HEADLINES

Month: October 2024

Judge: Daniel Jones Is Giants’ 2021 QB1

December 23rd, 2020 at 6:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Daniel Jones is iffy to return for the Giants’ Week 16 game against the Ravens, and he his numbers have taken a steep dive in Jason Garrett‘s offense this season. But Joe Judge backed the current Big Blue starter as his 2021 quarterback.

When asked Wednesday about Jones’ status as the Giants’ starter beyond this season, Judge responded, “Daniel Jones is our quarterback.”

Kyle Shanahan took a similar route when asked about Jimmy Garoppolo‘s job, and Jones has two years remaining on his rookie deal and a 2023 option season. But the Giants received criticism since the start of Jones’ tenure — which began with a No. 6 overall pick — and have seen him struggle often in his second season. The Duke product threw 24 touchdown passes — fourth-most ever for a rookie — in 2019 despite making just 12 starts. Through 12 starts this year, Jones has thrown eight TD passes and has added 10 more fumbles to his eye-popping career total (28).

The Giants do not have to decide on Jones’ fifth-year option until May 2022, though those are higher-stakes decisions due to the options being fully guaranteed beginning with the 2018 first-round class. But the team is set to pick in the top half of the draft — barring major changes in the NFC East picture over the final two games — and would be in position to potentially add another quarterback.

“To me it’s a string of moments watching Daniel work. Watching the respect he has in the locker room. Watching him lead throughout this season. I think he’s demonstrated a level of toughness and leadership and knowledge on the field that gives us confidence to put him out there and build with Daniel, Judge said, via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/23/20

December 23rd, 2020 at 5:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/23/20

December 23rd, 2020 at 4:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: DB Kemon Hall

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

  • Placed on practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Joey Hunt

Jacksonville Jaguars

Miami Dolphins

  • Activated from practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: T Jonathan Hubbard

New England Patriots

  • Signed: DT Isaiah Mack
  • Released: TE Paul Quessenberry

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: TE Kevin Rader
  • Released: LB Christian Kuntz

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Texans Interview Marvin Lewis

December 23rd, 2020 at 3:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Expected to have a chance at multiple NFL HC jobs, Marvin Lewis landed his first known interview of this hiring period. The former Bengals head coach interviewed for the Texans’ HC position, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com report (via Twitter). The Texans announced the interview took place.

The longest-tenured HC in Bengals history, Lewis has been with the Arizona State program for the past two seasons. But he is on multiple NFL teams’ radars, and several jobs figure to be open by season’s end.

Currently the Sun Devils’ co-defensive coordinator on Herm Edwards‘ staff, Lewis surfaced on the NFL radar — to some degree — last year upon meeting with the Cowboys about the job that went to Mike McCarthy. Mike Zimmer also offered his former boss an assistant job in 2019. But a genuine Lewis push back to an NFL coaching gig now appears on tap.

Lewis, 62, coached the Bengals for 16 seasons. Known for revitalizing a long-moribund franchise in the 2000s, Lewis failed to snap Cincinnati’s playoff win drought — twice losing opening-round games to the Texans — and surprised most with his job security at his last NFL post. The former Ravens defensive coordinator is 131-122-3 as an NFL head coach.

The Texans have already interviewed former Lions and Colts HC Jim Caldwell for the job and have been connected to Seahawks OC Brian Schottenheimer as well. Eric Bieniemy, however, has loomed as a Deshaun Watson favorite — though, the quarterback is also believed to want OC Tim Kelly to stay — and has appeared to be on Houston’s radar for several weeks. Lewis has far more HC experience than both and has more such service time than almost anyone currently coaching in the NFL. It will be interesting to see how many interviews the current Pac-12 assistant lands over the next few weeks.

Quinton Dunbar To Undergo Surgery

December 23rd, 2020 at 3:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Quinton Dunbar will not return from the Seahawks’ IR list this season. The veteran cornerback will undergo a surgery that will sideline him until 2021, Pete Carroll said (via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta, on Twitter).

