Tag: Vinny Curry

Former Eagles DE Vinny Curry to miss 2021 season after developing blood clots following removal of spleen

Former Eagles DE Vinny Curry to miss 2021 season after developing blood clots following removal of spleen

Former Eagles defensive end Vinny Curry announced that he’s going to miss the entire 2021 NFL season after doctors diagnosed him with blood clots.

Curry had been diagnosed with a rare blood disorder that required the removal of his spleen and the blood clots formed during recovery. The veteran DE is expected to make a full recovery and he plans on playing in 2022.

Curry had been on the team’s NFI list throughout the process.

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Jets DE Vinny Curry discloses rare blood disorder, vows to play in 2022

Jets DE Vinny Curry disclosed that a rare blood disorder is the reason why he is sidelined for the 2021 season.

Jets DE Vinny Curry disclosed that a “rare blood disorder” is the reason why he is sidelined for the 2021 season.

Curry’s first campaign with the Jets ended before it could begin Tuesday when he was placed on the reserve/NFI list. His absence from action this summer was previously unexplained, but Curry detailed the results of his diagnosis in a statement on Wednesday.

While Curry did not specify the exact blood disorder, he wrote that it was discovered by team doctors in July. The diagnosis required the removal of his spleen, but Curry was projected to return in mid-September.

However, blood clots formed during Curry’s recovery, which forced him to go on blood thinners. That prevented Curry from sustaining physical contact for the next three to six months, he wrote.

“[We’re] blessed that we were able to find some things that were going unnoticed,” Robert Saleh said shortly after Curry released his statement.

Curry signed with the Jets this past offseason after seven years in Philadephia and one in Tampa Bay. He said he was “incredibly disappointed” about being unable to suit up with his new teammates this season.

However, the 33-year-old pass rusher does not plan on retiring. He wrote that doctors expect him to make a full recovery and that he can return to the field in 2022.

“I am so grateful to all those who have reached out to me on the phone, through social media, and in-person,” Curry wrote. “I can promise them all that I will be back stronger and more determined than ever.”

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Jets release 4, place DE Vinny Curry on reserve/NFI list

The Jets cut Tristen Hoge, Edmond Robinson, Josh Malone and Manasseh Bailey to trim the roster to 80 players.

The Jets roster shrunk to 80 players Tuesday after the team released tackle Tristen Hoge, linebacker Edmond Robinson and receivers Josh Malone and Manasseh Bailey.

New York also placed veteran defensive end Vinny Curry on the Reserve/NFI list.

None of the cuts are terribly surprising, as all four were longshots to make the roster.

Hoge is an undrafted free agent out of BYU who played in 46 offensive snaps in the preseason. He would have been a backup offensive lineman.

Robinson signed with the Jets earlier this month after spending last year with the Falcons. He played in 10 defensive snaps and 17 special teams this preseason. His role would have been on special teams.

Malone moved between the Jets practice squad and active roster the past two seasons and appeared in six games over that span. Bailey is heading into his second season in the league but first with the Jets after spending time with the Chargers and Eagles last season. In a crowded receiver room,  Malone and Bailey didn’t have a path to the roster.

The Jets already expected Curry to be out until Week 2, so his designation is not a shock. He can be activated at any time between now and the start of the season. If the Jets keep him on the NFI list for Week 1, he’ll have to miss the first six games of the season.

Final roster cuts are next week. The Jets will need to cut 27 players to get the roster down to 53 ahead of the regular season.

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Jets sign former 49ers DE Ronald Blair

Blair missed all of 2020 with an injury but played the previous three seasons under Robert Saleh.

The Jets have signed former 49ers defensive end Ronald Blair, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

A Robert Saleh favorite, Blair spent the 2020 season on injured reserve. He had spent the four seasons prior to that with the 49ers after being drafted in the fifth round of the 2016 draft.

The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Blair is another quality backup pass rusher for the Jets’ front seven with experience getting to the quarterback. He tallied 13.5 sacks and 27 quarterback hits before tearing his ACL midway through the 2019 season.

Blair joins a defensive line group full of talented players, including Carl Lawson, John Franklin-Myers, Bryce Huff and Vinny Curry on the ends. There’s also Quinnen Williams, Foley Fatukasi and Sheldon Rankins in the interior.

It will be interesting to see how Jeff Ulbrich utilizes this bevy of defensive linemen throughout the season. It’s the deepest collection of players the Jets have had at the position in a long time.

Blair has never played more than 534 snaps in any season in which he played a full 16 games, so he shouldn’t be more than a rotational piece. He does add another level of support for the defense, though, which will be critical to the Jets’ success in 2021.

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Jets hire former Eagles, Dolphins coach Matt Burke for game-management role

Burke joins the Jets in a game management role after 17 years of defensive coaching experience.

