Mark Ingram Will Not Become A Free Agent This Offseason
The NFL All-pro team was released today, but Saints running back Mark Ingram was not on it. Voters instead opted for Rams third-year playmaker Todd Gurley in the running back spot and the Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell in the “flex” position. Without the All-pro designation, Ingram will not become a free agent this offseason, points out Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The veteran back had a clause in his contract that if he were to make the All-pro team, he would be released from his current deal and test the open market in a few months.
Ingram, 28, has seen his career take off in the past two years. The former 2011 first round pick has rushed for over a combined 2,100 yards in 2016-2017. He had a career-high 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns this past season in New Orleans. Despite being older for running back standards, Ingram would have likely gotten a raise over his $4MM base salary for 2018.
By slightly missing out on the designation, he will remain with the team that drafted him for one more season. While unfortunate for the veteran back, this is certainly good news for the Saints considering that Ingram seems to have a lot of tread left on the tires. He should continue to be an extremely formidable backfield partner to breakout rookie running back Alvin Kamara.
Giants Interview Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia
Apart from all the Patriots drama unfolding today, both of their coordinators, Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia, have completed their scheduled interviews with the Giants. The team announced that they had interviewed Patricia earlier in the day, but McDaniels had finished his conversation with the team this afternoon, according to James Palmer of NFL.com (Twitter link). Palmer adds that the group who interviewed McDaniels consisted of team owner John Mara, general manager Dave Gettleman and assistant general manager Kevin Abrams.
Patricia and McDaniels are now the second and third head coaching candidates to be interviewed by the organization. Current interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo spoke to the Giants about their head coach vacancy on Wednesday. However, it should be noted that McDaniels is the first offensive head coach that has been interviewed in the team’s search. New York hasn’t flat out mentioned that they rather go in a certain direction, but there has been chatter that they want someone who has experience in the head coach role, which McDaniels certainly has from his time in Denver. Although, Patricia does not have head coaching experience and the team clearly still has interest in him, so that may not ultimately be a deciding factor.
Meanwhile, the Giants are far from done speaking with prospective candidates. They have also requested to interview Jim Schwartz (Eagles DC), Pat Shurmur (Vikings OC), Steve Wilks (Panthers DC) and Eric Studesville (former Broncos assistant HC).
Patriots Report Fallout
A surprising report dropped earlier this morning from Seth Wickersham of ESPN.com detailing the apparent rift between long-time Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and franchise-changing quarterback Tom Brady. Since then, those men along with owner Robert Kraft have released a statement pushing back on the reports that the leader of his football team and legendary signal caller are currently on bad terms.
“For the past 18 years, the three of us have enjoyed a very good and productive working relationship. In recent days, there have been multiple media reports that have speculated theories that are unsubstantiated, highly exaggerated or flat out inaccurate. The three of us share a common goal. We look forward to the enormous challenge of competing in the postseason and the opportunity to work together in the future, just as we have for the past 18 years. It is unfortunate that there is even a need for us to respond to these fallacies. As our actions have shown, we stand united.”
It seemed reasonable that the Patriots would come out in some way considering the many shocking revelations that were published about the two key members of the franchise. The Patriots have made it a habit of shifting focus away from distractions and to next week’s opponent. That sentiment will be pushed to the test next weekend even if the three men have provided a statement that the report released today is false.
- Out of the three key members of the organization, it would seem that Belichick would be the most likely to leave if the feelings reported within the Pats power structure are true, opines Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. Breer outlines that obviously the owner is not going anywhere and with Brady still playing MVP caliber football without a true successor behind him, it would be difficult to see the team moving on from him either. He notes that Belichick is 65 years old and clearly didn’t want to trade Jimmy Garoppolo as he reports that the team flat out told potential bidders the young backup “wasn’t available” when trade talk swirled during last year’s NFL Draft. Breer summarizes that the Patriots latest moves to trade Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett this season don’t jive with Belichick’s thoughtful style in which he builds for now and the future. This could be foreshadowing that should the bombshell report turn out to have a lot of truth to it, then it seems the five-time Super Bowl winning head coach could move on from the team before his quarterback.
