The Houston Texans reached an agreement with former Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers linebacker Christian Kirksey on a one-year deal worth up to $4.5 million on Friday, according to a source. The Packers released Kirksey last month, as the veteran linebacker made it just one year into his two-year deal. The 28-year-old appeared in 11 games in 2020 and recorded 73 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions. He missed five games early in the year due to a pectoral injury and was released on ...

The Green Bay Packers activated linebacker Christian Kirksey (shoulder) from Injured Reserve on Saturday and placed tight end John Lovett on IR in a corresponding move. Kirksey has been out since injuring his shoulder in Week 3, and his return will be a big boost for the middle of the Packers Defense in an excellent matchup against the Jaguars and rookie quarterback Jake Luton in Week 10. Kirksey had 27 tackles (18 solo) in his three games before going on IR, and he can be a useful piece for ...

After watching countless shootouts in Week 3 of this cray-cray NFL season, and seeing two of our waiver targets from last week go down with an injury (Christian Kirksey & Emmanuel Moseley), I know what you're thinking. Why do we even bother drafting defenders? Clearly, defense doesn't matter in the NFL anymore. Just ask the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons, right? If anything, defense is optional for NFL teams. So why shouldn't it be for fantasy players?Wait you mean you weren't thinking ...

The Green Bay Packers agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with linebacker Christian Kirksey on Monday, according to his agency. Kirksey will be reuniting with his former coach in Cleveland and current Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. The former third-round pick has played in just nine games the last two years due to injuries, but he had 130-plus tackles in both 2016 and 2017 and has 11.5 sacks in his six NFL seasons. Green Bay is definitely looking to shore up their run defense, ...

The Cleveland Browns released veteran linebacker Christian Kirksey on Tuesday. The team had been trying to restructure his deal, which called for him to earn $7.75 million in 2020. Apparently the two sides could not come to an agreement, so the six-year linebacker will be free to sign with another team. Kirksey was regarded as a team leader but he struggled to stay on the field the past two seasons, missing 23 of 36 possible games. In all, Kirksey notched 484 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and two ...

The Cleveland Browns Defense played well in a 20-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3. Cleveland racked up two sacks while forcing three turnovers in the loss. The performance was all the more impressive considering that the team was without both of their starting cornerbacks in Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams and starting inside linebacker Christian Kirksey. Cleveland's defense has played well this season but they will have their work cut out for them in Week 4 against a white-hot ...

This article references Kamar Aiken and more! Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Kamar Aiken suffered a concussion after being hit over the middle of the field by Cleveland Browns linebacker Christian Kirksey. He has been ruled out for the rest of the contest.Keep on reading: Kamar Aiken Ruled Out vs. Cleveland with Concussion

Winter is coming. OK, maybe I'm being overly dramatic (or blatantly stealing afamous tag line) due to the bitter cold and first snow here in Michigan. Let mebegin again. The fantasy football playoffs are coming. That's actually just as dramatic an opening for IDP ownersas the original. Regular season games are dwindling down and it is make it orbreak it time for a lot of teams. Finding the sleeper candidates to step in and help lead ateam to a late season victory can be vital to getting into the chase for thechampionship. Here at 53 Deep we take this task very seriously and havecombed over the matchups to deliver the players that we believe have the chanceto step up this week. Without further ado... DEFENSIVE LINEMEN Jason Hatcher, DE,WASHINGTON vs. Tampa Bay (48): Hatcher notched his fourth sack of theseason in week nine and will benefit from the bye week to hit the field a bitmore refreshed this week. He will also benefit from lining up against aBuccaneers offense that has allowed eight sacks to defensive linemen in theirlast three games. Desmond Bryant, DE,CLEVELAND vs. Houston (49): Bryant has battled a wrist injury for themajority of the season but looked as good as he has all year last week. He putup six total tackles and a pair of sacks while playing 42 snaps. The Texanswill be rolling out Ryan Mallett at quarterback this week and he is not exactlyfleet of foot. Look for Bryant to continue his hot streak by getting to theinexperienced Mallett at least once this week. Osi Umenyiora, DE,ATLANTA at Carolina (59): Umenyiora is coming off his most productive gameof the season finishing with three total stops along with a pass defended and 1½ sacks. He's playing mainly a pass rushing specialist role and averaging 24snaps per game. Look for him to do plenty of damage this week even on a limitedsnap count. The Panthers just allowed nine sacks in Week 10 and have given up14 in the last two games. For at least one week we will see the Umenyiora ofdays gone by. Sharrif Floyd, DT,MINNESOTA at Chicago (44): In the last two games the Bears have allowed 22total tackles as well as 2 ½ sacks and two forced fumbles to defensive linemen.Floyd has racked up 18 total stops and 2 ½ sacks in his last three games andhas become a disruptive interior force for the Vikings. The Bears offense isout of sync and Floyd should be able to create pressure up the gut this weekmaking life miserable for Jay Cutler. LINEBACKERS Christian Kirksey,ILB, ...

The injury bug decided to take a bite out of the offensive side of the ball last week. After the carnage that has been wreaked upon the linebacker position this year, it was about time. The defensive side of the ball didn't escape unscathed last week as Eric Berry, Vontaze Burfict and longtime Individual Defensive Player (IDP) stud Charles Tillman were injured. Unfortunately for Tillman, it was another season-ending triceps injury and may be the final chapter in his fantasy worthiness book. If it is, what a ride it has been. Thanks for the memories as well as the IDP victories, Tillman. Enough sentimentality and let's get down to business! LINEBACKERS Christian Kirksey, ILB, Cleveland vs. Baltimore (52): Kirksey is still coming off the field at times in favor of Craig Robertson but has played 70 percent of the defensive snaps. That will serve him well this week against a Ravens offense that has allowed 42 tackles to inside linebackers in two games. Look for a big week from the rookie as he continues to cement his grasp on a full-time role moving forward. Vincent Rey, MLB, Cincinnati vs. Tennessee (79): Rey is in line to see a sharp uptick in snaps with Vontaze Burfict suffering his second concussion of the season. So far this season Rey has underwhelmed when called upon, putting up only five total stops with two passes defended while playing 99 snaps. This is the same linebacker who notched 30 tackles and three sacks during a three-game stretch last season. Look for Rey to put up solid numbers this week wherever the Bengals decide to line him up against a struggling Tennessee offense. David Hawthorne, WLB, New Orleans vs. Minnesota (57): Hawthorne is playing more than 79 percent of the defensive snaps and has a nice matchup with Minnesota this week. Always a solid tackle producer, he will benefit from the absence of Adrian Peterson. Matt Asiata is a straight-ahead runner who will offer plenty of tackle opportunities. Hawthorne also brings big-play potential as he's rushed the passer 11 times in two games. Look for defensive coordinator Rob Ryan to free up Hawthorne for some free shots at quarterback Matt Cassel this week. Khalil Mack, OLB, Oakland at New England (59): The Patriots have given up 53 tackle opportunities per game the first two weeks, including 11 to Jasper Brinkley last week. Mack is a solid tackle producer who can also bring pressure off the edge. Oakland has asked him to rush the passer 43 times in two games and you can bet ...

This will be an abbreviated edition of Wally's World as we all take a deep breath in anticipation of Week 1 and some actual NFL football action. For the sake of full disclosure I will state front and center that Week 4 of the preseason has little to no impact on fantasy football. The only news worthy of notice is injury related and with most starters sitting out this week even those reports are nominal. It took some digging and more than a few splashes of cold water to the face, but here are a few things that stood out from Week 4 of the preseason. Love the Tim Wright deal for New England. Tom Brady now has that second route running tight end to pair with Rob Gronkowski . It is no coincidence that Wright went to Rutgers, as coach Bill Belichick loves him some Scarlet Knights. Nice debut for the big man lining up against and playing with lesser competition on the field. Buffalo running back Bryce Brown returned to action after going down with what initially looked like a severe injury. So I guess that's a little bit of good news for an offense that has struggled throughout the preseason. Rookie wide receiver Sammy Watkins left the game with an injury to his ribs. I don't think we get to see how good this kid can be until the Bills get a better quarterback in place (sorry E.J. Manuel fans ... both of you). Kyle Orton to Buffalo? Really? This move should not have Bills fans feeling better about the season. There is a better ex-Denver Broncos quarterback you should have called ... I'm just saying. It probably won't happen but if I'm a coach for Detroit and forced to choose between Dan Orlovsky and Kellen Moore, I am choosing the kid from Boise State. We've seen the Orlovsky movie before and it isn't pretty. Moore has shown a pocket presence and improved arm strength during his tenure with the Lions. He's earned the right to back up Matthew Stafford . The Cleveland Browns are going to be successful running the ball behind a solid offensive line. Hopefully running back Ben Tate stays healthy long enough to reap the benefits. Whatever New England rookie running back James White is showing in practice that has folks impressed is definitely not showing up in games. He's looked overmatched in every preseason game. I like Alfred Blue to overtake Jonathan Grimes as the handcuff running back to Arian Foster in Houston before the season's midpoint. I don't care if it was the meaningless fourth preseason game or not, after seeing how Derek Carr looked ...