Tag: Pup

Broncos injuries: Randy Gregory, Billy Turner activated off PUP list

Mostly good news on the injury front for the Broncos this week.

Reinforcements are on the way.

The Denver Broncos activated outside linebacker Randy Gregory (shoulder) and offensive lineman Billy Turner (knee) off the physically unable to perform list on Monday, the team announced.

That means the two players are now eligible to practice again, but it doesn’t necessarily mean both players will jump into starting spots right away.

The Broncos are hopeful that both players will be ready to face the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football in Week 1, but the team won’t rush them in their respective recoveries. It remains to be seen if either player will get any snaps in the team’s final two preseason games.

Elsewhere on the injury front, coach Nathaniel Hackett confirmed Monday that inside linebacker Jonas Griffith (elbow) will miss 4-6 weeks. Denver signed veteran Joe Schobert to help replace Griffith in the meantime.

Hackett also announced that guard Netane Muti had a knee procedure. The offensive lineman will be week-to-week going forward.

Additionally, Hackett said running back Melvin Gordon (foot) and running back Ronald Darby (chest) will be day-to-day this week.

The Broncos will face the Buffalo Bills on the road in Week 2 of preseason on Saturday.

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Packers activating Elgton Jenkins, Robert Tonyan and Christian Watson off PUP

Huge news: Elgton Jenkins, Robert Tonyan and Christian Watson are all coming off the PUP list for the Packers on Sunday.

The Green Bay Packers will return three important offensive players from the physically unable to perform list on Sunday.

According to coach Matt LaFleur, the Packers are activating offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins, tight end Robert Tonyan and rookie receiver Christian Watson from the PUP list – giving all three roughly a month to get ready for Week 1 and setting the stage for the return of three key contributors to start the 2022 season.

LaFleur cautioned that all three will start in individual drills and the activations are just one step in the process of returning to play.

“I say that, it’s just the next step in the process,” LaFleur said. “They’ll do some individual. Now, with them being back, now it allows you to do some walkthroughs, which will be beneficial for a guy who hasn’t played in the NFL like Chrisitan.”

Jenkins, a Pro Bowler at guard who can play either tackle position, tore his ACL in Week 11 of last season. Tonyan, who caught 11 touchdown passes during a breakout season in 2020, tore his ACL in Week 8. Watson, the team’s highest pick at receiver since 2002, started training camp on the PUP list after having knee surgery in June.

Jenkins’ return could stabilize an offensive line that is still attempting to find the five best players through the first two weeks of training camp. LaFleur didn’t commit to Jenkins playing any one position, but he could start at left tackle, either guard position or right tackle depending on who is available.

LaFleur said Jenkins was “super disciplined” during the rehab process.

“That’ll be a big boost when he is fully cleared,” LaFleur said.

Getting Tonyan back will immediately improve the Packers’ depth and receiving ability of the tight end position, which currently lacks a true passing game weapon.

Watson, a terrific athlete at 6-4 who could contribute immediately at receiver, should now have plenty of time to get caught up and back up to speed in the offense over the next few weeks.

LaFleur wasn’t confident that any of the three players would be able to participate during the preseason, but he left the door open for all three to return in time for Week 1.

“We’re excited about it,” LaFleur said. “We’re going to make sure we do it the right way.”

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Report: Jack Conklin to come off PUP list Monday

Some very good news in Berea, especially this early in training camp, with the team’s right tackle coming off PUP:

While the sports world swirls around the announcement of QB Deshaun Watson’s six-game suspension, the Cleveland Browns prepare to kick off another training camp practice. After taking off Sunday, the Browns are back on the field on Monday.

Outside of Watson’s suspension, injury concerns have been the key storyline in Berea this year. First, WR David Bell was unable to perform then a number of veterans were added to different lists, keeping them out of practice.

Later, WR Anthony Schwartz was injured and Saturday WR Isaiah Weston went down with what looks to be a major injury.

Monday came with some good news as the team informed reporters that OL Jack Conklin would be coming off the physically unable to perform list (PUP) and back to practice.

Conklin was lost early in the 2021 season with a knee injury and restructured his contract to return to the team this year. HC Kevin Stefanski said his starting right tackle was diligent this offseason working out in Berea to return healthy.

