Tag: OTAs

Watch: Media gets first look at Tim Tebow doing TE drills with Jags

The local media finally got a glimpse of Tim Tebow working out at his new position with the Jags.

It’s been a week since the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Tim Tebow, and so far,  some in the building like Trevor Lawrence have come out to say that he’s at least in great shape. However, the media got their first glimpse at the former Gator on the field for themselves Thursday as Tebow did tight end drills with his teammates and worked on his catching.

In this phase of organized team activities, teams focus on gradually installing plays, conditioning, and mechanics, so this isn’t the moment where players are heavily critiqued. Still, one thing that can be taken away from these videos is that Tebow looks like he’s in great physical shape, something Urban Meyer and Trevor Lawrence have hinted at. While fans can identify tight ends who are taller at the position league-wide easily, Tebow doesn’t look like he’s lacking in the weight department (Jags have him listed at 245 pounds).

Only time will tell if Tebow looks like he belongs as things ramp up. When asked to speak on Tebow, Meyer said he’s seen improvement from Tebow over his brief time with the team but noted that it’s still a new process for the former quarterback. Meyer then proceeded to shift the focus by praising Jags tight ends coach Tyler Bowen for his work with the group as a whole and specifically praising James O’Shaughnessy and Ben Ellefson for their improvements.

Injury, attendance updates from first week of Chiefs OTAs

A few big names were absent from Thursday’s practice and four players were on the sidelines.

The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped their first group of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) on Thursday.

This was the final practice in the first of three groups of voluntary workouts, totaling in 10 practice sessions ahead of the team’s mandatory minicamp. These practices are all voluntary, which means that players will come and go throughout the course of OTAs.

While Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were present earlier in the practice week, they were not at Thursday’s practice according to numerous reports. Some have speculated that it’s because of the charity golf event that Mahomes’ foundation is hosting in Hawaii. A number of other players weren’t spotted at practice, including Khalen Saunders, Charvarius Ward, Frank Clark, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Kamalei Correa and Charvarius Ward.

In addition to the players who didn’t attend Thursday’s practice, The Athletic’s Nate Taylor noticed four players who were seemingly sidelined with injury.

Both Rodney Clemons and Malik Herring sat out rookie minicamp with injuries. DeAndre Baker, of course, broke his femur in Week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers. He is clearly not yet ready to participate in practices. The one mysterious absence is Juan Thornhill, who notably missed some time during the offseason program last year during his recovery from an ACL injury. It’s possible that it’s nothing serious and that he tweaked something earlier in the practice week, but this certainly bears watching as the offseason program progresses.

Again, these workouts are voluntary and players are not required to participate. Some players do have bonuses attached to workouts and are incentivized to participate. Overall, it seems that the Chiefs have good attendance. Those who didn’t attend typically are in communication with the team and caught up to speed by the time mandatory minicamp comes around in mid-June.

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Injury, attendance updates from first week of Chiefs OTAs

A few big names were absent from Thursday’s practice and four players were on the sidelines.

The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped their first group of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) on Thursday.

This was the final practice in the first of three groups of voluntary workouts, totaling in 10 practice sessions ahead of the team’s mandatory minicamp. These practices are all voluntary, which means that players will come and go throughout the course of OTAs.

While Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were present earlier in the practice week, they were not at Thursday’s practice according to numerous reports. Some have speculated that it’s because of the charity golf event that Mahomes’ foundation is hosting in Hawaii. A number of other players weren’t spotted at practice, including Khalen Saunders, Charvarius Ward, Frank Clark, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Kamalei Correa and Charvarius Ward.

In addition to the players who didn’t attend Thursday’s practice, The Athletic’s Nate Taylor noticed four players who were seemingly sidelined with injury.

Both Rodney Clemons and Malik Herring sat out rookie minicamp with injuries. DeAndre Baker, of course, broke his femur in Week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers. He is clearly not yet ready to participate in practices. The one mysterious absence is Juan Thornhill, who notably missed some time during the offseason program last year during his recovery from an ACL injury. It’s possible that it’s nothing serious and that he tweaked something earlier in the practice week, but this certainly bears watching as the offseason program progresses.

