Tag: Steele Chambers

Former Ohio State linebacker Steele Chambers claimed by Patriots

Chambers will get another shot to make an NFL team. #GoBucks

Former Ohio State linebacker Steele Chambers has been claimed by the New England Patriots, one day after being released by the Detroit Lions.

Chambers did not see his name called during the 2024 NFL draft, but was signed to an undrafted free agent contract by the Lions. He was one of five former Buckeyes not selected in the draft, one more than the total that did get drafted.

The 6-foot, 223-pound linebacker will now work to carve out a role with the Patriots as a backup. He joins another former OSU linebacker, Raekwon McMillian on the unit. It’s always an uphill battle to make the club as an UDFA, but Chambers has the ability to run, cover, and tackle in space, and that’s coveted in today’s game, even if just on special teams.

Time will tell if he’s able to stick it out in New England.

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Patriots claim LB off waivers from the Lions

The New England Patriots claim LB Steele Chambers off waivers from the Detroit Lions

A day after being waived by the Detroit Lions, rookie linebacker Steele Chambers has found a new NFL home. The undrafted free agent from Ohio State was claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots.

The Lions moved on from Chambers after last week’s mandatory minicamp, bringing in veteran Ben Niemann on Monday to take his place in the LB roomplace in the LB room. New England holds the third spot on the NFL’s waiver claim order and won the rights to Chambers.

The Lions do still have an open spot on the offseason roster after waiving CB Craig James with injury status on Tuesday, the final OTA session for the spring.

Patriots announced two roster moves on Tuesday

The Patriots made two roster moves on Tuesday

There was no practice on Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean the New England Patriots weren’t busy in the front office. The team announced they had claimed former Detroit Lions linebacker Steele Chambers on waivers.

To make room, the corresponding move was the team releasing undrafted rookie linebacker Jay Person.

Chambers is another undrafted rookie who spent five seasons at Ohio State. He closed out his college tenure with a career-high 83 tackles and one interception, which helped net him Third-Team All-Big Ten honors.

The former Buckeye has 29 total starts in the Big Ten, which means he’s experienced plenty of high-level football in college. There is already depth for the Patriots at linebacker, but it isn’t a surprise to see them keep young talent in the pipeline.

They’ll be looking to get Chambers into their system and seeing if he’s the kind of player that could potentially help them at some point. It’s a great opportunity for a young player to prove himself with training camp rapidly approaching.

Sorting out the Lions linebacker room after addition of Ben Niemann

Sorting out the Detroit Lions linebacker depth chart after addition of Ben Niemann and release of Steele Chambers

The Detroit Lions officially added free agent linebacker Ben Niemann to the roster. The 28-year-old joins the Detroit LB corps in time for the final OTAs before the extended break into training camp in late July.

The Lions released undrafted rookie linebacker Steele Chambers to make room for Niemann. That move gives a pretty good indication of how the Lions view their newcomer and his role. It also makes for a good time to refresh the view of Detroit’s linebacker depth chart.

Starters

This probably deserves an asterisk because the Lions might be morphing back to playing three linebackers in the base defense more often than they have the past few seasons with Aaron Glenn as the defensive coordinator. They’ve shown that look more in minicamp and OTAs than at any other time since Glenn took over the defense, but it’s important to note that it’s still primarily just two off-ball linebackers in the vast majority of sets.

Alex Anzalone is coming off his best season, setting career highs in tackles (129), sacks (3), PDs (6), QB hits (12) and TFLs (7). He is also the emotional leader and nerve center of the defense.

Jack Campbell has moved up into the first-team reps next to Anzalone when No. 34 plays and in Anzalone’s spot when the veteran didn’t participate in OTAs. The Lions are clearly grooming him for a full-time starting role in his second season after an up-and-down rookie campaign.

