Tag: waiver wire

Here’s where former Jaguars are heading after waiver claims

Three players waived by Jacksonville have been claimed since final cuts.

Jacksonville had to cut its roster down from 80 players to the final 53 on Tuesday, and now we know where a few of those former Jags players are heading. Though several players (such as receivers Pharoh Cooper and Laquon Treadwell) were released and became unrestricted free agents, even more players were waived, meaning teams had a chance to claim them before they hit the open market.

Three of those players were claimed and now have a new home: receiver Collin Johnson, tight end Ben Ellefson and linebacker Quincy Williams.

Johnson is joining the New York Giants after an underwhelming preseason in an oversaturated wide receiver room. The second-year player had some positive moments as a rookie and will look for success with quarterback Daniel Jones in New York.

Ellefson, meanwhile, joined the Minnesota Vikings in a move that makes a ton of sense for that team after it was announced that projected starting tight end Irv Smith would miss the entire season after undergoing meniscus surgery. Finally, Williams joins the Jets as he couldn’t beat out Chapelle Russell or Dakota Allen for a roster spot with Jacksonville.

There weren’t any particularly surprising moves for the Jags, except for the fact that only five wideouts from the deep group made the final roster. But there were still some difficult decisions made that saw players who had impressive preseasons depart. We’ll keep you posted on what’s next for these players in the coming days and weeks.

Texans are still No. 3 in waiver wire priority

The Houston Texans are behind the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets in the waiver wire priority.

With the Houston Texans, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

After training camp and the preseason, the AFC South club is still No. 3 in the waiver wire priority.

The only teams ahead of the Texans are the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets.

Teams have made their cuts to get to 53 players on their active roster. The next 24 hours are when players must pass through waivers before being signed back to a team’s practice squad.

Houston has the advantage to pick over some of the players clearing waivers. Presuming the Jaguars and Jets don’t put in the same claim for the player, he is assuredly going to the Texans.

The waiver wire will not alter until after Week 3 of the regular season when the worst team in the NFL goes to the top of the list and so on. For the next four weeks, general manager Nick Caserio has another tremendous asset to build the best possible roster in Houston.

Jaguars claim former Bears OL Badara Traore

Traore spent the 2020 season on the Bears practice squad and had seen action at left tackle during the preseason.

The Jacksonville Jaguars added some depth to their offensive line on Wednesday by claiming former Chicago Bears offensive lineman Badara Traore off waivers. Traore was released by the Bears on Tuesday as teams had to reduce their rosters from 85 to 80 players. As a result of the signing, the Jags waived offensive lineman Garrett McGhin.

Traore was an undrafted selection from LSU in 2020 after starting five games and appearing in 26 over two years with the Tigers. He spent his rookie season on the Bears’ practice squad and saw some action at left tackle during the preseason.

As Jaguar Report’s John Shipley notes, McGhin played 33 snaps in Monday’s loss, and they were all at left tackle. That would seem to indicate that the team sees Traore lining up in the same spot as well.

Jacksonville got a look at its offensive line depth in the game against the Saints with three starters unavailable, and the result wasn’t pretty. The Jaguars will need to boost their depth at the position, or they’re an injury away from complete offensive derailment.

The team will hope that Traore is a player who can provide just that.

Falcons have waived/injured DL Deadrin Senat

The Atlanta Falcons waived/injured defensive tackle Deadrin Senat on Sunday, according to the NFL’s transaction wire. 

The Atlanta Falcons waived/injured defensive lineman Deadrin Senat on Sunday, according to the NFL’s transaction wire. Senat, a third-round pick out of South Florida back in 2018, failed to make an impact over his three seasons in large part due to injuries.

The 27-year-old played in 22 games for the Falcons, recording 34 tackles, four QB hits and a fumble recovery. If no other team claims Senat, he’ll end up back on Atlanta’s injured reserve list.

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Texans claim OT Geron Christian, waive C Cohl Cabral

The Houston Texans made some changes to their offensive line as they claimed OT Geron Christian and waived C Cohl Cabral.

The Houston Texans made some changes to their offensive line and used the waiver wire to find the help.

The Texans announced May 21 they had claimed offensive tackle Geron Christian off waivers. To allow for the waiver claim, the Texans’ corresponding move was to waive center Cohl Cabral.

Christian was a third-round pick for Washington in the 2018 NFL draft. The former Louisville product played 24 games for Washington, starting in eight games. In 2020, Christian started all six of his games played for the NFC East club. Washington waived Christian on May 20.

Cabral was 6-5, 304 pounds and was a 2020 undrafted free agent from Arizona State. His hometown is Rancho Cucamonga, California, and he attended Los Osos High School.