Again, these workouts are voluntary and players are not required to participate. Some players do have bonuses attached to workouts and are incentivized to participate. Overall, it seems that the Chiefs have good attendance. Those who didn’t attend typically are in communication with the team and caught up to speed by the time mandatory minicamp comes around in mid-June.

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What to know from Packers defensive assistant coaches at OTAs

Five of the defensive assistant coaches for the Green Bay Packers spoke to the media on Wednesday during OTAs. 

Five of the defensive assistant coaches for the Green Bay Packers spoke to the media on Wednesday during OTAs.

Here’s what to know from defensive coordinator Joe Barry, defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, outside linebackers coach Mike Smith, inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti and defensive backs coach Jerry Gray:

Colts’ rookies will return for another week of workouts

The rookie class has one more week of work before the summer.

The Indianapolis Colts will be wrapping up their spring workouts this week with the majority of veterans breaking for summer before arriving for training camp at the end of July.

While most of the veterans will go their separate ways and train on their own for the remainder of the summer, head coach Frank Reich told the media Wednesday that the rookies will stick around for another week of workouts.

“Obviously everybody will be gone after this week, but the rookies will be back for another week next week so we’ll still get to work with them a little bit but I’m sure there will be some vets around,” Reich said. “I told everybody that they’re free to get out of here but there still may be a few vets around getting some work, but we still will have some organized and scheduled things that we’ll do with the rookies next week.”

The Colts have the majority of their rookie class out on the field for OTAs. With the exception of second-round defensive lineman Dayo Odeyingbo, who is rehabbing a torn Achilles, the Colts had a strong showing of attendance during their spring workouts.

Even though many of the starting roles are already solidified by veterans, the Colts have some intriguing talents coming into the mix. First-round pass rusher Kwity Paye comes to mind as a rookie who can start right away while fourth-round tight end Kylen Granson can carve out a solid role for himself in the passing game.

The 2020 class didn’t get any time during the spring to get work in with the coaching staff because of the pandemic, but the Colts are making sure the 2021 class is ready to go as much as they can be entering their first training camp.

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Watch: Highlights from second day of Falcons OTAs

On Wednesday, the Atlanta Falcons picked things back up for the second day of organized training activities.

On Wednesday, the Atlanta Falcons picked things back up for the second day of organized training activities. These light practices may lack in physicality, but they provide skill position players a chance to showcase their skills. Wide receiver Julio Jones, whose days appear to be numbered in Atlanta, was nowhere to be seen for the second day in a row.

Free agent Tajae Sharpe was out there (No. 83) along with rookies Kyle Pitts and Frank Darby. Check out highlights from day two of Falcons OTAs, as shared by the team’s Twitter account below.

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Strong, but not perfect attendance highlights Dolphins’ OTA session

Strong, but not perfect attendance highlights Dolphins’ OTA session

The Miami Dolphins continue their work on the practice field today amid their modified organized team activity schedule — and for the first time welcomed select members of the South Florida media to watch the practice and take in Miami’s early efforts to lay the foundation for 2021. And while many observations regarding the OTAs are under lock and key, one bit of information that can be shared is attendance.

And now, thanks to a report from the Miami Herald’s Adam Beasley and Barry Jackson, we know which members of the team are currently missing from the attendance in Davie — or at least which ones were missing from the action throughout the course of the day today. The Herald is reporting the following players were missing from OTAs (which are voluntary):

  • DE Emmanuel Ogbah
  • CB Xavien Howard
  • CB Byron Jones
  • CB Justin Coleman
  • CB Jason McCourty
  • LB Jerome Baker
  • LB Benardrick McKinney
  • OL D.J. Fluker
  • WR Will Fuller V
  • TE Adam Shaheen
  • TE Chris Myarick
  • LB Brennan Scarlett
  • IDL Raekwon Davis

Some absences, such as the one by Davis, are not related to football at all. Davis is reportedly attending a graduation in Alabama, back where he played his college ball.

