HEADLINES

Year: 2023

Tyrod Taylor Likely To Return This Season

November 17th, 2023 at 1:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

While Daniel Jones‘ injury placed the Giants in the unexpected position to target a high-end replacement in the 2024 draft, the team only moved into realistic range for such an aspiration due to Tyrod Taylor‘s absence. Taylor’s rib injury left Tommy DeVito as the last man standing for the Giants, who have sunk to 2-8 during the rookie UDFA’s time at the controls.

DeVito will make another start in Week 11, but the Giants are not closing the book on Taylor. The veteran backup said he does not expect this rib ailment to end his season, and ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan notes the second-year Giants QB2 appears likely to return following the team’s Week 13 bye.

The Giants placed Taylor on IR before their Week 9 game, meaning Week 14 will be the earliest he can return. The injury led to the 13th-year veteran being hospitalized, and it brought back memories of the injection snafu in Los Angeles, which ushered in Justin Herbert in September 2020. Taylor resurfaced with the Texans in 2021, opening the season as the rebuilding team’s starter while Deshaun Watson began a full season as a healthy scratch. Taylor, 34, has settled onto the backup tier. And his Giants contract expires at season’s end. But he could suddenly be an X-factor in the race for the 2024 top picks.

NFL teams do not make a habit of framing stretch runs around tanking for draft positioning, a process that impacts NBA lottery teams’ plans annually. But clubs do rest veterans at points. The Jaguars sat rookie-year dynamo James Robinson late in the 2020 season, and the Bears rested Justin Fields in Week 18 of last season. Both teams ended up securing the No. 1 overall pick the following year.

The most memorable tanking act in recent NFL history affected the Giants, as the Eagles pulled Jalen Hurts during a competitive Week 17 game against Washington. Doug Pederson inserting Nate Sudfeld effectively ended Philly’s effort to win, thus handing Washington the NFC East title. With a 6-10 Giants team in the strange position of being on the cusp of the playoffs with a Washington loss, Raanan adds team brass was understandably not happy with how the Eagles proceeded that night. Philly ended up with the No. 6 overall pick, which it traded to Miami for a 2022 first-rounder.

The difference in the Giants’ offensive capabilities with Taylor (56 career starts) at the helm vs. DeVito certainly stands to be impactful enough it will be a storyline to monitor over the season’s final five weeks. If the season ended today, the Giants would hold the No. 2 overall pick. GM Joe Schoen was recently spotted at a USC-Washington game earlier this month.

Although the guarantees in the Giants’ Jones four-year, $160MM Jones extension will leave the team no choice but to keep him in 2024, the club is not expected to pass on drafting Caleb Williams or Drake Maye if the opportunity presents itself in April. That will leave the Giants with a big-picture decision: keep playing DeVito (or one of their other bottom-end QBs) or activate Taylor off IR despite the latter not being in the team’s long-term plans.

As Jones will be back in 2024, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan adds Taylor is likely to be too pricey for the Giants next year (subscription required). Taylor signed a two-year, $11MM deal in 2022, helping the Giants rectify the mistake they made in replacing 2020 QB2 Colt McCoy with Mike Glennon. It would seem the Giants will have a call to make following their bye week, but as of now, Taylor is on track to be back on the 53-man roster in December.

AFC East Notes: Bills, Patriots, Eichenberg

November 17th, 2023 at 12:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Buffalo-Kansas City has been one of the 2020s’ defining NFL rivalries. The AFC squads have played five times this decade, twice in the playoffs, with the Chiefs’ two postseason wins playing a role in the Bills‘ roster construction. The AFC powers’ plans intersected during the 2022 first round as well. When the Chiefs moved up from No. 29 to No. 21 in the ’22 first round, they took the player the Bills eyed. The Bills sought Trent McDuffie with their top pick last year, per SI.com’s Albert Breer, but the Chiefs were able to make a deal with the Patriots to move in front of Buffalo.

