Jags Not Expected To Tag Travis Etienne
The Jaguars are not expected to place the franchise tag on running back Travis Etienne, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, positioning the former first-round pick to hit free agency in March.
Etienne, 27, has been Jacksonville’s starting running back for the past four years and just finished a resurgent season following a disappointing 2024 campaign. He ranked 11th in the NFL with 1,107 rushing yards, 17th with 1,399 yards from scrimmage, and 10th with 13 rushing and receiving touchdowns. Etienne also registered the 14th-most missed tackles forced (46) and 10th-most yards after contact (831), per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), who also gave him strong grades as a pass blocker.
Those are strong numbers, but they do not justify a franchise tag projected to be $14.5MM (via OverTheCap), which would be the third-highest APY among NFL running backs. A transition tag at $11.7MM is more reasonable, but it will be difficult for the cap-strapped Jaguars to carry that number into free agency. It would also set a high floor on a potential extension.
The Jaguars also have 2025 draftees Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen on the roster, though neither had a major role as rookies. Instead of pursuing a more expensive Etienne extension, the team could opt for a cheaper veteran to add to their young backfield. This year’s draft class is less strong at the position.
Etienne said immediately after Jacksonville’s season ended that he was not focused on his contract situation. He later told reporters (via NFLonFOX) that he did not intend to sign with a cold-weather team. That would seem to rule out several teams, though Etienne could always change his mind once the contract offers hit the table.
Pro Football Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat: 2/13/26
Pro Football Rumors' Sam Robinson will be holding a live chat at 4pm Central today, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers!
Stefon Diggs Pleads Not Guilty To Strangulation, Assault Charges
Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of strangulation and a charge of misdemeanor assault and battery on Friday, the Associated Press reports. He’s scheduled for a pretrial hearing on April 1.
The charges against Diggs, which came to light on Dec. 30, stem from an alleged incident that took place Dec. 2. Diggs’ former personal chef told police he entered her unlocked bedroom during a financial dispute and “smacked her across the face.” She added that Diggs “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck.”
Although Diggs made a financial offer to settle the matter, his attorney, David Meier, has claimed the alleged victim’s version of events “did not occur.” Mitchell Schuster, another member of Diggs’ legal team, expressed confidence on Friday that his client “will be completely exonerated” (via TMZ).
Friday’s arraignment had been scheduled for Jan. 23, two days before the AFC title game, but it was postponed three weeks. That enabled Diggs to evade potential disciplinary action from the NFL during the postseason. The league otherwise could have placed him on paid leave.
Diggs and the Patriots beat the Broncos to win the AFC, but they fell 29-13 to the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX last Sunday. While their season didn’t end well, the campaign was nonetheless a resounding success for the Patriots. Diggs, whom the Pats brought in on a three-year, $63.3MM deal last spring, ended up an integral part of their dramatic one-season turnaround in 2025.
After winning four games in 2024, the Patriots stunningly went 14-3 en route to AFC East and conference crowns. Diggs led the Patriots in receptions (85), targets (102) and yards (1,013), also adding four touchdowns. While his production was very good in 2025, the Patriots could move on from Diggs this offseason if they’re concerned with his off-field issues and age (32).
If Diggs is still a Patriot on March 13, $6MM of his $20.6MM base salary for next season will become guaranteed. Releasing him before then would open up $18.5MM in spending room and leave the team with $8MM in dead money.
Regardless of how the Patriots proceed with Diggs, the league will continue to closely monitor his legal situation during the offseason. Depending on how it unfolds, a suspension could be on the table at some point in 2026.
Former Ravens DC Zach Orr Reunites With Mike Macdonald In Seattle
A pair of former Ravens staffers landed in Seattle today, reuniting them with former defensive coordinator and current Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald. For the second time in a row, Baltimore will watch their former defensive coordinator join the Seahawks as Macdonald is hiring Zach Orr to serve as inside linebackers coach in Seattle, per Clarence Hill Jr. of All City DLLS. 
