Notre Dame Football: 12 Former Golden Domers Remain in NFL Divisional Playoffs

Who do you like to advance to the NFL conference championships?

The NFL Divisional Playoffs are set and 12 former Notre Dame players are moving on to the second round.

Wild Card weekend saw one great game between the Lions and Rams and five other ones that left quite a bit to be desired.

As the NFL playoff field gets cut nearly in half, so do the amount of former Notre Dame players participating in the postseason.  The Irish saw 10 of their 22 former players on playoff teams eliminated this weekend.

So who is left and how did they fare on Wild Card weekend?

Ravens Place Ar’Darius Washington on Injured Reserve, sign Sam Mustipher to 53-man roster

The Baltimore #Ravens Place Ar’Darius Washington on Injured Reserve, sign Sam Mustipher to 53-man roster via @Thacover2NFL

The Baltimore Ravens announced two roster moves on Tuesday, placing defensive back Ar’Darius Washington on injured reserve and signing an offensive lineman to the 53-man roster.

Washington suffered a chest injury in the Week 2 win over Cincinnati.

Ravens elevate Daryl Worley, Sam Mustipher for Week 1 matchup vs. Texans

#Ravens elevate two players from the practice squad, adding Daryl Worley, and Sam Mustipher for Week 1 matchup vs. Texans via @Thacover2NFL

The Baltimore Ravens have activated two players from the practice squad for Sunday’s opener against the Houston Texans at M&T Bank Stadium, elevating center Sam Mustipher and defensive back Daryl Worley.

Mustipher will serve as the backup to Tyler Linderbaum, while Worley is a reserve safety who can also play cornerback and excel on special teams.

The Ravens have ruled out cornerback Marlon Humphrey as he continues returning from his foot surgery.

Players can be called up from the practice squad thrice per season.

Worley played in eight games and made one start for the Ravens last season, logging eight tackles and two passes defended.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=46916063]

Ravens updated 15-man practice squad after adding Melvin Gordon and Daryl Worley

The Baltimore #Ravens have added Melvin Gordon and Daryl Worley to the practice squad ahead of the 2023 regular season opener vs. the Houston Texans via @Thacover2NFL

The Ravens initially signed 13 players to their practice squad for the 2023 season, including two veterans and several training camp standouts.

John Harbaugh just added two more players to group, bringing back Melvin Gordon and Daryl Worley.

As we previously reported, NFL teams can have a maximum of 16 players on the squad, and Baltimore could still fill the remaining three.

There can be up to 10 players with as many as two years of accrued service, and a max of six players with unlimited accrued time.

Practice squad players can be elevated up to three times for gamedays.

Ravens announce 13 players to the initial practice squad for 2023

The Baltimore #Ravens have added 13 players to the practice squad ahead of the 2023 regular season opener vs. the Houston Texans via @Thacover2NFL

The Ravens have signed 13 players to their initial practice squad for the 2023 season, including two veterans and several training camp standouts.

As we previously reported, NFL teams can have a maximum of 16 players on the squad, and Baltimore could still fill the remaining three.

There can be up to 10 players with as many as two years of accrued service, and a max of six players with unlimited accrued time.

Practice squad players can be elevated up to three times for gamedays.

Ravens sign former Bears C Sam Mustipher

The Ravens signed former Bears center Sam Mustipher to add more offensive line depth

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

The Baltimore Ravens continue to make moves to improve their roster and depth at important positions of need.  The loss of offensive linemen Ben Powers and Trystan Colon left a hole in the team’s front, especially when it comes to depth.  It’s possible that Ben Cleveland takes Powers spot on the depth chart as the starter, but more depth is always welcome, especially on the offensive line.

The Ravens made a move to solidify their offensive line depth on Monday by signing former Chicago Bears center Sam Mustipher to a one-year deal.  He’ll provide much needed experience, and can come in and play when needed as he started 40 games for Chicago over the past three seasons.

Ravens sign former Bears center Sam Mustipher

Former Bears center Sam Mustipher has found a new home with the Ravens.

[connatix div_id=”3f8b015acdd24c648befc5d5dac47469″ player_id=”afe1e038-d3c2-49c0-922d-6511a229f69c” cid=”7cbcea0d-4ce2-4c75-9a8d-fbe02a192c24″]

The Baltimore Ravens are signing former Chicago Bears center Sam Mustipher to a one-year deal, according to The Athletic‘s Jeff Zrebiec.

