Tag: siran neal

Dolphins react to NFL banning hip-drop tackling

A few Dolphins sound off about new rule change.

During the NFL’s annual meetings, teams voted on a few issues, including the hotly-debated hip-drop tackling technique, which was used by a Tennessee Titans defender on Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, resulting in an injury.

The league has decided to ban the technique from the sport despite the NFL Players Association opposing such a ban.

According to NFL executive Jeff Miller, the hip-drop tackle was used 230 times last season, resulting in 15 players missing time with injuries.

After the news was announced a few Dolphins took to social media to share their displeasure with the change.

Obviously, Holland, Neal and Nixon all make their living off of bringing down offensive players, and this will make their lives much more difficult.

However, even some offensive players are complaining.

The league should be doing what it can to make the game safer for their players, but it does feel like rules are continuing to favor offense, and defenders are the ones who have to adjust their game.

There needs to be more balance.

Breaking down the terms of new Dolphins CB Siran Neal’s contract

Here’s what new Dolphins CB Siran Neal’s contract looks like.

The Miami Dolphins have signed a number of free agents this offseason to fill multiple holes on their roster heading into the 2024 season, including cornerback Siran Neal, who will likely be a core special teamer for Danny Crossman’s unit.

Neal, 29, agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.95 million to join the Dolphins after spending his first six seasons with the Buffalo Bills.

According to Over the Cap, Neal will receive a $1.13 million base salary ($300,000 guaranteed) and a $350,000 bonus at signing. The contract also has $475,000 in per-game roster bonuses. His cap number for the 2024 season is $1.95 million.

While Neal has been one of the most successful special teamers in the NFL since entering the league back in 2018, this contract doesn’t really guarantee that he’ll be on the roster when the season rolls around. If Miami were to cut Neal, they’d save $1.3 million while incurring a dead-cap hit of just $650,000.

At this point, however, the Dolphins need that help in the third unit of the game, and anything Neal could provide on defense would be a bonus.

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Best photos of new Dolphins DB Siran Neal

Best photos of new Dolphins DB Siran Neal

The Miami Dolphins, with both Justin Bethel and Keion Crossen on the market, needed to add a special teams ace and depth cornerback this offseason, and they did so by signing Siran Neal.

Neal lands in South Florida on a one-year deal after playing collegiately at Jacksonville State before being drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft and playing six seasons for Sean MxDermott’s team.

As Dolphins fans familiarize themselves with the team’s newest ace, we’ve put together a gallery of photos from his time in Buffalo.

Take a look:

New Dolphins CB Siran Neal explains why he signed with the team

Here’s why Siran Neal chose to sign with the Dolphins.

The Miami Dolphins have been ferociously signing free agents over the last few weeks to fill some of the large holes that were left by players who were leaving the team this offseason.

One of the recently signed free agents is cornerback Siran Neal, who will mostly be making an impact on the third unit of the game – special teams.

According to ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, Neal ranks 12th in special teams tackles and first in special teams forced fumbles since he entered the league in 2018.

Why did Neal, who the numbers show has been one of the best gunners in the league, decide to sign with Miami?

“The decision to sign with the Dolphins – basically with the NFL, it can be a little tricky,” Neal said. “It’s all built off relationships. Coming from Buffalo, I love Buffalo, shoutout to Buffalo for everything they gave me throughout the past six years. It furthered our relationship. Just getting the opportunity to come down and talk to Danny (Crossman) about everything, he was more excited to have me than I’ve ever seen before. When I came through the door, his face lit up. That’s one thing he did as soon as I walked into the door. I just knew he saw me that he was happy to see me. He did everything in his willpower to have me. That’s one thing I loved about it.

“Once I saw that, I knew if he would go to war for me, when it’s time for the kickoff or it is time for the season to start or even during OTAs when we have to report back, I’m going to do whatever I have to do to fight for him.”

Crossman and Neal have a relationship that goes back a while, as they were both in Buffalo in 2018. At the time, Neal was just a rookie, and Crossman was in his final season as the team’s special teams coordinator.

While it was only one year, it’s clear that Crossman made an impact on the cornerback.

“Danny is my boy,” Neal said. “I had Danny my rookie year when I came in with Buffalo. Danny is really a passionate coach too as well. He really loves the game. He really loves being that coach and really loves his players. That’s one thing that me and Danny over the years, we kept in contact and kept a close relationship through this whole process. Every time we played him, like I told him yesterday, I always wanted to make him smile and see what he’s going to say at the end of the game. That’s one thing that I took under my sleeve. I knew every time I played him, he was going to give me his best and I was going to give him my best.”

At this point, Miami’s top two gunners on the roster last year, Justin Bethal and Keion Crossen (who missed all of 2023 with an injury), are still free agents. If the Dolphins don’t bring one of them back, there may be a lot of pressure on Neal to perform in his role, but he’s going to be ready for the challenge with the backing of his coordinator.

Report: Dolphins expected to sign former Bills DB Siran Neal

Another #Bills player to the #Dolphins:

Siran Neal has went the Jordan Poyer route.

Like his former teammate with the Buffalo Bills… he has signed with the Miami Dolphins.

According to ESPN, Neal has agreed to terms with the Dolphins. Full details of the contract have yet to be announced.

Similar to Poyer, the 29-year-old Neal was released by the Bills last week in a salary cap move. With Neal’s departure, the team will free up $2.8 million on the salary cap.

Neal was selected by Buffalo in the fifth-round of the 2018 NFL draft. In that time, he only made one start on defense but managed to force three fumbles with the Bills.

Neal was a backup defensive back in the team’s secondary but a large contributor on special teams.