Orr’s history in Baltimore was a complicated one. An undrafted linebacker out of North Texas, Orr started as a player for the Ravens, spending his first two years as a core special teamer before stepping in as a starter in Year 3, leading the team with 133 total tackles, and earning second-team All-Pro honors alongside fellow starter C.J. Mosley. His All-Pro season ended with an injury that led to a congenital neck/spine condition diagnosis that would force him to retire from playing.
Orr immediately turned to coaching after coming to terms with the end of his playing career. In 2017, the Ravens hired him as a defensive analyst 12 days after he settled into retirement. Orr left in 2021 for an outside linebackers coaching position under Urban Meyer in Jacksonville, and when that didn’t work out, he returned to Baltimore as an inside linebackers coach for two years before succeeding Macdonald as defensive coordinator.
Orr’s defenses in Baltimore were streaky. In his first year as a coordinator, the Ravens defense ranked 25th in points allowed, 27th in yards allowed, and dead last in passing yards allowed through 10 weeks of play. Taking another look at his personnel, Orr made some adjustments and, with some key contributors stepping up, Baltimore fielded the NFL’s best defense across all three of those categories for the last six weeks of the season. The improvement was enough to see them finish the year ranked as the ninth-best scoring defense and the 10th-best total defense.
Similar struggles plagued the Ravens defense in 2025, but unlike in Orr’s first year, there was no major turnaround. While the team found some footing partway into the year, that footing was inconsistent as they finished the season ranked 18th in points allowed and 24th in yards allowed. The 30th-ranked pass defense was an especially offensive black eye for a secondary that rostered All-Pros in Kyle Hamilton and Marlon Humphrey alongside recent first-round picks Nate Wiggins and Malaki Starks.
After the Ravens fired former head coach John Harbaugh, Orr interviewed for defensive coordinator jobs with the Chargers and Cowboys. Though they didn’t off him the DC job, the Cowboys kept in contact with Orr enough that he had an offer to fill the same inside linebackers coaching job in Dallas, per Hill. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Raiders had also requested to interview Orr for their open DC position, but Orr chose the option to reunite with Macdonald over the job in Dallas or the interview with Las Vegas. Macdonald had wanted to bring Orr as his DC when he first left for the head coaching job in Seattle, but the Ravens prevented that from occurring by promoting Orr themselves. Now, Macdonald gets his man, and Orr gets to continue developing as a coach in his system.
Joining Orr in the move to Seattle will be former Ravens director of strategy/assistant quarterbacks coach Daniel Stern. The Ravens hired someone to fill Stern’s position when it seemed he might follow Todd Monken to Cleveland, but instead, Stern will defect to the team’s former defensive coordinator, according to Schefter.
Lastly, Baltimore finalized their new coaching staff under head coach Jesse Minter yesterday. We have covered nearly every staff change in previous posts on the site, but the Ravens‘ announcement provided a few new details. First, initially thought to be hired as director of football logistics and defensive consultant, respectively, Christina DeRuyter and Rick Minter‘s titles have been reported to be chief of staff to the head coach and football analyst. The team’s announcement also broke news of the promotion of Andrew Rogan to a role as defensive quality control coach. Rogan had joined the team in 2021 as a player personnel assistant and was promoted to coaching/scouting analyst in 2023. He’ll now transfer fully over to the coaching side of the staff.
Raiders To Interview Seahawks’ Jeff Howard For DC
After interviewing Aubrey Pleasant today, the Raiders will continue the search for their new defensive coordinator tomorrow. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Las Vegas will interview Seahawks safeties coach Jeff Howard for the position on Saturday. 
Following a playing career as a linebacker at Eastern New Mexico, Howard immediately turned to the coaching route, heading over the border into Texas to become the defensive coordinator at Odessa Permian HS (TX) of Friday Night Lights fame. After four years of high school coaching, Howard remained in West Texas after accepting a position as offensive line assistant at Texas Tech. He was quickly moved to the other side of the ball as a defensive quality control coach working with safeties.
