HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Matt Capurro To Depart Seahawks, Rejoin Raiders

January 31st, 2025 at 12:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

Pete Carroll‘s first Raiders staff is taking shape. To no surprise, a familiar face will be joining him in Vegas for 2025.

[RELATED: Carroll, GM John Spytek To Share Authority With Raiders]

VP of coaching operations Matt Capurro is departing the Seahawks to join Carroll and the Raiders, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reports. He has a history with Caroll dating back to their time spent together at USC and, later, Seattle. His Seahawks tenure reached its 15th season in 2024, so his absence will be notable.

Capurro’s tenure in the NFL also includes time with Al Davis and the Raiders. He was in Oakland from 2003-08, so he will be no stranger to Carroll or the organization. It will be interesting to see what kind of role Capurro takes on in Vegas, but for the past three years in Seattle he oversaw a number of day-to-day operations as a key figure on the team’s coaching staff. It would come as no surprise if he found himself in a similar capacity with the Raiders.

Carroll took a three-year deal to return to an NFL sideline; the team has an option for a fourth season. The strength of the AFC West has tempered expectations for the Raiders regarding their 2025 outlook, but a notable quarterback addition this offseason could of course change things. Patrick Graham will remain in place for a fourth season as defensive coordinator, while former Carroll colleague Darrell Bevell is the favorite to land the Raiders’ OC gig. Tom Cable could be in line for a Carroll reunion (and third stint with the organization), so plenty of familiar faces could be in place once next season begins.

In other Vegas coaching news, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports John Glenn is being hired as linebackers coach. Glenn served in that capacity for six years under Carroll with the Seahawks before working as an assistant special teams coach with the Commanders in 2024. He will now head to Vegas as Carroll continues to assemble his initial Raiders staff with coaches he has a history with.

Nick Caley Turned Aside Jets’ OC Interest; Tanner Engstrand Still Frontrunner

January 31st, 2025 at 9:53am CST by Adam La Rose

Aaron Glenn moved quickly in finding a defensive coordinator for his first Jets staff. On the offensive side of the ball, further clarity has emerged regarding the two top candidates.

SNY’s Connor Hughes reports Nick Caley was New York’s top choice for the OC gig. The in-demand Rams tight ends coach was not interested in joining the Jets, he adds. Caley – who also took on the role of pass-game coordinator this season, his second in Los Angeles – was among the names to watch regarding offensive coordinator options once it became clear Glenn was on track to land the Jets’ head coaching position.

A subsequent report confirmed the 42-year-old was New York’s No. 1 candidate for the position. In spite of that, Caley has elected to turn his attention elsewhere. The Jets face uncertainty over Aaron Rodgers‘ future and therefore their outlook at the quarterback position, making their opening one which can be seen as less attractive than others around the league. Caley has interviewed with the Texans and Buccaneers for their OC positions, and he will likely remain in the running on at least one of those fronts as the coordinator landscape takes shape in the coming days.

With their top option off the market, Hughes adds that Tanner Engstrand remains the Jets’ likely hire for offensive coordinator. Earlier this week, it was reported a confidence exists around the league for the Lions’ pass-game coordinator to follow Glenn to New York, so today’s update comes as no surprise. Engstrand, 42, arrived in Detroit in 2020, and spent the past four years working alongside Glenn under head coach Dan Campbell. An internal promotion was considered by the Lions after Ben Johnson‘s departure, leaving Engstrand as a candidate to remain in the Motor City for 2025.

Instead, the Lions went with John Morton as their new OC, leaving Engstrand’s future in the air. The latter could of course remain in his current position for 2025, but joining the Jets would allow him to handle coordinator duties in the NFL for the first time in his career. No other team has shown interest in Engstrand to date, but it would come as no surprise if an in-person Jets interview were to be arranged in the near future with a hire following shortly therafter.

With the Jets’ search potentially entering its final stage, here is an updated look at where it stands:

Bengals Want To Re-Sign Tee Higgins At ‘Right Number’

January 30th, 2025 at 10:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

Duke Tobin has made definitive proclamations on Tee Higgins during each of the past two winters. The de facto Bengals GM declared his No. 2 wide receiver unavailable in trades at the 2023 Combine and then franchise-tagged him last year. Barring a second franchise tag, Higgins is poised to hit the market.

Higgins would vault to the top tier of this year’s free agent crop if not re-tagged, and although Joe Burrow has stumped for the Bengals to keep the high-end Ja’Marr Chase sidekick, Tobin’s latest comments do not point to that being the likely scenario. The veteran personnel exec said the Bengals want to retain Higgins; as could be expected, however, Tobin acknowledged the challenges this effort will bring.

