2020 January - Pro Football Rumors

Giants To Hire Jason Garrett As OC

January 17th, 2020 at 6:45pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Jason Garrett wasn’t out of a job too long. The Giants are planning to hire Garrett as their new offensive coordinator, a source told Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Garrett staying in the division and getting to face the Cowboys twice a year will provide a lot of drama and entertainment, if nothing else. Garrett met with Giants brass a couple of days ago, and apparently everything went well. He caught a lot of flak his last few years in Dallas, but he will be a solid veteran presence to lean on for rookie head coach Joe Judge in New York.

Garrett, who played quarterback in the league for nearly 15 years, will now be tasked with helping to develop Daniel Jones. He spent four years with the Giants as a backup, so this is a homecoming of sorts for him. He’ll surely be excited about the opportunity to take on Jerry Jones and his old team. He started his coaching career as the quarterbacks coach with the Dolphins for a couple of years before moving on to Dallas.

Garrett went a perfect 6-0 against the Giants the past three years, which couldn’t have hurt his cause with New York’s ownership. He was the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys for four seasons before serving as head coach for the past nine. Still only 53, the 2016 NFL Coach of the Year surely has his sights set on becoming a head coach again sometime in the near future. If he can get Jones to take the next step and develop like Dak Prescott did, that opportunity could come relatively soon.

The Giants are entering a new era of football, as they finally appear set to move on from Eli Manning. They fired Pat Shurmur after the season ended and brought in Judge, the Patriots’ receivers/special teams coach, to replace him. Judge’s staff is starting to fill out, as he already hired away defensive coordinator Patrick Graham from the Dolphins. We heard earlier today the Giants were planning on speaking with Scott Linehan, who worked under Garrett as his OC in Dallas. A reunion could be in the works there.

Kyler Murray Contractually Can’t Play Baseball

January 17th, 2020 at 6:18pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray caused a bit of a kerfuffle earlier this week when he indicated he still had interest in playing baseball at some point. “I think I could. … Athletically, I think yeah, I could do it. I’ve been playing both my whole life. I would love to add that to the resume,” he told Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

Fortunately for Cardinals fans, they don’t have to worry about that anytime soon. Murray’s NFL contract specifically bars him from pursuing his other sport in any form, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Rapoport reviewed the language of Murray’s deal, which rules out “any baseball related activity, tryout, workout, scrimmage, any exhibition, from any baseball team in any baseball league.”

Murray, of course, was previously a two-sport athlete. He was drafted early in the first round by the Oakland Athletics a few years ago, and until he took over for Baker Mayfield as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback, it was widely assumed he would pursue a MLB career. Then he ended up exceeding all expectations in his one season of college football, winning the Heisman Trophy. After leaving his future up in the air for a while, Murray eventually fully committed to football and announced he would withdraw from his deal with Oakland back in February of last year.

A couple months later, the Cardinals drafted him first overall. Murray had an up and down rookie season in his first year playing under Kliff Kingsbury, but he showed plenty of flashes. The potential Rookie of the Year, he finished with 24 total touchdowns and had some huge games. It isn’t totally unheard of for a player to compete in both sports, as Deion Sanders famously played in the NFL and MLB at the same time. That being said, it would be much tougher for a quarterback to attempt such a thing. Maybe one day Murray will find his way back to the diamond, but it doesn’t sound like it’ll be anytime soon.

LSU’s Thaddeus Moss Declares For Draft

January 17th, 2020 at 4:53pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Thaddeus Moss just became a national champion, and now he’s ready to take the next step in his career. The LSU tight end declared for the 2020 draft on Friday, he announced on Twitter.

Moss initially was well-known for being the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss, but he quickly made a name for himself. After starting his career at N.C. State and playing sparingly, he transferred to LSU and enjoyed a breakout season this past year. He ended up catching 47 passes for 570 yards and four touchdowns, and had the 14th-most yards of any tight end in the nation. In the title game against Clemson this past week he played a pivotal role, reeling in two touchdowns from Joe Burrow.

Matt Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote that he “is an accomplished run-blocker and physical player over the middle of the field,” as well as a “three-down talent.” Moss isn’t going to go in the first round like his father did back in 1998, but he has the chance to rise up some draft boards as he wasn’t known to too many before this season. As a previously unknown prospect with some intriguing tools, he has the potential to be a late riser in the process.

Eagles Add Connor Barwin To Front Office

January 17th, 2020 at 3:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

Connor Barwin will transition into the personnel side of the game. After being rumored to be a consideration for an Eagles staff role, the former edge rusher will join the team as special assistant to the GM, the team announced.

