Doug Pederson Not Considering Reclaiming Jaguars’ Play-Calling Role
Uncertainty about the Jaguars’ play-calling situation persisted throughout the offseason, and fans were kept in the dark about the matter even into the campaign’s first month. Doug Pederson shed some light on the issue in the wake of the team’s fourth loss of the season.
It is indeed OC Press Taylor holding the call sheet, as the longtime Pederson lieutenant did last season and as he did to start the preseason. While Pederson said days before the season he had not decided who would call plays and then did not clear up this matter to start the year, Taylor is at the controls for what has been a tough Jags start.
[RELATED: Pederson-Trent Baalke Relationship Strained?]
When asked if he would consider retaking play-calling duties, the third-year Jacksonville HC quickly shot down that notion (via ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco) and praised Taylor. The former Super Bowl-winning HC then shifted some blame onto his players, which should do nothing to cool down a seat that has warmed up as the team has gone from authorizing three big-ticket extensions to 0-4.
“For what? I thought he called a great game,” Pederson said of Taylor. “As coaches, we can’t go out there and make the plays. It’s a two-way street. So you guys can sit here and point the finger all you want and it’s fine. Point it right at me, I can take it. OK.”
Pederson served as the Jags’ primary play-caller in his first season, which — perhaps not coincidentally — finished best, as the 9-8 team rallied to the divisional round and gave the eventual Super Bowl-winning Chiefs a scare. That came after a historic wild-card comeback win. Although the Jaguars reached 8-3 last season, they have now lost nine of their past 10 games. Trevor Lawrence has lost his past nine starts. with the quarterback completing just 53.3% of his passes. The former No. 1 pick connected on 66.3% of his throws in 2022 and 65.6% last season. Despite the Jaguars signing Gabriel Davis and then drafting Brian Thomas Jr. in Round 1, their passing game has regressed.
Pederson standing up for Taylor is not new. He employed Press Taylor, the younger brother of Bengals HC Zac Taylor, throughout his Philadelphia tenure. Press Taylor had arrived as a Chip Kelly hire in 2013 but climbed the ladder under Pederson. He became Philly’s QBs coach in 2018 and added the title of pass-game coordinator in 2020. After a 4-12 2020 season that involved the Eagles benching Carson Wentz, Pederson pitched an idea of promoting Taylor to OC to Eagles ownership. Many in the organization were leery of Taylor jumping another rung on the coaching ladder. Philly brass passing on that proposal helped lead Pederson out of town in January 2021.
This offseason, owner Shad Khan seemed to voice a preference for Pederson returning to the play-calling role. After all, Jacksonville’s HC called signals throughout his time running the Eagles and had taken the call sheet at points under Andy Reid in Kansas City. Considering the hot-seat rumors tied to Pederson, he has shown tremendous faith in Taylor.
With the Jags 0-4 after giving Lawrence, Josh Hines-Allen and Tyson Campbell the three most lucrative deals in team history, Khan is undoubtedly losing faith in the hire he made in 2022. Pederson may well be coaching for his job in Week 5, even though he is the first HC to lead this franchise to back-to-back winning seasons wince Jack Del Rio from 2004-05. Khan has fired two coaches (Gus Bradley, Urban Meyer) in-season. It may well be an upset at this point if that number does not expand to three before year’s end.
Tom Brady Strongly Considered Bears During 2020 Free Agency
A free agent ahead of his age-43 season, Tom Brady‘s decision produced numerous headlines four years ago. Nearly a third of the NFL was connected to the all-time QB great, with the passer-turned-broadcaster’s final decision believed to be a Buccaneers-or-Chargers call.
That may well have been the case, but Brady — doing his fourth regular-season broadcast for FOX (h/t FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano) — confirmed the Bears were part of his decision-making process. We heard in September 2020 the Bears made an offer to the then-20th-year quarterback but lost out due to multiple factors, but Brady said Sunday he gave “serious consideration” to choosing Chicago.
When the Bears-Brady connection surfaced four Septembers ago, the NFC North team was described as “in the running.” A cold-weather city did not appeal to Brady at that point, and the quarterback was intrigued by throwing to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin while playing closer to his oldest son, Jack, whose mother is actress Bridget Moynahan. Brady also mentioned Bruce Arians playing a key role in convincing him to sign with Tampa Bay, which gave him a fully guaranteed $50MM deal over two years.
