Tag: Matt Ioannidis

Podcast: How to improve the Browns’ defensive line in free agency

Free agency could have some answers the Browns need.

It is not a secret that the Cleveland Browns need a lot of help on the defensive line, especially at defensive tackle. In this episode, I am joined by Dawgs by Nature’s Jared Mueller to talk about some options in free agency. The team needs to improve the basement of the roster, especially in the interior as bad as it was.

Jared makes a great point that Andrew Berry likes to double-dip with free agency and the draft when he tries to fix a position. So grabbing a couple of players on the line in free agency and the draft could play out this offseason. You can listen to the episode here or watch it here to see the video version of the show.

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1 Panthers player makes PFF’s list of top 100 free agents

One Panther made PFF’s top 100 free agents list, and he may be even more valuable to the team with their shift on defense.

Being that the Carolina Panthers are losing the fewest amount of 2022 snaps to the 2023 open market, they won’t have many—if any—players on these types of “top free agents” rankings. But they do have one on Pro Football Focus’ list.

And that player is defensive lineman Matt Ioannidis, who comes in at No. 87 of PFF’s 100-man roundup. Salary cap analyst Brad Spielberger, who projects a two-year, $13 million deal for the big man, writes the following:

Ioannidis was one of the more surprising cap casualties heading into 2022, ultimately landing with the Carolina Panthers on a one-year, $5.9 million flier. He paired well with nose tackle Derrick Brown as a lighter pass-rusher up the middle.

Ioannidis has missed time here and there in recent seasons with injuries, but he’s been a consistently strong pass-rusher from the interior, earning pass-rush grades of 69.1 or better in each of the last six seasons with a pressure rate around 10% in each of the last two. He can help a lot of teams make things tough on opposing quarterbacks.

One of those teams is the Panthers, who should find even more value in Ioannidis with the hiring of new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Evero is likely to implement a 3-4 scheme, a base the seven-year veteran already has experience playing in.

So if Carolina is willing to pony up a little more than they did for him last year, they may be able keep some continuity and familiarity on a line that really needs it.

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5 free agents the Rams should consider signing this offseason

The free agency period of the offseason begins next month and here’s a list of 5 players the Rams should consider signing.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to face the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, which means that the bulk of the offseason is right around the corner. Following a disappointing campaign in 2022, the Los Angeles Rams will need to reshape their roster ahead of next season.

Before the Rams begin the new league year in nearly a month, they’ll have to get under the salary cap. The reigning Super Bowl champions are currently $14 million over the cap, meaning that they’ll need to restructure contracts, release players, or even conduct trades to free up money.

Even though the Rams likely won’t have an abundance of money to throw around this offseason, here are five free agents they should consider signing.

2 Panthers out of Wednesday’s practice ahead of Week 18 matchup vs. Saints

The Panthers held DT Matt Ioannidis and LB Chandler Wooten out of Wednesday’s practice.

The Carolina Panthers’ final Wednesday injury report of the 2022 season, thankfully, came out a bit light.

Headlining the afternoon’s chart was defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis, who was held out of practice due to a back injury. The seventh-year veteran has

started and played in 13 games for Carolina this year—totaling 37 combined tackles (five for a loss), 1.0 sack, nine quarterback hits, a forced fumble and a pass defensed.

Also out, with an ankle issue, was linebacker Chandler Wooten. Wooten, who has been used exclusively on special teams, was signed off the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad back on Oct. 18. He has recorded 145 snaps, an assisted tackle and a forced fumble—which came in the Week 9 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Here’s the report in its entirety:

Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Game status
DT Matt Ioannidis Back DNP
TE Stephen Sullivan Elbow Limited
LB Chandler Wooten Ankle DNP
LB Joel Iyiegbuniwe Hamstring Limited
OT Taylor Moton Rest DNP

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Panthers rule out Matt Ioannidis, unsure about Jeremy Chinn for Week 11

Along with PJ Walker, the Panthers will also be without Matt Ioannidis and Giovanni Ricci against the Ravens. Jeremy Chinn’s status for Week 11, however, remains uncertain.

The Carolina Panthers got some rough news on cornerback Donte Jackson this past Friday, as the fifth-year veteran and team captain had the book closed on his 2022 season due to a torn Achilles tendon. But he’s not the only starting defender coming out of Thursday night’s win with a setback.

On Monday, interim head coach Steve Wilks already ruled out defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis for the team’s Week 11 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. The seventh-year lineman sustained a calf injury in the 25-15 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

With fellow tackle Derrick Brown getting much of the attention, Ioannidis has quietly had himself an impactful campaign for Carolina. He’s amassed 23 tackles, 1.0 sack and eight quarterback hits over nine starts—which has earned him an overall defensive grade of 67.7 from Pro Football Focus.

Daviyon Nixon will get the start in his place.

As for safety Jeremy Chinn, who was designated to return from injured reserve last week, Wilks said the team remains uncertain about his Week 11 status. Chinn has missed the past six games due to a hamstring injury.

The Panthers also ruled out quarterback PJ Walker (ankle) and tight end Giovanni Ricci (neck) for Sunday’s contest.

