HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Chiefs Weighing Defensive Staff Changes

January 21st, 2019 at 4:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs scored 24 points in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s AFC championship game but still could not beat a Patriots team that had dropped five road contests this season. A day later, they are discussing potential staff changes.

The team is weighing whether or not to shake up its defensive staff, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com notes (video link), adding these conversations include defensive coordinator Bob Sutton‘s position.

Kansas City tied for the NFL lead with 52 sacks but was unable to pressure Tom Brady, and Monday’s discussions involve possible issues making proper adjustments. Andy Reid said Monday the Chiefs are evaluating all aspects of their team, but Garafolo stresses the most scrutinized facet in these evaluations is the defensive staff.

Production getting to the quarterback notwithstanding, the Chiefs ranked 31st in pass defense this season. On Sunday, they allowed the Patriots to convert 13 of 19 third downs in a game that featured 524 New England yards. The Chiefs, who featured one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history (No. 3 all time in points with 565), gave up more than 500 yards on four occasions this season.

Sutton has been Kansas City’s DC since Reid arrived in 2013; his past three units have ranked in the bottom third in total defense. Though, the Sutton-era Chiefs have bent more than they’ve broken in that span, with the team being better at deterring points than yardage. This season ended with 37 points allowed — the fifth time this defense yielded at least 37 points — and the Patriots’ final drive prevented Patrick Mahomes from seeing the field after the overtime coin toss. This came after Dee Ford‘s neutral-zone infraction nullified a likely game-clinching interception.

Saints Sign Six Players To Futures Deals

January 21st, 2019 at 3:39pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints’ season is officially in the books, which means that it’s on to the offseason for New Orleans. To kick things off, the Saints signed the following six practice squad players to reserve/futures deals:

Barrett has been jockeyed on and off of the Saints’ practice squad all year. Over the weekend, Barrett was signed to the Saints’ taxi squad for the 13th time this season. In total, he was involved in a whopping 25 transactions during the 2018 campaign and was released 12 times. Barrett frequently switched placed with wide receiver Paul Turner, but there’s no word yet on whether Turner will be retained via a futures contract.

Sankey, 25 in October, appeared in six games for the Colts last season. This year, he did not see live action for the Saints, but he was on the scout team for most of the year.

Wozniak, a tight end at the University of Minnesota, was signed as a UDFA last year. The Saints moved the 6’10” prospect over to offensive tackle and they’re hoping he’ll be able to use his size and length to his advantage.

Titans Hire Arthur Smith As OC

January 21st, 2019 at 1:10pm CST by Zachary Links

The Titans hired Arthur Smith as their new offensive coordinator, the team announced on Monday. Smith previously served as the team’s tight ends coach, but he’s getting a title and pay bump to run the team’s offensive attack.

“I am excited for Arthur and for our team to be able to elevate a deserving coach,” head coach Mike Vrabel said in a statement. “I was impressed throughout the season in game plan meetings with his ideas, in-game with his understanding of situations and the ability to get the most out of his position group. We spent a good bit of time last week talking about this opportunity. He has a great deal of familiarity with our players and the continuity of the offense will allow our players to continue to develop and improve.”

The Titans are certainly hoping that Smith can get the most out of their group – Smith will serve as the team’s fifth OC since Marcus Mariota was drafted in 2015. With that in mind, Smith’s promotion is a sign that they will give Mariota every chance to succeed as he goes into the final year of his rookie deal.

Matt LaFleur ran the Titans’ offense in 2018, but he left to become the new head coach of the Packers. LaFleur brought youth and energy to the role, but Smith offers more in the way of NFL experience. Before working under Vrabel, Smith served on staffs under Mike Mularkey, Ken Whisenhunt, and Mike Munchak.

Saints’ Drew Brees Plans On Playing In 2019

January 21st, 2019 at 10:55am CST by Zachary Links

Things didn’t go the Saints’ way on Sunday and Drew Brees is determined to go out on a higher note. After the loss to the Rams, Brees told reporters that he plans on sticking around for at least one more season.

[RELATED: Saints TE Josh Hill Sustains Concussion]

“I plan on being here next year and making another run at it,” Brees said (via Luke Johnson of the Times-Picayune).

Brees, who recently celebrated his 40th birthday, turned in one of his very best seasons to date. Brees completed an NFL record 74.4% of his throws and also had a career high in passer rating at 115.7. In the regular season, he threw for 32 touchdowns against just five interceptions and, if not for a controversial no-call on Sunday, he would be gearing up for an attempt at a second career Super Bowl ring.

