HEADLINES

Year: 2024

Latest On Steelers’ OC Situation

November 24th, 2023 at 12:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

After Matt Canada spent Monday preparing for the Steelers’ Week 12 game against the Bengals, Mike Tomlin informed him Tuesday morning he would not finish out his third season as offensive coordinator. This marked historically rare territory for the Steelers, who had not fired a head coach or coordinator in-season in 82 years.

Steelers players had voiced frustrations about the offense for weeks behind the scenes, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, and Najee Harris‘ public comments came days before Canada’s ouster (subscription required). While the team was united on keeping Canada during September and October, the run of poor performances on offense eventually led to the course change.

Regarding whose call this truly was, conflicting reports have come out. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac indicated Art Rooney II made this decision, while Mike Tomlin said Tuesday he was behind the call. The 17th-year coach taking responsibility is certainly on-brand, though The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly expresses doubt Tomlin truly decided to break with tradition and fire Canada. That said, Russini offers that it was indeed the veteran HC’s decision — after multiple discussions with Rooney — that produced the shakeup.

Calls for Canada’s firing came down last year and intensified this season. Tomlin gave Canada a third year, doing so after Kenny Pickett showed some promise late last season. The 2022 first-round pick has struggled this year and will enter Week 12 with just seven touchdown passes. The Steelers have been outgained in all 10 of their games, and they have not produced a 400-yard offensive game since Week 2 of the 2020 season.

Pickett’s close relationship with QBs coach and new play-caller Mike Sullivan did not affect this decision, Tomlin said. Sullivan worked as mostly a non-play-calling OC during his two-season Giants tenure. Though, he finished the 2017 campaign calling the shots for the Eli Manning-piloted offense, with Ben McAdoo being fired late in that season. Sullivan called plays for the Buccaneers from 2012-13. As the wheels began to come off for Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay ranked 13th and 30th offensively during Sullivan’s two seasons; the second came as the team transitioned to rookie Mike Glennon at QB.

The Steelers promoted their QBs coach to OC in 2021 (Canada) and 2018 (Randy Fichtner). Todd Haley was the team’s last outside hire for the position. Running backs coach Eddie Faulkner is the interim OC, though his lack of play-calling responsibilities do not point to long-term consideration here. Sullivan would seem the likelier candidate for the gig, based on his role and the team’s history. If the Steelers opt to go outside the organization, Kaboly adds Byron Leftwich has expressed interest in the job. The former Bucs OC made his interest known before Canada’s firing.

Leftwich would technically be an outside hire, but he has a past with the Steelers. He served as a Ben Roethlisberger reserve in 2008 and from 2010-12, joining longtime backup Charlie Batch in a deep QB room. Leftwich made one start for the Steelers, in 2012. The former QB spent four seasons as Tampa Bay’s OC. Despite Bruce Arians being an offense-oriented HC, he gave Leftwich the play-calling reins. This setup helped the Bucs win a Super Bowl in Tom Brady‘s first season and the ageless legend led the NFL in TD passes (43) and yards (5,316) in 2021. Brady and Todd Bowles expressed dissatisfaction with Leftwich last season, however, and the Bucs canned him in January.

Leftwich, 43, interviewed for the Ravens’ OC job this offseason but is not currently coaching. Although Rooney may or may not have insisted Tomlin fire Canada, Dulac adds the longtime HC will be the one who selects the next OC. Though, ownership will obviously need to approve Tomlin’s pick.

Eagles To Waive DE Derek Barnett

November 24th, 2023 at 11:05am CST by Sam Robinson

Mentioned in trade rumors before roster-cutdown day in August and prior to last month’s trade deadline, Derek Barnett did not end up being moved. The Eagles have since changed their tune.

The Eagles are waiving the former first-round pick Friday, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. The seventh-year defensive end, who re-signed with the Eagles in 2022, has not seen much playing time this season. But he profiles as a player expected to draw interest, per Schefter, now that he is unattached.

Barnett’s contract contains less than $500K in remaining base salary, which would not be much of an impediment toward a waiver claim. The trade deadline having passed makes all vested veterans subject to waivers. Barnett’s deal expires after this season, though passing through waivers unclaimed would lead to an early expiration.

On another deep Philadelphia defensive line, Barnett has played just 99 snaps. The former Tennessee standout has made just three tackles (one for loss) in eight games. The Eagles made Barnett a healthy scratch against the Cowboys earlier this month, and he missed the Chiefs matchup for personal reasons. But another healthy scratch may well have been in the cards for Barnett, who has been with the Eagles since going off the 2017 draft board 14th overall.

