Vikings Place Mackensie Alexander On IR
Mackensie Alexander‘s season is over. On Friday, the Vikings placed the cornerback on injured reserve, ruling him out the rest of the postseason. 
Alexander was already ruled out for Saturday’s divisional round game against the 49ers after undergoing arthroscopic surgery for a lateral meniscus tear. They got past the Saints without him, but he’ll be badly missed this week as they push to reach the NFC title game.
The Vikings’ remaining group of active cornerbacks – Trae Waynes, Xavier Rhodes, and Holton Hill – will be tasked with holding down the fort yet again as they face the Niners’ potent offense. They’ll be joined by CB Nate Meadors, who was called up to the 53-man roster to take Alexander’s place.
If the Vikings lose to the Niners, that could mark the end of Alexander’s career in purple. The cornerback is scheduled to reach free agency in March.
The Vikings will also be without safety Jayron Kearse, who has been ruled out for this week. On the other side of the ball, the Vikings are keeping their fingers crossed for Adam Thielen and his stitched ankle.
Giants Open To Eli Manning Return
The Giants will move forward with Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback, but they’re not necessarily moving on from Eli Manning. In a radio interview on Friday, owner John Mara said that the longtime franchise face could remain as Jones’ backup or transition to a non-playing role in the organization. 
[RELATED: Eli Manning On His Future]
Mara met with Manning earlier this week and their “nice long talk” didn’t end with any definitive answers. Based on what Manning has said about his future, it seems unlikely that he’d jump at the Giants’ offer to hold the clipboard for Jones.
“I doubt it. I doubt it,” Manning said recently when asked about the prospect of returning as a backup. “Backing up is not real fun. … Everything is an option. That is the first decision, whether I want to continue to play or not. That is what I will decide. I’ll just try to figure it out. I think I can still play.”
The 39-year-old may or may not find an opportunity to start elsewhere. Despite his accomplishments, there are no obvious fits for Manning, given the decline in his arm strength in recent years. He’ll have an opportunity to explore his options in March, when he’s scheduled to reach free agency.
Eagles’ Josh McCown To Have Surgery
Quarterback Josh McCown tore his hamstring in the Eagles’ playoff loss to the Seahawks, as Tim McManus of ESPN.com tweets. Remarkably, McCown played through the injury in the second half of the game as he filled in for Carson Wentz. 
The surgery will keep McCown sidelined for six weeks. After that, he’ll have a decision to make on his future. Last week’s game marked McCown’s first playoff action at the age of 40 and he’ll turn 41 in July, just before training camp gets underway.
Few players would have stayed on the field after tearing a hamstring, but McCown felt he had little choice. After Wentz exited in the first quarter with a concussion, McCown was left as the only quarterback on the Eagles’ active roster.
In June of last year, McCown announced that he would retire after 17 years in the NFL. In August, the Eagles talked him out of hit. He inked a one-year, $2MM deal to serve as Wentz’s backup after the Eagles lost QBs Nate Sudfeld and Cody Kessler to injury. The veteran threw just five passes in the regular season before he was called upon in the wild card contest.
Texans’ Johnathan Joseph To Play Vs. Chiefs
Johnathan Joseph is good to go for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs, according to NFL.com’s James Palmer (on Twitter). The Texans beat the Bills without Joseph last week as he healed up from a hamstring injury, but they’re grateful to have him back as they face one of the league’s most dangerous offenses. 
Joseph suffered the injury in Week 17 against the Titans, leaving them without one of their most important players in the secondary for the wild card round. Before that, Joseph started in eleven of his 14 regular season games, notching 51 total tackles plus an interception in their Week 16 win vs. the Bucs.
In 2018, he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 10 ranked cornerback in the NFL. The advanced metrics haven’t been quite as kind to the 35-year-old this year, but he remains an integral part of the defense and a key piece of the puzzle as the Texans look to keep a lid on the Chiefs’ aerial attack.
This postseason may also mark Joseph’s last. Joseph is slated to hit free agency in March, just before his 36th birthday in April.
Latest On Browns’ Head Coaching Search
The Browns are set to meet with Josh McDaniels today. The Patriots offensive coordinator also brought his wife Laura along with him, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), which could be an indication that McDaniels is poised to land the head coaching job. 
The Browns don’t necessarily have to rush to make a hire, but they’ve reportedly aiming to make a hire by Saturday. McDaniels is the last of three candidates to interview this week, and it’s believed that the hire will ultimately come from that trio of the Pats OC, Vikings OC Kevin Stefanski, and Eagles DC Jim Schwartz.
The search is being spearheaded by Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, who has a good relationship with Schwartz. However, the final decision will be made by owner Jimmy Haslam, and McDaniels is a northeast Ohio native with an impressive resume.
