Tag: outside linebacker

Broncos OLB Bradley Chubb (ACL) will be sidelined during OTAs

Broncos outside linebacker Bradley Chubb (ACL) won’t be healthy in time for OTAs but he should return in time for training camp.

The Broncos expect to have right tackle Ja’Wuan James (knee) available for the start of organized team activities but outside linebacker Bradley Chubb (ACL) won’t be fully healthy in time for OTAs.

Speaking at the NFL combine last week, Denver coach Vic Fangio said that Chubb “won’t participate in any offseason football activities,” according to NFL Network’s James Palmer. Chubb will be sidelined from drills until training camp, which is expected to begin in mid- to late July.

Chubb (6-4, 275 pounds) was selected by the Broncos with the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. After recording 12 sacks, he was named to the PFWA’s All-Rookie Team and earned Pro Bowl alternate honors in 2018.

Last season, Chubb totaled 21 tackles and one sack in four games before his season was cut short by a partially torn ACL. He is expected to make a full recovery in time for the 2020 season.

Once healthy, Chubb will reclaim his starting job at outside linebacker.

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Report: Broncos interested in bringing back OLB Jeremiah Attaochu

The Broncos will likely negotiate a potential new contract with outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu.

The Denver Broncos “have expressed interest” in bringing back edge defender Jeremiah Attaochu, according to a report from KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. Attaochu is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on March 18.

Attaochu (6-3, 252 pounds) won’t be among the marquee players signed during the first wave of free agency but he might be re-signed by Denver after the team addresses some big holes at other positions.

Attaochu entered the NFL as a second-round pick out of Georgia Tech with the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers. He was productive when healthy (totaling 10 sacks in 34 games) but struggled to stay on the field with the Chargers.

After spending his first four seasons with the Bols, Attaochu had short stints with the San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs. He totaled two sacks in 11 games with the Jets in 2018 before suffering an injury.

Denver signed Attaochu last October after Bradley Chubb suffered a season-ending ACL injury. Attaochu made a big impact as a rotational outside linebacker, recording 21 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

If he can stay healthy, Attaochu would be an excellent backup edge defender for the Broncos in 2020.

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Texans have strong interest in Florida OLB Jonathan Greenard

The Houston Texans have met informally with Florida OLB Jonathan Greenard and also have a formal meeting setup with him at the NFL Scouting Combine.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Houston Texans know they need to beef up their edge defense, and they could be looking to an SEC East school to help them out.

According to former Florida Gators outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard, the Texans have spoken to him informally at the NFL Scouting Combine and also plan to hold a formal interview with him on Friday.

Teams can have as many informal interviews as they like among the 337 attendees in Indianapolis. However, clubs are limited to the number of formal interviews they can have — up to 45. That the Texans want to hold a formal with Greenard indicates he has more than piqued their interest.

The 6-4, 263-pound edge defender, who was listed among the defensive line prospects at the combine, had an impactful final season with Florida, producing 53 tackles, 16.0 tackles for loss, 10.0 sacks, an interception, four pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and returned his lone recovery for a touchdown.

Prior to playing for the Gators, Greenard spent three seasons with the Louisville Cardinals.

“Basically I came into Louisville 2015 — obviously I still stayed there, I loved my teammates, I loved the atmosphere and everything but once I got hurt I kind of put the ball in my court,” Greenard told reporters Thursday.

Greenard doubled up his course work in 2018 so that he would not have to sit out a season and followed Todd Grantham, who was his former defensive coordinator for two seasons at Louisville, to Florida where he had held the same job since 2018.

“I felt like I could kind of be that missing piece that was missing so what better way to test my talents than moving on to the SEC,” Greenard said.

Now, it appears the Texans want to add his talents to help a pass rush that finished tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for the sixth-fewest in the NFL last season with 31.

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Longhorns Offer 2021 Outside Linebacker From Georgia

Texas has continued their flurry of offers with 2021 linebacker Barrett Carter. Listed as an OLB on 247Sports, Carter is rated a four-star.

Texas has continued their flurry of offers with 2021 linebacker Barrett Carter. Listed as an outside linebacker on 247Sports, Carter is rated a four-star and squeezes into the top 100 as the 100th ranked player in the country.

Listed at 6 feet 1 inch, Carter weighs in at 210 pounds. He has some impressive combine numbers, running a 4.59 40 yard dash, a 4.22 shuttle, and squatting 400 pounds. Out of Suwanee, GA, the Georgia Bulldogs are favored to land Carter.

Nearly the entire SEC has offered Carter, as he has 53 offers. Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and TCU from the Big 12 have also reached out, making Texas the sixth team from the conference to extend an offer.