Thanks to the two-year deal he signed with the Saints in March of last year, Brees is under contract for 2019 at a $33.5MM cap number. The Saints could seek an extension to smooth out the cap hit (and overhaul the voidable year in 2020), but New Orleans will be glad to have Brees back in any scenario.

Dolphins To Hire Patrick Graham As DC

January 21st, 2019 at 10:20am CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins plan to hire Packers’ run game coordinator/inside linebackers coach Patrick Graham as their defensive coordinator, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Of course, Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores is slated to be the head coach of the team’s new look staff, but the Dolphins cannot formally hire him until Super Bowl LIII is in the books. 

Graham has a lengthy history with the Patriots and he served in a variety of roles in New England from 2009-15. The 39-year-old (40 on Thursday) coached the Giants’ linebackers from 2016-17 before joining Green Bay last season.

Before hiring Graham, the Dolphins were said to also be considering Bret Bielema, a former collegiate head coach at Wisconsin and Arkansas who currently serves as a consultant to Bill Belichick. Clearly, Flores was focused on familiar DC candidates who already know how he likes things done.

AFC Notes: Patriots, Gronk, Colts

January 20th, 2019 at 9:39pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Patriots are heading to the Super Bowl, and Super Bowl LIII might be the final game for Rob Gronkowski. We’ve heard for a while now that Gronkowski is considering retirement even more seriously than he did last season, and we got even more confirmation of that today. There is a “strong possibility” that Gronkowski retires this offseason in order to pursue an acting career, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter video). He’s flirted with retirement in the past, but given his declining on field production this year for the Patriots, it feels more real. If it really is the end for Gronk, he’ll go down as one of, if not the, best tight end in NFL history.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • It’s been reported that GM Chris Ballard would like the Colts to add another talented wide receiver to pair with T.Y. Hilton, but don’t expect them to be in on the Antonio Brown sweepstakes this offseason, writes Stephen Holder of The Athletic. It’s unclear if the Steelers would even want to deal Brown to Indianapolis, as they’d likely prefer to trade him out of conference to the NFC.
  • Adam Gase has already hired Gregg Williams to be his defensive coordinator with the Jets, but the team still has a vacancy at offensive coordinator. “All signs point to” Gase bringing in Dowell Loggains to be his new OC, according to Daryl Slater of NJ.com. Loggains has worked under Gase both in Chicago and Miami, so it’s not surprising he’s tagging along to the Big Apple. Either way, Gase will likely be the offensive play-caller in New York.
  • Speaking of the Jets, Slater writes separately in the same post that Josh McCown is “definitely not coming back” next year. McCown became a fan favorite during the 2017 season when he helped the team beat expectations as the starter, and got a lot of praise for his work mentoring Sam Darnold this past year. But his ties were to Todd Bowles and the previous coaching staff, and with Gase now in charge, he’s apparently unlikely to spend a second straight year mentoring.

Extra Points: Colts, Vinatieri, Foles, Eagles

January 20th, 2019 at 8:04pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Colts were one of the best stories of the 2018 NFL seasons. After starting the season 1-5, Indianapolis went on a miraculous run to the divisional round, where their season was finally ended by the Chiefs. Colts fans have a lot to be excited about now that Andrew Luck is finally fully healthy, but GM Chris Ballard still has a lot of work to do. The team is still missing some pieces, and former NFL agent and current CBS Sports Analyst Joel Corry recently broke down what their offseason might look like.

Corry, who knows a thing or two about the cap, writes that the Colts are “the envy of the NFL from a salary cap standpoint”, and that Ballard will have a lot of flexibility to do whatever he wants this spring. He writes that the Colts are in a “position to make a splash in free agency”, which is interesting considering the team has been linked to Le’Veon Bell in the past. Corry also thinks the Colts will be looking for a secondary receiver to pair with T.Y. Hilton as well as a pass-rusher to bolster the defensive line. Whatever Ballard does, the Colts will be one of the most interesting teams to monitor this offseason.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Speaking of the Colts, we heard last week that they were interested in bringing back kicker Adam Vinatieri, and now we know the interest is mutual. Vinatieri had previously been noncommittal about his status, but the 46-year-old does indeed plan to play a 24th season next year, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Vinatieri had a disappointing end to the season, missing an extra point and 23-yard field goal, but he was still one of the best kickers in the league throughout the year.
  • We’ve heard a lot about how it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that Nick Foles won’t be back in Philadelphia next season, but there’s one scenario that hasn’t been getting much attention. The conventional wisdom has been that the Eagles will pick up his 2019 option and then Foles would pay the $2MM buyout to become a free agent, but the Eagles could choose to decline the option, then franchise tag and trade him, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN (Twitter link). Mortensen thinks the Eagles will want to avoid Foles signing with a rival like the Redskins, and would prefer to control where he lands in addition to landing some potential draft compensation. The Eagles have until February 11th to pick up the option, so we should know more within the next couple of weeks.

