HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Caldwell: Keeping Yannick Ngakoue Is Jaguars’ Top Priority

January 1st, 2020 at 5:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

This year’s free agent class of edge defenders could include several impact players, but the Jaguars look poised to keep one of them off the market.

Yannick Ngakoue‘s rookie contract is up, and he’s eligible for unrestricted free agency. But GM Dave Caldwell has identified an agreement to ensure Ngakoue is a Jaguar next season is the franchise’s top offseason priority.

“He’s a tremendous player and even a better person. I would say that’s Priority No. 1, to make sure that he comes back to Jacksonville and that he’s a Jacksonville Jaguar,”Caldwell said. “Hopefully, we can get that done where he’s here for a long period of time.”

The Jags and Ngakoue negotiated last year but could not come to terms on an extension. Ngakoue played out his contract year and ended up with eight sacks and 15 quarterback hits. The latter figure was significantly down from his 33 in 2018. But for his career, the talented pass rusher has 37 sacks and 14 forced fumbles. He’s become one of the game’s better pressure artists.

Ngakoue’s camp will be negotiating with a new-look Jaguars setup, with Tom Coughlin no longer in place atop the team’s decision-making structure. The former third-round pick stayed away from the team until training camp. The Jaguars extended Myles Jack but traded fellow 2016 draftee Jalen Ramsey. That leaves Ngakoue left on the franchise’s to-do list. The Jags still have Calais Campbell under contract and saw Josh Allen excel as a rookie. But they’re committed to keeping Ngakoue, who will not turn 25 until March.

Should the Jags go with the franchise tag for Ngakoue, it would cost them approximately $18MM. Jacksonville is projected to be $900K over the cap, so Caldwell will have work to do to clear out space to keep Ngakoue. The Maryland alum joins the likes of Arik Armstead, Jadeveon Clowney, Bud Dupree, Dante Fowler, Matt Judon, Jason Pierre-Paul, Shaq Lawson and Markus Golden as edge rushers whose contracts will soon expire. Some of these talents will hit free agency. It will make for an interesting several weeks on the edge defender front, with the Jaguars playing a key role in shaping the market.

Redskins Rumors: Snyder, Rivera, Kerrigan

January 1st, 2020 at 4:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although since-fired team president Bruce Allen took most of the heat for the Redskins’ personnel decisions during the 2010s, Dan Snyder has continued to play a role in the franchise’s football operations. Allen was also believed to be on the side of drafting Dwayne Haskins, but John Keim and Jason Reid of ESPN.com write Snyder appeared to lead that charge — even though the owner once criticized for his big-ticket moves has contributed less input on that front in recent years. Some in Washington’s building placed a third-round grade on Haskins, per Keim and Reid. Haskins was viewed as a first-round pick for most of the pre-draft process. While Ron Rivera is expected to have more control over Redskins personnel matters than Jay Gruden, sources informed the ESPN duo they still expect Snyder to be involved.

Here is the latest out of Washington:

  • New defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio confirmed the Redskins will shift back to a 4-3 base defense, Les Carpenter of the Washington Post notes. Both Rivera and Del Rio have used 4-3 bases for most of their respective careers, so this should come as no surprise. However, Snyder is believed to have made this a point of emphasis, per Keim and Reid. The Redskins have not deployed a 4-3 base defense in 11 seasons, though with teams’ increased nickel usage, transitions in front-seven schemes are not as significant as they once were. This will make Washington’s starting lineup interesting, however, with the team having three talented interior defenders — Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and 2019 sack leader Matt Ioannidis — up front.
  • Ryan Kerrigan just completed a down year, registering a career-low 5.5 sacks and missing the first two games of his career. The productive Redskins edge defender is going into a contract year, but Keim tweets Kerrigan and previous Redskins management had engaged in extension talks in 2019. Kerrigan, 31, would like to stay with Washington on a third contract.
  • Rather than retirement, Alex Smith will continue his efforts to return to the field. The Redskins quarterback has missed the past 22 games because of a gruesome leg injury that required numerous surgeries. “I still have dreams of getting back to where I was and getting back out there,” Smith said, via NBC Sports Washington’s Ethan Cadeaux. “This has been a crazy ride with a lot of unforeseen turns, but without a doubt, that’s still my goal.” Smith, 35, is set to count $21.4MM against Washington’s cap this season. No cap savings can come of a Smith release until 2021.

NFC West Notes: Cardinals, Rams, Alexander

January 1st, 2020 at 3:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cardinals are in the market for a new special teams leader. They fired ST coordinator Randall McCray, Alex Marvez of Sirius XM Radio tweets. After 26 seasons in the college ranks, McCray joined Steve Wilks‘ Cardinals staff. This was his first NFL job. Additionally, Arizona will sever ties with defensive line coach Chris Achuff, Marvez adds. Also a holdover from Wilks’ staff, Achuff had made the college-to-pro transition, with his most recent role marking his initial NFL gig.

Here is the latest from the NFC West, pivoting first to the Cardinals’ most famous player:

  • The NFL’s oldest active wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald led the Cardinals with 804 receiving yards and did not miss a game for the fifth straight season. But yet again, the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer will take time to ponder retirement. Fitz, however, did add that he enjoyed this season more than recent ones, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. The 2004 first-round pick moved into second place on the NFL’s all-time receptions list this season, currently sitting between Jerry Rice and Tony Gonzalez with 1,378. Kliff Kingsbury plans to give Fitzgerald an offseason sales pitch to return for his age-37 season.
  • While the Rams received considerably worse play from their highly paid offensive trio of Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and Brandin Cooks this season, Les Snead pushed back on the notion the recent extensions were the wrong decisions. “From a salary cap standpoint, and I assume the cap does go up, there’s a new collective bargaining agreement that’s coming that’s another variable that we don’t know about,” Snead said, via ESPN.com’s Lindsey Thiry. “We’ve shown in the past that when you have commodities that you might move on with via trade to collect draft capital that maybe the perception says you don’t have and to clear cap space.” That said, the Rams’ top-market extensions caused them to lose key role players this offseason and have Michael Brockers, Cory Littleton, Austin Blythe and Dante Fowler looming as threats to defect in March. The team soon must shape a Jalen Ramsey re-up as well.
  • Another of the Rams’ many key free agents, Andrew Whitworth is now 38. But the Rams will meet with the veteran left tackle to determine if he still fits into their equation, Thiry adds (via Twitter). Snead said Whitworth’s place on the team is “a harder piece of the puzzle.” He signed a three-year, $33.75MM deal in 2017 to head to Los Angeles and has been a key part of Sean McVay‘s three Rams offenses. Should Whitworth not be brought back, youngsters Joe Noteboom and Bobby Evans stand as successor options, per Thiry.
  • J.J. Watt‘s return from a torn pectoral muscle has prompted questions about Kwon Alexander potentially doing the same. The 49ers linebacker is eligible to return for the team’s divisional-round game, but Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area hears such a re-emergence remains unlikely. The 49ers, however, have not completely given up on their highest-paid linebacker coming back for a potential NFC championship game. (Though, Kyle Shanahan deemed this unlikely.) The 49ers have yet to use their second IR-return slot. Like Watt, Alexander missed his team’s final eight regular-season games.

Ohio State CB Jeff Okudah Enters NFL Draft

January 1st, 2020 at 1:40pm CST by Zachary Links

On Wednesday, Ohio State standout Jeff Okudah announced that he’ll enter the 2020 NFL Draft. Okudah profiles as the best cornerback in this year’s class and could wind up as a top ten selection.

Okudah, a 6’1″, 195-pound junior, tallied three interceptions, 34 tackles, and nine pass breakups last year. He was one of three finalists for the Thorpe Award, which is given to the best defensive back in college football.

“It has been an honor to be a part of a brotherhood as strong as the one here at Ohio State,” Okudah wrote on social media. “I hope that during my time here, that I did not only grasp, but embodied what it means to be a Buckeye.”

With Okudah’s departure, the Buckeyes could lose their three best cornerbacks. Damon Arnette – who has a chance at being a Day 2 pick – is graduating. Meanwhile, Shaun Wade could skip his final two seasons of eligibility to go pro, even though he’s rather green.

Redskins To Part Ways With Bill Callahan

January 1st, 2020 at 1:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell could keep his job under new head coach Ron Rivera, but the same can’t be said for Bill Callahan. The Redskins will move on from the offensive line coach and one-time interim head coach, according to John Keim of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 

[RELATED: Redskins To Hire Jack Del Rio]

Callahan expressed interest in staying in Washington, though his comments came before the Rivera hire. It’s not clear if he would have been open to staying on as an assistant, however.

