Jay Gruden, Bruce Allen Expected To Remain With Redskins
Several weeks ago, we learned that Redskins assistant coaches were beginning to worry about their futures, as they were uncertain as to head coach Jay Gruden‘s status with the club. But it appears that Gruden will get one more shot. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com writes that Gruden looks to be on “safe footing,” especially given that his team was performing well in 2018 before being decimated by injury for the second year in a row.
Another reason to believe that Gruden’s job is safe has to do with team president Bruce Allen. Washington fired four marketing executives this week, which was a decision that Allen would at least have been involved in. It is unlikely that team owner Dan Snyder would have allowed Allen to make such a move if Allen’s job was in jeopardy, and if Allen is safe, the expectation is that Gruden is safe as well.
John Keim of ESPN.com agrees, and he says that when it comes to Snyder, there are usually some rumblings that a head coach or executive will be fired. Keim indicates there have been no such rumblings to date, and while Gruden will meet with Snyder at some point soon, it seems that Gruden and Allen will be returning in 2019 (Twitter links).
Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky is a different story. Manusky is in his second year as the Redskins’ DC, and if he were fired, his replacement would be the fourth DC during Gruden’s tenure. Rapoport suggests that Manusky, who has been a source of player frustration, is definitely on the hot seat, and Keim tweets that Manusky is the obvious target if the team wants to make a high level coaching change. But Keim also wonders if Manusky, whose locker room support was a major factor in his promotion to DC in 2017, and whom some players still love, is really the problem.
Buccaneers To Bring Back Jameis Winston
Although the Buccaneers can entirely absolve themselves of Jameis Winston‘s $20.9MM cap hit for 2019 (barring injury), they are going to give the former No. 1 overall pick another shot, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, who reports that Tampa Bay intends to bring Winston back next season.
As Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets, there was never any indication that the Bucs were going to move on from Winston, but today’s report is the first time we have heard something definitive on the matter. And it’s not as though Winston’s status with the club was a certainty. He was suspended for the first three games of this season due to a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy, which stemmed from an allegation that he groped a female Uber driver in 2016 (Winston and the driver reached a settlement last month). Plus, while he is a clearly talented and capable signal-caller, he is prone to inconsistent play.
But as Greg Auman of The Athletic observes, the Buccaneers would have to spend at least $20MM to land a QB as good as Winston, and even if they parted with Winston and tried to land a future franchise signal-caller in the draft, that would mean resetting the franchise’s clock in a big way (Twitter link). Auman does, however, think it would be reasonable for Tampa Bay to draft a QB prospect in the middle rounds of the 2019 draft to serve as a backup and potential challenger to Winston (Twitter link).
The fact that the Bucs are playing Winston in today’s meaningless finale — and are therefore exposing him to injury, which would trigger the $20.9MM guarantee — suggests that the club is indeed comfortable with Winston moving forward. But the team is also expected to fire head coach Dirk Koetter, and the new head coach may feel differently about Winston and may prefer to go in a different direction. It is unclear whether that will be a factor in the team’s hiring process.
Assuming he does return, Winston will try to break something of a dubious record in Tampa Bay. If he lands a second contract with the Bucs, he will be the first quarterback that the team has drafted in its 44-year history to do so.
Mike McCarthy Not Interested In Cardinals’ HC Job; Latest On GM Steve Keim
We learned earlier this week that former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is interested in the Cardinals’ head coaching job, which is expected to become available in short order. However, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that McCarthy does not want the gig after all, and that he is likely to sit out the 2019 campaign.
If that is the case, it is not for a lack of trying on the Cardinals’ part. La Canfora says that Arizona offered McCarthy control over personnel as well as the on-field product, but McCarthy is content to wait for the perfect opportunity, and it does not appear that the Cardinals’ job is particularly attractive at the moment. There is concern in coaching circles about quarterback Josh Rosen‘s long-term future, and the roster as a whole does not engender much optimism.
Of course, if McCarthy were to accept Arizona’s overtures, current GM Steve Keim would be fired. However, since the Cardinals are not likely to attract McCarthy or any other coach that would be a legitimate candidate to also run the personnel side of things, La Canfora says Keim is likely to return in 2019. Indeed, Keim has already been putting together a list of head coaching candidates in preparation for the upcoming hiring cycle.
One name on Keim’s list could be Jim Caldwell, whom the Packers have already interviewed for McCarthy’s former post. Albert Breer of SI.com reports that Caldwell is likely to be considered for the Cardinals’ job, and even if the team does the unexpected and retains current HC Steve Wilks, Arizona would be interested in Caldwell as a coordinator on Wilks’ staff, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Titans QB Marcus Mariota Not Expected To Play Week 17
Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is not expected to play in tonight’s do-or-die matchup against the Colts, per ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. Mariota is still listed as questionable and will test his arm during pre-game warmups, but he is battling a nerve condition caused by a stinger, and an independent spine specialist has advised Tennessee that the physical contact of a game could cause permanent damage.
The Titans did not have an immediate comment, and if they win tonight, it is unclear if Mariota would be available for the playoffs.