Extra Points: Ravens, Harbaugh, Titans

January 20th, 2019 at 6:30pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We heard yesterday that the Ravens were close to extending John Harbaugh after all. After a lot of buzz that Harbaugh might not be looking to sign an extension and instead play out his contract and test the open market, it looks like Harbaugh will indeed commit to Baltimore longterm. Extension talks were “accelerated during Ravens high-level annual organizational retreat Thursday and Friday with owner Steve Bisciotti”, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN (Twitter link). Mortensen notes that discussions took place during the retreat about a potential trade of Joe Flacco and how best to develop Lamar Jackson. It should be a busy offseason in Baltimore, and it’ll be interesting to see if they can get something of value for Flacco on the trade market.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • There’s only a couple of weeks until the offseason really gets underway, and we should start seeing a ton of free agency talk soon. With that in mind, ESPN NFL Nation reporters took a look at every team’s biggest upcoming free agency decision. The whole piece is worth a read, with a lot of insightful analysis about some of the biggest names to keep an eye on this March. DeMarcus Lawrence, Clay Matthews, and Anthony Barr are some of the situations that get discussed.
  • The Titans’ defense looked really solid at times this season, but could use some extra pass-rushers, according to Jim Wyatt of the team’s official site. Wyatt feels “certain” that the Titans will add outside linebacker help this offseason. Wyatt notes that with Brian Orakpo retiring and Derrick Morgan not a lock to be brought back next year, Mike Vrabel’s unit will need some reinforcements at outside linebacker.
  • In case you missed it, the Eagles are refusing to disclose details about Carson Wentz‘s injury.

Saints TE Josh Hill Sustains Concussion

January 20th, 2019 at 3:48pm CST by Micah Powell

In the first quarter of the NFC Championship game, Saints tight end Josh Hill sustained a concussion. He is out for the remainder of the game, Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times tweets. 

It’s a big loss for the Saints, who are already without starting tight end Ben Watson, who is dealing with appendicitis. Should they pull out the win, the team could be down its top two tight ends for the Super Bowl in two weeks, depending on how both recover from their ailments.

Hill played a large role early in the game for the Saints, pulling in one reception for 24 yards on the Saints’ first-half touchdown drive. He also sustained the injury on the play.

New Orleans didn’t skip a beat following the injury, as recently signed tight end Garrett Griffin capped the drive with his first career reception — a 5-yard touchdown. Without Hill and Watson, rookie tight end Dan Arnold will also see more action.

The sixth-year tight end tied his career high with 16 receptions during the regular season. The reception on the injury marked his fourth grab of this postseason.

 

Carson Wentz Expected Healthy For Offseason Program

January 20th, 2019 at 2:20pm CST by Micah Powell

For the second consecutive season, an injury kept Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz out of the postseason in 2018. Unlike last season, however, the team’s franchise signal-caller is expected to be ready for the team’s offseason program in 2019, ESPN’s Adam Schefter writes. 

A stress fracture in his back sidelined the third-year quarterback for the final five games of the season. The Eagles once again rallied behind Nick Foles, however, made it to the playoffs and downed the NFC North champion Bears in the Wild Card round.

Though he will be healthy enough to take the field for the program in April, it remains to be seen if the Eagles want to run him back out there.

Schefter notes that some in the organization believe his back injury is related to the knee issues he had in 2017. There is no definitive proof to those theories, however.

With Foles expected to be starting in a new locale in 2019, the Eagles will not have the luxury of having arguably the league’s best backup should Wentz sustain another major injury in 2019.

Wentz looked the part of franchise quarterback when he was healthy in 2018. He finished the campaign with 3,074 yards and 21 touchdowns with a 69.6 completion percentage in 11 games.

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