Friday’s taxi squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: P Pat O’Donnell
- Released: LB Frank Ginda
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: DT Nesta Jade Silvera
New York Jets
- Signed: FB Nick Bawden
- Released: CB Kalon Barnes
Dealing with another injury situation at the kicker position, the Giants have again turned to a veteran. Mason Crosby has joined New York’s practice squad in advance of playing this week, as first reported by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The team has since announced the move. 
Randy Bullock – himself brought in as an injury replacement for Graham Gano – was placed on injured reserve yesterday. Bullock’s injury paved the way for a third full-time kicker seeing game time for the Giants this season, which appeared to put Cade York in position to join the active roster. The latter suffered an injury of his own during practice this week, though, and York has been placed on practice squad IR.
Once again in need of a healthy option, the Giants will look to Crosby to close out the season. The 39-year-old joined the Rams midseason amidst their struggles in the kicking game, but he did not see any game action. Crosby was released from Los Angeles’ taxi squad last week, leaving him free to join any interested team.
A new opportunity has arisen via New York’s continued bad luck in terms of kicking injuries. Crosby has not played since his Packers tenure came to an end last season. 2022 marked the 16th season Crosby spent in Green Bay, but the team elected to draft his replacement (Anders Carlson) this spring. The former Super Bowl winner made it clear he intended to keep playing in 2023, however, and he will now have the chance to do so.
The 5-8 Giants will play the Eagles on Christmas Day while attempting to keep their playoff chances alive. Crosby will likely have the opportunity to finish out the season with the Giants and look to build off his 86.2% field goal success rate in 2022 (which marked a noticeable rebound from his 73.5% mark the previous year). Since punter Jamie Gillan made one field goal after Bullock’s injury, Crosby will be New York’s fourth kicker this year.
York was let go by the Browns following his struggles in training camp and the preseason. The 2022 fourth-rounder initially joined the Titans, but his move to the Giants seemed to set him up well for an opportunity in the wake of Gano being lost for the year. His young career has now hit another roadblock, as the Giants prepare to move forward with Crosby for the time being.
Amani Hooker‘s 2023 season has come to an end. Not long after being ruled out for Week 16, the Titans placed the veteran safety on injured reserve on Friday. 
Hooker played every snap in Tennessee’s loss to Houston last week, but a knee injury has kept him out of practice over the past several days. As a result, he will be placed on IR, a move which requires at least a four-week absence. With Tennessee out of contention for the postseason, Hooker will not return to the field until 2024.
The news marks an unfortunate end for the 25-year-old, who has been a mainstay in the Titans’ secondary since 2021. He landed a three-year extension last September, a deal which has him on the books through 2025. Hooker was limited to just nine games in 2022, but he had managed to rebound from a health standpoint this past year. He also set new career high in tackles with 85 and tackles for loss with three.
The former fourth-rounder also had one interception, seven pass deflections and a forced fumble this season. That ball production will be difficult to replace for the Titans as they close out a disappointing campaign. In the absence of Hooker (who logged a 98% snap share on defense), the team will likely move forward with Elijah Molden and Terrell Edmunds at the safety spot. The former made his return from injured reserve in Week 15, while the latter has primarily been used on special teams since arriving in a trade with the Eagles.
To fill Hooker’s roster spot, the Titans signed defensive lineman Marlon Davidson from the practice squad. Davidson had been a gameday elevation twice this season, meaning he would have needed to join the 53-man roster after the team’s next game if they intended to continue giving him playing time. Now, the former second-rounder will get further looks as he attempts to play his way into a deal for 2024.
Jonathan Taylor has been sidelined since Week 12 due to a torn UCL in his thumb, but he could be on the verge of returning to the lineup. Head coach Shane Steichen announced the team’s top running back is expected to play in Week 16. 
Indianapolis’ upcoming game against the Falcons was recently reported as a realistic spot for Taylor to return to action, so Steichen’s update comes as little surprise. Still, his addition to the lineup will be a welcomed development as the Colts continue their playoff push. Taylor (who has no injury designation after practicing in full this week) has been limited to seven games in 2023 while dealing with multiple injuries.
That includes the ankle ailment which lasted through Taylor’s turbulent contract talks. In the end, he landed a three-year, $42MM extension, raising expectations for his short- and long-term production. The 24-year-old has yet to reach 100 rushing yards in a game this season, however, and his 4.1 yards per carry average is the lowest of his career. Improving in that regard could help the 8-6 Colts stay in contention for a wild-card berth or even the top spot in the AFC South as the season winds down.
