#christian kirksey

[the-football-chick]

After 9 seasons, LB Christian Kirksey announces his retirement from the NFL. Kirksey spent most of his career with the Browns and also had stints with the Texans, Packers and Bills.

[h00dsw0rld]

[justsportsgalore]

[neplia-com]

Packers release veterans Wagner, Kirksey

Packers release veterans Wagner, Kirksey

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers released a pair of veteran starters, offensive tackle Rick Wagner and linebacker Christian Kirksey, on Friday as they continued to shed salary-cap burdens. Even if the Packers weren’t over the projected cap, both players would have been strong candidates for release considering their uneven performances last season. Wagner also informed the team that he is…

[telegraphlocal]

NFL roster transactions heat up as free agency and draft approach

By Tommy Fradenburg

https://www.telegraphlocal.com/2020/03/10/nfl-roster-transactions-heat-up-as-free-agency-and-draft-approach/

While the NFL season is still months away, teams are starting to get busy. With free agency officially beginning on March 18 and the 2020 draft less than a month away, front offices are looking to boost their rosters heading into the regular season. Jets Inform CB Trumaine Johnson He is Being Released This week… Read More

[williebeamin]

[casorasi]

Packers reach deal with free-agent LB Christian Kirksey

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Linebacker Christian Kirksey has agreed to terms on a deal with the Green Bay Packers less than a week after the Cleveland Browns released him. Packers reach deal with free-agent LB Christian Kirksey

[thelandrant]

Ignore the Browns Haters: “It Looks Good on Paper”

Well duh, of course I’m excited as a Browns fan. It’s the most anticipated season since at least the Browns’ return to the NFL in 1999, but I actually think the Browns might even be underrated. I’m not just buying into the hype. I’m saying the current hype isn’t enough. I will certainly admit I’m a Cleveland homer, and I’m fully ready to have this take blow up in my face a few months from now. But as things currently stand, I couldn’t be more optimistic. This series of posts (and the first posts of this blog) will address all the arguments against the Browns hype in the national media.

“The roster looks good on paper but they gotta do it on the field.”

I know. I get it. There are plenty of examples in sports of teams with good rosters that failed to perform. I’m not saying that’s impossible for this team, but this is a lazy take that people only resort to because the Browns have been… well the Browns over the last 20 years. People know this is a very good roster but they’re afraid to put their chips down on a team that’s been so bad in recent years. They’re afraid of being wrong and feel like they have to hedge their bet by adding the “on paper” qualifier.

If you want to talk about what’s on paper though, just look at this roster. There are stars and potential breakout stars everywhere, especially at the most valuable positions.

We know it all starts with the quarterback. Coming off a record setting rookie season, Baker Mayfield is already an above average QB. I would argue a top 10 QB with all the tools to work his way into the top 5 conversation by the end of the season. People are still underestimating how quickly he makes decisions and gets the ball to his target. People are still underestimating how accurate of a passer he is, especially deep downfield. With Todd Monken coming to the Browns with his big play offense, I fully expect Baker to put up huge numbers this season.

Continuing with the offense, I think the Browns have the best receiving corp in the entire NFL. In my view, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry are the clear cut best receiving duo, and I think people are sleeping on Rashard Higgins. He’s such a smooth receiver who has obvious chemistry with Baker. I think he’s poised for a breakout year with much of the attention on the other two guys. On top of the best receiving corp, when the second half of the season rolls around, the Browns will have the clear cut best running back duo in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Either of these guys could pop a long touchdown run on any given carry. They both proved that last year. They’re certainly no slouches at tight end or offensive line either. David Njoku has all the athletic ability to make a lot of big plays, especially in the red zone. People like to point to the offensive line as being a weakness of this team, but remember the Browns still have JC Tretter and Joel Bitonio to protect Baker up the middle and a lot of people don’t realize this line gave up hardly any sacks after Kitchens took over the offense last year.