Howard made the jump to the NFL two years later, joining the Vikings as assistant to the head coach. He was promoted to defensive assistant in 2014 before being named assistant linebackers coach the next season. He spent his last season in Minnesota in an assistant defensive backs coaching role before heading to Cleveland in 2020 to serve as defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator. After three years with the Browns, Howard joined the Chargers for a year as linebackers coach before being named to Mike Macdonald‘s defensive staff in Seattle as safeties coach.
In two years in Seattle, Howard helped develop a talented safeties room comprised of Coby Bryant, Julian Love, Ty Okada, and rookie roamer Nick Emmanwori. After 13 years of NFL coaching experience, Howard is getting his first opportunity to interview for a coordinator role in the NFL. If he were hired, Howard would be following new head coach Klint Kubiak in the trip from Seattle to Las Vegas. The two also coached together for a year in Minnesota, where Kubiak served as quarterbacks coach before earning his first offensive coordinator opportunity.
Howard will be the team’s second candidate to interview for the position tomorrow, following Pleasant’s meeting today. A number of other candidates have been rumored, though, with more potential interviews expected.
NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 2/13/26
There were two reserve/futures deals signed in the NFL today:
New York Giants
Seattle Seahawks
- DE Jalan Gaines
After the Seahawks announced 15 reserve/futures deals yesterday, two members of their practice squad from last year found deals today. Gaines, a rookie who signed as an undrafted free agent with Seattle out of Illinois State, will remain with the team for the offseason. Jackon, an undrafted rookie who spent the summer in Denver before making his way to Seattle after failing to make the 53-man roster, finds his third NFL home within a calendar year as he heads to New York.
Steelers Announce Full 2026 Coaching Staff
The Steelers announced their full 2026 coaching staff on Friday. It features new game management/quarterbacks coach Tim Berbenich and tight ends coach Robert Kugler as well as defensive assistant Shawn Howe.
Berbenich, 46, has worked in the NFL since 2003 with a variety of roles with seven different teams. His last three jobs were with the Teams (tight ends coach, 2022), Rams (coaching analyst, 2023), and Falcons (pass game specialist/game management, 2024-2025). Unlike many of the Steelers’ new offensive coaches, Berbenich has not worked with Mike McCarthy in the past. He has not worked with Aaron Rodgers either, nor has the team’s other QBs coach, Tom Arth. This is somewhat of a surprise considering the current expectation that Rodgers re-signs with the Steelers this offseason.
Kugler has been an assistant offensive line coach for the past five seasons with time in Houston (2021), Carolina (2022-2023) and New England (2024-2025). He previously worked with tight ends at UTEP in 2017 with brief stints at the University of Washington and Appalachian State before he came to the NFL.
The Steelers’ top three tight ends – Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith, and Darnell Washington – are all set to return for the 2026 season. Smith disappointed in his reunion with former Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, averaging just 13.1 yards per game and 5.8 yards per reception. Freiermuth and Washington were much more productive with similar target shares. The trio will likely be a major part of Pittsburgh’s new offense with little established talent at wide receiver.
Howe is entering the NFL after 21 years at the college level. He most recently worked for Montana State, starting in 2021 as a run game coordinator/defensive line coach. Howe was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2024; in 2005, he held the title on his own and led the Bobcats to their first-ever FCS National Championship. With a long history as a defensive line coach, Howe will likely continue working with that position group in Pittsburgh.
Raiders Hire Mike McCoy As Assistant Head Coach
The Raiders have hired Mike McCoy as an assistant head coach on Klint Kubiak‘s new staff, per a team announcement.
McCoy, 53, spent the 2025 season with the Titans. He was first hired as a senior offensive assistant and was later named interim head coach after the team fired Brian Callahan. McCoy has spent the last 26 years coaching in the NFL in a variety of offensive roles, including two coordinator stints with the Broncos and one with the Cardinals. McCoy was also the Chargers’ head coach from 2013 to 2016, during which time he compiled a 27-37 record with just one playoff berth.
Kubiak worked under McCoy during his second stint as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator in 2017. The pair will now reunite in Las Vegas, where McCoy will add plenty of experience to the staff of a first-time head coach with only two years of coordinator experience. With experience with several teams including four years in the top job, McCoy will be able to help Kubiak navigate his new job.
