Aaron Rodgers Addresses Latest Trade Rumors, Jets’ Nathaniel Hackett Hire
During the first round of Aaron Rodgers trade rumors, the source rarely provided insight about his situation. With Rodgers now having a weekly radio spot, his status is never far off the radar. The 18-year Packers quarterback had more news to address Tuesday.
A weekend report from ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter indicated the Packers would prefer to move on from Rodgers. This would mean giving another team responsibility of the $58.3MM bonus, which can be paid at any point this offseason, but also taking on a substantial dead-money hit — should a trade occur before June 1 — and committing to seeing what Jordan Love has to offer.
[RELATED: Rodgers Trade A “Very Real Scenario”]
Rodgers is well aware of the conversations occurring among Packers brass, per Schefter, and the 39-year-old superstar certainly seemed to confirm as such. “It sounds like there’s already conversations going on that aren’t involving me, which are interesting,” Rodgers said during his latest Pat McAfee Show interview (via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky). This response also came to question that did not specifically address the Schefter report.
The Jets’ Nathaniel Hackett OC hire also did plenty to fuel speculation Rodgers could be headed out of Green Bay. Again offering praise for Hackett — the Packers’ OC from 2019-21 — Rodgers said (via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini) the former Green Bay assistant was among his favorites. Robert Saleh downplayed the Rodgers-Hackett connection, as should be expected, but the Jets are evaluating Rodgers, Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo.
Rodgers reiterated he has not made a decision about returning but pointed to one of the two decisions on his plate — seemingly calls on playing and staying with the Packers — being made in “a couple weeks.” Carr, Garoppolo and Rodgers could all be available at different points on the calendar — Carr in February, Garoppolo in March and Rodgers potentially in June, when a trade would be less financially punishing for the Packers — adding an interesting wrinkle to this year’s QB market.
Green Bay moving on this offseason would be eerily similar territory, especially with New York being in the equation again. The Packers have used Rodgers as their starter since trading Brett Favre to the Jets in August 2008. The Jets have not acquired a franchise-caliber veteran since that Favre deal, which was only for a conditional third-round pick. Rodgers is expected to command more in a deal. Favre turned 39 shortly after being dealt to the Jets; Rodgers turned 39 last month. Love is going into his fourth season, just as Rodgers was in 15 years ago.
The Packers’ direction will also influence their decision on keeping Rodgers, who mentioned five players — David Bakhtiari, Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard, Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis — as those he wants as teammates. All but Bakhtiari are free agents. Cobb and Lewis’ statuses with the Packers almost certainly depend on Rodgers’, Demovsky adds. Both vets likely will not return to the team if Rodgers is not back. Bakhtiari is due a $9.5MM roster bonus on the third day of the 2023 league year and is set to carry a $28.9MM cap number. Bakhtiari should be expected to return on a restructured deal, per Demovsky. The former All-Pro left tackle said he is not planning to retire, and Brian Gutekunst said he expects the 10-year veteran to be back.
Steelers Likely To Extend Mike Tomlin?
The Steelers seemed destined for their first ever losing season under head coach Mike Tomin midway through the 2022 campaign, but the team rallied to a 9-8 finish. While that was not enough for them to make the postseason, it seems to have been sufficient to earn him another new deal. 
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that Tomlin, 50, is under contract through 2024. However, the Steelers have routinely extended him during offseasons when he had two years remaining on his existing pact, including most recently in April of 2021. That would make this spring the next expected date for a re-up, which would mark Tomlin’s seventh extension with the Steelers.
2022 saw Pittsburgh turn their offense over to first-round rookie Kenny Pickett, a move which involved growing pains and inconsistency on offense in general. The team’s performance on that side of the ball led to plenty of criticism for offensive coordinator Matt Canada, though he is expected to be retained for at least one more season. A return to health from edge rusher T.J. Watt helped spark another high-end defensive performance, though, which brought the team back into postseason contention.
That concluded Tomlin’s 16th season at the helm of the Steelers, a franchise which has had only three coaches since 1969. His recent tenure does not include the postseason success of his earlier years – Pittsburgh has not won a playoff game since 2016 – but he is still very highly regarded by the team’s front office. That includes president Art Rooney II, who spoke about Tomlin in a recent interview.
“I don’t really evaluate Mike on anything other than I’m glad he’s our coach,” Rooney said, via Dulac. “Hopefully he’ll be our coach into the future. He gives us a chance to win, year in and year out, and put us in a position where we have a chance to compete for a championship.”
While Rooney also cautioned that he did not want to “speculate” on Tomlin’s contractual status, his above remarks certainly point to another multi-year deal coming soon. Assuming that takes place, a two-year re-up would put Tomlin on track to coach in Pittsburgh for 20 seasons, only three shy of Chuck Noll‘s tenure with the franchise. Even without a new contract, he can safely be pegged for another campaign in 2023 as the team looks to build off of this year’s late-season turnaround.
Latest On Eagles QBs Coach Brian Johnson
The Eagles have made it to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in franchise history this season in large part due to the jump in production seen from quarterback Jalen Hurts. To little surprise, his positional coach is drawing interest during this year’s coordinator cycle. 
[RELATED: Eagles, Hurts To Discuss Extension]
Brian Johnson began his coaching career at the college level in 2010. Over the course of the following decade, he spent time with four different programs, working as QBs coach and/or offensive coordinator at each stop along the way. That landed him his Eagles post in 2021, his first foray into coaching in the NFL.
This season, his second as a full-time starter, Hurts has taken a substantial step forward. The former second-rounder led the Eagles to the NFC’s No. 1 seed, putting himself in the MVP conversation along the way. That earned Johnson considerable praise alongside the other key members of the Eagles’ offensive staff, particularly OC Shane Steichen. It has not, on the other hand, resulted in much in the way of interviews so far.
The only meeting Johnson reportedly took was with the Rams prior to their decision to hire Mike LaFleur for their OC position. Contradicting that, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones writes that Johnson has yet to take part in any interviews. Part of the reason for that, he adds, is the possibility that he could be waiting to see if the Eagles’ OC role becomes vacant after the season with Steichen being hired elsewhere. If that were to take place, Johnson, 35, would represent a logical candidate to be promoted.
In any case, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler names Johnson and Kevin Patullo as names on Philadelphia’s staff to watch closely as teams fill out their OC positions (Twitter link). One such team is the Panthers, who have Frank Reich in place as their new head coach but plenty of uncertainty with respect to the rest of his staff. A push from Carolina to hire Johnson for the role is “probably coming,” per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. Breer adds that Johnson would have also been the preferred candidate for Steve Wilks, had he been given the full-time HC position with the Panthers.
With five OC spots still yet to be filled, plenty is still to be determined in the coming weeks as the coaching cycle plays out. Regardless of the outcome of the coming Super Bowl, though, Johnson will figure to be on the radar in 2023 and beyond.
Lions LB Alex Anzalone Seeking Multi-Year Deal?
The Lions’ late push for a playoff spot was driven in part by the team’s defensive turnaround to close out the regular season. One veteran member of the unit would be open to another contract keeping him in the Motor City, though another one-year pact may not be an option this year. 
Linebacker Alex Anzalone signed a one-year deal in the 2021 offseason to join the Lions after starting his career in New Orleans. His level of play during that campaign earned him another one-year pact, this time at a value of $2.25MM, a slight raise from the previous contract. After a career-year in terms of production, he is now set to hit the free agent market.
The 28-year-old started all 17 games in 2022, seeing the field for over 1,000 snaps for the first time in his career. He comfortably set a new personal mark in terms of tackles with 125, adding 1.5 sacks, one interception and six pass breakups. While those totals didn’t yield a particularly glowing evaluation in terms of PFF grade, it still made him a valuable member of Detroit’s defense. When speaking about his future, the former third-rounder left the door open to once again re-upping with the Lions.
“I feel like obviously it’s a fit, but there are multiple layers to that,” Anzalone said, via the team’s website. “I’m going into Year 7 and you have to take care of your family, but I love [head coach] Dan [Campbell] and AG [defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn] and love what they are doing here.”
Anzalone’s production in 2022 has led to a sense that he will look for a longer-term deal this March after consecutive one-year stints. Given the valuation of his position, a significant raise compared to his previous deals would be unlikely at his age, however. If he were to move on in free agency, the Lions could turn to the likes of Derrick Barnes and Josh Woods at the second level of their defense.
That area is likely to be a key focus of theirs during the offseason, as they look to improve on the defensive side of the ball in particular. The Lions are currently in better shape than most teams with respect to cap space, though much will surely change between now and the onset of free agency, including their valuation of Anzalone and several other veteran defenders.
Cowboys To Interview Jeff Nixon For OC Vacancy
For the first time in Dak Prescott‘s career, the Cowboys are on the lookout for a new offensive coordinator. With Kellen Moore headed to Los Angeles, their search for his replacement is set to begin. 
