Tag: Sam Roberts

Panthers announce signing, place TE Ian Thomas on IR

The Panthers have signed CB Caleb Farley to their active roster and placed TE Ian Thomas on IR.

The Carolina Panthers’ corresponding move for the reported signing of cornerback Caleb Farley has been announced. Oh, and the reported signing of cornerback Caleb Farley is no longer “reported.”

As first noted on Monday morning by ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Panthers have added the 26-year-old cornerback to their 53-man roster. Farley, who was added to the team’s practice squad back on Oct. 1, was elevated to the game-day roster for each of Carolina’s past three games.

The Maiden N.C. native and former first-round pick of the Tennessee Titans played in the Week 8 loss to the Denver Broncos as well as the Week 9 and Week 10 wins over the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants. He tallied 29 snaps on defense and 23 snaps on special teams.

To make room for Farley, the Panthers have placed tight end Ian Thomas on injured reserve. Thomas, currently the fourth-longest tenured Panther, sustained a calf injury in the Week 10 victory in Munich, Germany.

He will now miss at least the next four games.

In addition, defensive tackle Sam Roberts, a sixth-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2022, has been signed to the practice squad in Farley’s place.

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Studs and duds from Patriots’ crushing 21-17 loss to Raiders

Who were the studs and duds from the Patriots’ Week 6 loss to the Raiders?

An easier opponent didn’t make much of a difference for the New England Patriots, who fell in defeat for a third straight time on Sunday afternoon.

After suffering back-to-back blowout losses to the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints, the Patriots fell victim to a heartbreaking 21-17 road loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6.

The offense was clearly still sluggish, but they did manage to move the ball better than they have in previous weeks. They even scored two touchdowns after failing to score one in their last two games.

But overall, it was still a disappointing showing from a team that looks like one of the worst in the league. The Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and even New York Jets look like far superior teams than the Patriots right now.

With a 1-5 record and a schedule loaded with a murderer’s row slate of opponents, there may be no changing that narrative for the Patriots this season.

Here are the studs and duds from Sunday’s game:

Patriots’ top 10 defensive players in Week 5, per PFF grades

These were the Patriots’ top-10 defensive players in Week 5, per PFF grades

Defense is about the only hope the New England Patriots have left this season, and that couldn’t have been more evident than Sunday’s 34-0 blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints.

It was another afternoon of horrific turnovers for the offense with one being a pick-six after a poor throwing decision from quarterback Mac Jones. The Saints dominated the battle of field position and time of possession by a 39:34-20:26 margin.

The defense didn’t really have much of a chance in the game.

Keep in mind, it’s also a defense that lost two of its best players, cornerback Christian Gonzalez and linebacker Matthew Judon, to injuries in the previous week. The good news is the unit continued to fight valiantly, even when clearly facing an uphill battle.

There was still tremendous effort on display for a team that currently looks like one of the worst in the NFL. Unfortunately for the Patriots, defensive effort alone doesn’t win football games. At some point, the offense has to find ways to execute and put points on the board.

Let’s take a look at the top-10 defensive players from Sunday’s game, per Pro Football Focus grades.

Patriots’ top 10 defensive players in Week 4, per PFF grades

Ranking the Patriots’ defensive players with the top-10 PFF grades in Week 4

The New England Patriots defense was put in an impossible position in the Week 4 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Not only was the unit battered with injuries, but it was handcuffed to an offense that turned the ball over three times and consistently put them in bad field position.

It was in no way a great performance for the defense, but they also didn’t look nearly as bad as the 38-3 score indicates. In fact, it’s surprising the score didn’t get even worse with the offense giving up two defensive touchdowns to the Cowboys.

The defense also lost two of their best players with cornerback Christian Gonzalez and linebacker Matthew Judon both going down with injuries. They’ll have their work cut out for them when attempting to bounce back in Week 5 against the visiting New Orleans Saints.

Let’s take a look at the top-10 defensive players, per Pro Football Focus grades, in the loss to Dallas.

Patriots Week 2 inactives: Jonathan Jones OUT, Mike Onwenu IN vs Dolphins

Jonathan Jones, Trent Brown and five others have been ruled out for Sunday’s game.

There was a mixture of good and bad news with the New England Patriots inactives list ahead of Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins.

Let’s start with the good news.

The Patriots will have their two starting guards, Mike Onwenu and Cole Strange, available for the first time in the season. Wide receiver DeVante Parker will also be active in the game.

However, New England will be without top cornerback Jonathan Jones and rookie wide receiver Kayshon Boutte. That will leave rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez and second-year defensive back Marcus Jones as the top players tasked with defending Dolphins wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

Left tackle Trent Brown being out is also a big problem for the Patriots. Along with rookie offensive lineman Sidy Sow, Brown has been listed with a concussion throughout the practice week. So there were doubts he’d suit up and play.

The Patriots already have Calvin Anderson manning the right tackle position. So it’ll be interesting to see how they cover up the huge vacancy in the protection role for quarterback Mac Jones’ blindside.

