Tuesday’s practice squad changes:
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Green Bay Packers
Los Angeles Rams
New York Giants
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks, with a below-average rushing attack and Thomas Rawls nursing a shoulder injury, worked out five free agent running backs Tuesday, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Stevan Ridley, Jonas Gray, Dan Herron, LaMichael James and Dominique Williams all auditioned for the club. The most established member of the group is Ridley, who has been available since Atlanta released him Nov. 23. The 27-year-old has just one appearance and three carries to his name this season and has seen his playing time sharply decline since a 1,263-yard campaign with New England in 2012. Gray, also an ex-Pat, has made little impact since averaging 4.6 yards per attempt on 89 carries in 2014, his rookie year. He hasn’t found an employer since the Jaguars waived him Aug. 17.
Along with those rushers, defensive back L.J. McCray visited the Seahawks, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. The Seahawks agreed to acquire McCray from the 49ers back in early September, but the deal fell through after he failed his physical. San Francisco then cut McCray, who hasn’t landed anywhere since.
More workouts from Tuesday:
Head coach Marvin Lewis revealed earlier this month he’d return to the Bengals’ sideline in 2017 “if asked,” though ex-NFL tight end and current ESPN Radio 980 host Chris Cooley reported Sunday that the 58-year-old was going to retire. However, Lewis isn’t going to walk away, according to ESPN’s Ed Werder. Thus, unless Cincinnati unexpectedly fires Lewis, he’ll remain the league’s second-longest-tenured head coach (behind New England’s Bill Belichick). The Bengals have gone just 5-9-1 this year under Lewis, who previously helped them to five straight playoff berths. Cincy hasn’t won a postseason game in any of Lewis’ 14 years at the helm, though, having posted an ugly 0-7 mark.
More on Cincinnati and one of its AFC North rivals:
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Former top ten pick Jonathan Cooper has been waived by the Browns, according to a team announcement. His release will make room for Alvin Bailey, who is coming back from suspension. 
Cooper, the seventh-overall pick in the 2013 draft, was part of the deal that sent Chandler Jones from the Patriots to the Cardinals this offseason. After having started 11 of his 24 career games in Arizona, the 26-year-old was expected to slide in as the Patriots’ starting right guard. However, the guard suffered a foot injury early in camp and he was cut by New England in October.
The Browns scooped him up but he didn’t do enough to stick on the roster. Interestingly, Pro Football Focus has assigned Cooper a 73.2 overall grade in his 183 snaps, a score that would have put him in the middle of the pack amongst guards if he had enough playing time to qualify. Cooper may not be the standout that evaluators thought he’d be in 2013, but he could still be a capable contributor if the advanced numbers are to be believed.
Cameron Brate‘s season is over. The Buccaneers announced that the tight end is being placed on injured reserve. 
Brate has been a revelation for the Buccaneers this season. When Austin Seferian-Jenkins was let go in September, Brate stepped up in a major way and become a focal point of the Bucs’ passing attack. Brate’s season will end with 57 catches for 660 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s in the top ten amongst tight ends for receptions and yards and his eight scores lead the league at the position.
With one game to go, the Bucs could technically still make the playoffs, but they’ll need seven games to fall in their favor. In addition to winning against the Panthers, the Bucs will need wins from the Cowboys, Titans, Colts, 49ers, and Lions with the Giants tying the Redskins. If the Buccaneers overcome the astronomical odds, they’ll be without their best tight end in the postseason.
Rex Ryan is out, but GM Doug Whaley isn’t going anywhere. The Bills announced that Whaley will “officially be leading the organization’s head coaching search,” a sure sign that he will not be fired. 
Whaley has been in the Bills front office since 2010 and was elevated to the GM role before the 2013 season. Since then, the Bills have gone 30-33 under two different head coaches. Still searching for their first playoff berth in this century, team ownership apparently feels good about their situation from a personnel standpoint. Or, at least, the Pegulas believe they are on the right track.
In his four years at the helm, some of Whaley’s biggest missteps have included the aggressive draft trade for Sammy Watkins, the ill-advised extension for Marcell Dareus, and the team’s failure to identify a franchise quarterback. Whaley (and previous GM Buddy Nix) hoped that EJ Manuel would be the guy in Buffalo after making him the only quarterback selected in the first round of the 2013 draft, but he has yet to do anything at the pro level. As the Bills appear ready to move on from Tyrod Taylor, they’re re-installing Manuel as the starter for their final game of the season. The Bills are back at square one and no closer to figuring out their QB situation.
Is Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson on his way back to the Eagles this offseason? Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham seems to think so.
“I’m just happy because I kinda knew already. I’ve talked to him. I talked to him when Doug (Pederson) got hired. He was like, ‘Tell Coach come get me,'” Graham said (via Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com). “We have fun during the season. He’s like, ‘B.G., I’ll be back.’ But now that it’s official, as far as the season about to be over, I think you’ll be hearing a lot of noise about DeSean. … I’m saying official as far as the end of season, now we’re gonna really see.”
Former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy also recently said that Jackson told him that he would be back with the Eagles next season. We’ve been hearing reports of strong mutual interest between the Eagles and DJax for some time now. All signs are pointing to a reunion, but Graham should probably stop speaking on the subject before the team is hit with penalties for tampering.
Here’s more out of the NFC:
Rex Ryan is out and the quarterback that he championed could also be a goner in Buffalo. The Bills are planning to bench Tyrod Taylor against the Jets on Sunday in favor of E.J. Manuel, league sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Facebook link). This is a business decision so the Bills are not at risk for the $30.75MM left on his contract that would become guaranteed if Taylor suffered a significant injury, Schefter adds. 
The Bills are on high alert after watching Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr suffer major injuries in Week 16. The Bills are not going to take any chances with Taylor, a player who may not be in their plans for 2017. It’s not certain that Taylor is out of the picture, but it would be understandable if the Bills do not want to retain him at his current salary. This will also give Buffalo a chance to get one last look at Manuel, a pending free agent.
Initially, the Bills planned to give Taylor the final month of the season to audition himself.
“He’s got four more games to write this chapter. Then after this season, like everybody on the team, we’re going to do an evaluation and then we’ll go from there,” Whaley said on Dec. 9 in an interview where he declined to commit to Taylor for 2017.
It is somewhat surprising that rookie Cardale Jones will not be given the opportunity in Week 17. The Ohio State product may be No. 2 on the depth chart, however, if the team is truly intent on protecting Taylor from injury.
The Bills are not waiting for the season to end to make a head coaching change. Rex Ryan has been let go and offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn will take over as the interim head coach. Rob Ryan (assistant head coach/defense) has also been relieved of his duties. 
“I spoke with Rex earlier today and we mutually agreed that the time to part ways is now. These decisions are never easy. I want to take this opportunity to thank Rex for all his efforts and wish him all the best moving forward,” owner Terry Pegula said in a statement. “Kim and I and our entire Bills organization share in the same disappointment and frustration as our fans, but we remain committed to our goal of bringing a championship to Western New York.”
Rex Ryan was not given a third year to turn things around in Buffalo despite finishing with a .500 record in his first year and guiding the team to a 7-8 mark so far this season. The Bills will not qualify for the playoffs for the 17th straight season and the organization is not willing to take the patient approach any longer.
Lynn has gone from running backs coach to offensive coordinator to head coach in just three months. His first promotion came when Greg Roman was forced out earlier this year and he’ll now get to audition for the team’s permanent role. Reportedly, the Bills wanted to push Ryan out in part because of their desire to retain Lynn. Lynn has long been identified as a strong head coaching candidate for this offseason.
There are conflicting reports regarding GM Doug Whaley’s job security. A little over a week ago, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported that Whaley is not in jeopardy of getting fired. However, over the weekend, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe said that his status “remains up in the air.”
As of this writing, there are now three teams that will be looking for head coaches in the New Year: the Rams, Jaguars, and Bills.
The Giants still have a glimmer of hope that Jason Pierre-Paul could return in time for Wild Card weekend, sources tell Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. However, the team is feeling more confident about his ability to play in the divisional round of the playoffs, if the Giants reach that point. 
JPP has missed several games with a groin injury and he was forced to go under the knife in early December. At the time, the hope was that he could possibly suit up for the NFC Championship game. He seems to be a little ahead of schedule at this juncture. Of course, JPP is no stranger to beating long odds. Many wrote him off before the 2015 season when he lost a finger in a fireworks accident, but he looks as good as ever with nine digits.
Pierre-Paul is having one of his best NFL seasons ever. Currently, Pro Football Focus has him ranked as the tenth-best defensive end in the league. That’s two spots ahead of high-priced teammate Olivier Vernon.
At 10-5, the Giants are locked into the No. 5 seed in the playoffs. They will play the Lions, Packers, Seahawks, or Falcons in the opening round.