Antonio Brown Involved In Dispute
Steelers star Antonio Brown was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute in January, according to TMZ. However, he was not arrested in connection with the incident. 
Last month in Florida, a woman made allegations of misconduct against Brown and phoned local police. Details are murky, but a person with the Hollywood Police Dept. confirmed to TMZ that “no arrests were made.”
This isn’t the first time Brown has been accused of poor off-the-field misconduct. Last year, Brown was sued by a man claiming that the wide receiver nearly killed his child by throwing furniture off of the balcony of his Florida home. Brown, meanwhile, said the man is lying and proclaimed his innocence.
Brown has pushed for a trade in recent weeks, but this latest news may hurt his value. Over the last few days, Brown reiterated his desire for a trade and has been ignoring calls from owner Art Rooney II.
Brown had another productive year in 2018, though he was overshadowed at times by rising star JuJu Smith-Schuster. The three years and $39MM left on his current deal may be a barrier to a trade and the cap hit the Steelers would have to absorb may be an even bigger barrier. Every team in the league would love to have Brown, but any deal would require a serious forfeiture of draft picks and a pricey commitment.
Now, the latest allegations against Brown could muddy the waters even further. Ultimately, the accusation could force to Brown to move forward with Pittsburgh, though fences will have to be mended between him and the organization.
Jets Have No Plans To Move Leonard Williams
This will be a season of upheaval for the Jets, but one key player appears to be safe. The Jets have no plans to trade defensive lineman Leonard Williams, according to Manish Mehta of the Daily News (on Twitter). 
Recently, the Jets considered the notion of trading Williams if they could net a second-round pick in return. The former first-round pick is under contract in 2019 via a $14.2MM fifth-year option, a figure that would put him ninth amongst all interior linemen in the NFL. Of course, he’d only get more expensive after that point and the Jets were previously burned by Muhammad Wilkerson‘s oversized pact.
For now, it sounds like the Jets are willing to wait things out and see if they can hammer out a new deal in the next year. If they can’t get a deal done, they could employ the franchise tag to stall. A 2020 franchise tag would cost the team roughly $18MM, meaning that Williams would earn about $32MM over the next two years. The AAV of $16MM would rank as the sixth-highest salary of defensive tackles league-wide.
As far as we know, the Jets have yet to engage in extension talks with Williams, but those talks are expected to occur in 2019.
Dolphins, Brian Flores Ink Five-Year Deal
The Dolphins believe that Brian Flores is the right man to turn their franchise around and they showed their confidence in him in the form of a unique contract. Flores’ deal is a fully guaranteed five-year pact, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
For the most part, this year’s other head coaching hires inked four-year contract with a team option for a fifth-year. Reading between the lines, it sounds like the Dolphins felt compelled to go the extra mile in order to secure their top candidate. In addition to the Dolphins, the Browns, Broncos, and Packers also considered the former Patriots de facto defensive coordinator.
The Patriots ranked 21st in yards allowed but seventh in scoring this past season, and they’ve only had one non-top-10 scoring defense in the past 13 seasons. Of those 13 years, Flores was with the organization for eight.
In a recent poll, PFR readers said they were not as high on Flores as other hires this offseason. 26% of PFR readers said that new Bucs head coach Bruce Arians was the best hire of the bunch while Flores came in at just 6.26%.
Latest On Bengals, Jack Del Rio
The Bengals and Jack Del Rio have been discussing the team’s defensive coordinator position, but it sounds like the two sides won’t be joining up, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). After further conversation, the two sides determined that it’s not a “perfect fit,” which indicates that JDR will not be the hire in Cincinnati. 
Del Rio was believed to be the Bengals’ top choice for DC, but both sides had reservations, according to Rapoport. Most of the team’s key staff is in place – Bill Callahan will be the OC and special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons is staying put – but they’re putting a pin in the DC position for now.
As Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link) notes, Del Rio is still getting paid by the Raiders for another two years, so he can afford to wait for the right job. His contract may or may not include offset language, which could be a factor in his decision.
Del Rio, 55, was either a head coach or defensive coordinator every season from 2002-17. Following his 2002 season as John Fox‘s DC in Carolina, Jacksonville hired Del Rio as HC. He caught on with Fox again as the Broncos’ DC from 2012-14 before the Raiders hired him in 2015. While his Broncos defenses (two top-five units) were better than his Raiders crews — 22nd, 20th and 20th in points allowed, respectively — Del Rio did guide the Silver and Black to their first playoff berth in 14 seasons.
Titans Cut QB Austin Davis
The Titans have cut reserve quarterback Austin Davis, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Davis was signed prior to the team’s Week 17 game when Marcus Mariota was sidelined by injury. 
Blaine Gabbert wound up starting, and finishing, the Titans’ final game of the season The 33-17 Colts romp vanquished the Titans’ playoff hopes, meaning that Davis never took a snap in Tennessee.
Davis, 30 in June, has 16 career games and ten starts under his belt. He’s 3-7 in those starts, with the bulk of his action coming in 2014 as a member of the Rams. Ex-Rams QBs Nick Foles and Case Keenum found success outside of the organization, but Davis is still waiting for his moment to shine.
