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Teams Wanted Redskins’ Kevin O’Connell

January 30th, 2019 at 10:51am CST by Zachary Links

Kevin O’Connell is the Redskins’ new offensive coordinator, but things could have played out differently. Before Washington promoted him to the OC role, other teams inquired about trying to hire him for the same position, sources tell ESPN.com’s John Keim. Right now, it’s not clear which teams reached out to O’Connell, but it sounds like there was interest from multiple clubs.

O’Connell, 33, was bumped up on Tuesday, putting him in the role formerly occupied by Matt Cavanaugh. Cavanaugh, meanwhile, has been moved to a role as the team’s senior offensive assistant.

Prior to the big promotion, O’Connell was Washington’s quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator in 2018. He’s young, but, lately, NFL teams have been happy to eschew experienced candidates for more energetic personalities.

Meanwhile, the Redskins have yet to determine whether O’Connell will call plays, Keim hears. Cavanaugh did not call plays as the team’s OC, but Sean McVay did when he donned the headset in D.C.

Following Specific NFL Players On PFR

January 28th, 2019 at 12:49pm CST by Zachary Links

As we’ve outlined before, there are a number of different ways to follow Pro Football Rumors via Facebook, Twitter, and RSS. If you don’t want to follow all the site’s updates, you can subscribe to team-specific or transaction-only Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Although we don’t have Facebook pages or Twitter feeds for specific players, it’s easy to follow all our updates on your favorite player as well.

If, for instance, you want to keep track of all the latest news and rumors on Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell as he prepares for free agency, you can visit this page. If you’re interested in keeping tabs on the latest news involving Alex Smith, you can find his page right here.

In addition to dedicating pages to players, we also maintain archives for certain specific non-NFL topics. For example, all our posts relating to the XFL can be found here, while our updates on the Alliance of American Football (AAF) are here.

Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page, and each of those players also has his own RSS feed, making it even easier to follow the latest updates. Links to RSS feeds for specific players are all located on this page. You can also find links to RSS feeds for various miscellaneous categories there. For instance, if you only want to receive one update every Sunday recapping the week’s notable headlines, you can subscribe to our Week in Review RSS feed, right here.

Coaching Notes: Kubiak, Jaguars, 49ers, Packers

January 12th, 2019 at 11:07am CST by Ben Levine

Gary Kubiak will not be joining the Broncos, but he’d still be open to other coordinator openings. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the long-time coach “still has an interest in being an offensive coordinator.” Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic echoes the report (via Twitter), saying the Broncos wouldn’t stand in the way of the current executive pursuing another gig.

One team that could have interest in Kubiak is the Jaguars, according to Schefter. Jacksonville has been connected to Darrell Bevell and Todd Monken as they’ve searched for a replacement for Scott Milanovich.

It was believed that Kubiak would be hired as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator on Vic Fangio‘s new staff. However, talks apparently broke down between the two parties, with reports noting that they had “different ideas on staffing and offensive philosophies.”

Let’s check out some more coaching notes from around the NFL…

  • Speaking of the Broncos, offensive line coach Sean Kugler interviewed with the Vikings and is set to meet with the Cardinals, reports Mike Klis of 9News (via Twitter). Klis notes that there’s some optimism that he’d ultimately be hired for the Cardinals gig. Kugler’s tenure in Denver could be over, as the team is reportedly eyeing Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak for the position.
  • The 49ers denied the Packers and head Matt LaFleur permission to interview his brother, wide receivers coach Mike LaFleur, according to Schefter (on Twitter). San Francisco also denied the Browns and Vikings requests to interview the younger LaFleur.
  • The Browns are set to interview Packers run game coordinator/offensive line coach James Campen today, reports ESPN’s Rob Demovsky (via Twitter). Green Bay’s longest-tenured assistant coach has been with the organization since 2007, and he was promoted to position of run-game coordinator prior to this season. Campen is under contract for next season, so it’s a bit surprising that Green Bay didn’t deny the Browns’ request to interview the coach.
  • Some assorted coaching hirings and firings: running backs coach Stump Mitchell is returning to the Cardinals (via Alex Marvez of SiriusXM on Twitter), the Packers have fired passing game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. (via Schefter on Twitter), and the Buccaneers have hired University of Arizona offensive line coach Joe Gilbert for the same position (via TampaBay.com’s Rick Stroud on Twitter).

