HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Patriots Re-Sign PR Bernard Reedy

January 17th, 2018 at 3:21pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots announced that they have re-signed punt returner Bernard Reedy. Reedy will be eligible to play in this weekend’s AFC title game against the Jaguars. Bernard Reedy (vertical)

The Pats will have to make a roster move in order to bring Reedy back into the fold. That will likely be accomplished by placing cornerback Jonathan Jones on IR. On Wednesday afternoon, New England opted against activating wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell from injured reserve, which cleared the way for Reedy to rejoin the team.

Reedy, 26, spent 2017 with the Patriots and Bucs. In total, he returned 18 punts for 175 yards plus seven kickoffs for 145 yards.

The Toledo product caught on with the Pats’ taxi squad in November after the Bucs ended his lengthy Tampa Bay stay. Despite being with the Bucs since the 2015 season, the former 2014 UDFA only saw live action in ’17.

Patriots Won’t Activate Malcolm Mitchell

January 17th, 2018 at 1:57pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots have decided against activating Malcolm Mitchell in advance of the Wednesday deadline, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. That means that Mitchell will be out of action for the AFC championship game as well as the Super Bowl, should the Patriots make it. Malcolm Mitchell (vertical)

This was the expected outcome as Mitchell did not suit up for Wednesday morning’s practice. Ideally, the Patriots would have liked to have the 24-year-old on the field. As a rookie in 2016, Mitchell had 32 catches for 401 yards and four touchdowns. This year, he was set to have a larger role in the offense before a nagging knee injury sidelined him in the preseason.

The Pats brought Mitchell back on the practice field in late December, giving them three weeks to decide whether to activate him. In theory, the Patriots could have put him on the 53-man roster and left him on the bench for the AFC title game, giving them the option of playing him in the Super Bowl in a couple of weeks. Ultimately, they felt that they would rather preserve their depth elsewhere with a healthy player.

Heading into the big game against the Jaguars, the Patriots still have a solid cast of receivers including Brandin Cooks, Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, Kenny Britt, Dwayne Allen, and Chris Hogan.

AFC East Notes: Patriots, Dolphins, Landry

January 17th, 2018 at 1:19pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots are on the verge of losing both of their coordinators, Matt Patricia and Josh McDaniels, to head coaching jobs. Will things roughly stay the same, even after two of the league’s most talented young assistants move on?

“I mean, I believe so,” said Patriots captain Duron Harmon (via Phil Perry of CSNNE.com). “The culture is built. The culture is built. This is two decades of winning. A winning franchise. Coach Belichick is going to make sure whoever is in the defensive room is going to be the right guy to display the message and the picture that he wants his defense to play with. That goes through the defensive coordinator, whoever he hires.”

Replacing both Patricia and McDaniels will be a tall task, but the belief in Foxboro is that Bill Belichick will be able to keep things moving with new coaches in each role. For now, that’s all on the backburner as the Pats get set for the conference title game against Jacksonville.

Here’s more from the AFC East:

  • Jarvis Landry‘s upcoming negotiations with the Dolphins will be about more than just money, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes. The wide receiver has been productive, but he also loses focus at times and doesn’t run the right routes. He has also allowed his emotions to get the best of him at times and the team is worried about how he’ll hold up in the long run. Sources have described Landry as “a pain” to deal with and “hard to reach,” according to Salguero. Of course, money will still be a major factor in talks. Big name receivers like Dez Bryant, Julio Jones, Davante Adams, and Demaryius Thomas average between $14-14.5MM per season and Landry believes he deserves to be in that group or perhaps make more. The Dolphins, meanwhile, might prefer to pay him something in the neighborhood of $10-$11MM/year. Ultimately, it sounds like there is a disparity between how the Dolphins view Landry and how Landry views himself. The Dolphins probably see Landry as being a very good wide receiver, but not in the same tier as, say, Antonio Brown.
  • The Dolphins are trying to pluck defensive line coach Kris Kocurek from the Lions after receiving permission to interview him, Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. Kocurek coached Ndamukong Suh for five years in Detroit, so he could help Miami get the most out of the mercurial defensive tackle.
  • It sounds like the Jets could move on from tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins this offseason.
  • Over the weekend, the Bills hired a new offensive coordinator.
  • The Dolphins hired a new running backs coach on Wednesday.

