Rams To Pursue Matt LaFleur As OC
The Rams will request permission to speak with Falcons quarterbacks coach Matt LaFleur about their offensive coordinator position, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. LaFleur and new Rams head coach Sean McVay once worked together in Washington, and McVay believes LaFleur can implement his offense and help quarterback Jared Goff reach his potential. According to Schefter, the interest is mutual.
LaFleur, of course, would be a logical candidate to replace Kyle Shanahan as the Falcons’ OC, as Shanahan is set to accept the 49ers’ head coaching job. Just last week, LaFleur was also mentioned as a candidate to join Shanahan in the Bay Area as the 49ers’ new offensive coordinator, but now another California team could be in the lead for his services.
Atlanta, meanwhile, has expressed interest in Chip Kelly as their next offensive coordinator, and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Kelly would have a real shot at the job if he keeps Shanahan’s system in place. Per Rapoport, LaFleur knows that he will be targeted by both the Rams and 49ers, but in the week leading up the Super Bowl, his mind was singularly focused on helping Atlanta capture its first Lombardi Trophy, and he was unwilling to discuss his future at length (Twitter link).
The 37-year-old LaFleur has served as an offensive assistant at both the collegiate and professional levels, with his most recent college job coming as the Notre Dame quarterbacks coach in 2014. He served in the same capacity with the Redskins from 2010-2013.
Latest On 49ers’ QB Outlook
Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is all but certain to be named the 49ers’ next head coach, and according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), Atlanta’s current backup quarterback, Matt Schaub, could follow him to San Francisco. If that happens, Schefter says that Schaub could serve as a starter next season to bridge the gap to a younger signal-caller, or he could serve as a backup.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Kirk Cousins remains Shanahan’s first choice, but if the Cousins plan falls through, Rapoport indicates that Jimmy Garoppolo, the Patriots’ current backup QB, would be Shanahan’s Plan B, followed by Schaub as Plan C.
We heard several weeks ago that the 49ers could pursue Cousins, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency this year but who could receive the franchise tag for the second consecutive season. While the Redskins reportedly want to sign Cousins to a long-term deal, they are weighing their options in that regard, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggests that Washington could tag Cousins and trade him. The 49ers are one team with sufficient cap space to facilitate such a trade, and they would still have the opportunity to work out a long-term contract with Cousins before the summer deadline.
Garoppolo, meanwhile, is not eligible for free agency but is sure to attract attention in the trade market. While the Patriots are reportedly willing to deal him, there are a number of obstacles to such a trade, which makes Schaub the most realistic of the three above-mentioned options.
The Falcons signed Schaub to a one-year deal this past offseason, and he threw just three passes the entire season as the backup to the league MVP, Matt Ryan. Schaub was the Ravens’ backup quarterback in 2015, though he did get the opportunity to start two games for Baltimore in the wake of Joe Flacco‘s season-ending ACL tear that year. Before that, his last significant starting experience came with Houston in 2013. He of course put together a reasonably successful seven-year stint with the Texans — which included two Pro Bowl nods — after spending the first three years of his career in Atlanta, but his days as a starter are clearly over. As Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com tweets, Schaub has started just 10 games over the last four seasons, and during that time, he has compiled a 3-7 record with a whopping seven interceptions returned for touchdowns. So if he does head out to the Bay Area, it will be easy to forgive 49ers fans for being a little less than excited.
Tony Romo Will Play In 2017 Despite TV Interest
Just last night, PFR published a poll so that its readers could offer their opinion as to what team Tony Romo will suit up for in 2017. The choices provided were the Cardinals, Cowboys, Broncos, Texans, and Chiefs, and there was also a choice for “another team.” Conspicuously absent from that list was the possibility that Romo would not play for any team in 2017, and that he would retire instead (currently, over 37% of voters believe that Romo will wind up in Denver; the Chiefs are in second place, with just over 17% of the vote).
[RELATED: Bills Interested In Tony Romo]
Indeed, there have been virtually no rumblings that Romo is considering hanging up the cleats, so this morning’s report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter suggesting that Romo does not plan to retire almost qualifies as non-news. However, Schefter does note that Romo has already received strong interest from television networks that want him to work as a color analyst, and as a 37-year-old coming off a significant back injury, a television gig could be quite appealing.
