Jaguars Sign QB Matt Barkley Off Giants’ Practice Squad
Dealing with yet another injury this season, Trevor Lawrence is not a lock to play in a pivotal Week 17 spot. Although the former No. 1 overall pick has continued to play through his myriad health issues this year, the Jags now have some additional insurance at quarterback.
They signed Matt Barkley off the Giants’ practice squad Tuesday. Because Barkley is being plucked from another team’s P-squad, he must remain on the Jags’ active roster for at least three weeks. The Jags’ prospects of extending their season into the playoffs have suddenly become foggy, but Barkley will be part of Jacksonville’s 53-man roster for the regular season’s remainder.
This is team No. 11 for Barkley, who came off the 2013 draft board 98th overall. The Jaguars were the team that traded the Eagles that pick, moving down three spots 10 years ago. Barkley has not played for all 10 of his previous teams — the Eagles, Cardinals, Bears, 49ers, Bengals, Bills, Titans, Panthers, Falcons and Giants — but is perhaps Josh Johnson‘s chief competition for the top spot among active QB journeymen.
The Giants added Barkley to their practice squad in late October, following Tyrod Taylor‘s rib injury, and bumped him up to their 53-man roster in the wake of Daniel Jones‘ ACL tear. Taylor has since returned, and Barkley did not factor into the team’s plans with both Taylor and Tommy DeVito on the active roster.
Succeeding Mark Sanchez as USC’s starter and starting four seasons with the Pac-12 program, Barkley has managed to play 11 NFL seasons without ever being viewed as a team’s preferred starter. Barkley, 33, has not seen game action since 2020 with the Bills. A Josh Allen backup for multiple seasons, Barkley did not make Buffalo’s 53-man roster this summer. Six of Barkley’s seven career starts came for the 2016 Bears, who had lost Jay Cutler for the season.
Lawrence has battled through a knee sprain, an ugly-looking high ankle sprain and a concussion this season. The 2021 No. 1 overall pick now has a sprained AC joint, per Doug Pederson. The injury led Lawrence out of a Week 16 blowout loss in Tampa, and the Jags have plummeted to 8-7. While Lawrence has never missed a game as a pro, he has seen injuries impact him significantly this season.
The Jags, who played their Week 16 game without wideouts Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, have C.J. Beathard in line to start if Lawrence cannot go. Barkley would be in line to back up Beathard in that event. E.J. Perry remains on Jacksonville’s practice squad. To make room for Barkley on the 53-man roster, the Jags placed backup safety Daniel Thomas on IR.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/26/23
Here are the NFL’s Boxing Day practice squad updates:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Frank Ginda
- Released: P Pat O’Donnell
Denver Broncos
- Released: DB Keidron Smith
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: LS Alex Matheson
- Released: RB Darrell Henderson
New England Patriots
- Signed: TE La’Michael Pettway
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB Jaylon Smith
- Released: LB David Perales
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: DT Taylor Stallworth
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: LB Hamilcar Rashed
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE Devin Asiasi, LB Tae Crowder, DT David Moa, DB Darius Phillips, DB Kendall Sheffield
Washington Commanders
- Signed: RB Jaret Patterson
Smith will make his way to a third team this season. The Saints signed the former Cowboys mainstay just before the season, but the Raiders later poached the eighth-year veteran off New Orleans’ practice squad. The Steelers, who have lost regulars Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander for the season, will turn to him now. This move come after the Steelers added Mykal Walker, who is on team No. 4 this year, to their linebacking corps.
Henderson resurfaced with the Rams midway through this season, coming back after the team lost Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers in one game. Williams made his way back to action last month, while Rivers moved back to the 53-man roster last week. With Royce Freeman in place as veteran insurance, the Rams will again cut Henderson.
The Broncos are planning to bring Smith back to their P-squad soon, per the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson. The team initially planned to cut Smith to clear a spot for Kareem Jackson. With the Texans making another high-profile waiver claim — this one to reunite with Jackson, who was primarily a Houston cornerback from 2010-18 — the Broncos no longer have to clear a P-squad spot.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/25/23
Here are the Christmas Day practice squad moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: K Riley Patterson (story)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: RB Anthony McFarland
Browns Sign K Riley Patterson
Cut once again by the Lions, Riley Patterson cleared waivers on Christmas Day. After making more than 88% of his field goal tries this season, the young kicker has another gig.
