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OL Notes: Thuney, Packers, Cowboys, Bears

January 17th, 2025 at 7:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Joe Thuney landed on the All-Pro first team at his natural left guard position, but as the Chiefs have struggled to find a left tackle solution this season, they had kicked their standout LG to that post. Although in-season free agency addition D.J. Humphries is healthy, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes Kansas City will leave Thuney at LT. This arrangement has featured Mike Caliendo at left guard. Humphries, who rehabbed an ACL tear for most of 2024 as a free agent, suffered a hamstring injury during his Chiefs debut. Thuney has fared much better than Wanya Morris or second-round rookie Kingsley Suamataia, the latter having won the job out of training camp. While the two-time reigning champions will have work to do at this spot soon, it appears their threepeat push will feature Thuney at LT the rest of the way.

Here is the latest from the O-line ranks:

  • The Packers have both their primary tackle starters (Rasheed Walker, Zach Tom) under contract for 2025, and Elgton Jenkins is tied to a lucrative extension. With Jordan Morgan‘s rookie deal going through 2027, Green Bay only has one key UFA-to-be on its offensive front. Four-year center starter Josh Myers is out of contract, but GM Brian Gutekunst labeled (via the Green Bay Press-Gazette’s Ryan Wood) the blocker as having “his best year.” Perhaps more importantly, Gutekunst praised how Myers and Jordan Love work as a combo on offense. Although Ryan Kelly is the biggest name among available centers, Myers’ age (26) and experience (56 starts) will help him become one of the top interior O-linemen on the market. The Packers last faced a decision on a center in 2021, when they let Corey Linsley walk before drafting Myers. It will be interesting to see how they address the situation with Myers.
  • Also in Green Bay, Gutekunst noted that there could be some shuffling in the offensive line starters’ positions. Notably, he mentioned that Tom, who has started every game at right tackle for the past two years, could potentially shift over to the blind side, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Back in 2022, Tom’s rookie season, the Wake Forest alum started games at both left tackle and left guard, and Gutekunst believes Tom could play any of the five positions, though he lauds that the 25-year-old has established himself at tackle and could end up starting on the left side.
  • In the recent past Jerry Jones and the Cowboys have been extremely fortunate when forced to start rookie offensive linemen. Players like Tyler Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Connor Williams, and Zack Martin have all been players who immediately (or almost immediately) stepped in to great success on the offensive line in Dallas. This year, Jones hoped he’d be able to count to two rookies drafted in the first three rounds once again, starting first-round Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton and third-round Kansas State center Cooper Beebe for a combined 27 games. Guyton was drafted to replace departed veteran Tyron Smith, but the rookie was in a bit over his head this season. Out of 81 players graded at the position by Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Guyton graded out as the 73rd-best tackle, getting benched near the end of the season. Beebe faired a bit better in 16 starts but only ranked as the 16th-best center in the league, per PFF. According to Jon Machota of The Athletic, Jones admitted on a radio interview with 105.3 The FAN that he “probably got a little out over (his) skis thinking, ‘just plug those guys in.'”
  • Offensive guard Matt Pryor has bounced around quite a bit over his first six years in the NFL, getting traded halfway through his rookie deal from Philadelphia to Indianapolis before spending a year each in San Francisco and Chicago. In his sixth NFL season, Pryor, who had only filled in as a starter over his first five years, found himself starting 15 games this season for the Bears. According to Adam Jahns of The Athletic, Pryor wouldn’t mind putting down some roots, saying “he’d like to return” after the one-year deal he played on this season. He graded out decently (21st of 77) per PFF, so he could fetch some money on the free agent market, but it sounds like he’s interested in staying in Chicago.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.

Chiefs Activate CB Jaylen Watson From IR

January 17th, 2025 at 4:46pm CST by Ben Levine

JANUARY 17: Watson has indeed been activated, per a team announcement. He will be in line to handle a significant workload on Saturday and beyond if the Chiefs manage another deep postseason run.

JANUARY 16: Jaylen Watson is expected to return from IR just in time for the Chiefs’ playoff opener. According to Nate Taylor of The Athletic, the Chiefs are expected to activate their starting cornerback before Saturday’s divisional round matchup with the Texans.

Watson suffered a fractured fibula and tibia back in Week 7 that was expected to knock him out for the rest of the season. Instead, the former seventh-round pick has worked his way back in just a few months. Watson was a full participant at practice on both Tuesday and Wednesday, and Taylor believes the 26-year-old could play a majority of his team’s snaps this weekend. Of course, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was quick to caution that his CB will need to knock off any rust.

“I think these next two (practices) will be really important,” Spagnuolo said (via Taylor). “He needs to get up to the speed of the game — and it’s not regular-season speed. It’s playoff speed.”

After serving as a rotational defensive back through his first two years in the league, Watson took on a larger role in 2023. The cornerback started each of Kansas City’s first six games, appearing in 91 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. In those six appearances, Watson compiled 32 tackles and six passes defended, with Pro Football Focus grading him 30th among 117 qualifying cornerbacks.

As Taylor notes, Watson combined with All-Pro CB Trent McDuffie to limit opposing passers to a 60 percent completion percentage. When the likes of Joshua Williams, Nazeeh Johnson, and Chris Roland-Wallace filled in, that number jumped to 67 percent, so Watson should provide a boost to the team’s defense.

2025 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

January 15th, 2025 at 11:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the Cowboys and Mike McCarthy splitting up, seven teams have made coaching changes so far during this year’s cycle. Here are the candidates connected to each of the HC-needy franchises. If more teams make changes, they will be added to the list.

Updated 2-11-25 (11:40am CT)

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Titans Setting Up Second GM Interviews

January 14th, 2025 at 11:55am CST by Sam Robinson

JANUARY 14: The Titans’ second round of interviews will take place in person today, tomorrow and Thursday, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports’ reports. Once all six candidates have been met with, it would come as no surprise if a decision were to be made in relatively short order. Tennessee may well be the first of the three GM-needy teams to move forward with a hire during the 2025 hiring cycle.

JANUARY 13: Needing a GM for the second time in three years, the Titans are moving fast. Less than a week after firing Ran Carthon, Tennessee is setting up second interviews. One of those involves a candidate the team met with in 2023 as well.

Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham met with Titans brass two years ago, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes the Ryan Poles lieutenant is in line for a second interview this time around. Joining Cunningham in advancing to this stage will be Chiefs assistant GM Mike Borgonzi and Buccaneers assistant GM John Spytek.

We may not be at the finalist stage yet, though third interviews are virtually unheard of. Still, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports Bills director of player personnel Terrance Gray and Colts AGM Ed Dodds are also expected to receive second interviews. Ditto Jon-Eric Sullivan, per Pelissero. While this process is moving swiftly, the Titans still have several candidates in the race.

This batch of candidates includes some who are still in consideration for the Jets and Raiders’ GM gigs. Spytek, a Tom Brady college teammate, is on the Raiders’ radar early. Borgonzi is a Long Island native who has interviewed with the Jets. Sullivan interviewed for the Jets’ job as well. Beyond these three, none of the Titans’ set of second interviewees has been connected to one of the other available jobs. Though, the Raiders have not made official requests yet.

Cunningham would join the Bears’ HC search committee once he is no longer connected to leaving, but for now, the fourth-year Chicago staffer is in limbo. The Bears gave Cunningham an extension after he lost out to Adam Peters for the Commanders’ GM job. The Titans strongly considered Cunningham in 2023, giving him a second interview during the pursuit Carthon eventually won. Cunningham is also believed to have turned down the Cardinals’ GM job that year, with ex-Titans exec Monti Ossenfort winning. Titans brass circling back with another second interview bodes well for Cunningham’s status this year.

Dodds has been on GM carousels previously and has been in the AFC South for seven seasons now. The Colts hired Dodds shortly after Chris Ballard took over in 2017. Dodds interviewed for the Chargers, Panthers and Raiders jobs last year. Gray met with the Bolts and Raiders but declined a Patriots interview request, joining others in doing so as the Patriots looked to satisfy the Rooney Rule for a job most correctly figured would go to Eliot Wolf.

Borgonzi was part of last year’s GM carousel as well, meeting about the Commanders job, but this year marks the first time he has met with multiple teams in the same offseason. The Chiefs have lost Ballard and Brandt Tilis from their front office during Andy Reid‘s tenure. Considering Kansas City’s success over the past several years, it would surprise if Borgonzi was not in the mix for the Jets and Titans’ jobs until the end. Both the Bucs’ assistant GMs, Spytek and Mike Greenberg, are on this year’s GM carousel. Greenberg has interviewed with the Jets. Spytek has been with the Bucs for nearly 10 seasons, two in his current role.

The Titans are giving Chad Brinker significant power, with the team’s former assistant GM — after having usurped Carthon — now president of football operations. That will affect the team’s next GM considerably, significantly affecting this search. Sullivan’s resume should be important here, as he and Brinker worked together for nearly 15 years in Green Bay. Sullivan has been with the Packers since 2004, learning under Ted Thompson and Brian Gutekunst. Brinker featured the same background upon arriving in Nashville.

Via PFR’s General Manager Search Tracker, here is how the Titans’ process looks nearly a week in:

2025 NFL Cap Carryover, By Team

January 11th, 2025 at 9:52pm CST by Adam La Rose

With the regular season in the books, all NFL teams have declared their cap carryover for the 2025 league year. Unused cap space from the current campaign will roll over, a substantial element of many teams’ financial planning.