Looking at the defense, this is one of the best defensive lines and best secondaries in the NFL. Olivier Vernon on the edge and Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi up the middle are a formidable group on their own. The other end also has a legit defensive player of the year candidate in Myles Garrett and make no mistake about it, he’s motivated to win that award. Backing them up you have Damarious Randall and Denzel Ward who has the tools to be the best cornerback in the NFL. Beyond that, you have Greedy Williams, who many people thought was the best cover corner in the draft. I don’t want to forget about Terrance Mitchell as well. This is a guy that I think has been seriously underrated, even by Browns fans. It’s partially because he was injured for most of last year, but he is a very good cornerback who might end up splitting starting time with Greedy. Oh, and they have a couple of former pro bowlers at linebacker too in Christian Kirksey and Joe Schobert. This is going to be a fun playmaking defense to watch.

So no, it doesn’t JUST look good on paper. This isn’t a random collection of good players. This is a team of players with complementary skill sets. It’s a team with it’s best players at all the premium skill positions. If you stop the passing attack, good luck stopping the run. If you can manage to block this monster defensive line, good luck getting open receivers against this secondary. That’s not something many teams can say.

[majorleaguefantasysports]

"James Addiction" D/ST Starts (Season Long/DFS) and IDP Targets Week # 4

“James Addiction” D/ST Starts (Season Long/DFS) and IDP Targets Week # 4

Week 3 of the NFL Schedule was full of surprises. The Buffalo Bills got their first win in impressive fashion and made Minnesota D/ST owners shake their heads. The Saints, Chiefs and Steelers continue to put up lots of points and give up lots of points. The biggest news of the week, however, had to be, “The Browns Win”!

I’m sure Week 4 will also have plenty of surprises, but regardless my picks…

[the-football-chick]

Colts Quenton Nelson (56) has got to be the nicest Center/Guard in the league. Nelson says 'You Good' after pancaking Texans LB Christian Kirksey (58) who said 'Yes Sir' 😂😂 And then helps him up.

Colts won this Week 6 matchup, 31-3, Oct. 17, 2021.

IG:nfl

[h00dsw0rld]

[cleatgeeksdotcom]

Dawg Pound Scoop: Scrimmage Update

Dawg Pound Scoop: Scrimmage Update

On Friday, the Cleveland Browns held their annual Brown and White Scrimmage, this time at FirstEnergy Stadium instead of in Columbus. It was the first time that we got a look at all the rookies and veterans mixed together in a game like scenario. Hue Jackson and company tried to make the scrimmage as game-like as possible, with 4 quarters, 10 minutes each, and referees officiating every aspect.

T…

[cheapnfljerseysreviews-blog]

The Browns are making a long-term commitment to one of their own young defenders.

National football league Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that linebacker Christian Kirksey signed on Tuesday a four-year, $38 million contract extension full of $20 million in guaranteed cash.

They later confirmed the signing, with executive VP of football operations Sashi Brown saying inside a statement that Kirksey represents "another illustration of a youthful gifted football player that you want to participate our company for that lengthy-term."

After notching an astonishing 148 tackles and a pair of.5 sacks being an inside linebacker last season, Kirksey is getting ready to man the weak outdoors place in new coordinator Gregg Williams' 4-3 plan Darwin Barney Jersey.

"A linebacker's a linebacker, you are likely to be in the process, you are likely to be in positions to create a large amount of plays," Kirksey stated earlier this year, per The Plain Dealer. "I understand Gregg, they know what he's doing on his defense, they know the very best place to place me, so I'll anticipate to just play wherever he wants me to experience.Inch

Finishing 2016 because the 22nd-rated player at his position, Kirksey thrived from the run but was victimized in coverage. That will have to change this year, but Kirksey finished the campaign in better shape than lots of his defensive teammates ice hockey jerseys.

Kirksey would be a third-round pick in 2014, a part of a normally disastrous draft for that Browns that saw Cleveland whiff on quarterback Johnny Manziel and cornerback Justin Gilbert.

He was hardly the headliner from that ill-fated crop, but Kirksey has won over this latest Browns regime. For his next trick, the youthful linebacker is going to be requested to earn his wealthy hire another season of productive starts.

