Wardy's NFL Wordy, Week 6 Preview: SING US A SONG, YOU’RE THE JOURNEYMAN

By Rob Ward

It was the most exciting finish of any London game ever. Yes, I’m making that bold declaration having been at the two previous ones. Namely, the one bright spot of the Urban Meyer experience in Jacksonville, when they nailed a 53 yarder to earn their first win of the season over Brian Flores’ Dolphins, and Matt Prater drilling a winning field goal (having been iced on his failed first attempt) to complete a 21-point deficit wipeout for the Lions against, who else, the Atlanta Lol-cons.

What do you mean you don’t remember?

Anyway, the Jags dramatic and unlikely victory over the Eagles was the talk of the NFL town in Week 5. But amidst the apocalyptic discourse surrounding Philadelphia, it was the identity of the Jags’ kickoff returner – the man who used 7 of those final 8 seconds to singlehandedly get his team into field goal range – who caught my attention.

Ameer Abdullah. You remember him. Drafted by the Lions in 2015, he wrestled the lead back role from Joique Bell and gained a lot of pre-season fantasy buzz in 2016. Alas, an early injury following a promising start ended his season. It went downhill fast. There was a wee bit of fantasy noise pre-2017, but if you didn’t trade him after his big week 2 performance against the Giants then you missed out.

From Detroit he went to Minnesota, where is transition to special teams began. Then he moved in quick succession from Carolina to Las Vegas, he popped into San Francisco for a pair of Levi’s and a brief training camp appearance, before Indianapolis – I hope you’re keeping up – then landing in Jacksonville this past summer.  

That’s probably the most words anyone has ever committed to page about Ameer Abdullah, but there is just something incredibly heartening about the 12-season journeyman, bouncing from roster to roster, grabbing the spotlight in the winter of his career.

It got me thinking about this week’s slate of fixtures and which wily old pro has the potential to make one last splash. Or ‘doing the Abdullah’ as the industry are now calling it.

HOUSTON TEXANS @ JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (though actually @ London)

If the reigning Abdullah – that being Ameer Abdullah himself – gets an unlikely carry against Houston this weekend, he might be tackled by his London successor. Jadeveon Clowney is likely the most prestigious name on this list, having been drafted first overall for his current team back in 2014. Clowney played well enough in his first stint for the Texans, but fancied himself worth the elite pass rusher money that his production didn’t quite justify. After that, it’s a baffling succession of 6 teams in 7 years, attitude and output questioned, only staying for more than one season in Cleveland between 2021 and 2022. Against a Jags O Line with injury concerns suddenly emerging, look for Clowney to bring down Trevor Lawrence at Wembley.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS @ TAMPA BAY BUCCANNEERS

Tampa Bay’s grizzled 87-year-old offensive consultant Tom Moore (no, not the guy whose family made him circle the garden to pay for their new conservatory) would have been the perfect choice, but he retired back in January. So, I’m opting for a man half his age that you may have heard of. He used to play quarterback; he actually won a Super Bowl 16 years ago and many had him down as an all-time great. Then he kept losing playoff games and eventually started losing his mind. Nowadays, you’ll find him at spiritual retreats, smoking the ashes of Giant Redwoods, drinking elk blood and analysing his own human waste. In honour of the golden oldies who apparently are still playing football, let’s have Aaron Rodgers throwing a touchdown in Tampa on Sunday.

NEW YORK JETS @ NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Full disclosure. The 36-year-old I want to celebrate won’t be on the field. He has landed on IR and his future is uncertain. But he’s too elite a journeyman to ignore. Greg Van Roten was picked up by the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2012 from the Penn Quakers (yes, they’re a real team). He only managed 10 games in Green Bay across two years, didn’t make the roster after signing for the Seahawks in early 2014 and then vanished into obscurity in the Canadian Football League and the Toronto Argonauts (yes, they’re a real team). The Panthers took a chance with him in 2017 and the comeback was on. He played every snap in 2018. The comeback was complete. The man who sounds like the guitarist for a Van Halen tribute act became a regular starter for the Jets, Bills, Raiders, Giants and now the Patriots. Let’s hope in Week 16 of this season he gets one more chance to play for the Pats, in this the least competitive of rivalries against the New York Jets (yes, they’re a real team).

