HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Zach Ertz Interested In Cardinals Return

January 22nd, 2022 at 3:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

A contract impasse overshadowed Zach Ertz‘s final two seasons with the Eagles, and the former Pro Bowler is headed for free agency coming off a bounce-back stretch with the Cardinals.

Ertz, 31, indicated (via AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban) he would “love to” be part of the next Cardinals team. This will be Ertz’s first crack at free agency, however, and likely his final shot at a notable payday. He angled for a top-market deal back in 2020.

“I still feel like we have unfinished business as a team. I would love to be part of it,” Ertz said, before adding the Cardinals have “a lot of good players who are free agents as well.”

Arizona has a higher-profile free agent in Chandler Jones, who submitted a trade request ahead of his contract year. Jones played out that deal and returned to the Pro Bowl following an injury-limited 2020. The 31-year-old edge rusher profiles as the Cards’ top free agent. Arizona also faces interesting decisions on its skill-position corps, which could lose a few key cogs come March. James Conner, Chase Edmonds, Christian Kirk and A.J. Green are unsigned for 2022. Maxx Williams is also set for free agency, thinning out the Cardinals’ tight end corps. The team faces these key choices as Kyler Murray becomes eligible for a monster extension, having played the necessary three seasons to reach this stage.

The Cards reside as a middle-of-the-pack team in terms of projected cap space, though it is very early. The Eagles redid Ertz’s deal three times, and the contract voids ahead of the 2022 league year. After a down 2020, Ertz returned to form to help the Cardinals to the playoffs. The ninth-year tight end caught 56 passes for 574 yards in just 11 games as a Cardinal, finishing the season with 763 yards total and five touchdowns. Since moving to Arizona in 1988, the Cardinals had not enjoyed much luck generating notable tight end production. Ertz changed that, with his Cards yardage total surpassing every other tight end’s single-season output from the franchise’s Arizona era.

A few starting tight ends will hit the market in March, barring extensions. Evan Engram, David Njoku, Gerald Everett, Eric Ebron, C.J. Uzomah and Robert Tonyan are among the names without 2022 contracts. Rob Gronkowski is also a free agent, but he is unlikely to depart Tampa if Tom Brady opts to return for a 23rd season.

Buccaneers Activate Leonard Fournette From IR, Waive Le’Veon Bell

January 22nd, 2022 at 2:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

After the Buccaneers played without their top two running backs in their wild-card game, they are set to have one of them back against the Rams.

Leonard Fournette is coming off IR and will play Sunday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Tampa Bay’s starting back has been out since suffering a hamstring injury in Week 15. The Bucs designated Fournette for return last week but kept him on IR ahead of their Eagles matchup, moving forward with Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Giovani Bernard.

This week, Fournette should play a major role. While it is not certain if the former top-five pick will be up for his pre-injury workload, the Bucs having their leading rusher back will certainly help their cause. The team’s running game might encounter tougher-than-usual sledding, given some key offensive line injuries.

Ryan Jensen and Tristan Wirfs did get in limited practices this week, but The Athletic’s Jeff Howe tweets the latter is dealing with a high ankle sprain. This troublesome ailment could keep Wirfs out, and even if the All-Pro right tackle plays, he figures to be far less than 100%. Wirfs has yet to miss a game in two seasons.

The Bucs will also be without Fournette backup Ronald Jones, but their primary 2020 back has not been much of a factor this season. After gaining only 367 rushing yards in 2020, which featured time as a healthy scratch, Fournette totaled 1,266 scrimmage yards and matched his career-high with 10 touchdowns despite the hamstring injury ending his regular season early. Fournette returning to his “Playoff Lenny” form would stand to cement his value ahead of free agency, which should feature a better market for the ex-Jaguar this time around.

To make room for Fournette, the Bucs are waiving Le’Veon Bell, Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets. This marks the second time this season a team has waived the former All-Pro. The Ravens cut bait during the regular season. Bell, however, makes sense as practice squad insurance for the Bucs. Bell’s route back to Tampa Bay’s taxi squad would be fairly smooth, given his one-year contract and any team claiming Bell being unable to use him in the playoffs.

Latest On Ravens-Don Martindale Split

January 22nd, 2022 at 2:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Don Martindale is surprisingly on the market for defensive coordinator-needy teams. Some outside interest already emerged before the Ravens moved on from their four-year defensive play-caller.

