Tag: tony jones jr

Report: Saints to sign RB Devine Ozigbo from Jaguars practice squad

Remember him? The Saints expect to sign RB Devine Ozigbo from the Jaguars practice squad:

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The New Orleans Saints needed another running back, and now they’ve got one. Houston beat writer Aaron Wilson first reported Tuesday evening that the Saints plan to poach Devine Ozigbo from the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad, adding the third-year pro to their 53-man roster. Because he’s being signed from another team’s practice squad, the next three weeks of Ozigbo’s salary will be guaranteed.

Some fans may remember Ozigbo from the 2019 preseason, when he signed with New Orleans as an undrafted rookie out of Nebraska. He performed well in all phases as a runner, receiver, and even in pass protection, but was buried on the Saints depth chart behind Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray, and special teams ace Dwayne Washington. Since joining Jacksonville, he’s languished behind a strong backfield built around James Robinson and, until his preseason injury, first-round draft pick Travis Etienne.

Now 25 years old and with just 22 NFL touches to his name (10 carries for 28 rushing yards, plus 12 receptions for 65 receiving yards), Ozigbo offers a nice injection of athleticism to the position. His 8.11 Relative Athletic Score fits the prototype the Saints have valued.

As for what led the Saints to this? Promising No. 2 running back Tony Jones Jr. was cut down by an ankle injury in Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants, opening a hole in the rotation. With just Kamara and Washington under contract, the Saints auditioned the five best available free agents before opting to sign Ozigbo away from the Jaguars. He’ll have an opportunity to play right away with Jones out of action the next three or four weeks. And considering the toxic situation brewing back in Jacksonville, well — he’s probably eager to embrace a change in scenery.

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Saints try out running backs with Tony Jones Jr. facing 3-4 week absence

Saints try out running backs with Tony Jones Jr. facing 3-4 week absence

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We haven’t learned many specifics about the ankle injury Tony Jones Jr. suffered against the New York Giants, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Tuesday afternoon that the New Orleans Saints’ backup running back is facing an absence of three to four weeks while recovering.

While New Orleans could get by with Alvin Kamara and Dwayne Washington in a pinch, that prompted the team to bring in a group of five free agents for workouts while searching for a third runner:

Tony Jones Jr. (ankle) questionable to return vs. Giants

Tony Jones Jr. (ankle) questionable to return vs. Giants

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Tony Jones Jr. exited the New Orleans Saints’ game with the New York Giants early with an ankle injury, and the team later announced that he would be questionable to return. FOX sideline reporter Sara Walsh said Sean Payton did not anticipate Jones would get back on the field Sunday.

At least he wasn’t ruled out immediately. Jones had 3 rushing attempts for 8 yards before going down, though he caught just 1 of his 3 targets for a loss of 3 yards. The Saints were using him often until the injury.

Now they’ve got to lean harder on Alvin Kamara while mixing backup Dwayne Washington in here or there. They’re suddenly looking awful thin in the backfield after letting Latavius Murray go before the season started. Let’s hope nothing comes of it.

Saints PFF grades: Highest and lowest graded players in Week 3 vs. Patriots

Saints PFF grades: Highest and lowest graded players in Week 3 vs. Patriots

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The New Orleans Saints defeated the New England Patriots thanks to highly-graded performances by Marshon Lattimore and Malcolm Jenkins from Pro Football Focus, despite low-graded outputs from Jameis Winston and several starters along the Saints offensive line. Here are the top five and bottom five player grades on both offense and defense:

Tony Jones Jr. changes jersey number again, opening No. 21 for Bradley Roby

Tony Jones Jr. changes jersey number again, opening No. 21 for Bradley Roby:

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Well that’s interesting. Tony Jones Jr. has worn No. 37 for most of his time with the New Orleans Saints, but he recently switched it up once the team processed various roster moves.

For a few days, Jones was listed in No. 21. That’s a solid number for a running back, but it’s been earmarked for someone else: cornerback Bradley Roby, who wore it with the Houston Texans. Jones changed jersey numbers again and is now in the slightly-heftier No. 34.

That’s not as bad as No. 37. It’s probably an upgrade, with a positive legacy in New Orleans (Tim Hightower fans, reveal yourselves). The last player to wear it was defensive back Justin Hardee, who was named a team captain by the New York Jets in his first year away from the Saints.

Still, Jones has seemed to play well no matter what number he’s assigned. Here’s hoping he continues to impress now that he’s taken Latavius Murray’s spot behind Alvin Kamara.

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Saints roster bubble: Which players helped their case vs. Ravens?

Saints roster bubble: Which players helped their case vs. Ravens?

