Indianapolis and Green Bay didn't wait for this week's roster moves to start filling holes.
Instead Le'Raven Clark Jersey , they cut a deal Sunday.
The Colts traded inside linebacker Antonio Morrison to the Packers for cornerback Lenzy Pipkins, giving each veteran a chance to impress their new coaches in this week's preseason finales 鈥?and a better chance of making the 53-man active roster.
Green Bay already was thin at inside linebacker after incumbent starter Jake Ryan suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during training camp. The Packers suffered another blow when Ryan's replacement, rookie Oren Burks, hurt his shoulder during Friday's pregame warmups and missed the game against Oakland.
Burks was a third-round draft pick in the spring, but coach Mike McCarthy said Sunday the injury was less severe than initially feared and that the injury would not be long term.
Still, they made the move.
"Antonio is obviously an experienced linebacker, and if you look at the youth of the group, that's something we felt we needed to add," McCarthy said. "Lenzy's a good young corner, did some really good things for us at the end of the year. But we're very young at that position."
Getting Morrison could fill one of Green Bay's most glaring needs.
The 6-foot-1, 241-pound Morrison played in 31 games with the Colts, made 19 starts including 15 last season. He finished among the league's top 20 in tackles in 2017, leading the Colts with 109.
Morrison was originally the Colts' fourth-round draft pick in 2016.
But Morrison started sliding down the Colts' depth chart after new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus switched from a 3-4 defensive front to the more traditional 4-3, a scheme that requires only one starting inside linebacker. In contrast Braden Smith Jersey , Green Bay will continue to use a 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.
Morrison's experience also could make him an immediate contributor with starter Blake Martinez, who had 144 tackles last season and finished with a share of the league lead. Martinez started next to undrafted rookie Greer Martini when Burks sat out Friday.
Burks said nobody has given him a timeline for his return and he's not sure if he'll be ready for Green Bay's season opener Sept. 9 against Chicago.
"Shoulder just popped out. It's unfortunate but it's part of the game," Burks said. "Knew something was wrong, obviously, but I've never had any shoulder issues before so I didn't really know what I was feeling or any kinds of things like that. Good evaluation, good feedback from the MRI and things like that."
Pipkins played in 12 games, mostly on special teams, after making the Packers as an undrafted rookie last season.
He also moved down the depth chart after Green Bay selected cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson with its top two picks in this year's draft and re-signed free agent Tramon Williams, who played for Pettine in Cleveland after leaving Green Bay in free agency following the 2014 season.
"Our two rookies played well in the game," McCarthy said. "But I think it's just a product of a number of things. It (linebacker) is a position that we wanted to add experience to, and definitely some young guys there that we feel good about."
With an already young secondary, the Colts figured they'd take a look at the 6-foot, 196-pound Pipkins in Thursday night's preseason finale at Cincinnati.
Second-year cornerbacks Quincy Wilson and Nate Hairston both missed the Colts' game with injuries.
Pierre Desir, a fifth-year player who made five of his 12 career starts last season in Indy http://www.washingtonredskinsteamonline.com/zach-brown-jersey , and Kenny Moore II, a second-year player who has impressed coaches, have been the starters this preseason.
But Pipkins could help the Colts in nickel or dime packages if Wilson or Hairston are out any significant amount of time.
"We feel like it's a good fit," coach Frank Reich said. "He's a guy that our guys had their eyes on. It's tough with Antonio because I loved Antonio, I loved the toughness he brought. But I think this was a move that was best for the team."
AP Sports Writer Genaro Armas in Milwaukee also contributed to this article.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Baker Mayfield played on a big stage at Oklahoma, so he’s not scared of stepping onto football’s biggest one.
The Browns rookie quarterback — and perhaps their QB of the future — will make his NFL exhibition debut Thursday night as Cleveland visits the New York Giants in a game that will feature the top two overall picks in this year’s draft: Mayfield and Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
Almost from the time he first picked up a football, the Heisman Trophy winner has been looking forward to his first game action as a pro. But he won’t let that thrill overwhelm him.
“Played this game for a long time, I don’t get nervous,” said Mayfield, currently No. 2 on Cleveland’s depth chart behind Tyrod Taylor. “So I’m going to say I’m not going to have to worry about that part. Anytime I get the chance to play ball, yeah, I get excited, but however much I play I’ve got to take advantage of the opportunity, that’s for sure.”
Coach Hue Jackson want to play Mayfield two quarters T.Y. Hilton Jersey , sending him in after Taylor gets in some work leading Cleveland’s first-team offense for a series or two.
The Browns’ plan — at this point — is to have Mayfield spend the season watching and learning behind Taylor, who led Buffalo to the playoffs last season and has quickly established himself as a leader in Cleveland.
Mayfield understands he has to be patient, and while waiting for his turn he’s had an impressive training camp. He releases the ball quickly and accurately, and Mayfield seems to have a solid grasp of coordinator Todd Haley’s offense.
But although Jackson said Mayfield has exceeded expectations, he’s committed to opening the season with Taylor behind center.
“We are going to grow our quarterbacks,” Jackson said last week. “Tyrod Taylor is our quarterback. Baker Mayfield is competing and getting better each and every day, still learning the National Football League. Has done a really nice job of learning our system and improving every day.”
The 23-year-old Mayfield showed poise during an intrasquad scrimmage last week. He led Cleveland’s backups on an opening touchdown drive, but later struggled in the red zone against Cleveland’s starting defense and also threw his first interception of camp.
He knows the tempo and intensity will be even higher against the Giants.
“When you get the energy level up, you’ve got to be able to execute, so that’s why I’m excited about Thursday as well,” he said. “You get people hyped up, you actually get some contact in and you can focus in and do your job when there are distractions around, so I think we handled the first one pretty well, but it definitely can go a lot better.”
Although he became a major college star Morgan Moses Jersey , Mayfield had to fight every step of the way. He was a walk-on at Texas Tech and with the Sooners, and Mayfield feels those experiences prepared him to handle not starting now.
He’s a backup, and Mayfield is making the most of being one.
“Whenever I got to Texas Tech I wasn’t given an opportunity to get out there, as well, then when I got to OU, I was on scout team,” he said. “It’s how I’ve always handled it, whatever opportunity I get, to make sure I get better I need to take advantage of that. So right now that’s doing second-team reps, or that’s even translating now doing some card offense, scout-team stuff. Whatever I can do to learn and keep getting reps, that’s the best thing.”
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