Tag: safety

Tyrann Mathieu could enter Week 3 with an extra chip on his shoulder

C.J. Gardner-Johnson called out Tyrann Mathieu over Madden ratings this summer. Mathieu fired back, and that trash talk could work out as good motivation:

Tyrann Mathieu may play with an extra chip on his shoulder this week.

Players typically find their own source of additional motivation. Mathieu may look back to a social media moment with C.J. Gardner-Johnson this offseason as motivation for the game between the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles.

Gardner-Johnson took issue with Mathieu having a higher overall than him in Madden. In response, Gardner-Johnson called out Mathieu and his former team. He points towards how 2022 and 2023 transpired as proof that Mathieu isn’t a better player than him.

It’s flawed logic on a couple of fronts, but most notably, Mathieu didn’t replace Gardner Johnson. He may be a safety now, but he was a nickel corner with the Saints.

Mathieu didn’t care how flawed the logic was, he fired back in tweets that have now been deleted. It’s unclear if this was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but Mathieu responded like his name had been being played with.

More than just the initial response, Mathieu began to post lists where he was ranked highly. These moments always felt like subliminal shots towards Gardner-Johnson. The posts shared the same tone as Mathieu’s direct response.

The tone was Mathieu is a veteran who has played at a high level and continues to do so. It clearly lit a fire underneath Mathieu in August, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see that fire be reignited with Gardner-Johnson on the opposing side.

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2 ex-Broncos had perfect responses to Mel Kiper’s silly safety rant

Worried about two deep safeties? “Learn how to run the ball.”

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. went on a ridiculous rant this week the “Get Up” program about two-high safety schemes in the NFL.

“Don’t tell me you can’t have those safeties closer to the line of scrimmage than they are,” Kiper ranted. “I was at games thinkin, ‘Hey, two high? They’re out in outer space!’ I couldn’t even find ’em. They’re playing with nine guys! The other two, they’re so far back you don’t even know they’re part of the damn play! I’m telling you, we gotta change this thing.”

Kiper suggesting that the NFL should change its rules to not allow two deep safeties is an outrageous idea, and two former Denver Broncos players had perfect responses that were nearly identical.

“Hey [if] you don’t want two-high looks, run the ball,” former Broncos cornerback Chris Harris tweeted on Thursday. Ex-Denver guard Mark Schlereth tweeted the same sentiment:

Harris played for the Broncos from 2011-2019, helping the team win Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season. Schlereth played in Denver from 1995-2000, winning back-to-back Super Bowls in the late 1990s.

The Super Bowl champions are spot-on.

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The Eagles are going to give Caden Sterns whiplash

The Eagles signed and cut Caden Sterns three times in a one-month span. They are now signing him yet again.

The Philadelphia Eagles can’t seem to make up their mind.

The Eagles re-signed safety Caden Sterns to their practice squad on Tuesday, according to KPRC-TV’s Aaron Wilson. This marks the fourth time Philadelphia has signed Sterns in just over a month, with the safety being cut after the last three signings.

Still attempting to bounce back from last season’s knee injury with the Denver Broncos, Sterns has had a difficult year. Here’s a look back at his recent landmarks, including seven transactions by the Eagles:

Sterns, 24, will hope Philly plans to stick with him this time around.

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NFL fines 2 Broncos players for Week 1 offenses

Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto was fined $8,791 for roughing the passer and DB Brandon Jones was fined $11,255 for unnecessary roughness in Week 1.

The NFL has fined a pair of Denver Broncos defenders following offenses committed in the team’s season opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto was fined $8,791 for a roughing the passer penalty against Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith in the first quarter, according to The Denver Post‘s Parker Gabriel.

Denver safety Brandon Jones was also fined $11,255 for unnecessary roughness after he knocked off the helmet of Seattle wide receiver Jake Bobo in the fourth quarter.

https://twitter.com/mookiealexander/status/1835067710121951296

These mark the Broncos’ first fines of the 2024 season. Last year, former Denver safety Kareem Jackson was the team’s most-fined player. Jackson’s fines and suspensions cost him more than $648,558 in 2023.

After last week’s 26-20 loss in Seattle, the Broncos are preparing to host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2. Denver’s game against the Steelers will be regionally televised on CBS and available to stream on fuboTV (try it free) for in-market fans at 2:25 p.m. MT. The Broncos are considered betting underdogs despite playing at home.

