HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Raiders Interview Falcons’ Ruston Webster, Steelers’ Brandon Hunt For GM Job

January 26th, 2022 at 3:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

For the first time since the Titans fired Ruston Webster in 2016, the veteran executive landed a GM interview. The Falcons exec met with the Raiders to interview for their GM vacancy recently, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

The Raiders also went through an interview with Steelers pro scouting director Brandon Hunt, Rapoport adds. The Silver and Black’s candidate list to succeed Mike Mayock is swiftly moving toward 10 names.

Webster has been with the Falcons since 2016, landing with the then-Thomas Dimitroff-led front office as a national scout and sticking around as a senior personnel exec under new GM Terry Fontenot. Webster’s most notable experience came with the Titans, who brought him over from the Seahawks in 2010 and promoted him to GM in 2012. Webster, 59, has been in the NFL for decades, having begun as a Buccaneers staffer back in 1988. Lasting in Tampa until 2005, Webster’s tenure overlapped with since-resigned Raiders coach Jon Gruden‘s. Webster ended his Bucs run as the team’s director of player personnel before heading to Seattle.

Hunt interviewed with the Raiders on Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. While the Pittsburgh exec is on the radar for the Las Vegas job, he is also expected to be considered — should he not end up with the Raiders — to be in the mix to succeed Kevin Colbert as Steelers GM when he steps down after the draft. Longtime Steelers exec Omar Khan is also expected to be considered to replace Colbert. While Hunt interviewed for the Eagles’ director of player personnel position in 2016, he is beginning to receive GM buzz for the first time.

Here is how the Raiders’ GM search looks as of Wednesday afternoon:

  • Trey Brown, scout (Bengals): Interviewed 1/21
  • Ed Dodds, vice president of player personnel (Colts): To interview 1/26
  • Brandon Hunt, director of pro scouting (Steelers): Interviewed 1/25
  • Dwayne Joseph, director of pro personnel (Raiders): To interview
  • Champ Kelly, assistant director of player personnel (Bears): Interviewed 1/20
  • John Spytek, vice president of player personnel (Buccaneers): Interview requested
  • Ruston Webster, senior personnel executive (Falcons): Interviewed
  • Dave Ziegler, director of player personnel (Patriots): Interviewed 1/21

Byron Leftwich Moving Toward Jags’ HC Job?

January 26th, 2022 at 2:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

WEDNESDAY: More smoke is emerging here. The Jags and Leftwich continue to discuss a deal, with Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times noting the two sides are working to close out an agreement. A conflicting report, via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, pushes back a bit, indicating the Jags still have Eberflus in the mix and have not yet decided on a direction here (Twitter links). Nathaniel Hackett, who is a finalist for the Broncos’ job as well, is also not out of the mix, Jeff Howe of The Athletic tweets. Hackett would certainly be an interesting decision, considering the Jags fired him as offensive coordinator in 2018.

Meanwhile, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com writes that the Jaguars “launched” contract talks with Leftwich on Tuesday before the two sides hit an impasse this morning.

TUESDAY: The chances of a Byron Leftwich-Jaguars reunion appear to be improving. The Buccaneers offensive coordinator went through a second Jaguars interview Tuesday, and momentum is building toward a return to the place where his NFL career started.

Leftwich conducted an in-person interview with Shad Khan and GM Trent Baalke, and Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com notes many around the NFL expect him to land the job. Leftwich joins Colts DC Matt Eberflus as those who have taken second interviews with the Jaguars.

Moving to Tampa after working under both Bruce Arians and Steve Wilks in Arizona, Leftwich has begun sending out staff feelers. Bucs wide receivers coach Kevin Garver and outside linebackers coach Larry Foote are under consideration for a Leftwich-led staff, Wilson adds. Garver, 34, has been with the Bucs throughout Arians’ tenure and began his NFL coaching career with the Cardinals in Arians’ first season (2013). Foote, 41, both played under Arians with the Cards and worked for him in Arizona and Tampa. Leftwich and Foote played together with the Steelers in 2008 and in the early 2010s.