[RELATED: Early Expectations Point To Higgins Exit]

“It’s going to be hard,” Tobin told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway on the subject of a Higgins re-signing. “We feel like we have the resources to do it, but it all depends on how the negotiation goes and whether they’re willing to accept wanting to come back at a number that makes sense for everybody. And you know what we do with Tee going forward, I’ve always been very upfront in my desire to have Tee Higgins on our team.

“I’ve never not been upfront about that, and that desire continues, but we have to be able to come together with his representation on what that means and what the right number is for his experience, for his play time, for his production.”

Considering where the wide receiver market has gone and the price hike Chase’s first-team All-Pro season likely will bring, the Bengals will have their work cut out for them regarding any effort to convince Higgins to take a discount. The team already denied the five-year veteran a chance to capitalize on his value in free agency last year, via the tag.

Higgins has changed agents and could certainly sign a deal north of $25MM per year on the open market. Where the cap settles will help shape Higgins’ price, but a two-time 1,000-yard pass catcher becoming available ahead of his age-26 season will ignite a bidding war. The Patriots are among the teams expected to be involved.

The last time true negotiations between the Bengals and Higgins transpired, the team submitted a below-market offer believed to be well south of even $20MM per year. The team has not conducted serious negotiations with Higgins since the first half of 2023; Higgins was the only tagged player last year not subsequently extended. Cincinnati is again free to do so, with the season having ended, and holds exclusive negotiating rights until March 10. But it would take a monster proposal for the Bengals to keep Higgins from testing free agency. Based on Tobin’s comments, it does not appear that should be expected.

“Let’s find something that works for everybody, because he is a guy that we want to have here, and hopefully that can come together, but we have other guys who are trying to take big bites of the apple in other areas, and we’re going to have to balance those as we go forward,” Tobin said.

Tobin did tell Conway he meets with Burrow to start each offseason, effectively keeping the superstar passer in the loop, but the exploding WR market — one that will be set to include a market-setting Chase extension before too long — may talk louder here. Although D.J. Moore is a more accomplished player, his $27.5MM-per-year Bears accord did not involve multiple suitors. Brandon Aiyuk‘s market did, to a degree, as the 49ers let him gauge the market in a complex process. That produced a $30MM-per-year deal with $76MM in total guarantees. That could be the price range for Higgins, as the market’s top five consists of first-team All-Pros. Higgins has yet to make a Pro Bowl.

Some execs are quite skeptical the Bengals, with the $55MM-AAV Burrow deal on their books, will pay Higgins market value, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler adds. With Chase almost definitely set to ask for more than Justin Jefferson‘s Vikings payday ($35MM per to go with $110MM guaranteed), it seems doubtful a Bengals franchise not known for lavish spending will pony up what is necessary.

A second tag would cost Cincinnati $26.2MM. While not too much has come out suggesting that is realistic, it would be a way for the Bengals to either reassess their options — after the team underachieved in 2024 — or obtain value in a trade. Projected to hold more than $46MM in cap space, the Bengals will have until March 4 to apply a second Higgins tag. Otherwise, the team could lose a core player for a mere 2026 compensatory pick.

Jaguars Hire Anthony Campanile As DC

January 30th, 2025 at 10:38pm CST by Ben Levine

Liam Coen has landed his new defensive coordinator. The Jaguars are hiring Anthony Campanile to run their defense, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The Jaguars have since announced the move.

“Anthony Campanile represents exactly what we want to be as a defensive unit and football team,” Coen said in a statement (via Bleacher Report’s James Palmer). “He brings an aggressive defensive mindset and a system that is adaptable to our players and allows them to play fast and physical.”

Following a long stint coaching college football (including a one-year look as Boston College’s co-defensive coordinator), Campanile has seen a rapid rise through the NFL ranks. He got his first NFL job with the Dolphins as their linebackers coach in 2020, and he ended up spending four years in that gig. After going empty handed during Miami’s search for a new DC, Campanile left for a promotion in Green Bay in 2024, where he served as the Packers linebackers coach and run game coordinator.

The Packers finished this past season ranked seventh in rushing yards allowed per game (99.35) and third in yards per attempt (4.0). As a result of Green Bay’s impressive showing, Campanile became a relatively popular name on the coordinator circuit. He had an interview with the 49ers earlier this offseason, and Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Campanile likely would have gotten the 49ers gig if Robert Saleh rejected the job. Silverstein notes that Campanile also had an opportunity to join Penn State as their new defensive coordinator.

Instead, the 42-year-old will be heading to Jacksonville, where he’ll be tasked with guiding a defense that finished last season ranked 31st in yards allowed and 27th in points allowed. Campanile’s extensive work with linebackers should also benefit some of the team’s recent draft picks, including 2022 first-round pick Devin Lloyd.

Coen made it clear that he wasn’t going to retain Ryan Nielsen on his new staff. The Jaguars launched a DC search that includes the likes of Panthers defensive pass game coordinator Jonathan Cooley, former Raiders DC Patrick Graham, Vikings defensive pass game coordinator Daronte Jones, and Rams defensive pass game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant. Ultimately, Campanile won out.