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Preseason games are all about opportunity. For many players, this is the first (and sometimes only) chance to dress out and show their coaches what they can do. For others, they need to show they can compete with NFL-quality opponents. And for several members of the New Orleans Saints, their exhibition game with the Baltimore Ravens was the opportunity they needed to make a splash and build their case for a job with roster cuts on the horizon. Here are four players who helped themselves:

Saints snaps counts notes and observations from Week 1 of preseason

New Orleans Saints snaps counts notes and observations from Week 1 of preseason

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The New Orleans Saints fell short in their preseason game with the Baltimore Ravens, but winning wasn’t really the point. These exhibition matchups are all about self-scouting and evaluating players in different roles and situations to see how they respond. And there’s a lot to like if you view the game from that perspective.

To that end, I reviewed snaps counts and took them all in context of what the vision may be for various players up and down the depth chart. Check out each position group and my notes below. All snaps via Pro Football Focus play-by-play charting (and rookies are italicized):

Watch: RB Tony Jones Jr. gets Saints on the board with 18-yard TD run

Watch: RB Tony Jones Jr. gets Saints on the board with 18-yard TD run

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Well it didn’t take long for Tony Jones Jr. to establish himself. The second-year running back hit the field and immediately strung together runs of 28, 17, and 18 yards, finally crashing into the end zone on his third carry of the game. That got New Orleans on the board, and veteran kicker Brett Maher nailed the extra point to give the Saints a 7-3 edge over the Baltimore Ravens.

If nothing else, his fast start adds an interesting wrinkle to the ongoing competition at running back. Alvin Kamara’s spot is safe, but there’s reason for concern after Latavius Murray and Devonta Freeman each coughed up a fumble against Baltimore while gaining a combined 8 rushing yards on 8 carries. If Jones can chip in on special teams, he might climb the depth chart quickly after spending his rookie year on the practice squad. For now, I’m just happy to see some preseason highlights.

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Notre Dame vs. Louisville – short but sweet series history

Notre Dame and Louisville have only ever played twice in football with each winning once. Take a quick look back at the series now!

Notre Dame and Louisville will square off on Saturday for just the third time ever, with each team winning one of the previous meetings.

Oddly enough, the road team has won the two previous meetings with Louisville knocking off Notre Dame in mid-Novmeber back in 2014 and Notre Dame starting the season with a win at Louisville to open the 2019 season.

Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

In 2014 it was running back Brandon Radcliff helping lead the way for Louisville as he ran for 136 yards and a touchdown in the 31-28 Louisville victory.

Tarean Folston ran for a touchdown and 134 yards for Notre Dame while Will Fuller hauled in 109 yards and a touchdown but a late 32 yard field goal attempt by Kyle Brindza was untrue as the Cardinals held on to win the first meeting ever between the two programs.

2019:

The two would meet again to start the 2019 season on Labor Day as the Irish came in fresh off their first ever College Football Playoff appearance while Louisville had their first showing under new head coach Scott Satterfield.

Louisville’s offense got off to a hot start, matching Notre Dame blow-for-blow early but the Irish defense came alive as the game went on, holding Louisville to just three points after the first quarter that night.

Tony Jones helped lead the Notre Dame offense with 110 yards and a score while Ian Book added 81 yards on the ground and a score.  Jahmir Smith scored twice in the Irish victory despite only getting eight touches on the day.

The star of the day for the Louisville offense will be back for Louisville on Saturday, as running back Javin Hawkins rushed for a game-high 122 while averaging more than six yards per carry.

How much of an impact could freshman RB Tyree have this season?

Notre Dame freshman running back Chris Tyree has a golden opportunity to make an impact in his first year on campus.

We all know about Virginia’s Chris Tyree’s exploits as one of the fastest players in the country. Notice how it wasn’t just incoming freshmen, it’s in the country. While we know about Tyree’s speed, what we don’t know is how much of an impact he could have year one in South Bend. What we do know is that 247Sports Brad Crawford has Tyree on his list of 10 most impactful freshmen in the country.

The speedy back finished his high school career as the number 1 rated all-purpose back and 70th overall prospect in the country according to the 247Sports composite rankings. An ankle injury during his senior season derailed what would have been three straight seasons over 1,000 yards rushing.

The biggest knock on Tyree has nothing much to do with his game, but his stature. At 5-foot-10-inches and 180-pounds durability obviously could be an issue. That’s exactly how Crawford’s scouting report sees Tyree noting “there will always be questions about his frame and work-load compacity.” There weren’t many other detractors to Tyree’s game in the other parts of the report aside from “adding strength is a must. Yet to show he can be good at pass protect.” Adding solid weight to Tyree’s frame would go a long way for his on-field production.

The remaining portion of his scouting report was very positive as Tyree has “blazing speed with verified 4.38 second in 40. Burst is a plus. Vertical of 38.2 inches. Stop-start ability is impressive. Wildly productive. Good vision and patience in the hole. Excellent body control. Accelerates to full speed within three steps. Can run inside or outside. Tough to arm tackle. Dangerous pass catcher who can lineup in slot….Major contributor at elite college program. Middle round NFL draft pick.”

The opportunity there for Tyree to contribute after Tony Jones Jr’s departure to the NFL leaving the Irish running back room without much experience. If Tyree takes advantage of the situation and stay’s healthy, we could be seeing a big season from the speedy freshman.