David Bakhtiari Likely Out For Season
In a brutal late-season blow, the Packers are not expected to have their left tackle for their Super Bowl push. David Bakhtiari is believed to have suffered a torn ACL in practice Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Recently given an offensive line-record contract, Bakhtiari has anchored Green Bay’s front for several seasons. He made his third Pro Bowl this year and is a first-team All-Pro candidate.
Pro Football Focus ranks the 29-year-old left tackle as its No. 2 overall tackle this season. He has certainly boosted Aaron Rodgers‘ chances of winning a third MVP award. The favorites to secure the NFC’s No. 1 seed, the Packers will be hard-pressed to replace the eighth-year standout.
A 2013 fourth-round pick, Bakhtiari did miss time earlier this season. He suffered a chest injury during the Packers’ blowout loss in Tampa. But he returned after a three-game absence. The Colorado alum became an instant starter in Green Bay as a rookie and has never missed more than four games in a season.
Green Bay has deployed a top-tier offensive line this season, with guard Elgton Jenkins joining Bakhtiari as a Pro Bowl honoree and center Corey Linsley rating as PFF’s runaway top center. The Packers lead the NFL in points (474) and rank third in yardage in Matt LaFleur‘s second season. They will face a more difficult road to the Super Bowl as a result of this crushing New Year’s Eve news.
Packers Claim Snacks Harrison Off Waivers
Damon Harrison will jump from one NFC playoff team to another. The Packers made a successful claim for the recently waived defensive tackle, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Snacks expressed a desire to leave Seattle, after the Seahawks made him a healthy scratch Sunday. But he will still factor into the NFC playoff bracket and may well have additional time to acclimate in Green Bay, with the Packers having the inside track on the conference’s bye.
Several teams previously expressed interest in poaching the 350-pound defensive tackle off the Seahawks’ practice squad. The Packers joined the Buccaneers, Dolphins and Ravens in eyeing the veteran run stopper. They will be Harrison’s fifth NFL team. The veteran nose tackle has played with the Jets, Giants, Lions and Seahawks in nine NFL seasons.
Snacks did not sound too interested in being claimed, but it does appear the Packers were a preferred destination (Twitter links). He will be called upon to help the Packers attempt to reach their first Super Bowl in 10 years.
Harrison, 32, played in six Seahawks games, rising to their active roster after a lengthy acclimation stay on their practice squad. In typical Snacks fashion, he performed as a solid run-stuffer with less-than-solid showings on passing plays. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall score of 68.1 — his 81.7 ground grade was weighed down by his 47.9 passing mark.
The former UDFA was a first-team All-Pro with the Giants in 2016. He made the Jets-to-Giants switch that year, but the Giants traded him to Detroit in 2018. He has made 111 starts in his career, though none came this season. Harrison made a career-high nine tackles for loss with the Giants and Lions during the ’18 season.
While the Packers have one of the league’s top interior defenders on their roster in Kenny Clark, they have multiple D-linemen — Montravius Adams and Billy Winn — on IR. The Packers have also experienced issues stopping the run this season. Despite preventing a Derrick Henry snow rampage, they rank 14th against the run. Dalvin Cook and Ronald Jones enjoyed big days against Green Bay earlier this season, but the team stands to have a proven ground-game deterrent in the mix come playoff time.
Washington Cuts Dwayne Haskins
Quarterback Dwayne Haskins has been released, per an announcement from the Washington Football Team. The news comes just hours after Haskins was benched and leapfrogged on the depth chart by Taylor Heinicke. 
“This afternoon I met with Dwayne and informed him that we would be releasing him,” head coach Ron Rivera said in a statement. “I told him that I believe it benefits both parties that we go our separate ways. We want to thank Dwayne for his contributions these last two seasons and wish him well moving forward.”
Washington had high hopes for Haskins after selecting him in the first round of the 2019 draft. It was a move that the franchise came to regret, and Ron Rivera‘s regime had little reason to keep up appearances. Haskins didn’t inspire confidence in his second pro season and his Week 16 performance put their playoff hopes in jeopardy.
Haskins started on Sunday in place of Alex Smith, completing just 50% of his passes for 154 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also lost a crucial fumble. NFL journeyman Heinicke took his place and looked a whole lot better. If Smith can’t go in the regular season finale, it’ll be Heinicke under center for the WFT.
Per league rules, Haskins will be subject to waivers. If he goes unclaimed in the next 24 hours, he’ll be free to sign with any team. As a first-round pick his initial rookie deal is fully guaranteed, meaning that any team that claims him would be on the hook for $1.8MM in 2021 and $2.46MM in 2022. If he goes unclaimed, it’ll be Washington paying him that money.