A knee injury sidelined Dunbar last month; he has been out since Week 9. This news comes a week after Dunbar returned to practice. The former UDFA is due to be a free agent in March.

Acquired from Washington for a fifth-round pick, Dunbar encountered a legal issue this offseason but ended up avoiding charges and a suspension. The sixth-year veteran started six Seahawks games but did not play as well as he did during his final Washington campaign. After a four-INT 2019 season that featured a 61.2 passer rating allowed on passes thrown his way, Dunbar allowed a 111.0 passer rating on 54 targets this year.

This is a bad break for the 28-year-old defender, who was discussing an extension with the Bruce Allen-led Washington front office before the franchise changed regimes. He will head into free agency with less momentum than he had after his 2019 breakthrough.

Seattle also has Tre Flowers on IR but has received positive results from waiver claim D.J. Reed lately. The ex-49ers corner broke up a season-high three passes Sunday, intercepted another and recovered a fumble against Washington.

Extra Points: Coaches, GMs, Schedule, OTAs

December 23rd, 2020 at 3:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

After the NFL expanded the Rooney Rule this offseason, it has a “ready list” of minority candidates for head coaching jobs, offensive and defensive coordinator positions and GM candidates, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. Beyond some of the big names — Eric Bieniemy, Marvin Lewis, Todd Bowles, Leslie Frazier among them — coaches like Clemson OC Tony Elliott, Penn State HC James Franklin and Michigan State HC Mel Tucker appear on the HC portion of the list. On the GM side, some first-time candidates include Bills pro scouting director Malik Boyd, Raiders pro scouting director Dwayne Joseph, Ravens exec Vincent Newsome and Chargers player personnel director JoJo Wooden. Former Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson — now the franchise’s pro scouting director — also appears on the GM portion of the list. The Rooney Rule now mandates teams interview two minority HC candidates and expanded the rule to include coordinator positions. Franchises must also open their senior-level executive jobs to minority and female candidates.

Here is the latest from around the league:

  • Normal NFL offseasons feature several weeks’ worth of OTAs preceding a June minicamp, but the NFLPA would like a schedule that looks closer to this year’s virtual offseason. Union executive director DeMaurice Smith said “there is absolutely no reason” for the NFL to return to full-scale OTAs, per Sports Business Daily’s Ben Fischer (subscription required). Having seen no decline in performance after this atypical offseason, union president J.C. Tretter agrees with Smith. This would be a stretch for coaching staffs, which have steadily seen their time with players cut back. The past two CBA agreements have significantly limited offseason and padded training camp workouts, and 2020’s COVID-19-altered offseason created steeper acclimation challenges for young players.
  • The NFL has agreed to a formula for its 17th regular-season game, making it increasingly likely this season will be the last one of the 16-game era. In what will be the first shift to the league’s scheduling setup since 2002, the 17-game schedule will feature a fifth interconference game. The schedule will pit an AFC division winner against an NFC division winner, and on down the line within each division, but the extra interconference game will not feature two teams who played the previous year, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. In the event the NFL moves to the 17-game season in 2021, the Chiefs and Buccaneers could not play again next season; the earliest such a regular-season rematch would occur would be 2022.
  • Roger Goodell may well be on board with shortening the preseason slate from four games to two. The commissioner “seemed in favor” of halving the preseason schedule at last week’s owners meetings, according to ESPN.com’s Seth Wickersham, but some high-profile owners are not. Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, John Mara and Art Rooney II dismissed the idea of going from three preseason games — the new number as of the 2020 CBA — to two, according to ESPN. No vote occurred on the matter, though Goodell discussing the idea publicly points to it remaining an issue going forward.

Washington Will Not Suspend Haskins

December 23rd, 2020 at 1:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Alex Smith remains Washington’s preferred choice to start at quarterback Sunday against the Panthers, but Dwayne Haskins will not face a suspension for breaking COVID-19 protocols.

Ron Rivera said Wednesday the team opted for a fine rather than a suspension. This marks Haskins’ second fine for such a violation this season. The second-year quarterback was seen without a mask at a strip club in photos recently posted to social media.

