one pass on three targets for 17 yards over 22 offensive snaps. He’s also played 22 special teams snaps.
Over the last three seasons, Winfree has played 173 offensive snaps and 77 special teams snaps over 11 games with the Packers. He caught eight passes for 58 yards (five first downs, two fumbles) last season.
On Sunday vs. the Jets, Winfree could operate as the No. 4 receiver behind Allen Lazard, Romeo Doubs and Randall Cobb.
The Packers did not elevate an outside linebacker from the practice squad, suggesting Rashan Gary will be available despite a questionable labeling on Sunday.
All teams are allowed to elevate up to two players from the practice squad each week. An individual player can only be elevated from the practice squad three times per season, so Winfree is now out of elevations and would need to be signed to the 53-man roster to contribute to the Packers again this season. On Monday, he will revert back to the practice squad.
Week 1: WR Juwann Winfree, S Micah Abernathy
Week 2: RB Patrick Taylor
Week 3: WR Juwann Winfree
Week 4: CB Kiondre Thomas
Week 5: None
Week 6: WR Juwann Winfree
The Packers elevated WR Juwann Winfree from the practice squad to the gameday roster for Week 3 against the Buccaneers.
For the second time this season, the Green Bay Packers elevated wide receiver Juwann Winfree from the practice squad to the gameday roster. The move was announced on Saturday, making Winfree available for Matt LaFleur and the Packers for Sunday’s showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Winfree was previously elevated to the gameday roster for Week 1, when he played nine snaps and made one catch for 17 yards in the Packers’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
The Packers need the extra depth at receiver entering Sunday. Sammy Watkins (hamstring) was placed on injured reserve, and Randall Cobb (illness) and Christian Watson (hamstring) are both questionable to play.
If Cobb and Watson don’t play, the Packers will be down to Allen Lazard, Romeo Doubs, Samori Toure and Amari Rodgers at receiver. Toure has been inactive each of the first two weeks, while Rodgers – the team’s primary returner – has played just one snap from scrimmage in two games.
Winfree has earned the trust of Aaron Rodgers and would be capable of playing snaps on offense and special teams in a pinch on Sunday in Tampa Bay.
Last season, Winfree played in seven games, catching eight of 13 targets for 58 yards. He created five first downs but also fumbled twice.
All teams are allowed to elevate up to two players from the practice squad each week. An individual player can only be elevated from the practice squad three times per season, so Winfree will be down to only one more elevation following Week 3. On Monday, he will revert back to the practice squad.
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The Packers are signing wide receiver Juwann Winfree to the practice squad.
The Green Bay Packers are returning wide receiver Juwann Winfree on the practice squad, according to agent Mike McCartney.
Winfree was released during final cutdowns on Tuesday. He cleared waivers on Wednesday, opening the door for a return to Green Bay.
Winfree, 25, caught eight passes for 58 yards for the Packers last season. For the second straight year, he’ll start the season on the practice squad.
The Packers kept rookie Samori Toure on the 53-man roster as the seventh receiver, but both Winfree and Travis Fulgham were retained on the practice squad as insurance at the position.
Winfree caught seven passes on 15 targets over three games during the preseason.
The Packers announced 12 signings to the practice squad on Tuesday, and kicker Ahmed Ramiz and cornerback Benjie Franklin are expected to be signed.
Winfree’s signing leaves one open spot on the 16-player practice squad, possibly for safety Micah Abernathy, who was released to make room for safety Rudy Ford on Wednesday.
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A mild surprise: The Packers are releasing wide receiver Juwann Winfree during final roster cutdowns.
Here’s one of the early surprises of roster cutdowns in Green Bay on Tuesday: The Packers are releasing wide receiver Juwann Winfree, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Winfree, a favorite of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, caught seven of 15 targets for 75 yards over 113 preseason snaps this summer.
Once released, Winfree will go on waivers. If unclaimed, he could return to Green Bay on the practice squad.
The Packers have as many as six roster locks at receiver and may end up keeping rookie Samori Toure – who led the team in receptions this preseason – as the No. 7 receiver.
Winfree has been in Green Bay since the 2020 season. He was a sixth-round pick of the Broncos in 2019. A shoulder injury derailed a strong start to his training camp in 2021, but he stayed healthy and gave himself a real shot at making the team this summer.
The presence of Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Sammy Watkins, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson and Amari Rodgers made the numbers tough at wide receiver.
Last season, Winfree caught eight passes for 58 yards and fumbled twice over seven games.
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The ups and downs are everywhere in the Packers’ young receiver group, but Juwann Winfree has remained steady and reliable.
There have been a few instances throughout training camp that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has gone out of his way to praise wide receiver Juwann Winfree.
On the flip side, just last week when meeting with reporters, Rodgers expressed the need for the Packers’ young receivers to be more reliable – even adding that dropped passes aren’t going to result in playing time.
The trio of Amari Rodgers, Romeo Doubs, and Samori Toure responded well the following day in a joint practice with New Orleans, but we saw more ups and downs from this group in the preseason game, including several more dropped passes.
Doubs has been a part of a number of big plays this summer, and as a result, keeping him off the field – even with the highs and lows – is becoming more challenging by the day. Winfree, however, has provided an additional steady presence at the receiver position since training camp began.
On the first day of practice, and on the ninth play overall, Rodgers connected with Winfree on a downfield pass with Eric Stokes in coverage. Since then, the trust and rapport between the two have continued to grow.
“I will say,” Rodgers told reporters recently, “between 88 (Winfree) and 87 (Doubs), there’s been a lot of positive things that makes you feel good about the depth we could have in that room.”