Taylor could handle a heavy workload if he is able to play on Sunday, particularly if Zack Moss is unavailable. The latter suffered a shoulder injury in Week 15, and he was forced to leave the win against the Steelers after just four carries. Moss has had a strong season to date, and the Colts enjoyed signficant success on the ground with Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson last week. Still, Taylor would provide another high-end option in the backfield to close out the season.
Steichen also revealed on Sunday that wideout Michael Pittman Jr. has cleared concussion protocol. That puts him on track to play against Atlanta on Sunday, a game in which Indianapolis could be at or close to full strength in the skill-position department.
At the end of the 2022 college football season, many expected Olu Fashanu to head to the NFL. Regarded as one of the top offensive tackles in last year’s class, he made the surprising decision to remain with Penn State for one more season. Now, though, he is prepared to turn pro. 
The redshirt junior announced on Friday that he has declared for the 2024 draft. Fashanu again finds himself in the conversation for the top offensive lineman (tackle or otherwise) available, and he will not need to wait long to hear his name called. He joins Notre Dame’s Joe Alt in turning pro this spring, and the pair will be in competition to be the first O-lineman taken off the board.
“A year ago I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to declare for the NFL draft,” Fashanu’s announcement reads in part. “I am forever grateful that I made the decision to come back and compete with my brothers one last time while also graduating.”
2022 marked the first full season as a starter for Fashanu, and he put himself firmly on the top-10 radar by earning All-American honors. After electing to remain in college for one more season, the 6-6, 313-pounder was again an anchor for the Nittany Lions up front, allowing just one sack in pass protection. Despite having been in school for four years, Fashanu will be just 21 through most of his rookie campaign in the NFL.
Given that, he profiles has having high upside along with an encouraging blend of size, athleticism and footwork. Fashanu is listed as a top-10 prospect in many draft rankings, and ESPN’s Matt Miller has him being selected fifth overall by Washington in his latest mock. The Commanders are one of several teams projected to be near the top of the order which will be on the lookout for a new left tackle (or at least offensive line help) this offseason. Fashanu will likely have the opportunity to serve as a starter right away once he begins his NFL career in September.
DECEMBER 22: When speaking to the media on Friday, head coach Mike Vrabel acknowledged (via ESPN’s Turron Davenport) that while Farley has “worked hard” to return to the lineup, he will not play in 2023. Having been eliminated from postseason contention last week, the Titans will take the cautious approach in this situation. Farley will enter 2024 as a pending free agent presuming Tennessee declines his fifth-year option, making the campaign one with major financial implications for him.
DECEMBER 20: Injuries have defined Caleb Farley‘s NFL career, and the former first-round pick is on the verge of missing an entire season. But the Titans can at least begin reevaluating the third-year cornerback in practice.
Stationed on the reserve/PUP list for nearly four months, Farley returned to practice for the Titans on Wednesday, TitanInsider.com’s Terry McCormick tweets. Farley’s latest back surgery, which took place in December 2022, sidelined him throughout the offseason and for the regular season’s first 15 weeks.
Farley has suffered two ACL tears — one during his freshman year at Virginia Tech, the other in 2021 — and has undergone three back surgeries since 2019. Farley underwent a surgery to address a 2019 back injury, and while he played 10 games that season to vault himself onto the first-round radar, he needed a microdiscectomy in March 2021. Farley has missed 36 NFL games since going off the 2021 draft board 22nd overall.
It is difficult to gauge Farley’s talent due to the injury struggles that have plagued him since his Virginia Tech days, but the Titans had begun to lose confidence last season. Coming back from his October 2021 ACL tear on time in 2022, Farley started just one game last season. During the nine games for which Farley dressed, he played only 17% of Tennessee’s defensive snaps.
The Titans fired Jon Robinson just before news of Farley’s impending back surgery broke, with ownership indicating the team’s injury issues during the GM’s seven-year run had become a concern. A first-round pick who has been unable to stay on the field, Farley likely loomed as a central figure in the team’s mounting case against keeping Robinson, who had signed an extension earlier in 2022.
