HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Coaching Notes: Texans, Jaguars, Jets, Colts

February 3rd, 2021 at 1:43pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Texans were the last team to hire their head coach, so David Culley got a bit of a late start in building his staff. Now he’s wasting no time, making a couple of hires this week. Most importantly he’s settled on a special teams coordinator, hiring Colts assistant Frank Ross to fill that position, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Ross is a former Patriots scout who went to small school John Carroll University, which has become a feeder school for NFL coaches. Houston also hired Dino Vasso to be their new secondary coach, Wilson tweets. Vasso spent the past eight seasons as an assistant with the Eagles.

Here are some more coaching updates from around the league:

  • Zach Orr is going to be back on an NFL sideline. An UDFA linebacker in 2014, he became a full-time starter with the Ravens and was a second-team All-Pro in 2016. Unfortunately that would be his final season, as a spinal condition cut his career short prematurely. Orr stayed with Baltimore in a front office role, and now he’s getting into coaching as Urban Meyer’s new linebackers coach with the Jaguars, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets. Still only 28, it’ll be great to see Orr back on the field in some capacity.
  • Robert Saleh continues to build his inaugural Jets staff, and he has now hired Mike Rutenberg to be his linebackers coach, Ian Rapoport of NFL Neetwork tweets. Rutenberg was a passing game specialist under Saleh in San Francisco this past season, and before that had been an assistant with the Jaguars.
  • Orr isn’t the only notable former player getting back with an NFL team. Pro Football Hall of Famer Kevin Mawae will be joining the NFL coaching ranks as well. Mawae has been hired to be an assistant offensive line coach on Frank Reich’s Colts staff, Stephen Holder of The Athletic tweets. Mawae had been an analyst under Herm Edwards at Arizona State, and he told Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that he had been hoping to land an NFL opportunity. The legendary former center spent 16 years in the league with the Seahawks, Jets, and Titans. He made eight Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro seven times during his playing days.

Jon Gruden, Richard Sherman Have Mutual Interest?

February 3rd, 2021 at 12:39pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Derek Carr had one of the best seasons of his career in 2020, but it didn’t mean much due to the abysmal state of the Raiders’ defense. Things got so bad that Jon Gruden fired defensive coordinator Paul Guenther toward the end of the year, and now he’s looking to completely revamp that side of the ball. It sounds like he’s going to be aggressive in remaking the defense, and that could mean bringing in a big name free agent like Richard Sherman.

Gruden and Sherman were on Cris Collinsworth’s podcast yesterday, and appeared to express a mutual interest in joining forces this offseason.

“I’ve been fined, I’ve been punished . . . but Richard Sherman, if you are a free agent, which there is a rumor you are, we are looking for an Alpha presence in our secondary. Somebody that can play this technique . . . If you’re available and interested maybe you and I can get together at some point off air,” Gruden said, via Jerry McDonald of the Mercury News, referencing the league’s tampering rules at the top.

“There is a conversation to be had for sure. I’m free and available these days — fortunately and unfortunately. But that scheme that Gus runs, and he runs it more than anybody else, there are some coaches that dabble in, and dabble out, and go man and go zone and go quarters and go there. Gus lives it. Gus lives and dies by it. Eight-man box, you’re not going to be able to run the ball, and we’re going to stop the pass. He’s like one of the Godfathers of it,” Sherman replied.

Sherman was referring to Gus Bradley, recently hired to be Vegas’ new DC. There’s a lot of familiarity there of course, as Bradley coordinated the legendary ‘Legion of Boom’ defenses that Sherman was a part of in Seattle. All fun aside, what Gruden said does appear to be tampering since Sherman is still under contract until next month with the 49ers, and it’ll be interesting to see if the league takes action.

Sherman, 33 in March, was a second-team All-Pro in 2019 but had this past season derailed by a calf injury that limited him to only five games. Still he’s played at a very high level recently, and could be worth a leap of faith for a Raiders team that desperately needs help in the secondary.

Antonio Brown, Sammy Watkins On Track For Super Bowl

February 3rd, 2021 at 12:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Wide receiver Sammy Watkins participated in the Chiefs’ Wednesday practice, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Meanwhile, the Bucs also had one of their most dangerous weapons on hand. Antonio Brown practiced with the Buccaneers, though he was kept to light work as he recovers from a knee injury. 

Watkins has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career and hasn’t played a full 16-game season since his rookie campaign with the Bills back in 2014. Despite that, he remains a serious threat for any opposing defense. This year, Watkins was limited to nine regular season games and finished out with a modest 37/421/2 stat line. If his calf heals up in time for the Super Bowl, it’ll mark his first appearance in this year’s playoffs.

Brown missed the NFC championship game, but the Buccaneers still managed to edge the Packers and punch their ticket to the Super Bowl. In the regular season, the 32-year-old caught 45 passes for 483 yards and four touchdowns. His best game came in Week 17, when he hauled in eleven catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns as Mike Evans was held out.