Mustipher signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame in 2019. While he spent his rookie season on the practice squad, he saw his first on-field action during the 2020 season, due to injuries to James Daniels and Cody Whitehair.

Mustipher started all but one game at center for Chicago in the last two seasons. While Lucas Patrick was brought in during the 2022 offseason to serve as the starting center, he went down with a broken thumb in training camp, and Mustipher stepped in.

While Mustipher’s best attribute was his availability, he was a liability along the offensive line at time, and the Bears opted to move on from him this offseason.

The Bears will have a new starting center in 2023, which figures to be Whitehair or Patrick. Both have center experience and significant cap hit — with Whitehair’s $14.1 million the biggest — although Whitehair is the expected starter.

After the addition of guard Nate Davis in free agency, general manager Ryan Poles hinted that Whitehair would move back to center, a position he last played in 2020.

Meanwhile, Mustipher joins the Ravens roster as depth along the interior offensive line.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=103]

Bears 2023 free agency preview: Will the Sam Mustipher era finally come to an end?

Sam Mustipher has drawn the ire of Bears fans for the last two years due to his struggles at center. Will the team finally move on from him?

NFL free agency will be here before we know it, and the Chicago Bears have plenty of players set to hit the market. From key starters to valuable reserves, general manager Ryan Poles will have important decisions to make about who to bring back.

Here at Bears Wire, we’re going through each individual player and breaking down their 2022 performance and whether or not they fit in the Bears’ long-term plans.

Up next is center Sam Mustipher, who wound up playing a much bigger role than initially anticipated. But after another down year, will the Bears finally let him go?

Bears 2022 OL review: Teven Jenkins, Braxton Jones bright spots among struggling unit

Our next Bears position review of 2022 looks at the offensive line, which featured some standouts on a struggling unit.

The Chicago Bears wrapped the 2022 season with a 3-14 record, which culminated in a 10-game losing streak. But there’s still reasons to be optimistic about the future, including a boatload of salary cap space, the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft and the emergence of quarterback Justin Fields.

Here at Bears Wire, we’re going position by position through the 2022 Bears and grading every player. Next up is the offensive line, which had its share of struggles in pass protection and will likely be overhauled this offseason.

Bears players know there’s plenty of roster turnover on the way

As Bears players packed their things Monday at Halas Hall, there was one overwhelming sentiment: They know change is coming.

The Chicago Bears have wrapped the 2022 season, which culminated in a 3-14 record and a 10-game losing streak.

As players gathered Monday to pack their things in the locker room at Halas Hall, there was one overwhelming sentiment: They know change is coming.

“There’s going to be a lot of roster turnover and rollover,” center Sam Mustipher said, via the Sun-Times.

That’s been evident since last offseason when general manager Ryan Poles tore down the roster, which included getting rid of expensive contracts (where the dead cap piled up) and signing one-year, prove-it deals ahead of an offseason where the Bears will have north of $100 million in salary cap space.

Oh, not to mention, Chicago has the No. 1 overall draft pick, which gives them a ton of leverage. With the consensus being Poles will trade back from first overall, it could add to the already eight draft picks for 2023.

There was a bit of uncertainty from right guard Teven Jenkins when looking to the future in 2023.

“I mean, we have a lot of cap space and a lot of opportunities in this draft, so I really don’t know how it’s going to go,” Jenkins said. “I don’t ever want to be the person to say, ‘Yeah, I have a spot.’ I don’t want to do that because I always want to stay hungry and feel like I still have to chase my job even if I have it secure.”

The Bears had arguably the worst roster in the NFL this season, but they do have some pieces in place. That starts with quarterback Justin Fields and includes receivers Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool, tight end Cole Kmet, safeties Eddie Jackson and rookie Jaquan Brisker, cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and rookie Kyler Gordon, as well as rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn.

But there are more on the way.

“We’re gonna get some good guys in here, man,” defensive lineman Justin Jones said. “We’re gonna do it crazy. We have a lot of good talent here already — and we’ve got a lot of good talent we’re gonna build on.”

If there’s one player who’s safe this offseason, it’s quarterback Justin Fields.

“My job is strictly to get better, work on my skills at quarterback and ultimately get my teammates better,” Fields said. “So of course I’m going to pay attention to who we get and stuff like that, but to be honest, I’m just focused on me right now. And everybody else that’s on the team. And just getting better with those guys.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbve7kb6he6scwe player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

[listicle id=527514]

[listicle id=527636]