Tag: K.J. Osborn

Commanders WR K.J. Osborn breaks silence after release by Patriots

K.J. Osborn commented briefly on being released by the Patriots

Washington Commanders wide receiver K.J. Osborn briefly commented on getting released by the New England Patriots.

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo confirmed the decision to part ways was mutual, and it ultimately gave Osborn a chance to seek opportunity elsewhere. That opportunity came when he was claimed by the Commanders.

“Man, I appreciate New England for the opportunity, but I’m just so excited to be [in Washington] and looking forward to this Sunday. …Best of luck to them in the future,” said Osborn told reporters, as transcribed by Jordy McElroy. 

Osborn recorded seven catches for 57 yards and a touchdown during his time with New England. He was initially a starter for the team, but by the end of his run, he had been a healthy scratch for multiple games.

The Patriots are currently undergoing an offensive overhaul. So they are shifting their focus to the players they view more as long-term contributors. Osborn, who was on a one-year deal with the team, didn’t factor into that equation.

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Commanders WR K.J. Osborn ready to help immediately

K.J. Osborn immediately jumped in and is ready to help the Commanders.

Commanders’ new addition, wide receiver K.J. Osborn, has arrived and has hit the playbook.

WUSA9 in Washington reported that Osborn communicated he was picked up by the Commanders Wednesday afternoon, caught a flight Wednesday night, arrived around midnight, and was up by 5 a.m., getting to work on his Commanders’ playbook.

Catching only seven passes and one touchdown with the Patriots, who are 3-10, Osborn has a very upbeat attitude after being signed by the Commanders, who are 8-5 and in the seventh-seed NFC Playoff position.

Osborn was at the Commanders’ Ashburn facility for Thursday’s practice. “It’s different. I mean, I think it’s up to me right now to get to learning the playbook, to catch up to these guys. They have put in a lot of work, going back all the way to OTAs. This group has been together.”

Acknowledging that he must take responsibility for working hard and learning the playbook, Osborn believes that current Commanders will accept him if they see his hard work and preparation. He talked of how he needs to be “putting my head down and grinding.”

Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who no doubt misses Noah Brown and Austin Ekeler in his offensive schemes, believes in Osborn.

“He’s a guy who can play inside, outside and give you a lot, and so we got to see how he fits in with us and try to get him up to speed.”

Seeing Brown was in some categories either the second or third leading receiver for the Commanders this season, another injury could make this an urgent situation. Kingsbury added, “From what I’ve seen on tape, he’s definitely a guy that we can use.”

Brown suffered an internal injury, reported to be a kidney injury, against the Titans as the Commanders rolled to a 42-19 victory, raising their record to 8-5 and also snapping their three-game losing streak.

The Texans actually released Brown on the final roster cutdowns to a 53-man roster. The Commanders grabbed Brown quickly, and he made a significant contribution to the Commanders this season.

 

Commanders, Jayden Daniels have lost No. 3 and No. 4 receivers

Jayden Daniels has now lost two of his top four weapons in recent weeks.

Jayden Daniels and the Commanders received some more bad news on Wednesday.

Coach Dan Quinn declared to the media that there had been a significant injury to receiver Noah Brown.

“He’s going to be out for a while and so he had a significant internal injury from the game. And so, that’s going to knock him out for a while. And we love him and his play style, the identity of how he goes. And so, that one hurts.”

Brown contributed to special teams with his physical nature and aggressive play. On offense, Brown was a good blocker on the perimeter, helping with the running game.

Now, about the receiving. Brown used his body well on slants, utilized his size well, and had the ability to beat corners and draw interference penalties.

Daniels, the Commanders quarterback has now lost his No. 3 and No. 4 targets in consecutive games. Against Dallas, he lost running back Austin Ekeler when he suffered a late-game concussion. The following week, Daniels lost Brown in the Titans game.

Yes, Terry McLaurin leads the team with 896 receiving yards, and Zach Ertz is second (501). However, Brown was third (453), and Ekeler was fourth (346).

Brown and Ekeler were also third and fourth, respectively, in receptions, with 35 and 33. How about yards per reception? Brown was second (12.9) and Ekeler fourth (10.5). Brown and Ekeler were also third and fourth in receptions per game and second and fourth in receiving yards per game.

Consequently, please make no mistake: Jayden Daniels has taken a significant hit as we reach the season’s final four games.

Will someone step up and fill the void in Brown and Ekeler’s absence? Dyami Brown, Luke McCaffrey, and Olamide Zaccheaus will each contribute in the passing game and as blockers in the run game.