Mariota is also dealing with a foot injury, which Mortensen’s source says is a partially torn plantar fascia, but it appears the nerve condition is the bigger hurdle for Mariota at this point. Blaine Gabbert is expected to start in Mariota’s place, and Austin Davis, whom the Titans signed earlier this week, will serve as Gabbert’s backup.
Mariota was forced out of last Saturday’s win over the Redskins with the injury, and while it is not the same injury that led to his missing time earlier this season, it will seriously jeopardize the team’s chances of playing in January. The Titans are playing at home tonight, but they opened the week as slim one-point favorites, and Mariota’s uncertain playing status has shifted the odds in the Colts’ favor, as Tennessee is now a three-point underdog.
The winner of tonight’s matchup will make the playoffs, either as AFC South champions or as a wildcard. The loser will miss the postseason entirely. Gabbert and the Titans will need to be in top form to knock off Andrew Luck and the Colts.
Jets To Fire Todd Bowles
Something that’s long been rumored got even closer to being final today, as the Jets are indeed planning on firing Todd Bowles as soon as the season is over, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
While it’s far from a surprise, it appears Bowles’ fate is finally set in stone after he had managed to dodge being fired multiple times in the past. Former Packers coach Mike McCarthy and former Lions coach Jim Caldwell will likely be “among the candidates the Jets interview”, according to Rapoport. Bowles, a Bruce Arians disciple who previously served as Arians’ defensive coordinator with the Cardinals, lasted four years in New York.
Rapoport also added that GM Mike Maccagnan will survive, which has also been expected. Many expected Bowles to be fired last year, but he was able to survive by leading a mostly talentless roster to a very competitive season. They only finished 5-11, but they were way better than expected and Bowles received a lot of praise for guiding the Josh McCown-led team.
But as the losses again piled up this year, it became increasingly clear that Bowles wasn’t the coach that the front office and ownership wanted to pair with Sam Darnold for the future. Offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates has been singled out for a lot of criticism, and the Jets will very likely be looking for an offensive minded coach. In addition to McCarthy and Caldwell, Jim Harbaugh has also been repeatedly linked to the team, although Jets CEO Christopher Johnson recently denied they were interested.
With Darnold attached and the visibility that comes with the big media market, the opening will likely be one of the more desirable gigs for this cycle’s hottest head coaching candidates. As for Bowles, there’s been talk he could be a head coaching candidate himself for other teams, and he should be able to at least land a job as a defensive coordinator somewhere.
Bears Activate OG Kyle Long From IR
The Bears will be receiving a boost just in time for the playoffs. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the team will be activating offensive lineman Kyle Long off the injured reserve today. To make room on the roster, Chicago waived quarterback Tyler Bray (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter).
Long suffered a foot injury during his team’s late-October victory over the Jets. The injury involved a tendon, and it wasn’t related to his broken ankle from 2016. His estimated time of recovery was six to eight weeks, and Long was healthy enough to be activated by the time he was eligible to return. Earlier this week, head coach Matt Nagy acknowledged that Long had completed an entire week of practice and would likely play most of the game this weekend.
‘‘Just talking to him throughout the week, I feel pretty good with him playing most of the game,’’ Nagy told Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun Times. ‘‘But we’ve just got to kind of see if that’s where we’re at and if it is a pitch count. I think a lot of that, honestly, is going to be more so when you’re in the game: How’s he feeling?
‘‘If he’s feeling good, keep him going. If he’s not . . . maybe it’s just between all of us talking, ‘Hey, let’s just get him out.’ It’s good for him any way you look at it.’’
The 2013 first-round pick has battled through injuries over the past three years, missing a total of 22 games during that span. When he’s been in the lineup, Long has been among the top offensive guards in the entire league. Pro Football Focus only ranks him 28th among 79 eligible guards in 2018, but he was previously an annual inclusion in the top-five.
Current starting offensive guards Eric Kush and James Daniels have seen their way in and out of the starting lineup this season, and Long will surely replace one of them. Daniels, a second-round rookie, has graded out as the better lineman this season, per Pro Football Focus.
Jets Sign WR Quincy Enunwa To Extension
The Jets are locking up one of Sam Darnold‘s weapons longterm, signing Quincy Enunwa to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Friday. A source told Brian Costello of the New York Post that Enunwa, who was set to become a free agent at the end of the year, is getting a four-year $36MM deal (Twitter link). Rich Cimini of ESPN noted in a tweet that the deal includes “about $20MM in guarantees.”
Enunwa missed the enitre 2017 season with a neck injury and appeared in only 11 games this year, so the team clearly thinks very highly of him to sign him to this deal despite his injury history. $20MM guaranteed is a lot of money to commit to any player, yet alone one who hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Enunwa broke out in 2016, his last full season, when he caught 58 passes for 857 yards and four touchdowns. Along with Robby Anderson, he’s formed a solid receiver duo for the team to build on around Darnold, although reports have consistently indicated that the team values Enunwa more than Anderson.
