Bills Designate Damar Hamlin For Return; Maxwell Hairston Out For Wild-Card Game
Damar Hamlin has missed much of this season, landing on IR in early October. The Bills, though, could have the veteran safety back for their wild-card matchup against the Jaguars.
Buffalo designated Hamlin for return Wednesday, giving him a chance for activation ahead of the Jacksonville trip. Hamlin has been out since Week 5 with a pectoral injury. The Bills also placed Jordan Phillips on IR, per a team announcement. That move will knock the veteran defensive tackle out for the season. Buffalo also signed cornerback Dane Jackson from the practice squad and signed cornerback Daryl Porter Jr. and quarterback Shane Buechele to the P-squad.
Asked to start in place of Micah Hyde for most of the 2022 season, Hamlin suffered a life-threatening injury in a Week 17 game against the Bengals that ended up being cancelled. Hamlin made an inspirational recovery for 2023, though he played sparingly — in a development that strangely cost him the Comeback Player of the Year award. Last year, however, the Bills turned to Hamlin as a full-time starter. This included starts in all three Buffalo playoff games. The Bills then re-signed him on a one-year, $2MM deal.
That money checks in south of the starter tier, and the Bills turned to Cole Bishop to replace him opening this season. Bishop has teamed with the re-signed Jordan Poyer at safety for most of the season. Poyer has missed the past two weeks with a hamstring injury but was a limited participant in Buffalo’s Wednesday practice. The team also has Darnell Savage and Sam Franklin on its roster as insurance. Hamlin would add to that insurance contingent if activated. The Bills are in fine shape for injury activations, holding six entering the wild-card round.
Phillips is out with a foot injury sustained in Week 18. The recurring Bills supporting-caster played in 11 games this season, serving mostly as D-tackle depth during his third Buffalo stint. The Jackson move comes as cornerback Maxwell Hairston has been ruled out for Sunday’s game, per BuffaloBills.com’s Alec White.
Hairston’s injury is a troubling development for the Bills, who have seen cornerback injuries go a long way toward swinging their recent postseason matchups with the Chiefs. Christian Benford missed the 2023 divisional-round game against Kansas City and suffered a concussion on the Ravens’ last-ditch onside-kick attempt to close the 2024 divisional-round matchup with the Ravens. Benford later went out early in last year’s AFC championship game.
Hairston has now suffered an ankle injury late in the fourth quarter of the Bills’ blowout win over the Jets. While Benford is healthy, the Bills will be without their first-round pick after playing much of the season without him.
An LCL sprain kept Hairston out for two months; he has since played 56% of Buffalo’s defensive snaps. The Bills will need to lean on Tre’Davious White opposite Benford. Jackson brings a proven backup-level player, albeit one who has been on the practice squad this season and only saw action in three regular-season games. Hairston is not on IR, keeping him in play for a possible divisional-round game. But it is obviously not a good sign when a player is ruled out the Wednesday before a game.
John Harbaugh Fallout: Ravens, Monken, Timing, Jackson, Kingsbury
The Ravens’ decision to fire John Harbaugh on Tuesday might be this offseason’s biggest move. The ramifications are already spreading around the NFL, and no team has more to handle than the Ravens themselves. This offseason was already a crucial one for Baltimore, as Lamar Jackson is due for another round of extension negotiations in the coming months.
The two-time MVP already has considerable sway inside the organization, and the leverage from his contract talks only boosts his current influence. That factored into this process, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. While Jackson did not necessarily engineer Harbaugh’s ouster, there still may have been some friction between the veteran quarterback and Baltimore’s coaching staff. The team has long been frustrated with Jackson’s offseason practice habits, and routinely skipping Wednesdays this season to rest and recover from a myriad of injuries may have re-raised the issue.
While Harbaugh and Jackson were still believed to have a good relationship, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Ravens seem to be looking for a better fit with their franchise quarterback. According to Rapoport, the team is looking for someone who can “reach,” “invigorate,” and get the “absolute most” out of Jackson. The Ravens were believed to have pushed Harbaugh to fire OC Todd Monken. The HC’s refusal contributed to his own exit.
