Eagles Showed Interest in 2 Explosive Bengals Rookie LBs at NFL Draft

The Eagles have been catching heat for the play of their young linebackers. Time will tell if they missed on two other guys.

Philadelphia drafted Davion Taylor in the third round (103rd overall), then added Shaun Bradley in the sixth round (196) with the intention of bringing them along slowly. Well, the plan has been going at a snail’s pace. Taylor has seen 22 total snaps and Bradley has 12, all of them solely on special teams.

Meanwhile, the Eagles will face a pair of rookie linebackers this week that the team actually scouted heavily during the draft process. Logan Wilson and Akeem Davis-Gaither went to the Bengals after being high on Philly’s radar, according to special teams coordinator Dave Fipp.

“A couple young linebackers doing a good job for them, 55 [Logan Wilson] the rookie and 59 [Akeem Davis-Gaither] the rookie, are both playing well,” Fipp said. “We liked those guys coming out in the draft, too.”

Wilson (65th overall) was already off the board by the time the Eagles took Taylor, while Davis-Gaither (107) went four picks after Taylor in the fourth round. Confused yet? It doesn’t really matter, water under the bridge. But it is mildly interesting to chart the way Cincinnati is using their rookie linebackers, though.

Rookie fourth-round OLB/Overhang Akeem Davis-Gaither (LB 59) gets walked onto the LOS by motion. Watch him disconnect TE from ground, reset his hands, and occupy the fold block while closing the running lane.

Great look for a 215-pounder! pic.twitter.com/Y3yP7jwifL

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) September 21, 2020

Wilson has been on the field for 71 defensive snaps (36 defense, 35 special teams) while Davis-Gaither has seen 74 snaps (39 defense, 35 special teams). They are far from starters but they are way ahead of Taylor and Bradley in their development.

Both players look like young studs in the making. Especially Davis-Gaither. He has been making plays left and right for the Bengals. The 215-pounder has the third-most pressures among all rookies through the first two weeks, per Pro Football Focus.

#Eagles were high on LB Akeem Davis-Gaither and LB Logan Wilson coming out of college. #Bengals took Wilson in 3rd round (65th overall) & Davis-Gaither in the 4th (107th). Meanwhile, Philly took Davion Taylor …read more

Source:: Heavy.com

      

7-Year Vet Terminates Contract With Steelers

Dan McCullers has been a backup nose tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers for the past six-plus seasons. But it appears his time with the black and gold has come to an end. This afternoon his name appeared on the NFL transaction report under “Contracts Terminated By Player.”

Per NFL transaction report, Steelers DL Dan McCullers listed under “CONTRACTS TERMINATED BY PLAYER” category.

Most that end up there are PS players who sign to active rosters. Seems like Big Dan is headed to another club.

— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 22, 2020

These days, players who terminate their contracts are typically practice squad guys who have received an offer to sign to the active roster of another team. It has yet to be revealed which team has grabbed the 6-foot-7, 350-pounder.

Dan McCullers’ Career with the Steelers

The Steelers selected Dan McCullers in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of the University of Tennessee. Despite his always modest production, McCullers managed to stick with the team ever since. Never mind that he made just 3 starts in 73 regular season games and his career stat line adds up to just 41 total tackles, 2.5 career sacks, nine quarterback hits and two passes defensed. Most of that production came in his ‘career year’ of 2016, when he had 17 tackles, a sack and five quarterback hits.

McCullers’ departure means that Pittsburgh will likely add a new player to its practice squad to fill the, um, rather large void left in his wake.

This looks to be the second week in a row that Pittsburgh has lost a veteran player from its practice squad. Last week the Arizona Cardinals poached former Giants and Raiders safety Curtis Riley. The Steelers went on to replace Riley by signing safety John Battle to their practice squad, where he remains today.

Pittsburgh’s Protected Practice Squad Players

In related news, the Steelers have designated the four practice squad players that they have protected this week, those being:

DL Henry Mondeaux
RB Wendell Smallwood
WR Deon Cain
LB Jayronne Elliott

Steelers protected four PS players this week: Henry Mondeaux, Wendell Smallwood, Deon Cain and Jayrone Elliott.

— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 22, 2020

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Source:: Heavy.com

      

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