The Jags were under different ownership when they drafted Leftwich seventh overall in 2003. Khan did not own the team during Leftwich’s four-year stay in Jacksonville, though hiring a former Jaguar — one who is now a Super Bowl champion play-caller — may count as a positive step after the Urban Meyer debacle. Here is how the Jags’ coaching search looks as of Tuesday night:

49ers Activate Mohamed Sanu

January 26th, 2022 at 1:49pm CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers have activated Mohamed Sanu from the injured reserve list, per a club announcement. With that, Sanu will be eligible to play in this weekend’s NFC Championship Game against the Rams. 

The Niners haven’t seen Sanu since Week 9, when the veteran wide receiver suffered a knee injury. Before that, Sanu had just 15 catches for 177 yards across eight games. The 49ers have turned to Jauan Jennings ever since, using him as the WR3 behind Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.

Sanu played in three games for the 49ers during the 2020 campaign, hauling in a single nine-yard catch. He was released in early October and ultimately caught on with the Lions before circling back to SF this year. At the age of 32, he’s not quite the player he once was, but he’s not that far removed from his career year in Atlanta. In 2018, Sanu finished with 66 receptions for 838 yards and four touchdowns.

If everything works out in practice, Sanu will have an opportunity to help the Niners’ cause. He could be joined by running back Trenton Cannon and safety Tavon Wilson, both of whom have been designated for return.

To make room on their 53-man roster for Sanu, the 49ers waived veteran safety Jarrod Wilson.

Giants Owner: We Won’t Trade For Deshaun Watson

January 26th, 2022 at 1:06pm CST by Zachary Links

There will be plenty of new faces in the Giants’ locker room this year, but Deshaun Watson will not be among them. On Wednesday, owner John Mara told reporters that the Giants will not be trading for embattled Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). 

[RELATED: GM Says Watson “Likely” Done With Texans]

Mara cited the allegations against Watson and the Giants’ cap situation as reasons for staying out of the sweepstakes. But, beyond that, he says he is all in with Daniel Jones at QB.

“We do feel Daniel can play,” Mara said. “[And] we’ve done everything possible to screw this kid up.”

With new GM Joe Schoen at the helm, the Giants believe that they’ll be able to get Jones back on track. At his introductory press conference, Schoen said that he will be focused on upgrading the offensive line to better protect the QB and running back Saquon Barkley (Twitter link). Of course, that’s just the start, and Schoen will also have to weigh Barkley’s future beyond 2022 — the talented tailback has just one year let on his rookie deal.

And, before all of that, Schoen and Mara will have to hire a new head coach. Mara says he hopes to make it happen next week (Twitter link), though he won’t rush the process either.

As for Watson, the 26-year-old is “more than likely” done with the Texans, according to recent comments from GM Nick Caserio.

Eagles’ Brandon Brooks Announces Retirement

January 26th, 2022 at 10:13am CST by Zachary Links

Brandon Brooks is calling it a career. On Wednesday, the Eagles guard announced that he’s retiring from the NFL at the age of 32. 

Brooks, 33 this summer, was among the league’s best interior linemen when healthy. Unfortunately, he missed all but two games this season with a torn pectoral muscle. His medical history also includes Achilles tears to both legs, with the most recent season-ender coming in 2020.

“Brooks has been one of the best right guards in the league for a long time,” teammate Lane Johnson said in September, after Brooks’ pec tear ruled him out for the year (via the Philadelphia Inquirer). “Tremendous loss for us. Having him out there, might’ve been the difference between us winning and losing.”

Earlier today, Brooks agreed to restructure his contract, reducing his cap figure from $19.4MM to $7.1MM with just $1.12MM in non-guaranteed base salary. It was purely procedural — the shuffling of Brooks’ pact will provide the Eagles with additional cap space, something they sorely needed. As of Tuesday night, the Eagles were projected to have just ~$14MM in space with Brooks slotted as their second-largest hit.

“We had a lot of communication with Brandon,” GM Howie Roseman said earlier this week (via The Athletic). “It was really important for us to make sure that Brandon Brooks ended the season healthy and to make sure that he had an offseason where he was healthy and he wasn’t rehabbing. That is the extent of our communication. I met with him at the end of the season, and you’re talking about one of the greatest players, one of the greatest guards in the history of the franchise. I have tremendous respect for him as a player and as a person. Those are the conversations we’ve had with Brandon up to this point.”

Brooks will leave the game as a multiple-time Pro Bowler, having gotten the nod in every season between 2017 and 2019. The Eagles, meanwhile, will have some mighty big shoes to fill in the middle of their offensive line.

Vikings To Hire Kwesi Adofo-Mensah As GM?

January 26th, 2022 at 9:28am CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings have agreed to hire Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their next GM (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). The two sides were hard at work on the contract early this morning, as first reported by NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, and they’ve now got everything in place. It’ll be a four-year deal for Adofo-Mensah worth $12MM, according to NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe (on Twitter).

Adofo-Mensah was one of two finalists in Minnesota, alongside Ryan Poles. But, after the Bears pounds on the former Chiefs’ executive director of player personnel, Adofo-Mensah was the last man standing.

Adofo-Mensah was also in the running for the Panthers job last year, but he didn’t make it to the finalist stage. Before joining Cleveland’s front office in 2020 under Andrew Berry, the Stanford grad spent seven years with the 49ers. The Bears also looked at him in this cycle before settling on Poles.

Now, he’ll take over for longtime GM Rick Spielman and lead the search for Mike Zimmer‘s replacement. The Vikings have already begun doing their homework on that front, chatting with eight candidates including ex-49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans. Adofo-Mensah overlapped with Ryans for three years, so it’s possible that he’ll have a leg up on the competition.

Outside of Adofo-Mensah and Poles, the Vikings also considered:

Latest On Packers’ Aaron Rodgers

January 26th, 2022 at 9:19am CST by Zachary Links

Aaron Rodgers isn’t interested in sticking around for a Packers rebuild. However, out of respect for his teammates, Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future sooner rather than later. 

[RELATED: Rodgers Won’t Stay For Packers Rebuild]

“I’d like to be respectful of the organization,” Rodgers said in his weekly spot on “The Pat McAfee Show.” (h/t Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com) “One decision that will be upcoming will be obviously Davante Adams and his future with the team. There still is this thing called a franchise tag, which I don’t think ’17’ wants the franchise. [But,] I think that should be enough time to make a decision by then. I don’t want to put myself on a specific date, but I do want to be sensitive to Davante and many other guys who have decisions to make on their own futures. To drag it out past free agency would be disrespectful to the organization and to those guys, and that 100% will not happen.”

Rodgers, 38, doesn’t “have a fear of retirement,” nor does he have any additional hints to share on what he’ll do. Even after last year’s back-and-forth over his contract, he’s still under club control through 2023, so he won’t be able to go elsewhere in the spring.

The Packers are projected to be ~$45MM over the cap, not including a potential megadeal or tag for Adams. Tagging Adams would cost roughly $20MM and even a multi-year deal wouldn’t shave all that much off of his ’22 hit. Whether Adams likes it or not, the Packers are preparing to use the tag to retain Adams. From there, they’ll have until mid-July to discuss a longer arrangement.

Eagles, Brandon Brooks Restructure Deal

January 26th, 2022 at 8:54am CST by Zachary Links

Eagles guard Brandon Brooks has agreed to restructure his contract (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). The new pact will reduce his cap figure from $19.4MM to $7.1MM with just $1.12MM in non-guaranteed base salary. The deal was made with the expectation that Brooks will be playing elsewhere in 2022. 