Derrick Barnes started with Anzalone last year, and he could still get starting reps as an off-ball LB. However, Barnes has been doing more of the SAM role this spring. In Detroit’s defense, that’s much more of a pass-rush role than a more reactionary and coverage role than Barnes has played. This is closer to the role he played collegiately at Purdue before morphing into an off-ball LB his first three seasons in Detroit.

This move could have a couple of root causes, both of which can be true but also coincidental.

Campbell could be ready for a bigger role and/or (likely both) the Lions are seeing how much more he can do in his second season. Barnes was also an adept pass rusher in college, and that could be a reflection that the team sees a bigger overall need for the defense than off-ball LB depth. That would keep an experienced Barnes on the field in more situations if some of the edge rushers (Marcus Davenport, James Houston, Mitchell Agude, Josh Paschal, Mathieu Betts) aren’t bringing the heat as well as hoped.

Reserves

Malcolm Rodriguez jumps right into the inside backer role in drills with the second-team defense. He has his limitations in range and coverage, but the fan favorite “Rodrigo” is a very good smart defender and good open-field tackler. He can be one of the best reserve backers in the league, and Rodriguez also proved he can capably fill in as the team’s fullback last season too.

Jalen Reeves-Maybin is primarily known for his special teams play, but the veteran proved he could handle business as a defensive reserve, too. His speed in the open field and quick reactions worked in coverage packages, and that could continue more in 2024. Reeves-Maybin and Rodriguez are omnipresent on special teams units, where Reeves-Maybin served as a captain and Rodriguez played extensively. That will continue in 2024 with the new kickoff rules.

Competing

Any remaining roster space at LB figures to be devoted exclusively to special teams. It’s the role Anthony Pittman played in Detroit for the last few seasons. Pittman is now with the Washington Commanders.

This is where Niemann fits in. He’s got over 80 NFL games under his belt, including 21 starts across six seasons. Fans of the Chiefs and Cardinals will opine that Niemann was much more capable on special teams than in actually playing linebacker. He did not have a defensive snap with the Broncos last season.

With Chambers now gone, the only other true off-ball LB on the roster is undrafted rookie DaRon Gilbert, a 218-pound Northern Illinois product who essentially played the same college role that Lions slot DB Brian Branch did at Alabama.

Detroit Lions to sign Steele Chambers as undrafted free agent

Chambers will be invited to a camp to show what he can do. #GoBucks

We continue to keep an eye on the news that comes out with former Ohio State players signing as undrafted free agents after the conclusion of the 2024 NFL draft, one in which just four Buckeyes heard their name called.

The latest is some sourcing that linebacker Steele Chambers will be signing up in enemy territory with the Detroit Lions as an UFA.

Chambers didn’t have the same production in 2023 that we saw previous, but he still has the skills and ability to play in today’s defensive schemes in the NFL. He can run and defend in space, and those are desired traits in the NFL these days.

Though many mock drafts had Chambers going in the later rounds, he didn’t ultimately get the call and will now have to work his way through the hard way, as an invite with a contract to rookie camp.

We’ll keep an eye on how Chambers does in Detroit and what’s next for his career.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Saints linked to a 2024 draft linebacker at Ohio State pro day

The Saints were linked to a 2024 draft linebacker at Ohio State’s pro day. Steele Chambers could be a good pick to help replace Zack Baun:

Here’s an interesting draft prospect. The New Orleans Saints had dinner with Ohio State linebacker Steele Chambers before his pro day workout on Wednesday, per Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline. New Orleans signed free agent linebacker Willie Gay to push Pete Werner for snaps but they could use more help with multiple players hitting free agency.

So what’s the story here? Chambers doesn’t fit the athletic thresholds the Saints have maintained at the position. He weighed in at 6-foot-flat and just 226 pounds with 30.5-inch arms at the NFL Scouting Combine, posting pedestrian numbers in the jumps and agility drills, without timing the 40-yard dash until his pro day (where he was clocked in the 4.6 to 4.65 range by scouts in attendance, per 11 Warriors’ Dan Hope). As fate would have it, Buckeyes linebackers coach James Laurinaitis, who briefly played for the Saints, conducted drills for Chambers at the school’s pro day.

