Eagles’ Cooper DeJean To Take Over As Primary Nickel Corner
A key component of the Eagles’ offseason plan to overhaul their secondary is about to realize a spike in playing time. PHLY’s Zach Berman noted earlier this month that rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean was “closing in” on the starting slot cornerback job, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently reported that he expects DeJean to take over slot duties for the team’s Week 6 date with the Browns (subscription required).
Philadelphia, whose porous secondary torpedoed their hopes of defending their NFC title in 2023, selected cornerback Quinyon Mitchell with the No. 22 overall pick of this year’s draft, and then added DeJean 18 picks later. While Mitchell has operated as a starting boundary corner from the jump, it has taken a little longer for DeJean to crack the starting lineup (though four games, he has appeared in just eight defensive snaps but 75 special teams snaps).
That is not terribly surprising, as DeJean sustained a fractured fibula last November that ended his collegiate career prematurely and kept him on the NFI list for the first several weeks of training camp. Though the Iowa product is valued for his ability to line up at both safety and corner, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio recently indicated that the club would have him focus his efforts on the nickel for the time being.
The presumptive promotion for DeJean will lead to a demotion for longtime Eagle Avonte Maddox. Released in a cost-cutting move this offseason only to be brought back via a modest one-year pact, Maddox has struggled in his familiar slot role, and Pro Football Focus presently grades him as the ninth-worst corner in the league out of 101 qualified players. The team initially planned to convert him to safety, and now that DeJean is healthy – and, per Fowler, “all caught up” with Fangio’s scheme – perhaps those plans will be put back into place.
The Philadelphia defense as a whole is in the bottom-10 in terms of both total yardage and passing yards allowed, so a shake-up is in order, and the team took advantage of its Week 5 bye to make some changes. This week’s release of linebacker Devin White was a part of those efforts, and replacing Maddox with the high upside of DeJean is another.
Jets Offered Haason Reddick Revised One-Year Deal After 2024 Season Began
When Jets edge defender Haason Reddick was dropped by his agency earlier this week, it seemed to be just another sign that player and team are far from a resolution to Reddick’s ongoing holdout. However, it appears that such a resolution was within reach not too long ago.
At some point after the season began, the Jets submitted a one-year offer that would have allowed Reddick to recoup all of the fines he has accumulated as a result of his holdout and given him the chance to earn more than the $14.25MM he was originally scheduled to make in 2024, the final season of his Eagles-constructed contract (per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). At that time, as veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson writes, there was optimism that the Jets would be bringing Reddick into the fold, and Rapoport says the agreement was “all but worked out.”
Reddick, however, declined to sign the deal and continued to push for a multiyear accord (as Rapoport details in an appearance on the NFL Network). As a result, this process does not appear to be any closer to the finish line than it was throughout the offseason.
According to Rapoport, Reddick must report by Week 13 in order to avoid his contract tolling and to become a free agent in 2025. Otherwise, he will be in the same position – at least from a contractual standpoint – that he is currently in. But even a Week 13 report does not seem to be a sure thing, with Rapoport suggesting that Reddick could take “an even more principled stance” and walk away from the game entirely.
Reddick’s decision to continue his holdout was against the recommendation of CAA, his prior agency, and his refusal to sign the one-year offer that was presented after the season started was presumably against CAA’s advice as well. Before the season got underway, New York was reportedly amenable to sweetening Reddick’s existing contract with incentives, and it is unclear how those proposals differ from the in-season offer that Rapoport reported on today (although CAA likely would not have terminated its relationship with Reddick if it believed he was right to reject the in-season overture). The Jets also offered Reddick an extension before consummating the trade that ostensibly brought the 30-year-old defender to Florham Park, though Reddick obviously turned that down as well (and to be fair, that offer was said to be a below-market one).
Despite the offensive struggles that cost head coach Robet Saleh his job and led to a demotion for OC Nathaniel Hackett, the Jets are playing well on defense and presently rank fourth in the league in sacks (18). Still, the club would doubtlessly love to add a player of Reddick’s caliber to its pass rushing contingent, which would help to further compensate for the offense’s deficiencies. Whether that ever happens, though, remains to be seen.
Owner Woody Johnson, who previously said that Reddick would be welcomed to the team “with open arms” should he choose to report, highlighted the uncertainty of the outcome of this saga.
“This is something I’ve never seen before, you know … I don’t think any of us have seen anything like this. I think you have to be part psychologist and part some-other gist to try and figure out what is actually going on.”
