Eric Woodyard covers the Detroit Lions for ESPN. He joined ESPN in September 2019 as an NBA reporter dedicated to the Midwest region before switching to his current role in April 2021. The Flint, Mich. native is a graduate of Western Michigan University and has authored/co-authored three books: “Wasted, Ethan’s Talent Search” and “All In: The Kelvin Torbert Story”. He is a proud parent of one son, Ethan. You can follow him on Twitter: @E_Woodyard
DETROIT — The Lions will be missing one of their top offensive weapons when they return home to face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Detroit ruled out Pro Bowl tight end Sam LaPorta on Friday because of a shoulder injury. He hasn’t practiced all week.
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Lions coach Dan Campbell described the injury as a sprained AC joint. LaPorta suffered it during the second half of last weekend’s 26-23 road win against the Houston Texans and was considered day-to-day.
“We don’t feel like this is something like, ‘Oh, man, this going to be a long, nagging injury.’ I think we’ll get through it,” Campbell said Monday.
LaPorta has the Lions’ third-most receiving yards (366) to go with 25 receptions and three touchdowns in his second NFL season. He has 111 career receptions with an opportunity to surpass Keith Jackson (144) for the most by a tight end in his first two seasons.
Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPNNov 14, 2024, 05:50 PM ET
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Marcel Louis-Jacques joined ESPN in 2019 as a beat reporter covering the Buffalo Bills, before switching to the Miami Dolphins in 2021. The former Carolina Panthers beat writer for the Charlotte Observer won the APSE award for breaking news and the South Carolina Press Association award for enterprise writing in 2018.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill said Thursday he may undergo surgery on a wrist injury that limited him at practice last week, but any procedure wouldn’t be until after the 2024 season ends.
Hill said he first injured his wrist in August, during a joint practice with the Washington Commanders. The injury worsened over the first nine weeks of the season, to a point where Hill was held out of the Dolphins’ final two practices of Week 10 and carried a questionable tag into Miami’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The league’s leading receiver from a season ago said he declined surgery and will play through the pain.
“At the end of the day, I just got to suck it up and just deal with the pain,” Hill said. “It’s going to get worse the more I play, but I got to [gut] it out for my team. I’m here, I’m locked in no matter what, no matter how I feel. So even if I’ve got to cut my wrist off, I’m still out there because I love the game of football.
“Surgery was brought up and it was talked about whenever I talked to a few of the doctors, but it’s my call at the end of the day, and my call is to stay out on the field.”
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Hill didn’t commit to surgery after the season but said he’d be “in a good space to make that decision” when the time comes. He did not practice Wednesday but was upgraded to a limited participant Thursday and expects to play Sunday against the
Tim McManus, ESPN Staff WriterNov 14, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
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Tim McManus covers the Philadelphia Eagles for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2016 after covering the Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine’s Birds 24/7, a site he helped create, since 2010. You can follow him on Twitter @Tim_McManus.
PHILADELPHIA — Eagles coach Nick Sirianni had just retreated to his office on a Monday afternoon in late September following a team meeting when three imposing figures appeared in the doorway.
His team had just fallen to 2-2 thanks to a 33-16 loss to the Bucs in Tampa Bay — the site of their lopsided playoff loss in January that completed a 1-6 collapse, expedited the firing of coordinators Brian Johnson and Sean Desai and brought Sirianni’s standing into question.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts went 18-of-30 for 158 yards with a touchdown in the rematch. He was sacked six times and was charged with a pair of fumbles, losing one of them for his seventh turnover of the season — second most in the league, behind only the Tennessee Titans’ Will Levis. The ground game never got established with Tampa jumping out to a 24-0 lead, yet Saquon Barkley still managed to rack up 84 yards on 10 carries.
It was on that sour note that players were set to dispatch from the NovaCare Complex for their bye week respite. But three of them — offensive linemen Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata and Landon Dickerson — first had to get something off their chests.
“Hey, can we talk?” one asked as they appeared at Sirianni’s door, per Mailata.
“Yeah, come sit down,” Sirianni replied.
The 6-foot-8, 365-pound Mailata made his way inside — along with the 6-6, 325-pound Johnson and 6-6, 332-pound Dickerson — and situated themselves on a couple of small couches inside Sirianni’s office. They proceeded to make their pitch for why the Eagles should shift toward a more run-oriented, offensive line-dependent attack.
Clockwise From Top: Eagles offensive linemen Landon Dickerson, Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata. Clockwise From Top: Cooper Neill/Getty Images; Eric Hartline-Imagn Images; Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
“It was just reminding him, ‘You have weapons in the air, on the ground and you have a hell of an O-line,'” Mailata said. “We wanted to lead with, ‘Hey, before Saquon got here, you had us. Now you have us and Saquon. So use it.'”
Jeff Legwold, ESPN Senior WriterNov 12, 2024, 10:18 PM ET
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Jeff Legwold is a senior writer who covers the Denver Broncos and the NFL at ESPN. Jeff has covered the Broncos for more than 20 years, joining ESPN in 2013. He also assists with NFL draft coverage, including his annual top 100 prospects. Jeff has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1999. He has attended every scouting combine since 1987.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Denver Broncos assistant head coach Mike Westhoff has resigned from the team because of health issues.
Westhoff, 76, had experienced problems with his vision beginning last Wednesday, team sources told ESPN on Tuesday night. Westhoff, who had returned from retirement to join Sean Payton’s staff last year, had undergone several tests, including an MRI exam and, after consulting with doctors in recent days, came to the decision to step away from coaching.
“It’s not easy to make this decision, but this was a wake-up call that I needed to put my health first,” Westhoff said in a statement.
“I’m grateful to Sean for giving me the opportunity to contribute to a first-class organization and wish the Broncos the very best.”
On Wednesday, Westhoff took to X to express thanks for the support he has received since his announcement.
“I want to thank everyone for the well wishes,” he wrote. “I want to assure you I’m ok, my body gave me a warning this week and I had to listen and put my health first. #BroncosCountry is amazing..thank you!”
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Westhoff is a cancer survivor, having been treated, including multiple surgeries, for cancer in his femur.
A longtime special teams coach, he had been on Payton’s New Orleans Saints staff in 2017 and 2018. He had not coached after the 2018 season until he was hired by Payton last year, shortly after the Broncos had hired Payton.
Westhoff worked daily with Broncos special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica and assistant special teams coach Chris Banjo, who was a Saints special teams standout when Westhoff was on the New Orleans staff. Westhoff and Kotwica worked together on the New York Jets’ staff from 2009 to 2012 under coach Rex Ryan.
Westhoff is one of the most experienced special teams coaches in the league since he joined the Indianapolis Colts staff in 1982. He spent 15 years as the Miami Dolphins’ special teams coach and 12 seasons as the Jets’ special teams coach.
