Packers HC Matt LaFleur On DC Joe Barry, Secondary Plans
When Packers head coach Matt LaFleur endorsed defensive coordinator Joe Barry in January, it was clear that he would allow Barry to lead Green Bay’s defense for a third season in 2023, despite the opportunity to pursue candidates like Vic Fangio, Ejiro Evero, and Steve Wilks.
In his first public comments since making that decision, LaFleur explained that in addition to continuity and staff chemistry — which he had previously cited as reasons for retaining Barry — the defense’s improved performance down the stretch of the 2022 season also played a key role.
“Our defense was getting better, it was progressing,” LaFleur said at last month’s owners meetings (via Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette). “I thought Joe was doing a good job of communicating with our players. I thought our staff was doing a great job together, putting our guys in a better situation, having just more clarity on what it is we wanted to be and our play style, and I thought it got better. I felt like that was in the best interest of us to bring all those (coaches) back.”
The Packers finished the 2022 campaign ranked 17th in both points (21.8) and yards (337) allowed per game, and for a defense that was expected to be among the league’s best, that qualified as a major disappointment. During Green Bay’s five-game losing streak in October and early November, it was reported that players were becoming frustrated with Barry’s scheme and play-calling, and LaFleur acknowledged that adjustments were not made as quickly as they should have been.
Still, after Barry simplified his play-calling, and after other tactical changes — like playing more press coverage and benching underperforming safety Darnell Savage — were made, the defense got better, and the Packers nearly snuck into the postseason. With Jordan Love set to become the club’s starting quarterback, it will be imperative for Barry & Co. to carry their momentum into 2023, and if that does not happen, then Barry could be out of a job and LaFleur will be subjected to plenty of second-guessing.
Another productive adjustment that was made in the second half of the 2022 season was moving Rasul Douglas from nickel corner to the boundaries (although that move was only made due to Eric Stokes‘ season-ending knee and ankle injuries). Per LaFleur, the team will utilize a rotation of Jaire Alexander, Stokes, and Douglas outside the numbers, and Keisean Nixon will get a chance to claim the slot corner position. Nixon has never been a full-time defensive player — his 28% defensive snap share last year was a career-high — but the coaching staff is clearly high on his ability and prefers to have one player predominantly occupying the nickel role.
Nixon did earn a First Team All-Pro nod for his work as a return man in 2022, and he was retained for the 2023 season on a one-year pact that can max out at $6MM. LaFleur said that the team will create an offensive package for Nixon in an effort to get the ball in his hands more often (Twitter link via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky).
The team’s plan for Nixon means that Savage is not, as had been suggested previously, presently under consideration to man the slot. Instead, Savage will get the chance to reclaim his job as a starting safety and to work alongside free agent acquisition Tarvarius Moore on the back end of the defense. Savage is entering a platform year, so his 2023 performance will have a major impact on his financial future.
Stephon Gilmore Requested Trade From Colts?
It came as something of a surprise when the Colts traded Stephon Gilmore to the Cowboys in March. After all, Indianapolis just signed the 2019 DPOY to a two-year, $20MM contract last year, and he was a rare bright spot in a generally disappointing 2022 season for the club.
Plus, while Gilmore’s age (he is entering his age-33 season) and contract status did not help matters, the Colts’ return of a fifth-round pick seemed underwhelming in light of Gilmore’s 2022 performance and overall track record. GM Chris Ballard later conceded that the trade was partly motivated by cap considerations, and we have since learned that Gilmore may have actually requested a trade out of Indianapolis.
Colts defensive lineman DeForest Buckner suggested as much, saying, “Gilly is at a different point in his career than I am. He just finished up Year 11, and I’m going into Year 9, so you know, if I was in his position, maybe I would have considered the same thing” (via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star). “That’s the best decision that he made for him and his family, and I’m all for it.”