With those millions coming his way, it’s probably more likely that any interested teams pass on him on waivers and try to sign him to a cheap non-guaranteed deal instead. It’s a remarkable fall from grace for the former Ohio State star who was the 15th pick in the draft less than two years ago.
There were reports that former coach Jay Gruden’s staff never wanted him, and that he was forced on them by owner Dan Snyder. Obviously, Rivera’s new staff had no connection to the pick, making it easier to cut ties. Due to his college accomplishments and draft pedigree we haven’t heard the last of him, but he also certainly won’t be handed a starting job anywhere after what he’s put on tape the past two years.
He’ll finish his tenure in Washington averaging 6.3 yards per attempt with 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 16 games and 13 starts. His best bet to salvage his career may be to try to find a team with an aging veteran quarterback he can sit behind with a coaching staff interested in developing him.
Browns To Be Down Several WRs In Week 16
Dec. 27: There were no new positive tests overnight, so this afternoon’s contest with the Jets will go forward, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter). The Browns will be without their top four wideouts and two linebackers, and while they did activate left tackle Jedrick Wills from the reserve/COVID-19 list as expected, Wills has been ruled out of the game with an illness. Cleveland has elevated Willies and Bradley from the practice squad, along with LB Montrel Meander.
The close contact with Goodson occurred in the team’s recovery pool area, according to Pelissero (hold your jokes, please). Sharing the pool isn’t a protocol violation in and of itself, but at least one player wasn’t wearing a mask as required, and the league may choose investigate further.
Dec. 26: Some fallout is emerging from B.J. Goodson‘s positive COVID-19 test. Contact tracing deemed several Browns wide receivers high-risk close contacts, according to Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins and Donovan Peoples-Jones — the Browns’ top three wide receivers — have are high-risk close contacts, Schefter and Mortensen report (on Twitter). These three will be placed on Cleveland’s reserve/COVID-19 list and miss Sunday’s game against the Jets, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com (on Twitter).
A fourth wideout, KhaDarel Hodge, will also be placed on the virus list, Cabot reports (on Twitter). Linebacker Jacob Phillips is also out. Hodge is Cleveland’s fourth-leading wide receiver this season.
The Browns have not yet left Cleveland and have yet to learn how many players will be unable to travel with the team to New Jersey. The Browns are also likely to be without at least one tight end against the Jets, according to ESPN. The game remains on as scheduled for noon CT Sunday.
While this is not as dire of a situation, functionality-wise, as what the Broncos encountered earlier this season at quarterback, the Browns are in a higher-profile spot. The Browns still have a chance to win the AFC North, with two wins and two Steelers losses, and have yet to clinch a wild-card spot yet. The Jets are 1-13 but coming off a 23-20 win over the Rams.
Already down Odell Beckham Jr., the Browns do not have much in the way of receiving talent beyond their top three healthy targets. Few teams do. Landry’s 789 receiving yards lead the team, while Higgins has contributed 544 and four receiving TDs. This will be Landry’s first absence with the Browns.
Cleveland’s remaining wideouts: Marvin Hall and practice squad cogs Derrick Willies and Ja’Marcus Bradley. None of them have a catch with Cleveland this season. Hall caught 17 passes for 290 yards and two scores with the Lions this year. The Browns claimed Hall off waivers from the Lions earlier this month.
Texans Interview Marvin Lewis
Expected to have a chance at multiple NFL HC jobs, Marvin Lewis landed his first known interview of this hiring period. The former Bengals head coach interviewed for the Texans’ HC position, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com report (via Twitter). The Texans announced the interview took place.
The longest-tenured HC in Bengals history, Lewis has been with the Arizona State program for the past two seasons. But he is on multiple NFL teams’ radars, and several jobs figure to be open by season’s end.
Currently the Sun Devils’ co-defensive coordinator on Herm Edwards‘ staff, Lewis surfaced on the NFL radar — to some degree — last year upon meeting with the Cowboys about the job that went to Mike McCarthy. Mike Zimmer also offered his former boss an assistant job in 2019. But a genuine Lewis push back to an NFL coaching gig now appears on tap.
Lewis, 62, coached the Bengals for 16 seasons. Known for revitalizing a long-moribund franchise in the 2000s, Lewis failed to snap Cincinnati’s playoff win drought — twice losing opening-round games to the Texans — and surprised most with his job security at his last NFL post. The former Ravens defensive coordinator is 131-122-3 as an NFL head coach.