McDaniels, 43, has interviewed with the Browns twice before. He met with the Browns during previous owner Randy Lerner‘s tenure in 2009, before the team hired Eric Mangini. McDaniels withdrew his name from consideration after interviewing in 2014, when current owner Jimmy Haslam was in charge. Before he bowed out in ’14, he was believed to be the favorite.
Redskins, Eric Schaffer Part Ways
The Redskins and Senior VP of Football Operations Eric Schaffer have agreed to mutually part ways, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Schaffer spent nearly two decades with the club and was initially expected to stay, even after the hiring of Ron Rivera and the departure of Bruce Allen. 
Schaffer is well-respected around the league and Rapoport hears that he has already garnered interest from several other teams. Known to be an ace negotiator and a salary cap guru, he probably won’t be out of work for long.
Even Mike McCartney, the agent for Kirk Cousins, was quick to lavish Schaffer with praise after word broke:
“Schaffer will be a terrific asset to whichever NFL team hires him,” McCartney tweeted.
In other Redskins news, Rivera hired old friend Scott Turner to be his offensive coordinator earlier this week.
Falcons Coach Mike Mularkey Retires
Falcons tight ends coach Mike Mularkey has announced his retirement from the NFL. Mularkey’s NFL coaching career dates all the way back to 1994, including turns as the head coach of the Bills and Jaguars. 
“I’ve been blessed to do this for a long time and have a lot of great memories from the game I love,” Mularkey said. “I’ve also missed a lot of time with my family who I love and who has supported me so much throughout my career. I am looking forward to spending even more time with them and making even more memories.”
Mularkey helped guide Falcons tight end Austin Hooper to a breakthrough season in 2019, which included 75 catches for 787 yards and six touchdowns. This was Mularkey’s second run with the team – the first time around, he served as their offensive coordinator from 2008 through 2011. In three of those four seasons, the Falcons reached the playoffs.
“What an awesome career for Mike,” head coach Dan Quinn said. “When you look back at his 25-year coaching career, you’ll not only see a great coach, but you’ll also see an unbelievable human being and leader. Mike has been a great asset for our organization and for me personally. We wish he and his family well and congratulate him on a well-deserved retirement.”
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/9/20
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: RB Mike Weber
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Cody Thompson
Eagles Fire OC Mike Groh
The Eagles have fired offensive coordinator Mike Groh, according to a team announcement. The club also canned wide receivers coach Carson Walch, giving them multiple openings to address on the staff. 
“After much consideration and discussion, I have decided to make a change at the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach positions. It was not an easy decision for me to make and I appreciate everything that Mike Groh and Carson Walch contributed to the organization and to my staff. As I said yesterday, they were a big part of our success down the stretch this past season. This is one of the most difficult parts of the job and something that weighs on me, but ultimately I have to make decisions that I believe are in the best interest of the football team moving forward,” head coach Doug Pederson said.
Previously, Pederson indicated that both coaches would return for 2020. But, after meeting with each of them, he’s opted to make a change.
Groh took over as offensive coordinator in 2018 after Frank Reich left for the Colts’ head coaching job. When Groh moved up, Walch took over his former post as wide receivers coach. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much to work with this year as injuries decimated their WR group. Regardless, Pederson wanted to go in a different direction.
Quarterbacks coach Press Taylor, who drew some OC interest last year, would be a logical candidate for the job, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The Eagles are one of three NFL teams with definitive OC vacancies, joining the Bears and Panthers. The Browns, Giants, and Panthers may also be in the hunt for new coordinators in the coming days.
49ers To Activate Kwon Alexander
The 49ers will activate Kwon Alexander for Saturday’s divisional round game against the Vikings, according to Matt Maiocco of NBCSportsBayArea.com. Still, it remains to be seen how much he’ll play.
When healthy, Alexander is an every-down linebacker for the Niners. However, he’s just nine weeks removed from pec surgery and only just returned to practice last week.
“I know Kwon will fly around,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He’ll hit. He’ll be energetic. He’ll get everyone going. I think everyone will feel his energy on the field. And we’ll see how it goes. We’re not going to throw him out there, just down-in and down-out. But we don’t have a plan, where it’s only going to be ‘this’ amount. He’s looked good in practice, but we’re also not laying people out in practice.”
Without Alexander in the second half of the season, the Niners used rookie Dre Greenlaw at the weakside linebacker spot. It sounds like Greenlaw will continue to see snaps, but the balance between him, Alexander, and the other LBs will be dependent on Alexander’s effectiveness.
“You got to wait to see how the tackling goes and how he feels,” Shanahan said. “(He is) someone we’ll be communicating with throughout the game.”
Alexander is undoubtedly eager to play. Even before the pec tear, the linebacker missed 14 games between the 2017 and 2018 seasons.