Tag: Matt Farniok

Tom Kennedy among 11 players signed to reserve/future deals by the Lions

The Detroit Lions signed 11 players to reserve/future contracts, including WR Tom Kennedy and OT Connor Galvin

One of the first orders of business for all teams in the offseason is to sign players to reserve/future contracts. With the Lions season not ending until after the NFC Championship game, it took longer than other years.

The Lions added 11 players to reserve/future deals on Tuesday. A reserve/future contract is a commitment by the team to bring the players back with a chance to compete for spots in the coming season. Typically, they are players coming off the practice squad or unsigned street free agents who had some connection to the team.

The biggest name is wide receiver Tom Kennedy, who has been on and off the Lions roster since the 2019 season.

The full list:

  • LB Mitchell Agude
  • WR Maurice Alexander
  • OL Matt Farniok
  • RB Jake Funk
  • OT Connor Galvin
  • CB Craig James
  • S Brandon Joseph
  • WR Tom Kennedy
  • OL Michael Niese
  • DT Chris Smith

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Lions shake up the practice squad ahead of the NFC Championship

Lions shake up the practice squad ahead of the NFC Championship

The Lions players were off on Tuesday, but the team still wound up making a few changes to thr practice squad.

Detroit added two players to the practice squad. Offensive lineman Matt Farniok and running back Jake Funk are now among the practice squad members. Farniok spent a month on the Lions practice squad at the end of the regular season.

To make room for Funk and Farniok, the Lions placed RB Jermar Jefferson on the practice squad injured reserve list. The team also released OLB Raymond Johnson from his latest stint on the Detroit practice squad.

Lions place DT Alim McNeill on I.R. in series of roster moves

McNeill is out for at least the next four games, and the Lion shuffled some practice squad players to help replace him

The Lions escaped New Orleans with a close victory, but Detroit lost one of its best defensive players in the win.

Defensive tackle Alim McNeill left the game on three separate instances and sought attention from trainers. It turned out to be worse than head coach Dan Campbell had hoped after the game. The Lions placed McNeill on the injured reserve list on Tuesday.

The team’s top interior player will miss the next four games at minimum, with just five regular-season games remaining.

The Lions filled McNeill’s spot on the 53-man roster by signing CB Kindle Vildor from the practice squad. As for the vacancy on the defensive line, Detroit officially added veteran Tyson Alualu to the practice squad. They also added offensive lineman Matt Farniok to the practice squad and released LB Raymond Johnson off the squad to make room.

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Farniok and Biadasz fight for the Cowboys future starting center position

Biadasz’s job looks secure for 2023, but a good showing from Farniok could help Dallas’ comfort level for the position for the near future, says @ReidDHanson

For three years the Cowboys have been fairly stable at the center position. Since drafting Tyler Biadasz in the fourth round of the 2020 draft, he’s been a mainstay in middle of the Dallas line, making 37 starts (four games as a rookie).

Barring injury, Biadasz looks to anchor the offensive line for the Cowboys again in 2023. Aside from a handful of undrafted free agents, Dallas hasn’t brought in much competition for the 25-year-old Wisconsin product. But that doesn’t mean Biadasz’s future is secure.

While Biadasz has been fairly consistent and reliable throughout his time in Dallas, he hasn’t progressed as some might have hoped he would. Center play is admittedly difficult to grade because assignments and joint responsibilities can be tough to decipher, but generally speaking, Biadasz has been nothing better than average (PFF grades him well below average).

While just being an NFL starter should be seen as a wild success for a former Day 3 round pick, an average-to-below-average player isn’t necessarily someone who warrants a multi-year extension. Which is where Matt Farniok comes into play.

Farniok is the Cowboys super-utility interior lineman. He’s a coaching staff favorite who can play all three interior spots and should see a lot of preseason action in the coming weeks.

If Farniok can show he’s more than just a career reserve, he could ultimately push Biadasz out the door following this season.