The team fined Haskins $40K, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), marking the largest known fine doled out to a player for a COVID protocol violation. This is slightly more than half of Haskins’ weekly salary. Haskins’ infraction earlier this season drew a $4K fine.

“There are a lot of things I could’ve done,” Rivera said (via the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala, on Twitter). “But in conversations with the league and looking at things that were done around the league, we felt that we would fine him and move on.”

With Washington still atop the historically woeful NFC East at 6-8, it is not surprising to see the team ensure it will have its primary backup on the field in a critical game. Smith, however, practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday. The team also revoked Haskins’ captaincy, per Rapoport (on Twitter).

Haskins could have been suspended for up to four games because of his violation. No suspension will keep the Ohio State product’s guarantees intact. But his star continues to fall within the organization, which benched the former No. 15 overall pick early in the season and was open to trading him before this year’s deadline.

Jaguars Meet With Ex-Texans GM Rick Smith

December 23rd, 2020 at 11:08am CST by Zachary Links

Rick Smith will interview for the Jaguars’ GM vacancy on Wednesday afternoon, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The former Texans GM is a hot candidate in this cycle, having drawn interest from no less than four teams in recent weeks.

[RELATED: Jaguars Interview Louis Riddick]

Smith recently interviewed with the Falcons and the Lions are slated to meet with him soon. Meanwhile, the Washington Football Team is also interested in having Smith run the football operations department. Previously, WFT nearly hired Smith before putting the GM role on the back burner.

Smith left Houston after the 2017 season when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, and is generally well regarded around the league. He spent 2006-2017 with the Texans, and held the EVP of Football Operations title for his final six years.

The Jaguars have been on the hunt for a new GM since firing Dave Caldwell in late November. Despite holding the worst record in the league, candidates should still see the potential in Jacksonville. The Jaguars just barely missed a Super Bowl berth in 2017 and they may be in position to draft Clemson superstar Trevor Lawrence. Meanwhile, head coach Doug Marrone is on the hot seat, so the incoming GM could have an opportunity to pick his own HC, if Marrone is dismissed.

Jets Place Quinnen Williams On IR

December 23rd, 2020 at 10:55am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets will place Quinnen Williams on injured reserve with a neck injury, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The defensive lineman will miss the final two games of the year, leaving the Jets without their brightest young star.

Even in the midst of an ugly year, the Jets rebuffed numerous trade inquiries for Williams. His rookie season was nothing to write home about, but he’s become a true force in 2020. By early November, he logged three sacks and seven tackles for loss — more than he totaled in all of 2019. Today, his season ends with seven sacks, ten tackles for loss, three passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and 55 total stops.

The Jets’ shocking win over the Rams has them in line for the No. 2 overall pick, with the Jaguars occupying the “top” spot. The next two games against the Browns and Patriots won’t mean much for the 1-13 squad, but they could have major ramifications on the future of the franchise. Their odds of beating the Browns will go down drastically without Williams applying the pressure, though that’s probably alright by most Jets fans.

Williams will join fellow defender Jordan Jenkins on IR. The linebacker will be watching from a distance as he heals up from long-awaited shoulder surgery.

Latest On Lions’ COVID-19 Situation

December 23rd, 2020 at 9:40am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions facility remains closed after learning of two positive tests for COVID-19. One player and one coach have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and the number of close contacts on the coaching staff may leave the team in a difficult spot.

[RELATED: Peterson Wants To Stay With Lions]

Interim head coach Darrell Bevell and nearly all of the defensive staff have been classified as close contacts. The Lions have a short week, too — they face the Buccaneers at 1pm ET on Saturday. We’ve seen players, executives, and coaches held out of team activities, but a scenario of near-zero coaches would be completely new territory for this NFL season.

Of course, the 5-9 Lions won’t be playing for much this week when they face Tampa Bay. After Saturday, they’ll close out the season against the Vikings. All that’s really left for Detroit is NFL Draft placement. If the season ended today, they’d own the No. 11 pick, behind the Cowboys, Chargers, and Giants.

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