Here is the latest from this firing:
- Harbaugh himself felt unappreciated in his final years in Baltimore and seems ready for a new challenge, according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. That aligns with his exploration of other jobs around the league, particularly those like the Giants’ with a young quarterback and a desire to rebuild.
- A number of teams are already interested in Harbaugh, including a few that still have head coaches under contract. Those teams will need to carefully weigh their chances of hiring the ex-Ravens leader. They are unlikely to axe their current coaches unless they are confident they can land Harbaugh, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz. Teams are permitted to reach out to Harbaugh as a coaching free agent.
- Though Harbaugh’s removal seems to be the culmination of several things in Baltimore, the timing still took team and coach by surprise, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Those in the building seemed to expect Harbaugh to go along with firing Monken but his refusal to do so precipitated his firing. As of Tuesday afternoon, a view in the building pointed to Harbaugh staying, Hensley adds. The firing coming soon after will bring sweeping changes for an organization that has exuded stability for many years.
- The Ravens are expected to have a “complete makeover, especially on offense,” according to Hensley. Jackson’s input on the direction of the unit will likely play a factor.
- One route the team could go down is hiring Kliff Kingsbury, who recently parted ways with the Commanders. The offensive guru has found success with mobile quarterbacks like Kyler Murray and Jayden Daniels, and Jackson would no doubt be an interesting move considering Jackson’s status as maybe the greatest running quarterback in NFL history. Baltimore has already been mentioned as a landing spot for Kingsbury, per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and The Washington Post’s Mark Maske. The Commanders moved on from Kingsbury after a report indicated friction between he and GM Adam Peters, among disagreements between the front office and the coaching staff, took place this season.
Jets Unlikely To Fire OC Tanner Engstrand; Chris Harris Keeping DC Job In Play
Even compared to their Robert Saleh seasons, the Jets took a significant step back in 2025. The team tumbled to 3-14 and will hold the No. 2 overall pick. This comes after a season in which they were noncompetitive in many games.
The Jets will certainly consider drafting a quarterback second overall, though this could depend on which passers declare for the draft, and Aaron Glenn will be a key part of the decision. The Jets are not expected to fire Glenn, despite some rumors he was in danger of being a one-and-done HC, but his Year 1 showing obviously underwhelmed.
New York’s offense ranked 29th in scoring and yardage. Brady Cook, in particular, looked overmatched when making starts at the end of the season. The Jets benched Justin Fields midway through the year, a move that will likely precede a 2026 release. As for who will be calling the shots in 2026, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini notes OC Tanner Engstrand does not appear in danger of losing his job.
Engstrand did not have too much to work with this season. After the Jets lost Alijah Vera-Tucker for the year, Garrett Wilson went down seven games in. He somehow finished the season as the Jets’ leading receiver, with just 395 yards. This season marked the first time no Jet surpassed 500 receiving yards since the disastrous 1976 Lou Holtz-led campaign. The Jets did acquire Adonai Mitchell from the Colts in the Sauce Gardner trade, but adding to this room will probably be a priority after the team eschewed notable pushes for auxiliary weapons in free agency last year.
Glenn brought Engstrand with him from Detroit, where he served as the Lions’ pass-game coordinator. Engstrand, 43, held that role for two seasons under Ben Johnson. Engstrand was not closely linked to any other OC jobs during last year’s cycle, and he will assuredly enter 2026 on a hot seat based on what the Jets showed in his first season. The team also will need to re-sign Breece Hall, a long-stated goal, if it wants its leading 2025 skill player back.
On defense, Glenn fired Steve Wilks late in the season. Chris Harris replaced him, but the results were ugly to close out the campaign. The Jets gave up 35 first-half points to the Patriots in Week 17 and allowed a Bills team resting some starters, including Josh Allen, to score 35 in a one-sided Week 18 matchup. Bringing Harris back would not be a great look, but Cimini adds that will be considered. Outside options will also be on the table, however, as the Jets look to recover after a dismal 3-14 slate.
One of the outside options could be Don Martindale, Cimini offers. Martindale had a memorably explosive exit from New York two years ago, after a confrontation with Brian Daboll that led to his Giants ouster, and served as Sharrone Moore’s DC at Michigan over the past two years. Martindale, 62, and Glenn have not worked together previously.
