Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here is a list of all the players who have been designated with a franchise tag for the 2022 season.
The deadline for NFL teams to designate pending free agents with a franchise tag or a transition tag is today at 4:00 p.m. ET, or 1:00 p.m. PT. The Seattle Seahawks have yet to make a move and aren’t expected to. However, several stars around the league have been hit with the tag.
Here is a list of all the players who have been designated with a franchise tag for the 2022 season.
The Houston Texans may need to use free agency to address their tackle positions. Here are five free agents Houston should keep in mind.
The Houston Texans will need free agency and the draft to effectively complete their rebuild in the second year of general manager Nick Caserio.
Houston has some decisions to make at tackle. Tytus Howard, a former 2019 first-round pick, has shown versatility to play guard and tackle, feeling more comfortable with the later. The Texans still have left tackle Laremy Tunsil under contract, although he struggled to get back on the field after Week 5 with a thumb injury. Tunsil could also be effective trade bait with any tackle-hungry teams.
No matter whether the Texans keep Tunsil, draft Ikem Ekwonu, or elevate Charlie Heck to a starting role, here are five free agent tackles the Texans should consider signing when free agency starts.
All salary figures are according to Spotrac.
How does the 2022 recruiting class rank for the Oklahoma Sooners since 2010?
The Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff did some incredible work over the last two months to push their 2022 recruiting class into the top eight in the nation. Signing day acquisitions helped give them a bump from No. 10, but the groundwork was already laid. The Sooners, without a five-star athlete, signed one of the best classes in the country.
Oklahoma is no stranger to successful recruiting efforts. Since 2010, it has had six classes rank inside the top 10 of 247Sports team composite. The Sooners’ highest-rated class came in 2010. However, the 2017 class had, arguably, the greatest impact within that time period. That was Bob Stoops’ last recruiting class before he retired. That class ranked eighth in the nation and No. 1 in the Big 12 for that cycle.
The 2017 recruiting class featured Creed Humphrey, Orlando Brown, CeeDee Lamb, Marquis Brown, Kenneth Murray, Trey Sermon, Tre Brown, Tre Norwood and Adrian Ealy. All are in the NFL. Isaiah Thomas, Kennedy Brooks, Marquis Hayes, Tyrese Robinson and Jeremiah Hall will join them this April.
That recruiting class also included Grant Calcaterra, who was on an upward trajectory at OU before concussions set him back, leading to his transfer to SMU.
The 2017 recruiting class won four Big 12 titles and competed in two College Football Playoff games.
So let’s take a look at how the 2022 recruiting class stacks up since 2010 according to 247Sports composite team recruiting rankings.
Another Sooner is announced as a Pro Bowler as CeeDee Lamb joins Trent Williams, Kyler Murray, Mark Andrews, Joe Mixon, and Orlando Brown.
After his best season as a pro to date, former Sooners star CeeDee Lamb will be a Pro Bowler. The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver becomes the sixth Sooner to make the Pro Bowl this year.
.@_CeeDeeThree is headed to the #ProBowl. 🙌
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) January 31, 2022
The dynamic receiver will join an NFC receiving unit that includes San Francisco receiver Deebo Samuel, Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, and Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans (who will be filling in for injured Green Bay mega star Davante Adams).
Following the Pro Bowl, it’ll be rest and back to work for Lamb, who could be taking on a much bigger role next year for the Cowboys. Dallas has some interesting roster decisions to make with wide receivers Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper. Gallup will be an unrestricted free agent and though it appears that Cooper will be back, he carries a significant cap hit.
Lamb’s rapport with quarterback Dak Prescott grew this year but drops and miscommunication spoiled what could’ve been an even more special season statistically for the former Sooner. CeeDee Lamb is still scratching the surface of what he can be and this season and Pro Bowl selection are just a taste of what he’s destined to become.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.
Here are seven of the top free agents in the 2022 class who could help improve this offensive line most.
The Seattle Seahawks have a good group of personnel on offense. Their quarterback is one of the NFL’s best when he’s on his A-game, they have one of the top wide receiver combos in the league and their backfield will look pretty strong if both Rashaad Penny and Chris Carson return.
The greatest weakness of this group – as it has been throughout the Pete Carroll era – is the offensive line. Seattle has a quality pair of starting guards in Gabe Jackson and Damien Lewis and decent depth behind them. However, their franchise left tackle is about to hit the market and they have more questions than answers at both center and right tackle.
Good news: the team is flush with cap space, so they can afford to sign proven veterans rather than roll the dice in the draft – a good idea considering their history with OL prospects. With an assist from Pro Football Focus’ 2021 player grades, here are seven of the top free agents in this class who could help maintain/improve their offensive line most.
With the NFL regular season wrapped up, which former Sooners are heading to the NFL playoffs?
Oklahoma DNA can be found all over the NFL these days. After fantastic seasons, several former Sooners will play in the postseason for their respective teams.
Former quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts will lead their respective teams into the playoffs. Murray and the Arizona Cardinals go on the road to face the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams. Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles travel to take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Facing off against Murray and fellow former Sooner Jordan Phillips will be former offensive lineman Bobby Evans.
Sticking with the NFC, CeeDee Lamb and the Dallas Cowboys will play host to Trent Williams and the San Francisco 49ers. Lamb capped a great second year in the league with 1,102 yards receiving, 79 receptions and six touchdowns for the Cowboys. He finished 12th in the league in receiving yards while leading a talented Dallas Cowboys wide receiver corps. Along with Lamb, Neville Gallimore will be making his first appearance in the playoffs.
