HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Browns’ Deshaun Watson Suffers Second Achilles Tear

January 10th, 2025 at 11:50pm CST by Adam La Rose

Deshaun Watson‘s recent setback in his Achilles rehab has proven to be a situation which will seriously threaten his availability for 2025. The Browns quarterback tore his Achilles a second time, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. The team has since confirmed the news.

Such a scenario was raised as a possibility earlier this week, with a second surgery of course being required in that event. As Rapoport notes, Watson underwent surgery yesterday to repair the most recent tear. His recovery timeline will now be pushed back as a result of the second operation; returning to full health in time for the start of the 2025 campaign was already a stretch, but now Watson is in danger of missing next season altogether.

“Earlier this week, when Watson reported to CrossCountry Mortgage Campus for his exit physical as part of the Browns’ season-ending process, he complained of discomfort after rolling his ankle in Miami,” a team statement reads in part. “MRI results demonstrated a re-rupture to his Achilles tendon. Dr. Bob Anderson, a foot and ankle specialist in Charlotte, NC, performed both surgeries.”

When on the field, Watson’s level of play has fallen well short of expectations. The former Texans Pro Bowler is still in Cleveland’s plans with two more years and $92MM guaranteed remaining on his pact (one which was once again restructured last month). The team has made it clear, though, that adding competition at the QB spot will be a priority for the offseason. Especially with Watson now set to miss considerable time next year, Cleveland will likely proceed with increased urgency in finding a new passer.

The Browns are currently scheduled to select second overall in April’s draft, and bringing in a rookie QB has already been floated as a distinct possibility. Two signal-callers – Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders – are considered the top options in this year’s class, one which is not viewed as favorably as past drafts. With veteran Jameis Winston a pending free agent, the Browns may be in the market for more than one quarterback addition over the coming months. In any case, Watson’s bid to return to his Houston form will be significantly delayed.

Cowboys, HC Mike McCarthy To Begin Contract Talks

January 10th, 2025 at 11:15pm CST by Adam La Rose

Mike McCarthy‘s future remains uncertain at this point as the expiration of his current contract draws nearer. Further signs point to him remaining in place in place as the Cowboys’ head coach, though.

McCarthy and owner Jerry Jones have remained in contact since the end of the season, although terms of a potential new pact had not yet been a topic of discussion. That is set to change now, however. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports the sides are set to begin negotiating a new pact today.

Jones routinely praised McCarthy during the season, making it clear in the wake of the team’s poor start he would not consider an in-season dismissal. Given the fact McCarthy was on an expiring deal, though, questions lingered over his status throughout the campaign. The former Packers Super Bowl winner has also received votes of confidence from players (including quarterback Dak Prescott), so it would come as little surprise if a new agreement were to be worked out.

McCarthy has been in Dallas since 2020. His Cowboys tenure has included three postseason appearances (spanning the 2021, ’22 and ’23 campaigns in which the team went 12-5 each time), but a lack of playoff success has been a defining characteristic of his time guiding the team. Jones noted Dallas’ wild-card loss to Green Bay last year played a key role in his decision not to offer McCarthy an extension, with the same also being the case for the team’s assistant coaches.

In the early stages of the 2025 hiring cycle, though, McCarthy has been connected to a pair of teams which currently have a vacancy. The Bears requested permission for an interview, but the Cowboys blocked it. Meanwhile, the Saints have emerged as a team to watch in the event McCarthy becomes a coaching free agent. January 14 represents the point at which his existing deal will expire, meaning he and Jones only have a short window of opportunity to agree to terms before other teams enter the fray.

A Wednesday report indicated some of the assistants on McCarthy’s staff have received interest from outside suitors with their own futures still in the air. It will be interesting to see if any coordinators or position coaches wind up making a move in the coming days (or at least agreeing to a deal with a new team), but with McCarthy seemingly on track to remain in place that may be unlikely at this point.

Chris Ballard: Colts Eyeing QB Addition, Philosophical Shift This Offseason

January 10th, 2025 at 11:13pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Colts were considered a team to watch as ‘Black Monday’ approached considering the manner in which their season ended. Despite finishing the campaign at 8-9 and out of the playoffs once again, owner Jim Irsay immediately made it clear both head coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard would be retained for 2025.