TV Gig Would Await If Mike Tomlin Left Steelers
Mike Tomlin has now guided the Steelers to five playoff berths in the 2020s. Tyler Loop‘s missed field goal secured an eighth Pittsburgh AFC North title during the Tomlin era. His team is a home underdog to the Texans in the wild-card round, however.
The Steelers have not won a playoff game since their 2016 divisional-round victory over the Alex Smith-led Chiefs, going 0-6 since. They will now take on a Houston team carrying the No. 1-ranked defense. This creates another challenge for Tomlin, who has lost two playoff home games (to the Jaguars and Browns) since his most recent postseason win.
Rumblings about the Steelers and Ravens moving on from iconic coaches emerged before the teams’ Week 18 division-deciding tilt, and Baltimore has since moved on from John Harbaugh. A report indicating Tomlin might step away on his own accord after the season also surfaced just before Pittsburgh’s regular-season finale, and more has come out on the topic.
If Tomlin is to leave the Steelers on his own terms, a source informed ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler a TV role would likely carry more interest than entering the coaching market immediately. This aligns with what we heard over the weekend. As it stands, Tomlin has “open invitations” for a network gig if he steps way from the Steelers.
Sean Payton and Bruce Arians took this path in the fairly recent past; both TV sabbaticals lasted one season. Conversely, Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson stayed in TV. Jon Gruden took nine seasons off in between coaching stints. Cowher left the Steelers after 15 seasons, doing so a year after winning Super Bowl XL. Sean McVay resisted TV rumors after a disappointing 2022 season. Rumors about Cowher coming back to coaching faded long ago. It will be interesting if Tomlin would take the Cowher path or the Payton-Arians route should he venture into the TV world.
At 53, Tomlin does appear at a career crossroads. The former Super Bowl-winning HC has appeared in a second Super Bowl and another AFC championship game (in 2016), but success has been fleeting since. That said, the Pittsburgh staple extended his streak of non-losing seasons to an unfathomable 19 this year by reaching 10-7. Tomlin doing this without quarterback stability since Ben Roethlisberger‘s 2019 elbow injury has added a degree of difficulty to the high-floor routine, though the trend of the Steelers securing playoff berths only to lose their first game has soured a sizable sect of the fanbase on the longtime HC.
Aaron Rodgers also has unsurprisingly waffled on retirement plans; it would certainly be worth wondering if Rodgers’ return would be contingent on Tomlin staying. Tomlin played a big role in convincing Rodgers to sign with the Steelers. Although Tomlin’s latest extension runs through 2026, the Steelers have a team option on him for 2027. It must be exercised by March 1. Tomlin confirmed shortly after the Steelers’ wild-card loss to the Ravens last year he would return. Clarity here will likely come not too long after this Pittsburgh season ends.
Ravens Request HC Interview With Anthony Weaver, Klint Kubiak
The Ravens have begun their search to replace longtime head coach John Harbaugh.
Baltimore’s first two interview requests have gone to Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Weaver, 45, is a former Ravens player and coach. He was drafted by then-general manager Ozzie Newsome in the second round of the 2022 draft and started for his entire time in Baltimore. He then spent three years in Houston before retiring and joining the coaching ranks, first at the college level before jumping to the NFL with the Jets. He then served as a defensive line coach for the, Bills, Browns, and Texans before a stint as interim defensive coordinator in Houston after Bill O’Brien was fired in 2020.
Weaver went back to Baltimore in 2021, this time as a coach with a dual DL coach/defensive run game coordinator role. In 2022, he added associate head coach to his title. The Ravens were consistently one of the league’s top run-stopping defenses under Weaver, and his unit was a huge factor in the team’s success under Mike Macdonald in 2022 and 2023.
Weaver interviewed for the Ravens’ DC job when Macdonald left for Seattle, but it went to Zach Orr instead. Weaver was then hired by Mike McDaniel to replace Vic Fangio in Miami. The Dolphins defense improved from 22nd in points and 10th in yards in 2023 to 10th and fourth, respectively, in 2024. The unit regressed to bottom-10 numbers this past season, though Weaver was not helped by general manager Chris Grier. He virtually ignored the defense in the offseason, leaving his DC especially weak at cornerback and defensive tackle.
