After nearly landing with the Saints in 2014 NFL draft, Trai Turner finally came home

After nearly landing with the New Orleans Saints in the 2014 NFL draft, Pro Bowl guard and LSU Tiger Trai Turner finally came home in 2023:

Everyone knows the story about the New Orleans Saints nearly drafting Patrick Mahomes, but he’s hardly the only player the Saints have just missed out on. One you might not know about is Trai Turnere — the New Orleans native joined his hometown team for their 2023 training camp, but he was nearly picked by them back in 2014. Things finally came full circle for the St. Augustine graduate and former LSU Tiger.

Former Saints head coach Sean Payton shared the story in an interview with NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill and Mike Triplett last offseason when he was in-between jobs, weighing his options in the media and considering future NFL gigs.

“We were close to drafting the guard from LSU that went to Carolina,” Payton reflected, agreeing the player was Turner when prompted. “We really liked him. I’m just going back through the drafts, obviously I can remember picks, and the selections, sometimes it’s hard to remember who else’s on the board. I remember when we selected Terron Armstead (in 2013), the cloud that year, one of the players in that cloud was the tall quarterback who went to Tampa (Mike Glennon).”

So it’s safe to say Turner is a player the Saints have valued for quite a while, which makes the fact he was picked by Carolina at No. 92 overall — just one slot after the Saints were scheduled to go on the clock at No. 91 — a little more bitter. New Orleans had already traded that selection during the first round so they could move up for Oregon State wide receiver Brandin Cooks. Had they stood pat in Round 1, Turner could have been theirs for the taking in Round 3.

Instead, Turner enjoyed near-immediate success with the Panthers, being selected for five consecutive Pro Bowls from 2015 to 2019. Turner was traded to the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020 and bounced around the league in the years that followed, starting for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Commanders before the Saints came calling.

Now he’s home, and he’s landed in a great spot to compete for a role on New Orleans’ roster. The Saints’ starting guards (Andrus Peat and Cesar Ruiz) are  both returning from season-ending injuries and their backups don’t have a ton of pro experience to lean on: third-year pro Calvin Throckmorton, second-year reserve Lewis Kidd, plus rookies Nick Saldiveri and Mark Evans II. Turner has a real shot at elbowing his way onto the 53-man roster when cuts are completed in August.

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Giants among the NFL’s best in quarterback stability rankings

Since 2013, the New York Giants have experienced sustained stability at the quarterback position, ranking among the best in football.

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The New York Giants have been the NFL’s fourth-best team in quarterback turnover rankings since 2013, notes Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports.

At the very bottom, most of the teams have been buoyed by longtime franchise QBs, like Aaron Rodgers (Packers), Matthew Stafford (Lions), Eli Manning (Giants), Derek Carr (Raiders) and Philip Rivers (Chargers).

The Giants have had only three starting quarterbacks since the start of the 2013 season which was tied for fourth lowest. To qualify for this list a quarterback had to start at least four games in a season for a team.

For the majority of this time, Big Blue had two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning calling the shots under center.

Manning is known for being an iron man, having only missed one start (since assuming the starting role) due to a surprise move to start Geno Smith for a game. While the post-2012 era was not the most prominent years of Manning’s career he did have one playoff trip and paved the way for the new era with Daniel Jones.

Jones is coming back to East Rutherford after signing a massive four-year extension with New York, so it looks like these two will be the faces of the franchise for at least a decade-long period.

The only other quarterback that appeared in at least four games during a season in this span was Mike Glennon, who started exactly four games in 2021 due to an injury to Jones.

Nevertheless, New York will be hoping that Jones can turn out similar to Manning in the sense of being a healthy, reliable quarterback that can bring some winning football back to MetLife Stadium.

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Dolphins elevate QB Mike Glennon, LB Brennan Scarlett for Week 18

Glennon could be the backup or third-string.

With just one week remaining in the 2022 regular season, the Miami Dolphins have brought two players up from the practice squad, quarterback Mike Glennon and linebacker Brennan Scarlett, to try and help with their playoff push.

With Tua Tagovailoa dealing with a concussion and Teddy Bridgewater sustaining a pinkie injury on his throwing hand, Miami is leaning on rookie Skylar Thompson. Glennon may back up Thompson if Bridgewater is unable to go, but he’ll at least be third string.

Scarlett has trained at both edge and linebacker, so he provides some versatility for a Dolphins front that’s taking on an injury-riddled Jets offensive line and an immobile quarterback in Joe Flacco.

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Dolphins to sign QB Mike Glennon to their practice squad

He started four games with the Giants last year.

With both Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater dealing with injuries, the Miami Dolphins are bringing in a veteran quarterback to provide some depth.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Dolphins are signing Mike Glennon to their practice squad.

Glennon, 33, last played for the New York Giants in 2021, where he appeared in six games, completing 53.9% of his pass attempts for 790 yards, four touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

The former NC State signal-caller has led his teams to a 6-25 record in his nine seasons since entering the league as a third-round selection in 2013.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Glennon is elevated for gameday regardless of Bridgewater’s status, considering Miami has had some terrible luck with injuries at quarterback. However, they’d probably still turn to Skylar Thompson before him.

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Bears QB Justin Fields peaked in the preseason at the perfect time

We’ve seen strong preseasons from Bears QBs in the past. But Justin Fields saving his best game for last is encouraging for Week 1.

It’s been nearly a week since the Chicago Bears wrapped up the preseason with a narrow victory over the Cleveland Browns and while roster cutdowns and waiver claims have been top of mind, many people are still talking about the performance of quarterback Justin Fields from that game.

Fields was masterful, completing 14-of-16 passes for 156 yards and three touchdowns. He was getting it done in and out of the pocket with accurate throws and deceiving motions that confused the Browns defense.

It was just what Bears fans wanted to see from their second-year signal caller, but we have also seen this story before when it comes to young quarterbacks impressing in the preseason and failing in the regular season.

Notably, former 2017 first-round pick Mitchell Trubisky comes to mind during his rookie year when he lit the NFL world on fire in the preseason, but struggled when the games actually counted. It’s easy to chalk up strong preseason performances to vanilla coverages and playing against reserves, but this feels different with Fields, and it’s coming at the perfect time too.

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Before diving into Fields’ play, let’s rewind back to 2017 with Trubisky and his first preseason. Even though this was Trubisky’s rookie year and Fields’ second season, both are young quarterbacks during this period and are learning new offenses. Trubisky wowed from the start, going 18-of-25 for 166 yards and one score in his debut against the Denver Broncos, giving Bears fans hope they had finally solved their quarterback woes.

His success didn’t stop there either as Trubisky continued to play strong in the preseason his next two games against the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans. He finished the preseason 36-of-53 for 364 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in four games. Compare that stat line with Fields’, who went 23-of-30 for 243 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in three games and both players look very strong.

Like the previous weekend with Fields, the fanbase was through the roof over Trubisky’s potential during this period in 2017. Even national media pundits believed the Bears finally were over the hump when it came to their quarterback woes.

For all the praise being heaped on Trubisky, he was still operating as the backup to Mike Glennon, though, knowing he wasn’t starting Week 1. In fact, he didn’t know when he would enter a game for the first time, which creates uncertainty for a position that requires players to be consistent in their preparation. Needless to say after finally getting the starting nod in Week 5 of that year, Trubisky’s rookie season was a wash and provided only a few highlight plays before the Bears switched head coaches heading into 2018.

Bringing it back to the present, what does any of this have to do with Fields and his recent success? For one, Fields had a similar situation during his rookie season in 2021, outplaying the quarterbacks on the roster, but still having no chance to win the starting job until an injury opened the door. His rookie season was also a wash for a number of reasons, but preparing as QB2 during the offseason did him no favors.

Now in Year 2 and in a new offense, however, he has progressed through camp and each game of the preseason, improving with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s scheme. The Bears offense may as well have been riding a tricycle against the Kansas City Chiefs, moved up to training wheels at the Seattle Seahawks, and graduated to a bicycle against the Browns with the way Fields and offense performed.

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Getsy seemed to agree during his press conference earlier in the week on Tuesday.

“Like I mentioned before, I thought preseason game one, I was pleased with the process and the play calling into the huddle, the snap to the line of scrimmage, the motions, and the lack of penalties,” Getsy told reporters. “That carried over to preseason two and I thought he got even better in preseason three so I think that part of it we were all pleased with.”

