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Coaching Notes: USC, Payton, Fisher, Fins

By | at November 30, 2015 11:19 am

It wasn’t an NFL coaching job, but the USC head coaching position was expected to have an impact on the NFL, since a number of the school’s potential candidates were current coaches or coordinators around the league. However, the Trojans announced today (via Twitter) that interim coach Clay Helton will become the team’s permanent head coach going forward, meaning that Chip Kelly and other coaches around the NFL can be crossed off the list.

It sounds like USC did reach out to Kelly to gauge his interest before deciding to move forward with Helton though. According to FootballScoop.com (Twitter link), USC officials met with Kelly last week, but the Eagles head coach prefers to remain in the NFL. Similarly, USC checked in on Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio, who told the Trojans he’s not leaving Oakland, tweets Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News.

Here are a few more coaching-related items from around the league:

  • Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com believes that the Saints should “go ahead and start sniffing around” for teams that may be interested in giving up a draft pick or two for head coach Sean Payton, since this winter looks like a good time for an overhaul. La Canfora identifies the Browns, Colts, Dolphins, and Titans as teams that might have interest in Payton, and suggests that the draft pick return could be “substantial.”
  • Having lost four games in a row, Jeff Fisher‘s Rams are in a downward spiral, and Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com believes it’s time for the team to make coaching change at season’s end.
  • Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter link) hears that the decision to fire offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was made by Dolphins interim head coach Dan Campbell, who had “shown signs of displeasure” with the offense during the club’s last few games.
  • The Giants could have taken a commanding lead in the weak NFC East division with a win over Washington on Sunday, but the fact that the team couldn’t get it done puts head coach Tom Coughlin on the hot seat, writes Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
  • Several weeks ago, with his team scuffling along at 2-5, head coach Bill O’Brien didn’t exactly look safe in Houston. Four wins later though, Texans owner Bob McNair is giving O’Brien credit for the team’s success, telling Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, “I think he’s doing a fine job.”
7 comments Cleveland Browns Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins New Orleans Saints New York Giants Philadelphia Eagles Tennessee Titans

Colts Place Ahmad Bradshaw On IR

By | at November 30, 2015 10:39 am

A third consecutive season for running back Ahmad Bradshaw had ended with the Colts placing him on injured reserve, as the team announced today in a press release. With Bradshaw’s season over due to a wrist injury, the Colts have re-signed running back Zurlon Tipton to their 53-man roster.

Bradshaw, 29, saw his 2013 season end early because of a neck injury, and was placed on IR in 2014 after breaking his leg. This year, he didn’t join the Colts until mid-October, but just a few weeks later, he’s heading back to IR. In limited action in Indianapolis this season, the veteran back ran for 85 yards on 31 carries, adding 64 more yards and three touchdowns on 10 receptions.

Because he was on a one-year contract with the Colts, Bradshaw will be eligible for free agency this winter, and may have played his last snap for the team. Of course, having signed multiple contracts with Indianapolis in the past, the Marshall product could return in 2016, but his growing injury history figures to make the club wary of another reunion.

Tipton, meanwhile, was cut last week when the Colts claimed Boom Herron off waivers. Now, he’ll rejoin a backfield that features Herron and Frank Gore, and will likely be third on the depth chart heading into Week 13.

1 comment Indianapolis Colts Newsstand Transactions

Panthers Sign Cortland Finnegan

By | at November 30, 2015 10:05 am

Less than nine months after he announced his retirement, cornerback Cortland Finnegan has returned to the NFL. The Panthers announced today in a press release that they’ve signed Finnegan to a contract. The veteran free agent fills the roster spot vacated by long snapper Danny Aiken, who was cut on Friday.

Despite the fact that Finnegan said he was retiring back in March, the former seventh-round pick hired agent Drew Rosenhaus in the summer, and suggested he was open to an NFL return. At the time, Rosenhaus said that he was “working on teams” for Finnegan, who indicated a willingness to play either cornerback or safety. The 31-year-old has since auditioned for the Patriots and earned a look from the Panthers last week, along with free agents Bradley Fletcher and Robert McClain.

Carolina had been in the market for secondary depth after having played the last two games without cornerback Charles Tillman, who is expected to miss more time. It’s not clear if Finnegan will get a shot to play right away, but he’ll provide some veteran depth at a position where the undefeated Panthers have been a little short-handed.

Of course, for Finnegan to provide positive value, he’ll have to play better than he did in 2013, when he was one of the league’s worst cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. PFF ranked Finnegan 109th out of 110 qualified corners, with a grade of -19.7 in just seven games.

The former Ram was a little better for the Dolphins in 2014, but still placed just 74th out of 108 corners, with a -4.4 grade in 2014, per PFF. Miami released Finnegan before free agency began this year, and the Samford product entered his brief retirement about a week later.

