Jets Place RB/KR Kene Nwangwu On IR
The Jets have placed Kene Nwangwu (broken hand) on injured reserve, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini, ending the 26-year-old return specialist’s season.
Nwangwu joined New York’s practice squad in September, but had to wait until Week 13 to receive his first game day elevation. He dazzled on special teams in his Jets debut with a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown and a forced fumble, earning him a promotion to the 53-man roster. Unfortunately, Nwangwu wasn’t able to capitalize on the opportunity with zero returns in Week 14 before breaking his hand.
The Jets still have 23-year-old wideout Xavier Gipson as their primary return specialist. Rookie running back Isaiah Davis can also handle return duties, so Nwangwu’s injury won’t dramatically alter New York’s plan on special teams.
Nwangwu has struggled to establish himself as a running back in the NFL, only managing 88 rushing yards on 33 attempts from 2021 to 2023 in Minnesota, where he was originally a fourth-round pick. He didn’t stand out as a pass-catcher, either, but emerged as an electric returner with 32.2 yards per return and two kickoff return touchdowns as a rookie. Nwangwu then led the NFL with 35 kickoff returns in 2022, earning second-team All-Pro honors, but his lack of offensive impact ultimately led to his release after the 2023 season.
The NFL’s new dynamic kickoff offered a new opportunity for Nwangwu in 2024. Though it took him 13 weeks to see the field, he made an impact right away. His kickoff return touchdown is one of six in the NFL this year, and it could lead to another chance at return duties in 2025 once he recovers from his broken hand.
Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan Declares For 2025 Draft
To no surprise, Tetairoa McMillan will turn pro this spring. The junior wideout has declared for the 2025 NFL draft as expected. 
McMillan enjoyed a stellar career at Arizona, and his receiving yardage total (3,423) marks the school’s all-time record. He posted 1,319 yards and eight touchdowns on 84 catches in 2024, essentially a duplication of last year’s output. His production made him a strong candidate for the Biletnikoff Award (given to the country’s top receiver), although that honor went to Colorado’s Travis Hunter.
Still, McMillan was named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, in addition to first-team All-Conference honors. The 6-5, 212-pounder confirmed his status as one of the top receiving prospects in the country over the course of the 2024 campaign, and it comes as no surprise he has elected to turn pro at the first opportunity to do so. McMillan will not need to wait long to hear his name called.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper ranks McMillan as the No. 2 receiver prospect in this year’s class (behind only Hunter), placing him 11th overall. It remains to be seen if Hunter will be used as a wideout, a corner or both at the NFL level, but in terms of players who strictly fit the WR description McMillan could easily find himself as the top player selected. Any number of NFL teams could use an infusion of size and productivity at the position.
Missouri standout Luther Burden III has also declared for the draft as expected, and he is another Day 1 candidate at the receiver spot. His size and profile is much different to McMillan’s, and NFL teams may establish a preference of one over the other during the pre-draft process. In any case, both playmakers will face considerable expectations at the NFL level in 2025.
Bengals’ Tee Higgins Changes Agents
DECEMBER 13: Rocky Arceneaux and Caitlin Aoki are now officially listed as Higgins’ agents, as noted by ESPN’s Ben Baby. Arceneaux is also Chase’s agent, so the developments which take place at the negotiating table on both fronts this offseason will have a notable common denominator.
DECEMBER 12: Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins has parted ways with his agent, David Mulugheta, according to Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Higgins is currently playing on a $21.8MM franchise tag after failing to reach a long-term agreement with the Bengals during the offseason. The star wideout was not expected to remain in Cincinnati after this season, but his agent change and recent comments from Joe Burrow indicate that the tide could be turning.
Higgins’ situation resembles that of ex-Bengals safety Jessie Bates, another Mulugheta client. Bates ended up leaving Cincinnati after his tag year to sign a four-year, $64MM contract with the Falcons. Separating from Mulugheta could be an indication that Higgins is looking to stay with the Bengals instead of testing the open market this offseason.
Still, negotiations between Higgins and the Bengals still face multiple obstacles. The two sides were clearly far apart on their valuation during the offseason, and Higgins’ play this year has likely done little to bring them together together. Higgins has only appeared in eight games in 2024, but when healthy, he’s put up some of the best per-game averages of his career. The Bengals will point to his injuries over the last two seasons as their basis for a lower offer, while Higgins and his agent will argue that he’s avoided injured reserve and been able to produce whenever he is in the lineup.
Further complicating matters will be Ja’Marr Chase‘s expected mega-extension which is expected to equal or even surpass the $35MM annual value of Justin Jefferson‘s contract. Chase’s contract will impact the availability of both cash and cap space in Cincinnati, while another increase in the wide receiver market will lead to higher demands from Higgins.
