Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images Connor Williams spent time with the Cowboys, Dolphins, and Seahawks before unexpectedly retiring at 27 years old. Former Miami Dolphins center Connor Williams has retired from the NFL. Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald shared the news with reporters Friday, stating that Williams is retiring for ‘personal reasons’ after starting nine games this season. Williams, 27, allowed two sacks while playing all 618 of Seattle’s offensive snaps through ten weeks. This marked an impressive recovery from the torn ACL he suffered last December after starting nine games for the Dolphins. Macdonald noted that Williams’ retirement was not due to lingering issues from the knee injury. Williams was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He started 51 games at left guard before transitioning to center with the Dolphins in 2022 after signing a two-year contract. He allowed just three sacks in 1,056 snaps in his first season at center and his speed allowed him to excel as a run blocker, effectively sealing linebackers and safeties at the second level. Williams signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Seahawks in August, shortly before the season began. He was responsible for 11 pressures and eight penalties through nine games, according to PFF. With Williams stepping away, Olu Oluwatimi is projected to start at center for Seattle on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
Former Miami Dolphins center Connor Williams retires after nine games with the Seattle Seahawks
Phinsider Victory Of The Week Open Thread Vol. 610
Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images It’s Friday, so it’s time for us to welcome you to another VOTW post. Today’s open conversation prompt is just that – what is your victory for this week? Did something extraordinary happen this week? Is it the small thing worth celebrating? Was it Miami Dolphins related? Was it in your professional life? Your personal life? We all had something, big or small, that was a victory, and we want to know what yours was. This post is yours, the site member, aka one of our family here at the Phinsider. This post is your chance to share your victory from the last week. Your victory can be huge, like the birth of a new child/grandchild or finally getting that job or promotion you worked your rear off for. It can be a small thing like you won $100 on your lottery scratch-off ticket, or maybe it was a great overall week for you for another reason you wish to share. It’s your post and victory, so please feel free to share it with the rest of the site in the comment section below.
College Football: Highest-graded players at every position ahead of Week 12
Breaking down the highest-graded Power Four and Group of Five players at every position ahead of Week 12 of the 2024 college football season.
Who should start at center for the Rams against the Patriots?
Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images Should the Rams start Beaux Limmer or Jonah Jackson at center? Heading into Week 11 against the New England Patriots on Sunday, there will be one question that the Los Angeles Rams will have to answer. That question is who will be playing at center and if that player is Jonah Jackson, Steve Avila, or Beaux Limmer. It’s not likely we’ll know the answer until game time. Per Rams head coach Sean McVay, “We’re working through that stuff.” McVay also added that they know the starting lineup, but won’t be sharing. Said McVay, We know. I’ll just let you guys see when we go out there on Sunday. I don’t mean it to be irritating, it’s just no reason to say it, but our guys know.” The Rams made the decision last week to pull Limmer in favor of a healthy Jonah Jackson. While it made sense to play Jackson given the contract the team paid him in free agency, playing him at center was certainly a questionable decision. With the margins getting more thin over every passing week, whatever the Rams decide not only has to be the right one, but has to be one that they feel comfortable sticking with moving forward. To put it simply, while the Rams won’t have their starting five offensive linemen available with Havenstein out, whoever starts at left guard and center this week almost has to be the combo moving forward. We’re at the second half of the season. The Rams can’t be shifting their offensive line every few weeks for performance reasons. This is something that they have to be sure about. The Rams have started five different offensive line combinations this season. With Havenstein out on Sunday against the Patriots, it is set to be six on Sunday and then potentially a seventh combination next week. For a position group that relies heavily on cohesiveness, that many changes is not a good thing. With three changes to the offensive line last week, disaster up front was bound to happen even if those players were theoretically better. Jackson and Avila had been out since the beginning of the season and Joe Noteboom was also making his first start since Week 1. A lack of communication and lack of comfort within that starting five was almost