Weaver would return to Baltimore armed with two years of play-calling. experience and a few connections to potential offensive coordinators. Ex-Texans OC Bobby Slowik spent the 2025 season in Miami, and it is not out of the realm of possibility that Dolphins owner and Michigan alum Stephen Ross consideres replacing McDaniel with Harbaugh. That could make McDaniel an option to come with Weaver to Baltimore as OC, though he himself may garner head coaching consideration, too.
Kubiak, 38, is arguably the hottest offensive head coach candidate this hiring cycle, which is far stronger in defensive-minded coaches. He has been with five different teams in the last five years, which is a potential red flag, but it also gives him a number of connections around the league. He has also spent time under Kyle Shanahan and Mike Zimmer, two other experienced, well-respected coaches that add to Kubiak’s pedigree. That could help him build a strong staff – for example, bringing Seahawks DC Aden Durde to Baltimore. He also has play-calling experience for multiple offenses and could likely adapt his system to Lamar Jackson’s skillset.
Obviously, Kubiak’s last name is relevant to the Ravens, who employed his father, Gary Kubiak, as their offensive coordinator in 2014. Kubiak departed the next season for Denver, but he is still fondly remembered in Baltimore.
Dolphins GM Candidates Being Asked About Mike McDaniel Status; John Harbaugh Not In Play?
The Dolphins are conducting a GM search that could determine where they go at head coach. For the time being, Mike McDaniel remains employed as HC — to the point he is being given input on the GM search — but it is not certain he will receive a fifth season.
Miami’s set of GM interviews thus far have seen candidates asked about working with McDaniel, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. But the meetings have also included the search committee asking the candidates about thoughts on replacing the four-year HC and starting fresh. This prospect came up Tuesday as well.
Considering the issues mismatched timelines can cause, it is unsurprising the Dolphins are listening to candidates’ views about working with a coach on the hot seat. More teams as of late have opted to start their GM and HC timeclocks concurrently. But Dolphins ownership is believed to be fond of McDaniel, hence the interesting situation in which he has input on a process that involves his job status.
This is certainly not the smoothest setup, but it is how the Dolphins are proceeding with their first GM search in 10 years. McDaniel still appears to have a better chance to stay than be canned, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano note, indicating the embattled leader still has support in “important parts of the building.”
Chris Grier did not have full roster control until 2019, but the Dolphins promoted him to GM in 2016. Miami has not hired a GM from outside the organization since appointing Dennis Hickey to the post in 2014. This represents uncovered ground for the modern Dolphins, who have brought in Troy Aikman to help with the hire. Aikman’s old coach, Jimmy Johnson, suggested the team speak with the ESPN analyst, Outkick.com’s Armando Salguero notes.
Following a rather publicized Cowboys breakup, Johnson ended up back in Miami coaching the Dolphins from 1996-99. Stephen Ross was not yet the team owner during Johnson’s tenure, but the Hall of Fame coach still clearly has a line to the franchise. Aikman joins Dan Marino and other staffers on the search committee.
Three of the Dolphins’ GM candidates — Josh Williams, Tariq Ahmad, R.J. Gillen — are 49ers staffers who worked with McDaniel previously. Hiring one of them would point to the HC staying on. Hiring one of the other interviewees, however, may lead elsewhere. An interesting possible third door opened Tuesday night, as the Ravens fired John Harbaugh after 18 seasons. Harbaugh is believed to have received interest from at least seven teams, meaning at least one club without a coaching vacancy gauged his interest. Considering McDaniel’s tenuous status, it would stand to reason they would reach out to the new coaching free agent.
This may or may not have occurred. The Exhibit’s Josina Anderson reports the Dolphins have been in touch with Harbaugh, adding team ownership is believed to have an affinity for the veteran HC. Countering this, however, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson indicates no engagement of any kind has taken place between the Dolphins and Harbaugh.
Considering Harbaugh’s accomplishments, it would be natural to assume the Dolphins would have interest. But the lot of HC-needy teams, most notably the Giants, does as well. Harbaugh has only coached with the Eagles and Ravens since entering the NFL in 1998. He would provide a proven option on a market that largely lacks them. The team that does end up with Harbaugh, though, would seemingly need to be a non-rebuilding operation presently.