McCoy may also have a role working with the Raiders’ quarterbacks, whether it be veteran Geno Smith or potential No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza. A former CFL quarterback himself, McCoy has worked with a variety of quarterbacks in his career as a position coach, offensive coordinator, and head coach. His history with the position is not especially strong, though he rarely worked with a passer that later found success elsewhere.
Philip Rivers led the league in completion percentage and won Comeback Player of the Year in McCoy’s first season in San Diego. He then threw 52 interceptions from 2014 to 2016, the most in the NFL in that span. Something similar happened with Trevor Lawrence while McCoy served as the Jaguars’ quarterbacks coach from 2022 to 2024. After a disappointing showing as a rookie in 2021, Lawrence broke out in 2022 before regressing in his next two seasons.
Seahawks Blocked Raiders’ Justin Outten Interview Request
The Seahawks could not block offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak from taking the Raiders’ head coaching job, but they are attempting to keep some of his assistants in Seattle.
The Raiders requested to interview Justin Outten – currently the Seahawks’ run game specialist/assistant offensive line coach – for a run game coordinator role in Las Vegas. That would represent a lateral move, so the Seahawks were able to block the interview, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Outten is among the Seahawks’ candidates to replace Kubiak, so the team understandably does not want him to leave until they complete their offensive coordinator hiring process. If they go in a different direction, the Seahawks could release Outten to pursue a job in Las Vegas, as the Ravens did with some of their assistants after officially hiring Jesse Minter. However, Seattle seems headed for an internal promotion to fill their OC vacancy, in which case the new hire may want to keep as much of Kubiak’s staff intact as possible.
Seahawks defensive backs coach/pass game specialist Karl Scott is also staying in Seattle, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. He interviewed for the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator vacancy and was among the initial candidates to serve as Kubiak’s DC. The Raiders did not submit an official interview request for Scott, and he has now pre-empted such a meeting with his decision. Scott will likely be in the mix for defensive coordinator jobs next year.
Bills Add John Fox To Coaching Staff
A little over two weeks after promoting Joe Brady from offensive coordinator to head coach, the Bills announced their 2026 staff on Friday. While most of the staff was previously reported, the hiring of John Fox as a senior assistant counts as the most interesting new development from Buffalo’s announcement.
Fox last worked as a senior defensive assistant in Detroit in 2023. He’ll now return to coaching after a two-year layoff.
An NFL coach since 1989, Fox is best known for his HC tenures with the Panthers (2002-10), Broncos (2011-14) and Bears (2015-17). Fox combined for a 133-123 record in the regular season and an 8-7 mark in the playoffs. He guided the Panthers and Broncos to one Super Bowl appearance apiece, but his teams went 0-2 in those games.
Fox had his most success in Denver, where he posted an excellent 46-18 record in the regular season. However, the Broncos’ inability to finish the job in the playoffs when Peyton Manning was still playing at an otherworldly level led the team to go in another direction in January 2015.
Eleven years later, Fox will provide an experienced aide for Brady, a rookie head coach. Like Fox’s run with the Broncos, former Bills head coach Sean McDermott couldn’t get over the playoff hump despite benefiting from a superstar QB (Josh Allen). After the Bills lost to the Broncos in last month’s divisional round, owner Terry Pegula decided the team had “hit a playoff wall” under McDermott.
Although McDermott coached the Bills to eight playoff appearances in nine years and an overall 106-58 record, he went a Fox-like 8-8 in the postseason. The Bills never got past the AFC title game during his tenure.
Brady will retain several of McDermott’s former assistants, including tight ends coach Rob Boras. In his 10th season with the Bills, Boras will add run-game coordinator to his responsibilities. In further adjustments from Brady, Joe Danna will shift from safeties coach to secondary coach; Jason Rebrovich will go from assistant defensive line coach to senior defensive assistant; and Kyle Shurmur will jump from quality control to assistant QBs coach.