Washington claims defensive back Chris Miller off waivers from Arizona

The Washington Football Team continues to add to the roster, claiming defensive back Chris Miller off waivers from the Arizona Cardinals on

The Washington Football Team continues to add to the roster, claiming defensive back Chris Miller off waivers from the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday.

The Cardinals released Miller on Monday after they signed cornerback Tae Hayes.

Originally an undrafted free agent out of Baylor in 2020, Miller spent time with both the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans last year before signing with Arizona in December and being placed on the practice squad.

During his college career, Miller recorded 177 tackles, including four for loss and three forced fumbles for the Bears.

Miller, at 6-foot-0, 191 pounds, can play both cornerback and free safety. One issue with Miller is his speed. He posted a 4.61 time in the 40-yard dash at the 2020 NFL combine.

Miller is a physical corner, which Washington likes. He faces an uphill battle to make the roster in WFT’s retooled secondary that has added William Jackson III, Darryl Roberts, Darrick Forrest and Bobby McCain this offseason.

Houston Texans are 3rd in 2021 waiver wire priority

The Houston Texans will be third in the waiver wire priority throughout the 2021 season.

There are some things the Houston Texans didn’t lose in their trade with the Miami Dolphins to acquire left tackle Laremy Tunsil.

According to Field Yates of ESPN, the waiver wire system restarted on Feb. 9. The waiver wire system works much like the NFL draft order, except the placement can’t be traded away.

As a result, the Texans will have the third crack at any player that is placed on waivers. The only teams ahead of Houston are the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets.

Yates commented, “Good opportunity for Jacksonville to have the first chance at young talent to develop.” Yet the same advantage is as true for the Jets and the Texans as it is for the Jaguars. The NFL has a series of advantages to help teams stay at around .500, and the waiver wire system is one of them.

New general manager Nick Caserio, who has experience working the waiver wire for the New England Patriots as their director of player personnel, will have to find ways to cultivate the best talent off the wire given he won’t have a first or a second-round pick in April’s draft to add premium talent.

Lions Wire Fantasy Football Weekly: 2020 Week 16 preview

Lions Wire Fantasy Football Weekly: 2020 Week 16 preview

With it being the holiday season it is time to look at some of the best gifts under the fantasy football tree this year. The biggest present under the tree was one of the biggest running back in the NFL and that is Derrick Henry (RB Titans). Probably the best gift in all of fantasy football is a league winning type running back and Henry helps provide that by getting a heavy workload each week, rushing yards often in the high triples figures consistently, and plenty of touchdowns.

Most times kids at Christmas want the newest and shiniest type of toys under the tree. In fantasy football, those new toys are the rookies that enter the league each year and get fantasy owners very excited. The top rookie gifts this year have been Justin Jefferson (WR Vikings), Jonathan Taylor (RB Colts), Joe Burrow (QB Bengals), and D’Andre Swift (RB Lions). These rookies along with others have been good fantasy players this season and have bright futures ahead.

Lions vs. Buccaneers fantasy focus

Fantasy owners in 2020 continued to hope for the gift of a Kenny Golladay return, but that still hasn’t come since he left the field in early November. Kenny is looking for a large gift in the form of a new contract either from the Detroit Lions or some other team after this season is over. He played great for the limited time he played during this football season, but Kenny and fantasy owners alike will hope for much better gifts for him and from him next season when he hits the field again.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers skill players have had an up and down year throughout this season. Tom Brady (QB Buccanneers) has been a bit inconsistent at times and brilliant at other moments. Chris Godwin (WR Buccaneers) was poised for another breakout year until hand, finger, and other injuries forced him to miss multiple games. Mike Evans always seems to be dealing with multiple nagging injuries in between the tremendous catches he often makes on the football field. With all of that being said though the team is in prime playoff position and Antonio Brown (WR Buccaneers) seems to just be rounding into shape too.

The Detroit Lions have enjoyed having D’Andre Swift (RB Lions) back at running back, Marvin Jones (WR Lions) has impressed at wide receiver once again, and T.J. Hockenson (TE Lions) was named as the NFC Pro Bowl starting tight end after his second season in the NFL has been a great showing in a multitude of ways for the former Iowa prospect. The talk about the Lions centers around the toughness and quality play of quarterback Matthew Stafford in recent weeks though. Stafford has been playing great and again is showing he’s a top-quality fantasy quarterback that you can win with.

This game is on Saturday between the Buccanneers and the Lions at 1:00 PM EST inside of Ford Field. Expect all Buccanneers to have big days on offense. Tom Brady will throw it early and often to all of his skilled wide receivers and tight ends with Ronald Jones (RB Buccanneers) still dealing with injuries. Play everyone from Tampa Bay and expect big dividends, and play some of the Lions stars in hopes for quality return at least in fantasy football. This game will be a bombastic and boisterous win by the Buccanneers against the Lions.