1 comment Carolina Panthers Newsstand Transactions

AFC East Notes: Gronk, Hightower, Dolphins

By | at November 30, 2015 9:07 am

It’s been an eventful 24 hours in the AFC East, where the Dolphins fired their offensive coordinator and the Patriots lost their undefeated season, along with key players on both sides of the ball. We’ve got updates on those injuries sustained by New England players on Sunday night, so let’s dive in and round up the latest from out of the AFC East….

  • As first reported late last night by Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN (Twitter link), Rob Gronkowski‘s knee injury isn’t believed to be as serious as it initially looked. Many reporters have since echoed that notion, with one source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that “we think he is going to be OK.” The star tight end still has to undergo tests today, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Patriots don’t think there’s any structural damage to Gronkowski’s knee, and hope he won’t miss much time.
  • On the defensive side, the early diagnosis for Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower is an MCL sprain, per Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link). If there’s no further damage to Hightower’s knee, that injury shouldn’t end the linebacker’s season, though he’d probably have to miss some time — a sprained MCL generally results in a recovery time of two to four weeks.
  • An ESPN report on Sunday suggested that Quinton Coples was involved in an incident on the Jets‘ flight back from Houston last week, which was part of the reason for his release. However, Coples and Jets head coach Todd Bowles both denied that was the case, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post. “I don’t know where that came from,” Coples said. “Only thing is I didn’t fit with the defense.”
  • Before this morning’s firing of Lazor, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald wrote that the Dolphins are in trouble “from top to bottom,” calling this year’s team the worst for the franchise since 2007.
  • In addition to the other changes to the Dolphins‘ coaching staff today, the club has also promoted Phil McGeoghan to wide receivers coach, according to the team (Twitter link).
2 comments Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New York Jets

Dolphins Fire OC Bill Lazor

By | at November 30, 2015 8:14 am

After the team’s latest disappointing loss on Sunday to the Jets, the Dolphins have made another change to their coaching staff, reports Thayer Evans of SI.com (Twitter link). According to Thayer, Miami has fired offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com confirms the decision, tweeting that “massive changes” are on the way for the Dolphins.

Having replaced head coach Joe Philbin and defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle earlier in the year, the Dolphins have now fired their head coach and their coordinators on both sides of the ball since the regular season began. As such, many of the “massive changes” alluded to by Rapoport seem to have already taken place, but perhaps the NFL.com reporter is suggesting that the roster will also be undergoing a significant overhaul in the near future.

At the very least, given the results for interim head coach Dan Campbell since his hot start, it seems likely that the Dolphins will hire an external candidate for the permanent head coaching job in the offseason, and that new coach will likely bring in his own coordinators and assistants from outside the organization as well.

As for Lazor, a report last week indicated that at least one Dolphins official had “privately questioned” whether the OC’s system was suited for quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who has struggled this season after signing a long-term extension. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald noted at the time that an offensive coordinator change wouldn’t surprise anyone, and just a few days later, the team has indeed made that change.

With Lazor out of the picture, quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor will take over Miami’s OC job for the rest of the 2015 season, tweets Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.

2 comments Miami Dolphins Newsstand

AFC Notes: Collins, Manning, Browns

By | at November 29, 2015 9:23 pm

Star linebacker Jamie Collins has been out of the Patriots’ lineup since the end of October because of an illness, one that president Jonathan Kraft isn’t worried will spread throughout the team, per Mike Petraglia of WEEI.

“Jamie’s getting better and getting stronger every day,” Kraft said Sunday. “I know people in non-football life that end up with really bad viruses and get knocked out of their professional lives for a while.”

Continued Kraft, “This was something that doesn’t have us worried about the physical infrastructure at the facility. There wasn’t anything related to Jamie’s issues that had anything to do with the facility.”

Kraft’s words indicate that Collins’ illness isn’t MRSA, a staph infection-causing disease that has affected NFL teams in the past. Most recently, it ended the season of Giants tight end Daniel Fells in October.

Collins returned to practice Friday, so it appears he’ll be back in game action sometime this season.

And now a look at some of the Patriots’ AFC counterparts, including their Sunday night opponent:

  • Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, currently on the shelf because of a plantar fascia injury, is eager to return to the field as soon as possible. The team doesn’t share in his eagerness, though, and it’s causing friction between the two sides, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. Regarding the possibility of a healthy Manning backing up Brock Osweiler, a source told La Canfora, “We know this much — he’s not going to go quietly. He’s going to have to be dealt with.”
  • After briefly losing his job to Johnny Manziel, Josh McCown is back as the Browns’ starting quarterback – which he’s ambivalent about, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. While McCown relishes playing again, he isn’t pleased that his opportunity comes at the expense of Manziel – whom the Browns benched because of off-field issues. “You understand that you have a job to do, and the coaches make the decision and tell you you’re playing and you move forward accordingly,” said McCown. “But at the same time, I’m in the room with [Manziel] every day, and we’ve built a relationship. I’m a big advocate of his and a fan and a friend as well.”
  • The Browns have noteworthy free agents-to-be in safety Tashaun Gipson, tight end Gary Barnidge and receiver Travis Benjamin. If they only re-sign one, it should be the 25-year-old Gipson, writes Tom Reed of Cleveland.com. Gipson hasn’t been as sharp this season after leading the AFC in interceptions in 2013 and ’14, which could drop his price. That’s something Reed believes the Browns should look to capitalize on after they couldn’t reach a long-term deal with Gipson last offseason, when he was coming off a Pro Bowl campaign.
5 comments Cleveland Browns Denver Broncos New England Patriots