But Romo still apparently wants to chase that elusive Super Bowl ring and has no plans to entertain those TV offers at this time. While the Cowboys would of course prefer to trade their longtime signal-caller, it is difficult to envision their being able to convince an opposing team to part with a draft pick and take on Romo’s current contract. It is much more likely that Dallas will be forced to release Romo, at which point he may well have an opportunity to join one of the above-referenced clubs, or another contending team that is looking to take a chance on an aging but talented quarterback that could put them over the top.
Seahawks Will Not Be Heavily Penalized For Richard Sherman Incident
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Seahawks will not be heavily penalized, if they are penalized at all, for failing to disclose via injury report that cornerback Richard Sherman played the 2016 season with a significant MCL injury.
[RELATED: Luke Willson Turned Down Contract Offer]
After Seattle’s season came to an end in the divisional round of the playoffs, head coach Pete Carroll revealed that his star corner had battled the injury all season. But while Sherman appeared on the “did not participate in practice” report in 11 separate weeks, his absence was explained as “not injury-related” in 10 such weeks. The other week was officially chalked up to an ankle injury.
As such, the team was clearly in violation of league policy, and it might have lost a second-round pick as a result. Carroll might also have received a fine. Last September, of course, the league fined Carroll $200K and heavily punished the Seahawks – they received a $400K fine to go along with a loss of a a fifth-round pick and a week of OTAs – after they violated its rules regarding contact practices in the offseason.
But according to Rapoport (via Twitter), Sherman’s injury materials were provided to the league, even if the team was lax in reporting the injury to its opposition. As such, Rapoport believes the violation is not viewed as an egregious one, and the team may escape punishment entirely. The league’s inquiry into the matter is wrapping up, and an official decision will presumably be announced soon.
Julio Jones May Need Offseason Surgery; Latest On Alex Mack
Falcons star receiver Julio Jones may need toe surgery this offseason, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. However, even though recovery from such a surgery would take months, it would not be expected to delay his 2017 season.
Of course, Jones has been battling a toe injury all year, and he missed two games during the regular season as a result. But he still managed to put up 1,409 receiving yards, the second-best total in the league, and six scores. The injury is not expected to impact offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan‘s play-calling in any way during Super Bowl LI.
Per Rapoport, Jones will receive a full evaluation after the Super Bowl, and depending on the source, surgery is either likely or possible. The procedure would fix torn ligaments associated with turf toe.
Jones has dealt with foot injuries in the past, but the present injury is unrelated to his prior ailments. He is also battling a sprained ankle, although that will not require surgery. He has admitted that he is in pain, but he has done his best to downplay it, calling himself “full go” for the Super Bowl even though he was officially listed as a limited participant in practice.
Perhaps even more troubling for the Falcons’ immediate prospects is the fact that starting center Alex Mack will play Super Bowl LI with a fracture in his left fibula that he suffered in the NFC Championship Game. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that, if this were the regular season, Mack could miss six to eight weeks, and while the Falcons are confident Mack will hold up in pass-blocking, they are uncertain whether he will be effective on downfield blocks or whether his leg will even hold up for a full four quarters.
The fracture occurred above the plate that Mack had inserted in his left leg after he broke his fibula in 2014, though Schefter does not mention what the offseason holds for Mack. Mack will join an impressive list of players who played in the Super Bowl despite a similar injury. Jack Youngblood played in Super Bowl XIV with a broken fibula; Charles Woodson played in Super Bowl XXVII after having surgery for a crack in his right fibula a month earlier; and Terrell Owens played in Super Bowl XXXIX with a fractured fibula and torn ligament in his right ankle.
Extra Points: 49ers, Gruden, OBJ
Kyle Shanahan is widely expected to become the 49ers‘ next head coach, and now some are beginning to wonder how he will go about filling out his staff. As Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee writes, it is unlikely that Shanahan will be able to bring many of his Atlanta assistants with him given that most of those assistants are under contract with the Falcons or are loyal to Falcons head coach Dan Quinn. However, Barrows posits that Shanahan could bring current Atlanta quarterbacks coach Matt LaFleur to the Bay Area and install him as the 49ers’ offensive coordinator. LaFleur — who would also be a candidate to replace Shanahan as the Falcons’ OC — has worked with Shanahan for eight seasons in Atlanta, Washington, and Houston.
Barrows’ sources also suggest that Bears’ assistant special-teams coach Richard Hightower could become the 49ers’ special teams coordinator. Hightower worked under Shanahan in 2014 as an offensive quality control coach for the Browns.
