HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Colts GM Not Committing To Carson Wentz For 2022

January 14th, 2022 at 6:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

While Carson Wentz rebounded from last year’s ugly Eagles season, his performance in the Colts’ final two games did the most to prevent the team from qualifying for the playoffs. The veteran passer’s Indianapolis future is somewhat uncertain.

Wentz is signed through 2024, and the Eagles took on a record dead-money sum by trading him less than two years after authorizing a big-ticket extension. As a result, the Colts have Wentz on a more manageable contract. GM Chris Ballard‘s endorsement of his starter, however, was less than ideal.

“When we made the decision, after Philip [Rivers] retired and we made the decision to make a move on Carson, at the time of the decision we felt good about it and I still don’t regret the decision at the time,” Ballard said, via Mike Wells of ESPN.com. “Sitting here today, just so y’all know, I won’t make a comment on who is going to be here next year and who is not going to be here next year. That’s not fair to any player.”

Ballard was a bit more comfortable discussing Quenton Nelson‘s future with the franchise, but the dominant guard’s status is not exactly in question. The Colts have used four different starting quarterbacks during Ballard’s five-year GM tenure — Jacoby Brissett, Andrew Luck, Rivers and Wentz — and none has been the primary starter in back-to-back seasons. This has limited one of the NFL’s better rosters, one that sent seven players to the Pro Bowl this season.

Should the Colts unload Wentz before June 1, a $15MM dead-cap hit would come their way. The team does have the former No. 2 overall pick attached to sub-$28MM cap numbers from 2022-24. As quarterback salaries move beyond $40MM annually, Wentz’s deal is becoming a middle-class QB pact.

Wentz, 29, did finish 10th in QBR this season and ended his first Indianapolis slate with a 27-7 TD-INT ratio. Following his positive COVID-19 test, however, poor performances led to the Colts losing as a favorite against the Raiders and a two-touchdown favorite against the Jaguars.

“I’d like to quit Band-Aiding it,” Ballard said. “I’d like for Carson to be the long-term answer or find somebody who will be here for the next 10-12 years. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. I can dream about it, wish about it, do everything I can to figure out the solution, but you do the best with what you can do at the time.”

With select QBs expected to be available this year, it is not a lock Wentz returns. The Colts did give up first- and third-round picks for him, certainly limiting their draft options at the position. And given Wentz’s history with Frank Reich and progress as a whole in 2021, a second season in Indy should probably still be the expectation. But Ballard’s comments make this a situation worth monitoring.

“At the end of the day, I think we have a lot of really good players and really good pieces. You have to get stability at the quarterback position,” Ballard said. “That position has to play up to his potential to help the team win. I’m not blaming this all on Carson. I’m not because everybody else has to do their job, too.

“But the hyper-importance of that position, it’s real. You have to get consistency there. The years we’ve gotten it we’ve been pretty good, and we thought we had it until the end of the season. Something we have to continue to work through.”

Steelers Designate JuJu Smith-Schuster For Return

January 14th, 2022 at 6:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

Out since Week 5 with a shoulder injury, JuJu Smith-Schuster is now back at Steelers practice ahead of their playoff opener. The Steelers designated the fifth-year wideout to return from IR on Thursday.

With Smith-Schuster’s shoulder issue deemed season-ending three months ago, this is certainly an interesting development. A practice return does not necessarily mean he will play against the Chiefs; Mike Tomlin was noncommittal on that subject. JuJu coming back would obviously help the Steelers as big underdogs in Round 1.

Smith-Schuster is believed to be healthy, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter). However, the Steelers are not yet banking on him to be back for Sunday night’s game. JuJu has not experienced any issues in two practices this week, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link), pointing to an activation ahead of Saturday’s deadline.

Smith-Schuster passed on offers to sign with the Chiefs and Ravens last year, preferring his familiar Steelers setup as an avenue to a potentially more lucrative free agency payday. This injury did not help Smith-Schuster’s quest for a better market in 2022, when the cap spike should help many UFAs cash in after last year’s COVID-19-induced cap reduction. Interest should still come JuJu’s way in March, but the former second-rounder’s stock has dipped since his 1,426-yard season alongside Antonio Brown in 2018.

