Tag: M.J. Stewart

Several former Tar Heels set to play in NFL Playoffs

There are six former UNC football players on NFL postseason rosters. Houston Texans right tackle Charlie Heck will be the only one starting.

Starting in just two days, there’ll be a lot of smiles and broken hearts.

No, we’re not talking about weddings and breakups. We’re talking about the NFL Playoffs.

The San Francisco 49ers are looking to win their first Super Bowl since 1994, with 2024 their best chance to do so, thanks to a pair of MVP candidates in Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey.

The Cleveland Browns have defied all injury odds, winning four December games to put themselves in the AFC’s top Wild Card spot, by playing top-notch defense and bringing in Joe Flacco behind a banged-up offensive line.

UNC football fans should also be excited about the NFL postseason, with six former Tar Heels set to take the field. This should offer the Carolina faithful some much-needed relief, with the college campaign not ending so well.

You might want to know – which Tar Heels will be suiting up in pursuit of a Super Bowl? There’s one name you might be able to guess (former second overall pick), but you’ll have to read the full list below for more names.

Texans safeties questionable to return against the Buccaneers

Houston Texans safeties Jimmie Ward and M.J. Stewart are questionable to return against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9.

The Houston Texans have had injuries hit two of their safeties against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Safety Jimmie Ward is questionable to return with a hamstring injury while safety M.J. Stewart is questionable with a shoulder injury. Both were injured on consecutive plays early in the second quarter.

Coach DeMeco Ryans told reporters earlier in the week he appreciated the values Ward brought to the defense.

Said Ryans: “Just the confidence that he brings to our defense has been great, his leadership has been awesome for us. Just being around a ton of young guys, he’s helped those guys a lot. Just really thankful to have Jimmie here with us.”

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Texans DC Matt Burke confident in safety depth

Houston Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke is not concerned about the depth questions surrounding the safeties group heading into Week 2.

One of the more optimistic position groups for the Houston Texans heading into 2023 was their safeties. With 10-year veteran Jimmie Ward, who had the past two years with DeMeco Ryans as his defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, joining forces with second-year standout Jalen Pitre, the expectation was Houston had their backend locked down.

Ward missed Week 1 with a hip injury, and Pitre was knocked out halfway through the 25-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens with a bruised lung. With Houston set to host the Indianapolis Colts for Week 2 in the NRG Stadium opener, chances are neither Ward nor Pitre will be ready to go.

Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke nevertheless remains confident in his safeties, especially after their resilience against the Ravens.

“Yeah, I thought they did a great job,” Burke told reporters Sept. 14. “Honestly the question in here last week I think about that group, and I said I thought that was our best unit and most prepared and had the most depth and I think it showed.”

Eric Murray played 64 defensive snaps, representing all of Houston’s plays, and generated four combined tackles. M.J. Stewart, who filled in for Pitre, played 35 snaps and had five combined tackles and a fumble recovery.

I don’t think we missed a beat with either of those guys playing and we felt confident in that — the players feel confident in those guys going out there,” said Burke. “That didn’t affect us at all. I don’t think we blinked.”

The Texans may have to roll with Murray and Stewart against the Colts, and Burke and the coaching staff appear to believe their defensive backs won’t blink.

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Breaking down the Texans’ 2-year contract with S M.J. Stewart

Here is a look at the two-year contract safety M.J. Stewart signed with the Houston Texans.

The Houston Texans re-signed safety M.J. Stewart to a two-year contract ahead of free agency.

According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, the maximum value of the contract is $7.5 million over two years. $3 million of the contract is guaranteed, and the 27-year-old received a $1.5 million signing bonus. The $1.5 million salary is guaranteed while the $2.5 million salary is not.

Stewart is also eligible for $250,000 maximum per game in active roster bonuses annually. The Arlington, Va., native can earn $750,000 in annual playtime incentives.

What Stewart brings to the Texans is more than just another body on the backend. The 5-11, 200-pound defensive back is also a key cog on special teams.

“M.J. has played a lot of football in the league,” former safeties coach Joe Danna said on Dec. 8, 2022. “Anytime you take one of your best special teams players, you’re seeing them make plays in those areas, special teams and defense, lot of correlation there. Just felt like he was deserving to get out there and be able to play some snaps.”

With Frank Ross returning as special teams coach, he will have a player on the roster who knows how he likes to coordinate the transition phase of the game.

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Former Browns nickel/safety M.J. Stewart agrees to extension with Texans

The former Brown gets a contract extension with the Texans

The Cleveland Browns have never been shy about adding depth in their secondary, and even less shy about adding former highly-drafted players. This is what they did when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut former second rounder M.J. Stewart back in 2020. Stewart then went on to carve out a role with the Browns, including a hefty amount of valuable snaps in 2021 before signing with the Houston Texans in free agency after that season.

And now Stewart has signed an extension with the Texans as he played well on a one-year, $3 million deal for them in 2022. The 27-year-old now gets a two-year deal in Houston, but the financials have yet to be disclosed.