The latter is well aware Indianapolis fell short of expectations, and when speaking to the media on Friday he acknowledged his roster-building approach played a central role. Ballard’s tenure at the helm of the Colts has been defined in no small part by his preference of keeping in-house players in the fold rather than devoting cap resources to outside additions. This past offseason was no different, with 13 players either being re-signed to a new deal or receiving an extension.

“Right now, we’re not close,” Ballard conceded (via ESPN’s Stephen Holder). “I’m going to make this really clear… Going 8-9, that’s not close. No, I’m not saying we won’t be closer when we get to the start of [next] season. But right now, sitting here today, we’re an 8-9 football team. We’ve got to own that.”

Ballard noted part of the process of ending the Colts’ four-year playoff drought could very well be a change in roster-building philosophy. The likes of DeForest Buckner, Michael Pittman Jr. and Zaire Franklin each received big-ticket extensions last spring, while Grover Stewart, Kenny Moore and Tyquan Lewis avoided free agency with 10-figure contracts of their own. If Ballard follows through on his plan to shift his strategy, that core could see competition brought in at several positions from outside the organization.

Like all teams, the Colts will make a number of cap-related moves in the coming weeks through cuts and restructures. As of now, though, Indianapolis is on track to have roughly $32MM in available funds once the new league year begins. That, coupled with seven draft picks (including three of the first 80 selections) will prove critical as Ballard looks to supplement the existing nucleus he has constructed.

Of course, another major goal for 2025 will be improved play under center. Year 2 did not go as planned for Anthony Richardson, and the former No. 4 pick was again unable to stay healthy for a full season. Steichen recently said he would be open to bringing in a quarterback (presumably a veteran) capable of competing with Richardson for the QB1 gig. To no surprise, Ballard echoed that sentiment on Friday.

“We can’t beat our head against the wall,” Ballard said. “We’ve got to have competition at the position for, one, competition makes everybody better and, two, [Richardson has] not proven he can play 17 games.”

Joe Flacco – who does not plan to retire – is a pending free agent, so if the Colts elect to go in another direction at the quarterback spot their intentions of looking outside the organization to a larger extent will be put to the test. With Ballard’s seat no doubt warming, it will be interesting to see how he proceeds as the offseason unfolds.

QB Carson Beck Withdraws Draft Declaration, Will Transfer To Miami

January 10th, 2025 at 11:00pm CST by Ely Allen

The NFL draft stock of former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck has been a rollercoaster ride in the last few years. From initially projecting as a first-round pick to falling out of the first round, Beck’s downwards trajectory didn’t prevent him from declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft. Beck would then make headlines after making a decision to try and change that trajectory.

Beck made news yesterday when he announced that he would withdraw his draft declaration and enter the transfer portal. The rumor mill was abuzz with links to Coral Gables, where Beck’s girlfriend and social media influencer, Hanna Cavinder, plays basketball for the Hurricanes. Those short-lived rumors turned into reality when Beck tweeted out his commitment to transfer to Miami today.

Beck won two national championship rings in Athens while backing up Stetson Bennett. In 2023, Beck took over as the starter for the Bulldogs and led the SEC with 3,941 passing yards, good for third in the nation, while throwing 24 touchdowns to only six interceptions. We’ve heard recent rumors that, should Beck have declared after that first season, he would’ve been among the six other quarterbacks drafted in the first round last year.

Instead, Beck returned to Athens, where he once again racked up strong passing yardage (3,485) and threw for 28 touchdowns but doubled his interception total from his previous year as a starter. Beck also suffered a UCL injury in the team’s SEC Championship victory over Texas that required surgery and would keep him from participating in most, if not all, pre-draft activities. Still, on December 28, Beck declared for the draft, forgoing the additional year of eligibility granted to him because of COVID-19.

A disappointing redshirt senior season combined with the season-ending elbow injury caused Beck to reconsider his intentions to go to the NFL, causing him to rescind his name from consideration for the draft. Beck immediately became the No. 2 player in ESPN’s transfer rankings, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Max Olson, before coming off the board and announcing his commitment to Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes.

While this does make him a non-factor in the 2025 NFL Draft, it certainly makes things interesting for the 2026 NFL Draft. With Beck committing to transfer to Miami after declaring for the draft, his path to the pros is currently mirroring that of 2025’s projected QB1, Cam Ward, who similarly transferred to Miami from Washington State after initially declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft. Ward went 10-3 with the Canes finishing second in the nation in passing yards and leading the nation in passing touchdowns while only throwing seven interceptions this past year.

