HEADLINES

49ers, LB Fred Warner Nearing Extension

May 19th, 2025 at 9:00am CST by Adam La Rose

In an offseason which has seen a number of defensive departures in particular, the 49ers have managed to keep a pair of key contributors on the other side of the ball in place well beyond 2025. Tight end George Kittle, and shortly thereafter, quarterback Brock Purdy have signed long-term extensions this spring.

Many have pointed to Fred Warner as the next logical candidate for a new deal as a result. The All-Pro linebacker did not appear to be close to an agreement on that front last month, but that seems to have changed in the wake of the Kittle and Purdy pacts. Team and player are “very close” to an extension, Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Two years remain on Warner’s current deal, a big-ticket extension he inked in 2021. None of his outstanding base salaries are guaranteed, though, and the 28-year-old is set to carry cap charges of $29.17MM and $26.71MM as things stand. Lowering those totals would be a welcomed development for San Francisco as the team’s financial outlook shifts with Purdy no longer representing a quarterback bargain. Warner’s next pact should allow him to become the league’s highest-paid linebacker once it is in place.

The top of the position’s market stands at $20MM per season as a result of the deal Roquan Smith signed shortly after being acquired via trade by the Ravens in 2023. A number of other notable extensions have been worked out since then, but Warner’s AAV ($19.05MM) still ranks second. A third 49ers pact would no doubt check in at a higher rate given the rise in the salary cap and the four-time Pro Bowler’s continued high level of play during his time in San Francisco.

Warner has recorded between 118 and 137 tackles during each of his seven years in the NFL, and with seven interceptions across the past three years he has proven to be a playmaker against the pass as well as the run. The former third-rounder will be expected to remain a foundational member of the 49ers’ defense in 2025, a year in which several starters – including fellow linebacker Dre Greenlaw – are no longer in the fold. Having missed only one game so far in his career, durability is not a concern in this case.

Recent comments made by Warner indicated he would not engage in a holdout at any point in the offseason, a positive sign with respect to the status of his contract talks. Given the latest update, it would come as no surprise for a deal to be in place in the near future.

Aaron Rodgers To Sign With Steelers By End Of May?

May 18th, 2025 at 10:27pm CST by Rory Parks

It has long seemed like a foregone conclusion that, assuming Aaron Rodgers chooses to play in 2025, he will suit up for the Steelers. A report from earlier this week indicated Pittsburgh was still optimistic it would get a deal done with the future Hall of Famer, and signs continue to point in that direction.

Rodgers’ biographer, Ian O’Connor, recently appeared on 93.7 The Fan’s The PM Team and predicted the 41-year-old would put pen to paper by the end of May (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). Although he declined to disclose the personal issues that Rodgers himself has cited for his delay in signing with a club, O’Connor does not believe those issues – which pertain to a member of Rodgers’ inner circle – would preclude him from playing football.

Florio previously expressed his belief, supported by a source who knows Rodgers but who has no specific knowledge of the current situation, that the eccentric signal-caller may have wanted to avoid being a distraction by signing a contract with the Steelers but remaining away from the team for the early stages of the club’s offseason program as he sorts out his personal matter. Of course, given Rodgers’ status and the coverage that constantly surrounds him, the fact that he has not signed a contract at all is its own form of distraction. Still, it is fair to conclude that officially joining Pittsburgh and not reporting during the first phases of the offseason – which Rodgers has openly opposed anyway – would have invited even more scrutiny.

“I just think verbally, behind the scenes, not that he guaranteed it, but he’s told [the Steelers], ‘Listen, I’m gonna play for you. I just don’t want to go there and then miss part of mandatory minicamp because of my personal issues. I’m pretty sure they’re gonna be solved by the end of May, at least in my satisfaction where I can give you my all,'” O’Connor said (via Ross McCorkle of SteelersDepot.com).

Florio believes O’Connor was referring to the offseason program in general and not mandatory minicamp specifically, as mandatory minicamp does not take place until June 10. Florio also believes there is a good chance Rodgers will have signed with Pittsburgh by next week, as OTAs get underway on May 27.