Start
Justin Herbert (QB Chargers)
Darrell Henderson (RB Rams)
Terry McLaurin (WR Washington)
Dallas Goedert (TE Eagles)

Sit
Phillip Rivers (QB Colts)
Le’Veon Bell (RB Chiefs)
Marquise Brown (WR Ravens)
Tyler Higbee (TE Rams)

Top 3 projected players by position

Quarterbacks
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
Tom Brady, Buccaneers
Aaron Rodgers, Packers

Running Backs
Alvin Kamara, Saints
Derrick Henry, Titans
Dalvin Cook, Vikings

Wide Receivers
Davante Adams, Packers
Tyreek Hill, Chiefs
Stefon Diggs, Bills

Tight Ends
Travis Kelce, Chiefs
Darren Waller, Raiders
George Kittle, 49ers

Team Defenses
Ravens
Browns
Bills

Kickers
Justin Tucker, Ravens
Harrison Butker, Chiefs
Greg Zuerlein, Cowboys

Waiver wire options

Mitchell Trubisky (QB Bears)
Marcus Mariota (QB Raiders)
Tony Pollard (RB Cowboys)
Darrell Henderson (RB Rams)
Chad Hansen (WR Texans)
Russell Gage (WR Falcons)
Jordan Akins (TE Texans)
Cameron Brate (TE Buccanneers)

Intriguing games and players in Week 16

(Week 16 Bye Weeks: None) 

Minnesota at New Orleans, Friday 3:30 PM, EST

  • MIN: Dalvin Cook (RB), Irv Smith (TE)
  • NO: Drew Brees (QB), Alvin Kamara (RB)

Tampa Bay at Detroit, Saturday 1:00 PM, EST

  • TB: Tom Brady (QB), Antonio Brown (WR)
  • DET: T.J. Hockenson (TE), D’Andre Swift (RB)

San Francisco at Arizona, Saturday 4:30 PM, EST

  • SF: Raheem Mostert (RB), Brandon Aiyuk (WR)
  • AZ: Kyler Murray (QB), Dan Arnold (TE)

Miami at Las Vegas, Sunday 8:15 PM, EST

  • MIA: Matt Berida (RB), Tua Tagovailoa (QB)
  • LVR: Brian Edwards (WR), Josh Jacobs (RB)

Atlanta at Kansas City, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • ATL: Matt Ryan (QB), Todd Gurley (RB)
  • KC: Demarcus Robinson (WR), Travis Kelce (TE)

Indianapolis at Pittsburgh, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • IND: Michael Pittman (WR), Jonathan Taylor (RB)
  • PIT: JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR), Ben Roethlisberger (QB)

LA Rams at Seattle, Sunday 4:25 PM, EST

  • LAR: Jared Goff (QB), Darrell Henderson (RB)
  • SEA: Russell Wilson (RB), Rashaad Penny (RB)

Tennessee at Green Bay, Sunday 8:20 PM, EST

  • TEN: A.J. Brown (WR), Derrick Henry (RB)
  • GB: A.J. Dillon (RB), Allen Lazard (WR)

Buffalo at New England, Sunday 8:15 PM, EST

  • BUF: Devin Singletary (RB), Zach Moss (RB)
  • NE: Sony Michel (RB), Damien Harris (RB)

Bottom Line

The big question is do you or will you have a new bright shiny championship under your tree this year? After a year full of injuries, COVID-19, game reschedules, and many other unique factors it has been a fantasy football season like no other.

When it is all said and done though it is all worth it if you get to unwrap the bragging rights and all the other glorious gifts that come along with being named the reigning, defending, undisputed fantasy football champion of the world in your league.

With football Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday this week – have a Merry Fantasy Football Christmas everybody!

6 waiver wire targets in fantasy football for Week 16

Waiver wire targets for championship weekend.

Here we are. Championship Week. If you are blessed to be playing for a title this weekend, good luck! If you’re trying to avoid whatever shameful punishment your league has for last place, then you need all the help you can get.

Luckily, there are still many quality players out there on the waiver wire that are available to give your team an extra boost.

Here are six waiver wire targets for Week 16 as the fantasy season comes to a close:

 

Lions Wire Fantasy Football Weekly: 2020 Week 15 preview

Lions Wire Fantasy Football Weekly: 2020 Week 15 preview

In fantasy football there often is a difference between the best players and the player with the best statistics. Derrick Henry (RB Titans) leads the league in rushing statistics, but most fantasy owners would probably put Saquon Barkley (RB Giants), Christian McCaffrey (RB Panthers), Alvin Kamar (RB Saints), and Dalvin Cook (RB Vikings) ahead of him if they all were healthy and if we were drafting tomorrow.