The fallout from this miss became costly for the Bills, whose subsequent trade-up — from No. 25 to No. 23 — produced Kaiir Elam, who has been unable to earn steady playing time. As Elam has vacillated between backup or emergency starter and healthy scratch, McDuffie has progressed in Kansas City. Pro Football Focus rates McDuffie eighth overall among corners; the Washington product has been a central part of the Chiefs’ defensive improvement this season.

Here is the latest from the AFC East:

  • The Patriots opted not to sell at the trade deadline, keeping the door open for longer-term futures with some of their contract-year players. New England held onto Josh Uche, Michael Onwenu and Kyle Dugger despite interest coming in before the deadline. Dugger has become a player teams are monitoring ahead of free agency, with ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler noting some teams view the Division II alum as the 2024 UFA class’ second-best safety — behind the Buccaneers’ Antoine Winfield Jr. This year’s safety market producing only one contract north of $8MM per year (Jessie Bates‘ outlier $16MM-AAV accord) could impact Dugger, but it is clear the former second-round pick will be costly for the Pats to retain.
  • Benched in Week 9 and left in the States ahead of the Patriots’ Week 10 Germany trip, J.C. Jackson was initially believed to have arrived late at the team hotel the night before the Pats-Commanders game. But the recently reacquired corner did not show up at all that night, ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss notes. Jack Jones missed curfew as well, but Reiss adds the since-waived corner did surface later. Both players were benched for Week 9, and despite Jackson’s unavailability, the Patriots further limited Jones against the Colts. Jackson is expected to remain with the Pats, but the ballhawk has not escaped the rough patch that began last year in Los Angeles.
  • Trent Brown did not make the trip to Frankfurt for personal reasons, and Reiss adds the veteran tackle’s missed game will affect his recently reworked contract. Including $88K per game in roster bonuses, the Patriots set playing-time thresholds for additional Brown escalators as well. The starting LT would collect $1MM for playing 75% of the team’s offensive snaps this season. Hovering at 75% after Week 9, Brown has now missed two games. The low end of this incentive structure is 65%, which Reiss notes will pay out $750K. He would receive another $750K by hitting the 70% snap barrier.
  • Dolphins contract-year guard Robert Hunt will miss a second straight game due to a hamstring injury. As a result, Liam Eichenberg will complete a rare NFL feat. The 2021 second-round pick began the week practicing at left guard, his primary 2022 position, but the swingman moved to right guard midway through practice this week, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson notes. The Dolphins view Eichenberg as more comfortable there. Once Eichenberg replaces Hunt on Sunday, he will have started at all five O-line positions as a pro. While the converted tackle could not retain his LG job to start this season, having accomplished this O-line tour of sorts in his third season is certainly noteworthy. Lester Cotton will start at left guard for the Dolphins, who are uncertain to have LG first-stringer Isaiah Wynn back this season.

Dolphins Waive WR Robbie Chosen

November 17th, 2023 at 11:40am CST by Sam Robinson

NOVEMBER 17: Chosen is indeed a candidate to return to the Dolphins via a practice squad spot, NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe tweets. A team claiming the veteran wide receiver by this afternoon’s deadline would nix that plan, but the Dolphins want to retain Chosen as insurance. Both Claypool and Berrios are on Miami’s injury report, pointing to a Chosen path back to the active roster for Week 11.

NOVEMBER 16: The Dolphins have already activated River Cracraft off injured reserve, adding a seventh wide receiver to their active roster. They are also moving toward having De’Von Achane back on the 53. They turned toward their skill-position corps to create an additional spot.

The team waived Robbie Chosen on Thursday. Known lately for name changes, Chosen is in his eighth NFL season. This is familiar territory for Chosen. The Cardinals, after they acquired Chosen before the 2022 trade deadline, cut bait in March. The Dolphins signed him to a one-year, $1.32MM deal this offseason.

Chosen, 30, has played in four Dolphins games as a backup; he caught one pass with the team. This move could also result in Anderson being bumped back down to Miami’s practice squad. The veteran pass catcher served as a gameday elevation at multiple points this season. Chosen would need to clear waivers first, however. Although Chosen is a vested veteran, the trade deadline having passed makes every cut player subject to waivers.

Not too far removed from signing a Panthers extension worth $29.5MM over two years, the former Robby Anderson, Robbie Anderson and Chosen Anderson has drifted away from starter status over the past two seasons. A midgame sideline dustup led the Panthers to send Chosen to the Cardinals for late-round compensation last year. This came after the team fired Matt Rhule, who had coached Chosen at Temple. Chosen, who topped 1,000 receiving yards with the Panthers in 2020, has just 21 receptions over the past two seasons.

Even if this is it for Chosen in Miami, the Dolphins have extensive experience supplementing Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. In addition to Cracraft, Braxton Berrios, Cedrick Wilson and Chase Claypool reside as tertiary targets. The team acquired Claypool last month in a late-round pick swap with the Bears. Miami designated Achane for return this week, and Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz notes the rookie speedster is expected to be activated for Week 11.

Lions’ Dan Campbell Not Interested In Coaching At Alma Mater

November 17th, 2023 at 10:52am CST by Sam Robinson

NOVEMBER 17: It certainly appears Texas A&M did make an inquiry, with Campbell indicating the SEC program “maybe” reached out in the wake of Fisher’s firing. “That’s my alma mater; I want to do anything I can to help them but coach for them,” Campbell said (via The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman). Campbell’s Lions contract runs through 2025. Even if Campbell is not interested, being high on Texas A&M’s list illustrates how high his stock has climbed during the Lions’ rise.

NOVEMBER 16: Dan Campbell made the unexpected rise from Saints tight ends coach to successful Lions leader, jumping the ladder despite having never held an NFL coordinator role. With Year 3 of the Lions’ rebuild producing one of the most promising seasons in modern Lions history, the popular HC’s stock has skyrocketed since his New Orleans days and 2015 stint as Dolphins interim HC.

When Texas A&M fired Jimbo Fisher, Campbell’s name came up. Prior to entering the coaching profession, Campbell turned his Texas A&M college career into a third-round draft slot and an 11-year run as an NFL tight end. Considering the Aggies’ sudden need at their highest-profile coaching job, CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd reports the program reached out about the gig.

While Dodd describes this as a backchannel effort to gauge Campbell’s interest in returning to his alma mater, the third-year Lions coach is not interested in the position. Campbell, 47, is a Texas native who trekked to College Station in the late 1990s from the Dallas area.

Moving directly from a head NFL job to a college leadership role has taken place, of course. Jim Harbaugh famously left the 49ers for Michigan after the 2014 season, his fourth with the team. Though, a conflict with GM Trent Baalke contributed to Harbaugh’s NFL exit. Bobby Petrino bolted late in his first Falcons season, returning to the college game for the Arkansas job. Pete Carroll‘s USC stint began a year after the Patriots fired him. Chip Kelly returned to the college ranks a year after the 49ers canned him.

This is also not the most stable time for the college game, with conference changes accompanying the transfer portal and NIL ruling as major developments that have altered the Division I-FBS landscape. For as much pressure as the NFL provides, complications on that level do not exist. As evidenced by the record-setting buyout Fisher will receive, Texas A&M could certainly make Campbell a monster offer that would be worth considering. But it would be shocking to see the well-respected HC leave his Detroit post while the team is on this level. Adding to that, Campbell has never coached in college. He transition from reserve tight end to assistant coach in 2010.

The Lions have not won a division championship since 1993, nine years before the NFC North existed. Detroit’s two NFC Central titles in the 1990s — the other coming in 1991, when the franchise last won a playoff game — represent two of the organization’s three division crowns in the post-merger era (the other came in 1983). The Lions are rarely on this level, but the Campbell-Brad Holmes regime has elevated the once-downtrodden franchise to a rare place. While the Lions have won division titles in the distant past, they have never earned home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs. Entering Week 11, this is also in play for the 7-2 team.

