2019 January - Pro Football Rumors

West Notes: Fitz, Wilson, Henry

January 13th, 2019 at 10:00am CST by Rory Parks

Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald did not announce that he would return for the 2018 season until mid-February of 2018, and it appears that we could have a similar wait in 2019. Fitz told ESPN’s Adam Schefter earlier this week that he would take some time to collect his thoughts after a difficult 3-13 season, but that the team’s recent hiring of new head coach Kliff Kingsbury would not sway him one way or another. If Fitz does decide to play, he would technically be eligible for free agency, but it is impossible to imagine him playing for a team other than Arizona.

Now for more from the league’s west divisions:

This probably doesn’t mean much, especially in light of last week’s reports on the matter, but Kingsbury has said that he would consider drafting Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray with the Cardinals‘ No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft, per ESPN’s Sam Ponder (via Twitter).
The Seahawks are set to begin contract negotiations with quarterback Russell Wilson, and in a piece that is well-worth a full read, Joel Corry of CBS Sports says that Wilson’s new deal will pay him at least $35MM per year.
After being activated on Monday, Chargers TE Hunter Henry is expected to play in the team’s divisional round showdown in Foxborough this afternoon, per Albert Breer of SI.com.
We heard yesterday that Bears defensive backs coach Ed Donatell will be a top target of new Broncos coach Vic Fangio, and Mike Klis of 9News tweets that Donatell is currently deciding between staying in Chicago or following Fangio to Denver.
Former Buccaneers defensive line coach Brentson Buckner will join the Raiders in the same capacity, per Greg Auman of The Athletic (Twitter link).
49ers defensive line coach Jeff Zgonina will not be returning to the team, per Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio (via Twitter).

Chiefs Unlikely To Tag Dee Ford

January 13th, 2019 at 8:57am CST by Rory Parks

Chiefs outside linebacker Dee Ford is set to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason, and after racking up 13 sacks for the No. 1 seed in the AFC while also earning his first Pro Bowl nod, Ford looks primed to cash in.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that Kansas City is leaning against using the franchise tag on the 2014 first-round pick, which will only help Ford’s earning potential, especially given that the free agent market is largely bereft of game-changing pass rushers. After a 10-sack campaign in 2016 that suggested he was ready to start living up to his draft status, Ford’s 2017 season was cut short due to a back injury, and he may have only been with the Chiefs this season because his fifth-year option that was guaranteed for injury would have vested if he were unable to pass a physical last March, meaning the team would have had to pay him even if it cut him.

But it all worked out for Kansas City and Ford, who finished this season as Pro Football Focus’ eighth-best edge defender. His 77 quarterback pressures was the best mark among all of those players.

The Chiefs are projected to have a fair amount of cap space, but as of right now it appears they are unwilling to tag Ford, who would earn just shy of $15MM if he were to play out the 2019 season under the tag. That is not to say, however, that Kansas City is unwilling to talk contract with him, which would be quite surprising.

Rob Gronkowski Leaning Towards Retirement?

January 13th, 2019 at 8:24am CST by Rory Parks

Last year, Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski contemplated retirement. This year, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that Gronk will once again consider hanging up the cleats, but this time, there is a better chance he will actually walk away from the game.

Before the 2018 draft, New England reportedly had a trade in place that would have sent Gronkowski to the Lions, but when Gronk learned of that news, he threatened to retire rather than play for another club. Of course, there has been some drama between Gronkowski and the Patriots for several years now, some of which may be attributed to the fact that Gronkowski believes he is severely underpaid.

Regardless of the source of tension, we heard at the end of last month that Gronkowski had grown tired of the “Patriot Way,” and underpaid or not, he is financially set. Plus, thanks to his effusive personality, he will have some sort of career outside of football if he so chooses.

The 29-year-old has once again battled injuries throughout the course of the 2018 campaign, and Rapoport says sources close to Gronk have said the season has taken an emotional toll on him. He certainly has not played up to his usual standards, with just three scores and a yards-per-game mark of 52.5 that is higher only than his rookie season figure of 34.1. Teams have largely stopped double-teaming him, and he just does not look like his usual explosive self.

So it would not be surprising to anyone if Gronkowski calls it a career and starts the next chapter of his life whenever the Patriots’ season ends.

