HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Latest On Jets, Muhammad Wilkerson

December 21st, 2017 at 1:18pm CST by Zachary Links

In all likelihood, Muhammad Wilkerson will not be a part of the Jets in 2018. It remains to be seen whether he will take the field for them again in 2017. Muhammad Wilkerson (vertical)

On Thursday, Jets coach Todd Bowles told reporters that Wilkerson’s status will be a game-time decision for Sunday’s game against the Chargers. The call on whether or not to play Wilkerson could have huge ramifications for the player and the team going forward. Bowles is aware of what’s at stake, but he has also grown weary of discussing Wilkerson’s situation.

“I answered all my Mo Wilkerson questions yesterday. I have nothing more to add,” Bowles said.

Wilkerson is under contract for 2018 at a $16.75MM cap number, but that sum is guaranteed for injury only until the third day of the league year. If the Jets plan on divorcing themselves from Wilkerson (and all signs indicate that they are), then they would be taking a huge risk by allowing him to play in the meaningless two games that remain on the schedule.

Wilkerson has amassed 44.5 sacks, 11 forced fumbles, and 28 pass deflections over the course of his career with the Jets. Unfortunately, only eight of those sacks came after he signed his five-year, $86MM extension with the club.

Boise State’s Leighton Vander Esch‏ To Enter Draft

December 21st, 2017 at 12:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Boise State inside linebacker Leighton Vander Esch announced that he will skip his final season of eligibility in order declare for the NFL Draft (Twitter link).

“It has been the honor of my life to play for the team I always grew up following. I would have given anything to have had this opportunity,” Vander Esch wrote. “Because my love for Boise State runs so deep, this was the most difficult decision of my life. I feel now is the best time for me to pursue another childhood dream – playing in the National Football League.”

Vander Esch broke out in 2016 with an eye-popping 141 tackles, which is the most that any Boise State player has had in an individual season since 1988. He also had 8.5 tackles for a loss, four sacks, and two interceptions.

It’s a bit early too say where Vander Esch could go in the draft, but Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) views him as a top 50 prospect nationally. With strong showings at his Pro Day and in individual team workouts, he could garner first-round consideration. In recent years, Boise State has seen some of its best defenders declare as underclassman and go high in the draft, including second round picks Demarcus Lawrence (2013) and Kamalei Correa (2015).

NFL Recommends Coaching Candidates

December 21st, 2017 at 12:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Each year, the NFL’s Career Development Advisory Panel releases a list of candidates for head coaching jobs. According to Mike Lombardi of The Ringer (Twitter link), that list includes: Josh McDaniels (Vertical)

  • Dan Campbell (Assistant Head Coach/TE coach, Saints)
  • Jim Bob Cooter (Offensive Coordinator, Lions)
  • John DeFilippo (Quarterbacks Coach, Eagles)
  • George Edwards (Defensive Coordinator, Vikings)
  • Josh McDaniels (Offensive Coordinator, Patriots)
  • Matt Nagy (Offensive Coordinator, Chiefs)
  • Matt Patricia (Defensive Coordinator, Patriots)
  • Jim Schwartz (Defensive Coordinator, Eagles)
  • Pat Shurmur (Offensive Coordinator, Vikings)
  • Dave Toub (Special Teams Coach, Chiefs)
  • Steve Wilks (Defensive Coordinator, Panthers)
  • Mike Vrabel (Defensive Coordinator, Texans)

McDaniels, of course, comes with previous head coaching experience. He was probably too young to handle those responsibilities in Denver, but he has reasserted himself as an offensive wunderkind. Both McDaniels and Patricia will be hot candidates for head coaching jobs this year, so the Patriots may have to make serious changes on the coaching staff.

There is some overlap with the list of minority candidates recommended by the Fritz Pollard Alliance, though Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and Titans offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie did not make the cut on this list. Austin received head coaching interviews in each of the last two offseasons, so he seems likely to garner some consideration this time around.

Eagles Create Additional Cap Space

December 21st, 2017 at 10:49am CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles converted $745,588 of guard Brandon Brooks‘ remaining base salary to a signing bonus and dropped his base salary rate to the league minimum ($775K), according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). The move creates $559K in cap space for Philadelphia. Brandon Brooks (vertical)

The Eagles badly needed the wiggle room. Currently, the Eagles are in the bottom five league-wide in cap space and they’ll have to make moves in order to get under the cap this offseason.

The good news for the Eagles, financially, is that the majority of their starters are signed through at least next season. Some hard choices will have to be made as they look to strengthen their reserves, but the Eagles should be able to carry over most of their roster into 2018. Considering that they’re 12-2 with a very real chance at winning it all, that’s a good thing. Their top internal free agents include running back LeGarrette Blount, linebacker Nigel Bradham, defensive tackle Beau Allen, and tight end Trey Burton.

Brooks, 28, earned his first career Pro Bowl selection this week. He stands as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 ranked guard in the entire NFL this year, behind only David DeCastro of the Steelers.

West Rumors: Smith, Seahawks, 49ers

December 20th, 2017 at 9:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled on Wednesday there is enough evidence to take Raiders cornerback Sean Smith to trial for the alleged incident that occurred on July 4 involving Smith and his sister’s then-boyfriend, Nathan Feeno of the Los Angeles Times reports. The preliminary hearing featured two witnesses saying a man identified as Smith “stomped” the head of Christopher Woods in an incident on a street corner in Pasadena, Calif. Woods underwent surgery to repair five facial fractures, he said while in court. Both of his eyes were damaged, and Woods said he tore an ACL in the alleged beating. The 30-year-old Smith will be arraigned on Jan. 3. If convicted on this assault charge, Smith faces seven years in prison.

Here’s the latest from the Western divisions, moving to some Seahawks news.

  • The final year of Earl Thomas‘ second Seahawks contract is 2018, and the safety made some interesting comments about his future on Wednesday. The eighth-year defensive back and last vestige of the Legion of Boom at the moment responded to a question about his thoughts on a long-term Seahawks future. “I know whoever gets me, I’m balling,” Thomas said, via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. “That’s it. And I know I’m hot. So it is what it is.” Thomas signed his initial Seahawks extension in advance of his first contract year. Any subsequent re-up would almost certainly have to surpass Eric Berry‘s $13MM-AAV deal. Thomas and Berry are the only active safeties with three first-team All-Pro distinctions on their resumes.
  • Sheldon Richardson has now been reported to be interested in a Jets reunion, but the Seahawks defensive lineman (predictably) won’t rule out his current team, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports. While he said he’d be interested in staying in Seattle, Richardson said he’s not aware of any talks that have occurred between his agent and the Seahawks. The fifth-year lineman added that talks could be going on unbeknownst to him and that he informed his agent he wanted to focus on this season. “We’ll see where the chips fall,” Richardson said.
  • After waiving guard Mark Glowinski on Saturday, the Seahawks were hoping to bring him back, offensive line coach Tom Cable said (via Condotta, on Twitter). But the Colts swooped in with a waiver claim. Glowinski started 21 games for the Seahawks — including all 18 of their 2016 contests — since arriving as a fourth-round pick in 2015.
  • The 49ers did not have Leonard Fournette as a top-three player in this past draft, leading to the Solomon Thomas selection. Kyle Shanahan attempted to douse any rumors he’s against taking running backs with a high pick, saying certain backs are worthy of that draft slot. However, the first-year coach’s comments may be interpreted as having an emphasis on making the correct evaluation of a later-round back rather than investing a Round 1 choice on one. “It’s been proven that you can get guys (running backs) later,” Shanahan said, via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “But that by no means makes it that I’m going to say we’re never going to draft a running back high. … A big-time running back, whether it’s Fournette; whether it’s Adrian Peterson, who was a top-10 pick; whether it was Terrell Davis in the sixth round; whether it’s David Johnson, I think was a third-rounder; Le’Veon Bell, I think was a second-rounder. All those guys are worth top-five picks, but they were all found in different places.” The 49ers are currently in position to hold the No. 4 pick, and Penn State’s Saquon Barkley could put the team to a decision.

Steelers’ Joe Haden To Return In Week 16

December 20th, 2017 at 8:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

After enduring one of the more crushing regular-season losses in recent memory, the Steelers now may need to win out to merely secure a bye in the AFC playoffs.

