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Jacksonville Jaguars News & Rumors

Jaguars, TE Evan Engram Agree To Deal

July 17th, 2023 at 1:24pm CST by Rory Parks

JULY 17: Further details on the Engram pact are in, courtesy of Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. The 28-year-old’s two-year base earnings will fall just short of what he would have made by playing on consecutive franchise tags this season and next, thanks to the fully-guaranteed $24MM. Incentives could push his two-year compensation slightly past that point, however, making the deal a market value one from both a team and player perspective.

As for 2025, Engram will see $1.5MM of his $14.75MM base salary vest just ahead of the league year that offseason, giving him further insurance if he remains with the Jaguars through that point. Doing so should not be in doubt given his performance last season and the resultant commitment Jacksonville has given him.

JULY 16: Franchise-tagged tight end Evan Engram has agreed to a three-year deal with the Jaguars. His agent, Mike McCartney, was the first to report the news (via Twitter), which has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.

The contract is worth $41.25MM and includes $24MM in guarantees, according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). Given that the franchise tag would have paid Engram roughly $11.35MM in 2023, Engram essentially landed a two-year “extension” of about $30MM. His average annual value of $13.75MM across all three years of the pact is the fifth-highest figure among the league’s tight ends, though the $14.95MM AAV for the 2024-25 “extension” seasons is the third-highest mark, behind only Darren Waller and George Kittle. The $24MM of guaranteed money reported by Rapoport and Pelissero is fully-guaranteed, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and it qualifies as the fifth-highest amount of full guarantees ever given to a TE.

After an up-and-down five-year tenure with the Giants to begin his career, Engram inked a one-year, $9MM contract with the Jaguars in March 2022, which turned out to be a savvy investment for a club that has historically had difficulty getting high-end production from the tight end position. In his first year in Duval, Engram set Jacksonville’s single-season tight end records with 73 catches and 766 receiving yards, and he was instrumental in the growth that quarterback Trevor Lawrence displayed in his second pro season. Engram caught 74.5% of his regular season targets, which was a personal best, and he added 12 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown in the Jags’ two playoff contests.

With Engram having signed a multiyear pact, the Jaguars have a strong core of skill-position talent under club control through at least 2025, a group that also includes Lawrence, running backs Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby, and wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones. Plus, wideout Calvin Ridley will return to the field this season after serving a one-year gambling suspension, so there is every reason to think that the Doug Pederson-led offense can remain productive for the foreseeable future.

Tagged players have until 3pm CT on Monday to ink multiyear deals, and of the four tag recipients who were still in contract talks with their respective clubs, Engram was seen as the likeliest to come to terms on a long-term accord. On Friday, Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network suggested that there was a roughly 50-50 chance that Engram and the Jags would strike a deal, while the prognosis is not nearly as good for the Giants-Saquon Barkley and Raiders-Josh Jacobs negotiations.

Updates on Tony Pollard‘s discussions with the Cowboys have been scarce, but unlike his RB peers, Pollard has signed his franchise tender and may be content to play out the 2023 season on the tag. While tight ends might be undervalued, the fact that Engram has secured a new deal while the three tagged RBs have not reinforces the notion that running back is presently the league’s most devalued position.

Tag Rumors: Barkley, Jacobs, Engram

July 14th, 2023 at 9:59pm CST by Ely Allen

With the Monday deadline for franchise tagged players to sign long-term deals approaching fast, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo gave some quick updates on the last remaining franchise tagged players. The Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson agreed to a long-term deal, as did the Commanders and defensive tackle Daron Payne, while Cowboys running back Tony Pollard has decided to play out the 2023 season on the franchise tag. This leaves Giants running back Saquon Barkley, Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, and Jaguars tight end Evan Engram as the last remaining cases to be solved.