NFC Notes: Ryan, Lynch, Giants, Quarless

By | at November 29, 2015 8:17 pm

The Falcons started the season 5-0 and looked like a surefire playoff team, but they’ve lost five of their last six games to drop to 6-5. Their postseason hopes are now in serious jeopardy, and one reason for their skid is the lackluster play of quarterback Matt Ryan. During their four-game losing streak, the Falcons have averaged fewer than 17 points per game and Ryan has thrown just seven touchdowns against six interceptions. Two of those picks came in a crucial 20-10 loss to the Vikings on Sunday. Afterward, owner Arthur Blank and head coach Dan Quinn expressed confidence in Ryan, a three-time Pro Bowler who has been the Falcons’ QB since they drafted him third overall in 2008.

“He’s demonstrated his abilities over eight years. He’ll be fine. He’ll be good,” Blank said, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.

Added Quinn, who said he isn’t thinking about benching Ryan or anyone else, “He’s absolutely the competitor that I want. He’s what we look for and our team looks for the whole way.”

Here’s more from the NFC:

  • Whether he retires or the Seahawks simply decide to move on from him, there’s a good chance Marshawn Lynch is in his final year in Seattle, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. Lynch underwent groin surgery earlier this week and it’s possible he’ll end up on season-ending IR in a month if the team decides he’s not ready to return. Regardless, from an on-field standpoint, the five-time Pro Bowler has become less essential to the Seahawks’ offense with the emergence of rookie Thomas Rawls. From a business standpoint, cutting Lynch would save Seattle $6.5MM on its cap in 2016 and $10.5MM in ’17.
  • Don’t expect Giants general manager Jerry Reese to be a fall guy if they miss the playoffs, tweets ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
  • The Packers – who are in desperate need of weapons in their passing game – are close to getting injured tight end Andrew Quarless back, per Weston Hodkiewicz of the Press-Gazette. Quarless has been on the shelf since tearing his ACL in Week 3, and head coach Mike McCarthy said he could practice in the coming week. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be active for Green Bay’s game against Detroit on Thursday, however.
2 comments Atlanta Falcons Green Bay Packers New York Giants Seattle Seahawks

Jimmy Graham Out For Season With Patellar Tendon Injury

By | at November 29, 2015 7:25 pm

The Seahawks stayed in the thick of the NFC playoff hunt with a 39-30 win over the Steelers on Sunday, but the victory comes with bad news. Tight end Jimmy Graham suffered a patellar tendon injury during the game and will undergo season-ending surgery, according to head coach Pete Carroll (Twitter link via the team). The recovery timeline will be six to nine months, per Dr. David Chao of SiriusXM (Twitter link).

Prior to departing in the fourth quarter, Graham was having one of his best games of 2015 with four receptions for 75 yards. He had to be carted off the field with an air cast on his right leg after landing awkwardly on an incomplete pass in Pittsburgh’s end zone.

Graham finishes the season, his first in Seattle, with 48 catches for 605 yards and two touchdowns. Considering what Seattle gave up for Graham in the offseason – center Max Unger and a first-round pick – it was a disappointing campaign for the three-time Pro Bowler. The ex-Saint came to the Seahawks fresh off four straight seasons of at least 85 catches and 880-plus yards, also racking up a prolific 46 touchdowns during that span.

While Graham’s production tailed off this season, he’s still a big loss for quarterback Russell Wilson and the 6-5 Seahawks – who will continue fighting for their playoff lives over the final five weeks. Graham is currently second on the Seahawks in both receptions and yards, trailing only wideout Doug Baldwin. The team’s second-most productive tight end, Luke Wilson, has just 12 catches this year.

5 comments Newsstand Seattle Seahawks

Week In Review: 11/22/15 – 11/29/15

By | at November 29, 2015 3:19 pm

The headlines from the past week at PFR:

Key News:

Activations:

QBs:

Signed:

Waivers:

Waived:

Injuries:

Suspended:

0 comments Week In Review

PFR Originals: 11/22/15 – 11/29/15

By | at November 29, 2015 2:51 pm

The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:

  • Luke Adams took a look at the 2016 cap outlook for the Ravens. The big question the team faces is how to restructure Joe Flacco‘s cap hit in order to clear some room for free agency. Will Hill is also a candidate for an extension, and Dennis Pitta is likely to either be cut or have his salary reduced.
  • In our Community Tailgate series, we post topics for discussion and encourage readers to share their thoughts in the comments section. The issues covered this week:
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