Broncos, Lions Discussed Chris Harris Jr., Darius Slay Swap
The Broncos and Lions are playing Sunday afternoon, and they apparently discussed a potential blockbuster trade a couple of months back. The teams discussed a swap of cornerbacks Chris Harris Jr. and Darius Slay, sources told Mike Klis of Denver 9 News (Twitter link).
We had heard that the Lions were the only team to make a formal offer for Harris, but this is the first we’ve heard of Slay being included in those discussions. Klis adds that Detroit was asking for more in addition to Harris, which killed the talks. When big name players get traded in the NFL it’s usually for draft picks, so a deal centered around two star players of the same position would’ve certainly been unusual. Harris originally demanded a trade or extension back around the draft, which resulted in a weeks-long standoff between the two sides.
There were murmurs of a potential deal during draft weekend, but eventually Denver agreed to give him a raise on his 2019 salary while not adding on any additional years. As the Broncos once again got off to a losing start, his name came up in trade talks at the deadline.
The Eagles pursued Slay heavily at the deadline, but a deal couldn’t get done. We didn’t hear anything about him heading to the Broncos, although reports at the time indicated the Lions’ asking price was sky-high. Both corners are having down years, and while Harris is going to enter unrestricted free agency, Slay still has one more year on his deal.
West Notes: Rams, Phillips, Suggs, Carr
The Rams have obviously been having a disappointing season, as they enter the final two weeks of the season with their playoff chances hanging by a thread the year after making a Super Bowl run. Anytime a team fails to meet expectations there’s the possibility for major changes, and it sounds like that could be the case in Los Angeles. Wade Phillips might be nearing the end of his time with the team, as Alex Marvez of Sirius XM NFL Radio tweets that he’s “hearing there’s a chance” Phillips doesn’t return for the 2020 season. Phillips, 72, has been the Rams’ defensive coordinator for the past three seasons, and was part of head coach Sean McVay’s inaugural staff.
The former Cowboys head coach has been coaching in the league since all the way back in 1976. Before joining forces with McVay he was the defensive coordinator in Denver, overseeing their vaunted ‘No Fly Zone’ secondary which won a Super Bowl in 2015. Marvez adds that Phillips is in the final year of his contract, and that if he were to depart then linebackers coach Joe Barry would be a “strong replacement candidate.” The Rams’ defense has had some notable meltdowns this season, like when they gave up 44 points to the Cowboys last week or 45 to the Ravens a month back, but they’ve also played quite well at times. The secondary has been better since trading for Jalen Ramsey, and they’ve given up 17 or fewer points in six of their last eight games. If Phillips does get the boot or chooses to leave on his own, he’d likely draw some interest from teams in search of a veteran assistant, perhaps to be paired with a young offensive-minded head coach.
Here’s more from out West:
- Terrell Suggs initially said he’d only play for the Ravens after he was cut by the Cardinals, but when he was claimed by the Chiefs it was immediately reported that he’d be joining Kansas City. What changed? Apparently all it took was a short call with Andy Reid. “I was really uncertain about my future last week, but I talked to Coach and it was a brief conversation and I was like, ‘OK,”’ the veteran pass-rusher said earlier this week, via Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. “I asked Coach, ‘I just learned the hard way that a player like me just [doesn’t] fit in anywhere.’ He was like, ‘Trust me, you’ll fit in here.'” Suggs spent the first 16 years of his career with Baltimore before signing in Arizona this past offseason. Now, he’ll be joining one of the Ravens’ main AFC rivals with a chance at a potential final playoff run.
- Raiders safety Karl Joseph was placed on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury early last month, and now we have more details. Joseph had a “partial case of plantar fasciitis in his right foot,” according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic (Twitter link). Tafur also reports that he’ll be good to go in April when offseason programs start across the league. The Raiders declined Joseph’s fifth-year option, so the former first-round pick will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. Joseph started the first nine games of this season, and has said he wants to be back with the Raiders. He was receiving average marks from Pro Football Focus before going down.