Multiyear starter Kristian Fulton, chosen in the 2020 second round, is once again on IR. The contract-year cover man missed 20 games from 2020-22 and will be shut down for the season’s remainder due to landing on IR last week. Tennessee has 2022 second-rounder Roger McCreary and UFA pickup Sean Murphy-Bunting in place as its top corners to close out this season. Farley can be moved to the 53-man roster at any point before Week 18, and it will be interesting to see if the team activates him after another extended absence. The Titans will decline Farley’s fifth-year option before the May deadline, and this near-season-long absence has dealt another blow to his career stock.
The Jets will join the Browns and Vikings in starting four quarterbacks this season. Zach Wilson will be sidelined due to the concussion he suffered against the Dolphins, moving Trevor Siemian into the starting lineup against the Commanders.
Siemian, whom the team signed to its practice squad early this season, will follow Aaron Rodgers, Wilson and Tim Boyle as Jets starting QBs. Brett Rypien, a Nathaniel Hackett charge during the latter’s one-and-done season in Denver, is the backup. After an effort to poach Rypien off the Rams’ practice squad failed earlier this season, the Jets succeeded earlier this month.
This will be Siemian’s second start as a Jet. The journeyman passer debuted with the team during Week 2 of the 2019 season, one he began as Sam Darnold‘s backup. A Darnold mononucleosis bout ushered in Siemian, though the backup suffered a season-ending injury during that Monday-night game against the Browns. Although Siemian has been with seven NFL teams (Broncos, Vikings, Jets, Titans, Saints, Bears, Bengals), he has started for four.
Seeing their Rodgers-dependent plans go awry four plays into the season, the Jets are eliminated from playoff contention. The team turned to Wilson, punting on opportunities to bring in a more experienced backup in the offseason and then on a chance to acquire a better QB following Rodgers’ injury. Siemian, who had inquired with the Jets about an opportunity after Rodgers went down, circled back to the team in late September.
Siemian, 32 next week, has completed just 48.7% of his throws (19-for-39) in relief of Wilson and Boyle this season. The Bengals cut Siemian after Jake Browning beat him out for their QB2 job in August. Both summer Burrow backups will end up making starts, with Browning now having made four this season.
Robert Saleh confirmed Rodgers will not operate as the Jets’ emergency third QB. The future Hall of Famer, after a much-discussed comeback effort, was activated off IR this week. But Rodgers closed up shop on the bid to return to game action. He remains eligible to practice to close out the season, however.
The Jets’ evolving QB group will look different in 2024. Rodgers is planning to play a 20th season (and perhaps a 21st in 2025), but Wilson is unlikely to be retained in the fourth year of his rookie contract. Siemian and Rypien are on one-year deals. It is conceivable one of them stays as a third-string option, but the Jets will be expected to pursue a QB2 upgrade.
The Bengals have grown accustomed to Joe Burrow missing considerable practice time. ACL rehab (2021), an appendectomy (2022) and this summer’s calf strain have kept the star quarterback off the field during extended portions of training camp. More of the same could be coming in 2024. Burrow is on the shelf for the season’s remainder due to a wrist injury, one the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway notes is a tear in the scapholunate ligament. This injury will call for a four- to six-month recovery timetable.
Burrow going down in mid-November will put his availability for the team’s offseason program up in the air. It has not yet been determined if Burrow will throw during OTAs or minicamp, per Conway, who adds the injury damaged a ligament in the middle of his right wrist. Burrow underwent surgery on Nov. 27 in Pennsylvania. Given Burrow’s history of offseason setbacks, it would not surprise to see the Bengals keep the NFL’s highest-paid player on the shelf until training camp.
While Zac Taylor will be back for a sixth season as head coach, the next Bengals offseason program could feature a new offensive coordinator given the NFL’s demand for offense-oriented coaches and fifth-year OC Brian Callahan‘s role in Jake Browning’s early work replacing Burrow. Here is the latest from the AFC North:
- The Ravens already came to terms on an extension with Broderick Washington, but ascending defensive lineman Justin Madubuike is also believed to be in the team’s plans. Baltimore has an extensive history letting front-seven players walk in free agency and pocketing compensatory picks. Matt Judon, C.J. Mosley and Pernell McPhee are among the more recent examples here, but The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec offers that the fourth-year D-lineman is playing too well for the team to consider letting him go (subscription required). With the team looking for an interior rush presence for a while, Zrebiec points to a new deal or a franchise tag for the former third-round pick. Madubuike’s team-leading 12 sacks have bolstered a Ravens pass rush that again entered a season with questions. The Ravens, who did tag Judon before letting him walk a year later, would need to pony up at least $19.5MM to tag Madubuike.