[packernet]

New Post has been published on https://www.packernet.com/blog/2022/12/02/blake-martinez-and-his-time-with-the-green-bay-packers/

Blake Martinez and His Time with the Green Bay Packers

Not only has the former Packers linebacker announced that he will be leaving the Las Vegas Raiders, but he has also announced that he is retiring from the NFL after seven successful seasons. Martinez’s time with the Green Bay Packers before joining the Giants was anything but ordinary; he led in tackles for three full seasons making him the first defender on the team to lead the league in tackles since A.J. Hawk. During his career with the team, he landed a total of 512 tackles, three interceptions, ten sacks, and two forced fumbles in 61 games overall, 57 of which he started in. Anyone taking part in a little friendly football betting has been able to rely on Martinez, but they’ll have to find somewhere else to put their money from next season onwards.

Good Relationships?

Though Martinez recently wrote on Instagram that he had a wonderful time with a number of great franchises during his career, we have reason to believe that he was less than happy with the Packers defense that he was leading during his time there. He certainly seemed invested in the team, taking an active part in their “Packers Vs. Cancer campaign”, which earned him a nomination for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2019. However, he felt his former team did not place a high enough value on his skills as a linebacker, which we can only assume is what caused the rift.

Defensive Tactics

Looking a little more closely at the situation, it’s clear to see that there was fallout from the split. When Martinez was asked to leave the Packers for the Giants, it seems that the two factions only negotiated very briefly and did not talk much about the transfer. When the news was still breaking, Martinez took the time to think carefully about what a change like this would mean for his future. Comments that he made after the negotiations began made it abundantly clear that Martinez felt his talents would be better utilized and appreciated elsewhere. Not only did Martinez feel that his talents were undervalued, but he felt there was no value placed on the defensive positions in general and the inside linebacker position in particular when compared with other teams. This sentiment is backed up by the fact that Ted Thompson and Brian Gutekunst had far fewer resources at their disposal for the position than they could have had.

Image by Camera-man via Pixabay

When Martinez’s contract came up, and the deal asked for a $10 million dollar re-sign fee, the Packers ultimately went with a linebacker- Christian Kirksey- whose fee came in at a far more “reasonable” $6 million per year over two years, which says a lot about the value placed on that position.

Martinez’s concerns continued to become clear when he spoke out about resenting the role he was asked to play in the team. Not linebacker, because that’s what he was paid for, but rather “clean up guy’, as he phrased it in an interview. He felt that he was put in a position where he had minimal capacity to make plays himself but instead was a sort of babysitter who had to sit back and wait for other players to take initiative and let the action come to him. He felt that this lack of action on the field damaged the public and professional perception of his skillset and that it caused him to be perceived as an ineffective player, which seems like a fair assessment.

Left for Dead

Martinez spoke at length, both in candid language and veiled terms, about how essentially abandoned he felt by his higher-ups. He believes that his statistics took a real nosedive in 2019 because he was essentially just a pawn on the field to be shuffled around rather than a player with autonomy. Mike Pettine’s coordinating abilities are now put up for debate due to these revelations. Some feel that Martinez is just a disgruntled former player who tried to get a few swipes in at his former team before he hit the road, but others see the logic in his thoughts and the evidence in his statistics.

Wrap Up

Martinez certainly made some waves in his career for several reasons, most of them undisputedly good. He was a solid Packer for four years.

[williebeamin]

[robeight]

Uvalde High Wins First Home Football Game Of Season

The Uvalde High School football team wins their first home game of the season. In the first home game for Uvalde High in Uvalde, Texas, since the town was devastated by the school shooting at Robb Elementary earlier this year, the Uvalde Coyotes scored a “W.” Playing against the Winn High Mavericks from Eagle Pass, Texas, Uvalde won 34-28 in a dramatic game.

Although thoughts of the 21 victims of the Robb Elementary shooting were on the minds of the teams and spectators, it was an opportunity for a happy moment for the town. The stands were filled with community members sporting their “Uvalde Strong” shirts and the opposing team even played a video of teachers and students from their school wearing Uvalde’s colors and sharing messages of support for their neighboring community.

At a pre-game dinner the night before the home game, the team got a surprise visit from Houston Texans coach Lovie Smith and Texans linebackers Christian Kirksey and Kamu Grugier-Hill, who came out to show their support for the community. The Texans also gifted the team new uniforms and equipment and announced that the Texans plan to honor Uvalde with “Uvalde Strong” stickers on their helmets at their first home game on September 11th. "We'll always be in your corner,” Kirksey told the Uvalde players. “We'll always have your back."

Source: Good Morning America