Campbell remains attached to the six-year contract the Lions gave him to oversee this rebuild. If the Lions secure an NFC North title and snap their 32-year playoff win drought, it would certainly not surprise if the franchise rewarded him with an extension.

Raiders To Waive FB Jakob Johnson

November 17th, 2023 at 9:31am CST by Sam Robinson

Firing both Josh McDaniels and OC Mick Lombardi, the Raiders made sweeping changes to their offensive staff midway through the season. Those moves will lead to one of their offensive starters hitting the waiver wire.

One of the many ex-Patriots on the Raiders’ roster, Jakob Johnson no longer fits into the team’s plan, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, who indicates the team is cutting the veteran fullback. Johnson confirmed the move himself. Johnson signed with Las Vegas during McDaniels’ first offseason in town and has operated as a starter at points for this year’s squad.

Johnson, 28, has signed two one-year contracts with the Raiders. He inked a deal worth $1.63MM in March. A three-game starter, Johnson has served as a package player this season. That is standard procedure for most modern fullbacks; the Raiders had used the fifth-year veteran on 115 offensive plays.

Although interim HC Antonio Pierce has made reestablishing Josh Jacobs a priority over the past two games, the Raiders will continue their effort to do so without a fullback. Some teams do not carry a player at this long-declining position, but McDaniels had worked with Johnson throughout his career. The Patriots employed Johnson from 2019-21, featuring him on at least 25% of their offensive plays from 2020-21. The Tennessee alum arrived in New England as a 2019 UDFA.

Because the trade deadline has passed, Johnson’s vested-veteran status will not keep him off waivers. Any of the 31 teams can take on his contract, which contains less than $1MM in remaining salary. Johnson initially became available in 2022, when the Patriots did not tender him as a restricted free agent.

Panthers Expected To Use Franchise Tag On Brian Burns

November 16th, 2023 at 10:01pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Panthers still have time to work out a deal with edge rusher Brian Burns, but signficant progress would need to be made for such a development to take place. A trip to free agency should not be expected in his case, though.

Burns is playing out his fifth-year option in 2023, valued at $16MM. A long-term deal will check in at a much larger figure than that, and a lucrative extension has been on Carolina’s radar for some time now. Little traction was gained this offseason, however, leaving the franchise tag as the logical backup plan for the Panthers. That is the course of action the team is expected to take at this point, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes.

This latest update comes as little surprise given where things currently stand. A recent report named Burns as an obvious tag candidate in the event a multi-year contract could not be worked out, and the 25-year-old has established himself as a franchise cornerstone. Carolina has turned down signficant trade interest in each of the past two seasons to retain Burns, demonstrating the team’s commitment to him in spite of his uncertain contractual future.

The two-time Pro Bowler is believed to be seeking a much higher AAV on a new deal than what the Panthers value him at. As a result, negotiations have been put on pause since the start of the season, and the passing of the trade deadline (during which at least five teams made a push to acquire him) has not spurred a new round of talks. Barring a signficant breakthrough, then, the one-year tag could loom as Carolina’s only option.

The 2024 tag for defensive ends – which Burns lined up as during the start of his career – will cost a projected $20.4MM. The tag for linebackers – which Burns would be listed as given the team’s switch to a 3-4 scheme this year – is scheduled to cost roughly $3MM less. It would be interesting to see if a compromise could be worked out between the two figures, though in any event a new contract would check in at a significantly higher rate given the upward trajectory of the edge market in recent years.

Nick Bosa‘s historic 49ers deal placed him at the top of the pecking order with an AAV of $34MM. While Burns has been connected to an asking price near that level, the Panthers are aiming closer to the $23.5MM mark Maxx Crosby is currently tied to. A pair of recent deals (Rashan Gary with the Packers, and Montez Sweat shortly upon arrival with the Bears) have been inked just above that rate. Carolina showed interest in the latter despite the fact he, like Burns, was set to see his rookie contract expire in March.