Burrow’s recent comments have made one thing clear: the Bengals’ top three offensive players want to stay together. It’s easy to see why: their passing attack is one of the league’s best when all three are healthy. Cincinnati will have to get creative – or, just pony up a boatload of money – to keep the core of their offense intact for years to come.
Commanders Sign K Greg Joseph
The Commanders are adding another kicking option ahead of Week 15. Greg Joseph has been signed to Washington’s practice squad, his agent confirmed on Friday. 
Joseph bounced around the NFC North earlier this season before joining the Giants in September. He took the place of the injured Graham Gano, handling kicking duties for six games. Joseph connected on 13 of 16 field goal attempts and all six of his extra point kicks during that span. He landed on injured reserve in November, however, a move which was preceded by a release via injury settlement.
A one-month free agent spell ensued, but Joseph has now landed another deal. He will be an option to be designated as a gameday elevation for the Commanders in Week 15, but the team does have Zane Gonzalez in the picture as well. The latter has kicked for Washington over the past three weeks, going 10-for-1o on extra points but missing a pair of field goal attempts during the team’s last game. Head coach Dan Quinn expressed confidence in Gonzalez during the week, but an experienced replacement option is now in place.
Austin Seibert took over as the Commanders’ kicker in Week 2, a move which seemed to being an end to the carousel at the position which was in place throughout the offseason. After missing time midway through the campaign, however, a groin injury led to a stint on injured reserve. Seibert will be unavailable until at least the regular season finale as a result, so Gonzalez will look to rebound from his latest outing in a bid to remain in place for the time being.
Joseph is a veteran of 73 games, most of which came during his three-year run with the Vikings. The 30-year-old has a career accuracy rate of 82.5%, and this Commanders deal could represent his latest opportunity to increase that figure if he manages to see playing time down the stretch.
Jaguars TE Evan Engram To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
The Jaguars will be shorthanded at the tight end spot to finish the campaign. Evan Engram is dealing with a torn labrum, and head coach Doug Pederson announced on Friday he will require season-ending surgery as a result. 
Engram missed time early in the season due to a hamstring injury, but since returning he has operated as a key figure in Jacksonville’s passing attack. The 30-year-old has received seven or more targets five times in his nine games played in 2024, and his absence will be felt down the stretch. The Jags are already without starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence and No. 1 receiver Christian Kirk.
Jacksonville sits at 3-10 on the year, and a postseason berth is not possible as a result. Given where the team stands, the blow of losing Engram for the final four games of the campaign will not be as notable as if a playoff push was taking place. ESPN’s Michael DiRocco notes the severity of Engram’s injury was discovered this week when additional testing took place. His attention will now turn to recovery.
One year remains on Engram’s contract, and he is owed a $14.75MM base salary for 2025. $1.5MM of that total is set to vest early in the new league year, so a decision will need to be made on the team’s part before that point regarding any potential restructure or an extension. Engram has proven to be a valuable acquisition since his arrival in Duval County in 2022, highlighted by his career-best outing last season. The former Giant posted new personal highs in receptions (114) and yards (963), earning his second career Pro Bowl nod as a result. Expectations will remain high for him provided he remains with the Jags for next year.
In the meantime, Jacksonville’s Mac Jones-led offense will move forward with Brenton Strange, Josiah Deguara and Luke Farrell at the tight end spot. The team has matchups against the Jets, Raiders, Titans and Colts to close out the campaign, one which could see changes made on the sidelines and/or in the front office depending in part on how the final stage of the season play out.
Bill Belichick Fallout: NFL, NIL, Bears, Kitchens, Lombardi, Falcons, Patriots
Bill Belichick had a chance to gauge his market last year and certainly did not like the result. Although he had believed he was a true contender for the Falcons job hours before the team’s Raheem Morris hire, some of the animosity he created while in New England may well have shown up during the 2024 coaching carousel’s spin.
Several of the teams who held a coaching vacancy “quickly” dismissed the notion of interviewing Belichick, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe reports (subscription required). While the Falcons interviewed Belichick twice — with plenty of fallout coming from that saga — the Chargers, Commanders, Raiders, Panthers, Seahawks and Titans also needed a coach. None interviewed Belichick, leading him to what amounted to a months-long media tour. That is now complete, as Belichick accepted North Carolina’s offer to lead its program.
[RELATED: Bill Belichick’s Contract Details Emerge]
This obviously proved shocking, in the grand scheme, as it will all but certainly end Belichick’s run as an NFL head coach and keep him 14 wins short of Don Shula‘s all-time record. However, the NFL’s second-winningest coach is now believed to be “disgusted” by what the league has become, according to ESPN.com’s Seth Wickersham, who adds Belichick and his confidants — Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia and ex-Patriots staffer and Browns GM Michael Lombardi among them — began to look to the college level as a possible destination months ago.