AFC Notes: Steelers, Haley, Dolphins

January 17th, 2018 at 1:02pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the AFC:

  • Quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner is considered the favorite to take over for Todd Haley as the Steelers‘ new offensive coordinator, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. Rapoport notes that Fichtner is close with offensive line coach Mike Munchak as well as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, which could give him the leg up. However, no decision has been made yet.
  • Kirby Wilson, the Steelers‘ running backs coach under Mike Tomlin during his first seven seasons with Pittsburgh, is another candidate to replace Haley as OC, Ed Bouchette of the Post Gazette (on Twitter) hears. Interestingly, Munchak’s name has not come up as a OC candidate yet, even though he declined a second interview with the Cardinals on Wednesday.
  • Former Denver assistant head coach/running backs Eric Studesville is headed to the Dolphins as running backs coach/run game coordinator (Twitter link via Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com). Studesville has ties to Dolphins head coach Adam Gase since both men were on the Broncos’ staff together both under Josh McDaniels and John Fox.

Steelers To Hire New Offensive Coordinator

January 17th, 2018 at 11:11am CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers are allowing offensive coordinator Todd Haley to walk now that his contract has expired, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The team will now look to hire a new OC. Todd Haley (vertical)

[RELATED: Ben Roethlisberger To Play 3 More Years?]

The Steelers may have a couple of in-house candidates to replace Haley. One is quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner, who was previously assigned to act as a “buffer” between Ben Roethlisberger and Haley on the sidelines. The other is offensive line coach Mike Munchak, who appears to have withdrawn his name from consideration for the Cardinals’ head coaching vacancy.

On the whole, Haley’s offense has been a success in Pittsburgh, but his bickering with Big Ben and off-the-field incidents have tested the patience of his superiors. Haley’s latest unfortunate headline came when he suffered a shattered pelvis during a barroom brawl on New Year’s Eve.

Mike Munchak Declines Second Interview With Cardinals

January 17th, 2018 at 9:20am CST by Zachary Links

Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak has turned down the chance for a second head coaching interview with the Cardinals, a source tells Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter link). With Munchak out of consideration for the job, Patriots linebacker coach Brian Flores is now a leading candidate for the job. Mike Munchak (vertical)

It’s not immediately clear why Munchak has removed himself from consideration for the Cardinals job. As PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker shows, Munchak is also a candidate for the Giants’ head coaching vacancy, but that job likely belongs to Pat Shurmur. With rumors swirling about Todd Haley‘s departure, one has to wonder if Munchak is in the mix to become the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator.

Munchak went just 22-26 in three seasons as the Titans’ head coach, but was said to have made a great impression on Cardinals brass. The Cardinals will now dig deeper into Flores – despite his lack of coordinator experience – as well as Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo.

North Notes: Browns, Mularkey, Steelers

January 16th, 2018 at 9:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Browns are “in discussions” with former Titans head coach Mike Mularkey regarding their offensive coordinator vacancy, according to Pat McManamon of ESPN.com. Mularkey, who was fired by Tennessee on Monday, was loosely connected to Cleveland yesterday, with reports indicating Hue Jackson & Co. would be interested in Mularkey if he were to come available. As of yet, the Browns have not set up a formal interview with Mularkey, but such a meeting could soon occur. Mularkey would become the third definitive candidate for Cleveland’s OC job, joining Texans quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan and former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo. A three-time head coach, Mularkey has coordinated offenses for the Steelers, Dolphins, and Falcons.

