Raiders To Hire Joe DeCamillis As STC
After three years coaching in college, longtime NFL special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis is returning to the pros. The Raiders are expected to hire DeCamillis as their special teams coordinator, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reports.
The 60-year-old DeCamillis spent the last two seasons at South Carolina as its associate head coach/ST coordinator. He was a special assistant at Texas in 2023. Before that, DeCamillis racked up 34 years’ experience in the NFL.
DeCamillis’ career began in 1991 as Denver’s assistant special teams coach. He went on to run ST units for the Giants, Falcons, Jaguars, Cowboys, Bears, Broncos, Jaguars and Rams over the next three decades. A two-time Super Bowl champion, DeCamillis won a ring with the Broncos in 2015 and the Rams in 2021.
During his second stint in Denver from 2015-16, DeCamilis worked for head coach Gary Kubiak. He’ll now serve under Kubiak’s son, new Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak, in Las Vegas. Once official, DeCamillis will be the second coordinator hire for the 38-year-old Kubiak, who promoted defensive line coach Rob Leonard to DC on Saturday.
DeCamilis will take over a special teams unit that struggled mightily and went through an in-season coaching change in 2025. With the Raiders off to a 2-7 start in early November, former head coach Pete Carroll fired ST coordinator Tom McMahon. Assistant Derius Swinton II, who’s now with the Steelers, took the reins for the rest of the year. Pro Football Focus ranked the Raiders’ special teams a woeful 31st in the league. Kubiak will expect better results from the DeCamillis-led group in 2026.
QB Derek Carr Confirms He Would Consider Return To NFL
It’s the era of unretiring quarterbacks in the NFL, apparently. Though we’ve seen it from other positions, as well (most notably tight ends — Jason Witten, Rob Gronkowski, Darren Waller), quarterbacks seem to be the most notorious culprits of playing with the emotions of their fans. 
Brett Favre retired with the Packers before coming back to play and retire with the Jets before coming back to play and retire with the Vikings. Favre’s first retirement lasted about four months before he asked the Packers for his release; his second lasted just over two months before the Jets let him go. Tom Brady retired after two seasons with the Buccaneers before announcing, 40 days later, that he would return for another year. The most notorious — and egregious — example came to us this past season when Philip Rivers made a comeback for the Colts nearly five years after initially hanging up his cleats.
That’s what made it unsurprising, at this point, when reports sprouted up last week that former Raiders and Saints quarterback Derek Carr could consider returning to play in 2026 after retiring last year. As Carr dealt with a shoulder injury and the potential need for surgery, it was announced that he would be hanging it up. Initial reports indicated that Carr was “extremely unlikely” to unretire, but he had called around the league to gauge interest before making the decision and, eventually, began to change his tune. When both the Bengals and Colts came calling, though, Carr remained retired, not yet getting coaxed out of unemployment.
Then, last week’s reports came out, and in an installment of Carr’s Home Grown podcast that he hosts with his brother, David Carr, on Thursday, Derek confirmed the reports that unretirement was a possible consideration. “Would I do it? Yes,” Carr communicated to his brother and listeners. “Would I do it for anybody? Absolutely not. I’d have to be healthy, and I’d want a chance to win a Super Bowl, and obviously, that’s a tough thing to find. That’s hard to do. That’s not easy.”
The 34-year-old passer seemed to indicate that health is not an issue at this point in time and, perhaps, alluded to the contender-status requirement being the reason he didn’t unretire for the Bengals and Colts last year, saying he “had to say ‘no’ a couple times, so far.”
The Bengals had shown in 2024 that even with Joe Burrow playing at an MVP level, their defense kept them from even making the playoffs, and while the Colts looked like the team to beat in the AFC after a 7-1 start to the season, cracks had already started to appear even before Daniel Jones went down with a season-ending injury. Indianapolis lost three of its last four games with Jones at quarterback with the only win coming in overtime over the Falcons.
It’s unclear, then, exactly what the scenario would need to look like for him to seriously consider returning to the field. One would assume that perennial quarterback-hungry teams like the Jets, Raiders, or Browns would not entice him to unretire.