After signing a three-year extension in 2020, Martindale was set to go into a contract year. The Ravens did not offer him another extension to avoid lame-duck status, according to Albert Breer of SI.com, who adds other teams noticed this and checked on Martindale’s status. The Ravens’ defensive step back in 2021 contributed to the team passing on an extension offer (Twitter link).

The Ravens have promoted from within to fill their DC position every time the franchise has filled the job. Since Marvin Lewis‘ 2003 departure to become the Bengals’ HC, Mike Nolan, Rex Ryan, Greg Mattison, Chuck Pagano and Dean Pees climbed from within to fill the post. Martindale followed suit in 2018, rising from the team’s linebackers coach position. It is not a lock that will continue, though the external candidates on Baltimore’s radar have experience working under Martindale.

Mike Macdonald left the Ravens to become Michigan’s co-defensive coordinator last year, but Baltimore’s former linebackers coach was viewed as the likely Martindale successor before doing so, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com notes. Macdonald spent seven seasons on John Harbaugh‘s staff. Presumptive one-and-done Jaguars DC Joe Cullen, who was the Ravens’ D-line coach for five seasons before following Urban Meyer to Jacksonville, looms as another possible candidate. Internally, defensive passing-game coordinator Chris Hewitt is a surefire candidate, per Aaron Wilson of the Pro Football Network (on Twitter). Hewitt has been with the Ravens since 2012, when he took over as the team’s defensive backs coach.

Despite the Ravens’ injury-catalyzed regression on defense this season, Martindale figures to generate extensive outside interest. The 58-year-old assistant had Baltimore perched as a top-10 defense from 2018-20.

Bears Request Second GM Interview With Ryan Poles

January 22nd, 2022 at 12:42pm CST by Ben Levine

Ryan Poles is getting a second interview in Chicago. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the Chiefs’ executive director of player personnel has been asked to interview a second time for the Bears GM job.

Poles is already a finalist for the Vikings GM job. He will meet with the Bears on Tuesday and the Vikings on Wednesday, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). The other finalist for the Minnesota job, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, will meet with the organization again on Tuesday (per Albert Breer on Twitter).

Poles has spent much of his career with the Chiefs, working his way up from director of college scouting to executive director of player personnel, where he works alongside GM Brett Veach and assistant GM Mike Borgonzi.

Last offseason, the Chiefs executive was considered for the Panthers GM job. Besides interest from the Vikings and Bears, Poles was also a finalist for the Giants GM gig (a job that ultimately went to Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen).

Giants To Interview DC Patrick Graham For HC Position

January 22nd, 2022 at 9:00am CST by Ben Levine

The Giants are considering an in-house candidate for the HC vacancy. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter), the team is expected to interview defensive coordinator Patrick Graham for the position.

This is the first time this offseason that Graham has been connected to a head coach gig. Last offseason, he was connected to the Jets HC job.

Graham broke into coaching as a graduate assistant with Wagner College back in 2002. He slowly worked his way up the collegiate ranks and landed his first NFL gig with the Patriots in 2009. He served as Brian Flores‘ DC with with the Dolphins in 2019 before joining Joe Judge‘s first coaching staff with the Giants.

His work with the Giants is what has created the HC buzz. Despite not having a ton of individual talent to work with, Graham coaxed a top-10 performance out of his unit in 2020 in terms of points allowed, and though the New York defense struggled through much of the first half of 2021, the club had a few standout performances (including a three-game stretch where they yielded just 39 points despite facing the likes of Derek Carr and Patrick Mahomes). Graham’s reputation as a play-caller, along with his ability to forge strong relationships with his players, has attracted league-wide attention.

Graham is now the fifth name connected to the NYG vacancy, a list that also includes:

Jim Caldwell Says He Didn’t Decline Vikings, Raiders Interviews

January 22nd, 2022 at 8:44am CST by Ben Levine

There were rumblings this week that former NFL head coach Jim Caldwell declined interviews with the Vikings and Raiders regarding their head coaching vacancies. However, Caldwell took to Twitter this morning to deny those rumors.

“I would like to correct an erroneous report that I turned down opportunities to interview for the head coaching job with Minnesota and Las Vegas,” Caldwell said in a statement. “Those reports are not true.

“I have profound respect for both organizations and for the Wilf and Davis families and I did not decline any opportunity to interview with them.”

Caldwell, 66, served as the Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach in 2019 before health issues forced him to step aside. Fortunately, he’s said to be back to full health now, and it sounds like he’s ready for his next job.

Between his time with the Colts and Lions, Caldwell owns a career 62-50 record as a head coach with four playoff berths and one Super Bowl appearance. Caldwell’s last stop in Detroit saw him never finish with fewer than seven wins, but he was still canned following back-to-back 9-7 seasons.

This offseason, Caldwell has already interviewed for jobs with the Bears and the Jaguars.

Raiders Expected To Interview 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans

January 22nd, 2022 at 8:26am CST by Ben Levine

While DeMeco Ryans is surely focused on his showdown with the Packers tonight, the 49ers defensive coordinator has garnered another interview. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), the Raiders are expected to interview Ryans for their head coaching vacancy.

The former NFL linebacker has been on the 49ers coaching staff since 2017, and he was promoted to defensive coordinator last offseason after Robert Saleh left for New York. During his first season in the role, the 49ers defense ranked third in yards allowed and ninth in points allowed.

We previously learned that Ryans was on the long list of candidates for the Vikings HC job. Indeed, Schefter notes that the defensive coordinator is set to meet with Minnesota on Sunday.

This is the fourth name connected to the job in Las Vegas, with Ryans joining a group that includes:

NFL COVID-19 Updates: 1/21/22

January 21st, 2022 at 9:28pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are the COVID-19 updates of the last few days from around the league:

Cincinnati Bengals

Tennessee Titans

  • Placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Greg Mabin

 

Giants’ HC Search Beginning With Brian Daboll, Leslie Frazier

January 21st, 2022 at 8:28pm CST by Adam La Rose

Newly-hired Giants general manager Joe Schoen is wasting no time in beginning the team’s search for a new head coach. He has already completed an interview with Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, and is expected to hold another one tomorrow with Buffalo’s defensive coordinator, Leslie Frazier. 

According to a team announcement, the Daboll interview has already been completed, just hours after the hiring of Schoen was officially announced. The 46-year-old met via teleconference with Schoen and co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch. It should come as a surprise to no one that Daboll, the Bills’ OC for the past four seasons, is the candidate with whom the search process is beginning. It was immediately reported that he would be one of the key targets for the Giants once Schoen landed the GM job.

Meanwhile, Frazier’s name is being linked to the HC vacancy for the first time. As Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reports (via Twitter), Frazier is expected to interview with the Giants on Saturday. Again, this is far from a surprise, given the Buffalo connection to Schoen. The 62-year-old has served in his current role for five years, overseeing the Bills’ defensive turnaround. He has already been interviewed by the Dolphins, and is also scheduled to meet with the Bears.

The other factor influencing the immediacy of these interviews, of course, is the fact that the Bills play on Sunday night. As Schwartz points out, any potential second interviews conducted prior to the Super Bowl could only take place if the first round was completed this weekend, something made easier by the fact that Schoen is still in Buffalo. The other two candidates linked to the Giants so far are ex-Dolphins HC Brian Flores and Cowboys DC Dan Quinn.

NFL Updates COVID-19 Protocols

January 21st, 2022 at 7:34pm CST by Adam La Rose

Another change has been made to the league’s COVID-19 protocols, which will take place immediately and remain in place for the remainder of the postseason. The NFL has sent a memo detailing the update, which includes removing the distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated players, and an end to the requirement for the latter group to be tested daily (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero).

[Related: NFL, NFLPA Modify COVID Protocols]

As the insider further explains, the changes have been made in conjunction with the NFLPA as more data on the Omicron variant emerges. The most recent changes, implemented in December, have involved targeted testing of symptomatic players and staff members, along with a five-day return rule. Now, tests will only be conducted for players and personnel who have symptoms, or those who are included in random testing.

The memo reads, in part, “This comprehensive, symptom-based approach to testing reflects our recent experience with the Omicron variant and conforms to current public health recommendations and best practices employed in healthcare, and offers the best opportunity for identifying and treating cases promptly and avoiding spread within the facility“.

As Pelissero and others have noted, there are roughly a dozen players on the remaining eight playoff teams, so these changes will directly affect only a small group. Still, even players who have tested positive within the 90 day ‘holiday’ period remain under the same symptom-based testing rules, so the possibility remains for anyone who reports symptoms to miss a playoff game.

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