Tag: Marlon Mack

8 recently cut players the Chargers should consider adding

Here are eight players that were released the Chargers should consider adding.

The Chargers announced their 53-man roster on Tuesday, but that does not mean it is finalized.

Los Angeles can add players via free agency or the waiver wire. That waiver wire is based on the draft order and processes on Wednesday.

These are some of the players that were released on Tuesday that the Bolts should consider adding.

Texans release former Colts RB Marlon Mack

The Houston Texans have released former Indianapolis Colts running back Marlon Mack as they finalize their 53-man roster.

Marlon Mack won’t get his grudge match against his old team in Week 1 after all.

According to Adam Schefter from ESPN, the Houston Texans are releasing Mack, who signed as a free agent earlier in the offseason.

Mack was part of a crowded backfield competition that featured veterans Rex Burkhead and Royce Freeman in addition to rookie standout Dameon Pierce. Pierce, the fourth-round rookie from Florida, exploded onto the scene in the preseason and likely made the decision an easy one for Houston’s coaching staff.

The sixth-year running back was coming off a season in which he fell behind Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis and a 2020 campaign that featured a torn Achilles.

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Texans coach Lovie Smith says RB1 will sort itself out

Houston Texans coach Lovie Smith says that the starting running back competition will be decided by the players themselves and how they perform.

Lovie Smith has a straightforward approach to determining who will be the starting running back for the Houston Texans in 2022.

“I think you let guys play,” Smith told reporters on Aug. 17.

The Texans have five running backs on the roster in Rex Burkhead, Marlon Mack, rookie Dameon Pierce, Dare Ogunbowale, and Royce Freeman, but the top three truly are the only ones vying for the starting job.

“They kind of tell you who should start, who should be on the roster, how many plays they should get,” Smith said. “We’ve been going through training camp, practice, we’ve seen a lot, but to see guys finish, I thought that was a big game.”

In the 17-13 win over the New Orleans Saints on Aug. 13 at NRG Stadium, Pierce was the talk of the backfield as he generated 49 yards on five carries. Even with his initial 20-yard run taken out of the equation, the rookie from Florida tallied 7.25 yards per carry — a tantalizing preview for Texans fans who had to watch their team average 3.4 yards per carry and 83.6 rushing yards per game last year.

Said Smith: “Of course, we talked a lot about Dameon. Then you have history a little bit, too, on what we’ve seen from some of the veteran players. It’s good competition there. They all have a certain strength, and we’ll let it play out.”

The running back competition will continue to play out as the Texans face the Los Angeles Rams Friday night at SoFi Stadium.

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Lovie Smith will allow play to determine Texans’ starting running back

Lovie Smith intends to “let guys play” in the preseason as the #Texans work to determine who will be the starter at running back. | from @JohnHCrumpler

The question of who will start for the Houston Texans at running back has been a hot topic throughout the off-season when discussing the team’s offense.

The group starts with veteran Rex Burkhead, who helped to carry the offense at the end of 2021 and was re-signed before the end of the season. However, his age at 32 years old doesn’t exactly fit the mold of your average starting running back. As such, most of the discussion around the competition has shifted to free agent signee Marlon Mack and fourth-round rookie Dameon Pierce. Both come with their own degrees of uncertainty.

Mack ran for over 1000 yards in 2019 before tearing his Achilles early in 2020 and riding the bench for most of the 2021 season. After losing out on opportunities to Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines, Mack chose a team with a clear avenue to a starting job. The question around Mack will be if he can return to form from injury and just how big of a role he’s able to carry post-Achilles. Meanwhile, Pierce was relatively underutilized throughout his career at Florida but flashed in a big way during the pre-draft process. He’s never had the opportunity to function in an offense as the featured running back but is injury-free and has all the talent in the world.

On Wednesday, Lovie Smith was asked about the competition and what exactly each of these three running backs would need to show to secure the starting job. The head coach pointed toward play on the field as the most important factor

“I think you let guys play. They kind of tell you who should start, who should be on the roster, how many plays they should get. We’ve been going through training camp, practice, we’ve seen a lot, but to see guys finish, I thought that was a big game. Of course, we talked a lot about Dameon (Pierce). Then you have history a little bit, too, on what we’ve seen from some of the veteran players. It’s good competition there. They all have a certain strength, and we’ll let it play out.”

Pierce is the darling of Houston after a 5-carry, 49-yard performance last Saturday that flashed his entire skillset and more against the New Orleans Saints. He’s considered the head-on favorite by those covering the beat simply due to the talent difference that can be observed on the field.

Under this criteria, one has to imagine that Pierce opens against the Indianapolis Colts as the starter.

However, with Lovie mentioning the pedigree of what veteran players have accomplished before, it’s hard to call this competition anywhere near over. Mack took 3 carries for just 6 yards in the same contest but will almost certainly be given a chance to bounce back on Friday against the Los Angeles Rams.

Whoever wins the competition, they’ll have a huge role in offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s offense and be asked to take pressure off of second-year quarterback Davis Mills. The ability of Houston to run the ball could be the difference between 4 and 7 wins and just how well the offense is able to operate as a whole.

