Shaun Dion Hamilton had a good chance to make the team
The Lions finished their series of moves to get to the 85-man roster deadline on Tuesday.
The most notable of the moves is linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton, who was placed on the injured reserve list. Hamilton consistently performed well all summer and was considered likely to make the 53-man roster by most analysts. Because he’s been placed on injured reserve prior to the final roster cuts, Hamilton is now out for the year.
Wide receiver Chad Hansen was waived with an injury settlement, while defensive lineman Michael Barnett was waived. Barnett was just added to the team last week.
These cuts follow some injury-related moves from Detroit on Monday that lowered the roster to 87.
One of the newcomers is P.J. Johnson, who was originally a 7th-round pick by Detroit in 2019
The personnel shuffle along the Detroit Lions defensive line continues in earnest. The Lions added two new players to the mix on Saturday and also placed defensive tackle Nick Williams on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
The Lions signed tackles Michael Barnett and P.J. Johnson. Fans should recognize Johnson’s name from his prior stint in Detroit. He was a seventh-round pick in 2019 out of Arizona but failed to make the team as a rookie. He’s bounced around several practice squads and rosters since, most recently the Carolina Panthers.
Barnett is in his second season but did not play in 2020. He was originally an undrafted rookie free agent out of Georgia for the New England Patriots.
#Lions have signed free agent DTs Michael Barnett and P.J. Johnson and have placed DT Nick Williams on Reserve/COVID-19.
The Lions have had some health issues on the defensive front prior to Williams’ trip to the reserve/COVID-19 list. Second-round rookie Levi Onwuzurike has only been a full participant in practice once. Veteran Michael Brockers has taken few reps in team drills throughout camp, and nose tackle John Penisini is battling an injury that kept him out on Friday and Saturday. The Lions have added Bruce Hector and Miles Brown in recent days and released Reggie Gilbert, too.
Former Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Michael Barnett has found a new NFL home with the New England Patriots.
Former Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Michael Barnett has found a new NFL home. Michael Barnett has signed with the New England Patriots ahead of the 2020 NFL season.
Barnett was a key fixture for the Bulldogs top ranked run defense last season. He’s not much of a pass rusher (zero career sacks at UGA). Barnett recorded 47 total tackles in his career at Georgia including 23 during the 2019 season.
This is an excellent opportunity for Barnett, who went undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft. Bill Belichick is notorious for giving undrafted players a fair shot to compete.
Barnett will try to help bolster New England’s run defense. He’ll face an uphill battle trying to make the Patriot roster without any preseason games. If Barnett doesn’t make their roster, he could end on on their practice squad or find a landing spot elsewhere in the league.
Best of luck to Barnett, who is from Ridgeville, South Carolina.
Will rookie kicker Justin Rohrwasser make it to the regular season?
The New England Patriots officially re-signed kicker Nick Folk and signed defensive lineman Michael Barnett on Monday.
Folk, 35, played seven games for the Patriots last season after Stephen Gostkowski went down for the season with a hip injury. He made 14-of-17 field goals and hit all 12 of his extra point attempts. Folk earned Pro Bowl honors in 2007 as a rookie and has provided reliability through his career.
The Patriots drafted Justin Rohrwasser in the fifth round this year and he appeared to be the outright starter until now. Folk could either have been signed to kick Rohrwasser into the next gear, or he’s the better candidate and Rohrwasser is gone.
Barnett, 23, played in 46 games with the Georgia Bulldogs and accumulated 47 tackles over that time. The 6-foot-4, 304 pound lineman had his best season in 2019 after playing in 13 games and recording a career-high 23 tackles.
The Patriots defensive line primarily consists of Lawerence Guy, Beau Allen, Adam Butler, Deatrich Wise and Byron Cowart. It’s unlikely Barnett cracks that lineup and makes the 53-man roster, but he’ll get his chance with three weeks until the season begins.
The New Orleans Saints just can’t quit adding talent to their defensive line. In addition to interviews with early-round prospects like Utah’s Leki Fotu and Texas A&M’s Justin Madubuike, Justin Melo over at Draft Wire reports that the Saints also touched base with Georgia Bulldogs lineman Michael Barnett.
Snubbed by this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, Barnett hoped to show out at Georgia’s pro day before it was canceled due to the novel coronavirus. The 6-foot-4, 304-pounder is a dark horse to be picked in the final rounds of the 2020 draft after posting a career-high 24 tackles last season. He played sparingly in the years before, having been buried on one of college football’s strongest depth chart.
It makes sense for the Saints to be doing their homework on players like Barnett. They’ve had success with these undrafted big men out of the SEC before, counting contributors like Devaroe Lawrence (Auburn), Taylor Stallworth (South Carolina), and Shy Tuttle (Tennessee) among the gems found in the rough. Lawrence signed with the Saints as a college free agent before getting traded to the Cleveland Browns for a draft pick, while Stallworth saw meaningful snaps in 2018 (19.8 plays per game) before Tuttle’s arrival in 2019 pushed him down to the practice squad.
With their final pick in this year’s draft coming at No. 203 (almost midway through the sixth round, with the entire seventh round still to go) the Saints should be very selective in their choices on the final day of the draft.
They also rank among the NFL’s leaders in players already under contract with 69 of 90 roster spots filled, so any undrafted free agents they bring in will face long odds of making it through final cuts. Still, Barnett is a name to remember once the draft wraps up, when teams will hit the phones hard to recruit players like him who have fallen through the cracks.
Georgie defensive tackle Michael Barnett has launched his campaign to raise money for pancreatic cancer, a cause that is close to him due to his uncle’s passing. Barnett, a five-year Bulldog, just wrapped up his last collegiate season and is looking …
Georgie defensive tackle Michael Barnett has launched his campaign to raise money for pancreatic cancer, a cause that is close to him due to his uncle’s passing.
Barnett, a five-year Bulldog, just wrapped up his last collegiate season and is looking forward to beginning his professional career.
Out of Ridgeville, South Carolina, Barnett is a part of a senior class at Georgia that enjoyed 44 wins, which ties for the most ever in the school’s history.
With his platform on the cusp of becoming even larger, Barnett wants to help raise money for a cause that is very important to him.
He is asking that you make a pledge to donate for every bench press rep that he completes at Georgia’s Pro-Day, which is taking place in March.
recently lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. I’d greatly appreciate your support in helping me honor his memory by making a pledge for every bench press rep I complete. You can support my campaign by clicking here: https://t.co/xKRKBJ8i2Y
The money will be going to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, an organization that is dedicated to fighting pancreatic cancer on research, clinical initiatives, patient services & advocacy.
Barnett explains his mission in his own words here:
Pancreatic Cancer is known as the world’s toughest cancer. Unfortunately, I’ve had first hand experience with that reality. My uncle recently lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. It was really hard to see what he and our family went through, and I want to do what I can to help make sure others have a fighting chance.
That’s why, in my uncle’s honor, as I take the next step toward achieving my NFL dream, I have made an important decision to use my performance at Georgia’s Pro Day to support Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), and their urgent mission to save lives. PanCAN attacks pancreatic cancer on all fronts: research, clinical initiatives, patient services and advocacy.
Please join me by making your pledge. Together we can bring hope to the pancreatic cancer community!