Getsy also acknowledged that there was still room for improvements.

Fields is taking everything Getsy is throwing at him and making something happen with it. He looks quicker with his releases, he’s more confident when rolling out, and he simply looks more poised that he did last year. You can go back and see progressions during Trubisky’s preseason his rookie year as well, but unlike that situation, Fields won’t have to wait to build on his development.

Coming off his performance against the Browns, Fields already knows he’s the guy. There’s no one he’s competing with, no one breathing down his neck, and no one he has to wait behind for an undetermined amount of time like his rookie season last year.

Fields can take everything he just did against the Browns and build off of it in less than two weeks when the San Francisco 49ers visit Soldier Field for Week 1. For Trubisky in 2017, he had to wait a month and a half to make it into a game after his preseason. For all of his warts, don’t you think playing behind someone like Glennon could stunt a person’s confidence?

There’s something to be said about not only playing with confidence, but playing with confidence and knowing you have the opportunity to continue backing it up in future games that are just days away. Fields even admitted he knew Saturday’s game was going to be a good one.

“I kind of had a feeling beforehand, but sometimes you’re just feeling good going into the game, feeling confident,” Fields told reporters following the victory. “Hopefully we can go into every game feeling like that.”

He even said this game felt like a turning point going forward, though Getsy made sure to manage expectations as the two continue to develop together.

Preseason performances go out the window when the real games begin and Trubisky’s performance five years ago is a cautionary tale that success doesn’t always translate to the regular season.

When it comes to Fields, though, he has a chance to continue building on these progressions in a short time, knowing the Bears are his team. He picked a great time to have his best preseason game.

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Vikings not ruling out bringing in another backup QB

The Vikings might not be done at quarterback.

When the initial depth chart was released on Wednesday, the backup quarterback position stood out right away.

Kellen Mond and Sean Mannion have both been listed as the backup quarterbacks going into Sunday’s preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Unfortunately, neither player has had a good camp. Mannion has performed exactly as you would have expected after his start last season against Green Bay. Mond, after struggling all of last year, has not shown much improvement during training camp thus far.

Where does this leave the Vikings? It could have them searching for a new backup quarterback. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert said as much on KFAN Thursday morning.

The timing feels right, as the new regime hasn’t had an opportunity to get a sense of these players. Now that they have, this isn’t much of a surprise.

Who could they target? Outside of Jimmy Garoppolo and Sam Darnold, both of whom are firmly on the trade block, there aren’t many likely options via trade.

There are a few names on the free agent market that could be enticing, including Cam Newton, Mike Glennon, AJ McCarron, Garrett Gilbert and Kyle Sloter.

If Mond and Mannion both struggle to make a case, don’t be surprised if the team adds another veteran.

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Daniel Jones among QBs most harmed by ‘receiver incompletions’ in 2021

New York Giants receivers were responsible for the second-most amount of incompletions in the NFL last season, according to new PFF data.

New York Giants wide receivers were notably underwhelming in 2021. That reality has been beaten into the ground like a dead horse with new data frequently coming out to support such a conclusion.

Pro Football Focus piled on a bit this week when they broke down the relationship between dropped passes and quarterback performance. And the Giants, of course, were among the bottom 10 teams in the league in that very metric a season ago.

But that wasn’t the point PFF was trying to make. In fact, they went beyond just dropped passes and tabulated incompletions that were the receivers’ fault.

Here is their explanation:

It’s easy to look at how many passes a quarterback lost to receiver drops, but at PFF we collect a wide variety of incompletion types and separate them into buckets of “fault.” We have six additional receiver fault incompletion types, in addition to dropped passes, each of which can cost the quarterback a completion and the corresponding yardage and potential score.

With that in mind, the below table displays the bottom three quarterbacks in the league as it relates to incompletions/attempt percentage and receiver incompletions (ie. fault of the receiver).

Name Att Att/Inc% Rec Incs
Zach Wilson 383 9.7% 37
Mike Glennon 167 7.8% 13
Daniel Jones 361 7.8% 28

The 7.8 incompletion/attempt rate was the second-worst in the NFL. And the Giants’ combined 41 receiver incompletions were third-worst in the NFL (due to fewer pass attempts).

