Minor NFL Transactions: 12/12/21
Here are today’s minor moves:
Houston Texans
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: RB David Johnson
Washington Football Team
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Casey Toohill
WFT has played its way back into the NFC playoff picture, but the team has now placed three DEs on the reserve/COVID-19 list this week, including Montez Sweat. The club’s front seven depth will be seriously tested in its key matchup with the Cowboys this afternoon.
Jalen Hurts To Start For Eagles In Week 15; Panthers Were Interested In Gardner Minshew
Despite QB Gardner Minshew‘s strong performance in last week’s victory over the Jets, the Eagles — who are on a bye this week — will turn the reins back over to Jalen Hurts when they return to the field for their Week 15 contest against WFT, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. Hurts was unable to suit up for the Jets game due to an ankle injury but is expected to be healthy enough to resume his starting role next week.
The Jets’ defense is hardly the most difficult test for a quarterback, but Minshew did exactly what he needed to do to put himself back on the radar for QB-needy clubs by completing 20 of 25 passes for 242 yards and throwing two TD passes. There may not be a quarterback controversy in Philadelphia at the moment, and Hurts’ play down the stretch will obviously factor into the Eagles’ long-term thinking, but even if the Eagles’ front office is content to move forward with Hurts, Minshew may have at least bolstered his trade value.
Per Rapoport, the Panthers called the Eagles about a possible Minshew trade during the season, not long before Carolina signed Matt Barkley and Cam Newton. The two clubs never got particularly deep into talks, but Minshew is expected to generate outside interest again this offseason.
RapSheet says that Minshew is generally viewed as no worse than a bridge starter, with the upside to be more. A team that misses out on one of 2022’s top trade targets or collegiate passers, or a team that is looking to groom a young QB, would probably be happy to give up a mid-round pick for Minshew.
The former Jaguars draftee still has a year to go on his rookie contract and will make a modest $965K in 2022, further enhancing his trade value.
Lions Discussed HC Post With Luke Fickell
University of Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell has the Bearcats in the College Football Playoff, the first time since the CFP’s inception in 2014 that a non-Power Five program has had the opportunity to compete for a national championship. Even before this year’s impressive breakthrough, Fickell was generating interest from the NFL.
As Tom Pelissero of NFL.com writes, the Lions quietly discussed their head coaching vacancy with Fickell last year. Ultimately, of course, Detroit hired Dan Campbell, but given Fickell’s success this season, he is expected to be a more prominent figure in the upcoming NFL coaching cycle.
That is, of course, if he has any interest in leaving the collegiate ranks. Plenty of other successful college coaches have resisted the temptation to jump to the pros, and as Pelissero points out, the money being handed out to top college HCs these days rivals what first-time NFL HCs are earning. So Fickell may elect to remain where he is, especially since he may soon have the chance to parlay his success with Cincinnati into a post at a traditional college powerhouse.
Fickell, 48, has certainly paid his dues. A UDFA of the Saints back in 1997, he never actually played a regular season snap at the NFL level, and in 1999, he became a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Ohio State. After two years as the defensive line coach at Akron, Fickell returned to OSU, where he would remain for the next 15 seasons. He became the Bearcats’ HC in 2017 and has led the team to a 48-14 record.
Next up: a Cotton Bowl showdown with top-ranked Alabama.
Panthers Fire OC Joe Brady
The Panthers have fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady, the team announced. Senior offensive assistant Jeff Nixon, along with the rest of the offensive coaching staff, will take over Brady’s duties for the remainder of the season.
Brady spent two seasons as an offensive assistant for the Saints from 2017-18 and truly made a name for himself as the passing game coordinator for LSU in the Tigers’ record-setting 2019 season that featured otherworldly performances from future first-round draft picks like quarterback Joe Burrow, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. That afforded him the opportunity to join Matt Rhule‘s first staff in Carolina in 2020.
The Panthers finished in the bottom half of the league last season in terms of total offense, though subpar QB play and a three-game season from star running back Christian McCaffrey certainly played a role in that. NFL clubs were still high on Brady’s ability, as he received five interviews for head coaching positions in this year’s cycle. As Albert Breer of SI.com tweets, Brady interviewed well, and a number of execs involved in those interviews believed he was a lock for an HC gig in 2022.
Unfortunately, Carolina suffered more of the same problems this year. McCaffrey is now out for the season after having played seven games, and an injury to starting quarterback Sam Darnold also helped to derail the Panthers’ once-promising season. A four-game losing streak earlier this year led some to believe that Brady would be stripped of his play-calling duties, and while that did not happen, Brady is now out of a job completely.
This year, the Panthers have slipped to 28th in total offense, and Brady’s creative mind has not been enough to consistently overcome what opposing defensive coordinators have thrown at him. He is still only 32 years old, but his meteoric rise has come to an abrupt halt, and he may have to rebuild his stock back at the college level.
Rhule said, “I met with Joe this morning and informed him that I have decided to make a change. I’m very grateful to him for his time and effort in helping us get established over this past year and a half.”
Cardinals GM Steve Keim On FAs, McCoy, Kingsbury
The 9-2 Cardinals are legitimate Super Bowl contenders, and a great deal of their success this season can be attributed to players ticketed for free agency in 2022. That includes running backs Chase Edmonds and James Conner, wide receivers A.J. Green and Christian Kirk, tight end Zach Ertz, outside linebacker Chandler Jones, and quarterback Colt McCoy.
Although the club is obviously focused on making a championship run right now, GM Steve Keim will be tasked with making sure Arizona’s window of contention doesn’t close after one year. However, it does not sound as though there will be any extensions between now and the end of the season.
In speaking about the difficulty of striking an in-season extension, Keim, during a recent appearance on 98.7 KMVP, said that such a move is possible, “[i]f we identify the guys we see as core players, and there are a lot of them with the success we’ve had, but it really is tough. A lot of times, guys want to test the market or it’s just not the appropriate time because they are so focused on football” (via Darren Urban of the Cardinals’ official website).
Keim added, “[t]here are so many moving parts to it, but there are a lot of guys we want to re-sign and make sure they remain Cardinals.”
One such player is McCoy, who has performed well this year in relief of the injured Kyler Murray. The Cards have gone 2-1 in McCoy’s three starts, thereby managing to stay atop the NFC standings, and the 31-year-old has completed over 75% of his passes for three TDs and one pick. Keim said that it is “highly important” to keep McCoy in the fold.
Meanwhile, head coach Kliff Kingsbury attracted the attention of the University of Oklahoma, and while the blue-blood collegiate program has now gone in a different direction, Keim knows what he has in Kingsbury.
“To me, it’s a compliment to our organization,” Keim said of OU’s interest in his head coach. “The guy has done a tremendous job. He and our organization have grown together. We’re really excited about the future when you look at the work he’s put in, the improvements he’s made, the improvements we’ve made with the roster.”
Urban says that, just as the Cardinals do not anticipate new deals for their top FAs before the end of the 2021 campaign, they are not presently working on an extension for Kingsbury. However, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports hears that a Kingsbury extension is a major offseason priority, and that the 42-year-old may end up with a salary near the top of the head coaching pay scale.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Out For Week 13, Gardner Minshew To Start
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered an ankle injury in his team’s Week 12 loss to the Giants. While Hurts expressed a desire to play through the injury, Philadelphia will be safe with its QB1 and let him rest for this week’s contest against the Jets. Former Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew will start in Hurts’ place.
Minshew has only seen the field in one game this season, completing two passes for 11 yards in a blowout win against the Lions. This will be his first start since he suited up for Jacksonville in a Week 15 loss to the Ravens last year.
This is bad timing for Hurts. Just last week, in the wake of a stretch of solid play, it was reported that the second-year pro might have done enough to entrench himself as the Eagles’ starting QB moving forward, thereby allowing the club to use its considerable draft capital to build around him. Unfortunately, Hurts had a miserable showing in the Giants loss, throwing three interceptions and renewing the chatter about whether he truly is a franchise passer, chatter that was highlighted by a report concerning an organizational divide on his long-term viability.
Obviously, one bad game isn’t going to make or break Hurts’ future, but he certainly would have preferred to have a chance to bounce back against a porous Jets secondary. Instead, Minshew — who at one time looked like he might be the Jags’ long-term solution under center — will get a chance to reestablish his value.
A 2019 sixth-round selection, Minshew’s strong performance and charismatic personality made him something of a sensation in his rookie season. Filling in for an injured Nick Foles, Minshew ended up starting 12 of his 14 games for Jacksonville, completing 60.6% of his passes for 3,271 yards, 21 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. He also guided the Jaguars to a 6-6 record during his 12 starts.
The Jaguars took a clear step back in 2020, but Minshew still put up solid numbers. While Jacksonville went only 1-7 in Minshew’s eight starts, the Washington State product still completed 66.1% of his passes for 2,259 yards, 16 touchdowns, and only five interceptions. He’s also shown some versatility outside of the passing game, collecting 497 rushing yards on 96 career carries.
After the Jags selected Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, Minshew became expendable, and he was shipped to Philadelphia — which is always on the lookout for QB talent — in exchange for a conditional sixth-rounder in August. He still has a year to go on his rookie contract, and he will welcome any opportunity to continue to produce quality tape.
Ely Allen contributed to this post.
Steelers Won’t Pick Up Fifth-Year Option On LB Devin Bush
The Steelers will not pick up the fifth-year option on linebacker Devin Bush, per Ed Bouchette of The Athletic. That means that Bush will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2023.
The normally conservative Steelers made a bold move in the 2019 draft, trading their No. 20 and No. 52 overall selections that year, along with a 2020 third-rounder, to the Broncos in order to acquire Denver’s No. 10 overall pick. Pittsburgh used that choice on Bush, and it had every reason to believe the Michigan product would excel in the middle of its defense for years to come.