The Browns added Patterson to their practice squad Monday, doing so after playing much of their Week 16 game without a kicker. Dustin Hopkins sustained a hamstring injury against the Texans, putting his availability for the Browns’ Thursday-night game in jeopardy.
Hopkins, whom the Browns traded for after Cade York struggled during the preseason, has kicked in all 15 Cleveland games this season. Patterson operated as Detroit’s kicker in 13 games this year, but after an ongoing competition against Michael Badgley during practices, the 24-year-old specialist lost his Lions job for the second time. Detroit also waived Patterson just before the 2022 season.
After spending the 2022 season with the Jaguars, Patterson returned to the Lions — via a trade featuring a late-round pick swap — following Jacksonville’s May Brandon McManus addition. Patterson made 15 of 17 field goals and 35 of 37 extra points during his second Lions stint, but Badgley — who closed out last season as Detroit’s kicker — evidently outperformed him in practice. Badgley has kicked in the Lions’ past two games.
Hopkins, 33, re-signed with the Chargers last year but missed 12 games. Cameron Dicker beat him out for the Bolts’ kicking job during training camp this summer. With Cleveland, Hopkins has made 91.7% of his field goals, connecting on an NFL-high 33 attempts. He is 24-for-26 on PATs.
The former Washington- and Los Angeles-based specialist landed on IR due to a midseason hamstring injury last year, making this his latest malady something to monitor for a Browns team closing in on what would be its third playoff berth since rebooting the franchise in 1999. The Browns placing Hopkins on IR would sideline him for the rest of the regular season and two playoff games, depending on how far Cleveland’s season goes. This P-squad move, thanks to Badgley’s quality practice work, gives the Browns some proven insurance.
Jets Owner: Robert Saleh, Joe Douglas To Stay For 2024 Season
Rumored to be staying despite overseeing nothing but sub-.500 seasons, the Joe Douglas–Robert Saleh tandem will officially be brought back for the 2024 season. Jets owner Woody Johnson confirmed it Sunday.
Johnson, who was finishing up his U.S. ambassadorial tenure when the pair was hired, will sign off on the reported plan to give the power brokers a mulligan after the Aaron Rodgers Week 1 Achilles tear doomed the Jets’ season. Douglas has been on the job since 2019, Saleh since 2021.
“My decision is to keep them,” Johnson said, via the New York Post’s Brian Costello. “I think we’ve had some very positive moves. The culture of the team is a lot better. The defense is better. The offense needs a few pieces. … Like I said a year ago, we need a quarterback. We had a quarterback for four plays. Since then we haven’t been able to replace him. If we have a good quarterback, it makes everybody’s job easier. It makes the line better, the receivers better.”
The Jets are 16-32 under Saleh, who will join only a handful of 21st-century coaches in being retained despite beginning his HC run with three straight sub-.500 seasons. The team is a ghastly 25-55 under Douglas, who took over ahead of Adam Gase‘s first season. It is safe to say the Saleh-Douglas duo will be on some of the hottest seats in recent NFL history next season, but Johnson will allow them to stay in charge after the Rodgers acquisition produced a mere four plays of work this year.
This will not go over well with many Jets fans, seeing as the team has collapsed in back-to-back years. But Saleh did execute a defensive turnaround. The team ranked last in both scoring defense and total yardage in 2021; it finished fourth in both categories last season. This year, Saleh’s unit rank 11th in points allowed and seventh in total defense. Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner have emerged as long-term cornerstones, while veteran C.J. Mosley has stabilized his career under Saleh. Complementary pieces have emerged as well, but the 2024 mandate will clearly be on offense, where the team is finishing off one of the worst seasons in modern NFL annals.
New York’s numbers on offense are down from even 2022, when the Zach Wilson train careened off track. The Jets have scored an NFL-worst 13 touchdowns on offense this season. They rank last in total offense and DVOA on that side of the ball, with Wilson — via the team’s shortsighted plan to leave the former No. 2 overall pick as the unquestioned backup entering the season and its refusal to acquire a better option once Rodgers went down in September — leading the charge toward another woeful campaign. Wilson is expected to be elsewhere in 2024, but the Jets’ lead power brokers will be allowed to pick up the pieces around Rodgers.
Considering Rodgers’ endorsements of Saleh and Douglas this week, that seemed to entrench the duo for the ’24 season. Johnson did not, however, mention OC Nathaniel Hackett on Sunday. That could be telling, and Hackett has submitted one of the worst two-year runs in NFL history.
After leading the way in the Broncos’ offense plunging to the NFL basement last season, Hackett has followed that up with comparably awful Jets offense. Denver ranked last in scoring in 2022, leading to Hackett’s firing after just 15 games, tanking the play-caller’s stock after a successful Green Bay run (as a non-play-calling OC). But Rodgers has long backed Hackett. The four-time MVP’s support for Hackett this week will likely lead to the veteran coach sticking around as well. Indeed, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds Hackett is expected to come back for the 2024 season.
Look no further than Johnson’s comments on Rodgers’ presence as an indication the QB will get his wish for OC continuity. Rodgers has been practicing with the team for nearly three weeks, doing so despite undergoing Achilles surgery in September. Rodgers’ much-discussed comeback will fall just short, but the Jets activated him from IR and are pleased with the impact he has made on the organization even without playing into the second quarter of Week 1.
“I think if you see Aaron Rodgers right now and the impact he’s having on the team and what he’s able to do with virtually no practice, it’s amazing,” Johnson said. “He’s in the fourth quarter of the league year and he’s throwing like he’s practiced all year. When he starts practicing and gets the timing with receivers just perfect, I think you’re going to see some amazing things.”
The Jets convinced Rodgers to accept a historic pay cut for the 2024 season, and after he was close to retiring this year, the 19th-year veteran said this week he wants to play through at least the 2025 season. Not counting this year as one of the two seasons he plans to play with the Jets, Rodgers will likely be given a considerable say in how the team addresses some of the Johnson-referenced offensive deficiencies in 2024. After the Jets based 2023 around how Rodgers could transform their operation, Johnson will keep the keys in Douglas and Saleh’s hands to see this plan to fruition.
Aaron Rodgers Eyeing Trade For Davante Adams; Other Packers On Jets’ Radar?
The Jets are officially retaining Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh; they are expected to keep OC Nathaniel Hackett as well. Jets decision to run back this trio would not go over well with a notable sect of the fanbase. The team is riding the longest playoff drought in major North American sports, but ownership is prepared to give the group a pass after Aaron Rodgers‘ Achilles tear sank this season.
With Rodgers having what certainly appears to be considerable say in the Jets’ decision-making, it should then be expected the team will listen to him regarding 2024 personnel moves. Already pegged as being prepared to pursue Davante Adams in 2024, the Jets look certain to make a genuine pursuit to reunite Rodgers with his former No. 1 Packers target. The Raiders wide receiver appears on Rodgers’ 2024 watch list, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes.
[RELATED: Jets Keeping GM Joe Douglas, HC Robert Saleh]
Rodgers’ 2023 wish list should probably give the Jets pause about more acquisitions driven by their quarterback. Allen Lazard went from signing an $11MM-per-year contract (with $22MM fully guaranteed, most among free agent wideouts this offseason) to being a healthy scratch for a game this season. After producing a career-high 788 receiving yards with the 2022 Packers, Lazard has 311 this season. Randall Cobb has four catches this season, and Dalvin Cook‘s $7MM contract has produced little. But an Adams addition would present a much higher floor.
The Raiders also continue to be linked to considering a trade. With the power brokers that signed off on the Adams trade (Josh McDaniels, Dave Ziegler) gone, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano indicates there is a strong chance either the Raiders or Adams determines by the 2024 offseason this partnership should end after two years.
Adams, who turns 31 today, is 32 yards away from his fifth 1,000-yard season. A first-team All-Pro three years running, Adams has taken a step back this season. Voicing frustration about his role in the Raiders’ offense this year, Adams will likely finish well shy of his 1,516-yard 2022 showing in Las Vegas. With the Raiders closer to rebuilding after the ousters of McDaniels, Ziegler and OC Mick Lombardi, Adams could well be traded for the second time in three years.
It would cost the Raiders $23.6MM in dead money to trade Adams before June 1 of next year. Though new regimes are not as concerned with accumulating dead money associated with players previous staffs brought in, Champ Kelly is firmly on the radar to be retained as the Raiders’ full-time GM. Kelly was in place as assistant GM when the Raiders traded first- and second-round picks for Adams in March 2022. While Adams remains a high-end wideout, it would likely not cost as much for the Jets to pry him from the Raiders as it did for Las Vegas to obtain the then-franchise-tagged target.
More Packers may be on Rodgers’ 2024 list as well. The quarterback is a strong Aaron Jones backer, Cimini adds, and his friendship with David Bakhtiari is well documented. The Packers will likely release Bakhtiari after another injury-abbreviated season. The Jets need help at tackle and were briefly linked to a Bakhtiari pursuit this summer, but the 32-year-old blocker’s injury trouble since his New Year’s Eve 2020 ACL tear will limit his market.
It is unclear if the Packers will jettison Jones, though they would be tagged with barely $5MM in dead money if they designated the talented veteran as a post-June 1 cut. Jones joined Adams in being one of the Packers’ best skill-position players during Rodgers’ tenure, but he remains valuable to the team. Though, one season remains on Jones’ reworked contract. And the Packers pivoted heavily toward a youth movement in the wake of the Rodgers trade. AJ Dillon is unsigned for 2024. With Cook almost definitely not coming back and Michael Carter being waived recently, the Jets will be looking for a new Breece Hall backup.
Rodgers’ influence and importance to the Jets may lead to a significant say in 2024 personnel moves, but he is officially shut down for the 2023 season. His comeback from September Achilles surgery falling short still led to the Jets using an IR activation. Rodgers is believed to have resisted such a move, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, since he now takes up a roster spot despite not factoring into the team’s gameday plans. Douglas and Saleh made the push to activate Rodgers so he can continue practicing.
Browns Open To Re-Signing Joe Flacco
The Browns placing an aging quarterback behind an injury-riddled offensive line certainly injects risk into their equation, but the defense-powered team has won two of its three games with Joe Flacco at the helm. A string of developments have commenced during this span.
After playing his first two Browns games as a practice squad elevation, Flacco signed an incentive-laden deal to join the team’s 53-man roster. He rebuffed offers to sign with other teams while on Cleveland’s P-squad and, despite not landing a 2023 gig until November, is interested in playing a 17th NFL season in 2024. The Browns may give the former Ravens mainstay that opportunity.
The team obviously remains tied to Deshaun Watson as its starter, but Outkick.com’s Armando Salguero notes it has held internal discussions on a deal that would keep Flacco in Cleveland for the ’24 season. Flacco, who will turn 39 next month, has signed multiple contracts to be a backup during the 2020s. Although Watson’s fully guaranteed deal all but guarantees he will be Cleveland’s Week 1 starter next year, it would seem likely Flacco would be amenable — given his comments about his current situation so far — to coming back as a backup.
While Flacco has not been flawless since coming back, he has delivered surprising work to keep the Browns in place as the AFC’s top wild-card team. The 9-5 squad has benefited tremendously from the recent Jets backup, who at points resided as Gang Green’s third-stringer last season. Flacco has thrown seven touchdown passes and accumulated 939 passing yards (7.1 per attempt) with the Browns. He has only completed 57.9% of his passes, throwing five interceptions. But he showed a clear improvement on what the Browns possessed beyond Watson this season, upgrading on P.J. Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson — to the point Kevin Stefanski named the veteran his rest-of-season starter after his second start.
Thompson-Robinson’s rookie contract runs through 2026, but a Flacco re-signing would effectively move the fifth-round rookie to the developmental track. Thompson-Robinson has struggled this season, despite being given the QB2 role following the Browns’ Josh Dobbs trade in August. Watson’s troublesome throwing shoulder may well prompt Cleveland to be better prepared in terms of depth next season.
Another Watson restructure may well happen, as the team’s 2023 reworking has the starter’s 2024 cap number set to skyrocket to a record-shattering $63.97MM number. Despite early success, Flacco would be unlikely to command more than midlevel backup money in 2024. He would seemingly still fit in the Browns’ plans if attached to a full-season contract. A number of younger QB2 options will be available in March, but the early returns of Flacco’s fit in Stefanski’s offense have already led to the team considering a multiyear partnership.
Bucs Interested In Baker Mayfield Extension
In Tampa due in large part to the extension Tom Brady signed — one that created a $35.1MM dead-money hit this offseason due to void years — Baker Mayfield expressed interest in staying beyond this season. The Buccaneers, who added Mayfield as a way to save money this offseason, are coming around on the resurgent quarterback.
The team has shown “definite interest” in an extension that keeps Mayfield around beyond this season, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports. Both Jason Licht and Todd Bowles are believed to be onboard with a second Mayfield contract, according to the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud. Although Stroud notes no discussions have commenced, those appear on tap.
Earlier this month, Mayfield said he is interested in sticking around. Days after expressing that desire for another Bucs deal, he put together the first perfect passer rating by a visiting quarterback in the history of Lambeau Field. Mayfield slicing up the Packers’ defense for 380 yards in Week 15 preceded a Saints Thursday-night loss to the Rams. The Bucs control their own destiny in the NFC South, and ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter adds the former No. 1 overall pick can earn a $1MM bonus if Tampa Bay repeats as division champion. That is on top of the $2MM he can earn by playing 85% of the Bucs’ offensive snaps this season.
The 2017 Heisman winner is finishing out a one-year, $4MM contract — one that has already begun paying out incentives. Mayfield would also have an interesting opportunity ahead of him — the chance to test free agency coming off a much better season — the QB remains high on the prospect of re-signing. The Bucs have exclusive negotiating rights with their starter until the March legal tampering period, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds the team has seen a more mature Mayfield, who has meshed in the locker room.
“I mean, that would be great,” Mayfield said, via Jones during an NFL Today segment, of the prospect of re-signing. “But winning takes care of a lot of that. So we’ll handle that after the year. But that’s up to my agent and obviously the people here to decide. And so all I can do is control what I can and put myself in the best position to have options.
“… Understanding that this is somewhere where I can revive my career and enjoy it. That’s what made the decision to come here so easy. The pieces around the staff, the organization, knowing that they were going to put me in the best position to thrive.”
The Bucs have been able to re-sign a few key players despite letting them hit the market this decade. Cornerstone defenders Shaquil Barrett, Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean all reupped with the team after making it to the tampering period unsigned, but Mayfield being a quarterback makes the timeline here a bit riskier. The Bucs not having a deal in place by the time the 2024 league year begins would run the risk of another team outbidding them.
The Giants and Seahawks did not take that risk this year, respectively re-signing Daniel Jones and Geno Smith to new deals before the 2023 league year. Both could be relevant here. At 28, Mayfield is two years older than Jones but four years Smith’s junior. The Giants’ Jones deal (four years, $160MM) drew rampant scrutiny, but Mayfield does have a longer track record of success.
While Mayfield’s woeful Panthers stretch and injury-plagued Browns finale will undoubtedly come up as reasons for a midlevel contract, Smith displayed a much longer stretch of mediocrity and had settled into backup roles. He re-signed on a three-year, $75MM accord this offseason. Working with former Seahawks QBs coach Dave Canales, Mayfield could be poised to eclipse that in AAV and, more importantly, guaranteed money. The Seahawks only guaranteed Smith $27.3MM at signing, providing flexibility. It may well take more from the Bucs to keep Mayfield.
After carrying an NFL-most $81.5MM in dead money this year, the Bucs will have some more room in 2024. They are projected to hold $47MM-plus in cap space (11th in the NFL) next year. Mayfield needed to beat out Kyle Trask to become Brady’s successor this season. How he performs down the stretch will factor into the Bucs’ plans, and he was once on the doorstep of a Browns extension before seeing his value tank. Tampa Bay also has Mike Evans and Antoine Winfield Jr. as free agents-to-be. But the sixth-year passer is moving close to a much better Bucs contract.
Texans’ C.J. Stroud Ruled Out; QB In Play To Return In Week 17
DECEMBER 24: Although the Texans will officially be without their starting quarterback for a second straight week, he has a decent chance to come back on New Year’s Eve. Stroud’s symptoms are subsiding, per Wilson, who adds he has a decent chance of resuming some football activities this week. The Ohio State product has indeed shown progress while in concussion protocol, and ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter indicates there is optimism about a return for the team’s Week 17 game against the Titans.
DECEMBER 20: The Texans made an unexpected switch for Week 15, moving to Case Keenum rather than Davis Mills. That depth chart adjustment is likely to be relevant once again for the surprise playoff contender.
C.J. Stroud is not expected to return in Week 16, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. The Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite is still experiencing symptoms from the concussion he suffered against the Jets, with Wilson adding sensitivity to light remains an issue for the No. 2 overall pick.
Stroud will not be cleared for practice Wednesday. The Texans added recent Jets starter Tim Boyle to their practice squad Tuesday. Boyle, who started two games for the Jets before being waived a day after the latter start, now sits behind Keenum and Mills among healthy Houston quarterbacks.
While Stroud’s season is likely to continue, it is obviously a concern he is on track to remain in concussion protocol for a second game. That said, Stroud’s health is obviously paramount here. The Texans toiled in anonymity during the two-year period between Deshaun Watson‘s QB1 run and Stroud’s arrival. They are in this surprising 8-6 spot largely because of the pick they made in April. The Texans have a 51.5% chance to make the playoffs, per ESPN’s FPI. They face the Browns, who carried Keenum as their backup from 2020-21, on Sunday.
Keenum, 35, piloted Houston to an overtime win over Tennessee. The journeyman QB agreed to return to Houston in March, and the Texans rebuffed trade inquiries on he and Mills this year. The team viewed Keenum as a quality Stroud mentor, though Mills was believed to be in place as the backup prior to Week 15. Attached to a two-year, $6.25MM deal, the former Texans UDFA now has 65 career starts under his belt.
Chargers Interested In Jim Harbaugh; Latest On Team’s HC Search
DECEMBER 23: The Chargers will cast a wide net in their coaching search, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports (video link). Candidates with a background as a coordinator, along with those who fit the CEO-type profile will be considered as a result. Spending big on a coach (either Harbaugh or another high-profile option) will not be an issue, per Rapoport.
That sentiment is echoed by a report from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. The Chargers will consider any path during their bid to find not only a new coach, but also a general manager, per Florio. The order in which the HC and GM additions are made, along with the organizational structure as it pertains to reporting to Spanos is thus in the air at this point as the team remains one to watch with the offseason on the horizon.
DECEMBER 20: Although Jim Harbaugh wrapped his playing career after the 2001 season, his last NFL action came with the Chargers in 2000. Dean Spanos was in place as Chargers CEO at that point. More than 20 years later, the subject of a reunion continues to come up.
Harbaugh being connected to NFL teams is not exactly new, as the Michigan HC has regularly been tied to a return to the pros. He interviewed with the Broncos this year and the Vikings in 2022. The Chargers sent out a feeler to Harbaugh recently, and Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz follows up the team is indeed interested in bringing the successful HC back to the NFL.
It is not known if Harbaugh is interested in coming to Los Angeles, but even as he in talks with Michigan on another extension, aspirations of returning to the NFL continue to surface. As for the Chargers’ willingness to give Harbaugh or another high-profile HC autonomy they would likely seek, the organization appears to be at a proving ground during this HC hiring period.
The Bolts have a history of not authorizing big salaries for HCs, and John Spanos — Dean’s son — resides as the team’s president of football operations. Pointing to John Spanos not being eager to relinquish certain control that could be required to land a heavy hitter like Harbaugh or Bill Belichick, the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora classifies such a hire as unlikely. An anonymous GM told La Canfora that Belichick would clash with John Spanos, while also casting doubt about Harbaugh’s fit.
Pointing to Chargers sensitivity about a perception they are unwilling to spend what it takes, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes a Harbaugh-to-L.A. scenario or a Belichick trade should not be dismissed. The Chargers have not landed a big-name coach in more than 20 years. After hiring Marty Schottenheimer in 2002, the Bolts have gone with Norv Turner, Mike McCoy, Anthony Lynn and Brandon Staley. Three of those were first-timers, while Turner went 1-for-9 in playoff berths while in Washington and Oakland. With Dean Spanos’ statement upon firing Staley and GM Tom Telesco indicating the organization wants to reimagine its process en route to building a hopeful championship team, the overhaul may need to include his son’s role.
After its batch of rookie HCs came up short, L.A.’s AFC team is believed to want a proven option. Harbaugh also may be viewed as a better fit internally compared to Belichick. The Bolts have been connected to Lions OC Ben Johnson, as other teams will be, but that would represent a similar hire to those on which the organization signed off under Telesco .
Although obviously buoyed by his name, John Spanos began his rise as a Chargers scout. After a stint from 2008-13 as director of college scouting, Spanos ascended to VP of football operations. He has been in the football ops president role since 2015.
“I would talk to Tom or Brandon almost every day. I think my background only helps me in sort of being able to kind of evaluate where we are and really helps me in working with the head coach and GM,” John Spanos said, via The Athletic’s Daniel Popper (subscription required). “But I’m not making the decisions on, ‘Hey, coach, you have to start this player.’ Right? I’ve never done that. My dad’s never done that. We’ve never gone down and said, ‘You’ve got to run this play.’ Or, ‘Hey, you have to draft this player.’
“I believe in working together with them. I’m very involved. Because of my background, and I’m very fortunate that I’ve been able to work on the lowest level of the organization to where I am now, I think it helps me in working with people.”
It is unclear if the Chargers are prepared to give their next head coach a significant say in personnel matters. A Staley-driven effort to reload the defense in 2022 brought in the likes of Khalil Mack, J.C. Jackson and Sebastian Joseph-Day. The Chargers indeed have spent the seventh-most cash over the past two years, per Spotrac, though defensive improvement proved elusive. Justin Herbert‘s $52.5MM-per-year extension is on the team’s books through 2029.
The Chargers will look into whether they need to be more transactional, per Breer, with regards to in-season trades or dealing picks for talent. Whether player expenses will lead to the team giving its HC more influence remains to be seen.
“Taking a step back and looking at everything and being willing to consider all possibilities, meaning consider setup, structure, qualities in coaches, qualities in GMs, backgrounds of coaches, backgrounds of GMs — reimagining, really, the entire structure and setup,” Spanos said (via Popper). “And reimagining doesn’t mean making a dramatic change and saying, ‘OK, we’re going to go in this direction and do the opposite of what we’ve done.’ It’s just really reflecting and self-evaluating and make sure we give ourselves the best chances for success.”
Coaching agents have contacted the Spanoses regarding their respective clients’ interest in the job and getting the best out of Herbert, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. Staley’s attitude was also perceived in some league circles as cocky, per Russini. The defensive specialist became the first Chargers HC fired in-season since Kevin Gilbride in 1998.
Harbaugh, 59, would not exactly be a step back in that department. The strong-willed coach ruffled feathers consistently in San Francisco, engaging in a power struggle with then-GM Trent Baalke, and has been suspended twice during this latest Michigan season. Given the opportunity to coach Herbert, however, probably would entice the nine-year Wolverines HC. While Harbaugh has returned to Ann Arbor after two efforts to come back to the NFL, the Chargers represent an interesting opportunity. Would this lower-key team be the right fit for a Harbaugh comeback?