Other teams with potential quarterback openings could be the Dolphins, Steelers, Colts, Vikings, Falcons, and Cardinals. It’s hard to argue any of those teams are necessarily a Derek Carr away from winning it all, but the situation Carr may be looking for could be one in which an expected title contender loses their passer and is looking for a veteran to carry them to the finish line, à la Nick Foles in 2017.
Regardless, the option appears to be on the table and, given the return of the 44-year-old Rivers last year, it could remain on the table for years to come. It only remains to be seen whether or not the stars will align for Carr to dust off his cleats and see if they still fit.
Offseason Outlook: Washington Commanders
While Jayden Daniels' injuries protected him from labels of a sophomore slump, the Commanders acted swiftly with interesting changes following their wildly disappointing season. The 2024 NFC runner-ups crashed back to earth with a 5-12 finish. Washington cleaned house on the coordinator level, booting Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt after two seasons. Their replacements are less experienced, and Dan Quinn has moved closer to the hot seat.
The Commanders also came into last season with the NFL's oldest roster. They have plenty of work to do to surround Daniels and other core players with younger supplementary pieces as they attempt to dig out of this current hole.
Coaching/front office:
- Parted ways with OC Kliff Kingsbury, DC Joe Whitt
- David Blough promoted to OC; Daronte Jones hired as DC
- Hired Eric Henderson as defensive run-game coordinator
- Fired assistant OLBs coach Ryan Kerrigan, assistant D-line coach Sharrif Floyd
- Hired D.J. Williams as quarterbacks coach
- Promoted Darnell Stapleton to offensive line coach
- Run-game coordinator Anthony Lynn interviewed for Bills, Browns' HC jobs
Quinn yanked play-calling duties from Whitt midseason, making the Washington DC position likely to become vacant. But the Kingsbury ouster was unexpected. Resurfacing as a coveted HC interviewee in 2025, the veteran play-caller was out of a job a year later. Teams still called up Kingsbury for HC interviews this offseason, but his Commanders exit brings significant questions.
Jaguars’ Travis Hunter Will Play More CB Than WR In 2026
The Jaguars traded up to the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft to select Travis Hunter, a potentially generational prospect who played on both sides of the ball in college.
In the lead-up to the draft, Hunter repeatedly made it clear that he intended to play offense and defense in the NFL. He was viewed as a first-round wide receiver but an even better cornerback, so a full-time role on defense while coming in for specific packages on offense felt like an ideal split of his time. Not only does he have a higher ceiling at cornerback, but it seems easier for a wide receiver to play a part-time role.
However, the Jaguars went in the opposite direction in Hunter’s rookie year. He played 324 snaps on offense and 162 on defense with better results from the latter, aligning with his pre-draft profile. In 12 games, he averaged just 6.6 yards per target as a receiver but allowed only 5.9 yards per target in coverage.
Hunter’s rookie season ended early due to knee surgery, and the early injury raised questions about the practicality and longevity of his two-way workload. Multiple reports have indicated that the Jaguars do not share those concerns, but they are planning to adjust his snap distribution when he returns to the field later this year.
“Travis Hunter is expected to be 100% full-go by Week 1,” NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe said. “He had surgery on the LCL in his knee. He will play both sides again in 2026. The big change may come in the usage. From what I understand, they plan to play him as a full-time cornerback [and] a part-time receiver.”
A late-season breakout from wideout Parker Washington and Jacksonville’s lack of cornerback depth are two primary reasons for this move, along with the basic logic about the two positions mentioned earlier.
Raiders Promoting Rob Leonard To DC
After interviewing a few candidates for the defensive coordinator position under new head coach Klint Kubiak, the Raiders have opted to go with an internal candidate. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, run game coordinator/defensive line coach Rob Leonard is set to be promoted to coordinator in Las Vegas. 
A former college linebacker who led NC State in tackles in 2008, Leonard immediately turned to coaching out of college, starting as a defensive assistant at nearby Cardinal Gibbons HS (N.C.). With a year of experience under his belt, he rejoined his alma mater, spending three years as a graduate assistant with the Wolfpack before making the jump to the NFL in 2013. Leonard made his NFL coaching debut with the Giants, spending four years as a defensive assistant before getting promoted to assistant defensive line coach in 2017 under then-defensive line coach Patrick Graham.