They will have a key weapon back in Week 16 to help them on this journey. Joe Haden confirmed he will return for his team’s Christmas Day game against the Texans, per Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Haden was close to playing against the Patriots, Bouchette notes, and labels himself at about 85 percent as of Wednesday. The Steelers did not place Haden on IR; he’s been recovering while on the 53-man roster.

The standout cornerback missed the past five Steelers contests due to a broken fibula. Prior to that, he’d delivered quality work for his second NFL team. Going into Week 16, Haden ranks as the No. 36 corner, according to Pro Football Focus, after nearly 500 snaps of work.

Haden figures to augment a pass defense that’s suffered without him. In the nine games Haden played, Pittsburgh’s defense allowed barely 181 yards passing per game. In the five contests without him, that number shot up to 251.6. Only eight touchdown passes occurred against the Steelers during the games in which Haden was healthy, Bouchette notes, but nine have come in the past five games.

The Steelers sit 12-3, but the 11-4 Jaguars have the head-to-head tiebreaker in the event of a Pittsburgh slip-up. A trip to Houston and a visit from the winless Browns represent the final two Steelers regular-season assignments. The eighth-year corner has never played in a playoff game.

Rams Worked Out 10 Kickers To Replace Greg Zuerlein

December 20th, 2017 at 8:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Rams will be without Greg Zuerlein for the rest of the season. Their Pro Bowl kicker, since placed on IR, will undergo back surgery on Thursday, Sean McVay said (via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com).

Zuerlein has been playing through a back injury all season, and McVay labeled it a herniated disk. The 29-year-old kicker aggravated the injury while sleeping the night before the Rams’ Week 15 game in Seattle. McVay said his kicker could barely stand on Sunday, and it affected his performance and Los Angeles’ game plan against the Seahawks.

Up next for Zuerlein will be a 12-week recovery timetable.

As for the replacement effort, Sam Ficken won quite the derby despite having no NFL kicking experience. A 2015 UDFA out of Penn State, Ficken took part in a 10-man kicker audition on Wednesday.

Veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer reports (on Twitter) the Rams worked out Roberto Aguayo, Dan Carpenter, Travis Coons, Andrew Franks, Garrett Hartley, Marshall Koehn, Younghoe Koo, Mike Meyer and Jason Myers. Two long snappers — Jeff Overbaugh and Drew Farris — and two punters-as-holders (Matt Wile and Austin Rehkow) were also on hand for this unique specialty showcase, per Balzer (on Twitter).

Carpenter and Hartley have extensive NFL experience — a combined 16 seasons’ worth — while Aguayo was selected in the second round only to become a workout journeyman by his second year. He auditioned for the Browns earlier this week and also could not procure the Rams’ kicker job, one that will feature playoff opportunities. Hartley has not kicked in a game since 2014, and Carpenter hasn’t kicked this season.

The Chargers cut Coons earlier this week, but he’s been in Los Angeles for a few weeks now after being the initial Nick Novak replacement for the Bolts. Myers hasn’t kicked since losing his Jaguars job to ex-Charger Josh Lambo, and Franks — a former Dolphin — hasn’t suited up for a 2017 contest either.

Giants To Interview Louis Riddick

December 20th, 2017 at 6:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants’ GM search is heating up, with Dave Gettleman and in-house executive Marc Ross interviewing for Jerry Reese‘s old post. A familiar name is coming next.

ESPN analyst Louis Riddick will interview for the job, Kimberly Jones of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Riddick’s interview will commence on Thursday, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post tweets.

The Giants are also scheduled to meet with longtime assistant GM Kevin Abrams amid a search that — just as the Browns’ was — consisted only of names not connected to teams presently, since they’re available to interview now.

Gettleman, as of now, is considered the favorite to land the job. A source informed ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan of this line of thinking as well. The 66-year-old has a close relationship with Ernie Accorsi, the former Giants GM who is leading this search, and helped the Panthers morph into a Super Bowl entrant during his time in Charlotte.

Riddick was connected to the Chiefs’ GM vacancy over the summer, although he denied it, and did interview with the 49ers in January. He’s worked as a scout and an executive, with his most notable experience coming with the Eagles from 2005-13. The former NFL defensive back served as Philadelphia’s director of player personnel from 2010-13. Riddick broke into the scouting world with the Redskins from 2001-04; his executive tenure has come entirely in the NFC East.

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