Chargers DE Joey Bosa Expected To Begin Practicing
The 6-6 Chargers, who are on the outside of the AFC playoff picture as of the time of this writing, may soon welcome back one of their best players. Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Bolts will evaluate defensive end Joey Bosa early this week with the expectation that he will begin practicing on Wednesday (video link).
Bosa, 27, exited Los Angeles’ Week 3 loss to the Jaguars early due to a groin injury that ultimately required surgery. The team hoped that offseason acquisition Khalil Mack and Bosa would combine to form one of the NFL’s most fearsome pass-rushing duos, and while Mack has mostly lived up to expectations — seven sacks and a 74.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus — Bosa’s absence has clearly hurt. The Chargers’ 22 sacks are the fifth-fewest in the league, and the team is near the bottom of the pack in total defense (though the Bolts were not much better in that regard in 2021 either).
Once Bosa begins practicing, the team will have three weeks from that date to activate him off of injured reserve. The most recent reporting on the matter suggested that Bosa’s injury would prevent him from returning to his typical level of performance this year, but a mostly-healthy Bosa should still benefit a struggling defense. As long as the Chargers remain in playoff contention, they will likely give the four-time Pro Bowler every chance to see game action.
Bosa has run into several maladies that have required absences over the course of his career. He missed four games as a rookie in 2016 (hamstring), was shut down for nine during the 2018 season (foot), and missed four more contests in 2020 (two concussions). His 2022 IR stint is part of a long list of health woes that have thus far undermined the fortunes of a club that entered the season with a reloaded defense and championship aspirations.
In what has become a frustrating refrain for Chargers fans, Los Angeles has once again lost key players on both sides of the ball for extended periods of time. Even as the team prepares to bring Bosa back into the fold, it will take on the Dolphins on Sunday without safety Derwin James, defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day, and cornerback Bryce Callahan, as Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com reports. James, no stranger to lengthy IR stays himself, suffered a quadriceps injury in LA’s Week 12 victory over the Cardinals, and while he played through the injury in last week’s loss to the Raiders, he is not healthy enough to suit up for a pivotal bout with Miami.
Giants S Xavier McKinney Expects To Return This Season
The Giants have been without safety Xavier McKinney for the last three games due to a broken hand that he suffered in an ATV accident during a bye-week vacation. As Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports, McKinney is expected to miss at least several more weeks, but he does plan to return this season.
New York is 7-4 and currently holds the sixth playoff spot in the NFC. However, the club has lost two in a row and takes on the division-rival Commanders — who presently hold the seventh and final postseason spot — two times within the next three weeks. As such, Big Blue’s postseason fortunes could be largely decided before McKinney gets back on the field.
McKinney, 23, was selected in the second round of the 2020 draft, and while a broken foot limited him to just six games in his rookie season, he emerged as a foundational player for the Giants in 2021, when he appeared in all 17 games (16 starts) and notched five interceptions. He also pulled down an excellent 75.4 grade from Pro Football Focus, which was especially bullish on his coverage abilities.
His PFF grade slipped to 56.3 over the first eight games of the current season, though his presence is still missed. A team captain, McKinney is also the defensive signal-caller for a unit that was ranked eighth in the league in scoring defense at the time of his injury and which is now ranked 14th in that regard.
The secondary as a whole has been hit hard by injury. In the Giants’ Thanksgiving Day loss to the Cowboys, they were without starters Adoree’ Jackson, Fabian Moreau, and McKinney, and while Moreau is active for the team today, Jackson is expected to miss several more weeks. As Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweets, New York is deploying Nick McCloud and Moreau on the boundaries today, while UDFA rookie Zyon Gilbert — who is making his pro debut — will work as the primary slot corner.
In McKinney’s stead, the Giants first turned to fourth-round rookie Dane Belton for two games before pivoting to Jason Pinnock, a 2021 fifth-round choice of the Jets whom Big Blue claimed off waivers during final cutdowns in August.
NFL Teams Doing Background Work On Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh
University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh last coached in the NFL in 2014, when he served as the 49ers’ HC. Still, his name pops up in NFL coaching rumors every year, with many such rumors indicating that he remains open to a return to the professional ranks. On Sunday, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported that multiple NFL clubs are doing background work on Harbaugh with an eye towards including him in their upcoming head coaching search.
