Month: November 2024

Colts Request GM Summit With Ravens’ Eric DeCosta

A seventh name surged into the mix for the Colts’ GM job. The team sent an interview request toward Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com tweets. DeCosta worked with Colts coach Chuck Pagano during Pagano’s stay in Baltimore.

DeCosta usually surfaces around this time of year, but the career Baltimore executive hasn’t followed through on leaving the organization yet. He was a candidate for the Seahawks’ GM post that John Schneider ended up filling in 2010, ultimately pulling out of the running. DeCosta declined Raiders interest years ago to fill their GM job and also chose not to interview with the Titans last year for the job Jon Robinson ended up taking. A Ravens staffer since the franchise’s metamorphosis in Maryland in 1996, DeCosta has served as Ozzie Newsome‘s right-hand man since 2012.

I get a chance to work with my friends. Every day, I come in and work with my friends. I think it’s a relationship business,” DeCosta said in 2015 on why he continues to work in this capacity with the Ravens. “In the end, personal ambitions aside, all you have is really your reputation and your friends and your enjoyment in life. And I love Baltimore, the community.”

So, Jim Irsay‘s latest push might not be enough to sway him. Breer notes he and Pagano are close, so that could be a key element in this process. Regardless of whether the 45-year-old DeCosta takes the interview or not, he’s the seventh candidate to receive a request this week. And DeCosta is the first that did not come up during the 49ers’ search. The Colts have now requested three more interviews on Tuesday, with those for Eliot Wolf and Chris Ballard preceding DeCosta’s.

 

Top 3 Offseason Needs: Houston Texans

In advance of March 9, the start of free agency in the NFL, Pro Football Rumors will detail each team’s three most glaring roster issues. We’ll continue with the Houston Texans, who are fresh off their third straight nine-win season and second consecutive AFC South title. After a 27-14 victory over the injury-plagued Raiders in the wild-card round, the Texans’ season ended at the hands of the Patriots in a 34-16 divisional romp.

Depth Chart

Pending Free Agents:

Top 10 Cap Hits For 2017:

  1. Brock Osweiler, QB: $19,000,000
  2. J.J. Watt, DE: $14,500,000
  3. Duane Brown, LT: $9,650,000
  4. Brian Cushing, LB: $9,547,500
  5. Kareem Jackson, CB: $9,000,000
  6. DeAndre Hopkins, WR: $7,915,000
  7. Jeff Allen, RG: $6,500,000
  8. Lamar Miller, RB: $6,500,000
  9. Whitney Mercilus, LB: $6,050,000
  10. Derek Newton, RT: $5,500,000

Current Projected Cap Room (via Over the Cap): $25,757,451

Other:

  • Twenty-fifth overall pick in draft
  • Must exercise or decline DE Jadeveon Clowney‘s fifth-year option for 2018

Three Needs:

1.) Once again, find a quarterback: The Texans thought they solved their long-standing quarterback woes last offseason when they released 2015 playoff goat Brian Hoyer and signed ex-Broncos backup Brock Osweiler to a big-money deal in free agency. Instead, all they did was make their situation under center much worse. Osweiler was an utter disaster in his first year as a Texan, leading head coach Bill O’Brien to bench him in favor of unexciting reserve Tom Savage toward the end of the season. While Savage was far from special in three showings, he was more effective than Osweiler and would have remained the team’s starter if not for a Week 17 concussion.

Brock Osweiler

Savage’s injury forced O’Brien to pivot back to Osweiler for the playoffs, and he was decent enough in the Texans’ win over Oakland. Unsurprisingly, though, Osweiler couldn’t handle Super Bowl-bound New England, which held him to a microscopic 4.93 yards per attempt and intercepted two of his 40 passes in a game the Texans could have made interesting with a better signal-caller.

Osweiler’s showing against the Pats was all too typical of his 15-game regular season, in which he completed 59 percent of passes, recorded a paltry 5.8 YPA and tossed 15 scores against 16 picks. Those numbers wouldn’t have been satisfactory for a starter with a guaranteed $3.7MM on his contract, let alone the $37MM Houston handed Osweiler.

Moving forward, the good news for the Texans is that they won’t be tethered to Osweiler for the life of his four-year, $72MM accord; on the negative side, his contract will once again be an albatross next season. Even if the Texans were to designate the 26-year-old as a post-June 1 cut, he’d cost them $19MM in dead money in 2017. Regardless, they’re going to have to search for a superior QB this offseason and hope Osweiler’s successor does a better job complementing Houston’s abundance of talented performers on both sides of the ball. That includes superstar receiver DeAndre Hopkins, whom Osweiler managed to render somewhat ordinary (by Hopkins’ spectacular standards) in 2016.

Tony Romo (featured)

Having spent his entire career in Texas to this point, soon-to-be ex-Cowboy Tony Romo seems like a natural fit for a win-now team like the Texans as he approaches his 37th birthday. However, along with his age, there are other obvious concerns regarding Romo, including what he has left in the tank after missing the majority of the past two seasons because of injuries and a demotion. There’s also a question of whether Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would deal Romo to Texas’ younger franchise. And whether he comes as a trade acquisition or gets his release and signs as a free agent, Romo figures to be pricey next season. That, of course, wouldn’t be ideal for a Houston club which will have Osweiler occupying a massive amount of spending room.

Salary notwithstanding, there may not be a better match than the Texans for Romo. He’d reportedly like to go to the Broncos, but they’re inclined to roll with a younger, homegrown option. Teams like the Bills, Jets and Bears could chase Romo, though none are as close to contention as Houston.

If we’re to assume the Redskins will either re-sign Kirk Cousins or place the franchise tag on him, the free agent market won’t offer much in the way of proven options. And if the Texans are going to bring in a veteran via the open market, it’s hard to imagine them pinning their hopes on another backup — Mike Glennon, Landry Jones or Matt Barkley, for instance — given how poorly the Osweiler experiment has gone.

More established signal-callers like Tyrod Taylor, Jay Cutler and Colin Kaepernick might end up on the open market, too, if their teams release them (or if Kaepernick opts out of his deal). While Taylor is the most intriguing of the three, his potential availability looks increasingly unlikely. Cutler isn’t far removed from a respectable 2015 in Chicago, though he’s coming off a poor, injury-riddled season and was on the verge of losing his job to Hoyer. Kaepernick bounced back to a degree in 2016, meanwhile, but teams that explore signing him will have to make multiple determinations: 1. Is he a legitimate starter anymore? 2. Are they on board with having such a politically polarizing player in a prominent role? As shown in a late-August poll of various club executives, Kaepernick’s outspokenness hasn’t exactly endeared him to decision-makers within the league.

Jimmy Garoppolo (vertical)

The trade route could represent a possibility for QB-needy Houston, too. Considering both his potential and his minimal salary for next season, Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo would seem to make sense as a target. New England is open to moving Garoppolo — and, for what it’s worth, O’Brien is friendly with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick — but his presence on the trade market would perhaps spark a bidding war. Thus, the Texans would once again have to ask themselves whether it would be worthwhile to spend valuable assets on a largely untested signal-caller who has played second fiddle to an all-time great. It hasn’t worked with Osweiler, Peyton Manning‘s former understudy.

There’s also the draft, in which the Texans hold the 25th overall selection, but many scouts regard this year’s class of passers as among the worst in recent memory. Plus, the highest-ranked QBs in the 2017 crop — in some order, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky and Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer — should all be off the board when the Texans’ pick arrives. No one else even ranks among NFL.com draft guru Daniel Jeremiah’s top 50 prospects, while Texas native and ex-Texas Tech star Patrick Mahomes (No. 50) is the only QB outside the Watson-Trubisky-Kizer group on Bleacher Report prospect expert Matt Miller’s latest big board.

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Cardinals’ Terry McDonough Set For Second 49ers Meeting

Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough will meet with the 49ers about their GM vacancy for a second time, doing so this weekend, Kent Somers of AZCentral.com tweets. The interview will occur on Saturday, likely in Atlanta, per Somers.

Vikings assistant GM George Paton, the only other known finalist, will also conduct his interview for the 49ers’ job on Saturday, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). While McDonough previously resided as a finalist along with Paton, this confirms the two-man race. The team has not set up any additional follow-up meetings.

McDonough has not been connected with the Colts’ GM opening, while Paton is now in the running for both jobs. Paton is expected to meet with the Colts on Wednesday or Thursday, Alex Marvez of the Sporting News tweets. Falcons OC Kyle Shanahan, the runaway leader in the race to become the 49ers’ next HC, is scheduled to be at Paton’s meeting. Presumably, the Super Bowl-bound play-caller will be at McDonough’s as well.

McDonough’s official summons for a second sitdown with the 49ers comes after previous confirmed finalists Eliot Wolf and Brian Gutekunst chose to sign extensions to stay with the Packers.

Latest On Broncos/Wade Phillips Split

The Broncos and Wade Phillips could not agree on terms to bring back the DC for a third season in Denver, re-routing the veteran assistant to his 10th NFL franchise. Conflicting reports have attempted to illuminate some reasons why the architect of the league’s top defense the past two years will be overseeing the Rams’ unit in 2017.

A report earlier this week indicated Phillips played a role in pitting the Broncos’ defense against their offense, dividing the locker room and alleging the DC was responsible for a similar situation on the 2013 Texans. Phillips himself shot back (Twitter link) and denied any such claim, something which All-Pro cornerback Chris Harris (via Twitter) backed up.

The somewhat surprising split after Phillips helped guide the Broncos to their third Super Bowl championship a year ago may have occurred for several reasons, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk describes it as an amicable breakup. Phillips’ daughter lives in Los Angeles, leading Phillips to the understandable desire to want to relocate there if given the opportunity. But 2016 negotiations for a second Phillips contract in Denver featured a chasm between the sides on terms.

Phillips, per Florio, wanted to be the highest-paid defensive coordinator in football after playing a key role in leading a defensively powered Super Bowl team. The Broncos, though, resisted, and NFL veteran of more than 30 years entered this season on an expiring contract. Denver’s pass defense finished with a top-10 all-time DVOA in 2016 en route to ending up as the top DVOA total defense for a second straight year, and the 69-year-old coach became a sought-after commodity on the open market. He drew interest from the Browns, Redskins and Rams before deciding to move west.

Denver’s new DC, Joe Woods, was also drawing interest as a possible coordinator candidate, Florio notes. The Broncos did not want to lose a potential rising talent to another team, so they promoted Woods to fill Phillips’ spot shortly after he left. The team could have blocked the 46-year-old Woods from interviewing elsewhere — something that wasn’t rumored prior to him being promoted — but chose to promote him instead of denying him an opportunity. Current Broncos HC Vance Joseph experienced this two years ago, when the Bengals denied their then-defensive backs coach permission to become the Denver DC in 2015, leading to Phillips’ return to Colorado.

Ben Roethlisberger Mulling Retirement

There is a chance that Pittsburgh’s 36-17 loss to New England in Sunday’s AFC title game will go down as the final contest of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger‘s career. In an interview with 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger was unwilling to commit to returning in 2017 for what would be his age-35 season.

Ben Roethlisberger

“I’m going to take this offseason to evaluate, to consider all options,” he said (via CBS Pittsburgh). “To consider health, and family and things like that and just kind of take some time away to evaluate next season, if there’s going to be a next season.”

This isn’t the first time Roethlisberger has told Mike Tomlin he’s contemplated retirement after a season, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. Tomlin, though, said he’s taking this seriously but isn’t alarmed or surprised by the indecision, Bouchette relays (Twitter links).

If there isn’t a next season for Roethlisberger, it would heavily affect the Steelers and the rest of the NFL, of course. Pittsburgh has regularly been a league superpower since it drafted Roethlisberger 11th overall in 2004, having finished with no fewer than eight wins during any of his 13 seasons and gone to the playoffs nine times. Two of those postseason trips have culminated in Super Bowl victories, the latest of which came at the conclusion of the 2009 campaign.

Roethlisberger has missed a combined six games because of injuries over the past two seasons, but his production has remained strong. He’s now fresh off his fifth Pro Bowl season, in which he completed 64.4 percent of his 509 passing attempts, amassed 3,819 yards on 7.5 YPA, and tossed 29 touchdowns against 13 interceptions.

In the two games Roethlisberger sat out in 2016, the Steelers turned to backup Landry Jones, who has been a mixed bag in 15 career appearances and also isn’t guaranteed to return to the club next season. Unlike Roethlisberger, Jones is set to become a free agent. Roethlisberger has three years remaining on the contract extension he signed in 2015. He’d owe the Steelers $18.6MM if he were to walk away, according to Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap (Twitter link), which makes an early exit seem unlikely.

Redskins To Shop Kirk Cousins?

With quarterback Kirk Cousins unsigned as free agency approaches, the Redskins are willing to weigh their options with the 28-year-old and could entertain trading him, a Washington source told Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). In addition to the previously reported 49ers, the Browns would likely chase Cousins if the Redskins were to shop him, according to Cole.

The 49ers would consider surrendering the No. 2 pick in the draft to land Cousins, per Cole, which jibes with what ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote Friday. Plus, with Kyle Shanahan set to take over as San Francisco’s head coach, the team would have an obvious connection to Cousins. Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in Washington during Cousins’ rookie year, 2012. Cousins only attempted 48 passes that season as the backup to then-rookie sensation and now-Brown Robert Griffin III, but he might have ended up in a different organization if not for Shanahan. The Redskins used a fourth-round pick to select Cousins, and Shanahan was “integral” in making that happen, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Conor Orr of NFL.com).

Kirk Cousins

Whether via the $23.94MM franchise tag or a long-term deal, Cousins will come at a high price tag next season. That wouldn’t pose a problem for the 49ers’ cap situation, as they currently have upward of $81MM in room as March nears. It would be even less of an issue for Cleveland, the only team with more spending space than the Niners. While the Browns will lose a large chunk of that $108MM-plus when linebacker Jamie Collinsmega-extension becomes official, they’ll still easily pace the NFL in available money.

In joining the Browns, who possess the first and 12th picks in this year’s draft, Cousins would head to a team with an offensive system akin to the Redskins’. Browns head coach Hue Jackson and the Redskins’ Jay Gruden were both offensive coordinators in Cincinnati before taking on their current roles and share similar philosophies.

Cleveland, which is coming off a one-win showing in Jackson’s first year at the helm, will have the opportunity to select any signal-caller it wants in the draft and is reportedly high on North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson. Unlike Trubisky, Watson or any other draft-bound QB, Cousins has already emerged as a quality pro and represents a far more established passer than anyone in this year’s flawed class. While Cousins alone wouldn’t turn the Browns into contenders, perhaps he’d help them accelerate their rebuild and start inching toward relevance.

Jets Interested In George Godsey, John Morton

Just over a week after he and the Texans parted ways, offensive coordinator George Godsey is drawing interest from the Jets, reports Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. New York, which is looking for a successor to retired O-coordinator Chan Gailey, could interview Godsey at the Senior Bowl as early as Tuesday, per Cimini. The club also has Saints wide receivers coach John Morton on its radar.

George Godsey (vertical)

It has been exactly three weeks since the embattled Gailey stepped down, but the Jets haven’t made much progress in finding a replacement. They previously targeted Mike McCoy, but he took Denver’s coordinator job, as well as Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo and Broncos running backs Eric Studesville. Those two aren’t leaving their current organizations, however, and the same seems likely for another coach the Jets have eyed, Chiefs co-OC Matt Nagy.

Godsey, meanwhile, is looking for work and would bring two years’ experience as a coordinator to the Jets. The 38-year-old had little to work with under center in Houston, whose offense struggled on his watch, and lost play-calling duties last September to head coach Bill O’Brien. As he did with the Texans, Godsey would have to deal with a less-than-ideal quarterback situation if he were to end up with the Jets. The team’s only options heading into the offseason are Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty. That means the Jets will have to hit the jackpot on a signal-caller either through free agency or the draft, in which they’ll pick sixth.

Unlike Godsey, Morton has no play-calling experience at the NFL level, but he was USC’s offensive coordinator under Pete Carroll in 2009 and Lane Kiffin from 2010-11. He then jumped to the pros, where he has coached wideouts with the 49ers and Saints over the past six seasons. Under Morton’s stewardship in 2016, the Saints had three receivers finish with at least 70 catches and 895 yards. One of those players, Michael Thomas, piled up 92 receptions, 1,137 yards and nine touchdowns as a second-round rookie.

Colts Request Interview With Eliot Wolf

The Packers awarded director of football operations Eliot Wolf a new contract to stay in Green Bay last week, but that apparently isn’t going to stop general manager-needy teams from courting him. The Colts, who are continuing to compile candidates in their search to replace the fired Ryan Grigson, have requested an interview with Wolf, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link).

Eliot Wolf

Wolf, 34, is the fifth known candidate with whom the Colts at least hope to meet. Along with Wolf, the Colts have thus far requested to speak with the Seahawks’ co-directors of player personnel — Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer — and will interview Vikings assistant GM George Paton. Indianapolis also has an in-house option, vice president of football operations Jimmy Raye III, who could be the favorite to land the role.

Every serious candidate who has emerged for the Colts has also been under consideration for the 49ers’ still-vacant GM position this month. The only member of the group who’s still in the running is Paton. Wolf would have joined Paton as a finalist and gone through a second interview with the Niners this week had he not withdrawn from the race. While their job wasn’t able to entice him to leave Green Bay, perhaps he’ll entertain the notion of heading to Indianapolis and inheriting a franchise quarterback in Andrew Luck.

Extra Points: Colts, Bills, Hightower, Beasley

Broncos quarterbacks struggled during the 2016 campaign, leading some to wonder if the team could pursue a veteran option this offseason. That thought has apparently crossed receiver Emmanuel Sanders‘ mind, as the wideout said he’d certainly benefit if the squad acquired Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

“I believe I would benefit,” Sanders said (via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com). “But one thing about it is: I’m always gonna take it back and I’m just gonna put it on John Elway. In John Elway I trust. If he does bring him over, I think Tony Romo will fit good in [Mike] McCoy’s system. It’s a no-huddle, up-tempo offense. I think that it’s gonna be similar to the Cowboys. I think he has Demaryius Thomas and some receiver No. 10 on the other side. I feel like we will win ballgames with Tony Romo or potentially a championship. At the same time, Paxton Lynch played in a spread offense at Memphis and he can be successful. I think Trevor can be successful. We’ll see what we do. I can’t sit up here and say ‘Bring Tony Romo!’ because I also have two other quarterbacks that are playing really well too.”

During his introductory press conference, Broncos head coach Vance Joseph said Trevor Siemian and Lynch would compete for the starting quarterback gig.

Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFL as we wrap up this Monday evening…

  • Colts owner Jim Irsay will be hiring the team’s new general manager on his own, reports Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Since Irsay won’t be relying on other team officials, Florio believes Irsay will lean towards promoting executive Jimmy Raye III. The writer cites the owner’s familiarity with Raye, as well as the executive’s supposed willingness to stick with head coach Chuck Pagano.
  • The Bills have hired Chiefs assistant head coach/wide receivers coach David Culley as their new quarterbacks coach, reports Alex Marvez of The Sporting News (via Twitter). Culley spent more than a decade with the Eagles before joining Andy Reid and the Chiefs in 2013. We heard earlier tonight that the Chiefs had hired former Eagles wide receivers coach Greg Lewis for the same position.
  • Browns linebacker Jamie Collins received a four-year, $50MM extension earlier today. CBSSports.com’s Joel Corry believes the contract should serve as a “floor” for Collins former teammate, Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower (Twitter link). Corry notes that the Patriots will have a tough time convincing Hightower’s agent that the linebacker deserves less than the player they traded away.
  • Falcons linebacker Vic Beasley was close to being traded or cut during training camp, reports Gil Brandt of NFL.com (via Twitter). The fear of being let go apparently motivated the former first-rounder, as Beasley finished the season with 39 tackles, 15.5 sacks, and six forced fumbles.

Coaching Notes: Raiders, Eagles, Kelly, Shanahan

The Raiders announced that they have hired former Chargers defensive coordinator John Pagano as their assistant head coach-defense. Pagano will be reuniting with head coach Jack Del Rio, as the duo worked together in New Orleans.

The 49-year-old had been coaching in San Diego since the early 2000s. After serving as the Chargers linebackers coach, Pagano was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2012, and he ultimately held that position for five seasons. However, following the hiring of head coach Anthony Lynn, it looked like Pagano’s tenure with the organization was coming to an end. That was made abundantly clear last week after the Chargers hired Gus Bradley as their new defensive coordinator.

Ken Norton Jr. will remain the Raiders’ defensive coordinator, but Pagano will certainly help a unit that struggled at times during the 2016 season. The Raiders ranked 26th in yards allowed, and they finished with the fewest sacks in the NFL.

Lets take a look at some more coaching notes from around the league…

  • Eagles wide receivers coach Greg Lewis is expected to take the same position with the Chiefs, reports Alex Marvez of Sporting News (via Twitter). The former NFL wideout joined the Eagles coaching staff last offseason after serving as a Saints’ offensive assistant during the 2015 season.
  • CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora would be “very, very surprised” if Chip Kelly ultimately replaces Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan (Twitter link). This move would have been a bit ironic, as Shanahan is set to replace Kelly as the head coach of the 49ers. Instead of moving to Atlanta, La Canfora suggest Kelly could catch on with the Patriots as a consultant/assistant.
  • Speaking of Shanahan, Falcons coach Dan Quinn says the coordinator is set to meet with the 49ers on Saturday. “I’m really proud of him because it’s not easy to do when there is a lot of speculation and things going outside of your world to stay dialed in,” Quinn said (via Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). “It’s one that should be commended. Being on point and going for it, he totally nailed that.”
  • The Redskins have promoted Chad Englehart to head strength and conditioning coach, reports Jake Kring-Schreifels of Redskins.com. Englehart has served as the team’s assistant strength and conditioning coach over the past seven seasons. The organization hired Kavan Latham to fill Englehart’s previous role.