Poll: Will The Ravens Trade Joe Flacco?
The Ravens have their quarterback of the present and future in Lamar Jackson, but questions remain about their franchise QB of the past. The Ravens want to trade Joe Flacco in order to recoup something for the one-time Super Bowl champion, and they’re confident they can get a solid return, but not everyone in the football world is convinced. 
“At the end of the day, if I was picking what would happen, I would say that he will be released,” said former NFL GM Charley Casserly told Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. “I have a hard time believing somebody is going to trade for that contract with the uncertainty of Joe this late in his career.”
Even with the dearth of quality QBs out there, there’s no doubt about it – Flacco’s contract is an issue. He has three years and $63MM to go on a deal that has no guaranteed money remaining, but still calls for a substantial cap number in 2019.
“You have to take on the $18.5MM to make the trade, unless the Ravens are willing to eat more salary to facilitate a trade,” former agent Joel Corry told Zrebiec. “You’re going to have to really want to get rid of the guy and get a draft pick to start eating salary.”
On the plus side, there are potential suitors for 34-year-old. The Jaguars are reportedly mulling a Flacco trade, the Redskins probably need a QB to fill in for Alex Smith this year, and clubs like the Dolphins, Panthers, Broncos may or may not be in the QB market depending on how things break. And, this year’s free agent crop is no hot shakes outside of Nick Foles and Teddy Bridgewater. In theory, these teams and others could wait to see whether Flacco is released outright, but that might not be a gamble worth taking.
Ultimately, do you think the Ravens will find a trade for Flacco? Cast your vote here and back up your choice in the comment section below (poll link for app users):
Will The Ravens Trade Flacco?
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Yes 72% (1,765)
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No 28% (702)
Total votes: 2,467
Following Specific NFL Players On PFR
As we’ve outlined before, there are a number of different ways to follow Pro Football Rumors via Facebook, Twitter, and RSS. If you don’t want to follow all the site’s updates, you can subscribe to team-specific or transaction-only Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Although we don’t have Facebook pages or Twitter feeds for specific players, it’s easy to follow all our updates on your favorite player as well.
If, for instance, you want to keep track of all the latest news and rumors on Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell as he prepares for free agency, you can visit this page. If you’re interested in keeping tabs on the latest news involving Alex Smith, you can find his page right here.
In addition to dedicating pages to players, we also maintain archives for certain specific non-NFL topics. For example, all our posts relating to the XFL can be found here, while our updates on the Alliance of American Football (AAF) are here.
Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page, and each of those players also has his own RSS feed, making it even easier to follow the latest updates. Links to RSS feeds for specific players are all located on this page. You can also find links to RSS feeds for various miscellaneous categories there. For instance, if you only want to receive one update every Sunday recapping the week’s notable headlines, you can subscribe to our Week in Review RSS feed, right here.
Bills Sign LS Reid Ferguson To Extension
The Bills have re-signed long snapper Reid Ferguson to a three-year extension, according to a team announcement. Ferguson was set to be an exclusive rights free agent this offseason, meaning that he would not have reached the open market, unless the Bills renounced his rights. 
It’s early in the offseason, but the Bills have already started taking care of in-house matters. Earlier this month, the Bills signed Lorenzo Alexander to a new one-year deal and inked offensive lineman Jeremiah Sirles to a fresh one-year pact.
The Bills’ list of free agents is rapidly dwindling, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes. Here’s the full rundown of the Bills’ FAs-to-be, as of this writing:
Unrestricted Free Agents
- RB Taiwan Jones
- WR Deonte Thompson
- OL Ryan Groy
- OL John Miller
- OL Jordan Mills
- DT Jordan Phillips
Restricted Free Agents
- TE Logan Thomas
- CB Lafayette Pitts
Exclusive Rights Free Agents
- DE Eddie Yarbrough
- LB Deon Lacey
- P Matt Darr
Jets Not Interested In Kareem Hunt
The Jets are on the hunt for a running back this offseason, but their search will not include free agent Kareem Hunt, Manish Mehta of the Daily News hears. Despite Hunt’s talent, sources tell Mehta that the Jets do not want to get involved with the player after surveillance footage surfaced of him assaulting a woman. 
The league is currently investigating Hunt and the process is expected to finish before the start of free agency in March. It’s likely that multiple teams will do their homework on Hunt, but his market will obviously be limited by his past transgressions.
The Jets have been willing to gamble on players with iffy track records under GM Mike Maccagnan, but they appear to be drawing a line when it comes to domestic violence. For example, two years ago, the Jets reportedly took Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon off their draft board.
“There are some things that are extremely egregious that I personally have a very hard time with condoning,” Maccagnan said before the 2017 draft. “And violence in particular — that’s a very serious thing to me. That’s something that for me and my wife, we’ve had a personal experience with that. I would say, simply, we don’t take it lightly.”
After the Jets ranked 29th in yards per carry last year, they’re in desperate need of a running back upgrade. Even though Hunt captured the league’s NFL rushing title as a rookie with 1,327 yards on the ground, he won’t be in the mix for Gang Green.
The Jets’ lack of interest in Hunt could improve the odds of a Le’Veon Bell signing, though they may prefer to spread their $100MM+ in cap room around.
Latest On Ole Miss WR D.K. Metcalf
Ole Miss wide receiver D.K. Metcalf has been cleared for all football activity with no limitations, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The projected first-round pick underwent neck surgery last October, but it sounds like his issue will not hinder his draft stock. 
Already, Metcalf has begun training for the draft combine and he will participate in all activities once he arrives in Indianapolis. There may be some rust to shake off, but he has roughly one month before things get underway on Feb. 26.
Metcalf’s true freshman season ended after just two games thanks to a broken foot, but he returned in 2017 to average 16.6 yards per catch and score seven touchdowns. In 2018, he was averaging 21.9 yards per grab and notched five TDs in seven games before he was shut down for the season. His injury history will be a concern, but he’s still expected to be among this year’s top draft prospects.
“He’s raw, but there’s a lot of upside because he’s so big and talented,” an NFL scout told Yahoo Sports last year. “He’ll probably go in the second round because he’s so talented. He’s going to kill workouts, and he’s a good kid and football is important to him. I’d be shocked if the health checks out if he lasts past the second round.”
Colts Re-Sign Adam Vinatieri
Adam Vinatieri will return for a 24th NFL season. The Colts inked a new one-year deal with the kicker, the team announced.
Vinatieri owns four Super Bowl rings and is the league’s all-time leading scorer, so he has nothing left to prove. Still, Vinatieri’s love of football has not waned, so he is eager to return for his age-46 season. Should the Colts reach the playoffs in 2019, Vinatieri will be booting kicks as a 47-year-old.
“If they’re wanting, I can’t imagine (I’d) not keep playing, you know?” Vinatieri said earlier this month.
Vinatieri nailed 85% of his field goal tries (23-for-27) for a second straight year and connected on a 54-yard field goal for a third straight season. He made four 50-plus-yard field goals — the fourth straight year he has connected on at least four from beyond 50 yards. He did miss an extra point and a field goal inside of PAT distance in the Colts’ divisional round loss to the Chiefs, but he’s still one of the league’s most reliable legs.
“I will say this: do I think he can still kick in this league and be a really good kicker? Absolutely I do,” GM Chris Ballard said recently. “He is as important a guy in that locker room. I don’t know if I have been around a special teams player that has as much impact as Adam (Vinatieri) does in the locker room. From a positive standpoint, all of our young guys that come in get to see Adam Vinatieri work, rehab, prepare his body every year, be a pro, handle the hard times, handle the good times. I mean all of that, what Adam brings, brings a lot of value to this team.”
Only two players — kicker Morten Andersen and quarterback/kicker George Blanda — have played either a 24th season or past their 47th birthdays. Once again, Vinatieri has his eye on smashing a new record.
The deal was first reported by Zak Keefer of the Indy Star (on Twitter). Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) reported the length of the contract.
Bears To Audition Several Kickers
The Bears are leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to upgrade the kicker position. On Friday, they’ll work out a group of six or seven kickers including Nick Folk, Blair Walsh, and Austin MacGinnis, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). 
Parkey missed a potential game winner against the Eagles in the opening round of the playoffs, putting him on thin ice. His 43-yard try off the upright was a heartbreaker, though it wasn’t exactly Parkey’s fault as it was tipped by defensive tackle Treyvon Hester.
The 26-year-old kicker (27 in February) may have put his job in further jeopardy when he made a guest appearance on NBC’s Today show to discuss the miss. The lighthearted segment rubbed head coach Matt Nagy the wrong way and drew the ire of many Bears fans.
“For me, you understand that we always talk about a ‘we’ and not a ‘me’ thing,” Nagy said (via ESPN.com). “We always talk as a team, we win as a team, we lose as a team. You know, I just, I didn’t necessarily think that that was too much of a ‘we’ thing.”
It certainly sounds like the Bears want to replace Parkey, but his contract complicates matters. Parkey joined the Bears on a four-year, $15MM deal last offseason which calls for a $4.4MM dead cap hit if he is released before the 2019 season. Earlier this month, GM Ryan Pace indicated that the contract will not necessarily keep them from moving on.
“We talk about those things [the financial ramifications], but the most important thing is performance,” Pace said.
Chiefs To Hire Steve Spagnuolo
The Chiefs will hire Steve Spagnuolo as their new defensive coordinator, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a reunion for Spagnuolo and Andy Reid – Spags started his NFL coaching career in Philadelphia under Reid years ago and now joins him in Kansas City. 
Bob Sutton was fired this week after the Chiefs’ heartbreaking exit in the AFC Championship Game. Soon after, the loud and lovable Rex Ryan was connected to the job, but former Giants and Rams coach won out over the ex-Jets coach, who may or may not have been a real contender anyway.
Spagnuolo didn’t coach in 2018, but he is highly respected around the NFL for his work as the Giants’ DC. The 59-year-old also comes with head coaching experience, as he led the Rams from 2009-11. We didn’t hear his name much in this cycle, but he was connected to the Broncos’ DC job at one point.
Sutton’s Chiefs D struggled in 2018 while the offense ascended to new heights. Clearly, there’s real potential for the Chiefs with quality pieces like Eric Berry, Justin Houston, and Dee Ford (if he’s re-signed) and Spagnuolo gets to re-enter the league with a plum job.
As the Giants’ DC, Spagnuolo’s defenses finished in the top 10 in 2007, 2008, and 2016. If the Chiefs can get anywhere close to those results, they’ll be very happy with their new hire.
ASJ Bids Farewell To Jaguars
UPDATE, 3:32pm CT: Hold the phone. The Jaguars have not made any decisions regarding ASJ’s option, per the team’s PR director (on Twitter):
“The club has until Feb. 19 to make a decision on his 2019 option, which would be the 2nd season of a two-year deal. The team HAS NOT made a decision on his 2019 option. Any reports to the contrary are false.”
3:30pm CT: Austin Seferian-Jenkins will not be returning to Jacksonville. On Thursday, the tight end took to Twitter to bid farewell to his teammates and fans. 
“Appreciate the time Jax! It wasn’t what we wanted! But I’m happy y’all supported me and my teammates! Next chapter,” Jenkins wrote.
ASJ joined the Jags on a two-year, $10MM contract last offseason worth $10MM. Like many NFL deals, the contract wasn’t exactly a true $10MM deal. The Jags held a $500K team option bonus for ’19 that had to be exercised in the spring. Instead, they’ll let him go and explore the open market.
Seferian-Jenkins’ lone year in Jacksonville wasn’t a success. He appeared in only five games and finished out with 11 catches for 90 yards and one touchdown.
For all of his warts, his potential should lead him to work next season, even if it’s not on a big money contract. The former second-round pick won’t turn 27 until September and he flashed potential in 2017 as he caught 50 balls for 357 yards and three TDs with the Jets.
Ravens, John Harbaugh Agree To Extension
John Harbaugh‘s new deal is finally done. On Thursday, the Ravens announced the signing of a fresh contract for their head coach. It’s a four-year extension that will take him through the 2023 season.
Harbaugh and the Ravens began discussing an extension early in January, but things took a bit of time to come together. Ultimately, the two sides were able to hash things out after a few weeks. Terms of the deal are not yet known, but it’s likely that the new deal will position him as one of the highest paid head coaches in the NFL.
In this cycle, multiple teams were said to be mulling trades for Harbaugh that probably would have called for the forfeiture of draft compensation. The Buccaneers and Dolphins gave it real thought, but they wound up hiring Bruce Arians and Brian Flores, respectively.
Harbaugh, 56, is 114-77 for his career and ranks fifth in wins among active coaches. Three straight Ravens playoff absences — and a 40-40 record from 2013-17 — moved him close to the chopping block, but the switch to Jackson (and Baltimore’s defense returning to elite status) transformed a 4-5 team to a 10-6 division champion. This past season marked the Ravens’ seventh playoff appearance under Harbaugh.