Cardinals Likely To Part Ways With GM Steve Keim
The Cardinals are expected to part ways with longtime GM Steve Keim this offseason, as Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports. Keim recently took an indefinite leave of absence from the team due to an undisclosed health-related matter.
Vice president of player personnel Quentin Harris and vice president of pro personnel Adrian Wilson are presently sharing Keim’s duties on an interim basis, and Jones says both men are legitimate candidates to be promoted to general manager this offseason. Harris enjoyed a six-year playing career that began in Arizona before becoming a Cardinals scout in 2008, and he has been working his way up the personnel ladder ever since. Wilson left more of an on-field legacy, as he played in the NFL for 13 seasons — 12 as a member of the Cardinals — and earned five Pro Bowl nods during that time.
Wilson, 43, was inducted into Arizona’s Ring of Honor in 2015, the same year he began working for the team as a regional scout. His ascent has been more rapid than that of the 45-year-old Harris, though it appears both execs will have a chance to lead a club’s front office sooner rather than later. The Giants interviewed Wilson and Harris during their GM search earlier this year, and it was reported that the Jaguars nearly hired Wilson as general manager.
While Wilson and Harris are well-respected around the league, Jones’ sources wonder if Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill will choose to look outside the organization to replace Keim. Since Buddy Ryan left his post as Arizona’s head coach/general manager in 1995, the club’s next three GMs — Bob Ferguson, Rod Graves, and Keim — have all been promoted from within.
Of course, Bidwill could also be looking for a new head coach this offseason. Kliff Kingsbury, who was hired in 2019, has compiled a 28-33-1 record to date, and a report detailing his uncertain job security surfaced last month. While some of the factors that have played a role in the Cardinals’ 2022 struggles are beyond Kingsbury’s control — WR DeAndre Hopkins‘ six-game PED ban, QB Kyler Murray‘s ACL tear, etc. — his play-calling and game-planning have been frequently criticized. Bidwill would have to eat a great deal of money by cutting ties with Keim and Kingsbury, as he elected to hand both men thru-2027 extensions back in March, but he may feel he has no other choice.
Some good news for Cardinals fans is that Murray’s ACL tear is a clean one, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. Murray is expected to begin training camp on the PUP list and will have a realistic chance of taking the field for the 2023 regular season opener.
Bucs HC Todd Bowles Considered Benching LT Donovan Smith
The Buccaneers’ O-line, which has seen a great deal of upheaval since February, almost got another shakeup. Per ESPN’s Jenna Laine, Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles recently considered benching left tackle Donovan Smith, though for the time being, Smith will retain his starting job (Twitter link).
Smith, who missed two games earlier this season with a hyperextended elbow, has been charged with six penalties in the last three games, and his 11 total penalties this season is the most in the league. That, along with generally underwhelming performance — Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics rank Smith 65th out of 77 qualifying tackles — is what prompted Bowles to consider the demotion.
Longtime left guard Ali Marpet surprisingly announced his retirement in February, and his would-be replacement, Aaron Stinnie, tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee in a preseason game and was promptly ruled out for the remainder of the year. Center Ryan Jensen has missed the entire season due to a knee injury of his own, and while trade acquisition Shaq Mason has stayed healthy and has performed well at right guard in place of free agent defection Alex Cappa, right tackle Tristan Wirfs is dealing with a high ankle sprain that has kept him out of the last two contests and could sideline him for longer.
Quarterback Tom Brady‘s quick trigger in 2022 and his poor 6.2 yards-per-attempt rate may be a function of his lack of confidence in his line, which is also having a hard time opening holes for the team’s running backs (Tampa Bay’s RBs are averaging 3.3 yards per carry, the worst rate in the league). PFF actually gives Smith a solid 68.8 score in pass protection but an awful 39.4 grade as a run blocker, the worst mark among his OT peers.
Unfortunately for Bowles, he doesn’t have any options that would be obvious upgrades. Brandon Walton and Josh Wells filled in for Smith during the latter’s early-season absence, but Walton is a 2020 UDFA who finally earned his first regular season snaps this year, and Wells is a swingman who is needed at RT while Wirfs is unable to play.
Smith, 29, has been Tampa Bay’s starting left tackle since entering the league as a second-round draft choice in 2015, and while he has never earned a Pro Bowl nod, his durability and average-to-above-average play at a premium position have allowed him to land multiple contracts with the Bucs. His current deal runs through next year, and his 2023 salary of $15.3MM is a fair one for a left tackle with his level of experience and who is young enough to return to the form he displayed over the past several seasons.
On the other hand, the Bucs will be saddled with a ~$35MM dead cap charge next season if Brady departs, which is the expected outcome. A Smith release would create a cap savings of ~$10MM, and that reality, combined with his performance this year, suggest that his roster spot is not secure.
Jaguars TE Evan Engram Open To Re-Signing With Team
The Jaguars signed tight end Evan Engram this offseason as part of a free agency splurge that also saw wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones added to the roster, along with guard Brandon Scherff (among others). Engram, who has enjoyed a productive first season in Duval, is open to a return on a long-term pact, as Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com writes.
