Tag: pass rusher

Broncos OLB Jonathon Cooper nominated for Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award

The Broncos nominated OLB Jonathon Cooper nominated for the 2024 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.

Denver Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper has been nominated for the 2024 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. Each team in the NFL nominates one player they believe exemplifies outstanding sportsmanship, and the list is later narrowed down to eight finalists. 

Troy Vincent, the NFL executive vice president of football operations, stated what being nominated for this award represents.

“Sportsmanship is at the very the core of the game, the foundation of our values that are shared across all levels of the sport,” Vincent said. “These Rooney Sportsmanship Award nominees demonstrate to the world how the game is played with respect and integrity at the highest level of competition.”

Cooper, a 2021 seventh-round pick out of Ohio State, he has been a key contributor for the Broncos. With one game remaining, Cooper has totaled 56 tackles and 9.5 sacks. Denver rewarded the pass rusher with a four-year, $54 million contract extension earlier this season. 

The winner of this season’s Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award will be announced during NFL Honors before the Super Bowl in February.

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2 ex-Broncos players find teams after clearing NFL’s waiver wire

After clearing waivers, Shaq Barrett re-joined the Bucs and Kwon Alexander signed with Detroit’s practice squad.

A pair of former Denver Broncos players have found homes after clearing the NFL’s waiver wire.

Last week, the Miami Dolphins waived pass rusher Shaq Barrett from their reserve/retired list, allowing him to potentially play again in 2024. After Barrett cleared waivers, he became a free agent.

Barrett then signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reuniting with the team that he played with from 2019-2023. Barrett played for the Broncos from 2014-2018, winning Super Bowl 50 with Denver. He later won Super Bowl LV with the Bucs.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions waived linebacker Kwon Alexander from their active roster last week. After clearing waivers, Alexander returned to the Lions on the practice squad.

Alexander joined the Broncos in September after the team lost Alex Singleton to a season-ending knee injury. He was elevated from Denver’s practice squad to the game-day roster three times this fall.

Detroit poached Alexander from the Broncos’ practice squad on Nov. 29. He has now been bumped down to the Lions’ practice squad.

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Steelers LB T.J. Watt praises Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ Week 17 performance

All-Pro #Steelers LB T.J. Watt praised #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes after Pittsburgh’s Week 17 matchup against Kansas City. | @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs won their 15th game of the season last Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, holding off a talented defensive unit led by star pass rusher T.J. Watt. The former Defensive Player of the Year shared his thoughts on playing against Patrick Mahomes during his Week 17 postgame press conference.

“Yeah, it’s no secret that he’s a (great) player. He has great weapons. They have a good scheme,” said Watt. “You can’t afford to spot them points and allow them to scramble around in the pocket and have time, and we didn’t have any success on any of the things I just said.”

Watt and the Pittsburgh defense could not pressure Mahomes enough for a sack, as the Chiefs’ offensive line stood firm throughout the contest. The recent switch of Joe Thuney to left tackle and Mike Caliendo to guard has been a significant factor over the three-game stretch.

Mahomes finished the game completing 29 of 38 passes for 320 yards with three touchdowns and a 127.1 passer rating. The performance against Pittsburgh’s defense marked his 48th regular season 300-yard passing game and his 56th career game with a 100.0+ passer rating.

Dolphins allow ex-Broncos pass rusher to unretire and return to NFL

The Dolphins are waiving Shaq Barrett, allowing him to unretire and return to the NFL.

The Miami Dolphins have had a change of heart.

A month ago, pass rusher Shaq Barrett announced that he planned to unretire and return to the NFL. Because he signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins earlier this year, Barrett was still under contract with Miami.

In order to return to the NFL, Barrett needed to either be activated to the Dolphins’ 53-man roster or cut so he could join another team. Miami initially choose neither option, blocking Barrett’s return by keeping him on the reserve/retired list.

The Dolphins have now changed their mind and the team will waive Barrett from the waived/retired list today, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The pass rusher will still need a favor from NFL teams in order to play again this season.

If Barrett is claimed off waivers, he won’t be eligible to play until the 2025 season. If he clears waivers, Barrett will be able to sign anywhere as a free agent and play again this season. So Miami’s giving him a chance, but we’ll see if it works out.

Barrett, 32, spent the first five years of his career with the Denver Broncos, winning Super Bowl 50. He later spent five years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and won a second Super Bowl. The veteran pass rusher has 59.0 career sacks on his resume.

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NFL’s sack leaders (including Nik Bonitto) going into Week 17

Nik Bonitto is two sacks behind the NFL leader with two games left.

Denver Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto fell behind in the NFL’s season-long sack race when he totaled zero sacks in a 34-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football last week.

Going into Week 16, Bonitto (11.5 sacks) was just one sack shy of the NFL’s leader (Trey Hendrickson had 12.5). Bonitto than went sackless on Thursday and Hendrickson recorded another sack on Sunday, improving his total to 13.5.

Bonitto is now tied for fourth both in the NFL and in the AFC, trailing Hendrickson, Danielle Hunter (12.0) and Myles Garrett (12.0), tied with T.J. Watt (11.5). Bonitto has two weeks remaining to attempt to jump to No. 1.

NFL sack leaders going into Week 17

  1. Trey Hendrickson: 13.5
  2. Danielle Hunter: 12.0
  3. Myles Garrett: 12.0
  4. T.J. Watt: 11.5
  5. Nik Bonitto: 11.5
  6. Andrew Van Ginkel: 11.0
  7. Jonathan Greenard: 11.0
  8. Kyle Van Noy: 10.5
  9. Will Anderson: 10.5
  10. Will McDonald: 10.0

Meanwhile, fellow Broncos pass rusher Jonathon Cooper is tied for 17th in the NFL with eight sacks. Cooper is a half-sack away from tying his career high and two sacks away from the first double-digit sack season of his career.

Bonitto and Hendrickson will go head-to-head when the Bengals host the Broncos on Saturday afternoon.

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Chiefs DT Chris Jones shares his thoughts on Myles Garrett’s impact: ‘Hope he has no success’

Kansas City #Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones shares his thoughts on Myles Garrett’s impact: ‘Hope he has no success’ | @EdEastonJr

Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro Chris Jones spoke with reporters on Thursday about his counterpart on the Cleveland Browns, Myles Garrett. He shared his thoughts on Garrett’s success and hopes he doesn’t replicate that against the Chiefs offense on Sunday.

“Myles (Garrett) is amazing. (He) won Defensive Player of the Year last year, was well deserved, and has a lot of respect for his game,” said Jones. “Yeah, I have much respect for him and hope he has no success against us.”

Garrett is tied for second in the league in sacks with eleven and has three forced fumbles, maintaining his dominance as the top defensive end.

“Anytime you get on the field as a competitor,” said Jones. “You want to outdo anyone you get on the field with a few competitors. So I think that aspect speaks for itself. But I happen to hope he has no success.”

Jones hasn’t had many sacks this season due to constant double teams, but he has created opportunities for teammates. On Sunday, Garrett’s presence on the other sidelines could fuel the star defensive lineman in Cleveland.

Dolphins block Shaq Barrett from unretiring in 2024

The Dolphins have blocked Shaq Barrett from unretiring this season.

Earlier this week, the agents for Shaq Barrett announced that the pass rusher had applied to be reinstated into the NFL.

Four months after announcing his retirement in July, Barrett wanted to unretire and return to the league. Because he signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins this spring, they controlled his rights for the 2024 season.

The Dolphins had until Thursday afternoon to activate Barrett from the reserve/retired list. Miami opted not to activate Barrett and they did not release him, preventing any other team from signing the pass rusher.

Barrett has now been blocked from playing in 2024 and his contract will toll until next year. So if the pass rusher wants to play in 2025, he will be under contract with the Dolphins.

Barrett started his career for the Denver Broncos, where he spent the first five years of his career as a rotational pass rusher. The 32-year-old edge defender has two Super Bowl titles (one with the Broncos and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and 59 career sacks on his resume.

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Broncos haven’t had a pass rusher as productive as Nik Bonitto in 6 years

Nik Bonitto (10.0) is the first Bronco to record double-digit sacks since Von Miller (14.5) and Bradley Chubb (12.0) did so in 2018.

Nik Bonitto’s historic pace continues.

The Denver Broncos‘ pass rusher recorded one sack in a 29-19 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, bringing his season-long total to 10 sacks. Bonitto became the team’s first player to record double-digit sacks in a single season since Von Miller (14.5) and Bradley Chubb (12.0) did so in 2018.

Amazingly, Bonitto said after the game that he’s never had a double-digit sack season since high school. He posted 0-, 3.5-, 8- and 7-sack seasons in four seasons at Oklahoma before being drafted by Denver in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Pressure from Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper helped force a game-changing interception against the Raiders:

As a team, the Broncos have recorded 44 sacks this year, which ties for the second-most through 12 games in franchise history. The team’s all-time record was 47 sacks through the first 12 games of the 1986 season.

Bonitto and Co. will look to keep the momentum going when Denver hosts the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football in Week 13.

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Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto ranks second in the NFL in sacks: ‘He’s a handful’

Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto ranks second in the NFL with nine sacks this season. “He’s a handful,” coach Sean Payton said.

Following his two-sack performance against the Atlanta Falcons last week, Denver Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto is now tied for second in the NFL with nine sacks this season.

Only Cincinnati Bengals defensive lineman Trey Hendrickson (11.5) has more sacks than Bonitto through 11 games. Bonitto has already topped his previous career high of eight sacks in a season (2023).

Following a 38-6 win over the Falcons, Broncos coach Sean Payton attributed Bonitto’s rise to the pass rusher getting more snaps after putting on more weight.

“I would No. 1, guess that his snap count is higher,” Payton said. “So I’d say more opportunity. He’s stronger, and so with those additional opportunities, I think he’s done a great job of taking advantage of it to his credit. He’s a handful. Especially he’s one of those guys that bends well. It’s really helped us not only on third down, but on the earlier downs.”

Denver’s defense held Atlanta’s offense to just two field goals on Sunday.

“It means a lot and we obviously take a lot of pride in that,” Bonitto said of not allowing a touchdown. “Credit to the coaching staff and the guys that I am rushing with.”

Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins was sacked three times and the Broncos’ defense now ranks first in the NFL with 39 sacks this fall.

“Just knowing the type of scheme [that] they like to run, knowing the type of guys we have in our room and the d-line room, we knew we could get after them,” Bonitto said.

Up next for Bonitto and Co. is a showdown with the Las Vegas Raiders. Gardner Minshew has been sacked 26 times in nine games this fall.

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Broncos great Simon Fletcher elected to Colorado Sports Hall of Fame

Simon Fletcher, who ranks second in Broncos history with 97.5 sacks, will be added to the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2025.

Former Denver Broncos pass rusher Simon Fletcher will be added to the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the 2025 class, the selection committee announced on Wednesday.

Fletcher will be joined in next year’s class by Mikaela Shiffrin, Troy Tulowitzki, Larry Brown, Theodore “Bubbles” Anderson and Lisa Van Goor.

Fletcher, 62, ranks second in Broncos history with 97.5 career sacks, only trailing Von Miller (110.5 sacks). Fletcher played in Denver from 1985-1995, never missing a game during his 11-year career in the NFL (172 games).

Fletcher had five-straight seasons with double-digit sacks from 1989 to 1993 and he helped the team reach Super Bowls following the 1986, 1987 and 1989 seasons. He was inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame in 2016.

Fletcher and the five other members of the 2025 class will be recognized at a Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Banquet next year. The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and Museum are located at Empower Field at Mile High, home of the Broncos.

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