Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Released from reserve-retired list: WR Derrick Willies
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: OL Donell Stanley
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)
We heard previously that new head coach Lovie Smith was going to retain defensive play-calling duties with the Texans, and it sounds like the defensive-minded coach won’t even add a DC to his staff. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), the Texans won’t be hiring a defensive coordinator.
As Rapoport details, Smith is operating as if this is “his defense,” so he’ll continue to control that side of the ball for the time being. However, the reporter cautions that the Texans could fill the role eventually, and the team still has a number of “key spots” to fill on their staff.
The former Bears and Buccaneers HC had been in the college ranks for five seasons prior to resurfacing as the Texans’ defensive coordinator last year. Now, Smith will wear two rather important hats for the rebuilding team.
More coaching notes out of the AFC…
- The Texans are making other changes to their staff. Assistant receivers coach Ben McDaniels has been promoted to passing game coordinator and receivers coach, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network (on Twitter). The brother of Josh McDaniels, Ben McDaniels has bounced between the NFL and NCAA throughout his coaching career, including stints with the Bears, Buccaneers, and Broncos.
- After leaving for the University of Mississippi earlier this offseason, Chris Kiffin has changed his mind and will return to the Browns, reports Nate Ulrich of the Beacon Journal (on Twitter). The defensive line coach decided he wanted to continue working in the NFL, and the Browns were more than happy to welcome him back. The son of Monte Kiffin and brother of Lane Kiffin, Chris Kiffin has been the Browns D-line coach since 2020.
- The Ravens are hiring George Godsey as their tight ends coach, reports Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (via Twitter). Godsey was the Texans offensive coordinator between 2015 and 2016, and he most recently served as the Dolphins co-OC/tight ends coach with Miami. The veteran coach will be replacing Bobby Engram, who left to become the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin.
- The Jaguars are hiring former Chicago Bears outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey for the same role, reports Wilson (on Twitter). Shuey had been with the Bear since the 2018 season, but he wasn’t retained following the firing of Matt Nagy.
As the days go by, more and more position coaches are finalizing jobs with new teams. One of the busiest clubs remains the Giants. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the team is hiring former Vikings assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson as its defensive line coach (Twitter link). The 61-year-old has a wealth of coaching experience at the NCAA and NFL ranks. While he has a defensive background, Patterson also served as a head coach at two stops along the way to the pro level.
His first NFL coaching gig came in 1997 with the Patriots. After stints with the Vikings, Cowboys, Browns and Broncos, he returned to the college ranks. Following seven additional seasons, six of which were spread across three colleges, he came back to Minnesota in 2014. He remained there until now, serving as the team’s d-line coach, but also holding the co-DC title for the past two campaigns.
Here are some other updates to Brian Daboll‘s new staff, along with those of the Broncos and Jaguars:
- According to Jonathan Alexander of The Observer, Tony Sparano Jr. is making a lateral move from the Panthers to the Giants as their new assistant offensive line coach (Twitter link). The 35-year old already has a decade of coaching experience in the NFL spent with five different teams.
- One hire the Giants won’t be making is that of Adam Henry for the role of wide receivers coach. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweets that the team will be heading “in another direction” after they interviewed Henry earlier. The 49-year old coached the position at LSU for three years, then at the NFL level with the 49ers, Giants, Browns and Cowboys. Many felt a reunion in East Rutherford was likely, but that won’t be the case.
- As for the Broncos, they will be adding to their defensive staff from the college ranks. ESPN’s Pete Thamel tweets that Ola Adams is coming aboard as an assistant secondary coach. Adams spent spent seven seasons at Villanova, and his success there earned him a promotion to co-defensive coordinator at Temple recently. Now, he will be on the move again, but this time up to the NFL level.
- Finally, the Jaguars are hiring Brentson Buckner as their d-line coach (Twitter link via Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson). It had been reported earlier this week that the 50-year-old was a candidate for the position, so the move is not a surprising one. Buckner has coached the position with three NFL teams previously, dating back to 2013.
While Mike Pettine is “likely” to be the Vikings next defensive coordinator, that won’t stop Kevin O’Connell from considering other candidates. Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter), the Vikings have requested an interview with Lions defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant for their defensive coordinator vacancy.
[RELATED: Mike Pettine Favorite For Vikings’ DC Job?]
