Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Cincinnati Bengals
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders
San Francisco 49ers
Washington Football Team
When the Raiders make their return to the postseason on Saturday, they will be without one of their contributors on the defensive front. Darious Philon suffered a torn patellar tendon in the team’s win over the Chargers on Sunday night, per ESPN’S Jeremy Fowler (Twitter link). As a result, his season is over. 
Philon, 27, was a somewhat surprising addition to the team when he was signed as a free agent in March. The move came after Philon had been out of the league for the 2019 and 2020 seasons despite having signed a two-year contract with the Cardinals. That’s because the defensive tackle had been arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in August of 2019.
Originally drafted in the sixth round by the Chargers in 2015, Philon had two very productive years with Bolts in 2017 and 2018. He totalled 8.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in that stretch, as he took on a starting role. In his first campaign in Las Vegas, he has produced 27 total tackles, two sacks and two fumble recoveries in 11 games played.
The Raiders visit the Bengals on Saturday afternoon to kick off the postseason. While everyone on the team will be focused on its first playoff action since 2016, it remains to be seen if Philon has done enough to earn himself another deal for the 2022 season.
The NFL’s first ever 17-game regular season is now over, and the 14-team playoff field is set. The end of the year also confirms, of course, the draft order for the top 18 picks, allowing the non-playoff clubs to begin planning for the offseason.
Despite their upset win on Sunday, the Jaguars will have the top selection for the second year in a row; this marks the fifth time a team has had back-to-back No. 1 picks, and the first since the Browns did in 2017-18.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.
Here is the final draft order (for non-playoff teams) along with the current projected order for the 14 postseason clubs:
* = Playoffs
The NFL’s first ever 18-week regular season has concluded and the playoffs are set to begin next weekend. With the final spots being decided in a Sunday Night Football thriller, we now know where everyone’s going and when they’ll be playing next.
Super Wild Card Weekend starts with the lower AFC Seeds on Saturday. We begin with the 5-Seed Las Vegas Raiders (10-7) as they head to Ohio to play the AFC North Champion 4-Seed Cincinnati Bengals (10-7) at 4:30PM ET. We follow that up with the 6-Seed New England Patriots (10-7) who head to upstate New York for their third match up of the season against the AFC East Champion 3-Seed Buffalo Bills at 8:15PM ET.
On Sunday, we see some NFC teams early to start out. Sunday kicks off with the 7-Seed Philadelphia Eagles (9-8) heading to Central Florida to face off against the NFC South Champion 2-Seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-4) at 1:00PM ET. After that, the 6-Seed San Francisco 49ers (10-7) go into the Lone Star State to face off against the NFC East Champion 3-Seed Dallas Cowboys (12-5) at 4:30PM ET. We finish off Sunday night with the 7-Seed Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1) traveling into Missouri to play the AFC West Champion 2-Seed Kansas City Chiefs (12-5) at 8:15PM ET.
We’ll end our Super Wild Card Weekend on Monday Night, when the 5-Seed Arizona Cardinals (11-6) head back to SoCal for their third game of the season versus the NFC West Champion 4-Seed Los Angeles Rams (12-5) at 8:15PM ET.
The Raiders’ 2021-22 NFL season hasn’t yet come to an end, but, according to the rumors circulating in the NFL, Raiders’ owner Mark Davis is already locked-in on his preferred replacement hire for head coach. Davis hasn’t conducted an official search, but Mike Florio of NBC Sports confirms what most of the league is thinking: that Davis already knows who he wants.
As of right now, the hot gossip around the league is pointing to Davis pursuing current University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh, of course, had a previous stint in the NFL, coaching the 49ers for four seasons. Harbaugh’s record as an NFL head coach stands at 44-19-1. Harbaugh went to the NFC Championship game in all of his first three seasons and even made it to the Super Bowl in his second year, only to lose to his older brother and the Ravens. Harbaugh’s fourth year saw the 49ers go 8-8 and resulted in the end of his contract.
Since his departure from the NFL, Harbaugh has been one of college football’s more eccentric coaches, leading the Wolverines to a 61-24 record since 2015 and helping Michigan to their first Big Ten Championship since 2004. The upside of Harbaugh is apparent as he has shown the ability to win at both levels.
Current interim head coach of the Raiders, Rich Bisaccia, may have something to say about that, though. Bisaccia took over after Jon Gruden’s noisy departure and has kept the ship upright, going 6-5 and keeping the Raiders alive in the playoff hunt. Things could get interesting if the team rallies under Bisaccia to make some noise in the playoffs.
According to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, Davis, who also owns the Las Vegas Aces, made a splashy hire for their head coaching position, pulling Becky Hammon away from the San Antonio Spurs. What’s interesting is that he told Bill Laimbeer, the incumbent head coach of the Aces from the previous season, that, if Hammon declined to take the position, Laimbeer would be retained. A similar offer could be in the cards for Harbaugh and Bisaccia.
The unfortunate part of this situation is that, when owners make up their mind like this before a search can be conducted, it makes a mockery of the league’s Rooney Rule. Davis will surely make sure his franchise complies with the rule, inviting ethnic-minority candidates in to interview, but interviews haven’t even begun to be planned, and the outcome already seems like a foregone conclusion.