Amid Ben Roethlisberger‘s decline, the Steelers rank 15th in passing. Diontae Johnson notched his first 1,000-yard season, while Chase Claypool ended the regular season with 860 receiving yards. Pat Freiermuth has become a key target as a rookie. Those three are signed beyond this season. James Washington, whom the Steelers activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday, joins Smith-Schuster as a free agent-to-be.

Panthers To Interview Colts’ Scottie Montgomery For OC Job

January 14th, 2022 at 5:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Panthers’ offensive coordinator search initially centered on former head coaches, with Bill O’Brien and Jay Gruden first popping up to succeed Joe Brady. This process has moved to lower-profile coaches.

Colts running backs coach Scottie Montgomery will interview for the Carolina OC role, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. Montgomery will follow former Eagles OC Mike Groh and Vikings OC Klint Kubiak in doing so. The Panthers also reached out to Texans QBs coach Pep Hamilton, a former OC.

Matt Rhule said recently he would like an experienced coordinator, preferably one who has done that job in the NFL. Montgomery is the only member of this group that has not yet risen to the OC level in the league, but the former Broncos wide receiver has extensive experience in college and in North Carolina. Montgomery, 43, served as East Carolina’s head coach from 2016-18 and also worked as Duke’s OC in the mid-2010s. Ahead of his 2021 move to Indianapolis, Montgomery spent two seasons as Maryland’s OC.

At the NFL level, Montgomery may now be best known for being Jonathan Taylor‘s position coach — a position that recently involved HBO screen time. The second-year back rocketed to an All-Pro perch in 2021, winning the rushing title by nearly 600 yards. That certainly stands to help those around him. Montgomery also has prior NFL experience, having coached an acclaimed group of Steelers wide receivers — Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders among them — from 2010-12.

Alabama WR John Metchie Declares For Draft

January 14th, 2022 at 4:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

Alabama will send two injured wide receivers to the draft. Following Jameson Williams‘ Thursday declaration, teammate John Metchie indicated Friday he will pass on his senior year to enter the draft, per ESPN.com’s Chris Low.

Metchie entered last season with a higher profile than Williams, having played extensively alongside DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle in 2020. After a 916-yard season alongside the two first-round talents, Metchie became a bigger part of the offense as a junior. He finished this season with 96 catches for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns. However, the ACL tear the 6-foot pass catcher suffered in the SEC championship game kept him out for the Crimson Tide’s final two contests and will affect his draft stock.

With Metchie not viewed as highly as Williams going into the draft, this injury may solidify him missing out on a first-round selection. Still, Scouts Inc. has the two-year Crimson Tide contributor as the No. 6 wideout in this upcoming class and the No. 42 overall prospect. Williams has graded out as the ESPN scouting service’s top receiver available. Injuries to each may cloud their stock going into the April draft, though ACL tears are obviously not as damaging as they once were to careers.

Alabama has seen four wideouts — Waddle, Smith, Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy — be drafted in the first round since 2020. Williams and Metchie’s statuses will be less certain, given the likelihood neither will be available for full work until at least training camp. But each will almost certainly be an early selection.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/14/22

January 14th, 2022 at 3:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Friday’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

Dolphins Request To Interview Rams’ Thomas Brown

January 14th, 2022 at 2:08pm CST by Ely Allen

One of the more interesting names to surface in this year’s head coaching market, Rams’ running backs coach/assistant head coach Thomas Brown has been targeted as a candidate by the Miami Dolphins. Tom Pelissero, of NFL Network, broke the news in a tweet that compares him to a young Mike Tomlin. As far as I can tell, this is the first time Brown’s name has been brought up for a job this high in the coaching ranks.

Brown had a short career in the NFL after being taken in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. As a young running back, Brown saw his rookie season end before it could even get going when a horse collar tackle landed him on IR. He never ended up finding his way onto the field after that.

Not one to sit dormant, Brown went back to his alma mater and became a strength and conditioning coach for the Georgia Bulldogs. He decided to take a step into coaching accepting the running backs coaching position at UT Chattanooga. He began to progress through the college football ranks as he spent a season each at Marshall, Wisconsin, and Georgia as a running backs coach. He followed Mark Richt to Miami where he spent three seasons before taking one last college job at South Carolina. Brown even rose to the title of offensive coordinator at Miami, although play calling duties remained with Coach Richt. Along all these stops, Brown mentored future NFL players, coaching Melvin Gordon, Corey Clement, Dare Ogunbowale, and Derek Watt at Wisconsin, Sony Michel and Nick Chubb at Georgia, Gus Edwards, Travis Homer, and DeeJay Dallas at Miami, and Tavien Feaster at South Carolina. In his lone season with Gordon, Gordon finished 42 yards short of breaking Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record.

After that last season in South Carolina, Brown accepted the running backs coaching position for the Rams, helping them to cope with the loss of Todd Gurley by utilizing the three-headed attack of Cam Akers, Darrell Henderson, and Malcolm Brown. This season, Brown was reunited with Michel and, despite the loss of Akers for the season, has led a fairly talented running backs group.

Brown is known for developing a trust with his players who would run through walls for him. He’s an advocate for his players and takes responsibility for their development outside the game as much as in it, as was displayed in a clip from HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” in which he spoke to his position group about the racial issues plaguing the nation.

I don’t expect this to be the last time time we see Brown’s name come up for a coaching job and I wouldn’t even be surprised to see him nab the Miami job. Get to know the name Thomas Brown. The 35-year old is only beginning to make his name in the coaching circuit.

Bears Request To Interview Chargers’ Wooden

January 14th, 2022 at 12:47pm CST by Ely Allen

Do not be surprised if you start getting calls from Chicago because the Bears are searching far and wide to fill their vacant general manager position and they are interviewing EVERYBODY! The newest candidate to add to the list is Chargers’ director of player personnel, JoJo Wooden, according to a tweet from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Wooden has been with the Chargers since 2013 overseeing the pro and college scouting department for the Chargers. He got his start with the Jets in 1997 and spent 10 seasons working his way up from pro personnel assistant to the assistant director, player personnel, a position he held for six more years.

What makes Wooden an interesting candidate for the Bears’ job is the connections he has to the search committee. Bears Senior Writer Larry Mayer reported a couple days ago that Bill Polian, who has spent time as a general manager for the Bills, Panthers, and, most notably, the Colts, will be a resource to the Bears as they go through the process of hiring a new head coach and general manager. Wooden is known as a key lieutenant for the Chargers’ current general manager Tom Telesco, and Telesco worked under Polian during Polian’s entire tenure in Indianapolis.

To date, the Bears have already interviewed the Browns’ Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Glenn Cook and their own assistant director of player personnel, Champ Kelly. They’ve also requested interviews with the Colts’ Morocco Brown and Ed Dodds, the 49ers’ Ran Carthon, the Saints’ Jeff Ireland, the Steelers’ Omar Khan, the Giants’ Joe Schoen, and the Patriots’ Eliot Wolf. Texans’ former general manager Rick Smith has also been identified as a candidate.

Latest Details On Joe Judge’s Firing

January 14th, 2022 at 11:40am CST by Adam La Rose

In the aftermath of Joe Judge‘s dismissal from the Giants, new details have emerged regarding his meeting with ownership and their desire for congruency with the new general manager. Judge himself has also spoken publicly for the first time since learning his fate. 

[Related: Giants Fire Joe Judge]

Majority owner John Mara detailed his frustration with the situation in a press conference, detailing why the decision was ultimately made to fire Judge. When asked, Mara admitted that “he has never been this embarrassed by the state of his franchise”, as noted by ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. Mara noted that flashpoints such as Judge’s 11-minute post-game rant after the loss to the Bears and consecutive quarterback sneaks in the regular season finale played a small role in the decision to fire him.

Ultimately, is seems the need for a new GM drove the decision to move on from Judge more than anything else. Raanan notes that “the move to dismiss Judge seems to largely have been made to give the new GM flexibility [in the HC hiring process]”, although the team is not looking at whomever fills the two vacancies as a package deal. Mara used the word “rushed” to describe the hiring of now-retired GM Dave Gettleman in 2017, and stressed that the team’s approach will be more meticulous this time.

Still, there is a clear desire for the new coach and general manager to be “on the same page”, according to a tweet from SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano. He adds that Judge talked with ownership about GM candidates, and that Judge “thought there would be even more discussions, that he’d be part of the process”. Obviously that wasn’t the case, as Mara felt the only way forward was to “completely [blow] it up and [start] all over again”, even though he believes in Judge’s abilities as a coach.

In his first public remarks since being fired, Judge issued a statement which reads in part, “I want to express how truly grateful I am for the opportunity to be the head coach of the New York Giants. Thank you to the Mara and Tisch families, to the organization and incredible support staff and to the fans… It was a privilege to represent these people during the past two years“.

With regards to the other members of his staff, he added, “I also want to express my appreciation to the coaching staff… I am proud to have worked with the group of men we had and grateful for each and every one of them”. He also addressed the players, saying, “To the current Giants players, thank you most of all… I am so proud of you, grateful for you, and I believe in you“.

Judge concluded with, “On behalf of me and my family, we leave New York with the utmost gratitude for the community, the organization, the people and the team. Thank you“. No candidates to replace him have been named as of yet.

Ravens’ Tyus Bowser Has Surgery On Achilles

January 14th, 2022 at 10:46am CST by Adam La Rose

One of the most important pieces to the Ravens’ defense started the long road back to recovery from one of many major injuries the team suffered in 2021. Outside linebacker Tyus Bowser had surgery to repair his torn Achilles, according to a report from Pro Football Talk.

Bowser tore his Achilles during the team’s regular season finale against the Steelers. The 26-year-old posted pictures of himself in the hospital, adding the caption “and the comeback begins”. Bowser, a 2017 second round pick, has established himself as one of the most versatile members of Baltimore’s defense. He served as the team’s top pass rusher this season, but, as usual, also played a key role in the team’s number one run defense and frequently dropped back in coverage.

Bowser’s ‘Swiss Army Knife’ mold made him the Ravens’ priority in free agency this past offseason. He signed a four year, $22MM extension while more established pass rushers Matt Judon and Yannick Ngakoue signed in New England and Las Vegas, respectively. In 2022, he’ll have a guaranteed salary of $3MM and a cap hit of $5MM.

In his first season as the team’s most experienced edge rusher, Bowser recorded 59 tackles, seven sacks, two forced fumbles and four passes defensed while appearing in all 17 games. The tackle and sack totals were career highs, as he played 77% of defensive snaps – also a career high. With Bowser and first round rookie Odafe Oweh as the only impact pass rushers under contract for next season, look for that position to be an area of focus for the Ravens this offseason.

Iowa C Tyler Linderbaum Declares For Draft

January 14th, 2022 at 9:49am CST by Adam La Rose

Yet another top prospect has announced his decision to turn pro. Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum, the undisputed top interior offensive linemen in the country, has declared for the 2022 NFL Draft.

Linderbaum tweeted a statement which reads in part, “these last four years have been nothing short of amazing… I will be forever thankful for all the love and support I have received over the last four years and truly could not imagine my time anywhere else… The lifelong friendships I have made are ones that I will cherish forever. To my coaches… thank you for pushing me to be a great football player, but an even better man“.

Linderbaum was originally a defensive linemen, but quickly switched to the offensive side of the ball not long after his arrival. That decision certainly paid off, as he was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy – given to the nation’s top center – in 2020. He lost out to Alabama’s Landon Dickerson that year, but did one better in 2021, becoming the first Hawkeye to ever win the award. He was also a finalist for the Outland Trophy, given to the top interior linemen on either side of the ball, although that honor went to Georgia’s Jordan Davis.

With an utterly dominant 2021 season, Linderbaum earned a 95.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, the highest of any o-linemen in the country. He helped lead the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten Championship game, and was a valued leader on an otherwise inexperienced line, allowing just one sack all season. In a draft dominated by defensive players and offensive tackles at the top, Linderbaum won’t have to wait long to hear his name called, as he is seen by many as a potential top-ten pick.

Load More Posts