Unfortunately, things have not worked out as hoped. Bush started 15 games as a rookie and racked up 109 combined tackles, two picks, and a sack, but he suffered a torn ACL in Week 5 of the 2020 season and has struggled to find his footing this year. Even before the 2021 campaign got underway, it was announced that trade acquisition Joe Schobert would take over the role of defensive signal-caller, as the Steelers wanted Bush to focus on his recovery.
And while Bush has played all but one game this year, his performance has left much to be desired. Pro Football Focus’ metrics consider Bush the fourth-worst linebacker in football among players with enough snaps to qualify, and that ranking generally jibes with the eye test. Bush has struggled in coverage and against the run, and he has not made any progress as a pass rusher. As Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes, Bush has stayed upbeat and is well-liked, but the organization is becoming increasingly frustrated with his lack of development.
It is certainly possible that, by having a fully healthy offseason and putting his ACL tear further in the rearview mirror, Bush could start to play up to his potential in 2022 and earn a second contract with Pittsburgh. But for now, it stands to reason that the Steelers would not want to commit to a fully-guaranteed $10.5MM salary for 2023 for a player that presently looks more like a liability than an asset.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/5/21
We will keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Las Vegas Raiders
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Jalen Richard
Seahawks Owner Jody Allen Concerned With Team’s Performance
The Seahawks find themselves at 3-8 and at the bottom of the NFC West, and unless they run the table, they will post a losing record for the first time in the Russell Wilson era. As Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports, owner Jody Allen does not consider the disappointing 2021 campaign — which saw Wilson miss games for the first time in his career — as a one-year blip (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).
Allen inherited the team from her brother, Paul Allen, who passed away in October 2018. Like Paul, Jody has largely stayed in the background and has allowed head coach Pete Carroll to function as the de facto CEO. Garafolo, though, says that Allen has recently become “very involved” in the operation, which suggests that a major shakeup could be on the way.
Of course, trade rumors swirled around Wilson last offseason, and there has been speculation that the Seahawks could end up dealing their franchise signal-caller in 2022. Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus hears that if Wilson is still anxious to leave Seattle, he may not need to force his way out, as the club may be open to swinging a trade in the coming months. After all, the team is without a 2022 first-round draft choice as a result of the July 2020 Jamal Adams trade, and trading Wilson would doubtlessly yield a bounty of draft capital.
On the other hand, this year’s class of college QBs is not considered particularly strong, and Wilson’s bottom-line statistics in 2021 are consistent with his career marks. If Allen truly does believe a dramatic change is in order, then a trade might make sense, but it will be very difficult to pull that particular trigger.
The same goes for Carroll. Now 70, Carroll is signed through the 2025 season, and he said last September that he wanted to coach well into his 70s. It’s unclear if he would want to coach through a rebuild, though if the Seahawks end up trading Wilson and can find a way to adequately replace him, there may not be much (if any) rebuild to speak of. And unless Carroll wants to step away, either because of a strained relationship with ownership or some other reason, it is still hard to imagine Allen going in a different direction.
There is obviously a great deal of uncertainty here. The real story is that Allen has apparently deviated in a significant way from her own modus operandi and that of her predecessor. What that ultimately means for the Seahawks remains to be seen, but it is at least possible that significant changes could be on the way for one of the decade’s most consistent outfits.
Saints CB Marshon Lattimore Pleads Guilty To Misdemeanor
Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore has cleared up the legal matter that was hanging over his head. Lattimore, who was arrested in March and charged with possessing a loaded handgun that was believed to be stolen (a fourth-degree felony), recently pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failing to promptly inform officers that he was carrying a concealed handgun, as Mike Triplett of ESPN.com writes. The felony count was dropped as part of the plea deal.
Triplett points out that Lattimore has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. The 25-year-old DB was a passenger in a car that was pulled over for multiple traffic violations, and he did not tell the officers that he had the gun until they asked. Lattimore’s attorney, Marcus Sidoti, said his client was unaware that the gun was stolen.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy says the matter is still being reviewed by the league office. But now that the criminal case has been resolved, one would think that a decision as to whether Lattimore will face any sort of punishment under the NFL’s personal conduct policy will come fairly quickly.
The Saints were clearly not too concerned about this incident, as they handed Lattimore a record-setting contract extension in September. Pro Football Focus has not been particularly high on the Ohio State product since his rookie campaign, and that trend has continued this year. PFF’s metrics give him a 63.6 overall grade, good for 54th out of 118 qualified players. Still, Lattimore is viewed in a different light by New Orleans brass, and as the club’s CB1, he is often matched up against an opponent’s top receiver.
He chipped a bone in his thumb in the Saints’ Week 1 win over the Packers, missed Week 2 as a result, and played a few games with a cast. On the season, the three-time Pro Bowler has 42 tackles, one interception, and 11 passes defensed.
Lattimore was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation and was required to pay a $1K fine.