Outside of the quarterback position, the Steelers have a playoff-worthy roster and did not select a signal-caller in this year’s draft until they added Ohio State’s Will Howard in the sixth round. As such, the runway is very much clear for Rodgers to come aboard and supplant Mason Rudolph as Pittsburgh’s QB1.

O’Connor, who interviewed 250 people for his book Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers, believes Pittsburgh is the “perfect place” for Rodgers to finish his playing career.

“It may be me as an optimist, but I think this is gonna work out,” O’Connor said. “Do I think the Steelers will win the Super Bowl next year? No. But if you told me 11-6 with at least one playoff victory … I think that’s realistic.”

Rodgers has never been linked in any meaningful way to the Saints this offseason, and that did not change after it became clear Derek Carr would retire, per NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan. New Orleans will conduct an open competition between second-round rookie Tyler Shough and holdovers Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener as it seeks its starting quarterback for 2025.

First Round Fallout: Giants, Dart, Sanders, Steelers, Broncos, Alexander

May 18th, 2025 at 10:20pm CST by Rory Parks

The Giants, heavily connected to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders throughout the pre-draft process, used the No. 3 overall in last month’s draft – a pick once seemingly ticketed for Sanders – on Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter. The club ultimately got the player it hopes will become its franchise passer when it struck an agreement with the Texans to trade up from No. 34 to No. 25 and select Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart.

A recent episode of Giants Life, which is worth a watch for any NFL fan and for Giants fans in particular, offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how the trade-up with Houston materialized (video link). As New York GM Joe Schoen confirms, rival teams knew that Big Blue, after having used its first selection on a non-quarterback, was still in the market for a QB. As such, when the draft proceeded to the No. 18 pick (at which point the Seahawks were on the clock), Schoen began getting calls from other GMs looking to trade down to No. 34.

When the draft moved into the 20s, Schoen himself became proactive and began making calls to determine who was interested in trading down. As Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post observes, Schoen believed he could swing a deal with the Broncos to acquire Denver’s No. 20 overall pick, which would have allowed him to leapfrog the Steelers and their No. 21 choice. Schoen knew Pittsburgh was in need of a quarterback as well, though he had intelligence indicating the team was also looking to trade back, which suggested the Steelers were not prepared to take a signal-caller at that point.

He nonetheless considered offering the Steelers the same deal that apparently had been discussed with multiple clubs. However, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Giants were banking on the belief that Pittsburgh would select a defensive player with the No. 21 pick, thereby obviating the need to trade for No. 20 or No. 21. This is despite Schoen’s concern, as he voiced in Giants Life, that the QB-needy Browns or Saints could also move back into the first round (though he knew division rivals Pittsburgh and Cleveland would not come together on a trade of that magnitude). Fowler also says New York did not want to part with its No. 65 selection, which the Texans were willing to exclude from a trade package.

Ultimately, the Giants and Texans agreed to a trade that sent the Nos. 34 and 99 picks of the 2025 draft, along with a 2026 third-rounder, to Houston in exchange for the No. 25 pick and the right to select Dart. As Schoen admitted, no one will remember the third-round picks that went to the Texans if he got the Dart pick right. Interestingly, right before Houston GM Nick Caserio called Schoen to formally accept the deal, it looks as if Schoen received a call from Rams GM Les Snead. Los Angeles originally held the No. 26 pick, one spot behind the Texans, so Schoen naturally put Snead on hold to talk to Caserio and finalize a trade. Ultimately, Snead found a taker for his No. 26 selection, which he dealt to the Falcons in exchange for a package fronted by a 2026 first-rounder.

Dunleavy highlighted the portion of Schoen’s war room conversations in which he told head coach Brian Daboll, “you guys are convicted in [Dart]. You believe in him. We did the process. He checked all the boxes. Let’s roll the dice.” That exchange leads Dunleavy to believe the Dart pick, as previously reported, was indeed driven by the coaching staff.

Earlier reports also indicated Daboll was one of the coaches who did not see eye-to-eye with Sanders, and while the Giants reportedly still would have entertained a trade-up for Sanders if Dart had been taken off the board, multiple Daboll-Dart connections formed in the run-up to the draft. It became clear that Dart was Daboll’s preferred target, and Sanders himself acknowledged that he “didn’t hit it off with Giants coaches,” according to Fowler.

