Tag: keith smith

Falcons place Keith Smith on IR, sign Tucker Fisk to roster

The Falcons placed FB Keith Smith on IR and signed TE Tucker Fisk to their 53-man roster on Saturday

The Atlanta Falcons (6-8) have placed fullback Keith Smith on the injured reserve list and signed tight end Tucker Fisk to the 53-man roster, the team announced on Saturday afternoon.

Smith practiced this week, but he was listed as doubtful on Friday’s injury report due to an ankle injury. Fisk was signed off of the team’s practice squad to replace Smith. The young tight end was elevated for last week’s loss to the Carolina Panthers.

The Falcons also elevated offensive lineman John Leglue and punter Pat O’Donnell from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts (8-6).

Falcons FB Keith Smith’s $87K fine overturned by NFL

Falcons fullback Keith Smith had his $87,000 fine overturned by the NFL after appealing

The Atlanta Falcons have received quite a few fines from the NFL this season, but fullback Keith Smith’s $87,000 fine for illegal use of his helmet during the team’s Week 3 loss in Detroit was by far the most expensive.

As initially reported by Pro Football Talk‘s Mike Florio, Smith’s fine was overturned on appeal, but that information was never released by the NFL.

The NFL has not been reporting which fines get overturned, which is something that was highlighted by NFLPA president JC Tretter in a recent article:

For example, just this season, a player was fined more than $87,000 for an illegal use of helmet. The player’s coach had previously reached out to the league for guidance on how to properly execute the technique his player had been previously fined for, but he received no answer. After receiving this fine, which is more than his entire weekly paycheck, the player appealed to the neutral hearing officer, who rescinded the entire amount and deemed there was no actual violation of the rules.

This provides some context as to why the league would impose such a hefty fine only to completely dismiss the entire thing. Nonetheless, Smith is likely grateful to have avoided paying nearly $90,000 something that was not considered an actual violation.

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Falcons FB Keith Smith fined $87K for unnecessary roughness

Falcons fullback Keith Smith hit with $87,000 fine from the NFL for unnecessary roughness

The NFL handed Atlanta Falcons fullback Keith Smith a hefty fine on Saturday afternoon. The 10-year veteran must pay an $87,000 fine for an unnecessary roughness violation he committed against the Lions in Week 3.

According to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, Smith was fined for using his helmet on a hit that he made during a special teams return. Watch the play below.

Smith wasn’t the only Falcons player fined on Sunday, though. Linebacker Kaden Elliss was fined over $16,000 for another unnecessary roughness call in Week 3, per ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.

12 Falcons free-agent options

Falcons Week 4 depth chart

NFL Week 4 Power Rankings

Fans speculate on next move

Twitter reacts to Pitts trade talk

Updated Falcons 53-man roster

Report: Multiple teams monitoring OKC Thunder’s roster crunch

Several teams will keep an eye on the Thunder’s impending roster decisions.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder will enter training camp with some tough decisions to make before the start of the 2023-24 regular season.

The Thunder are carrying the maximum allowed 21 players on their roster during the offseason. This doesn’t include the three two-way spots.

By the end of preseason, the Thunder will need to trim that number to 15 full-time players and three two-way players for a total of 18. This means  OKC will need to cut six of the 21 players currently signed.

Depending on how much money ownership is willing to burn, some easy cut/trade candidates include veterans on expiring deals such as Victor Oladipo, Rudy Gay, Jack White and possibly even Davis Bertans, who is  owed at least $5 million in 2024-25.

Recently acquired players TyTy Washington Jr. and Usman Garuba are likely next in line when it comes to being on the chopping block. Both were acquired as a tax for second-round draft picks and are still on their rookie scale deal.

No matter the end result, the Thunder will let go several players who could have a market. Heck, it’s already been reported Washington Jr. and Garuba have multiple suitors.

Besides the obvious candidates, the Thunder might need to swallow the bitter pill of letting go of talented young players that are near the bottom of position logjams, such as Tre Mann.

Despite an impressive summer league campaign, the numbers might force OKC’s hand. Mann is behind several other guards on the depth chart.

With so much talent on the back end of the OKC roster, multiple teams are keeping an eye on the Thunder to see who they let go. Spotrac’s Keith Smith reported that at least two teams are monitoring OKC’s situation.

“Some good players are going to get cut from OKC and we all need to be ready to jump when that happens,” Smith said an executive told him.

The Thunder have an abundance of young talent. As they continue to add new waves of draft classes, players from previous drafts still on their rookie deal could see their OKC tenures prematurely end.

If this happens, the Thunder will likely attempt to see if they could flip their young talent for additional future draft assets. These are the type of good problems teams have when they’re exceptional at targeting and developing talent through the draft.

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Report: JaMychal Green officially picks up 2022-23 player option with Thunder

The move everybody expected is now official.

JaMycal Green has officially picked up his $8.2 million player option with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2022-23 season, per Spotrac’s Keith Smith.

The Thunder acquired Green this past Monday in a trade with the Denver Nuggets that revolved around Green and a 2027 protected first-round pick going to Oklahoma City for the No. 30 pick.

While the trade is still not official, Green picking up his player option is. It’s unknown right now whether or not Green will suit up for the Thunder or get moved again before the season starts, but at his salary, Green might only have a few teams interested in him.

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Oklahoma City Thunder viewed as popular trade partner for 2022 NBA draft, per Keith Smith

The Thunder could consolidate their four draft picks.

Spotrac’s Keith Smith reported on Tuesday that teams around the league believe the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to be a popular trade partner during the 2022 NBA draft due to a roster crunch with picks Nos. 12, 30 and 34 available.

The Thunder own four of the top 34 picks, and, with the team already full of young talent, some believe the team will have to consolidate picks.

“They don’t have roster spots for four guys,” said one source to Smith.

Which I mean — duh. Thunder general manager Sam Presti even admitted himself during the exit interview that the team might not take on four rookies despite owning four picks. This could especially be the case with 30th pick; it seems smart to trade out of that spot to avoid paying a first-round salary to a guy who would’ve probably been there in the second round.

Also, the current Thunder roster doesn’t scream “keep me” guys. There are plenty of dispensable players on the roster the Thunder could easily move on from if it really wanted to draft a certain player.

Regardless, I think it’s a safe prediction the team will not bring in four rookies and will likely try to bundle some of its picks and potentially players to move up.

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Keith Smith thinks the Thunder and Lu Dort will work out a long-term deal this offseason

“My guess is what we hear here is he gets his option declined, they make him a restricted free agent and then this is one of the earlier deals we find detail like: ‘Thunder and Lu Dort have agreed to four-years, $60 million contract.'”

Spotrac’s Keith Smith mentioned in both his recent article and on a recent podcast that he thinks Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lu Dort could potentially get his $1.9 million team option declined so that the team could sign him onto a long-term deal without the risk of losing him as a restricted free agent.

“This guy is the key for declining and re-signing. You cannot — under any circumstances — let him hit unrestricted free agency. You’ll end up paying him way more money than you want to because some other team will jump in. Could one of the cap space teams throw an offer sheet at Lu Dort? Yeah, maybe but probably not so much of a one that the Thunder are really gonna blink at it. So yeah, he’ll be back. My guess is what we hear here is he gets his option declined, they make him a restricted free agent and then this is one of the earlier deals we find detail like: ‘Thunder and Lu Dort have agreed to four-years, $60 million contract,’ or something like that.”

Dort, who has blossomed into one of the team’s best players with his defense and willingness to shoot the ball, has outperformed his current contract and will look for a big payday either this summer or next summer.

During his exit interview, Thunder general manager Sam Presti said he wasn’t sweating on making contract decisions on guys like Dort and Darius Bazley as the team is looking at the team from a grand scheme of things perspective.

“That stuff is like ground cover compared to the things that — when you’re at the stage where we are, like you said, going into our second draft, we reposition the team financially on and off the floor, but the thing that really shapes everything in every sport is what are the rules that are governing the CBA essentially,” said Presti.

The Thunder will need to decide on Dort’s team option by June 29, six days after the 2022 NBA draft.

Falcons fullback reveals he eats Chipotle ‘four or five times a day’

That’s a lot of burrito bowls.

For a professional football player, eating is a major part of the job, especially if you’re expected to block other behemoth players to open up lanes for your running back or prevent your quarterback from being hit. Atlanta Falcons fullback Keith Smith stands at 6-foot-0 and 240 pounds, and the key to maintaining that physique may surprise you.

During an appearance on Bro Bible’s Endless Hustle Podcast, Smith shared that he has a somewhat alarming Chipotle habit. According to Smith, he eats the same order from Chipotle “four or five times a day.” His go-to? A bowl with chicken, rice and beans. That’s it!

To be fair, there are far worse fast-food addictions an athlete could have. According to Chipotle’s nutrition calculator, a bowl containing only chicken, rice and beans amounts to 520 calories, 12.5 grams of fat, 44 grams of protein and 62 grams of carbs. Multiply that by four, and you’ve got 2080 calories and 176 grams of protein.