Earlier this year, the Vikings interviewed Harbaugh for their head coaching post, which eventually went to Kevin O’Connell. Despite all of the reported interest in luring Harbaugh back to the NFL, that was the first time since he left San Francisco that he actually took a formal interview with a pro team. And, with the Wolverines having secured a 13-0 record in 2022 to go along with a Big Ten conference championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff for the second consecutive year, he appears to be on firm footing in Ann Arbor (which was not necessarily the case just two years ago).
In fact, after his Minnesota interview, the 58-year-old reportedly told Michigan president Warde Manuel he wants to stay at his alma mater as long as it wants him. He signed a new five-year, $36.7MM deal with the school shortly thereafter, a deal that features a number of incentives that he has earned due to the Wolverines’ 2022 success. However, as Rapoport himself reported at the time, the modest buyouts included in the contract will do little to deter NFL teams from trying to poach him.
Of course, there are a number of other factors for teams to consider before making such a splashy hire. While Harbaugh compiled a 44-19-1 record and an NFC Championship during his four years in San Francisco — along with two other appearances in the conference title game — he has a reputation of being difficult to work with. A report several years ago suggested that those within the 49ers organization considered him “toxic and unbearable,” and it is possible that he would want control over personnel decisions. That is to say nothing of his salary, and it is fair to expect that he would shoot for a deal at the top of the head coaching market, which is presently topped by Rams HC Sean McVay‘s $15MM-$18MM annual payouts.
The Broncos, Browns, Cardinals, Panthers, Texans, and Saints are among the teams that could have head coaching vacancies in a few weeks, and it’s unclear which, if any, of those teams have been looking into Harbaugh. It’s also unclear if Harbaugh would be interested in any of those opportunities.
49ers, QB Jimmy Garoppolo Open To New Contract
The 49ers have won four straight games to take over first place in the NFC West, and while the defense’s performance is perhaps the biggest reason for the team’s 7-4 mark, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo‘s steady presence has been a key factor as well. While much can change between now and the end of the season, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says the Niners and Garoppolo are open to a new contract that would keep the veteran passer in the Bay Area in 2023.
Of course, Garoppolo was the subject of numerous reports throughout the offseason, as San Francisco had every intention of trading him and starting life with Trey Lance under center. Indeed, the 49ers and Commanders reportedly had the parameters of a deal in place in the early part of the year, but a March shoulder surgery forced Washington to back off and completely stagnated Garoppolo’s trade market (a recent report from Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area suggests that GM John Lynch was expecting to receive two first-round picks in a Garoppolo deal, though Maiocco himself concedes that seems unrealistic).
As the months dragged on, it became increasingly likely that Garoppolo would remain with the Niners as Lance insurance, a possibility that became reality in late August, when the two sides agreed to a restructured deal that featured a significant pay cut. Per the terms of that contract, the 49ers cannot put a franchise tag on Garoppolo at season’s end, so he will be eligible for free agency in March 2023 with no strings attached. In a free agent quarterback market that is expected to be comprised of its usual blend of question marks/retreads (Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Teddy Bridgewater) and players that will never actually hit the market (Lamar Jackson), Garoppolo may well be the top QB available (with all due apologies to Tom Brady, who will turn 46 before the 2023 season gets underway).
He will not, therefore, come cheap. Spotrac presently estimates that he is worth roughly $35MM per year, and given his 41-19 record in San Francisco (including playoffs) and generally solid play throughout his career, that does not seem like a stretch. His injury history is concerning, though the premium that teams have to pay for quality QBs should allow him to get that $35MM AAV.
Whether the 49ers will be the team to pay him that money is an entirely different story. We heard last month that the club’s impending cap crunch — OverTheCap.com currently projects the Niners to have just $1MM in effective cap space, based on a projected cap of $225MM — could make a Garoppolo re-up quite difficult, and that would be especially true if the team is only interested in a one-year contract, as Rapoport seems to suggest. Putting aside for a moment whether Garoppolo himself would be amenable to such a pact, it just does not seem likely that San Francisco could absorb a Garoppolo contract without spreading his cap hit over multiple seasons, and a multi-year contract at the rate that Garoppolo will be seeking would double as an admission that the 2021 trade-up for Lance was a total waste of valuable draft capital.
After being reinserted into the lineup to take over for an injured Lance in Week 2, Garoppolo has thrown 16 TDs against just four interceptions while completing over 67% of his passes. That amounts to a QB rating of 103.0, the fifth-best mark in the league.
Raiders Activate CB Nate Hobbs
The Raiders have activated cornerback Nate Hobbs from injured reserve, the team announced. In a corresponding move, Las Vegas placed G Lester Cotton on IR.