Looking at the situation today, there’s little-to-no chance Farniok displaces Biadasz in 2023. But if he can narrow the gap in training camp, he could make the Cowboys feel good about their decision to move on in 2024.

There’s a good chance Dallas will move on, regardless. With big deals coming for Trevon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons, the Cowboys can’t afford to re-sign everyone. They need as many players on rookie deals as they can get.

Farniok probably isn’t a long-term option at center, but he can make the move away from Biadasz less scary in 2024. The Cowboys will likely want to start over at the center position and start developing a new prospect to keep things affordable and offer stability and upside.

Much like how TE Jake Ferguson helped the Cowboys move off of Dalton Schultz, but still not preclude them from drafting a long-term solution (Dallas drafted Luke Schoonmaker in the second round in 2023), Farniok could provide the floor and stability for Dallas to move on Biadasz.

But it all starts with a good training camp from Farniok.

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Next Men Up: These 11 Cowboys are primed to takeover big roles

The Cowboys have a ton of depth, but also a ton of pending FAs. Here’s who will look to use 2023 to springboard into more prominent roles. | From @KDDrummondNFL

It’s a dog eat dog world in the NFL. In most cases, the competition is fierce but friendly. Veterans know their job is not just to perform, but to help in the development of younger players who could eventually push them for playing time. As the goal of each player is (normally) to win as a team, the overall talent level of a club’s depth is an important part of reaching that end.

It’s not always friendly, but the camaraderie of the league in general lends itself to this mindset more often than not. For the Dallas Cowboys, that would be highly beneficial in 2023 because there’s are many veterans currently on the 90-man roster who have expiring deals and the money is earmarked for the select few big-name veterans.

While teams can use accounting magic to make anything work, the Cowboys will likely sacrifice some veterans in order to carve out big chunks of cash for Dak Prescott, Trevon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons. Here’s a look at who could be a cap casualty of that chopping of the pie, and which young players are primed to replace them.

Cowboys reserve OL Matt Farniok could be in the LG equation

Farniok has quietly been developing in the background and could factor into the competition at left guard for the Cowboys in 2023. | From @ReidDHanson

The Cowboys’ recent moves and statements have made their offensive line one of the more interesting position groups heading into the 2023 season. With 2022 starter Connor McGovern off to Buffalo, the Cowboys starting left guard position is up for grabs in 2023.

Statements from Jerry Jones indicate Dallas would prefer to keep both Smiths at tackle with Steele working behind them in a depth role. Subsequent statements from the team indicated Steele could potentially see cross-training inside or various other internal candidates could be possible solutions to replace McGovern at LG.

As discussed previously, the most likely solution at LG looks like a rookie draft pick. It explains why Jones initially said Steele would be the swing tackle instead of arranging the current roster to get the five best linemen on the field together.

Jones presumably envisions Dallas bringing in fresh talent to take over the left guard spot, which would explain why he isn’t eager to move Steele. Jones was picturing what the best five would look like after the draft rather than what the best five are today.

But intentions aren’t always reality and the Cowboys may have to fall back on that Plan B they alluded to: fill the LG spot from within.

One of the internal candidates is third year man, Matt Farniok.

McCarthy: Cowboys OL Matt Farniok to have 21-day practice window activated Wednesday

The guard/center suffered a hamstring injury vs Detroit, but could provide OL depth and versatility during the postseason. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys have seemingly patched together their offensive line lately with chewing gum, duct tape, and a few multitasking Pro Bowlers. They even survived an in-game injury to center Tyler Biadasz by switching out three-fifths of the unit in Week 17’s victory over Tennessee.

But word out of Frisco is that reinforcements are coming.

Matt Farniok’s 21-day practice window is set to be opened on Wednesday, according to Mike McCarthy. The head coach made the revelation to media members during a Monday press conference.

The guard suffered a torn hamstring in the team’s 24-6 win over Detroit on Oct. 23. At the time, it was thought that the injury would hold the second-year man out “about six weeks.” It’s turned into nine.