- Speaking of the Raiders, there will be a lot of talk about Derek Carr this offseason. The Raiders are set to move to Las Vegas for 2020, and it’s not quite settled as to who will be their quarterback when they play their first game there. Jon Gruden has been publicly supportive of Carr, but “there is a significant disconnect between the coach and the quarterback,” writes Michael Lombardi of The Athletic. Lombardi writes that he believes the Raiders will hold onto Carr, while also drafting a quarterback next April. He speculates that Gruden might look to trade Carr, finding a partner willing to take on Carr’s relatively affordable contract. It’s often hard to tell what Gruden is really thinking as he’s often publicly said one thing while doing another during his short time back in the league, but it’s certainly plausible that he decides to move on from Carr, one of the last holdovers from the pre-Gruden Raiders.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/20/19
One minor move to pass along:
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted from practiced squad: DT Bryan Mone
Mone will be taking the roster spot of Al Woods, the defensive tackle who was suspended four games earlier today. He’s a rookie UDFA who spent a few games on Seattle’s active roster toward the beginning of the year, making three tackles in their opener while playing significant snaps.
Josh Rosen On Not Starting, His NFL Future
We heard recently that Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen wasn’t likely to play in the final two games of the season, but the second-year pro isn’t getting discouraged. During recent comments to the media, an open Rosen reflected on his year in Miami and his future in the league, via Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
When asked if he was disappointed about not playing the final two weeks Rosen demurred, showing respect to Ryan Fitzpatrick. “No. Fitz hasn’t done anything to lose his starting position thus far so I don’t see why anything would change. I obviously would love to play if coach would call me up. I think Fitz has been doing a hell of a job considering all of the circumstances that have been going on this year,” he said.
Rosen added that he “absolutely” hopes to be back in Miami next year, saying “I like it a lot.” It’s long been assumed that the Dolphins will be drafting a passer early next April, which could mean Rosen isn’t starting anytime soon. Many in the media have already written Rosen off, but he isn’t getting discouraged about his longterm prospects despite the multiple setbacks in his brief career.
“I’m very encouraged just in general day to day, in how I’ve developed and watching Fitz do his thing,” he said. “I’m still only 22 years old. It’s not really the window is opened and closed like that. But there’s a sense of understanding time and opportunity. I’m aware of it, but it’s all for you guys to write about more than for me to worry about. Opportunities will come and I’ll try to seize them.”
Rosen has two years left on his rookie deal at very affordable salaries, which makes his situation even more interesting. Assuming the Dolphins are starting a rookie next year, they could use Rosen as a cheap backup or seek to flip him for more draft capital. They won’t be able to get back the second-round pick they gave up for Rosen during this past year’s draft, but it’s possible there’s a team willing to give up something for him as a developmental project.
Fitzpatrick started the year off under center, but was quickly benched in favor of Rosen. The UCLA product ended up starting three games, tossing only one touchdown with five interceptions while completing less than 54 percent of his passes. After starting 13 games for the Cardinals last year his cumulative stats are obviously terrible, but the circumstances he’s been thrust into have been far from ideal.
Rosen has taken a lot of criticism since his college days for his alleged lack of leadership abilities, and he was asked about that on Friday. “I think a lot of that stuff just comes naturally. Comfortability, with guys in the locker room. The offense. Even just with walking around the building and knowing the names of the cafeteria staff. And the janitor,” he explained. “Just getting comfortable with where you are. And just kind of making it your home and getting comfortable with your people and your family. I think as that has happened a lot of the leadership qualities that I pride myself on have started to come through. Because I don’t think you can really step out and lead if you don’t know what you’re doing first.”
Rosen also had a lot of praise for head coach Brian Flores and his staff. It’ll be very interesting to see what happens next with the tenth overall pick of the 2018 draft, and where his bizarre career-path takes him next.
Giants Place Evan Engram On IR
Evan Engram‘s season is officially over. The Giants are placing the talented young tight end on injured reserve with a couple of games left in the year, the team announced Tuesday.
To take his place on the active roster, they promoted receiver David Sills from the practice squad. Engram hadn’t played since a November 4th game against the Cowboys, but New York had been holding out hope for a late-season comeback. Engram is dealing with a foot sprain and got a second opinion on the injury about a month ago. He’ll finish his third season as a pro with 44 catches for 467 yards and three touchdowns across eight games.