Pleasant represented an interesting get for the Lions last offseason. Washington attempted to promote Pleasant ahead of the 2017 season, but he left for a lateral move with the Rams. He later interviewed for the Bengals’ DC job — one Lou Anarumo landed — in 2019 while overseeing the development of Rams corners Troy Hill and Darious Williams in Los Angeles.
Pleasant ultimately spent four years in Los Angeles, working alongside O’Connell in 2020. He took the “pass-game coordinator” promotion in Detroit for the 2021 campaign.
Meanwhile, Mike Klis of 9News in Denver reports (via Twitter) that Broncos running backs coach Curtis Modkins is considering joining the Vikings staff as their new RB coach/run-game coordinator.
Ravens’ general manager Eric DeCosta‘s end-of-season press conference touched on a number of subjects, including the contract extension negotiations with star quarterback Lamar Jackson. While The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec does note that head coach John Harbaugh and DeCosta make it seem as if the deal is imminent, it isn’t guaranteed that Jackson signs an extension before the start of the 2022 NFL season.
“I would say that we’re working at Lamar’s pace. He’s comfortable with where we are right now,” DeCosta stated. He did call negotiations “unusual” with Jackson essentially acting as his own agent. There doesn’t seem to be any rush to get a deal done, though. DeCosta acknowledged that the Ravens are fine with Jackson playing on his fifth-year option, and Jackson seems more focused on the team’s unfinished business after being the AFC’s number one-seed in 2020 but failing to make it to a Super Bowl yet.
Here are a few more notes on the AFC North, starting with another item out of Charm City:
- DeCosta spoke a bit, as well, about the team’s plan to focus on offensive line this offseason. One of the things that they fear they’ll need to address is the free agency of center Bradley Bozeman. Bozeman moved from guard to center after Matt Skura signed with the Dolphins in free agency last year, and they’re afraid Bozeman’s play has priced him out of Maryland. Baltimore saw Ryan Jensen leave to become the highest paid center in football in 2018, so they’re certainly used to replacing centers. They currently have utility lineman Patrick Mekari, who has started games at all three offensive line positions throughout his young Ravens’ career, and who signed an extension late in the season.
- Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller became close friends as they rehabbed together in Colorado Springs last offseason, dreaming about eventually playing together. According to George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal, Beckham made it clear that if they were to make it a reality, it couldn’t be in orange and brown. Miller informed Thomas that Beckham told him straight up, “Don’t come to Cleveland.” In the end, Miller was traded to the Rams and, following a nasty separation from the Browns, Beckham signed to join him in Los Angeles. The pair are now set to play in Super Bowl LVI against a team Beckham knows all too well from his time in the AFC North.
- With longtime quarterback Ben Roethlisberger retiring last week, head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert represented Pittsburgh at Senior Bowl practices this week. Despite the quarterback group leaving much to be desired through some injury concerns and bad weather, Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus reports that buzz around the event is that the Steelers like Liberty quarterback Malik Willis. Willis has shown the best combination of athleticism and arm strength at practices this week and a source informed Kyed that he’s impressed in interviews, as well. The Steelers currently hold the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and could easily see Willis fall to them, as he’s been seen as a borderline first round pick since declaring. They could also risk potentially missing out on him and trade back later in the first round or early in the second and try to maximize need and value.
Patrick Graham has generated considerable attention this offseason. After making it to the final round of the Vikings’ HC search, he booked a Raiders defensive coordinator interview.
The Raiders are interviewing the Giants’ DC for the same position Friday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. They also requested a meeting with Browns tight ends coach Drew Petzing, Zac Jackson of The Athletic tweets. Petzing will interview for Las Vegas’ OC job Saturday, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).
Should Graham’s Raiders interview go well, he may have an interesting decision to make. New Giants HC Brian Daboll wants Graham back as DC, despite the latter being a Joe Judge holdover. Daboll and Graham worked together in New England, however. Graham also has close ties to the new Raiders power structure, having worked alongside Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler with the Patriots. McDaniels and Graham overlapped as Pats staffers from the 2011 playoffs — when McDaniels returned after a one-and-done Rams OC stint — through the end of the 2015 season, after which Graham left for his first run as a Giants assistant.
The Vikings chose Rams OC Kevin O’Connell over Graham, but Graham has now met with three teams — also being up for the Steelers’ DC job that went to in-house candidate Teryl Austin — this offseason. The 43-year-old defensive play-caller will land on his feet soon. The Raiders poaching Graham would force the Giants into other plans.
This upcoming OC interview marks new territory for Petzing, who has been a position coach for the past several seasons. Petzing, 34, has worked with Browns HC Kevin Stefanski throughout his career. After five years with the Vikings, Petzing went with Stefanski to Cleveland in 2020. McDaniels plans to call plays for the Raiders, minimizing their next OC’s role to some degree. The team has its new QBs coach in place already, in Bo Hardegree. The Raiders are also retaining wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett.
Jimmy Garoppolo‘s end-of-season comments point to a departure from the 49ers, who have Trey Lance readying to start in 2022. San Francisco’s four-plus-season starter indicated a trade could happen soon. Regardless of the statuses of Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson, Garoppolo looms as an upgrade option for certain teams.
Possible blockbusters involving Rodgers and Wilson, along with what happens with Deshaun Watson, complicate matters on this year’s quarterback market. So will an underwhelming rookie crop. Will AFC teams eyeing Rodgers or Wilson be willing to make an early move for Garoppolo, or will they end up waiting out the higher-profile (and more expensive) options?
Garoppolo, 30, has battled several injuries since becoming a starter, but the 49ers going 2-for-2 in NFC championship berths during seasons in which their QB1 was largely available probably cannot be ignored. Garoppolo holds a no-trade clause and is seeking a team prepared to compete, further complicating matters.
In the NFC, Washington has continued to strike out on long-term QB acquisitions and did not make such a move last year. Washington did try, via a Matthew Stafford offer, prior to signing Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Commanders have Taylor Heinicke signed for 2022 — at just a $2.9MM cap hit — but will almost certainly acquire a veteran or use a first-round pick on a quarterback. The Commanders are also set to carry more than $31MM in cap space, putting them among the league’s top 10. Garoppolo’s through-2022 contract calls for a $24.2MM base salary next season, though his ’22 cap hit could be lowered via an extension agreement.
The Panthers saw their QB situation deteriorate to the point Matt Rhule‘s job was in jeopardy, and Sam Darnold is on Carolina’s books at a fully guaranteed $18.9MM in 2022. Carolina could also loom for Watson. The embattled Texans quarterback is not believed to have waived his no-trade clause for the Panthers, but they were prepared to make a strong offer prior to the Pro Bowler’s off-field trouble surfacing. If the Dolphins are truly off the Watson market, the Panthers would seemingly re-emerge as perhaps his top suitor.
Tom Brady‘s retirement puts the Buccaneers in play, and early odds place Tampa Bay as one of the most likely teams to acquire Garoppolo. The 49ers quarterback, who is coming off a season in which he ranked 13th in QBR, following his former Patriots teammate would certainly make for an interesting scenario. A Garoppolo extension would be necessary for the Bucs, who have nearly half their starting lineup set for free agency. Even without that contingent on the payroll, the Bucs are projected to be barely $5MM under the cap.
Having not solidified a Drew Brees successor yet, the Saints can be also considered a candidate. Their cap situation, per usual, is not in good shape. New Orleans is entering a second straight offseason more than $75MM over the cap. The team made this work last year but did not have a franchise-QB salary factoring into the equation, with Jameis Winston signing for backup-level dough.
The Steelers should also be considered the mix as a Garoppolo suitor. Although Pittsburgh extended Mason Rudolph, it is difficult to view the former third-round pick as a viable Ben Roethlisberger successor. Still, the early offseason word pointed to the Steelers avoiding the veteran-QB market. But a veteran would make sense given the makeup of an experienced Steelers defense. The Steelers are also armed with far more cap space than they had in 2021, being set to hold more than $30MM.
The Broncos are probably the most interesting team here, given their connection to Rodgers. A late-season amendment on potential Wilson destinations also included Denver. The team that has needed a quarterback for six years could attempt to pry Kirk Cousins away from the Vikings, considering GM George Paton‘s previous run as Minnesota’s assistant GM. Garoppolo, however, has experience in the type of offense Nathaniel Hackett is set to install. Any Denver Garoppolo offer would surely be withheld until it is known Rodgers is off the table.
As of now, the Browns are prepared to keep Baker Mayfield for his fifth-year option season. Are there any other sleeper teams to monitor here? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.
