Tag: Marlon Mack

5 pending free agent RBs the Jaguars should consider signing

The Jags RB room could use some new additions and there are a few free agents the coaching staff is familiar with that could help.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ top three needs are clearly on the offensive line and at receiver and tight end, but those aren’t the only places where they could afford to make additions on offense this offseason.

There is also a lot of uncertainty at the running back position. Travis Etienne appears to be back on track to return from a Lisfranc injury, but the Jags don’t really know what they have in him as he only took the field for limited preseason snaps as a rookie. Additionally, James Robinson will be recovering from an Achilles tear he sustained late in the season against the New York Jets.

With the aforementioned players being atop the depth chart at the position, the Jags would be wise to add help at running back. April’s draft class would certainly be a good place to look, but the team may want to add a proven player at the position as the Jags will have at least $55 million available in cap space.

That said, here are some reasonable options they could consider in free agency for a position they shouldn’t be looking to break the bank on.

6 Colts listed among PFF’s top 200 pending free agents

The Colts had six players listed among Pro Football Focus’ top-200 pending free agents for 2022.

In less than a month, NFL free agency will be open for teams to sign new players and the Indianapolis Colts have several names set to hit the market.

Some of the names on the list of pending free agents for the Colts may be re-signed before the market even opens on March 14—the legal tampering period. Others will be free to negotiate with teams as the Colts let them walk.

Pro Football Focus ranked the top 200 pending free agents set to hit the market along with what they project their next contract to be. There were six Colts on that list.

Here’s a look at that from a Colts’ perspective:

Colts RB Marlon Mack is a low risk gamble the Texans

If the Houston Texans are looking for a running back with little risk, the Indianapolis Colts’ Marlon Mack has to be an option in free agency.

The Houston Texans need help running the football.

It is no secret that the ground game was far and away the team’s biggest deficiency during the Tim Kelly era. The addition of David Johnson in 2020 nor the departure of former coach Bill O’Brien was able to generate any traction.

The Texans finished dead last in the NFL with 1,422 rushing yards in 2021, only 83.6 yards per game. Rex Burkhead, a late add to the roster in August, was the team’s leading rusher with 122 carries for 427 yards. There was not a single back on the roster that averaged over 3.5 yards per carry. Burkhead, Johnson, Phillip Lindsay, Royce Freeman — it didn’t matter. Houston had no rushing game.

If the team is going to aid the development of second year quarterback Davis Mills and remove the entire offensive burden from the passing game, this is an area that must be improved upon in 2022. New offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton will likely provide some welcome changes from a Kelly run scheme that couldn’t have been any worse at generating running lanes. Additionally, Houston is expected to make investments towards their interior offensive line that should pay immediate dividends.

None of that, of course, matters without some new candidates running the football.

With limited cap space and more pressing needs across the roster, it is in the best interest of the Texans to invest in cheap veteran options in addition to potentially drafting a rookie. The free agent market boasts fantasy-friendly names like Melvin Gordon and Leonard Fournette in addition to a host of younger backs who never quite thrived the way they were projected too.

At the intersection of less expensive and seeking opportunity, a familiar face is available for the Texans: former Indianapolis Colt Marlon Mack.

Mack was a fourth-round draft pick from the University of South Florida in 2017 and ran for 908 and 1,091 yards during his second and third years with the Colts. He averaged 4.4 and 4.7 yards per carry during those campaigns with 18 total touchdowns.

Despite his success, Indianapolis still traded up early into the second round of the 2020 draft to select Jonathan Taylor. The rest is history.

An ugly Achilles tear during the first game of the 2020 season threw off Mack’s fourth year in the league and he wasn’t able to find his way back into the rotation after signing a one-year deal last summer. Mack was a healthy scratch in 11 of Indianapolis’ 17 games during Taylor’s historic 2021 campaign.

Kevin Hickey, editor of the Colts Wire, was optimistic that this was largely due to circumstance rather than any indictment on Macks’ talent level after the injury.

“We got a solid look at him (Mack) during the preseason and while he may not be *as* explosive, he still looked like a running back who can produce at a similar efficiency as he did early on in his career with the Colts. He was a healthy scratch for the majority of the season, mostly due to the historic season of Jonathan Taylor and the fact that Mack doesn’t contribute on special teams, which is a key requirement for the RB3 on the Colts roster.”

It was well documented that Mack was seeking a trade during the 2021 season, but Indianapolis wasn’t able to find him one. It left the running back essentially paid to take a season off and stay prepared incase Taylor was injured due to his inability to contribute on special teams. Now, Mack is set to enter the market and will be looking for rosters with opportunity.

In Houston, Mack would immediately be the best downhill runner on the roster and offer a between-the-tackles. He would fit into nearly any scheme that Hamilton may dream up and offer a kind of runner that Houston hasn’t had in years. As an additional rotational piece, his assistance in the run game could go a long way towards helping Davis Mills.

Mack may not be the kind of workhorse back that many are clamoring for, it may best to look towards the draft or other options for that. However, at his likely contract price of less than $2 million on the season, he is the type of player that would immediately make the roster better and could help contribute towards winning.

For Mack, Houston represents a backfield where his talent could give him the potential volume to reproduce at a level more similar to his 2018 and 2019 campaigns in Indianapolis. A strong campaign with the Texans would set him up well to seek the first large payday of his career.

It would be fun to take a page from the Tennessee Titans’ playbook and recruit a player from a cross-division rival. Houston will need all the juice they can muster to compete with an extremely talented roster in Indianapolis and having an inspired Mack on the roster would certainly help.

10 under the radar 2022 free agent for the Eagles to targets

10 under the radar 2022 #NFL free agents for the #Eagles to target #FreeAgency #FlyEaglesFly

NFL free agency isn’t always about landing the big names and with a little over $24 million available, Howie Roseman could fill a lot of holes with some under-the-radar names.