inevitable. While it would be nice to see Limmer back in the lineup after his impressive stretch of games, that’s also an argument for playing Jackson once again. If the Rams swap Jackson for Limmer, it would be a second consecutive week in which the Rams are making multiple changes along the offensive line. Additionally, Avila and Limmer haven’t played next to each other since training camp. With Jackson, the Rams would at least have some consistency on the inside. It would also be the third game this season that Avila and Jackson will have played next to each other and the first time in back-to-back weeks. Again, the cohesiveness is important. An argument can be made that by swapping Limmer back in the lineup, the Rams would be making the same mistake that they made last week when they inserted Jackson in at center. The big thing here is that the Rams have to find a starting group of five on the offensive line that can start to get more snaps together. The big thing last week was communication. As Matthew Stafford noted after the game last week, the Dolphins ran a lot of simulated pressures. Within those simulated pressures, it’s important for the offensive line to know who they’re blocking pre-snap. That comes down to communication and passing players off to one another. In the case that the Rams do stick with Jackson in the lineup, but do not want him at center, Avila would also be an option. Avila practiced at center all summer, but was switched back to left guard right before the season. This option also comes with its own set of risks as the Rams have not seen Avila at center in a live-game setting. For this week, the Rams really have three options on the offensive line: Jackson-Jackson-Avila-Dotson-McClendon Jackson-Avila-Limmer-Dotson-McClendon Jackson-Avila-Jackson-Dotson-McClendon Many would like option two to be the what the Rams go with against the Patriots. However, option three is probably the most likely with option one right behind it. Limmer played well and the Rams arguably should not have removed him from the lineup. At the same time, some patience may be required when it comes to Jonah Jackson as he integrates himself back into the starting five. Again, the important thing here is that the Rams find a starting five that they can be confident in over the rest of the season. They can’t keep making changes because they don’t like what they see. If they do go with Limmer, it likely means the end of Jonah Jackson after just three starts. However, an interior with Avila and Jackson provides the most upside once they start clicking. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rams trust their process and keep Jackson in the starting lineup.
Ravens injury report for Week 11: Updates on Lamar Jackson, Kyle Hamilton
Ravens injury report for Week 11: Updates on Lamar Jackson, Kyle Hamilton glenn erby The Baltimore Ravens released their final injury report before departing for Pittsburgh, and Kyle Hamilton and Lamar Jackson will play after getting in full practices on Friday. Jackson has been dealing with a knee injury and had a rest day designated, while Hamilton missed time with an ankle injury but logged two full practices. Cornerback Arthur Maulet was ruled out with a calf injury. The Ravens will get three players back who missed Week 10, including tight end Isaiah Likely (hamstring). Likely was a full practice participant Thursday and Friday after missing last week’s game. Defensive end Brent Urban (concussion) is cleared to play after missing the past two games. Cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis, who has also missed the past two games due to a knee injury, was a full practice participant all week. However, the Ravens have additional depth at outside cornerback with the addition of Tre’Davious White. Travis Jones participated only limitedly in Thursday and Friday’s practices and is now listed as questionable to play.
Bengals sign TE Cam Grandy off practice squad, waive Kendall Milton
Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK A minor move before the Bengals take on the Chargers on Sunday Night Football. The Friday before the Cincinnati Bengals head to LA to face the Chargers on Sunday Night Football, they announced they signed tight end Cam Grandy off the practice squad, and in doing so, they have waived half back Kendall Milton. The Bengals head into their Week 11 game with their playoff lives on the line, and they’ve lost rookie tight end Erick All Jr. for the rest of the season. Grandy will join fellow tight ends Mike Gesicki, Tanner Hudson and Drew Sample, but will likely be a special teams contributor mostly when he’s on the field. According to Paul Dehner Jr. on X, Grandy jumped sixth-round pick Tanner McLachlan after camp, and the team also doesn’t want to risk losing the rookie on waivers if they were to release him. Releasing Milton to make room for the extra tight end likely means nothing more than Khalil Herbert, who was acquired via trade from the Bears, will have a more active role in his second week with the team than he did with his first.
Should the Colts have done more to support Anthony Richardson’s development early on?