Barwin, who announced his retirement late last year, will work in a scouting role during the offseason and shift to development during the season. This marks a fairly quick transition for the 33-year-old retiree, who played four seasons with the Eagles.

Eagles GM Howie Roseman signed Barwin as a free agent in 2013, and the former Texans edge player racked up 31.5 of his 56.5 career sacks as an Eagle. He later played for the Rams and Giants but did not suit up during the 2019 season.

This job offer emerged after Barwin contacted Roseman about a role with the organization, according to the team. Over the second half of this season, the 10-year veteran and current Philadelphia resident played a role in assisting some of the Eagles’ younger players. Barwin has begun the scouting part of his job, attending East-West Shrine Game practices and is ticketed to do the same at the Senior Bowl.

“I’m done playing football, but my football career is not over,” Barwin said during an interview with PhiladelphiaEagles.com’s Dave Spadaro. “I want to stay involved. I want to help this team wherever I can and also learn the other side of the game from the coaches and the personnel side.”

Eagles To Interview USC’s Graham Harrell For OC Job

January 17th, 2020 at 2:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles will look to the college ranks during their offensive coordinator search, with Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweeting USC OC Graham Harrell is set to interview for the job.

A former Texas Tech quarterback who spent time with the Packers and Jets in the 2010s, Harrell was the Trojans’ OC last season. He stepped into that role after Kliff Kingsbury abruptly left the position to become the Cardinals’ head coach.

Harrell is a Mike Leach disciple, playing in the pass-happy coach’s Air Raid offense in Lubbock, Texas, before following him to Washington State and serving as the Cougars’ wide receivers coach after his NFL career ended. Harrell, 34, spent three years as North Texas’ offensive coordinator before becoming USC’s OC in 2019. Kingsbury took that job in December 2018 but soon accepted the Cards’ job offer.

USC ranked 20th last season with 454 yards per game, improving significantly from its 382.6 average in 2018. This occurred after sophomore quarterback J.T. Daniels went down with a season-ending injury in Week 1, thrusting true freshman Kedon Slovis into the Trojans’ lineup. Harrell still stands as an unorthodox candidate, with his last connection to the NFL being as a reserve quarterback after going undrafted in 2009. He finished fourth in the 2008 Heisman voting, teaming with Michael Crabtree to lead Texas Tech to an 11-2 season as a senior.

The Eagles fired Mike Groh after two seasons on the job. They’ve been connected to Jim Caldwell and ex-Redskins OC Kevin O’Connell for the job. The Rams, however, hired O’Connell to be their OC. The Eagles also had Ravens QBs coach James Urban as a canidadate, but John Harbaugh confirmed Friday he took himself out of the running after interviewing for the job.

Clemson RB Travis Etienne To Return For Senior Season

January 17th, 2020 at 2:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

After losing top wide receiver Tee Higgins, Clemson can continue to build around its Trevor Lawrence–Travis Etienne backfield. A junior running back, Etienne made the unexpected decision to stay in school, announcing the decision Friday (Twitter link).

Running backs typically declare early to avoid another year’s worth of college carries, but Clemson’s starter will take a different route to the NFL. Etienne has stacked multiple 1,600-yard rushing seasons together and could well end up as a 2021 first-round pick like Lawrence.

Etienne finished as a top-10 Heisman vote-getter in each of the past two seasons, which featured a combined 49 touchdowns and 3,782 scrimmage yards. Scouts Inc. slotted Etienne as a second-round talent this year, ranking the production dynamo as this class’ would-be No. 5 running back.

Georgia’s D’Andre Swift, Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, Florida State’s Cam Akers and Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins rate as other top backs in this class. All had years of eligibility remaining, but each entered the draft early. But Lawrence’s Clemson running mate will instead focus on helping the Tigers to another national championship game, after having started in the past two, and becoming a 2021 first-rounder.

Ravens HC: Will Be Hard To Keep Matt Judon

January 17th, 2020 at 12:41pm CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens want to keep Matt Judon, but head coach John Harbaugh admits that it’ll be “pretty hard” to retain the in-demand pass rusher.

“We’re going to try to get as many of these guys re-signed as we can. Matt [Judon] is probably right at the top of the list, for sure,” Harbaugh told reporters on Friday. “Our goal will be to have Matt back.”

Judon, 28 in August, is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in March. After notching a career-high 9.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in his first season as a full-time starter, Judon could fetch big bucks on the open market.

There’s some question as to whether the Ravens can afford to re-sign him to a lucrative long-term deal, but they can ill afford to lose him, either. Judon stepped up after the Ravens’ front seven lost Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith to free agency. Now, there’s no one behind the fourth-year player that could replace his production.

