2022 January - Pro Football Rumors

Bears Fire HC Matt Nagy, GM Ryan Pace

January 10th, 2022 at 8:28am CST by Adam La Rose

In another expected move to begin ‘Black Monday’ in the NFL, the Bears are parting ways with Head Coach Matt Nagy, according to ESPN”S Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Nagy becomes the fourth recent firing in the NFL, joining Vic Fangio from the Broncos, Mike Zimmer from the Vikings and Brian Flores from the Dolphins.

It had long been expected that Nagy was on his way out of Chicago as the 2021 season progressed with offensive struggles continuing with and without rookie quarterback Justin Fields. While the 43-year old survived rumors leading up to their Thanksgiving day game against the Lions that he would be let go midseason, he didn’t do enough in the remainder of the campaign to change ownership’s mind.

Not long after the news of Nagy’s firing broke, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero Tweeted that GM Ryan Pace has also been fired. Pace had held the GM title for seven seasons, a span that included the drafting of Mitch Trubisky in 2017 and only two postseason appearances (with no wins). It was reported in November that Pace may be safe for one more year, but the Bears are obviously cleaning house instead.

After four seasons, Nagy finishes with an overall regular season record of 34-31, along with two postseason appearances that each ended in first-round exits. After a 12-4 season that earned him Coach of the Year honors in 2018, the Bears went 8-8 for the next two campaigns and ended up a disappointing 6-11 in 2021.

Even before it was made official that Nagy was let go, a few names came up recently who may be in line to replace him. According to a recent report, two candidates to keep an eye on are Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo. Other options have been linked to the Windy City as well, but in any event it is believed the new HC will lean more towards the ‘leader-of-men’ type than Nagy’s ‘quarterback whisperer’ style.

Along with Jacksonville and Las Vegas, the Broncos’ decision to move on from Fangio over the weekend in addition to the three firings today brings the total number of head coaching vacancies in the league to six. With Pace out, there are now two open GM positions.

Vikings Fire GM Rick Spielman, HC Mike Zimmer

January 10th, 2022 at 8:16am CST by Adam La Rose

The clearing-out of the regime in Minnesota has begun, as the Vikings have fired General Manager Rick Spielman, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter link). Pelissero also reports that the team has let go of Head Coach Mike Zimmer as well (Twitter link).

It was widely expected that Sunday’s game against the Bears would be Zimmer’s last with the Vikings. However, there was a belief that Spielman could stay on either as GM, or in some other capacity, and play a role in the selection process for a new HC. Instead, the 59-year old is out after 16 seasons working with in team’s front office, including the last 10 as GM.

Zimmer, 65, had recently expressed an overall sentiment of pride regarding his tenure with the Vikings. Knowing the writing was as the wall with team set to have a losing record for the second straight year, Zimmer said, “regardless of anything that goes on after the season, I can stand proud”. Zimmer ranks third in franchise history with 71 wins, but the team has a total of one postseason victory in the past four seasons.

The team Tweeted out a statement from its ownership group which says in part, “we appreciate Rick and Mike’s commitment to the team’s on-field success, their passion for making a positive impact in our community and their dedication to players, coaches and staff. While these decisions are not easy, we believe it is time for new leadership to elevate our team so we can consistently contend for championships. We wish both Rick and Mike and their families only the best”.

This news, along with the firing of Matt Nagy in Chicago and Brian Flores in Miami, brings the total number of coaching vacancies in the league to six (Vikings, Bears, Broncos, Dolphins, Jaguars and Raiders) and opens up one of two GM openings, the other being in Chicago after Ryan Pace was let go on Monday as well.

Super Wild Card Weekend Set

January 9th, 2022 at 11:22pm CST by Ely Allen

The NFL’s first ever 18-week regular season has concluded and the playoffs are set to begin next weekend. With the final spots being decided in a Sunday Night Football thriller, we now know where everyone’s going and when they’ll be playing next.