The Bucs and Chargers were both agreeable to Brady’s terms by the end of the process, pointing to the Bears potentially finishing third here. The ageless passer had been interested in his hometown 49ers, who stuck with Jimmy Garoppolo, and replacing Drew Brees — had he chosen to retire, which the future Hall of Famer did not — as well. Among realistic options, Chicago joined L.A. in needing to take another route after the high-profile FA’s decision.
At that point, Chicago was coming off an 8-8 season — a step back from its 12-4 2018 showing — and had begun to determine Mitch Trubisky was not going to be the franchise option they’d envisioned. The Bucs and Chargers did not have starting QBs under contract, with Jameis Winston and Philip Rivers each free agents. This Bears’ pursuit also differed from the Raiders’ effort, as Las Vegas then bowed out early — as Brady has famously discussed — and had a second-contract QB (Derek Carr) rather than a former first-round pick playing on a rookie deal.
That Bears edition rostered Allen Robinson, who was heading into his third season with the team; Darnell Mooney arrived weeks later as a fifth-round pick. Chicago had Matt Nagy calling plays with an offensive line that included the likes of Cody Whitehair, James Daniels and veteran tackles Charles Leno and Bobby Massie. Pieces from Vic Fangio’s defenses still comprised much of Chicago’s depth chart on that side, with Khalil Mack, Roquan Smith and Akiem Hicks anchoring the unit. The Bucs, however, checked more boxes and were quite willing to accommodate their free agency prize in free agency and trades.
Brady undoubtedly would have elevated the Bears’ setup, with Rob Gronkowski — and, for better or worse, Antonio Brown — presumably following wherever his Patriots QB went. But it is safe to say his Bucs decision was correct, seeing as he piloted Tampa Bay to its second Super Bowl title that season and earned second-team All-Pro honors at age 44 in a statistically superior campaign a year later.
The Bears are now multiple starting QBs removed from that what-if, having drafted both Justin Fields and Caleb Williams after letting Trubisky walk in 2021. After Brady’s decision, Chicago traded for Nick Foles as a player to push Trubisky. Although the latter opened the season as the team’s starter and reclaimed his job from Foles down the stretch — en route to an 8-8 season that did produce a playoff berth — the former No. 2 overall pick has been unable to prove worthy of a starting job since.
NFL Will Not Suspend K Brandon McManus
Allegations of sexual assault against Brandon McManus, levied by two former flight attendants who were part of Jaguars team flights, led to the Commanders releasing the veteran kicker this summer. While the plaintiffs’ civil lawsuit continues, the NFL will not suspend McManus.
The league’s investigation did not find enough evidence to suspend the 10-year veteran under the personal conduct policy, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Being cleared by the league will help McManus’ effort to resume his career; he has not been tied to a team since the Washington release in June.
The anonymous plaintiffs accused McManus of rubbing himself against them and grinding against them during the Jaguars’ flight to London on September 28, 2023. Both women worked as flight attendants at the time, but they have since been removed from the crew which handles the team’s flights. McManus denied the allegations, but the Commanders cut bait shortly after they surfaced. McManus, who kicked for the Broncos for nine seasons before signing with the Jaguars in 2023, had signed a one-year, $3.6MM deal with the Commanders in March. He ended up keeping his $1.5MM signing bonus.
A Duval County judge had dismissed the women’s lawsuit due to neither revealing their identities, but the accusers have since done so in an amended complaint, according to the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala. While McManus’ attorney has labeled the accusers’ effort as a shakedown, the women maintain their accusations — which extend beyond just McManus. One of the women alleges McManus tried to kiss her while she was strapped into her seat, with Jhabvala adding the suit accuses the Jaguars of not properly educating him on the NFL policy on alcohol during team flights. It is highly likely McManus knew those rules, being a former NFLPA union rep.
This civil filing also accuses the Jaguars of arranging the flight to feature a section for players who wished to drink alcohol, alleging the flight “quickly turned into a party.” NFL rules prohibit alcohol from being served on team flights to and from games. The NFL is also making the determination McManus did not meet the criteria for a suspension without interviewing the alleged victims, Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams adds. The league did not address whether the accusers cooperated with the investigation.
