Eagles HC Expects Jason Peters To Return
Jason Peters plans to play in 2018 and head coach Doug Pederson is of the belief that it will be with the Eagles. On Wednesday, Pederson said that he expects the veteran to serve as the team’s starting left tackle next season.
“This guy is a Pro Bowl left tackle,” Pederson said (via Matt Lombardo of NJ.com). “Guys like that, in my humble opinion, they can go out whenever they want to go out. I respect him, and what he’s done, and how he’s working right now through injury. If you had to hold a gun to my head right now, I’d say ‘yeah, he’s my left tackle.’”
Of course, that is a decision that will be made by top Philadelphia exec Howie Roseman, not Pederson. Given Peters’ monstrous cap hit for 2018 and the team’s very limited amount of room, it’s far from a given that Peters will be stay on board. Philadelphia is projected to be more than $10MM over the cap in 2018, and Peters will count for roughly $10.6MM of the team’s total commitments. If Peters were released, the Eagles would create ~4.3MM in cap space (or $7MM if he’s designated as a post-June 1 cut).
Peters, who has already said he plans to continue his career next season, only played in seven games in 2017 before tearing his ACL, but still graded as the NFL’s No. 4 offensive tackle, per Pro Football Focus. If Peters isn’t around, the Eagles would likely turn to either right tackle Lane Johnson or swing tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai (the latter of whom struggled early but improved down the stretch) to man the blindside.
Steelers To Talk Extension With Ben Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger says he wants to play for at least three more seasons and the Steelers are on board with that. On Wednesday, team president Art Rooney II told a small group of reporters that he will eventually have a conversation with Big Ben about extending his deal beyond 2019. 
[RELATED: Le’Veon Bell Discusses Contract Situation]
“We haven’t had a long conversation about that other than him saying he is interested in playing beyond his contract,” Rooney said (via ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler). “That’s good news to me, and certainly his play this year makes you feel like he does have a few years left. All that is great in terms of the contract. We’ll address that at the right time. But bottom line is we’re excited that’s the way he feels and we’ll continue to work with him and hopefully get a couple more rings with him.”
Roethlisberger turns 36 in March and has flirted with retirement in the past, but he is still playing football at a high level and wants to add a third ring to his collection. In 2017, Roethlisberger had a 64.2% completion rate with 28 touchdowns and a 92.4 quarterback rating. He finished stronger than he started with 348 yards and three touchdowns per contest over his final seven games.
Since entering the league in 2004, Roethlisberger owns a career 135-63 record in the regular season.
Lions Retain Jim Bob Cooter As OC
The Lions have a new head coach, but they’re not shaking up the entire staff. During his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Matt Patricia confirmed that offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter will be staying on board (Twitter link via Justin Rogers of The Detroit News). 
Cooter missed out on becoming the Lions’ new head coach, but he’ll remain on board as the offensive play caller. Given Patricia’s defensive background, one has to imagine that Cooter will continue to have a high degree of control over his side of the ball.
The 33-year-old has long been viewed as a rising star in the coaching ranks, but the results have not been tremendous in his two full seasons as Detroit’s OC. Under his command, the Lions’ offense ranked 15th in DVOA in 2016 and 17th in 2017. On the plus side, he has a strong working relationship with Matthew Stafford and he offers consistency during a time of significant change.
On Wednesday, the Lions officially named Paul Pasqualoni as their new defensive coordinator.
49ers, Cassius Marsh Agree To Extension
The 49ers announced that defensive end Cassius Marsh has signed a two-year extension with the team. Financial terms of the deal are not yet known. 
Marsh, 26 in July, was initially set for free agent in March. Instead, he’s under contract with San Francisco through the 2019 campaign.
Marsh was traded from the Seahawks to the Patriots last September in exchange for a fifth- and seventh-round pick. He went on to play in nine games for the Pats (one start), compiling 19 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. As time wore on, however, he fell out of the rotation and was released in November. The Niners claimed him off waivers and gave him an opportunity to play. Marsh tallied ten tackles and two sacks in six games with SF.
Yankees Acquire Russell Wilson’s MLB Rights
Is Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson poised to go from the pages of Pro Football Rumors to MLB Trade Rumors? Maybe not, but this is perhaps a story to keep an eye on. On Wednesday, the Rangers announced that they have traded Wilson to the Yankees for future considerations. 
Wilson has no current plans to try and become a two-sport athlete, sources tell Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, but he remains passionate about baseball and wants to be around the game. The 29-year-old (30 in November) is not about to leave the Seahawks and walk away from what he does best, but Rangers GM Jon Daniels has indicated in the past that Wilson could have a future in baseball if he ever decided to make the leap.
“Russell has the competitiveness and work ethic to where he’d have a shot if he committed to baseball,” Daniels said in a 2015 interview. “Obviously, he’s got a pretty good thing going on with the Seahawks, and we’re not going to get in the way of that. Playing quarterback is more intensive than the positions of other guys who have attempted to play both sports.”
The four-time Pro Bowler is under contract with the Seahawks through 2019 per the terms of the four-year, $87.6MM extension he signed back in 2015.
West Notes: Broncos, Cousins, Lynch
During Super Bowl week, Mike Klis of 9News asked former and current NFL players about what the Broncos should do at quarterback this offseason. One of those current players was Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller, who gave a very interesting response.
“I like all the guys out there,” Miller said when asked whether the Broncos should sign Kirk Cousins for ~$30MM/year, Case Keenum for $18MM/year, or draft a QB at No. 5 overall. “But if we could get Kirk that’d be great. If we get solid play (from the QB position) that’d be great. And we got to get better on defense as well. But, since you asked me the question, I would like to have Kirk. I would rather have Kirk.’’
While you mull over the Broncos’ QB options, here’s more from the AFC and NFC West:
- Now that the Raiders have released cornerback David Amerson, Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area looked at which players could be next to go. The list starts with wide receiver Michael Crabtree, who is slated to carry a $7.7MM cap number. While Crabtree has come up big at times during his three-year Oakland tenure, his age (31 in September) and inconsistent work ethic are definite strikes against him. Running back Marshawn Lynch ($6MM cap number), safety Sean Smith ($8.5MM), and WR Seth Roberts ($4.45MM, $2MM in dead money) could also be released in order to create cap room, though in the case of Lynch, he may retire before Jon Gruden & Co. can bring the ax down. Expensive veterans like Bruce Irvin ($8.25MM), Kelechi Osemele ($10.5MM), Rodney Hudson ($8.4MM), Jared Cook ($5.3MM) and Cordarrelle Patterson ($3.25MM) figure to stay, in Bair’s estimation.
- The Rams have decisions of their own to make, as ESPN.com’s Alden Gonzalez details. Tavon Austin may seem like a prime candidate to get cut, but his contract could trigger L.A. to hold off on dumping the wide receiver. The Rams can save $3MM in 2018 by parting with Austin, but that also means $5MM in dead money. If the Rams wait until after the 2018 season to cut Austin, they can escape his bloated contract without any financial penalty. Inside linebacker Mark Barron could also be in danger of getting cut. The Rams would save $7MM in 2018 by releasing the former No. 7 overall pick with just $3MM in dead money remaining. Barron is owed a $2MM roster bonus by March 16, so the Rams will be thinking long and hard about this one over the next five weeks.
- Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub could be a consideration for the Colts now that Josh McDaniels has bailed on them.
Latest On Colts, Josh McDaniels
On Wednesday morning, GM Chris Ballard faced the media in the wake of Josh McDaniels‘ shocking decision to back out on becoming the team’s next head coach. Here’s a look at the highlights plus other news on McDaniels’ flip-flop:
- McDaniels’ agent, Bob LaMonte, told him that he’s making perhaps the biggest professional mistake of his career by backing out of this Colts job at this point, according to sources who spoke with Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). On Wednesday afternoon, LaMonte terminated his relationship with McDaniels, a source tells Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (on Twitter). LaMonte is forfeiting a potentially large commission down the road should McDaniels become a head coach again, but he is also protecting future business by distancing himself from the Patriots OC.
- Colts were going to pay McDaniels “fabulously,” a source tells Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter), so money was not the issue in Indianapolis. Pelissero hears that the coach also wasn’t warded off by Andrew Luck’s injured shoulder, owner Jim Irsay, or Ballard. At the end of the day, the Patriots just convinced him to stay. There’s no new contract in place for McDaniels yet, but Pelissero expects that to happen soon.
- Ballard says two doctors who looked at Luck after the season have determined that he does not need surgery (Twitter link via Pelissero). Luck’s arm strength is good, the GM says, but he is now working on motion and arm speed. He has yet to pick up a football, but the team will not rush him or skip any steps.
- The GM confirmed that none of the coaches from the initial wave of interviews will be in the mix, meaning that Kris Richard and Matt Rhule will not be considered (Twitter link via Pelissero).
- There were other candidates the Colts wanted to interview, Ballard said, but the playoffs got in the way (Twitter link via Stephen Holder of ESPN.com). The Colts are expected to request an interview with Eagles OC Frank Reich and he fits the bill as a coach who was tied up during the playoffs. Of course, the same could be said of McDaniels and that did not stop Indy from interviewing him.
- The Colts will honor the contract of defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and others who have already signed their deals. That’s not an issue for Ballard who explained that he knew Eberflus well through Rod Marinelli. The former Dallas assistant was already a guy he wanted to run his defense.
- The Colts got an uneasy feeling a week ago that something could be stalling with McDaniels, despite moving forward with his contract (Twitter link via Jay Glazer of FOX Sports).
- McDaniels arrived at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday with the intention of cleaning out his office, but Bill Belichick‘s willingness to take his mentorship to a higher level played a big part in McDaniels reversing course, sources tell ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss. Belichick told McDaniels that he would spend more time with him on the inner workings of the team, including roster construction and salary-cap management, which was viewed as “extremely valuable” to McDaniels. That could be part of a succession plan for Belichick in the future, but no assurances have been made to McDaniels.
Colts Eyeing Frank Reich, Dan Campbell
The Colts’ head coaching search is on. Again. This time, the Colts are expected to start by requesting permission to speak with Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich and Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
Reich was a hot name at the beginning of this year’s coaching cycle which makes sense considering how effective the Eagles’ offense was in 2017. However, over time, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo wound up garnering more attention from teams with HC vacancies for his role in Carson Wentz‘s development. His candidacy may also have been hurt by the fact that Doug Pederson is the play caller in Philadelphia.
Last season, the Philly offense ranked third in scoring, seventh in yards, and eighth in DVOA. The 56-year-old has worked as an NFL coach since 2008 and is perhaps best known for leading the Bills offense back from a 32-point deficit in a 1993 playoff game, After spending time with the Colts and Cardinals, Reich was the Chargers’ offensive coordinator from 2014-15 before joining the Eagles the following year.
The 41-year-old Campbell has served only as a tight ends coach or an interim head coach in his seven-year tenure as a full-time NFL assistant. Still, he was one of 12 head coaching candidates recommended by the NFL’s Career Development Advisory Panel late last year and he was a candidate for the Vikings’ OC opening. The Dolphins also interviewed him in early 2016 for their HC job before settling on Adam Gase.
Other names linked to the job include Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub.
Greg Schiano To Stay At Ohio State
The Patriots no longer need a new offensive coordinator, but there is still the matter of filling the defensive coordinator role. That position won’t be taken by Greg Schiano, who will remain as Ohio State’s DC, according to Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Albert Breer of The MMQB (Twitter link) has confirmed the news. 
There was some speculation that Schiano could have been a candidate for the DC job or perhaps a different role on the staff. Now that the former Rutgers head coach has been ruled out, linebackers coach Brian Flores stands as the clear favorite to succeed Matt Patricia.
Schiano was said to be generating “a lot of interest” for NFL DC positions this offseason and he figures to be in line for similar opportunities next year. Although he did not find success in his two seasons as the Buccaneers’ head coach, Schiano remains highly respected in coaching circles. Fans at large are not as crazy about him, however, as evidenced by the grass roots movement to keep him from becoming the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers.
Colts To Keep Matt Eberflus
Josh McDaniels bailed on the Colts, but the Colts are not bailing on his would-be assistants. At least, not the ones that have already signed contracts. On Wednesday morning, GM Chris Ballard confirmed that defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and other coaches who inked deals with the team will be staying on board. 
In addition to Eberflus, Dave DeGuglielmo (offensive line) and Mike Phair (defensive line) have also inked deals, so they’ll still have a place on the staff. That still leaves some key openings, like offensive coordinator, so the Colts’ next coach can at least choose some of his own assistants.
Prior to the McDaniels debacle, it was reported that the team was pushing for Darrell Bevell to be the new offensive coordinator while McDaniels was pushing for Raiders quarterbacks coach Jake Peetz. The Colts may still try to bring Bevell into the mix, but they may also leave it up to the next coach given that he’ll be made to work with McDaniels’ hires.