Robert Saleh added another member to his coaching staff Wednesday.

The Jets hired Matt Burke for a game-management role, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Burke is a 15-year defensive coaching veteran, but he’ll work with both sides of the ball in his new job with the Jets, per Garafolo.

Burke spent the past two seasons with the Eagles, first as a defensive assistant in 2019 and then as a defensive line and run game coordinator in 2020. Before that, he served as Adam Gase’s linebackers coach for the Dolphins in 2016 and his defensive coordinator from 2017-2018. Burke’s Miami defenses weren’t fantastic – they ranked 23rd in yards allowed and 28th in points allowed on average over his two seasons – but they did rank fifth in takeaways in 2018.

Burke also coached linebackers with the Lions from 2009-2013 and the Bengals from 2014-2015. He broke into the NFL as an administrative assistant with the Titans from 2004-2005 and was promoted to defensive quality control coach in Tennessee from 2006-2008.

It’s unclear exactly what Burke’s role will be on the game-management side, but Burke has a wealth of NFL coaching experience and a few connections to the Jets – other than Gase. He worked with Jets senior defensive assistant and cornerbacks coach Tony Oden in Miami in 2018, as well as defensive backs coach Marquand Manuel and assistant defensive line coach Nate Ollie in Philadelphia in 2020. He also coached defensive end Vinny Curry in Philadelphia the past two seasons.

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Did Robert Saleh hint at more additions to the defensive line?

The Jets signed three defensive linemen this offseason, but Robert Saleh may want more to beef up his defense.

The Jets signed more defensive linemen in free agency than any other position group, but they might not be done adding just yet.

Joe Douglas inked edge rushers Carl Lawson and Vinny Curry, as well as defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins this offseason. Robert Saleh called those moves “a cool start” on Thursday, per team reporter Ethan Greenberg.

A cool start?

With the free-agent signings, Quinnen Williams, Foley Fatukasi and John Franklin-Myers, the Jets now have six starting-caliber defensive linemen for their 4-3 defense. Backups Jabari Zuniga, Bryce Huff, Kyle Phillips, Nathan Sheperd and Tanzel Smart bring that tally to 11. Not all will make the final 53-man roster, but that’s a solid core for any team looking to win in the trenches.

Maybe it was a slip of the tongue or an unintentional word choice, but Saleh made it sound as if the Jets could add to that group.

This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, though, considering the unit Saleh had in San Francisco. The 49ers deployed 16 different defensive linemen last season, seven of which played more than 300 snaps. This was mostly because Saleh’s defense sustained heavy injury losses to starters like Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas, which forced the 49ers to play different linemen throughout the season. The 49ers still managed to produce a top-seven defense in DVOA despite the plethora of injuries, which is likely why Saleh wants more defensive linemen.

The Jets have a few options if they want to add more linemen before the season. They could use one of their 10 picks on an edge rusher or interior defender or grab a veteran in free agency.

Though the No. 2 pick is reserved for a quarterback, the Jets have four other picks in the top 106 selections, including a late-first, and early-second and two third-rounders. Someone like Azeez Ojulari, Gregory Rousseau or Jayson Oweh would make sense at either 23rd or 34th overall. But if Douglas would rather find another offensive lineman or starting cornerback there, players like Joseph Ossai or Joe Tryon could be available in the third or fourth rounds.

Free agency is also a great place for the Jets to add a situational veteran to join the line. There are still plenty of solid players left on the market, including a few former Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich players. Ziggy Ansah and Allen Bailey are cheap, quality options who understand the Jets’ defense already, as would former Seahawks edge rusher Bruce Irvin. The Jets plan to use a combination of the schemes Saleh and Ulbrich ran with Pete Carroll in Seattle.

The Jets should have about $9 million left in salary cap space after they pay their draft picks, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they went out and signed a veteran if they don’t select a defensive lineman later this month. Saleh’s defense needs lots of speed up front, and the more options the Jets have at their disposal, the easier it’ll be for the defense to thrive in the first year under a new coach and defensive coordinator.

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Vinny Curry gives Jets more pass-rush help and a veteran in the locker room

Vinny Curry is a great situational pass rusher for Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich.

Joe Douglas hasn’t stopped upgrading Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich’s defense. By signing veteran defensive end Vinny Curry to a one-year, $1.3 million deal, the Jets added a great situational pass-rusher who also gives the Jets an experienced presence on a line that’s filled with young and exciting talent.

Douglas knows exactly what he signed in Curry. The two were in Philadelphia during the Eagles Super Bowl season in 2017 when Curry started all 19 games. The Jets’ assistant defensive line coach, Nate Ollie, also coached Curry the past two seasons in Philly. While Curry isn’t an every-snap player anymore, he does provide a level of depth on the edge behind Carl Lawson and John Franklin-Myers.