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6 Panthers the Eagles should have interest in acquiring after Carolina fires Matt Rhule

With the Carolina Panthers firing head coach Matt Rhule and DC Phil Snow, we’ve listed six players the Philadelphia Eagles should be interested in acquiring via trade

Matt Rhule has been fired as the coach of the Carolina Panthers less than 24 hours after a 37-15 loss to the San Francisco 49ers and less than three years into a seven-year, $62 million contract he signed to leave Baylor for the NFL.

Rhule was fired with a record of 11-27, including this year’s 1-4 start. Under Rhule, the Panthers were 1-27 when allowing 17 or more points, including 25 losses in a row.

With Carolina making a change at head coach and defensive coordinator, the franchise could look to be sellers as they work to accumulate draft assets.

Here are six players the playoff-bound Eagles could look to trade for.

Panthers’ pending 2023 free agents

Here are the Panthers who will be entering free agency following 2022 season.

The Carolina Panthers have had a pretty busy offseason thus far, which has included a relatively successful dip in free agency. Plus, they even kept a few of their own in the process.

But what about next spring?

Here are the team’s pending free agents for 2023.

Top takeaways from Panthers’ OTAs on Wednesday

There are more important takeaways from the latest OTA session in this post, but Panthers HC Matt Rhule revealed he can complete a four-and-a-half minute plank on Wednesday.

Following Wednesday’s installment of organized team activities, the Carolina Panthers sent a handful of coaches and players to speak with the media. So, what were the finest points of the seven pressers?

Here’s the top takeaway from each man who took the podium yesterday afternoon.

In hindsight, some thoughts on Washington’s 2022 NFL draft

More thoughts on some of Washington’s 2022 NFL draft class.

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Jahan Dotson (Rd 1, 16): Dotson must have an unbelievable “catch radius” because that was the buzz phrase from the Commanders brass. And the trade back from No. 11 to No. 16 was certainly maximized by Washington. The Commanders are banking on Chris Olave not being that much better than Dotson, and they also picked up Brian Robinson and Sam Howell with picks traded to them during the draft.   They had needs and thus needed to trade back, so I am glad they did trade back.

Brian Robinson Jr. (Rd 3, 98): Robinson is not the receiver J D McKissic is out of the backfield. Yet, it is also true that McKissic is not the insider runner that Robinson is. McKissic is coming off of a neck injury and Antonio Gibson did have fumble problems last season. Robinson might become an interesting short-yardage asset and is certainly a more powerful runner than Jaret Patterson or Jonathan Williams displayed in 2021.

Phidarian Mathis (Rd 2, 47): Mathis might be a better run defender than Matt Ioannidis and Tim Settle. Thus he might actually provide what those two defensive tackles did not. Yet, the other side of the coin looks (at least for now) to also be just as true. Settle and Ioannidis both were more mobile against the wide runs and providing pass rush. Mathis is known to be good at occupying blockers, which would help the middle linebacker in particular.

Remember how Aaron Rodgers was upset that Green Bay did not contact Rodgers, preparing him for their late first-round choice of Jordan Love? The Commanders must have learned from that as well, because Saturday they contacted Wentz, informing him of their intention to draft UNC QB Sam Howell in the fifth round (144).

With Coach Ron saying this next season is going to be a good step up for Washington, did you notice in this draft the Commanders chose only one underclassman? And that guy was Howell, whom they would rather not have to play in 2022. They upgraded at starter with the trade for Wentz and they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to perhaps draft for the future as well, at the game’s most significant position.

 

Instant analysis: Washington selects Phidarian Mathis in 2nd round

Washington selected Alabama DT Phidarian Mathis in the 2nd round of the NFL draft. Mathis will help restock a former position of strength.

“With the 47th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Washington Commanders select D (defensive) tackle Phidarian Mathis, Alabama!”, announced former Washington wide receiver Santana Moss.

Mathis is huge, standing 6-foot-4 1/4, weighing 310 pounds. As a senior in 2021, he was second-team All-SEC when he recorded 53 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, 9 sacks, and was a team captain.

ESPN analyst Louis Riddick commented saying Mathis is not going to impress with his athletic ability. But did assert, “he will impress you with consistency, with heavy hands. He will flash power, resetting the line of scrimmage against the run. Just a solid fundamental pick for Washington.”

The context of this selection cannot be ignored. The team was loaded at defensive tackle with starters Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and Tim Settle and Matt Ioannidis as the capable reserves.

This week the front office determined they would not extend starter Daron Payne. This coming after they permitted the capable and inexpensive Settle to sign with Buffalo for only $9 million over two years and released Ioannidis.

The front office created the need at this position early in the draft. It is a fair criticism. It is also fair to commend the front office for realizing they absolutely needed to trade back in round one from No. 11, enabling them to obtain two additional draft choices in this draft (98, 120). With this pick, they have addressed a need at defensive tackle.

ESPN analyst Mel Kiper stated Mathis is going to need to prove he is not a two-down player in the NFL. He also added he was surprised to have not heard Connecticut’s Travis Jones’ name called or Oklahoma’s Perrion Winfrey prior to Mathis by Washington.