The No. 65 pick that the Giants did not want to include in a trade-up maneuver was used to select Toledo defensive end Darius Alexander. Though New York had already added the high-ceiling Carter to a group that includes Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, the club further leaned into its defensive front with Alexander, whom many scouts viewed as an ascending prospect. One team source told Fowler, “when you think of the New York Giants, you think of how they are built up front.”

Seahawks GM Discusses D.K. Metcalf Trade

May 18th, 2025 at 10:14pm CST by Rory Parks

In March, the Steelers and Seahawks swung a blockbuster trade in which Seattle sent two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver D.K. Metcalf to Pittsburgh in exchange for a package headlined by a second-round pick. The Steelers and Metcalf hammered out a lucrative extension upon completion of the trade, a transaction that precipitated a later deal that saw the Steelers send former WR1 George Pickens to the Cowboys.

Seattle, meanwhile, will move forward with 2023 first-rounder Jaxon Smith-Njigba and free agent signee Cooper Kupp at the top of its depth chart. In a recent interview on The Rich Eisen Show, ‘Hawks GM John Schneider indicated Smith-Njigba’s breakout 2024 campaign informed the Metcalf trade to a degree, but it was ultimately Metcalf’s desire for a new employer that carried the day (video link).

Seemingly confirming recent reports that the trade request Metcalf made shortly before the Steelers deal is not the first time the Ole Miss product asked out of Seattle, Schneider said, “DK and I had very open conversations the last couple years about his future, and what that looked like and what he wanted. … And it was apparent that he wanted to move on” (h/t Mike Masala of Sporting News).

The conversations between the long-term GM and Metcalf picked up again following this year’s scouting combine.

“And so, when we got back from the combine, we had some real, clear, direct conversations,” Schneider added. “And at that point, we decided it was probably best for both of us to move forward.”

Metcalf, 27, was entering the final year of the three-year, $72MM deal he signed in July 2022, and in light of the exploding wide receiver market, it was a given that he would soon be receiving a new contract and a significant raise. It was the Steelers who authorized a four-year, $132MM accord – thus topping Metcalf’s previous AAV by $9MM – but Schneider says finances also took a backseat to the simple fact that Metcalf wanted out.

“No, it really wasn’t [salary-related], and it was interest[ing] because it wasn’t like animosity either,” Schneider said. “It was like, he really, really wanted a fresh start. And it’s not like we went into the offseason thinking this would be a possibility, but he was just, he was pretty dug in on it.”

It seems clear that Schneider was willing to go into the 2025 season with Metcalf and Smith-Njigba as his top WR tandem and only parted ways with the former due to the player’s wishes. Initially reported to be seeking a package including a first- and third-round choice, Schneider eventually lowered his demands and settled for the second-rounder and a Day 3 pick swap. He ultimately packaged Pittsburgh’s second-round choice (No. 52 overall) with his original third-round pick (No. 82) as part of the deal to acquire No. 35 from the Titans, which he used to select South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori.

In addition to Kupp, the Seahawks signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling in free agency and added rookie wideouts Tory Horton and Ricky White on Day 3 of the draft. That group will be tasked with replacing Metcalf’s production, which amounts to a per-season average of 77/1,108/8 over the course of his six-year career. 

Saints Exploring Versatility Of No. 9 Pick Kelvin Banks Jr.

May 18th, 2025 at 10:03pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Saints are planning to play No. 9 pick Kelvin Banks Jr. at multiple offensive line positions this summer as the team’s coaching staff determines his best fit in the NFL.

Banks played exclusively left tackle for the last six years (three in high school, three at Texas) with zero snaps at any other spot in college. He has the requisite height, weight, and athleticism to stay at tackle, though his 33.5-inch arms barely meet NFL standards for the position. Banks’ ultimate role in New Orleans will be based on his ability to add positional versatility as well as the Saints’ needs along their offensive line.

Head coach Kellen Moore indicated that Banks would spent time at multiple spots this summer with the goal of finding the team’s best five-man OL combination, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football.

