Backup QB Josh Johnson (Wildcats) engineered a 10-play final Ravens offensive drive. (instagram.com)
Tryouts
A name we haven’t heard since training camp earned a tryout with the Minnesota Vikings on Monday, when they brought DE Levi Bell (Panthers) in. Bell was a late addition to the Michigan Panthers in 2024, signing in May after being released by the Seattle Seahawks. He then spent this summer with the Indianapolis Colts.
A few days later, on Friday, P Brad Wing (Brahmas) had his second tryout with the Indianapolis Colts since the beginning of the regular season. And for the second time, he was brought in because the Colts were facing a left-footed punter on Sunday – this time, it was Jamie Gillan of the New York Giants. The Pittsburgh Steelers tried out several players on Friday; among them was C Alec Lindstrom (Showboats).
Transactions
Three spring football practice squad signings were made on Tuesday. K Andre Szmyt (Battlehawks) was finally signed after taking several workouts, joining the Cleveland Browns practice squad. With Browns K Dustin Hopkins still struggling (he missed an extra point in week 16), Cleveland wanted to keep an extra kicker on the practice squad. They had Riley Patterson, but he was plucked by the Atlanta Falcons to their 53-man roster. Szmyt is the 75th player to end the spring season on a UFL team to sign with NFL.
DT Domenique Davis (Gamblers) was signed back onto the practice squad of the Cincinnati Bengals. He was initially on the squad from the beginning of the season until October, when he was released. He spent a short time with the Pittsburgh Steelers before being re-signed by the Bengals. WR Maurice Alexander (Stars) continued his roster dance in Detroit, also re-signing to their practice squad.
XFL
*This week, it was an opportunity for LS Christian Kuntz (Renegades) to get in on a special teams tackle. It was Kuntz who knocked Kansas City Chiefs punt returner Nikko Remigio out of bounds after he took the first punt by the Steelers back 25 yards.
*LS Nick Moore (Tampa Bay Vipers) continued to perform all long snapping duties for the Baltimore Ravens, against the Houston Texans on Christmas Day.
*With their game out of hand and the playoffs looming, discretion was the better part of valor for Ravens head coach Jim Harbaugh. He pulled MVP candidate QB Lamar Jackson in the fourth quarter of a blowout over the Texans, which allowed QB Josh Johnson (Wildcats) to engineer a 10-play final Ravens offensive drive. Johnson threw just two passes on the drive, completing one on 3rd-and-5 that ended up as a 16-yard gain. Perhaps more notably, Johnson got some pub for a pre-game on-field altercation with Texans RB Joe Mixon.
*In one of the uglier displays of football that you’ll see at the NFL level, LS Scott Daly (New York Guardians) snapped for seven Chicago Bears punts on Thursday, and one successful field goal attempt.
*Seeing his most extensive action of the season, QB Taylor Heinicke (Battlehawks) entered Saturday’s game for the Los Angeles Chargers in relief of Justin Herbert once the Chargers had the game in hand. That point came with 10:54 left in the contest. The Chargers clinched a playoff berth with the victory, making it more important to get Herbert out of there. Heinicke scrambled once for eight yards and was 0-for-2 passing, one being a drop. His main job was to hand the ball off to the running backs to run out the clock.
*Opportunity arose for DT CJ Brewer (Roughnecks) to see game action for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers once the game against the Carolina Panthers got to blowout status. However, that action amounted to only three defensive snaps.
*For the second week in a row, the New York Jets elevated DT Bruce Hector (Renegades) for their game. Hector and the Jets were on the receiving end of a 40-14 beat-down by the playoff-bound Buffalo Bills. Three tackles (one solo, two assists) and a tackle for loss was the respectable line Hector put up in a reserve role, playing 39% of the snaps on defense.
*The first two punts by P Daniel Whelan (Defenders) were his best of the game as the Green Bay Packers couldn’t close the deal on an epic comeback against their division rival, the Minnesota Vikings. Whelan’s first punt traveled 50 yards, all net. His second punt went 49 yards and was the only one of four he landed inside the 20. A third punt went just 29 yards and was shanked out of bounds. Whelan’s final punt wasn’t as bad, but went only 41 yards. In total, his gross and net were both 42.3 on the day.