“Quincy is a key part of our foundation, and we are thrilled that this contract will keep him here for years to come,” Jets GM Mike Maccagnan said in a statement given to the team’s official website. Although he’s been plagued by injuries the past couple of seasons, Enunwa has been a consistent target for Darnold when he’s been out there. He was ruled out for Week 17 with an ankle injury earlier today, meaning he’ll finish the 2018 season with 38 catches for 449 yards and one touchdown.
A 2014 sixth round pick from Nebraska, Enunwa had at least eight targets and 50 yards in each of the Jets’ first four games this season, but a serious high ankle sprain quickly derailed his year. It was reported last month that the two sides were discussing a deal, and things finally got ironed out just before the end of the year. While coach Todd Bowles is looking like a lock to be fired, it seems as if Maccagnan, who announced the new deal, will get at least one more year at the helm to try and right the ship.
Bills DT Kyle Williams Set To Retire
Kyle Williams is calling it a career. The Bills announced (via Twitter) that their long-time defensive tackle will be retiring. Williams’ final career game will be this Sunday against the Dolphins.
“This isn’t easy,” said in a letter on the team’s website. “It was never going to be. There’s no perfect time to retire from a game, a franchise, and a city that mean so much to me and my family. But it’s time to hang up my cleats.”
Following a standout career at LSU, the Bills used a fifth-round selection on Williams during the 2006 draft. The defensive tackle quickly earned a starting gig with Buffalo, and he’s been a stalwart of the Bills defense for more than a decade.
While the 35-year-old will have an opportunity to add on to his totals on Sunday, Williams is already the Bills’ franchise leader in a number of statistics, including tackles for loss (102) and QB hits (141). He also ranks in Buffalo’s top-10 in solo tackles (384, 9th), assisted tackles (223, 2nd), and sacks (48.5, 5th). While it won’t hit the record books, it’s also worth noting that the 303-pound lineman scored a touchdown on his only career carry. During his 13-year career, Williams had earned five Pro Bowl nods and a spot as both a first- and second-team All-Pro.
Last offseason, Williams signed a one-year, $5.5MM deal with the Bills that included $4.5MM in guaranteed money. The 35-year-old has continued to be productive, compiling 31 tackles, five sacks, and one forced fumble. Pro Football Focus has also been fond of his performance, ranking him 53rd among 118 interior defenders. Perhaps even more importantly, Williams has had a chance to mentor third-round rookie Harrison Phillips, who could have an opportunity to take over as the starter next season.
Chiefs Sign RB Damien Williams To Extension
Damien Williams has had a recent stint as the Chiefs’ starting running back, and he’s parlayed that opportunity into an extension. Terez A. Paylor reports (via Twitter) that Williams has signed a two-year extension with Kansas City. The deal has a max value of $8.1MM (via Paylor on Twitter).
Williams started the year buried on the depth chart, as he ran for a single yard on two carries through the first 11 weeks of the season. Following Kareem Hunt‘s sudden release, the 26-year-old earned reps as Spencer Ware‘s backup, and he’s started the past two games with Ware out of the lineup. After rushing for a pair of touchdowns in Week 15, he ran for a career-high 103 yards last Sunday. Williams has also established himself as a reliable target in the Chiefs’ passing game, as he’s hauled in 13 receptions over the past two weeks.
The 2014 undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma is hoping he’s found a home in Kansas City. Williams spent the first four seasons of his career with the Dolphins, but he never garnered more than 46 carries in a single season. Now, the journeyman will have an opportunity to retain his starting job next year with the Chiefs. However, Paylor cautions that the organization could still pursue a running back via free agency or the draft, where the team is armed with four picks in the first three rounds.
Saints TE Ben Watson Plans To Retire
It sounds like Ben Watson will play in his final regular season game on Sunday. Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune reports (via Twitter) that the veteran tight end is planning on retiring at the end of the season.
The 38-year-old has been incredibly durable throughout his 15-year career. Watson appeared in at least 12 games in 13 of his 15 seasons, and he had at least 20 receptions in 12 of those campaigns. The 2004 first-round pick spent the first six years of his career with the Patriots, including New England’s Super Bowl run in 2004 (although he won on the IR during their playoff run). Watson then spent three seasons in Cleveland before finding a home in New Orleans; the tight end has spent four of his past six seasons with the Saints (he also had a two-year stint with the Ravens).
Watson has been particularly productive during his tenure with New Orleans, including a 2015 campaign where he compiled a career-high 825 receiving yards. Watson re-joined New Orleans on a one-year, $2MM deal back in March, and he’s appeared in 15 games (four starts) for the Saints this season, compiling 33 receptions for 371 yards and two scores (including Drew Brees‘ 500th career touchdown pass).
Despite being up there in age, the veteran has still graded out as one of the better tight ends in the NFL. Pro Football Focus currently ranks Watson 21st among 70 eligible tight ends, with the site giving him particularly high scores in receiving and pass blocking.
In his career, Watson has 528 receptions, 5,856 receiving yards, and 44 touchdowns. The veteran has also appeared in 11 career postseason games, hauling in 21 receptions for 222 yards and three touchdowns. The tight end has been a two-time finalist for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, and he’s a former winner of the Bart Starr Award.