John Crumpler has written for the Texans Wire since 2019 and is a PFWA member. Follow him on Twitter @JohnHCrumpler and catch him on The Backpedal Podcast.

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Texans RB Marlon Mack feels as great as he did before his Achilles injury

Houston Texans running back Marlon Mack says that he is feeling as confident in his abilities as he did prior to his 2020 Achilles injury.

Marlon Mack was trucking along.

The former 2017 fourth-round pick from South Florida was coming off his first 1,000-yard rushing season. Even though the Indianapolis Colts drafted the Wisconsin running back in Round 2 of the 2020 NFL draft, the rookie would have to up his game to overtake Mack for the feature back role.

The competition was unfair, but only due to circumstances. Mack tore his Achilles in Week 1 and was lost of the year. Taylor finished with 1,169 rushing yards and a firm command of RB1. Although Mack returned in 2021, he appeared in six games with only 28 carries for 101 yards — by far the lowest statistical point of his career.

Mack is still in the AFC South, but believes he is on the verge of a revitalization with the Houston Texans.

“I definitely feel like I’m there again,” Mack told reporters Friday after the sixth day of training camp practice at Houston Methodist Training Center. “Last year, I didn’t get that chance to show myself, but in the few games that I did, I felt that confidence in myself.”

Mack had a 3.6 yards per carry as the reserve to Taylor. One of Mack’s best games was against the Baltimore Ravens in a 31-25 loss in Week 5. The 6-0, 210-pound running back had five carries for 47 yards.

In a new NFL city with only himself to focus on, Mack has been able to at least feel the rejuvenation on the practice field.

Said Mack: “Now, I’ve actually just got to go out there and do it again, once again. I feel good, man. Every day I’m showing that explosion. I feel it in my cuts, and every day I keep going out there and keep doing it.”

The Texans could use a dominant running back. Last year’s rushing offense was the worst in the NFL with 3.4 yards per carry and 83.6 rushing yards per game.

Bleacher Report re-grades Chris Ballard’s first draft haul

B/R re-graded the Colts’ draft haul from 2017.

It has been five years since Chris Ballard conducted his first draft as general manager of the Indianapolis Colts.

A lot has changed since that first draft, which included eight selections within the first five rounds. Only one of them remains with the team, and that wound up being defensive tackle Grover Stewart.

Bleacher Report recently decided to look back on the 2017 draft hauls for each team. Here’s how they re-graded the Colts’ group of eight selections:

Malik Hooker may have produced a lot more if not for injuries. Despite missing 28 games with the Colts, he showed glimpses of his ball-hawking skills, logging 11 pass breakups and seven interceptions in 36 outings (35 starts). Indianapolis declined his fifth-year option and allowed him to leave in free agency last year.

Marlon Mack held the lead role in the backfield for consecutive seasons, rushing for 1,999 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2018 and 2019. In Week 1 of the 2020 campaign, he tore his Achilles, and Jonathan Taylor took over the top spot.

In 2021, Indianapolis re-signed Mack, but he hasn’t rediscovered his pre-injury form. Now, the 26-year-old is in contention for the lead spot with the Houston Texans.

Grover Stewart and Anthony Walker Jr. earned prominent roles in the front seven. The former signed a three-year extension during the 2020 season. The latter made 12 starts with the Cleveland Browns in 2021.

The Colts’ 2017 group doesn’t have any star power, but the front office deserves credit for finding three starting-caliber talents on Day 3. The whiffs on Day 2 hurt the overall grade though.

Grade: C+

While Hooker never truly panned out in the long run as the Colts had hoped, they did get some solid production from a number of players in the class. Cornerback Quincy Wilson offered close to nothing but wound up being the player traded for the pick that resulted in cornerback Isaiah Rodgers.

Stewart is the crown jewel of the class. He has quietly become one of the best one-techniques in the NFL, and he’s proven to have a strong impact in the middle of the defensive line.

Mack turned out to be a solid starter before Jonathan Taylor came along while Anthony Walker Jr. was a strong leader and made an impact on early downs.

A lot has changed since this draft, but it will always be somewhat significant because it gave us our first look at how Ballard conducts the front office through the pre-draft process.

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11 Colts’ free agents signed by other teams this offseason

These former Colts found new homes in free agency this offseason.

The Indianapolis Colts made some big moves this offseason through free agency, trades and the 2022 NFL draft. They also have seen a handful of their own players sign with other teams.

While the Colts signed 10 players from free agency and traded for two more, they have seen 11 of their players sign with new teams. There are a number of players who remain in free agency, including the likes of T.Y. Hilton, Eric Fisher and Xavier Rhodes.

Here are the 11 Colts’ free agents who were signed by other teams this offseason (thus far):

Fantasy football outlook: Houston Texans running backs

What fantasy value can be pulled from from Houston’s RB corps?