Last offseason saw a record-breaking jump in the salary cap ceiling (pushing the upper limit to $255.4MM). To no surprise, another spike is expected but a smaller year-to-year increase is likely to take place. It was learned last month that teams are preparing for the 2025 cap to check in at a figure between $265MM-$275MM.

As teams evaluate key roster-building decisions – including restructures and cuts aimed at manufacturing cap space – carryovers are crucial. It it still not known what exactly the cap ceiling will wind up as, but in the meantime every club’s space which has been rolled over will add a degree of clarity with respect to how their offseason will take shape. Several teams (including the top two on this year’s list) have made a concerted effort in recent years to carry unused space through the course of a campaign knowing a spike in cap charges for core players are forthcoming.

Courtesy of Over the Cap, here is the full breakdown of each team’s 2025 cap carryover amount:

  • San Francisco 49ers: $50.01MM
  • Cleveland Browns: $41.95MM
  • New England Patriots: $34.86MM
  • Las Vegas Raiders: $33.57MM
  • Detroit Lions: $23.73MM
  • Washington Commanders: $19.83MM
  • Dallas Cowboys: $18.84MM
  • Jacksonville Jaguars: $15.89MM
  • Green Bay Packers: $15.11MM
  • Tennessee Titans: $14.72MM
  • Arizona Cardinals: $11.38MM
  • Indianapolis Colts: $10.1MM
  • Seattle Seahawks: $8.42MM
  • Pittsburgh Steelers: $6.83MM
  • Philadelphia Eagles: $6.81MM
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $6.63MM
  • Atlanta Falcons: $6.07MM
  • Minnesota Vikings: $5.94MM
  • Cincinnati Bengals: $5.94MM
  • Chicago Bears: $5.08MM
  • Los Angeles Chargers: $4.89MM
  • Houston Texans: $4.81MM
  • Kansas City Chiefs: $3.15MM
  • Miami Dolphins: $3MM
  • New Orleans Saints: $2.93MM
  • Los Angeles Rams: $2.75MM
  • Baltimore Ravens: $2.14MM
  • Denver Broncos: $1.91MM
  • Buffalo Bills: $1.34MM
  • New York Giants: $1.17MM
  • Carolina Panthers: $490K
  • New York Jets: $346K

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/10/25

January 10th, 2025 at 10:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves and a few standard gameday practice squad elevations for the first games of the playoffs:

Chicago Bears

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Philadelphia Eagles

McFadden’s waiver claim has been accepted, but since the Bears have no more games this year, it has been deferred until the first business day after the Super Bowl, February 10.

Jets, Raiders Request Steve Spagnuolo HC Meetings

January 10th, 2025 at 6:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

JANUARY 10: Spagnuolo interviewed with the Jets on Friday, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. He is the seventh coach to interview for the job in New York and has interested from the Jaguars and the Raiders.

1:04pm: The Raiders have also asked Spagnuolo for a meeting about their HC post, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini tweets. Las Vegas’ HC search is just now taking shape, and age does not appear to be an issue for the AFC West club. The Raiders have reached out to Bill Belichick, despite his North Carolina agreement, and now have another seasoned defensive coach on their radar.

Spagnuolo and Belichick’s HC stints could not feature a much greater disparity, but the longtime Reid assistant has certainly proven his worth as the Chiefs have followed Belichick’s Patriots in forming a dynasty this century. This will be a banner offseason for Spagnuolo, who has struggled to shake off his St. Louis stay to secure HC interviews.

12:49pm: Steve Spagnuolo has used his Kansas City stay to stamp his credentials as one of the greatest coordinators in NFL history. Elevating a defense that had held Patrick Mahomes back in 2018, Spagnuolo has helped a Chiefs that suddenly has not been able to count on top-shelf offensive work over the past two seasons.

The veteran DC’s first head coaching stint, however, has done plenty to keep him off the radar. Spagnuolo went 10-38 as Rams HC from 2009-11, plunging off the radar for future consideration. But he is now a four-time Super Bowl-winning DC. The Jets are interested in meeting with him and have sent an interview request, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo. Spagnuolo is currently tied to a Chiefs extension he signed shortly after the 49ers showed interest in poaching him.

This Jets HC search has shown the team is interested in experienced options. Spagnuolo joins Chiefs coworker Matt Nagy, Mike Vrabel, Brian Flores, Vance Joseph, Arthur Smith, Ron Rivera and ex-Jets leader Rex Ryan as former HCs to receive interview requests out of New York. Current Saints interim HC Darren Rizzi received a Jets interview slip, too.