With Campanile now in Jacksonville, the Packers will need to find a new coach for their linebackers. Matt Schneidman of The Athletic points to Sean Duggan as a natural replacement. Duggan most recently served as a defensive assistant in Green Bay’s linebackers room, but he previously coached the position under current Packers DC Jeff Hafley when the two were at Boston College.

Eagles Designate Brandon Graham, C.J. Uzomah For Return

January 30th, 2025 at 10:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Viewed as likely to miss the rest of the season upon suffering a torn triceps muscle in November, Brandon Graham held out hope for a return if the Eagles booked a Super Bowl trip. Now that Super Bowl LIX will feature Philadelphia, the Eagles will see about a potential comeback.

Graham, who had said before this season he would retire after it wrapped, will practice Thursday. The Eagles designated the 15th-year defensive end and tight end C.J. Uzomah for return. Additionally, the Eagles signed running back Lew Nichols to their practice squad and released tight end Nick Muse.

A Graham comeback would be significant for the Eagles, who have dealt with injuries to both he and Bryce Huff this season. Huff has since returned, though he is playing behind starters Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith in Vic Fangio‘s defense. Graham, 36, had already topped his 2023 full-season totals for sacks and QB hits in 11 games this season. The longest-tenured player in Eagles history was sitting on 3.5 and seven, respectively, in those categories when he went down against the Rams.

As PFR’s coaching trackers have become more prominent, revisiting our IR Return Tracker shows the Eagles with four IR activations left. Teams received two more in the playoffs this year, marking a change from the NFL’s 2022 and ’23 setups under its current format. Graham and Uzomah join return man Britain Covey in the practice window. The team will not activate defensive lineman Byron Young, whose practice window expired this week.

Philly has not produced the prolific sack numbers it carried into Super Bowl LVII, but Fangio’s defense has improved significantly from where it was under Sean Desai and Matt Patricia last season. The Eagles led the league in yards allowed and finished second in scoring. While the Chiefs have not closely reminded of their 2022 offense this season, only eclipsing 30 points one time, the Patrick Mahomes-led unit proved it still had firepower last week by hanging 32 on the Bills. The Eagles having one more pass-rushing option could be significant, as the Chiefs have proven historically reliable in close games.

The Eagles re-signed Graham on a one-year, $4MM deal last March. Having broken Chuck Bednarik‘s record for service time as an Eagle, Graham said to start training camp he would make this season his last. After the injury, Graham was less definitive. But returning in time for the Super Bowl could provide a fitting conclusion — well, should it go the Eagles’ way.

Graham, of course, delivered his signature play in a Super Bowl by forcing a Tom Brady fumble to set up Philly’s game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LII. The Patriots entered that game having qualified for seven straight conference championships; the Chiefs are now riding the same streak, and the Eagles are all that stand in the way of Kansas City becoming the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. That stands to make a potential Graham return a closely monitored situation.

Uzomah sustained an abdominal injury in Week 17. The former Bengals Super Bowl starter has not played a regular role with the Eagles. A Jets cap casualty in 2024, Uzomah has played in seven Eagles games but has not caught a pass. He would serve as depth behind Dallas Goedert and Grant Calcaterra.

Bills Don’t Regret Amari Cooper Trade, Would Consider Re-Signing WR

January 30th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Ben Levine

Amari Cooper‘s half-season stint in Buffalo didn’t necessarily go as planned. After being shipped from the Browns to the Bills in October, the veteran wideout was limited to only 20 receptions and a career-worst 37.1 yards per game. Despite the disappointing results, it sounds like Bills GM Brandon Beane would make the move again.

Speaking to reporters today, Beane said he does “not regret the move” and believes Cooper helped the Bills despite the lack of counting stats (per ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg). The GM also hinted that the wideout’s wrist injury may have contributed to his underwhelming production. Beane told reporters that Cooper’s wrist injury could have required surgery, with one doctor actually recommending that route. However, the wideout decided to play through the injury (per Getzenberg).

Cooper is now set to hit free agency, and there’s a chance the two sides look to continue their partnership. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Bills have been happy with Cooper’s presence in the locker room, and they’re “intrigued” by the idea of giving the receiver a full offseason to click with Josh Allen.

The 30-year-old WR may not have a robust market following a disappointing 2024 campaign. In 14 games with the Browns and Bills, Cooper was limited to only 44 catches for 547 yards and four touchdowns. Still, Cooper is only a year removed from a 2023 campaign where he hauled in a career-high 1,250 receiving yards, so there could be plenty of teams that are willing to look past the recent drop in production.

While the Bills will continue to evaluate their wide receiver options heading into the offseason, the front office will also be focused on keeping their franchise QB in Buffalo for the long haul. While Allen is still under contract through the 2028 campaign, Beane didn’t completely rule out extending his franchise star.