With Sweat now in Chicago for the long term, the Panthers can keep their attention on a new deal for Burns (and, potentially, a much more cost-effective contract for fellow pending free agent Yetur Gross-Matos). Carolina is currently slated to sit mid-pack in terms of 2024 cap space, but plenty of financial moves will be made between now and the new league year. By that point, Burns can be expected to at least have a placeholder contract in hand.

Latest On Bears’ Quarterback Plans

November 16th, 2023 at 8:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

Giving up the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, the Bears broke with decades of NFL norms by making that move before free agency. Passing on the chance to draft Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud, Chicago has an interesting long-game route at the position — thanks to the team that acquired the No. 1 pick.

Carolina’s struggles in Young’s rookie year has Chicago positioned atop the 2024 draft order. While we still have two months to go, the Bears are a virtual lock to exit this season with two top-10 picks. Justin Fields still has some time to win this Bears regime — one that did not draft him — over, but early signs may be pointing to the team replacing him in the draft if the cards fall right.

Ahead of Fields’ return from a thumb dislocation, The Athletic’s Adam Jahns notes the third-year QB probably must change some minds within the Bears’ facility (subscription required). Despite GM Ryan Poles selling this year’s top draft pick and basing this season around a Fields evaluation, he and HC Matt Eberflus were not in Chicago when the team traded up for the Ohio State prospect.

Fields has offered a mixed bag thus far as a pro, showing flashes as a passer but deficiencies as well. One of the best running QBs in NFL history, Fields will need to show more as a passer during this seven-game — barring another injury — audition. He should have a better audition opportunity beginning in Week 11. After the Bears placed Braxton Jones and Teven Jenkins on IR in September, both are now back. Chicago’s starting O-line will protect Fields on Sunday. D.J. Moore also obviously represents a much better WR1 compared to Chicago’s 2022 setup.

The Panthers’ eventual draft slot (or the Bears’) could end up mattering more than Fields’ stretch-run performance. After needing to trade up for Fields at No. 11 two years ago, the Bears could become the rare team with two top-five picks. As it stands now, Chicago holds Nos. 1 and 5 in 2024. With this in mind, the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs expressed confidence the Bears will address the QB position in the first round.

Fields carries the NFL’s second-worst sack rate (12.9%) and the league’s fifth-worst INT rate (3.7%) this season; his 61.7% completion rate ranks 27th. Of course, he steamrolled toward Lamar Jackson‘s QB single-season rushing record — despite missing two games — last season. The Bears being asked to punt on Caleb Williams or Drake Maye might be a tough sell, considering Poles had a chance to make a QB draft investment this year and passed. They should be considered more likely to be impressed with one of next year’s top arms compared to this year’s crop, per Jahns.

The Bears have been down this road before, of course, with Pace trading up for Mitch Trubisky in 2017. (Maye also being a North Carolina product would introduce an interesting subplot here.) An early ESPN consensus slots Williams as next year’s top overall prospect and Maye sixth. Then again, the quarterback position’s importance stands to drive next year’s second-best passing prospect up the board.

Barring a considerable Fields turnaround, the Bears having the inside track to one of next year’s top two QBs may well be the direction this process takes. After brief Fields trade rumblings surfaced this year, they would obviously intensify if Chicago indeed commits to a rookie QB in the spring.

RT Bryan Bulaga To Retire

November 16th, 2023 at 7:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Bryan Bulaga‘s Chargers tenure ended in March of last year. After not playing in 2022, the longtime right tackle will not attempt to return. Bulaga is set to retire as a Packer on Friday, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein.

Spending his career in Green Bay and Los Angeles, Bulaga will be best remembered for his work with the Packers. The 2010 first-round pick started 122 career games; his 111 with the Packers are the eighth-most by a tackle in the 103-year-old franchise’s history.

Injuries slowed Bulaga, 34, at various points during his career. He rehabbed from two ACL tears to make continued contributions with the Packers, but a core muscle injury sustained in September 2021 ended up closing out the Iowa alum’s career. Bulaga missed 16 games in 2021. The Chargers used Storm Norton as their starter that season but have since seen Trey Pipkins establish himself at that spot.