  • According to Garafolo, there hasn’t been much good traction on a deal between New York and Barkley. He reports that the two sides “are still far apart.” He notes that three days is technically plenty of time to get a deal done, especially for the franchise that signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a new deal minutes before the franchise tag deadline. Garafolo confirms that Barkley has “threatened to potentially holdout into the season,” meaning that he certainly shouldn’t be expected at training camp unless a new deal is reached.
  • Similar news for Jacobs, as we’ve been reporting throughout the day. It’s become clear that he and Las Vegas are not near an agreement as the clock ticks down. Garafolo relays a report from colleague Tom Pelissero that Jacobs is not going to be at training camp without a new deal and is also a candidate to holdout into the regular season.
  • Engram’s situation appears to be a bit less harrowing. Despite the fact that Engram wasn’t present for the team’s spring OTAs and minicamp because of the unsigned tag, he is still expected to be present at training camp, even if the two sides fail to reach an agreement on a long-term deal. According to Garafolo, the likelihood of that deal coming to fruition appears to just under a 50-50 chance.

2023 NFL Dead Money, By Team

July 14th, 2023 at 4:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Accounting for players who appear on teams’ cap sheets but not on their rosters, dead money is a factor for all 32 teams. This year, dead money comprises more than 20% of five teams’ payrolls. Two teams who followed through (successfully) with all-in missions in recent years — the Buccaneers and Rams — each have more than 30% of their payrolls devoted to dead-cap hits.

Going into training camp, here is how dead money factors into each team’s cap sheet:

  1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $75.32MM
  2. Los Angeles Rams: $74.23MM
  3. Green Bay Packers: $57.14MM
  4. Philadelphia Eagles: $54.73MM
  5. Carolina Panthers: $51.54MM
  6. Arizona Cardinals: $36.96MM
  7. Tennessee Titans: $36.56MM
  8. Minnesota Vikings: $35.54MM
  9. Houston Texans: $31.72MM
  10. Las Vegas Raiders: $29.95MM
  11. Indianapolis Colts: $24.89MM
  12. New Orleans Saints: $24.58MM
  13. Chicago Bears: $23.52MM
  14. Washington Commanders: $23.01MM
  15. New York Giants: $22.74MM
  16. New England Patriots: $21.82MM
  17. Atlanta Falcons: $18.78MM
  18. Detroit Lions: $18.69MM
  19. Seattle Seahawks: $17.91MM
  20. San Francisco 49ers: $17.16MM
  21. Cleveland Browns: $16MM
  22. Dallas Cowboys: $14.64MM
  23. Pittsburgh Steelers: $13.26MM
  24. Baltimore Ravens: $10.78MM
  25. Denver Broncos: $9.72MM
  26. Miami Dolphins: $8.43MM
  27. New York Jets: $7.95MM
  28. Kansas City Chiefs: $7.65MM
  29. Buffalo Bills: $5.23MM
  30. Jacksonville Jaguars: $4.7MM
  31. Los Angeles Chargers: $2.19MM
  32. Cincinnati Bengals: $593K

No team broke the Falcons’ record for dead money devoted to a single player. The Falcons’ Matt Ryan trade left them with $40.52MM last year. But the Bucs and Rams incurred some dead money collectively this offseason.

Tom Brady‘s Tampa Bay exit created much of the Bucs’ issue here. Brady not signing another Bucs deal, instead retiring for a second time, accelerated $35.1MM in dead money onto the Bucs’ 2023 cap sheet. The team had used void years increasingly during Brady’s tenure, and his second restructure created the $35.1MM figure. The Bucs will swallow the post-Brady pill this year, with no dead money related to that contract on their books in 2024.

Three ex-Rams combine to take up $55MM of their dead-money haul. The Rams traded Allen Robinson to the Steelers earlier this year, but that three-year, $46.5MM deal Los Angeles authorized in 2022 will result in Robinson’s former team carrying a $21.5MM dead-money hit in 2023. The Rams are eating $19.6MM of Jalen Ramsey‘s contract, and bailing on Leonard Floyd‘s four-year, $64MM extension after two seasons moved $19MM in dead money to L.A.’s 2023 payroll. The Rams did not use the post-June 1 designation to release Floyd, keeping the dead money on that deal tied to 2023 only.