Dallas is set to interview Panthers running backs coach Jeff Nixon for the OC position, reports Joe Person of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 48-year-old began his NFL coaching career with the Eagles in 2007, spending time there as an assistant on both offense and special teams. That led him to the Dolphins, where he took on the familiar role of exclusively coaching running backs.
Nixon spent four years in Miami, then one in San Francisco before working alongside Matt Rhule at Baylor. He joined the latter in Carolina upon his hire in 2020, and has been with the Panthers since. Nixon has once again been primarily working with the team’s running backs, but he also took over the interim OC role in 2021 following the dismissal of Joe Brady. In 2022, Nixon maintained senior offensive assistant as part of his title.
This past season saw the Panthers’ ground game lose its most potent weapon after Christian McCaffrey was traded to the 49ers midseason. In spite of that, the team still finished 10th in the league in rushing, averaging 130 yards per game on the ground. That element of their offense – driven by D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard following the McCaffrey deal – helped keep Carolina in the hunt for a playoff spot deep into the season despite their disastrous start under Rhule.
Nixon (who also interviewed for OC vacancies with the Jaguars and Raiders last offseason) is also a candidate to remain on staff in Carolina under new head coach Frank Reich. Should he depart, though, he could take on a sizeable role in a Cowboys offense which impressed in the regular season but fell short in the playoffs during Moore’s tenure. Dallas’ hire to fill the vacancy will not call plays, though, as head coach Mike McCarthy is reportedly set to assume those duties.
Another, internal, option for the Cowboys to consider is Brian Schottenheimer. The veteran staffer has OC experience with the Jets, Rams and Seahawks and served as a consultant in Dallas this past season. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer names the 49-year-old as a candidate to watch as the Cowboys’ search for Moore’s replacement starts to take shape in the coming days.
Eagles, Jalen Hurts To Discuss Extension
Five years after building a Super Bowl-winning roster around Carson Wentz‘s rookie contract, the Eagles are back on the NFL’s biggest stage thanks to a similar formula. Jalen Hurts, who replaced Wentz late in the 2020 season, has piloted the team back to the Super Bowl and is now in a contract year.
The Eagles will not have as much flexibility with Hurts compared to their Wentz negotiation window, with their current starter’s contract not including the fifth-year option. After a 2022 offseason that included links to high-profile passers, the Eagles are prepared to move forward with Hurts. They are planning to meet with Hurts’ agent about an extension this offseason, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link).
After struggling down the stretch last season and undergoing ankle surgery last winter, Hurts entered the 2022 offseason with a somewhat uncertain future. The Eagles looked into Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson; the team’s Watson research dates back to the 2021 season. Watson ended up not waiving his no-trade clause for the Eagles. Ownership advised the Eagles against bringing in Hurts competition that year, and the former Alabama and Oklahoma dual threat showed promise. After the Eagles built a roster comparable to 2017’s this past offseason, they are 16-1 in Hurts starts and one win away from their second Super Bowl title. The dramatic leap Hurts has taken puts him in commanding position for an extension.
Seeming like they surfaced years ago, the franchise’s connections to other QBs and doubts about Hurts are in the past. There is no longer any doubt about Hurts’ future in Philadelphia, Rapoport adds, and the team’s increased faith in the former second-round pick will lead to big numbers being thrown around soon.
Philly moved early on Wentz, locking the former No. 2 overall pick down with an extension in June 2019. That $32MM-per-year contract was not a top-market pact at the time, but it was not far off Wilson’s then-NFL-high $35MM-AAV accord. The Wentz deal did not work out for the team, though Philadelphia managed to collect first- and third-round picks for him in 2021. The Eagles are now free of Wentz dead money, but the Hurts deal will again change the franchise’s payroll.
Hurts, 24, becomes extension-eligible in the same offseason in which Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert do, and Lamar Jackson remains without a long-term deal. These passers will be linked for the foreseeable future, and contracts that start with a “5” will be tossed around. Aaron Rodgers remains the only NFLer tied to a $50MM-per-year contract — a short-term, uniquely structured one at that — but that will almost certainly change soon. The salary cap’s spike to $224.8MM represents good news for this quartet, among others in position to cash in, and the Eagles having a recent history of being proactive on extensions — as the deals for Wentz, A.J. Brown and a few offensive linemen have shown in recent years — should point to the Hurts talks becoming serious this offseason.
Latest On Broncos’ Coaching Search
As the offseason enters its fourth week, this Broncos ownership group’s first coaching search looks to have skidded off track. A host of updates have emerged in recent days regarding the new owners’ HC pursuit, but the team’s preferred candidates are mostly out of the picture.
