Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Not only do the Panthers need a QB, but they could also use a new WR or two that guy can eventually throw to. Here are four free agents Carolina should consider.
While the Carolina Panthers certainly need themselves a new quarterback, they could also use some guys he (whoever that eventually is) can throw to. So, let’s take a look at the open market.
Here are four soon-to-be free-agent wide receivers the Panthers should consider adding.
The Saints may not be done adding former Raiders to the roster this offseason. Several could follow Derek Carr to the Big Easy, via @RossJacksonNOLA:
As former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr gets settled in as the New Orleans Saints new starting passer, the timeline of his signing is worth dissecting. The Saints and Carr came to their contract agreement on Mar. 6 this NFL offseason. That gave the Saints signal caller about a week to court potential free agents to join the black and gold in New Orleans. And wouldn’t you know it, there is a long list of former Raiders teammates hitting the market this offseason.
Some of which, could impact the Saints to varying degrees. From bona fide starts, to camp tryouts, New Orleans will have no issues making its new quarterback feel comfortable if he has some teammates he would like to bring along with him. As much as we’d love to highlight big-time players like wideout Davante Adams and tight end Darren Waller, it’s unlikely a trade for either this offseason would make sense. Though a trade for wide receiver Hunter Renfrow should not be considered out of the question.
But that’s for another day. Here are five Raiders free agents that could follow Carr to the Big Easy:
Here’s a look at six free-agent WRs the Colts should look at in 2023.
The Indianapolis Colts are less than a week away from the start of free agency where they may be in the market to add some depth to the wide receiver position.
We shouldn’t expect the Colts to go on a crazy spending spree for a few reasons.
One, that’s simply not the style of general manager Chris Ballard. Two, they should have some decent salary-cap space after making some moves, but the position still isn’t going to be at the top of the priority list. Three, the free agency class at wide receiver is relatively weak overall, and it’s likely the biggest names will be overpaid.
The Colts have two wide receivers currently set to hit the market in Parris Campbell and Ashton Dulin. They won’t be included in this piece because we are going to focus solely on outside options.
With Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce set to reprise their roles on the boundary in 2023, the Colts are likely looking for some depth behind them and candidates to play in the slot. So that’s where our focus will be.
We already took a look at four free-agent quarterbacks the Colts should consider.
Now, it’s time to take a look at the wide receivers:
What an incredible turnout for a great cause!
Prior to the sun rising on Saturday morning above the pristine sight of Hard Rock Stadium, the 13th Annual Dolphins Challenge Cancer event sent its first wave of cyclists to begin a 100-mile ride.
Since 2010, the DCC has contributed more than $53 million to cancer research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, not even including this year’s rolling tally, which goes through March.
The DCC stands as the largest fundraising event in the NFL and represents the largest known philanthropic pledge in all professional sports. In what is truly a #OneTeamOneFight mentality, the Miami Dolphins have partnered with the University of Miami and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the 2023 ride and walk had a record of over 5,000 participants and donors.
The event had waves of 100, 55, 35, and 15 miles for the cyclists, and there was a 5K walk as well. Highlighting the 55-mile ride, was No. 54 himself, Hall of Famer, Zach Thomas.
Once again, Hall of Famer, Zach Thomas.
It’s to be noted that Thomas was certainly one of the stars of the event, as even DCC Executive Director, Javier Sanchez recognized him prior to starting the ride saying, “our very own, Hall-of-Famer, Zach Thomas.” Hundreds of fans had conversations with Thomas, took selfies, and enjoyed some well-earned food and beverages.
Thomas’ draft-class-mate from 1996 defensive back Shawn Wooden, was among the participants as was former Dolphin, and current defensive assistant coach, Sam Madison.
The event essentially had a 53-man roster of Dolphins players past and present support this initiative. In a surprise appearance, former Dolphins fan favorite, wide-receiver, and special teamer, Mack Hollins made a return ride to Miami Gardens and the DCC. Hollins was even a board member of this event and returned to continue his support. This is a testament to Hollins, as he played in Las Vegas for the Raiders in the 2022 season, however still supports this great cause. When getting a chance to speak with Hollins, and inquiring if there is a potential of a return to Hard Rock Stadium, his answer was simply not a no.