Dolphins ownership did move on from Grier due partially to the GM’s interest in conducting a fire sale at the trade deadline, pointing against a rebuild. Then again, the team appears on the verge of dropping Tua Tagovailoa and looking for a new quarterback. That would at least present a key rebuild ingredient, which could make a Harbaugh fit clunky.
Ohio State S Caleb Downs Declares For 2026 Draft
Ohio State safety and projected first-round pick Caleb Downs has declared for the 2026 NFL Draft (via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer).
Downs, 21, was a five-star recruit out of Georgia who was thought to be the No. 1 safety in the class of 2023. He committed to Alabama, and not only did he earn a starting job as a freshman, he led the SEC in solo tackles. He finished 107 total tackles, plus 3.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and four passes defended and earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors for his efforts.
Nick Saban’s retirement after the 2023 college football season led Downs to transfer to Ohio State, where he continued to dominate opposing offenses. He did not match his freshman-year raw tackle totals in Columbus, but he made more splash plays around the line of scrimmage while continuing similar ball production in the passing game.
Downs racked up the accolades in his two years at Ohio State, earning first-team Big 10 and All-American honors in both years, plus Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year and the Jim Thorpe Award in his final seasons. Downs also played a key role on the Buckeyes defense that ran through a gauntlet of tough offense on their way to the 2024 national championship.
Downs is currently considered the top safety prospect in the 2026 draft class by a significant margin. At the moment, he is the No. 1 prospect on Pro Football Focus’ big board and No. 11 on ESPN’s Mel Kiper’s rankings. As an early-declaring prospect with three years as a starter and the growing impact of versatile safeties in the NFL, Downs could be seen as a young cornerstone around which teams can build their entire defense.
The NFL has not spent top-10 picks on safeties in recent years. The highest drafted safety in the last five years was Kyle Hamilton, the 14th overall pick in 2022, while Jamal Adams (sixth overall, 2017) was the last one to go in the first 10 picks. Downs has the potential to have the same kind of multi-dimensional impact in an NFL defense, though landing under the right coach in the appropriate defensive scheme will still be important. Downs’ testing at the Combine could solidify his status as a top-10 prospect, but a poor showing could drop his stock similarly to Hamilton’s pre-draft fall.
Commanders Fire O-Line Coach; Dan Quinn Disagreed With Coordinator Firings?
A year after a surprise NFC championship game appearance, the Commanders moved on from both their coordinators. This follows a 5-12 season in which Jayden Daniels suffered three injuries that limited him to just seven games in total.
More fallout from the firings has emerged. For starters, the Commanders have fired offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Nicki Jhabvala report. Johnson was a Dan Quinn hire upon arrival. He had coached the Giants’ O-line during Brian Daboll‘s first two seasons.
This marks the second time in three years Johnson has been fired. The Giants let him go following the 2023 season. Johnson had served as the Bills’ O-line coach from 2019-21 before following Daboll to the Big Apple. Johnson had not worked with Quinn or Kliff Kingsbury previously.
Kingsbury represented the biggest domino to fall Tuesday, as he had drawn extensive head coaching interest last year and had popped up as a candidate again — even after a down Commanders season. While demoted DC Joe Whitt was viewed as on the way out, Kingsbury brought a surprise. But a report over the weekend indicated Kingsbury and GM Adam Peters were not seeing eye-to-eye. Soon after, Kingsbury is a coaching free agent despite one season remaining on his contract.
The Commanders had lured Kingsbury away from his 2024 Raiders commitment, dangling a third year the former Cardinals HC coveted. The Raiders had only offered a two-year deal. Kingsbury, 46, figures to be in demand moving forward. This dismissal reportedly came against the objections of Daniels and other offensive players, and it does not appear to be the first instance of the Washington front office disagreeing with the coaching staff.
Quinn did not seem overly interested in firing his coordinators, according to veteran insider Jordan Schultz, who adds front office meddling with Quinn’s staff is believed to be an issue for the franchise. The issue extends to the front office giving instructions on which players to use, per Schultz. It is not uncommon for GMs to have preferences on how players are utilized; after all, they do generally have roster control. But conflict between front offices and staffs on this level is certainly something to monitor, as Schultz adds there were “notable disagreements” during a 5-12 season on this front.