Winfree has since seen his share of snaps with the starting offense throughout camp and has been a reliable target in the two preseason games for Jordan Love.
Although he hasn’t leaped off the screen the way that Doubs has, Winfree, led all Packers pass-catchers in receiving yards against the Saints with 41. He has also caught six of his nine passes for 68 yards, and perhaps most importantly, Winfree doesn’t have a drop per PFF.
This is that dependability that Rodgers often talks about. Not only catching passes, but running the correct routes, being in the right spot at the right time, and recognizing when the play needs to be adjusted based on the defensive alignment.
Winfree only has 165 career NFL snaps on offense, not many more than the three other receivers mentioned above. But he is now entering his fourth NFL season and third in the Matt LaFleur offense, where his experience likely gives him a bit of an edge over the young pass-catchers.
In addition to standing out on offense, Winfree has also seen starting reps on special teams, specifically with each of the return units. For any back-end of the roster player, special teams contributions are a must.
Winfree entered the summer on the roster bubble. LaFleur has never rostered more than six receivers on his initial 53-man roster, and before the Packers even took the practice field, six of those roster spots at the position were already accounted for.
But Winfree has provided needed stability to a position that has very much been in flux. He also appears to have Rodgers in his corner as well – and that certainly isn’t a bad thing with the final cut-down date looming.
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Juwann Winfree, Tipa Galeai and Dominique Dafney all returned after short-term injuries.
For a player on the roster bubble, being available is everything. Injuries can all but end a fringe player’s chances of making the team during training camp.
Three players on the roster bubble for the Green Bay Packers avoided this scenario and returned to practice after short-term injuries coming out of the preseason opener.
According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, receiver Juwann Winfree, outside linebacker Tipa Galeai and tight end Dominique Dafney all returned to practice on Monday.
A fourth player on the roster bubble – receiver Malik Taylor – was no longer wearing a non-contact red uniform and is ready to participate in more team periods.
Winfree, who caught all three of his targets for 27 yards against the 49ers, was dealing with a groin injury. He’s attempting to make the team as the sixth or seventh receiver.
Galeai tallied two tackles, including a tackle for loss, but left the preseason opener after injuring his elbow. He’s still very much in the running for a roster spot as a backup edge rusher and special teamer.
Dafney has been dealing with a knee injury since last week. He sat out the preseason opener. Although Robert Tonyan is back from the PUP list, Dafney remains in the running for a roster spot as a move tight end.
Taylor is playing catchup after missing most of training camp with a shoulder injury. He’ll need to prove his worth on special teams over the final two preseason games to have a shot at making the 53.
Safety Dallin Leavitt (shoulder), defensive lineman Akial Byers (toe) and safety Tariq Carpenter (knee) all remained out with injuries suffered against the 49ers.
Injuries were too much for one player to overcome. Outside linebacker Randy Ramsey, who is still dealing with an ankle injury suffered last year, was released by the team on Monday.
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WR Juwann Winfree, who made one of the best plays of Day 1 of training camp, has earned the trust of Packers QB Aaron Rodgers.
All eyes might be on the rookies and newcomer Sammy Watkins at wide receiver, but Juwann Winfree used the first day of training camp to offer up a reminder of why he’s still very much in the running to earn a role for Aaron Rodgers in the Green Bay Packers offense this season.
Winfree, who is now in his third season with the Packers, created one of the top plays of Wednesday’s practice when he made a terrific catch of a deep ball from Rodgers behind the coverage of starting cornerback Eric Stokes.
The play of No. 88 certainly caught the attention of the four-time MVP.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if 88 is over there and going, hey, I’m a pretty damn good football player, don’t forget about me,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “Because when he shows up and he’s healthy, he makes a lot of plays, he has the last couple of camps and dealt with an injury last year in camp. He definitely is going to put himself in a position to have an impact. It’s just a matter of him staying healthy and making plays.”
Winfree was a standout of last offseason before he injured his shoulder early in training camp, derailing his attempt to make the 53-man roster and contribute to start the regular season. He was eventually promoted and played in seven games, catching eight passes for 58 yards on 12 targets. He also fumbled twice.
But the consistency of big plays – especially with the first-team offense – has meant earning the trust of Rodgers, which is worth its weight in gold for Packers receivers.
“When he’s in the first huddle and you see me throw a deep ball to him, it’s great for him,” Rodgers said. “It’s the same message to you guys that it’s sending to him, that I trust you. As you guys know, that’s an important step that has to be taken in the process from quarterback to receiver.”
Winfree said he had to first learn how to practice like a professional and learn the offense fully before his full confidence as a player could finally show. Now, he’s playing fast and creating the consistency that Rodgers demands.
What does the trust from Rodgers mean? More internal confidence?
“Hell yeah. That’s a Hall of Famer throwing me the ball. Having him have that belief in me is just going to bring my game up that much higher,” Winfree said.
Winfree has often been the odd man out in 53-man roster predictions entering training camp, largely due to the rookie additions and the likelihood of Watkins, Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb cementing starting roles. Winfree might make himself tough to cut, or even force the Packers to keep more than five or six receivers on the opening roster.
“I’m really proud of Juwann,” Rodgers said. “He’s always been a professional for us. He’s had some bad luck with injuries. Hopefully, he can stay healthy and have a great camp.”
Without Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling in Green Bay, Rodgers is going to need receivers he can trust, especially early on as Watkins and the rookies learn the ropes. Winfree has the trust. And if he keeps making plays and staying available, he should have a terrific opportunity to play a role for the 2022 Packers.
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