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Caden Sterns has been cut yet again

One day after re-signing him to their practice squad, the Eagles have cut safety Caden Sterns again. It’s been a tough year for the safety.

Just one day after re-signing Caden Sterns to their practice squad, the Philadelphia Eagles released the safety again on Thursday, according to KPRC-TV’s Aaron Wilson.

This is the latest development in an incredibly tough year for Sterns. To recap, this is the safety’s timeline dating back to Week 1 last season:

That would be a brutal year for any player to endure, and the Eagles are now giving the safety whiplash. He’s been signed and cut six times by Philadelphia alone.

Still only 24 years old, Sterns is young enough to continue playing in the NFL if he can recover from last season’s knee injury. Broncos fans will be rooting for him to be able to get back on the field.

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The Caden Sterns saga has another twist

Caden Sterns was signed by the Eagles, then cut, then signed to the practice squad, then cut, then re-signed to the practice squad.

Story update: One day after being signed by the Eagles on Wednesday, Sterns was released by Philadelphia on Thursday. See our original post below.

Caden Sterns has had quite a trying year in the NFL.

Last fall, in the Denver Broncos’ first game of the 2023 season on Sept. 10, Sterns tore the patellar tendon in his knee and the team placed him on injured reserve on Sept. 13, 2023. Sterns then missed the final 16 games of the year and spent this offseason rehabbing from the injury.

Sterns finally passed a physical with the Broncos in late July this year, but he was waived a few days later on Aug. 5. Then the rollercoaster began.

The safety was picked up by the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 6, but they waived him with a failed physical designation on Aug. 8. After that, Sterns signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 11, only to be cut with a non-football injury designation on Aug. 27. Sterns signed with Philly’s practice squad one day later, but he was cut again on Sept. 3.

Now, just over one year removed from when he initially suffered the knee injury, Sterns re-signed with the Eagles practice squad on Sept. 11. It’s been quite a journey for the 24-year-old safety. Fans in Denver will hope that Sterns is able to fully recover and get back on the field in Philadelphia.

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Bo Nix struggles, Broncos lose to Seahawks 26-20 in Week 1

Bo Nix struggled until late in the fourth quarter and his late touchdown wasn’t enough as the Broncos fell 26-20 to the Seahawks.

Bo Nix struggled in his NFL debut as the Denver Broncos lost to the Seattle Seahawks 26-20 at Lumen Field on Sunday afternoon.

Nix went 26-of-42 passing for 138 yards with no passing touchdowns and two interceptions. It was a day to forget for the rookie and Denver’s entire offense.

Denver’s defense, on the other hand, came out flying, starting the game with a Jonathon Cooper sack on Seattle’s first snap. One play later, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith threw an interception to Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton.

That takeaways set Denver’s offense up with good field position, but the Broncos had to settle for a 35-yard Wil Lutz field goal to take a 3-0 lead. Seattle matched that field goal to make it 3-3 later in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Denver drove down to the Seahawks’ 21-yard line, but the drive ended with Nix’s first career interception, a poor decision thrown into coverage. That turnover set Seattle up at its own one-yard line and their offensive line was penalized for holding on the next play, a foul that resulted in a two-point safety. That gave the Broncos a 5-3 lead.

Later in the second quarter, Denver safety JL Skinner recovered a muffed Seahawks punt return at Seattle’s nine-yard line. The Broncos’ offense then settled for another Lutz field goal to make it 8-3.

The Seahawks erased that deficit on their next drive when Smith rushed 34 yards for a touchdown to make 9-8 (their 2-point attempt failed).

Denver made another big play on special teams later in the second quarter when cornerback Tremon Smith and Skinner teamed up to pin Seattle at its own one-yard line on a punt. One play later, Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet was tackled by Zach Allen in the end zone for another safety that made it 10-9.

Lutz added a 45-yard field goal just before halftime to extend the lead to 13-9. After the offense went three-and-out to open the second half, the Broncos’ defense allowed a 23-yard touchdown run to Ken Walker as the Seahawks retook the lead 16-13.

On Denver’s ensuing drive, running back Jaleel McLaughlin lost a fumble near midfield. That led to a Seattle field goal that made it 19-13.

