Headlines

Author: Sam Robinson

Giants Designate K Graham Gano For Return

By | at November 6, 2024 11:53 am

Graham Gano needed an IR stint for a second straight season, as the Giants have not seen their September 2023 extension result in much game work from their veteran kicker. Graham has missed seven games this season, coming after he missed nine in 2023.

The Giants do have some good news at kicker, however, having designated Gano for return from IR on Wednesday. Gano has been out since suffering a hamstring injury on the opening kickoff in the Giants’ Week 2 loss to the Commanders. Gano had come into that game with a groin injury as well, and his injury cost the Giants in a winnable matchup over a Washington team that has since soared to a 7-2 record.

Last season, Gano headed to IR because of a knee injury that required surgery. He missed the rest of the season. While the 36-year-old specialist’s future in New York is certainly in question considering his sudden unreliability, the Giants should be expected to have their kicker back soon. Gano has 21 days to be activated.

New York placing fill-in Greg Joseph on IR last week provides a decent indication Gano is moving toward returning, though the team’s bye week comes after its Week 10 Germany trip. The Giants also made an interesting kicker transaction, elevating Jude McAtamney — a Gaelic football player from North Ireland — to their active roster. McAtamney went 1 of 1 on field goals and extra points in the Giants’ rematch with the Commanders in Week 9. Because he was a gameday elevation, McAtamney is back on Big Blue’s practice squad.

Gano signed a three-year, $16.5MM deal that came with $11.34MM guaranteed at signing. Gano had stabilized the Giants’ kicker situation earlier this decade, coming over from the Panthers and settling in as New York’s kicker in 2020. A full-season 2019 absence preceded Gano’s move to the Big Apple, however, and injuries figure to make him a cut candidate in 2025. The Giants would save $4.5MM by releasing the experienced leg next year. But Gano is poised to suit up again for the 2-7 Giants during this season’s second half.

1 comment New York Giants Transactions

DT Jordan Phillips Re-Signs With Bills

By | at November 6, 2024 10:05 am

Two Bills defensive tackle reunions will take place Wednesday. Jordan Phillips joined Quinton Jefferson in being released Tuesday, and the recent Cowboys defender will make his return to Buffalo as well.

Not long after coming to terms with Jefferson, the Bills announced they have brought back Phillips. Both are back on one-year deals. The Phillips addition comes after his Instagram post indicated (h/t AllDLLS.com’s Clarence Hill) he would welcome a return to Buffalo. This will be the 10th-year D-lineman’s third stint with the team. This agreement will also mark a third 2024 employer for Phillips, who has moved from the Giants to the Cowboys back to the Bills.

The Bills rostered Phillips from 2018-19 and again from 2022-23, first claiming him off waivers from the Dolphins and then coming to terms on reunion No. 1 after a Cardinals release. This agreement comes after the Cowboys moved Phillips out of their IR-return window and into free agency. Dallas had acquired Phillips via trade from the Giants but only used him in two games.

Phillips and Jefferson filled two open roster spots, one of which created by the team placing D-end Dawuane Smoot on IR on Tuesday. The AFC East leaders now roster six DTs, joining a group already housing Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, Austin Johnson and Zion Logue. The Bills also hope rookie DT DeWayne Carter will come off IR at some point this season, The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia notes. The Bills placed the fourth-round rookie on IR nearly two weeks ago.

This DT infusion comes as the Bills completed the season’s first half 17th in run defense. Although Buffalo sits eighth in points allowed, its now-Bobby Babich-run defense has seen some issues develop in the run game. Phillips, 32, stepped in as Jones’ primary replacement last season and should now be expected to play a depth role behind Oliver and Jones upon returning. Phillips has played just 34 defensive snaps this season, going on IR with a wrist injury in Dallas.

Phillips’ 2023 season ended due to a dislocated wrist, capping a nine-start campaign. He signed a one-year, $1.75MM Giants deal, putting off retirement, only to be traded within the NFC East in August. Phillips disputed the Cowboys’ decision to place him on IR in September, claiming his wrist was not damaged. Having been back at Cowboys practice for two weeks now, Phillips appears ready to join Jefferson — a healthy scratch over the past four Browns games — as well-rested cogs familiar with Sean McDermott‘s scheme.

The Bills saw Phillips lead their 2019 playoff team in sacks, with 9.5, but that turned out to be an outlier season. He has been more of a run stopper since, not eclipsing three sacks in a season during the 2020s. Jefferson operates as more of an interior rusher, and the Bills will cover multiple bases with their Wednesday reunions.

3 comments Buffalo Bills Transactions

Bills To Bring Back DT Quinton Jefferson

By | at November 6, 2024 9:26 am

By cutting Quinton Jefferson before Tuesday’s trade deadline, the Browns allowed the veteran defensive lineman to avoid the waiver wire. Picking his next destination, Jefferson will choose one of his former teams.

The well-traveled defender will return to his 2020 club, with cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reporting the Bills are making an addition. Jefferson continued his nomadic career after a 2020 Buffalo one-off, but after Cleveland cut him Tuesday, he will fill one of the Bills’ open roster spots.

Buffalo cleared up a spot by putting defensive end Dawuane Smoot on IR. While Jefferson and Smoot’s skillsets do not overlap entirely, the former will still capitalize on an opportunity to jump from a 2-7 squad to the AFC-leading club that sits 7-2.

Jefferson, 31, had drifted to healthy-scratch status in Cleveland, seeing the Browns drop him out of their DT rotation after authorizing a one-year deal worth $4MM. The Browns shopped him but did not end up finding a trade partner. He will rejoin Ed Oliver in Buffalo’s DT corps, which also includes DaQuan Jones, Austin Johnson and Zion Logue.

This return comes three-plus years after the Bills released Jefferson. Buffalo had been the former Seattle draftee’s first free agency stop, signing him to a two-year, $13.5MM deal. Jefferson played all 16 games in 2020, logging four starts during the first of the Bills’ four Sean McDermott-era AFC East championship teams. After the release, Jefferson made his way to Las Vegas (2021), back to Seattle (’22) and to the Jets (’23).

Although Jefferson only tallied one sack in five games this season, he posted a career-high six with the Jets last year and finished with 5.5 during a return one-and-done with the Seahawks. He also combined for 42 QB hits from 2021-23, providing the Bills with some inside-rushing potential after they did not make a defensive addition at the deadline. Jones’ two sacks represent the most from a Bills D-lineman this season, as Oliver has not built on his 9.5-sack 2023; the former first-rounder has one to go with five QB hits through nine games.

1 comment Buffalo Bills Transactions

Steelers Acquire Mike Williams From Jets

By | at November 5, 2024 10:08 pm

Despite Allen Lazard‘s IR trip, the Jets will not hang onto Mike Williams. Instead, he will be the Steelers’ long-sought-after receiver upgrade.

Pittsburgh is sending New York a fifth-round pick for the recent free agency addition, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The pick exchanged is a 2025 choice. The Steelers have been in on Williams for a bit, checking in with the Jets shortly after their Davante Adams acquisition prompted them to shop the March addition. And the Steelers, at long last, have a George Pickens complementary piece. New York will receive the lower of Pittsburgh’s fifth-round selections, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero clarifies.

Williams, 30, is not having a good season. Signing a one-year deal worth $10MM, the former Chargers 1,000-yard target has just 12 receptions for 166 yards this year. He will join Mecole Hardman as a Jets free agent WR pickup to be traded months later. Williams, of course, has produced on a higher level before. The Steelers will hope the former top-10 pick has some of his Chargers-years form left.

While the Steelers have been in on a Williams trade for a bit, they were interested in him during the period between his Chargers release and Jets signing. Pittsburgh joined Carolina in scheduling free agency visits with Williams, but after his New York meeting, both the other trips were cancelled. The fit with the Aaron Rodgers-led Jets, however, did not pan out.

A late-game slip led to a crucial Bills interception in Week 6, the Jets’ first post-Robert Saleh loss, but Williams had never quite found his footing in the team’s offense prior to that sequence. Rodgers criticizing Williams’ route postgame probably did not help matters. Coming back from a September 2023 ACL tear, Williams debuted on time with New York but saw Lazard — Rodgers’ longtime teammate from his Packers years — effectively usurp him in the Jets’ WR hierarchy. With Adams now in the fold alongside Garrett Wilson, there did not appear much meat on the bone left for Williams.

Even though Lazard’s Week 9 IR trip threw a wrench into the Williams trade market, the Jets may also have tried to use it as leverage by attempting to convince teams they would just keep Williams. Now, the Jets will go with the likes of Malachi Corley and Xavier Gipson behind their top two in the meantime. Williams has a path to becoming the Steelers’ WR2 in a now-Russell Wilson-centered offense.

Williams has two 1,000-yard seasons on his resume. The Chargers mostly used the Clemson product — the No. 7 overall pick in the 2017 draft — as a deep threat, but the 6-foot-4 target showed more range to his game during Joe Lombardi‘s OC run. The Bolts gave a longer look at Williams as a versatile weapon from 2021-22, and he turned in his best season in ’21 to help Justin Herbert become the AFC’s Pro Bowl starter. Williams posted 1,146 receiving yards and nine touchdowns that season, making crucial catches during a season-ending Raiders clash that nearly booted the Steelers from the playoffs — a game-winning Las Vegas field goal then eliminated the Chargers, who would have qualified with a tie.

The 2022 season, however, brought more injury trouble. After missing time earlier in the season, Williams suffered a back fracture in a meaningless Week 18 game in Denver. This weakened Los Angeles’ aerial attack ahead of the Jacksonville wild-card tilt, which became an infamous chapter for the AFC West franchise, which blew a 27-point lead without its talented WR2. With Brandon Staley’s seat warm after the Williams injury the previous season, the longtime Keenan Allen sidekick then went down with an ACL tear in Week 3 of last season.

Despite using his contract to reach cap compliance in March, the Chargers also looked into a trade with the Jets. But the Bolts are standing down, though more than two hours remain until the trade deadline. Williams’ early career brought a 10-touchdown 2018 and an NFL-leading 20.4 yards per reception in 2019; those long-game numbers may be relevant again thanks to Wilson’s deep-ball prowess. Then again, Williams is at a slightly different point in his career. It will be interesting to see if the Steelers attempt to tap into the long-range skillset that Williams displayed in his early 20s.

The Steelers will take on the remainder of Williams’ salary, Schefter adds, following the Jets’ lead in doing so after a wide receiver trade. Though, the bill will be much lower for Pittsburgh. Williams is due roughly $2.5MM the rest of the way. Although the Steelers have seen slot weapon Calvin Austin fare better in Wilson’s starts, Williams likely moves ahead of him and Van Jefferson in the team’s aerial hierarchy soon. Though, the Steelers will certainly need to manage their trade pickup due to his injury past.

This wraps a fascinating odyssey for the Steelers, whose initial Williams look preceded extensive work on WRs. The Steelers asked about Deebo Samuel during the draft and then agreed to trade framework with the 49ers during the Brandon Aiyuk saga. After Aiyuk chose a 49ers extension over a Steelers trade, the team regrouped before being in on the Adams and Cooper Kupp markets. The latter did not exactly last too long, as the Rams have now won three straight to return to playoff contention. Interest in Courtland Sutton and Darius Slayton emerged as well, but the Steelers have their hired gun in Williams.

As Williams will have a chance to play a bigger role and potentially create a decent market for himself in 2025, the Jets will attempt to get by with younger tertiary targets. Known more for trading away wideouts than acquiring them, the Steelers will hold Williams’ exclusive negotiating rights until the March legal tampering period.

49 comments New York Jets Newsstand Pittsburgh Steelers Transactions

2024 NFL Trades

By | at November 5, 2024 10:06 pm

We have reached the 2024 trade deadline, which came one week later than the league’s usual endpoint. An offseason measure to move the deadline back one week passed, sliding the deadline beyond Week 9 after it had resided the Tuesday following Week 8 since 2012. That opened the door to more activity this year.

