Tag: Sam Roberts

Panthers Week 15 inactives: 2 big-name starting defenders active vs. Cowboys

As expected, Panthers OLB Jadeveon Clowney and CB Jaycee Horn are both up against the Cowboys today.

Despite a smidgeon of doubt, the Carolina Panthers will have two pretty big names in uniform for Week 15.

As expected, outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney and cornerback Jaycee Horn are active for this afternoon’s matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. Both were listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report.

Clowney returns after missing out on last week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles due to a shoulder issue. Horn, who has yet to sit out from a game this season, has been dealing with a bothersome groin.

The Panthers will not, however, have running back and return specialist Raheem Blackshear. Blackshear, whose 705 yards on kickoff returns rank second in the NFL, is down with a chest injury.

As a result, and along with the season-ending ACL tear to rookie Jonathon Brooks, Carolina elevated seventh-year rusher Mike Boone from the practice squad on Saturday. He is expected to back up starter Chuba Hubbard.

Here’s the full list of inactives on the day for the Panthers:

  • CB Shemar Bartholomew
  • RB Raheem Blackshear
  • CB Akayleb Evans
  • OL Jarrett Kingston
  • DT Sam Roberts
  • S Nick Scott
  • ILB Trevin Wallace

And for the visiting Cowboys:

  • C Cooper Beebe
  • CB Trevon Diggs
  • WR Ryan Flournoy
  • S Juanyeh Thomas
  • DE Tyrus Wheat
  • RB Deuce Vaughn

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Panthers sign defender back to practice squad on Wednesday

After waiving him from the active roster yesterday, the Panthers brought DL DeShawn Williams back to their practice squad.

The Carolina Panthers have reeled defensive lineman DeShawn Williams back in.

As announced on Wednesday evening, the team has signed Williams to their practice squad. The sixth-year defender was waived from the active roster on Tuesday afternoon, as part of a series of moves, to open up a spot for fellow lineman and now-former practice-squad member Sam Roberts.

Williams, a Central, S.C. native and Clemson University Tiger, first joined the Panthers ahead of the 2023 season. He’d go on to play in 16 games with 10 starts—amassing 33 combined tackles (two for a loss), seven quarterback hits and a sack.

After a brief stop with the Buffalo Bills this past offseason, Williams rejoined the Panthers as a member of their practice squad on Sept. 10. He’s since appeared in 10 outings and has totaled 13 tackles and half a sack.

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Panthers’ updated roster following Tuesday’s flurry of moves

The Panthers added two players to their active roster on Tuesday.

The Carolina Panthers had themselves a pretty busy Tuesday.

Headlined by running back Jonathon Brooks’ placement on the season-ending injured reserve, the team made a total of six moves this afternoon. A pair of those adjustments will welcome in two additions to the active roster—wide receiver/running back Velus Jones Jr. and defensive lineman Sam Roberts, who was promoted from the practice squad.

So, let’s do a bit of housekeeping and give you the updated roster following the signings of Jones and Roberts . . .

Panthers officially announce 2 additions on Tuesday

The Panthers officially announced their signings of WR/RB Velus Jones Jr. and WR Trenton Irwin.

The Carolina Panthers officially added a couple of wide receivers on Tuesday. (Well, maybe one wide receiver and one wide receiver/running back/return specialist.)

As announced this afternoon, the team has signed Velus Jones Jr. to their active roster and Trenton Irwin to their practice squad. Jones’ signing was first reported on by Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports while Irwin’s dropped via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Jones, a former third-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 2022, comes over from the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad. In his three seasons and 27 appearances for the Bears, the 27-year-old speedster amassed 135 receiving yards and 165 rushing yards while averaging 26.7 yards per kick return (39 attempts) and 7.0 yards per punt return (five attempts).

He now fills the roster spot left vacant by rookie running back Jonathon Brooks, who has been placed on injured reserve with his ACL tear.

Irwin, who previously crossed paths with current Panthers offensive coordinator Brad Idzik during their time at Stanford University, has spent each of his six pro campaigns with the Cincinnati Bengals. He has recorded 46 receptions for 601 yards and five touchdowns.

To make room for Irwin on the practice squad, the Panthers released fellow wide receiver Dax Milne.

Carolina also signed defensive tackle Sam Roberts from their practice squad to the active roster. Defensive end DeShawn Williams, who appeared in 26 games for the team over the last two seasons, was waived to clear a spot for Roberts.

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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.