The same can be said at other positions as well. The key to fantasy football is being able to identify the top players while also keeping your finger on the pulse of what fantasy players are putting up the best statistics that particular year in order to be in contention for your championship in seasonal leagues. Dynasty leagues are a different story; the quality of the prospect is almost always the top factor to consider.

Lions at Titans fantasy focus

The Detroit Lions will face one of those top players in 2020 and a physical specimen in Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry. This guy is 6-foot-3 and 247 lbs, and the Lions run defense has been one of the many liabilities on their team this year. The Lions will have to find a way to slow down the opponent’s run game and the Titans have a stud in wide receiver A.J. Brown too.

D’Andre Swift returned last week to help Detroit’s backfield. He’s a dynamic running back, but with him just coming off the injury list last week it is hard to determine how much he will be used. The Lions have been hurt by injuries to other top fantasy skill players and on defense throughout the season.

This looks like a mismatch for the Titans. Tennessee has a physical, nasty team and the Lions are very beat up physically along with them not playing hard-nosed football on the defensive side of the ball consistently in 2020. Play all your Titans, and limit the Lions you play especially if Matthew Stafford is unable to play at quarterback due to a rib injury.

Start
Jalen Hurts (QB Eagles)
Cam Akers (RB Rams)
A.J. Brown (WR Titans)
T.J. Hockenson (TE Lions)

Sit
Tua Tagovailoa (QB Dolphins)
Clyde Edwards-Helaire (RB Chiefs)
Laviska Shenault Jr. (WR Jaguars)
Jordan Reed (TE 49ers)

Top 3 projected players by position

Quarterbacks
Josh Allen, Bills
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
Aaron Rodgers, Packers

Running Backs
Derrick Henry, Titans
Dalvin Cook, Vikings
Austin Ekeler, Chargers

Wide Receivers
Davante Adams, Packers
Stefon Diggs, Bills
Tyreek Hill, Chiefs

Tight Ends
Travis Kelce, Chiefs
Darren Waller, Raiders
T.J. Hockenson, Lions

Team Defenses
Steelers
Rams
Ravens

Kickers
Graham Gano, Giants
Younghoe Koo, Falcons
Rodrigo Blankenship, Colts

Waiver wire options

Derek Carr (QB Raiders)
Mitchell Trubisky (QB Bears)
Jeff Wilson (RB 49ers)
DeAndre Washington (RB Dolphins)
Keke Coutee (WR Texans)
Tim Patrick (WR Broncos)
Irv Smith (TE Vikings)
Cole Kmet (TE Bears)

Intriguing games and players in Week 15

(Week 15 Bye Weeks: None) 

LA Chargers at Las Vegas, Thursday 8:20 PM, EST

  • LAC: Justin Herbert (QB), Austin Ekeler (RB)
  • LVR: Josh Jacobs (RB), Nelson Agholor (WR)

Buffalo at Denver, Saturday 4:30 PM, EST

  • BUF: Josh Allen (QB), Zach Moss (RB)
  • DEN: Drew Lock (QB), Jerry Jeudy (WR)

Carolina at Green Bay, Saturday 8:15 PM, EST

  • CAR: Mike Davis (RB), D.J. Moore (WR)
  • GB: Allen Lazard (WR), A.J. Dillon (RB)

Tampa Bay at Atlanta, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • TB: Tom Brady (QB), Mike Evans (WR)
  • ATL: Matt Ryan (QB), Hayden Hurst (TE)

New England at Miami, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • NE: T.Y. Hilton (WR), Jonathan Taylor (RB)
  • MIA: DeAndre Washington (RB), Mike Gesicki (TE)

Detroit at Tennessee, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • DET: T.J. Hockenson (TE), Jamal Agnew (WR)
  • TEN: Derrick Henry (RB), A.J. Brown (WR)

Kansas City at New Orleans, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • KC: Patrick Mahomes (QB), Demarcus Robinson (WR)
  • NO: Michael Thomas (WR), Taysom Hill (QB)

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, Monday 8:15 PM, EST

  • PIT: James Conner (RB), Diontae Johnson (WR)
  • CIN: Tee Higgins (WR), Gio Bernard (RB)

Bottom Line

Elite players are often elite. Statistics are often statistics. The key in fantasy football is to draft and identify elite players that put up the top statistics in your particular fantasy league. Easier said than done. Don’t let statistics blind you from top prospects. Also, don’t be afraid to cut ties or bench someone in a seasonal league for other players that are having great statistical seasons that particular year. As Bruce Lee once said, “Be water, my friends”.