Uncategorized News & Rumors

The new waiting period for teams to conduct interviews with active assistant coaches comes with a wrinkle. Assistants on teams that do not have a wild-card game on tap can interview for HC jobs three days after the regular season ends, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. This applies to coaches on teams that did not make the playoffs or staffers on a team that received a bye. These apparently would be remote interviews, with Florio adding no team staffer can interview in-person for a head-coaching job until after the wild-card round. While the slight head-start may benefit the batch of staffers not on one of the 12 wild-card weekend teams, the advantage may be negligible. As for the coaches on teams playing in the opening round, they cannot interview until the following Tuesday (for teams that played on Saturday and Sunday) or Wednesday (for the Monday teams). This week’s interview changes apply to the next two offseasons.

Here is the latest from around the league:

• Among the resolutions passed this week, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to a training camp ramp-up period. From Days 2-5 in camp, no live contact is permitted, via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Teams can gather twice a day during this span, but the one of the sessions must be a walkthrough. A 3 1/2-hour time limit is allotted for both practices; that expands to four hours after the ramp-up period. The same two-a-day structure (one mandatory walkthrough) applies for the remainder of camp, however. True two-a-day camp workouts did not make it past 2010. Sixteen padded practices are permitted during the entirety of training camp; only one of those is permitted during the bye week that separates the preseason from the regular season.
• As expected, the NFL is keeping the 16-man practice squad. But the league made some minor changes. Practice squad elevations, as opposed to true promotions, can occur three times in 2022, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes (Twitter link). Teams were previously permitted two such elevations, which did not require the players to pass through waivers in order to be returned to the practice squad. Players who are active for three games this season will also earn an accrued season toward free agency, Kyed tweets. Teams can keep six vested veterans on P-squads this season.
• The league also ended reinstated some limitations regarding injured reserve. Teams can only make eight IR activations in 2022. While that is more such transactions than teams were permitted in the 2010s, teams did not face IR limitations from 2020-21.

There will be a handful of rule changes on the table during next week’s owners meeting, including eliminating one rarely-used loophole that would impact postseason transactions.

Per Ben Volin of The Boston Globe (on Twitter), the Competition Committee proposed a bylaw that “prohibits clubs participating in the playoffs from signing players who have been terminated by clubs whose seasons have concluded.” As ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio points out, this change would remedy an issue that rarely pops up. Florio couldn’t think of one occasion where a postseason team signed a cut player from an eliminated team, and he points to the 2020 playoffs when Mark Ingram and Robert Griffin went unsigned despite being eligible to join active teams.

Owners will also consider a pair of rules focused on overtime rules. The Colts and Eagles want to “allow both teams an opportunity to possess the ball in overtime,” while the Titans proposed a rule that would “allow both teams an opportunity to possess the ball in overtime unless the team with the first possession scores a touchdown and a successful two-point try.”

The Competition Committee proposed a change that would make permanent the free kick formation change that was implement during the 2021 campaign. The rule established a maximum number of players in the setup zone. Meanwhile, the Ravens, Bills, Eagles, and Buccaneers proposed an amendment to the Anti-Tampering Policy. Specifically, this change is “in regard to Secondary Football Executive positions, to allow the employer club the choice to retain its player personnel staff though the Annual Selection Meeting. After the selection meeting through June 30, the employer club is required to grant permission for another club to interview and hire a non-high-level executive or non-secondary football executive for a secondary football executive position.”

What’s already been a hectic week of trades and transactions is set to culminate today, as the NHL’s 2022 Trade Deadline is at 2:00 p.m. CT. Make sure to follow our coverage on Pro Hockey Rumors (@prohockeyrumors on Twitter!) to see what happens as teams have their last chance to move talent in and out before the end of the regular season.

We’ve already seen some gigantic waves this week, such as the Florida Panthers acquiring longtime Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux for an unexpectedly low price, and the Boston Bruins shoring up their defense by trading for and extending former Anaheim Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm.

There’s still the potential for blockbusters today, though. All eyes are on the Arizona Coyotes and defenseman Jakob Chychrun, as the 23-year-old defenseman is now the best man on the market, but it’s not a given that he gets moved out. The Anaheim Ducks may not be done yet after dealing away a good portion of their defense, as two-time 30-goal scorer Rickard Rakell is also on the market.

Make sure to continue to follow Pro Hockey Rumors throughout Deadline Day as all the action wraps up. You can also keep up with all of the trades on our Twitter.

Riley Dixon is hitting free agency. The Giants have cut their veteran punter, reports ESPN’s Jordan Raanan (via Twitter). The move will save the Giants $2.8MM against the cap.

Dixon has spent the past four seasons in New York. His numbers took a bit of a step back in 2021, as the 28-year-old’s average punt length was at a career-low 44.4 yards. However, he did punt the ball 74 times, his highest total since 2016.

The Syracuse product was a seventh-round by the Broncos in 2016. He spent two seasons with Denver, including a 2016 campaign where he earned PFWA All-Rookie Team honors. He was traded to the Giants in 2018 for a 2019 conditional seventh-round draft pick.

The MLB lockout is finally over! That means we’re about to experience an unprecedented free agent and trade frenzy leading up to Opening Day on April 7. Head on over to MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors on Twitter) to keep up with all of the action!

The NBA trade deadline is less than seven hours away, and our sister site Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors on Twitter) has all the latest news and rumors for each of the league’s 30 teams!

We’ve already seen several major trades in the past week, with CJ McCollum headed to the Pelicans in a seven-player trade, and the Kings shocking the basketball world by sending rising star Tyrese Haliburton to the Pacers for two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis as part of a six-player swap.

Amid a nine-game losing streak, former MVP James Harden has reportedly grown increasingly frustrated with the Nets – will he be traded for disgruntled Sixers star Ben Simmons? Could a trade between the defending champion Bucks and the Celtics be brewing? Will the Pacers and Kings continue to reshape their rosters? The struggling Lakers are feeling urgency to make moves — will they be able to pull something off before 2:00pm CT?

For the latest updates on those stories and more, check out Hoops Rumors today! Last season saw a total of 24 in-season trades, including 16 on deadline day alone, and this season could be just as action-packed! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter – @HoopsRumors.