Jaguars Owner Shad Khan Voices Support For Doug Pederson, Trent Baalke
The Jaguars captured their first win of the 2024 campaign last week, defeating the division-rival Colts in a 37-34 shootout to improve their record to 1-4. In light of recent reports suggesting that head coach Doug Pederson is on the hot seat and that the relationship between Pederson and GM Trent Baalke is strained, the victory was a well-timed one for Jacksonville’s top power brokers.
While situations like this always have the potential to change on a moment’s notice, owner Shad Khan is still supporting Pederson and Baalke. In an interview with Demetrius Harvey of the Florida Times-Union, Khan noted that the 2022 iteration of his club started the year 2-6 but rallied to make the playoffs and win a thrilling wildcard round contest, while the 2023 version raced out to an 8-3 record, only to miss the postseason entirely.
Reading between the lines, it could be that Khan will not be swayed by the early returns in 2024 and will give Pederson and Baalke the chance to reverse Jacksonville’s fortunes. Plus, as prior reporting on the matter suggested, there is no one currently on the coaching staff who would represent a clear option to take over interim HC duties, a reality that could help Pederson keep his job through at least the remainder of the campaign.
Khan also pointed out that three of the Jags’ four losses this season were eminently winnable, as the club had late leads or the chance to take late leads in all three contests. While the accumulation of narrow losses is never a good look for a coaching staff, Khan appears to be taking the fact that Jacksonville is remaining competitive as a positive sign for the time being.
“So, to me, every game you go to, you want to do everything to win it and this is the NFL, that’s hard,” Khan said. “Every game is competitive. A loss is a loss, but [it’s about] how you lose. To me, the three games we lost early in the season, it’s disappointing, [but] we could have won them.”
Those defeats have not shaken Khan’s faith in his HC/GM duo.
“I still believe in them. I believe in the players, I believe in the coaching staff. I believe in Trent,” Khan said. “Obviously, the results are disappointing for all of them, just as well as me or any other Jaguar fan, but, the key thing one has to understand [is] we have evolved and really got to a level. I think we’ve got the players, we’ve got the coaching, we’ve got the facilities.”
Khan did say this offseason that the Jaguars’ 2024 roster is the best in franchise history, and that winning is the expectation. As such, it would be reasonable to expect a shake-up if Pederson cannot engineer a turnaround and lead the team to a postseason berth, but for now, Khan does not appear to be contemplating a dismissal.
“I admire what Trent’s done, Doug’s done, and I think, how do we support them to have better results, more wins?” Khan said.
The Jaguars, the NFL club with the most consistent presence in England, will play their next two games in London. Should they falter in their contests across the pond, one wonders if Khan’s support for Pederson & Co. will remain strong.
Browns Not Expected To Trade Amari Cooper
The Chiefs lost WR Marquise Brown to injury before the 2024 season even started, and they may be without top wideout Rashee Rice for the rest of the year as well. The club could therefore be inclined to acquire a receiver prior to the November 5 trade deadline, and the Browns’ Amari Cooper was recently floated as a possibility for the defending Super Bowl champions.
However, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com says the Browns are not going to trade Cooper, either to Kansas City or to any other club. Cleveland’s 1-4 start to the season and the struggles of quarterback Deshaun Watson have led to speculation that the team could be a deadline seller, and since Cooper is a pending free agent, he profiles as a logical trade candidate.
That is especially true given Cooper’s slow start to the 2024 campaign; through four games, Cooper compiled just 16 catches for 148 yards and two scores, and both of his touchdowns and over half of his yardage came in a Week 3 loss to the Giants. That said, Watson is still heavily targeting Cooper, who had what would have been an 82-yard touchdown nullified by a questionable holding penalty in the Browns’ Week 4 loss to the Raiders. The five-time Pro Bowler has been targeted 37 times, and the Browns continue to hope that such volume will eventually translate to the high-end production that Cooper is capable of.
Plus, the Browns and Cooper agreed to a July restructure that saw most of the player’s base salary converted into a signing bonus and two void years added to his deal for cap purposes, and Cabot says there is “no way” Cleveland will absorb the dead money charge that a trade would create. Any trade partner would have to take on some of the bonus money that is still owed to Cooper, and at this point in the calendar, when many teams have limited cap space, that could prove to be a challenge.
Even if the Browns turn their season around to the point that they become deadline buyers, Cabot does not expect them to be in the market for some of the names that have popped up in early trade rumors, such as Davante Adams and DeAndre Hopkins. Although Cleveland was reportedly willing to trade Cooper for the 26-year-old Brandon Aiyuk this offseason, the team is not believed to be anxious to acquire a high-priced, thirty-something wideout.