In the fourth quarter, Charbonnet scored on a 30-yard touchdown catch to extend the lead to 26-13. Nix later threw a second interception that essentially sealed the Broncos’ fate. Nix’s garbage time four-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter proved to be too little too late as Denver fell 26-20 after the Seahawks ran out the clock.

Up next for Denver is a home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2. After sitting out Week 1 with a calf injury, Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson has an uncertain status for next week’s game at Empower Field at Mile High.

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Brandon Jones knows he has big shoes to fill replacing Justin Simmons

“It’s definitely some shoes to fill,” Broncos safety Brandon Jones said of replacing Justin Simmons in Denver’s secondary.

After moving on from veteran safety Justin Simmons this spring, the Denver Broncos replaced him with Brandon Jones, a former Miami Dolphin.

Simmons was more than just a star player in Denver — he was a team captain and heavily involved in the community, a leader in the locker room and a fan favorite off the field. He’s now playing for the Atlanta Falcons and the Broncos have moved forward with Jones.

The 26-year-old safety knows he has big shoes to fill in Denver.

“He’s one of the best to do it in my opinion,” Jones said of Simmons earlier this summer. “You guys probably know his numbers better than me, but he had over 30 interceptions over his career here, which is super impressive. Like I said at OTAs, I had the chance to meet him and he’s a super nice guy and super humble. It’s definitely some shoes to fill, but I kind of look at it as a new journey and a new road to be able to pave for myself.

“Throughout my career, I’ve always been labeled as only being able to do certain things. This opportunity, I will be able to show how versatile I can be, how I can do a lot of other things and branch out from being labeled as one thing and a guy that can do everything.”

After spending the first four years of his career in Miami, Jones is now set to start across from P.J. Locke in the Broncos’ secondary this fall.

He has totaled nine pass breakups, eight sacks, four forced fumbles and three interceptions through 54 career games. Not quite Justin Simmons numbers, but a good start. Jones will make his Denver debut against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1.

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Caden Sterns has been cut 4 times in less than a month

Caden Sterns has been cut four times by three NFL teams in less than a month. We’re hoping he can get healthy.

Even before the Denver Broncos waived Caden Sterns last month, coach Sean Payton hinted that the safety could be looking at a lengthy recovery from his 2023 knee injury.

“I think Caden has a road ahead of him relative to getting healthy,” Payton said on July 25, foreshadowing what was to come for the safety.

The Broncos waived Sterns on Aug. 5 after failing to find a trade partner for the 24-year-old safety. Sterns was then picked up by the Carolina Panthers, but they waived him with a failed physical examination on Aug. 8.

Sterns then got an opportunity with the Philadelphia Eagles, but he did not dress for any of their preseason games. The Eagles cut Sterns with a non-football injury designation on Aug. 27, but he was re-signed to Philly’s practice squad the next day.

Now the safety has been cut once again as the Eagles released Sterns from their practice squad on Sept. 3. That marks four times Sterns has been cut in less than a month. Here’s to hoping he will be able to recover from the knee injury and get back on the field sometime down the road.

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Saints list Jordan Howden as starting safety on unofficial depth chart

If the New Orleans Saints go by their unofficial depth chart, Jordan Howden will start next to Tyrann Mathieu

The strength of the New Orleans Saints is the secondary. The strength of the team has one vacancy and it’s quickly becoming one of the more confusing spots on the team.

Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo are starting at outside corner and Alontae Taylor is in the slot. Kool-Aid McKinstry provides depth at both positions. Tyrann Mathieu is starting at free safety, but who will be next to him?

The preseason would tell you Will Harris. The head coach, Dennis Allen, would tell you that he won’t tell you. The unofficial depth chart would tell you Jordan Howden. Johnathan Abram being called up from the practice squad wouldn’t even surprise me at this point.

Howden is listed as the starting strong safety on the Saints’ unofficial depth chart for Week 1. That’s a surprise because he seemed to be running third in the race for strong safety.

https://twitter.com/RossJacksonNOLA/status/1831037133974585485

Surprises happen, but that’s not the confusing part. Harris is listed as a free safety behind Mathieu. It just doesn’t add up with what we had been seeing alignment-wise.

It’s important to remember it is unofficial. Harris and Howden will likely see time in Week 1 at strong safety. Who gets the start will be noteworthy, but who gets the most snaps will tell the true story.