While those numbers aren’t strong enough to get him drafted by the Saints early on, they shouldn’t eliminate him altogether. Chambers is projected to be picked in the the last few rounds of the 2024 NFL draft, and that’s generally where teams like New Orleans start to make exceptions for players they like who don’t hit their athletic targets in these drills.

And there’s a lot to like with Chambers. He’s only played linebacker for three years after spending his first two seasons in Columbus at running back, but he’s already totaled more than 1,700 career snaps across 39 games on defense. He has some ball skills with four career interceptions.

Importantly for the Saints, Chambers has played plenty of snaps on special teams. He’s ran with the return and coverage squads on both punts and kickoffs as well as the field goal block team. Zack Baun was a key player on special teams for New Orleans and they need to replace him, among others, in that capacity. Nephi Sewell won’t be ready for training camp after suffering a torn ACL in December, and other special teamers like Andrew Dowell, Ty Summers, and Ryan Connelly are all free agents. Maybe Chambers can win a role in the kicking game before developing into a quality backup. We’ll see where he ends up in April’s draft.

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2024 NFL draft: 6 defensive players for Chargers to watch at East-West Shrine Bowl

Here are six defensive players to keep an eye on for the Chargers at the East-West Shrine Bowl.

Draft season kicks into high gear next week, with both the East-West Shrine Bowl and Reese’s Senior Bowl scheduled to be played in the following days. These events are widely regarded as the official beginning of draft season for NFL teams and media.

Here are six defensive players to keep an eye on for the Chargers in Frisco, TX.

Ohio State loses linebacker to NFL who could have returned for another season

Good luck Steele!

It’s not just the transfer portal where Ohio State football is losing players to, the NFL draft is grabbing them as well.

On Tuesday afternoon, senior linebacker [autotag]Steele Chambers[/autotag] decided to forgo his remaining season of eligibility and enter the draft according to his instagram. He spend five seasons in Columbus, improving his tackles in each of them. What didn’t improve was his impact plays, as this past season he failed to register a sack although he did pick off a pass.

With Chambers leaving, it makes two major contributors to the linebacker room, along with Tommy Eichenberg, leaving the program. The Buckeyes expect to have Cody Simon returning, so the cupboard isn’t bare.

We wish Steele the best at the next level.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.

Ohio State statistical leaders through three games

These guys in particular could be a problem Saturday.

I admit that I probably should leave something like this to the folks overs at Buckeyes Wire. Then again, that’s the whole idea behind the College Wire sites. Every site has something unique to offer, and Fighting Irish Wire is no exception. We encourage you to check out all sites to get your college sports fix, particularly at this time of year when college football is reigning supreme throughout the land.

Now that the shameless plugging is out of the way, let’s talk about why you really clicked on this link. You want to see which Ohio State players are most likely to give Notre Dame problems in one of the most anticipated college football games of the year. These are the players who are most likely to stop a resurgent start to the season for the Irish in its tracks. You probably will see a few of them in the NFL soon.

If you aren’t familiar with these Buckeyes yet, get yourself familiar with them right now:

Pair of Ohio State linebackers make Butkus preseason watch list

You have to think Tommy Eichenberg has a good shot at this one. #GoBucks

One of the most prestigious college football awards is the Butkus Award, presented annually to the best linebacker in the country. Ohio State has had two players honored by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando since the award’s inception in 1985, and it has a chance at adding to that in 2023.

Andy Katzenmoyer won the Butkus in 1997, and then James Laurinaitis added the award to his very full trophy case for his exploits on the field in 2007.

This year, Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers will be looking to make it a third Buckeye after they both appeared on the Butkus preseason watch list on Thursday.

We’ll continue to keep you up to speed on the Buckeyes that make all of the preseason college football award watch lists as they are made available.

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Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.