Tag: Tyler Higbee

Sean McVay shares positive update on Tyler Higbee, who’s ‘ahead of schedule’

Tyler Higbee has been sidelined since tearing his ACL in January but he’s “ahead of schedule” in his rehab

Tyler Higbee tore his ACL and MCL in January’s playoff loss to the Lions and though the Rams haven’t set a firm timeline for his return, he hasn’t been ruled out yet for the 2024 season. He remains on the PUP list and can be activated at any time if the Rams feel he’s ready to take the field again.

During Monday’s “Coach McVay Show” with J.B. Long, Sean McVay shared an encouraging update on Higbee. He said the tight end is “doing great” and he’s actually “ahead of schedule, if you will.”

“He’s doing great,” McVay said. “We’ve always kind of tentatively said at some point midway through the year is when you start to really see when he’s ready. I know he’s ahead of schedule, if you will, but it was a significant injury. His presence – he’s still been leading in his own way when he’s here. He’s just got such a contagious personality and a positive way. He’s got a play energy about himself that when we do get him back, it’ll be a real  bright spot.”

It’s interesting that McVay said “when” the Rams get him back and not “if,” indicating that Higbee is on track to play again sometime this season. And it’s obviously good to hear that he’s ahead of schedule now nine months removed from the injury.

Colby Parkinson has been the top tight end on the depth chart in Higbee’s absence, with Hunter Long and Davis Allen also contributing, but getting Higbee back would give the Rams another playmaker on offense.

As the season progresses, Higbee’s potential return will be something to monitor.

Rams TE Tyler Higbee will start season on PUP list, miss at least 4 games

Tyler Higbee will start the season on the PUP list and will miss at least the first four games

The Los Angeles Rams won’t have Tyler Higbee available to start the season. As expected, Higbee will remain on the PUP list to open the 2024 campaign. This will require him to miss at least the first four games of the season, but he is eligible to return at any point after that.

Higbee tore his ACL and MCL in the Rams’ playoff loss to the Lions in January. He took a low hit from safety Kerby Joseph, which resulted in significant damage to his right knee.

The Rams have not given a timetable for Higbee to return, but considering how serious the injury is, they’ll likely take it slow with the veteran tight end. Knowing he would likely miss time this season, the Rams signed Colby Parkinson in free agency, so they’ll turn to him as their starter.

Davis Allen and Hunter Long are also expected to be contributors at tight end while Higbee is out.

Rams TE Tyler Higbee to start training camp on PUP list

As of now, Tyler Higbee is the only Rams player who will start training camp on the PUP list

As expected, the Los Angeles Rams will be without Tyler Higbee on the field for the start of training camp. Sean McVay said on Tuesday that Higbee will start camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, meaning he will not participate in practice as he continues to rehab a torn ACL and MCL suffered in January.

McVay said Higbee is the only player who will go on the PUP list as of now, so the Rams are otherwise healthy for the beginning of camp.

With the PUP list, Higbee cannot practice but can participate in other team activities. He can also be activated at any time, at which point he’ll be able to practice. This designation does not guarantee that he will miss any regular-season games, either.

If the Rams do keep Higbee on the reserve/PUP list when final roster cuts are made, however, he will be required to miss at least the first four games of the season.

McVay: TE Davis Allen took ‘tremendous step in the right direction’ this offseason

Davis Allen is a player to watch at tight end with Tyler Higbee still rehabbing a knee injury

Tyler Higbee’s 2023 season ended in heartbreaking fashion, suffering a torn ACL and MCL in the Rams’ playoff loss to the Lions in January. Given the severity of the injury and the timing of it, Higbee might not be ready for the start of the 2024 season.

That would leave Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen and Hunter Long atop the depth chart at tight end, which isn’t a terrible group to have but it would certainly be better with Higbee available. Parkinson has had a nice offseason so far despite being limited slightly by an injury, but Allen is lurking, too.

Sean McVay said this week that Allen has really progressed well this offseason, a positive statement from the Rams head coach about his second-year tight end.