THURSDAY: Haslam denied paying Jackson to lose games, saying during an appearance on Knox News the current Grambling State HC has lobbed salvos at the Browns to cover up his poor performance as a head coach. While Jackson was saddled with terrible rosters in 2016 and ’17, Haslam pointed to the 2018 season — when the Browns finished 5-3 after starting 2-5-1 before Jackson’s ouster — as evidence Jackson deserves more of the responsibility than he has accepted for the failures of that period. The former Cleveland coach’s claims center on the 2016 and ’17 slates, though Haslam said “unequivocally, Hue Jackson was never paid to lose games.”
WEDNESDAY: Former Browns head coach Hue Jackson plans to speak with Brian Flores‘ attorneys about the latter’s class-action lawsuit against the NFL, Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com reports. While Flores named the Dolphins, Giants and Broncos in his suit, the Browns would come to the forefront if Jackson signs on as a plaintiff.
The former Cleveland HC has expressed a willingness to reveal proof Browns owner Jimmy Haslam incentivized tanking during the 2016 and ’17 seasons, Robinson adds. The executive director of the Hue Jackson Foundation, Kimberly Diemert, accused the Browns of paying bonus money to Jackson, current GM Andrew Berry, current chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta and former executive VP Sashi Brown to tank during those seasons (Twitter link).
Jackson has replied to several tweets on this matter as well. In a tweet Tuesday night, Jackson said, “I stand with Brian Flores. I can back up every word I’m saying.” While the Browns were attempting a radical rebuild during those seasons, ones that pitted Jackson against a new-age front office, the team strongly denied Diemert’s allegation. Jackson is currently the head coach at Grambling State, which hired him in December.
“The recent comments by Hue Jackson and his representatives relating to his tenure as our head coach are completely fabricated,” a Browns spokesperson said, via Robinson. “Any accusation that any member of our organization was incentivized to deliberately lose games is categorically false.”
In a separate Twitter reply, Jackson made another claim the Browns were incentivizing losses, saying, “Trust me it was a good number” when asked about the Dolphins’ alleged $100K payments to Flores. The Browns, who hired John Dorsey as GM late in 2017, fired Jackson midway through the 2018 season. Jackson went 3-36-1 in Cleveland. This tenure included the league’s second 0-16 season in 2017.
“We were paid for it. You’re going to see it as losing, but the way the team was built there was no chance to win at a high level,” Jackson said when asked about being incentivized to tank during a SportsCenter appearance on Wednesday (via ESPN.com’s Jake Trotter, on Twitter). “My record that year [2016] was 1-15. There was a four-year plan that was crafted, and I have documentation that any coach would cringe if he saw it, because it talked things that had nothing to do with winning. Aggregate rankings, being the youngest team, having so many draft picks — none of those things lead to winning.
“I didn’t understand what the plan was. I asked for clarity because it did not talk about winning and losing until Year 3 and 4. That told you right there that something wasn’t correct, but I still couldn’t understand it until [seeing] the team that I had. And once being in the midst of it and finding out the team that I had and understanding that, ‘Wait a minute. At the end of the year there’s money coming in?’ Like I said, I didn’t understand it, here’s this money and percentages based on what you did, that didn’t make any sense to me.
“I remember very candidly saying to Jimmy, ‘I’m not interested in this bonus money,’ because I’ve never known that to be a bonus. I was interested in taking whatever money that was and putting it toward getting more players on our football team, because I didn’t think we were very talented at all.”
Fielding a team bad enough to go 1-31 in a two-year stretch and offering payments to a coach and execs for losses are obviously two different things. The latter accusations levied against the Dolphins and Browns being proven would certainly double as one of the biggest scandals in NFL history. Having not been an NFL coach since 2018, Jackson also has less to lose than Flores, who interviewed for four HC jobs during this year’s cycle. Attorneys for Flores anticipate other coaches joining the since-fired Dolphins HC’s litigation, Robinson adds.
Championship Sunday has come and gone, and with it, we now know the matchup for Super Bowl LVI. The Rams’ win on Sunday guarantees that the Lions’ other first round pick will be in the bottom two, slightly devaluing it relative to if they had lost. Still, it is one of the bargaining chips they hold if they were to attempt to move up into the top spot, from their current position of second. As one of four teams with multiple picks in the opening round, Detroit will certainly be a squad to keep an eye on in April.
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.
Here is the updated order after this weekend’s results:
- 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)
* = Remaining playoff teams