The 2024 offseason also featured extensive work, as teams added starters and depth pieces. Here are the trades involving veteran players (or rookies already drafted) to take place this year:

March 4

Bears chose defensive end Austin Booker at No. 144

March 9

Broncos sent Seahawks No. 136, included 203 in trade with Jets for QB Zach Wilson

March 10

Patriots chose QB Joe Milton at 193

March 11

Bucs drafted WR Jalen McMillan at No. 92; Lions traded No. 201 to Eagles

Panthers traded down from No. 39, giving Rams access to DT Braden Fiske; team moved No. 141 in Bills deal that sent WR Xavier Legette to Carolina. Giants chose RB Tyrone Tracy at 166.

March 12

Bengals chose DB Daijahn Anthony at No. 224 

March 13

Texans traded No. 232 to Vikings

Ravens chose WR Devontez Walker at No. 113, QB Devin Leary at 218; Jets drafted RB Braelon Allen at 134

March 14

Commanders traded Nos. 78, 152 to Eagles in trade that sent CB Cooper DeJean to Philadelphia; Seahawks moved down from No. 102, drafted G Sataoa Laumea at 179

Bolts traded No. 110 to Patriots 

March 15

Steelers chose LB Payton Wilson at No. 98; Eagles traded No. 120 to Dolphins in package that brought back 2025 third-rounder

March 16

Fields must play in 51% of Steelers’ offensive snaps for pick to elevate from sixth to fourth round

March 22

Chiefs traded No. 221 to Bills; Titans chose OLB Jaylen Harrell at 252

March 29

Pick would have become second-rounder had Reddick played 67.5% of Jets’ 2024 defensive snaps and recorded at least 10 sacks. Reddick’s holdout ensured Philly’s pick will land in Round 3.

April 3

Texans dealt No. 189 to Lions for Nos. 205, 249

April 12

Browns chose CB Myles Harden at No. 227

April 22

In trade that gave Vikings J.J. McCarthy draft real estate at No. 10 overall, Jets sent No. 203 to Minnesota; Broncos chose C Nick Gargiulo at 256

April 27

May 9

August 9

August 11

August 14

Dallas carried Phillips on its active roster for two games, meeting minimum requirement for conditional sixth to transfer

August 22

Pick did not convey due to Commanders cutting York before he played in two games with team

August 23

August 24

August 26

August 27

August 28

October 14

October 15

Pick would upgrade to second-rounder if Adams earns first- or second-team All-Pro recognition or is on Jets’ active roster for 2024 AFC championship game or Super Bowl LIX

October 23

Pick would become fourth-rounder if Hopkins both plays 60% of Chiefs’ remaining offensive snaps and Kansas City advances to Super Bowl LIX

October 28

October 29

Robinson’s playing time will determine if Jags pick climbs to a fourth-rounder and whether Vikings will end up receiving 2026 seventh

November 4

November 5

Sixth-rounder going to New Orleans comes from pick Saints sent Commanders for John Ridgeway 

11 comments Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets PFR Originals Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans Washington Commanders

Broncos Extend OLB Jonathon Cooper

By | at November 5, 2024 5:52 pm

NOVEMBER 5: With $6MM in escalators comprising this deal, it checks in at $54MM in base value. The Broncos upped their offer Friday, per Klis, leading to Cooper’s commitment. Sack-based incentives cover the $6MM. Cooper’s AAV now checks in 21st among edge rushers.

The deal includes a $4MM guaranteed roster bonus in 2025; Cooper’s base salary for next year ($5.64MM) is also guaranteed at signing. Cooper’s $11.49MM 2026 base salary will vest a year out, with Klis adding it converts from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 5 of the 2025 league year. The Broncos guaranteed Cooper’s $12.99MM 2027 base for injury; $3MM of that becomes locked in on Day 5 of the ’27 league year.

NOVEMBER 4: Minutes after the Broncos traded Baron Browning to the Cardinals, a report displaying their commitment to another edge rusher emerged. Jonathon Cooper, who had been Browning’s teammate since the 2021 draftees’ Ohio State days, is now signed beyond this season.