Jim Harbaugh loomed as a frontrunner early but bowed out of the race, while Dan Quinn was well-regarded during his time in the derby. He recommitted to the Cowboys for a second straight offseason. The Texans look to have the inside track for DeMeco Ryans, who had gained steam with the Broncos late last week. For the time being, the Sean Payton-to-Denver talk has faded.
While CEO Greg Penner flew to Ann Arbor to meet with Harbaugh, the meeting caught other Broncos HC candidates off-guard, according to The Athletic’s Mike Sando (subscription required). Harbaugh said the Broncos’ job would be the one he’d want if he returned to the NFL, with this stance emerging not long after the longtime Michigan HC recommitted to his alma mater. But the Broncos are not believed to have made an offer. Harbaugh remains at Michigan, and Denver’s set of second-tier candidates do not appear closer to landing the job.
Despite this rocky search, Troy Renck of Denver7 notes the other batch of candidates the Broncos have met with — Rams DC Raheem Morris, former Lions HC Jim Caldwell and ex-Stanford HC David Shaw — have not gained momentum for the job. With DC Ejiro Evero also not being connected to the post since interviewing nearly three weeks ago, this would leave Payton still atop the team’s wish list. Indeed, the Caldwell-Evero-Morris-Shaw contingent has been informed no second interviews are on tap, 9News’ Mike Klis notes.
Payton made the Broncos his first interview; that occurred more than two weeks ago. Initial reports indicated Payton was behind the new Broncos ownership contingent, but a subsequent offering suggested pause. Payton directly refuted that he feared a power struggle with one of the team’s new owners, and the former Super Bowl-winning HC addressed his status over the weekend. The door remains open for Payton, per Renck, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport suggested the franchise still wants to swing for a “big, big, big” hire.
Payton, 59, is the only candidate who would seem to fit that description, and other teams may be realizing they will not be able to entice him to leave FOX this year. Linked to preparing a big Payton push, the Panthers hired Frank Reich. The Cardinals adding a host of new candidates Monday points to them realizing Payton is likely an unrealistic goal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com offered during a Pat McAfee Show appearance (video link). Payton interviewed with the Cardinals on Thursday. It will take a first-round pick and at least some Day 2 selections to pry Payton’s rights from New Orleans, but the way this search is going, hints of desperation may soon come out of Denver.
If the Broncos cannot lure Payton from FOX, they will either need to circle back to what appear to be their lower-tier candidates or add names to the list. As of Monday night, no new names are on the radar, Klis reaffirms, adding the Broncos will not send the Saints two first-round picks for Payton. That was a rumored Mickey Loomis ask weeks ago. For a team that entered the offseason preparing an “ultra-aggressive” search for an experienced HC to execute a turnaround, this figures to be a pivotal week for its new ownership contingent.
NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/30/23
Here are Monday’s reserve/futures contracts handed out:
Minnesota Vikings
- DL Sheldon Day
New England Patriots
- WR Lynn Bowden
The Vikings ended Day’s three-month free agency stay in December, adding the veteran D-lineman to their practice squad. Day, 28, did not see any action with the team this season, but he will stick around ahead of the 2023 league year. Day saw 46% of the Browns’ defensive snaps in 2021 and was a regular 49ers contributor in the late 2010s. Although injuries bumped him up to such status, Day worked as a starter in each of San Francisco’s three 2019 playoff games.
The rare Day 2 draft choice to be traded before he played a down with the team that selected him, Bowden spent the season on the Patriots’ practice squad. The former Raiders draftee-turned-Dolphins trade acquisition loomed as a trade candidate in August but ended up being waived. Bowden, 25, has played in just one game over the past two seasons. But he spent the full season on New England’s P-squad. The Pats will keep him around ahead of Bill O’Brien‘s first offseason back in Foxborough.
Texans Aiming To Close DeMeco Ryans Deal
The Texans are attempting to move this DeMeco Ryans process past the goal line. The two-year 49ers defensive coordinator is set for a second interview with the team this week, and after back-to-back one-and-done HCs, the Texans appear more committed to a candidate this time around.
With Ryans pivoting from Broncos frontrunner to Texans favorite, Josina Anderson of CBS Sports notes (via Twitter) Houston’s ownership is pushing to close the deal and make the former linebacker the franchise’s next head coach. Ryans, who played for the Texans from 2006-11, is believed to have interest in coaching his former team. Now that the 49ers have been eliminated, Ryans can be hired at any point. He is the clear clubhouse leader for the Houston job, Peter King of NBC Sports writes.