Who will take Brown’s roster spot? The likely candidates to vie for the roster spot are WR Jamison Crowder and TE Colson Yankoff, both on injured reserve currently. Four candidates on the practice squad are TE Cole Turner, WR Michael Strachan, WR Mitchell Tinsley and WR Brycen Tremayne.

On Wednesday, the Commanders also signed receiver K.J. Osborn from waivers. The New England Patriots recently released him. He will bring one more receiver with some experience to compete for Brown’s roster spot this last month of the season.

 

Who is newest Commander, K.J. Osborn?

Getting to know new Commanders WR K.J. Osborn.

The Commanders, having lost their third and fourth leading receivers to injury, signed receiver K.J. Osborn on Wednesday.

Osborn was available because the New England Patriots released him just one day earlier. After playing his first four NFL seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Osborn had signed a one-year deal with the Patriots as a free agent.

Playing in only seven games, Osborn had a very unfulfilling season with the Patriots. He only caught seven receptions for 57 yards and one touchdown, averaging 8.1 yards per catch.

However, with Noah Brown and Austin Ekeler missing from Jayden Daniels’ toolbox, Commanders general manager Adam Peters wasted no time. Choosing not to simply wait and see if Jamison Crowder could make it back to health, Peters went outside the team to look for an answer.

Osborn played college ball at Buffalo and then the Miami Hurricanes. He was drafted in the fifth round (176th overall) of the 2020 NFL draft.

The Commanders really need help, and Peters and Dan Quinn are hoping Osborn can be a quick fix. He seems to have been a good teammate and locker-room guy in New England.

After releasing Osborn, Pats Coach Jarod Mayo offered this: “It was a mutual thing,” said Mayo. “Even when he was inactive, he was just a great professional, a great person, and a great leader. It just didn’t work out, and we decided to part ways.”

Osborn has also proven himself to be both courageous and unselfish. A couple of years ago, visiting friends in Austin, TX, Osborn, a passenger in an Uber, pulled over to the side of the road to assist and pull a driver out of his burning car.

Osborn is still only age 27, and with the exception of Crowder, he has more experience than the other Commanders receivers to whom the Commanders would be looking to step up in replacing Noah Brown.

In his last three seasons in Minnesota, Osborn caught 50, 60, and 48 passes for 655, 650, and 540 yards, respectively.

It is also worth noting that Osborn does have some NFL experience returning kickoffs and punts. It is not extensive, but he has returned 14 kickoffs and 11 punts.

Osborn was involved in a 2020 draft trade that saw the Vikings receive Jeff Gladney, Osborn, and D.J. Wonnum, while the 49ers received a draft pick that they used to select Brando Aiyuk.

Commanders claim former Vikings, Patriots receiver off waivers

With Noah Brown out, the Commanders added a veteran replacement.

The Washington Commanders will likely be without wide receiver Noah Brown for the rest of the season. On Wednesday, head coach Dan Quinn informed the media that Brown suffered a serious injury in the Week 13 win over the Titans and will be out for “a while.”

“He’s going to be out for a while, and so he had a significant internal injury from the game,” Quinn said of Brown. After expressing how much the team would miss Brown, Quinn acknowledged he’d likely be out for the remainder of the season. 

So, in another move, Washington claimed wide receiver K.J. Osborn off waivers. Osborn, 27, was released by the New England Patriots on Tuesday. Osborn signed with the Patriots in March after spending the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings.

Osborn appeared in seven games for the Patriots this season, catching seven passes for 57 yards and a touchdown. However, the 2020 fifth-round pick from the University of Miami (Fla.) was coming back three consecutive productive seasons with the Vikings, where he caught 50, 60, 48 passes, respectively. He has 16 career touchdowns.

In his first two NFL seasons, Osborn had some experience returning punts and kickoffs for the Vikings.

After the addition of Osborn, Brown likely heads to injured reserve. This means more opportunities for players such as Dyami Brown, Luke McCaffrey, and Olamide Zaccheaus.

But, with Osborn, he gives the Commanders some experienced depth and a player that has been productive recently in the NFL.

Former Patriots WR K.J. Osborn claimed on waivers by NFC contender

Former Patriots WR K.J. Osborn gets claimed by the Commanders

It didn’t take long for former New England Patriots wide receiver K.J. Osborn to land on his feet.

After being waived by the Patriots on Tuesday, the veteran wideout was reportedly claimed by the Washington Commanders, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

In only a day, Osborn went from one of the worst teams in the league to joining an 8-5 Commanders team currently in the hunt for playoff contention. It’s a great opportunity for him to bounce back after a short and ugly run with the Patriots.