Extra Points: Eric Reid, Browns, Coaches, Seahawks, Workouts

January 12th, 2019 at 9:32pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We have a new update on the Eric Reid situation. The Panthers safety has been griping for a while now about the NFL targeting him with incessant drug tests in retaliation for his collusion suit against the league, and the league and NFLPA issued a statement a few days ago saying there was no evidence to support his claims. Reid isn’t dropping the issue however, and his lawyers are rejecting the contents of the letter released by the league, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.

“They claim that some of the dates the NFL used in its report are incorrect”, and “want access to all evidence, records, electronic messages and information sources used to determine the findings within the report”, La Canfora writes. It’s unclear what his potential next step is, but this probably isn’t the last we’ll hear of it. We also heard a few weeks ago that the Panthers were interested in bringing Reid back in 2019 and had already reached out to his agent about a new deal.

Here’s more from around the league:

Freddie Kitchens’ inaugural staff in Cleveland is getting a new member. The Browns are hiring former Jets running backs coach Stump Mitchell, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN (Twitter link). While Anderson writes that “his official title has yet to be finalized”, she does note that he’ll coach the running backs. Mitchell is a longtime running backs coach in the league, who has also spent some time as the head coach of Morgan State and Southern University. Mitchell and Kitchens worked together on Bruce Arians’ staff in Arizona, so the move makes a lot of sense.
While the Raiders’ coaching staff isn’t undergoing any major changes for Jon Gruden’s second season, at least one assistant won’t be back in 2019. Assistant defensive line coach Marco Coleman is leaving the team to take a job at Georgia Tech, his alma mater, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Twitter link). Gruden’s first season was a disappointment, but there was no big shakeup in response.
Before signing kicker Sam Ficken yesterday, the Seahawks worked out a few other kickers. The team brought in Caleb Sturgis, Younghoe Koo, and Lirim Hajrullahua for workouts, according to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link). Koo was the Chargers’ kicker to open the 2017 season but was cut after a handful of games, while Sturgis was the Chargers’ kicker the first half of this season before being cut in favor of Michael Badgley. Hajrullahua has been in the CFL the last five years. Seattle’s interest in kickers suggests Sebastian Janikowski, who is a free agent this offseason, won’t be returning in 2019.
Speaking of workouts, the Colts brought in tight end Gabe Holmes for a tryout, Balzer tweets. Holmes was signed as an UDFA by the Raiders back in 2015, and has bounced around some bottom of the rosters and practice squads ever since. The Purdue product has spent time with the Raiders, Seahawks, Ravens, and Cardinals. Holmes appeared in eight games with Arizona this year, but was used mostly as a blocker and never caught a pass.

Assistant Coaching Rumors: Broncos, Browns, Packers, Rams, Buccaneers

January 12th, 2019 at 8:20pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Now that the head coaching carousel is pretty much wrapped up, everyone’s attention will now be turning to the assistant coaching ranks. One team that has a lot to sort out is the Broncos, now that we know Gary Kubiak won’t be joining as the team’s offensive coordinator. Broncos defensive backs coach Greg Williams won’t be returning next year, according to Mike Klis of Denver 9News (Twitter link). In a separate tweet, Klis writes that league sources told him Bears defensive backs coach Ed Donatell will be a “top target” of new Broncos coach Vic Fangio to join his defensive staff. In a third tweet, Klis notes that the Browns are targeting Chris Strausser, who currently coaches the Broncos’ offensive tackles, to join Freddie Kitchens’ staff in Cleveland.

Here’s the latest from the coaching circuit:

Matt LaFleur is the Packers’ new coach, and while it has already been announced that he’ll be bringing back defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and the rest of the defensive coaches, he still needs to round out his offensive staff. Jets WR’s coach Karl Dorrell will interview for the same position with Green Bay, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link). Dorrell got his start under Mike Shanahan, who LaFleur also used to coach under, so the connection is there.
The Rams are losing Zac Taylor to the Bengals, as their 35-year-old quarterbacks coach will take over the head coaching gig in Cincinnati, and they almost lost another assistant. Senior offensive assistant Jedd Fisch had an interview for the head coaching vacancy at Temple, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Rapoport also notes that Fisch, the former Jaguars and UCLA offensive coordinator, could be “an option to fill a key offensive position next year” with the departure of Taylor.
Byron Leftwich wasn’t able to do much after taking over as the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator this season, but Bruce Arians has a ton of confidence in his new offensive coordinator with the Buccaneers. Arians called Leftwich a “rising star” and said Arizona’s offensive struggles were because they weren’t running Leftwich’s offense, per Nick Shook of NFL.com. It’s been rumored that Arians views Leftwich as his eventual successor when he retires from coaching for good.

