Sam Bradford To Be No. 2 QB
Sam Bradford was activated from IR yesterday, and today ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen reports that Bradford will serve as Case Keenum‘s backup for the Vikings’ divisional round matchup against the Saints this afternoon (Twitter link). Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer has never activated three quarterbacks, so it is likely that Teddy Bridgewater will be inactive for the contest.
Bradford started the Vikings’ first game of the 2017 season and performed well in leading his team to a convincing win over — coincidentally enough — the Saints. But he has not played in a full game since that opening contest, and as Bridgewater was continuing to recover from last season’s ACL injury, Keenum was given the chance to show what he could do.
He did not disappoint. He went 11-3 as a starter, led the Vikings to the No. 2 seed in the NFC, and set himself up for a big payday in the coming months. Like Keenum, Bradford and Bridgewater will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, so Minnesota will have some very interesting decisions to make when their season is over.
Mortensen also tweets that, on November 7, Bradford visited Dr. James Andrews to have his left knee cleaned out and a bone spur shaved. As a result, the pain in his knee is not nearly as severe as it was prior to the surgery. Apparently, he feels good enough and has played well enough since returning to the practice field earlier this month to serve as Keenum’s backup in a playoff contest.
East Notes: McDaniels, Patriots, Z. Jones
Two of the Giants‘ top choices for their head coaching vacancy, Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia, are reportedly set to accept jobs elsewhere. Ralph Vacchiano of SNY, however, says that Big Blue fans should not count out McDaniels just yet. One team source says the Giants have not been informed that McDaniels is out of the mix, and while it has been reported that McDaniels wants more control over personnel than New York is willing to allow, the team feels it can resolve that issue.
Nonetheless, Vacchiano concedes that Patricia is off the table, and if McDaniels does indeed take the Colts’ job, that leaves the Giants with Pat Shurmur and Steve Wilks as their top remaining targets. But Vacchiano says Shurmur appears to prefer the Cardinals’ gig, and Arizona is apparently prepared to offer it to him. So it appears that things may be coming full circle, with Wilks looking increasingly like New York’s next head coach.
Now let’s take a look at more notes out of the east:
- Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link) reports that Patriots owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick, and quarterback Tom Brady will meet this offseason to clear the air and to resolve whatever tensions exist among themselves. While reports of discord within the organization were likely overblown, Rapoport says there is indeed some tension within the triumvirate, and since Belichick and Brady are not going anywhere until they choose to leave, it makes sense that the three men would want to hash out their issues.
- Bills WR Zay Jones reportedly played his rookie campaign with a torn labrum, and his father, former NFL linebacker Robert Jones, told Robert Quinn of the Bills Wire that his son will have surgery on Tuesday to repair the injury. Zay Jones finished the 2017 season with 27 catches for 316 yards and two touchdowns.
- The Dolphins will not retain defensive line coach Terrell Williams, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Williams coached the team’s D-line for the past three seasons, and his unit experienced mixed results in 2017. Jackson adds that former offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen has indeed been reassigned to a new role within the organization, as was expected after Miami hired Dowell Loggains as its new OC earlier this month.
Latest On Broncos’ Ownership Plans
In July 2014, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen signed over control of the club due to his ongoing battle with Alzheimer’s disease. At the time, we knew only that the three trustees of the Pat Bowlen Trust — team president Joe Ellis, team counsel Rich Sliva, and Denver attorney Mary Kelly — would handle day-to-day operations, with Ellis serving as the Controlling Owner Delegee/CEO who has full authority to make final decisions for the team.
In a piece that is well worth a read, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post lends a little more clarity to the situation, though she says that the trustees and other interested parties have kept the team’s succession plans confidential out of respect for the Bowlen family. After all, the team is under no obligation to publicly disclose those plans.
Jhabvala notes that Bowlen established a family trust years ago in an effort to eventually transfer ownership of the team to his seven children, each of whom would receive an equal stake in the franchise. Nonetheless, only one of those children would be the sole voice for the team at league meetings and have the title of controlling owner, and the Ellis/Sliva/Kelly trio have full authority to sell the team to an outside party if they deem such a sale to be in the best interest of the team and the Bowlen children. That means that Ellis will have final say on his eventual replacement as top decision-maker.
Jhabvala’s sources indicate that the Pat Bowlen Trust trustees sent Bowlen’s wife, Annabel, and the Bowlen children a list of criteria to help determine who the next controlling owner will be. Those criteria include subjective items like integrity and sound judgment, but they also include requirements like a bachelor’s degree paired with an MBA, J.D., or other advanced business-related degree.
As of now, Jhabvala notes that only two of the seven Bowlen children are currently on track to meet those criteria and, in turn, to become the next controlling owner. One is Brittany Alexandra Bowlen, who is just 28. She worked in the NFL’s junior rotational program in New York, she was an analyst in the Broncos’ business department in 2015, and she completed an internship with the McKinsey & Company consulting firm last year (she expects to accept a full-time position with McKinsey after completing her MBA at Duke University later this year).
The other most likely candidate is Beth Bowlen Wallace, 47, who has a law degree from the University of Denver and who previously worked with the team as a director of special projects for more than three years, the highest position by title held by a Bowlen child.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has stated multiple times that the Broncos continue to be run effectively and that the team is in compliance with league ownership rules. Despite that, and despite the fact that the Broncos have remained a profitable enterprise, Jhabvala observes that the league will not wait forever for a new owner to be named (though there is no clear timetable in place). League rules do make it easier to keep ownership in the family, so as of now, it seems as though the safe money is on Wallace or Brittany Alexandra Bowlen becoming the team’s next controlling owner (assuming that the criteria set forth by the trustees is sufficient and will be largely satisfied). But it is still a fluid situation that bears watching as the Broncos embark on an offseason that they hope will help put an end to a two-year playoff drought.
Steelers Notes: Brown, Bell, Haley
Antonio Brown is likely to play in the Steelers’ divisional round contest against Jacksonville this afternoon, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports, although Schefter adds that Brown’s injured calf is not close to being fully healed. The league’s top wideout, who is one month removed from the partially torn left calf muscle that forced him to miss the final two games of the regular season, will go through pregame warmups to test the calf, but as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets, every expectation is that Brown will play and will play regularly. Brown was forced to miss Friday’s practice because of an illness, but he was a full participant in practices on Wednesday and Thursday, and Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets that Brown’s illness will not impact his playing status [Twitter update: Brown is active, per Schefter].
Now for several more notes on the AFC North champions:
- His idle threats notwithstanding, no one expects Le’Veon Bell to retire or sit out the 2018 season if he is hit with the franchise tag for the second straight year, least of all the Steelers themselves. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (video link), the Steelers are indeed expected to put the franchise tag on Bell, which has been a foregone conclusion for some time now. As Rapoport observes, Pittsburgh has historically refused to cede to the demands of players who threaten to sit out, and he does not expect the club to change it standard operating procedure for Bell. If Bell does play 2018 under the tag, he will have earned roughly $26.5MM over the 2017-18 seasons, while he would have earned $30MM if he signed the long-term deal the Steelers offered him last year. Nonetheless, we will still need to wait to see what the future holds before we can say for sure whether that was a wise financial move for Bell.
- We heard at the end of December that the relationship between Ben Roethlisberger and OC Todd Haley is strained, but Rapoport goes one step further, saying that the relationship “is in as bad of a place as it’s been in years.” Nonetheless, Roethlisberger has thrived under Haley’s leadership, which puts the Steelers in something of a bind. Haley’s contract expires at the end of the season, so Pittsburgh will need to decide whether it wants to bring him back and hope he and Big Ben can put aside their personal differences since the on-field product has been so good, or whether it wants to move on. Of course, the decision could be made for the Steelers if Roethlisberger makes good on his threat to retire, or if offensive line coach Mike Munchak gets a head coaching job elsewhere and brings Haley with him, which Rapoport says is a distinct possibility.
- Speaking of Munchak, who has already interviewed with the Cardinals for their head coaching job, we heard this morning that he could be a dark horse candidate for the Giants’ HC vacancy.
Latest On Giants’, Cardinals’ HC Searches
As of Friday evening, the Giants were reportedly down to three finalists in their search for a new head coach: Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia, and Pat Shurmur. This morning, however, we learned that McDaniels is expected to become the Colts’ next head coach, and Patricia is expected to take the Lions’ top job. Logic would therefore dictate that the Giants will do everything in their power to bring Shurmur on board as soon as possible (which could be tonight if Shumur’s Vikings fall to the Saints).
Indeed, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that, if Minnesota loses tonight, New York could move quickly on Shurmur, whose potential staff is already in place. But Big Blue could have competition, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that the Cardinals will also pounce on Shurmur if he becomes available this evening.
As La Canfora notes, Giants brass follows the letter of the law when it comes to rules concerning the hiring of head coaches whose teams are still in the playoffs, which makes it difficult to pin down New York’s true top choice (Twitter links). After all, Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks is still very much in the running for the Giants’ job, per Rapoport, who adds (via Twitter) that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin called the Giants last week to make a case for Wilks, who would be the first minority head coach in franchise history.
If they do not land Shurmur, the Giants could also circle back to Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who at one point was rumored to be the team’s top option. Paul Schwartz of the New York Post names Steelers’ offensive line coach Mike Munchak — who has also interviewed with the Cardinals — as a potential dark horse candidate for the Giants’ job.
Josh McDaniels Expected To Become Colts’ HC
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter link) that Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is expected to become the Colts’ next head coach. McDaniels has reportedly told his potential assistants to wait for him, and Rapoport’s sources believe McDaniels is Indianapolis-bound once New England’s season is over.
Just yesterday, we learned that McDaniels and former Patriots linebacker (and current Texans DC) Mike Vrabel were the finalists for the Colts’ head coaching job. But McDaniels has seemed like the favorite for awhile now, especially given ownership’s desire for something of a splashy hire.
McDaniels compiled an underwhelming 11-17 record during his two-year stint as head coach of the Broncos, but he has more than restored his viability as a head coach since returning to New England. The Patriots’ offense has ranked in the top-10 in points scored during each of his nine years as the Pats’ OC, and McDaniels’ unit put up yet another impressive showing in the team’s divisional round win over Tennessee last night.
McDaniels, of course, has had the privilege of working with Tom Brady during his New England career, and he will inherit another excellent signal-caller in Andrew Luck should he take the Colts’ job. Luck’s health, though, will continue to be a major topic of discussion this offseason, and it was rumored that his shoulder injury may scare off top head coaching candidates. Luckily for Indianapolis, that does not appear to be the case.
As we learned several days ago, Cowboys linebackers coach Matt Eberflus — who is currently a free agent — is McDaniels’ top choice for defensive coordinator, per Rapoport (via Twitter).
Matt Patricia Expected To Become Lions’ HC
This sounds familiar. Although Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was said to prefer the Giants’ head coaching job to the Lions’, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets that Patricia is expected to become the Lions’ next head coach, as we heard last week.
Patricia, whose defense was quite impressive in New England’s win over the Titans last night, has been a hot head coaching candidate for several years now thanks to his overall body of work with the Pats. Even before the Lions parted ways with former head coach Jim Caldwell, there were plenty of reports linking Patricia to Detroit, as he has a preexisting relationship with Lions GM Bob Quinn stemming from Quinn’s tenure with the Patriots.
And on January 6, it was reported that the Lions would indeed hire Patricia. Just several days later, however, Peter King of TheMMQB.com indicated that Patricia preferred the Giants to the Lions, which threw something of a wrench into this season’s coaching carousel. But Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that his understanding all along has been that Patricia would accept the Lions’ job. Indeed, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes, Detroit would have moved on to other candidates if it did not believe Patricia was coming to the Motor City.
Of course, as New England’s season is not yet over, the Lions and Patricia will have to wait to make things official. Birkett adds (via Twitter) that Patricia is likely to retain Detroit’s incumbent offensive coordinator, Jim Bob Cooter.
Packers To Hire Brian Gutekunst As GM
The Packers are promoting their director of player personnel, Brian Gutekunst, to general manager, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that it will be a five-year deal for Gutekunst.
Gutekunst is highly respected in scouting circles, and Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com writes that Gutekunst is the most well-rounded scout in Green Bay’s personnel department. Demovsky adds that Gutekunst dazzled Packers’ brass in his recent interview with the club.