 

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Falcons activate FB Keith Smith from reserve/COVID-19 list

The Falcons got another player off of the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list as fullback Keith Smith is set to return, the team announced on Saturday.

The Falcons got another player off of the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list as fullback Keith Smith has been activated, the team announced on Saturday.

Smith, 28, has overcome a lot during his six-year NFL career, including being cut by the Dallas Cowboys seven times in a single season. So it’s safe to say this short stint on the league’s new virus designation won’t faze him. 

With the Falcons set to begin full-contact practices, it will be helpful to have the team’s lead blocker back out there in front of running back Todd Gurley. 

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Jamize Olawale keeps returning to Cowboys team that doesn’t trust him

FB Jamize Olawale has been more known for his special teams play as a Cowboy, but can Mike McCarthy turn him into another receiving threat?

The Cowboys offense has many mouths to feed. Between Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, 2020-first rounder CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, Blake Jarwin and Tony Pollard, Dak Prescott will have no shortage of downfield targets this season.

Can Mike McCarthy and Kellen Moore unlock yet another offensive weapon in FB Jamize Olawale?

Originally a 2012 Dallas UDFA, Olawale broke into the league as a Raiders practice squad player. He spent six seasons in Oakland before returning to the Cowboys, in essentially a delayed swap of fullbacks. Just days after Keith Smith left Dallas to sign with the Raiders in free agency, the two teams agreed to send Olawale back to Dallas with a 2018 sixth round draft pick, in exchange for a Cowboys 2018 fifth.

A tight end in college at North Texas, Olawale arrived back in Dallas seemingly with some offensive upside. In 2016 with the Raiders, Olawale put up 274 yards from scrimmage (227 receiving on 12 receptions), and scored three total touchdowns. However the Cowboys have mostly utilized Olawale as a blocker and special teamer.

Over the past two seasons in Dallas, Olawale has seen well over twice as many special teams snaps as offensive (539 ST snaps vs 232 offensive snaps).

In Oakland, Olawale recorded 39 receptions for 425 yards over six seasons, while as a Cowboy, he’s managed just two catches and 13 receiving yards. He also has zero rushing attempts with Dallas, compared to 19 as a Raider.

He hasn’t particularly helped his cause, as Olawale has been on the receiving end of memorable and costly miscues in each of the past two seasons.

Still, Olawale manages to contribute in other ways. He’s chipped in 16 special teams tackles since 2018, and this offseason the Cowboys exercised his contract option to bring him back for the 2020 season.

While Dallas might be content with Olawale for his special teams contributions, he also represents an under-utilized skill position player. Olawale has shown flashes of being an offensive weapon over his career, and McCarthy certainly has experience working a fullback into his offense.

Former Packers fan favorite John Kuhn was a backfield fixture of nearly all of McCarthy’s previous coaching tenure. Over nine seasons in Green Bay, Kuhn made three Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro honors in 2014, recording 1,158 total yards and scoring 23 touchdowns.

While the traditional fullback has largely been phased out, the position is experiencing a bit of a resurgence, as more teams are beginning to utilize different types of runners and multi-man backfields. 49ers FB Kyle Juszczyk has made four straight Pro Bowls, and last season recorded 239 receiving yards on 20 catches in just 12 games, showcasing just how productive the position can be within a modern offense.

Olawale may not have the blocking abilities to be a Kuhn or Juszczyk-level difference maker, but he does have the athleticism and capabilities to do more damage on offense than what he’s shown far in Dallas.

If McCarthy can open up more opportunities for him, perhaps Olawale will emerge as yet another offensive threat for the Cowboys to torture defenses with.

This is part of our Countdown to the Regular Season player profile countdown. 

| Antwaun Woods | Tyrone Crawford | Trysten Hill | Jalen Jelks |
| Dontari Poe | Randy Gregory | Gerald McCoy | Dorance Armstrong |
| L.P. Ladouceur | DeMarcus Lawrence | Blake Jarwin | CeeDee Lamb |
| Cole Hikutini | Dalton Schultz | Noah Brown | Sean McKeon |
| Ventell Bryant | Jon’vea Johnson | Blake Bell | Justin Hamilton |
| Cody Wichmann | Tyron Smith | Ladarius Hamilton |
| Neville Gallimore | Terence Steele | Joe Looney | La’el Collins |
| Zack Martin | Brandon Knight | Ron’Dell Carter | Wyatt Miller |
| Connor McGovern | Tyler Biadasz | Adam Redmond | Luke Gifford |
| Leighton Vander Esch | Justin March | Connor Williams | Sean Lee |

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