Philly allowed Barnett to gauge trade interest in August, and the defending NFC champions explored dealing him before the Oct. 31 trade deadline. Barnett, 27, remained an Eagle; he will now see if a bigger role is out there. Although the Eagles did not bring back Robert Quinn, the team still has a bevy of edge-rushing options. Brandon Graham re-signed, and Josh Sweat is signed to an extension. Philly has edge anchor Haason Reddick tied to a three-year, $45MM deal he has outplayed, and the team used a first-round pick on Nolan Smith. Patrick Johnson, a 2021 seventh-round pick, also resides on the Eagles’ 53-man roster.

Barnett signed a two-year, $14MM deal in 2022 but went down with an ACL tear in Week 1 of last season. The Eagles reduced his pay this offseason, though the redo upped Barnett’s 2023 guarantees to $3.5MM. While Barnett was not a part of the Eagles team that ventured to Super Bowl LVII, he is best remembered for his fumble recovery — following Graham’s fourth-quarter sack of Tom Brady — that helped the team prevail in Super Bowl LII. Barnett recorded five sacks during that 2017 rookie season and registered 6.5 in 2019 and 5.5 in 2020. Not becoming an upper-echelon pass rusher with the Eagles, Barnett still started 45 games for the team.

With just about every team possessing inferior D-line depth to the Eagles, Barnett should find more playing time elsewhere. Ex-Eagles DCs reside in Arizona (Jonathan Gannon) and Cleveland (Jim Schwartz). A landing with a contender makes sense, but should a team potentially view Barnett as a multiyear option — via the exclusive negotiating rights that last until mid-March — a waiver claim to preempt a free agency situation would make sense.

49ers Fear S George Odum Will Miss Rest Of Season

November 24th, 2023 at 9:26am CST by Sam Robinson

Back in dominant form after a midseason slump, the 49ers did not escape their one-sided Thanksgiving win without another major injury. A week after losing Talanoa Hufanga to a torn ACL, San Francisco is likely to be without George Odum moving forward.

The veteran special-teamer left Thursday’s game after sustaining a biceps injury, and Kyle Shanahan said (via 49erswebzone.com’s David Bonilla) the All-Pro role player “most likely” suffered a tear. Odum, 30, is in his second season with the 49ers.

An MRI has since confirmed a tear, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, though with this a two- to four-month recovery, the possibility of Odum coming back late in the season remains open. The 49ers have a better injury outlook compared to 2022, when they used all eight of their IR activations during the regular season. An Odum return sounds doubtful, but the team could probably make it work roster-wise.

Odum left the game after DeeJay Dallas‘ muffed punt gave the 49ers possession in the second quarter. The 49ers may not feel this impact their secondary directly, but the depth is running thin at this position. Signed to a three-year, $5.7MM deal during the 2022 offseason, Odum has played only 37 defensive snaps this year. This comes after he logged 38 in 2022. But the 49ers are set to lose a top-tier special teams talent and a player with some starting experience on defense.

Coming to San Francisco from Indianapolis, Odum started seven games for the Colts in 2021. He has also collected two All-Pro honors for ST work, earning first-team acclaim in 2020 and second-team recognition after his first 49ers season. The former UDFA has 12 tackles this season.

The 49ers played their Week 12 game with three safeties — Odum and starters Tashaun Gipson and Ji’Ayir Brown. At least one roster move will come out of this latest injury setback. The team lost Jimmie Ward in free agency but added Brown in Round 3 of this year’s draft. While second-year UDFA Tayler Hawkins resides on San Francisco’s practice squad, the NFC West leaders may need to look outside the organization for a depth piece in the wake of Hufanga and Odum’s injuries.

Aaron Rodgers Hoping To Return To Practice Soon, Regardless Of Playoff Contention

November 23rd, 2023 at 9:42pm CST by Ely Allen

Despite defying medical norms and risking the obvious possibility of reinjury, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers continues to claim his intentions to return by mid-December. According to Rich Cimini of ESPN, the veteran passer hopes “to be trending towards practicing by” his 40th birthday on December 2.