During rookie minicamp, Banks lined up at left and right tackle, as well as left guard, per Underhill. He could contribute at any of the three spots for the Saints as a rookie after the team started several different O-line combinations last season. 2024 first-rounder Taliese Fuaga started all 17 games at left tackle with Trevor Penning replacing an injured Ryan Ramczyk on the right side. Ramczyk retired in April and Penning is in the last season of his contract, so the Saints may be looking to identify a long-term pair of tackles this season.

Since all of Fuaga’s college starts came at right tackle, the Saints could look to move Fuaga back to his natural position and allow Banks to remain at left tackle. If New Orleans is more comfortable keeping Fuaga on the blind side, Banks could then flip to the right tackle, though such transitions can be challenging. (The Chargers successfully moved 2024 first-rounder Joe Alt from left to right tackle as a rookie.)

If the Saints want to stick with last year’s tackle combination, Banks could be a candidate to take over at left guard, where the team started multiple players amid a rash of interior O-line injuries. They have a host of options this year as well. Nick Saldiveri started six games in 2024, while Landon Young played multiple games at both guard spots. New Orleans also signed Dillon Radunz this offseason. The former second-round pick started at right guard for the Titans in 2024 but has NFL experience at every offensive line position except center.

49ers, Brock Purdy Agree To Extension

May 18th, 2025 at 9:04pm CST by Adam La Rose

MAY 18: Purdy’s extension with the 49ers also includes a full no-trade clause for the duration of the contract, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. That has become standard practice for major quarterback extensions, though it remains unclear if Purdy received a clause preventing San Francisco from applying the franchise tag on him at the end of the deal.

MAY 17: While a rolling guarantee structure will help protect Purdy down the line, he still is believed to have received a nine-figure guarantee at signing. The 49ers are giving their franchise QB $100MM locked in up front, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reports. Purdy becomes the 12th active QB to secure a $100MM full guarantee.

Passers earning less per year (from Deshaun Watson to Lamar Jackson to Justin Herbert to Kyler Murray) secured more at signing, though it will be interesting to learn how the 49ers have structured Purdy’s rolling guarantees. The seventh-round success story, who secured all of $77K when he signed his rookie deal, should see more guarantees vest a year out moving forward.

MAY 16: Brock Purdy will not need to wait until training camp to ink his extension. The 49ers’ starting quarterback agreed to a deal Friday, Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network report.

This will be a five-year, $265MM pact, Purdy’s agent informed the NFLN trio. The league’s latest monster QB deal includes $181MM in total guarantees; that figure consists of $165.05MM covering the next three seasons. Purdy is now on the books through 2030. The $181MM amount represents the injury guarantee, and Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer notes it contains a rolling structure.

San Francisco has long known a mega-pact was coming in this case. Whereas many of the team’s big-ticket extensions have dragged into the summer during recent years, that will not be the case with respect to Purdy. The former ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ has handled starting duties since midway through his rookie campaign, and that will remain the case – as the team hoped – for many years to come.

Purdy was due to collect a base salary of $5.35MM in 2025, the final year of his rookie pact. A massive raise was known to be in store, and negotiations began not long after the end of the season. Progress was made in relatively short order, and general manager John Lynch targeted voluntary offseason workouts as a timeline for an agreement to be in place. Indeed, prior to the start of San Francisco’s OTAs, the team’s most impactful piece of business has been taken care of. The fact Purdy was present for the beginning of voluntary work last month represented a clear sign this agreement was close.

This deal’s AAV of $53MM moves Purdy into a tie for seventh amongst quarterbacks in terms of annual earnings. The 25-year-old is on level terms with Jared Goff and narrowly behind Tua Tagovailoa in that respect; both of their deals were signed last offseason. In all, 11 signal-callers are now attached to a pact averaging at least $51MM per year.

Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo going down with season-ending injuries in 2022 opened the door for Purdy to take over as the team’s starter. The Iowa State product helped lead San Francisco to the NFC title game that year and to the Super Bowl during the following campaign. Despite making a clear error by trading up to the No. 3 slot in 2021 to draft Lance, the 49ers have thus received stable QB play (and at a fraction of the cost of veteran passers, of course). That will no longer be the case moving forward, but expectations will remain high for the team’s offense.