It seems, then, that Gilmore was the one who set the wheels of a trade in motion, and he did so in order to play for a team that has more of a chance to compete for a championship in 2023, and perhaps beyond. Gilmore does have a Super Bowl ring from his time with the Patriots, though it makes sense that he would want a shot at another title and does not see the Colts — who appear poised to start either a rookie or a bridge passer at quarterback in 2023 — as an immediate contender.
The Gilmore trade does leave Indianapolis rather thin at the CB position, the team’s reported optimism about its incumbents notwithstanding. If Ballard hits on his expected selection of a QB with his top choice in this month’s draft, The Colts could quickly reemerge as championship hopefuls. However, Buckner — who also lived through a rebuild during the early part of his career with the 49ers — does not appear willing to do the same in Indianapolis.
“I hate that word (rebuild),” Buckner said. “My rookie year in San Francisco, we went 2-14, the coach got fired, we brought in Kyle [Shanahan] and the majority of the roster was gone. Brought in new guys, and it took a couple of years. … We were building a team, a culture and all of that, but I was a young player, so I was able to grind through those tough years. … As you get older, rebuild’s definitely not a word you want to hear.”
Buckner, who recently agreed to a restructure to provide the Colts with 2023 cap relief, is under contract through 2024. However, he is scheduled to carry a $22.8MM cap number next year, and depending on what Indianapolis’ future looks like at the end of the upcoming season, he may not be particularly amenable to an extension that would smooth out that charge.
Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah On RB Situation, Za’Darius Smith
The Vikings made a strong contractual commitment to longtime backup running back Alexander Mattison when the new league year opened in March, just days after reports surfaced indicating that the team was considering trading RB1 Dalvin Cook. When asked if he would have signed Mattison to a two-year, $7MM deal ($6.35M guaranteed) if he knew Cook would still be on the roster, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said that the two players can continue to co-exist, just as they have done for the past four years.
“I think in theory they could exist, of course,” Adofo-Mensah said (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). “Different style of backs. Again, we talk about the systems we’re trying to play. Together, they’re different style of backs. They could fit complementary together, for sure.”
Nonetheless, Adofo-Mensah appeared to suggest that, even if Cook is back with Minnesota in 2023, it would not be on his current deal, which will pay him $10.4MM in 2023.
“Conversations are always ongoing with [Cook],” the GM said. “We’re trying to be solutions-oriented, always trying to put the roster together within our constraints.”
Of Cook’s $10.4MM payout, only $2MM is guaranteed as of the time of this writing. That amount became guaranteed on March 17, since Cook was still a member of the club on that date. As Florio posits, however, the team really had no way to avoid that obligation; it was already guaranteed for injury, and Cook was unlikely to pass a physical due to a lingering shoulder ailment.
As such, the fact that Cook remains on the club post-March 17 does not shed much light on his future in Minnesota, and Florio believes a trade or release is still a strong possibility. After all, the remainder of Cook’s 2023 salary does not become guaranteed until the start of the regular season. The Dolphins may no longer be interested in Cook after re-signing Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson, but other RB-needy clubs will doubtlessly be tempted by the four-time Pro Bowler, especially if those clubs are unable to land a quality back in the draft.
On a related note, Adofo-Mensah said that conversations are also ongoing with LB Za’Darius Smith (Twitter link via ESPN’s Kevin Seifert). Smith requested his release last month, though it was reported at the time that the club had no intention of obliging. The edge rusher is under contract through 2024, and Seifert suggests that Smith, like Cook, could be a trade asset.
Commanders HC Ron Rivera On LG Competition
Last March, the Commanders signed Andrew Norwell to a two-year, $10MM contract and installed him as their starting left guard. Aside from the last game of the season, Norwell played every offensive snap for Washington in 2022, but his roster spot could be in jeopardy.
When recently asked about his club’s LG competition, head coach Ron Rivera said he expects a real battle between fourth-year pro Saahdiq Charles and second-year blocker Chris Paul (Twitter link via JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington). As for Norwell, Rivera simply said, “he’s going to be there.”