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images The Colts eventually did bring in an accomplished veteran backup for Anthony Richardson, but was it the right guy for the job and soon enough? Indianapolis Colts 2nd-year quarterback Anthony Richardson was reinstated this week as the starter, after a two-week benching because of the coaching staff’s purported “lack of attention-to-detail and preparation” expected from the team’s QB1. Per ESPN’s Stephen Holder, those limitations were more as a result of his relative youth—at just 22-years-old, naivety, and ‘not knowing what he doesn’t know,’ more so than as a result of any indictment on his still well-regarded character and work ethic: “Conversations with teammates and multiple sources have created a clearer picture of what transpired behind the scenes,” writes Holder. “What they laid out was the story of a young quarterback described as ‘naïve’ rather than resistant, a player who didn’t know what he didn’t know. The benching, according to a team source, was an effort to get Richardson’s attention.” “Meanwhile, in the absence of specific information from the Colts, internet chatter was churning. But off-the-field rumors about character concerns were never accurate, multiple sources said.” “‘He’s a great kid,’ coach Shane Steichen said. ‘I look at character as No. 1 of my pillars, and he has high character. You can work with that.’” For what it’s worth, Colts head coach Shane Steichen indicated per The Athletic’s James Boyd, that Richardson had a ‘phenomenal week of preparation’ leading up this Sunday’s road game against the New York Jets: #Colts HC Shane Steichen on QB Anthony Richardson’s preparation this week: “Phenomenal. He’s done a great job. Obviously, it’s stacked in the last two weeks and then this week (I’ve) seen great growth. Like I’ve said, not a finished product, but he had a phenomenal week …” pic.twitter.com/S56AE6uUKu — James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) November 15, 2024 We also know per Boyd, that Richardson met with fellow Colts team captains earlier this week to help open lines of communication and for them to better understand what he was going through and how they could in turn, help him regarding his growth. From that perspective, it appears as though Richardson has initially. as Philip Rivers so eloquently once put it in a Colts uniform, ‘turned the corner.’ However, it also raises the question of whether the Colts ‘handed over the keys to the car’ too soon for a quarterback who turned just 21-years-of-age two months of May ago with only 13 collegiate starts at the University of Florida prior to being selected with the 4th overall pick in 2023. Perhaps, too much was expected, too soon from Richardson which resulted in the recent grounding for the past two weeks, as he’s now allowed to come back from his room. Colts RB Jonathan Taylor after @HolderStephen asked him of his thoughts about a QB like Anthony Richardson growing into his role as the face of the franchise: “That’s a totally different breed…to come in that young & learn that? I don’t know if I’d be able to do it. : @Colts pic.twitter.com/9QhbKWLthK — Noah Compton (@nerlens_) November 14, 2024 It’s been at least speculated that the Colts may not have been the clearest on the initial expectations of their starting quarterback position, where following in the line of former franchise greats such as Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, and I’ll even throw Philip Rivers out there for a season, that the QB1 is expected to be the locker room CEO of the organization (i.e, showing up first, leaving last, and being a tone-setter collectively within the clubhouse). I’ll even go beyond that though. Should the Colts have paired Richardson with a more veteran and polished backup than say 27-year old Gardner Minshew, with 24 total career starts, as a rookie last season? Or even had him sit behind a veteran for a whole season before fully taking over the starting quarterback reins once he proved he was ready and could hit the ground running? After all, the franchise was already on the hook for $18M of Matt Ryan’s $35.2M total cap hit last season—regardless of whether they cut him or not. While the team did save about $17.2M by releasing Ryan during the 2023 offseason—which is clearly no number to sneeze at, it may not actually be that much when you’re talking about the long-term success of your franchise quarterback hopeful—who plays the league’s most important position. While Ryan’s on-field results clearly weren’t there anymore, he was still lauded for his leadership while in Indianapolis. At the very least, maybe it would’ve been a prudent idea to have Richardson shadow him for the 2023 season as his rookie understudy, going to early AM meetings when the former NFL MVP did, conducting film study with him, etc. Think of it as a rookie starting NFL quarterback apprenticeship of sorts! We saw firsthand how much a helpful veteran soundboard can aid a young quarterback’s growth. We saw it in 2013, when the Colts signed veteran backup Matt Hasselbeck, who was a former accomplished and proven 3x NFL Pro Bowl quarterback, to mentor Andrew Luck. Since hanging up the cleats in retirement, Luck has since publicly credited Hasselbeck for his valuable contributions during his early playing career with the Colts. You can argue whether it’s affected his playing production, but the Carolina Panthers appeared to make a shrewd move signing another veteran and former 3x NFL Pro Bowler Andy Dalton to serve as 2023 #1 overall pick Bryce Young’s caddie during his early years. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Well, the Colts just signed former Super Bowl winning MVP Joe Flacco to serve as a veteran soundboard to Richardson,” who like Luck, is in his 2nd season when a clearly accomplished veteran backup was brought on respectively. That being said, Flacco has admittedly been a ‘lead by example’ veteran backup, more so than a hands on, actively engaged mentor to a younger quarterback. He was the same for Lamar Jackson while with the Baltimore
