A Jake Browning thumb injury to led to QB AJ McCarron (Battlehawks) seeing NFL regular season game action for the first time since 2020. (Bengals.com)
Tryouts
For the first week since the start of the regular season, there were no former XFL players involved in any reported NFL tryouts.
Transactions
There were, however, plenty of transactions, beginning on Monday. That’s when DT Bruce Hector (Renegades) was re-signed to the practice squad of the New York Jets when DT Perrion Winfrey was placed on practice squad IR. This is Hector’s third stint with the Jets, his second since the start of the season.
On Tuesday, LB Jordan Thomas (Guardians) was released from the practice squad of the Carolina Panthers. Thomas had been working on a position change, from tight end to linebacker, since his spring signing. His move was expected to be a long-term project. It’ll be interesting to see if the Panthers try to bring him back on a reserve/futures deal at the end of the season to continue his development – or maybe encourage him to try the merged XFL/USFL spring league to get some meaningful snaps at the position.
DT CJ Brewer (Roughnecks) was brought back to the practice squad of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday. He had been released back on November 14. Also on Wednesday, DT LaCale London (Battlehawks) was designated to return from injured reserve. Since he was placed on IR on November 1, he has cleared the four-week minimum stay there and will likely be activated when healthy. He put in a full practice every day this week, but was not activated before Sunday’s game.
Relegated to third QB duties with the practice squad signing of Joe Flacco, QB PJ Walker (Roughnecks) was released by the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, in conjunction with Flacco’s second gameday elevation. Walker’s release leaves the Browns with just two healthy quarterbacks, so it’s possible Walker is re-signed to the practice squad this week to be their third QB, with Flacco expected to be signed to the active roster at some point.
Performances
*Long snappers are best served when no one notices them. Unfortunately, LS Christian Kuntz (Renegades) was noticed at the most inopportune time in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Thursday night game against the New England Patriots. Facing a 4th-and-3 down by three late in the fourth quarter, it appeared as if the Steelers drew New England offsides on a punt, which would’ve given them a first down. Instead, the referees called Kuntz for a false start. The announcers, as well as rules analyst and former NFL referee Terry McAulay, all disagreed with the call on the broadcast. The Steelers ended up losing by three.
*Once again handling kick return duties, RB Godwin Igwebuike (Dragons) managed to return two kicks for an average of 21.0 yards per return. His first saw him break a few tackles to gain 27 yards. His second return was brought back for just 15, as he had to field it at the goal line on a bounce. Igwebuike played on 54% of the special teams snaps in the game.
*In the Atlanta Falcons’ 29-25 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, QB Taylor Heinicke (Battlehawks) did not play as the backup to starter Desmond Ridder.
*Starting RT Kaleb McGary was inactive due to an injury he suffered in last week’s game, so OT Storm Norton (Wildcats) stepped into the position for his first start of the season. Norton committed a false start, but otherwise played a clean game, participating in every snap. He was even highlighted on the FOX broadcast for a pancake block early in the game.
*Continuing as a special teams linchpin, S Micah Abernathy (Renegades) did not make any tackles on 84% of the special teams snaps, once again leading the team in that category.
*With starter Lamar Jackson and backup Tyler Huntley remaining healthy, QB Josh Johnson (Wildcats) remained the emergency third quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens.
*An odd injury to Jake Browning led to QB AJ McCarron (Battlehawks) seeing NFL regular season game action for the first time since 2020. It was apparently a thumb cramp for Browning, whose hand seized up on him early in the fourth quarter. McCarron was 1-for-1 passing for -1 yards and had a touchdown pass to Tee Higgins called back due to penalty. Browning was able to return to and finish out the game after McCarron handed the ball off four other times.
*G Michael Dunn (Dragons) played 11 offensive snaps (14%) as an extra blocker, plus 15% of the special teams snaps. He was on the field for a four-yard Kareem Hunt touchdown run.
*An injury to starting QB Justin Herbert handcuffed the passing game of the Los Angeles Chargers for the second half. That resulted in just two targets for TE Donald Parham (Renegades), catching one of them for 11 yards. A shoulder injury contributed to that lack of production, as Parham played just 22% of the offensive snaps. Parham’s statistical downturn can’t be completely blamed on injury or Easton Stick taking over for Herbert in this game: He has caught just three passes in the last three games.
*Already down starting S Jevon Holland, inactive due to injury, the Miami Dolphins also lost their other starter at safety, DeShon Elliott, for a time on Monday night against the Tennessee Titans. Elliott was evaluated for a rib injury and a concussion, but later returned. His absence pressed S Elijah Campbell (Defenders) into duty on defense. But Campbell’s most important contribution came on punt coverage when, in a tie game with 6:07 left to go, returner Eric Garror showed indecisiveness in fielding a punt, letting it bounce off his hands at the five yard-line. Campbell recovered it and two players later, the Dolphins found the end zone for the go-ahead score. They couldn’t hang on, however, as the Titans came back to win it. Campbell finished with two defensive tackles and a special teams assisted tackle. He played 25% of the snaps on defense and 77% of special teams snaps.
*It was an eventful Monday night for Green Bay Packers P Daniel Whelan (Defenders). The stats say he punted three times for a 39.7 gross and net average, with one inside the 20. Digging into each one a little bit:
-1st punt: From the Green Bay 43 with 13:31 remaining in the first quarter. Whelan just missed landing it inside the 20, getting 36 yards on a punt to the Giants’ 21. Impressive hangtime of 4.93 seconds.
-2nd punt: From the Green Bay 13 with 8:31 left in the first quarter. Just 4.10 seconds of hangtime for a punt that landed on about Green Bay’s own 45, bouncing to the New York 38, where it was downed. However, there was fair catch interference on the play against the Packers, resulting in a 15-yard penalty.
-3rd punt: From the Green Bay 38, with 9:16 left in the third quarter. The punt went just 36 yards to the Giants’ 26, but it deflected off an unaware New York blocker. The Packers recovered at the Giants’ 14-yard line.
