HEADLINES

Year: 2024

PFR Originals: 11/29/21 – 12/5/21

December 5th, 2021 at 7:50pm CST by Zachary Links

In case you missed it, here’s a look back at some of our recent originals:

Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey To Miss Time

December 5th, 2021 at 7:29pm CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens are down another key player. On Sunday, head coach John Harbaugh told reporters that the cornerback Marlon Humphrey needs an MRI for an unspecified injury and “it could be a while” before he retakes the field (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com).

The Ravens could have taken the Steelers to overtime on Sunday with an extra point, but opted to go for two instead. The decision, according to Harbaugh, was prompted by Humphrey’s early exit. The Ravens, left with just two healthy cornerbacks, lost 20-19.

The Ravens are still atop the AFC North at 8-4, but the 7-5 Bengals aren’t far behind. The footsteps will only get louder from here if they lose Humphrey for an extended stretch.

Humphrey, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2017 draft, is fresh off of back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons, plus a First-Team All-Pro nod in 2019. Last year, he registered 82 stops, 2.5 sacks, one interception, and a league-leading eight forced fumbles. The 25-year-old hasn’t been quite as sharp this year, but he still ranks as the 27th best cornerback in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics.

The Ravens will know more after further testing on Monday, but they’re unlikely to have Humphrey when they face the Browns one week from today.

5 Key Stories: 11/28/21 — 12/5/21 

December 5th, 2021 at 7:28pm CST by Zachary Links

Been busy? Let’s get you caught up with a look back at some of the NFL’s biggest stories from the past week:

  • Big Ben Expected To Retire: Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is expected to call it a career after this season. Roethlisberger has outlasted both Eli Manning and Philip Rivers, but Father Time has clearly caught up to him. His QBR ranked just 24th in the league through ten starts and, even after today’s win over the Ravens, it’s clear that he’s lost a step. As of this writing, Roethlisberger sits eighth all time in touchdown passes with the sixth-most passing yards in NFL history.
  • NFL Suspends AB: The Buccaneers lost wide receiver Antonio Brown and safety Mike Edwards to suspension this week when both players were found to have violated league protocols. They’ll be eligible to return after three games, but head coach Bruce Arians says Brown might not be inserted into the lineup straight away. It’s possible that Brown could face legal consequences for his phony vaccination card and, even if he isn’t charged, the Bucs want to know that Brown is mentally prepared for the playoffs.
  • CMC Done For Year: Christian McCaffrey was placed on injured reserve for the second time this year, automatically ruling him out for the rest of the season. CMC previously missed five games with a hamstring injury. This time around, it’s an ankle injury that’ll require multiple months of rehab. Between the last two years, McCaffrey has appeared in just ten games for the Panthers. In 2019, his last healthy campaign, he made a push for Chris Johnson‘s single-season scrimmage yardage record. Now, his ’21 season ends with just 442 rushing yards and one touchdown, plus 37 catches for 343 yards and one receiving TD.
  • Panthers Fire OC Joe Brady: The injuries haven’t helped, but the Panthers were also unhappy with offensive coordinator Joe Brady. On Sunday, the Panthers fired the 32-year-old and replaced him with senior offensive assistant Jeff Nixon. Ranked just 28th in total offense, the Panthers will look for better results next week when they take on the Falcons.
  • Seahawks Sign Peterson: Adrian Peterson is back, this time with the injury-battered Seahawks. Seattle inked the legendary running back to a practice squad deal last week before quickly elevating him to the varsity squad. On Sunday, Peterson became the first player in NFL history to score a rushing touchdown with six different teams. That TD wound up being a difference-maker as the Seahawks beat the Niners 30-23.

Latest On Buccaneers’ WR Antonio Brown

December 5th, 2021 at 1:55pm CST by Ely Allen

Questions have arisen over Antonio Brown‘s future with the Buccaneers after comments made by head coach Bruce Arians. Brown and safety Mike Edwards recently received a three-game ban following a report indicating that Brown had acquired a fake COVID-19 vaccination card.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that when asked if Brown and Edwards will remain on the team after their suspension is over, Arians answered, “We’ll address their future at that time,” fueling speculation that there may be reason to doubt their current job safety. When asked to clarify his comments, Arians doubled down, stating, “Nothing’s been decided, no.”

The four-time First-team All-Pro has had his share of controversies over an eleven-year career in the NFL. When Brown was signed to a free agent deal with the Buccaneers, Arians commented that, despite entering the NFL midway through the 2020 season, he didn’t anticipate any issues with Brown having to deal with the COVID-19 protocols. Arians also indicated that Tampa Bay wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of Brown were he to return to his controversial behavior, saying, “He’s been a model citizen, if and when he’s not, we’ll move on.”

The star wide receiver has been impressive this year in the five games he’s played, totaling 42 catches for 418 yards and 4 touchdowns. Brown’s decision to accept his suspension without an appeal was an easy one, as he was expected to miss two more games anyway with an ankle injury, and he was lucky for a shorter suspension, considering the league was looking into a suspension around 6-8 games.

