Today’s taxi squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
New England Patriots
Tennessee Titans
It hasn’t been a banner year for Kirk Cousins and the Vikings. Still, the quarterback says that he has every intention of staying in Minnesota. 
“[I] certainly want to be a Minnesota Viking for the rest of my career,” Cousins said this week (via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press).
Of course, that’s not necessarily up to Cousins, who remains under contract through 2022. The Vikings don’t have much say in the matter either — the 33-year-old (34 in August) is due a fully-guaranteed salary of $35MM next season with an eye-popping cap hit of $45MM.
Cousins’ stats have been solid since joining the Vikings in 2018, but he’s taken the team to the playoffs just once (2019) in four years. Meanwhile, in the regular season, he owns a 32-29-1 record as the Vikes’ starter.
“Certainly disappointed whenever you’re not playing in the playoffs,” Cousins said. “But really my focus is on the Bears right now and I don’t think a lot about the big picture. There’s plenty of time to do that in the offseason. … When we get to the offseason, get this thing behind us, you have time to evaluate and work through it more.”
No matter what, the Vikings will have to do something about Cousins’ contract given their cap situation. Ultimately, an cap-smoothing extension seems far more likely than a trade or anything else.
Teams could be docked draft picks for poor conduct during the NFL Draft interview process, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press. If club officials are found to be “disrespectful, inappropriate, or unprofessional,” their team will lose a draft pick between Rounds 1-4 and be fined no less than $150K.
[RELATED: Michigan DE Aidan Hutchinson Enters NFL Draft]
“We aim for dignity, respect and professionalism,” league exec Troy Vincent said. “It’s that simple.”
According to the memo, individual club employees could also be subject to fines and suspensions. Meanwhile, the league also announced plans to change the evaluation process. The Wonderlic test, for example, is now off the table.
The interview process has led to controversy in the past. In 2010, Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland asked a young wide receiver by the name of Dez Bryant if his mother a prostitute. And, in 2016, Falcons head coach Dan Quinn inquired on cornerback Eli Apple‘s sexual preference. Both Ireland and Quinn apologized for their behavior — under the new guidelines, such conduct would cost their teams significant draft capital.
The new rules will be in full effect at the 2022 Combine, which begins on March 1st in Indianapolis.
It’s official. This week, Michigan defensive end and potential No. 1 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson announced that he’ll forgo his remaining eligibility to enter the 2022 NFL Draft. 
“My Michigan legacy is complete, and it was truly the best time of my life,” Hutchinson said (Twitter link). “Onward and upward to the 2022 NFL draft. Thank you for everything, Wolverine nation and beyond.”
Hutchinson tallied 62 tackles, 14 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss, three pass deflections, and one fumble recovery in his final year on campus. His performance earned him consensus All-American honors and the Lombardi Award, positioning him as the best lineman in college football. He also placed as the runner-up in Heisman voting, a rare feat for defenders.
The 6’6″, 265-pound edge rusher is firmly in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick, along with the likes of Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and Alabama tackle Evan Neal. The selection, of course, will be owned by either the Jaguars or Lions, depending on how Week 18 shakes out.
In addition to Hutchinson, Michigan defensive tackle Christopher Hinton and wide receiver Daylen Baldwin also declared for the April draft.
The Antonio Brown saga continues. On Thursday morning, AB tweeted a screenshot of an exchange with trainer Alex Guerrero, accusing Tom Brady‘s business partner of pocketing unearned cash (Twitter link via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com). Unfortunately, AB did more than just air dirty laundry — he also appears to have shared his own private bank account information.
Brown’s latest social media snafu may negate any sympathy earned by the statement he issued last night. Through his attorney, Brown explained that he has a bone fragment and ligament damage in his ankle, plus an MRI to prove it. He also alleged that head coach Bruce Arians ordered him to play to play, despite knowing that he was hurt. Brown says that when he refused, Arians responded by saying “you’re done” and gesturing with a finger across his throat.
The wide receiver also posted a text exchange with Arians (Twitter link) detailing his ankle malady. Arians, for his part, has said that he didn’t know that Brown was injured. At least, he didn’t know that Brown was too injured to play in that moment. That’s where the two stories truly diverge — Arians already knew about the problematic ankle that sidelined Brown earlier in the year, but he seems to be saying that Sunday’s sideline blowup was about something else.
As of this moment, Brown technically remains on the Buccaneers’ roster. But, as Arians told reporters over the weekend, he is “no longer a Buc.” It had been speculated that the Buccaneers were holding on to Brown in order to keep him away from other teams, but he won’t be hooking on with anyone for the 2021-22 playoffs.
“Once my surgery is complete,” said Brown in the statement. “I’ll be back to 100%… looking forward to next season.”
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Denver Broncos
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Rams
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
New York Jets
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Tennessee Titans
Washington Football Team
Teddy Bridgewater‘s season is over. On Wednesday, the Broncos announced that the quarterback has been placed on the injured reserve list, ruling him out for this week’s finale against the Chiefs. 
Bridgewater is still recovering from the concussion that sidelined — and hospitalized — him a few weeks ago. Without him, the Broncos will once again turn to Drew Lock, the third-year passer who has has come up short in starts against the Raiders and Chargers.
The Broncos fell out of playoff contention without Bridgewater, a steady veteran force who has thrown for 18 touchdowns against seven interceptions this year. Bridgewater’s first Denver season will end with 3,052 passing yards and a 66.9% completion rate, plus 30 carries for 106 yards and two rushing TDs.
This upcoming game might not mean much for the Broncos in the long-term, but it could be a deciding factor in Lock’s future.
The strong-armed Mizzou product has shown flashes at times, but he also led the NFL with 15 interceptions in 2020 — quite the feat, considering he also missed three games. One year remains on the ex-second-rounder’s contract and it’s hard to imagine him returning if he doesn’t deliver this weekend.
Bridgewater, meanwhile, agreed to truncate the three-year, $63MM deal he initially signed with the Panthers. Under the terms of his revised pact, he is now scheduled for free agency in March.
It’s official. On Wednesday, the Titans announced that they have designated running back Derrick Henry for return from the injured reserve list. 
This was the expected news after weeks of positive updates on Henry’s surgically-repaired foot. Once thought to be a season-ender, Henry has beat his initial recovery timeline by a mile. From here, the Titans could conceivably activate Henry for this week’s game against the Texans, though they may prefer to take the cautious approach.
Henry led the league in 2019 with 1,540 rushing yards last year while notching a total of 18 touchdowns. Last year, he set a new personal watermark with 2,027 yards via the ground, 17 rushing TDs, and 21 total scores.
The Titans have managed an 11-5 record despite playing much of the year without Henry, but they’re clearly a better team with him on the field. From here, the Titans plan to ease Henry back into practice and assess whether to dress him on Sunday. If Henry can’t go, the Titans will continue to use D’Onta Foreman as their lead back, a plan that has served them well so far. Just last week, Foreman turned back the clock to rack up 132 rushing yards against the Dolphins.
Bengals running back Joe Mixon has tested positive today for COVID-19 (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Even under the league’s revised COVID-19 guidelines, Mixon will not be able to play on Sunday against the Browns. 
The Bengals have already clinched their playoff berth along with the AFC North, so Sunday’s game won’t carry too much weight. For what it’s worth, they still technically have a chance at securing a first-round bye, though that’ll require a win and losses from the Titans, Chiefs, and Patriots. Per the stats at FiveThirtyEight, the Bengals have a 3% chance of pulling it off.
Mixon, 25, has a career-high 1,205 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns through 16 games. He’s also added 42 grabs for 314 yards and three receiving touchdowns for good measure. Those are the kind of numbers the Bengals were hoping for when they inked him to a four-year, $48MM deal back in 2020, even if it’s less efficient than his 4.9 ypc in 2018.
On top of Mixon, the Bengals will be short-staffed on both sides of the ball this week. On Tuesday, the club placed safety Vonn Bell, linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither, defensive end Trey Hendrickson, center Trey Hopkins, and guard Quinton Spain on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Derrick Henry is expected to practice with the Titans on Wednesday (Twitter link via Dianna Russini of ESPN.com). This marks yet another step forward for the star running back who is expected to be a full go for the playoffs. 
[RELATED: Titans Cut Golden Tate]
There’s even a chance that Henry could play against the Texans in the season finale, Russini hears, though that’s thought to be something of a long shot. The Titans, of course, will be heavily favored with or without Henry, but they can clinch the AFC’s only first-round bye with a win.
Henry has been out since October after undergoing foot surgery. At the time of his injury in Week 8, he led the league in rushing yards (937) and rushing touchdowns (10). Extrapolated for a full season, that would have given Henry 2,027 rushing yards — enough to put him in Eric Dickerson territory, albeit with an extra game — and 17 touchdowns.
If Henry doesn’t play on Sunday, the Titans will continue to use D’Onta Foreman as their lead rusher. Foreman alone could be enough to give Houston fits, as shown by his 132-yard performance against the Dolphins last week.