The 38-year-old coordinator has not closed the book on the Broncos, Anderson tweets, but he is believed to prefer the Texans. The hope here is a deal is agreed to during Ryans’ second interview this week, per Mark Maske of the Washington Post. The Broncos were the first team to speak with Ryans but have not scheduled any second interviews.
Texans ownership and GM Nick Caserio were impressed with “everything about” Ryans in his Zoom interview Jan. 20, veteran Texans reporter John McLain notes. The past two Texans HC searches meandered and ended on candidates other teams were not considering — David Culley, Lovie Smith. This one is decidedly different, as all five HC-needy teams were interested in speaking with Ryans. The longtime Kyle Shanahan staffer, however, has only spoken with two teams. Both have been impressed to the point he became their frontrunners.
While the Colts and Cardinals had interviews scheduled with Ryans, he declined to speak with those teams hours before the 49ers’ divisional playoff game against the Cowboys. The Panthers also reached out to Ryans with an interview request, but after logistics initially impeded an interview, the parties moved on. It now looks like the Texans hold a big lead on the Broncos, whose coaching search has hit a few snags.
Denver’s position comes with a new ownership group, a quarterback extension (Russell Wilson’s five-year, $245MM pact) that has brought sustained turbulence since Week 1 and a placement in a division with Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert. The Texans’ division does not feature a similar gauntlet, and the team holds two first-round picks and is projected to be among this year’s cap-space leaders. Ryans also knows this ownership, to a degree, dating back to his days playing for the then-Bob McNair-run franchise. The Texans traded Ryans to the Eagles in 2012, but his wife is from Houston. It certainly looks like, despite the Texans’ issues with HCs under Caserio, an agreement is coming soon.
Raiders Yet To Grant Derek Carr Permission To Speak With Teams
A few factors look to be holding up Derek Carr trade talks. While the Raiders are set to explore dealing their nine-year starting quarterback, they are not letting Carr control the process at this point.
The Raiders have not given Carr’s agent permission to speak with other teams about a deal, Albert Breer of SI.com reports. Carr holds a no-trade clause and will not be on Las Vegas’ roster by mid-February; his $40.4MM guarantee vests Feb. 15. But the Raiders might be leery of letting Carr’s agent discuss potential landing spots for his client in free agency.
[RELATED: Raiders Looking Into Tom Brady Addition]
With Carr having the power to shoot down any trade, Vic Tafur of The Athletic writes the team could be aiming to maintain control of this process out of concern negotiations for a Feb. 16 free agency agreement would take place rather than trade talks. Carr moving the guarantee vesting date back could improve his chances of landing elsewhere via trade, but Tafur notes he has no plans to do so. Carr and the Raiders are still on decent terms, however, per Breer. This process is not guaranteed to end with a trade, but with the Raiders prepared to move on anyway, Carr having the chance to both pick his new team and sign another contract could be in the cards.
This year’s Senior Bowl will take place Feb. 4, and teams are arriving in Mobile, Ala., for the run of practices that double as a meeting ground. But this year’s slow-moving head coaching carousel may well be affecting Carr talks. Four teams have not hired a head coach. Perhaps more importantly in Carr’s case, others — including the Commanders, Buccaneers and Titans — have not hired an offensive coordinator. The 31-year-old passer will undoubtedly want to discuss his potential fit with teams before agreeing to a trade, and with some potentially interested parties not having their ducks in a row yet, relevant information has not yet emerged.
Another robust QB market is also likely affecting Carr’s pre-free agency sweepstakes. Daniel Jones, Geno Smith and Lamar Jackson are technically on track for free agency, but those QBs’ teams are unlikely (or dead-set against, in Baltimore’s case) to let them hit the market. Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo certainly appear open to changing teams, and teams will be interested in them once the market opens in mid-March. Aaron Rodgers trade winds are blowing again, and these look like stiffer gusts compared to the 2021 and ’22 offseasons. Teams interested in Carr would need to make this commitment early, thus removing themselves from adding other available arms.
The Commanders, Jets and Saints have been linked as early Carr pursuers, though the Jets are now understandably — given the Nathaniel Hackett component — being tied to Rodgers. But Gang Green is still looking into Carr. The Commanders discussed Carr with the Raiders last year and make sense as a suitor this year as well, even if they are interested in further evaluating Sam Howell. It will be interesting to see what teams are willing to send the Raiders assets now for Carr and which prefer to weigh their options once the market opens. It will also be worth monitoring if teams will be prepared to pay that $40.4MM or if a Carr trade will be contingent on a new deal or a restructure. For now, the Raiders are sitting tight and hoping for clarity.