Multiple factors are working against Spagnuolo. The former Giants Super Bowl-winning defensive boss is now 65; only Bruce Arians (66) has been older and hired as a head coach. Spags’ win percentage between his St. Louis stay and four-game run as interim Giants HC in 2017 checks in as the third-worst in NFL history (.212) — ahead of only ex-commissioner Bert Bell and Hue Jackson.

This notification probably will come as welcome news to Spagnuolo, who has pushed to receive consideration at multiple points during his Kansas City stay. The Chiefs have regularly been able to rely on their defense during Spagnuolo’s six-season stay, creating a lethal combination of a sound defensive unit supplementing Mahomes and Andy Reid on offense. This formula has resulted in three Super Bowl wins and four appearances since Spagnuolo’s 2019 arrival. The Chiefs’ drop off the top tier on offense over the past two years has highlighted the importance of Spagnuolo’s defensive acumen.

Spagnuolo was the architect of the Giants’ titanic Super Bowl XLII upset of the unbeaten Patriots as well, leading to the Rams’ HC job. A 7-9 2010 season — Sam Bradford‘s rookie year — came between two woeful campaigns. The Rams finished 2-14 in 2009 and 1-15 in 2011. That tenure has crushed Spagnuolo’s second-chance HC hopes, allowing the Chiefs to enjoy continuity on defense. This is Spagnuolo’s first known HC interview request since he joined the Chiefs.

Titans Request GM Interviews With Ed Dodds, Reggie McKenzie, John Spytek

January 10th, 2025 at 10:30am CST by Nikhil Mehta

JANUARY 10: McKenzie is likely to receive considerable support for the GM role, Dianna Russini of The Athletic notes. He may be the favorite at this point in the process, although things could of course change over the coming days as interviews take place.

JANUARY 8: The Titans are casting their net far and wide in search of their next general manager, adding three more interviews to their list on Wednesday.

The latest candidates are Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds (per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero), Dolphins senior personnel executive Reggie McKenzie (per ESPN’s Turron Davenport), and Buccaneers assistant GM John Spytek (per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times).

[RELATED: Titans Begin GM Search With Three Requests]

Dodds has worked under Colts GM Chris Ballard since 2017. He began his NFL front office career as a scouting intern for the then-Oakland Raiders in 2003. That led to a scouting gig in Seattle, where Dodds finished as a senior personnel executive after nearly a decade. He then started as vice president of player personnel in Indianapolis before receiving a promotion to assistant GM in 2018. The Colts have hit on a number of first- and second-round picks in Dodds’ tenure, including Quenton Nelson and Shaquille Leonard in 2018 and Michael Pittman Jr. and Jonathan Taylor in 2020, but they have struggled to consistently find talent in the later rounds.

McKenzie is a former NFL linebacker who retired from playing in 1992. He briefly coached at the University of Tennessee before landing a scouting job with the Packers. McKenzie stayed in Green Bay for almost 20 years, eventually rising to director of football operations in 2008. The Packers won two Super Bowls in McKenzie’s tenure, which also included the 2005 draft selection of Aaron Rodgers.

McKenzie was then hired to turn around an expensive, underperforming Raiders roster as GM. He hit on Derek Carr, Khalil Mack, and Amari Cooper in back-to-back drafts but struggled to find and retain talent in subsequent years amid interference from new owner Mark Davis and his handpicked head coach, Jon Gruden. McKenzie was fired during the 2018 season and joined the Dolphins a few months later. Miami’s next three drafts all yielded several future starters, including Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle, though the team is still chasing their first AFC East title since 2008.

Spytek spent time with the Lions, Eagles, Browns, and Broncos – primarily as a scout – before arriving in Tampa Bay in 2016. The Buccaneers have been one of the most successful front offices in the last decade under GM Jason Licht, who has consistently hit on draft picks and free agent signings. Tampa Bay won Super Bowl LV after successfully engineering the acquisition of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski during the 2020 offseason and has won four straight division titles since. The Buccaneers’ drafts under Spytek have been littered with success, particularly at offensive line.

The Titans’ search is being overseen by president of football operations Chad Brinker, whose football experience stands in contrast to some of Tennessee’s other business-focused executives. He has ties to Chiefs assistant GM Mike Borgonzi, Packers VP of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, and Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, all of whom could be candidates for the Titans’ GM job.

Brinker may also look for familiarity with head coach Brian Callahan, in which case a Bengals executive like Mike Potts, Trey Brown, or Steve Radicevic could be considered, according to Breer.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/9/25

January 9th, 2025 at 8:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Many teams have started signing players to reserve/futures contracts, allowing the organization to retain (routinely) young, practice squad players through the offseason. Here are the latest reserve/futures contracts:

Dallas Cowboys

Kansas City Chiefs

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