But even with some notable players absent from the voluntary OTAs, it is a promising collection of talent that is indeed present and getting some mental reps — which is the primary benefit of the work being given at this point in the offseason. And with none of these reps being available to any of the players on last year’s team due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that a young, hungry team like the Dolphins has plenty of players willing to walk their paces through their assignments with their teammates to help push along the installation process.

Washington coach Ron Rivera speaks after Washington’s OTAs

The Washington Football Team returned to the field for Phase 3 of their offseason program on Monday.

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The Washington Football Team returned to the field for Phase 3 of their offseason program on Monday. On Tuesday, the media was invited to practice for Washington’s first day of on-field work at the voluntary portion of OTAs.

After practice, Washington head coach Ron Rivera spoke to the local media and discussed several topics, from new quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to the releases of offensive tackles Morgan Moses and Geron Christian.

Moses, who had started every game for Washington since 2015, was released last week.

Rivera discussed the release of Moses and said it was not related to personal reasons or performance but more about the team wanting to go in a different, younger direction.

“Nothing other than we’re just going in a different direction. We have an opportunity to get some young guys on the field,” Rivera said.

Rivera was speaking about rookie offensive tackle Samuel Cosmi, who was selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft. After Washington drafted Cosmi, it also signed veteran offensive tackle Charles Leno to play left tackle presumably.

Cosmi is expected to play right tackle, although that is far from a given. The release of Moses saves the Football Team around $8 million in 2021.

Washington had outstanding attendance for the voluntary OTAs, with 86 of 91 players participating. Two of the notable absences were star defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat.

Rivera isn’t worried about that.

Finally, Rivera got to see his starting quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, in practice for the first time. And the head coach was pleased.

Overall, Rivera enjoyed getting his team back on the practice field for the first time since January and having the opportunity to see some of the WFT’s top offseason acquisitions in action.

 

 

WATCH: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes throwing at OTAs

The Chiefs provided a first look at Mahomes in action since his offseason surgery.

The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off Organized Team Activities (OTAs) on Tuesday. Patrick Mahomes was present and participating in OTAs following offseason surgery.

Mahomes had surgery earlier this offseason to repair the turf toe injury that hampered him throughout the playoffs. He was spotted wearing a walking boot around Easter but shed the boot just a few days later. By mid-April, Mahomes told reporters that he was “ahead of schedule” in his recovery from surgery, but that’s an easy thing to say. The real test was always going to be offseason training and how much he would be able to accomplish ahead of training camp.

On Friday, ahead of the Chiefs’ first OTA practice, NFL Network’s James Palmer reported that Mahomes would participate in practices to an extent. On Wednesday, the team shared a short clip of Mahomes throwing from practice, providing a first look at Mahomes in action since his offseason surgery.

Check it out:

Now, this doesn’t appear to be from any sort of team drill and it’s still unclear if Mahomes is participating in full. The good news is that he’s been cleared to resume throwing and likely more activities. It seems as if he’s a lot closer to being 100% than many thought he would be at this point of the offseason program. At the point of his surgery, training camp was the goal. Now, it seems like it’ll just be a matter of ensuring that he doesn’t do too much and remains healthy throughout Phase 3 of the offseason program.

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Dolphins provide glimpse of on-field action at this week’s OTAs

Dolphins provide glimpse of on-field action at this week’s OTAs

The Miami Dolphins don’t have pads and they certainly have a ways to go before that kind of action is on the table — NFL league rules mandate very specifically what is and is not permissible activities for this time of year; but each of the NFL’s 32 teams is sure to push themselves up against the boundaries set by the league. The end result?

Football things are happening in South Florida, everybody.

And now, you can see a little peak at that action for yourself courtesy of the Miami Dolphins social media team. The Dolphins unleashed a quick glimpse at the action from this week at OTAs courtesy of a hype video and did well to drop in enough cameos to make your head spin. If you weren’t excited for the start of the 2021 NFL season, watch this video and then ask yourself if you’re ready once again!

Lots of looks at DeVante Parker, Jaylen Waddle and, of course, Tua Tagovailoa inside! The Dolphins’ organized team activity work continues onward and several Dolphins players,  including Tagovailoa, will be available to meet with the South Florida media this afternoon.