Additionally, fans of all ages and generations were able to speak to and share stories with Dolphin legends such as Mark Duper, Nat Moore and John Offerdahl in the “Heavy Hitters” tent for the top fundraisers.
As for the current Dolphins, among the supporters and riders, rising star pass-rusher, Jaelan Phillips was a 100-mile rider, to no shock to anyone. Along with Phillips, fellow defenders like Christian Wilkins and Jevon Holland were in cycling gear. Skylar Thompson participated as well, and even dropped by “The Fish Tank,” where co-hosts of the popular Dolphins podcast Seth Levit and former Dolphins great O.J. McDuffie chatted with the quarterback, fresh off his rookie season.
Adding a 5K walk to this event, many more participants sans bike were treated to a send-off by Head Coach Mike McDaniel, who remarkably was wearing a sweatsuit, and most assuredly had a killer pair of kicks to match.
Coach worked the microphone energizing the crowd saying, “are we ready to walk with a lot of intent, real fast! I can’t tell you enough how inspiring this fan base is, your support is real and everybody in the organization, players included.”
McDaniel hit on the core message of the event, and the community by saying this effort, “is truly one team.” McDaniel walked among the fans and supporters and participants in the 5K and didn’t seem to break a sweat despite the attire.
Introducing McDaniel, Dolphins VP/CEO Tom Garfinkel addressed the crowd as well. “Thank you to everybody, congratulations, for the first time ever, the DCC is going to raise over $10 Million for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.”
Over $10 Million over the weekend.
In what was a remarkable and poignant experience for so many, the effort and dedication the DCC puts into fighting cancer is nothing short of inspirational. Philanthropy and charity have been the cornerstones of the Dolphins organization from an off-field standpoint and among sports best.
It goes to what Garfinkel said the second he was introduced by Sanchez, “we fight cancer together, you don’t have to have cancer to fight cancer.”
There is still time to donate and support this amazing cause, as the fundraising continues through March. It was an honor to personally walk among some amazing fans and supporters of the team and the DCC, and for those who participated and donated, thank you on behalf of everyone who has been directly or indirectly affected by cancer.
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Former North Carolina Tar Heel Mack Hollins is among the top free-agent wide receivers.
Former North Carolina Tar Heel [autotag]Mack Hollins[/autotag] will enter the off-season as an unrestricted free agent.
Hollins signed a one-year two-million-dollar deal with the Las Vegas Raiders for the 2022 season, which paid off. He became a top weapon for quarterback Derek Carr, stepping up as a complimentary wide receiver two behind DeVante Adams.
Last season Hollins started 16 of 17 games with a career-high in receptions (57) and receiving yards (690). Hollins had his fair share of impactful moments throughout the season, but his most enormous performance came in week three against the Tennessee Titans. The former Tar Heel finished the game with eight receptions for 158 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Hollins should have his fair share of suitors. He is tied for 5th in receptions for free-agent wide receivers.
The 29-year-old has revamped his career, and the payoff should come to this off-season. Hollins was a scoring machine during his time at North Carolina, finishing his Tar Heel career with 20 touchdowns.
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Assessing Raiders level of need at WR as free agency approaches
We take a look at the wide receiver position for the Raiders ahead of free agency to give it a condition of either Strong, Stable, Unstable, Serious, or Critical.
Davante Adams had an elite first season with his childhood team. He was everything the Raiders wanted him to be and more, setting a new franchise record for receiving yards in a season.
Renfrow was injured much of last season, but is just the type of slot target Josh McDaniels had great success with in New England over many years there.
Hollins had a breakout season as a receiver and embraces the dirty work. Every team needs that,
Why: They are in good hands with Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow. They should look to re-sign Hollins and if not, they should work on finding a replacement for his snaps. The one aspect that they could use is some deep speed.
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The good and the bad for the Raiders from a crazy rollercoaster of a game vs the Patriots
You rarely see a team shoot themselves in the foot and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as much as the Patriots did in Las Vegas on Sunday. And even with all the self-mutilation they did in this game, they still managed to make a comeback from 14 points down to lead the Raiders 24-17 with under two minutes left in the game.