Super Wild Card Weekend starts with the lower AFC Seeds on Saturday. We begin with the 5-Seed Las Vegas Raiders (10-7) as they head to Ohio to play the AFC North Champion 4-Seed Cincinnati Bengals (10-7) at 4:30PM ET. We follow that up with the 6-Seed New England Patriots (10-7) who head to upstate New York for their third match up of the season against the AFC East Champion 3-Seed Buffalo Bills at 8:15PM ET.

On Sunday, we see some NFC teams early to start out. Sunday kicks off with the 7-Seed Philadelphia Eagles (9-8) heading to Central Florida to face off against the NFC South Champion 2-Seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-4) at 1:00PM ET. After that, the 6-Seed San Francisco 49ers (10-7) go into the Lone Star State to face off against the NFC East Champion 3-Seed Dallas Cowboys (12-5) at 4:30PM ET. We finish off Sunday night with the 7-Seed Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1) traveling into Missouri to play the AFC West Champion 2-Seed Kansas City Chiefs (12-5) at 8:15PM ET.

We’ll end our Super Wild Card Weekend on Monday Night, when the 5-Seed Arizona Cardinals (11-6) head back to SoCal for their third game of the season versus the NFC West Champion 4-Seed Los Angeles Rams (12-5) at 8:15PM ET.

Clemson CB Declares For Draft

January 9th, 2022 at 9:55pm CST by Ely Allen

Andrew Booth Jr. is going pro. The Clemson cornerback is ranked second in Dane Brugler’s positional rankings and The Athletic’s writer has Booth going 12th overall in his first round mock of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Booth is the consensus second best corner in the draft to LSU’s Derek Stingley. With as many as four or five cornerbacks potentially getting picked on Day 1 of the draft, Booth is almost guaranteed to hear his name called on Thursday. The only question will be: how early?

Booth arrived at Clemson as a five-star prospect from Georgia. He’s played in all 34 games for the Tigers since he’s arrived and has tallied 3 interceptions and 9 pass break ups. His biggest splash play was a fumble recovery his sophomore year against Syracuse that he returned 21 yards for a touchdown.

Booth has an intriguing combination of length, athleticism, and ball skills that has NFL franchises ready to pull the trigger. He’ll look to improve his draft stock at the Combine and Clemson’s Pro Day before he hears his name called out on that night in late April.

Raiders’ HC Search Narrowing

January 9th, 2022 at 8:53pm CST by Ely Allen

The Raiders’ 2021-22 NFL season hasn’t yet come to an end, but, according to the rumors circulating in the NFL, Raiders’ owner Mark Davis is already locked-in on his preferred replacement hire for head coach. Davis hasn’t conducted an official search, but Mike Florio of NBC Sports confirms what most of the league is thinking: that Davis already knows who he wants.

As of right now, the hot gossip around the league is pointing to Davis pursuing current University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh, of course, had a previous stint in the NFL, coaching the 49ers for four seasons. Harbaugh’s record as an NFL head coach stands at 44-19-1. Harbaugh went to the NFC Championship game in all of his first three seasons and even made it to the Super Bowl in his second year, only to lose to his older brother and the Ravens. Harbaugh’s fourth year saw the 49ers go 8-8 and resulted in the end of his contract.

Since his departure from the NFL, Harbaugh has been one of college football’s more eccentric coaches, leading the Wolverines to a 61-24 record since 2015 and helping Michigan to their first Big Ten Championship since 2004. The upside of Harbaugh is apparent as he has shown the ability to win at both levels.

Current interim head coach of the Raiders, Rich Bisaccia, may have something to say about that, though. Bisaccia took over after Jon Gruden’s noisy departure and has kept the ship upright, going 6-5 and keeping the Raiders alive in the playoff hunt. Things could get interesting if the team rallies under Bisaccia to make some noise in the playoffs.

According to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, Davis, who also owns the Las Vegas Aces, made a splashy hire for their head coaching position, pulling Becky Hammon away from the San Antonio Spurs. What’s interesting is that he told Bill Laimbeer, the incumbent head coach of the Aces from the previous season, that, if Hammon declined to take the position, Laimbeer would be retained. A similar offer could be in the cards for Harbaugh and Bisaccia.

The unfortunate part of this situation is that, when owners make up their mind like this before a search can be conducted, it makes a mockery of the league’s Rooney Rule. Davis will surely make sure his franchise complies with the rule, inviting ethnic-minority candidates in to interview, but interviews haven’t even begun to be planned, and the outcome already seems like a foregone conclusion.

Regardless, all signs are pointing to Jim Harbaugh becoming the next head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders with his main competition being the current interim head coach. Bisaccia looks to to make Davis’s decision a little more difficult tonight with a win against the Chargers.

Waddle Sets Rookie Receptions Record

January 9th, 2022 at 7:21pm CST by Ely Allen

The 18-game NFL regular season sees another record fall. In the Dolphins’ first drive of today’s game against the Patriots, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa found his favorite target, receiver Jaylen Waddle, three times, pushing Waddle’s rookie-season total receptions to 102 and cementing that Waddle would end the day with an NFL record.

Waddle finished the game with 5 catches for only 27 yards, but those first three catches resulted in Waddle passing Anquan Boldin for most receptions in a single season for a rookie in NFL history. Boldin’s record of 101 receptions has stood since 2003. Waddle came into the game with 99 catches, so his 5 today make the new mark to beat 104.

Like most records this season, this will have a bit of an asterisk on it, since the record was reached in an 18-week season, as opposed to a 17-week season. While Waddle did technically catch more balls in the same amount of games as Boldin, Waddle did have the benefit of a week of rest outside the traditional bye week when he missed their Week 15 game against the Jets on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Waddle was joined today by T.J. Watt who tied Michael Strahan’s record for most sacks in a single season with 22.5. While Watt also had the luxury of being able to miss a game and still play the same amount of games that Strahan did back in 2001, Watt actually accomplished his total while only appearing in 15 games this year. This is sure to be a continuing trend in the coming years as players are given an additional opportunity to pad their stats.

Saints’ Hill Suffers Lisfranc Injury

January 9th, 2022 at 5:46pm CST by Ely Allen

According to a tweet from Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, Saints’ head coach Sean Payton informed Fox’s Laura Okmin that quarterback Taysom Hill suffered a Lisfranc injury in the first half of the Saints’ Week 18 matchup in Atlanta. The injury to his left foot, if serious, could take Hill away from play for the rest of the year and potentially some of next year.

A Lisfranc injury is what downed Jaguars’ rookie running back Travis Etienne in the preseason and kept him from playing for the entire season. When serious the injury can take up to 11-12 months to recover and has, in some instances, forced a couple of players into retirement. Hill suffered a similar injury to his right foot in 2015, when he was quarterbacking the BYU Cougars in their season opener against Nebraska. Hill finished the game, once it was confirmed it wouldn’t cause further damage, but when the game ended, then-head coach Bronco Mendenhall announced the injury would end his season.

This could be a major blow to the Saints as they are attempting to become the first NFL team in the league’s history to make it to the postseason after having started four different quarterbacks throughout the season. Due to season-ending injuries and COVID-19 infections, the Saints have seen Hill, Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian, and Ian Book all start games under center. They can get into the playoffs today with a win in Atlanta and a 49ers’ loss in Los Angeles to the Rams.

A playoff berth would certainly be a testament to Sean Payton’s ability to keep the boat afloat no matter who is at quarterback, but going into the postseason with your first- and second-string quarterbacks unable to play may prove to be their toughest challenge of the season.

Playoff-Clinching Tie

January 9th, 2022 at 4:44pm CST by Ely Allen

Coming into today, the Sunday Night matchup between the Chargers and Raiders in Las Vegas was being billed as a winner-takes-all game with the winner continuing their season past Week 18. While that is still technically a true statement, it’s not the only path for either team to make the playoffs.

With the Colts’ loss to the Jaguars this afternoon and the Steelers’ win in Baltimore, an amusing possibility has been presented to both squads preparing for tonight. If Sunday night’s game were to end in a tie, both the Chargers and the Raiders would make the playoffs. While there are seeding scenarios at play for the Raiders (a win could put them at the 5th or 6th Seed, potentially, and a tie would clinch the 7th seed), the Chargers have no motivation to play the game if the Raiders were to propose an intentional tie.

While Los Angeles head coach Brandon Staley said earlier this week, “We’re going to do everything we can to go win this game,” that was when the tying scenario was a long shot, as the Colts were heavy favorites to beat Jacksonville today. Staley’s tune might change now that he has a very real opportunity to give his team a week of rest before a grueling playoff schedule.

As far as the rulebook goes, there’s nothing that says two teams can’t intentionally play an entire game for a tie. I’m sure the NFL is doing everything they can to get themselves out of the corner they backed themselves into, but it was a truly strange decision for the NFL to schedule a game with this potential in the final regular season time slot. The NFL certainly likes for the regular season’s final game to hold the highest stakes, and we’ve seen some of the most entertaining games in that time slot. The 2019 regular season finale between the 49ers and Seahawks comes to mind, as San Francisco won with a fourth down stop on their own 1-yard line.

It’s certain the NFL was hoping for similar fireworks tonight, but an implosion by the Colts and the battling of the Steelers brings up what could be one of the most unique season finales in NFL history.

Lions Win; Jaguars To Pick No. 1 Overall 2022 NFL Draft

January 9th, 2022 at 3:19pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions held on to beat the Packers 37-30 on Sunday. With the win, the Lions improved to 3-13-1 on the year, ceding the No. 1 overall pick to the Jaguars.

The Jaguars also managed to close out their year with a win, upsetting the Colts 26-11. They get the best of all worlds, putting their division rival in jeopardy of missing the playoffs and closing the year with a win, all while retaining the top overall selection. They’ve also extended their home winning streak against the Colts, beating Indy in six straight Jacksonville games.

The early slate of Sunday games also saw the Titans clinch the No. 1 seed while the Bengals slipped in the AFC pecking order, potentially putting them on track to face the Patriots.

The Jaguars are in need of offensive line and edge help. Fortunately for them, this year’s class offers several high-profile options in both areas. Alabama tackle Evan Neal, who measures in at 6’7″ and 350 pounds, would go a long way towards protecting Trevor Lawrence. On the other side of the ball, defensive ends Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan) and Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon) are squarely in the conversation.

Browns Plan To Keep Baker Mayfield

January 9th, 2022 at 2:06pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns plan to move forward with Baker Mayfield as their quarterback in 2022, according to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. There’s been talk of both sides wanting to move on, but the expectation is that Mayfield will remain under center in Cleveland.

This hasn’t been a banner year for Mayfield, but he was clearly hampered by his injured shoulder. Hopefully, that’ll all be in order following his surgery, scheduling for later this week. For now, he’ll be watching from a distance as the Browns wrap their season against the Bengals.

Mayfield finished tenth leaguewide in QBR last year. This season, he’s towards the backend of the list, but the Browns believe there will be better days ahead. As it stands, they have Mayfield under contract for one more season, thanks to his fully-guaranteed $18.9MM fifth-year option. As expected, they’ll table extension talks until sometime in the future, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com tweets.

Mayfield, 27 in April, will finish with a 60.5% completion rate, 3,010 passing yards and 17 touchdowns against 13 interceptions this year. That’s a dramatic step back from his 2020 stats — 3,563 yards, 26 TDs, and eight INTs with a 62.8% success rate.