Hobbs, a 2021 fifth-rounder, had started each of the Raiders’ first five games this season after earning nine starts in his rookie campaign. As a rookie, the Illinois product tallied 74 tackles, a sack, and an interception, and while he yielded a healthy 82.3% completion rate on passes thrown in his direction, Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics nonetheless deemed him one of the NFL’s best corners in 2021. PFF had him graded as the 29th-best CB in the league this year before he went on IR with a broken hand in mid-October.
Hobbs’ return is especially timely for Las Vegas, which was recently forced to place another starting corner, Anthony Averett, on injured reserve for the second time this season. Averett has not played especially well in his seven games of action, but the fact that the Raiders have not had their top three corners — Rock Ya-Sin, Averett, and Hobbs — on the field together after Week 1 is obviously suboptimal. The team is near the bottom of the league in terms of total defense and passing yards allowed per game, which is a major reason for its 4-7 record.
However, Josh McDaniels‘ troops have shown some moxie in winning their last two contests, both of which went to overtime. Getting Hobbs back should at least help stabilize the club’s secondary as it looks to keep its slim playoff hopes alive.
Cotton, meanwhile, has bounced between the Raiders’ active roster, taxi squad, and the unemployment line since signing with the team as a UDFA in 2019. Thanks to Las Vegas’ uncertain OL situation this year, he saw significant action in the first two weeks of the season, taking 90 snaps at right guard and earning his first career start in Week 2. Since then, he has played exclusively on special teams and has participated in just a handful of snaps per game.
Giants, QB Daniel Jones Did Not Engage In Extension Talks
The Giants and quarterback Daniel Jones did not engage in extension discussions prior to GM Joe Schoen‘s self-imposed Week 10 deadline to talk contract, as Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com writes. So, as expected, the contract situations of Jones and running back Saquon Barkley — both of whom are eligible for unrestricted free agency in March — will be atop Schoen’s agenda this offseason.
Interestingly, Schoen did engage in extension negotiations with Barkley and defensive back Julian Love during New York’s Week 9 bye, and while those conversations did not lead to a new deal for either player, it is notable that Giants brass did not at least check in with Jones’ camp. That is especially true in light of September reports that Schoen and first-year head coach Brian Daboll harbored “major concerns” about Jones’ viability as a long-term option.
Since those earlier reports, New York has gone 6-4, and Jones has performed much better under Daboll than he did during his first three years in the league. Still, as Raanan acknowledges, there is a difference between being a legitimate NFL starter and being a franchise cornerstone, and it is unclear if Jones’ improved play in 2022 has been enough to convince the team that he is worthy of a lengthy accord.
Indeed, Jones has not played especially well over the last two games, both of which resulted in losses that have threatened to sour a pleasantly-surprising season. On the other hand, his 58.5 QBR — supported by a 10:4 TD:INT ratio and 64.6% completion percentage — is the 10th-best mark in the NFL. He has already set career-highs with 451 rushing yards and four rushing scores, and he has compiled those numbers on a strong 5.7 YPC rate. He has also led four fourth-quarter comebacks this season, and the team’s dearth of receiving talent has made his work more impressive.
One NFC general manager tells Raanan that the Giants’ best option would be to re-sign Jones this offseason, but a different NFC exec says he does not see Jones as a franchise player. Yet another NFC exec sees Jones as a bridge option and believes a one-year, $15MM-$20MM deal would make the most sense for the Giants. However, former GM Mike Tannenbaum thinks Jones is an “ascending player” who can reasonably expect a multi-year deal worth ~$25MM/year, especially given the supply-and-demand dynamics of the QB market that benefit even flawed signal-callers.
Whether Schoen is willing to pay Jones that type of money remains to be seen, and his decision may be impacted (to some degree) by Barkley’s situation. Former NFL agent Joel Corry projects the franchise tag for RBs to come in at roughly $10.1MM, which is a better number than the ~$12MM projections that have been floated and which is much more appealing than the projected ~$31.5MM franchise tag figure for QBs (via Dan Duggan of The Athletic on Twitter).
That said, the Giants are reportedly willing to pony up a top-of-the-market contract for Barkley, and Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post says talks between player and team were encouraging. Perhaps a multi-year contract for Barkley — which will allow the team to smooth out his 2023 cap hit — coupled with a tag for Jones will be the most satisfactory result for all parties involved.