This disconnect will obviously be a storyline to monitor. Peters did not have Quinn as his first choice. The Commanders were moving toward a Ben Johnson hire in 2024. Like the Raiders in 2025, however, Johnson’s wishes did not align with this plan. Quinn became a safe choice after three solid seasons as Dallas’ DC, and he guided Washington to road wins over the Buccaneers and No. 1-seeded Lions — Johnson’s Detroit finale — in last season’s playoffs. Injuries to Daniels and Terry McLaurin significantly impacted this year’s Commanders edition.
Considering this report, it will be interesting to see if rumblings about a Quinn departure emerge in the near future. Otherwise, it would seem the second-chance HC will enter the season on a hot seat. Coordinator firings regularly precede a head coach’s seat warming, and it should be safe to assume that is the case in Washington heading into the offseason.
Commanders Request To Interview Raiders’ Patrick Graham For Defensive Coordinator Job
One day after the Commanders fired defensive coordinator Joe Whitt, the first candidate to take over the role has emerged. The Commanders have requested an interview with Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
It appears the Raiders will grant the Commanders’ request. Washington plans to discuss the job with Graham on “Friday or Saturday,” a league source told Josina Anderson of The Exhibit.
Graham, a Yale alumnus, began his NFL coaching career as an assistant on Bill Belichick‘s staff in New England in 2009. He remained on Belichick’s staff and held multiple roles through 2015. After dividing the next three seasons between the Giants and Packers, he became a first-time defensive coordinator with the Dolphins in 2019.
Brian Flores, another former Belichick assistant, was the Dolphins’ head coach in Graham’s lone season in Miami. The Dolphins’ defense finished last in the NFL in scoring and 30th in yardage, but Graham still earned a promotion during the ensuing offseason.
Graham left South Florida to work for another ex-Patriots staffer, then-Giants head coach Joe Judge, who hired Graham as an assistant HC and D-coordinator. The Giants ranked ninth in scoring and 12th in yards in 2020, but the unit fell to 23rd and 21st, respectively, the next season. The Giants fired Judge afterward.
Although his run with the Giants didn’t go as planned, Graham quickly landed on his feet as the Raiders’ defensive coordinator. He initially coached under Josh McDaniels, yet another Belichick disciple. McDaniels lost his job during the 2023 campaign, but Graham remained in his post under Antonio Pierce and then Pete Carroll. The Raiders had a top 10 scoring defense in ’23, but they’ve otherwise ranked 25th or worse under Graham. However, they finished either 14th or 15th in yards in each of the past three seasons.
Carroll is now out after one year as the Raiders’ head coach, leaving Graham and the team’s other assistants in limbo. With that in mind, the 46-year-old Graham may jump at the chance to lead the Commanders’ defense if head coach Dan Quinn offers him the position.
Alabama QB Ty Simpson To Enter Draft
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson will declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, Pete Thamel of ESPN reports. Simpson informed Alabama’s coaches of his decision to forgo his senior season on Wednesday.
Simpson, ESPN’s 27th-ranked recruit coming out of high school, committed to Alabama in February 2021. He wound up playing sparingly with the Crimson Tide from 2022-24. Jalen Milroe, now a backup quarterback with the Seahawks, was Alabama’s starter during that three-year span.
With Milroe moving on to the pros, Simpson finally got his chance to lead the Crimson Tide’s offense this season. He completed 64.5% of passes and threw for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns and five interceptions in 15 games. Simpson earned second-team All-SEC honors and helped his team to a College Football Playoff berth.
Alabama advanced with a first-round win over Oklahoma, but its season ended with a 38-3 blowout loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl. Hoosiers Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the potential No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, got the better of Simpson. After Simpson suffered a rib injury, backup Austin Mack replaced him early in the second half.
Despite an unceremonious ending to his time at Alabama, the 6-foot-2, 208-pound Simpson could come off the board early in April’s draft. However, assuming Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore declare, expectations are they’ll enter the proceedings as the top-ranked QBs in the class.
Moore (No. 1) and Mendoza (No. 2) are the highest-rated prospects on Mel Kiper’s latest big board at any position. The ESPN draft analyst doesn’t have Simpson as a top 25 prospect, but he’s third among QBs.. If that holds up over the next few months, Simpson may have a chance to go in the first round.