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There was news of a\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u00a0signing at edge rusher ahead of the Week 11 matchup with the\u00a0Buffalo Bills.<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay Times beat reporter\u00a0Rick Stroud reported\u00a0on the defensive flyer, informing: \u201cBucs add LB\u00a0Benton Whitley\u00a0to the practice squad.\u201d<\/p>\n
This roster move was also confirmed\u00a0by the Buccaneers\u2019 Communications department\u00a0on X.<\/p>\n
The Buccaneers rank\u00a0tied for sixth\u00a0in the\u00a0NFL\u00a0in sacks, but it\u2019s not really due to any one player having a career year. More than anything else, credit goes to head coach Todd Bowles and his ability to create pressure utilizing different positions and players.<\/p>\n
Whitley adds another potential rotational cog to the mix, although he\u2019ll start out on the practice squad, as Stroud mentioned.<\/p>\n
The 6-foot-4 Whitley has bounced around the league a bit after playing his college ball at Holy Cross. He\u00a0accumulated 15.5 sacks\u00a0in 43 appearances at Holy Cross.<\/p>\n
Despite this, Whitley\u2019s first career NFL sack has eluded him to this point.<\/p>\n
Whitley started out his\u00a0professional career\u00a0with the\u00a0Los Angeles Rams, but has also spent time with the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs,\u00a0Minnesota Vikings,\u00a0New York Giants, and\u00a0Arizona Cardinals.<\/p>\n
The edge rusher registered 2.5 preseason sacks with the Giants in 2024. In 6 regular season appearances with Minnesota and New York, Whitley logged 74 combined special teams snaps and 16 defensive snaps. His only recorded statistics are 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass breakup.<\/p>\n
Now, Bowles and the Buccaneers will give Whitley a look ahead of the Week 11 matchup with the Bills.<\/p>\n
Woody Marks may have officially seized control of the Houston Texans\u2019 backfield, and head coach DeMeco Ryans wants to see him continue to capitalize on what they expect to be increased opportunities.<\/p>\n
Marks was the No. 116 overall pick in the 2025 draft.<\/p>\n
Brought in to be a change-of-pace option behind Joe Mixon, who is on the Reserve\/Non-Football Injury (NFI) list, and Nick Chubb, Marks has emerged as so much more.<\/p>\n
The Houston Chronicle\u2019s Sam Warren noted that the Texans leaned on Marks more against the\u00a0Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 10 than they had all season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Houston Texans appeared to have a new lead back Sunday,\u201d\u00a0Warren wrote\u00a0on November 13. \u201cThe moment was overdue for the rookie who has been a key part of Houston\u2019s running back rotation this year.<\/p>\n
Warren\u2019s take comes on the heels of Ryans\u2019 comments about Marks and his fellow rookies.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo more rookies. Woody, let\u2019s go. Woody\u2019s doing a great job. We got to continue to feed him more.\u00a0[Jayden] Higgins\u00a0on the outside. Everybody sees, this guy\u2019s catch radius is insane. Put the ball in his vicinity. He\u2019s going to go and get it. You need a big play. Who shows up on fourth down? It\u2019s\u00a0Jaylin Noel\u00a0showing up, when we needed it most, to make that play,\u201d Ryans said on \u201cAll Access\u201d on November 11.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese guys are not rookies. They\u2019re making plays in the critical times of a game. Crunch time. We need it most. We\u2019re counting on the rookies. Tae is doing a great job there at left tackle, continuing to battle down in, down out. He\u2019s getting better as the season is going on. So, yeah. The rookie nameplate is off. It\u2019s like, let\u2019s go, and how can we finish this season the right way?\u201d<\/p>\n
While Higgins and Noel have come up big in clutch moments, Marks and \u201cTae\u201d [Aireontae Ersery] have been consistent contributors at two of the game\u2019s most demanding positions.<\/p>\n
Offensive coordinator\u00a0Nick Caley likes the combination of Chubb and Marks, noting that who leads the backfield could change week to week. Ryans also touted the Texans\u2019 unexpected top backfield duo.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did a really nice job handling the bulk of the carries for us,\u201d\u00a0Ryans said\u00a0on November 10. \u201cWhen Chubb came in and got his opportunities, he had some explosive runs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a good 1-2 punch that we were able to use.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Mixon sidelined, Chubb was set to be the Texans\u2019 lead back, and he started the first eight games. However, Chubb is on a one-year contract, while the Texans also have\u00a0decisions to make\u00a0on Mixon, leaving Marks positioned to solidify his role as RB1 for next season.<\/p>\n
Marks is now up to 304 yards and 2 touchdowns on 81 rushing attempts, adding 15 receptions for 183 yards and 2 TDs. He knows there is a long way to go, and Marks is determined to realize his potential.<\/p>\n
However, he is already making a strong impression.<\/p>\n
\u201cStaying laser focused and don\u2019t get too hot, get too low,\u201d Marks said, per Warren. \u201cJust stay in the middle. I\u2019ve always got room for improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew exactly what Woody could do,\u201d Ersery said, per Warren. \u201cHe was shifty, he could make people miss. He\u2019s not a small guy, he can run you over too. He\u2019s like the perfect running back. And like I said, man, I\u2019m just so happy for him and I\u2019m glad he\u2019s doing great things.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There was news of a\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u00a0signing at edge rusher ahead of the Week 11 matchup with the\u00a0Buffalo Bills. Tampa Bay Times beat reporter\u00a0Rick Stroud reported\u00a0on the defensive flyer, informing: \u201cBucs add…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t