“I thought Davis Allen took a tremendous step in the right direction,” McVay said. “The game makes sense to him. I thought when Higbee ended up needing a spell towards the latter part of the year if he missed a game, Davis filled in and he did a great job. Played big time in Baltimore, he played big in Washington, made some big-time plays in the Detroit game. I always loved watching his tape at Clemson where there’s certain guys you can just see have a feel.”

Allen was a fifth-round pick by the Rams last year and he suited up for 15 games, making one start. He only caught 10 passes for 95 yards, but he was also targeted just 11 times in 192 offensive snaps played.

It’s unlikely that he’ll overtake a veteran like Parkinson, whom the Rams signed in free agency, but it seems he’s squarely in the mix to be TE2 while Higbee is out.

Tyler Higbee expected to land on PUP list as he recovers from knee injury

Tyler Higbee is expected to be placed on the PUP list this summer as he recovers from a torn ACL and MCL

Tyler Higbee has a long road ahead of him as he recovers from a torn ACL and MCL, which he suffered in the Rams’ playoff loss to the Lions in January. It was a brutal injury for the veteran tight end, who had just signed an extension with the Rams last year.

While the team hasn’t yet ruled him out for the start of the 2024 season, it seems very possible that he’ll be sidelined early on. Sean McVay told reporters at the annual league meetings on Tuesday that Higbee is expected to be placed on the PUP list this offseason, which can occur during training camp in July.

That won’t rule him out for Week 1 or any regular-season games unless he remains on the PUP list when final cuts are made; that would cause him to miss at least four games.

Early in free agency, the Rams signed former Seahawks tight end Colby Parkinson to a three-year deal, so he would presumably be the starter if Higbee misses regular-season action. They also have second-year tight end Davis Allen, as well as Hunter Long, who was acquired in the Jalen Ramsey trade.

Depth isn’t a huge concern anymore but the Rams will hope to get Higbee back sooner rather than later.

Twitter and Justin Jefferson call out the league for posting insensitive picture

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson joined fans in calling out the National Football League for sharing an insensitive picture

The divisional round of the playoffs has lived up to the billing. The Houston Texans held in there through the third quarter before the Baltimore Ravens took over for a 34-10 win and the San Francisco 49ers survived a resilient Green Bay Packers team for a 24-21 win.

Sunday afternoon was more of the same, as the Detroit Lions played a tough Tampa Bay Buccaneers team and advanced to their first NFC Championship Game since 1991 with a 31-23 victory.

During the game, the league’s official Twitter/X account shared a picture of a sign from a Lions fan in the crowd as it was meant to resemble the opening press conference when head coach Dan Campbell took the job.

The original press conference was about biting a kneecap off but both of those were ACL injuries caused by safety Kerby Joseph on low open-field hits to the knees of T.J. Hockenson and Tyler Higbee.

The picture set off a lot of Vikings fans and even elicited a response from Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

NFL didn’t fine Lions DB Kerby Joseph for low hit on Tyler Higbee

The NFL didn’t fine Kerby Joseph for his low hit on Tyler Higbee, which caused the TE to suffer a torn ACL and MCL

Tyler Higbee’s 2023 season ended in heartbreaking fashion in the Los Angeles Rams’ loss to the Detroit Lions. During the fourth quarter, he took a hit to his knee from Kerby Joseph as he was attempting to make a catch, causing his leg to buckle.

Higbee suffered a torn ACL and MCL and will have a long offseason of rehab, potentially even missing the start of the 2024 season. Joseph wasn’t flagged for the low hit on Higbee and according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the league didn’t fine Joseph for the tackle, either.

Joseph was fined for a different play in the first quarter, however.

Rams fans have called Joseph dirty for the hit on Higbee and even Matthew Stafford went up to him during the game and called him “dirty as (expletive).” The NFL didn’t view it as an illegal play, however, and will not punish Joseph.

Notably, Joseph is also the one who hit T.J. Hockenson when he tore his ACL in December, so Higbee’s wasn’t the first injury he caused this year.

Aaron Glenn strongly defends Kerby Joseph against ‘dirty player’ accusations

“Kerby plays football, and we’re going to continue to play football. And we don’t care what anybody else has to say.”

