Tag: kyle lauletta

10 former Eagles are signed to USFL teams

We’re looking at ten former Philadelphia Eagles who are making their debut during the 2023 USFL season

The revived USFL kicked off its second season on Saturday afternoon at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium as the Philadelphia Stars visited the Memphis Showboats.

Some familiar names exist, like former Alabama star running back Bo Scarbrough,embattled linebacker Reuben Foster, and many others.

The league will feature four new head coaches, one new team, and an expansion to playing games in four “hub” cities for its eight teams.

With kickoff underway, we’re looking at ten former Eagles who are set to make their USFLL debuts.

19 players Giants have drafted from Senior Bowl over last 6 years

Since 2017, the New York Giants have drafted 19 players who had practiced during Senior Bowl week or played in the Senior Bowl itself.

The NFL draft run-up begins this week with the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. The New York Giants have always had a presence at the game and have drafted many a player who has participated in the game over the years.

Here are some players the Giants met and scouted at the game and then drafted going back to 2017.

Dolphins worked out two QBs, two WRs on Thursday

They haven’t signed anyone yet.

With just two weeks left in the 2022 regular season, and Tua Tagovailoa’s availability in the air, the Miami Dolphins are looking at some free agents to provide depth at quarterback and wide receiver.

On Thursday, Miami worked out quarterbacks Jack Coan and Kyle Lauletta, as well as wide receivers Tarik Black and Isaiah Coulter.

Coan, 24, went undrafted during this past year’s draft process after spending his collegiate years at Wisconsin and Notre Dame. In college, he completed 66.8% of his passes for 6,428 yards, 48 touchdowns and 15 interceptions with a 148.0 passer rating. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts and is currently a member of the XFL’s San Antonio Brahmas.

Lauletta, 27, was a fourth-round pick of the New York Giants back in 2018 after a collegiate career at Richmond. He’s been on six NFL rosters since then (throwing four incompletions and one interception), and two XFL rosters. He’s currently set to be on the New Jersey Generals when their season begins.

Black, 24. was undrafted in 2021 out of Texas. In college, he recorded 747 yards and three touchdowns on 50 receptions. After the draft, Black signed with the Colts. He made his NFL debut in 2021 with the New York Jets, bringing in one catch for 10 yards.

Coulter, 24, spent his college years with Rhode Island before being a fifth-round selection of the Houston Texans in 2020. During his collegiate career, he recorded 132 receptions for 1,855 yards and 12 touchdowns in 34 games. Since being drafted, Coulter’s also spent time with the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills, but he’s yet to catch a pass.

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Bleacher Report gives Giants C- in 2018 NFL draft re-grade

In a 2018 NFL draft re-grade, Bleacher Report gives the New York Giants a letter grade of C- and that’s being very generous.

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Many pundits believe the New York Giants’ losing ways have been proliferated by poor drafting and point to the 2018 NFL draft as the linchpin of that argument.

The Giants held the second overall selection in the draft that year, which was being touted as having one of the best quarterback classes in years. The Giants kew that Eli Manning only had a year or two of productivity left and were in position to take Manning’s successor.

They did not.

The Cleveland Browns selected Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield — the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner — with the first pick. The Giants then grabbed Penn State running back Saquon Barkley with the second pick, passing on several quarterbacks, including USC’s Sam Darnold, Josh Allen of Wyoming, UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson of Louisville.

We now know how all of that worked out. Allen and Jackson are superstars while the others have bounced around the league. Barkley’s career has hit the skids due to injuries after a breakout rookie season.

Bleacher Report recently revised that draft and assigned Giants and then general manager Dave Gettleman a C- grade. Barkley is the only player from that draft class that is still the Giants.

“The idea of taking the best available player sounds good until it leads to taking a running back No. 2 overall when the team needs a quarterback,” writes BR’s Ian Wharton. “Imagine where the New York Giants could be today had they drafted and developed either Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson rather than Saquon Barkley.”

Water under the bridge. The Giants took a quarterback the next season in the first round, Duke’s Daniel Jones, who the jury is still out on. Had the Giants hit on Jones, few would be so critical of their 2018 draft performance.

