2020 January - Pro Football Rumors

Bills’ Lorenzo Alexander To Retire

January 5th, 2020 at 8:30am CST by Zachary Links

Last January, Lorenzo Alexander said that 2019 would probably be his final season in the NFL. After the Bills’ heartbreaking loss to the Texans in Saturday’s wildcard playoff game, Alexander confirmed that he is going to retire, as Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic tweets.

Earlier this week, Alexander reiterated his retirement plans, even though he remains a productive member of Buffalo’s defense.

“Yes, obviously, it was a decision I made before the season, and at this point, we still have to play Houston,” Alexander said (via Leo Roth and Ryan Miller of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle). “My mind hasn’t even processed transition yet, so I’m still in this thing 100 percent. Once you start thinking about life after football, you kind of take some of the focus away from the guys and what’s important. The focus is on Houston now and we have to get a playoff win, obviously that would be huge for this organization and community.”

Alexander turned pro in 2005 but didn’t see his first NFL action until 2007 with the Redskins. He served mostly as a reserve and special teams player up until 2016, when he found a home with the Bills. In his age-33 season, Alexander started all 16 games and racked up 12.5 sacks en route to a Pro Bowl selection. All in all, he’s amassed 24 regular season sacks for the Bills.

Now, at the age of 36, Alexander is ready to move on from football. He’ll suit up for the Bills as they take on the Texans this weekend and he’s hoping for a February sendoff.

Latest On Redskins Staff, Washington Interested In Pat Shurmur For OC

January 4th, 2020 at 9:29pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Ron Rivera became the first head coach hired this cycle when the Redskins brought him in, and he isn’t wasting anytime assembling his staff. Notably, Rivera is raiding his old Panthers coaching staff and bringing a bunch of guys with him.

Panthers offensive line coach John Matsko, receivers coach Jim Hostler, and trainer Ryan Vermillion are all joining Rivera in Washington, according to a Twitter thread from Joseph Person of The Athletic. Person adds that defensive line coach Sam Mills III will also interview for a spot on Rivera’s staff. Obviously, the new head coach is interested in getting the gang back together again. We had heard initially that he was likely to keep offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, who did good work with Dwayne Haskins down the stretch, but that might not necessarily be the case.

We heard yesterday that Panthers offensive coordinator Scott Turner would get an interview in Washington, and there’s apparently another high profile contender. Recently fired Giants coach Pat Shurmur is getting consideration for the job, Grant Paulsen of The Athletic is told (Twitter link). John Keim of ESPN.com later tweeted confirmation that the Redskins are interested in Shurmur. That would certainly be interesting, especially with Shurmur potentially staying in the NFC East, though Keim says no interview is imminent and it’s unclear if there will be an interview at all.

Shurmur has never panned out as a head coach, but he’s been highly regarded as an offensive coordinator. Right before getting hired by the Giants, he received a ton of praise for his work with Case Keenum in Minnesota. Matsko had been with Rivera since he started in Carolina in 2011, so it’s not surprising he got brought along.

Jedrick Wills Declares For Draft

January 4th, 2020 at 8:24pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The 2020 NFL Draft just added another top prospect to the player pool. Alabama offensive tackle Jedrick Wills will leave school early and enter the draft, he announced on Twitter.

Wills is widely regarded as one of the best offensive linemen in the country, and as things stand right now is almost certain to be a first-round pick. Many analysts think he has a shot to go in the top ten, and Matt Miller of Bleacher Report had him at 15th overall in his most recent mock draft. Miller writes that he is “tailor-made to step in from Day 1” and “has the movement ability with an easy, poised kick-step to play either right or left tackle in the pros.”

Highly recruited out of high school, Wills became a full-time starter as a sophomore in 2018. Alabama’s other starting tackle and potential first-round pick Alex Leatherwood recently announced his intention to return to school. Like seemingly every year there are a bunch of teams picking early in need of tackle help, and the Browns could be a natural fit with the tenth overall pick.

NFL Pushes Back On Patriots Discipline Reports

January 4th, 2020 at 5:46pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Earlier this morning, there was a report that the Patriots were definitely going to be punished for committing a “game-day violation” as part of their videotaping scandal. Now, the league office is pushing back on that report.

The NFL released a statement denying that any final decision had been made, via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “The investigation is ongoing and there has been no discussion of any potential discipline. Any suggestion of potential discipline or a timeline on an announcement is pure speculation,” the statement read. Schefter had reported that the official punishment was going to come down in the next two weeks, and obviously Roger Goodell took issue with his reporting.

Schefter cited a couple of examples of potential discipline, which have come up repeatedly throughout this process. One is the $250K fine for the Browns and four-game suspension for then-GM Ray Farmer for in-game texting, and the other is the Falcons losing a fifth-round pick and being fined $350K for pumping in artificial crowd noise to their stadium.

Everything has indicated for a while now that Goodell will hand down some sort of punishment, but it’s interesting that he took the unusual step of releasing this statement in response to a specific report. Perhaps the Pats have a chance to escape from this latest controversy unscathed after all.

Alabama WR Jerry Jeudy To Enter Draft

January 4th, 2020 at 3:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Long tabbed one of the best players eligible for the 2020 draft, Jerry Jeudy will forgo his final Alabama season to enter the draft. The junior wide receiver announced he will declare on Saturday (Twitter link).

This comes after Jeudy’s six-catch, 204-yard showing in the Citrus Bowl. The 6-foot-1 talent has been on NFL radars for a while and is a likely top-10 pick. Both ESPN.com’s Todd McShay and Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller have Jeudy listed as a top-five prospect. The five-star 2017 recruit sits third on Scouts Inc.’s ranking of draft-eligible prospects.

The shifty route-runner heads up a wide receiver class that’s long been rated as a potential impact group. Two other Crimson Tide wideouts — Henry Ruggs and Devonta Smith — could well join Jeudy. Both have been tabbed as first-round-level prospects. Both Ruggs and Smith have 2020 eligibility, but the possibility of each going on Day 1 points to both declaring for the draft.

Jeudy submitted two 1,100-yard seasons, combining for 24 touchdown receptions over the past two years, and has been compared to Odell Beckham Jr. The Crimson Tide have seen three receivers — Julio Jones, Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley — go in the first round in the past nine drafts. Jeudy will run that number to four.

QB Notes: Rivers, Tannehill, Jags, Winston

January 4th, 2020 at 3:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Philip Rivers‘ disappointing season has led to speculation the Chargers will seek an upgrade in free agency or the draft. But GM Tom Telesco said (via Daniel Popper of The Athletic, on Twitter) this week he still believes the 38-year-old quarterback can compete at a “top-starter level.” Rivers has bounced back from down seasons before, even winning 2013’s comeback player of the year award after merely coming back from a rough 2012 slate. But the free agent-to-be is much closer to the end of his career and has acknowledged Week 17 may have been his final Bolts game. The Chargers aim to get the Rivers situation sorted out before the 2020 league year begins March 18, Telesco adds (Twitter link). Tyrod Taylor is still under contract, and while Telesco called the ex-Bills starter a capable first-stringer (Twitter link via ESPN’s Eric Williams), promoting the 30-year-old veteran would not be viewed as an upgrade.

Here is the latest from the quarterback landscape:

A franchise tag may be in the cards for Ryan Tannehill, but the Titans are convinced his change-of-scenery breakout is legit. The Titans believe the 31-year-old passer is a “huge part of their future” and want to sign him to a long-term extension, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link). The prospect of a Tannehill re-up initially surfaced in late November, and the sides have begun negotiations. It would cost Tennessee approximately $27MM to use its franchise tag on Tannehill. With Derrick Henry and right tackle Jack Conklin also up for free agency, it would behoove the Titans to have Tannehill locked down before the March 10 deadline. Of course, Tannehill’s Dolphins history makes such a commitment risky.
The Jaguars will not commit to Gardner Minshew as their clear-cut starter going into the offseason. Doug Marrone said Minshew and Nick Foles will compete for the job, per John Reid of the Florida Times-Union. The Jags gave Foles $50MM guaranteed in 2018; his 2020 salary is fully guaranteed.
Jameis Winston may have been playing through a more significant thumb injury than initially believed. The Buccaneers quarterback is now wearing a cast, per Rapoport (on Twitter). Winston threw his usual variety of interceptions before the thumb injury surfaced but tossed four in Week 16 against the Texans after being on the Bucs’ injury report with the malady. The soon-to-be 26-year-old passer will be a free agent in March.

Matt Rhule To Meet With Panthers, Giants

January 4th, 2020 at 1:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Matt Rhule-to-NFL path may be close to forming. The Baylor head coach has scheduled two interviews. He will meet with the Panthers on Monday and the Giants shortly after, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

A New York native, Rhule is believed to be the frontrunner for the Giants job. He spent 2012 as their assistant offensive line coach, working with the franchise during Dave Gettleman‘s final season during his first Giants stint. Rhule’s Giants meeting is expected to take place Tuesday.

As a college coach, Rhule is 47-43 in seven seasons at Temple and Baylor. But it’s the Bears’ quick turnaround from the Art Briles tenure that has likely sparked interest among NFL teams. Baylor completed the transition from 1-11 in Rhule’s first season in 2017 to ending its 2019 campaign in the Sugar Bowl. While Baylor did not fare well against Georgia, Rhule was already an NFL candidate before guiding the Big 12 program to an 11-win season. And prior to Rhule’s Baylor stay, he led Temple to back-to-back 10-win seasons — the first such stretch in the program’s 90-year history.

The Panthers have already interviewed Mike McCarthy (twice) and Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy. They are tentatively scheduled to meet with Vikings OC Kevin Stefanski late next week. The Giants are interviewing Bieniemy and Ravens DC Don “Wink” Martindale on Saturday and have already spoken with McCarthy and Cowboys secondary coach Kris Richard. Both teams are also interested in Josh McDaniels, who has previously been a Giants target.