That blowing double-digit leads thing is the Raiders’ MO this season. And it was only because of the final utterly inexplicably boneheaded decision to try a double lateral at the end of the game that the Raiders were able to win this one in regulation.
Jones was the recipient of the ‘Right place at the right time’ award on that final play. He had missed the initial tackle on Rhamondre Stevenson that led to a big run which, for a moment, looked like he could go the distance. Everyone expected that last play to be stopped and the two teams to go to OT. But Stevenson lateraled it to Jacoby Meyers at the last instant.
That lateral wasn’t the big mistake. That came when Meyers decided to try and lateral it AGAIN, this time attempting to throw it way back to the entirely not athletic Mac Jones. Well, the lateral was complete to Jones, all right. It was just the wrong Jones. Then Chandler planted Mac with a stiff arm and took it back for the game-winning touchdown. Never seen anything like it.
Jones also had a pressure resulting in an incompletion two plays before that and made a run stop at the line on the previous possession leading to a crucial three-and-out. Earlier in the quarter, he hit Mac Jones from behind on third down to force the Pats to settle for a long field goal. All in all, a strong finish for Chandler.
He played 43 snaps (66%) and the only catch he gave up, he stopped in its tracks for four yards. He also had a big pass breakup on a deep pass to stop the Patriots’ first drive of the third quarter.
It’s not the number of snaps you have, but rather what you do with them. With 27 seconds left in the second quarter, Koonce came in on the punt team and streaked in to block the punt and give the Raiders the ball at the New England 20-yard-line. What looked like two teams that were headed for the locker room with the Raiders leading 10-3, would end up a scoring opportunity on which the Raiders were able to capitalize.
The first touchdown drive for the Raiders came early in the second quarter. On the drive, Carr completed a 19-yard pass to Keelan Cole on third and nine and finished off the drive with a perfect pass over the middle for a 25-yard connection with Darren Waller.
After the punt block, Hollins made the first catch for 11 yards. He then drew an illegal contact penalty on the next play. Then in first and goal from the five-yard-line, Carr put the ball into a tight window, at Hollins’s knee level and he made the grab for the touchdown to give the Raiders a 17-3 lead at the half.
A Carr pick-six saw the Raiders lead cut to 17-10. Then they were unable to get back on track on the next drive. But Hollins would do his part to tilt the field. AJ Cole launched a 47-yard punt to the goal line where Hollins was waiting to down it at the two-yard line.
Ultimately the Raiders’ lead would disappear, giving way to a 24-17 Patriots lead with under three minutes remaining.
Carr would look to Hollins again. The first pass was overthrown and the Raiders went three-and-out. However, had Darren Waller not been in the wrong area and tried to catch the pass intended for Adams, that looked like it would have been a long touchdown catch and run.
Carr and Hollins got another shot with two minutes left in the game. Carr overthrew Hollins again on third down. But, the next play, on their last possible chance, Carr hit Hollins on a comeback route for 12 yards. They thought the play was so nice, they did it twice to the same result.
A few plays later, Carr found Keelan Cole for a 30-yard touchdown. It didn’t look like Cole actually got both feel inbounds, but Carr’s pass was where it needed to be and the officials saw no definitive evidence to overturn it so the score was tied at 24-24.
Here are the top utilization stats you need to know from Week 13 of the 2022 NFL season.
Here are the top fantasy football utilization stats you need to know from Week 13 of the 2022 NFL season before you make any waiver-wire claims this week.
Plenty of Ballers for Raiders in their solid all-around win over the Chargers
Easily the Raiders most impressive win of the season. And not just despite their two turnovers in the first quarter, but in part because of how they responded to them.
They kept believing in themselves and fought their way back into it to tie it up in the second quarter. Then got a takeaway of their own along with two big scores and stole the momentum to pull out the 27-20 victory.
It was Jones’s coming out party. He had a half-sack coming in and exploded with three sacks. But he did a lot more than just put up sacks.
Jones looked to have ended the first Chargers possession with a three-and-out when he made the tackle in Justin Herbert’s scramble to stop it short of the first down. The Chargers ran a successful fake punt to give themselves a few more plays, but couldn’t pick up another first down and punted anyway.
The next Chargers drive didn’t yield a first down. They went for it on fourth and two and Jones again made the stop on the Herbert scramble to stop it short of the sticks.
