HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/9/24

January 9th, 2024 at 8:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the reserve/futures deals handed out Tuesday:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Indianapolis Colts

  • S Kendell Brooks, G Lewis Kidd, S Michael Tutsie

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Chargers Request Seven GM Interviews

January 9th, 2024 at 8:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

8:09pm: The Chargers also put in a request to interview another Bears exec. Co-director of player personnel Jeff King will meet with the Bolts, ESPN.com’s Lindsey Thiry tweets.

The former Panthers and Cardinals tight end has been with the Bears since 2015, being with the team throughout the Ryan Pace regime. Poles moved King, 40, to his current post in 2022. This will be King’s first GM interview; he met with the Panthers about their assistant GM job in 2021.

5:58pm: Add Ian Cunningham to this list. The Bears’ assistant GM also received an interview request from the Chargers, Rapoport tweets. Cunningham joined Brown as an Eagles staffer who became an assistant GM in 2022, becoming Ryan Poles‘ right-hand man. Set to to have an important say in Chicago’s decision on Justin Fields, Cunningham also turned down the Arizona GM job last year.

2:43pm: The Chargers will make a belated push out of the starting blocks on their general manager search. Seeking to fill the role Tom Telesco held for 11 years, the AFC West team has sent out five GM interview requests thus far.

Former Dolphins GM-turned-Saints assistant GM Jeff Ireland is among them, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Also included here is Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay, according to the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins. 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters, Giants assistant GM Brandon Brown and Bills VP of player personnel Terrance Gray also received Bolts interview requests, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer and NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero.

This marks Ireland’s first entrance onto this year’s GM carousel. An Ireland-Sean Payton reunion has been rumored, but after rumblings of embattled Broncos GM George Paton being on the chopping block, it is looking like the Payton-Paton setup will remain in place. This would hinder an Ireland Denver move. Ireland worked with Payton for seven years in New Orleans, helping revive the franchise after a mid-2010s lull.

Given considerable credit for a Saints impact 2017 draft class that included Marshon Lattimore, Alvin Kamara, Ryan Ramczyk and Trey Hendrickson, Ireland has been the Saints’ college scouting director since his arrival in 2015. Ireland, 53, is still better known for his Dolphins years. He spent six years as Miami’s GM, but after the team (during Matt Cassel‘s QB1 year in New England) won the 2008 AFC East title, no more playoff appearances commenced. Still, Ireland brings more experience to the table than most on this year’s GM market. He has also interviewed for a few jobs — the Panthers, Lions and Bears — from 2021-22.

Although Jerry and Stephen Jones still make the final calls, McClay has been indispensable for the Cowboys over the past several years. Dallas has continually hit on first-round picks, with fourth-rounder Dak Prescott quickly becoming the franchise’s centerpiece player. McClay, 57, has been with the Cowboys since 2003 and has not been a regular during GM hiring periods. His most recent connection to a GM job came when he turned down a Texans interview request in 2018; it will be interesting to see if McClay agrees to the Chargers meeting.

Peters has received requests from the Commanders and Raiders. It would not be surprising to see every team request a meeting with the 49ers’ assistant GM, given the success the team has achieved during the Kyle Shanahan–John Lynch years. Gray is on the Raiders’ list as well, with Brown — following his second year as the Giants’ assistant GM — on the Panthers’ radar.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/9/24

January 9th, 2024 at 7:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Signed to one-year extension: T Devin Cochran

Miami Dolphins

Dealing with a gutted edge-rushing corps, the Dolphins signed three veterans on Tuesday. They added Justin Houston, Bruce Irvin and Malik Reed. These three join Emmanuel Ogbah and Melvin Ingram as notable edge rushers healthy for the AFC’s No. 6 seed.

Panthers, Chargers Request HC Interviews With Bengals’ Brian Callahan

January 9th, 2024 at 6:23pm CST by Ben Levine

JANUARY 9: Callahan will have a chance to meet with the Chargers as well. The Bolts requested an HC interview with the five-year Bengals OC, per Pelissero. Unlike the Panthers last year, the Chargers have not made their priorities clear in terms of coaching expertise. Callahan joins Ben Johnson, Todd Monken and OC Kellen Moore as offense-oriented coaches on the Bolts’ request list. Though, the team is interested in Jim Harbaugh. Moore interviewed for the job on Tuesday.

JANUARY 8: After firing Scott Fitterer earlier today, the Panthers have already started requesting general manager interviews. Apparently the organization isn’t wasting any time with their other major vacancy. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Panthers have requested an interview with Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan for their head coaching opening.

[RELATED: Panthers Request GM Interviews]

After being hired by the Bengals in 2019, Callahan’s offense would have a pair of underwhelming seasons before Joe Burrow took off in 2021. The Bengals offense ranked seventh in points in both 2021 and 2022, with the passing offense ranking top-10 in most categories between those two campaigns.

That performance earned him head coaching interviews in each of the past two offseasons. He was interviewed for the Broncos job in both 2022 and 2023, and he also earned interviews last offseason with the Cardinals and Colts. He got to the second round of interviews in Indy, an indication that he was on the brink of getting a HC gig.

The Bengals offense took a step back in 2023, although that was partly due to Burrow’s injury issues. That apparently hasn’t stopped the coordinator from generating head coaching interest, and he’s the first official candidate to replace Frank Reich (and interim fill-in Chris Tabor) in Carolina. While Callahan is the first definitive candidate, that hasn’t stopped pundits from speculating about other potential fits. We heard yesterday that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick could be an option in Carolina if he’s let go in New England.

One coordinator who won’t get a look in Carolina is Steve Wilks, who guided the Panthers to a 6-6 record while filling in for the fired Matt Rhule in 2022. Wilks was a main candidate to take on the full-time gig in Carolina, but owner David Tepper ultimately opted for Reich. Wilks went on to become defensive coordinator in San Francisco, and he helped guide the 49ers defense to a number of top-10 marks this season.

Despite his continued success, Wilks won’t be considered for the job in Carolina. Per ESPN’s David Newton, Tepper “won’t put aside his pride and admit he made a mistake” during last year’s coaching carousel.

49ers Work Out CB Casey Hayward, Expect Arik Armstead Back For Playoffs

January 9th, 2024 at 6:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jason Verrett ran into yet another unfortunate setback last week, suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in practice. The 49ers are looking at adding another veteran cornerback as insurance.

Enter Casey Hayward, whom KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes worked out for the 49ers on Tuesday. Hayward, 34, has not played this season. But the 49ers, as their continued Verrett interest and past in-season additions show, place value on veteran corners in the event of injuries to regulars. They again want a veteran corner on their practice squad, per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows.

San Francisco brought in the likes of Jackrabbit Jenkins, Josh Norman, Dre Kirkpatrick and Darqueze Dennard from 2021-22; that group joined Verrett, whom the team continued to prioritize in recent offseasons despite his near-annual injury troubles. Hayward spent last season with the Falcons, but the team cut him early during the 2023 offseason.

The former Packers, Chargers and Raiders cover man played well in 2021, garnering a two-year, $11MM Atlanta agreement in March 2022. But he sustained a shoulder injury that limited him to six games last season. A 118-game starter who played on five straight Gus Bradley-run defenses from 2017-21, Hayward was medically cleared this summer. The 49ers are in fairly good shape at corner, with Charvarius Ward making the Pro Bowl and Deommodore Lenoir, Ambry Thomas and ex-Hayward Falcons teammate Isaiah Oliver in place as sidekicks.

More relevant to the No. 1-seeded team’s Super Bowl chase: Arik Armstead appears set to return from his latest injury trouble. The veteran defensive tackle has missed the past five games due to foot and knee injuries. Armstead will practice this week, and Kyle Shanahan said (via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch) he could have played against the Rams — had the team needed to win its regular-season finale. A ninth-year 49er, Armstead has been pivotal to the team’s Nick Bosa-era D-lines. He is set to team with Bosa, Javon Hargrave and Chase Young upon returning for the divisional round.

The 49ers also designated safety George Odum for return from IR, ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner tweets. Odum, used primarily on special teams during his San Francisco tenure, suffered a biceps injury on Thanksgiving. While that malady was expected to sideline the former All-Pro for the season’s remainder, Odum will be in play to return for the 49ers’ divisional-round game.

The news on safety Tayler Hawkins and defensive end Clelin Ferrell is not as good. Ferrell is likely to miss a few weeks due to a knee injury, Shanahan said. The seventh-year HC did stop short of saying this is a season-ending setback, however. Despite the arrivals of Young and Randy Gregory, Ferrell — who had drifted to healthy-scratch status at points with the Raiders — has started all 17 games this season. Hawkins, a rookie UDFA who made his NFL debut in Sunday’s nonessential Rams tilt, suffered a season-ending wrist injury, the San Jose Mercury News’ Cam Inman notes.

Shanahan added Drake Jackson, who has been on IR since November with a knee injury, is not healthy enough to practice. In the event Odum comes back and Jackson is healthy enough to return, the 49ers are in good shape for injury activations. After using all eight of their IR-return moves during the regular season last year, they have five activations left.