Fortunately, Brown did not suffer serious structural damage, so the Bucs are hopeful that he can play. It also helps that they kept him grounded a couple of weeks ago to prevent additional swelling at higher altitude. If things keep going in this direction, Brown will be cleared for the second Super Bowl of his career.

No New COVID Cases For Chiefs, Bucs

February 3rd, 2021 at 10:16am CST by Zachary Links

The latest round of testing revealed no new COVID-19 positives for players on the Chiefs or Buccaneers, as NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Barring any hitches, both teams should be set for Super Bowl LV on Sunday.

[RELATED: Chiefs’ Mitchell Schwartz Out For Super Bowl?]

The Chiefs were forced to place two players — center Daniel Kilgore and wide receiver Demarcus Robinson — on the COVID-19/reserve list earlier this week. Fortunately, neither player has tested positive, though they were in close contact with a barber who tested positive for the coronavirus.

Close-contact situations require only a five-day clearance, so both players should be able to suit up if they continue to test negative. Kilgore has mostly been a reserve for Kansas City this season, but he’s a valuable backup, having started 13 games for the Dolphins last year. Also, the Chiefs will likely be without the services of right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, so they’ll want Kilgore at the ready. Robinson plays a large role, so the Chiefs don’t want to lose him either. Robinson appeared in all 16 regular season games this year, racking up 45 catches for 466 yards and three touchdowns.

Saints’ Sean Payton: “Big Interest” In Re-Signing Jameis Winston

February 3rd, 2021 at 9:49am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints like what they’ve seen from Jameis Winston. On Wednesday, Saints head coach Sean Payton said there’s “big interest” in bringing the quarterback back for 2021. 

[RELATED: Drew Brees To Retire]

“We had a great exposure for one year with Jameis Winston,” Payton told NFL Network (Twitter link). “We didn’t have a normal offseason, but we had enough time to see what we had with him as a player, as a leader, and as an athlete. I really like what we had a chance to see. He was a tremendous leader for this team. That’s hard to do when you come in new in free agency your first year as a backup quarterback. So that’ll be an important checkmark for us.

“And, a lot of times, you want to hold your cards closer to the vest and he is a free agent. But him, along with Taysom Hill who’s in the building, we’ve said it all along: We’re going to develop and coach those guys. And Jameis is one of those guys that we have a big interest in.”

In 2019, Winston set career-highs in passing yards (5,109) and touchdowns (33) in 2019, while also setting a league-wide watermark with 30 interceptions. After that, Winston joined the Saints on a modest one-year, $1MM pact last year in an effort to rebuild his value. He’s done that, to some extent, by impressing his coaches in practice.

Payton had “great” exposure to Winston, even though the volume wasn’t tremendous. Winston served as the Saints’ QB3, slotted behind both Drew Brees and Taysom Hill. The former No.1 overall pick made four appearances this season, completing seven of his eleven pass attempts for 75 yards. The highlight of his year came in the playoffs, when he threw for a touchdown against his pals.

Now, with Brees set to retire, the Saints could have more reps available for the 27-year-old signal caller.

Ryan Fitzpatrick Wants To Return In 2021

February 2nd, 2021 at 7:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins benched Ryan Fitzpatrick midway through a season that ended with the veteran quarterback contracting COVID-19. But the well-traveled passer still played a key role in the Dolphins’ success and would like to return for a 17th season in 2021.

Dolphins GM Chris Grier was noncommittal on Fitzpatrick’s status with the franchise, which has since been linked to Deshaun Watson after proclaiming Tua Tagovailoa its 2021 starter. But it sounds like Fitz will be open to joining a ninth team — or perhaps returning to one of the previous franchises that employed him — next season.

“This offseason, we already saw it with [Jared] Goff and [Matthew] Stafford obviously,” Fitzpatrick said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show (via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel). “Who knows what’s going to happen with Deshaun? There’s rumors everywhere in the quarterback market, but there are a lot of teams looking for a new quarterback or new quarterbacks.

“For me, personally, I have to take every offseason and reassess. These last two years have really re-lit that fire under me. I still want to play, and I enjoy being out there playing.”

Fitzpatrick enjoyed an unusual role in his age-38 season. The Dolphins benched him for Tagovailoa but twice brought him into games as a late relief option. The second such instance produced a last-second victory against the Raiders. Fitz’s late 30s have featured stretches of production that would make him, at worst, a viable backup candidate for next season. He led a much worse 2019 Dolphins team to five wins and averaged 9.6 yards per attempt as a part-time starter for the 2018 Buccaneers.

The Harvard alum has played for the Rams, Bengals, Bills, Titans, Texans, Jets, Bucs and Dolphins since being drafted in the 2005 seventh round. The Dolphins signed Fitz to a two-year, $11MM deal in 2019, and he opened the past two seasons as the team’s starter over recent top-10 picks (Tagovailoa and Josh Rosen). The Dolphins can extend Fitzpatrick until the new league year begins and can obviously re-sign him after that March date. If he hits the market, it will be interesting to see what kind of outside interest develops.

Falcons Part Ways With Exec Nick Polk

February 2nd, 2021 at 7:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Nick Polk emerged on Washington’s general manager radar last month, and while he did not end up landing that job, the longtime Falcons staffer is now an executive free agent.

The Falcons are parting ways with Polk, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes. The team confirmed the move this week. Polk, who served as the team’s director of football operations, had been with the Falcons for most of this century.

Polk spent 18 years with the Falcons. His arrival predated both Thomas Dimitroff and Rich McKay‘s. Dimitroff deployed Polk on salary cap matters and contract negotiations. Prior to the promotion to his most recent job, Polk served as the team’s director of football administration.

Before hiring Martin Mayhew as its next GM, Washington requested an interview with Polk earlier this year. Interestingly, the Falcons hired a longtime Washington staffer to work as a front office lieutenant. Last week, the team hired Kyle Smith, whom Washington did not interview for its GM position.

This move is not exactly surprising. The Falcons are starting a new era, with ex-Saints exec Terry Fontenot coming over to replace Dimitroff. This marks the Falcons’ first GM change in 13 years. Their reformed front office has work to do, however. The team projected to be nearly $40MM over what is expected to be a reduced 2021 salary cap.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/2/21

February 2nd, 2021 at 6:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Denver Broncos

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed to reserve/futures contract: LS Steven Wirtel

Pittsburgh Steelers

Falcons Not Expected To Trade Matt Ryan, Julio Jones

February 2nd, 2021 at 5:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

With Matthew Stafford off the market, teams interested in acquiring other accomplished quarterbacks may not need to look toward Atlanta. Last weekend’s Lions-Rams blockbuster shows nothing can be completely ruled out, but the Falcons are not looking to part ways with either of their two cornerstone players this year.

The Falcons have not engaged in any trade talks regarding Matt Ryan or Julio Jones, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (video link). Both Falcon stars are expected to be part of Arthur Smith‘s first Atlanta squad.

Ryan stands in an interesting situation. He will be set to play for a third head coach, but Smith will be the first offense-geared leader to lead the Falcons in Ryan’s tenure. The Falcons also hold the highest draft choice they have possessed since drafting Ryan in 2008, presenting a prime opportunity to acquire the 35-year-old passer’s successor. Regardless of how Atlanta proceeds with the No. 4 overall pick, Ryan’s lucrative contract is expected to remain on the franchise’s 2021 payroll.

Despite Jones’ 10th NFL season halting his historic run of production, thanks to hamstring trouble that kept him out for much of the 2020 slate, the future Hall of Famer would obviously generate trade interest. But the Falcons gave him a market-topping extension in 2019. His 2021 base salary ($15.3MM) is fully guaranteed. The Falcons would be tagged with a greater dead-money sum — in excess of $40MM — if they were to move Ryan. Another Ryan restructure could be on tap; the 13-year veteran’s 2021 cap figure sits at $40.9MM.

With a salary cap drop expected in March, the Falcons are already projected to be well over the estimated ceiling. GM Terry Fontenot‘s new team is not in the kind of cap hell the Saints are, but the Falcons are one of five other teams — as of Groundhog Day — who project to be over the cap by more than $30MM. While the cap may not drop to the agreed-upon $175MM floor, the Falcons will certainly help themselves by not trading Ryan and Jones this year.

Jim Leonhard, Others In Contention For Packers’ DC Job

February 2nd, 2021 at 4:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Packers are conducting an expansive search to replace Mike Pettine as defensive coordinator. Several more names joined the early wave of candidates.

Former Chiefs DC Bob Sutton interviewed for the position recently, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, who adds five other new candidates emerged on Green Bay’s radar as well. This comes after news of the Packers interviewing former Seahawks DC Kris Richard, Chargers passing-game coordinator Joe Barry, Washington secondary coach Chris Harris and Rams safeties coach Ejiro Evero. Richard and Sutton have since lined up positions with the Saints and Jaguars, respectively. Perhaps a sign about the direction the Packers’ search has taken.

Ten-year NFL safety-turned-Wisconsin DC Jim Leonhard, former Dolphins DC Matt Burke, Browns defensive line coach Chris Kiffin, Saints D-line coach Ryan Nielsen and Packers secondary coach Jerry Gray either have interviewed for the position or will do so by Wednesday, per Demovsky.

Leonhard, whose NFL playing career wrapped up after the 2014 season, has not coached at the NFL level. But he has been the Badgers’ DC since 2017. Three times in the past four seasons, Wisconsin has deployed a top-10 scoring defense in Division I-FBS. Although Leonhard’s nomadic career did not include a Packers stop, the 38-year-old is a Wisconsin native.

Gray served as the Titans’ DC from 2011-13, spent the next six seasons as Vikings secondary coach and signed on as Packers secondary coach last season. The former NFL cornerback has been an assistant in the league since the late 1990s. Kiffin spent 2020 with the Browns but worked with Matt LaFleur‘s brother Mike with the 49ers previously. Burke oversaw the Dolphins’ defense from 2017-18 and was with the Eagles during the past two seasons, while Nielsen has spent the past four seasons as New Orleans’ D-line coach.

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