Now let’s take a look at a few more notes from around the league as we anxiously await next week’s Super Bowl:
- Rich Tandler of CSNMidAtlantic.com does not believe that Redskins head coach Jay Gruden is on the hot seat, as some have speculated. Tandler is unsure if Gruden could survive a 6-10 or worse showing in 2017, but he does not believe it’s playoffs or bust for Gruden, who will be entering his fourth year as Washington’s head coach.
- There is no rush for the Giants to pursue an extension for Odell Beckham, Jr., as James Kratch of NJ.com writes. Between his current rookie deal, the fifth-year option, and the franchise tag, OBJ is locked into the Giants’ roster until at least 2021, so while his future with the team is certainly not in question, New York can afford to wait while they work through their concerns with Beckham.
- Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, one of the top three quarterback prospects in this year’s draft class, will not participate in the Senior Bowl despite the Browns‘ specifically requesting that he do so. Although the Browns were reportedly not planning to use their No. 1 overall selection on Watson, Mary Kat Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer suggests that Watson’s decision not only denied him the chance to change the team’s mind in that regard, it may make it tougher for Cleveland to select him with their No. 12 overall choice.
- Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin sat down with Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer to discuss a number of issues, including the 2017 draft and backup quarterback A.J. McCarron. Tobin also mentioned that, although the club re-signed kicker Randy Bullock, Bullock will have an open competition with rookie kickers and/or veteran free agents.
- David Culley, who worked as Andy Reid‘s wide receivers coach with the Eagles and Chiefs, agreed to become the Bills‘ new quarterbacks coach last week. Per Reid, the 60-year-old Culley still harbors aspirations of becoming a head coach, so he did not want to block his longtime assistant from moving up the coaching ladder (article via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star).
- The current collective bargaining agreement runs through 2020, but commissioner Roger Goodell and team owners owners have expressed an interest in extending the CBA, as Mark Maske of the Washington Post writes. However, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith says that the union will not agree to an extension without renegotiation of certain key issues, though he did not specify what those issues are.
Poll: Who Will Win Super Bowl LI?
We are a week away from Super Bowl LI, and the world is rife with Super Bowl predictions, analysis, prop bets, and recipes. As preparations for America’s unofficial national holiday rage on, it is time for our readership to let us know their pick to take home the Lombardi Trophy. Will the Patriots bring home their fifth world championship? Or will the Falcons rise to the occasion and parade the Lombardi through the streets of Atlanta for the first time in franchise history?
The Falcons, of course, set the league ablaze with the NFL’s most prolific offense, led by an MVP-caliber season from quarterback Matt Ryan. Behind Ryan, second-year head coach Dan Quinn, and second-year offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, the Falcons won the NFC South and secured a first-round bye. Once in the playoffs, Ryan was able to exorcise some of his postseason demons, leading his team to home victories over the Seahawks and Packers en route to Houston, the site of Super Bowl LI.
While the Falcons will be appearing in the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1998 season, this is all pretty familiar to the Patriots. New England took home its eighth straight AFC East title in 2016, and despite Tom Brady‘s four-game suspension to open the season, a season-ending injury to Rob Gronkowski, and some disappointing defensive performances, the Patriots steamrolled their way to a 14-2 record, a No. 1 overall seed, and two fairly easy postseason wins (although their divisional round victory over the Texans was a bit more of a struggle than one might have expected).
New England is currently viewed as a slim favorite in what could turn into a high-scoring affair, but Atlanta looked unstoppable in its romp over the Packers last week, and this one has all the potential to be memorable.
So what say you? Will Super Bowl LI be business as usual? Or will a new team join the world champion ranks?
Who will win Super Bowl LI?
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Falcons 51% (1,299)
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Patriots 49% (1,257)
Total votes: 2,556
Broncos Could Pursue Tony Romo As Free Agent
If Tony Romo has a say in the matter, he would like to be suiting up for the Broncos in 2017. And, as Mike Klis of 9News writes, the Broncos may be willing to oblige, if Romo should become a free agent in the offseason. Per Klis, “[a] source in the Broncos’ football department did not dismiss the possibility of bringing in the Dallas Cowboys quarterback — providing the situation reaches the point where Romo is no longer Cowboys’ property.”