It will be interesting to see how Arians and the Buccaneers proceed with handling Brown and Edwards. Arians was one of the more vocal and proud coaches in his team’s efforts to get to 100% vaccination status. Both Brown and Edwards have since been vaccinated, but the damage may already be done.

Lions Discussed HC Post With Luke Fickell

December 5th, 2021 at 12:47pm CST by Rory Parks

University of Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell has the Bearcats in the College Football Playoff, the first time since the CFP’s inception in 2014 that a non-Power Five program has had the opportunity to compete for a national championship. Even before this year’s impressive breakthrough, Fickell was generating interest from the NFL.

As Tom Pelissero of NFL.com writes, the Lions quietly discussed their head coaching vacancy with Fickell last year. Ultimately, of course, Detroit hired Dan Campbell, but given Fickell’s success this season, he is expected to be a more prominent figure in the upcoming NFL coaching cycle.

That is, of course, if he has any interest in leaving the collegiate ranks. Plenty of other successful college coaches have resisted the temptation to jump to the pros, and as Pelissero points out, the money being handed out to top college HCs these days rivals what first-time NFL HCs are earning. So Fickell may elect to remain where he is, especially since he may soon have the chance to parlay his success with Cincinnati into a post at a traditional college powerhouse.

Fickell, 48, has certainly paid his dues. A UDFA of the Saints back in 1997, he never actually played a regular season snap at the NFL level, and in 1999, he became a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Ohio State. After two years as the defensive line coach at Akron, Fickell returned to OSU, where he would remain for the next 15 seasons. He became the Bearcats’ HC in 2017 and has led the team to a 48-14 record.

Next up: a Cotton Bowl showdown with top-ranked Alabama.

Panthers Fire OC Joe Brady

December 5th, 2021 at 12:26pm CST by Rory Parks

The Panthers have fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady, the team announced. Senior offensive assistant Jeff Nixon, along with the rest of the offensive coaching staff, will take over Brady’s duties for the remainder of the season.

Brady spent two seasons as an offensive assistant for the Saints from 2017-18 and truly made a name for himself as the passing game coordinator for LSU in the Tigers’ record-setting 2019 season that featured otherworldly performances from future first-round draft picks like quarterback Joe Burrow, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. That afforded him the opportunity to join Matt Rhule‘s first staff in Carolina in 2020.

The Panthers finished in the bottom half of the league last season in terms of total offense, though subpar QB play and a three-game season from star running back Christian McCaffrey certainly played a role in that. NFL clubs were still high on Brady’s ability, as he received five interviews for head coaching positions in this year’s cycle. As Albert Breer of SI.com tweets, Brady interviewed well, and a number of execs involved in those interviews believed he was a lock for an HC gig in 2022.

Unfortunately, Carolina suffered more of the same problems this year. McCaffrey is now out for the season after having played seven games, and an injury to starting quarterback Sam Darnold also helped to derail the Panthers’ once-promising season. A four-game losing streak earlier this year led some to believe that Brady would be stripped of his play-calling duties, and while that did not happen, Brady is now out of a job completely.

This year, the Panthers have slipped to 28th in total offense, and Brady’s creative mind has not been enough to consistently overcome what opposing defensive coordinators have thrown at him. He is still only 32 years old, but his meteoric rise has come to an abrupt halt, and he may have to rebuild his stock back at the college level.

Rhule said, “I met with Joe this morning and informed him that I have decided to make a change. I’m very grateful to him for his time and effort in helping us get established over this past year and a half.”

Cardinals GM Steve Keim On FAs, McCoy, Kingsbury

December 5th, 2021 at 11:44am CST by Rory Parks

The 9-2 Cardinals are legitimate Super Bowl contenders, and a great deal of their success this season can be attributed to players ticketed for free agency in 2022. That includes running backs Chase Edmonds and James Conner, wide receivers A.J. Green and Christian Kirk, tight end Zach Ertz, outside linebacker Chandler Jones, and quarterback Colt McCoy.

Although the club is obviously focused on making a championship run right now, GM Steve Keim will be tasked with making sure Arizona’s window of contention doesn’t close after one year. However, it does not sound as though there will be any extensions between now and the end of the season.

In speaking about the difficulty of striking an in-season extension, Keim, during a recent appearance on 98.7 KMVP, said that such a move is possible, “[i]f we identify the guys we see as core players, and there are a lot of them with the success we’ve had, but it really is tough. A lot of times, guys want to test the market or it’s just not the appropriate time because they are so focused on football” (via Darren Urban of the Cardinals’ official website).

Keim added, “[t]here are so many moving parts to it, but there are a lot of guys we want to re-sign and make sure they remain Cardinals.”