The Redskins went 0-5 under Jay Gruden and didn’t fare much better with Callahan at the helm. After a 3-8 showing in the final eleven games, they gave Callahan some consideration full-time post, but it might have been more of a courtesy than anything.

There should be plenty of opportunities out there for Callahan if he wants to serve as an assistant elsewhere.

Giants To Interview Don Martindale

January 1st, 2020 at 12:48pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants have set a date for their interview with Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale. They’ll meet on Saturday, as Peter Schrager of FOXSports.com tweets. 

[RELATED: Latest On Eli Manning’s Plans]

Martindale has no head coaching experience, but he has guided Baltimore’s top-rated defense in each of the past two seasons. The league has taken notice and Martindale seems likely to land a head coaching job, if that’s what he wants. The veteran coach has expressed a desire to stay in Baltimore, but you’ll often hear a similar refrain from coordinators weeks before they accept a head coaching gig elsewhere.

If the Giants hire Martindale, he’ll reportedly tap LSU passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach Joe Brady as his offensive coordinator. Martindale, naturally, would keep the majority of his focus on the other side of the ball.

The Giants need help everywhere, essentially, so they’re casting a wide net in their search. Former Packers coach Mike McCarthy and Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy are among the candidates to replace Pat Shurmur as the head coach of the G-Men.

Vikings Place DT Armon Watts On IR

January 1st, 2020 at 11:42am CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings have placed defensive tackle Armon Watts on injured reserve. To fill his roster spot, they’ve signed defensive end Eddie Yarbrough off the Bills’ practice squad. 

The Vikings selected Watts out of Arkansas with a sixth-round pick in the 2019 draft. Watts did not play in the first half of the season, but he suited up for six of the team’s final seven games. In those games, he tallied 1.5 sacks.

Yarbrough appeared in 31 games for the Bills in 2017 and 2018, including six starts. This year, he missed the team’s final cut, but he hooked on with their practice squad. All of a sudden, Yarbrough has a chance at a Super Bowl ring.

The Vikings will face the Saints on Saturday in New Orleans. The secondary will have its work cut out for them as they try to keep a lid on Michael Thomas, so the Vikes are hoping for some pass rush pressure against Drew Brees.

Eagles Place Brandon Brooks On IR

January 1st, 2020 at 10:21am CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles have officially placed guard Brandon Brooks on injured reserve. To fill his spot on the roster, they’ve signed wide receiver Shelton Gibson. 

Brooks suffered a shoulder injury in Eagles’ regular season finale and soon after, head coach Doug Pederson announced today that Brooks would be out for the playoffs. It’s a bad blow for the Birds – Brooks is one of the best at his position, and he was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl this year.

Despite suffering an Achilles tear in January, Brooks played in all 16 games for the Eagles in 2019, providing much-needed consistency for an offense that desperately needed it. On the plus side – right tackle Lane Johnson is aiming to play in the Eagles’ wild card weekend showdown against the Seahawks.

Gibson, 24, appeared in 20 games for the Eagles between 2017 and 2018. The former fifth-round pick has three career catches for 59 yards to his credit.

Paul DePodesta To Run Browns Coaching Search

January 1st, 2020 at 10:06am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns’ head coaching search will be run by chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. Apparently, this wasn’t established until just recently. Up until now, candidates were receiving mixed messages about who was directing the search.

[RELATED: Browns Considering Mike McCarthy-Eliot Wolf Pairing]

After firing head coach Freddie Kitchens and parting ways with GM John Dorsey, the Browns’ power structure was thrown into flux. DePodesta, it seems, will be leading the charge for owner Jimmy Haslam and it’s not hard to imagine the team’s next GM reporting directly to him.

Mike McCarthy will be the Browns’ first HC interview. The team is mulling the possibility of hiring McCarthy and elevating assistant GM Eliot Wolf, which would reunite the two after a long run together in Green Bay.

Other candidates on the Browns’ radar include Josh McDaniels, Eric Bieniemy, Greg Roman, Kevin Stefanski and 49ers assistants Robert Saleh, Mike McDaniel and Matt LaFleur. Baylor head coach Matt Rhule, meanwhile, turned down the opportunity to interview with the Browns.

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