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Studs and duds from Patriots’ preseason finale loss to Titans

Who were the studs and duds for the Patriots on Friday night?

The preseason didn’t end the way the New England Patriots hoped in Friday’s road trip meeting with the Tennessee Titans in Nashville. There were issues on offense, defense and special teams that culminated in a 23-7 loss for New England.

The Patriots opted not to play their starters in this game, while the Titans trotted starters on the field for several plays. Even starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill got in on the action briefly.

It wasn’t the most exciting game given the constant struggles along the offensive front. Bailey Zappe, who received the starting nod, looked helpless against the Titans’ defensive front. On defense, the Patriots did show some promise, but they also struggled keeping scrambling Titans quarterback Malik Willis in check.

Let’s take a look at the studs and duds from the game.

Studs and duds from Patriots’ preseason win vs. Packers

Who were the studs and duds of the weekend for the Patriots?

The New England Patriots made the trek to Lambeau Field on Saturday to face thousands of screaming cheese heads and the Green Bay Packers.

It was mostly a mixed bag performance for the Patriots, who ultimately came out on top in  a 21-17 victory. The game was suspended early in the fourth quarter after Patriots rookie cornerback Isaiah Bolden suffered a head injury that required him to be rushed to the hospital.

It was later reported that Bolden was released from Aurora Bay Medical Center and allowed to travel back home with his teammates.

Although the Patriots didn’t play a full football game, there were more than enough moments to pick the studs and duds from a little over three quarters of action. Here’s who stood out the most for New England in the game.

Madden 24 ratings for every Patriots defensive tackle and edge rusher

The “Madden NFL 24” ratings are in for the Patriots’ defensive tackles and edge rushers

EA Sports has been revealing player ratings for the upcoming “Madden NFL 24” video game, and two of the initial positions they’ve highlighted are defensive tackle and edge rusher.

No one from the New England Patriots defense joined the 99 club at those positions this year, but defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. did get an 81 overall rating on the game.

Despite all of the defensive success, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Patriots players are still being underrated. Barmore might be one of the best defensive tackles in the league, but he obviously hasn’t stayed on the field long enough to prove it.

That could all change in the 2023 season and potentially lead to a ratings increase in a future patch for the game. Keep your fingers crossed, Patriots fans.

Here are the ratings for every defensive tackle and edge rusher for the Patriots in “Madden NFL 24”.

Patriots 2022 sixth-round pick Sam Roberts poised for Year 2 leap

Is Sam Roberts a 2023 breakout candidate for the Patriots?

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New England Patriots 2022 sixth-round draft pick Sam Roberts showed some promise in Year 1, highlighted by his raw frame and athletic ability.

We got to see those talents early in preseason, but with some key veterans still in the mix, Roberts didn’t get a chance to crack the rotation as much as he would have liked.

I asked Roberts what he worked on this offseason to prepare for Year 2, and he mentioned he was “looking to improve in all aspects” and that he “wants to contribute on every down.”

Every NFL player feels the same way, but what makes Roberts different is his ability to learn, grow and adapt at rapid paces.

“Sam has been a sponge dating back to the pre-draft process and understanding how the business side of things work,” Roberts’ agent, Darian Yahyavi, said in a text message. “It’s just in his nature to want to learn and improve.”

Roberts has the makings to become an impactful NFL player very soon along the defensive front. Yahyavi even went as far as predicting a long and successful career for his client, assuming he puts the pieces together.

“He has all the tools to have longevity in this league, it’s just about putting it all together,” said Yahyavi.

With Roberts coming from a small college like Northwest Missouri State, there was expected to be some growing into the NFL speed, but Roberts has handled that well, working with veterans like Carl Davis and Lawrence Guy to improve his game on the field and adjust to life at the next level.

Roberts is entering Year 2 and wants to be seen as “a guy the staff can rely on when called upon for 17 games.” But he also realizes that he “has so much more room to grow” to reach the high ceiling he set himself.

With the Patriots making changes across their team, Roberts will have a real opportunity to beat out some of the veterans who have taken him under their wing. Roberts has upside on special teams blocking field goals and punts, which adds some staying power to his name during camp.

If the Patriots wish to get younger and more explosive all across the team, Roberts could join 2023 draft pick Keion White in replacing some of the aging depth pieces like Guy, Davis, Daniel Ekuale and even Deatrich Wise.

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Regular season rookie grades for Patriots’ 2022 draft class

How did the Patriots’ rookies do this season? Patriots Wire’s Cam Garrity is handing out end-of-season grades to the 2022 draft class.

As the season comes to a close, there’s a full body of work now to look at just how well the New England Patriots’ 2022 draft class panned out.

Even though it is too early to make determinations on the entire class, we can see the potential of each player and piece together the reasons they were ultimately drafted by the team.

Were they hits or misses in their rookie seasons?

We’ll take a look at multiple things with the players, including their 2022 stats and PFF grade. And then they’ll be receiving a letter grade for the season when taking into account their total body of work.