The Packers did come close to breaking the Falcons’ record for dead money on a single contract. Green Bay following through on the Aaron Rodgers trade left $40.31MM in dead money on this year’s Packers cap. Because the Packers traded Rodgers before June 1, that hit will be entirely absorbed this year. It also took a Rodgers restructure on his way out to move the cap damage down to $40MM. The Panthers trading Christian McCaffrey after June 1 last year left the second chunk of dead money ($18.35MM) to be carried on this year’s cap. It also cost Carolina $14.63MM in dead cap to trade D.J. Moore to the Bears.

The Bears used both their post-June 1 cut designations last year (Tarik Cohen, Danny Trevathan) and also have a $13.23MM Robert Quinn cap hold. The Cardinals had already used their two allotted post-June 1 cut designations this offseason. As result, DeAndre Hopkins is on Arizona’s books at $21.1MM this year. Because they cut the All-Pro wide receiver before June 1, the Cards will be free of Hopkins obligations after this year.

While the Raiders built in the escape hatch in Derek Carr‘s 2022 extension, keeping the dead money on their nine-year QB’s contract low, Cory Littleton — a 2022 post-June 1 cut — still counts nearly $10MM on their cap sheet. Fellow 2022 post-June 1 release Julio Jones still counts more than $8MM on the Titans’ payroll. The Cowboys went to the post-June 1 well with Ezekiel Elliott this year, but their 2022 designation (La’el Collins) leads the way with $8.2MM on this year’s Dallas payroll.

NFL Suspends T Will Richardson

July 12th, 2023 at 7:07pm CST by Ely Allen

Coming out of free agency will be a bit more difficult now for former Jaguars offensive tackle Will Richardson. For an as of yet undisclosed reason, the NFL has issued Richardson a three-game suspension, forbidding him to participate in the first three weeks of 2023, according to Field Yates of ESPN.

Richardson was a fourth-round draft pick for Jacksonville back in 2018 after a rocky career at NC State. As a redshirt freshman with the Wolfpack, Richardson was suspended for a violation of team rules that was later determined to be a DWI. He was not enrolled at NC State the following spring but ended up back on the team for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He then received a two-game suspension to start his redshirt junior year because of a marijuana-related incident.

The off-the-field incidents tanked the NC State star tackle’s draft stock. Despite being the team’s best offensive lineman and finishing the year on the All-ACC second team, Richardson slid back to Day 3 of the draft before the Jaguars finally took a chance on him. It was the second year in a row that the team had risked a fourth-round pick on a player with prior off-the-field issues after drafting Dede Westbrook the previous year.

Ultimately, Richardson kept his nose clean during his time with the Jaguars. After not appearing in any games during his rookie season due to injury, Richardson played in 44 of a possible 49 games for the rest of his rookie deal. He made five spot starts over that time, as well, filling in for Ben Bartch to start the 2021 season after the starter entered the year on COVID-19 protocols.

When his four-year rookie deal expired, Jacksonville re-signed Richardson to a new one-year, $2MM contract. Despite the new deal, he failed to make a regular season appearance last season after he was released from the team the day after making the initial 53-man roster to make room for two waiver claims.

It’s unclear if this new suspension has anything to do with substance abuse like his college incidents. Perhaps if he can land with a new team in 2023, despite the suspension, he can avoid any further off-the-field trouble. A three-game suspension following a year away from the league, though, will make returning to the NFL an uphill battle.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/10/23

July 10th, 2023 at 6:45pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transaction:

Jacksonville Jaguars

Pederson, of course, is the son of Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson. The Louisiana–Monroe product has bounced around the NFL a bit since going undrafted in 2021, spending time with the 49ers, Saints and Chiefs. The tight end most recently spent time in the USFL with the Houston Gamblers, hauling in 25 catches for 325 yards.

Taylor joined the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati. If he clears through waivers, he’ll land back on the Jaguars injured reserve.

Looking Into The Four Remaining Franchise Tag Situations

July 6th, 2023 at 10:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Less than two weeks remain until this year’s franchise tag extension deadline. Following spring extensions for Lamar Jackson and Daron Payne, four franchise-tagged players remain. Three of those (Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram, Josh Jacobs) have not signed their respective tenders. Cowboys running back Tony Pollard has, guaranteeing his 2023 salary.