Throughout his tenure in the Bay Area, Purdy has enjoyed the benefits of San Francisco’s left tackle and skill-position investments. Wideout Deebo Samuel was traded earlier this offseason, but Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle – himself the recipient of a recent extension – remain in the fold. Purdy saw his league-leading yards per attempt average (9.6) drop to 8.5 from 2023 to ’24, but a rebound could be in store provided the team can avoid the injury issues of last year.

While much of San Francisco’s offensive core has remained intact this spring, the team’s defense has undergone a number of changes. The need to budget for this Purdy extension represented a key reason for that, but in general a number of new faces will be counted on to contribute right away at important positions. The 49ers made 11 selections during last year’s draft and in doing so added necessary cost-effective options to compensate for the surge in operating cost under center.

Questions linger about how much longer the 49ers’ current core (which still includes All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, likely the team’s next extension priority) will remain intact and thus whether or not San Francisco’s Super Bowl window is closing. The extent to which a return to contention will take place in 2025 but also well beyond that point will be driven in large part by Purdy’s ability to deliver on expectations while playing out this deal.

Buccaneers Rookie CB Benjamin Morrison Expected To Be Ready For Training Camp

May 18th, 2025 at 8:37pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Buccaneers rookie cornerback Benjamin Morrison is expected to be ready for training camp after missing most of the 2024 season due to a hip injury.

Morrison underwent surgery last October after sustaining a hip labral tear, sidelining him for much of the pre-draft process. He didn’t participate in the Combine or Notre Dame’s pro day but worked out for scouts the week of the draft to showcase his rehab progress. That workout gave the Bucs enough confidence to select Morrison with the 53rd overall pick.

General manager Jason Licht said that Morrison “probably” could participate in OTAs, per senior team writer Scott Smith, but noted that Morrison suffered a similar injury to his other hip in high school.

“He’s going to be ready by training camp,” continued Licht. “From what we understand, once it’s repaired and you’ve proven you can play on it you’re good to go, it’s almost as healthy as it can be.”

A cautious approach for Morrison makes sense given his injury history. In addition to the two hip labral tears, he underwent shoulder surgery in March 2024 that sidelined him for most of spring practices, according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.

“We have a process here, just like every other team,” Licht said (via Smith). “At the end of the day, we’re not going to take a player that our medical team felt uncomfortable with.”

Tampa Bay entered the draft with only one starting cornerback signed past the 2025 season. The team addressed that need by drafting both Morrison and Kansas State’s Jacob Parrish on Day 2, providing potential long-term options on the boundary and in the slot. Morrison’s tape across his three years at Notre Dame suggest that he could start right away in the NFL, though he would obviously need to be healthy to do so. If his recovery continues on its current trajectory, he should be in a position to compete for a starting role in the Buccaneers’ defense this summer.

NFC Staff Updates: Giants, Falcons, Vikings, Rams, Eagles

May 18th, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Ely Allen

As is common in the wake of the 2025 NFL Draft, several teams have been making updates to their front offices. One of the latest such clubs to do so is the Giants, who made a number of changes to their scouting staff recently.

According to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, the Giants and national scout Mike Derice have parted ways. Derice had been in the role for three years, joining the team shortly after the 2022 draft. The change comes as a bit of surprise with so much positive reception to the team’s last two drafts.

A new face will join the scouting department, though, as Jordan Raanan of ESPN reports that the team has hired Tyson Beane as a scouting assistant. Tyson Beane is the son of Bills general manager Brandon Beane. With Giants general manager Joe Schoen having served five years in Buffalo as Beane’s assistant general manager, it makes sense for Tyson to land in New York, if not Buffalo.

Per Raanan, the Giants also lost a member of their coaching staff, as well. Offensive assistant Angela Baker has reportedly left the organization in order to pursue opportunities elsewhere in the NFL. Baker had worked with the team since 2022.

Here are a few other staff updates from around the NFC:

  • The Falcons also made a pair of changes, per Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. Stratton noted a change in the LinkedIn account of Andy Grossman, showing a promotion from football data analyst to senior football data analyst. After working on staff at Northwestern, Grossman joined Atlanta back in 2022.
  • On the scouting side of things, Stratton adds the Falcons are saying goodbye to national scout Joel Collier, who has been with the team since 2016. After starting as a graduate assistant at Syracuse from 1988-89, Collier served as an NFL assistant coach from 1990-2007, working with the Buccaneers, Patriots, and Dolphins and taking one year in 1993 to work as a pro scout for the Patriots. His NFL coaching career came to an end when he was hired as assistant general manager of the Chiefs, a role he held for six years. He arrived in Atlanta as director of pro personnel in 2016 before being reassigned to national scout in 2019.
  • Stratton also informs us that another NFL staffer with 30-plus years of experience has parted ways with their most recent employer. The Vikings have reportedly parted ways with personnel scout Frank Acevedo. Acevedo has been in Minnesota for the last 23 years after starting his NFL career with seven seasons in Kansas City. He will explore other options in 2025.
  • The Rams also announced a number of updates to their scouting staff, per Stratton. Two scouting apprentices earned promotions as Cory Moore was named an area scout and Michael Young was named a pro scout. Roman Cooper was also hired to serve as senior scouting assistant.
  • Lastly, the Eagles have hired Smit Bajaj to serve as a quantitative analyst for the team. Bajaj was recently part of the winning team in this year’s NFL Big Data Bowl competition, helping him to earn this opportunity. Seth Walder of ESPN tells us that Bajaj will start in July.

AFC West Notes: OL, Chargers, Chiefs, Carroll, Broncos

May 18th, 2025 at 5:07pm CST by Ely Allen

Bradley Bozeman has been a starting center in the NFL for most of the past four seasons. He has never graded out as one of the NFL’s best centers, though, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), so the Chargers are starting to experiment with lining former first-round pick Zion Johnson up at center in 2025, per Daniel Popper of The Athletic, bumping Bozeman out to left guard.

Starting as a backup center with the Ravens in 2018, Bozeman was bumped out to left guard so that he could be in the starting lineup in his sophomore season with the team. In the final year of his rookie contract, Baltimore moved Bozeman back to center. As a free agent he signed a one-year deal as a backup to Pat Elflein in Carolina, earning the starting gig when Elflein went out with a season-ending injury. After he stepped up, Carolina extended him to a three-year, $18MM extension but released him just a year later. He rebounded by signing with the Chargers, who, like the Panthers, gave him an extension after his first year with the team.

Johnson has yet to live up to his first-round status in Los Angeles; the Chargers declined his fifth-year option this month. He took over as a starter immediately as a rookie but has been only average at left guard. While it may not result in a permanent switch, it makes sense for the Chargers to at least try swapping Johnson and Bozeman. Neither has been outstanding at their initial positions, and working in a new spot may help one or both players be more comfortable moving forward. With Mekhi Becton improving the right guard spot as he joins a pretty great tackle pair in Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, the Chargers will hope that the swap results in an upgrade to their two weaker offensive line positions.

Here are a few more offseason rumors from around the AFC West:

  • In a slightly similar situation, the Raiders will be cross-training rookie tackle Charles Grant in hopes that he can serve as the team’s swing tackle, according to Tashan Reed of The Athletic. Las Vegas used back-to-back picks on offensive tackles in the third round back in April, selecting Grant right after drafting Texas Tech’s Caleb Rogers. Rogers may end up getting more looks on the interior as a pro, while the Raiders plan on Grant being an option to play at both tackle spots. Grant spent all five years of his time at William & Mary as a left tackle, but with Kolton Miller entrenched in that starting spot, Grant’s best path to playing time is to compete with second-year right tackle DJ Glaze. It’s not easy to switch from side to side at tackle in the NFL, so Vegas will experiment with Grant at both spots to be safe. They’ll see how well he takes on the shift to the right side in order to determine if he can compete with Glaze, but if he can’t make the change, they’ll keep him working at left tackle, as well, as an option to backup Miller.
  • While Chiefs rookie offensive tackle Josh Simmons‘ slide to the last pick of the first round was credited in large part to medical red flags, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler informs us that “character concerns” were a bigger deterrent during the pre-draft process. Fowler asserts that most teams he consulted with were not overly concerned with the patellar tendon tear that ended Simmons’ 2024 campaign. Instead, concerns with his approach to practices and run blocking gave pause to teams with mid- to late-first-round picks.
  • In a recent Q&A, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal fielded a question about whether or not the eventual replacement for Raiders head coach Pete Carroll was already in the building. Carroll is currently on a three-year deal with a fourth-year team option, but if the 73-year-old skipper opted to hang up his headset after putting the team on the right track, Bonsignore does have an eye on a potential successor in the building. Carroll’s two sons are both currently on staff with him in Las Vegas; Brennan Carroll works as the team’s offensive line coach, while Nate Carroll serves as assistant quarterbacks coach. According to Bonsignore, the elder brother, Brennan, is an up-and-coming coach with experience as an offensive coordinator with two programs at the collegiate level. If the eldest Carroll boy is going to get an NFL head coaching opportunity, the cleanest path likely lies in Vegas.
  • As linebacker Alex Singleton continues striving to make his return from a midseason ACL tear, the Broncos have just been aiming to get him back in time for their 2025 season opener. In an update from Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post, it was reported that Singleton is on track to return in time for training camp. The former undrafted free agent has been increasingly impressive as he’s earned more and more responsibility during stints with the Eagles and Broncos. Even with the first major injury of his career, the 31-year-old continues to surpass expectations with a quick and smooth rehabilitation process.

NFC East Rumors: Cowboys, Eagles, Strahan

May 18th, 2025 at 3:23pm CST by Ely Allen

The Athletic beat writer Charlotte Carroll was astute to notice that someone other than head coach Brian Daboll was calling plays at Giants minicamp recently. This report was confirmed when SportsNet New York’s Connor Hughes saw assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka calling plays for the second day in a row.

While this may suggest some uncertainty about who will be calling the offense for New York in 2025, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post was quick to report that a change isn’t likely at this time. Kafka was originally given play-calling duties for the first time in his career during Daboll’s first year as the head coach. Daboll had wanted his focus to be more big-picture and had assigned the responsibility to Kafka. Just before the 2024 season, though, Daboll took over play-calling duties for the whole year.

A time may come in which Kafka gets another opportunity to call plays in the NFL, but for now, his lack of experience in comparison to Daboll’s is likely to keep the responsibility with the head coach in 2025.

Here are a few more rumors from around the NFC East:

  • After missing his entire rookie season with a torn ACL in the preseason, Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown had a productive debut season in 2024. In 13 games, Overshown started 12 contests and stuffed the stat sheet in the process. He tallied 90 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, five sacks, five quarterback hits, four passes defensed, an interception returned for a touchdown, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Unfortunately, that production came to a screeching halt when he suffered late-season tears to his ACL, MCL, and PCL. Overshown is making sure not to rush anything in his recovery, telling RJ Ochoa of SB Nation that, while he hasn’t ruled out starting in Week 1, he knows he’ll probably be starting the season on the physically unable to perform list. Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram adds that November has been identified as a realistic target for Overshown’s return.
  • Ben VanSumeren is entering his third season with the Eagles. While he has made two starts in his career, his main impact has come on special teams. Even more interesting, VanSumeren’s rookie-year start was on defense at linebacker, but his second-year start was on offense as a fullback. In fact, all of his non-special teams snaps were on defense as a rookie and on offense in his sophomore campaign. According to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer, head coach Nick Sirianni disclosed that, after re-signing VanSumeren, the third-year player has been officially labeled a fullback. While the team intends to cross-train him in both rooms, he will begin in the running backs room in 2025.
  • Lastly, it was recently reported that Eli Manning is not the only former Giant looking to acquire an ownership stake in the franchise. According to Schwartz, Hall of Fame pass rusher Michael Strahan will compete with Manning in an attempt to buy up to a 10 percent ownership stake in the Giants. Strahan is pairing with billionaire Marc Lasry to put together their bid.
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