Regardless, all signs are pointing to Jim Harbaugh becoming the next head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders with his main competition being the current interim head coach. Bisaccia looks to to make Davis’s decision a little more difficult tonight with a win against the Chargers.
Coming into today, the Sunday Night matchup between the Chargers and Raiders in Las Vegas was being billed as a winner-takes-all game with the winner continuing their season past Week 18. While that is still technically a true statement, it’s not the only path for either team to make the playoffs.
With the Colts’ loss to the Jaguars this afternoon and the Steelers’ win in Baltimore, an amusing possibility has been presented to both squads preparing for tonight. If Sunday night’s game were to end in a tie, both the Chargers and the Raiders would make the playoffs. While there are seeding scenarios at play for the Raiders (a win could put them at the 5th or 6th Seed, potentially, and a tie would clinch the 7th seed), the Chargers have no motivation to play the game if the Raiders were to propose an intentional tie.
While Los Angeles head coach Brandon Staley said earlier this week, “We’re going to do everything we can to go win this game,” that was when the tying scenario was a long shot, as the Colts were heavy favorites to beat Jacksonville today. Staley’s tune might change now that he has a very real opportunity to give his team a week of rest before a grueling playoff schedule.
As far as the rulebook goes, there’s nothing that says two teams can’t intentionally play an entire game for a tie. I’m sure the NFL is doing everything they can to get themselves out of the corner they backed themselves into, but it was a truly strange decision for the NFL to schedule a game with this potential in the final regular season time slot. The NFL certainly likes for the regular season’s final game to hold the highest stakes, and we’ve seen some of the most entertaining games in that time slot. The 2019 regular season finale between the 49ers and Seahawks comes to mind, as San Francisco won with a fourth down stop on their own 1-yard line.
It’s certain the NFL was hoping for similar fireworks tonight, but an implosion by the Colts and the battling of the Steelers brings up what could be one of the most unique season finales in NFL history.
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Rams
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
Washington Football Team
During Jim Harbaugh‘s final days as 49ers head coach, the Raiders placed him atop their list. Harbaugh ended up trekking to Michigan, leading Jack Del Rio to Oakland, during that 2015 offseason. Seven years later, the Raiders may be back in the Harbaugh mix.
The Raiders and Harbaugh have been connected for a few weeks now, Albert Breer of SI.com notes, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds (video link) that the current Wolverines HC is expected to be interested in becoming the next Raiders leader. While this should be taken with a grain of salt, since Harbaugh surfaces in NFL coaching rumors annually, the longtime HC did begin his coaching career with the Raiders.
Prior to becoming a successful college head coach, the former NFL quarterback was Oakland’s QBs coach from 2002-03. That ’02 season ended with Rich Gannon winning MVP honors and the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. Following the ’03 season, Harbaugh became head coach at the University of San Diego. That led to his Stanford gig and re-emergence on the NFL radar. Harbaugh, 58, has not exactly been off the NFL grid since returning to his alma mater, but there could be more smoke here.
Ahead of Harbaugh’s initial Michigan agreement, the Raiders offered more money and were prepared to make him the NFL’s highest-paid HC. Initially given an $8MM-per-year contract at Michigan, Harbaugh saw his salary slashed to $4MM as part of an incentive-laden deal last year. While Harbaugh said publicly the contract adjustment was “no big deal,” Breer adds, understandably, the veteran coach was not pleased with the pay cut. Harbaugh only accepted Michigan’s latest offer after exploring an NFL return with the Jets and Chargers last year.
After Michigan beat Ohio State for the first time in Harbaugh’s tenure, the seventh-year Wolverines HC led the team to the College Football Playoff for the first time. Georgia dispatched the Big Ten program easily in the semifinals. This coming after Michigan went 2-4 in 2020’s pandemic-truncated season, however, represented tremendous growth for the Wolverines.
The Raiders did not join the Jaguars in going through early HC interviews, with Breer adding the team sticking with interim coach Rich Bisaccia is not out of the question. The Raiders have a chance to clinch their first playoff berth in five years Sunday.
He wasn’t gone for long. The Raiders have re-signed Will Compton, according to the linebacker himself (Twitter link). 
Las Vegas brought in Compton, a former starter for the 2019 Oakland Raiders, when they were severely short-staffed last month. Compton saw time in one game — Week 14 against the Chiefs — before being released on Wednesday.
“I gave [head coach Rich] Bisaccia a huge hug and thanked him for absolutely everything,” Compton said (via the Las Vegas Review-Journal). “I would do anything for that man. Coach Bisaccia is the best. Everybody in that building has been so good to me these last few weeks as everything has unfolded for me personally.”
Now, with a potential playoff berth at stake, there could be plenty more hugs to go around. With a win over the Chargers this weekend, the Raiders will punch their ticket to the playoffs.
Compton, once a starter for Washington, has nine seasons of experience to his credit, spending the last four with the Titans and Raiders. So far this year, he has just 15 special teams snaps under his belt, all from that single game against the Chiefs.
Here are the Thursday additions and subtractions from teams’ reserve/COVID-19 lists:
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Las Vegas Raiders
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks