Bills’ Lingering WR Problem Threatens To Undercut Josh Allen Advantage
In maybe the most interesting AFC playoff picture of the century, the Broncos have a clear path to the No. 1 seed. Las Vegas certainly expects the Patriots -- 4-13 in Jerod Mayo's one-and-done season -- to add the No. 2 seed to their bounce-back dossier, while the Jaguars have made a climb nearly as stunning to move the precipice of the No. 3 slot.
Recent playoff bastions Houston and either Baltimore or Pittsburgh will also be present, and Jim Harbaugh will end his second Chargers season 5-for-6 in postseason qualifications as an NFL head coach. The first AFC playoff bracket excluding the Chiefs since 2014 and including a host of favorites with nuclei lacking postseason experience opens the door wide for the Bills, who are now riding the NFL's longest active playoff streak at seven.
While it is arguable the Bills had the better team than the Chiefs in 2021, 2023 and 2024, various issues interfered as Kansas City's AFC dominance persisted. A Chiefs-less playoff field opens the door for the Bills, but they will need to leave their home blues in Buffalo after failing to win the AFC East for the first time since Tom Brady's 2019 Patriots finale. Although the Brady-led Buccaneers advanced to Super Bowl LV in 2020, that journey came with few (or no) fans present at home venues. The last true all-road Super Bowl venture came when the Packers made that trek 15 years ago.
The Bills are also lacking in run defense, with Ed Oliver's injury absence looming large. Injuries, however, are not affecting Buffalo at wide receiver. That personnel issue has persisted since the team traded Stefon Diggs in April 2024. These playoffs promise to be quite interesting for the Bills since they will have a potentially significant edge at quarterback in every AFC game they play, but the wide receiver issue that has nagged the franchise could undercut it to a notable degree.
Browns GM Andrew Berry Likely To Stay; Mike McDaniel On Team’s Radar?
As smoke about the Browns moving on from Kevin Stefanski has emerged, Andrew Berry continues to skate by without many indications his job is in jeopardy. As the Browns wrap another disappointing season, they do not appear ready to fire their GM.
Despite the Browns being 7-26 over the past two seasons and still on the hook for the Deshaun Watson contractual catastrophe, Berry remains the point man. He is on track to be retained for a seventh year, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano write. The veteran GM has operated like someone who believes he is coming back, per Fowler, with Graziano adding he has received “no indication” a Cleveland GM change is coming.
A November report indicated a chance at a housecleaning exists, but were the Berry-Stefanski duo to be split, the GM would be more likely to stay. Meddling from ownership also has been rumored during Berry’s tenure. That is certainly not out of character for how Jimmy Haslam operated in the early years of his tenure, though the oft-criticized owner has refrained from impulse firings this decade — after a slew of quick-trigger decisions in the 2010s. Berry and Stefanski have been in place since 2020; both received extensions before the 2024 season.
It can be argued Berry is more at fault for where the Browns are than Stefanski. After all, the sixth-year HC is a two-time Coach of the Year who has made his offense work with a few quarterbacks. Watson was not one of those, and the five-year, $230MM contract has defined this regime’s run. In 2022, Haslam said Berry hatched the scheme to fully guarantee Watson’s contract. The owner has not retracted this, but he did admit an organizational mistake on Watson this offseason. Berry also said Browns brass was aligned on Watson when discussing the controversial trade last year.
The QB was believed to be headed to Atlanta before the Browns reentered the race with their outlier guarantee. Berry remaining employed nearly four years after the team authorized the worst contract in NFL history on his watch does point to Haslam being hands-on for that move. Watson’s contract has veered into the MLB/NBA sunk-cost stratum, with the dead money — thanks in large part to many Berry-authorized restructures — so massive it appears the Browns will be forced to retain him in 2026 as well.
The Browns look to have also identified some pieces in this draft, having seen Carson Schwesinger, Quinshon Judkins and Harold Fannin enjoy quality rookie seasons. That lot of Day 2 draftees came after the team moved out of the Travis Hunter slot, adding additional first- and second-round capital to do so, to select defensive tackle Mason Graham at No. 5. Pro Football Focus has Graham 34th among over 100 interior D-line regulars this season. This has not translated to wins, but ownership may believe Berry can guide the Browns out of the mess they have created.
This is Berry’s second stint in Cleveland. He was in place during the ill-fated Sashi Brown– and Paul DePodesta-directed rebuild from 2016-17. The Browns brought him back (from the Eagles) after firing John Dorsey following the 2019 season (DePodesta is now back in baseball, joining the Colorado Rockies). Two of the team’s three playoff berths since its 1999 relaunch have come on Berry and Stefanski’s watch, which will make for an interesting decision after this season wraps at either 5-12 or 4-13.
Stefanski has been linked to the Giants in a possible trade, and Fowler notes some around the league wonder if the ex-Vikings OC being the would be the strongest retread candidate were the Browns to fire him. The retread crop includes Robert Saleh, Vance Joseph and Mike McCarthy. Mike McDaniel could also qualify if the Dolphins move on, which may be close to a 50-50 proposition at this point. If the Browns fire Stefanski, Fowler also points to the team having interest in McDaniel were he to be let go.
That would be a fascinating switch. Most teams go in different directions after firing a coach, but a Stefanski-for-McDaniel swap would be firing an offensive coach on the younger side and then hiring a similar option (Stefanski is 43, McDaniel 42).
Any thought of this switch would seemingly be aimed at McDaniel maximizing Cleveland’s offense in a way Stefanski has been unable to over the past two seasons. McDaniel is far from certain to be out in Miami, but with the AFC East club set to hire a new GM, his standing is murky ahead of Week 18. It appears both Stefanski and McDaniel would garner immediate HC interest — on a market without many surefire offense-based candidates — if fired.
Pro Football Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat: 1/2/26
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Falcons’ Raheem Morris Still On Hot Seat
While Raheem Morris’ second stint as Falcons HC is only finishing Year 2, the organization has had much more time to evaluate him due to a lengthy stay the first time around. Morris was on Dan Quinn‘s staff for five years before being tabbed interim HC for much of the 2020 season.
The Falcons are winding down their eighth straight season without a playoff berth, moving Morris onto a hot seat. A report from early December pointed to Atlanta making another HC change, but the team has since won three straight games. The Falcons have beaten the Buccaneers, Cardinals and Rams, but they are still guaranteed to finish with a losing record. This belated resurgence notwithstanding, Morris may not have done enough to save his job, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler.
[RELATED: How Will Falcons Proceed With Morris, Terry Fontenot?]
Arthur Blank, who drew considerable scrutiny after backing off his initial Bill Belichick preference to hire Morris, has hired a consulting firm and is evaluating his football operations after the 4-9 start. Blank gave Arthur Smith three seasons — all with 7-10 records — and fired Quinn after a slow start followed two straight playoff absences. A defensive coach who did spend time on the offensive side of the ball during his first Atlanta stint, Morris has overseen a significant pass-rushing improvement this season — as Atlanta’s 53 sacks are second in the NFL — but the bottom line has not moved much.
If Morris is retained, Fowler adds major staff changes would be expected. The team did not see Michael Penix Jr. take a step forward this season. Erratic play preceded the second-year passer’s season-ending injury. Zac Robinson, a coveted OC candidate in 2024, may not reach a third season in Atlanta regardless of Morris’ status. And Fowler adds the Falcons’ special teams issues could lead to a change. Marquice Williams has been in charge of Atlanta’s ST units for the past two seasons.
Morris will have the chance to state his case, per The Exhibit’s Josina Anderson. The past three games have certainly shown the team has not quit on its HC, but Morris is 36-56 as a coach — counting his Bucs tenure and interim year post-Quinn. The Falcons’ struggles late under Quinn and through Smith’s tenure may not be doing Morris any favors, as he is the one presiding over a playoff drought that only tops the Jets’ 15-season skid among active streaks.
Fontenot’s convoluted quarterback strategy from 2024 has hamstrung Morris, given Kirk Cousins‘ salary as a primary backup, but Cousins’ presence has also ended up helping in a healthier season for the aging QB. Cousins has piloted the Falcons to more wins than Penix did, going 4-3 as a starter. That may be damning at this point, as the primary objective for this season — beyond snapping the playoff drought — was developing the former No. 8 overall pick. Morris’ staff also was seen as a key driver for drafting Penix in 2024.
As a result of all this, Morris is fighting for his job in Week 18. Morris went 8-9 last season and could match that this year; the Falcons were coming off six consecutive seasons with seven wins or less when he was hired. Still, they have been unable to snap their postseason drought despite playing in what has been the NFL’s worst division during this span. A blowout loss to the rival Saints sunk Smith two seasons ago; will Morris be able to survive regardless of this New Orleans result?
Jaguars Extend OL Cole Van Lanen
The Jaguars are making a surprising investment in offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen after the 27-year-old stepped up as a clutch injury replacement for the team this year. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Van Lanen will remain in Jacksonville on a three-year, $51MM extension that includes $32.5MM of guarantees and could see an increase of $4MM with incentives. 
Van Lanen’s deal comes on the heels of a similar extension for wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. Per Michael DiRocco, also of ESPN, the Jaguars felt the need to get both deals done, as “using the franchise tag was not an option for either player.”
Van Lanen, a sixth-round pick out of Wisconsin back in 2021, only played in one game for the Packers after his hometown team drafted him. He failed to make the initial 53-man roster as a rookie and signed to the practice squad with just the one elevation. He did sign a reserve/futures deal with Green Bay at end of the year, but after spending the offseason and most of the preseason with the team, Van Lanen was traded to the Jaguars in exchange for a seventh-round pick.
Van Lanen served mostly as a special teamer in his first season in Duval. Jacksonville only put him on the field with the offense for 18 snaps that year, but his versatility showed early as those snaps came at left tackle (1), right guard (11), and left guard (6). In 2023, Van Lanen’s role would’ve been reduced to just special teams or, even worse, a healthy scratch in several weeks, but injuries to right tackle Cam Robinson (and a few other backup linemen) put Van Lanen at that spot for parts of two games as an injury replacement.
Last year, Van Lanen didn’t appear in a game until Week 9, playing only three offensive snaps over his first four games of the season before finally earning his first career NFL start at right tackle. Two weeks later he was forced to sub into a game very early at left tackle before starting the final two games of the season at that position, which he had held down when he was a Badger in college.
Even this season, Van Lanen began in a backup capacity, and even though he got a few snaps in Weeks 4 & 7, he didn’t actually start a game until Week 9 for Jacksonville this year. His first start came as just an extra lineman but saw him spend time at left guard, where he would start for an injured Ezra Cleveland the next week. Van Lanen then went back to starting at right tackle for two games in place of an injured Anton Harrison and subbed in for an injured Patrick Mekari at right guard for a week all before taking over for Walker Little at left tackle for the past four weeks of the season.
Van Lanen didn’t just stand in over the past five weeks for Mekari and Little. By the metrics of Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Van Lanen has seemingly outplayed the two veterans in their own positions. So much so, that even when Little returned from injury, the team continued to start Van Lanen and shifted Little inside to right guard to cover for an injured Mekari.
It will be interesting to see how the three players’ roles change into the postseason and next year. Mekari and Little have both held swing tackle roles as versatile linemen in their pasts before being named starters this year, and now Van Lanen has shown he can be more effective as a starter.
The outrageous size of Van Lanen’s extension (for a player who’s only started 12 games in his career and only the last four at left tackle) seems to indicate that he will be getting preference moving forward. The annual average value of his deal ($17MM) surpasses those of both Little ($13.5MM) and Mekari ($12.5MM) as Jacksonville continues to build a shuffleable offensive line full of versatility.
NFL Staff Updates: Partridge, Bicknell, Bricillo
The Colts are set to lose defensive line coach Charlie Partridge after just his second season with the team. According to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, the 52-year-old assistant is heading back to the college ranks to coach the defensive line at Notre Dame.
Partridge’s stay in Indianapolis saw his NFL coaching debut after a long college coaching career. Starting as a graduate assistant at Drake for two years and following that up with two more years as a GA at Iowa State, Partridge spent two years as the Cyclones director of football operations before earning his first position coaching gig at Eastern Illinois, coaching defensive line and linebackers.
After a single season with Eastern Illinois, Partridge spent five years at Pitt (three as defensive ends coach, one as special teams coordinator/DL coach, one as ST coordinator/LB coach), five years at Wisconsin (three as ST coordinator/DL coach, two as assistant head coach/co-defensive coordinator/DL coach), and a year at Arkansas as assistant HC/DL coach. Those 12 years of position coaching gave Partridge his first shot at a head coaching gig at Florida Atlantic, but after going 3-9 three years in a row, Partridge returned to Pittsburgh, where he spent a season as DL coach before adding co-DC to his title for six more years.
Partridge’s NFL opportunity came next, and in Year 1, his defensive line was part of a unit that ranked 24th in run defense, 26th in sacks, and 24th in total pressures. This year was much improved (fifth in run defense, 14th in sacks, fourth in total pressures), but Partridge will head back to the college ranks of the game to reunite with Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Chris Ash, with whom he worked at Drake, Wisconsin, and Arkansas.
Here are a couple other assistant coaching updates from around the league:
- Rittenberg also reported today that recently fired Raiders senior offensive assistant Bob Bicknell is also going to a coaching job in the NCAA. Unlike with Partridge, this seems like a temporary gig for Bicknell, who has only coached at the college level for one of the past 19 years. He started out coaching safeties then running backs then linebackers at Boston University from 1993-97. He then spent eight years as a coach in NFL Europe coaching defensive line in Frankfurt for a year before switching to offensive line and serving as offensive coordinator/OL coach in Berlin and Cologne. He returned to the States in 2006 to coach OL at Temple, and aside from spending 2017 as a wide receivers coach at Baylor, Bicknell has been in the NFL ever since, coaching offensive line, tight ends, and wide receivers at different points in time for the Chiefs, Bills, Eagles, 49ers, Bengals, and Patriots, with two stints as a senior offensive assistant with the Saints and Raiders, as well. He has been hired to coach tight ends at Northwestern, but if his history is any clue to his intentions, he may look to return to an NFL role after a year with the Wildcats.
- In New York, Giants fans will be happy to hear that offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo‘s contract extends into 2026, according to Ryan Dunleavy of New York Post Sports. Following the firing of Brian Daboll, nothing is set in stone for the rest of this year’s coaching staff, but Dunleavy claims that Giants fans on X have been advocating for Bricillo to stay under the team’s next head coach. Bricillo has confirmed that his contract extends into next season, so he should remain on staff unless the team makes the decision to fire him.
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/2/26
Friday’s minor moves and a couple standard gameday practice squad elevations for Saturday’s lineup:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on IR: WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
Carolina Panthers
- Elevated: CB David Long, LB Jacoby Windmon
Miami Dolphins
- Signed off Commanders’ practice squad: RB Donovan Edwards
- Placed on IR: TE Darren Waller
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed from practice squad: DT Taki Taimani
New Orleans Saints
- Signed from practice squad: WR Ronnie Bell, DE Fadil Diggs, WR Samori Toure
- Placed on IR: CB Michael Davis, TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden, TE Jack Stoll, WR Mason Tipton
After missing several games down the stretch of the season as he dealt with appendicitis, Harrison returned to play in the Cardinals’ past two games with far fewer snaps than his usual starter’s share. Ahead of the team’s regular season finale, Arizona has shut last year’s No. 4 overall pick down for the small remainder of the regular season.
The same is being done for Waller in Miami. The veteran tight end was able to make his return from retirement with the Dolphins after sitting out in 2024, but injury limited him to only nine contests. He was extremely effective in the short time he played (six touchdowns), but the injuries that bookended his short stints of activity will certainly be brought up in any contract negotiations for him in the future.
The Panthers are choosing not to activate guard Robert Hunt or wide receiver David Moore for tomorrow’s game. If Carolina is able to get into the postseason, an activation could still happen next week.
Diggs had already been elevated three times for New Orleans this season, so the team needed to sign him to the 53-man roster in order for him to appear in the regular season finale.
Frank Ragnow Expected To Stay Retired; Lions Could Move Tate Ratledge To Center
The Lions’ offensive line suffered a brutal blow when four-time Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow retired last June. Ragnow hung it up a couple of weeks after his 29th birthday, but five months later, he staged a comeback bid in late November. That attempt never got off the ground, though, as a failed physical prevented Ragnow from rejoining the team this season.
A Grade 3 hamstring injury stopped Ragnow from potentially aiding the Lions during the stretch run. Detroit was 7-4 and firmly in the playoff race when Ragnow tried to come out of retirement. Now 8-8, the Lions will not follow up last year’s 15-win campaign with another postseason appearance.
As the eliminated Lions turn their attention toward next season, it appears they’ll continue to go without Ragnow (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press).
Asked if Ragnow will play in 2026, quarterback Jared Goff told WXYT-FM, “No, I don’t think that’s in the cards at all.”
While Goff plans to talk to Ragnow, he added, “I just don’t think his interest level is there.”
With Ragnow likely to remain in retirement, Birkett points to the center position as a potential offseason priority for the team. Ragnow was a 16-game starter during a masterful offensive display in 2024. The Lions led the league in scoring and finished second in total offense. Pro Football Focus regarded Ragnow as an important part of their success, ranking him as the league’s third-best center.
The Lions’ Ragnow-less offense still sits near the top of the league in scoring (third) and yardage (sixth) this season, but replacement Graham Glasgow has been far less effective than his predecessor. Over 14 games (13 starts), PFF places the 33-year-old’s performance 35th among 41 qualifying centers. He’s under contract next season for $6.5MM, but Glasgow’s “not expected back” at that salary, Birkett writes.
Glasgow earned his current deal – a three-year, $20MM pact – in March 2024. He was a starting guard at that point. Ragnow’s retirement led the Lions to move Glasgow to center, but it initially seemed the role would go to rookie Tate Ratledge. The second-rounder from Georgia has instead started all 16 of Detroit’s games at right guard, his college position. A first-team All-American in his final season with the Bulldogs, Ratledge now leads all Lions offensive players in snap share (98.8%) and ranks as PFF’s 22nd-best guard out of 80 qualifiers.
Although Ratledge has acquitted himself well as a professional guard, a Year 2 shift to center is “not off the table,” head coach Dan Campbell said (via Birkett). Whether the Lions commit to a position change for Ratledge will count among their key offseason decisions. If the Lions don’t go down that road, they could seek their next starting center on the open market (the Ravens’ Tyler Linderbaum is the premier pending free agent at the position) or in the draft.
Ravens To Extend LS Nick Moore
This afternoon, Ravens long snapper Nick Moore announced that he had agreed to a four-year extension to stay in Baltimore during an appearance on the Ryan Ripken Show. The contract agreement will be the specialist’s fifth with the team. 
An undrafted free agent out of Georgia in 2019, Moore initially signed with the Saints but failed to make the initial 53-man roster. He found himself in the XFL for a short period of time, but when the league ceased play after only six games and allowed players to seek NFL contracts, Moore landed on Baltimore’s practice squad as a backup to long-time veteran Morgan Cox.
Moore made his NFL debut in the 2020 season, when Cox missed a game due to COVID-19, and signed a reserve/futures contract with the team at the end of the season. A week after he signed, the Ravens announced they would move on from their long snapper of the past 11 years, making Moore their new primary long snapper.
After his first full season in the primary role, Baltimore brought him back as an exclusive rights free agent. Moore earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2022 and was re-signed to a one-year deal after not being tendered as a restricted free agent. Unfortunately, a torn Achilles tendon knocked him out for the season, so the Ravens gave him a one-year extension so that he could avoid needing to worry about contract discussions after not playing for the year.
Today’s announcement marks the Ravens’ first long-term commitment to Moore after watching him play four of the past six seasons as the team’s primary long snapper. The move cements him in place for the next three years aside rookie kicker Tyler Loop, assuming Loop doesn’t find a way to get waived from his rookie deal.
With Moore and Loop under contract, the Ravens may now turn their attention to former fourth-round punter Jordan Stout. Stout is also facing free agency with the expiration of his rookie contract at the end of the season. Stout is having a career-best campaign this season, averaging 50.3 yards per punt (fourth-best among punters who have played in over six games) and 44.9 net yards per punt (first among punters who have played in over six games). He was recognized with Pro Bowl honors this season to underline that fact.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/2/26
Miami Dolphins
- Released: CB Clarence Lewis
The Dolphins were the second NFL organization for Lewis, an undrafted rookie who combined for 63 games and four interceptions with Notre Dame and Syracuse from 2020-24 . Lewis signed with the Titans two weeks after the draft, though he didn’t survive final roster cuts in late August. He lasted about two months on Miami’s practice squad, which added him on Nov. 4, but didn’t see any game action.