Tag: Margus Hunt

Bears 2021 DL review: Who sticks around in Matt Eberflus’ defense?

We’re taking a look at how the Bears defensive line fared in 2021.

The Chicago Bears wrapped another disappointing season that resulted in the firings of general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy. With the offseason in full swing, it provides an opportunity for the new regime in GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus to look back at went right, what went wrong and how to improve in 2022.

Here at Bears Wire, we’re going position by position through the 2021 Bears and grading every player. Now that we’ve gone through the offense, it’s time to shift our focus to the defense, beginning with the defensive line. With the change in scheme and pending free agents on the line, we may have seen the last of quite a few of these players.

PREVIOUS POSITION REVIEWS: QB, RB, WR, TE, OL

Bears announce roster moves ahead of Thanksgiving matchup vs. Lions

The Bears placed Duke Shelley on IR, promoted Margus Hunt to the active roster and signed Brian Johnson to the practice squad on Tuesday.

The Chicago Bears (3-7) are gearing up for a Thanksgiving matchup against the Detroit Lions (0-9-1), where Chicago is looking to snap a five-game losing streak and avoid rock bottom.

Ahead of Thursday’s game against the Lions, the Bears made several roster moves on the active roster and practice squad, which includes one veteran landing on injured reserve.

Here’s a look at the roster moves the Bears made on Tuesday ahead of Thursday’s game vs. Detroit:

Bears protect four practice squad players for Week 5

The Bears have protected four practice squad players ahead of Sunday’s game against the Raiders, including RBs Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce.

The practice squad has become even more important for NFL teams with injuries and COVID-19 designations. Teams are allowed to designate up to four practice-squad players every week that are protected from being signed away from other teams.

The Chicago Bears have protected four players on their practice squad this week ahead of Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders — running backs Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce, as well as defensive lineman Margus Hunt and kicker Brian Johnson.

With David Montgomery sidelined 4-5 weeks with a knee sprain, the Bears need all the help they can get at running back. Damien Williams and Khalil Herbert will be the main guys filling in for Montgomery, but it’s not a surprise to see Nall and Pierce, who re-signed to the practice squad Tuesday, protected. One of them figures to be promoted to the active roster in place of Montgomery, who will likely be placed on short-term injured reserve.

Hunt’s protection could be an indication that Akiem Hicks’ groin injury, which he sustained on the first play of last week’s win against the Lions, might be a concern this week. We’ll see how things unveil during practice this week.

Protecting Johnson is a smart move should anything happen to Cairo Santos, who now owns the longest active streak of consecutive made field goals with 32.

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Cardinals sign 3 D-linemen and a tight end

Days before the preseason opener, the Cardinals add four veteran players.

The Arizona Cardinals made a flurry of roster moves on Tuesday, announcing four signings and four releases. They added three defensive linemen and a tight end.

To do so, they released tackle Ryan Pope, who just signed last week, undrafted rookie tight end Cary Angeline and safeties Donald Rutledge and Jamal Carter.

Who are the new additions?

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Bengals reunite with free agent Margus Hunt

The Cincinnati Bengals added a free agent.

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The Cincinnati Bengals have again dipped into free agency for help along the defensive line, this time reuniting with old friend Margus Hunt.

Hunt, a second-round pick by the Bengals in 2013, makes his big return as the Bengals waive Andrew Brown to make room.

This is another desperation move for the Bengals as they look to counteract the battery of injuries to the defensive interior. The line just got Geno Atkins back — but he and Carlos Dunlap are reportedly unhappy with their roles.

Hunt spent the last few seasons with the Indianapolis Colts before hopping around and eventually returning to the team that drafted him.

Considering the Bengals gave plenty of playing time to Xavier Williams in Week 6 right after signing him, Hunt figures to see notable usage in Week 7 against the Cleveland Browns.

Bengals hosted former draft pick Margus Hunt on visit

The Cincinnati Bengals hosted Margus Hunt on a visit.

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The Cincinnati Bengals remain plenty active in seeking out defensive help in free agency.

Cincinnati’s latest move on this front, interestingly enough, involved bringing on Margus Hunt for a visit this week ahead of the team’s Week 6 game against the Indianapolis Colts, per the NFL’s transaction wire.

Hunt, a second-round pick by the Bengals in 2013, hasn’t played for the organization since 2016. He spent three seasons with those Colts, then popped up for a few games with the New Orleans Saints this season.

While a slow starter with the Bengals because of how new he was to the sport, Hunt has carved out a nice career for himself as a versatile defensive lineman.

This visit, if not just trying to get some intel on the Colts for this weekend’s game, at least partially comes in response to losing D.J. Reader to injured reserve. The team had previously worked out free agent Xavier Williams and signed him to the active roster, too.

Saints make 4 pre-game roster moves, send Ty Montgomery to injured reserve

The New Orleans Saints promoted DL Margus Hunt and WR Bennie Fowler from their practice squad to the active roster vs. the Green Bay Packers

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The New Orleans Saints completed a series of roster moves ahead of their Sunday Night Football game with the Green Bay Packers, including the call-ups of both defensive lineman Margus Hunt and wide receiver Bennie Fowler Jr. from the practice squad.

Each veteran dressed out for the Saints in the first two weeks (as is allowed by the new CBA, in a shift from previous practice squad rules) before getting promoted to the 53-man roster, so it isn’t a shock to see them get full-time deals. The Saints ruled out wide receiver Michael Thomas again in Week 3 and could be without defensive ends Trey Hendrickson and Marcus Davenport (both listed as questionable on the final injury report), so their presence is welcome.

To help make room, the Saints waived backup offensive lineman Will Clapp, who was active in Week 1 before sitting out Week 2, once the Saints activated rookie guard/center Cesar Ruiz.

Additionally: running back Ty Montgomery, who appeared on the injury report for the first time on Friday with a hamstring issue, was designated to injured reserve. Teams do not have to declare whether players on the injured reserve list are out for the season or expected to return within three weeks of inactivity (another adjustment to established rules, this time due to the COVID-19 pandemic), so it’s possibly he isn’t finished.

That leaves a pair of open spots on the 16-man practice squad, though it isn’t clear who could fill them. The Saints brought cornerback Ken Crawley (who started a number of games in New Orleans from 2016 to 2019) in for a free agent visit, and he’s practice squad-eligible with Hunt and Fowler on the active roster. But if he is re-signed, there would still be one vacancy.

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The clock is ticking louder for the Saints and Marcus Davenport

The New Orleans Saints could really use help from Marcus Davenport, their top 2018 draft pick who has been stuck on the injury report.

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Will Marcus Davenport return to practice with the New Orleans Saints on Thursday?

That’s the question on the minds of many fans. Davenport has not appeared in a game through the first two weeks after suffering an elbow injury late in training camp, which followed repeated praise from coaches, teammates, and reporters on the ground after a strong summer of work.

It’s disappointing to be sure. The big defensive end was sidelined by foot injuries in each of his first two seasons (turf toe in 2017, a Lisfranc issue in 2018), so this elbow problem is something new and unrelated. Stamping him as an injury-prone player wouldn’t be accurate.

Calling him a draft bust wouldn’t be right, either. Davenport has been effective when healthy; he’s seven sacks away from ranking among the top-20 Saints players of all time. He’s a good player, but he hasn’t been available often enough (and blaming him for it is pointless. He’s not trying to get hurt).

We’ll see what Thursday’s injury report looks like. The Saints released an estimate from the training staff on Wednesday, having not held a practice session after traveling back from Las Vegas on a short week. And they played it conservative in listing Davenport as a DNP, which makes sense. Guessing that he may have practiced before downgrading him after the team actually gets to work would look much worse than the opposite.

Hopefully he returns on Thursday and can play on Sunday in some capacity. If not, the Saints have serious questions to answer about how they’ve handled this, at least internally. The only reason he shouldn’t have started the year on injured reserve was if he was expected back in a week or two (in 2020, players are allowed to return after three weeks on the list). If he misses this third game, it means the Saints misdiagnosed his injury and how long it would take him to recover.

Earlier this month, Saints coach Sean Payton preached patience with Davenport, describing it as an injury that would only get worse if he were rushed into action. But we’re approaching the limits of the initial recovery timeline, and drawing things out with Davenport has had a ripple effect on the rest of the depth chart.

The Saints choosing to keep him on the roster meant that veteran Margus Hunt had to be promoted twice from the practice squad in Davenport’s place on game days, which they will not be able to do again unless Hunt is signed to the roster full-time. Because Davenport was on the roster but inactive, they’ve lost some roster flexibility later in the season.

And they could certainly use the help. All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan has looked stiff (possibly due to offseason surgery), and he hasn’t had a sack in the first two games. As a team, the Saints have logged just six sacks. That’s not good enough.

We’ll know more once the injury report is published. Stay tuned for updates.

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Saints call up Bennie Fowler, Margus Hunt again to play vs. Raiders

The New Orleans Saints promoted veteran wide receiver Bennie Fowler and defensive end Margus Hunt again to play versus the Las Vegas Raiders

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NFL teams are allowed to promote up to two players each week from their practice squad to expand game-day rosters to 48 from the usual 46, and the New Orleans Saints went with a pair of familiar names for Week 2’s tilt with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Wide receiver Bennie Fowler and defensive lineman Margus Hunt were each called up in Week 1, and they’ll be doing so again per ESPN’s Field Yates. Both practice squad members made an impact on special teams in the season opener against Tampa Bay, with Hunt blocking a field goal while Fowler recovered a fumbled kickoff to seal the win.

In total, Fowler appeared on 19 snaps last week (12 of them on special teams), while Hunt handled a heavier workload with 25 snaps played (just 4 of them on special teams). Hunt should get more looks at defensive end with Marcus Davenport inactive due to injury.

However, this is the last time the Saints can call up either of them unless they are signed to the 53-man roster, where their spots are secured for several weeks (barring an injury). Players may only be promoted twice in the 2020 season before teams have to make that longer commitment, preserving some separation between the active roster and the practice squad.

If either Davenport or star wide receiver Michael Thomas are going to miss much more time, it shouldn’t shock anyone if the Saints end up signing Hunt or Fowler to keep them around. They clearly value those veterans’ contributions.

But with Thomas expected to be out just two to four weeks and Davenport not placed on the short-term injured reserve to start the season, these may simply be band-aids for New Orleans until their starters are back in action.

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Through 2 weeks, Saints still haven’t protected a practice squad player

The New Orleans Saints have not protected a practice squad player through the first two weeks of the 2020 NFL season, despite having depth.

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The second week of the NFL regular season is in full swing, and the New Orleans Saints have again chosen not to protect any of the 16 players on their practice squad. After appearing in the season-opening win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both defensive lineman Margus Hunt (21 snaps on defense, 4 on special teams) and wide receiver Bennie Fowler (7 snaps on offense, 12 on special teams) reverted to the practice squad. They can each be called up one more time before they must be signed to the roster full-time.

So the decision to not protect any of their practice squad players is, on its surface, puzzling. Teams have the option this year to block up to four players from being poached by other teams each week; it’s a first-year change along with the expanded practice squads (which grew to 16 from 12, as ruled in the new CBA and adjusted for the COVID-19 pandemic). But Saints coach Sean Payton put some thought into how much he’s willing to give away on the daily transactions wire.

“Yeah, a number of teams didn’t. We were one of them and just chose to go that route,” Payton said in his Sept. 11 conference call. “There’s pros and cons. Obviously, you put a protection tag on someone, you’re alerting 31 other teams maybe of a player that that you might have plans for. I think it’s just one of those things where I don’t know how many teams, 14 or 15, but I know we weren’t the only ones [to not issue protections].”

Ahead of Week 2, all but 12 teams chose to protect at least one practice squad member from poaching; the Kansas City Chiefs protected defensive tackle Braxton Hoyett, while the Minnesota Vikings blocked kicker Chase McLaughlin. So they aren’t as worried about tipping their hand.

We’ll see whether the Saints choose to activate any players from the practice squad again this week. As Payton suggested, opting to not protect anyone during the week could give teams an edge on game day once it’s time to whittle down the roster for players who can dress out.

That’s a player the opposing team wouldn’t have studied game film for. And it clearly paid off for the Saints, when Hunt blocked a field goal and Fowler recovered a fumbled ball. Maybe it’s a stunt they can pull off again.

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