Steve Wilks Making “Strong Push” For Panthers’ Permanent HC Post
Since taking over for Matt Rhule in October, Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks has been making the most of a difficult situation. Although Carolina is 2-4 with Wilks at the helm, a missed extra point was the deciding factor in a Week 8 loss to the Falcons, and the Panthers and Ravens were tied 3-3 midway through the fourth quarter of their Week 11 contest before several late turnovers sealed a Baltimore victory.
Simply put, the Panthers have been more competitive under Wilks, and as Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports writes, owner David Tepper has taken notice. Earlier reporting indicated that Tepper would want an experienced option as his permanent replacement for Rhule, and while Wilks’ previous head coaching gig lasted only one season — a disappointing 3-13 campaign with the Cardinals in 2018 — his time in Arizona and his stint as Carolina’s interim HC will give him 28 games as a sideline general by the time the 2022 season comes to an end.
Whether that is sufficient experience for Tepper remains to be seen. One factor working against Wilks is that his background is on the defensive side of the ball; outside of his time as a head coach, all of his jobs in the collegiate and professional ranks have been as a defensive coach or coordinator, and per Jones, Tepper is seeking an “up-and-coming offensive mind.”
It’s worth noting that Jones’ report and the prior reports concerning Tepper’s desire for an experienced former NFL head coach do not necessarily mesh. Someone with significant NFL head coaching experience probably does not qualify as an “up-and-coming” offensive guru, which puts one in mind of Sean McVay before he was hired by the Rams, or Kevin Stefanski before he was hired by the Browns. If Tepper does tab someone other than Wilks as his permanent HC, perhaps it will be a candidate like Lions OC Ben Johnson, who — unlike Rhule when he joined the Panthers — at least has considerable NFL experience, even if none of it has come at the head coaching level.
One way or another, Jones says Wilks is “making a strong push” to have the interim label removed from his title. Carolina’s recent fortunes have been undermined by the team’s quarterback situation, as its 2020 Teddy Bridgewater acquisition and subsequent trades for former top draft choices Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield have yielded nothing but disappointment. The locker room support that Wilks presently enjoys, the adjustments he has made due to inconsistent QB play — adjustments that have resulted in an improved running game despite the trade of Christian McCaffrey — and the club’s competitive fire under Wilks will certainly give Tepper a lot to consider.
Of course, as Jones acknowledges, Wilks’ win-loss record over the final six games of the season will also factor into Tepper’s decision. Wilks’ efforts to secure the permanent HC post will continue in Sunday’s Week 12 battle with the Broncos, a game in which Darnold will make his 2022 debut.
Mike White May Remain Jets’ QB1 For Remainder Of Season
In the wake of his decision to bench quarterback Zach Wilson, Jets head coach Robert Saleh said that he intends to reinsert Wilson into the starting lineup at some point this season. But as Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports writes, Wilson is unlikely to return to the field before Week 15 (barring injury), and if the team remains in playoff contention with Mike White under center, Wilson can probably expect to stay on the sidelines for the rest of the year.
Joe Flacco, who started the first three games of the 2022 campaign while Wilson was battling knee trouble, will serve as White’s backup for Sunday’s Week 12 matchup with the Bears, so he will get the nod if White should get injured during the Chicago contest. If White sustains a lingering injury while New York remains in the playoff hunt, Saleh could be faced with a difficult Flacco vs. Wilson decision, one that he would obviously prefer to avoid.
Like Jones, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com says that White will remain the QB1 if the Jets are winning with him under center. A successful run from White would be a boon to Gang Green’s playoff chances this year, though Cimini believes it would also complicate the team’s offseason plans. Wilson has yet to start more than seven games in a row in his young career, and at this point, it’s probably premature to write off his chances to become a legitimate NFL starter. Still, the 6-4 Jets are looking to solidify their status as contenders for the foreseeable future, and they need to know if Wilson will be part of that future or if they need to begin looking elsewhere.
New York may also need to make a decision on offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur this offseason. As Cimini writes, Wilson’s struggles are LaFleur’s struggles, and Saleh’s express acknowledgement of Wilson’s deteriorating mechanics is not a good look for LaFleur or quarterbacks coach Rob Calabrese.
“I truly believe it starts with me and ends with me, so I’ve got to figure out a way to reset [Wilson], get him back to playing fundamentally sound football and, more importantly, just consistent football, because he’s done some really good things,” LaFleur said. “But I haven’t done a good enough job to get the consistency out of him. So that starts and ends with me.”