That is hardly a strong vote of confidence for a player who was brought in as a worthy replacement for Brandon Scherff, who defected to the Jaguars in free agency last year after a brilliant seven-year tenure with Washington that included five Pro Bowl bids and one First Team All-Pro designation. Unfortunately for Norwell, his performance in his first year with the Commanders was not especially compelling.
After earning First Team All-Pro acclaim himself in 2017, his final season with the Panthers, Norwell secured a then-record contract with Jacksonville, and his play in Duval County, while generally solid, did not necessarily match the club’s financial commitment. In 2022, Norwell received a 59.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which was the lowest mark of his nine-year career and which positioned him as the 47th-best guard out of 76 qualifiers. He was charged with five penalties and 29 total pressures allowed, including four sacks.
Still, his 127 career starts are unrivaled by Charles, who has taken all of 61 snaps at left guard in his three-year career, and Paul, a 2022 seventh-rounder whose only action of his rookie campaign came in the Week 18 contest that Norwell sat out. So it stands to reason that Washington would keep Norwell around at least long enough to see if the Charles-Paul battle yields promising results, or if running it back with Norwell is a better solution for a team that could be deploying a largely inexperienced Sam Howell at quarterback.
However, if Charles and/or Paul should prove themselves capable of a starting role in spring workouts and training camp, Norwell’s contract could work against him. Due to the void years that were tacked onto the end of his deal, releasing Norwell prior to June 1 would create $2.8MM in dead money versus a savings of only $2.3MM. A post-June 1 release, though, would create savings of $4.4MM on the 2023 ledger against just $700K in dead money.
If Rivera’s comments are any indication, Norwell may find himself a cap casualty this summer.
Latest On Terry McDonough’s Claims Against Cardinals, Michael Bidwill
Earlier this month, former Cardinals executive Terry McDonough filed an arbitration claim against the team and owner Michael Bidwill. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk details, the specific causes of action are breach of contract, retaliation after engaging in protected activity, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and civil conspiracy. In response, Cardinals PR consultant Jim McCarthy released a statement that has attracted widespread criticism.
The statement, which can be found here, levies a number of personal attacks against McDonough, including allegations that he engaged in “extreme domestic violence,” abandoned responsibility to one of his daughters by cutting her off financially, and made a practice of undermining fellow employees. Assuming those allegations — some of which, like his purported abdication of his parental duties, are seemingly unrelated to his duties with the Cardinals — are true, it is fair to wonder why Arizona would have employed him for the past 10 years (according to NBC Sports’ Peter King, McDonough was just dismissed earlier this year).
It would seem, as Florio suggests in a separate piece, that the more prudent course of action for the team would have been to simply deny the allegations and allow the arbitration process to play out. Claims like McDonough’s are resolved via internal channels that are generally weighted in the team’s favor, and the Cardinals’ response may prove to be an unnecessary measure that has, at best, resulted in bad optics for the franchise.
Per Daniel Wallach, legal analyst for The Athletic (Twitter thread), the statement may have also created additional causes of action for McDonough that would allow him to take his fight to the public forum of a courthouse as opposed to the more sheltered arbitration setting. Wallach suggests that the “extreme domestic violence” claim in particular could give rise to two separate torts: “false light invasion of privacy” and “public disclosure of private facts.” If McDonough chooses to file suit, the homefield advantages that Bidwill and the Cardinals enjoy in the league’s arbitration procedures would no longer be present.
As King writes, if it becomes clear throughout this impending saga that Bidwill, as McDonough alleges, supplied McDonough and former head coach Steve Wilks with burner phones to secretly communicate with then-suspended GM Steve Keim, then the NFL would be forced to suspend Bidwill. Interestingly, Wilks’ existing lawsuit against the Cardinals alleging racial discrimination included an averment that, “there is evidence of Mr. Keim’s input and participation during his so-called suspension” (via Florio). It is possible that Wilks’ allegation is a reference to the burner phone scheme, which would seem to corroborate McDonough’s claims. Arizona, meanwhile, does not deny that the burner phones were used; the team simply asserts that Bidwill acted swiftly to end the practice when he learned about it.
From a long-term perspective, the portions of McDonough’s filing that do not include burner phones could be more damaging to Bidwill if they are substantiated. McDonough accuses Bidwill of treating a Black employee and two pregnant women poorly and creating “an environment of fear for minority employees.” He avers that Bidwill is abusive and engages in widespread workplace misconduct, and he is not the only former staffer to make such a claim.
As Florio details, former Cardinals executive V.P. and COO Ron Minegar wrote a resignation letter to Bidwill in December 2019, one page of which was included in McDonough’s arbitration claim. In that letter, Minegar, like McDonough, asserted that Bidwill put an end to a review of the team’s workplace culture in 2019 when the early responses were largely unfavorable and cast Bidwill himself in a negative light.
Minegar wrote, “sadly, we learned that a majority of our employees are working in fear. There are several factors, but much of this was directed at you based on the poor interaction they’ve had with you. … What was your reaction when you saw the preliminary responses? Instead of leaning into it and trying to change things for the better, you shut the study down.”
He added, “I am sad for you and worried about you. You deserve to be happy, but you are miserable. You know it. The people around you feel it daily and it impacts them more than you understand.”
In 2022, Minegar sent an email to Bidwill in which he congratulated his former employer on the halftime tribute the team conducted in honor of Bidwill’s father. He took that opportunity to apologize to Bidwill for his part in the deterioration of the relationship between the two men, and said, “I wrote this very private note to Michael to ‘Make Amends’ as part of my program of sobriety which I have undertaken for the past 1000+ days.”
Minegar says that, for the first time since his resignation three years prior, Bidwill recently reached out to him, asking if he could use Minegar’s email in his response to McDonough’s claims. Minegar agreed, but only if the entire email and the entire resignation letter were publicized. Much to Minegar’s dismay, Bidwill did not oblige.
“Unfortunately, [Bidwill and McCarthy] opted to pick and choose segments of the letter in an attempt to put their position in a favorable light,” Minegar said. “I stand by the statements I made in my December 2019 letter and am willing to discuss with the involved parties as part of the NFL’s Arbitration Process.”
McDonough argues that Bidwill’s conduct is “significantly worse” than that of Robert Sarver, the former owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns who was suspended by the NBA for a year and fined $10MM before ultimately selling the team. It is obviously far too soon to consider whether the Wilks and McDonough actions will lead to a similar outcome for Bidwill, but the reports stemming from those disputes and Bidwill’s responses thereto do paint an unflattering picture of the owner and his club. Time will tell whether the Cardinals can reverse their on- and off-field fortunes under Bidwill’s stewardship.
Texans To Play Jimmie Ward At Safety
Texans free agent acquisition Jimmie Ward will line up at safety for his new club, as Aaron Wilson of Click2Houston.com reports. Wilson adds that Ward’s two-year contract with Houston is worth $13MM.
Ward, a first-round pick of the 49ers in 2014, has plenty of familiarity with new Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, who joined San Francisco’s defensive staff in 2017 and who spent the last two seasons as the club’s defensive coordinator. Ryans, likewise, is familiar with Ward’s abilities and saw firsthand how well he performed when pressed into duty as a nickel corner in 2022.
However, prior reports had indicated that Ward would want to return to his natural safety position, and when the cap-conscious 49ers elected to re-sign Tashaun Gipson to a one-year, $2.9MM pact, it became even more clear that Ward’s days in the Bay Area were over. In speaking with reporters at last week’s owners meetings, Ryans praised Ward’s versatility but indicated that the Northern Illinois product would play safety.
“Jimmie has been very fun to work with because he’s jumped into that nickel role, and he thrived in the role, made probably more plays than he’s made playing safety, so Jimmie can play anywhere,” Ryans said. “But I’m going to play him at safety.”
Indeed, Ward set a career high with three interceptions in 2022, all of which he recorded over a six-game span beginning from Week 10 to Week 15. Even if he cannot replicate that same level of playmaking production with the Texans, though, Ryans values what the 10th-year pro brings to the table from a culture standpoint and what he will be able to impart to the team’s young defensive backs like Derek Stingley and Jalen Pitre (Ward’s presumptive running mate at safety).
Although the Texans largely struggled in 2022, the team did finish in the top-10 in passing defense and in takeaways, so there is a foundation for Ryans to work with as he seeks to return the club with which he once starred as a player to contention. Ward, meanwhile, was happy to join a rebuilding effort in exchange for a familiar scheme and the chance to play his preferred position.
Buccaneers Want To Re-Sign DT Akiem Hicks
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles wants the team to re-sign defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, as Greg Auman of FOX Sports tweets. At present, there have been no public reports of outside interest in Hicks’ services.
Hicks, 33, signed a one-year contract with the Bucs last offseason following a lengthy stint with the Bears. Unfortunately, injuries marred the second half of Hicks’ Chicago tenure, as he missed 11 games due to an elbow injury in 2019 and was sidelined for eight contests in 2021. In his first season in Tampa, the health woes continued, as a torn plantar fascia forced Hicks to miss six games.
His age and recent injury history are likely what have kept Hicks on the open market. Still, in his 11 games (all starts) in 2022, Hicks made a clear impact on the Bucs’ defense. In those games, Tampa Bay yielded 106 rushing yards per game on a 4.2 yards-per-carry rate, and in six contests without Hicks, the Bucs allowed 148 rushing yards per game on a 4.9 YPC rate (via the team’s official website).
And, while Hicks has not posted more than 3.5 sacks in a single season since his Pro Bowl campaign in 2018 (he recorded just one sack last year), his ability to move the pocket from the interior has nonetheless been a key element of his game. It therefore makes sense that Bowles would want Hicks back, especially since it would likely not cost much to make that happen.
The Bucs did sign Greg Gaines last month and are also rostering 2022 second-rounder Logan Hall, and both of those players are presently penciled in as the starting bookends around nose tackle Vita Vea. However, the team lost Rakeem Nunez-Roches to the Giants and do not have much by way of proven depth behind its starting DL trio (longtime contributor William Gholston is also out of contract).
Tampa Bay, though, is in a much different competitive position now than it was when Hicks signed with the club last year. In 2022, the Bucs still had Tom Brady on the roster and were poised to make a deep playoff run. The team did ultimately qualify for the postseason thanks to a weak division, but after suffering a wildcard round loss to the Cowboys, Brady has retired for good. Because the Bucs have elected to absorb the full $35MM dead cap charge stemming from Brady’s contract on their 2023 ledger, it appears they are preparing for something of a retooling year, and Hicks — who has earned roughly $70MM in his career but who does not have a Super Bowl ring — may prefer to wait for a more obvious contender to come calling.
Colts To Retain C Ryan Kelly, CB Kenny Moore II
The Colts are planning to retain both center Ryan Kelly and cornerback Kenny Moore II, as Zak Keefer of The Athletic writes (subscription required). GM Chris Ballard recently fielded trade calls on both players, and a report last month indicated that he was actively shopping Kelly, but he clearly did not get an offer to his liking.
“They’re both great Colts, and we’re glad they’re here,” Ballard said. “When you’ve got a good football player that is a great person and a great fit, it makes it hard to move away from those guys.”
Kelly, who will turn 30 in May, was one of the primary culprits in the surprising regression that the Colts’ offensive line experienced in 2022. That group, widely considered one of the team’s greatest strengths, struggled last season, and Kelly himself earned middle-of-the-road grades from Pro Football Focus after surrendering five sacks, 25 total pressures, and failing to generate much push in the run game. Still, he earned Pro Bowl acclaim every year from 2019-21, and as Indianapolis could soon be deploying a rookie quarterback, having an accomplished player at the pivot makes sense.
Moore, who is entering his age-28 season, lobbied for a new contract last year. While the deal that he signed in 2019 set a record for slot corners, Moore argued that his pay should reflect the fact that slot defenders are really starting players in today’s pass-heavy league, and that his ability to line up outside the numbers, make tackles in space, and play behind the line of scrimmage should also be rewarded. Ultimately, the Colts did not make any adjustments to Moore’s contract, and Moore turned in perhaps the worst season of his career.
Although PFF continued to laud his work against the run, it assigned Moore a poor overall grade of 55.7. He failed to record an interception for the first time in his six professional seasons, and he yielded an unsightly quarterback rating of 117.7. In fairness, he was playing through a torn ligament in his left hand and also dealt with a right hand sprain before his season was cut short by an ankle injury, and he did not fit as well in defensive coordinator Gus Bradley‘s scheme as he had in the scheme utilized by former DC Matt Eberflus. Regardless of the reason, though, Moore’s performance took a lucrative new contract off the table for the time being, so his upcoming platform campaign will be especially critical for his future earning power.
Releasing Moore would create a cap savings of $7.6MM while leaving a minimal dead money charge of $500K, and a trade would remove the dead money hit completely. Still, after the Colts traded Stephon Gilmore and saw Brandon Facyson defect to the Raiders in free agency, the team’s cornerback depth is suspect. Per Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star, Ballard — who concedes the Gilmore deal was partially cap-driven — thinks highly of presumptive boundary starters Isaiah Rodgers and Dallis Flowers, but it makes sense that he would not want to thin the CB room even further by cutting ties with Moore (Twitter link).
Nonetheless, one would expect Ballard to attempt to shore up the position in the coming months, and the draft would be one way to do that. Likewise, new head coach Shane Steichen wants to add reinforcements to the offensive line, as Keefer tweets, and an heir apparent for Kelly could be in the cards. At present, 2022 UDFA Wesley French represents the Colts’ fallback option at center.
Commanders Likely To Be Sold In A Matter Of Weeks
Momentum towards a Commanders sale continues to build, with Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reporting that owner Dan Snyder is likely to sell the franchise in the next one to three weeks. Although no Commanders-related matter was officially on the agenda at last week’s league meetings, Falcons owner Arthur Blank appeared to confirm that a sale is imminent.
“The league is doing whatever it can to help support the Snyders in this transaction and transition,” Blank said. “I saw [Snyder’s wife] Tanya [Snyder] this morning and wished her well, Dan as well. I think their family has moved to London, I believe. We’ll see what will happen. He’s a young man, his children are young, his wife’s young and they have a whole life ahead of them. I certainly wish them well.”
Indeed, as Nicki Jhabvala, Liz Clarke, and Mark Maske of the Washington Post reported in January, the Snyders recently filed a certificate of incorporation of a private limited company for Snyder UK Investments Limited with the registrar of companies for England and Wales. On that certificate, the Snyders — both of whom are listed as company directors — name England as their usual place of residence.
Furthermore, the Synders’ son, Gerry Snyder, is no longer on the Appalachian State football roster, and Jones reports that Gerry is not enrolled at the school this semester. Dan Snyder has cleared out his ownership offices and has put one D.C.-area estate on the market.
In addition to Josh Harris, Steve Apostolopoulos, and Tilman Fertitta, there is a mystery fourth bidder in the mix, according to Jones, although the identity of that bidder is presently unknown. While the most recent reporting on the matter suggested that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos remains in play, Charles Gasparino of FOX Business Network says that Mark Cuban, the owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, has no interest in the Commanders (Twitter link). Interestingly, former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III is interested in joining the Harris group, as the one-time face of the franchise said during a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show (via Madison Williams of SI.com).
Gasaprino also hears that reports of the Harris- and Apostolopoulos-led groups hitting the fully-funded $6 billion are a bit overstated. Instead, those bids come with contingencies, and the “real” number is actually closer to $5 billion (Twitter links). One way or another, Dan Snyder is going to realize quite a return on investment, as he purchased the club for $800MM back in 1999.
Another point to consider is that, regardless of the details of the final proposals, Dan Snyder does not have to sell the Commanders to the highest bidder, and can instead sell to the group he likes the most. For instance, Jones suggests that Snyder may not care for the fact that the Harris and Apostolopoulos groups have leaked reports of their ability to obtain the necessary cash for the purchase of his team when he himself has not even confirmed that the team is for sale. Similarly, the personal tension between Snyder and Bezos has been oft-cited as a reason why Bezos may not be able to acquire the franchise despite having the financial wherewithal to blow other candidates out of the water.
The pending sale also has some on-field ramifications. We had already heard about the delayed payouts of signing bonuses included in recent player contracts, and JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington says that the status of DE Chase Young‘s fifth-year option could be impacted by the ownership situation (Twitter link). After a tremendous rookie campaign, Young sustained a torn ACL and patellar tendon in Week 10 of the 2021 season, which limited him to nine games that year and just three contests in 2022. However, because Young does have a Pro Bowl nod on his resume, his fifth-year option would check in at a fully-guaranteed $17.5MM.
A decision on Young’s option must be made by May 2. And, while the team is reportedly committed to 2022 fifth-rounder Sam Howell as its starting quarterback, head coach Ron Rivera said that a new owner’s viewpoints on the matter could alter the Commanders’ QB direction.
Jets Interested In C Ben Jones
MARCH 27: Having brought in Jones’ former position coach this offseason, Douglas confirmed Monday (via SNY’s Connor Hughes) the team is indeed interested in signing the veteran center.
MARCH 26: The Jets’ pursuit of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been one of the NFL’s biggest storylines in 2023. A resolution to the Rodgers situation will obviously remain the top priority for both Green Bay and New York, but even assuming the Jets ultimately land Rodgers as expected, they will still need to determine who is snapping the ball to him.
Connor McGovern, who has operated as Gang Green’s starting center over the past three years, is now out of contract. He remains unsigned, and there have been no public reports of interest in his services despite his starting experience, durability, and the fact that he has achieved average or better grades from Pro Football Focus in each of his professional seasons outside of his rookie campaign in 2017.
Still, it does not appear as if a new contract for McGovern is Plan A for GM Joe Douglas. Instead, as Brian Costello of the New York Post reported last week, the Jets appear to be interested in Ben Jones (Twitter link). Jones, a longtime starting pivot for the Titans, was released by the club earlier this month, and as former Tennessee OL coach Keith Carter is now with the Jets, there is an obvious connection to be made.
Prior to missing five games last season, Jones, an 11-year veteran, had been a model of durability for the Titans. He missed just one game in his first six Tennessee slates, becoming a central part of Derrick Henry‘s two rushing titles and the team’s Mike Vrabel-era resurgence. Jones’ 108 starts at center are the most in Titans history.
Now 33, Jones has been consistently rated by PFF as a top-10 center, a trend that continued in 2022 despite the fact that he suffered two concussions during the season. Jones was said to be contemplating retirement as a result of those injuries, though we have not heard anything on that front one way or another in recent weeks.
The center market has been fairly team-friendly this offseason, so the Jets could likely acquire Jones for a modest price relative to his experience and abilities. Rich Cimini of ESPN.com confirmed today that the Georgia product is a consideration for Douglas & Co.
New York has already added a possible center option in Trystan Colon-Castillo, but it appears the team wants a more proven talent at the position (which makes sense given the likely Rodgers acquisition). And although Wes Schweitzer is now on hand to offer experienced depth across the O-line, he does not profile as a starting-caliber option as a snapper.