“I’m not saying it will happen, I’m not saying it won’t happen — I don’t really want to go into that,” Beane said of a potential extension (h/t Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com). “And I really can’t tell you at this point. We haven’t even approached that. It’s just, season-ending loss, he doesn’t even want to talk about it. … He was dejected, like all of us. There will be a time and place. And not saying we will, but not ruling it out either.”

Former Steelers GM Kevin Colbert Joining Colorado State

January 30th, 2025 at 9:51pm CST by Ben Levine

After spending a few years out of football, Kevin Colbert has reemerged in the college ranks. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the former Steelers executive is joining Colorado State as a consultant.

According to Thamel, Colbert’s new role will see him working closely with coach Jay Norvell and Colorado State’s player personnel department to help build up the school’s “football front office.” Colorado State is focused on staying “at the forefront for the new era of college football,” and they’re turning to a long-time NFL executive to help their cause.

Colbert spent more than 20 years in Pittsburgh, working his way up from director of football operations to general manager. The executive earned a pair of Super Bowl rings during his time with the organization, and he had the distinction of being the organization’s first official GM when he was promoted to the role in 2010.

During his time guiding the front office, Colbert was credited with adding foundational players (including Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu). The executive also had a prominent role in the team’s transition from Bill Cowher to Mike Tomlin. Colbert stepped down from his role following the 2022 draft, and he’s been out of football since.

Chiefs, Nick Bolton Expected To Discuss Extension

January 30th, 2025 at 8:53pm CST by Ben Levine

The Chiefs and Nick Bolton are currently focused on their Super Bowl matchup with the Eagles. When the season ends, there’s a good chance the two sides discuss a long-term pact. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Chiefs and the linebacker are expected to discuss a potential extension after the season.

It’s not a huge surprise that the Chiefs would have interest in retaining the impending free agent. The former second-round pick has spent his entire career in Kansas City and has evolved into one of the team’s most dependable defenders, with Fowler noting that the linebacker is a favorite of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

After earning PFWA All-Rookie Team honors in 2021, Bolton took his play to another level as a sophomore. He finished the 2022 campaign with 180 tackles, and he carried his production into the playoffs, where he notably returned a Jalen Hurts fumble for a touchdown during Super Bowl LVII.

A wrist injury limited the linebacker to only eight games during the 2023 campaign, but he still managed to return in time for the postseason, where he led the Chiefs with 40 tackles en route to another Super Bowl championship. He started all 16 of his appearances during the 2024 campaign, finishing with 106 tackles and a career-high three sacks.

Bolton may not necessarily lead this year’s free agent class, as the linebacker will be joined by the likes of Zack Baun, Dre Greenlaw, and Jamien Sherwood. Still, the 2025 campaign would represent Bolton’s age-25 season, so the free agent shouldn’t have a tough time attracting a lucrative, long-term deal. Considering the number of free agents the Chiefs will be looking to re-sign, there’s a chance the linebacker ultimately prices himself out of Kansas City.

Texans Add Brian Johnson, Grant Udinski To List Of OC Candidates

January 30th, 2025 at 6:43pm CST by Ben Levine

The Texans have cast a relatively wide net in their search for a new offensive coordinator, and we’ve got two more names to add to the growing list of candidates. According to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz, the Texans have requested an interview with Commanders pass game coordinator Brian Johnson. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the team interviewed Vikings coach Grant Udinski today.

Johnson would bring plenty of experience to Houston. The long-time coach had three stops as offensive coordinator in the college ranks, guiding the offenses at Utah, Houston, and Florida. He broke into the NFL in 2021 when he was named as the Eagles quarterbacks coach, and he quickly earned a promotion to offensive coordinator in 2023.

His stint as Philly’s OC left plenty to be desired, with pundits criticizing his lack of offensive creativity. To his credit, the Eagles still ranked top-ten in both yards and points that season, but Johnson was canned following that campaign. He quickly landed on his feet in Washington, where he was recruited by Dan Quinn to be the Commanders’ new offensive pass-game coordinator. Working alongside OC Kliff Kingsbury, the team squeezed a standout season out of rookie Jayden Daniels, and that performance apparently put Johnson back on the coordinator radar.

Udinski has spent the majority of his coaching career in Minnesota, working his way up from an assistant to his current role of assistant offensive coordinator/assistant quarterbacks coach. Plenty of teams have been enamored by the Kevin O’Connell-led offense, especially after the Vikings got a career-best season from Sam Darnold. As a result, Udinski garnered interest from the Patriots, Seahawks, and Buccaneers for their respective OC vacancies.

Following the Texans’ sudden decision to move on from Bobby Slowik, the team has looked far and wide for a new offensive leader. As our 2025 NFL Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker shows, the team’s current list of candidates includes:

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