Tag: Kobe Jones

Panthers add three players to practice squad

The busy Panthers made three additions to their practice squad on Monday.

From firing a pair of defensive coaches to bringing quarterback Sam Darnold back to the active roster, the Carolina Panthers had themselves a busy Monday. But they didn’t stop maneuvering there.

The team also added three players to its practice squad—wide receiver Emeka Emezie, linebacker Kobe Jones and cornerback Gavin Heslop.

Emezie, a Waxhaw, N.C. native and Marvin Ridge Maverick, attended North Carolina State University from 2017 to 2021. There, he reeled in 229 receptions for 2,895 yards and 19 touchdowns over 62 games.

Jones, who played his college ball at Mississippi State University from 2017 to 2020, has appeared in one NFL game during his pro career. That outing came this season with the Green Bay Packers back in Week 8—where he played seven snaps on defense and seven on special teams against the Buffalo Bills.

Heslop is a second-year veteran, who played in three games for the Seattle Seahawks in 2021. The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder recorded one tackle.

To make room for the trio, Carolina released quarterback Jacob Eason, safety Marquise Blair and defensive Delontae Scott from the practice squad.

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Packers elevate S Innis Gaines, OLB Kobe Jones from practice squad to gameday roster for Week 8

The Packers elevated S Innis Gaines and OLB Kobe Jones from the practice squad to the gameday roster for Week 8 against the Bills.

The Green Bay Packers elevated safety Innis Gaines and outside linebacker Kobe Jones from the practice squad to the gameday roster for Week 8. The move was announced Saturday, making Gaines and Jones available for Matt LaFleur and the Packers for Sunday’s showdown with the Buffalo Bills.

This is the first time the Packers have used both available elevations from the practice squad since Week 1.

Gaines and Jones will both be expected to contribute on special teams, while Jones could play meaningful snaps as a backup edge rusher. Last week, La’Darius Hamilton was elevated to the gameday roster and ended up playing  14 snaps on defense and another 11 on special teams.

This is the first elevation of the 2022 season for both Gaines and Jones.

While Rashan Gary is questionable because of a concussion, he practiced in full on Friday and all indications point to him playing Sunday. Jones is an obvious safeguard against Gary’s availability.

Also, Tipa Galeai remains on injured reserve, so the Packers need the body type of an edge rusher on special teams.

The Packers did not elevate a receiver from the practice squad or sign Juwann Winfree, possibly suggesting that rookie Christian Watson will be available to play on Sunday night as well. He is currently questionable after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury.

Jones would make his NFL debut if he plays on Sunday. Gaines, an undrafted free agent from TCU, played in one game for the Packers last season, producing one tackle over five special teams snaps.

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 both Gaines and Jones now have only two more elevations available this season. On Monday, both will revert back to the practice squad.

Elevations by week

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
Week 7: OLB La’Darius Hamilton
Week 8: S Innis Gaines, OLB Kobe Jones

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Packers sign outside linebacker Kobe Jones after rookie minicamp

The Packers filled their 90th roster spot by signing edge rusher Kobe Jones following rookie minicamp.

The Green Bay Packers filled the 90th spot on the roster by signing outside linebacker Kobe Jones following a rookie minicamp on Friday and Saturday.

Jones, who will wear No. 49, was an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2021. He spent time with the Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans last season. The Packers had him in Green Bay on a tryout basis during the team’s rookie minicamp.

Jones is 6-3 and 255 pounds. He produced 22 tackles for loss and seven sacks over 50 games and 13 starts at Mississippi State. One of his best games came against Alabama in 2021 when he produced a sack of Mac Jones.

A lack of athleticism likely kept Jones from being drafted. Based on pro day testing, Jones scored a 1.39 out of 10 in Relative Athletic Score, with poor size, explosion and agility scores.

The Packers need to develop young depth at outside linebacker. Jones will get a chance this summer to prove worthy of a backup rotational spot behind Rashan Gary and Preston Smith.

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Dolphins sign Jamal Perry to active roster, signed two to practice squad

LB Kobe Jones and QB Jake Luton joined the practice squad.

The Miami Dolphins made three moves on Wednesday to improve their roster ahead of their Week 11 battle with the New York Jets.

Miami announced they signed defensive back Jamal Perry to their active roster from their practice squad and signed linebacker Kobe Jones and quarterback Jake Luton to fill in open spots left on the practice squad.

Perry has been in the league since 2017 when he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles. He spent 2017 and 2018 on and off the New England Patriots practice squad before signing with Miami in 2019. Over the last three years, Perry has played in 30 games, starting seven of them.

This signing could be due to Brian Flores’ announcement that Jason McCourty is done for the season. If not, it’s just more depth at a position that every team needs, and he’s familiar with the system.

Jones is an edge rusher from Mississippi State that signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent this summer but didn’t make it to the regular season. During his four years as a Bulldog, Jones totaled just seven sacks.

Luton was a sixth-round pick out of Oregon State by the Jaguars in 2020. He started three games for Jacksonville last season due to a Gardner Minshew injury where he threw for 624 yards, two touchdowns, and six interceptions with a 54.5 passer rating. The 25-year-old signed with the Seahawks in September of 2021 and bounced to and from the practice squad.

With Tua Tagovailoa and Jacoby Brissett both dealing with injuries it’s probably good to have an extra arm at practice. Luton joins Jake Dolegala as the practice squad quarterbacks in Miami.

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