Grading Raiders 2024 free agent additions
Christian Wilkins | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images How have the new additions fared? Lets’ look at the Las Vegas Raiders additions this who were signed in unrestricted free agency prior to the season and who made 53-man roster to start the season: Christian Wilkins, defensive tackle: B+ Wilkins was the headliner of the group. Wilkins, who signed a massive, four-year $110 million deal with the Raiders in the early hours of free agency, was playing very well before he suffered a foot injury in Week 5. His season may be over. That’s a bummer, but he will be a good player for the Raiders moving forward, Robert Hanashiro-Imagn ImagesAlexander Mattison Alexander Mattison. running back: C+ Mattison has had his moments, but the Raiders’ ground game has been so poor, he can’t get a great grade. But he did supplant Week 1 starter Zamir White in the lineup. Mattison signed a one-year deal. He may be wroth bringing even if it’s as a role player in 2025. Harrison Bryant, tight end: C Bryant is a steady, role player who is a hard worker even though he doesn’t stand out much. Andrus Peat, tackle: C The backup lineman has played at times and hasn’t been great, But he is what he is at this point. Cody Whitehair, guard: D He started three games and was pretty lackluster. He is a decent player to have in a backup role. Gardner Minshew, quarterback: F If you have paid any attention to the Raiders this season, you know Minshew has been a disaster this season. He leads the NFL in turnovers and he has been replaced three times. It couldn’t have gone worse for the Raiders after signing Minshew to a two-year deal. Conclusion: It’s difficult to say this class has been productive, especially after Wilkins’ injury. Frankly, first-year Raiders’ general manager Tom Telesco was very conservative in free agency after signing Wilkins and Minshew on the first day. The lack of moves has shown on the roster of the 2-7 team.
Chiefs’ All-Pro defender Chris Jones loves Buffalo for the food (video)
Chiefs’ All-Pro defender Chris Jones loves Buffalo for the food (video) Nick Wojton Whenever the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs do battle in recent years, being the home team is probably what everyone in both locker rooms want. Two talented teams, two All-Star QBs, two rabid fan bases, and one massive matchup when it comes to the standings. But one player for the Chiefs (9-0) has revealed he… actually does not mind facing the Bills (8-2) on the road. It comes down to one thing: Food. Prior to heading to Buffalo for the Week 11 clash, the All-Pro defensive tackle mentioned that he loves heading to western New York so he can stock up on food… chicken wings, specifically. Jones said he might order up to 50 when he’s in town. Kudos, Chris. Jones on Buffalo and their delacies can be found in the clip below: Read all the best Bills coverage at the Democrat and Chronicle and Bills Wire.
Vikings @ Titans: Final Injury Report
Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images Including injury designations for Sunday’s game The Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans issued their final injury reports in advance of their matchup on Sunday in Nashville, complete with injury designations. Here they are: Minnesota Vikings Gabe Murphy, Knee, Full Participant, OUT That’s the only injury designation for the Vikings. Everyone else on the list from Wednesday and Thursday were full participants in Friday’s practice except Stephon Gilmore and Harrison Smith, who had their routine Friday days off. Gabe Murphy is probably good to go as well, but the Vikings may not be ready to make a corresponding roster move yet to activate him from IR. He still has another week in his practice window before they need to do so or he’ll revert back to IR for the season. Tennessee Titans CB L’Jarius Sneed, Quad, OUT RT Leroy Watson, Back, OUT DB Justin Hardee, Groin, Limited, QUESTIONABLE No big surprise that both Sneed and Watson are out for the Titans as neither had practiced this week. Hardee is a backup so less impactful if he plays or not. Watson’s replacement will be Nicholas Petite-Frere, while Sneed’s replacement will continue to be Darrell Baker Jr., who’s graded well in Sneed’s absence. Petite-Frere, on the other hand, has struggled in pass protection, earning just a 34.9 grade in that skill from PFF. Watson had been the lowest overall graded tackle by PFF, so Petite-Frere may not be much of a downgrade. Overall, good that the Vikings are at full strength for this matchup outside of those on IR- let’s hope that continues. Follow me on X and Bluesky @wludford