Now 33, McManus played in all 17 Jaguars games last season. He made 30 of 37 field goal tries and connected on all 35 of his PAT attempts. The strong-legged kicker has never made more than 86% of his FG attempts in a season, though the former Super Bowl winner did make 10 of 15 tries from 50-plus yards in 2020 and was good on all 10 of his efforts from 40-49 yards in 2022. Last season, McManus made 5 of 10 kicks from beyond 50 yards and was 11-for-13 from 40-49.
Considering the kicker trouble teams regularly have, it would not surprise if McManus received a workout invite soon. Of course, teams may also be fine passing — or at least waiting until the civil matter concludes — due to McManus playing a lower-value position. The Jaguars drafted Cam Little in Round 6 this year, while the Commanders have cycled through a few kickers since dropping McManus. Austin Seibert is currently Washington’s kicker.
Bengals Activate P Brad Robbins From IR
The Bengals will be the first team this season to activate a player from IR. As it happens, a punter will be the first such transaction. Brad Robbins is coming off IR and will move back onto Cincinnati’s active roster.
Cincinnati’s full-time punter last season, Robbins already received a return designation after suffering an injury this summer. A quad injury sidelined the young specialist, but he will return to the Bengals’ 53-man roster, which now houses two punters. Because the Bengals designated Robbins for return before upon their initial 53, he already counted toward their eight-activation limit. Today’s move does not affect Cincy’s count.
[RELATED: Injured Reserve Return Tracker]
Robbins joins Ryan Rehkow as punters currently on Cincinnati’s active roster. Teams almost never keep two punters on their 53-man roster, and veteran Bengals reporter Jay Morrison notes this is believed to be Rehkow’s job to lose. The Bengals had discussed continuing their punter competition once Robbins recovered. Though, it is a bit difficult to see this being an active-roster battle for an extended period. One figures to be dropped to the practice squad, though that player would need to clear waivers first.
Robbins averaged just 44.3 yards per punt as a rookie. The Michigan alum, who will turn 26 next week, ranked as the league’s third-worst punter in terms of gross average in 2023. He placed 26.3% of his punts inside the 20-yard line.
The Bengals selected Robbins in last year’s sixth round out of Michigan; the ex-Jim Harbaugh recruit spent six years with the Wolverines and had been the program’s primary punter in four of those seasons. He will vie with Rehkow, a rookie UDFA out of BYU, to win his job back. Rehkow will be difficult to unseat, however, as he is averaging an NFL-high 58.4 yards per boot. While 13 games remain, that number would smash Ryan Stonehouse‘s single-season record, illustrating the uphill battle Robbins is set to wage.
Panthers’ Shaq Thompson Tears Achilles
After rehabbing a September 2023 injury to be on the field in Week 1, Shaq Thompson faces another long road to recovery. The Panthers have again lost the veteran linebacker to a season-ending injury.
Thompson sustained an Achilles tear in Week 4, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. The only Carolina starter left from Super Bowl 50, Thompson is in the final year of his contract. This is obviously a tough blow to Thompson’s value, as he is now 30 and will exit this season coming off two major injuries.
Anchoring Carolina’s defensive second level since Luke Kuechly‘s 2020 retirement, Thompson came back from a fractured fibula suffered in Week 2 of last season. That injury forced him off the field during another tumultuous Panthers season. Despite the team changing GMs and once again switching HCs, Thompson remained in its plans. He came back and started four games this season, making 35 tackles, but it is now worth wondering if this is it for the 2015 first-round pick with Carolina.
The Panthers, who played much of last season without Thompson and Jaycee Horn, have lost Derrick Brown for the year as well. The latest Thompson setback guts Ejiro Evero‘s defense, which already came into the season shorthanded at edge rusher. Resolving the Brian Burns matter by selling low (via trade to the Giants), the Panthers have D.J. Wonnum on their reserve/PUP list. Jadeveon Clowney has one sack in four games, with no Panther entering Week 5 with more than 1.5.
Sacks are not Thompson’s department, but the off-ball ‘backer has provided consistency and leadership during much of his Carolina tenure. Initially a wingman alongside stalwarts Kuechly and Thomas Davis on that Carolina Super Bowl team as a rookie, the Dave Gettleman-era draftee earned a lucrative extension before Kuechly’s retirement. Thompson played on that deal until accepting a pay cut in 2023. The Panthers restructured that contract this offseason, creating $3MM in cap space. If Thompson is not re-signed by the start of the 2025 league year, the team will incur $3.18MM in dead money.
A 1-15 2001 season aside, this has been the worst stretch in team history. Thompson has missed much of this 3-18 run but has been onboard throughout David Tepper‘s ownership tenure. Thompson had teamed with Frankie Luvu in recent years, but he defected to Washington in free agency. The Panthers added ex-Evero Broncos charge Josey Jewell as a starter in March, and they will need to find another regular. The team used a third-round pick on Trevin Wallace this year and used its No. 1 waiver priority to claim Jon Rhattigan late last month. Claudin Cherelus, a former waiver claim, rounds out Carolina’s ILB group.
Thompson’s 752 career tackles rank fourth in Panthers history — behind Davis, Kuechly and safety Mike Minter — and his 112 starts sit seventh in franchise history among defenders. Barring a low-cost contract to return, Thompson will remain in that spot for the foreseeable future, as the Panthers do not have much for longevity on their defense. Whether it is with Carolina or another franchise, Thompson will aim to play again. He said Monday (via Instagram) retirement is not on the table.
Browns Did Not Submit Offer To Joe Flacco
In a development that probably pleased an assortment of fantasy GMs tied to Colts wide receivers, Joe Flacco stepped in after Anthony Richardson‘s minor hip injury and stabilized Indianapolis’ passing attack Sunday. The NFL’s second-oldest active quarterback, behind Aaron Rodgers, showed he remains a viable relief option.
Flacco executed this routine for an extended period last season in Cleveland, rescuing a Browns team that had lost Deshaun Watson to a shoulder fracture. Despite not making his season debut until December, Flacco won Comeback Player of the Year honors after directing the Browns to an 11-6 season and a wild-card spot. The longtime Ravens starter had expressed continued interest in a second Browns season, but the team went in a different direction by signing Jameis Winston. The Colts then landed Flacco, who signed a one-year deal worth $4.5MM.
[RELATED: Near-Future Watson Benching Not On Browns’ Radar]
This contract is Flacco’s most lucrative since his Ravens extension expired after a season in Denver, and while the Colts have since seen the 17th-year veteran remains capable, the Browns did not want him back. Flacco confirmed, via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, he never received an offer to stay in Cleveland.
The former Super Bowl MVP had previously said he was surprised the Browns did not re-sign him, but a market did exist. Prior to committing to Shane Steichen‘s team, Flacco received an offer to return to the Eagles. The Colts did not rule out re-signing Gardner Minshew, but his price moved well beyond the team’s comfort zone. With the Raiders agreeing to terms with Minshew on a two-year, $25MM deal hours into the legal tampering period, the Colts pivoted to Flacco as Richardson insurance.
The AFC South team needed to cash in on that early, and although Richardson might not miss any time due to the hip pointer he sustained against the Steelers, Flacco proved a more accurate passer than the dynamic second-year starter. Richardson entered Week 4 with an NFL-low 49% completion rate; Flacco completed 61.5% of his throws (16-for-26, 168 yards) and tossed two touchdown passes against Pittsburgh.
While Indianapolis is not planning to sit Richardson to aid his development, Cleveland is stuck with Watson due to authorizing a fully guaranteed $230MM contract in 2022. Watson has wildly underwhelmed, costing an otherwise well-built Browns team. Winston came to Ohio after four seasons with the Saints. The former No. 1 overall pick lost his job to Andy Dalton in 2022 and backed up Derek Carr last season, but the Browns had sought him over Flacco.
In March, Watson supported a Winston signing. The Browns gave him a one-year, $4MM deal. Cleveland had considered a reunion with Jacoby Brissett but did not want to match the $8MM offered from the Patriots. The team was believed to have viewed Flacco as a backup plan in the event Winston and Brissett ended up elsewhere, and the fallout from this QB2 chapter ended a stunningly productive partnership.
Given Flacco’s performance last season, calls undoubtedly for him to replace Watson would be ever-present in Cleveland had the sides huddled on on the reunion the late-3o-something wanted. But he is now in the role Minshew played effectively last season. Indy deciding to rest Richardson would lead to more work from the 12-year starter-turned-QB2 nomad.
Steelers’ James Daniels Suffers Achilles Tear
Coming into Week 4 with significant injury trouble along their offensive line, the Steelers exited their season’s first defeat worse off. James Daniels is not expected to play again this season.
The veteran guard suffered an Achilles tear during Pittsburgh’s loss to Indianapolis, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. Daniels, who is not signed beyond this season, joins first-round rookie Troy Fautanu in being set to miss the regular season. While Fautanu’s absence is not certain to shut him down if the Steelers make the playoffs, Daniels should not be considered an IR-return candidate regardless of how far the team’s season lasts.
Pittsburgh has already played without its other guard starter — Isaac Seumalo — throughout the season. The ex-Eagle is expected to return soon, as he is not on IR, but the team’s initial starting center — Nate Herbig — is on IR due to a torn rotator cuff sustained during the preseason. The Steelers placed Herbig on IR without a preseason return designation, ending his season. Daniels’ injury adds to a burgeoning crisis for the 3-1 team up front.
This is a brutal blow for Daniels, who exited the Steelers’ Week 4 loss as Pro Football Focus’ top-ranked guard. The former Bears second-round pick, based on where this year’s guard market went, was poised to cash in on a lucrative third contract. The Steelers, who do not negotiate in-season, did not extend Daniels this offseason. While the team holds exclusive negotiating rights with the Iowa alum until the 2025 legal tampering period, Daniels’ price probably drops — perhaps significantly — due to this setback.
Daniels, 27, is attached to a three-year deal worth $27MM signed in 2022. He joined center Mason Cole as free agency imports brought in that year, as the Steelers planned to select Ben Roethlisberger‘s heir apparent and equip him with veteran O-linemen. The Kenny Pickett plan failed, and the team made Cole a cap casualty early this offseason. But Daniels remained in Pittsburgh’s designs. He had missed just two games with the team from 2022-23.
While Daniels had loomed as a potential offseason extension recipient, the seventh-year blocker subsequently confirmed the Steelers were not planning to pay him this year. The team does not field a particularly pricey O-line, with no eight-figure-per-year contracts up front, and is paying low-level money to its two quarterbacks of note. But Daniels still entered the season without an extension. Now, his future is a bit cloudy.
Pittsburgh has used 2023 seventh-round pick Spencer Anderson in place of Semualo to start the season; the 2023 free agency pickup has missed time with a pectoral injury sustained shortly before the season. Semualo is not on IR but has already missed four games. A weekend report also indicated the ex-Eagle was not quite ready to return, pointing to a potential Anderson-Mason McCormick guard duo — around rookie center Zach Frazier — in Week 5.
The Steelers chose McCormick in Round 4 this year. McCormick already usurped Anderson for the starting LG gig in Week 4, with the duo in line to platoon to open the game. PFF grades Anderson as the NFL’s fifth-worst guard, among qualified options. Seumalo’s debut could restore this platoono; until then, the Steelers will be forced to go young at guard on an O-line that already features second-year tackle Broderick Jones.
Jonathan Taylor Sustains High Ankle Sprain
Resembling the form he displayed en route to the 2021 rushing title, Jonathan Taylor has excelled to open his fifth season. But reminders of the running back’s recent injury form have reemerged.
Taylor, who famously had not missed any time over his first two seasons and throughout his college career, appears set to be sidelined once again. The high-priced Colts running back sustained a high ankle sprain, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Although Taylor looks likely to be shelved for a bit, Rapoport adds this is not viewed as a particularly troublesome sprain. That said, high ankle sprains are regularly difficult to surmount. And Taylor has a history of ankle trouble being a big-picture issue.
Ankle trouble slowed Taylor for much of the 2022 season, bringing his run of durability to a halt. A sprain sustained in Week 4 of the 2022 season affected the former All-Pro for most of that ’22 slate, with a high ankle sprain diagnosis that December eventually leading to a late-season shutdown. Taylor missed six games in 2022, including the final three, and underwent surgery.
That injury eventually became cover for Taylor to stage a de facto hold-in, landing on the Colts’ reserve/PUP list despite Jim Irsay declaring him good to go before training camp. The Colts ended up paying their starting running back — on a three-year, $42MM deal that undoubtedly affected this year’s RB market — before he debuted in Week 5 of the 2023 season. But Taylor did not match his pre-injury form too often for a Colts team that again lost its RB1 due to a late-season thumb injury.
This year, Taylor is averaging 4.8 yards per carry (349 in total), and his 66 rushing yards over expected (per Next Gen Stats) ranks seventh in the NFL. The Wisconsin alum has not eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards since that dominant 2021 showing (1,811), but was well on his way to a third 1,000-yard season before this injury.
As of now, it does not appear Taylor is an IR candidate. Saquon Barkley suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2 last year and returned by Week 6. Considering Taylor’s history with ankle trouble, the Colts could well be cautious. The team has Trey Sermon in place as Taylor’s top backup, with Tyler Goodson also on Indianapolis’ 53-man roster. Taylor has taken 72 handoffs to Sermon’s nine, however, marking a split that does not resemble the Taylor-Zack Moss workload from 2023. Second-year back Evan Hull resides on Indy’s practice squad.
Bengals RT Trent Brown Out For Season
SEPTEMBER 28: As the Bengals prepare to move on with their season, they have officially made the transaction to move Brown to injured reserve. This officially sets the table for Mims to line up across from Orlando Brown for the remainder of the season. Trent Brown, on the other hand, will likely have his eyes towards next season, when, if things go well with Mims, the veteran could be on his way to a new city.
SEPTEMBER 24: A cart transported Trent Brown off the field during the Bengals’ loss to the Commanders on Monday night, and the veteran tackle will not return this season.
Brown sustained a patellar tendon tear, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who reports season-ending surgery is on tap. While Brown is expected to make a full recovery, he is on a one-year contract and has an extensive history of unavailability. This development will begin the Amarius Mims era in Cincinnati.
The Bengals gave Brown a one-year, $4.75MM deal in March. After the team selected Mims in Round 1, Brown was moving toward a role as high-end insurance behind Cincinnati’s starters — as part of the largest tackle trio in NFL history. The 6-foot-8 blocker, however, became needed after Mims sustained a pectoral injury during training camp. Brown started the Bengals’ first three games, shifting back to right tackle after finishing his second Patriots stint on the left side.
Fortunately for an 0-3 Bengals team, Mims recovered in time to make his NFL debut Monday night. He replaced Brown at right tackle and played 39 offensive snaps in the team’s shootout loss. Mims had been on track to open the season as Cincy’s RT starter, but his chest injury reopened the door for Brown. Now, it will be Mims and Orlando Brown Jr. — a tackle tandem that figures to be in place for years in western Ohio.
Now 31, Trent Brown has run into many health issues during an otherwise successful career. Since moving into the 49ers’ starting lineup late in his rookie season, Brown has missed 36 games. This has not included injuries in every season, as Brown delivered 16-game slates in 2016 and ’18 and then a 17-game showing in 2022. But they have cropped up consistently for a player who has dealt with weight issues during his pro career as well.
The Patriots received tremendous value from their Brown pick-swap trade with the 49ers during the 2018 draft, soon turning to the former seventh-round pick as their LT starter. Brown played a key role in the Pats gliding to their sixth Super Bowl title that season, and he parlayed that into a then-tackle-record four-year, $66MM Raiders deal. After a Pro Bowl showing at right tackle for the 2019 Raiders, Brown was hospitalized due to COVID-19 — during a 2020 season featuring 11 missed games — and then traded back to New England in 2021. The Pats used Brown at both right and left tackle from 2021-23, and while he played well, he became difficult to rely on in Bill Belichick‘s final years in Foxborough.
Some among the Patriots believed Brown was prioritizing his free agency rather than returning from injury as soon as he could last season, a 4-13 Pats campaign. After Brown missed six games in 2023 and nine in 2021, a tepid market awaited him. Still, the Bengals took a flier and cut three-year swingman/spot starter Jackson Carman in August. This came after backup D’Ante Smith landed on IR. The team still has guard/tackle Cody Ford, while 2022 UDFA Devin Cochran resides on its practice squad. Cochran has yet to play a regular-season NFL game.
Considering Mims’ recent injury and a health-interrupted Georgia career that featured just eight starts, it would make sense if the Bengals considered outside options to back up their current first-string duo. This represents a brutal blow for Brown, who will rehab on an expiring contract.
Chargers, Raiders, Ravens Considered Justin Fields In Trades; QB Moving Toward Steelers’ Starting Job
Justin Fields appears to be moving toward solidification of the Steelers’ starting quarterback job, one he could not win during training camp. Pittsburgh is 3-0, and Russell Wilson saw a calf injury deny him the chance to begin a starter run with the team. Wilson remains limited in practice.
While Mike Tomlin is slow-playing this matter, it would be somewhat difficult to see the Steelers pivot back to Wilson after Fields piloted the team to three wins. This always loomed as a possible scenario, despite the Steelers’ offseason party line favoring the more experienced option. Wilson’s status changed when the Steelers acquired Fields days after officially signing the 13th-year veteran, and the Bears helped steer the younger passer to Pittsburgh.
Although it remains farfetched the Bears turned down a notably better offer to send Fields to the Steelers, they are still believed to have done right by their three-year starter to move him to a team without a solidified QB1. Fields confirmed the Bears helped him out by trading him to the Steelers, indicating on Cam Heyward‘s Not Just Football podcast the NFC North team gave him a chance to choose his destination. Months before losing a higher-profile trade sweepstakes that featured Brandon Aiyuk ultimately preferring to stay with the 49ers, the Steelers benefited from a somewhat similar process — in a deal that only cost them a conditional sixth-round pick.
With Wilson looking likely to be Pittsburgh’s backup when he returns to full strength, Fields will probably cost the Steelers a 2025 fourth due to playing more than 51% of the team’s offensive snaps this season. The former first-round pick preferred this situation to others the Bears entertained, telling Heyward other teams with solidified starters pursued him. The Chargers and Ravens were two of those, while Fields added the Raiders — who did not have a surefire starter at that point — were also in the mix.
Bears GM Ryan Poles confirmed other trade paths existed, and Fields was intrigued by the Falcons, Vikings and Raiders before QB dominoes fell. The Raiders, who hired two-year Bears OC Luke Getsy to be their play-caller (after Kliff Kingsbury backed out), were viewed as unlikely to make a serious Fields pursuit in February but then — minutes before agreeing to terms with Gardner Minshew — were reconnected to the Ohio State product. Minshew heading to Las Vegas on a two-year, $25MM deal undoubtedly helped push Fields to Pittsburgh, even though the former needed to win a months-long competition to win the Raiders’ starting job.
The 25-year-old passer said his Bears exit interview gave him the impression he would be traded, with QB recalling Bears brass telling him they faced a “tricky situation” due to holding the No. 1 overall pick for a second straight year. This reminded of Poles’ comments to the media shortly after Chicago’s season ended. As expected, the Bears passed on a fourth Fields season by giving the Steelers the fifth-year option decision. Pittsburgh declined the option, but the team is interested in a post-2024 relationship with the dual-threat QB. Although immediate interest in a post-2024 Wilson contract surfaced as well, that seems less likely to come to pass based on this season’s early arc.
The Chargers received inquiries from the Patriots and Vikings on Justin Herbert but shot them down, leaving no doubt about their QB plan in Jim Harbaugh‘s first season. The Ravens’ penchant for employing dual-threat Lamar Jackson backups — from Robert Griffin III to Tyler Huntley — would have made Fields an interesting piece in Baltimore, but he would have seen no route to a starting job there. Every non-Steelers team to discuss Fields with the Bears viewed him as a backup, and the QB told Heyward he was concerned about the musical chairs game that featured a few spots filled during the legal tampering period. (The Steelers obtained Fields five days into free agency.)
As far as Fields’ Steelers situation goes, he may not only to be moving toward being the team’s starter but reaching a place where the club would allow him to play through mistakes (rather than receiving a quick hook), ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes. Wilson, who battled injuries in Denver, is not yet moving well on his balky calf. This continues to give Fields a runway to win the long-term gig. Even though QBR ranks Fields 21st, he has done enough to keep a defense-powered Steelers team in games.
Fields’ low-octane work does not completely slam the door on Wilson, so it will be a situation to monitor for a while. This could become awkward when Wilson recovers, as the potential Hall of Famer was given some early assurances upon signing. But the vet’s calf injury allowed Fields extensive reps in training camp, where he impressed. And he has continued to gain ground in the weeks since, leading the youngest of Pittsburgh’s passers to the precipice of a QB1 announcement.