Tag: Vince Biegel

NFL roster moves: Saints waive undrafted rookie CB Tino Ellis

The New Orleans Saints waived cornerback Tino Ellis with an injury designation as the corresponding move to signing tight end Ethan Wolf.

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Multiple transactions related to the New Orleans Saints were listed on the daily NFL wire, most notably the release of rookie cornerback Tino Ellis. Ellis was waived with an injury designation, meaning that he will likely revert to the injured reserve list. He was absent at Monday’s practice session (the Saints were off Tuesday), and his release is the corresponding move for the Saints to sign tight end Ethan Wolf. Initially signed as an undrafted free agent out of Maryland, Ellis had long odds of making the roster.

Let’s recap what was going on with former Saints around the NFL. Cornerback Ken Crawley was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this summer, but was recently released, and visited the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent; NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Crawley is expected to sign with Arizona if he passes a physical and COVID-19 testing.

The Tennessee Titans signed wide receiver Krishawn Hogan after he participated in a recent tryout, making him the fifth player released by the Saints before training camp to catch on with a new team.

Unfortunately, Miami Dolphins linebacker Vince Biegel was sent to injured reserve after rupturing his Achilles in practice earlier this week. Biegel was swapped for Kiko Alonso in a preseason trade last summer, and he made the most of the opportunity — his first NFL sack came against Tom Brady, and he projected to start for Miami in 2020. Hopefully he will rebound.

One other throwback: pass rusher Jayrone Elliott impressed fans in some late-night preseason games back in 2018, and he also quickly gained a following in the short-lived AAF (San Antonio Commanders forever). He tried out for the Detroit Lions after appearing in five games with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. Maybe he’ll get another shot in Detroit.

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3 candidates to fill the void left by injury to Dolphins’ Vince Biegel

3 candidates to fill the void left by injury to Dolphins’ Vince Biegel

The Miami Dolphins have absorbed their first significant loss to the roster during training camp practices — 2019 breakout defender Vince Biegel is presumed to be lost for the year with what is reported to be a torn left Achilles tendon. Make no mistake, the loss of Biegel hurts for the Dolphins. He served as one of the team’s spark plugs in the front seven and served as one of Miami’s best pass rushers on the roster.

All of that coming in a player swap with the New Orleans Saints to ship away LB Kiko Alonso has the makings of a good deal for Miami. But without Biegel in the fray this year, Miami is going to have to alter their script for what the base defense looks like this season.

As Miami looks to reshuffle the pecking order, we can be thankful that Biegel’s play didn’t lull the Dolphins into a sense of security with their personnel on the edge; the team brought in several prominent bodies to man the perimeter of the line of scrimmage for Brian Flores’ defense.

Who are the best candidates to step in and fill the void left with the loss of Biegel? Here are three Dolphins defenders who could get a look.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

OLB Andrew Van Ginkel

A fellow former Wisconsin Badger, Van Ginkel has two years of experience and exposure playing in the same college defense as Biegel did. The trade off between the two is simple — Van Ginkel is more athletic, Biegel is more stout at the line of scrimmage. At least that was the case at Wisconsin and was the case last year. We got a limited look at Van Ginkel in 2019 after an early season injury, but Brian Flores did offer some encouraging words of Van Ginkel this morning.

“I think he’s had a good offseason. He really works hard. His strength is up. I think the first to second year leap, as some would call it, is an important one,” said Flores.

“I think he’s kind of taken that seriously and made a lot of improvements, and you can kind of see it in his game right now. Whether or not that translates into on-field production, that remains to be seen; but I’m happy with where he is.”

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Former Wisconsin linebacker Vince Biegel is out for season after a torn Achilles injury

Tuesday morning, Vince Biegel was carted off of the field during the Miami Dolphins practice because of a torn left Achilles.

Biegel was in line for a starting role with the Dolphins after being extremely successful as a rotational player and on special teams last season. Biegel was traded to the Dolphins from the Saints for Kiko Alonso at the beginning of last year. Biegel has also played for the Green Bay Packers for his rookie season, but a torn ACL derailed his time in Green Bay.

Tuesday morning, Vince Biegel was carted off of the field during the Miami Dolphins practice because of a torn left Achilles.

Biegel was in line for a starting role with the Dolphins after being extremely successful as a rotational player and on special teams last season. Biegel was traded to the Dolphins from the Saints for Kiko Alonso at the beginning of last year. Biegel has also played for the Green Bay Packers for his rookie season, but a torn ACL derailed his time in Green Bay.

It must be extremely frustrating for Biegel as he has been extremely good when he has been on the field, but a torn ACL and now a torn Achilles have kept him on the sideline for most of his NFL career. Hopefully, we will be able to get to see what Biegel can do healthy soon.

Report: Dolphins LB Vince Biegel carted off field with leg injury

Report: Dolphins LB Vince Biegel carted off field with leg injury

The Miami Dolphins had a healthy first day of padded practices this week — but today is a different story. Reports are coming out of Davie that the Dolphins have carted projected starting linebacker Vince Biegel off the practice field during today’s padded practice, Miami’s second in their stretch of preparations for the 2020 NFL season.

Biegel came to Miami via a trade with the New Orleans Saints ahead of the 2019 season and impressed with his blue collar play and high energy for the Dolphins. Biegel played so well that he was resigned by the team and is expected to compete for a starting role in Miami’s new look offense this season. But this injury could derail Biegel’s positive momentum with the team and force the Dolphins to pivot into a different direction.

It is too early for anything definitive, but the reports from camp indicate that Biegel could not put any weight on his right leg and was very emotional in the immediate aftermath of the injury.

Stay tuned for more on Biegel’s injury — there will likely be an update in the coming hours for how serious his sustained injury is. From there, we’ll get a better idea of how drastically the Dolphins need to change their plans for the front seven.

Miami Dolphins 2020 training camp preview: Outside linebackers

Miami Dolphins 2020 training camp preview: Outside linebackers

In just over three weeks, the Miami Dolphins will open training camp for the 2020 season ahead — and with it face the prospect of building upon a promising “foundation” year. The Dolphins surprised everyone last season with a 5-4 stretch to finish the year and promptly followed suit by nailing down one of the most prolific college quarterbacks in recent history, plus a slew of new faces to add to the team.

The Dolphins will hold camp this year with fan enthusiasm as high as it has been in quite some time. But amid the restrictions of this offseason due to the ongoing health crisis, can the Dolphins rise to the challenge? We’ll be taking a look at each position group for the Dolphins ahead of the start of training camp and exploring which storylines are most pressing to monitor as Miami looks to improve in Year 2 under Brian Flores.

Here are the Dolphins’ key storylines in training camp amid the outside linebacker group.

Will Kyle Van Noy live up to his monster contract under Brian Flores’ watch?

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

This is the 51 million dollar question. The Dolphins paid handsomely for Van Noy’s services — which are expected to help mold the Dolphins defense into a scheme diverse, flexible unit. Van Noy, who is 29-years old, is the de facto leader of the Dolphins defense thanks to his experience and championship pedigree as a former New England Patriot. But can he elevate his play to where it was in New England in 2018 under Brian Flores’ watch? That 2018 season was a career best for Van Noy (at the time, he was strong again in 2019) and he’ll need to play at that level to live up to his price point in free agency for the Dolphins.

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Dolphins’ Vince Biegel flexing pass rush prowess (on his family)

Dolphins’ Vince Biegel flexing pass rush prowess (on his family)

Quarantine life is a little different for everyone. Finding ways to stay busy and fresh can be a challenge — but for Miami Dolphins pass rusher Vince Biegel, working on his craft seems to be his preferred method for staying occupied. There’s just one problem. With no offensive linemen lingering around the family residence, Biegel’s victims aren’t your typical blocking dummies.

His first victim? His father.

Now, if Biegel’s story is to be believed, his father was an instigator in this exchange. But, unlike who the blame belongs to, there isn’t really any debate on who won this father/son showdown in the backyard, is there?

Vince – 1
Dad – 0

The Biegels having some fun in the backyard looks like a good time — even if one of them is a young NFL pass rusher. His father, Rocky, is a former BYU player — although he admittedly played linebacker, not along the line. A convincing win over his father wasn’t enough to convince Vince’s brother Hayden that he couldn’t take Vince, however. And, unlike their father, Hayden played football pretty recently himself. Hayden was an offensive tackle at Wisconsin in 2014 — perhaps his youth and experience in pass protection would give him a better chance than his dad?

We’ll let you be the judge.

Maybe not. Here’s to Vince Biegel popping off that inside spin — with the same result — on the gridiron this fall.

Dolphins LB Vince Biegel signs restricted free agent tender

Dolphins LB Vince Biegel signs restricted free agent tender

The Dolphins have officially locked in linebacker Vince Biegel for another season in 2020. Biegel, who has served as Miami’s best pass rush threat off the edge in 2019 and entered this offseason as a restricted free agent, has signed his tender and is ready to run it back.

Biegel came to Miami in the eleventh hour before the start of the 2019 season, he served as the Dolphins return in a player for player swap with the New Orleans Saints. The player he was traded for, LB Kiko Alonso, logged 31 tackles in 13 games before tearing his ACL at the end of the 2019 season.

The Dolphins have added tons of competition to their pass rush group, but expect to see a clear role carved out for Biegel — at least early in the season. His play was one of the few bright spots off the edge of Miami’s defense; Biegel provides a blue collar presence and some really nice reps against the run as well. The ceiling with Biegel may never be that of an 8-10 sack per season player, but his intelligence, effort and fire quickly helped him win over the Dolphins’ coaching staff in 2019. That preexisting relationship should help him boost his role this season, although he may run the risk of seeing his snaps slowly phased out if the team sees a defender with a more clear and obvious ceiling to playing his role.

But for now, Biegel can celebrate returning to Miami for yet another season — this will be the first time in four NFL seasons that he’ll be able to call the same NFL team home for consecutive years.

Giants, Eli Manning snap historic losing streak, defeat Dolphins, 36-20

The New York Giants snapped their franchise-worst losing streak, getting Eli Manning a victory in what may be his final ever game.

The New York Giants and Miami Dolphins were hardly billed as must-watch football leading up to their Week 15 battle at MetLife Stadium, and they fully lived up down to those expectations on Sunday.

The first quarter was relatively tame, uneventful and, admittedly, downright boring at times. Neither offense could really get anything going, while sloppy play dominated throughout.

The Dolphins did have an opportunity to go up early, but kicker Jason Sanders was unable to connect on a 49-yard field goal in windy conditions.

Things picked up a bit in the second quarter as each team got their offense moving and the defenses began to get more physical. Still, the play was hardly anything to write home about.

Miami got on the board first, recovering from a failed fourth-down conversion on their previous series to drive the ball an impressive 89 yards on nine plays, capping things off with a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to wide receiver DeVante Parker.

The Giants immediately answered back in a big way, driving the ball 75 yards on just three plays, concluding with a 51-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Eli Manning to wide receiver Golden Tate, who did an excellent job fighting through a pass interference and staying with a ball that was bobbled.

After forcing the Dolphins to a quick punt, the Giants had an opportunity to execute a two-minute drive, but Manning inexplicably threw an interception into the waiting arms of linebacker Vince Biegel.

The Dolphins wouldn’t let that opportunity go to waste, connecting on a 24-yard field goal with just :44 remaining in the first half.

New York did little with what time remained, gaining short yardage on consecutive plays before Manning tossed a long pass incomplete along the sideline and then tossed another pick out of desperation, leaving the Giants with a 10-7 halftime deficit.

Opening the second half, the Giants came out on fire, taking the opening kickoff and driving the ball 70 yards and six incredibly effective plays, including a five-yard touchdown pass from Manning to rookie wide receiver Darius Slayton to give Big Blue a 14-10 lead.

On the ensuing series, linebacker Alec Ogletree and defensive lineman Leonard Williams went head-to-head with Fitzpatrick, who was attempting a third-down scramble for a first down, but the ball was punched loose and recovered by the Giants.

Not to be outdone, Manning promptly tossed his third interception of the day, immediately giving Miami the ball back and taking near-guaranteed points off the board.

Unlike the Giants, the Dolphins were able to capitalize on the turnover, connecting on a 47-yard Sanders field goal after 22 yards on five plays.

The Giants offense would again sputter after getting the ball back, but their special teams and defense apparently came to play. And following a beautiful booming punt by Riley Dixon and a series of penalties that downed the ball inside the one-yard-line, cornerback Sam Beal came up with a huge play, bringing running back Patrick Laird down in the endzone for a safety.

With yet another opportunity and solid field position following the post-safety drop-kick, the Giants offense would not be denied again. It took just three plays to drive 40 yards, highlighted by a 24-yard pass and catch from Manning to wide receiver Sterling Shepard, before running back Saquon Barkley plunged in for a touchdown from one-yard out, giving Big Blue a 23-13 lead.

After forcing Miami to a quick three-and-out, the Giants had the ball back and were in a position to put the game away — a precarious position for the team at other times in recent season. This time, however? The pedal went to the metal.

Turning the offense up to 100, Manning & Co. drove 66 yards on eight plays and made it look remarkably easier — easier than it’s been all season. That was additionally evident as Barkley casually walked in from 10 yards out to put the Giants up 30-13 in the fourth quarter.

After exchanging a series of punts and having the Dolphins turn the ball over on downs, the Giants put the icing on the cake with a five-play, 55-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard touchdown run courtesy of Buck Allen. However, kicker Aldrick Rosas missed the PAT, leaving the score at 36-13.

With under 2:00 remaining, Miami got back on the board with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick to Parker, but by that time, it was too late to rally.

The game essentially came to a close with Eli Manning being removed from the field to a rousing standing ovation and chants of, “Eli Manning! Eli Manning!”

With the win, the Giants improve to 3-11 on the season. They will travel to D.C. to take on the Washington Redskins in Week 16.

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Former Saints LB Vince Biegel turning into a bright spot for Dolphins

Few would argue that the New Orleans Saints made a bad move in swapping linebackers with the Miami Dolphins back before the NFL roster cuts deadline, shipping out a special teams ace and defensive reserve for a starting-quality veteran. Kiko Alonso …

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Few would argue that the New Orleans Saints made a bad move in swapping linebackers with the Miami Dolphins back before the NFL roster cuts deadline, shipping out a special teams ace and defensive reserve for a starting-quality veteran. Kiko Alonso has played well for New Orleans in his first few months on the job, gradually picking up more of the defensive playbook and earning increasingly-high snap counts.

But this is a case where both parties came away feeling good about what they’d gained. For Miami, it meant a talented pass rusher who’s just happy to have the opportunity. Vince Biegel has turned into a bright spot in a season that’s been tough to watch for Dolphins fans. He ranks second on the team in sacks (2) but leads the defense in hits (11) by a landslide. If he put up those same numbers for the Saints, he’d rank third-best in each category.

According to pressure rates charted by Pro Football Focus, Biegel places inside the top 10 for pass rushers league-wide, ranking just above Marcus Davenport. That shows that he’s performing well with consistency on a snap-to-snap basis, not just notching a few lucky plays.

And for Biegel and his family, the opportunity to start on a defense and make a career in Miami is something to be grateful for. Wins and losses are great (and his fortunes there would be widely reversed if the Saints hadn’t traded him), but the chance to write his own NFL story is something he appreciates.

“To be in (Dolphins coach Brian Flores) defense has been a blessing for me,” Biegel said earlier this season. “Coach Flo reminds me a lot of Dave Aranda, who was the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin, a guy who really loved to mix it up, a great defensive mind who really put guys in great positions to make plays.”

And he’s made some memorable plays for Dolphins faithful already, including his first career sack — which came against none other than New England Patriots legend Tom Brady. The list of players who can boast that kind of start to their career is brief, and it’s something Biegel takes pride in.

“For me, this has been the most comfortable defense I’ve been a part of so far in the league,” Biegel continued. “It’s been fun to be a part of this defense, make some plays, obviously for the team and continue to grow. As the season progresses, and hopefully (I) stay here for years to come I hopefully can grow and develop and to be a great, great player in this defense.”

So what does this mean for Saints fans? It’s certainly not something to complain about. Biegel was playing well in his role for New Orleans, but the opportunity to add someone as experienced as Alonso was too good to pass up, especially with Biegel buried on the depth chart. If anything, having someone to root for during Dolphins games is a plus for fans of the black and gold — so long as they aren’t the ones playing against Biegel and his new team.

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