Tag: Rashad Fenton

5 free-agent cornerbacks the Panthers could target after losing out on Stephon Gilmore

With Stephon Gilmore now off the street, the Panthers could look to target one of these five free-agent cornerbacks:

Despite the months-long build, the reunion between the Carolina Panthers and cornerback Stephon Gilmore was simply not to be.

As announced on Monday, the Minnesota Vikings have signed the Rock Hill, S.C. native to a one-year deal worth up to $10 million. That decision may have burned the Panthers, who reportedly offered Gilmore a pact of their own.

While Carolina probably wasn’t looking to match financials on the agreement, Gilmore’s move up north hurts a bit more considering the setback to Dane Jackson—a projected starter for the defense this season. Jackson, according to head coach Dave Canales, is expected to miss approximately six weeks after sustaining a “significant” hamstring injury.

But are there any similar options out there for the corner-needy Panthers?

Here are five possible free-agent targets with Gilmore now off the board:

Eli Apple

Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Yeah, yeah . . . most of you are probably rolling your eyes at this first entry. But if the Panthers are looking for a veteran corner with experience manning the outside, then this Apple doesn’t far fall from the tree.

The former 10th overall pick has started in 34 of his 41 games since 2021, when he was featured by the then-AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals. Per Pro Football Focus, he allowed a 104.3 passer rating as a Miami Dolphin this past season—producing a better mark than the likes of Taron Johnson, Carlton Davis III and James Bradberry.

Rashad Fenton

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Fenton may be another tough sell to those of you reading this. Not only did he miss the entire 2023 season after being placed on injured reserve by the Arizona Cardinals, but his 2022 (the last NFL campaign he did play) was undoubtedly his worst offering as a pro.

But like Apple, Fenton is a vet who has picked up reps on the outside. Plus, his three full years with the Kansas City Chiefs yielded some nice results—as he earned PFF coverage grades of 78.4, 75.0 and 81.1 from 2019 to 2021.

Adoree’ Jackson

Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

This fella may be more of what you’re looking for, Panthers fans.

A slightly bigger name than Apple and Fenton, Jackson offers a solid track record over his seven-year NFL career. Save for this last season for the New York Giants, the former first-rounder has never earned a PFF coverage grade of under 66.8.

 

J.C. Jackson

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

From one Jackson to another, J.C. has also built up a decent résumé. Are the 28-year-old’s best days, however, already behind him?

Jackson was a standout for Bill Belichick’s defense in New England up until 2021, when he reeled in a Second-team All-Pro nod and his first Pro Bowl selection. But it’s been a bumpy ride since, as he struggled in his short stint with the Los Angeles Chargers as well as in his brief return to the Patriots.

Ahkello Witherspoon

Kareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY Sports

Witherspoon could be the best-case scenario of these options.

For one, the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder fits the mold of the long and rangy cornerback Canales and general manager Dan Morgan became accustomed to during their days in Seattle. He also has experience in a similar scheme, with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero having served as a secondary coach and passing game coordinator for a year under Raheem Morris—Witherspoon’s coordinator from 2023.

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Cardinals place CB Rashad Fenton on IR

Fenton did not play in the Cardinals’ preseason opener on Friday.

One of a few Arizona Cardinals players not to appear in their preseason opener on Friday was cornerback Rashad Fenton. There was a reason why.

He apparently was injured.

His season is over as the Cardinals placed him on injured reserve on Monday.

There was no another corresponding roster made.

Fenton was signed as a free agent in the offseason on a one-year deal.

The former sixth-round pick spent three seasons and part of a fourth with the Kansas City Chiefs before being traded to the Atlanta Falcons last season.

He wasn’t likely going to make the team the way things looked in training camp.

If he is going to play at all this seaosn, it will come after he has recivered from the undisclosed injury and receives an injury settlement and is released.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Cardinals sign CB Rashad Fenton

Fenton has started 14 games over the last two seasons.

The Arizona Cardinals have added a new cornerback to the team in free agency. The team announced Thursday it signed former Atlanta Falcons and Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Rashad Fenton to a one-year contract.

Fenton was drafted in the sixth round in 2019 by the Chiefs and played for K.C. for three and a half seasons.

He was traded to the Falcons in November of last year.