Here’s more from the 2018 coaching carousel:

  • Mularkey isn’t the only coach in whom the Browns are interested, as Cleveland has also interviewed TCU co-offensive coordinator Curtis Luper for their running backs coach position, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. If hired, Luper would replace Kirby Wilson, who was fired last week after two seasons with the Browns. Luper, 56, has never coached at the NFL level, but has worked in NCAA roles since 1995, with stops including New Mexico, Oklahoma State, and Auburn. He’s been at TCU since 2013, and was promoted from RBs coach to co-offensive coordinator in 2017.
  • Steelers wide receivers coach Richard Mann is planning to retire, as Alex Marvez of the Sporting News writes. The 70-year-old Mann has enjoyed a long career in coaching, and has especially thrived since joining Pittsburgh’s staff in 2013. His arrival coincided with Antonio Brown‘s ascension to the league’s best wideout, while Mann has also helped guide young pass-catchers such as Martavis Bryant and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Mann, a long-time collegiate coach, entered the NFL ranks in 1985.
  • The Vikings have yet to decide whether Sam Bradford or Teddy Bridgewater will be quarterback Case Keenum‘s backup in the NFC Championship game, head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters, including Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Minnesota, which rarely keeps three quarterbacks active, used Bradford as Keenum’s No. 2 in the former’s first game since being activated off injured reserve.

Bears Interviewing Todd Downing

January 16th, 2018 at 9:25pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Former Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing is interviewing to become the Bears’ next quarterbacks coach, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Adam Caplan of SiriusXM (Twitter link) reports that while Downing is indeed meeting about a position on Chicago’s offensive staff, the interview isn’t necessarily for the QBs coach vacancy.Todd Downing (vertical)

Downing, Oakland’s quarterbacks coach from 2015-16, lasted only a single season as the Raiders’ offensive play-caller before being fired along with head coach Jack Del Rio and the rest of the Oakland staff. During Downing’s short stint atop the offense, the Raiders slipped in yards (from sixth in 2016 to 17th in 2017), points (seventh to 23rd), and DVOA (eighth to 13th).

However, the 37-year-old Downing drew rave reviews for his work as quarterback Derek Carr‘s position coach during the latter’s second and third NFL campaigns. Carr undoubtedly posted the two best seasons of his four-year career with Downing as his tutor, a sign that Bears signal-caller Mitch Trubisky — the No. 2 overall selection in the 2017 draft — could thrive under Downing.

Downing isn’t the only candidate for Chicago’s quarterbacks coach vacancy, however, as Texans offensive assistant Pat O’Hara interviewed for the job today, tweets John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. Mark Berman of FOX 26 first reported last week that Chicago could have interest in O’Hara, while Biggs added that an O’Hara addition wouldn’t necessarily mean that incumbent Bears QBs coach Dave Ragone moves on.

Ben Roethlisberger To Play 3 More Years?

January 16th, 2018 at 8:57pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has privately told teammates that he wants to play for at least three more seasons, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Ben Roethlisberger (vertical)

The 35-year-old Roethlisberger indicated following Sunday’s Divisional Round loss that he plans to return for the 2018 season, an important disclosure given that he reportedly mulled retirement prior to the 2017 campaign. Coming off a season which was largely in line with his career norms (64.2% completion rate, 28 touchdowns, 92.4 quarterback rating), Roethlisberger sounds as though he’s eager to continue his career through at least next year, and potentially beyond. He’s under contract through 2019, with cap charges of $23.2MM in each season.

Roethlisberger’s relationship with offensive coordinator Todd Haley has reportedly been the source of some strain, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported Sunday that the rapport between the two Steelers “in in as bad of a place as it’s been in years.” Haley’s contract is now expired, per Bouchette, and it’s unclear if he’ll return to Pittsburgh in 2018 after failing to “build support among key players” on the club’s offense. If Haley leaves the Steelers, quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner would represent a “strong candidate” to become the team’s next offensive coordinator.

Appearing on his local radio show on CBS Pittsburgh this morning, Roethlisberger seemed to refute any concerns regarding Haley. “There’s always issues in a competitive field,” said Roethlisberger, noting that the reported rift is “perceived as a bigger deal” than reality might warrant (Twitter links via Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com). “You might butt heads at times, it doesn’t mean you have any personal problems.”

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