In Green Bay, Bulaga represented a core component of the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers-era offensive lines. Bulaga and David Bakhtiari provided long-term tackle bastions for the all-time QB great, teaming up as starters from 2013-19. Bulaga, however, made a name for himself before Bakhtiari’s arrival. The No. 23 overall pick in 2010, Bulaga established himself as a rookie-year starter — for a Packers team that closed the season with a Super Bowl XLV win. Bulaga started all four Packers postseason games that year.

Bulaga missed all of the 2013 season due to his first ACL tear but returned for a pivotal 2014. Not only did the Packers venture back to the NFC championship round — the second of four NFC title games Bulaga started — the fifth-year blocker used the season as a springboard to a lucrative second contract. Bulaga ended up hitting free agency but re-signed with the Packers, who also retained Randall Cobb in March 2015. Bulaga agreed to stay in Green Bay on a five-year, $33.75MM deal. He played out that contract.

The second ACL tear occurred in Week 5 of the 2017 season, but Bulaga returned in time to start the ’18 season. Injuries did end up playing a significant part in Bulaga’s career; he missed at least six games in four separate seasons. The Chargers added the veteran on a three-year, $30MM deal in 2020. Bulaga missed six games that season but began the Justin Herbert era in L.A. After two injury-plagued seasons, the Bolts released Bulaga to pick up cap savings ahead of free agency in 2022.

While no Pro Bowl nods came Bulaga’s way (right tackles are regularly overlooked due to the Pro Bowl format), he made substantial contributions to the Packers and ended up collecting more than $63MM during a 12-year career.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/16/23

November 16th, 2023 at 6:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s practice squad moves:

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: DB Reese Taylor

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

The Cowboys are Davis’ third team this year. Going to camp with the Patriots, Davis did not make the team. The veteran nose tackle had seen action with New England over the past three seasons. The Seahawks added Davis, 31, to their practice squad in September but released him five weeks later. The former Ravens starter and Colts, Browns and Jaguars contributor has 19 career starts. Davis played 216 defensive snaps last season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/16/23

November 16th, 2023 at 6:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Waived from reserve/retired list: LB Myles Jack
  • Waived from reserve/suspended list: T Bernard Williams

The Bengals are without Tee Higgins for a second straight game. They added two wideouts to their active roster and are using their first injury activation this season, bringing Jones back after an IR stay. Cincinnati placed Jones on IR in late September due to a thumb injury. A fourth-round rookie who played at three Division I-FBS schools (Buffalo, Iowa, Purdue), Jones worked as the Bengals’ punt returner early this season. The Day 3 rookie made an early impact, already notching a return touchdown in his three-game work sample.

Chicago added Evans in October, doing so just after Khalil Herbert sustained an injury that required an IR stint. With Roschon Johnson also missing two games due to a concussion, Evans saw increased work behind D’Onta Foreman in the Bears’ depleted backfield. With Johnson back, Evans has seen just six offensive snaps in each of the past two games. This cut looks to lay the groundwork for the Bears activating Herbert soon. On IR due to a high ankle sprain, Herbert would represent the Bears’ final injury activation this season. They would be the first team this year to use all eight.

A productive player in Jacksonville, Jack spent last season in Pittsburgh before being released in March. The Eagles took a flier on the former second-round pick during training camp, signing both he and Zach Cunningham. While Cunningham has managed to move from a months-long free agency stay to a Philadelphia starter, Jack opted to retire in August. Were the UCLA alum to continue his career, the Eagles no longer hold his rights.

In a strange bookkeeping transaction, the Eagles also removed their 1994 first-round pick from the reserve/suspended list. Philly used Williams as a 16-game starter in 1994, when he protected QBs Randall Cunningham and Rodney Peete in Rich Kotite‘s final season as HC. A 1995 drug suspension led to Williams’ career ending.

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