- However, there was no mandate to trade Garoppolo midseason, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Florio of PFT. This news completely contradicts Wickersham’s reporting that Brady “won” in convincing Kraft to trade Garoppolo against the wishes of his head coach. Florio continues that the team instead pushed their backup to take an “under the bridge” type deal that would pay him “very well to be a backup and then starter money”. The reporter also speculates that if a mandate was given, it would have come during this past offseason when teams were offering better picks for Garoppolo.
- Another factor in this story was the relationship between the Patriots and Brady’s personal trainer, Alex Guerrero. According to this morning’s story, many players felt uncomfortable if they rejected to use Brady’s “TB12” training program to use team doctors. This allegedly contributed to the uncomfortable feeling around the locker room. Guerrero has since released a statement in response to the report in which he basically defends his work with the Patriots and Tom Brady over the years. Read the full statement here via Doug Kyed of NESN.com.
OT Orlando Brown Declares For NFL Draft
Another potential first round pick is throwing their name into the upcoming draft mix. Oklahoma left tackle Orlando Brown announced his intentions to forego his senior year and declare for the 2018 NFL Draft on his personal Twitter account tonight.
“After talking things over with my family and coaches, I will be declaring early for the NFL Draft. It’s been an amazing 4 years here. I wouldn’t want to be a part of any other university. Thank you Sooner Nation!!!”
Brown is listed at a large 6’8”, 345 lbs, which gives him a large presence when he is on the field. He’s also been durable throughout his college career, having starting 40 games in three seasons at Oklahoma. Brown was a unanimous first team All-American and was a finalist for the Outland Trophy in 2017. In addition, he was voted as the Big 12’s best offensive lineman from this past season.
Matt Miller of Bleacher Report ranked Borwn as his third-best offensive tackle in his November big board. Brown is likely to compete with other top offensive line prospects like Notre Dame’s Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey, along Texas’ Connor Williams as projected first round picks come April.
NFL Workout Updates: 1/3/18
Here are today’s workout updates, with the only note coming from Rob Demovsky from ESPN.com.
Green Bay Packers
- CB Ian Wells (via Twitter)
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/3/18
Here are today’s minor moves around the NFL:
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on IR: TE Garrett Griffin
- Signed: TE John Phillips
Today’s practice squad updates:
New England Patriots
- Signed: LB Trevor Reilly
- Released: WR Bernard Reedy
NFL Reserve/Future Contracts: 1/3/18
Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2018 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:
Green Bay Packers
- G Kofi Amichia
Kansas City Chiefs
- CB Makinton Dorleant
- WR Brandon Shippen
Minnesota Vikings
- WR Brandon Zylstra
Philadelphia Eagles
- CB Elie Bouka
- P Cameron Johnston
- TE Adam Zaruba
Seattle Seahawks
Washington Redskins
Coaching Notes: Spagnuolo, Bettcher, McDaniels
The coaching carousel is in full swing. Here are six stories regarding coaching staffs across the NFL:
- The Giants have interviewed their interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo for the full-time job, the team announced today. Spagnuolo is considered a longshot to land the position given that new general manager Dave Gettlemen would probably like to bring in his own guy. But, the former Rams head coach still had his shot to impress the Giants executives today. New York has six more candidates they’re planning on interviewing in the days to come. Check out who by using our 2018 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker.
- The Cardinals also used most of the day to interview an internal head coach candidate, defensive coordinator James Bettcher, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Bettcher had the first chance to make his case as the team has another seven coaches they would like to talk to about their vacant head coach position.
