Tag: Vincent Gray

Browns S Vincent Gray questionable to return with groin injury

The Cleveland Browns safety Vincent Gray left the game against the Green Bay Packers with a groin injury.

The Cleveland Browns safety Vincent Gray left the game against the Green Bay Packers with a groin injury. Gray was seen heading into the locker room with the trainers.

Grey was a late addition to the Browns last season. The safety from the University of Michigan signed with the Browns’ practice squad in November. He played in the team’s regular-season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals. He finished the game with 5 tackles and multiple pass breakups. Gray is battling for a spot on the 53-man roster.

The NFL season is always described as a war of attrition and the first half of the Packers’ game has served as a stark reminder that cliches are true for a reason. During the first half, the Browns lost safety Ronnie Hickman Jr., Luke Wypler, and David Bell. Hopefully, Gray will be able to return during the second half. The Browns trail the Packers 17-3 at the halftime mark.

PFF’s 10 highest-graded Browns’ defensive players vs. Bengals

The backup defense struggled to finish the regular season

Just like they did for the offense Kevin Stefanski and the Cleveland Browns rested most of their significant contributors in the season finale against the Bengals. It was not a good start in Cincinnati as the Bengals scored 24 points in the first half and took a commanding 24-0 lead into the break. They played better in the second half as the Bengals also started to pull their starters.

Young safety D’Anthony Bell continued his strong season with his second interception and he played well for most of the day in both facets of the game. Vincent Gray who was elevated from the practice squad for the game had a great day in coverage and made a couple of impressive plays.

Sam Kamara showed his versatility by playing both inside and outside with consistent success. Rookie Isaiah McGuire might have had the best day as he registered five quarterback pressures and two sacks on the day. Here are the Top 10 performances for the defense according to PFF.

Browns elevate K Riley Patterson, S Vincent Gray from practice squad vs. Bengals

The Browns have elevated two from the practice squad for tomorrow’s preseason game against the Bengals

The Cleveland Browns have elevated kicker Riley Patterson and safety Vincent Gray from the practice squad for tomorrow’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

It will not be much of a showing from the Browns, who are going to rest the majority of their starters including defensive end Myles Garrett and quarterback Joe Flacco. The former Bengal Jeff Driskel, fresh off of Arizona’s practice squad will get the start for the Browns in this pseudo-preseason Week 18 matchup.

And with both kicker Dustin Hopkins and safety Juan Thornhill ruled out with ailing injuries in this game, the Browns bring one of each up from the practice squad.

While there are no serious implications in this game, it would be wonderful to see the Browns hit 12 wins for the first time since 1986. It would be equally as splendid for the Bengals to end their season 0-6 in the AFC North.

Can head coach Kevin Stefanski become the first coach to lead a team to a win with five different quarterbacks?

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=646863720]

Browns workout WR Dazz Newsome, Makai Polk, 5 others during Colts week

The Browns have hosted seven players for a workout during Colts week

We are now just one day away from the Week 7 matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts. Before we get to the game, however, the Browns once again worked out over a handful of players this week. The headliners of this group include wide receivers Makai Polk and Dazz Newsome, and former Nebraska and Kansas State quarterback Adrian Martinez.

This is a weekly occurrence for the Browns as they look to churn the bottom of their roster and practice squad. It is worth mentioning that the team still has an open roster spot after placing guard Michael Dunn on Injured Reserve, so if they sign a player off of the practice squad, they will have an opening to fill there.

Here is the full list of players the Browns worked out as the Browns get set to take on the Colts with 4-2 on their minds. Will the Browns bring any of them into the building?

Rams claim former Saints DB Vincent Gray off of waivers

The Rams claimed former Saints cornerback Vincent Gray off of waivers. Gray spent the entire 2022 season on the Saints practice squad before being waived this week:

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

It didn’t take long for one former New Orleans Saints player to land on his feet. Vincent Gray signed with the Saints last year as an undrafted rookie out of Michigan, and he spent his first season in the NFL on their practice squad — signing a reserve/future deal to come back for 2023. But the Saints liked their other options in the secondary better after a round of tryouts at last weekend’s minicamp, and Gray hit the waiver wire.

Only to be snatched up by the Los Angeles Rams right away. And there’s a chance he hangs on with them. The Rams have a razor-thin depth chart mainly made up of late-round draft picks and undrafted rookies, so Gray has the benefit of a year’s experience in an NFL facility behind him. The Saints will visit the Rams at SoFi Stadium later this year, too, so if he does well over the summer and wins a roster spot there’s a real chance he ends up playing against his former team.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Vincent Gray signs undrafted free agent deal

Thought he would’ve been drafted, but this seems to be a good landing spot.