During the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s playoff win over the Los Angeles Rams, Lions safety Kerby Joseph made a play against Rams tight end Tyler Higbee that resulted in Higbee tearing up his knee. Joseph dove at Higbee’s legs as the tight end tried to haul in a high throw over the middle from Rams QB Matthew Stafford.

After the play, Stafford got after Joseph. He told the young safety, whom he never played with in Detroit, that it was a dirty hit. Here’s what Stafford said to Joseph, via Rams Wire,

“Hey! Hey! That’s a good hit. That’s a good hit,” Stafford said. “You’re dirty as (expletive), though. And you know it. You’re dirty as (expletive). It’s been on tape. I’ve seen it. It’s been on tape. You’re right. You’re right.”

Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn wanted nothing to do with any assertions that Joseph’s hit was done with intent to injure.

“Absolutely not. This is football. This is football,” Glenn said agitatedly when asked if he thought the hit was dirty and if he needed to talk to Joseph about his style of play. “And I understand exactly what the NFL is doing when it comes to trying to – a player’s safety, and I totally agree with it. And the thing that he did against the Minnesota Vikings, he hit a guy high, and he got fined for it. So then he hits a guy low, and people are saying he’s a dirty player. Kerby plays football, and we’re going to continue to play football. And we don’t care what anybody else has to say.”

Glenn was just getting started.

“Listen, no one wants anybody to get hurt in this league. No one wants that. Hell, I was hurt in this League before, so I understand; I know how it feels. But I also understand I play football and when you play football, things like that happen. So, guys have got to continue to play no matter what. And it kind of bothers me that you hear that from people across the league because you know the risk you’re taking when you play this game and that’s just what it is.”

[lawrence-related id=102159]

Mic’d-up: Matthew Stafford calls Kerby Joseph ‘dirty as (expletive)’ for hit on Tyler Higbee

“Hey! Hey! That’s a good hit. That’s a good hit. You’re dirty as (expletive), though. And you know it. You’re dirty as (expletive). It’s been on tape. I’ve seen it.”

Late in the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s game between the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions, Tyler Higbee went down with a knee injury that would prevent him from returning. He went up for a high pass and as he came down, Lions safety Kerby Joseph delivered a shot to his knee, causing it to buckle.

Higbee has since been diagnosed with a torn ACL and MCL, and Matthew Stafford felt it was a dirty hit from the start.

Immediately after Higbee went down, Stafford ran over to Kerby and had some words with him. He called the safety “dirty as (expletive)” and said “it’s been on tape.”

“Hey! Hey! That’s a good hit. That’s a good hit,” Stafford said. “You’re dirty as (expletive), though. And you know it. You’re dirty as (expletive). It’s been on tape. I’ve seen it. It’s been on tape. You’re right. You’re right.”

Joseph has said he never intended to injure anyone or hurt their careers, but this is now the second time in a month that he’s caused a tight end to suffer a torn ACL. He did the same to Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson in December, forcing him to miss the rest of the season.

No flag was thrown on Joseph for the hit on Higbee and it’s technically not a foul, but it’s unfortunate that the play resulted in a serious knee injury for Higbee.

Tyler Higbee tore his ACL and MCL, could land on PUP list this summer

Sean McVay confirmed Tyler Higbee tore both his ACL and MCL on Sunday and is a candidate to go on the PUP list this offseason

The outlook on Tyler Higbee’s knee injury has gone from bad to worse. The initial fear was a torn ACL, which was confirmed by an MRI this week. Not only that, but Higbee suffered even more damage to his knee than anticipated.

Sean McVay told reporters that not only did Higbee tear his ACL, but he also tore his MCL. That makes the rehab process even more difficult for the tight end and there’s no timeline for him to return. The injury occurred in the second half against the Lions when safety Kerby Joseph tackled him low as the tight end was trying to make a catch.

McVay did say Higbee is a candidate for the PUP list this offseason, which would sideline him from practice until he’s healthy enough to return.

Higbee signed a two-year extension in September, inking him through the 2025 season. He had a bit of a down year in 2023, catching only 47 passes for 495 yards and two touchdowns, his lowest yardage and touchdown output since 2018.

The Rams do have Davis Allen and Hunter Long under contract next year but they could be missing Higbee at the start of the season.