Engram, 28, was a first-round pick of the Giants back in 2017. New York exercised his fifth-year option to keep him around for 2021, but after the club brought in a new GM (Joe Schoen) and head coach (Brian Daboll) this year, it was unclear whether Engram would be in Big Blue’s plans.
As it turned out, he was not, though it appears he drew considerable interest from other clubs. Multiple teams were reportedly preparing proposals with the idea of utilizing Engram as a slot receiver rather than as a tight end, and he may have had both one-year and multi-year pacts to choose from.
Per DiRocco, Engram only wanted a one-year contract so that he could reestablish his value after a difficult platform year with the Giants, and he felt he a had a good chance to do that in the TE-friendly offense of Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson. Buoyed by a monster Week 14 performance in which he posted 11 catches for 162 yards and three scores, Engram now has the fifth-most receiving yards among tight ends in 2022. His current 71.6% catch rate would represent a career-high, and quarterback Trevor Lawrence — who was effusive in his praise of Engram — has a 110.6 rating when throwing to him. The last time Engram’s QBs had a rating anywhere near that high was in 2018, which happened to be Eli Manning’s last full season with the Giants.
Pederson, who has indeed utilized Engram in the slot for a high percentage of his snaps, also believes the Ole Miss product has acquitted himself well as a run blocker (though the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus are less bullish in that regard, assigning Engram a mediocre 54.9 run-blocking grade). Both the head coach and the quarterback, it seems, would be happy to have Engram back in 2023 and beyond.
Of course, the financials will need to work for both sides. Spotrac presently believes Engram could land a two-year, $15MM contract on the open market, but after earning $9MM this year and with another salary cap spike on the horizon, it would not be surprising to see him shoot for a higher AAV, especially since he has shown he can thrive in the slot. The Jags, who have not had many productive pass-catching tight ends in their history, may be willing to overpay a bit to retain Engram.
“I would like to be back,” Engram said. “I’ve grown a lot in this year, on and off the field, and give credit to God for that, for putting the right people in my life, putting me in the right situations, the right place. It’s been a blast.”
Steelers Expected To Extend OLB Alex Highsmith
The Steelers are expected to extend linebacker Alex Highsmith this offseason, according to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic (subscription required). In Kaboly’s estimation, a new contract for the Charlotte product is “a done deal.”
A 2020 third-rounder, Highsmith will be extension-eligible for the first time at season’s end, and he has certainly earned a hefty raise on his rookie salary. Through 13 games this season, he has compiled a career-best 10 sacks, and that statistic in and of itself would make him a hot commodity if he were on the open market. His pass rush work is supported by a strong Pro Football Focus grade against the run (70.5) and a stellar mark in coverage (88.4).
So, despite Kaboly’s acknowledgement that Highsmith has been inconsistent at times, it is clear — as head coach Mike Tomlin has stated — that he is an ascending player who has yet to reach his ceiling. Pittsburgh has been ranked in or near the bottom-10 in terms of total defense over the last two seasons, but in T.J. Watt and Highsmith, the club boasts one of the best OLB tandems in the league.
Watt, who has played in only six games thus far in 2022 due to a pectoral injury and knee surgery, signed a record-setting four-year, $112MM contract last September, which features $80MM in guaranteed money. While Highsmith’s next contract will certainly not be in that stratosphere, a ~$17MM/year deal akin to those signed by players like Harold Landry and Shaquil Barrett would seem to be a fair ask. Plus, as long as the Steelers’ presumptive starting quarterback (Kenny Pickett) is playing on a rookie contract, the team can afford to splurge on other areas of the roster, especially at premium positions.
In related news, Steelers defensive lineman Chris Wormley has suffered a torn ACL, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Wormley was placed on IR earlier this week, thereby bringing an end to a disappointing platform year. Acquired via an intra-divisonal trade with the Ravens in 2020, Wormley did enough that year to earn a two-year, $4.5MM deal with the Steelers the following offseason.
Wormley, 29, more than lived up to that contract in 2021, starting 14 games, logging a 71% snap share, and posting seven sacks. This year, he was relegated to more of a rotational role and will now enter free agency in the midst of recovery from ACL surgery.
Lions View Jared Goff As Long-Term Option?
At the end of October, it was reported that no one within the Lions organization truly believed that Jared Goff was the team’s quarterback of the future. Could four wins in the last five games have changed that?
Sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com that the Lions are not looking to move on from Goff and that he is expected to remain in the Motor City for the foreseeable future. The obvious caveat is that much will depend on how he finishes the 2022 season, but his performance through Week 13 of the current campaign — which includes his best quarterback rating (95.7) and yards per pass attempt average (7.5) since 2018 — has GM Brad Holmes thinking that Goff is more than just a bridge option.