The Broncos agreed to terms on an extension with Cooper over the weekend, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. It is a four-year deal for the former seventh-round pick, who has emerged as a starter for the Broncos. This agreement will tie Cooper to the team through the 2028 season.

Agreed to Saturday, this contract will include $60MM in total value, 9News’ Mike Klis reports, adding that $33MM will be guaranteed. While this represents a nice payday for the late-round draftee, it also profiles as middle-class EDGE money based on where the market has gone. Cooper’s $15MM-per-year deal checks in tied for 19th in edge rusher AAV, matching Haason Reddick and Uchenna Nwosu.

Although Broncos GM George Paton has been rightfully criticized for his biggest moves — the Russell Wilson trade and extension and the Nathaniel Hackett hire — the veteran NFL exec assembled a quality first draft class in charge. Cooper is now the third member of that class to be paid, following the deals for third-rounder Quinn Meinerz and first-rounder Patrick Surtain.

Cooper, 26, took a longer road to NFL success due to being the No. 239 overall pick three years ago. A heart condition contributed to the fall, but a 2021 procedure put that behind the ex-Buckeye. Cooper started five games as a rookie and nine in 2022, with the Broncos freeing up a spot alongside Browning by trading Bradley Chubb at the deadline. Cooper has started every Broncos game over the past two seasons, finishing with 8.5 sacks last season and starting this one with 5.5. Cooper produced 13 QB hits in 17 games last year; he already has 11 through nine games this season.

The Broncos rank behind only the Giants in sacks this season, with 31; Nik Bonitto leads the way with six for Vance Joseph‘s defense. Although the Broncos took a step back via their blowout loss to the Ravens, the 5-4 team remains a defense-powered outfit. Denver now has Cooper committed and Bonitto signed to rookie terms through next season. It will be interesting to see how the Cooper pact affects Bonitto, who will likely aim higher as a younger player who joins his teammate in being on pace for a double-digit sack season.

It is interesting that Cooper will tie himself to Denver for four more seasons at a rate outside the top 15 at his position. The EDGE market also figures to feature a few more $30MM-AAV deals come 2025, when the likes of Micah Parsons, T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett figure to come up in extension rumors. Cooper is obviously not in that class, but he certainly could have pursued better terms had he hit free agency after his most productive season. Rather than bet on himself, Cooper secured significant money now.

This also marks a more cost-effective extension for the Broncos, who had traded both Chubb and Von Miller during Paton’s tenure. It cost the Broncos a defender-record sum to extend Miller in 2016, and Chubb ended up signing for then-top-five EDGE money in Miami shortly after that 2022 trade. Cooper represented one of the pieces Paton retooled around. With Browning now out of the picture, the Broncos will anchor their OLB corps around the former Day 3 draftee while likely determining a long-term plan for Bonitto.

2 comments Denver Broncos Transactions

49ers To Bring Back S Tashaun Gipson

By | at November 5, 2024 5:16 pm

The 49ers considered a Tashaun Gipson reunion this offseason but stood down, and the veteran safety’s ensuing suspension put his career in limbo. Now that the Jaguars have moved on, however, the Niners are back in.

Gipson is joining San Francisco’s practice squad, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Released on Monday, Gipson found a familiar landing spot. The 13th-year defender spent the past two seasons with the 49ers, and he will return to the Bay Area to provide some insurance.

Now 34, Gipson has not played since his previous 49ers stint ended. The Jags added him in August, shortly after word of the PED suspension surfaced. Jacksonville cut Gipson, who had played three seasons with the club (2016-18), rather than move him onto its 53-man roster. Gipson now has a path back to the 49ers’ active unit.

Talanoa Hufanga remains on IR but is in play to return from his latest injury — a wrist issue — this season. Though, it is not a lock that occurs. Gipson started alongside Hufanga for two seasons, impressing in 2022 by intercepting five passes for DeMeco Ryans‘ unit. Gipson started all 33 regular-season games he played from 2022-23, providing the 49ers with stability.