With the top of the depth chart populated by names that were well past their sell-by date and a rookie quarterback learning on the job, it’s easy to understand why the Houston Texans finished dead last in the NFL in rushing yards (83.6 per game), rushing touchdowns (eight), and yards per carry (3.4) last year. That led to a complete overhaul as, of the team’s top five rushers, only running back Rex Burkhead, who paced the team with 427 yards on 122 carries, returns.

Also gone is much of the coaching staff with David Culley replaced as head coach by Lovie Smith, and Tim Kelly giving way to Pep Hamilton as offensive coordinator. Hamilton served as the passing game coordinator last year but has OC experience from his time with the Indianapolis Colts.

With young quarterback Davis Mills the starter, Smith and Hamilton would love to put together a quality ground attack to take some pressure off their second-year signal caller. The question is whether they have the horses to do it.

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WATCH: Texans RB Marlon Mack gets special teams reps during minicamp

Running back Marlon Mack took reps on special teams during Houston Texans mandatory minicamp.

The Houston Texans brought in Marlon Mack as a reclamation project. The former Indianapolis Colts running back had been supplanted by Jonathan Taylor due to injuries and also the former 2020 second-rounder taking off in Mack’s absence.

The Texans’ run game was dismal in 2021, finishing last in yards per carry (3.4) and yards per game (83.6). Adding Mack would give the Texans a chance to rebound.

According to video from Texans Wire alumnus Coty Davis, Mack was taking reps on special teams during mandatory minicamp Wednesday at Houston Methodist Training Center.

For his career, Mack played 24 special teams snaps for the Colts — all in 2017, his rookie season. Mack also returned three kicks for 69 yards in his first year.

If Mack is willing to play special teams, it could give him more staying power on Houston’s roster.

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Projecting a realistic stat line for Texans rookie RB Dameon Pierce

What can Houston Texas fans and fantasy football owners alike expect from running back Dameon Pierce during his rookie season?

There probably wasn’t a better landing spot for former Florida running back Dameon Pierce than the Houston Texans. The rookie enters a situation where the only competition in front of him at the position is Rex Burkhead, Marlon Mack, and Royce Freeman.

Freeman averaged a putrid 2.6 yards per attempt last season with the Texans. Mack is coming off a brutal Achilles tear in 2020 that ultimately led to his departure from the Indianapolis Colts. Rex Burkhead will be 32 years old by the end of the season.

Pierce may not have gone as early in the draft as he would’ve liked but, after a stellar draft process, he’s entered a situation where he appears to be the best talent in a weak room. In addition, offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton has preached that the Texans will be a run-first football team on his side of the ball. This has led many to speculate just how well Pierce could play during his first season in Houston.

What should Texans fans and fantasy football players alike expect?

Organized team activities have been relatively quiet on the Pierce front. Teammates are complimentary when asked about the player but there’s far from any guarantees from the coaching staff about his future utilization. Much more so, there’s immediate compliments as to who Pierce is and what exactly he’s bringing as a person to his position group.

In fact, when pressed to talk about any of the running backs individually, head coach Lovie Smith often opts to talk about the position group as a whole instead.

“We were trying to upgrade all the positions but running back was one that we thought there were some players out there that fit what we wanted to do. And Marlon, I’m going to say that about all our running backs, even with our rookie, we have depth at the running back position. You need that. They will all have a role. We have a fullback – odds are we’ll have a fullback on our roster, so it was a commitment to the run and with a commitment to the run you need running backs and we feel like we have a few that can play.”

This has led to a difficult evaluation as Houston has openly preached their commitment to the run, even as far as desiring a fullback in 2022, and there is clearly a talented rookie in the room. However, the lack of commitment from the staff and Pierce’s lower draft capital make any bold proclamations difficult to assess.

One possible comparison that immediately comes to mind is 2020 J.K. Dobbins. He was in a similar position as the most talented back on a team, the Baltimore Ravens, that openly preached their desire to run the ball. During the first month and a half he never saw over 43% of the snaps but after that he saw over 50% of the snaps at running back in 6 of the team’s last 9 games. His last six games featured seven total touchdowns.

In this same way, we could watch a gradual Pierce ascent to the top of the back field as he earns his way over established veterans like Burkhead and Mack.

Last season 30 running backs had over 150 carries per Pro Football Reference. Of the top 11 teams in rushing attempts only the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens, who featured quarterbacks with 130-plus rushing attempts, failed to have a player on this list.

If Houston is as committed to the run as they preach that they are and Pierce is the best talent, this seems like a reasonable place to start. They spent the off-season majorly improving the roster through the draft and should be more competitive against good teams than they were in 2021.

ESPN currently models Pierce for 137 carries with 591 yards and four touchdowns. Sleeper has Pierce at 106 carries for 442 yards and three touchdowns. Over 4.0 yards a carry, something all Houston running backs failed to do last season, feels within reach — especially when considering offensive line additions such as first round pick Kenyon Green and veteran A.J. Cann.

Would 160 carries for 700 yards and five touchdowns be a success for the rookie? It’s a value that nearly doubles every Houston running back from last season. This is a value that could go up even further should Pierce fully pull away from the veteran core that Smith is so fond of.

Fans will have to wait and see just how well Pierce produces next season.

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