Holmes has consistently maintained that he took Goff as part of the return in the 2021 Matthew Stafford trade not only because assuming his contract allowed Holmes to improve the draft capital he received from the Rams, but also because he saw Goff as a quality passer that had the ability to get back to the Pro Bowl form he displayed over the 2017-18 seasons. Regardless of Holmes’ evaluation of Goff, however, he really had no choice but to retain the former No. 1 overall pick for at least two years once the decision was made to acquire him; getting out from under Goff’s contract before then would have been nearly impossible.
That will no longer be the case in 2023. If Holmes were so inclined, he could cut Goff and save upwards of $20MM in cap space, and he might also find a reasonably robust trade market. On the other hand, the same factors that make Goff appealing to would-be trade partners — his manageable base salaries of $20.7MM and $21.7MM over the next two years, along with his solid play — make him equally appealing to the Lions, who have two first-round choices in the 2023 draft and who could use those selections to improve other areas of the roster.
The 2023 first-rounder that Detroit acquired from the Rams is presently slotted at No. 4 overall. The Lions could certainly use that pick to acquire a top collegiate passer and retain Goff for at least one more season, though today’s report suggests that the team may not be as apt to draft a QB as it was just a few weeks ago. If Goff maintains his level of performance down the stretch — and he now has a full complement of skill-position players at his disposal, including 2022 first-rounder Jameson Williams — he may not have to worry about a rookie taking his job next season.
Vikings Expect TE Irv Smith Jr. To Return During Regular Season
The Vikings expect to have TE Irv Smith Jr. back on the field before the end of the regular season, as head coach Kevin O’Connell recently told reporters, including Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Smith suffered an ankle injury in Minnesota’s Week 8 victory over the Cardinals and was placed on injured reserve shortly thereafter.
The injury to Smith prompted the Vikes to swing an intra-divisional trade for former Lions TE T.J. Hockenson. Since the trade, Hockenson is averaging six catches and 45 yards per game as part of an offense that also includes wideouts Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. Smith, who missed all of the 2021 season due to a meniscus tear, would represent an intriguing, high-upside complement to that group of pass-catchers. The team ranks in the top-10 in both passing yards per game and points per game, and adding Smith back into the mix could make its aerial attack even more formidable.
A 2019 second-round draft choice, Smith will be eligible for free agency at season’s end. Obviously, this year’s ankle injury coupled with his 2021 absence have not allowed him to generate much momentum towards a lucrative, multi-year pact, so he will likely be looking at one-year offers this offseason. Minnesota could be interested in a reunion, as Hockenson’s fifth-year option salary and cap charge of $9.4MM is manageable — his cap number could be further reduced with an extension — and there are no other particularly appealing tight ends on the roster.
In related news, the Vikings are without left tackle Christian Darrisaw for the third consecutive game on Sunday. However, Darrisaw has reportedly cleared the concussion protocol and should therefore have a good chance to suit up for the team’s Week 15 matchup with the Colts (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). Safety Harrison Smith, meanwhile, will miss Sunday’s game against the Lions as well due to a neck injury.
The 10-2 Vikings have a five-game advantage in the NFC North and are just one game back of the 11-1 Eagles for the top seed in the NFC (though Philadelphia enjoys the tiebreaker by virtue of its Week 2 victory over Minnesota). Their divisional cushion is allowing them to be cautious with some of their top players.
Buccaneers QB Tom Brady Open To Playing In 2023
In September, we heard that Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady would likely retire for good after the 2022 season. However, as Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report, Brady is leaving all of his options on the table.
Thanks to a weak NFC South, the 6-6 Buccaneers are atop their division and are presently in line for a home playoff game. Brady himself has not played as well as he had during his first two seasons in Tampa, as his middling quarterback rating (91.6) and poor yards per pass attempt average (6.4) would suggest. But the 45-year-old passer is reportedly feeling better physically after playing through shoulder and finger ailments earlier in the season, and he has been asking for more competitive 1-on-1 reps in practice. And, after struggling through the first three quarters of the Bucs’ Week 13 victory over the Saints, Brady looked strong in directing the Bucs’ last-minute comeback victory, so there are reasons to believe that he can lead another deep postseason run.
Brady has long stated that his plan is to play through his age-45 season, and as he will turn 46 next August, a return to the field in 2023 would represent an extension of that timeline. Still, his competitive nature compelled him to terminate a brief retirement this offseason, so it stands to reason that the way in which the 2022 campaign ends will go a long way in determining his future plans. It’s also possible that his very public divorce from Gisele Bundchen this year may make him want to come back so that he can go through his final NFL season without family turmoil weighing on him.
Brady will be a free agent at season’s end, and as many teams are dealing with quarterback uncertainty, he could have plenty of options. Adam H. Beasley of Pro Football Network names the 49ers, Jets, Giants, and Raiders as possible landing spots, and given the affection that Brady has for the Buccaneers and their ownership, a return to Tampa cannot be ruled out. As Joel Corry of CBS Sports notes, if Brady plays for a different club in 2023, the Bucs will carry a $35.1MM dead money charge on their books (Twitter link).
Whenever he chooses to hang up his cleats, Brady has a 10-year, $375MM contract with Fox to look forward to.
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.