Osborn was a healthy scratch for multiple games in New England after initially being pegged as a starter. He only hauled in seven receptions for 57 yards and one touchdown in seven games with the team. That’s a shocking falloff in comparison to the 48 receptions, 540 yards and three touchdowns he had with the Minnesota Vikings last season.

The Patriots are a rebuilding team with a ton of young talent and a first-time offensive play-caller. Being in New England was a much different situation than playing in offensive guru Kevin O’Connell’s offense alongside Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison at receiver.

We’ll see if Osborn can turn things around in Washington with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels under center.

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Patriots coach Jerod Mayo opens up on decision to cut WR K.J. Osborn

Jerod Mayo commented on K.J. Osborn’s release by the team

New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo confirmed the decision to waive wide receiver K. J. Osborn was a mutual one, when speaking with media members on Wednesday.

Osborn was brought into the organization on a one-year deal as a free agent back in March. He had seven catches for 57 yards and a touchdown during his time in New England. The touchdown was caught in the Week 7 international game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Osborn was used sparingly in the offense. He was seldom targeted and a healthy scratch for multiple games. He last played in the Week 10 game against the Chicago Bears.

“It was a mutual thing,” said Mayo. “Even when he was inactive, he was just a great professional, a great person, and a great leader. It just didn’t work out, and we decided to part ways.”

Osborn no longer being in the mix could open up the door for one of the Patriots’ younger receivers to climb the depth chart. So far, Ja’Lynn Polk has struggled to produce, and Javon Baker hasn’t played well enough to stay on the field.

Perhaps those situations could change in the last four remaining weeks of the 2024 regular season schedule.

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Report: Patriots cutting former starting wide receiver

The Patriots and WR K.J. Osborn have mutually agreed to part ways

The New England Patriots are reportedly releasing veteran wide receiver K.J. Osborn. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, it was a “mutual” decision by both sides on Tuesday.

Osborn, who has been a healthy scratch in games, wants a situation where he’s utilized more on the field. With only four games left and the veteran wideout likely not returning in 2025, it made sense for both parties to wash their hands clean of a situation that didn’t work out the way either expected.

Osborn wasn’t able to carve out a consistent role in a Patriots offense that struggled throughout the season. It was a huge drop-off from the production he had as the third option for the Minnesota Vikings last year, when he hauled in 48 catches for 540 yards and three touchdowns.

But then again, he didn’t have Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison commanding all of the attention in New England.

The Patriots are shifting their focus to their younger receivers, and there are expectations that they will add to the position in free agency and the draft next year.

Osborn is a good veteran player who simply never fit in New England.

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Report: Chargers have shown interest in trading for WR K.J. Osborn

The Chargers are looking to add another weapon for Justin Herbert.

According to Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi, the Chargers are one of the teams that has shown interest in trading for Patriots wide receiver K.J. Osborn.

Osborn hasn’t been that productive this season in New England, only with seven catches for 57 yards and a touchdown in six games. But he’s proven to be impactful in his professional career.

In four seasons with the Vikings, where he played before signing with the Patriots, Osborn caught 160 passes for a total of 1,865 yards and 16 touchdowns in those games

Currently sitting at 5-3 and well positioned to make the playoffs, Los Angeles finds itself as buyers ahead of the trade deadline. And it appears the team wants to bolster the wide receiver room.

Ladd McConkey has impressed in his rookie season. Quentin Johnston has shown signs of improvement in his sophomore campaign. D.J. Chark has yet to make his Charger debut due to a hip injury.

This is a position that could benefit from another playmaker for Justin Herbert, as the Bolts continue to find their stride in the passing game.

Patriots veteran WR reportedly being targeted by multiple teams

Patriots WR K.J. Osborn is reportedly generating trade interest

New England Patriots wide receiver K.J. Osborn has reportedly received interest from multiple teams ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. The Los Angeles Chargers are one of the teams that have shown interest, per the Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi.

Osborn was signed by New England in free agency. He has recorded seven catches for 57 yards and a touchdown on the year. The touchdown came in the team’s Week 7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.

His name has been floating around in trade rumors given his lack of production with the Patriots. There was hope that he’d be a key contributor in the receiving corps, but so far, that hasn’t been the case for his time in New England.

The Patriots’ organization would be wise to build around quarterback Drake Maye. So anything they might potentially get in return for a player like Osborn, assuming they’re even interested in trading him, could be used for the future.

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