His first sack ended the Chargers’ next possession, forcing them to settle for a field goal. And he would have two more sacks before the end of the first half while getting the pressure around the edge that led to a fourth sack. He later had a batted ball on third and 12 to force the Chargers to go for it on 4th and 12.
The Raiders’ first scoring drive began with Adams making a catch on a zero route in the left flat and running for 12 yards. It moved into LA territory when Adams got open for a 19-yard catch to the 44-yard line.
Off the takeaway in the third quarter, Carr threw the ball for Adams on the first play. The ball was inside and low with Asante Samuel in his face and Adams still made the catch for the 31-yard touchdown.
The next time the Raiders got the ball, Adams got open on the flea-flicker. The safety opted to cover Mack Hollins deep so Carr launched it for Adams and the result was a 45-yard touchdown.
The final Raiders scoring drive had Adams make a three-yard catch on third and two, and a 16-yard catch. Carr threw for him for the touchdown, but the ball was knocked down and the Raiders settled for a field goal to take a 27-13 lead.
With the Chargers having pulled it to a one-score game at 27-20, Adams made a 15-yard grab to give the Raiders a fresh set of downs to burn more clock. That was his final catch to give him 177 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches.
Jacobs averaged 5.5 yards per carry in this game. And it wasn’t because he broke one while getting stopped for short yardage on most of the others. He was simply earning every yard all game long.
It didn’t start great or Jacobs. He fumbled a catch in the first quarter which he and the Raiders were lucky didn’t end up yielding any points for the Chargers.
Things got going for Jacobs in the second quarter. With the Raiders at the LA 29-yard-line, Jacobs broke a tackle in the backfield and took a run for nine yards. He got the ball again on the next play and it looked very much like the one he broke last week to beat the Seahawks in overtime. The only difference was he had just 20 yards to the end zone this time.
The Raiders’ third touchdown off the flea-flicker was set up by Jacobs having made a savvy run for 13 yards on the previous play. With the defense now preparing for him, Josh McDaniels called for the okeydoke and it worked like a charm just as it had last week. Paydirt.
On the next drive, Jacobs had runs of six, nine, 15, and nine to put the Raiders in scoring position and they took a 27-13 lead. Jacobs would finish with 144 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.
Hobbs’s return was noticeable. He is the Raiders’ top cornerback every time he steps foot on the field. And he brings energy on every play.
He began coming up big for the Raiders at the end of the second quarter when he had tight coverage to force an incompletion on third down.
On the second play of the third quarter, Austin Ekeler took a screen pass and picked up good yards. But at the end of that run, Harmon punched the ball out. And after exchanging hands a few times — mostly Raiders defenders — it was Hobbs who finally fell on it to give the Raiders possession at the LA 31. The Adams touchdown pass followed.
After the game, Hobbs was asked about the fumble recovery and he was told it was Harmon. “Of course,” he responded.
With 2:48 left in the game, the Chargers lined up in 4th and nine needing a touchdown to tie it. Herbert went deep for DeAndre Carter, but Nate Hobbs was right there in tight coverage and Carter couldn’t make the catch, essentially ending the Chargers’ chances of tying the game up.
LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Parham, C Andre James, RG Alex Bars, RT Jermaine Eluemunor
The entire Raiders offensive line deserves credit for their work in this game. They gave up no sacks and no run stops for negative yards.
Several times, Derek Carr had all day in the pocket to find his receiver. And it was a big reason he had four passes over 30 yards and a 19-yard completion.
Crosby and Chandler Jones were both getting good pressure around the edges. Helping those pressures lead to sacks was Tillery. The former Chargers’ top pick was clearly energized to face his old team.
The first play of the game saw Crosby get the right edge to hit Herbert’s arm as he threw to force a fumble. It was recovered by the Chargers.
Two plays later, on the first third down of the game for the Chargers, Tillery flushed Justin Herbert from the pocket and Jones made the tackle on the scramble short of the first down.
After the successful fake field punt, Tillery and Crosby made short work of their new set of downs. They both got pressure to force an incompletion on first down and then did it again on third down, with Tillery getting a good hit on Herbert as well.
