Spring Football Tryouts, Transactions and Player Analysis from NFL Week 13

Tryouts

In a somewhat shortened tryout week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, no spring football players were reported as having worked out for NFL teams.

Transactions

On Tuesday, Pittsburgh signed WR Cornell Powell (Defenders) to the practice squad after he had worked out for the team the previous week. Despite a strong Monday Night Football appearance about a month ago, the numbers game in Detroit’s defensive backfield cost CB Nick Whiteside (Battlehawks) his 53-man roster spot. However, the Lions re-signed him to the practice squad on Thanksgiving Day. Also on Tuesday, just as his 21-day practice window was coming to a close, New Orleans activated OT Barry Wesley (Stallions) from injured reserve. He was initially hurt in training camp and placed on IR during final cuts.

A return to form – and health – by Green Bay kicker Brandon McManus in week 12 meant that K Lucas Havrisik (Renegades) was no longer needed. He was jettisoned from the team’s roster on Wednesday. But on Friday, Havrisik was re-signed to the team’s practice squad, indicating they did not want him to hit the open market quite yet.

XFL

*In the Thanksgiving Day opener, P Daniel Whelan (Defenders) and the Packers defeated the Detroit Lions. Whelan’s foot saw little action, punting twice and using the friendly confines of the domed Ford Field to boom them for a gross average of 67 per punt, with a net of 46.5. A 72-yarder seemed destined to be downed inside the five as it took a couple of bounces in play before coming to rest in the end zone. Somehow, the Packers coverage players weren’t able to touch it before it reached its final destination.

*Baltimore continues to circle the drain, falling to .500 after losing to Cincinnati on Thanksgiving night. LS Nick Moore (TB Vipers) handled all punt and kick snaps for the Ravens, of which there were few.

*On Black Friday, Chicago kicker Cairo Santos made one field goal and two extra points from the snaps of LS Scott Daly (NY Guardians). Daly also delivered balls on three Tory Taylor punts.

*In his first week since being activated from injured reserve, OT Barry Wesley (Stallions) was a healthy scratch by the New Orleans Saints.

*Getting himself on the board with two tackles – one solo and one assist – was Miami S Elijah Campbell (Defenders). The special teamer extraordinaire made one of those tackles on kick coverage and another on punt coverage, playing 76% of the snaps on the third unit.

*In the starting lineup for the second time this season, DT LaCale London (Battlehawks) made two assisted tackles in Atlanta’s loss to the New York Jets. On the positive side, he got to meet up with his former St. Louis coach, Anthony Becht, pre-game as Becht does Jets games on the radio. Despite the start, London’s defensive snap share was just 29%.

*Playing in his fourth game of the season for Tampa Bay, DT C.J. Brewer (Roughnecks) made his third tackle and his first of the solo variety in stopping Arizona RB Zonovan “Bam” Knight after a nine-yard gain late in the third quarter of that contest. It was one of eight snaps, or 13%, Brewer played on defense.

*An often-contentious matchup between Pittsburgh and Buffalo saw the Bills pull it out on the Steelers’ home field. In 34-degree weather with the traditional Steel City swirling winds, LS Christian Kuntz (Renegades) was flawless on his snaps on punts and kicks for Pitt.

*Active as the backup to Marcus Mariota, QB Josh Johnson (Wildcats) did not see any game action.

USFL

*The nearly automatic K Brandon Aubrey (Stallions) helped Dallas upset Kansas City on Thanksgiving, making all three of his field goals of varying lengths (49, 36, 26), as well as both extra points tried.

*Providing a little bit more of a spark on offense than we’ve seen this year, WR KaVontae Turpin (Generals) ran the ball three times for 33 yards and a long of 25 for the Cowboys. He also caught two passes for 28 yards. On special teams, he didn’t return a punt but did bring back five kickoffs for 118 yards (23.6 average), as Kansas City covered him well. Perhaps Turpin’s most important contribution was outside the box score: He recovered a George Pickens fumble inside the 10-yard line on a 3rd-down play, allowing Aubrey to kick a late field goal that would prove to be the difference in the score. Turpin played 36% of the snaps on both offense and special teams.

*DE LaBryan Ray (Stars) was in on one assisted tackle in Carolina’s upset of the juggernaut L.A. Rams. He played a quarter (25%) of the defensive snaps for Carolina.

*Handling all long snapping duties in Denver on Sunday night was LS Mitchell Fraboni (Maulers).

*Elevated from the practice squad for the second week in a row by New England, DT Jeremiah Pharms (Maulers) was involved in one of the more unique plays you’ll see this season. On a field goal attempt by the New York Giants, kicker Younghoe Koo stopped short of the ball, stubbing his toe into the ground. The holder, Jamie Gillan, then got up with the ball to try to make a play. Pharms tracked him down and tackled him for a 13-yard loss and turnover on downs. It was initially ruled a sack but later changed on the stat sheet. That was one of only two snaps Pharms played on special teams; he added seven defensive snaps on Monday night as well.

UFL

*Detroit head coach Dan Campbell’s aggressiveness in opponent territory continues to mean fewer opportunities for K Jake Bates (Panthers). The Lions eschewed 64-yard and 38-yard field goal attempts in the second half, instead going for it on fourth down – and failing both times. Bates did make a 31-yard field goal as well as all three extra point tries.

*With Kalif Raymond out due to injury, the expectation was that RB Jacob Saylors (Battlehawks) would perhaps get even more chances to return kickoffs, since the Lions employ those two men on kick returns. WR Tom Kennedy was called up from the practice squad to replace Raymond and it was he that handled all three returns on the afternoon. Saylors was back there and did take at least one for a touchback. Those constituted six of his 15 special teams snaps (62%) for the day.

*Joining rookie Jay Toia as inactive defensive tackles for Dallas this week was DT Perrion Winfrey (Stallions).

*A toothless Minnesota offense has put pressure on its defense, including starting DE Jalen Redmond (Renegades). They weren’t up to the task on Sunday, losing 26-0 to Seattle. For his part, Redmond had three tackles (two solo, one assist) and a fumble recovery deep in Seattle territory that looked like it would assuredly lead to a Vikings score. A Max Brosmer pick-six on 4th-and-1 from the four yard-line altered those plans. Redmond came into the game questionable with a hip injury. That may have led to a reduced workload, playing 70% of the snaps, less than his usual 80%-plus.

*Punt coverage was a problem for Cleveland against San Francisco, with punter Corey Bojorquez leaving the game with a net of just 22.3 yards (he did have one touchback). Included in that coverage was LS Rex Sunahara (Brahmas), who only snapped on punts with no extra point or field goal attempts made by the Browns.

*A too many men on the field penalty on San Francisco after what turned out to be Cleveland’s only score led to head coach Kevin Stefanski deciding to go for two rather than attempt the K Andre Szmyt (Battlehawks) extra point. Szmyt’s two kickoffs were his only action on the day. The Browns did go for it four times on 4th down, including twice in field goal range. They were 0-for-4.

*Playing but recording no stats was WR Kevin Austin Jr. (Stallions) in what has become a lost season for the New Orleans Saints. Austin played five snaps on offense and five on special teams.

*It was back to extra points only for K Harrison Mevis (Stallions) of the L.A. Rams, banging through all four of his attempts. He also kicked off for the second straight game, appearing to take that job from punter Ethan Evans.

*In edging out Washington on Sunday evening, Denver’s LB Dondrea Tillman (Stallions) had a sack among his three tackles (one solo, two assist). Really, it should’ve been a tripping penalty, but officials at first didn’t believe Tillman touched down QB Marcus Mariota in the backfield. Upon review, they did call him down, awarding Tillman the sack, but a potential penalty was not reviewable in that situation. Tillman also assisted on a special teams tackle. He played 28% of the snaps on defense, 69% on special teams.