HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Lions To Release S Tracy Walker

February 20th, 2024 at 3:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

C.J. Gardner-Johnson‘s injury led Tracy Walker back into the Lions’ starting lineup, but the veteran did not hold down the job. Detroit will now move on from Walker’s second contract.

Walker re-signed with the Lions on a three-year, $25MM deal in 2022, but an injury hampered him on that deal. The Lions are cutting bait Tuesday, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. Walker had bid farewell to Detroit on social media recently, and the 29-year-old defender will look for a new team soon.

An Achilles tear sustained in September 2022 altered Walker’s run in Detroit. The former third-round pick had started 37 games with the Lions before that injury. Although he returned to action as the Lions dealt with multiple injuries in their secondary last season, DC Aaron Glenn did not keep the Louisiana alum in his starting secondary. That makes this release unsurprising, as the Lions have some big payments to make in the near future.

Walker started 15 games in 2021, commanding a nice contract in free agency. The Lions reinvested despite Walker being a Bob Quinn-era draftee. The Brad Holmes regime showed faith in the young defender, but the Achilles injury occurring three games into that deal’s life prompted the team to make other plans. Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year, $6.5MM pact in 2023.

Walker did return in time for Week 1 and suited up for every Lions regular-season game, but he lost his job midway through. Pro Football Focus graded Walker outside the top 60 among safeties this season, and Glenn benched him in early December. Returning to a starting role following Gardner-Johnson’s Week 2 pectoral tear, Walker started six games and logged at least 69% of Detroit’s defensive snaps in four more. Over the Lions’ final five regular-season games, however, Walker played all of four defensive snaps. He did not suit up in the playoffs.

The Lions overhauled their secondary in 2023, adding Gardner-Johnson, Cameron Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley and Brian Branch to the equation. Branch became Detroit’s slot cornerback, while CJGJ stuck at safety. Gardner-Johnson and Kerby Joseph served as Detroit’s Week 1 safeties, and after giving Walker another shot, Glenn used Ifeatu Melifonwu alongside Joseph down the stretch. One season remains on the 2021 third-round pick’s rookie deal. Playing out a one-year deal marred by injury, Gardner-Johnson is due to be a free agent again next month.

If the Lions do not designate Walker as a post-June 1 cut, they will be charged with $7.3MM in dead money. The team used a void year to spread out Walker’s cap hit; that helped balloon the dead cap here. Detroit will pick up $5.5MM in cap savings by making this move, assuming a June 1 distinction is not part of the equation.

Raiders To Add Joe Philbin To Staff

February 20th, 2024 at 3:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Antonio Pierce has made a point to surround himself with experience on staff. The inexperienced Raiders HC has already hired Marvin Lewis as an assistant. Another former NFL leader will head to Las Vegas to join the recently elevated coach.

The Raiders plan to hire Joe Philbin as a senior offensive assistant, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. The Dolphins’ HC from 2012-15, Philbin was most recently an analyst with Ohio State. He served as the Cowboys’ offensive line coach from 2020-22. Like Lewis, Philbin is a former HC with extensive experience in the NFL.

Philbin has put in 19 years as an NFL staffer, being a coordinator and a head coach. The Packers also installed Philbin as their interim HC following Mike McCarthy‘s 2018 firing. Pierce, who has also relied on former Giants HC Tom Coughlin as an advisor since replacing Josh McDaniels last year, is certainly making a point to load up on veteran staffers. While Lewis is a defensive-minded coach, Philbin’s career has come on the offensive side.

Taking a chance on an atypical HC hire in Pierce, the Raiders will backstop him with veteran presences in Lewis and Philbin. The latter does not quite match Lewis’ 27 years of experience, but he has been in the league more recently. Lewis, 65, has not held a full-time NFL job since the Bengals fired him following the 2018 season. Philbin, 62, ventured to Dallas following his second Green Bay stint. The Cowboys fired him after the 2022 season; the venture to Ohio State marked Philbin’s first work at the college level since 2002.

Philbin, of course, is best known for his Miami tenure. The Dolphins went 26-30 under the mild-mannered HC, firing him (and naming Dan Campbell interim HC) early in the 2015 season. Philbin’s Miami time overlapped with Ryan Tannehill‘s first years in the NFL, but the former became an HC candidate following a run as OC during Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre‘s QB1 periods in Wisconsin. As OC under McCarthy from 2007-11, Philbin collected a Super Bowl ring. He was on Green Bay’s staff for Favre’s bounce-back season that ended in an overtime loss — to Coughlin’s Giants — in the NFC championship game and was in place as Rodgers took over, serving as the Pack’s OC during the first of the future Hall of Famer’s four MVP seasons.

Both Philbin and OC Luke Getsy have Packers pasts, but they did not work together in Green Bay. Getsy arrived in Wisconsin during Philbin’s Miami years and was Mississippi State’s OC during Philbin’s Packers return in 2018. Regardless, the Getsy and Philbin additions certainly does give Pierce’s first Las Vegas offense a Green Bay vibe.

The Raiders have also been connected to Hue Jackson, and they had been expected to add the former Oakland HC to Pierce’s staff. But the hire is not yet official. A senior assistant job would have made sense for Jackson, but it is possible that is no longer be in the cards thanks to this Philbin addition. Jackson, who has not coached in the NFL since his infamous Browns HC stay, was the Raiders’ HC in 2011.

Eagles Add RB Tyrion Davis-Price On Futures Deal

February 20th, 2024 at 12:59pm CST by Adam La Rose

In 2022, Trey Sermon saw his brief 49ers tenure come to an end by joining the Eagles. The same is now true of fellow running back Tyrion Davis-Price.

The latter signed a reserve/futures contract with Philadelphia on Tuesday, his agency announced. Davis-Price was added in the third round of the 2022 draft, but he was unable to carve out a role in San Francisco. He was waived in December after playing in just one contest. The 23-year-old cleared waivers and finished the season on the 49ers’ practice squad.

The Eagles lost Miles Sanders in free agency last offseason when he joined the Panthers on a four-year, $25.4MM deal. His chief replacement was D’Andre Swift, acquired via trade from the Lions during the draft. Swift earned his first career Pro Bowl nod by rushing for 1,049 yards and five touchdowns. He did not have as large of a pass-catching role as some expected he would, however.

Swift is a pending free agent, as are Boston Scott and Rashaad Penny. Today’s move will thus give the Eagles a young depth option in the backfield as they sort out their direction at the position for the offseason. Davis-Price has logged only 40 carries across seven regular season games. He has yet to record a reception, and he was not used heavily on special teams by the 49ers. The LSU alum thus faces an uphill battle to earn a 53-man roster spot.

Philadelphia now has three backs under contract, including fellow reserve deal signee Lew Nichols and returnee Kenneth Gainwell. Unless one or more of Swift, Scott and Penny are re-signed, the Eagles will no doubt be in the market for an addition at the RB spot. Regardless, Davis-Price will turn his attention to his new home as he looks to establish himself as a full-time contributor.

Falcons GM Terry Fontenot Addresses QB Pursuit

February 20th, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Adam La Rose

The Falcons are among the teams to watch on the quarterback market this offseason, either through the acquisition of a veteran passer or a rookie via the draft. A firm course of action has yet to be determined, but the organization has a move of some kind high on the to-do list.

Atlanta has 2022 third-rounder Desmond Ridder on his rookie contract for two more seasons. The team brought in veteran Taylor Heinicke last offseason on a two-year, $14MM deal to provide insurance, but neither signal-caller lived up to expectations in 2023. The latter can be released in a move yielding nearly $7MM in cap savings and only $2MM in dead cap charges. Regardless of if that happens, though, the Falcons will need to find a starting-caliber option this spring.

“That’s a top priority for us this offseason,” general manager Terry Fontenot confirmed during an appearance on NFL Network’s NFL Report (video link). “We are not going to close any doors. Be it trades, free agency [or] the draft. We’ll make sure we keep an open mind there. We’ll attack it and make sure that we get it right.”

At this point on the NFL calendar, team executives would generally be expected to keep their options as open as possible when making public remarks. Still, it is notable the Falcons are not leaving any avenue off the table with respect to adding a passer. Aside from Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield, few quarterbacks are set to hit the open market who could be worth a lucrative, multi-year investment.

On the trade front, Atlanta has been named as a team which could be a landing spot for Bears QB Justin Fields. Chicago has yet to commit to retaining or dealing Fields, but the latter option would present the Falcons (and other interested teams) with a young passer who could be under team control through at least 2025 via the fifth-year option. Set to pick eighth overall, Atlanta will be out of the range of the top QB draft prospects barring a trade up, but the team will still have options to consider in April.

For the time being, the Falcons have roughly $25MM in cap space. That figure will change during the course of cost-cutting season, but finances should be less of an issue for Atlanta than other QB-needy teams around the league given the inexpensive nature of the incumbent passers. Other roster holes such as receiver and edge rusher will need to be addressed this offseason, but an addition under center remains front of mind for Fontenot and Co. with roughly one month remaining until the new league year.

Tyron Smith Wants To Remain With Cowboys

February 20th, 2024 at 10:26am CST by Adam La Rose

Tyron Smith has been a mainstay on the Cowboys’ offensive line since 2011. His time with the franchise is in danger of coming to an end this spring, but that will not be the case if he has his way.

Smith is aiming to play one more season as a Cowboy, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reports. The 33-year-old is a pending free agent (although the restructured pact he agreed to last March will leave the team with a $6MM dead cap charge in 2024 even if he departs). Smith’s desire to remain in place will lead to an interesting decision on the team’s part given his injury history.

The 2010s All-Decade member has not played a full season since 2015. A number of ailments have led to missed time since then, including those which limited him to a combined total of six games in 2020 and ’22. Smith rebounded this past year by seeing the field for 13 games, all of which came at his familiar left tackle spot. That came after offseason indications pointed to the eight-time Pro Bowler remaining at right tackle, where he played upon his return to the lineup in 2022.

Dallas used a first-round pick on Tyler Smith in 2022 with the intention of using him at guard before succeeding Tyron Smith on the blindside. The latter’s torn hamstring accelerated that plan, but his return to pre-injury form in 2023 allowed Tyler Smith to slide back inside. Tyron Smith graded out as PFF’s fourth-best offensive tackle last season, in large part due to a league-best mark of 89.3 in pass protection.

Given his performance, the two-time All-Pro could be a logical candidate for a much shorter pact that the eight-year one he inked in 2014. On the other hand, the Cowboys need to prepare a plan to transition to younger options with respect to Smith and right guard Zack Martin. The latter is under contract for one more year with a guaranteed salary of $18MM and a $28.5MM cap hit. Dallas also has starting center Tyler Biadasz set to hit free agency, so retaining him would use up resources which could otherwise be given to Smith. With the Cowboys or another team, the latter nevertheless intends to play in 2024.

Patriots’ Matthew Slater Retires

February 20th, 2024 at 9:35am CST by Adam La Rose

Matthew Slater‘s NFL tenure has come to an end. The Patriots’ special teams ace announced on Tuesday that he has retired after 16 years with the franchise.

“In 2008, I came here as a young man with hopes and dreams,” his announcement reads in part. “In 2024, I can retire knowing this experience has exceeded any hope or dream I ever had.”

Slater played on one-year contracts in both 2022 and ’23, as the end of his career drew nearer. His final New England pact allowed him to carry on his familiar special teams capacity throughout the season. For the first time in his career, the former fifth-rounder did not see a single offensive snap. Slater was, however, on the field for a personal high 89% of the Patriots’ special teams snaps.

Throughout his run in New England, the UCLA product was one of the league’s best third phase players, something reflected in his accolades. With the exception of the 2018 campaign, Slater was named a Pro Bowler each year from 2011 to 2021. In that span, he also earned a pair of first-team All-Pro nods as well as three second-team honors.

Slater was a key member of New England’s coverage units throughout his career, although he also totaled 35 kick returns. He made 191 tackles across his Patriots tenure, adding another 22 stops in postseason play. The 38-year-old was a member of three Super Bowl-winning squads, another factor which will help his candidacy to join his father Jackie in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In all, Slater will hang up his cleats with 239 games under his belt; that figure ranks second in franchise history to Tom Brady. The former complied just over $30MM in career earnings while garnering a reputation as one of the league’s most highly-respected players. His attention will now turn to his post-playing days.

“I have given all that I possibly can to respect and honor the game,” Slater added. “Though it is time for my relationship with the game to evolve, the love I have for it will last a lifetime.”

Bucs’ Mike Evans On Track For Free Agency

February 19th, 2024 at 10:33pm CST by Adam La Rose

A number of contracts around the NFL are set to void today, the eve of the franchise tag window. In the case of the Buccaneers, that is the true of key pending free agents Baker Mayfield, Antoine Winfield Jr. and wideout Mike Evans.

Tampa Bay is eyeing an agreement with Mayfield before free agency opens one month from now. The tag looms as a logical course of action in Winfield’s case, meanwhile. For Evans, though, today’s contract change marked an unofficial deadline to work out a new deal. No movement on that front has taken place, leaving him on track to reach the open market in March.

