Tag: Starling Thomas

CB Starling Thomas injured in Cardinals’ loss to Rams

He suffered an ankle injury and was not able to return in the Cardinals’ loss to the Rams on Sunday.

The Arizona Cardinals started three rookie cornerbacks on Sunday in their 37-14 home loss to the Los Angeles Rams. One of them got hurt.

Starling Thomas suffered an ankle injury and was unable to return. He was ruled out immediately, which suggests some level of severity.

He played 40 snaps on Sunday and finished with three tackles.

Gannon only mentioned Thomas’ injury postgame, saying they came out “pretty clean.”

However, there are some players to watch for as the first injury report of Week 13 comes out on Wednesday.

Running back James Conner barely played in the second half and did not play toward the end of the game. He played only 30 snaps of the team’s 71 and had seven rushing attempts.

Left guard Carter O’Donnell was replaced by Trystan Colon in the second half.

Rookie linebacker Owen Pappoe got his first four NFL snaps. It might have been just because of the blowout or it was Krys Barnes got hurt late.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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What to know about new CB Starling Thomas

Thomas was one of six waiver claims the Cardinals were awarded on Wednesday.

One of the Arizona Cardinals’ six waiver claim additions was former Detroit Lions cornerback Starling Thomas.

What is there to know about him?

He is an undrafted rookie who signed with the Lions out of UAB.

He is listed at 5-foot-10 and 194 pounds.

Thomas was a two-time All-Conference USA selection after appearing in 53 games and collecting 108 tackles, 29 pass breakups, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. He also returned 23 punts for 167 yards (7.3 avg.) and 12 kickoffs for 224 yards (18.7 avg.) during his time with the Blazers. As a senior in 2022, Thomas was a first-team All-Conference USA selection after starting all 13 games and leading the team with 15 pass breakups.

In his time with the Lions in the offseason and preseason, Lions Wire managing editor thought he might make Detroit’s final roster.

He stood out on special teams. In coverage, he had a habit of drawing illegal contact and defensive holding penalties.

He isn’t going to be expected to play on defense, it would appear. However, he should give the Cardinals extra options on special teams, even in the return game.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Lions land no waiver claims, lose CB Starling Thomas

The Detroit Lions failed to add any players via waivers after the roster cutdowns but lost CB Starling Thomas

Lions fans around the world anxiously awaited 12 p.m. ET on Wednesday afternoon to see what moves GM Brad Holmes might have made on the NFL waiver wire. All the waiver claims from the last few days of roster cuts were processed at that hour.

In terms of player additions, the excitement was for naught. The Lions did not have any successful waiver claims when the league’s official transaction report came out. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Lions didn’t place any waiver claims, but teams ahead of them in the waiver wire order landed any of those players. Detroit say 18th in the wire order.

The Lions did lose one player they waived. Undrafted rookie CB Starling Thomas was claimed by the Arizona Cardinals. Thomas is now added to the Cardinals’ active roster. The speedy UDFA from UAB was great on special teams throughout the preseason and had some moments in coverage, but also showed a major propensity for defensive holding and illegal contact penalties in both the preseason and training camp.

5 biggest surprises for the Lions 53-man initial roster

The Detroit Lions have released their initial 53-man roster and here are 5 of the biggest surprises stemming from the reveal.

The Detroit Lions have finally released their initial 53-man roster. There had been weeks of speculation on which players would make the cut and which ones would not. During the preseason games, many players put in impressive performances, especially given that the Lions rested their starters. This allowed the management to take a closer look at the players and determine who would be the best fit for the team.

Upon reviewing the final roster, there were a few surprises that caught my attention. Here are the five decisions that were the most unexpected to me with the initial roster release.

Lions final roster cutdowns includes a couple of surprises

The final Detroit Lions roster cutdowns brought a few surprise, from keeping just 2 RBs to cutting a couple of fan favorites

The Detroit Lions officially announced all of their final roster cuts made in advance of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline. The last list of moves includes a couple of surprising developments.

Activating CB Emmanuel Moseley from the PUP list removed one expected spot on the 53-man roster. The “victim” wound up being undrafted rookie Starling Thomas, who had impressed early with his speed and special teams ability.