According to Jones, the team believes Wilson has turned an emotional corner, as evidenced by the apologies he recently issued to his teammates. Whether or not he has the chance to reestablish himself on the field this year will depend in large part on White’s performance in the coming weeks.
Odell Beckham Jr. To Meet With Cowboys, Giants
The 7-2 Giants and 6-3 Cowboys are jockeying for playoff position, and the NFC East rivals are also competing to land the biggest fish on the free agent market. As Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com report, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is set to meet with both clubs after the Thanksgiving holiday, and there are no other known visits on OBJ’s schedule at this time.
We learned just last week that Beckham hopes to sign by the end of November, and with visits now being planned, he may be able to achieve that goal. Of course, contract talks will be of particular importance here. Beckham is reportedly seeking a multi-year deal and is looking to be paid like Chris Godwin and Mike Williams, both of whom make $20MM per season. That is a big ask for a player that has suffered two recent ACL tears, and it could be too steep for New York, which has seen last year’s Kenny Golladay contract turn into an albatross.
On the other hand, Golladay’s underperformance and injury problems are a big reason why the Giants are in the Beckham market in the first place. The team is desperate for receiving help to add another dimension to its Saquon Barkley-dominated offense and to provide quarterback Daniel Jones with a reliable pass catcher outside of Darius Slayton — who was a release/trade candidate this summer — and diminutive rookie Wan’Dale Robinson. Plus, GM Joe Schoen should have a healthy cap situation in 2023, so he could make the financials work if he is willing to make the type of bold move that would define his early tenure as the Giants’ top exec.
Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports observes that Schoen was unwilling to swing a deadline trade for Texans receiver Brandin Cooks and his $18MM guaranteed salary for 2023, which makes him skeptical that Schoen would authorize a contract for Beckham near OBJ’s reported price point (Twitter link). Indeed, Vacchiano sees the Cowboys as the more likely landing spot, especially given the public courtship that Dallas owner Jerry Jones and high-profile players like Micah Parsons have engaged in.
Recent reporting indicates that the Cowboys are, in fact, the frontrunners for the three-time Pro Bowler, and Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News suggests that Beckham’s contract is less critical than his health. Gehlken says Dallas already believes Beckham would be a good locker room fit, and that an in-person look at this reconstructed knee is the “final box to check” (Twitter link). The Cowboys, like the Giants, were unable to land an impact wideout at the deadline, and they clearly see another receiver as a major need as they gear up for a postseason push.
Chargers WRs Keenan Allen, Mike Williams Expected To Play In Week 11
Sunday could mark the first time this season that Chargers wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams start and finish a game together. As Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com reports, both players were full participants in practice on Friday and are expected to play in the Bolts’ Week 11 matchup with the division-rival Chiefs.
Allen sustained a hamstring injury in the season opener, and he has reaggravated the injury multiple times. He returned for Los Angeles’ Week 7 loss to the Seahawks, though he appeared in just 23 snaps and caught two passes for 11 yards. The hamstring problem flared up during the club’s Week 8 bye, and he has missed the last two contests as a result.
Williams, meanwhile, suffered a high ankle sprain during the above-referenced Seattle matchup and was forced to leave the game early. Like Allen, Williams has been sidelined for the last two games.
When healthy, the Allen-Williams tandem is one of the best WR duos in the league, and their compensation reflects that. In March, Williams signed a three-year, $60MM contract featuring $40MM in guaranteed money, and he was living up to that deal prior to the injury. In seven games, the Clemson product has posted 37 catches for 495 yards, putting him on pace for his second consecutive campaign of 1,100+ yards. Though his 2022 13.4 YPR rate represents a step back from his recent output, his catch percentage has increased from 58.9% in 2021 to 62.7% this year.
Allen signed his $20MM/year deal in September 2020, an accord that made him the second-highest-paid wideout in the league at the time. That marked the second extension the Chargers authorized for Allen since they selected him in the third round of the 2013 draft, and he has largely justified the team’s faith in him. From 2017-21, Allen averaged over 101 receptions and 1,180 yards per season, all of which culminated in Pro Bowl nods. He has never been the home run threat that Williams is, but he is about as reliable as a receiver can be.
Although the 2022 season has been a wash for Allen thus far, a return to his typical form would be a significant development for a Chargers club that is 5-4 and currently just outside the AFC playoff picture. Per Thiry, the team is also set to welcome back right tackle Trey Pipkins III, who missed LA’s Week 10 loss to the 49ers due to a knee injury.