The other players taken in 2018 are: UTEP OG Will Hernandez (No. 34 overall), Georgia LB Lorenzo Carter (No. 66 overall), NC State DT B.J. Hill (No. 69 overall), Richmond QB Kyle Lauletta (No. 108 overall), Miami DT R.J. McIntosh (No. 139 overall).

All five of these players are still in the league with other teams after up-and-down careers with the Giants. Wharton pretty much acknowledged that in his closing statement.

“We aren’t going to punish the Giants for their decision to draft Barkley at No. 2 since he was a star for two years. The rest of this draft class was a mediocre group who underachieved after a coaching change, though,” he wrote.

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Scooby Wright, Howard Wilson among former Browns selected in the USFL draft

The USFL held its first player draft and many former Cleveland Browns were selected by the 8 teams

Going through the results of the reincarnated USFL’s inaugural player draft is an exercise in “oh yeah, I remember him” for Cleveland Browns fans. Several former Browns players were selected in the unusual snake draft amongst the eight teams of the renewed USFL.

A few of the more notable selections with Browns connections from the two-day, 35-round draft that stocked the teams, which will begin play in Birmingham, Alabama in April.

Kyle Lauletta, QB, Pittsburgh Maulers – Lauletta was Pittsburgh’s first-round pick. He spent most of the 2020 season on the Browns practice squad and was signed to the active roster at the end of the 2021 season.

Brian Allen, CB, Birmingham Stallions – Allen was active for three games for the Browns in 2021, though he never saw the field. The big cornerback has been with six NFL teams.

Derrick Willies, WR, Tampa Bay Bandits – Willies has spent the last four years with the Browns. While primarily on the practice squad or injured reserve, Willies did catch three passes in six games in his time in Cleveland. he was just waived by the Browns last week.

Howard Wilson, CB, Houston Gamblers – Oh what could have been for Wilson, the Browns’ fourth-round pick in 2017. Wilson tore up his knee in rookie minicamp and has never recovered enough to get on an NFL field.

Scooby Wright, LB, Stallions – The prolific collegiate tackler and 2016 seventh-round pick by the Browns was a popular player in his brief time in Cleveland.

Taywan Taylor, WR, New Orleans Breakers – Taylor played for the Browns in 2019 and 2020 after being traded to Cleveland from Tennessee at the end of the 2019 preseason. The one-time Western Kentucky standout did not catch a pass in six games across the two seasons with the Browns.

Jameson Houston, CB, Michigan Panthers – An undrafted free agent from Baylor, Houston was with the Browns in the 2020 offseason and training camp.

Channing Stribling, CB, Philadelphia Stars – Stribling spent the 2017 offseason with the Browns as an undrafted free agent and began that 2017 campaign on the practice squad.

J’Mon Moore, WR, New Jersey Generals – Moore was on Cleveland’s practice squad in 2019 and stayed throughout the 2020 offseason before being waived in the final roster cutdown.

D’Juan Hines, LB, Generals – Hines was a special teams fixture in Cleveland in 2018, his rookie season. He played 239 snaps after being signed off the Chargers’ practice squad. The Browns cut him shortly after the 2019 draft.

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Ex-Giants Clayton Thorson, Kyle Lauletta selected in USFL draft

Three former New York Giants quarterbacks, including Clayton Thorson and Kyle Lauletta, were selected on Day 1 of the USFL Player Draft.

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The 35-round inaugural USFL Player Draft kicked off on Tuesday night in Birmingham, Alabama with 12 rounds — each specific to a single position — completed.

First up were the quarterbacks and at No. 5 overall, former New York Giants backup Clayton Thorson got the nod. He is headed to the Houston Gamblers.

The 26-year-old Thorson was originally signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2019. The former Northwestern star then spent two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys before joining the Giants in 2020.

Thorson spent two years with the Giants, but never appeared in a regular season game.

Two picks later at No. 7 overall, the Pittsburgh Maulers drafted ex-Giant Kyle Lauletta.

Lauletta was a fourth-round pick of the Giants in the 2018 NFL draft, but his career in East Rutherford was short-lived. He was waived as a part of final roster cuts in 2019 and went on to play for the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars.

In two career games, both with the Giants, Lauletta went 0-for-5 passing and compiled -2 yards rushing (kneel down).

In addition to Thorson and Lauletta, former Giants quarterback Case Cookus (2020) was also selected by the Philadelphia Stars in Round 12.

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Former Browns QB selected 7th overall in USFL draft

Played well in training camp, returned to help when COVID hit the QB room and, now, the 7th pick in the USFL draft, an interesting year for a former Browns QB:

The Cleveland Browns went through a lot at the quarterback position in 2021. Baker Mayfield went toe to toe with Patrick Mahomes in Week 1, got hurt in Week 2 and things went downhill from there. Case Keenum stepped in for two games while Nick Mullens started a game when both Mayfield and Keenum were out with COVID-19.

Kyle Lauletta also had an interesting season with the Browns. He looked good in training camp but was cut during the final moves to get to the initial 53-man roster. Instead of grabbing the practice squad QB job, Cleveland brought in Mullens instead.

Lauletta caught on with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a part of their practice squad until the Browns needs at the position brought him back as a part of their 53-man roster in mid-December. Cleveland waived him again on January 4th.

Tuesday night, the new USFL held their draft and Lauletta was selected seventh overall going to Pittsburgh:

Despite quarterbacks being each team’s first pick, Lauletta is the name likely known by most fans. After being drafted in the fourth round by the New York Giants, the small school product only played in two games so far in his NFL career.

Those two games are two more than any other quarterback selected in the first round of the USFL draft. Lauletta is also the highest NFL draft pick among those eight.

After a good showing in the preseason with Cleveland last year, Lauletta should get a chance to shine in the USFL which kicks off in mid-April and has a championship game in early July.

Jags sign QB Kyle Lauletta, TE Matt Sokol to their practice squad

The Jags have added two more players to their practice squad, including a new QB.

Many fans were hoping that the Jacksonville Jaguars would be able to stash quarterback Jake Luton on their practice squad this week, but that was not the case. Instead, the second-year signal-caller was signed by the Seattle Seahawks after the Jags waived him Tuesday, eliminating a potential reunion if that’s what the team had in mind.

With the need for a No. 3 quarterback, the Jags turned to a familiar face from the preseason in Kyle Lauletta. He’ll be joining the Jags’ practice squad after playing them Week 3 of the preseason with the Cleveland Browns.

Lauletta, 26, was drafted by the New York Giants out of Richmond in the fourth round in 2018. While there, he participated in two games and took 19 offensive snaps (the only regular season snaps of his career). He was 0-of-5 in terms of his completion rate and all five passes were attempted against the Washington Football Team on Dec. 9 of his rookie season.

Lauletta also spent time with the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, and, of course, the Browns. All of those stints were as an offseason player (Falcons and Browns) or on their practice squads (Falcons and Eagles). When he took the field against the Jags last month, he was 19-of-27 for 212 yards and two touchdowns.

Also joining the Jags practice squad will be tight end, Matt Sokol. He previously spent time with the Los Angeles Chargers and was waived two days ago. He had been with them since last season (and in 2019, too) and participated in two games with them. He wasn’t able to register a catch in any of those games.

Sokol once was on the Jags’ practice squad in 2019. He’s also been with the Detroit Lions as an offseason player and practice squad player.

With both Lauletta and Sokol joining the Jags’ practice squad, they are now at 15 players. That leaves one available slot on the unit.

Giants dropped by Browns, 17-13: Instant analysis

Instant analysis of the New York Giants’ 17-13 Week 2 preseason loss to the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The New York Giants faced off against the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon in their second game of the 2021 NFL Preseason.

Kickoff temperature was a sunny 81 degrees and perfect for football. It was another game in which the reserves did most — if not all — of the heavy lifting for Big Blue.

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The Giants game-day captains were safety Julian Love, long snapper Casey Kreiter and tight end Kaden Smith.

The offensive line got a respite in this game after a tough couple of days of scrimmages with the Browns. With five more roster cuts due this week, the Giants wanted to get a long look at the reserves. Jackson Barton started at left tackle with Kenny Wiggins at left guard, Jonotthan Harrison at center, Ted Larsen at right guard and Chad Slade at right tackle. Mike Glennon opened the game at quarterback.

The starting defense was as such: Raymond Johnson, David Moa and B.J. Hill up front with Ryan Anderson, Oshane Ximines, Reggie Ragland and Devante Downs at linebacker with rookie Rodarius Williams and Madre Harper at the corners and Xavier McKinney and Love at safety.

Harper was picked on twice in the red zone on the Brown’s first drive. The first play he broke up a touchdown grab against Rashard Higgins but gave up a touchdowns two player later to KhaDarel Hodge. The Browns’ drive, led by veteran quarterback Case Keenum, went for 81 yards on 10 plays. The Giants’ defense was very lax, especially when it came to containing the edge on running plays.

The Giants charged right back with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive of their own, highlighted by a 24-yard completion from Glennon to Rysen John and the rushing and receiving of free agent running back Devontae Booker, who scored on one yard dive to complete the scoring drive.

On the Browns’ next possession, Quincy Wilson picked off Keenum in the end zone to stop a scoring drive. The first half ended with the score tied 7-7.

The Giants allowed 94 yards on the ground in the first half, 7.8 yards per attempt. To be fair, 32 of those yards came an a last-second scramble by former Giant backup quarterback Kyle Lauletta against a prevent defense.

The second half featured the bottom rungs of each team’s depth charts. Brian Lewerke, signed this week by the Giants, played the second half at quarterback leading a scoring drive that ended in a touchdown pass but was followed by a failed two-point try. For a player who has been with the team for a week, he appeared to be quite poised.

The final was Browns 17, Giants 13 with onlookers champing at the bit for the regular season to begin.

Notes

  • When backups are playing backups, it’s difficult to get excited about standout players but several Giants flashed. Booker looked like a No. 1 back, rushing for 27 yards on six attempts and caught both targets for 13 yards.
  • Glennon completed 10 of 13 paces for 86 yards. Wide receiver David Sills had another strong game catching thereof four targets for 31 yards, including a contested catch in the end zone for a score.
  • TE/WR Rysen John had three receptions with one going for 24 yards and another for 29. Unfortunately, he injured his lower leg late in the game, coming lame in what appeared to be a non-contact injury. He walked off underlies own power.
  • Coughlin is still a tad spotty in pass coverage but is without a doubt a solid pass rusher, especially coming up the middle. He had four tackles including a sack in the first half.
  • Harper, who was a ‘bubble’ player entering the game, left the game in the third quarter with a groin injury.
  • Wilson left with an ankle injury, leaving the Giants a bit short at corner.
  • Special team ace Matt Cole was trotted out on defense to fill in and looked fairly comfortable in the role.
  • The Giants went 2-for-2 in the red zone. Cleveland went 2-3.

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Kyle Lauletta, Richard LeCounte headline PFF’s top-graded Browns from the preseason win over Jacksonville

Kyle Lauletta and Richard LeCounte headline the top-graded Browns by Pro Football Focus from the preseason win over Jacksonville

With most of the prominent Cleveland Browns sitting out the preseason opener in Jacksonville, it makes sense that some unheralded players stepped up. A quick look at the game grades from Pro Football Focus reveals quite a few names at the top who might not be instantly recognizable for many Browns fans.

The five highest-graded players on offense are a great example. In order, with a minimum of 10 snaps required, here are the top five offensive performers from the Browns win over the Jaguars on Saturday:

  • QB Kyle Lauletta
  • WR Davion Davis
  • OT Greg Senat
  • OG Michael Dunn
  • WR Ryan Switzer

All are longshots to make the final 53-man roster. In fact, Switzer is already out (on I.R.) after cutdowns made on Monday.

It’s a different story on defense. The 2021 Browns draft class shined, as did a couple of corners battling for roster spots. Here are the top five from that side of the ball:

  • S Richard LeCounte
  • CB A.J. Green
  • LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
  • LB Sione Takitaki
  • CB Brian Allen

The next chance for the Browns players on the roster bubble to prove themselves comes Sunday at home against the New York Giants.

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