- Wilson has said he wants to stay with the Seahawks, but coming out of a disappointing season, the veteran quarterback has also been connected to exploring his options to see if another team could give him opportunities his current one cannot. For the time being, owner Jody Allen is behind keeping Wilson, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. It is unclear how much Allen supports ensuring the perennial Pro Bowler stays in Washington, and given Wilson’s value at age 33 and with two years left on his contract, Breer does expect a trade to eventually happen. After Rodgers makes his intentions known, this will be the top QB situation to monitor.
Here are Wednesday’s reserve/futures deals:
Chicago Bears
- LS Beau Brinkley, P Ryan Winslow
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- T Brandon Walton
With the various changes to coaching personnel around the league winding down, teams are beginning to officially unveil their 2022 staffs. The Seahawks recently did so, confirming a number of changes following a disappointing season, but some important retentions as well.
In addition, Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reports (in a pair of tweets) more names on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Dave Canales will remain as the team’s QBs coach, a role he first had in 2018, but he will no longer have the passing game coordinator title. Brad Idzik has been added as an assistant WRs coach; he entered the NFL with Seattle in 2019. Lastly, Nate Carroll has been promoted to senior offensive assistant, after spending 11 years with the Seahawks in various roles.
After the Seahawks’ season ended, there were questions as to whether or not wide receiver D.K. Metcalf would undergo foot surgery. It turns out the answer to that question is yes, as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that Metcalf did indeed have a minor procedure recently. 
[Related: D.K. Metcalf Wants To Stay With Seahawks]
Rapoport adds that the procedure was simply a matter of removing a screw in his injured foot, which had been put there during a previous surgery. That should help his chances of rebounding from his 2021 season, which, while still productive by any objective measure, was a step back from his previous campaign.
Dealing with the pain in his foot all year, the 24-year-old totalled 75 catches for 967 yards and 12 touchdowns. In comparison, he put up 83 receptions for 1,303 yards and 10 majors in 2020. In spite of the foot ailment – along with the overall injury concerns that surrounded him leading up to his selection in the second round of the 2019 Draft – Metcalf has yet to miss a game in his three-year career.
Assuming Metcalf is fully healed by the start of the 2022 season, he should be able to continue as one of the most unique, and most effective, receivers in the league. Providing a compliment to the style of fellow starter Tyler Lockett, the two could play a large role in helping the Seahawks return to playoff contention next year.
Brian Daboll is naturally making some changes to the Giants coaching staff. Per Aaron Wilson on Twitter (detailed in four tweets), the Giants have hired Drew Wilkins as linebackers coach, Christian Jones as an offensive assistant, Laura Young as director of coaching operations, Bobby Johnson as offensive line coach, Shea Tierney as quarterbacks coach, DeAndre Smith as running backs coach, Mike Groh as wide receivers coach, Andy Bischoff as tight ends coach, Tony Sparano Jr. as assistant offensive line coach, and Andre Patterson as defensive line coach.
Daboll also retained a handful of holdovers from Joe Judge’s staff. That grouping includes Jerome Henderson (defensive backs coach), Mike Treier (assistant defensive backs coach), Anthony Blevins (special teams assistant), and Nick Williams (special teams quality control coach).
Finally, the Giants shifted Ryan Hollern to college scouting coordinator and named Mark Loecher as assistant strength and conditioning coach.
Some more coaching notes out of the NFC…
- The Seahawks will promote Andy Dickerson to their offensive line coach, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson (via Twitter). Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron recruited Dickerson from the Rams last offseason, with Dickerson earning the role of run-game coordinator. Now, he’ll earn the (apparent) promotion to OL coach. The Seahawks fired former offensive line coach Mike Solari last week, reports NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). This was the 67-year-old’s second stint with the organization, and he had served as the team’s OL coach since 2018.
- The Bears announced last week that they hired Carlos Polk as their assistant special teams coach. The 44-year-old coach has served in the same role with a handful of teams, including the Chargers, Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Jaguars. He spent the 2021 campaign in Jacksonville.
- The Cardinals have hired Matt Burke as their defensive line coach, reports Pelissero (on Twitter). The 45-year-old was the Dolphins defensive coordinator between 2017 and 2018, and he most recently worked for the Jets as a “game management coach.” Burke has also had coaching stints with the Eagles, Bengals, Lions, and Titans.
- The Vikings have hired Brian Angelichio as their pass game coordinator/tight ends coach, reports ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter). Angelichio spent the past two years as the Panthers tight ends coach, so he’s getting a slight promotion in Minnesota. Meanwhile, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the Vikings are hiring Jerrod Johnson as an offensive assistant. Johnson is expected to work with the QBs. The coach was a two-time participant in the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, and he spent last season as the Colts quality control coach.
- Matt Rhule has made some changes to his staff. The Panthers announced that they’ve hired Joe Dailey as wide receivers coach. Dailey has spent the past two seasons as Boston College’s offensive coordinator. Meanwhile, Robert Kugler was hired as assistant offensive line coach while defensive analyst Kevin Gilbride Jr. was promoted to TE coach (replacing Angelichio).