If no extension agreements are finalized before 3pm CT on July 17, these players will be tied to the tag this season. For players who remain on the tag after that date, no long-term negotiations are permitted until season’s end. With one position dominating the tag landscape this year, here is how the four situations look entering crunch time:

Saquon Barkley, Giants; tag price: $10.1MM

Easily the negotiation that has brought the most twists and turns, Barkley has been in off-and-on talks with the Giants since November. The Giants’ Joe Schoen–Brian Daboll regime inherited Barkley, but they have extended two other Dave Gettleman-era draftees (Daniel Jones, Dexter Lawrence) this offseason. But the team’s most popular player finds himself is battling another leaguewide devaluation of the running back position. As Barkley turned down two offers with AAVs north of $12MM — one of those being higher than $13MM per year — the Giants pulled their top proposal off the table after their March extension-tag sequence involving Jones and Barkley.

Barkley, 26, took issue with being characterized as greedy, citing Giants leaks that did not reveal the full truth about the offers he declined. Insufficient guarantees hover at the root of Barkley’s gripes. With the Giants having the option of re-tagging Barkley for barely $12MM in 2023, it is understandable the two-time Pro Bowler would seek a guarantee north of $22MM per year — to cover both tags.

Only two veteran backs (Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry) are tied to deals including more than $20MM fully guaranteed. While McCaffrey encountered injuries on his second contract, the 1,000-1,000 performer did not run into Barkley’s rookie-deal health issues. Those could certainly be giving Giants brass pause regarding guarantees.

These talks have included rumblings of Barkley skipping training camp — if unsigned by July 17 — and a (likely idle) threat of following Le’Veon Bell‘s 2018 path of sitting out the season in protest. The Giants are believed to be OK with Barkley playing on the tag, but ownership remains high on the former No. 2 overall pick. That might be driving the recent optimism in these talks. The skill-position-deficient Giants relied on Barkley (1,650 scrimmage yards) last season, and while they have let two players (Jason Pierre-Paul, Leonard Williams) play on the tag, the team has never not extended a player whom it tagged. (Both D-linemen signed extensions after being tagged again.)

Evan Engram, Jaguars; tag price: $11.35MM

Barkley’s former Giants teammate broke through for a Jaguars single-season tight end record last season, posting 766 receiving yards to boost Trevor Lawrence‘s development. The Jaguars added Calvin Ridley but cuffed Engram as well. Both the Jags and the seventh-year tight end want to strike a deal, but the most recent rumor coming out of these talks placed the sides as far apart on terms.

Dating back to their Julius Thomas miss, the Jaguars have struggled to staff this position. Engram provided a win for GM Trent Baalke, whose first free agency class as lead Jags decision-maker made significant contributions. But Engram also has a history of inconsistency, having never put it together for an extended stretch as a Giant. Engram does have an original-ballot Pro Bowl nod on his resume (2020) and saw the Giants pick up his fifth-year option prior to that performance. His 2021 provided a letdown, but the Giants — with Jones going down with a neck injury that November — were not exactly in position to see any pass catcher thrive at that point.

Guarantees are undoubtedly an issue here. A 2024 Engram tag would cost $13.62MM, likely giving the 28-year-old pass catcher a guarantee target of $25MM. Only three veteran tight ends (Mark Andrews, George Kittle, Hunter Henry) have secured that at signing, but with those deals taking place in 2020 or ’21, Engram can make a case — on a $224.8MM salary cap — he deserves such security as well. The tight end market appears out of step with its top cogs’ contributions, with Travis Kelce still tied to a $14.3MM-per-year deal. That offers an interesting complication in these Engram discussions as well.

Josh Jacobs, Raiders; tag price: $10.1MM

A threat to miss game checks makes more sense from Barkley, who has earned nearly $40MM in five seasons. Jacobs following suit is less logical, as he has made $11.9MM in four NFL years. The Raiders passed on Jacobs’ fifth-year option, and he proceeded to become the team’s first rushing champion since Marcus Allen did so in a 1985 MVP season. Jacobs, 25, zoomed onto the tag radar with his 2022 performance, but while the Giants have made multiple offers to Barkley, it is unclear if the Raiders are making a serious push to extend Jacobs. The team is still hopeful, but numbers have proven elusive.