Beck will hope to garner a similar career boost by following Ward’s route through Coral Gables to the NFL. While three of Miami’s top four receivers (Xavier Restrepo, Jacolby George, and Sam Brown) and their top tight end (Elijah Arroyo) have all declared for the draft and the fourth top receiver (Isaiah Horton) is transferring to Alabama, Beck’s commitment is expected to draw interest from transfer portal receivers. The Hurricanes are planning to reload their offense from the transfer portal with the intent of putting out two first-round quarterbacks into the NFL in a row, should Beck be up to the challenge.

Matt Eberflus “Involved” In Bengals’ DC Search

January 10th, 2025 at 10:15pm CST by Ely Allen

Former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus doesn’t appear to be staying inactive for long. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Eberflus “is involved in the Bengals’ defensive coordinator search.” While the wording of the report is vague, it likely indicates that Eberflus is a candidate to take over for the Bengals’ open coordinator job.

Eberflus has held some position in coaching since he finished college in 1992, so it’s no surprise that, following his dismissal from Chicago, he’s put himself back on the market for a coaching job. After nearly 20 years of coaching at the collegiate level at Toledo and Missouri, Eberflus first broke into the NFL as a linebackers coach for the Browns in 2009. He held the same job in Dallas for five years before adding passing game coordinator to his title.

In 2018, Eberflus got his first opportunity as an NFL defensive coordinator in Indianapolis. Eberflus almost immediately started getting head coaching buzz, interviewing for an open position in Cleveland in 2019, but that job ultimately went to Freddie Kitchens. Instead, Eberflus remained in Indianapolis until 2022, when he was granted his first head coaching opportunity in Chicago.

The Bears saw big improvements on defense over Eberflus’ three seasons with the team, but offensive struggles continued as Chicago attempted to handle the first few years of Justin Fields‘ career and eventually moved on to Caleb Williams. The Bears made Eberflus the first head coach in the franchise’s storied history to be fired midseason. Overall, Eberflus went 14-32 in his first stint as a head coach.

The Bengals fired defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo after watching a defense that finished 26th in scoring defense and 25th in yards allowed derail a season that saw a top-10 offense in which their quarterback led the league in passing yards and touchdowns and their wide receiver won the receiving triple crown. Anarumo had been in place as the Bengals DC ever since Zac Taylor was hired as head coach.

If Eberflus lands on his feet as a defensive coordinator once again, it would be only his second coordinator job in the NFL. Still, the Bengals are desperate to see improvement on the defensive side of the ball in order to maximize what they hope will be at least one more year with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/10/25

January 10th, 2025 at 10:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves and a few standard gameday practice squad elevations for the first games of the playoffs:

Chicago Bears

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Philadelphia Eagles

McFadden’s waiver claim has been accepted, but since the Bears have no more games this year, it has been deferred until the first business day after the Super Bowl, February 10.

Panthers Make Multiple Defensive Staff Changes

January 10th, 2025 at 7:59pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Panthers are making multiple changes to their defensive staff after ranking dead-last in yards and points allowed this season.

Head coach Dave Canales recently reaffirmed his confidence in defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, but the team has moved on from three members of his staff. Safeties coach Bert Watts, outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu, and quality control coach Bobby Maffei will not return under Evero in 2025, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Watts was the Broncos’ outside linebackers coach in 2022 and followed Evero from Denver to Carolina in 2023. The Panthers’ secondary allowed the 10th-most passing yards in the NFL in 2024, along with a league-high 35 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. The unit did deal with several injuries, including stints on injured reserve by Sam Franklin and Jordan Fuller.

Lukabu also joined the Panthers in 2023 after serving as Boston College’s defensive coordinator. Carolina’s edge rush struggled to generate pressure without Brian Burns this year, and the team as a whole allowed a league-high 3,057 rushing yards and 5.2 yards per carry.

Maffei started with the Panthers as a defensive assistant in 2022 and received a promotion to defensive quality control coach after Evero’s arrival. His specific role in the team’s defense is not known, but it’s not surprising to see widespread changes after the Panthers’ defensive struggles during the regular season.

Canales and Evero will spend the coming weeks interviewing candidates to join their staff and help the Panthers defense bounce back from one of the worst statistical seasons in league history.

Colts Interview Browns’ Ephraim Banda For DC

January 10th, 2025 at 7:38pm CST by Ely Allen

The meteoric rise continues for Ephraim Banda. The Browns safeties coach has only been in the NFL for two years, and he already has earned his first defensive coordinator interview. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports that Banda will meet with the Colts about their open defensive coordinator position.