In addition to the Rams, Davis has suited up for the Browns and Seahawks. However, he did not take a snap while in Seattle in 2017.
Giants Release LB Connor Barwin
It’s officially official. On Monday, the Giants released linebacker Connor Barwin, per a team announcement. 
[RELATED: Latest On Giants, Eli Manning]
The Giants first decided to part ways with Barwin in late January, but the move was not finalized until Monday afternoon. Barwin joined the Giants on July 25 at the start of training camp and, at the time, it seemed as though he’d have a significant role on defense. Eventually, his playing time dwindled. The 32-year-old appeared in 15 games but started in just three and had just one sack to his credit in 2018.
If Barwin wants to continue playing, he should be able to find a market for his services. He may have to settle for something near the veteran’s minimum, but he’s already earned big bucks throughout his career.
Before his release, Barwin’s 51 sacks were the highest of any player on the Giants’ roster.
Adrian Peterson Wants To Continue Playing
This is the time of year when NFL veterans tend to ponder retirement. That’s not the case for running back Adrian Peterson, however, who turns 34 in March. 
[RELATED: Rob Gronkowski To Make Decision Soon]
“I’ll be playing next year for sure,” Peterson told TMZ. “Maybe two or three more years.”
Of course, it takes two to tango and there’s no guarantee that the free-agent-to-be will find a home for 2019. Even if he does, few running backs outside Frank Gore have been able to keep it going in the mid-30s.
The Redskins signed Peterson last season after losing rookie Derrius Guice to injury. Peterson silenced the doubters by running for 1,042 yards off of 251 carries, good for a 4.2 yards per carry average. The YPC was his best posting since 2015. He also added seven touchdowns on the ground and 20 catches for 208 yards and one TD over the air.
With nearly 3,000 carries under his belt, and a clear desire for significant playing time, it remains to be seen whether Peterson will find a good fit this offseason. For what it’s worth, there appears to be mutual interest in a new deal in D.C.
Bengals Officially Hire Zac Taylor
The Bengals officially have their new coach. On Monday, the Bengals announced the hiring of Zac Taylor, the former quarterbacks coach of the Rams. 
“I am happy and fortunate to join the Cincinnati Bengals as head coach,” Taylor said in a press release. “This is a great organization with good people and a rich history, and I am excited to get started. I am looking to add to that history by setting high standards, and holding everyone here accountable to those standards. There is a lot of work to do, and this is day one. We’re going to attack every day with enthusiasm to get this team ready to go.”
Taylor’s Rams fell flat in the Super Bowl, but he had a major role in overseeing one of the league’s most potent offenses in 2018. The Rams won the NFC West with a 13-3 regular-season record and reached new heights, despite their overall youth.
“Zac is a bright coach with an offensive mind and background, which is important to have in today’s NFL,” said Bengals president Mike Brown. “And he’s young. He embraces new ideas and new ways to do things, which will be a good thing for us. I believe our team will be exciting and fun to watch with him at the helm.”
Taylor is now the tenth coach in Bengals history, replacing the long-tenured Marvin Lewis.
Latest On Kyler Murray
Kyler Murray has entered his name in the 2019 NFL Draft and league executives are intrigued by his talent. They’re also concerned about the Oklahoma quarterback’s situation and his true intentions, according to sources who spoke with Matt Miller of Bleacher Report. 
On the baseball side, Murray is represented by super agent Scott Boras. However, he has yet to retain an agent for the NFL.
“He’s still going in the first [round], but he needs to get an [expletive] agent and do it the right way,” one person told Miller.
Another source expressed concern that Murray may be making a leverage play to get more money from the Oakland A’s. This jibes with other recent reports – even though Murray says he wants to play football, he is said to be very much undecided about which sport to pick. The A’s are still negotiating to potentially sweeten his deal and Major League Baseball is also working to bring the two-sport star to the diamond.
If Murray can convince NFL execs that he is serious about playing football, it’s possible that he could be a top 10 pick.
Dolphins, Brian Flores Finalize Deal
The Dolphins have their new head coach. After the Super Bowl, Brian Flores‘ agent finalized terms on a contract to make the Patriots’ defensive guru the new head coach in Miami (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).
Terms of the deal are not yet known, but the industry standard is a four-year deal with a fifth-year team option, so that’s likely the structure of Flores’ pact. At 4pm ET/3pm CT on Monday, the Dolphins will introduce their new coach to the public.
The Dolphins agreed to hire Flores nearly a month ago, but league rules prohibit teams from hiring coaches who are still active with their clubs during the playoffs. Last year, the Colts were burned by a gentleman’s agreement with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, but the Dolphins were comfortable enough with Flores to move forward without a signed deal.
Flores did not hold the title of defensive coordinator in New England last year, but he was the de facto DC and got results out of a unit that was undermanned, particularly up front. The D was up and down throughout the year, but things came together later in the year and Flores’ pass rush stepped up on Sunday to stifle the Rams en route to the Pats’ sixth Super Bowl win in franchise history.
The Dolphins’ defense is much more of a fixer-upper, but owner Stephen Ross, GM Chris Grier, and the rest of the Fins front office has confidence in Flores. He’ll take over for offensive guru Adam Gase, who was hired as the Jets’ new head coach in January.