- On the subject of interior D-linemen, two of the Ravens’ AFC North rivals attempted to claim fourth-year DT Teair Tart this week. The Bengals and Browns submitted unsuccessful claims for the veteran nose tackle, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. The Texans claimed Tart, who follows Derek Barnett as a Houston D-lineman claim this season. Although the Texans are 8-6, the Bengals are positioned in the playoffs presently due to tiebreakers. That worked in Houston’s favor on the wire.
- A recent report pegged Ogbo Okoronkwo as being out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, but the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot notes the Browns edge rusher has sought a second opinion and is not yet certain to be shut down. The Browns have not yet placed Okoronkwo on IR, pointing to a potential re-emergence. Although this season has featured three notable comebacks from pectoral tears (Avonte Maddox, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, DaQuan Jones), Okoronkwo suffering a tear, which Cabot indicates he has, would likely shut him down due to the timing of the injury. Maddox and Gardner-Johnson rehabbed from Week 2 maladies; Jones suffered his injury in Week 5. Okoronkwo avoiding a season-ending injury would obviously boost the Browns, who have seen a number of key performers go down with major injuries this year.
The Patriots’ three remaining games are expected to double as the final three contests of the Bill Belichick era in New England. Robert Kraft is believed to have made a decision to move on from the legendary HC. The process may soon become complicated.
With the Patriots holding Belichick’s rights through 2024, via the contract extension he agreed to earlier this year, they will hope to trade the 24-year HC and pick up an asset. Should the Pats travel down that road, the timeline could become an issue for both the team and Belichick.
As it stands now, however, Belichick is not seeking a divorce. The six-time Super Bowl-winning HC wants to stay in New England, according to the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin. Belichick-Kraft tension has simmered for years, dating back to the end of the Tom Brady era, and it would not exactly be surprising to see the parties’ working relationship end badly.
Belichick, 71, does not intend to resign, Volin adds, which will put some pressure on Kraft to find a trade partner. Kraft’s attempt at an amicable solution could drag well into the offseason, which would hamstring Belichick. If the process stalls, teams will move to other candidates during the frenzied winter hiring period. Each of the five teams seeking HCs this year had hires in place a day after Super Bowl LVII. The Patriots not finding a taker early also would limit their search for a Belichick replacement, though potential heir apparent Jerod Mayo‘s presence provides some protection for the team.
Going into the season, the Pats had hoped Belichick would return in 2024 before a potential baton pass to Mayo could take place. The Pats’ struggles look to have changed the plan, and a Belichick exit has been assumed for weeks. That said, the moving parts here could potentially force Kraft to fire Belichick in what would likely be labeled as a mutual parting. That would give the storied sideline presence free rein to pursue another job, and Volin reiterates the NFL’s second-winningest coach does not intend to retire after this season.
The Patriots have hit a wall with Belichick in place as their HC and de facto GM. While the historically successful defensive tactician has propped up the Patriots on that side of the ball, despite Matt Judon and Christian Gonzalez‘s early-season injuries, New England’s offense is once again wallowing near the NFL’s basement. The team benched Mac Jones for 2022 fourth-rounder Bailey Zappe, whose camp struggles had led to him being waived in August. The Pats’ JuJu Smith-Schuster signing has not produced much of consequence, with the team outfitting Jones and Zappe with a bottom-tier skill-position corps. If Belichick is to stay, there would likely be changes to the team’s power structure — one that has lost key personnel bastions Nick Caserio and Dave Ziegler over the past three years. Would Kraft sign off on another Belichick-run offseason?
It will be interesting to see if Kraft would be amenable to Belichick staying and becoming the rare lame-duck coach, as his contract is believed to expire after the 2024 season. The deal, per Volin, is believed to be worth at least $25MM, which is at or near the top of the HC ranks. No trade coming to pass would leave the Pats on the hook for that payout, though offset language from a Belichick contract elsewhere would help New England here. Kraft effectively issued a playoff mandate this offseason. For Belichick to fall well short of that goal and be retained would surprise, especially given the rumors that have emerged this season.