Banda’s story is an inspiring one of perseverance and never giving up on your dreams. A high school athlete that turned down a few small school scholarship offers to do junior college and walk on somewhere bigger, Banda found himself working as a bartender while taking classes in San Antonio and staying in football shape by playing in amateur leagues. In 2007, Banda finally got his chance when Incarnate Word created a football program. He walked on at 25 years old, but since he wasn’t on scholarship, he had to continue bartending.

Unfortunately, a knee injury ended any hopes of a playing career for Banda. Still, he refused to give up on his football dream, working as a student assistant for the Cardinals in San Antonio while finishing his degree. He earned a graduate assistant position at the University of Texas on the recommendation of an Incarnate Word coach who had been hired by the Longhorns. In Austin, he met then-defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, another upstart coach who came to football after jobs outside of the sport.

He stayed at Texas for three years, even after Diaz was fired, coaching with the program through the transition from Mack Brown to Charlie Strong. Diaz bounced back in 2015 getting hired as the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State, and Banda joined him in Starkville as a defensive quality control coach. When Diaz was poached by Mark Richt to serve as defensive coordinator in Coral Gables, Banda got his first position coaching job as Miami’s safeties coach.

After three years and sending players like Rayshawn Jenkins, Jaquan Johnson, and Sheldrick Redwine to the NFL, Banda was promoted to co-defensive coordinator of the Hurricanes as Diaz took over the head coaching gig. In 2021, Banda finally parted ways with Diaz, taking the defensive coordinator and safeties coach job at Utah State. He held the role for two years before earning his first NFL job under Jim Schwartz in Cleveland.

In Banda’s two years in Cleveland, the Browns finished first in passing defense in 2023 and 12th this season. He’s managed an impressive safeties group over that time with Grant Delpit leading the group while Ronnie Hickman and Rodney McLeod have filled in for injuries here and there to the other starter, Juan Thornhill.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard has been quoted as valuing a more aggressive approach on defense, per ESPN’s Stephen Holder, something that is likely to affect the team’s coordinator search. According to Mike Chappell of FOX59/CBS4 Sports, the team has also announced that defensive backs coach Ron Milus and linebackers coach Richard Smith will not be returning to the staff in 2025.

With this note, while Banda will be interviewing for the coordinator position, this visit could also serve as an interview for the open defensive backs coaching job, should he fall short. Regardless, the 43-year-old is moving quickly through the coaching ranks of the sport and is a name to watch in the years to come.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Cleared For Playoffs

January 10th, 2025 at 6:44pm CST by Ely Allen

The Eagles’ hopes for a No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs seemingly came to a halt, along with their 10-game winning streak, when Jalen Hurts was knocked out of Philadelphia’s Week 16 game against the division-rival Commanders after only one and a half drives. Luckily, Hurts’ injury should not limit them in the postseason as Mark Maske of The Washington Post reports that the quarterback has cleared the league’s concussion protocol.

When Hurts was injured, the Eagles deployed backup passer Kenny Pickett, who led an admirable attempt to take over the game against Washington but, ultimately, fell. As the playoffs drew nearer, Philadelphia was aware that they were out of reach of the 1-seed in the NFC but also out of reach of the other division-winners behind them. They put no pressure on Hurts to return quickly and announced Pickett as the starter in Week 17, despite some rib injuries Pickett sustained in the loss to the Commanders.

Regardless, Pickett led a strong effort against a depleted Cowboys team before being taken out early in the second half after taking another shot to the ribs. This forced third-string quarterback Tanner McKee to make his NFL debut after getting drafted in the sixth-round last year. McKee finished the job against Dallas and won his first career start against another depleted division-rival, the Giants, as well, in Week 18.

Though this experience was extremely useful, as both backup quarterbacks got real game action against NFL regular season defenses, it was likely never Philadelphia’s plan for either quarterback to see time in the postseason. They have the experience under their belt now, but one imagines the Eagles were just utilizing their depth and their security as the 2-seed in the NFC to give Hurts a rest.

With Hurts clearing concussion protocol, he’s set to start this Sunday against the 7-seed Packers. Luckily, Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love has also been cleared after leaving a Week 18 game against the Bears with an elbow injury on his throwing arm. Both players were full participants over the last two days, leading up to an exciting matchup in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

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