A first-round pick out of Ole Miss back in 2017, the Giants will have to decide on his fifth-year option this offseason. Given his production when healthy, it seems like a no-brainer that they’ll pick it up. Engram missed five games due to injury last year, but has been one of the league’s better tight ends when available. As a rookie he had 722 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games, great numbers for a first-year tight end.
The Giants have obviously been having a disappointing season, with plenty of injuries on offense. The 23rd overall pick in 2017, Engram turned 25 in September. Sills is a rookie UDFA from West Virginia who originally signed with the Bills. After Buffalo waived him at final cuts, he latched on with New York’s practice squad.
Georgia OL Andrew Thomas To Enter Draft
The 2020 NFL Draft just picked up another top prospect. Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas will forego his final season of college eligibility and enter the draft, he announced on Twitter.
Thomas is considered a surefire first-round pick, and is regarded by many as a potential top-ten selection. Viewed by many as the top offensive line prospect in the draft, there are many teams that could use his services. Fellow top offensive line prospect Mekhi Becton declared for the draft yesterday. Thomas announced that he won’t be playing in the Sugar Bowl, so he’ll begin preparing for the draft immediately.
Thomas became an instant starter as a true freshman with the Bulldogs and never looked back, racking up countless accolades along the way. He won the SEC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy for being the conference’s best blocker, and was also a first-team All-SEC selection. The Jets are one of several teams in need of a new left tackle, and Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets that “there will be a lot of chatter over the next four months about Thomas and the Jets.”
Lions To Retain Matt Patricia, GM Bob Quinn For 2020
2019 has obviously been a very disappointing season for the Lions, but they aren’t going to be shaking things up too much this offseason. Both head coach Matt Patricia and GM Bob Quinn will return next season, owner Martha Ford told reporters on Tuesday. Patricia is in his second year as head coach after previously serving as New England’s defensive coordinator. Quinn has been the GM since 2016, and also came over from the Patriots.
Ford also told reporters that the expectation is the Lions will compete for a playoff spot next year, essentially saying outright that a repeat performance won’t be tolerated. Ford also shot down rumors that the family was considering selling the team. All that being said, that doesn’t mean everybody is going to make it through. “Other staff changes are possible” still, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The defense has been a glaring weakness, and it certainly wouldn’t be surprising if defensive Paul Pasqualoni found himself out of a job at the end of the season.
In recent weeks there had been a lot of speculation about Patricia’s job status and talk that he could get fired, but he never seemed too worried and now we know why. It seems likely that Patricia and Quinn’s futures will now be tied together, and if one of them is given the boot after next season then they both will be. Detroit got off to a hot start this season with a 2-0-1 record, but things fell apart rapidly.
They came within a play of beating the Chiefs and moving to 3-0-1 the following week, but came up short. A one-point loss to the Packers followed, and then things spiraled out of control. All told, they’ve now lost ten of their last 11 games. They’ve suffered a rash of injuries, most notably to quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford has missed the past six games, and they’ve now gone from Jeff Driskel to undrafted rookie David Blough under center.
Clearly ownership believes the injuries were to blame for the disaster of a season, and they’ll get at least one more chance to run it back. Fortunately for Quinn and Patricia, they’ll have a high draft pick at their disposal. There was a local media report that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had interest in buying the Lions, but the franchise shot that down emphatically, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com.
“We’ve been approached about interest in buying the team, but there’s been no serious discussions,” team president Rod Wood said. “And the Ford family plans to own the team and there’s [succession] plans in place.” We heard last month that Bezos was interested in buying a team, but it apparently won’t be the Lions.
NFC Notes: Floyd, Bears, Buccaneers, Barrett, Vikings, Rhodes
The Bears have obviously been having a disappointing season. A year after being one of the toasts of the league and winning the NFC North, they’ve officially been eliminated from playoff contention following their loss to the Packers. With the postseason out of reach, all eyes will now turn toward the offseason. The elephant in the room is what Chicago will do with Mitchell Trubisky and the quarterback situation, but they have some other big decisions to make as well. Linebacker Leonard Floyd is set to make $13.2MM under the fifth-year option in 2020, but that’s entirely non-guaranteed money. They can cut him this offseason with no financial penalty, and Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune seems to think that’s a real possibility.