Getting Conklin back healthy this quickly into camp is a huge boost for the team’s offense, especially with QB Jacoby Brissett taking over for the first six games of the year.

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Packers K Mason Crosby still recovering from right knee injury to open training camp

Packers K Mason Crosby, who turns 38 in September, is recovering from a right knee injury that required recent surgical intervention.

Veteran kicker Mason Crosby is dealing with a right knee injury that recently required surgical intervention as the Green Bay Packers open training camp.

Crosby, who turns 38 years old in September, started camp on the physically unable to perform list. According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Crosby had his knee scoped earlier this month.

“I have a right knee injury that I’ve been dealing with here through the offseason. Wear and tear over the years, different things. It didn’t feel like it was where it needed to be at the end of OTAs,” Crosby said Wednesday. “Just trying to get healthy. Get right. Just make sure by the regular season, at the very latest, that I’m ready to roll.”

Crosby said he’s hopeful that he can work with the kicking unit before the end of training camp but reiterated that, at this point of his career, he doesn’t need to kick during preseason games.

The Packers have rookie Gabe Brkic on the roster as the second kicker. The Oklahoma product will likely get a chance to handle all kicking duties for the Packers during most of camp and the preseason, providing a terrific opportunity to either push for the job in Green Bay or audition elsewhere this summer.

The injury is a concerning issue for an aging kicker – especially a right-legged kicker – coming off one of the worst seasons of his professional career. In 2021, Crosby missed nine field goals and finished with a field goal percentage of just 73.5, the second worst of his career.

Crosby is also going into the final year of his deal in 2022. He’ll make a base salary of $2.25 million, with a cap hit of $4.75 million. The Packers could save almost $2.4 million by moving on but would risk entering the 2022 season without an established kicker.

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Greg Zuerlein taken off PUP list, could kick in Cowboys’ preseason finale

The Cowboys’ All-Pro kicker passed his physical and will begin practicing Wednesday with an eye toward being ready for Sunday’s game. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys have an active kicker on the roster once again. Veteran Greg Zuerlein has passed his physical and been taken off the Physically Unable to Perform List, just a day after the release of temporary leg Lirim Hajrullahu.

Offseason back surgery had kept Zuerlein from his normal duties for all of training camp, but the team had expressed confidence that he would, in fact, be ready for the regular season.

The 2017 All-Pro is free to begin practicing with the team again, though he had been slowly ramping up his work on his own. Now it appears that he’ll be handling kicking duties for the Cowboys’ preseason finale versus Jacksonville.

“He’s going to kick,” coach Mike McCarthy said of Zuerlein’s practice status for Wednesday. “We’re going to work back through his regimen, hopefully so he can kick Sunday.”

The team was not required to make a roster move in order to bring Zuerlein off PUP; he counted toward the training camp roster during his rehab.

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Cowboys News: Prescott and Amari back to work, ‘Hard Knocks’ highlights

Dallas welcomed two of its offensive stars back on Tuesday, plus a surprising admission from Roger Staubach about new HoFer Drew Pearson. | From @ToddBrock 24f7

Two of the Cowboys’ A-list superstars are back, just as the team goes primetime on HBO. Those were the lead stories as fans geared up for the season premiere of Hard Knocks Tuesday night. While the reality show’s debut lived up to the hype (and offered several intriguing moments), the club gave its fanbase even more to get excited about in the hours before, with a double whammy of good news: quarterback Dak Prescott is throwing once again in practice… and he’s throwing to Amari Cooper, who was taken off the PUP list.

Elsewhere, Cooper’s wide receiver mates Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb are both eyeing big seasons of their own, new linebacker Michael Gallup looks to employ a strategic gambit to getting up to game speed in his rookie campaign, and kicker Greg Zuerlein is supposedly still on track to resume normal kicking duties… but maybe not until Week 1. Roger Staubach makes a somewhat startling admission about his now-Hall of Fame companion Drew Pearson, there’s depth to discuss along both the offensive and defensive lines, one outlet estimates the cost of acquiring a second-year standout, and a rule change from the COVID season makes a welcome return for 2021. Here’s the News and Notes.

