Jared Goff’s Job Not In Jeopardy
The Lions have yet to win their first game of the season, and QB Jared Goff has struggled in the last two contests, including a blowout loss at the hands of the Bengals last week. Rookie head coach Dan Campbell did not mince words in his post-game presser, saying that Goff “needs to step up more than he has.”
Still, Goff is in no immediate danger of being benched, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. After all, backup signal-caller David Blough is clearly not the long-term solution at quarterback, and Goff might still be, so there have been no conversations about pulling Goff from the starting lineup.
The fact that the rebuilding Lions have dealt with significant O-line injuries and are lacking talent at the wide receiver position should also buy Goff a little bit of slack. Plus, the club has at least been competitive in several games this season, and arguably should have defeated Baltimore in Week 3 and Minnesota in Week 5.
There is also Goff’s contract to consider. New GM Brad Holmes said his decision to take on Goff’s mega-deal in this offseason’s blockbuster trade with the Rams was not solely motivated by his ability to squeeze more draft picks out of Los Angeles, and that he believes Goff can recapture the Pro Bowl form he displayed in the 2017-18 seasons. Still, Goff is guaranteed $26.15MM next year, and the Lions cannot realistically get out of his deal before the end of the 2022 campaign, so he will be given every chance to earn his keep.
Through six games in 2021, Goff has completed 66.8% of his passes for seven TDs and four picks. His 86.9 QB rating — which has been dragged down by his last two outings — positions him in the bottom third of the league, and Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics consider him the 26th-best passer out of 33 qualified players.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/24/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves right here:
Chicago Bears
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Caleb Johnson, OT Elijah Wilkinson
- Promoted: OL Arlington Hambright
Dolphins HC Brian Flores On Hot Seat
The Dolphins are mired in a five-game losing streak, and their disappointing defeat at the hands of the Jaguars in London last week has led to plenty of speculation about head coach Brian Flores‘ future in Miami. According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Flores is indeed on the hot seat.
A 10-win effort in 2020 seemed to indicate that better days were ahead for the Fins, but Flores’ club has taken a major step back this year. Even last season, many players did not like Flores’ handling of then-rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa, who was yanked out of several games early in favor of veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick. Of course, winning can ease a lot of tension, and while Tagovailoa has not been benched in favor of backup Jacoby Brissett this season — either in-game or otherwise — the 1-5 start to the 2021 campaign has intensified other issues in the Dolphins’ locker room.
For instance, Flores reportedly has a difficult time connecting with his players, and the constant overhaul of his coaching staff has also led to consternation. Said one source with direct knowledge of the situation, “[t]here is a really negative vibe down there right now. A lot of players do not trust (Flores). Flo thinks he is a player’s coach, with an open-door policy, but I know a number of players who would tell you they don’t really think he is approachable enough, or flexible.”
Many coaches who come from the Bill Belichick coaching tree unsuccessfully attempt to replicate Belichick’s business-like approach with the Patriots, and Flores — who coached under Belichick in New England for 11 years — is apparently no exception. La Canfora’s source added, “[t]here is still too much of that New England (stuff) going on. It just doesn’t work. There is a psychology to handling players and building a team, and you have to be able to connect and motivate. That’s not the vibe there. It’s pretty bad.”
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is concerned about the direction of his team, and he and Flores are rumored to be at odds over the potential acquisition of embattled passer Deshaun Watson. Obviously, Tagovailoa’s fate would be greatly impacted by a Watson deal, and while Flores has publicly endorsed Tagovailoa on several occasions, La Canfora says the third-year head coach and his staff have never really embraced the young southpaw.
If Miami is able to consummate a Watson trade, it does not sound like Tagovailoa would be part of the package heading back to Houston. La Canfora reports that clubs who have been connected to Tagovailoa in the past — a group that presumably includes the Texans — are not interested in acquiring him at this time.
Seahawks DL L.J. Collier Generating Trade Interest
It would be an understatement to say that Seahawks DL L.J. Collier has not lived up to his status as a first-round draft pick. The No. 29 overall choice of the 2019 draft played in just 152 snaps in his rookie campaign, though he later said that his rush to return from a preseason ankle sprain may have played a role in that limited usage. But after starting all 16 games and Seattle’s lone playoff contest in 2020, Collier has been active for only two games in 2021.