No Evans signing will take place today, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. The parties have been in talks on a new deal, which would be his third with the franchise. As Russini adds, Evans and the Bucs are expected to continue negotiating “in good faith” through the franchise tag window and into the build-up for free agency.

However, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz notes the sides remain “far apart” with respect to terms on an agreement. As a result, significant progress will need to be made in the near future to avoid Evans hitting the market and thus opening the door to a departure. The 30-year-old helped his value in 2023 by delivering another strong season. Evans topped the 1,000-yard mark again, extending his career-opening streak to 10 years in that regard. He also tied for the league lead with 13 receiving touchdowns, developing chemistry with Mayfield through the season and Tampa Bay’s run to the divisional round.

Evans and the Bucs talked extension this past offseason, leading up to the former first-rounder’s self-imposed Week 1 deadline. The sides did not come close to an agreement, putting them in a similar situation to where they are now. Tampa Bay remained interested in a new deal during the season, but Evans upped his market value with his play. The Texas A&M alum will be hard-pressed to land a five-year contract like he did in 2018, but he could secure an AAV similar to the $16.5MM mark of his expiring pact,

Tampa Bay already has Chris Godwin on the books for the coming season at a cap hit of $27.53MM. He is set to cost $18.85MM in 2025, the first of three void years on his pact. Managing to retain Evans while also keeping Godwin in place will prove challenging if the Buccaneers are to also authorize Mayfield and Winfield to raises on either new multi-year deals or the franchise tag.

Winfield, Mayfield and Evans will now take up roughly $16MM in dead cap charges for 2024 with no new contracts being worked out today, Greg Auman of Fox Sports details. That has no effect on their pending free agency, but it could provide added incentive to the team to work out an agreement before the new league year. In Evans’ case, it appears that will not transpire.

49ers GM John Lynch Addresses Potential Brandon Aiyuk Extension

February 19th, 2024 at 10:31pm CST by Adam La Rose

The 49ers are set to have much of their salary cap commitments tied into a small group of high-priced veterans in 2024 and beyond. Brandon Aiyuk is on track to become one of them, provided he plays out his fifth-year option next year and/or agrees to an extension.

Aiyuk has been the subject of considerable speculation given San Francisco’s existing commitments at the offensive skill positions. That includes fellow receiver Deebo Samuel‘s through-2025 deal, which carries cap hits of $28.63MM and $24.2MM over the next two years. Aiyuk will make $14.12MM on his fifth-year option, but a new pact will cost far more. When speaking about the latter, general manager John Lynch notably declined to offer a firm promise an agreement will be worked out.

In past years, Lynch made it clear ascending players like Samuel and defensive end Nick Bosa would be retained with long-term roster planning taking major raises into account. The longtime San Francisco executive recently repeated that his preference would be an agreement with Aiyuk. He was less committal than he has been in cases like that of Samuel and Bosa, however.

“Yeah, there are some challenges,” Lynch said (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle) when speaking about Aiyuk’s financial situation. “I hope so. I think we’re set up to do [an extension]. It takes putting the whole thing together. And there’s also things we have to plan for going forward. You can’t just be reckless. We never will be.”

As Branch notes, right tackle Mike McGlinchey represents a recent example of a young starter who was floated as a trade candidate by the organization before ultimately departing in free agency (something which, in turn, came after DT DeForest Buckner was dealt ahead of the final year of his rookie contract in 2020). Aiyuk’s performances have have out-paced those of McGlinchey during his final 49ers years, and he would generate a highly competitive market if he were to reach free agency next spring. The Arizona State product has indicated he would prefer to remain in the Bay Area beyond 2024, but talks on a new deal will be worth following closely this offseason.

Plenty of time remains for the parties to come to an agreement, but the fact Lynch has not offered the same public assurances of an Aiyuk deal as he has in other cases is notable. Coming off a Super Bowl defeat, San Francisco’s short- and long-term roster-building efforts will hinge in large part on the team’s ultimate decision with respect to his future.

Raiders Hire Rich Scangarello As QB Coach, Fred Walker As Assistant

February 19th, 2024 at 10:26pm CST by Ely Allen

FEBRUARY 19: Las Vegas has made it official, hiring Scangarello as their new quarterbacks coach, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Pelissero informs that Scangarello was most recently assisting USC quarterback and presumed future-No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams with his pre-draft prep but will now head to the Raiders, a team that may be in the market for a young quarterback with O’Connell set as the future starter following Garoppolo’s expected release.