Latest On Antonio Brown, Steelers

January 11th, 2019 at 8:16pm CST by Micah Powell

On Friday, Antonio Brown, through his rep, declined to comment on prospective trade talks. However, the receiver is reportedly open to either being traded or returning to the Steelers in 2019, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. 

According to Fowler, the perennial Pro Bowl pick is “open/eager” to prove he can thrive in any offense, but is fine with returning to Pittsburgh “if things shake out that way.” This comes a day after Steelers president Art Rooney II said it would be “hard to envision” Brown with the team next season.

This has all spiraled out of control fast since Brown’s blowup leading up to Week 17, which led head coach Mike Tomlin to bench him for a pivotal game against Cincinnati. Shortly thereafter, it was reported the star receiver was requesting a trade.

Thanks to the $19MM signing bonus he received in his four-year, $68MM extension and the $12.96MM restructuring bonus he later secured, cutting or trading Brown would result in a $21.12MM cap charge in 2019.

While it could be difficult to deal the wideout financially, the Steelers seem willing to explore trading Brown. Despite the hefty price tag, Brown is sure to find suitors looking to get its hands on the most consistent receiver from the last five years.

AFC Coaching Notes: Bengals, Browns, Broncos

January 11th, 2019 at 6:55pm CST by Micah Powell

When the Rams’ postseason run comes to a close, the Bengals are expected to offer quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor their head coaching position. With the expected move, Cincinnati cleaned house on Friday, dismissing the previous staff of Marvin Lewis, including offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, ESPN’s Katherine Terrell writes. Among the other assistants let go include running backs coach Kyle Caskey and tight ends coach Jonathan Hayes.

This move, of course, is not unexpected. Most head coaches will bring in their own guys and Taylor — or whoever ends up with the job — is no exception.

A longtime NFL assistant, Lazor began his tenure with the Falcons as an offensive quality control coach in 2003 before moving to the Redskins as an offensive assistant in 2004. After a handful of other jobs, including a stint in the college ranks with Virginia, Lazor landed the offensive coordinator role with the Dolphins in 2014. After serving there two seasons, he joined the Bengals as quarterbacks coach in 2016 and was promoted to offensive coordinator the following season. In two seasons running the show in Cincinnati, Lazor ranked in the bottom 10 in yards and bottom half in points both seasons.

Here’s more from the AFC’s coaching carousel:

  • Sticking in the AFC North, Browns new head coach Freddie Kitchens cleaned house after getting the job. Once person he didn’t let go, however, was Ryan Lindley, who will serve as his quarterbacks coach next season, AZCardinals.com’s Mike Jurecki tweets. Lindley, who played in the NFL from 2012-15 as a quarterback, served as the Browns running backs coach in 2018.
  • Also with the Browns, the team added former Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer as its special teams coordinator, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero [Twitter link]. Priefer filled the same role in Minnesota from 2011-18, but declined to re-sign with the team after his contract expired after this past season. Priefer was born in Cleveland and coached two seasons at nearby Youngstown State in the 1990s.
  • New Broncos head coach Vic Fangio is bringing back special teams coordinator Tom McMahon, News9 in Denver’s Mike Klis tweets. McMahon concluded his 12th season in the NFL this past season, his first as special teams coordinator with the Broncos. He previously held the same position with the Colts, Chiefs and Rams.

Extra Points: Gronkowski, Patriots, Peterson, Schaub, Wright

December 29th, 2018 at 7:47pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Rob Gronkowski is arguably the greatest tight end of all time, and as the regular season winds down, we could be seeing the end of Gronk in a Patriots uniform, opines Tom Curran of NBC Sports. Curran breaks down all the drama between Gronkowski and the New England front office regime over the past couple of years, and thinks that the fact that Gronkowski has been severely underpaid for years played the main role in the thawing of the relationship.