Commanders Request Will McClay Interview; Panthers Interested In Cowboys Exec

January 9th, 2024 at 5:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

Will McClay has been with the Cowboys for over 20 years, coming up through the scouting ranks en route to holding a prominent position in the NFC East franchise’s front office. The veteran exec has been selective about GM interviews, but extensive interest has also eluded him in recent years. That looks to be changing.

In addition to the Chargers’ request to interview the Cowboys’ player personnel VP, the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins notes the Commanders have sent in an interview summons. The Panthers also have McClay on their GM radar, per SI.com’s Albert Breer, though no request has come in yet. That could be telling, considering how many requests Carolina already has out.

Based on McClay’s offseason history and his role in Dallas, it will be difficult to pry him from the Jerry– and Stephen Jones-led front office. McClay has not interviewed for a GM job in the 2020s, and he turned down requests from the Texans and Lions — and potentially other clubs — during the late 2010s. NFL teams have been aware of McClay’s impact for a while, but it looks like it will take a special offer to disrupt his current situation.

The Cowboys promoted McClay, 57, to current post in 2017. He has made an integral impact in Dallas, which has enjoyed great success with first-round picks over the past decade and change. Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb represent the latest such investments to hit big, but the Cowboys are still benefiting from the Tyron Smith (2011) and Zack Martin (2014) selections. Although the Joneses have final say, with Jerry Jones operating as the team’s nominal GM for decades, McClay holds considerable responsibility with the organization.

“I realize what my role and my structure is, what we do here,” McClay said in 2022. “I feel good about what we are doing. That is the job I am happy with now. If an opportunity comes up that makes sense, sure I will look at it. But I am happy where I am now. I am happy with the job, the role and how we do things.”

It will be interesting to see if McClay takes the Los Angeles or Washington meetings. The Commanders have kept GM Martin Mayhew on, along with executive VP Marty Hurney. The team is believed to be looking for a director of football operations-type hire. We heard recently the Commanders’ new ownership was interested in a football ops boss to oversee a GM, making it possible Mayhew and/or Hurney could stay on despite Ron Rivera‘s firing. The interviews for this new position are taking place at Josh Harris‘ home, per the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala.

Carolina’s situation, with David Tepper‘s reputation taking a slew of hits, would seem unlikely to be the one that pulls McClay out of Dallas. The Panthers also have already reached out to a number of candidates to replace Scott Fitterer.

Kellen Moore, Giff Smith On Chargers’ HC Interview List

January 9th, 2024 at 2:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

2:51pm: The Chargers also announced interim HC Giff Smith received an interview. Interim coaches often receive a chance to keep the job, but no interim tag has been removed since the Jaguars made Doug Marrone their full-time HC in 2017. Smith has been with the Chargers since 2016, mostly as defensive line coach, but is probably not a serious candidate to land the full-time HC gig.

2:09pm: Kellen Moore‘s move from Dallas to Los Angeles did not result in a Chargers uptick on offense, though the young offensive coordinator was not exactly dealt a great hand. Even after a wildly disappointing Bolts season that ended with the firings of Brandon Staley and Tom Telesco, the team is not done with Moore yet.

The Bolts are planning to interview Moore for their vacant HC job, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. This comes shortly after a report indicated Moore, 34, was unlikely to be under consideration for the HC position. But Chargers ownership will give the four-year Cowboys play-caller a chance.

Los Angeles dropped from 13th to 21st in scoring offense from 2022-23, but Justin Herbert‘s injury played a significant role in that. However, Herbert had not consistently shown his superstar-caliber talent under Moore for most of the season. The Chargers played most of the year without Mike Williams and All-Pro center Corey Linsley. Keenan Allen missed the team’s final games, while Austin Ekeler and Josh Palmer missed chunks of the season as well. Injuries are nothing new for the Bolts, and they had not previously ranked outside the top 20 in scoring offense since 2016.

The Chargers fired Joe Lombardi after two seasons, one of them a campaign (2021) in which Herbert was voted the AFC’s Pro Bowl starting QB. Dak Prescott also put together his best season after Moore’s Dallas exit, but the longtime Cowboys passer was productive in 2021 under Moore as well. Prescott’s return from injury that season produced a handful of HC interviews for the former NFL backup QB. Moore did not land any, but the Chargers hired him less than 24 hours after the Cowboys split.

Cooper Rush also kept the car on the road for the Cowboys during a Prescott injury hiatus in 2022, and the Cowboys respectively ranked first and fourth in scoring in 2021 and ’22. Despite an 8-8 season that led to Jason Garrett’s firing, Moore — elevated to the team’s play-caller at just 30 — guided Dallas to a sixth-place offensive finish in 2019. That prompted ownership to insist Mike McCarthy keep Moore. That partnership eventually fizzled, but Moore should still be in the mix for OC jobs — in the likely event he does not land the Chargers’ HC position.

Courtesy of PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker, here is how the Chargers look on the HC carousel so far:

Raiders To Interview Tom Telesco For GM

January 9th, 2024 at 1:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Fired by the Chargers last month, Tom Telesco brings 11 years of experience as a GM. At least one team will see what the longtime Chargers executive has to offer.

The Raiders have set up an interview with Telesco, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Although Champ Kelly has served as an interim GM, Telesco is the only candidate in this race who has previously been hired to head up a front office. This marks his first connection to a GM job since the Bolts fired he and Brandon Staley following the Raiders’ 63-21 demolition last month.

Telesco, who came to San Diego from Indianapolis in 2013, featured generally well-regarded rosters in Southern California. The Chargers received considerable hype often during Telesco’s tenure, despite the organization not having a reputation for big spending. The Bolts hired three first-time head coaches (Mike McCoy, Anthony Lynn, Staley) during Telesco’s tenure. Each made the playoffs, but overall, the Bolts were just 3-for-11 in playoff berths under Telesco.

That said, Telesco managed to craft a Philip Rivers-to-Justin Herbert quarterback pipeline. Telesco extended Herbert this past offseason, locking down the high-end talent through the 2029 season. That deal has made the Chargers’ HC job quite attractive. Telesco also drafted Pro Bowlers Joey Bosa, Derwin James and Rashawn Slater in the first round while finding perennial Pro Bowler Keenan Allen in the third. Injuries often intervened for the Chargers, who regularly experienced late-game letdowns — the most notorious coming in a 27-point wild-card collapse against the Jaguars.

Telesco, 51, was previously a Bill Polian mainstay. He was with the Hall of Fame exec in Buffalo, Carolina and Indianapolis. He rose from the scouting ranks to the Colts’ director of player personnel under Polian, collecting a Super Bowl ring for Indianapolis’ 2006 season, and spent one season under Ryan Grigson before the Chargers’ hire 11 years ago. Courtesy of PFR’s General Manager Search Tracker, here is how the Raiders’ GM pursuit looks so far:

Dolphins To Sign Bruce Irvin, Malik Reed

January 9th, 2024 at 1:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

Down their top three edge rushers due to season-ending injuries, the Dolphins are overhauling their outside linebacker group at an unusual time. Following the Justin Houston addition Tuesday morning, Miami will add two more edge defenders.

Bruce Irvin is signing with the Dolphins, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, who adds the team will also bring back Malik Reed. The latter, a former Vic Fangio piece in Denver, had spent time with Miami earlier this year. Irvin will be added to Miami’s 53-man roster; Reed will join the practice squad.

Since Thanksgiving, the Dolphins have lost Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb and Andrew Van Ginkel. This situation reminds of Fangio’s Broncos tenure, which almost never featured Chubb and Von Miller available together. Those Denver teams never advanced to the playoffs, though. The Dolphins are facing a rare situation as they venture into the wild-card round. On the edge at least, the 11-6 team will roll out a cast of 30-somethings to pressure Patrick Mahomes on Saturday.

This is team No. 7 for Irvin, who resumed his career as a Lions auxiliary pass rusher this season. Irvin, 36, signed with the Lions’ practice squad in November and played in two games. The former Seahawks first-rounder registered a sack while playing as a P-squad elevation. The Lions moved on in December. Like Houston, Irvin cleared waivers and has been waiting for another chance. The Dolphins’ unique quandary will provide it.

Irvin has made a habit of in-season arrivals in the final years of his career. The 12th-year veteran joined the Bears in mid-November 2021 and re-signed with the Seahawks in mid-October 2022. Irvin and Fangio have not previously crossed paths, but the former did play under Fangio disciple Clint Hurtt in Seattle last season. Irvin also has a history of excelling as a rental piece. He totaled 8.5 sacks for the Panthers in 2019 and collected 3.5 in eight Falcons games in 2018. The Dolphins may well need Irvin, as rookie backup Cameron Goode suffered a torn patellar tendon during what became a brutal night for the team in Week 18.

A Fangio charge for three seasons in Denver, Reed reunited with his former coach in March. But the Dolphins released Reed just before cutting their roster to 53 players in August. He spent time with the Raiders this season, playing in four games and starting two. A Miller-Chubb sub in Denver, Reed totaled 13 sacks between the 2020 and ’21 seasons.

Reed, 27, certainly will represent youth on what is now one of the older OLB crews in recent NFL history. Houston and the recently re-signed Melvin Ingram are 34, while Emmanuel Ogbah — whom Fangio benched this season — is 30. While obviously not an ideal setup going into a playoff game against a defending Super Bowl champion, the Dolphins have gotten creative during this time of need.

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