The Alabama product has offered cryptic assessments of his negotiations, hinting at making a stand for the running back position. Seeing as Bell has expressed belated regret for passing on $14MM with his 2018 anti-tag crusade, it would surprise if Barkley or Jacobs stayed away into the season. It might be a negotiating tactic, as RBs are low on leverage these days, but the threat of Jacobs skipping Week 1 has surfaced. With Josh McDaniels in a crucial year — after his first Raiders HC season went south quickly — and the Raiders now employing the league’s most injury-prone quarterback (Jimmy Garoppolo), Jacobs putting regular-season absences on the table is an interesting move.

While Jacobs is still more likely than not to be in uniform in Week 1, the prospect of an injury or regression affecting his 2024 market should be a factor here. Jacobs’ light Crimson Tide workload (251 college carries) worked in his favor, but the Raiders giving him an NFL-most 393 touches last season undercuts that advantage to a degree. Players to log that many touches in a season over the past 10 years (Henry, McCaffrey, Bell, DeMarco Murray) either fared far worse the following year or, in Bell’s case, skipped the next season.

With Jacobs not the same threat out of the backfield McCaffrey, Barkley or Alvin Kamara are, a top-market pact will be hard for the fifth-year vet to secure. With McDaniels previously expressing support for the Jon Gruden-era draftee, will be interesting to see what numbers come out of these talks.

Tony Pollard, Cowboys; tag price: $10.1MM

The Cowboys are certainly unafraid to unholster their franchise tag, having used it in each of the past six years. In addition to keeping Pollard away from free agency, Dallas tagged Dalton Schultz, Dak Prescott and DeMarcus Lawrence in that span. With Prescott and Lawrence being tagged twice and Schultz leaving after his tagged season, the Cowboys have been fine letting players carry tag figures into seasons. Considering Pollard’s is the lowest cap hit among Dallas’ recent tags, the team is likely OK with the $10MM number staying on its books this year.

Pollard, 26, presents perhaps a more interesting case for a mid-2020s ascent compared to the Giants and Raiders backs. He has taken just 510 handoffs as a pro — Barkley sits at 954, Jacobs at 1,072 — and offers pass-game explosiveness that helped lead Dallas to drop Ezekiel Elliott.

The six-year, $90MM Elliott extension did not age well for the Cowboys, who are eating $11MM-plus in dead money over the next two years after the post-June 1 cut designation. But Elliott also accumulated more mileage (868 carries) before signing that extension. Pollard’s rookie-contract usage rate and skillset point to a promising late-20s stretch. Although Elliott’s deal helped spread out his cap hits, the Cowboys are eyeing a shorter-term Pollard pact.

As a former fourth-round pick, Pollard was smart to sign his tender and secure the guaranteed salary. Coming off a season in which he totaled 1,378 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns, the Memphis alum’s arrow is pointing up. The Cowboys can look at the deal the Packers gave dual-threat back Aaron Jones in 2021 (four years, $48MM) as an example of a good contract for a multipurpose back. The organization’s history with re-tagging players should also point to Pollard aiming for $22MM-plus in guarantees, but with no back earning between $7MM and $12MM on average, both Pollard and the team have interesting decisions to make in the coming days. Unlike Schultz’s 2022 tag period, however, updates have been scarce regarding Pollard talks.

The NFL’s Longest-Tenured GMs

July 6th, 2023 at 9:25am CST by Sam Robinson

The latest NFL general manager hiring cycle only produced two changes, but each took over for an executive who appeared in good standing at this point last year.

Steve Keim had held his Cardinals GM post since January 2013, and the Cardinals gave both he and Kliff Kingsbury extensions — deals that ran through 2027 — in March of last year. Arizona has since rebooted, moving on from both Keim and Kingsbury. Keim took a leave of absence late last season, and the Cardinals replaced him with ex-Titans exec Monti Ossenfort.