*Special teams stalwart S Elijah Campbell (Defenders) once again garnered snaps on defense for the Miami Dolphins. He made two tackles, one solo and one assist. They came on back-to-back plays on Cleveland’s final drive in the fourth quarter, when Miami had already salted the game away. Campbell played 14% of defensive snaps, and 74% on special teams.
*Utilized again as an extra blocker on offense, G Michael Dunn (Dragons) played eight snaps there for the Cleveland Browns.
*In his usual role on the field goal/extra point protection team for the Atlanta Falcons, OT Storm Norton (Wildcats) ended up playing six snaps on special teams.
*It was an unfortunate single snap played by WR Chris Blair (Defenders) on offense – he was credited as the target on Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr’s interception on the team’s first offensive drive. Blair also contributed five snaps on special teams.
USFL
*New England’s defense didn’t have an answer for the Chargers’ run game (147 yards) or their pass game (no sacks). DE Jeremiah Pharms, Jr. (Maulers) was stretched a little thin due to a few in-game injuries along the Patriots’ line, including to DE Keion White and DT Daniel Ekuale. That resulted in Pharms leading defensive linemen in snaps for the Patriots, at 76%. Pharms started and had six tackles, just one of them a solo tackle.
*In Denver’s wild overtime loss to Cincinnati, LS Mitchell Fraboni (Maulers) was perfect on all of his snaps for the Broncos.
*An unusually quiet afternoon for Panthers DE LaBryan Ray (Stars), who made just one assisted tackle against the Bucs, despite Tampa running the ball 40 times and Ray playing 48% of defensive snaps (as well as eight snaps on special teams).
*K Brandon Aubrey (Stallions) made one extra point, and that was the only point he scored as Dallas was thoroughly whipped by Philadelphia. Aubrey was sent out late for a 61-yard field goal, which hit the right upright. As color commentator Greg Olsen noted on the broadcast, the ball clanged pretty high on the upright, indicating distance was not an issue.
*Having more success running the ball than receiving of late, WR KaVontae Turpin (Generals) finished second for Dallas in rushing yardage, running twice for 18 yards. Both came early in the game. On four targets, he only made one catch for 16 yards, totaling 53% of offensive snaps for the Cowboys. Held idle in the punt return game, Turpin returned two kickoffs for 48 yards. One was returned 69 yards before it was brought back due to a holding penalty. He found himself in the middle of at least one of several altercations between the two teams during the game, as the rivalry remains despite the Cowboys’ disappointing season.
*DT Khalil Davis (Stallions) was inactive in the San Francisco 49ers’ Monday night battle with the Detroit Lions.
UFL
*Denver’s pass-rush kept them in the game against Cincinnati as they sacked QB Joe Burrow seven times. LB Dondrea Tillman (Stallions) played a role in that, registering a sack in his third consecutive game. He used strong hands to disengage from LG Cody Ford to bring down Burrow in the fourth quarter. He had a deflected pass taken away by a penalty. His sack was one of three total tackles (two solo, one assist) on the afternoon, though he saw the field on just 22% of defensive snaps, 68% on special teams.
*Starting at receiver for New Orleans, WR Kevin Austin, Jr. (Stallions) finished with one reception for 23 yards on two targets. He hasn’t quite shown the chemistry with Spencer Rattler that he’s shown with other Saints QBs this season. Nevertheless, he’s still seeing a significant snap share, playing 70% of the time on offense in this game, while also on the field for seven special teams snaps.
*In on two assisted tackles was DE Jalen Redmond (Renegades) for the Vikings. He was also called for an offsides penalty that, on the FOX broadcast of the game, sure looked like a blown call. In coming back from missing last week’s game with a concussion, Redmond played 33% of defensive snaps.
*Cleveland’s offense struggled to put points on the board against Miami, finishing the game with just three points. LS Rex Sunahara (Brahmas) was kept busy snapping on punts (five in total), while also assisting on a Dustin Hopkins 25-yard field goal.
*Though it was not mentioned on the game broadcast, with his two field goals, K Jake Bates (Panthers)set a Detroit Lions single-season franchise record for points scored. The first field goal came from 57 yards out in the third quarter, the next from 42 in the fourth. On the downside, he missed his second and third extra points of the season. The first one was blocked, with a rush coming right up the middle, breaking free of Detroit’s line. He pulled an extra point wide left in the fourth quarter.
