Tag: Mario Edwards

NFL Free Agency: Seahawks signing DE Mario Edwards

The Seahawks are signing free agent defensive end Mario Edwards, according to a report by Jeremy Fowler and Brady Henderson at ESPN.

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The Seattle Seahawks are signing free agent defensive end Mario Edwards to a one-year deal, according to a report by Jeremy Fowler and Brady Henderson at ESPN.

Edwards (6-foot-3, 280 pounds) had previously visited the team in March, but Seattle didn’t have the cap room to sign him at the time. The reported restructure of Tyler Lockett’s deal may have helped create the necessary space.

After playing his college ball at Florida State, Edwards was picked by the Raiders in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft. He played three seasons in Okland, followed by stints with the Giants, Saints, Bears and Titans. All together he has appeared in 99 career regular season games, totaling 19.5 sacks, 23 tackles for a loss and 46 quarterback hits.

Edwards has mostly played as an interior defensive end in a 3-4 front the last few years. In Seattle that should put him in the rotation just behind projected starters Dre’Mont Jones and Jarran Reed.

Titans free-agent DL Mario Edwards visits Seahawks

Titans free-agent DL Mario Edwards is receiving interest from the Seahawks.

Tennessee Titans free-agent defensive lineman Mario Edwards appears to be receiving some interest from the Seattle Seahawks.

According to the league’s transactions wire, Edwards had a free-agent visit with the Seahawks on Wednesday. Seattle had previously shown interest in Titans free-agent defensive back Lonnie Johnson before he signed with the New Orleans Saints.

Edwards was signed by the Titans in late September of 2022 and proved to be a plus addition. Originally brought in as a backup, the 29-year-old was pushed into a bigger role because of injuries and played well.

He tallied three sacks and 11 QB hits in 13 games. He was one of two Titans free-agent signings along the defensive line that thrived, along with DeMarcus Walker, who is now with the Chicago Bears.

Edwards is a good depth piece who Tennessee should be interested in bringing back after what he produced last season, but there’s been no indication they are.

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Titans’ winners and losers from Week 10 victory over Broncos

The winners and losers from the Titans’ Week 10 win over the Broncos.

The Tennessee Titans won their sixth game of the 2022 campaign in Week 10 after a 17-10 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

Like always, the Titans won an ugly game, mostly on the strength of their defense, which was still sensational despite missing more than half of its starters.

But unlike other wins, it was the passing attack that made the plays the team needed in order to make the defense’s outstanding effort hold up. And, believe it or not, a Titans wide receiver was one of the heroes of the game.

On defense, the short-handed Titans saw several players step up, especially in the front-seven where the team showed no signs of slowing down even though its best pass-rushers were out.

As we do each and every week, let’s see which Titans players qualified as winners, losers, and somewhere in between from the win over Denver.

Titans’ defense elite at getting pressure without blitzing

A big reason for the Titans’ success on defense is their ability to get pressure without blitzing.

The Tennessee Titans’ defense has been phenomenal ever since they started to turn their season around back in Week 3.

From that moment on, the Titans have only allowed an average of 16 points per game, while consistently producing like an all-around elite defense.

The strength of the entire unit has undoubtedly been Tennessee’s tenacious defensive front that includes Jeffery Simmons, Denico Autry, Rashad Weaver, Bud Dupree, Teair Tart, Demarcus Walker, and Mario Edwards Jr.

The team has already accounted for 23 sacks in total through eight games. Autry (7.0), Simmons (5.5), Dupree (3.0), Weaver (4.0), Walker (2.0), and Edwards Jr. (1.0) have accounted for 22.5 of those sacks.

Arguably the group’s most impressive ability is its knack for getting after the quarterback without having to blitz.

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According to Next Gen Stats, The Titans’ defense has blitzed less frequently than any other team in the NFL this season (15 percent) but has also recorded a league-high pressure rate of 31.7 percent when not bringing a blitz.

The Titans’ seven defenders listed above have combined for a whopping 122 pressures through eight games, per Sports Info Solutions.

This group has the potential to put up some elite numbers all across the board by year’s end as long as it can stay healthy. Unfortunately, that’s a much bigger “if” than anyone would prefer.

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Titans sign S Josh Thompson off Jaguars practice squad

The Titans signed a player off the Jaguars’ practice squad for the second time in less than a month.

The Tennessee Titans went digging through the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad for the second time in a month. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Titans are signing Josh Thompson to their 53-man roster from the Jaguars practice squad.

Three weeks ago, the Titans added defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. to their roster off the Jaguars practice squad. In his first two games with Tennessee, Edwards made two tackles and recorded one quarterback hit.

Thompson, 23, joined the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent earlier this year after playing safety at Texas. He survived the Jaguars’ initial cut down to 53 players, but was later waived before the start of the regular season and was added to the practice squad.

In preseason, Thompson recorded two tackles and one defended pass.