Both sides are unhappy with one another, and the Patriots already tried trading Gronkowski this offseason. Given that they already deemed him non-essential before the season began it won’t be at all surprising if they want to move on at the end of the year, and it’s highly possible Gronkowski will want to move on as well, as Curran writes he’s grown tired of the ‘Patriot Way.’ Curran thinks the writing is on the wall that things are coming to an end, and Gronk is having a very disappointing season by his lofty standards. His body has been breaking down, and he hasn’t been his usual game-breaking self most times this season. If it is indeed the end, it’ll be an end of an era in Foxborough.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • On the subject of the Patriots, the team brought in CFL players defensive back Tevaughn Campbell and receiver Jordan Williams-Lambert for workouts, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN (Twitter link). Since CFL players aren’t eligible to be signed until after the season, these workouts are likely for consideration for reserve/futures contracts to be handed out in 2019.
  • While he’s already rewritten the rule book about what a running back can do at his age, Adrian Peterson isn’t done yet. The 33-year-old future Hall of Famer wants to continue playing, and wants to be back with the Redskins next year,per Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com. Signed at the last minute when Derrius Guice went down with a torn ACL, Peterson has been one of the biggest surprises of the 2018 NFL season, rushing for 1,042 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s slowed down a bit as the season has gone on, but Washington could bring him back as a veteran mentor and change of pace option behind Guice.
  • Speaking of veterans who want to keep playing, quarterback Matt Schaub hopes to be back with Falcons next year, according to Matt Winkeljohn of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Schaub is aware his NFL career might be coming to an end, as most teams are trending toward having younger players as their backups. But the 37-year-old signal caller, once one of the league’s better starting quarterbacks, hopes to be back in the place where he’s taken on a coach-like role behind Matt Ryan. If he does end up hanging up his cleats, Schaub said he wants to stay “around sports in some form or fashion whether it’s trying to do broadcasting or with an organization somehow.”
  • While the Panthers were officially eliminated from playoff contention in Week 16, at least one player did get some good news. Receiver Jarius Wright got a $200K bonus for hitting his catch incentives, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). So far this season the 2012 fourth round pick out of Arkansas has 41 catches for 427 yards and a touchdown. He should be back in Carolina next year at his $2.5MM salary.

Following Specific NFL Players On PFR

December 27th, 2018 at 2:05pm CST by Zachary Links

As we’ve outlined before, there are a number of different ways to follow Pro Football Rumors via Facebook, Twitter, and RSS. If you don’t want to follow all the site’s updates, you can subscribe to team-specific or transaction-only Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Although we don’t have Facebook pages or Twitter feeds for specific players, it’s easy to follow all our updates on your favorite player as well.

If, for instance, you want to keep track of all the latest news and rumors on Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell as he prepares for free agency next spring, you can visit this page. If you’re interested in keeping tabs on the latest rumors involving Joey Bosa, you can find his page right here.

In addition to dedicating pages to players, we also maintain archives for certain specific non-NFL topics. For example, all our posts relating to the XFL can be found here, while our updates on the Alliance of American Football (AAF) are here.

Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page, and each of those players also has his own RSS feed, making it even easier to follow the latest updates. Links to RSS feeds for specific players are all located on this page. You can also find links to RSS feeds for various miscellaneous categories there. For instance, if you only want to receive one update every Sunday recapping the week’s notable headlines, you can subscribe to our Week in Review RSS feed, right here.

AFC Notes: Browns, Ravens, Broncos, Jets

December 25th, 2018 at 5:50pm CST by Micah Powell

Few names have been hotter in coaching circles recently than Browns offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens, who was promoted to the role with Cleveland in Week 9 and has helped the squad since go 5-2. It should come as no surprise the Browns are interested in Kitchens returning to the role in 2019, but his name is starting to make the rounds in head-coaching rumors.

Any team wishing to tab Kitchens as an offensive coordinator is out of luck, as Cleveland can refuse any interview for the job. While some team might come sniffing for the innovative offensive mind, the Browns could make the move for Kitchens as their head coach according to ESPN’s Tony Grossi.

Grossi writes, “Like the Los Angeles Rams did with Sean McVay two years ago, the Browns could reasonably conclude that if Kitchens is on the fast track to be an NFL head coach, then it would be better to move him into that office a year too soon rather than lose him to somebody willing to take that gamble.”

Due to the team’s turnaround, interim head coach Gregg Williams is sure to get a long look for the position as well.