[RELATED: The NFL’s Longest-Tenured Head Coaches]

As the Cardinals poached one of the Titans’ top front office lieutenants, Tennessee went with an NFC West staffer to replace Jon Robinson. The move to add 49ers FO bastion Ran Carthon also came less than a year after the Titans reached extension agreements with both Robinson and HC Mike Vrabel. But controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk canned Robinson — in place as GM since January 2016 — before last season ended. Adams Strunk cited player unavailability and roster quality among the reasons she chose to move on despite having extended Robinson through the 2027 draft months earlier. The Titans are now pairing Vrabel and Carthon.

The Bills reached an extension agreement with GM Brandon Beane two weeks ago. Hired shortly after the team gave Sean McDermott the HC keys, Beane has helped the Bills to five playoff berths in six seasons. Beane’s deal keeps him signed through 2027. Chargers GM Tom Telesco has hit the 10-year mark leading that front office, while this year also marks the 10th offseason of Buccaneers honcho Jason Licht‘s tenure running the NFC South team. Although Jim Irsay fired Frank Reich and later admitted he reluctantly extended his former HC in 2021, the increasingly active Colts owner has expressed confidence in Chris Ballard.

Here is how the NFL’s GM landscape looks going into the 2023 season:

  1. Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys): April 18, 1989[1]
  2. Mike Brown (Cincinnati Bengals): August 5, 1991[2]
  3. Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000[3]
  4. Mickey Loomis (New Orleans Saints): May 14, 2002
  5. John Schneider (Seattle Seahawks): January 19, 2010; signed extension in 2021
  6. Howie Roseman (Philadelphia Eagles): January 29, 2010; signed extension in 2022
  7. Les Snead (Los Angeles Rams): February 10, 2012; signed extension in 2022
  8. Tom Telesco (Los Angeles Chargers): January 9, 2013; signed extension in 2018
  9. Jason Licht (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 21, 2014; signed extension in 2021
  10. Chris Grier (Miami Dolphins): January 4, 2016[4]
  11. John Lynch (San Francisco 49ers): January 29, 2017; signed extension in 2020
  12. Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts): January 30, 2017; signed extension in 2021
  13. Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills): May 9, 2017; signed extension in 2023
  14. Brett Veach (Kansas City Chiefs): July 11, 2017; signed extension in 2020
  15. Brian Gutekunst (Green Bay Packers): January 7, 2018; agreed to extension in 2022
  16. Eric DeCosta (Baltimore Ravens): January 7, 2019
  17. Joe Douglas (New York Jets): June 7, 2019
  18. Andrew Berry (Cleveland Browns): January 27, 2020
  19. Nick Caserio (Houston Texans): January 5, 2021
  20. George Paton (Denver Broncos): January 13, 2021
  21. Scott Fitterer (Carolina Panthers): January 14, 2021
  22. Brad Holmes (Detroit Lions): January 14, 2021
  23. Terry Fontenot (Atlanta Falcons): January 19, 2021
  24. Trent Baalke (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 21, 2021
  25. Martin Mayhew (Washington Commanders): January 22, 2021
  26. Joe Schoen (New York Giants): January 21, 2022
  27. Ryan Poles (Chicago Bears): January 25, 2022
  28. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Minnesota Vikings): January 26, 2022
  29. Dave Ziegler (Las Vegas Raiders): January 30, 2022
  30. Omar Khan (Pittsburgh Steelers): May 24, 2022
  31. Monti Ossenfort (Arizona Cardinals): January 16, 2023
  32. Ran Carthon (Tennessee Titans): January 17, 2023

Footnotes:

  1. Jones has been the Cowboys’ de facto general manager since former GM Tex Schramm resigned in April 1989.
  2. Brown has been the Bengals’ de facto GM since taking over as the team’s owner in August 1991.
  3. Belichick has been the Patriots’ de facto GM since shortly after being hired as the team’s head coach in January 2000.
  4. Although Grier was hired in 2016, he became the Dolphins’ top football exec on Dec. 31, 2018

The NFL’s Longest-Tenured Head Coaches

July 4th, 2023 at 12:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

After the 2022 offseason produced 10 new head coaches, this one brought a step back in terms of turnover. Five teams changed HCs, though each conducted thorough searches — four of them lasting until at least January 31.