While the Jaguars have already played the Indianapolis Colts twice and the Houston Texans once, matchups against the Titans are still far off on the horizon. The divisional rivals will meet for the first time in Tennessee on Dec. 11 and then in Jacksonville on Jan. 8.

Titans snap count takeaways from Week 5 victory vs. Commanders

Mario Edwards has grabbed a significant role immediately upon joining the Titans.

Another week, another game in which the Tennessee Titans had many key players to replace due to injury.

On top of the lengthy injured reserve list the Titans have, the team ruled out seven players for the Week 5 game against the Washington Commanders, with four starters among them.

To get an idea of just how insane things are in Nashville when it comes to injuries, the Titans have already fielded 64 different players this season, 27 players shy of the NFL record the team set in 2021. As we pointed out last week, Tennessee is on pace to at least approach that mark in 2022.

In that mess of 64, the Titans have also started 20 different players on defense through five games, a list they added to on Sunday with safety Amani Hooker sidelined for a second straight game.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Titans did see linebacker Monty Rice return from the active/physically unable to perform list and make his 2022 debut, officially making him one of the 64.

So, how did the Titans replace their injured players and how many snaps did Rice see in his return? Find out now as we take a look at the Week 5 snap counts, as well as the biggest takeaways from them.

Jaguars add former Falcons DL Nick Thurman to practice squad

The Jaguars added a little defensive line help after the Titans snagged Mario Edwards Jr.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are adding defensive lineman Nick Thurman to their practice squad, the team announced Tuesday.

Thurman, 27, first joined in the NFL in 2018 as an undrafted free agent who signed with the Houston Texans. He later had a brief stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before spending the 2019 season on the New England Patriots’ practice squad and bouncing between the Patriots’ active roster and practice squad throughout the 2020 season.

He spent most of the 2021 season on the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad, but was cut by the team just before the start of the 2022 season.

Thurman has appeared in eight NFL games and made 11 tackles with one tackle for loss.

The Jaguars had an open spot on the practice squad after the Tennessee Titans scooped up defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. on Monday.

Titans sign DL Mario Edwards, waive OLB Derrek Tuszka

The Titans made a pair of roster moves on Monday.

The Tennessee Titans made two roster moves on Monday, swapping out a pair of defensive players on their 53-man roster.

The team announced it has signed defensive lineman Mario Edwards off the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad. To make room, the team waived outside linebacker Derrek Tuszka.

Tuszka was claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this month to provide depth in the wake of the injury to Harold Landry. He started in Week 3 versus the Las Vegas Raiders, tallying two tackles.

A former 2015 second-round pick of the Raiders, Edwards spent the last two seasons with the Chicago Bears, where he tallied 25 tackles and six sacks over 27 games (one start).

The Titans parting ways with Tuszka hopefully means outside linebacker Bud Dupree is healthy enough to play this week. Dupree missed the Week 3 contest with a hip injury.

Tennessee will have a crucial divisional matchup against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, the first of two meetings between the teams in three weeks.

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Titans sign DE Mario Edwards Jr. off Jaguars’ practice squad

Mario Edwards Jr.’s return to the Sunshine State was short-lived.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ remarkable luck with injuries has meant the team hasn’t popped up at all on the transactions list in the last few weeks. But the team made an appearance Monday because the Tennessee Titans snagged defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. off the practice squad.

Edwards, 28, was a Florida State standout and a second-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, but has struggled to make a mark during his professional career.

He was cut by the Oakland Raiders after three seasons and has since had stints with the New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, and Chicago Bears. The Jaguars scooped him up earlier this month after he was released by the Bears at the end of August.

But with the Jaguars’ 53-man roster standing pat through the first three weeks of the season, there was no opportunity for Edwards to climb up to an active role.

Now he’s off to join the Titans, who waived former Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Derrek Tuszka to make room.

Tennesse was without outside linebackers Bud Dupree and Ola Adeniyi on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders due to injuries. The team also has defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand and outside linebacker Harold Landry on injured reserve.

Jaguars bring back DL Adam Gotsis, add two to practice squad

Veteran defensive lineman Adam Gotsis is back with the Jaguars three days after his release

The Jacksonville Jaguars brought Adam Gotsis back three days after releasing the veteran defensive end Thursday. On Sunday, the team announced Gotsis is back on the active roster, while newly signed Mario Edwards is headed to the practice squad.

Gotsis, 29, played in 32 games and started 18 in his last two seasons with the Jaguars. Prior to that he began his career as a second-round pick of the Denver Broncos.

The release of Gotsis was a surprise, particularly with the lack of depth along the Jacksonville defensive line. Now he’ll rejoin a group of defensive ends that is led by starters Roy Robertson-Harris and Folorunso Fatukasi.

Edwards will be joined on the practice squad by former Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jaylon Moore, the Jaguars also announced. Moore signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and spent his first two NFL seasons on Baltimore’s practice squad.

The Ravens waived Moore near the end of August and he was claimed by the New York Giants, but waived by the Giants on Thursday.