Steve Sarkisian Won’t Be Joining Cardinals As OC

January 12th, 2019 at 7:15pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

UPDATE 8:07 PM: Sarkisian was in fact offered the job by the Cardinals, but turned it down to go back to coach under Nick Saban at Alabama, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

7:15PM: We heard yesterday that the Cardinals were “closing in on” Steve Sarkisian to be their new offensive coordinator, but that’s apparently no longer the case. Sarkisian is now “unlikely to be joining Kliff Kingsbury’s staff”, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).

It’s unclear what made the talks break down, but it looks like Sark won’t be headed to the desert. Kingsbury was hired earlier this week in one of the biggest surprise coaching hires of the cycle. The team hired Vance Joseph to be their defensive coordinator yesterday. Sarkisian was fired as the Falcons’ offensive coordinator after Atlanta had a disappointing 7-9 season.

Before that, Sarkisian was the offensive coordinator at Alabama and head coach at USC. He’s also been linked to the Lions’ OC opening, so it’s highly possible he’ll still land a gig. Matt Ryan still put up good numbers in Sarkisian’s offense, but red zone efficiency was always a problem, and the team struggled to run the ball.

Things just never looked the same for Atlanta’s offense after Kyle Shanahan left, and Sarkisian quickly drew the ire of fans. It’ll be interesting to see who Kingsbury hires instead, as they’ve also been linked to Texas State coach Jake Spavital, as well as former Giants coach Ben McAdoo.

Saints Make Three Roster Moves

January 12th, 2019 at 5:49pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Ahead of their divisional round playoff game, the Saints made several roster moves today. The team promoted tight end Garrett Griffin from the practice squad to the active roster, and placed receiver Simmie Cobbs on injured reserve to make room for him, according to Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate (Twitter link). Quarterback J.T. Barrett was re-signed to the practice squad to take Griffin’s place.

The moves aren’t likely to make any major impact on the Saints’ season moving forward, but are still notable. Cobbs, a rookie from Indiana, had been on the Redskins’ practice squad after going undrafted. The Redskins were reportedly high on him, but the Saints signed him away last month. The return of Ted Ginn Jr. from injured reserve made Cobbs no longer necessary as a depth piece.

Griffin signed with the Saints as an UDFA back in 2016, and has bounced between the practice squad and active roster ever since. He’s caught just one pass in his NFL career. Barrett the rookie who set records at Ohio State, has been signed and released from the team’s practice squad on a seemingly weekly basis.

Broncos An Antonio Brown Suitor?

January 12th, 2019 at 4:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Antonio Brown news cycle continues, with this week bringing an update from Art Rooney II. The Steelers owner pointing to the All-Pro wide receiver having potentially worn out his welcome has ignited trade rumors.

An interesting team has emerged on that front. The Broncos are a team to keep an eye on as a Brown suitor, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). While mentioning cap-rich teams like the Colts, Jets and 49ers as potential Brown buyers, Rapoport notes the Broncos may be “plotting a run” at the superstar wideout.

Teams eyeing Brown may not have to fork over an Amari Cooper price, either. Rival GMs expect a second-round pick and possibly some additional compensation being enough to get a deal done, RapSheet adds. Brown’s four-year, $68MM deal, and perhaps the way his 2018 season ended, may well give teams caution despite his obvious superiority to Cooper as a player. The Steelers may well approach teams in trade talks, per Rapoport.

By the end of the regular season, the Broncos were reeling at receiver. They traded Demaryius Thomas and saw Emmanuel Sanders go down with a season-ending Achilles injury. But they do have Sanders’ contract on their books for one more season.