Carter is the 9th outside linebacker the Longhorns have offered, with five coming from out of the state. Four-star Derrick Harris Jr. from New Caney, TX is at OLB and is currently committed to Texas.

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Broncos add new member to defensive coaching staff

John Pagano has been named the Broncos’ new outside linebackers coach.

The Broncos have hired John Pagano as their new outside linebackers coach, Denver head coach Vic Fangio announced Thursday. Pagano coached under Fangio for three seasons as a defensive assistant with the Colts from 1999-2001 (Fangio was the Colts’ defensive coordinator at the time).

John is the younger brother of Chuck Pagano, who interviewed for the Broncos’ head coach position last year. Chuck now serves as the Bears’ defensive coordinator. The brothers grew up in Boulder, Colorado.

Pagano has 25 years of coaching experience in the NFL, including two stints as a defensive coordinator (Raiders, 2017 and Chargers, 2012-2016). He most recently served as the Texans’ senior defensive assistant and outside linebackers coach from 2018-2019.

Pagano will be responsible for coaching up Broncos superstar outside linebackers Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. When they were both healthy and played in all 16 games in 2018, Miller and Chubb combined to record 26.5 sacks and forced six fumbles.

Pagano is replacing former Broncos OLBs coach Brandon Staley, who left the team to become the Rams’ defensive coordinator earlier this year.

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Texans 2020 NFL free agency target: Falcons OLB Vic Beasley

The Houston Texans need help restoring their pass rush to formidable status. Could former Atlanta Falcons OLB Vic Beasley be part of the solution?

The Houston Texans need some help with their pass rush. The AFC South champions finished with 31, tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for the sixth-fewest in the NFL.

If the Texans want to give a former first-round pick a chance to live up to his former draft status, as they did with cornerbacks Gareon Conley and Vernon Hargreaves, then former Atlanta Falcons outside linebacker Vic Beasley should be on their radar.

The NFC South team announced Monday they will not pursue negotiations with the former No. 8 overall pick from the 2015 NFL Draft.

Beasley had an All-Pro season in his second year with 15.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, six forced fumbles, and a fumble recovered for a touchdown. The Clemson product was a key part of Atlanta’s defense that helped the team win the NFC South, lock up a first-round bye, and take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium.

The problem is Beasley fell off the map after that career season. The 6-3, 246-pound edge defender produced two consecutive seasons with 5.0 sacks and started in eight and nine games as opposed to 12 in in 2016 and 16 as a rookie. Beasley finished his last year with the Falcons with 8.0 sacks, but still didn’t hit the double-digit mark since that 2016 campaign.

Houston already has outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus locked up, and defensive end J.J. Watt will always bring pressure off the edge. Adding Beasley could give the Texans a trio of pass rushers they haven’t had since the club traded Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks on Aug. 31, 2018.

The Texans may be better off to let Beasley float by them in free agency and continue to develop defensive end Charles Omenihu and outside linebacker Jacob Martin. Nonetheless, the Texans should also evaluate edge rushers on the market as they need to restore their pass rush to formidable levels.

Jets should go after EDGE Vic Beasley if the price is right

The Falcons gave up on 2015 first-round pick Vic Beasley, but the Jets should give him a look at a cheap price.

It’s not often a pass rusher with 37.5 sacks in five seasons hits the open market, but that’s exactly where Vic Beasley finds himself after the Falcons announced they wouldn’t pursue contract negotiations with their 2015 first-round pick. With Beasley becoming a free agent, the Jets should take a hard look at the 27-year-old Beasley, who is fresh off an eight-sack season and has the tools to be a solid contributor in the pass rush.

Beasley opened his career with an uninspiring rookie season after the Falcons took him eighth in the 2015 draft, but broke out in a big way in 2015. He led the NFL with 15.5 sacks and six forced fumbles in 2016 and looked poised to become the Falcons’ next great pass rusher.

However, his production dropped off considerably. Beasley tallied only five sacks in each of the next two seasons. He looked poised for another disappointing season in the final year of his rookie contract in 2019, but registered four sacks in the final four games of the season amid a late-season resurgence for the Falcons defense.

In a way, Beasley’s final season in Atlanta encapsulated his entire career so far. Though he doesn’t lack the ability to perform at a high level, Beasley has always battled consistency. He’s had two big seasons in between three mediocre ones and he’s disappeared during stretches through each season as well, stacking great performances back-to-back before failing to make an impact for multiple games.

While the Falcons may be over Beasley’s inability to perform week and week out, the Jets should swoop in to grab Beasley to help fortify their pass rush. 

The Jets had one of the worst pass-rushing units in the league in 2019 and only saw real production from Jamal Adams and Jordan Jenkins, who combined for 12.5 of the Jets’ 35 sacks. Though the Jets blitzed the fourth-most in the NFL, they finished with the 27th-most hurries and the 23rd-most sacks. 