Turning to the AFC, after finishing second in the NFL in rushing yards, Joe Mixon and the Cincinnati Bengals will host the Las Vegas Raiders in the wild-card round. Samaje Perine also plays for the Bengals. The Raiders pulled off an overtime win over the Los Angeles Chargers and Kenneth Murray’s squad to make it into the postseason.
Cody Ford and Daryl Williams will take on Rhamondre Stevenson as the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots are set for their first-round matchup.
Sticking with the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs, with Orlando Brown, Creed Humphrey, Blake Bell and James Winchester, remain one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl this season. The team is led by Patrick Mahomes.
With six games this weekend, there are several opportunities to put on your Sooners gear and cheer your favorite former Sooners as they make their way through the NFL playoffs with the hopes of hoisting the Lombardi trophy.
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#Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided injury updates on Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Lucas Niang, Orlando Brown and Joshua Kaindoh on Thursday.
Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid addressed the media for the last time ahead of the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Denver Broncos.
As usual, Reid began his press conference with a quick update on some injured players.
“As far as the injuries go, Clyde (Edwards-Helaire) didn’t practice today, most likely he’s going to be out as it looks right now,” Reid said. “(Lucas) Niang is out. Then, the rest of the guys practiced. Everybody got work in today, and we should be able to make decisions on what direction we go with the actives come game time.”
Both Edwards-Helaire and Niang were ruled out by the team in the official injury report shortly after Reid’s comments. One player who appears to be in the clear for Week 18 is LT Orlando Brown Jr., who was sidelined by a pregame calf injury against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Yeah, I think he has a good chance to be, yes,” Reid said of Brown’s chances to be active and play. “He did good. He practiced the last couple days here.”
Brown has been a full participant in practice for the past two days and doesn’t carry a game-status designation for Saturday. That signals that he’s trending towards playing in Week 18.
One player who doesn’t seem like he’ll be back this week, but could be activated ahead of the playoffs, is Joshua Kaindoh. The rookie defensive end was placed on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain, and he was designated to return just a few weeks ago. With his practice window soon coming to a close, the team needs to decide to activate Kaindoh or keep him on injured reserve.
“I think we have a pretty good shot at it,” Reid said of Kaindoh’s chances to be activated ahead of the playoffs. “It won’t be this week, right now, but we have a shot at getting him back, yes.”
We’ll keep you posted with any new injury updates between now and kickoff on Saturday.
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How did former players react to the news that the Sooners were bringing back strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt?
The Oklahoma Sooners are beginning to fill out their staff. Last night it was reported that they had a “done deal” with Jeff Lebby to be the next offensive coordinator for OU. The bigger news on the night, however, appeared to be the return of former strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt.
As Brent Venables begins to fill out his staff, it appears he’s turning to guys that helped make the Bob Stoops era of Sooners football so successful. Schmidt, affectionately referred to as Smitty, was with the Sooners from 1999-2017.
Players who worked with the former Sooners coach went to Twitter to share their “fond” memories of the brutal workouts Schmidt put them through. We’ve collated some of the best reactions for you to enjoy.
Here are three matchups that could determine the outcome of Washington’s Week 6 game against the Chiefs.
Can the Washington Football Team pull off the biggest upset of Week 6 on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs?
Anything is possible in the NFL, but anyone who has watched Washington through five weeks would have a hard time believing Washington could limit the dangerous Kansas City offense, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
For Washington to win this game, it will need to win individual matchups. Easier said than done.
Here are three matchups in Washington’s Week 6 game against the Chiefs that could determine the outcome:
Former Ravens offensive tackle Orlando Brown said he’s not giving any of Baltimore’s secrets away
The Baltimore Ravens are gearing up to play the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 after dropping a big game to the Las Vegas Raiders in their season opener. It will be a tough task to play one of the best teams in the NFL on a short week, but Baltimore is preparing for that challenge and making sure they do everything they can to get ready to play good, solid football on Sunday night.
Kansas City is also preparing for their Week 2 contest, and will be looking to learn anything and everything that they can about the Ravens. They even have some former Baltimore players who could help them out by giving them secrets to how the Ravens do things. However, former Baltimore offensive lineman and current Chiefs player Orlando Brown said that he won’t be “snitching” on his old team.
Orlando Brown Jr. on how much Steve Spagnuolo has been in his ear trying to learn about the Ravens' offense: "I'm not gonna snitch, man."
— Joshua Brisco (@jbbrisco) September 15, 2021
Brown’s response is very similar to that of former Baltimore safety Eric Weddle, who also said that he wouldn’t give away the Ravens’ secrets. It’s a sign of loyalty, which is very respected around the league.
Baltimore offensive coordinator Greg Roman was asked about Brown’s comments, and he said that the former Raven “ain’t a snitch”.
“The unwritten rule is you do do that. I know the character of Orlando Brown [Jr.], and I know he would never do such a thing, because Orlando ain’t a snitch.”
Brown wanted out of Baltimore due to his desire to play left tackle, something that the Ravens couldn’t offer him unless Ronnie Stanley somehow left himself. The fourth-year player is now trying to figure things out in Kansas City, and will look to protect his new quarterback in Patrick Mahomes when the two teams match up on Sunday.