Sanders and Brown were both 2010 Pittsburgh rookies and played together until 2013. Sanders has been an essential part of Denver’s past five passing attacks and was on pace for another 1,000-yard season prior to going down. Sanders, 32 in March, is a year older than Brown (31 in July). He does not expect his former teammate to be a Steeler next season (Twitter link). But with Sanders set to make a non-guaranteed $10.15MM in 2019 and Brown tethered to a wideout-record deal ($22MM-plus ’19 cap number), Brown-to-Denver is a curious fit. Unless the Broncos are planning to replace Sanders with Brown.

The Broncos do have rookie contracts comprising the rest of their receiving corps and stand to hold more than $45MM in cap space, with some possible cap-casualty contracts — like Brandon Marshall or Ronald Leary — on their books. But reuniting the former Steelers teammates would tag the Broncos’ payroll with a historic cost at this position, even if it would mean a far more potent passing attack than what recent Denver teams have possessed.

AFC Notes: Titans, Roman, Kingsbury

January 12th, 2019 at 3:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

Matt LaFleur‘s defection to Green Bay leaves Tennessee without an offensive coordinator. They have not conducted any known interviews and are operating deliberately. GM Jon Robinson and Mike Vrabel have met several times this week discussing what the best course of action should be, so interviews are likely coming soon. Whichever way the Titans go, they will be asking Marcus Mariota to learn a fourth offensive system in his five-year career. Ken Whisenhunt ran the Titans’ offense in 2015, before being fired, then Mike Mularkey took over before giving way to LaFleur. Robinson appears to want to retain some of LaFleur’s concepts, however.

“I think if that can happen so that there is some carry-over, some familiarity there, so that not just Marcus but all of our players on offense, the less that we have to put on their plate to learn the different terminology, the different concepts, if there’s carry-over, then I think they can build upon what they’ve kind of gone through the last year,” Robinson said, via Eric Bacharach of The Tennesseean. “So we’ll do our best to try to keep as much continuity as possible carrying over into the offseason and certainly into next season.”

Here is the latest from the AFC:

Eric Berry, Spencer Ware and Malik Hooker are out for today’s Chiefs–Colts divisional-round game. Berry is still dealing with the heel trouble that has sidetracked his career, and Ware is out with a hamstring malady. Hooker started against the Texans but missed practice this week with a foot ailment.
The Ravens’ Greg Roman promotion partially stemmed from ensuring he would not accept another OC role in the AFC East. The Dolphins sought the former Bills offensive coordinator for their OC role, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. HC frontrunner Brian Flores had Roman on his staff list. Another name to pop up on Flores’ early list: Kliff Kingsbury. The now-Cardinals HC appears to have had a path to Miami as Flores’ play-caller, Breer adds (on Twitter). But despite his sub-.500 Texas Tech record, Kingsbury received a much bigger promotion than the Dolphins had in mind.
Jets staffer Tyler Tettleton will join the Browns as an offensive quality control coach, per Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports (on Twitter). Tettleton was a graduate assistant at Oklahoma for two years during Baker Mayfield‘s tenure in Norman.

Jaguars Mulling Joe Flacco Trade

January 12th, 2019 at 2:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jaguars no longer view Blake Bortles as a viable option, and they are exploring the idea of adding another recently demoted passer.

Jaguars brass has discussed the prospect of bringing in Joe Flacco via trade, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. Flacco is open to this potential opportunity, per JLC.

They are also discussing Nick Foles and Ryan Tannehill, La Canfora notes. Foles is not certain to be available, though the current Eagles starter is expected to be. The Eagles are expected to attempt a trade, and the Dolphins are going to explore a Tannehill trade. Both could also hit free agency.

John Harbaugh has now openly broached the subject of a Flacco trade, saying the Ravens’ longtime starter will have a market. But rival GMs do not expect a team to part with anything more than a mid-round pick for the 33-year-old quarterback, La Canfora adds, though pointing out Tom Coughlin and new Ravens GM Eric DeCosta have a strong relationship that could accelerate a deal.

Flacco’s contract runs through 2021. He is due $18.5MM in base salary next season and is set to carry a $26.5MM cap number, though renegotiation could adjust the latter figure. The Jags are likely going to have to eat a $16.5MM dead-money hit on Bortles. The team is projected to be over the cap, so a Flacco trade would need to be accompanied by roster adjustments elsewhere.