Tag: Tony Jones Jr.

Two former Saints running backs sign with new teams ahead of Week 16

Two former New Orleans Saints running backs have signed with new teams

The New Orleans Saints have had many former players moving around the NFL this season, and two more have now signed with new teams ahead of the Week 16 slate of games. Both players are former Saints running backs who have been on the team within the last year or so and were cut due to the team already having relatively substantial running back depth with four on the active roster and two more on the practice squad.

The first player is Jacob Kibodi, who has signed with the Cleveland Browns practice squad, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Houston. Kibodi was an undrafted free-agent signing for the Saints and had a decent showing in the preseason before being waived and added to the practice squad. He ultimately was released by the Saints earlier in the month and has found a new landing spot with the Cleveland Browns after an injury to Nick Chubb. Kibodi had two touchdowns in a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans earlier in the year, along with 12 rushes for 59 yards.

The second running back is Tony Jones Jr., who will be signing with the Arizona Cardinals practice squad, according to Wilson. Jones has had stops with a few different teams in the last few years, including the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, and Arizona Cardinals. He had previously been released by the Cardinals with an injury designation in August, however, they have now brought him back a couple of months later. He had two separate stints with the Saints, as well, starting off with New Orleans as an undrafted free agent and remaining from 2020 to 2022, and then returning in 2023 to score his first two career touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers.

Ultimately, with the signing of Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the Saints did not have much room for another running back addition, and now two of their former ones will move on to new teams prior to the Week 16 slate of games.

How will Denver Broncos running backs fare this season?

Current ADP trends make one Denver RB a potential steal.

Few teams have experienced the turnover at running back that the Denver Broncos did between the end of the 2022 season and the start of 2023. New head coach Sean Payton has a history of mixing and matching running backs effectively over the long term (see the coexistence of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram as proof), but Payton has cleaned house in the RB room and has more questions than answers heading toward training camp.

In 2022, the Broncos seemingly hoarded veteran running backs with Melvin Gordon, Latavius Murray, Marlon Mack, Chase Edmonds and Mike Boone. All of them are gone, and the only running back remaining who made an impact is Javonte Williams, but he is coming back from a devastating knee injury. Of the running back carries Denver had last season, 319 of them are gone (86.9 percent) – the most of any team other than Detroit (94.6 percent).

Does that mean the Broncos are going to be pass-happy in 2023? Probably not. In free agency, the team added power-back Samaje Perine as well as signing tackle Mike McGlinchey, guard Ben Powers, veteran fullback Michael Burton and blocking tight end Chris Manhertz. This has the look of a team wanting to run more, not less, but the nagging questions will remain about the workload share for the Broncos this season until Williams’ recovery is apparent.

Notre Dame’s top-rated running back recruits since 2000

What would happen if Notre Dame’s recruiting of the running back position could meet what it does on the offensive line?

Notre Dame has long been known for fielding a solid running game on an annual basis. [autotag]Jerome Bettis[/autotag], [autotag]Ricky Watters[/autotag], [autotag]Reggie Brooks[/autotag], [autotag]Ray Zellars[/autotag], [autotag]Autry Denson[/autotag] and [autotag]Allen Pinkett[/autotag] come to mind from yesteryear. Stars [autotag]Kyren Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Josh Adams[/autotag] and [autotag]Theo Riddick[/autotag] wowed crowds over the last decade.

It’s been a long time however since Notre Dame has brought in what would be considered top-tier talent at the position with regularity. Sure, Adams, [autotag]Tony Jones, Jr[/autotag] and some others have earned NFL paychecks over the last decade, it’s been a long while since Notre Dame produced Julius Jones, the last Irish running back to be more than simply a role-playing back in the NFL. Perhaps Williams will change that with the Rams, but time will only tell.

So what has Notre Dame’s recruiting at running back looked like the last two-plus decades?

Here are the top 30 Notre Dame running back recruits since 2000 according to 247Sports. It is worth noting some of these players wound up changing positions once getting to South Bend.

Seahawks announce 4 roster moves ahead of Wild Card game with 49ers

The Seahawks have announced four roster moves head of tomorrow’s Wild Card matchup with the 49ers.

The Seahawks have announced four roster moves head of tomorrow’s Wild Card matchup with the 49ers.

Here’s a review of what may be the last transactions of the season.

Seahawks announce 3 roster moves going into Week 17

The Seattle Seahawks announced three transactions last night as they prepare for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.

The Seattle Seahawks announced three transactions last night as they prepare for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.

Here’s a review of the moves.

Seahawks waive RB Tony Jones Jr., sign DT Daviyon Nixon

According to a report by Field Yates at ESPN, the Seahawks have waived running back Tony Jones Jr. and signed defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon.

According to a report by Field Yates at ESPN, the Seahawks have waived running back Tony Jones Jr. and signed defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon.

Jones appeared in four games during his time with Seattle, posting 16 rushing yards on eight attempts and recording three catches for 18 yards. He spent the first three years of his career with the Saints.

As for Nixon, he was a fifth-round pick by the Panthers in the 2021 NFL draft. He only played 14 games for Carolina over the last two seasons, totaling 15 combined tackles and half a sack. After going on and off their practice squad several times this season, he was waived on December 13.

Nixon finished his college career at Iowa, where he became a strong run stuffer. He posted 19 tackles for a loss from 2019-2020. As of yet that success against the run hasn’t really carried over into the NFL.

Seattle brought in four interior defensive linemen for tryouts yesterday, but Nixon wasn’t one of them. Jarrod Hewitt was and he’s been re-signed to the practice squad.

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Watch: Saints OL Cesar Ruiz tackles his own running back

Packers LB Isaiah McDuffie couldn’t tackle Saints running back Tony Jones Jr. without New Orleans OL Cesar Ruiz’s help.

There are times as a defender when you really want to tackle an opposing running back, but things just don’t work out the way you would prefer. This happened to the Green Bay Packers’ defense on Friday night against the New Orleans Saints. Running back Tony Jones Jr. (No. 34) was rumbling down the left side of the field, and there were several Packers defenders who had a serious problem bringing Jones down.

Leave it to Green Bay linebacker Isaiah McDuffie to get it done by any means necessary. McDuffie (No. 58) was out of position to make the tackle, as interior offensive lineman Cesar Ruiz (No. 51) was in McDuffie’s way.

So, as our own Laurie Fitzpatrick points out, McDuffie came up with the veteran move of pushing Ruiz into Jones, and that’s a tackle no matter what you think.

We’re not sure how to score that. Does Ruiz get an assist along with McDuffie? And what will film day be like in the Saints’ facility. Ruiz is a very good player, so we’re guessing the static he gets for this will be good-natured.

Every Notre Dame player currently on an NFL training camp roster

Lots of former Irish talent in the NFL

Part of being an alumnus of a supremely successful collegiate football is seeing them getting an opportunity at the next level. For Notre Dame, the list of former players getting their shot in the NFL is large, very large. Find out below every former Irish star (in alphabetical order) and which NFL team they are with in training camp.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame in NFL: Saints activate former Irish RB

With the Saints having a depleted running back room, former Notre Dame star Tony Jones Jr. will get a shot to run the ball today.

Former Notre Dame running back Tony Jones, Jr. has been called up from the New Orleans Saints practice squad to their active roster after a COVID-19 outbreak on the team.

Star running back Alvin Kamara is inactive for the Sunday’s Saints game versus the Carolina Panthers after a positive COVID test.

Fellow running backs Latavius Murray and Dwayne Washington as well as fullback Michael Burton were all placed on the reserve/COVID list as well for the Saints.

As a result the former Notre Dame running back Jones joins former Stanford star Ty Montgomery as the only active running backs for the Saints this week. The two have combined for one carry all season, a four yard loss by Montgomery against Tampa Bay back in September.

Jones, Jr. rushed for 1,481 yards and 12 touchdowns between 2017 and 2019 while at Notre Dame.

NFL Draft: Notre Dame’s Tony Jones, Jr. Combine Bound

Good news came the way of one of those exact players Tuesday as Tony Jones, Jr. posted the following to Instagram

As we continue to prepare for the NFL Draft, the next step welcomes the top prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft to Indianapolis for the annual combine.

40 yard dashes, vertical leap, bench press reps, interviews and everything else will be used in Indiana’s capital city to help teams decide who they ultimately select and who they avoid.

Notre Dame figures to have several representatives with a few others remaining tossups as to if they get invitations or not.

Good news came the way of one of those exact players Tuesday as Tony Jones, Jr. posted the following to Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

See y’all in Indy ✈️✌🏾

A post shared by Tony T. Jones Jr. (@thats_6ixx) on

I hope Jones turns heads and gets himself selected. When we looked at Matt Miller of Bleacher Report’s Seven Round Mock Draft, he had Jones going in the seventh round.

That will probably remain a tossup but here’s to hoping he turns some heads. One part of his game he unfortunately won’t be able to highlight these coming days in Indy will be his pass-protection. I truly feel he isn’t just acceptable at it but legit good. However they don’t so much do pass-protection drills to showcase running backs at the scouting combine.

Knock em dead, 6.