One such player is McCoy, who has performed well this year in relief of the injured Kyler Murray. The Cards have gone 2-1 in McCoy’s three starts, thereby managing to stay atop the NFC standings, and the 31-year-old has completed over 75% of his passes for three TDs and one pick. Keim said that it is “highly important” to keep McCoy in the fold.

Meanwhile, head coach Kliff Kingsbury attracted the attention of the University of Oklahoma, and while the blue-blood collegiate program has now gone in a different direction, Keim knows what he has in Kingsbury.

“To me, it’s a compliment to our organization,” Keim said of OU’s interest in his head coach. “The guy has done a tremendous job. He and our organization have grown together. We’re really excited about the future when you look at the work he’s put in, the improvements he’s made, the improvements we’ve made with the roster.”

Urban says that, just as the Cardinals do not anticipate new deals for their top FAs before the end of the 2021 campaign, they are not presently working on an extension for Kingsbury. However, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports hears that a Kingsbury extension is a major offseason priority, and that the 42-year-old may end up with a salary near the top of the head coaching pay scale.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Out For Week 13, Gardner Minshew To Start

December 5th, 2021 at 10:20am CST by Rory Parks

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered an ankle injury in his team’s Week 12 loss to the Giants. While Hurts expressed a desire to play through the injury, Philadelphia will be safe with its QB1 and let him rest for this week’s contest against the Jets. Former Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew will start in Hurts’ place.

Minshew has only seen the field in one game this season, completing two passes for 11 yards in a blowout win against the Lions. This will be his first start since he suited up for Jacksonville in a Week 15 loss to the Ravens last year.

This is bad timing for Hurts. Just last week, in the wake of a stretch of solid play, it was reported that the second-year pro might have done enough to entrench himself as the Eagles’ starting QB moving forward, thereby allowing the club to use its considerable draft capital to build around him. Unfortunately, Hurts had a miserable showing in the Giants loss, throwing three interceptions and renewing the chatter about whether he truly is a franchise passer, chatter that was highlighted by a report concerning an organizational divide on his long-term viability.

Obviously, one bad game isn’t going to make or break Hurts’ future, but he certainly would have preferred to have a chance to bounce back against a porous Jets secondary. Instead, Minshew — who at one time looked like he might be the Jags’ long-term solution under center — will get a chance to reestablish his value.

A 2019 sixth-round selection, Minshew’s strong performance and charismatic personality made him something of a sensation in his rookie season. Filling in for an injured Nick Foles, Minshew ended up starting 12 of his 14 games for Jacksonville, completing 60.6% of his passes for 3,271 yards, 21 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. He also guided the Jaguars to a 6-6 record during his 12 starts.

The Jaguars took a clear step back in 2020, but Minshew still put up solid numbers. While Jacksonville went only 1-7 in Minshew’s eight starts, the Washington State product still completed 66.1% of his passes for 2,259 yards, 16 touchdowns, and only five interceptions. He’s also shown some versatility outside of the passing game, collecting 497 rushing yards on 96 career carries.

After the Jags selected Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, Minshew became expendable, and he was shipped to Philadelphia — which is always on the lookout for QB talent — in exchange for a conditional sixth-rounder in August. He still has a year to go on his rookie contract, and he will welcome any opportunity to continue to produce quality tape.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.

Steelers Won’t Pick Up Fifth-Year Option On LB Devin Bush

December 5th, 2021 at 9:40am CST by Rory Parks

The Steelers will not pick up the fifth-year option on linebacker Devin Bush, per Ed Bouchette of The Athletic. That means that Bush will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2023.

The normally conservative Steelers made a bold move in the 2019 draft, trading their No. 20 and No. 52 overall selections that year, along with a 2020 third-rounder, to the Broncos in order to acquire Denver’s No. 10 overall pick. Pittsburgh used that choice on Bush, and it had every reason to believe the Michigan product would excel in the middle of its defense for years to come.

Unfortunately, things have not worked out as hoped. Bush started 15 games as a rookie and racked up 109 combined tackles, two picks, and a sack, but he suffered a torn ACL in Week 5 of the 2020 season and has struggled to find his footing this year. Even before the 2021 campaign got underway, it was announced that trade acquisition Joe Schobert would take over the role of defensive signal-caller, as the Steelers wanted Bush to focus on his recovery.

And while Bush has played all but one game this year, his performance has left much to be desired. Pro Football Focus’ metrics consider Bush the fourth-worst linebacker in football among players with enough snaps to qualify, and that ranking generally jibes with the eye test. Bush has struggled in coverage and against the run, and he has not made any progress as a pass rusher. As Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes, Bush has stayed upbeat and is well-liked, but the organization is becoming increasingly frustrated with his lack of development.

It is certainly possible that, by having a fully healthy offseason and putting his ACL tear further in the rearview mirror, Bush could start to play up to his potential in 2022 and earn a second contract with Pittsburgh. But for now, it stands to reason that the Steelers would not want to commit to a fully-guaranteed $10.5MM salary for 2023 for a player that presently looks more like a liability than an asset.

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