Prior to the Neal announcement, Poyer had reportedly agreed to a contract in Miami a day earlier.

Follow Bills Wire’s free agency tracker for all updates throughout the coming days.

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Dolphins to host former Bills DB Siran Neal for a visit

Miami is meeting with a former Bills DB.

The Miami Dolphins entered free agency with a need for some help on special teams with their two aces, Justin Bethel and Keion Crossen, on the market.

On Tuesday, NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe revealed that the Dolphins are meeting with former Buffalo Bills defensive back Siran Neal, who could provide some assistance in the third phase of the game.

Neal, 29, was originally selected by the Bills in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft following his collegiate career at Jacksonville State.

Since then, he’s appeared in 97 games for Buffalo, recording 115 tackles (four for a loss), five passes defensed, three quarterback hits, three forced fumbles and two fumbles recovered.

Neal has never played more the 18% of his team’s defensive snaps, but he’s been a steady force on special teams, playing at least 57% every season.

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Giants, free-agent CB Siran Neal scheduled for visit

The Giants are reportedly set to host free-agent CB Siran Neal for a visit.

With free agency set to begin this week, the New York Giants are reportedly taking a look at former Buffalo Bills cornerback, Siran Neal.

According to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, the Giants are scheduled to host Neal for a visit on Monday, the same day the legal tampering period opens.

The 29-year-old is currently a street free agent and available to sign before then, though, after Buffalo released him last week.

A former fifth-round pick of the Bills in 2018, Neal has spent all six of his years in the NFL in Buffalo, with the vast majority of his snaps coming on special teams. He’s played 567 defensive snaps over 97 career games (one start).

While Neal won’t be the starting-caliber corner Big Blue needs, he would be a solid depth addition to the secondary, on top of being able to provide help on special teams.

This is the second meeting the Giants have had or will have with a free-agent cornerback, as the team is reportedly hosting former Jacksonville Jaguars corner Darious Williams on a visit on Sunday.

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Buffalo Bills release defensive back Siran Neal

#Bills release defensive back Siran Neal right after letting Jordan Poyer go:

The Buffalo Bills have released defensive back Siran Neal.

The transaction was reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport only a short time after the news that All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer would be let go as well:

Neal, 29, was occasionally listed on the roster as a safety but more often than not was a nickel defender and key special teams player.

Neal was selected by Buffalo in the fifth-round of the 2018 NFL draft. In that time, he only made one start on defense but managed to force three fumbles with the Bills.

With Neal’s departure, the team will free up $2.8 million on the salary cap. Prior to the Poyer news, Over The Cap had the Bills still at over $32M over the 2024 salary cap.

Along with Neal and Poyer being released, safety Micah Hyde is also a pending free agent. The team’s secondary is likely going to have several new faces on it in 2024.

Bills Wire will continue to bring rosters updates throughout the 2024 offseason.

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Bills Wire Preseason Week 3 Player of the Game: Siran Neal

#Bills Wire Preseason Week 3 Player of the Game: Siran Neal (via @TejasVemparala):

The Buffalo Bills’ last preseason game was on the road against the Chicago Bears. The Bears won 24-21 in a close game and a few Bills players had a very good game.

We are awarding our third issue of the Player of the Week Award in 2023 to cornerback Siran Neal, who had two tackles, two pass deflections, and helped teammate Ja’Marcus Ingram secure Buffalo’s only interception of the game.

The Bills special team veteran was drafted by Buffalo in 2018 in the 5th round and is listed fourth on the depth chart at CB. Usually, Neal appears on special teams but Bills fans will remember his catch against the Patriots on a fake punt in December 2020.

Today, Neal was tasked with multiple snaps against the Bears first string wide receiver Darnell Mooney on the right side of the field. He prevented Bears QB Justin Fields on finding Mooney in the end zone at the end of the first quarter. He deflected another pass intended for Mooney in the end-zone from backup Chicago QB Tyson Bagent, limiting the Bears to a field goal attempt when down 7-0.

Neal would continue to frustrate Bagent and the Chicago offense when he crucially disrupted the timing of Bears wide receiver Daurice Fountain in Chicago’s sole interception of the game. When the Bills fumbled the ball after conceding a rushing touchdown to Bagent and were down 14-10 with the Bears looking to take the lead, Neal physically disrupted Fountain’s crossing route, which provided Ingram the opportunity to jump the route and intercept Bagent. This helped the Bills go into the locker room with a 7 point lead.

Neal’s physicality and man-marking skills in coverage was clearly evident and we hope he will get more snaps for the defense in the regular season and continue to make an impact in special teams.

Buffalo will be on the road at MetLife Stadium for their first regular season game against the New York Jets.

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Bills’ fiery practice spills over into Josh Allen press conference (video)

“Oh, sorry…”

The Bills had what can only be described as a fiery practice on Tuesday. Multiple players were involved in numerous physical and verbal festivities during the workout.

After the session, quarterback Josh Allen spoke on the intensity. As is usually the case when a player chats after such events, it’s downplayed.

“Sometimes you go through practices like that where both sides want it really badly,” Allen said.

But this one with Allen was different because things continued despite practice ending… it even spilled over into Allen’s press conference, and ironically enough, it did while the QB was discussing the fighting.

As Allen responds to a question, you can quickly tell he’s distracted. Then the noise between two people arguing gets louder. According to WROC-TV, receiver Stefon Diggs and defensive back Siran Neal were the two players involved off-camera.

In a bit of a funny moment to quell the whole situation, Allen yelled at his teammates at the end of his response.

“Hey!,” screamed the quarterback. And in the distance an “oh, sorry,” can be heard.

Allen’s response and mediating can found in the WKBW-TV clip below:

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