CAROLINA PANTHERS @ PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

It wouldn’t be a Wardy Wordy without mentioning the players no one cares about. I did have my eye on the Panthers’ long snapper J.J. Jansen – now 40 years old – who will take the record for most games played by a long snapper evs (282) this Sunday. Problem is, he’s proper good at what he does and has been with the Panthers since 2009. I will settle instead for another special teamer in Carolina and punter Sam Martin. The former Lion, Bronco and Ram, clearly a fan of animal nicknamed teams, is now in his 14th season. With the last Panthers play of the game, let’s have Martin pinning the Eagles inside their own 5, needing Tanner McKee to drive them down the field in less than 2 minutes with no time outs. Drama!

BALTIMORE RAVENS @ CLEVELAND BROWNS

It’s the annual Cleveland-based battle between the two cheeks of the same Ohioan arse and any opportunity to talk full backs should not be turned down. Michael Burton sounds like a journeyman. He doesn’t have a flashy, exciting or outrageous name like most NFL players. He sounds like a guy you’d find supping John Smith’s down the local working man’s club, but his is an impressive resumé that includes the Lions, Bears, Saints, Commanders, Broncos and a Super Bowl win with the Chiefs. Don’t be expecting Burton to make a spectacular 26-yard grab down the sideline like Kyle Juszczyk, instead look for him to make a solid block as Quinshon Judkins trundles home from 3 yards for a consolation score in a blowout.

CHICAGO BEARS @ ATLANTA FALCONS

Despite this being a match that pits arguably the NFL’s best two rushing games against each other, I’ve got no interest in keeping the ball on the ground. I’m looking to the skies. Specifically, I’m looking at a distance of no more than 45 yards from the uprights and a trajectory of no more than 8 metres above the surface. A 41-year-old kicker drafted in 2007, while I was still at Uni and 5 years before I got into the NFL, is the gold standard of this sport. Nick Folk is on his 6th team and in his 20th year. A decade into his career he took a year out – perhaps he went backpacking around India – but then returned strong. His longest effort this year (51) just creeps into the 50-59 category, but I’m going for the Atlanta kicker to be the Folk Hero this Sunday, drilling a 53 yarder to win the game for the Lol-cons as the clock expires.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS @ NEW YORK GIANTS

What is it with the Giants and this cupcake of a schedule? The New derby has ‘last on Match of the Day’ vibes about it and, in honour of this, I’m shopping in the bargain bin of the 7th round of the NFL Draft to find my journeyman of choice. I’ve ended up with a damn fine one at that. Shelby Harris started life going from practice squad to practice quad before relative stardom in Denver in the late 2010s. He was one of the pieces sent to Seattle in the infamous “Russell Wilson. Holy s**t” trade. Harris lasted one year in the Emerald City before hopping back on the carousel. Look to this former excellent run defender to make multiple stops on Saints underwhelming rusher Kendre Miller. Like I say, ‘last on Match of the Day’ vibes.

TENNESSEE TITANS @ INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

The wide receiving talent in this one leaves a lot to be desired. There’s Carnell Tate and who? In the words of Bonnie Tyler, we need a hero. I feel one emerged in Week 5. Take a glance at the box score for the Colts @ Steelers game and see who had the second most targets for Indy with 8. It’s only Laquon Tradwell. LAQUON TREADWELL. Now admittedly he only caught 2 of them – Da Vinci couldn’t pain the Mona Lisa if he hadn’t touched a brush for 5 years – but I’m ready for the 11-year veteran to find the endzone in a win that will take the Colts, a team that defines middle of the road, to 3-3. They are who we thought they were.