The price will need to be right for the Jets to give Beasley a shot, though. He won’t get a big-money contract like the one Za’Darius Smith or Anthony Barr earned last offseason, but there’s a chance Beasley could command somewhere between Tahir Whitehead’s three-year, $19 million contract with the Raiders and Alex Okafor’s three-year, $17.9 million contract with the Chiefs. Both are around the same age and body type as Beasley, though Beasley has been more productive than both during his career.

The Jets can afford to pay Beasley and see if they can capture some that potential the league saw in 2016. New York is projected to have the 11th-most cap space this offseason, per Spotrac, and Beasley could be a nice, cheaper option for a Jets with a considerable amount of holes across the roster. 

If the Jets do go after Beasley, it shouldn’t be contingent on what they decide to with Jenkins and/or Brandon Copeland. If anything, Beasley and Jenkins would make a great pass-rushing duo on each edge. At 6-foot-3, 246 pounds, Beasley is built similarly to Jenkins and Copeland and could seamlessly slide into Gregg Williams’ defense. 

Beasley also fits the mold of a Williams defender in that he can play multiple positions in the front-seven. He’s lined up both as a 4-3 defensive end and as a strong-side linebacker in Dan Quinn’s defense. Williams could have a lot of fun with a pass rush revolving around Beasley, Jenkins, Anderson and Quinnen Williams.

The Jets need help across the board, and Beasley offers the perfect opportunity to fill a need without breaking the bank.

Von Miller ‘super excited’ about Bradley Chubb’s return

Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller is super excited about Bradley Chubb returning to the field in 2020.

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The Broncos’ official media team caught up with outside linebacker Von Miller at the Super Bowl media row this week to ask him about 2019 and the upcoming season.

“I was super encouraged,” Miller said of the Broncos’ 4-1 record to close out the 2019 season. “A lot of young guys got a lot of experience and that’s really the only thing you can take from last season. We’ll be ready to go and more experienced this coming season.”

Miller was also asked about teammate Bradley Chubb, who had his 2019 season cut short by an ACL injury. Chubb has been making great progress in his recovery and should be back in time for OTAs in the spring.

“I’m super excited, man,” Miller said of Chubb’s looming return. “It was an unfortunate injury but he’ll come back bigger and stronger and faster and I’m super excited to get Bradley back.”

When Miller and Chubb played in all 16 games in 2018, they combined to record 26.5 sacks and forced six fumbles. Expect similar totals in 2020.

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Broncos interview John Pagano for open OLB coach position

The Broncos interviewed John Pagano for their outside linebackers coach position.

The Denver Broncos interviewed longtime NFL assistant coach John Pagano for their vacant outside linebackers coach position on Thursday, according to The Denver Post’s Ryan O’Halloran. John is the younger brother of Chuck Pagano, who interviewed for the Broncos’ head coach position last year.

Pagano, 52, coached under Denver coach Vic Fangio for three seasons as a defensive assistant with the Indianapolis Colts from 1999-2001 (Fangio was the Colts’ defensive coordinator at the time). Pagano is not the only candidate the Broncos have interviewed but he appears to be the favorite to get the job.

Pagano has been coaching in the NFL since 1996. He served as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator with the Oakland Raiders in 2017 before joining the Houston Texans as their senior defensive assistant and outside linebackers coach, a position he held the last two seasons.

Denver was left with an opening out OLBs coach after Brandon Staley left the team to become the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator.

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Texas offers 2021 Five-Star Linebacker

UT has offered 2021 five-star linebacker Raesjon Davis. Playing at Mater Dei High School, Davis is the highest-ranked OLB in the country.

Texas has offered 2021 five star linebacker Raesjon Davis from Santa Ana, CA. Playing his high school football at Mater Dei High School, Davis is the highest-ranked outside linebacker in the country. The 19th ranked player in the country, Davis is 6 feet 1 inch and 215 pounds.

Currently committed to LSU, Davis announced his commitment to the Tigers on New Year’s Day. With the LSU’s defensive coordinator Dave Aranda off to be the head coach of Baylor, teams have started to start talking to Davis again.

Aranda and the Bears have also offered him since taking over as the head coach and the two schools are the fourth and fifth Big 12 schools to offer Davis. Kansas, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State have are the others.

In the past, Mater Dei High School has been a pipeline for future USC players. According to 247Sports Crystal Ball, Davis is 50% on LSU and 50% on USC right now. While Texas may not be the favorite right now, Chris Ash and the defensive staff are trying to get their hands on one of the best defensive prospects in the 2021 class.

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