Green Bay elected to hire Gutekunst, who has a strong personnel background, as opposed to fellow internal candidate Russ Ball, who is more of a salary cap guru (despite the fact that Ball was seen as the frontrunner throughout much of this process). In addition to Ball, the team also interviewed director of football operations Eliot Wolf, who for years was seen as the heir apparent to longtime GM Ted Thompson. Thompson, of course, stepped down to a different role within the organization at the beginning of the month, thereby triggering the team’s search for a replacement. It will be interesting to see what will become of Wolf and Ball now.
The Packers also expressed interest in Vikings assistant GM George Paton — though Minnesota denied Green Bay’s request to interview Paton — Seahawks GM John Schneider, and Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta. But in Gutekunst, they get an executive who was been with the club for 19 years — he started his Packers tenure as a collegiate scout — and who appears ready for his chance to run a franchise. Indeed, he had an excellent interview with the 49ers last offseason and nearly became San Francisco’s GM.
As Ed Werder tweets, an internal hiring like this one may be good news for Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, whose long-term future with the team could be bolstered with Gutekunst’s promotion.
Gutekunst was scheduled to interview with the Texans for Houston’s GM job today. Per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), Gutekunst did travel to Houston yesterday and had dinner with Texans head coach Bill O’Brien, but Green Bay never gave him the chance to interview with with the Texans.
The Texans, meanwhile, are likely to hire Bills VP of player personnel Brian Gaine as their next GM, according to multiple sources.
Mike Mularkey To Return To Titans In 2018
After guiding his team to a thrilling playoff win over the Chiefs yesterday, Titans head coach Mike Mularkey received assurance that he will be back in Tennessee next season, as Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com writes.
Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk issued the following statement on the matter:
“Our mantra all season has been to take things week by week and not get ahead of ourselves and it obviously has served us well. I regret that outside rumors gained a life of their own. No one has been a bigger supporter of Mike Mularkey than I have over the last two plus seasons. Mike and [GM] Jon [Robinson] have changed the culture of our team and organization and I am so happy we have been able to bring success on the field to our fans – winning 19 games over the last two seasons, including our first playoff win in nine years. Just to eliminate any distractions moving forward, Mike Mularkey is our head coach and will be our head coach moving forward. We still have work to be done, including this week, but I am looking forward to the journey.”
Mularkey, of course, was rumored to be on the hot seat even though the Titans made the playoffs this year. If his team had lost yesterday, he may have been fired, as the team was reportedly frustrated with the way QB Marcus Mariota was progressing. Mariota did indeed take a step backwards in 2017 after an excellent 2016, but he played well yesterday in guiding the Titans to a comeback victory. Had Mularkey been fired, Patriots OC Josh McDaniels was said to be Tennessee’s top choice to replace him.
Following underwhelming stints in Buffalo and Jacksonville, Mularkey replaced Ken Whisenhunt as the Titans head coach midway through the 2015 season. He went 2-7 during the remainder of that campaign, but he’s led his team to 9-7 records over the past two seasons. He faces exceedingly long odds to take Tennessee back to the Super Bowl, but even if he cannot achieve that goal this year, he will get another shot next season.
ESPN’s Field Yates tweets that the Titans’ players immensely respect and appreciate Mularkey, which certainly helped secure his return.
Pat Shurmur Could Bring Case Keenum If Hired As HC
Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is one of the more sought-after head coaching candidates this year, and as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes, one of the reasons for that is that he could bring current Vikings QB Case Keenum with him.
Shurmur has interviewed with four different clubs already, and two of those teams — the Cardinals and Giants — could be classified as “quarterback-needy.” Keenum, of course, is one of this season’s feel-good stories, stepping in for the injured Sam Bradford to lead Minnesota to a first-round bye. He is 11-3 as a starter this season, completing 67.6% of his passes, throwing for 22 touchdowns against just seven interceptions, and posting a 98.3 quarterback rating in the process.
Luckily for Keenum, and for teams in search for a quarterback, the Houston product will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. As Schefter writes, Keenum and Shurmur have developed a close working relationship and think very highly of each other, leading league sources to believe that the two men could depart Minnesota as a package deal.
The Vikings will take on the winner of today’s Saints-Panthers matchup next week.