In the third quarter, Matthew Butler and Clelin Ferrell shared a sack. That sack was made possible because Tillery kept Herbert from escaping the pocket.
As often happens, Crosby only got better as the game went along. Come the fourth quarter, on three consecutive plays, he had a QB hit for an incompletion, a tackle on a run which he chased down way out in the right flat. and a pressure on a short catch.
Early in the second quarter, the Raiders were driving and found themselves in third and nine from the Chargers’ 43-yard-line. Then Carr found Hollins for 14 yards. Two plays later Josh Jacobs took the handoff on the right side of the line and, behind blocks from Hollins and Jakob Johnson, went 20 yards for the touchdown.
Come the third quarter, the Raiders went up 24-13 and got the ball back after a missed field goal. On the first play, Jacobs went for 13 yards behind another Hollins downfield block.
The next play was the flea-flicker. It was the same set up as last week when Hollins was wide open for the score. Only this time Hollins drew the safety on his go route which left Adams in single coverage. The result was the same. Touchdown.
Had Carr seen Hollins wide open in the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter, the Raiders would have taken a 31-13 lead. But he threw for Adams and the ball was knocked away so they settled for a field goal.
They catch plenty of grief (including from myself) for their performances, so it’s only fitting they be recognized when things go right.
McDaniels made some pretty great play calls on offense and a week after the defense saw some serious lapses in coverage, to give up 34 points, they came out in this one and had their best performance of the season.
S Isaiah Pola-Mao — Came on the blitz several times, resulting in a sack, two QB hits, and a tackle for loss. He had six tackles in just 13 snaps. That’s efficient.
FB Jakob Johnson — Was doing his usual dirty work clearing potential tacklers from Josh Jacobs’s path. That includes the 20-yard touchdown run and a 15-yard run to set up the Raiders’ final score.
There simply wasn’t a performance that sunk to the level of a Buster. A respectable performance all around for the Raiders in this game.
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Digging into the tape to give out some recognition for another hard-fought OT Raiders win in week 12
For the second game in as many weeks the Raiders won a walk-off game in overtime. This one had much more scoring in the game itself, leading to the 34-34 tie at the end of regulation. It wasn’t always pretty, but there were some wow moments along the way and the Raiders once again came out victorious.
Now the reigning AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Jacobs had a monster game by any measure. But especially in terms of stats, where he finished with a career-high 229 yards rushing with two touchdowns along with 74 yards through the air to give him 303 yards from scrimmage and two scores.
The first TD came on a toss from 30 yards out to give the Raiders their biggest lead of the day at 21-13.
The Seahawks answered with a touchdown drive of their own to bring it back to a one-point game. With just over five minutes left in the first half, the Raiders looked to Jacobs to sustain a long drive. After a couple five-yard runs early in the drive, the Raiders found themselves in 4th and two. Jacobs got the ball on a toss and picked up seven yards to put the Raiders in field goal range, allowing them to score to take a 24-20 lead at the half.
Down 34-27 with just over five minutes left in the game, the Raiders would need to once again drive for a score. This time a field goal wouldn’t cut it. The third play of the drive, Jacobs caught a pass for 14 yards to put them at the Seahawks’ 33-yard-line. A few plays later, he put the Raiders in first and goal at the ten and they went on to score the game-tying touchdown.
Jacobs did his part to put the Raiders in scoring position to start overtime, with three runs for 24 yards, but it stalled at the 38-yard-line, and Daniel Carlson missed the 56-yard field goal attempt.
The defense held to give Jacobs another shot and he took that opportunity and ran with it…86 yards to the house on the first play of the drive to end the game.
His big game helped him become the league’s top rusher at 1159 yards. Already a career-high with five games still left.
The first long pass play of the game went to Hollins on third-and-four on the Raiders second possession. It went for 20 yards to put the Raiders in business at the Seattle 23-yard-line. Three plays later they tied the game at 7-7.
The first big play for Jacobs had involved Hollins and Adams. Down 13-7 in the second quarter, with Derek Carr already throwing two interceptions, the Raiders offense needed a spark.
A couple nice Adams catches gave them two first downs to put them at the Seattle 36-yard-line. Then Jacobs got the handoff up the middle, the Seahawks sold out to stop him. With the defense committed, Jacob pitched it back to Carr on the flea flicker, barely getting it back to him as defenders swarmed him.