Cooper, who is naturally anxious to capitalize on the exploding receiver market in the upcoming offseason, has been practicing with “renewed intensity” over the past several weeks, according to Cabot.
No Target Date For Dolphins’ Bradley Chubb To Return
The Dolphins recently placed edge defender Jaelan Phillips on season-ending injured reserve with a partially-torn ACL, which has magnified the absence of fellow pass rusher Bradley Chubb. While Chubb is now eligible to be activated off of the PUP list since four regular season games are in the books, there is still no target date for his return, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Chubb suffered an ACL tear of his own in Week 17 of the 2023 campaign, which prematurely ended what had been an exceedingly productive season – his first full year in South Beach after the ‘Fins acquired him via a midseason trade with the Broncos in 2022 – and which raised concern about his 2024 availability. He opened training camp on the PUP list, and he was unable to get back on the practice field over the remainder of the summer, so he stayed on PUP following final roster cuts (which required that he miss the first four games of the season).
When addressing the matter at the end of September, head coach Mike McDaniel did not suggest that there were any setbacks in Chubb’s recovery, saying only that, “Bradley had a pretty severe injury; he’s doing very well in his progression.” Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver did not offer much more by way of concrete details, saying, “Chubb is in all of our meetings – gives me the feel we will see him at some point this year” (via Jackson).
As of the time of this writing, Weaver’s defense actually ranks sixth in terms of yards allowed, although the unit is seventh-worst in terms of points allowed. The Dolphins have also tallied just seven sacks through the first four games – the third-lowest figure in the league – further underscoring how badly they miss Chubb.
Of course, even the immediate return of Chubb would not entirely cure what ails the 1-3 Miami outfit, which lost starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to yet another concussion in Week 2. The Dolphins will not get him back until Week 8 at the earliest, at which point the season could be difficult to salvage. However, if the backup passers can at least keep the team afloat, the prospective returns of Tagovailoa and Chubb would represent a major boost to a possible playoff push.
In the wake of the Phillips injury, the Dolphins plucked Tyus Bowser off the Seahawks’ taxi squad and worked out other veteran edge options this week.
Rams Expect WR Cooper Kupp To Return In Week 7
The Rams sit at the bottom of the NFC West with a 1-3 record, and injuries to some key players have contributed to their early struggles. Los Angeles has finally received some good news on the health front, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting that wide receiver Cooper Kupp is expected to return for the club’s Week 7 game against the Raiders on October 20 (the Rams have a Week 6 bye, so the hope is that today’s Week 5 bout with the Packers is the last game Kupp will miss).
Kupp, 31, sustained an ankle injury during the second quarter of LA’s loss to the Cardinals in Week 2, and he has been sidelined ever since. He was initially mentioned as an injured reserve candidate, although subsequent reports indicated that he would avoid IR.
The decision to keep Kupp on the active roster naturally led to optimism that he would be back on the field sooner rather than later, optimism that grew when it became clear that he would not require surgery on the ankle. As fellow wideout Puka Nacua’s knee injury forced the team to place him on IR, Kupp’s imminent return is surely a welcome development.
Of course, Schefter qualified his report with the caveat that Kupp will return in Week 7 “as long as there are no setbacks in practice.” Given the injury problems that have plagued the 2021 Triple Crown winner, the absence of setbacks cannot be assumed.
After his dominant 2021 season, in which he led the league in receptions (145), yards (1,947), and receiving touchdowns (16) and took home Super Bowl MVP honors, Kupp landed a three-year, $80MM extension. Unfortunately, a high ankle sprain cut the ensuing 2022 campaign short, and he opened the 2023 season on IR with a hamstring ailment.
He started the 2024 season hot, racking up 18 catches for 147 yards and a TD in less than six quarters of play. When healthy, he and Nacua represent one of the best WR tandems in the game, and there is some hope that Nacua will also be able to suit up in Week 7, when he is first eligible to be activated. The healthy and productive return of the Kupp-Nacua duo will go a long way in determining whether the Rams can reverse their fortunes and make another postseason run.
Without his top two pass catchers, quarterback Matthew Stafford has turned to players like Demarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell, Tyler Johnson, and Jordan Whittington. All of those wideouts have had their moments, but none of them have the upside of Kupp and Nacua.