He moved into the assistant linebackers coaching role the next year, taking over oversight of New York’s outside linebackers, including standout Olivier Vernon. In 2019, he reunited with Graham in Miami as the Dolphins linebackers coach, his first full position coaching role. He moved back to assistant defensive line coach in 2020 before being named outside linebackers coach the following year. In that final season with the Dolphins, Leonard coached a rookie Jaelan Phillips to an 8.5-sack campaign. In 2022, Leonard found his way to Baltimore, joining Mike Macdonald‘s first staff as defensive coordinator for the Ravens, where he helped a veteran Justin Houston to a resurgent 9.5-sack season at 33 years old.
It was at that point that Leonard made his way to Las Vegas, once again reuniting with Graham, the team’s defensive coordinator at the time. As the Raiders’ new defensive line coach in 2023, Leonard took over the tutelage of star defensive end Maxx Crosby, helping him to earn his second straight first-team All-Pro honors while recording career highs in sacks (14.5) and tackles for loss (23). It was also the first year Crosby seemed to have any help across the line as defensive end Malcolm Koonce (8.0) and defensive tackle Adam Butler (5.0) contributed to a team total of 46 sacks, the team’s highest sack total since 2010.
Despite some contract turbulence and injury issues for Crosby, Leonard has been an agent of continuity for the star pass rusher in Las Vegas. There’s a chance that owner Mark Davis and general manager John Spytek may be leaning on the scale a bit to influence Leonard’s promotion in hopes of increasing their odds of retaining Crosby moving forward. Leonard’s résumé speaks for itself, though, with multiple stops showing results with players young and old alike.
In fact, when Pete Carroll was named head coach in Vegas last year, he interviewed Leonard for the DC job before ultimately opting to retain Graham. With Graham now in Pittsburgh, it’s Leonard’s turn to lead the Raiders defense. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, several NFL and college teams made requests to interview Leonard over the past two years, but the Raiders did everything in their power to keep him in the building as “they believed they had a future star” in Leonard.
Though several names had been mentioned as defensive coordinator candidates to succeed Graham, only three interviews had been scheduled. In the end, continuity will remain key for a defense that finished 14th in 2025 giving up the 14th-fewest passing yards and the 17th-fewest rushing yards as it looks like Leonard will be promoted to defensive coordinator, pending a finalized deal. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, that continuity will continue with defensive pass-game coordinator Joe Woods being retained in his current role. Woods had been a rumored candidate for the DC position, as well.
Here’s a final look at how the Raiders’ search for their next defensive coordinator played out:
- DeMarcus Covington, defensive run game coordinator (Packers): To interview
- Joe Cullen, defensive line coach (Chiefs): Rumored candidate
- Jeff Howard, safeties coach (Seahawks): To interview 2/14
- Rob Leonard, run game coordinator (Raiders): Promoted
- Zach Orr, former defensive coordinator (Ravens): Interview requested
- Aubrey Pleasant, defensive pass-game coordinator (Rams): To interview 2/13
- Jim Schwartz, defensive coordinator (Browns): Rumored candidate
- Karl Scott, defensive backs coach (Seahawks): Rumored candidate, to stay in Seattle
- Jason Tarver, linebackers coach (Browns): Rumored candidate
- Dino Vasso, defensive backs coach (Texans): Mentioned as candidate, withdrew from search
- Joe Woods, defensive backs coach (Raiders): Rumored candidate
Brian Flores Lawsuit Will Bypass Arbitration, Proceed In Open Court
Score another legal victory for Brian Flores.
A federal judge in the Southern District of New York ruled that Flores’ discrimination lawsuit against the NFL will proceed through the U.S. public legal system, not the league’s private arbitration process, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Flores, later joined by Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, filed the lawsuit in 2022 alleging racial hiring practices within the NFL with claims against the league itself and multiple specific teams.
The NFL has long been trying to keep Flores’ suit out of open court and instead under the control of Peter Harvey, the arbitrator appointed by commissioner Roger Goodell. Several court rulings have gone against those efforts, with multiple judges pointing out the inherent issues with Harvey arbitrating the case while being employed by one of the parties.
Flores’ attorneys, Douglas Wigdor and David Gottlieb issued a statement on the decision (via ESPN): “The court’s decision recognizes that an arbitration forum in which the defendant’s own chief executive gets to decide the case would strip employees of their rights under the law. It is long overdue for the NFL to recognize this and finally provide a fair, neutral and transparent forum for these issues to be addressed.”
The next step in the legal process is a pretrial hearing, set for April 3. The NFL is also waiting to see if the Supreme Court will accept its petition to review lower court decisions regarding this issue of arbitration.
Flores’ lawsuit was already a landmark one for its attempt to confront suspect hiring practices that have persisted even after the institution and expansion of the Rooney Rule. But now, perhaps unintentionally so, it may have become much bigger.
The NFL has long used its own private arbitration process that unsurprisingly tends to favor the league in final decisions. Flores’ case threatens the validity and enforceability of that process. The court decisions that have already been made support the contention that the league should not be able to influence the arbitration of cases in which it has a vested interest. A Supreme Court ruling could establish firmer, long-term legal precedent, though they would have to accept the case for review, which is not a certainty.
Arbitration could also become a major issue in the next CBA negotiations between the NFL and the NFLPA. The union may be empowered by these rulings and attempt to restrict or eliminate the arbitration process, at least as they relate to players. NFL coaches do not currently have a union and would have to individually negotiate mandatory arbitration out of their contracts unless such language becomes legally prohibited.
Flores was not able to land a head coaching gig this offseason despite three excellent seasons in Minnesota. And despite receiving a mammoth $6MM salary on his new deal with the Vikings, he still wants to get another chance to be a head coach, per Essentially Sports’ Tony Pauline. Team owners may be cautious about hiring a coach with an open lawsuit against the league and multiple specific teams. Flores may have to wait until the legal process plays out, which could take years. But continued success with the Vikings defense could become too hard to ignore.
Nasir Adderley Attempting NFL Comeback
Nasir Adderley played out his rookie contract from 2019-22. Instead of signing a new deal in free agency, however, the safety announced his retirement. 
Health was cited as one of the main reasons why Adderley ended his career. No indications emerged over a notable period of time that he was contemplating a return to football. That recently changed.
“It’s now been three years since I left the NFL, and I am extremely happy with my development,” Adderley wrote in an Instagram post. “Health, family, and entrepreneurship were my top priorities, and I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish. The freedom to manage my own schedule was very important to me, but what I didn’t realize was how much I’d miss having football in my life. The competition, the brotherhood, and just being involved in the game that means so much to me and my family.
“Therefore, I am officially announcing my intention to return to the NFL.”
During his rookie season, Adderley only made four appearances and was not a defensive regular. The former second-rounder was a full-time starter for his final three years with the Chargers, though. Over that span, Adderley totaled 230 tackles, three interceptions and 12 pass deflections. Coverage was a sore spot in 2020 and ’21, but the Florida State product delivered much better production in that regard during his final season.
At the age of 28, Adderley could be seen as a free agent with more upside than some of the other options on the market. Of course, the length of his absence will no doubt lead to offers along the lines of a one-year, ‘prove-it’ contract. A different Chargers regime is in place than the one which drafted him, so Adderley could easily find himself playing on a new team in 2026 provided he lands an NFL gig.
Patriots To Move DC Terrell Williams To New Role, Likely To Promote Zak Kuhr
FEBRUARY 14: ESPN’s Mike Reiss also points to Kuhr as a “leading candidate” for the defensive coordinator gig. As Vrabel noted earlier this week, though, there are still a number of roles which are undecided on his staff at this point. Filling the DC vacancy will obviously be a priority over the coming days.
FEBRUARY 12: Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams will be moving to a “high-ranking role” on Mike Vrabel‘s staff, per Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Williams, 51, was one of Vrabel’s first hires when he became the Patriots’ head coach last offseason. Williams stepped away from the team during spring practices due to a health scare and was diagnosed with prostate cancer shortly before the regular season. He continued to work with the team in New England during the season as he underwent treatment, but he did not travel with the team to away games. Williams was announced to be cancer-free before the Super Bowl and traveled with the team to San Francisco.
Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr took over defensive play-calling and led the unit to a top-10 finish. The Patriots defense also fueled their run to the Super Bowl by allowing just 26 points and forcing eight turnovers in their three AFC playoff games.
After those results in his first season as a position coach in the NFL, Kuhr is a virtual lock to take over the defensive coordinator job in New England. The Patriots still must comply with Rooney Rule requirements to interview two minority candidates for the position, but the team almost certainly made this move to promote Kuhr.
If he remained the linebackers coach, he would be a risk to be poached by another team, potentially this offseason with the Cardinals and Raiders still looking for defensive coordinators. New Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak could have a particular appreciation for Kuhr’s skills after extensively studying his defense in the lead up to Super Bowl LX. Even if Kuhr didn’t move to Arizona or Las Vegas this year, he would be a near-certainty to get a defensive coordinator job next offseason.
Kuhr is not the only candidate for the Patriots’ DC job. In addition to the two minority candidates the team will interview, Shane Bowen and Jim Schwartz could be considered for the job, per Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald. Bowen, who was last the Giants’ DC, held the same job in Tennessee during Vrabel’s last three years with the Titans. Schwartz was a senior defensive assistant on that staff for two of those seasons. His availability is less clear with the Browns still holding his contract rights for the 2026 season.
Williams’ new role on Vrabel’s staff has yet to be announced, but the decision does not come as a major surprise. Vrabel hinted at the potential for such a move after the Super Bowl with Kuhr having thoroughly proved himself as a defensive play-caller. Given his history as a defensive line coach, an assistant head coach/run game coordinator title would make sense for Williams moving forward.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 2/14/26
Saturday has brought about the first of what will be many tender decisions around the NFL:
ERFAs
- Tendered: T Austen Pleasants (49ers)
Pleasants made 15 appearances and logged 125 offensive snaps in 2025. Both of those were career highs, making it an easy decision for the 49ers to retain him. The tender will be worth just over $1MM since Pleasants has only accrued one season in the NFL to date.
Ravens Eyeing C Connor McGovern As Potential Tyler Linderbaum Replacement?
The list of pending Ravens free agents is topped by center Tyler Linderbaum. The three-time Pro Bowler has loomed as a target for a second Baltimore contract, but nothing has been finalized yet. 
As of November, team and player were not close to reaching an extension agreement. The top of the center market is currently $18MM per year, set in 2024 when Creed Humphrey signed his new Chiefs deal. Linderbaum could very well set a new watermark at the position, but it remains to be seen if his next contract will come from the Ravens or an outside suitor.
SportsBoom’s Jason La Canfora reports the Ravens are receiving “contract rejections” during negotiations with Linderbaum’s camp. The former first-rounder said immediately after Baltimore’s season ended he wanted to continue playing for the team that drafted him. Given the Ravens’ expected decision of declining Linderbaum’s fifth-year option last year, however, they left the door open to a departure in the spring.
Per La Canfora, there are “underlying medical concerns” to be taken into account in this case as well. Linderbaum faced some questions about his size entering the NFL, but through his first four seasons he has missed only two games. Durability and a consistent level of play will help the 25-year-old cash in during his first trip to the open market (provided he makes it there). A new Ravens agreement could be worked out at any time between now and the start of the new league year, but a cap-reducing Lamar Jackson extension remains priority No. 1 for the team.
In the event Linderbaum departs, Baltimore appears to have a replacement in mind. La Canfora points to Connor McGovern as a veteran who could be acquired in free agency. McGovern has made 78 starts in his career between time in Dallas and Buffalo. The 28-year-old has been a steady presence on the Bills’ offensive line since his arrival in 2023. Buffalo inked McGovern to a three-year, $22.35MM deal during free agency in 2023.
A pact along those lines would certainly carry a much lower AAV than the one Linderbaum will soon be attached to. The guard position will likely be subject to change for Baltimore over the course of the offseason, but the team’s approach at center will be worth watching closely.