- The Colts will speak with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels tonight about their head coach vacancy, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (Twitter link). McDaniels is getting head coaching interest from many different teams because of his offensive knowledge. Indianapolis could be looking for a more offensive-minded coach to pair with quarterback Andrew Luck. Although they have requested interviews with coaches on both sides of the ball, including: Matt Nagy (Chiefs), Kris Richard (Seahawks), Mike Vrabel (Texans) and Steve Wilks (Panthers).
- La Canfora does also note that the bad weather in the Boston area could affect potential interviews regarding McDaniels and fellow Patriots coach Matt Patricia. The team has to be back home to prepare for their divisional round opponent, which could push back a few potential interviews for both New England coordinators.
- The Packers have a offensive coordinator vacancy after reassigning Edgar Bennett to another position earlier today. Three names who the team could show interest in to replace Bennett are former Green Bay coaches Ben McAdoo and Joe Philbin, along with current offensive line coach James Campen, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- The Broncos have hired Sean Kugler to be the team’s offensive line coach for 2018, reports Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link). While Kugler is a new face to the coaching staff, the team did decide to keep both of their coordinators and fire three other coaches on Monday.
Dolphins Hire Dowell Loggains As Offensive Coordinator
The Dolphins have officially announced that they have hired former Bears offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains to the same position. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com first reported the news about two weeks ago (Twitter link). Rapoport added that former offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen will “likely remain with the team and transition to a new role”.
It was originally unknown what role Loggains was interviewing for when he met with team officials on Tuesday, but we now know that head coach Adam Gase wanted to bring in a familiar face to work help run the offense in Miami. The two coaches previously worked together with the Bears when Gase was an offensive coordinator and Loggains was the quarterbacks coach.
While Loggains should have a crucial role in game planning, Gase will still call the team’s plays on Sundays, reports Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).
With the Dolphins offensive coordinator role now set, the man who held that post in 2017 is still awaiting what role he will have on the offensive staff next season. The Dolphins could look to further shake things up as the team’s offense was inconsistent to say the least with Jay Cutler at helm in 2017, rather than Ryan Tannehill who sat at the entire regular season recovering from a knee injury he suffered in training camp.
Texans GM To Control Team Personnel, HC Bill O’Brien To Be On Search Committee
There’s new developments regarding the Texans quest to find a new general manager. The team’s owner, Bob McNair, told reporters today that the person they eventually hire will have control of personnel over current head coach Bill O’Brien, relays John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). However, McClain does note that O’Brien, along with team president Jamey Rootes, will be with McNair and Cal McNair as the four-man the team conducting the search.
“The GM is going to have full authority over personnel, and he’ll report to Cal and me,” said the Texans owner. “That’s our message to potential GMs, We know what we want. We’ll pick somebody that Cal and I like, coach O’Brien likes and Jamey likes. We pretty much agree on what we’re looking for.” (via McClain on Twitter)
While the job should be sought after by many people across the league, McNair also stated that he doesn’t want the general manager to reshape front office, although he did say that he could allow for some potential new hires given who they ultimately agree to bring into the organization.
“He may have 1 or 2 key people he’s worked with, and he might want to bring them in,” said McNair. “That’s reasonable. It’s also reasonable to ask that person to work with the people we have this year and Cal what he thinks. We’re not going to have somebody come in and clean house.” (via McClain)
This is an interesting process for the Texans ownership group because executive vice president Rick Smith‘s situation is really up-in-the-air given that he will be home with his wife who is battling cancer. McNair does seem intent on waiting a year to feel out what Smith’s situation may look like in 2019.
“We don’t know what Rick might do,” said the owner. “That’s something we’ll discuss a year from now. The only concern is to take care of his family, and we’re not going beyond that.” (via McClain)
There’s already been some GM candidates speculated, including: Nick Caserio (Patriots), Brian Gaine (Bills) and Brian Gutekunst (Packers). Although, there should be more names that will arise in the next week or two. It’s expected to be a quick process and we now know that the new hire will have primary control on the roster entering the 2018 season.