Patriots Demote RB Rhamondre Stevenson
Patriots starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson has fumbled in each of the club’s first four games this season, and we recently heard that head coach Jerod Mayo was considering a demotion for his RB1 as a result. Shortly after Mayo made those comments, he followed through with the plan.
As Mike Reiss of ESPN.com details, Mayo will start Antonio Gibson over Stevenson in New England’s Week 5 contest against the Dolphins. The first-year HC discussed that decision on a recent appearance on the Patriots All-Access television program, saying, “[I had] a conversation with Rhamondre and he won’t be starting. I’ll be upfront and transparent. But he will play. And he understands he has to protect the football going forward.”
Earlier in the week, Mayo was more pointed with his comments. He said, “I’ve had multiple conversations with Rhamondre. But look, we can’t preach that ball security is job security and still have him out there the majority of the time.”
Stevenson, 26, signed a four-year, $36MM extension this offseason, a deal that placed him seventh in the league’s RB hierarchy in terms of average annual value. It also featured $17MM in guaranteed money and underscored the club’s faith in his ability to serve as a focal point of its offense as it transitions to the Drake Maye era.
Coming into the 2024 season, Stevenson had fumbled the ball seven times in 499 carries; his four fumbles this year have come on 65 carries. That could obviously be a mere anomaly that will correct itself, and despite the demotion, Mayo’s comments suggest that Stevenson will still have a role in the offense and will have a chance to get himself right.
Stevenson has turned his 65 carries into 267 yards (good for a 4.1 YPC average) and two touchdowns. Gibson, who is in his first year in Foxborough after signing a three-year, $11.25MM deal in March, has been more efficient with his lesser workload, gaining 155 yards on 29 carries (5.3 YPC). He proved himself to be a capable receiver during the first four years of his career in Washington, and he has seven catches for 82 yards in 2024.
“I’m more disappointed in myself than anyone could ever be,” Stevenson said. “It’s very simple: I just have to hold on to the ball and have that mentality to come up with the ball every time. It’s my job to do that, and I haven’t been doing it well.”
Gibson is no stranger to fumble troubles of his own, and as Reiss writes in a separate piece, Gibson has expressed support for Stevenson and has encouraged him to stay off of social media.
Chiefs WR Rashee Rice To Undergo Arthroscopic Procedure; Outcome Will Impact Team’s Trade Outlook
Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice, who is presently on injured reserve with a possible but unconfirmed ACL tear, will undergo an arthroscopic procedure this week to determine the extent of the damage, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The procedure will be performed by Dr. Dan Cooper, the Cowboys’ team doctor.
At this point, there are still a number of possible outcomes: damage to just the supporting ligaments in the knee, which would not require a surgery (a best-scenario in which Rice would miss four to six weeks); a torn PCL and LCL but no ACL damage (which would nonetheless force him to miss four to six months); or damage to the ACL that is significant enough to warrant an operation (which comes with a nine-month recovery timeframe). Per Rapoport, the chances that the testing will show that Rice’s knee is strong enough to return to the field in 2024 are slim, but Kansas City is obviously still hopeful.
In keeping with a different Rapoport story from last week and his report on the above-referenced knee scope, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com expects the Chiefs to explore a trade for a receiver in advance of the November 5 deadline if Rice is indeed forced to miss the remainder of the season. We heard several days ago that Titans receiver DeAndre Hopkins is drawing trade interest, and both Rapoport and Schefter name the three-time First Team All-Pro as a target if Tennessee decides to sell.
The Raiders’ Davante Adams is presently the big fish in the pool of WR trade candidates, although neither Rapoport nor Schefter see Las Vegas and Kansas City pulling off an intra-division deal of this magnitude. However, the Jets are one of the frontrunners for Adams, and if they pull off a deal for his services, Schefter believes they may be amenable to moving one of their other wideouts in a separate trade. Speculatively, Mike Williams is a player the Chiefs might target in such a scenario.
The Chiefs have a Week 6 bye and will use it to assess their WR situation, as Rapoport details. He and Schefter disagree about how much available cap space Kansas City has at the moment – Rapoport says $15MM, while Schefter says $5MM – but in any event, Rapoport notes that the club wants to roll over as many cap dollars as possible into 2025 to facilitate second contracts for players like Trent McDuffie, Trey Smith, and George Karlaftis. While that will likely not dissuade the Chiefs from swinging a trade that would help secure another championship, it will at least factor into their decision-making.
In addition to the impact it will have on the trade deadline landscape, the upcoming arthroscopic procedure could play a role in the suspension that Rice is expected to receive for his offseason legal trouble. A recent report suggested that Rice is aiming to serve his suspension this season, because if he is going to be unavailable anyway due to injury, then it certainly makes sense for him and the team to get it over with. Of course, such an outcome would not sit well with the rest of the league.
Relationship Between Doug Pederson, Trent Baalke “Strained”; Latest On Jaguars’ HC, GM
Earlier this week, it was reported that Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson’s job could soon be in jeopardy given his team’s uninspired, 0-3 start to the 2024 season. Sources that spoke to Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post appear to be in agreement that Jacksonville will indeed be making changes to its coaching staff and/or front office in the near future.
One GM told La Canfora that Pederson would be the first HC dismissed this year, and that, “it’s just a matter of time now. [Trevor Lawrence] hasn’t looked right since they made the playoffs [in 2022], [Pederson]’s offense is terrible, and the defensive coordinator (Ryan Nielsen) looks totally in over his head. That’s a bad football team.”
On the other hand, sources tell Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports that it is unclear exactly what changes owner Shad Khan could realistically make in-season. While much of the blame for the Jags’ poor start has been focused on Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor – which is understandable, given that the team currently ranks 30th in scoring – there is no clear choice to replace either man on the coaching staff at the moment.
Mike McCoy, who currently serves as Jacksonville’s quarterbacks coach, has not coordinated an offense since 2018, when he worked as the Cardinals’ head coach and oversaw a unit that struggled, which led to his own midseason ouster. And while Pederson could certainly take play-calling duties back from Taylor – as owner Shad Khan not-so-subtly suggested should happen back in June – retaining Pederson while firing Taylor seems unlikely.
“No one on staff can replace what Press does for [Pederson],” a source told Jones. Added another source, “I understand everyone’s narrative would be to fire Press. But even from a practical standpoint, I don’t know how you successfully game plan if you fire him. You’re wasting [Lawrence’s] season by doing that.”
Our story from a few days ago indicated that GM Trent Baalke was perhaps on firmer footing than Pederson, though the Jaguars’ struggles obviously are not doing him any favors either. Both Jones and La Canfora make note of Baalke’s ill-fated decision to use the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft on Travon Walker rather than Aidan Hutchinson, to say nothing of the top-of-the-market extension authorized for Lawrence this offseason, a transaction that has already garnered heavy criticism.
Per Jones, the relationship between Baalke and Pederson is strained, and there is “misalignment from owner to GM and head coach.” Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano, like Jones, says the fact that there is no obvious Pederson replacement on the staff could help the embattled HC at least get the chance to finish out the year. That said, if the losses continue to mount, Khan may feel compelled to pull the trigger on a midseason overhaul, in which case he might be making a call to Bill Belichick.
Four Teams Inquired On Panthers QB Bryce Young
We heard last week that the Panthers were receiving trade inquiries on second-year quarterback Bryce Young in the wake of the club’s decision to bench Young in favor of veteran Andy Dalton. Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer added more context to the situation, reporting that four teams reached out to gauge Carolina’s interest in dealing Young (video link).
Glazer says that the Panthers emphatically told those clubs that they were not moving last year’s No. 1 overall pick, and that they still see a future for Young in Charlotte. Naturally, the team does not want to undermine its already limited leverage in potential trade negotiations by publicly expressing any uncertainty about Young’s long-term viability, but it is at least notable that they are taking this stance for the time being.
Multiple outlets have suggested that the Panthers intend to turn back to Young at some point this season, and Glazer reiterates that the club does believe that allowing Young to reset and to learn from Dalton will aid in his development. That said, Glazer stopped short of confirming that Young would play again in 2024, noting that would be dependent on how Young performs in practice.
Of course, Young’s immediate future will also be impacted at least to some degree by Dalton’s performance. The longtime Bengal and recent journeyman thrived in his first start in 2024, piloting Carolina to a blowout win over the Raiders in Week 3 while completing over 70% of his passes for 319 yards and three scores. Obviously, the soon-to-be 37-year old is a bridge option at this point, but if he keeps the Panthers in playoff contention, it would be surprising to see the team reinsert Young in 2024.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently pegged the upcoming offseason as the most likely time for a trade to be consummated, and Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that the Panthers-Young relationship is indeed expected to come to an end in 2025. Trade rumors are nonetheless likely to continue swirling until the November 5 deadline, and at some point in the near future, the Panthers will be put to a potentially franchise-altering decision regarding the player they staked so much on just one year ago.
For his part, Young is said to be open to a trade sending him out of Carolina, though he is also amenable to remaining with the Panthers.