Today’s minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: DT Zach Kerr
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: DL Kingsley Keke
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LS Christian Kuntz
The Raiders are set to interview Champ Kelly for their GM vacancy on Thursday (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Bears’ assistant director of player personnel joins Bengals scout Trey Brown, Colts vice president of player personnel Ed Dodds, and Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler on Las Vegas’ interview list.
[RELATED: Raiders Request GM Interview With Bengals’ Trey Brown]
Kelly began his career with the Broncos and has been with the Bears since 2015, the start of Ryan Pace‘s tenure as GM. The Bears have since parted ways with Pace, but they still held Kelly in high regard, interviewing him for their own vacancy last week. The Broncos and Panthers also looked at Kelly last year, before before hiring George Paton and Scott Fitterer, respectively. And, in 2019, the Jets met with Kelly before going with Joe Douglas.
Ziegler, meanwhile, is set to interview on Friday. His CV includes nine years with the Pats plus time with the Broncos.
The Cardinals have released cornerback Breon Borders, per a club announcement. This will enable the Cardinals to activate star defensive lineman J.J. Watt in time for Monday night’s game against the Rams. 
[RELATED: Cardinals’ Hopkins Ruled Out]
Once again, Watt has beaten his recovery timetable to return for the postseason. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year was once thought to be done for the year, thanks to labrum, bicep, and rotator cuff tears. But, somehow, he’s good to go for tomorrow night as the Cardinals look to improve from 38 points allowed against the Seahawks in Week 18.
There’s no doubt that the Cardinals — 7-0 with Watt in the lineup and 4-6 without him — are a better team with the future Hall of Famer playing opposite of Chandler Jones. And, in his limited sample, Pro Football Focus had Watt rated as a top-10 interior defensive lineman this season.
Watt, 32, registered five tackles for loss and ten QB hits in his seven regular season games this year. More of the same will go a long way towards breaking the Cardinals’ playoff win drought, though, on the other side of the ball, they’ll be without star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
The Bears have requested an interview with Dolphins senior personnel executive Reggie McKenzie for their GM vacancy (Twitter link via Albert Breer of The MMQB). This marks McKenzie’s first GM interview since he was fired by the Raiders in December 2018.
After several years as an NFL linebacker, McKenzie for the Packers’ front office from 1994 through 2012. After that, he was hired as the Raiders’ GM, inheriting a team with an awful cap situation and depleted draft capital. McKenzie was not perfect, but he did manage to turn that club into a playoff team. Then, prior to the 2018 season, new head coach Jon Gruden wrestled away much of his control, shaking up the roster by trading superstar Khalil Mack to the Bears and shedding other veterans.
McKenzie made some of his best moves in the 2014 draft and did hit on some of his bigger free agency deals, leading the Raiders to a 12-4 2016 with a playoff appearance to snap their long-standing drought. McKenzie earned executive of the year acclaim for his role in that 2016 turnaround. He’s spent the last two years in the Dolphins’ front office where the jury is still out on Chris Grier‘s performance.
Here’s the full rundown of the Bears’ search, via PFR’s tracker:
- Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, vice president of football operations (Browns): Interviewed 1/13
- Morocco Brown, director of college scouting (Colts): Interview requested
- Ran Carthon, director of player personnel (49ers): Interview requested
- Glenn Cook, vice president of player personnel (Browns): Interviewed 1/12
- Ed Dodds, vice president of player personnel (Colts): Interview requested
- Jeff Ireland, assistant general manager (Saints): Interviewed 1/14
- Champ Kelly, assistant director of player personnel (Bears): Interviewed 1/13
- Omar Khan, vice president of football and business administration (Steelers): Interview requested
- Reggie McKenzie, senior personnel executive (Dolphins): Interview requested
- Monti Ossenfort, director of player personnel (Titans): Interviewed 1/15
- Joe Schoen, assistant general manager (Giants): Interview requested
- Rick Smith, former general manager (Texans): Mentioned as candidate
- Eliot Wolf, senior consultant (Patriots): Interview requested
- JoJo Wooden, director of player personnel (Chargers): Interview requested
The Giants’ short list of head coaching candidates includes former Dolphins HC Brian Flores and Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, according to sources who spoke with Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. Of course, the eventual successor to Dave Gettleman is expected to lead the search, as John Mara recently said that the GM will have “the flexibility to bring in the head coach that he wants.” 
[RELATED: Latest On Giants’ Firing Of Joe Judge]
Both Daboll and Flores have been discussed internally for a while, according to Vacchiano. It also helps that “several” of the Giants’ nine GM candidates also hold them in high regard.
As of this writing, the Giants are considering current assistant GM Kevin Abrams, 49ers director of player personnel Ran Carthon, Titans exec Ryan Cowden, Cardinals exec Quentin Harris, Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz, Titans director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort, 49ers AGM Adam Peters, Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles, Cardinals exec Adrian Wilson, and Bills AGM Joe Schoen.
It’s safe to assume that Schoen has Daboll on the list while Abrams — a longtime member of the Giants’ front office — surely helped to shape the team’s view of both Daboll and Flores. Still, according to one report, Abrams is no longer viewed as a frontrunner. Apparently, the momentum lies with out-of-house candidates like Hortiz, who has serious momentum following his interview, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post.
Flores, 40, is already in the mix for the Texans and Bears jobs. Vacchiano hears that the Brooklyn native is looking for a team that will commit to his vision. That’s worth keeping in mind here, given the Giants’ quick hook for their last few coaches.
Daboll, 46, was in consideration last time around, before the Giants ultimately hired Joe Judge. Judge even expressed interest in making Daboll his OC, but the Bills blocked his request. The Giants ultimately went with Jason Garrett, who was fired in November.
The Lions held on to beat the Packers 37-30 on Sunday. With the win, the Lions improved to 3-13-1 on the year, ceding the No. 1 overall pick to the Jaguars. 
The Jaguars also managed to close out their year with a win, upsetting the Colts 26-11. They get the best of all worlds, putting their division rival in jeopardy of missing the playoffs and closing the year with a win, all while retaining the top overall selection. They’ve also extended their home winning streak against the Colts, beating Indy in six straight Jacksonville games.
The early slate of Sunday games also saw the Titans clinch the No. 1 seed while the Bengals slipped in the AFC pecking order, potentially putting them on track to face the Patriots.
The Jaguars are in need of offensive line and edge help. Fortunately for them, this year’s class offers several high-profile options in both areas. Alabama tackle Evan Neal, who measures in at 6’7″ and 350 pounds, would go a long way towards protecting Trevor Lawrence. On the other side of the ball, defensive ends Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan) and Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon) are squarely in the conversation.
The Browns plan to move forward with Baker Mayfield as their quarterback in 2022, according to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. There’s been talk of both sides wanting to move on, but the expectation is that Mayfield will remain under center in Cleveland. 
[RELATED: Seahawks Don’t Plan To Trade Wilson]
This hasn’t been a banner year for Mayfield, but he was clearly hampered by his injured shoulder. Hopefully, that’ll all be in order following his surgery, scheduling for later this week. For now, he’ll be watching from a distance as the Browns wrap their season against the Bengals.
Mayfield finished tenth leaguewide in QBR last year. This season, he’s towards the backend of the list, but the Browns believe there will be better days ahead. As it stands, they have Mayfield under contract for one more season, thanks to his fully-guaranteed $18.9MM fifth-year option. As expected, they’ll table extension talks until sometime in the future, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com tweets.
Mayfield, 27 in April, will finish with a 60.5% completion rate, 3,010 passing yards and 17 touchdowns against 13 interceptions this year. That’s a dramatic step back from his 2020 stats — 3,563 yards, 26 TDs, and eight INTs with a 62.8% success rate.
Despite all the speculation, the Seahawks have no plans to trade Russell Wilson this offseason, according to team sources who spoke with NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo. However, the future of longtime head coach Pete Carroll remains in question. 
Wilson went on record this week to reaffirm his loyalty to Seattle and his desire to win more championships for the Seahawks. But, in the past, he has been a vocal critic of the team’s offensive line issues. Just last year, Wilson told the Seahawks that he would accept trades to the Raiders, Bears, Cowboys, or Saints. For now, the Seahawks will pass on any trades with the belief that they’ll iron everything out between now and September.
Win or lose today, the Seahawks will finish with a sub-.500 record for the first time in Wilson’s tenure. Wilson, who missed three games with a broken finger, ranks in the middle of the pack in QBR with a 65.2% completion rate and 22 touchdowns against five interceptions.
Carroll, 70, has no retirement plans and hopes to stay in Seattle, Garafolo hears. Still, it’s not a given that the feeling is mutual. We may know more this week, when top front office officials meet with chairwoman Jody Allen to discuss the offseason ahead.
The Texans hope to trade quarterback Deshaun Watson before the league year begins on March 16, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Meanwhile, they’ll also weigh the future of head coach David Culley, who isn’t guaranteed to return for a second season.
Watson still holds a no-trade clause, which could limit the Texans’ options in the trade market. Despite that and all of the baggage, GM Nick Caserio nearly had a mid-season deal with the Dolphins, one that would have netted him multiple first-round picks and then some. Ultimately, amidst all the uncertainty, the Dolphins backed out. The Texans are expecting a healthy market for Watson this time around, though his deposition cannot take place until February 22.
Culley, meanwhile, has made some questionable in-game decisions in his first year as HC. Some of his players are also frustrated with his communication skills, Rapoport hears. Culley remains highly regarded in the organization, but, at minimum, there will likely be changes made to his staff.
The Texans entered today’s game at 4-12 on the year. Midway through their season finale, the Texans trail the Titans 21-0.
Eagles tight end Tyree Jackson has been diagnosed with a torn ACL (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). Obviously, this will rule Jackson out for the playoffs and at least a portion of the offseason.
[RELATED: Former Eagles HC Doug Pederson Interviews With Jaguars]
Jackson, once a quarterback at the University of Buffalo, was just recently activated off of the injured reserve list. On Saturday, he notched his first career reception and touchdown against the Cowboys. Unfortunately, his first year will end with three grabs for 22 yards.
The Eagles will expect to have Dallas Goedert and Jack Stoll ready for the opening round, so they don’t necessarily have to pick up another tight end. Beyond those two, the Eagles also have TEs Richard Rodgers and Noah Togiai on the 53-man roster.