Rodgers made ambitious claims of a mid-December return about two weeks ago before backtracking those comments quite a bit. Not only did Rodgers hesitate to commit to his accelerated timeline for a return, but he also decided to hedge his return bid on whether or not the team was still in playoff contention by the time he was healthy, saying that if the Jets were “not in it in three or four weeks, that could take (his timeline) a different way.”

After a three-game losing streak that has left New York at 4-6, currently good for the 14-seed in the AFC (seven spots outside of a wild-card spot), a playoff bid seems like a long shot. Still, Rodgers pointed out examples of other 4-6 teams in NFL history, namely the 2016 Packers and 2009 Jets, who started out 4-6 before rallying their way to Conference Championship Games, as reasons not to count out the struggling Jets of 2023.

Once again, Rodgers’ stance seems to have changed as Jay Glazer of FOX Sports informed us this morning that Rodgers no longer is concerned about the Jets ability to contend for a playoff spot. Glazer claims that, even if the Jets are out of the playoff race, Rodgers “still wants to show he was able to come back faster from that Achilles tear – faster than pretty much any quarterback ever.” Rodgers is so dead set on this goal that he isn’t even aiming to return to full form. He doesn’t feel the need to be able to escape the pocket and scramble, he just wants to be able to say he was able to come back into a game this season and play some form of the quarterback position.

Rodgers reportedly hopes to rejoin the team this week, though that likely doesn’t mean a return to practice. If the team abides by Rodgers’ wishes to return around his birthday, December 6 becomes the likely date of designation for return, at which point, his 21-day practice window would open. This would allow Rodgers to be activated in time for the Jets’ Christmas Eve matchup with the Commanders, a date that has been mentioned as an unofficial target for return.

That’s a big “if,” though, as head coach Robert Saleh has set the record straight. Saleh claims that Rodgers’ updates and targets are all “a moot point” until the doctors clear him. While he had said days ago that he will not block Rodgers’ route to a return, Saleh clearly has some stipulations that need to be met in order for the quarterback to return to the field. Regardless of how ready Rodgers feels or how far ahead of schedule he claims to be, Saleh is most concerned about the opinions of the team’s doctors, who will need to clear Rodgers in order to open a path for return.

So, according to Rodgers’ own reports, he’s on track to return by mid-December, far ahead of schedule for any previous such cases of recovery. Even if he’s not quite healthy enough to play like the four-time MVP he is, he’ll consider it a win just to return to the field at all. Saleh, though, warns not to weigh Rodgers’ comments too heavily, as the approval from team doctors still reigns as the weightiest opinion in the matter.

Titans Committed To HC Mike Vrabel

November 23rd, 2023 at 9:35pm CST by Adam La Rose

Speculation regarding the NFL coaching cycle in 2024 will no doubt continue to pick up in the coming weeks. One team connected to a potential change by some is the Titans, but it appears highly unlikely a shake-up will be coming.

Mike Vrabel has emerged as a potential candidate for the Patriots in the event Bill Belichick is no longer in place by the start of the 2024 campaign, a scenario which has been gaining steam throughout the season. Vrabel – who spent much of his playing career in New England and is a highly-regarded staffer within the Patriots’ building – was labeled a ‘home run’ candidate earlier this season with respect to potential Belichick successors.

However, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports the Titans are still fully committed to Vrabel as their head coach (subscription required). That sentiment is shared throughout the organization, she adds, which likely means general manager Ran Carthon – hired this past offseason – is on board with Vrabel remaining in place. Changes in the front office are often accompanied by a shake-up on the sidelines in the NFL, but Tennessee’s decision to avoid such a move in 2023 represented a sign of faith in Vrabel.

The 48-year-old guided the Titans to a winning record in each of his first four seasons at the helm. That included the 2021 campaign in which Tennessee went 12-5 and Vrabel took home Coach of the Year honors. Since then, however, things have taken a turn for the worse. The Titans went 7-10 last season as they saw a lead in the AFC South slip away late, and the 2023 campaign has seen quarterback Ryan Tannehill‘s struggles on the field and in the injury department continue.

With rookie Will Levis now under center, the Titans sit at 3-7 on the year. With a second straight season outside the playoffs on deck, speculation has emerged regarding Vrabel’s job security. He is attached to an extension signed in 2022, however, so with term remaining a major disappointment to close out the year would likely be needed to change the organization’s thinking. Acquiring Vrabel while still under contract would require draft compensation from the Patriots or any other interested team.

While Belichick’s status in New England will be worth watching closely down the stretch, today’s update would seem to take the Patriots out of contention for Vrabel. The latter could prove the Titans’ confidence to be well-founded with a strong showing to close out the year, but for the time being he appears to be safe in Nashville either way.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/23/23

November 23rd, 2023 at 8:08pm CST by Ely Allen

Thanksgiving Day transactions from around the league:

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Horton, a fourth-round rookie out of TCU, released a statement from the team that he is “dealing with a personal health matter that will keep (him) away from the team for an indefinite period of time.” His spot on the roster will be taken by Hyder, a practice squad end who is one of several former 49ers defenders to join head coach DeMeco Ryans in Houston.

The 49ers have upgraded one of their cornerback roster spots, subbing Womack in off the injured reserve for Jean-Charles. Womack was a much more active participant in his rookie season last year than Jean-Charles has been for the 49ers so far this season. While Womack was ready to return, the same could not be said for rookie fifth-round defensive end Robert Beal Jr. Beal was downgraded to out for tonight’s game and will remain on IR with his 21-day practice window still open for four more days.

Meanwhile, Miami and New York are making their standard gameday elevations for the league’s first ever Black Friday football game tomorrow.

Seahawks Activate CB Coby Bryant From IR

November 23rd, 2023 at 7:08pm CST by Rory Parks

NOVEMBER 23: After placing rookie sixth-round safety Jerrick Reed II on IR following a torn ACL, Carroll was indeed able to find room on the roster for Bryant. The second-year Cincinnati product is now set to return to a crowded cornerbacks room led by Witherspoon, Woolen, and Brown with solid contributions from Jackson and Burns. Brown seems to have taken his third cornerback role while Jackson started ahead of him all last year, so it will be interesting to see how Bryant fits into the defense moving forward. Reed, in his first season out of New Mexico, hasn’t been asked to do much as a rookie on defense but is currently third on the team in special teams tackles.

In addition to the two IR transactions, the Seahawks also activated practice squad quarterback Brett Rypien for tonight as a standard gameday elevation. They’ll hope he’s not necessary, but with Geno Smith banged up heading into the Thanksgiving Day matchup with the division-rival 49ers, Rypien will serve as Drew Lock‘s backup should Smith be forced to the bench for any reason.

NOVEMBER 19: The Seahawks selected Coby Bryant in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, and Bryant appeared in all 17 games in his rookie season, including six starts. He also enjoyed a 65% snap share.

He started the first two games of the 2023 campaign at nickel and played in 77% of Seattle’s defensive snaps despite exiting the club’s Week 2 contest early due to a toe injury. That injury ultimately forced the ‘Hawks to place Bryant on injured reserve.

According to head coach Pete Carroll, Bryant is healthy and is ready to return to the field (via Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic). However, the Seahawks have not yet opened his 21-day practice window because they feel they do not have enough room for him on the active roster.

That serves as both an indictment of Bryant’s play as well as a testament to the quality of Seattle’s cornerback depth chart. Rookie Devon Witherspoon, the No. 5 overall pick of this year’s draft, has been on the field for every defensive snap this season, and he has thrived. Pro Football Focus’ metrics presently position the Illinois product as the eighth-best corner in the league out of 109 qualified players, and the 55.2% completion rate and 80.7 quarterback rating he has yielded support that assessment. He has also amassed two sacks, a pick-six, and 12 passes defensed.

Riq Woolen, who earned a Pro Bowl nod and led the league with six interceptions in his rookie season in 2022 — he was selected one round after Bryant — is enjoying a solid sophomore season, and he rarely comes off the field. Tre Brown, meanwhile, has a 60% snap share and has generally played well, and Michael Jackson and Artie Burns have been useful complementary pieces.

Bryant, who was tied for third in the league with four forced fumbles in 2022, has struggled in coverage, having yielded a 75% completion percentage and 116.5 QB rating in 2022 and a whopping 90% completion percentage and 98.7 QB rating this year. In his limited action in 2023, PFF assigned him an abysmal 39.1 coverage grade.

As such, Bryant may need to wait for an injury or a sudden downturn in performance from one of his fellow CBs to come off of IR and aid in the Seahawks’ push for an NFC West title.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/23/23

November 23rd, 2023 at 6:29pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Houston Texans

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo reportedly didn’t practice yesterday due to injury issues with his back, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN. Atlanta will make sure their backs are covered with the signing of Wright, just in case.

Wells was waived by the Bucs yesterday in order to make room on the roster for linebacker J.J. Russell. He finds his way back to Tampa by way of a practice squad contract.

Ravens Aiming To Retain Justin Madubuike

November 23rd, 2023 at 5:28pm CST by Adam La Rose

Justin Madubuike entered 2023 with the potential to boost his free agent stock through a strong performance in the final year of his rookie contract. To say he has done so would be an understatement to say the least.

The Ravens defensive lineman has enjoyed a breakout campaign this year, essentially upping his market value on an every-game basis. Madubuike has easily surpassed his previous career-high for sacks in a season with 9.5 and counting. That figure leads the team, and he has recorded at least 0.5 sacks in eight consecutive contests.

That production has the 26-year-old in line for a signficant payday this offseason. A report from last month made it clear teams around the NFL expected a notable raise to come Madubuike’s way either on a Ravens extension or a deal from an outside team. The DT market made considerable gains in 2023 with Quinnen Williams, Jeffery Simmons, Daron Payne, Dexter Lawrence and Ed Oliver among the young contributors at the position who landed sizeable second contracts with their respective teams.

Madubuike could very well be next in line to join that group from a financial standpoint. Oliver’s Bills deal carries an AAV of $17MM, while the other four aforementioned players range between $22.5MM and $24MM in that regard. No firm numbers have emerged with respect to an asking price from Madubuike, but to no surprise Baltimore is interested in reaching an agreement. The Ravens hope to retain the Texas A&M product, Dianna Russini of The Athletic writes (subscription required).

Baltimore already made one notable investment in its D-line in 2023, signing Broderick Washington to a three-year, $15.75MM extension in the summer. Madubuike, a fellow 2020 draftee, will be able to command a much larger deal than that if/when he reaches the open market. Working out a long-term agreement with the latter could prove to be a challenge for the Ravens, given the structure of Lamar Jackson‘s mega-contract and its scheduled jumps in cap hits in future years.

Of course, the franchise tag could be an option at Baltimore’s disposal to at least prevent Madubuike from reaching free agency. The one-year tender is projected to cost roughly $20.9MM, a sign of the upward trend the DT market experienced last summer. The Commanders took the franchise tag route with Payne before ultimately working out an agreement. A similar path could be in store for Madubuike and the Ravens, though it will be interesting to see how high his asking price climbs in the wake of his breakout campaign.

No Ongoing Extension Talks Between Cowboys, Dak Prescott

November 23rd, 2023 at 3:11pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Cowboys are once again positioned to make a postseason run, in no small part due to the play of Dak Prescott. Dallas’ franchise quarterback is set to be a central storyline this offseason due to his contract situation, but no developments on that front are expected in the near future.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has left the door open to in-season negotiations on a new Prescott contract, but since last month the expectation has been talks on another extension will wait until after the campaign. Indeed, no discussions have taken place at this point concerning a re-up, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports.

Jones has made it clear numerous times that keeping Prescott in the fold well beyond 2024 (the final year of his current deal) is a priority for the ograniztion. The idea of an extension gained steam this offseason, with multiple restructures having spiked Prescott’s cap hit for next year to an untenable $59.46MM. After earning a four-year, $160MM deal in 2021, the two-time Pro Bowler will again be set up nicely for a lucrative pact.

Prescott, 30, sits in a tie (with Daniel Jones) for 10th in the NFL in terms of annual compensation on his current deal. His next one will move him up the pecking order significantly, especially if his 2023 performance (which includes a career-high completion percentage of 70.1%, along with touchdown and interception rates better than his career averages) can be continued down the stretch. Coming to terms on a second extension will be pricey for the Cowboys, but it will mark one of several major financial priorities.

Dallas has not only Prescott’s contract to sort out, but also new deals for the likes of edge rusher Micah Parsons and wideout CeeDee Lamb to work on. The latter two players have had standout campaigns, putting them in line to move at or near the top of the market of their respective positions with their second contracts. Clarity on how much room the team has for Parsons and Lamb in particular is something Dallas has long been eyeing as it pertains to Prescott’s re-up.

The Cowboys are currently projected to find themselves near the bottom of the league in 2024 cap space, though plenty of financial maneuvering is yet to take place until the new league year begins in March. Flattening out Prescott’s cap hit for that season – while ensuring his future in Dallas for years to come – will certainly help in the team’s other efforts to maintain its young corps. It will be interesting to see how much progress will have been made by that point on the NFL calendar.

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