He’s efficient, too. Curry finished the 2020 season with a 12.8 pressure rate on just 148 rushes, according to ESPN, which included three sacks and 10 quarterback hits. That’s a pretty solid stat line for a defensive end who only played in 28 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps last season. He gets the most of his opportunities. Despite playing in his fewest snaps since his sophomore season, Curry finished with a 71.5 pass-rush grade and a 94.3 pressure grade, according to Pro Football Focus.

Curry likely won’t play often on run-stopping plays, though. He had a 53.1 PFF run-defense grade last year despite playing 123 snaps during those plays. But the Jets didn’t sign him for that role. He’s in New York to put pressure on the quarterback when needed, and that’s a position Curry excelled at with the Eagles.

The Saleh-Ulbrich defense doesn’t just rely on one stud pass-rusher, either. Saleh got production from backups like Dion Jordan and former Jet Jordan Willis – 5.5. combined sacks – while Ulbrich got 4.5 sacks from Charles Harris and Allen Bailey. Curry is the perfect piece to fill that role on the Jets defense when he can spell Lawson or John Franklin-Myers.

Curry can also be a great role model for a defensive line whose average age is 24.5. At 32 – he’ll be 33 in June – Curry immediately becomes the oldest member of a group seething with youth and potential. Curry’s been around the block in Philadelphia with great players like Fletcher Cox, Chris Long and Brandon Graham, and he can pass the knowledge he learned from them or during his nine years in the league onto Lawson, Franklin-Myers, Quinnen Williams, Foley Fatukasi and Sheldon Rankins.

The Jets didn’t bring Curry in because they think he can wrack up double-digit sack numbers. He’s never been that guy and likely won’t be in his 10th NFL season. But Curry is the perfect fit as a role player who Ulbrich can deploy when needed. The Jets defensive line looks a lot beefier than it did a year ago and the unit’s ability to push in the trenches should help the rest of the defense.

Jets sign former Eagles DE Vinny Curry to 1-year deal

The Jets and defensive end Vinny Curry came to terms on a one-year deal, the team announced on Wednesday.

The Jets have added another pass rusher in free agency.

New York announced on Wednesday that it has officially signed former Eagles defensive end Vinny Curry. It is a one-year deal worth $1.3 million in base salary with $1.075 million fully guaranteed, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Rapoport added that Curry could make an additional $700,000 with sack and playoff incentives. The max Curry can earn is $2 million.

Curry played in just 11 games with the Eagles last season due to a hamstring injury and a stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list. He recorded 16 total tackles, three for loss, three sacks, 10 quarterback hits and one fumble recovery. The 32-year-old only played 28% of the defensive snaps in 2020, which was the third-lowest of his nine-year career.

Curry is a solid veteran pass rusher who will bring some much-needed experience to a young Jets defensive line. Between Sheldon Rankins, Carl Lawson, Quinnen Williams, and Folorunso Fatukasi, the Jets’ defensive line has 14 years of professional playing experience. Curry still can get after the quarterback, too, as he racked up the second-most sacks of his career (five) in 2019.

Former Eagles’ DE Vinny Curry agrees to deal with the New York Jets

Former Eagles DE Vinny Curry agrees to deal with the Jets

Vinny Curry is a New Jersey native and resident, so he’ll now just split the difference between his former team and his new franchise after agreeing to a deal with the New York Jets.

Curry and Jets GM Joe Douglas have familiarity and Curry’s ability to play multiple positions along the defensive line should translate well for Robert Saleh and the new staff in New York.

Curry who turns 33 in June, is entering his 10th NFL season and spent eight-years with the Eagles.

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Veteran Eagles DE Vinny Curry visiting Jets

Vinny Curry and Joe Douglas have reunited, if only for the time being.

Vinny Curry and Joe Douglas have reunited, if only for the time being.

Curry is currently visiting with the Jets, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The free agent defensive end knows Douglas well from their time together in Philadelphia, where Curry has spent all but one year of his nine-year career.

The 32-year-old Curry, a Neptune, New Jersey native, is coming off a 2020 campaign in which he played in just 11 games thanks to a hamstring injury and time on the COVID-19/reserve list. He made three starts, recording 16 tackles, three for a loss, three sacks, 10 QB hits and one fumble recovery. Modest numbers, but Curry registered those while playing in just 28 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps, his lowest percentage since his second NFL season.

Curry could be a nice pass-rushing depth piece for an already-strong defensive line. He’s tallied 10.5 sacks and 29 QB hits since 2018 despite decreases in playing time, suggesting he could be an effective situational player in a Robert Saleh/Jeff Ulbrich defense that loves to rotate linemen.  Curry would also add a strong veteran presence to a rather young front, as well as someone with playoff experience.

The Jets showed interest in Curry last offseason, but he remained with the Eagles. Time will tell if the two sides can strike a deal this time around.