The cap is expected to rise to around $208.2 million in 2022, but the Eagles are currently projected to have about $14MM in cap room. That’s better than, say, the Saints, but not enough to spend big in March. Before the revision, Brooks was set to carry the second-highest cap hit on the team, behind only cornerback Darius Slay ($22MM).

While Slay enjoyed a strong season with a Pro Bowl nod, Brooks missed all but two games in 2021. The guard is scheduled to speak with local beat writers later today and some have speculated that he could even retire. Even if he does continue playing in the NFL, it’s all but certain that the Eagles will cut him.

Brooks also lost the 2020 season to a torn Achilles, but he performed as one of the league’s better interior lineman when he was healthy. The 32-year-old (33 in August) made the Pro Bowl every year from 2017-2019, despite a previous (and separate) Achilles tear and a shoulder injury.

This Date In Transactions History: Vince McMahon Announces XFL 2.0

January 26th, 2022 at 8:43am CST by Zachary Links

Just when you thought there was no chance in h-e-double-hockey-sticks, Vince McMahon shocked the football world. Four years ago this week, the chairman of the WWE announced the relaunch of the XFL. 

[RELATED: XFL Hires Russ Brandon, Doug Whaley, Marc Ross]

The original XFL debuted in February 2001 in a joint venture between McMahon and NBC. The first game reportedly drew ~14 million viewers, but the ratings quickly plummeted. Ultimately, it was a brand of football with no rules and no audience to match. In May of 2001, the XFL ceased operations.

This time around, McMahon said his league would be more professional and less professional wrestling. Unlike the first iteration which featured good ol’ Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler on commentary, this league would focus improving the fan experience with faster play and fewer commercials. McMahon, meanwhile, would not serve as a brand ambassador, choosing to take on more of a behind-the-scenes role.

The new XFL kicked off in 2020 with teams in Dallas, Houston, St. Louis, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Tampa, and Washington D.C. Early on, McMahon had reason for optimism, thanks to leaner operations and marquee sponsorships from Gatorade and Anheuser-Busch. He also figured that the quality of play would be better than last time, with experienced quarterbacks like Landry Jones and Josh Johnson under center.

Unfortunately, the XFL 2.0 had an even shorter run that the OG XFL. Just like every other league, the pandemic forced them to pause midway through the season. Unlike the rest, the XFL never returned. In May of 2020, the XFL filed for bankruptcy and became entangled in a number of lawsuits, including one from former commissioner Oliver Luck.

Perhaps the third time will be the charm. Since it’s closure, the league has been bought by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and other investors who plan to relaunch the XFL in 2023.

Raiders Request GM Interview With Buccaneers’ John Spytek

January 25th, 2022 at 10:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

After interviewing with the Vikings, John Spytek received a second GM interview request during this cycle. The Raiders are interested in meeting with the Buccaneers executive, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

Spytek has been an integral part of the Tampa Bay front office that assembled a Super Bowl-winning roster last season. The veteran exec has been with the team for six years and serves as its VP of player personnel.

Despite one of the Vikings’ finalists (Ryan Poles) instead taking over as Bears GM, Spytek has not been mentioned as a finalist for that position. The veteran exec interviewed for that job January 17. Browns exec Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has become the de facto favorite to take over in Minnesota, but the Raiders emerge as an interesting option for Spytek.

The Jason Licht lieutenant spent time with the Broncos as a scout during their Peyton Manning heyday and was the Browns’ college scouting director in the early 2010s. Here is how the Raiders’ search to replace Mike Mayock is shaping up as of Tuesday night:

  • Trey Brown, scout (Bengals): Interviewed 1/21
  • Ed Dodds, vice president of player personnel (Colts): Interview requested
  • Dwayne Joseph, director of pro personnel (Raiders): To interview
  • Champ Kelly, assistant director of player personnel (Bears):Interviewed 1/20
  • John Spytek, vice president of player personnel (Buccaneers): Interview requested
  • Dave Ziegler, director of player personnel (Patriots): Interviewed 1/21
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