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Texans S M.J. Stewart being evaluated for concussion against the Titans

Houston Texans safety M.J. Stewart is being evaluated for a concussion in Week 16 against the Tennessee Titans.

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The Houston Texans continue to take the hits to their personnel.

The Texans announced in the third quarter that safety M.J. Stewart is being evaluated for a concussion.

The Texans already had a player sustain a concussion against the Tennessee Titans in Week 16. In the first quarter, left guard Tytus Howard was in concussion protocol, was questionable to return, and was later ruled out in the third quarter.

Stewart did not log any defensive snaps by the time he was forced out of the game.

The Titans led the Texans 14-10 in the third quarter when the defensive back left the game.

Texans special teams coach Frank Ross credits LS Jon Weeks for quick snap on fake punt

Houston Texans special teams coordinator Frank Ross says LS Jon Weeks’ quick snap was a key part of pulling off the fake punt in Week 3.

The Houston Texans couldn’t afford to punt.

With the Texans trailing 20-17 with 5:38 to go in the third quarter against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, Houston needed to keep their drive alive.

However, the punt team was coming onto the field, but it didn’t mean they were going to give up possession so easily. Safety M.J. Stewart, the personal protector in punt formation, took the direct snap for a 3-yard gain on fourth-and-1 from the Houston 46-yard line.

“Anytime we have to find a way to make a play, execution is the number one,” special teams coordinator Frank Ross told reporters Thursday about the play. “You guys know that, whether it’s the end of the game, whether that’s third downs, red zone defense, whether that’s making your kicks when the game is on the line. Midfield territory there and found a way to steal a first down, that was critical.”

According to Ross, what helped the execution of the play was Pro Bowl long snapper Jon Weeks’ ability to fire off a clean, sudden snap directly to Stewart.

“Weeks, great snap, good suddenness execution,” Ross said. “You guys know when it’s in the trenches we talk offensive/defensive line, that surge one side of the ball to the other, that surge was on our end there. That’s what we needed to see.”

The fake allowed Houston to continue their drive, which ended with a 23-yard Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal to tie the game 20-20 with 0:54 to go in the penultimate frame. Houston ultimate lost to Chicago 23-20, falling to 0-2-1 on the season.

What the fake did for the Texans going forward is put on film the fact Houston isn’t afraid to go for it, whether by hook or by crook, which is what the Los Angeles Chargers will have to be mindful of in Week 4 at NRG Stadium.

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Texans to sign former Browns safety M.J. Stewart

The Houston Texans have bolstered their secondary with the addition of former Cleveland Browns safety M.J. Stewart.

The Houston Texans will have to say goodbye to Justin Reid as he continues his career with the Kansas City Chiefs, which means the AFC South club is finding new faces to say hello to as they fix the secondary.

According to John McClain from the Houston Chronicle, the Texans are signing former Cleveland Browns safety M.J. Stewart with Aaron Wilson of the Pro Football Network adding that the contract is a two-year deal.

Stewart played 29 games with the Browns from 2020-21, tallying 69 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, 1.0 sack, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, and a forced fumble.

Prior to playing for the Browns, Stewart was a former 2018 second-round pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While with the Bucs for 21 career games, the former North Carolina Tar Heel collected 68 combined tackles, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, and five pass breakups.

M.J. Stewart was PFF’s top coverage safety after Week 11

Cleveland Browns DB M.J. Stewart was PFF’s top-rated coverage safety after Week 11

The Browns defense gelled down the stretch, allowing under 250 total yards in six of the team’s final seven games. One of the big, and underappreciated, reasons was the play of versatile defensive back M.J. Stewart.

Stewart played a prominent role in the final weeks, starting three games and seeing significant action in two others. And in those games, Stewart proved to be fantastic in coverage. In fact, no safety earned a better coverage grade from Pro Football Focus in the final seven weeks of the season than Stewart did for Cleveland.

Stewart checked in with an 87.3 coverage grade from PFF, ranking first from Week 11 through Week 18. Again, he only played in the final five games but earned enough snaps to qualify.

Interestingly, Sam Penix of PFF points out that fellow Browns safety Grant Delpit was fourth in coverage grades for safeties in the same time period.

Stewart finished the season on a high note when the team needed it. After some struggles to find a role, the pending free agent flourished when inserted into the lineup in a stable position.

4 takeaways from the Browns’ Week 17 loss to the Steelers

Here are four things about the Browns’ Monday night performance that stuck on Tuesday morning after trying to sleep away the disappointment

Cleveland’s final appearance on the national stage for the 2021 NFL season did not go well, to say the least. The Browns lost 26-14 to the rival Steelers in Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football in Week 17 in a game that featured some truly bad offensive performances from both teams.

The loss dropped Kevin Stefanski’s Browns to a disappointing 7-9, and came in the same stadium where exactly one year to the day earlier the Browns wrapped up a postseason berth. It was an ugly change of fate, one that represents one of the lowest points for the franchise in a disappointing year.

Here are four things about the Browns’ Monday night performance that stuck with me on Tuesday morning after trying to sleep away the disappointment.