Value is in the eyes of the beholder and with Philadelphia having needs at running back, cornerback, linebacker, and safety among others, there are several lesser-known players set to hit the open market that can help improve the culture already in place.

With the new league year quickly approaching, here are 10 under-the-radar free agents for the Eagles to target.

Colts activated 14 players from COVID-19 list this week

The Colts had 14 players in total activated from the COVID-19 list this week.

At one point, several of the starters for the Indianapolis Colts were in doubt to play against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 17 as they tested positive for COVID-19.

However, a change in league protocols allowed the majority of them to return this week for a game that would clinch a playoff berth if the Colts find themselves on the winning side when Sunday is all said and done.

Day by day this week, the Colts activated more players. It started with getting two of their starting offensive linemen back in Quenton Nelson and Mark Glowinski on Wednesday.

Then the Colts activated three more starters from the COVID-19 list, including linebacker Darius Leonard on Thursday.

This was followed by the activation of a pair of depth players in safety Jahleel Addae and running back Marlon Mack on Friday.

And finally, the Colts activated a slew of players on Saturday, including quarterback Carson Wentz and right tackle Braden Smith. Wentz finds himself in an interesting situation because, as of this writing, he still needs to clear the protocols in order to play on Sunday.

Regardless, here’s a quick look at all of the players the Colts activated from the COVID-19 list in Week 17:

Colts activate S Jahleel Addae, RB Marlon Mack from COVID-19 list

The Colts activated two more players from the COVID-19 list on Friday.

The Indianapolis Colts activated safety Jahleel Addae and running back Marlon Mack from the reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced Friday.

As expected, more activations have been happening throughout the week. The Colts had five players get activated on Wednesday and three players get activated on Thursday. There are still more to come, but the majority of players have been activated.

Getting Addae back is a pretty big deal given the thin depth in the safety room. Starter Khari Willis was activated this week from the COVID-19 list while George Odum would likely replace Andrew Sendejo, who is still in the league’s concussion protocol.

Mack has been a healthy scratch for the majority of the season but given how quickly this new variant can render a player out, it’s good to have him available in case something were to happen in the running back room.

The Colts still have a few players on the list that need to be activated on Saturday, but their numbers are getting stronger by the day.

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Colts don’t plan to release RB Marlon Mack

Colts HC Frank Reich said there are no plans to release RB Marlon Mack.

Indianapolis Colts running back Marlon Mack was a healthy scratch in Week 9 against the New York Jets after the trade deadline passed but it appears there are no plans by the team to release him.

As Mack was a healthy scratch for the second time this season, head coach Frank Reich reiterated it was due to needing rookie Deon Jackson’s abilities on special teams—since that’s an area Mack doesn’t participate.

But as it stands at midseason, the Colts have no plans of releasing Mack so that he may find a new home in 2021.

“Marlon’s (Mack) a valuable player to us. We had to make him inactive last week. As you guys know, that’s more of a roster consideration thing as far as special teams,” Reich told the media Monday. “I think Marlon is very talented. No discussions as far as I’m concerned as far as any kind of mutual release at this point.”

Mack was thought to be on the trading block after reportedly requesting a trade when he was a healthy scratch in Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans. No deal came to fruition when the deadline passed.

A free agent when the 2021 season comes to an end, Mack is likely going to be signing with a new team next offseason now that he’s proven the Achilles tear hasn’t taken away his game.

But until further notice, he may be a healthy scratch if the current backfield stays healthy.

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5 Colts who could be on the trading block

These 5 Colts could be on the trading block this week.

The Indianapolis Colts are turning around on a short week to host the New York Jets on Thursday night but they may be working the phones a bit as well with the NFL trade deadline arriving on Tuesday.

Even though the Colts aren’t typically ones to make a move at the deadline, it’s still wise to see which players may be available on the block. At 3-5 and with the chances of the playoffs dwindling, general manager Chris Ballard will have to decide which path he wants to take.

So before the deadline hits, here are five Colts who could be on the trading block:

Trades Touchdown Wire would like to see before the trade deadline

Here are 13 trades that Touchdown Wire would like to see before the NFL’s trade deadline hits on Tuesday.

Back in 2012, the NFL reached an agreement with the NFL Players Association to move the trade deadline back to Week 8 from Week 6. That change in the yearly calendar gave NFL teams two more weeks of play.

Two more weeks to evaluate their rosters, and therefore two more weeks to determine if they should be buyers or sellers.

While in year’s past, teams were not ready to throw in the towel on a season after just six weeks, the schedule shift has created an environment where organizations now have a much better idea of where they are headed, and are more open to the idea of setting up the roster for next season if necessary.

So with the 2021 NFL trade deadline looming, we have a much better idea of what teams might be sellers, and who might be buyers. In that spirit, here are 13 trades we would like to see before Tuesday’s deadline.

 

One player each NFL team could trade before the deadline, from Xavien Howard to Brandon Aiyuk

Let’s look at some of the players who could be on the move with the NFL trade deadline looming.

The NFL trade deadline has occasionally brought exciting and massive transactions. It also can be a bit of an anticlimactic day, with the trades being a bit less common in the NFL than in other leagues like the NBA.

There is no shortage of teams that could spin a trade to help fill a gap with hopes of making the playoffs. And, of course, there’s the enormous possibility that Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson will be on the move. Watson is facing more than 20 civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and inappropriate conduct, which is why he’s not playing for the Texans this season. Still, he has drawn trade interest, with the Miami Dolphins appearing to be the most likely destination for the QB, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Ahead of the deadline, let’s look at some other players who might be on the move, with one from every NFL team.