Both Giants quarterbacks last season are next up in the list (after Wilson), showing the kind of disappointment that their receiving corps was despite considerable investment in the offseason a year ago. Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney represent a huge free agent contract and a first-round pick in respective investment, but injuries limited both players, and the overall group just couldn’t stop making mistakes.

If nothing else, the Giants’ receivers were consistent. They dropped just as many passes and were responsible for just as many incompletions (on average) for Daniel Jones as they were Mike Glennon.

Going into 2022, this is an area the Giants absolutely must clean up. It’s been a persistent issue for years and it’s only compounding offensive problems.

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2022 free agency: Should Giants re-sign these players or let them go?

For the New York Giants, it’s time to look ahead and decisions will soon have to be made on several impending free agents.

The New York Giants and their fans want a clean slate heading into the 2022 season. That means shutting the door on some players that they once considered investing in long-term.

They don’t have many impending free agents to begin with but of the ones they do have, there’s not too many they should be in a hurry to bring back.

Here’s a quick rundown of the players in that group and what action the Giants should take with them.

Giants’ Mike Glennon out in Week 18 with wrist injury

New York Giants QB Mike Glennon suffered a wrist injury on Sunday that will require surgery, forcing him to miss a Week 18 game vs. the WFT.

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New York Giants quarterback Mike Glennon suffered a wrist injury in Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears and will miss the season finale against Washington at MetLife Stadium.

Head coach Joe Judge revealed the injury during his Monday presser burying the lede a bit.

“I’m really pleased with the way Mike has come to work every day this year. He’s played through a number of things, he got thrown into a different role. I like the way Mike prepares, the way he’s a team player. Obviously, there have been some times this year he’s been up and down,” Judge said.

“We started Jake (Fromm) a week ago over him. I thought he handled that the right way as a professional, put the team first and then he stayed ready and when his number was called and went back in. I’m pleased with what Mike’s done for the team and how hard he works.”

Then Judge finally dropped the hammer.

“It’s a shame, Mike got hurt in the game yesterday. He’s going to have surgery coming up soon and he won’t be available for the game this week. That’s really the one injury of note,” Judge said. “There’s a lot of other bumps and bruises in there. I know Mike wanted to go out there yesterday and compete and do everything he could for the team, and that’s the way his season will end.”

Giant fans won’t miss Glennon too much. He completed just four passes in 11 attempts for 24 yards on Sunday in what was one of the worst performances by a quarterback in recent memory.

In Glennon’s absence, the Giants will likely turn to Jake Fromm. However, Judge said that practice squad quarterback Brian Lewerke will get some looks in practice this week.

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Ben Bredeson, Andrew Thomas were highest-graded Giants in Week 17

New York Giants offensive linemen Ben Bredeson and Andrew Thomas earned the team’s highest grades in Week 17.

The New York Giants fell to the Chicago Bears, 29-3, in one of their worst performances of the year on Sunday. The game was over after the first play and that set the tone for all four quarters.

There was a lot of bad. A lot of ugly. And there’s no way around that, but there were some positives as well. At least in the mind of those over at Pro Football Focus.

Guard Ben Bredeson led the team with an overall grade of 94.7. He was followed by left tackle Andrew Thomas (79.5), tight end Chris Myarick (67.6) and right tackle Nate Solder (67.4).

Other notable offensive grades include running back Saquon Barkley (66.7), fullback Eli Penny (56.3) and wide receiver Kenny Golladay (53.1).

The lowest-graded Giant on offense was quarterback Mike Glennon (21.4).

On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Jaylon Smith led the way with an overall grade of 78.6. He was followed by linebacker Lorenzo Carter (72.0), defensive lineman Woodrow Hamilton (68.8) and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (68.0).

Other notable defensive grades include safety Logan Ryan (65.5), cornerback James Bradberry (64.9) and linebacker Azeez Ojulari (61.3).

The lowest-graded Giant on defense was linebacker Reggie Ragland (27.0).

Defensive back Steven Parker was the highest-graded Giant on special teams, checking out with an overall grade of 84.9.

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