For the better part of a year, there have been rumblings that Russell Wilson could be looking to play elsewhere in 2022. However, during an interview with SiriusXM’s Chris Russo, the quarterback indicated that he wants to stick with the Seahawks.
“I’ve been fortunate to be able to play 10 amazing years in Seattle,” Wilson said (h/t to Daniel Chavkin of SI.com). “My hope and goal is to be back there and keep winning there. That’s the vision, that’s the goal. That’s always been it, never been anything different.”
The most recent report indicated that the organization planned to retain Wilson, though the team wouldn’t say anything different at this point and risk losing leverage in trade talks. The Seahawks’ commitment to Wilson hasn’t stopped the trade chatter; Ian Rapoport of NFL.com later reported that Wilson wants to at least “explore his options” this offseason.
Wilson’s camp has made it clear that he hasn’t (and probably won’t) demand a trade; rather, he simply wanted to explore whether another club might offer him opportunities that the Seahawks cannot. Last February, of course, his agent told the club that Wilson would waive his no-trade clause if he were to be dealt to the Cowboys, Bears, Raiders, and Saints, and in December, a report surfaced indicating that Wilson would approve a trade to the Broncos, Giants, or Saints.
This past season, Wilson missed a handful of games with a broken finger, and he had a sub-.500 record (6-8) for the first time in his career. However, the 33-year-old was still plenty productive, tossing 25 touchdowns vs. six interceptions while adding another two scores on the ground.
With Super Bowl LVI finished, the final two places in the 2022 Draft have been finalized. The Bengals’ top pick is locked into 31st, while the Rams will not have a selection until the third round. For the rest of the league, the focus has already shifted to free agency and the draft, of course, so now all eyes will be on the offseason maneuvering teams do to reshape their rosters.
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.
Pending trades, here is the final first round order of the 2022 Draft:
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
- Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
- Houston Texans: 4-13
- New York Jets: 4-13
- New York Giants: 4-13
- Carolina Panthers: 5-12
- New York Giants(via Bears)
- Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
- Denver Broncos: 7-10
- New York Jets (via Seahawks)
- Washington Football Team: 7-10
- Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
- Cleveland Browns: 8-9
- Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
- Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
- New Orleans Saints: 9-8
- Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1
- New England Patriots: 10-7
- Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7
- Arizona Cardinals: 11-6
- Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
- Buffalo Bills: 11-6
- Tennessee Titans: 12-5
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4
- Green Bay Packers: 13-4
- Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)
- Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5
- Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7
- Detroit Lions (via Rams)
The Seahawks have landed one of the biggest coaching names as they rebuild their defensive staff. Sean Desai has been hired under the title of associate head coach – defense (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport).
Seattle has been looking for a new coach to lead the defense since they parted ways with defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. nearly a month ago. Desai was among the candidates for the role, along with DC jobs on the Giants, Raiders and Vikings, making him one of the most sought-after defensive minds in this hiring cycle. Originally, Ed Donatell was set to take on an assistant role in Seattle, but he pivoted to Minnesota yesterday.
At the age of 38, Rapoport notes, Desai is one of the youngest coaches in the league to hold such a high-ranking title. The hire proves the high regard he was held in due to his work with the Bears. Since coming to Chicago in 2013, he worked his way up the coaching ladder, getting promoted to DC one year ago. That made him the first coordinator of Indian descent in NFL history.
The Bears ranked sixth in the league in yards allowed per game (316.7), in spite of injuries to an number of key pieces on the unit. That success could certainly lead to him playing a role in helping the Seahawks rebound from their disappointing performances on that side of the ball in recent years.
The coach thought to be taking over the defense in Minnesota has officially been hired. Ed Donatell is the new defensive coordinator of the Vikings, reports Ben Goessling of The Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link). 
It was reported yesterday that Donatell was the favorite for the position. With the move now confirmed, soon-to-be head coach Kevin O’Connell will have a very experienced lieutenant on the defensive side of the ball. Donatell, 65, has been an NFL coach for 31 years; 10 of those have been as a DC.
Donatell had spent the past three seasons as the Broncos’ DC, although head coach Vic Fangio called the plays. In 2021, Denver allowed the third fewest points per game in the league (18.9), and ranked eighth in yards allowed (326.1). It had been his third stint with the team, having worked as a secondary coach at two points a decade apart from each other.
One of the most interesting aspects of this story is the fact that Donatell had agreed to take on an assistant role with the Seahawks not long after he interviewed with them. Instead of reuniting with Pete Carroll, he will change course to take a fourth DC position. The Vikings ranked 24th in scoring defense last season, and 30th in yards allowed. They will at least have a highly qualified coach leading the unit as they look to rebound in 2022.
- The Seahawks are in talks to add Karl Scott as their defensive passing-game coordinator, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets. Alabama’s DBs coach from 2018-20, Scott made his NFL coaching debut this past season as Vikings secondary coach. The Seahawks adding Scott would not be as a Sean Desai backup plan, per Condotta. Both could join the revamped staff. Seattle is targeting the 2021 Chicago DC for an assistant role, in the event Minnesota does not hire him as its next DC.