Romo, of course, is under Cowboys’ control through the 2019 season, but after the emergence of Dak Prescott in 2016, Dallas will likely look to move their long-time quarterback in the coming months. The Cowboys’ preference would be to trade Romo and to recoup some sort of draft pick compensation for him, but given that the soon-to-be 37-year-old is currently slated to earn $14MM in 2017, $19.5MM in 2018, and $20.5MM in 2019, that could be a difficult proposition.
If Romo were to be released, however, he would surely garner a fair amount of interest on the open market, and the Broncos could be in play. As Klis writes, Denver is unlikely to swing a trade for Romo, but if the club was in a position to negotiate a reduced contract with him, it may make sense for them to do so. After all, the Broncos are loaded on the defensive side of the ball, and they have some serious talent at the offensive skill positions as well. Their quarterback play could prevent them from taking full advantage of that talent, and the addition of Romo would immediately make them legitimate championship contenders.
GM John Elway has repeatedly stated that he is happy with the team’s current quarterback group of Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch, but while those young signal-callers may well develop into quality starters, they clearly have a ways to go before they reach that point. By the time they do, the rest of the roster may not be as strong as it is now.
As Klis observes, Elway did pursue Colin Kaepernick last year, so it stands to reason that he would make a push for a much more accomplished quarterback this offseason, assuming the price is right.
Coaching Notes: Groh, Peete, Koetter
Most of the league’s head coaching and coordinator vacancies have been filled, but teams are still making important coaching decisions. Let’s round up a few of the latest coaching-related notes:
- The Eagles hired Mike Groh as their wide receivers coach, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). Groh served as the Rams’ wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator in 2016, and he also worked as the Bears’ wide receivers coach from 2013-2015. Alshon Jeffery‘s best seasons came with Groh as his position coach, and in his one season with the Rams, Groh oversaw Kenny Britt‘s first 1,000-yard season (both Britt and Jeffery are eligible for unrestricted free agency this year, and Philadelphia needs wide receiver help in a big way). The 45-year-old Groh has an extensive college coaching resume, working as the quarterbacks coach for Louisville, the wide receivers coach for Alabama, and the wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach, and offensive coordinator for Virginia.
- Skip Peete will remain the Rams‘ running backs coach, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Peete was hired as the team’s running backs coach last year after serving in that same capacity for the Raiders, Cowboys, and Bears.
- We heard on Friday that Jim Tomsula interviewed for the Saints‘ open defensive line coach job earlier this week, though ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Tomsula will interview with New Orleans during this week’s Senior Bowl. Whether it will simply be a second interview or whether the two sides have actually met at all at this point is unclear. Before his disastrous stint as the 49ers’ head coach, Tomsula was a successful D-line coach with the franchise from 2007-14.
- Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter is likely to retain his offensive play-calling duties, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. Koetter said at his season-ending news conference that he was considering giving up his role as play-caller, but he appears to have thought better of it.
Patriots Open To Trading Jimmy Garoppolo
Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will enter the final year of his rookie contract in 2017, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (article via Kevin Patra of NFL.com) reports that New England is open to trading the 25-year-old signal-caller this offseason.
This conflicts with a report back in December, wherein one source close to the Patriots indicated that he would be “stunned” if the Pats were to deal Garoppolo. There will certainly be interest in the Eastern Illinois product, who may well be the best quarterback available this offseason, but New England also values having a succession plan in place for Tom Brady, who has shown no signs of slowing down but who will be 40 years old when the 2017 season opens.
We also heard last month that, if the Patriots did trade Garoppolo, they would ask for at least a first- and fourth-round pick in return (which is what the Vikings gave up to acquire Sam Bradford last year). As Rapoport observes, the asking price for Garoppolo is one obstacle to a potential trade, as is his inexperience. He was expected to play the first four games of the 2016 season as a result of Brady’s suspension, but he played in only two because of a shoulder injury. Those two games did go exceedingly well for Garoppolo, who completed 42 of 59 passes for 496 yards and four touchdowns as the Patriots racked up wins over Arizona and Miami, but that small sample size may not be enough for rival teams to part with a first-round selection. Indeed, Rapoport suggests that this year’s Brock Osweiler fiasco may make GMs skittish about investing significant assets into an unproven signal-caller.
Plus, succession plans aside, the Patriots may not be comfortable with Jacoby Brissett serving as their primary backup next season, though they are high on the rookie QB.
Rapoport suggests that this matter may not be resolved quickly. Instead, he expects head coach Bill Belichick to “play poker” with the rest of the league, banking on someone paying up if they are left without a quarterback following free agency or the draft.