Farniok is listed as a guard, but he has also served as the backup center and even been a lead blocker out of the fullback slot. His availability for the postseason would offer some depth, versatility, and peace of mind for a Cowboys line that’s already asking several players to do double-duty at backup positions.

After Biadasz’s injury against the Titans, Connor McGovern slid over from left guard to handle snaps. Rookie Tyler Smith moved from left tackle to take over at guard, and veteran Jason Peters came in at left tackle. Tyron Smith had already made a move to the right side of the line, playing at tackle after the loss of Terence Steele.

Farniok was a seventh-round draft pick out of Nebraska in 2021. He played in 75% or more offensive snaps in each of the Cowboys’ first three games after seeing very limited action as a rookie.

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Huskers in the NFL: Week 7

Two former Huskers made their NFL debuts!

Week 7 of the NFL season saw various ups and downs for former Husker football players. Rookies Cam Taylor-Britt (Cincinnati) and Samori Toure  (Green Bay) made their NFL debut, with the former playing a large role on defense.

On the flip side, a handful of Huskers were either held out of the game, sidelined with an ailment or suffered an injury in this past weekend’s slate of games.

Although Taylor-Britt came off the Bengals’ injured reserve last week, Randy Gregory, Matt Farniok and Nick Gates are sidelined with injuries. JoJo Domann, Jack Stoll, Cam Jurgens and Lamar Jackson didn’t see action.

Leading the way for the Huskers, perhaps to little surprise, was Lavonte David and Brett Maher, both of whom have had stellar seasons to this point.

Below are all the former Huskers’ notes and stats from Week 7 in the NFL:

Cowboys: Ex-Nebraska OL suffers torn hamstring

A former Nebraska OL suffered a torn hamstring in the Cowboys game on Sunday

According to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Cowboys guard Matt Farniok suffered a torn hamstring, and he could miss six weeks.

Farniok had a great college career at Nebraska. He is one of only 13 players in program history to be a two-time team captain. Farniok appeared in 39 games for the Cornhuskers, and he started games at tackle, guard, and center. In 2020, he was an Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten.

The Cowboys selected Farniok in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he played sparingly, logging only 23 total offensive snaps. This season, he has taken on a larger role. He started two games for the Cowboys, and through seven weeks, he has logged 190 offensive snaps.

Hopefully, Farniok can have a quick recovery and get back on the field soon.

Below is a short photo gallery of Farniok’s career, thus far.

Report: Cowboys lose OL Matt Farniok for ‘about six weeks’ to torn hamstring

The offensive lineman was injured on the Cowboys’ first PAT attempt Sunday; he will be placed on injured reserve with a chance to return. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys came into the 2022 season with concerns about thinned-out offensive line numbers. Now even those numbers are dwindling fast.

Backup guard Matt Farniok reportedly suffered a torn hamstring in Sunday’s win over Detroit and could miss “about six weeks,” according to a Michael Gehlken tweet citing sources familiar with the situation.

The injury occurred on the Cowboys’ first extra-point attempt in their 24-6 win over the Lions at AT&T Stadium. The second-year man out of Nebraska is expected to be put on injured reserve and would be eligible to return to action once he sits out at least four games.

Farniok played extensively over the Cowboys’ first three games but was in on just three snaps (one offensive, two on special teams) Sunday before the injury. He was down on the turf for a time and had to be assisted off the field by trainers, unable to put weight on his left leg. He left the locker room on crutches and had been expected to get an MRI on Monday.

In addition to being a reserve guard and backup center, the former seventh-round pick has also acted as a lead blocker out of the fullback position in certain goal-line plays.

Rookie lineman Matt Waletzko was lost for the remainder of the season after re-injuring a shoulder last week during practice. Perennial Pro Bowler Tyron Smith has yet to play this season as he deals a hamstring injury of his own.

Veteran Jason Peters was signed in early September. A tackle by trade who has transitioned to guard, he has played sparingly in just four games so far but may find himself pressed into more frequent service while Farniok heals.

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