The team has used 2023 third-round pick Ji’Ayir Brown and rookie Malik Mustapha as its starting safeties as of late, with Hufanga running into the wrist trouble not long after the 49ers activated him from the PUP list. The 2022 All-Pro was not available for the team’s stretch run last season, suffering an ACL tear. With Hufanga’s return timeline uncertain, the 49ers will add a player with their scheme. San Francisco now houses significant experience at safety on its taxi squad, having Adrian Amos there as well.

San Francisco cut Anders Carlson from its P-squad to make room, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. Carlson kicked in two games for the defending NFC champions this season, being one of the team’s Jake Moody fill-in options. As Moody moves closer to returning, the 49ers cutting Carlson brings a good sign the 2023 third-round pick will be ready to return following the team’s recent bye.

2 comments San Francisco 49ers Transactions

Cowboys Release DT Jordan Phillips

By | at November 5, 2024 3:27 pm

Involved in an intra-NFC East trade this summer, Jordan Phillips has now been jettisoned from two teams in that division. The Cowboys moved on from the veteran defensive tackle Tuesday.

The Giants had traded Phillips to their division rivals in August, but the Cowboys placed him on IR early this season. Phillips, 32, played in just two games with Dallas. That satisfied the terms of the Dallas-New York trade, even though the swap did not move the needle for the Cowboys. Although Phillips considered retirement after last season, he had inked a one-year, $1.79MM Giants deal. New York traded Phillips and a 2026 seventh-round pick to Dallas for a 2026 sixth-rounder.

Dallas had designated Phillips for return from IR, but since the team will not move him back to its active roster, it will not lose one of its remaining activations. Phillips still had another week to return to Dallas’ 53-man roster, but he is no longer in that window. The Cowboys have only activated DaRon Bland from IR this season, leaving them with seven such moves to use in the second half.

Phillips spent the previous two seasons with the Bills, returning to Buffalo after his Cardinals deal did not work out. The Cards cut Phillips in 2022, leading him back to the Bills, with whom the interior D-line presence had played previously. Phillips finished with 9.5 sacks in 2019, leading to a three-year, $30MM Cardinals deal. That proved an outlier campaign from a pass-rushing standpoint, but the Bills used the proven DT as a regular upon re-signing him.

DaQuan Jones‘ pectoral tear last season brought Phillips back into Buffalo’s starting lineup, but after he had logged nine starts for the AFC East champs, a dislocated wrist shut him down. More wrist trouble led Phillips to IR this year, though the 10-year contributor said he, in fact, was not injured and thus disputed the transaction. It went through, and he will not end up exiting IR with Dallas.

1 comment Dallas Cowboys Transactions

Raiders Name Scott Turner Interim OC

By | at November 5, 2024 2:08 pm

As expected, Scott Turner will take over for Luke Getsy. With the Raiders bringing in Norv Turner, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports the team is officially promoting the second-generation NFL coach to the play-calling post.

This will make it five years out of the past six in which Scott Turner will have held an OC role. The former Carolina and Washington play-caller will attempt to revive a struggling Las Vegas offense.

Scott Turner has been with the Raiders for the past two seasons, joining the then-Josh McDaniels-led staff shortly after his Commanders ouster in 2023. Antonio Pierce moved on from offensive staffers Mick Lombardi — the team’s OC under McDaniels — and interim OC Bo Hardegree in his early months in the HC position. As he fired Getsy, Pierce then axed QBs coach Rich Scangarello and O-line coach James Cregg. This left Turner as one of the last men standing in Vegas, and he will have the opportunity to call plays for a third team.

It is safe to say Pierce has put his offense in the Turners’ hands. Norv is returning to the team he once coached (from 2004-05), with Rapoport adding his title will be senior advisor. This will be Norv Turner’s first NFL gig since 2019, when he changed positions to help his son earn a first chance at a play-calling gig. Scott Turner, 42, did not receive this chance upon Lombardi being fired but will now step in. Turner received interest regarding the Patriots’ OC job — one that went to Alex Van Pelt — this offseason.