The Colts and Cardinals hired their HCs after Super Bowl LVII, plucking the Eagles’ offensive and defensive coordinators (Shane Steichen, Jonathan Gannon). The Cardinals were hit with a tampering penalty regarding their Gannon search. Conducting their second HC search in two years, the Broncos saw multiple candidates drop out of the running. But Denver’s new ownership group convinced Sean Payton to step out of the FOX studio and back onto the sidelines after just one season away. The Panthers made this year’s first hire (Frank Reich), while the Texans — running their third HC search in three years — finalized an agreement with DeMeco Ryans minutes after the Payton news broke.

Only one of last year’s top 10 longest-tenured HCs lost his job. A turbulent Colts year led to Reich being fired barely a year after he signed an extension. During a rather eventful stretch, Jim Irsay said he reluctantly extended Reich in 2021. The Colts passed on giving interim HC Jeff Saturday the full-time position, despite Irsay previously indicating he hoped the former center would transition to that role. Reich landed on his feet, and after losing Andrew Luck to a shocking retirement just before his second Colts season, the well-regarded play-caller now has another No. 1 pick (Bryce Young) to mentor.

After considering a Rams exit, Sean McVay recommitted to the team and is overseeing a reshaped roster. Andy Reid also sidestepped retirement rumors, staying on with the Chiefs after his second Super Bowl win. This will be Reid’s 25th season as an NFL head coach.

Here is how the 32 HC jobs look for the 2023 season:

  1. Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000
  2. Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers): January 27, 2007; extended through 2024
  3. John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens): January 19, 2008; extended through 2025
  4. Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks): January 9, 2010; extended through 2025
  5. Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs): January 4, 2013; extended through 2025
  6. Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills): January 11, 2017; extended through 2027
  7. Sean McVay (Los Angeles Rams): January 12, 2017; extended through 2023
  8. Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers): February 6, 2017; extended through 2025
  9. Mike Vrabel (Tennessee Titans): January 20, 2018; signed extension in February 2022
  10. Matt LaFleur (Green Bay Packers): January 8, 2019: signed extension in July 2022
  11. Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals): February 4, 2019; extended through 2026
  12. Ron Rivera (Washington Commanders): January 1, 2020
  13. Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys): January 7, 2020
  14. Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns): January 13, 2020
  15. Robert Saleh (New York Jets): January 15, 2021
  16. Arthur Smith (Atlanta Falcons): January 15, 2021
  17. Brandon Staley (Los Angeles Chargers): January 17, 2021
  18. Dan Campbell (Detroit Lions): January 20, 2021
  19. Nick Sirianni (Philadelphia Eagles): January 21, 2021
  20. Matt Eberflus (Chicago Bears): January 27, 2022
  21. Brian Daboll (New York Giants): January 28, 2022
  22. Josh McDaniels (Las Vegas Raiders): January 30, 2022
  23. Kevin O’Connell (Minnesota Vikings): February 2, 2022
  24. Doug Pederson (Jacksonville Jaguars): February 3, 2022
  25. Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins): February 6, 2022
  26. Dennis Allen (New Orleans Saints): February 7, 2022
  27. Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): March 30, 2022
  28. Frank Reich (Carolina Panthers): January 26, 2023
  29. Sean Payton (Denver Broncos): January 31, 2023
  30. DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans): January 31, 2023
  31. Shane Steichen (Indianapolis Colts): February 14, 2023
  32. Jonathan Gannon (Arizona Cardinals): February 14, 2023

Staff Updates: Texans, Falcons, Colts, Jags

June 30th, 2023 at 9:49pm CST by Ely Allen

The Texans announced a slew of adjustments to their coaching and front office staffs for the 2023 season under new head coach DeMeco Ryans, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. The moves included confirmed new hires, promotions, and title additions throughout the staff.

On the coaching staff, Danny Barrett, who was confirmed to be sticking around as running backs coach as a holdover from last year’s staff back in February, has reportedly added the mantle of assistant head coach to his title. He’s been with the team for the past five years, providing Ryans with crucial insight into team dynamics. Wilson also announced that William Burnham has been hired as assistant special teams coordinator, replacing Sean Baker in the role. This is also news for Baker, as we were previously informed that he would be retained in the role for 2023 when the team finalized the coaching staff back in February.