Here’s more from around the AFC:

  • The Ravens are expected to lost national scout Milt Hendrickson to a front-office role with the Packers, Jeff Zribiec of The Athletic writes. In the 2018 offseason, the Packers were denied by the Ravens in attempting to make the move. He served with the team since 2005. Hendrickson is good friends with Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and lives in Wisconsin.
  • With the Broncos recording their second consecutive losing season for the first time since 1972, many expect John Elway to make big changes in the upcoming season. A few of those players expected to potentially be looking for a new job include Shane Ray, Su’a Cravens and Brandon Marshall, The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala writes. Though Marshall has two years remaining on his deal, none of that money is guaranteed and the team could move on from the veteran in favor of rookie Josey Jewell.
  • At 4-11, the Jets have plenty of areas to address in the upcoming offseason. The four biggest needs, however, include receiver, pass rusher, running back and offensive line, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY writes. Not surprisingly, three of those four needs revolve around giving first-year quarterback Sam Darnold some help on the offensive end. In addressing the running back situation, Vacchiano speculates the Jets could make a serious run at Le’Veon Bell with the team’s ample cap space.

NFL Workout Updates: 12/24/18

December 24th, 2018 at 9:08pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Today’s workouts, all courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (on Twitter):

Cincinnati Bengals:

  • K’s Ty Long (BC CFL), Tristan Vizcaino

Detroit Lions:

Indianapolis Colts:

Kansas City Chiefs:

New York Giants:

  • DEs Tobi Antigha (SASK), Jake Ceresna (EDM); QB Bo Levi Mitchell (CALG); WRs Bryant Mitchell (EDM), Jordan Williams-Lambert (SASK); RB Terry Williams

Philadelphia Eagles:

  • WRs Carlton Agudosi, Marken Michel (CALG), Devin Smith; DB Mercy Maston (EDM); LBs Alex Singleton (CALG), Jameer Thurman (CALG)

Pittsburgh Steelers:

  • QB Max Browne; LB Sam Eguavoen (SASK); DE Avery Ellis (OTT); WR Dominique Rhymes (OTT

Tennessee Titans:

Washington Redskins:

This time of year, a lot of teams are auditioning guys for potential reserve/futures deals to be a part of their 90-man rosters for 2019. It’s also common to see a lot of CFL guys getting looks this time of year, because players participating in the 2018 CFL season aren’t eligible to sign NFL contracts until after the regular season is over.

AFC Notes: Bell, Jets, Ravens, Harbaugh, Browns, Wylie

December 22nd, 2018 at 8:06pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Although Le’Veon Bell‘s decision to sit out the 2018 season has caused people in the league to question “his character, competitiveness and motivation”, the Jets must go hard after Bell in free agency, opines Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Mehta writes that the Jets have a “golden opportunity” to get Sam Darnold another weapon, and quotes several of Bell’s former teammates who swear by him.

Jets defensive tackle Steve McLendon, who played with Bell in Pittsburgh, told Mehta “when he steps foot in this building, you’re going to get 100 percent from the guy” and that he would “bring the best out of so many people.” Mehta writes that the team “would be foolish not to make an aggressive run at Bell”, and he would fit right in with the New York media market. Jets GM Mike Maccagnan has said repeatedly that he plans to be aggressive using New York’s salary cap space this offseason, so Bell being a Jet is a very real possibility.

Here’s more from the AFC:

  • Despite the team’s surprise announcement yesterday that John Harbaugh would return to coach the Ravens in 2019 and that the team hoped to work out an extension with him, the two sides haven’t had any talks on an extension yet, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. La Canfora seems to think that an extension is still far from a guarantee, and writes that “numerous significant matters would have to be resolved” before any deal could get done. It will be an interesting situation to monitor, especially if the Ravens end up missing the playoffs.
  • After breaking his ankle in practice, Browns offensive line coach Bob Wylie had successful surgery and is recovering well the team announced, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). Wylie, who became a fan favorite due to his starring turn on this year’s season of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’, is “questionable at best” for this weekend’s game, according to the team’s announcement.
  • The Texans will be without to key offensive playmakers for their pivotal game against the Eagles tomorrow, as the team ruled out running back Lamar Miller and receiver Keke Coutee for the game, according to James Palmer of NFL Network (Twitter link). Coutee has been out for a few weeks now, but this will be Houston’s first game without Miller in the backfield. It’ll likely be a lot of Alfred Blue against a tough Philadelphia defensive front.
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