ARIZONA CARDINALS @ LOS ANGELES RAMS

You could look no further than the Cardinals starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who is delivering an interesting take on journeyman by putting up better numbers as he gets older. It’s like when a theatre modernises Shakespeare by setting Macbeth in a Middle Eastern warzone and has Macbeth win. Then there’s Kendrick Bourne, the 49ers former ‘third down and Bourne’ solid number 3 receiver finally gets his chance to play number 2. But I’m opting for a Ram, because a replacement left tackle starting game is just too juicy to pass up. Particularly as 36-year-old David Quessenberry has only started 30 games in 14 NFL seasons. Perhaps he was distracted with inventing the rules of boxing (one for the Eggheads). Look for Quessenberry to keep Arizona’s underwhelming pass rush underwhelming for another week.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS @ KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

At this stage of the season, Los Angeles might as well throw 11 of our ageing nomads into their starting lineup. They can’t do any worse than the chumps currently playing in electric blue. They’ve really rolled back the clock this week, relying on a player that was never that good to begin with. Marquez Valdes-Scantling was drafted in 2018 and is on his ninth team, including three different stops in 2025. This is elite level journeymanship. You may have forgotten that MVS was on the Chiefs’ Super Bowl winning rosters of 2022 and 2023, so in this ‘revenge game’ let’s take a late meaningless touchdown against Kansas City backups.

BUFFALO BILLS @ LAS VEGAS RAIDERS

I know Kirk Cousins is the obvious choice, but it’s just too obvious for my liking. I have a natural bias for a great name, and after a bit of digging I discovered the Raiders defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi. The UConn man got off to an excellent start for the Jets after being drafted in 2018, playing on only 3 defensive snaps in his rookie year. He was clearly building his credentials to appear in this article. After smartly peaking towards the end of his time in Jersey, ‘Fatu’ – as I’m calling him – got a 3-year deal in Jacksonville, followed by 2 years in Houston before hitting Sin City. I’m going big with this one – how can you not with a man named ‘Fatu’? – and I’m taking our boy to stuff Josh Allen on a 4th and short.

DALLAS COWBOYS @ GREEN BAY PACKERS

We of course never wish injury on any player in the NFL. Certainly not the good ones, even if your team is about to play them. Of course we don’t. We are all incredibly virtuous. But – and I mean BUT – if injury were to befall Packers quarterback Jordan Love this Sunday night in Lambeau, it would mean yet another NFL appearance for Tyrod Taylor. As Touchdown chief Simon Carroll once opined, Tyrod is a man who can sniff out a starting job like a shithouse rat. Lest we forget, Taylor has a Super Bowl ring. Yes, it was as backup to Joe Flacco 13 years ago, but that’s one more than you’ve got! Even more remarkably, he started a game for the Jets last year. You read that right. I’m keeping the faith we’re gonna see the great man in Week 6, either a designed run inside the 5 or 4 kneel downs at the end of the game. Which do you think is more likely?

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS @ SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

The 9ers 5-0 start is even more impressive given that for the 97th season in a row, they are dealing with a load of injuries. They are worst hit at wide receiver, where even their replacements players Christian Kirk and DeMarcus Robinson (both with fine credentials to make our list) are out. We’re now on the replacements’ replacements. Arise Brandin Cooks, who jumped off the couch last week to snag a crucial touchdown in an impressive win in Seattle. I’ve still not forgiven fantasy Cooks for busting in my lineup and booming on my bench, but that won’t stop me sticking the former Saint, Patriot and Ram, who I thought had retired circa 2022, onto the list and doubtless into the endzone again Monday night.

ROB WARD

NFL/Fantasy Football Enthusiast

ROB IS A LOVER OF ALL THINGS 49ERS AND HOST OF THE COLLAPSING POCKET PODCAST IN WHICH HE, SIMON CARROLL AND SAM AKROYD BUTT-FUMBLE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE WORLD OF THE NFL. AWAY FROM SPORT, ROB IS A PROFESSIONAL WRITER AND PERFORMER. HIT HIM UP ON TWITTER @TDWARDY!

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