In an interesting column Biggs explores Floyd’s situation, noting all the dynamics at play. Floyd is the second first-round pick that GM Ryan Pace made since taking over the front office, and the first was megabust Kevin White. As such, Pace could be motivated to keep Floyd on the team to try and validate the pick. Floyd certainly hasn’t been bad and he’s been a full-time starter for the Bears since entering the league, but it’s fair to wonder if he’s lived up to the billing of a ninth overall pick. As Biggs points out, the option would make him the tenth highest-paid outside linebacker in the NFL. Floyd had seven sacks as a rookie, but only 4.5 two years ago and four last year. In 14 games this season, he has three. His money becomes guaranteed on March 18th, so the Bears will have to make a decision by then.
Here’s more from the NFC:
- Speaking of NFC pass-rushers, the Buccaneers’ Shaq Barrett has been having a breakout season. He just picked up his 16.5th sack of the year this past weekend, tying the legendary Warren Sapp for the all-time single season franchise record. He’s been a bright spot all year long for this Bucs defense, and they aren’t planning on letting him get away even as he prepares to enter unrestricted free agency this spring. “He ain’t going anywhere,” head coach Bruce Arians said of Barrett, who signed a one-year, $4MM deal this offseason, via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. Barrett will likely be in line for a massive payday this offseason, and it sounds like the Buccaneers are ready to pay up. Barrett originally signed with the Broncos as an UDFA back in 2014, and was eventually able to get on the field as a situational rusher. He was slept on this offseason, and as we heard earlier this year, only one team other than Tampa even offered him a contract.
- Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes played only 14 snaps against the Chargers this past weekend, but it wasn’t because of an injury. Head coach Mike Zimmer said after the game that Rhodes was healthy, and that his limited action was the plan going in, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. In other words, Rhodes got benched. The 2013 first-round pick quickly became a star and one of the league’s better corners, but he’s declined rapidly. He’s still started every game this season but his snaps have declined each of the past couple weeks, as he’s been burned repeatedly. A first-team All-Pro in 2017, Rhodes is under contract through the 2022 season as part of a five-year, $70MM extension he signed with the Vikings. There’s been a lot of talk that Minnesota will move on after this season, and it’ll be very interesting to see what happens to the 29-year-old.
Chiefs Place Alex Okafor On IR
The Chiefs picked up another win over the Broncos Sunday, but they also suffered a significant loss. On Monday, they were forced to place defensive end Alex Okafor on injured reserve with a torn pectoral muscle.
Okafor signed a three-year, $18MM deal with Kansas City this offseason, and has been playing fairly well as of late. In ten games and nine starts, he’s racked up five sacks. Before that, Okafor spent the previous two years in New Orleans, where he was a full-time starter and key part of the defensive front.
The Chiefs’ defense has started to play a lot better in recent weeks and is hitting a stride, so the timing on this certainly isn’t ideal as they gear up for their playoff run. On a positive note – they’ve claimed Terrell Suggs, who can help to replace Okafor’s presence and pass-rush ability.
Kansas City completely reinvented their pass-rush this offseason, getting rid of Justin Houston and Dee Ford and bringing in Okafor and Frank Clark. A Texas product, Okafor was originally drafted by the Cardinals in the fourth round back in 2013.
Falcons’ Takk McKinley Done For The Year
This time of year a lot of players are getting shut down for the season, and we’ve got another notable one to pass along. Falcons pass-rusher Takk McKinley is done for the year, head coach Dan Quinn announced Monday. 
He apparently suffered a shoulder injury during Atlanta’s upset win over the 49ers yesterday. The Falcons drafted McKinley 26th overall out of UCLA back in 2017. He’s been up and down during his three years as a pro, showing plenty of flashes but failing to put it all together consistently. His playing time has increased each year he’s been in the league, but despite playing the highest rate of snaps in his career this season, his sack production went down.
He had six as a rookie and seven last year, but will finish the 2019 campaign with only 3.5 in 15 games. Two of those came two weeks ago in a win over the Panthers. It’s been a disappointing season for Atlanta’s defense, and now they’ll be leaning even more heavily on Adrian Clayborn and Vic Beasley to provide some pressure over the final couple of games.