The team also announced the promotion of Fred Walker to serve as assistant quarterbacks coach under Scangarello, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Walker, who spent the past two years as an offensive assistant for the Raiders, recently interviewed for the Seahawks quarterbacks coaching job, a job that was instead given to Charles London.

FEBRUARY 18: The Raiders are close to finalizing their coaching staff under new head coach Antonio Pierce, with quarterbacks coach being one of the few remaining vacant positions. That isn’t for lack of trying, though, as the team has been conducting its search and, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, are narrowing in on a target.

Fowler reports that former University of Kentucky offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello is currently the front runner for the Raiders’ open position. The veteran offensive coach has reportedly been in the building this week, and it’s seeming like a deal could be in the works.

Scangarello has been coaching at some level since 1998, when he was a graduate assistant at UC Davis. Through 11 years at several college institutions, Scangarello eventually worked his way up to co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at UC Davis. He earned his first NFL opportunity as an offensive quality control coach for the Raiders in 2009. He left for his first full offensive coordinator opportunities at Millsaps and Northern Arizona. After another year as an offensive quality control coach in the NFL with the Falcons, Scangarello was drawn back to college once more as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wagner.

Scangarello made his return to the NFL with his first professional position coaching job as quarterbacks coach of the 49ers in 2017. It only took two years of coaching a menagerie of Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, C.J. Beathard, and Nick Mullens in San Francisco for him to get his first offensive coordinator opportunity with the Broncos in 2019. With Scangarello calling plays, Denver’s offense finished 28th in the league in both points scored and yards gained. He was fired by head coach Vic Fangio after only one year. After a year in Philadelphia as a senior offensive assistant, Scangarello returned for a second stint as the 49ers quarterback coach, once again mentoring Garoppolo.

Scangarello would leave San Francisco to take his most recent position at Kentucky in 2022. Under his play-calling, the Wildcats finished 112th (out of 131 Division I teams) in points per game and 116th in total offense. Once again, Scangarello’s time as a play caller would end after only one season. After sitting out the 2023 season, Scangarello appears set to return to the NFL.

His arrival in Las Vegas would, in theory, reunite him with Garoppolo, but the team is expected to release the veteran passer soon. Regardless, he’ll potentially be reuniting with Hoyer and would be set to coach second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell through his first offseason as the presumed starter.

AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Bills, Pioli

February 19th, 2024 at 10:09pm CST by Ely Allen

The dominoes continue to fall in NFL coaching circles and that’s certainly the case in the AFC East. The Dolphins made a trio of adjustments to their 2024 staff with two promotions and an external hire.

We learned about a week and a half ago that, after failing to land Miami’s defensive coordinator position, which went to Anthony Weaver, outside linebackers coach Ryan Slowik was set to remain on the team’s staff for next season in a different capacity. Thanks to Charean Williams of NBC Sports, we now know that Slowik’s new position will be as defensive backs coach and pass game specialist. Williams also informed us that assistant defensive backs coach Mathieu Araujo has earned a promotion, as well. Araujo will serve as cornerbacks coach in 2024.

Additionally, we learned today that University of Montana defensive coordinator Ronnie Bradford will be taking the role of senior special teams assistant with the Dolphins for next season, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Bradford has extensive history as an NFL special teams coach, even serving as special teams coordinator in Denver back in 2005, when both Slowik and head coach Mike McDaniel were low-level staffers for the Broncos.

Here are a few other staff updates from around the AFC East:

  • The Bills made a serious addition to their defensive staff with the recent hiring of Scott Booker as their new nickel coach and senior defensive assistant. Booker spent the last four years as safeties coach for the Titans, mentoring one of the league’s best in Kevin Byard. Thanks to ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg, we also learned that last year’s midseason hire, DJ Mangas, has earned a promotion in Buffalo. After spending the back half of the season as an offensive assistant, he will serve as an offensive quality control coach in 2024. The former teammate and roommate of offensive coordinator Joe Brady joined the team after Brady’s interim promotion last year.
  • Lastly, we learned that the Patriots had finalized their coaching staff today, but changes are still expected in the front office. Now, we know that New England plans to take their time in making the decisions in the player personnel department, but we did throw out a few names to watch for. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated believes that former Falcons assistant general manager Scott Pioli is another name that could be a factor. Pioli held the Patriots vice president of player personnel position for nine years back from 2002-08, essentially helping to set the stage for the team’s eventual dynasty.
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