Thomas did not make it, but fellow UDFA Steven Gilmore did. Gilmore, from Marshall, thrived in coverage in the preseason and got better throughout the summer. Khalil Dorsey also earned a spot at DB over Thomas, which is not something many expected a couple of weeks ago.

Fan favorite wideout Chase Cota was waived with an injury settlement, bringing his time with Detroit to an apparent end.

Perhaps the biggest surprise came at running back, where the Lions only have two on the roster. Benny Snell was released, while Jermar Jefferson was waived with injury designation. Neither of those was surprising. Releasing No. 3 RB Craig Reynolds is a stunner, though because he’s not eligible to be claimed on waivers, this could just be a temporary roster finagling and Reynolds could return quickly.

The final cuts, via the Lions:

This is in addition to the previously announced cutdowns.

5 hardest decisions to project from the Lions 53-man roster cutdown

Here are the five toughest cuts or decisions to project for the Lions final 53-man roster

The Lions held the final significant practices before Tuesday’s roster cutdown deadline this week. With Friday’s preseason finale in Charlotte against the Carolina Panthers the final chance to win or lose roster spots, the team is very close to finalizing the 53-man roster.

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There isn’t a ton of drama over the constitution of most of the roster. However, there are a few final spots up for grabs. They make for very difficult decisions for head coach Dan Campbell, GM Brad Holmes and the Lions braintrust.

Here are the five toughest cuts or decisions to project for the Lions’ final 53-man roster.

Detroit Lions stock report after the second preseason game

Breaking down which Detroit Lions players saw their stocks rise and fall in the second preseason game, a loss to the Jaguars

The second exhibition game for the Detroit Lions ended in a disappointing, punchless 25-7 loss to the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars.

With nearly every player of significance sitting out, it was a chance for the depth players in Detroit to prove themselves. Some looked like bullish risers, while others saw their stocks grow more bearish.

Here are the Lions who rose up and those who fell back in the preseason loss to the Jagaurs.

Studs and Duds for the Lions preseason loss against the Jaguars

Who helped and hurt themselves this week? Here are this week’s Stud and Duds for the Lions preseason loss against the Jaguars

The preseason is an opportunity for teams to assess their players, and the Detroit Lions relied on their backup players during their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Unfortunately, they were unable to perform well and lost 25-7 in their second preseason game.

Since the starters were resting, we were able to observe the players who needed to prove themselves to secure a spot on the team. Although the offense was not performing at its best and the defense had some weaknesses, some players stood out, while others struggled.

Here are the Studs and Duds for the Lions in their game against the Jaguars this week. In this week’s edition, I focused on players who are right at the borderline of making the roster. I know Cominsky, Campbell, Walker, and Houston all had fantastic games, but we all know they are sticking around.

Quick takeaways from the Lions 25-7 preseason loss to the Jaguars

Here’s what stood out in watching the Lions preseason loss to the Jaguars in real time

The Detroit Lions depth didn’t give the home fans in Ford Field much to cheer about on Saturday. The visiting Jacksonville Jaguars dominated the action in a 25-7 Detroit loss in the second exhibition game for both teams in the preseason.

With both teams sitting pretty much every starter and even some key reserves, this game was about depth players and the youngsters trying to prove themselves getting reps.

The Jaguars won the first half 12-0 in a stanza dominated by defensive play by both teams. There were just 13 combined first downs in the first half, nine by the Jaguars. The Lions did manage to score on a short TD pass from Nate Sudfeld to rookie WR Chase Cota, but the offensive highlights were few and far between for Detroit.

Here’s what stood out in watching the preseason game in real time.

6 Lions I’ll be watching closely in joint practices vs. the Jaguars

6 Detroit Lions I’ll be watching closely in joint practices vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars

Joint practices fire up once again in Allen Park this week. The Jacksonville Jaguars come to town for joint practice sessions on Wednesday and Thursday in advance of Saturday’s preseason game between the two teams at Ford Field.

Much like last week when the New York Giants practiced with the Lions, it’s a great opportunity to see Dan Campbell’s Detroit team do what they do against different opponents. It’s a critical proving ground and a chance to try out ideas or techniques in game-style action without worry of losing or failure.

Here are six Lions I’ll be focused on in the joint practices this week.