In his four-year career, the 5-foot-11, 188-pound corner has appeared in 49 games, starting 17. He has 127 career tackles, two career interceptions and 20 career pass breakups.

He started six of the seven games in which he appeared last season and in eight of the 14 he played in 2021.

He now gives the Cardinals a third cornerback with some starting experience along with Marco Wilson and Antonio Hamilton.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Ex-Falcons CB Rashad Fenton signs with the Cardinals

Former #Falcons CB Rashad Fenton signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals

After suffering a barrage of injuries at the cornerback position last season, the Atlanta Falcons made a trade for Chiefs CB Rashad Fenton at the 2022 NFL trade deadline.

Atlanta sent a conditional seventh-round pick to Kansas City in exchange for Fenton, who didn’t exactly thrive in his new home following the trade. The former sixth-round pick appeared in just two games for the Falcons last season, making one start.

Fenton, 26, has officially found a new team, signing a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday.

Atlanta has addressed its secondary in free agency by signing safety Jessie Bates III and cornerback Mike Hughes. Plus, it’s looking more and more like the team could select a defensive back in the 2023 NFL draft next month.

Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez, Illinois DB Devon Witherspoon, Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. and Georgia’s Kelee Ringo are all potential targets for the Falcons at cornerback.

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Falcons trade for Chiefs CB Rashad Fenton, per report

#Breaking: Falcons have sent conditional seventh-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for cornerback Rashad Fenton

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The Atlanta Falcons traded away wide receiver Calvin Ridley to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday, but that wasn’t the only move the team got in before the deadline.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Falcons sent a conditional seventh-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for cornerback Rashad Fenton.

Fenton, 25, was selected by the Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft. Over his four-year career, he’s played in 47 games (16 starts), racking up 20 passes defended, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles in Kansas City.

The Falcons are extremely banged up at cornerback, and Fenton is an experienced player who still has some upside. In Week 8, Atlanta played without three of four starters in the secondary.

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Chiefs deal CB Rashad Fenton to Falcons

The Chiefs and Falcons made a last-minute trade with CB Rashad Fenton heading South

Rashad Fenton was traded from one first-place team to another at the trade deadline on Tuesday.

Not sure this will feel like a positive move for the CB,

Fenton goes from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Atlanta Falcons.

The Chiefs, of course, are far more secure in their spot atop the AFC West than the Falcons are in leading the weak AFC South.

Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides injury update ahead of Wednesday practice

A trio of players will miss the first #Chiefs practice of the week on Wednesday. Plus updates on Trent McDuffie, Bryan Cook, Blake Bell and Lucas Niang.

Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided his usual pre-practice injury update on Wednesday.

A trio of Chiefs players will be absent as the team kicks off the practice week. Reid gave the rundown on those injuries.

“The guys that won’t practice today — Mike Danna won’t practice — though he’s doing better we’re just going to hold him out,” Reid said. “And then, (Joe) Thuney fits into that same category with the ankle sprain. So, he won’t practice today. We’re just monitoring those two guys. Then (Rashad) Fenton won’t practice with the hamstring.”

Danna has been dealing with a calf injury and played 25 defensive snaps in the Week 6 game against the Buffalo Bills. Joe Thuney was rolled up on by a defender and Patrick Mahomes during the course of the game, suffering an ankle sprain. He played all 67 offensive snaps for Kansas City in Week 6.

It seems like both of these players are just getting rest days to start the week, but should be good to go for the Week 7 game in San Francisco.

As for the secondary situation, Fenton misses his fourth consecutive practice with a hamstring injury. Trent McDuffie, who Reid spoke in-depth about on Monday, will practice as things get underway on Wednesday.

“(Trent) McDuffie will practice and we’ll just see how he does as we go,” Reid said.

Bryan Cook, who missed Week 6 with a concussion, is also back at practice on Wednesday per Reid.

Reid also gave an update on Lucas Niang (Knee/PUP) and Blake Bell (Hip/IR). Neither player will be back this week, but Reid does expect them back at some point this season.

“Most likely it’ll be after the bye (week),” Reid said. “Somewhere after the bye. But they are getting better. We just have to see how it goes.”

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Derek Carr hits Davante Adams deep on fourth down for 200th career TD pass

Derek Carr hit old friend Davante Adams for a deep touchdown on fourth-and-1 for his 200th career touchdown pass.

The connection that was supposed to happen between Fresno State teammates Derek Carr and Davante Adams took a while to hit. When the Las Vegas Raiders traded for Adams away from the Green Bay Packers this offseason, it was expected that their work together in college would pay immediate dividends.

Things started more slowly than anybody would have liked, but with 8:27 left in the first quarter of the Raiders’ Monday night game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Carr saw that the Chiefs had a Cover-0 blitz look on fourth-and-1 from the Las Vegas 42-yard line, and when there’s man coverage across the board with no safety help, that means it’s time to hit Adams for a deep touchdown on the deep over route.

Which is exactly what happened.

Cornerback Rashad Fenton had no shot trailing Adams, who’s probably the NFL’s best receiver. This is exactly what the Raiders had hoped would happen when they made Adams a key part of their offense, and the Carr-Adams reunion looked pretty solid on this play.

This was Carr’s 200th career touchdown pass. He already holds the Raiders franchise record, ahead of Ken Stabler’s 150, Daryle Lamonica’s 148, and Rich Gannon’s 114.

Chiefs CB Rashad Fenton ruled out vs. Commanders with groin injury

#Chiefs CB Rashad Fenton will not return against the #Commanders due to a groin injury.

The Kansas City Chiefs just got CB Rashad Fenton back from injury, but it seems like he has a new ailment that he’s dealing with.

Late in the second quarter, officials stopped the game to attend to Fenton after he went to a knee on the field. Many were concerned that he might have reinjured his shoulder after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery.

After heading to the blue injury tent on the sideline briefly, Fenton emerged and seemed to be in good spirits. He went to the bench and dapped up some of his teammates before heading to the locker room. The team ruled Fenton out very quickly afterward with a groin injury.

Fenton is a fourth-year player in Kansas City. He’s expected to be one of the team’s three starters at the cornerback position, but this new injury could put him behind the eight-ball on that goal, depending on the severity. It’s a contract year for Fenton, so he’ll likely do what he can to get back to the field quickly. That won’t be happening in preseason Week 2 vs. the Commanders, though.

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Chiefs CB Rashad Fenton says he’s 100% in return from shoulder injury

#Chiefs CB Rashad Fenton says he’s 100% after offseason shoulder surgery and he’s excited to be back out at practice with the team.

When the Kansas City Chiefs found out that CB Rashad Fenton needed offseason shoulder surgery, it put the team in an even bigger bind at the cornerback position.

They’d already lost key players at the position, such as Charvarius Ward and Mike Hughes in free agency. A sixth-round draft pick in 2019, Fenton was the team’s most veteran cornerback and someone they’d hoped to rely on for the upcoming season. It wasn’t just about him getting key snaps in the defense, but also in fostering a young cornerback room.

Speaking to reporters for the first time this offseason, Fenton assured them that he’s entirely healthy in his return from injury after being activated from the PUP list.

“I’m back,” Fenton said. “100%.”

Fenton confirmed that his offseason shoulder surgery was minor and reiterated that he’s 100%.

“I’m not really sure (when it happened),” Fenton said. “(It popped up during his) end-of-the-year physical. Just had to get it done.”

With the injury now behind him, the team is ramping up Fenton’s workload. He didn’t play in preseason Week 1, but he’s back in the starting lineup at practice and could make his preseason debut against the Commanders in Week 2. For now, he’s just relishing the few training camp practices that he’ll have with his teammates out in St. Joseph.

“It’s great, I’m not going to lie,” Fenton said. “I love the feeling. The only way to feel the energy of the team is to be out there with them, working with them, going through this phase with them, it’s great.”

Fenton’s already out there competing at the highest level. He drew some ire from QB Patrick Mahomes and TE Travis Kelce after breaking up a pass in practice on Monday. Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo spoke about that moment and getting him back into the swing of things at practice.

“Listen, Rashad’s (Fenton) feisty,” Spagnuolo said. “It’s good to get him back. When he had the surgery back in the offseason, and I did the math, I wasn’t so sure that we’d get him for now. So, I’m excited that we got him when I think was a little bit early. He’s been out doing a good job. He’s a little rusty. He’s got to knock the rust off, but I thought he’s done a pretty good job.”

The plans are to still take things day-by-day with Fenton, but if all goes according to plan, he’s due for a big role in Spagnuolo’s defense this season.

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