Rhule turned down an opportunity to interview for the Browns job, doing so a year after agreeing to return to Baylor despite Jets interest. Rhule interviewed for the job that went to Adam Gase and has said he would leave for the NFL if the right opportunity presented itself. The latest NFL hiring period will put the 44-year-old coach to the test.

Cowboys To Meet With Marvin Lewis

January 4th, 2020 at 11:28am CST by Ben Levine

Things are moving fast in Dallas. Following news that Mike McCarthy will interview for the Cowboys head coaching job, ESPN’s Todd Archer reports that the team will also meet with former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis today. We heard earlier today that Lewis could be a candidate for the gig. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the interview has already taken place.

While Lewis didn’t help the Bengals achieve any playoff success (0-7 in seven appearances) during his 16 years in Cincy, he did finish his tenure with a 131-122 record, including 10 seasons with at least eight victories. While the Bengals struggled between 2016 and 2018 (20-28), it was still a bit of a surprise when the organization moved on from Lewis last year. We heard that the 61-year-old would be well-positioned to secure another head coaching gig this offseason.

However, Lewis didn’t take any interviews last offseason, and he later revealed that he didn’t expect to coach again. He joined his friends Ray Anderson and Herm Edwards at Arizona State University as a special advisor back in May, and it’s believed that Lewis would consider an NFL gig if the right opportunity presented itself. The coach was mentioned as a candidate for the Redskins job before the organization hired Ron Rivera.

For those questioning the fate of Jason Garrett, ESPN’s Ed Werder opines (on Twitter) that the organization will simply allow the coach’s contract to expire. The soon-to-be-former head coach’s deal expires on January 14th.

Patriots To Be Disciplined For Video Violation

January 4th, 2020 at 11:17am CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots will indeed be punished for their “acknowledged gameday video violations in Cincinnati,” reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that New England did commit a game-day violation, but it’s uncertain if there’s a link to football operations.

Schefter notes that the punishment is likely to come within the next two weeks. The NFL has yet to collect all of the security reports, but there should be clarity once that’s resolved.

Schefter also cited a basis for the impending discipline. Back in 2015, former Browns general manager Ray Farmer violated the league’s electronic device policy by sending text messages to the coaching staff during games. The Browns were fined $250K and Farmer was suspended four games without pay. The same year, the Falcons were forced to forfeit a fifth-rounder and pay a $350K fine after it was found that team president Rich McKay was responsible for pumping in crowd noise during home games (McKay was also suspended from the competition committee).

To review, the Patriots’ media production team was filming a feature on a scout during a Bengals-Browns game in early December. The film crew obtained the necessary credentials to follow the scout to the Cleveland press box. However, part of the B-roll included footage of the Cincinnati sideline, and NFL teams are prohibited from shooting video of coaches on the sideline. Plus, the Pats played the Bengals the following weekend, which led to further questioning about their motives.

The Patriots acknowledged that they should have done a better job advising the crew of league protocol, and they also conceded that they should have informed the Bengals and the league of their intentions prior to the game. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick immediately distanced himself from the incident and was reportedly furious when he learned about it. Commissioner Roger Goodell previously confirmed that the Patriots’ history with illegal videotaping would be factored into the process.

Mike McCarthy To Meet With Cowboys

January 4th, 2020 at 10:15am CST by Ben Levine

While the Cowboys haven’t said anything official about the status of head coach Jason Garrett, it sounds like the organization is preparing to meet with candidates. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is traveling to Dallas to meet with the Cowboys. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the interview will take place today.

Rapoport adds that the organization is “laying the groundwork” for an inevitable head coaching search, with a particular focus on former NFL head coaches. To that end, Rapoport hints that Marvin Lewis could also be a candidate for the gig, with the former Bengals head coach receiving interest from some within the organization.

As our head coaching tracker shows, McCarthy has been one of the more popular names on the interview circuit, as he’s already interviewed for the Panthers, Browns, and Giants vacancies. McCarthy was out of the NFL for the entire 2019 campaign, but he spent the season studying film and designing plays in preparation for his next opportunity.

Now, the former Super Bowl winner becomes the first known candidate to (presumably) replace Garrett in Dallas. The former Packers head coach did have a pair of Hall of Famers (Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers) for nearly the entirety of his Green Bay stint, but he’d be inheriting an offense that has plenty of weapons of their own. His play-calling was also called into question towards the latter stages of his tenure, but it sounds like he was focused on improving that aspect of his coaching throughout the past year.

We heard yesterday that Garrett and the Cowboys were likely heading towards a divorce. The Cowboys were scheduled to meet with Garrett on Thursday, but that meeting was scrapped. Before the 86’d sit-down, the Cowboys were rumored to be considering a middle-ground scenario in which Garrett would remain with the organization in a different role. At this moment, a clean break seems more likely.

Earlier today, Rapoport reported (via Twitter) that the Cowboys aren’t expected to make any definitive announcement about Garrett until at least Monday. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets that the Cowboys head coach has been campaigning to keep his gig. Garrett’s contract is set to expire on January 14th.