As such, his name has come up in trade conversations, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Rapoport does not say which teams have reached out to the Seahawks, but he does indicate that Seattle entertained discussions before and during the season. Given the disappointing start to his career, the Seahawks cannot expect a significant return in a Collier trade, and rival clubs are surely hoping for a low-risk, high-reward transaction.
Ironically, another former No. 29 overall pick, Robert Nkemdiche, has played a part in Collier’s lack of a role on this year’s defense. Nkemdiche, who was selected by the Cardinals in the 2016 draft and who was nothing short of a bust, was out of football entirely in 2020 and played in only two games in 2019. However, Seahawks DC Ken Norton said at the end of September that Nkemdiche had surpassed Collier on the depth chart.
“It came down to competition,” Norton said. “It came down to being able to play, being able to make quick decisions…and right now we felt like Nkemdiche was a little ahead of [Collier].”
It is certainly telling that Collier is having a hard time seeing the field for a defense that is ranked dead-last in terms of yards per game and that has been unable to generate a consistent pass rush. Still, plenty of teams need edge help, and it could be that a change of scenery will help the TCU product unlock his potential.
Texans OL Marcus Cannon Likely Done For Year
The Texans recently placed OL Marcus Cannon on IR, and as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter), the 33-year-old blocker will require back surgery. Cannon is expected to be out for about 12 weeks, and if that timeline holds, Cannon’s season will be over (assuming Houston doesn’t qualify for the playoffs). Per veteran NFL reporter Aaron Wilson, Cannon is dealing with a herniated disc (Twitter link).
GM Nick Caserio was very familiar with Cannon from his days with the Patriots, and Caserio swung a trade with New England in March to bring Cannon to Houston. A June knee surgery put Cannon’s Week 1 status in jeopardy, but he started each of the Texans’ first four games of the season before missing last week’s loss to the Pats
Cannon has never been a world-beater, but he does provide valuable experience and can play multiple positions along the O-line. All of his snaps this season were taken at right tackle, and Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics gave him a solid 65.2 overall grade for his efforts. 2020 fourth-rounder Charlie Heck will presumably serve as the starting RT going forward.
Cannon is under contract through 2022, and he is owed a fairly reasonable $4.7MM base salary next season, though he does have a $1.5MM roster bonus and would carry a $6.35MM cap hit. The Texans could clear that entire figure from their books if they were to release Cannon, which seems like a real possibility.
North Notes: Darrisaw, Carpenter, McFarland
Let’s round up a few items from the league’s North divisions:
- Vikings LT Christian Darrisaw, the No. 23 overall pick of this year’s draft, has undergone two procedures for a groin injury in 2021, which delayed the start to his pro career. But he saw his first snaps at the left tackle position in last week’s win over the Lions, and he will get the start there against the Panthers today, as Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. Rashod Hill had been trying to hold down the fort in Darrisaw’s absence, but he struggled, and today marks the true beginning of the Darrisaw era on the blindside.
- The Ravens worked out free agent guard James Carpenter on Friday, as Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus tweets. Baltimore is on the lookout for OL depth after placing rookie guard Ben Cleveland on IR earlier this week. This marks the first reported interest in Carpenter since he was released by the Falcons in March.
- Even though the Steelers drafted RB Najee Harris in the first round of this year’s draft, 2020 draftee Anthony McFarland hoped to have a meaningful role on offense. But as Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review details, McFarland sustained a torn MCL during the preseason and has been on IR ever since. He was designated for return last week, and Rutter says the Maryland product will most likely be back on the field after the Steelers’ Week 7 bye.
Latest On LB Zach Cunningham’s Future With Texans
Last August, the Texans signed Zach Cunningham to a four-year, $58MM extension, which positioned Cunningham as one of the highest-paid off-ball linebackers in the game. Although he continued to struggle in coverage in 2020, his run defense and pass rush abilities remained at a high level, and he led the league with 164 total tackles. Now, over a year later and with a new regime in place in Houston, Cunningham’s future with the club may be uncertain.
The Vanderbilt product missed the team’s Week 4 blowout loss to the Bills due to his placement on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and he appeared in only 33 snaps in the Texans’ defeat at the hands of the Patriots last week, his lowest total since Week 17 of the 2019 campaign. Meanwhile, fellow LBs Christian Kirksey and Kamu Grugier-Hill played every snap against New England.
Although Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics have some volatility in small sample sizes, PFF pegs Cunningham as a below-average to poor defender in all three defensive categories (pass rush, coverage, and run defense) thus far this season. Plus, Cunningham missed the first quarter of Houston’s Week 2 loss to the Browns due to “disciplinary reasons,” and he missed a preseason game against the Bucs due to “personal reasons.” Add it all up, and Aaron Wilson of Sports Talk 790 wonders if Cunningham will remain with the Texans for the long haul.
Of course, his persistent coverage issues limit his appeal to other clubs. Teams want their LBs to be able to cover receivers over the middle of the field, and Cunningham’s inability to do that on a consistent basis is a problem. His eight-figure AAV contract would also serve as a barrier to a potential trade.
And, because that contract was restructured for salary cap purposes earlier this year, the Texans would be saddled with a major dead money hit with minimal cap savings if they were to release Cunningham this offseason. So while it could be that the 26-year-old (27 in December) will remain in Houston through at least 2022, his role going forward is certainly up in the air.
“His role has been for us, first and second down is where he’s most comfortable,” head coach David Culley recently said. “He’s a heck of a player, and [we] expect more out of him as well as the other guys that are playing around him.”
Raiders Notes: Davis, Mayock, Hudson
As a result of Jon Gruden‘s resignation, the Raiders will, of course, have plenty of difficult decisions to make this offseason, including how to fill their head coaching position. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com writes, owner Mark Davis will assemble a small group of advisors to assist him with his HC search, which should yield a number of high-level candidates. Popular names from recent coaching cycles like Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, Bills DC Leslie Frazier, and Iowa State HC Matt Campbell are just a few of the possibilities.
Davis will also discuss with his advisors whether GM Mike Mayock — who will now have a 51% say in roster decisions — should remain with the club. If Davis is able to lure a sought-after head coach, such a person may not want to partner with a holdover GM, but Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal believes Davis will legitimately consider retaining Mayock (Twitter link).
More out of Las Vegas:
- We recently explored the topic of how much money remained under Gruden’s contract with the Raiders and if Gruden would be entitled to any of that amount. The assumption was that Gruden and Davis had worked out some sort of severance package, but according to Rapoport, a settlement has not yet been reached. Ben Volin of the Boston Globe confirms that the contract was heavily backloaded, and that Gruden has received less than 30% of the $100MM to which he would have otherwise been entitled.
- Per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Davis — who Rapoport says delivered an upbeat, positive message to his club on Wednesday — is nonetheless furious with the league office for what he believes is a hit job. Davis reportedly thinks that the league office was intent on forcing Gruden out, and that it was responsible for the leaked emails to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal that triggered his resignation.
- Davis’ ire is enflamed by the fact that those emails stemmed from an investigation into a different team (the Washington Football Team) that went back over a decade, an investigation that has not resulted in any punishment for WFT executives or officials. The NFL has denied involved in the NYT and WSJ stories, but Davis is said to be mulling a lawsuit.
- For what it’s worth, Volin believes the leaked emails were indeed a hit job, but not one ordered by the league office. On Thursday, the NYT and WSJ independently published stories detailing embarrassing emails that the league’s No. 2 exec, attorney Jeff Pash, sent to former WFT president Bruce Allen. While those emails were not as provocative as the ones Gruden sent to Allen, it is unlikely that the league would intentionally shame one of its own top officials. Instead, the leaks might have come from someone connected to the WFT investigation who was unsatisfied with the results.
- The Raiders saw significant turnover on the O-line this offseason, and as a result of veteran departures, injuries, and poor performance, the unit has been a disappointment in 2021. Former center Rodney Hudson, who was traded to the Cardinals in March, actually requested his release after Gabe Jackson and Trent Brown were traded, as Vic Tafur of The Athletic writes. Ultimately, Vegas — which was apparently shocked by the request — was able to swing a deal with Arizona, but it would probably like to have its Pro Bowl pivot back in the Silver-and-Black.
Chiefs To Start Juan Thornhill Over Daniel Sorensen
The Chiefs are making a change at the safety position. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com writes, Kansas City is relegating Daniel Sorensen, who has started every game since Week 6 of last year (save for a meaningless Week 17 contest) to a reserve role.
Juan Thornhill will get the start alongside strong safety Tyrann Mathieu in Sorensen’s stead. Thornhill, a 2019 second-rounder, started every game of his rookie campaign, intercepting three passes and generally playing like a high-level defender. However, he suffered a torn ACL in the last game of the 2019 season, and though he played in all 16 contests last year (eight starts), he still struggled with his knee pain and could not replicate his earlier level of performance.
Sorensen, re-signed to a one-year, $2.4MM contract this offseason, has struggled mightily in 2021. He has been repeatedly beaten in coverage, is yielding a 153.8 passer rating when targeted by opposing QBs, and has also missed nine tackles. Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, which weren’t particularly high on him in 2020 either, view him as the third-worst safety in the league among players with over 100 snaps.
The Chiefs have gotten off to a 2-3 start, and their porous defense has been the primary reason for that. KC currently ranks as the second-worst defense in terms of yards allowed, and while the Sorensen-Thornhill swap won’t be a cure-all, it is certainly a logical move to make.
Thornhill has played in just 142 snaps this year (compared to Sorensen’s 325), but he has been decidedly more effective in his limited action. Per PFF, the Virginia product ranks as a top-30 safety, which includes an above-average coverage mark. A return to his 2019 form could position him well for a possible extension in 2022.
Ravens Activate Bateman, Phillips From IR
Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman will make his NFL debut this weekend in a heavily anticipated matchup between two exciting young QBs in Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and the Chargers’ Justin Herbert. Head coach John Harbaugh apprised reporters of the news today (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic).
Baltimore activated both Bateman and guard Tyre Phillips from IR Saturday. Phillips has been out since Week 1 due to a knee injury that required cart transportation. He began the season as the Ravens’ starting left guard. This move comes shortly after the Ravens placed rookie fill-in Ben Cleveland, who has split time at left guard with Ben Powers, on IR. Baltimore promoted Le’Veon Bell and tackle Andre Smith from its practice squad as well.
The Ravens have managed a 4-1 record despite a rash of injured stars and key contributors, including their top two RBs — J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards — CB Marcus Peters, LT Ronnie Stanley, and many others besides. Bateman, the 27th-overall pick of this year’s draft, joined the club’s MASH unit after suffering a significant groin pull in training camp that ultimately required surgery. Baltimore put its rookie wideout on IR and designated him for return at the end of September.
The Ravens’ ground game, which was the club’s calling card over the past several years, has been subdued in 2021 thanks in large part to the aforementioned injuries to Dobbins and Edwards (and thanks to opposing defenses gearing up to stop the run). But Jackson has elevated his passing abilities and his receivers have played well, allowing Baltimore to sustain a productive aerial attack, which Bateman should further bolster.
Unfortunately (but not unsurprisingly), Bateman’s debut coincides with the loss of fellow wideout Sammy Watkins. Watkins signed a one-year contract with the Ravens this spring, and he had developed a strong rapport with Jackson, catching 18 passes for 292 yards (good for a 16.2 YPR mark, which would be the second-highest figure of his career). Watkins suffered a hamstring injury in Monday’s dramatic win over the Colts, and he has been ruled out for the Chargers game this week (Twitter link via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com). There is no definitive timetable for Watkins at this point, but it does not sound like the team will put him on IR just yet.
Meanwhile, Baltimore continues to be without TE Nick Boyle. Boyle is an effective ancillary receiving target in his own right, but his primary contribution has been as a blocker. He is regarded as one of the best blocking tight ends in the league, and his return could help the running game get back on track. As with Watkins, there is no definitive return date for Boyle, but Harbaugh said the Delaware product will come off of IR soon (Twitter link via Hensley).
Boyle has been recovering from a severe knee injury he suffered last November, which ended his 2020 season prematurely.