The Ravens will have to balance their desire to keep Judon with other pending free agents, including cornerback Jimmy Smith, defensive tackle Michael Pierce, and linebacker Patrick Onwuasor. They’re also likely to exercise defensive back Brandon Carr‘s option, which would carry a $7MM cap figure.

As it stands, the Ravens are projected to have nearly $34MM in cap space for the offseason.

NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Jeffery

January 17th, 2020 at 11:08am CST by Zachary Links

New head coach Mike McCarthy has plenty of changes in the works for the Cowboys, but they won’t be straying from their 4-3 defense. When speaking with reporters, McCarthy confirmed that the team’s base will continue to be four down linemen, though they’ll mix things up with their playbook (Twitter link via Jon Machota of The Athletic).

The defense will be run by Mike Nolan, who joined McCarthy in Dallas earlier this month. On the other side of the ball, Kellen Moore will stay as the OC and be in charge of play calling.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

The Eagles’ need for help at wide receiver is glaring, but the contracts of Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson will limit their flexibility, as Zach Berman of The Athletic writes. Releasing Jeffery, who is coming off of an injury-riddled and subpar season, would saddle the Eagles with $26.1MM in dead money and zero cap savings. A trade would result in $16.2MM in dead money – a slightly less painful hit – but they’d likely have to sweeten the pot with a draft pick, a la the Brock Osweiler deal. Jeffery reportedly clashed with teammates last year, but the Eagles are probably stuck with him. If Jeffery isn’t on the roster, Berman writes, it’ll show just how badly the relationship soured.
Regarding Jackson, Berman believes his place on the roster is more of a given. Cutting DJax after he missed much of the season with an abdomenal injury might be a stronger consideration if it wouldn’t cost the Eagles $12.54MM with zero cap relief. Instead, you can expect DJax to fly with the Birds yet again in 2020. The Eagles will hope that the 33-year-old can stay healthy and resume his place as one of the league’s most dangerous deep threats.
In more positive cap news, the Eagles are projected to have $46.9MM to spend this offseason. Eagles GM Howie Roseman could push that number even higher by trading safety Malcolm Jenkins or linebacker Nigel Bradham, as Eliot Shorr-Parks of WIP writes. Jenkins is adamant that he won’t play for the Eagles “on the same deal” in 2020, so a trade seems likely if the two sides cannot come to an accord on an extension.

LSU’s K’Lavon Chaisson Enters Draft

January 17th, 2020 at 10:37am CST by Zachary Links

Another big name is on the board. On Friday, just before the deadline for underclassmen to declare, LSU linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson announced he’s going pro.

Chaisson is the latest in a line of LSU stars to declare early entry. Quarterback Joe Burrow (the expected No. 1 overall pick), center Lloyd Cushenberry III, linebacker Jacob Phillips, and safety Grant Delpit are among the eight pros that decided to skip their remaining eligibility in order to kickstart their NFL careers.

Chaisson may be one of several Tigers called in the first round. The imposing edge rusher finished out his final collegiate season with 60 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. It was a big year and one that erased any questions about the 2018 season which was mostly loss due to a torn ACL.

Chaisson stands at 6’4″ and weighs in at 250 pounds, but he’s tremendously athletic for a player of his size. Some evaluators might have him slotted behind the likes of Alabama’s Terrell Lewis or Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him shoot up the boards after the February combine.

Ohio State’s Chase Young is the undisputed gem of this edge rushing class (and, perhaps, the entire draft class). Iowa’s A.J. Epenesa also seems likely to come off the board early.

Jaguars Interview McAdoo, Linehan

January 17th, 2020 at 8:38am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars interviewed former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo for their offensive coordinator vacancy, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). McAdoo, who did not coach in 2019, is looking to reboot his career after a dismal run in New York.

The Giants fired McAdoo late in the 2017 season, ending a three-plus-year run with the team as offensive coordinator and head coach. The Giants threw him under the bus following the Eli Manning benching debacle and most fans were happy to see him go – the Giants went 13-15 under his watch. Prior to all of that, McAdoo served as the tight ends and quarterbacks coach of the Packers.

The Jaguars have been searching for a new OC ever since firing John DeFilippo, who was one-and-done in Jacksonville. The Panthers are also considering McAdoo for a spot on Matt Rhule‘s maiden staff.

The Jaguars are also slated to speak to former Cowboys OC Scott Linehan this weekend – presumably for the same post. Linehan will also speak with the Panthers and Giants, according to ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen (on Twitter).

Linehan, 56, got the heave-ho from the Cowboys in January of last year. Like McAdoo, he was out of the NFL for the 2019 season.