In the personnel office, James Liipfert was promoted to executive director of player personnel after being promoted to assistant director of personnel/director of college scouting a year ago. John Ritcher joined Mozique McCurtis as a national scout for the team in 2019. Now the two are both moving up together into co-college scouting director jobs. Brad Matthews, a Midwest Area scout since 2018, will move into one of the open national scout roles. The team officially announced that Chris Blanco will rejoin the staff after two years in Minnesota. After reaching the role of director of pro personnel in his two years with the Vikings, Blanco will serve as assistant director of player personnel in Houston. Lastly in personnel, general manager Nick Caserio will add the title of executive vice president to his role.

Finally, in operations, Joe Vernon was officially announced as special advisor to football ops, leaving his job as an attorney at Miller Canfield in Michigan. The team also added Jeremy Stabile, who announced on Twitter that he would be leaving the Dolphins to accept the role of football data analyst in Houston.

Here are a few other staff updates from around the league, most of them coincidentally coming out of the AFC South, as well:

  • The only move not out of the AFC South, the Falcons hired Brian Zeches as their new player personnel coordinator. Zeches in the son of Jim Zeches, who was a scout in the NFL for 16 seasons. The younger Zeches has spent seven years in Washington and has experience with the Chiefs and the Senior Bowl, as well. He also has college experience, coaching at UTEP, Weber State, and New Mexico.
  • The Colts announced a number of promotions to their front office, as well, recently. In operations, Melainey Lowe has been named director of football operations after serving as a football operations intern in 2021 and the football operations assistant in 2022. In analytics, Nick Bayh was named strategic football analyst. He was previously a military intelligence officer for the US Army Reserve before serving as a personnel assistant in his first year with the Colts last year. In personnel, former scouting assistant Andrew Hoyle has been promoted to player personnel scout. He started with the team as an equipment intern in 2018 before moving his way through the ranks of the personnel department.
  • Lastly, the Jaguars made a couple of moves in their analytics department, according to ESPN’s Seth Walder. Previously under the title of director of coaching analytics, Ryan Paganetti‘s title has been changed to director of football analytics. Additionally, the team recently hired Avery Horvath as a data scientist.

Jaguars T Cam Robinson Issued Four-Game PED Suspension

June 29th, 2023 at 3:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

Details have emerged regarding the PED suspension Cam Robinson will serve to begin the 2023 season. The Jaguars tackle will be sidelined for four games to start the year, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link).

News of the Robinson ban came out in April, but it was not known at that point how many contests he would miss. Today’s update clarifies the challenge Jacksonville will face along the offensive line, a unit which already saw the departure of Jawaan Taylor to the Chiefs in free agency.

The loss of Taylor left the Jaguars in need of a notable O-line investment in the draft, something which came in Round 1 in the form of Anton Harrison. The latter was likely to play on the right side upon Robinson’s return, but there is a path for him to spend the first month of his rookie campaign at his familiar left tackle spot. Harrison made all but one of his starts at Oklahoma on the blindside.

Jacksonville also has Walker Little in place as a more experienced LT option. The former second-rounder has made 28 regular and postseason appearances to date, spending most of his time at left tackle. If the team elects to ease Harrison into the pro game (or keep him at right tackle in preparation for when Robinson returns) the Stanford product could see a starting blindside role in the fall.

For Robinson individually, this news carries signficant financial consequences. As Schefter’s colleague Field Yates tweets, the 27-year-old will lose $3.55MM in salary due to the missed time, and the remaining guaranteed money on his deal will void. Robinson signed a three-year, $52.75MM extension in 2022 which called for his $16MM 2023 base salary to be guaranteed in full. That figure will rise to a non-guaranteed $16.25MM next season, while his cap hit will remain above $22MM as is the case this year.

The Jaguars have remained committed to the Alabama product despite his less-than-spectacular performances throughout his career. His return to the lineup will no doubt be welcomed when it takes place, but the absence of guranteed money in the final year of his contract could spark new questions about his long-term future with the team. Robinson will miss games against the Colts, Chiefs, Texans and Falcons while serving his suspension. He will be eligible to return in Week 5, the Jaguars’ second straight London matchup when they play the Bills.

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