The Texans have already interviewed former Lions and Colts HC Jim Caldwell for the job and have been connected to Seahawks OC Brian Schottenheimer as well. Eric Bieniemy, however, has loomed as a Deshaun Watson favorite — though, the quarterback is also believed to want OC Tim Kelly to stay — and has appeared to be on Houston’s radar for several weeks. Lewis has far more HC experience than both and has more such service time than almost anyone currently coaching in the NFL. It will be interesting to see how many interviews the current Pac-12 assistant lands over the next few weeks.
Texans Interview Jim Caldwell For HC Opening
The Texans are ramping up their search for Bill O’Brien’s replacement. Houston completed an interview with former Lions and Colts head coach Jim Caldwell for their vacancy, the team announced Monday.
Caldwell was the coach in Detroit for four seasons from 204-17. After spending 2018 out of football he agreed to become an assistant head coach with the Dolphins, but then took a leave of absence for medical reasons. We heard in December of last year that he was back to full health and looking to coach again, but he didn’t sign anywhere this offseason. Caldwell succeeded Tony Dungy as Colts coach, and held that position for three seasons from 2009-11, but was fired after a 2011 season where Indy went just 2-14 with Peyton Manning missing the entire year with neck issues.
Caldwell has a 62-50 record as head coach, although as Mike Garafolo of NFL Network pointed out in a tweet it’s 60-36 if you take out the year where the Colts essentially tanked for Andrew Luck. In his first season in Detroit Caldwell went 11-5 and made the playoffs. He went 9-7 each of his last two years with the Lions, making the playoffs again in 2016.
Detroit brass decided that wasn’t good enough and that Caldwell wasn’t the one to get them over the hump, and obviously we’ve all seen what’s happened there since he left. A highly regarded offensive coach with plenty of big time experience, it always seemed like only a matter of time before Caldwell got another shot. He spent a couple of decades in the college ranks before jumping to the pros as an assistant under Dungy with the Buccaneers in 2001.
The Texans are in an interesting spot, as obviously O’Brien was their coach as well as GM. The team recently interviewed ESPN analyst Louis Riddick for the GM opening. We’ve heard that Texans owner Cal McNair wants Deshaun Watson to have input on who the next head coach is, so what the young quarterback thinks of Caldwell could determine whether or not he has a real shot at the gig.
Interim GM Jack Easterby is proving to be a divisive figure, but recent reports indicate he’ll have a large role in determining the next head coach and GM as well. To say this is a pivotal offseason for the franchise would be a massive understatement, and it’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Saints Place WR Michael Thomas On IR
Michael Thomas is done for the regular season, but it sounds like he could be back in time for the playoffs. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the Saints are placing their star wideout on injured reserve, noting that the Saints “expect him close to 100% for the start of the postseason.”
Thomas has been dealing with an ankle injury since the start of the season. The high ankle sprain (along with a coinciding suspension for punching a teammate) sidelined him until Week 9.
Despite only playing alongside Drew Brees in two of the six games upon his return, Thomas has still hauled in 37 receptions for 421 yards over that span. He’s also been held without a touchdown this season. This has certainly been a change for one of the NFL’s most consistent players over the past few years. The former second-round pick had only missed two games coming into this season and entered 2020 coming off a record 149-reception 2019 slate.
The Saints were also able to establish an eight-game win streak during Thomas’ absence. And while they are home underdogs to the Chiefs in Week 15, the team will be favored to beat the Vikings and Panthers without its All-Pro wideout. New Orleans won two games without Thomas or Emmanuel Sanders earlier this season. Sanders, however, is healthy now. The free agent acquisition and Tre’Quan Smith will be Brees’ top available wideouts for the regular season’s remainder.
That said, the Saints have won one road playoff game in franchise history. Thomas’ absence will make it more difficult for New Orleans to earn the NFC’s lone bye, potentially forcing the Saints to play on the road in the conference title game — should they advance that far in the playoffs.
Bills, GM Brandon Beane Agree On Extension
The Bills will prevent Brandon Beane from going into a contract year. Beane signed an extension Thursday to stay in Buffalo long-term.
Considering where the franchise is now compared to where it was prior to Beane following Sean McDermott to Buffalo, this is not exactly surprising. But the first-time GM’s five-year contract was set to expire after the 2021 season. He is now locked up beyond next year.
This move comes four months after McDermott’s re-up. McDermott is signed through the 2025 campaign. It would make sense if Beane’s contract runs through the ’25 season as well. Beane and McDermott have the Bills poised to make the playoffs for the third time in four seasons — something that has not happened since the late 1990s — and the team has the inside track on winning its first division title since 1995.
After a brief period when the Bills teamed McDermott with previous GM Doug Whaley, the Bills made the move to hire Beane after the 2017 draft. In 2018, Beane engineered multiple trades to move into position to draft Josh Allen. That move, though scrutinized, has paid off for the Bills. Allen is enjoying by far his best season, having made tremendous strides in Year 3. March acquisition Stefon Diggs has impacted Allen’s development considerably, as have 2019 signees Cole Beasley and John Brown. Buffalo also featured top-five pass defenses in 2018 and ’19, though its 2020 group has not performed on that level.
Beane spent nearly 20 years with the Panthers, becoming part of the Carolina organization in 1998. He and McDermott worked together from 2011-16 with the NFC South franchise, and the Bills opted to form a Panthers North of sorts. The move has led to sustained success (and a slew of former Panthers receiving Bills contracts).
The Bills are 9-3 going into their Week 14 game against the Steelers. A year after their first 10-win season since 1999, the Bills are a game up on the Dolphins in the AFC East and three up on the perennial division champion Patriots. This is certainly the franchise’s most stable point since its Jim Kelly– and Bruce Smith-led nucleus of the ’90s, and the team is moving forward with the power structure that enabled it.
Dez Bryant Tests Positive For COVID-19
The Ravens have another COVID-19 situation on their hands. They pulled Dez Bryant off the field during warmups, and the veteran announced (via Twitter) he was informed he tested positive for the coronavirus.
We are less than a half-hour from the start of what would have been a reunion game for Bryant, but he is now out of tonight’s Ravens-Cowboys matchup. Known for announcing news of his career on his Twitter account, the 32-year-old receiver subsequently said he no longer intends to play this season (Twitter link). That would be an interesting development, considering how long the former Cowboys Pro Bowler spent trying to return to the NFL, but this season has obviously featured numerous unusual announcements.
As of 6:50pm CT, Week 13’s Baltimore-Dallas game remains a go. But considering what the Ravens just went through with the virus, this could be a sticky situation. Contact tracing could lead the Ravens to pulling other players out of tonight’s game. This news transpiring so close to kickoff represents a new hurdle for the NFL in this historically unusual season.
After the season began, the NFL moved to game-day testing. Interestingly, no other Ravens tested positive and no Bryant high-risk close contacts have been identified, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The NFL’s latest Tuesday game will still take place. This confusing situation went down because a Tuesday-morning Bryant PCR test twice came back inconclusive and a subsequent point-of-care test came back positive, according to Pelissero (on Twitter).
The Ravens signed Bryant to their practice squad earlier this season and have used him sparingly in multiple games. Bryant caught four passes for 28 yards in Week 11 against the Titans and played in last week’s Steelers game — one that featured a decimated Ravens squad after their COVID outbreak. The Ravens still have several players on their reserve/COVID list, including pass catchers Mark Andrews and Willie Snead.
Eagles To Start Jalen Hurts, Bench Carson Wentz
Well it’s official, Carson Wentz is being sent to the bench. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has made his decision and he’ll be starting Jalen Hurts under center for their Week 14 game against the Saints, sources told Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
It’s not a surprising move considering Hurts replaced Wentz during Sunday’s loss to the Packers and moved the ball much better, but it sure is a monumental one. Whether this is the end of Wentz’s run in Philly remains to be seen, as his contract now looms over the franchise. The second overall pick of the 2020 draft is due over $50MM in guaranteed money over the next two seasons after this one.
It’s very hard to envision him not being on the roster in 2021, unless the Eagles are willing to absorb a massive dead cap hit. They could look to trade him, although needless to say it won’t be easy to iron out a deal.It’s fair to say Philadelphia brass brought this quarterback controversy upon themselves by drafting Hurts in the second-round back in April. Whether that pick shattered Wentz’s confidence or whatever else, his play had regressed to atrocious levels. He leads the league in interceptions, and nobody else is even a close second.
It’s anyone’s guess what Hurts will look like in an offense with a shaky offensive line and inconsistent pass-catchers, but he can’t be any worse than Wentz statistically at this point. It’s possible Pederson is making this move now in an attempt to save his own job, as we heard a couple of days ago that the coach who won the Super Bowl just a few years ago is on the hot seat.
It’s a remarkable fall from grace for Wentz, as at this point last year he was being widely praised for helping the Eagles storm back and win the NFC East. It wasn’t too long ago that Wentz was considered an MVP candidate before going down with a torn ACL and LCL. But things change fast in the NFL, and unfortunately injuries robbed Wentz of the chance to have any memorable postseason moments with the team the past few seasons. There’s a lot still left to be written, but it looks like this could be the beginning of the end for Wentz in Philadelphia.
Hurts, the 53rd pick of April’s draft, accomplished a ton in college at both Alabama and Oklahoma. As ridiculous as it sounds, the 3-8-1 Eagles are still alive in the pitiful NFC East. It’ll be interesting to see if Hurts sparks something in this locker room, or if their struggles continue just as much as before.