Cowboys’ Cooper taken off PUP; catching Prescott passes at practice

The veteran wideout has been cleared to return to practice, and wasted no time getting in some one-on-one work with QB Dak Prescott. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Wide receiver Amari Cooper has passed his physical, and the Cowboys have removed him from the Physically Unable to Perform list as of Tuesday morning. He is now eligible to return to practice with the team.

Cooper had been recovering from an offseason ankle surgery to remove some bone spurs, but he has experienced bone inflammation since then, which has held him out of team drills thus far in Oxnard. Cooper stated recently that the inflammation is improving.

“I’m close to 100 percent,” Cooper said last week when asked about the status of his rehab. “I wouldn’t say I’m quite 100 percent yet, to be completely candid. But I’m real close.”

In a development that will further delight Cowboys Nation, the 27-year-old has already been spotted running routes and catching passes from quarterback Dak Prescott, who is himself just back to work after a shoulder strain.

Now that he is able to practice fully, Cooper maintains that his goal of being ready for the team’s September 9th opener against the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers is still intact.

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Saints left the door open for Michael Thomas to make an early return from PUP list

The New Orleans Saints could have sidelined Michael Thomas until late October after surgery, but instead chose to keep their options open:

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It’s a small thing, but the New Orleans Saints took an encouraging step on the Michael Thomas front this week. While the All-Pro wide receiver was designated to the physically unable to perform (PUP) list on Monday, the Saints made an important distinction: Thomas remains on the active roster (active/PUP) rather than the reserve listing (reserve/PUP).

This means he could return sooner than expected. If Thomas had been sent to the reserve/PUP list, he would have had to go on ice until at least Week 6 (New Orleans’ bye) during the regular season. Instead, he’ll have an opportunity to work to recover from ankle surgery during training camp and possibly join his teammates sooner rather than later. That doesn’t mean he’ll be ready for Week 1 — far from it — but it does suggest the team hopes he can avoid a worst-case five-game absence to start the season.

NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported that Thomas did not receive a planned second evaluation on his injured ankle this summer, leading the Saints to tell him to get surgery after he failed to rehabilitate without going under the knife. With his recovery timeline starting in June (a specific date has not yet come to light), avoiding the reserve/PUP designation early on is probably the best we can hope for.

Still, we shouldn’t overreact to this. It’s nothing more than a good sign that Thomas won’t be unavailable deep into the regular season. There’s very much a scenario where his recovery extends further than expected, and he has to go on the reserve/PUP list in Week 1 after all. That just isn’t a decision the shot-callers in New Orleans are ready to make yet. They’re going to give Thomas as much time as they can to get his body right and show he’s ready to play. Here’s hoping their optimism is rewarded.

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D’Wayne Eskridge, Travis Homer placed on Seahawks PUP List

Ahead of the start of training camp, wide receiver D’Wayne Eskridge and running back Travis Homer have been placed on the Seahawks PUP List.

The Seattle Seahawks have placed a couple of players on the team’s Physically Unable to Perform List ahead of the official start of training camp on Wednesday. Rookie wide receiver D’Wayne Eskridge and running back Travis Homer will both start camp on the PUP List.

Eskridge, Seattle’s highest draft pick in April, had been limited throughout the offseason as he battled a toe issue. Homer had been sidelined with a calf injury.

In addition, the Seahawks also placed undrafted free agent guard Pier-Olivier Lestage on the Non-Football Injury List to start camp. Lestage had undergone surgery this spring to repair a sports hernia and is apparently still on the mend.

The first practice of 2021 training camp is set to kick off this afternoon.

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Lions place DE Austin Bryant on PUP among roster moves to start training camp

The Lions made some roster moves as the rookies and injured players report for training camp

No, this is not a duplicate report…

Austin Bryant will begin the Detroit Lions 2021 training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. It’s the second season in a row where Bryant lands on the PUP list before the year starts. He ended the 2020 season playing through a thigh injury, one unrelated to the pectoral injury that sidelined him earlier in the season. The 2019 fourth-round pick from Clemson has been healthy for just 10 games in two seasons.

The team made a couple of other roster moves as the rookies and injured players report for training camp.

Undrafted rookie wide receiver Javon McKinley was placed on the non-football injury list. McKinley was a full participant in the team’s minicamp in June. Another UDFA, offensive lineman Evan Heim, was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Training camp commences on Wednesday in Allen Park.

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