While a first-rounder was floated as possible Belichick compensation, Volin classifies that as highly unlikely. In addition to Belichick not wanting his new team to send the Patriots a valuable asset for his services, he is coming off back-to-back unremarkable years and is much older than anyone who has ever been hired as a head coach throughout NFL history. The Buccaneers made Bruce Arians the oldest HC hired; he was 66 at the time. Belichick will turn 72 in April.
Belichick’s extensive past with personnel power might also interfere with a team’s plans; that arrangement, should he still want such control, may be an issue for the Chargers. The Commanders are also not expected to hand over full control to their next HC, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. Ron Rivera and Martin Mayhew are expected to be fired at season’s end, and while Washington has not employed a particularly successful coach since Joe Gibbs‘ second stint, new owner Josh Harris is not planning to appeal to Belichick by offering full personnel control.
The easiest way for the Patriots to close this chapter would be a mutual parting (firing) at season’s end. If no suitable trade offer for Belichick emerges, that may be where this ends. For now, the Kraft-Belichick era persists. How much longer will it last?
In 2021, Nick Sirianni made a significant in-season change by handing play-calling reins to then-OC Shane Steichen. Shifting to a run-heavy approach, the Eagles began an ascent that produced a Super Bowl LVII berth a year later. Sirianni is attempting to make a similar save this season.
Hired as a senior defensive assistant this offseason, Matt Patricia is now calling the shots on defense. Sirianni did not strip Sean Desai of his defensive coordinator title, but Jonathan Gannon‘s successor has been effectively demoted. The third-year HC confirmed Patricia now has the final say on defense.
“I made the decision, what I thought I needed to do in the best interest of the football team,” Sirianni said, via AllPhly.com’s Zach Berman. “We made some adjustments there. I didn’t feel like we were playing and coaching well enough on defense, so I made an adjustment. It was my decision and that’s what I did.
“All the final decisions are made by Matt right now. As disappointed as Sean was, I think he handled himself like a true pro. Sean is still helpful to this football team because he has a bright mind and he can help and as I listened in on defense today they were communicating back and forth very similar to the way they communicated with the roles reversed.”
Patricia, 49, will not implement a new defensive system, Sirianni said, with the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane indicating the team views this as too late of a juncture for major schematic changes. But Patricia will be calling plays in the system Desai installed this offseason. The Eagles proceeded similarly in 2012, per McLane, when they elevated Todd Bowles in place of DC Juan Castillo. The team converted Castillo from an offensive line coach to DC after firing Sean McDermott, but Andy Reid made that change in October 2012. With this Desai-for-Patricia switch coming much later in the season, it is understandable the Eagles are not eyeing wholesale changes.
Excessive finger-pointing, particularly among certain defensive players, took place following the Eagles’ one-sided losses to the 49ers and Cowboys, ESPN.com’s Tim McManus adds. Considering where the Eagles were last year at this time, frustration was inevitable. Following Patricia’s first game in charge — a 20-17 last-second loss to the Seahawks — the Eagles rank 26th in scoring defense, 22nd overall and 23rd in DVOA. Gannon’s final season, as ignominiously as it ended, produced the league’s second-best total defense and No. 8 scoring defense.
The Eagles were prepared to hire Vic Fangio as DC, after he served as a consultant last season. But with Gannon’s Cardinals hire producing some controversy and a tampering sanction, Fangio ended up in Miami for high-end coordinator money. Desai worked under Fangio in Chicago and installed a similar scheme, though the Eagles still use a 4-3 look. Player support for ex-secondary coach Dennard Wilson existed, per McLane. Upon being passed over for Desai, the two-year Eagles assistant trekked to Baltimore to become the Ravens’ DBs coach. Going into the Seattle matchup, the Eagles ranked last in red zone defense and 30th on third downs; McLane adds Desai’s game plans had strayed from some of Fangio’s core concepts.
For Patricia, this represents a return to a prominent defensive role. He has not held such responsibilities since his 2020 Lions firing. This will become a prime opportunity for the longtime Bill Belichick lieutenant to showcase his chops away from New England, a challenge that has proven too much for many ex-Belichick aides. For Desai, 40, this Philly stay now has the look of a one-and-done. The 2021 Chicago DC spent last season as an assistant under Pete Carroll and DC Clint Hurtt in Seattle. While Desai generated interest from multiple teams this offseason, he is staring at two one-year DC tenures this decade.