Adams and Hollins played it perfectly, with Hollins acting like he was blocking, and Adams slowing up as if he was a decoy. The moment the pitch back happened, Adams picked up speed, drawing a double team from the the only remaining Seahawks left in the secondary. So when Hollins peeled off his blocked he was completely uncovered with plenty of open field in front him for an easy 36-yard catch and run for the score and a 14-13 lead. That play was a clinic in how to execute a successful flea flicker.
Down 34-27 late in the game, the Raiders needed a TD drive. That drive started with an incredible one-handed grab by Adams up the right sideline. The defender was holding Adams’s left hand down, so he simply reached up and snagged the pass with his right hand and pinned it to his chest for a 28-yard grab. A few plays later he caught a pass in the right flat, broke a tackle and picked up a first down at the 22.
Still tied at 34-34 in overtime, Jacobs broke through for his 86-yard touchdown run. And he hit the next gear and ran away thanks to a downfield block from Hollins.
Hollins wasn’t the only one to help open things up for Jacobs on that game-winning run. The initial hole to get him to the second level was opened by Eluemunor and Johnson. They gave him the daylight, and Jacobs took it from there.
That was Jacobs’s second TD of the game. His first TD came on a toss in the second quarter. Once again Johnson was there to clear a path for him as was James.
James also laid key blocks on a couple big runs by Zamir White to set up a game-tying field goal in the third quarter. While Eluemunor blocked for Jacobs on another couple nice runs, one of which was on the first drive of overtime.
Carr’s two interceptions in the first quarter, put the defense in a tough spot to try and stop the Seahawks from scoring. But in between, they did some good work. In particular, Billings shot up the middle to get a run stuff for a loss and share of a sack. Jones and Crosby helped with the sack by getting around the outside, forcing Geno Smith to step into a quickly closing pocket.
It was a new game at 27-27 in the third quarter, and the three-and-out that came afterward was completed in part because Jones did a nice job disguising. He made it look as if he was coming on the rush and after one step. turned to follow the tight end, thus closing off the outside for the screen, stopping it in its tracks and forcing a punt.
Jones’s final act falling on a fumbled handoff to stop what would have been a scoring drive for the Seahawks, and giving the Raiders the ball back.
The Raiders offense couldn’t capitalize on the turnover this time. When the Seahawks took over on downs, Billings and Crosby teamed up to sack Smith.
After the Raiders tied it up at 34-34, the defense still needed a stop. The Seahawks had 1:54 left to score. They got one first down and then found themselves in third-and-10. Cue Maxx Crosby who shot in to get another sack and send the game to overtime. Second straight week he did that.
As is often the case, Crosby clearly got stronger as the game went longer. In OT, the Seahawks got the ball with a chance to win it, but instead went three-and-out. On third and five, Crosby flew around the edge, using his wingspan to grab Smith’s throwing arm with the QB barely getting the pass off. All he that did was save a few yards as the pass went into the turf and the Seahawks punted it back. You know what happened next.
The man who deals with the coverage criticism probably a lot more than he should, made the Raiders’ biggest play on defense in coverage. As middle linebackers are asked to do from time to time, he dropped back to patrol the middle zone and watch the quarterback’s eyes. That put him in the right position to pick off Geno Smith’s pass and return it 25 yards to the Seattle 30. And the Raiders converted the takeaway to the touchdown in one play to take a 21-13 lead.
Come the third quarter, the score was tied up at 27-27 and Perryman shot into the backfield to make a tackle for loss, leading to a three-and-out. It was still tied up heading into the fourth quarter and Perryman chased down Kenneth Walker trying to find round outside to stop him for a 13-yard loss.
Perryman finished with a team-leading nine tackles, two for a loss, along with his interception.
Kept the left edge clean and free from blindside pressure to give Carr plenty of time. That’s most of his job and he did it perfectly.
QB Derek Carr — He spotted the Seahawks with two scores early with two interceptions in the first quarter. But kudos to Carr for shaking it off and throwing three touchdowns to help send the Raiders to overtime. The first and third TD’s to Abdullah and Moreau were absolute dimes for throws too.