The Commanders fired Scott Turner — more than 20 years after axing Norv from his HC post — after three seasons. While would-be Raiders OC Kliff Kingsbury is enjoying the chance to work with Jayden Daniels, Scott Turner mentored the likes of Carson Wentz, Taylor Heinicke, Dwayne Haskins and a 36-year-old Alex Smith coming off many surgeries to repair a broken leg. The results: not great. Turner oversaw 25th-, 23rd- and 24th-ranked scoring offenses from 2020-22. Although the Commanders received a lift from Smith en route to the playoffs in 2020, a lack of overall improvement prompted Ron Rivera to move on and hire Eric Bieniemy last year.

Despite Cam Newton going down in Week 2 of the 2019 season, Turner managed a 20th-ranked offense that year. Christian McCaffrey‘s 1,000-1,000 season led the way. The Raiders roster no comparable talent, which hamstrung Getsy. It looks like they are going to hang onto Jakobi Meyers, but the Silver and Black already traded Davante Adams. And they have repeatedly benched Gardner Minshew, the latest instance coming for Desmond Ridder.

The Turners will have their work cut out for them, and their showings could certainly play a role in Pierce’s Las Vegas future. Pierce has both Joe Philbin and ex-Packers OC Edgar Bennett on staff, the latter as WRs coach, but he will turn to the younger Turner at a key point during his HC tenure.

Philbin will, however, become the team’s interim O-line coach. This will be a familiar role for the former Dolphins HC, as he has primarily been an O-line boss during his career. Since his Dolphins firing, Philbin has been the O-line coach with the Colts and Cowboys. Prior to becoming the Packers’ OC in 2007, Philbin served as Mike McCarthy‘s O-line instructor. Added as a senior offensive assistant, Philbin will now return to mentoring blockers after Cregg’s firing came just nine games into his first Raiders season.

4 comments Las Vegas Raiders

Vikings To Place K Will Reichard On IR; Team To Add K John Parker Romo, LS Jake McQuaide

By | at November 5, 2024 1:33 pm

Perfect on field goals until Sunday night, Will Reichard will see his rookie season interrupted by injury. After battling through a quad issue in Week 9, the Vikings kicker is headed to IR, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.

The Vikings are bringing in John Parker Romo, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo, and making an injury-driven long snapper change. With Andrew DePaola going down, Garafolo adds Jake McQuaide is coming aboard.

This will mark some noticeable changes for the Vikes, who saw DePaola go down with a hand injury that will require surgery. McQuaide will stay in the NFC North, having made his previous two career stops with the Lions and Bears. Chicago released McQuaide from its practice squad last week.

A sixth-round pick out of Alabama, Reichard started his season 14 of 14 — including a 4-for-4 connect rate from 50-plus yards. He missed two kicks Sunday night, doing so as the quad injury hindered him. The Vikings, who moved on from three-year kicker Greg Joseph this offseason, will turn to Romo while the rookie recovers.

Prior to adding Romo, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes the Vikes worked out Tristan Vizcaino. Randy Bullock was also at this audition, per KTSP’s Darren Wolfson. The Giants released Bullock this week; he had been serving as their Graham Gano fill-in.

Romo is 27 but has yet to kick in an NFL game. Like McQuaide, he has a past in Detroit and Chicago — along with New Orleans — but spent time with the Vikings this offseason. Minnesota, however, waived the former UDFA in July. Having kicked at three schools (Central Arkansas, Tulsa, Virginia Tech over a six-year period), Romo kicked in the XFL in 2023. That marks his only regular-season game experience since college. That figures to change soon.

This is poised to be McQuaide’s first action this season. A 10-year Rams veteran who snapped in Super Bowl LIII, McQuaide caught on with the Cowboys in 2021. After two Dallas seasons, the now-36-year-old snapper played for the Lions last year. This will mark a third straight season of part-time duty for McQuaide, who caught on with Detroit midway through last season and played just four games with Dallas in 2022.

1 comment Minnesota Vikings Transactions
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors