NFC North Notes: Lions, Flowers, Hunter
The Lions, who own the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, are open to trading that selection. If GM Brad Holmes elects to keep it, however, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press does not expect Holmes to pick Liberty QB Malik Willis. Though Detroit worked closely with Willis at the Senior Bowl, and though the big-armed passer performed well at that event, the consensus still seems to be that he is not worthy of the No. 2 pick.
Theoretically, trading down from the top of the draft board could make it more likely that the Lions select Willis or a different quarterback with their first pick, but Birkett does not believe the club will draft a signal-caller with any of its first three selections (presently No. 2, No. 32, and No. 34 overall). If Detroit stays at No. 2, Birkett expects a pass rusher — either Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson or Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux — to be the choice.
Let’s round up a few more NFC North notes and rumors:
- Birkett does expect the Lions to be more active in free agency this offseason than they were last year, and he cites wide receiver and safety as the two likeliest positions to be upgraded with a notable signing. Both he and Chris Burke of The Athletic (subscription required) believe edge defender Trey Flowers looms as a potential cap casualty — Flowers’ release would add $10.5MM to the Lions’ books if he is cut prior to June 1, and $16MM if he is designated a post-June 1 cut.
- Even without removing Flowers from the roster, Holmes has roughly $25MM of cap space to work with. Because of his position (safety) and connection to the Lions‘ coaching staff, Birkett names the Saints’ Marcus Williams as a potential FA target for Holmes.
- Vikings standout Danielle Hunter will line up both at DE and OLB in new defensive coordinator Ed Donatell‘s scheme, per Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (via Twitter). Hunter has played in just seven games over the past two years, and between that lack of availability and his lofty 2022 cap charge of $26.1MM, Arif Hasan of The Athletic (subscription required) identifies him as a release candidate. Hasan, though, says such as a move is unlikely, and given how well Hunter performed in 2021 before succumbing to a torn pec — six sacks, six tackles for loss, and 10 QB hits in his seven games — it appears the LSU product will stay in Minnesota and will get a chance to show off his versatility.
- The Bears have hired Matt Feinstein as their new director of football administration, per a team announcement. As Alex Shapiro of NBC Sports Chicago details, Feinstein worked in the league office for seven years, and he will replace Joey Laine, who served as former GM Ryan Pace‘s director of football administration and who was Pace’s lead contract negotiator and salary cap manager.
Chiefs Hire Matt Nagy As QBs Coach
One day after the Bears’ former general manager found a new home, their ex-head coach has landed his next NFL job. The Chiefs have hired Matt Nagy as their new quarterbacks coach, adding the title of senior offensive assistant, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). 
[Related: Chiefs To Retain OC Eric Bieniemy]
The move marks a reunion for Nagy and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. The pair worked together with the Eagles, as Nagy began his coaching carer in Philadelphia immediately after his playing days were over. Reid brought Nagy onto his Chiefs staff as well, hiring him to be the team’s QBs coach in 2013, a position he held for three seasons.
Nagy then got promoted to OC, the role he had for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The latter campaign saw the Chiefs transition from Alex Smith to Patrick Mahomes as their starting QB, so there will be a degree of familiarity on that front for Nagy.
The 43-year-old’s success in Kansas City got him his first HC gig with the Bears. After winning Coach of the Year in his first season, though, things started to go south. A 12-4, division-winning campaign was followed up by consecutive 8-8 seasons, as it became clear that Mitch Trubisky would not be the franchise signal caller he was drafted to be. The 2021 campaign, which saw the team go 6-11 and featured an underwhelming rookie season for Justin Fields, led to an increasing amount of blame for the offense’s struggles being shouldered by Nagy, who was fired at the end of the year.
Interestingly, Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson reports that Nagy “had several coaching opportunities with similar titles”. He adds that Nagy “was passionate about getting back into coaching” right away, leaving Kansas City as the most logical location for him to do so. He will replace Mike Kafka, who was hired to be the new OC for the Giants earlier this month.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 2/22/22
Here are Tuesday’s reserve/futures deals:
Chicago Bears
- LB Noah Dawkins
Cincinnati Bengals
- WR Trent Taylor
Green Bay Packers
Miami Dolphins
New York Giants
Tennessee Titans
- WR Josh Malone
Bears’ Allen Robinson, Akiem Hicks Leaving In Free Agency?
2022 will be an important season for the Bears, with Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles taking over as head coach and general manager, respectively. It will also be the first full year of Justin Fields being the undisputed starting quarterback. However, as Adam Jahns of The Athletic writes, they could very well find themselves without Pro Bowlers Allen Robinson and Akiem Hicks. 
Poles’ stated goal to “be selective in free agency” might not include Robinson or Hicks. The former has made it clear that he was not a fan of ex-HC Matt Nagy in particular, and of the offensive direction of the team more generally. The 28-year-old posted 38 catches for 410 yards and one touchdown last season, a far cry from his 1,100-plus yard seasons in the two previous campaigns.
Robinson signed his franchise tender last year, with many feeling it may be his final season in the Windy City. As Jahns writes, “aligning with a veteran quarterback is arguably in his best interests”, either as part of a long-term deal closer to the $14MM per year he originally agreed to in Chicago, or on a shorter pact to prove he can still play at an elite level.
As for Hicks, frustrations with the franchise could again be a deciding factor in his plans. As Jahns notes, even tough nearly the entire defensive staff has been replaced, the 32-year-old could look elsewhere on the open market – a stark turnaround from preseason reports that he was looking to stay in Chicago. With injuries becoming a concern in recent years, Hicks is still amongst the most disruptive interior linemen in the league, recording seven total sacks in the last two seasons. However, Jahns writes, “Hicks seemed to sense that his time was ending with the Bears” towards the end of the regular season. Regardless of where he ends up, Hicks will likely not be able to match the $12MM annual average he was making on his soon-to-be expired contract.
In the case of both players, Jahns predicts that they will leave in free agency, leaving the Bears to focus on other priorities, such as offensive linemen James Daniels. If Robinson and Hicks do depart, they will leave Chicago with plenty of cap space to work with, but also a significant number of additions needing to be made to rebound from 2021’s disappointing performance.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 2/16/22
Here are Wednesday’s reserve/futures deals:
Chicago Bears
- LS Beau Brinkley, P Ryan Winslow
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- T Brandon Walton
Bears Hire Brent Salazar
- Lastly, the Bears are hiring Brent Salazar as their strength and conditioning coach (Twitter link via Wilson). He has more than a decade of experience in the NFL, having previously worked with three different teams. He also spent the years between 2017 and 2020 as the director of performance for the United States Tennis Association.
[SOURCE LINK]
NFC Coaching Notes: Giants, Seahawks, Bears
Brian Daboll is naturally making some changes to the Giants coaching staff. Per Aaron Wilson on Twitter (detailed in four tweets), the Giants have hired Drew Wilkins as linebackers coach, Christian Jones as an offensive assistant, Laura Young as director of coaching operations, Bobby Johnson as offensive line coach, Shea Tierney as quarterbacks coach, DeAndre Smith as running backs coach, Mike Groh as wide receivers coach, Andy Bischoff as tight ends coach, Tony Sparano Jr. as assistant offensive line coach, and Andre Patterson as defensive line coach.
Daboll also retained a handful of holdovers from Joe Judge’s staff. That grouping includes Jerome Henderson (defensive backs coach), Mike Treier (assistant defensive backs coach), Anthony Blevins (special teams assistant), and Nick Williams (special teams quality control coach).
Finally, the Giants shifted Ryan Hollern to college scouting coordinator and named Mark Loecher as assistant strength and conditioning coach.
Some more coaching notes out of the NFC…
- The Seahawks will promote Andy Dickerson to their offensive line coach, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson (via Twitter). Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron recruited Dickerson from the Rams last offseason, with Dickerson earning the role of run-game coordinator. Now, he’ll earn the (apparent) promotion to OL coach. The Seahawks fired former offensive line coach Mike Solari last week, reports NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). This was the 67-year-old’s second stint with the organization, and he had served as the team’s OL coach since 2018.
- The Bears announced last week that they hired Carlos Polk as their assistant special teams coach. The 44-year-old coach has served in the same role with a handful of teams, including the Chargers, Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Jaguars. He spent the 2021 campaign in Jacksonville.
- The Cardinals have hired Matt Burke as their defensive line coach, reports Pelissero (on Twitter). The 45-year-old was the Dolphins defensive coordinator between 2017 and 2018, and he most recently worked for the Jets as a “game management coach.” Burke has also had coaching stints with the Eagles, Bengals, Lions, and Titans.
- The Vikings have hired Brian Angelichio as their pass game coordinator/tight ends coach, reports ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter). Angelichio spent the past two years as the Panthers tight ends coach, so he’s getting a slight promotion in Minnesota. Meanwhile, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the Vikings are hiring Jerrod Johnson as an offensive assistant. Johnson is expected to work with the QBs. The coach was a two-time participant in the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, and he spent last season as the Colts quality control coach.
- Matt Rhule has made some changes to his staff. The Panthers announced that they’ve hired Joe Dailey as wide receivers coach. Dailey has spent the past two seasons as Boston College’s offensive coordinator. Meanwhile, Robert Kugler was hired as assistant offensive line coach while defensive analyst Kevin Gilbride Jr. was promoted to TE coach (replacing Angelichio).
Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order
With Super Bowl LVI finished, the final two places in the 2022 Draft have been finalized. The Bengals’ top pick is locked into 31st, while the Rams will not have a selection until the third round. For the rest of the league, the focus has already shifted to free agency and the draft, of course, so now all eyes will be on the offseason maneuvering teams do to reshape their rosters.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.
Pending trades, here is the final first round order of the 2022 Draft:
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
- Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
- Houston Texans: 4-13
- New York Jets: 4-13
- New York Giants: 4-13
- Carolina Panthers: 5-12
- New York Giants(via Bears)
- Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
- Denver Broncos: 7-10
- New York Jets (via Seahawks)
- Washington Football Team: 7-10
- Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
- Cleveland Browns: 8-9
- Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
- Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
- New Orleans Saints: 9-8
- Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1
- New England Patriots: 10-7
- Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7
- Arizona Cardinals: 11-6
- Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
- Buffalo Bills: 11-6
- Tennessee Titans: 12-5
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4
- Green Bay Packers: 13-4
- Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)
- Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5
- Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7
- Detroit Lions (via Rams)
AFC Coaching Notes: Colts, Bills, Jaguars, Ravens
Since Frank Reich was able to land defensive coordinator Gus Bradley to replace Bears’ head coach Matt Eberflus, Bradley has begun the process of putting his staff together. Today Bradley added longtime defensive backs coach Ron Milus to coach his secondary, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Milus first started coaching defensive backs at his alma mater, the University of Washington, about eight years after playing cornerback there. He held the college position for seven years before getting an NFL coaching opportunity in 2000. Since then, Milus hasn’t spent a season out of work with stints in Denver, Arizona, New York (Giants), St. Louis, Carolina, San Diego, and Las Vegas. His longest stint was with the Chargers, spending eight years in southern California and transitioning with the team to Los Angeles. It was in Los Angeles that Milus was retained when Bradley joined the Chargers’ staff. He followed Bradley to Las Vegas and will join him once more in Indianapolis.
Here are a few other coaching notes from around the AFC starting with another bit from the Hoosier State:
- In addition to Milus, Mike Chappell of Fox59 reports that Indianapolis is also in the process of hiring linebackers coach Richard Smith, who worked with Bradley and Milus in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Smith has coached in the NFL since he debuted for the Houston Oilers in 1988 coaching special teams and tight ends. He found his niche as a linebackers coach in 1997 for the 49ers and has had three short stints as a defensive coordinator in Miami, Houston, and Atlanta.
- ESPN’s Yates also tweeted out a report that the Bills have added former QB Kyle Shurmur on staff in a defensive quality control position. After four years at Vanderbilt, Shurmur signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chiefs, spending time on their practice squad as well as on the Bengals’ and Washington’s practice squads. He was released by Washington a little over a month ago and that appears to mark the end of his playing career. He seems to be following in the footsteps of his father, Pat Shurmur, and joining the coaching track.
- A castaway from the Matt Nagy Bears’ staff, outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey will not be without work for long as Curtis Crabtree of NBC Sports reports that Shuey is joining Doug Pederson‘s staff in Jacksonville in the same role. Shuey and Pederson had two separate tenures together in Philadelphia.
- Pederson also made a crucial move of retaining running backs coach Bernie Parmalee. Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network tells us that keeping Parmalee was a priority for Pederson, especially due to his strong relationship with star running back James Robinson.
- Baltimore has hired Rob Leonard as outside linebackers coach, according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley (Twitter). Leonard will replace Drew Wilkins who left to join Brian Daboll‘s staff in New York. Leonard spent the past three seasons in the same position with the Dolphins. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic adds that former Michigan analyst Ryan Osborn will follow Mike Macdonald to the Ravens for a quality control position. Osborn is credited with having a role in the development of Wolverines’ EDGE players like Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 2/11/22
Here are today’s reserve/futures deals signed around the league:
Carolina Panthers
- DE Joe Jackson
Chicago Bears
Jacksonville Jaguars
- QB Jake Luton
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Rams