The former 2018 three-star recruit from Rochester, Michigan has agreed to an undrafted free agent deal with the New Orleans Saints.

Gray was a three-time letterman at Michigan who played in 35 career games with 21 of those starting. Gray was an All-Big Ten honoree this past season.

Gray went from being streaky, at best, during the 2020 season at Michigan, to becoming a solid starting cornerback during the 2021 season. During this past season, Gray had 46 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble.

 

While Gray never recorded an interception at Michigan, he did has a career-high seven pass breakups this past year. Gray did a good job at being in position to make a play on the ball. Which was a huge improvement from two years ago when he got beat one-on-one multiple times.

Gray will look to make an impact for the Saints as a UDFA, and he should have a shot at making the team if his play continues to soar like it did this past year.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01f1jz09x182sckzve image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=60262]

Michigan football cornerback declares for NFL draft

He made a big jump from 2020 to 2021. #GoBlue

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

What a difference a year makes.

Last year, at the beginning of the season particularly, Michigan football cornerback Vincent Gray, in his first year starting, was seen as a liability for the Wolverines in the defensive backfield. However, he turned things around in a big way in 2021.

So much so that Gray had a decision to make — would he stay or would he go? On Saturday, we now know the answer.

While Gray didn’t have his best game against Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal, he feels that over the course of the season, he showed everything he needed to after four years with the program. While he still had another year of eligibility remaining, Gray announced that he’s testing the waters of the 2022 NFL draft.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYeqB_rpBsy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

While Gray did not have any interceptions in 2021, he did come in second on the team with eight passes broken up. With Gray gone, Michigan will need to replace three quarters of its secondary, as Daxton Hill and Brad Hawkins, both safeties, are also entering the NFL draft.

With Gray departing, it will also open up an opportunity for incoming freshmen cornerbacks Will Johnson and Myles Pollard to secure an early starting role.

[listicle id=56100]

After having overlooked MSU a year ago, Michigan corners much more prepared this time around

Disheartening hearing about last year, but it should pay dividends this year.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Don’t expect a repeat of last year’s Michigan vs. Michigan State game, at least if cornerback Vincent Gray has his way.

A year ago, the heavy underdog Spartans came to The Big House and fired downfield time and time again, exposing the first-time starting cornerbacks in their second game. After the opening foray against Minnesota, the Wolverines apparently were feeling themselves a bit, so when MSU came to town, expected to bow down before the mighty maize and blue, it caught the Michigan contingent off-guard when they didn’t acquiesce.

“We were rolling last year and kinda looked past them a little bit,” Gray said. “What happened happened. We’ll never look past them again. We just can’t wait to get our heat back this Saturday.”

[lawrence-related id=50680,50667,50662]

Michigan and Gray were perpetually victimized by receiver Ricky White, who had 8 catches for 196 yards and a touchdown. Gray says that the Wolverines were so unprepared a year ago, that the secondary didn’t even know who White was before the game.

This year, no matter who the Spartans line up at receiver, Gray says that won’t be the issue this time around.

“I didn’t know who he was, no,” Gray said. “The preparation for the games, in general, has been way better from a personal standpoint and the secondary as a whole. I feel like we’ll be prepared for anybody they match us up against. We talk about nameless, faceless opponents all the time. I feel like the way we prepare for games, we prepare for route concepts and people, I don’t think there’s anyone who, (if) we do what we’re supposed to do, no one can really run past us.”

For Gray, he feels like there’s a world’s difference between his level of play from this time last year until now. Again speaking of preparation, he feels much savvier about the game, aided by defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald and his multiple coverage concepts compared to Don Brown’s near-exclusive running of man coverage, previously.

“I know football at a way better level than I did a whole year ago,” Gray said. “My preparation going into this game is gonna be way better. I’m excited. I’m excited for the challenge that this game is gonna bring. I just can’t wait to showcase what we can do in the secondary.”

[lawrence-related id=50544,50078]

Even with the loss, Gray says he wouldn’t change a thing about last year’s game. Because it taught him mental fortitude and helped mold him into the player that he is now.

“I feel like last year’s game helped me a lot mentally,” Gray said. “Helped me attack the game better mentally. It helped me prepare better for games. And I feel like it helped me in my overall process to become a better football player. It motivated me, it humbled me and I’m glad it happened — I’m blessed it happened.”

So, this year, if Michigan State QB Payton Thorne rears back and looks to hit any in his cadre of receivers — led by Jalen Nailor, Jayden Reed, and Tre Mosley — Gray and the other cornerbacks will be ready.

“They love deep passes and we love defending them,” Gray said. “I can’t wait for this challenge.”

[listicle id=50371]

Opinion: New-look Michigan football defense ‘hasn’t done anything yet’

It looked good, but the best is still yet to come. #GoBlue

[mm-video type=video id=01fesajafkj43tp1negk playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fesajafkj43tp1negk/01fesajafkj43tp1negk-0265d7e4a70d75ce5f9cb7c69eaf8cb8.jpg]

Michigan had an explosive day on Saturday defeating Western Michigan 47-14, thanks to the offense putting up 550 total yards with 334 of that coming on the ground.

The trio of Cade McNamara, Hassan Haskins, and Blake Corum all had great days, and there should be plenty of hope and optimism about what this offense can do as the season progresses.

On the other side of the ball, on defense it was a pretty good day, but there is certainly room for improvement. Statistically, Michigan only allowed 317 total yards, 191 passing yards, and 126 rushing yards. If you want to strictly look at those stats, there isn’t much to talk about, but I’m going to dive a little bit more into it.

After the game, Aidan Hutchinson and Vincent Gray both shared some thoughts as to what the defense showed today, and in terms of what could be improved.

“We still have a lot of stuff to work on, I mean we have a lot to work on,” said Hutchinson. “I thought it was a good first game for us. Still working on getting stuff down, but I thought it was a good decent performance on the defense.”

“That’s the big thing, we haven’t done anything yet,” said Gray. “We can improve a lot, we made a lot of mistakes that’ll probably go unnoticed, but there’s a lot of things that can get cleaned up and get better at.”

Hutchinson didn’t mince any words after Gray finished.

“Yeah, we haven’t done a damn thing,” said Hutchinson “We’re all moved on and ready for Washington and were ready for the upcoming games. We’re not content.”

Let’s look at the areas of improvement according to the stats: Michigan only had one sack, didn’t force any turnovers, and only had 3 tackles-for-loss.

Western Michigan went down the field on the first drive — largely due to an unsportsmanlike penalty — but the Wolverines held their own the rest of the game besides a late touchdown on the final drive in garbage time.

I agree with Hutchinson and Gray with what they’re saying, not that the defense looked bad on Saturday, but that the best is yet to come. These players are hungry, and the new coaches are clearly putting them in the right positions to succeed. We constantly hear about how good the culture is, and how the new defensive scheme is helping the players produce at a higher level. This team looked better in one game this year more so than any game they played last season.

You can say ‘it’s just Western Michigan’ all you want, but remember that WMU is a really good MAC school, and Kaleb Eleby had the third-best passer rating in the nation last year. It’s not like the Broncos are some no-name team.

Once Michigan figures out a way to get more pressure on the quarterback, havoc is going to break loose. We will find out if that can happen next week against a tougher opponent in Washington.

[listicle id=40608]

Why Vincent Gray is sure freshman CB will be a stud for Michigan

Michigan football junior cornerback Vincent Gray shares what he’s seen from freshman Ja’Den McBurrows in fall camp.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When you’re a cornerback with offers from the likes of Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Ohio State, chances are you’re a stellar player. But Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas’ Ja’Den McBurrows was overlooked by the recruiting services, as he was rated but a three-star recruit, the No. 554 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite and the 43rd-best cornerback in the country, the recruiting site says.

However, his offer sheet begs to differ.

McBurrows has been making a strong impression as a freshman in fall camp. And while his time is likely a little ways away, he’s impressing a veteran in junior corner Vincent Gray.

“Yeah, Ja’Den’s really good – that’s my boy, that’s my young dude,” Gray said. “He’s really good. I can’t wait to see what he does here, too. He’s got a couple things to work on, but he’s gonna be really good here.”

[lawrence-related id=39522,39513,39397]

But what makes McBurrows so good so early? Gray sees someone with pure instincts mixed with some savvy in being able to read opposing receivers.

While McBurrows will likely have to wait for Gray, DJ Turner and Gemon Green to move on before he gets his turn, it appears he has what it takes to be one of the next great corners in Ann Arbor.

“He has a great knack for breaking on the ball,” Gray said. “Just naturally breaks on the ball. He knows how to read routes, short routes. Plays the ball really well and he’s been making plays.”

Fans will certainly be excited to see a talent with such an offer sheet get his opportunity, but there’s equal excitement about incoming five-star Will Johnson and highly-coveted three-star Myles Pollard in 2022.

[listicle id=39402]