Set to turn 73 in April, Belichick did not exactly have the luxury of waiting another year and hoping for more attractive jobs to open up come 2026. And one team with a vacancy already ruled out Belichick, per Howe. This would seemingly mean in addition to the Jets, with that fit — due to mutual feelings — never pointing toward a pursuit. The Bears and Saints need a coach. Belichick and his confidants had viewed the Bears as the most attractive opening thus far, but Wickersham adds Chicago was unlikely to consider the eight-time Super Bowl winner. Belichick’s circle of trust expects the Bears to target an offensive coach, a route that has become quite popular over the past several years.
Indeed, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz adds Belichick believed he would have many options to coach again in the NFL. Teams, however, were not eager to allow him to bring in his various preferred staffers. The Patriots’ post-Tom Brady decline played a significant role in teams’ view of Belichick and willingness to use what is being viewed as an old-school model, and even the interest of having him only operate as a coach — as opposed to a coach/de facto GM — was weak enough that this college jump took place. Belichick NFL interest existed, per Schultz, but it fell short of assuring him a job would await.
The subject of personnel power came up frequently this year regarding Belichick. Although Arthur Blank said Belichick did not ask for full personnel control during his interviews last year, the issue helped impede him. As Belichick undoubtedly would have threatened the power Falcons president Rich McKay and GM Terry Fontenot have, it is believed Blank was steered away from his initial goal of hiring the 24-year Patriots HC. Other owners were also skeptical, per Wickersham, of Belichick not throwing his weight around. Additionally, Wickersham indicates Fontenot discussing the Falcons’ draft strategies, from a position of knowledge, annoyed Belichick.
The Patriots had attempted to curb some of Belichick’s power around the 2021 draft, Howe adds, but that effort effectively fell apart in 2022. Belichick had lieutenants like Scott Pioli and Nick Caserio during his historically successful New England run, but both had left — Pioli in 2009, leading to more Belichick power, and Caserio in 2021. The latter’s departure coincided with the above-referenced Patriots effort to work more collaboratively. Robert Kraft is believed to have played a lead role in Belichick’s market cooling this offseason, and the owner later admitted he fired his longtime coach — rather than the party line of a mutual parting being reality.
At North Carolina, Belichick will have the kind of control he held in New England. While some big coaching names on the football and basketball sides have left their respective sports due to the chaos the transfer portal and NIL landscape have caused, Wickersham adds Belichick views the current college setup as “more transactional and less relational,” pointing to a coach carrying decades of experience in the pros being well equipped to step down and navigate the destabilized college level. Belichick said Thursday (via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo) coaches have reached out to him about NFL-inspired rule changes.
Belichick said he had always hoped to coach in college. This will still be one of the more interesting transitions in coaching history, as he had coached in the NFL only and had done so for 49 consecutive seasons. Belichick’s father, Steve, coached at Navy for more than 30 years and was a North Carolina assistant in the mid-1950s. Signing a five-year contract, Bill Belichick said is not planning to use the Tar Heels as a springboard back to the NFL. That would be more likely to take place with a younger coach, but with Bruce Arians (at 66) being the oldest NFL HC ever hired, Belichick had seen his chances dwindle at the sport’s top level.
Lombardi, who worked with Belichick in Cleveland and New England, is joining his longtime colleague as North Carolina’s GM. Schools are adding these positions with more frequency as the sport’s compensation model has radically changed. (Andrew Luck is now Stanford’s GM.) Lombardi spent a year as Browns GM, working alongside Joe Banner back with the Browns in 2013, and joined the Patriots in 2014. He has not held a position since, becoming a regular media presence.
Freddie Kitchens, who is most famous for his Browns one-and-done as head coach in 2019, had served as North Carolina’s interim coach post-Mack Brown. Belichick announced he is retaining the former NFL staffer. It would not surprise to see McDaniels, Patricia and Joe Judge join their former boss as well, though it is not known which former Patriots staffers are coming. Steve and Brian Belichick also will undoubtedly be in play to rejoin their father; Steve is the Washington Huskies’ DC, while Brian stayed on under Jerod Mayo with the Pats.
Belichick will be celebrated as one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. His late New England decline notwithstanding, his six Super Bowl wins as a head coach lead the field by two. In the salary cap era, Belichick’s six titles are three more than anyone else. He will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2026, per the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson. That will result in some other decorated coaches who have been waiting to be pushed down the list.
Raiders To Evaluate HC Antonio Pierce After 2024 Season
The Raiders went 5-4 to close out the 2023 season, and interim head coach Antonio Pierce received a number of endorsements from players to receive the full-time gig. Owner Mark Davis – having regretted not doing so in the case of Rich Bisaccia previously – decided to keep the former Pro Bowl linebacker in place for 2024.
Things have not gone according to plan, though, with Vegas struggling in a number of categories. The team sits at 2-11 on the year and a high draft pick (perhaps the No. 1 selection) is set to be a central element of the offseason. By the time the draft takes place, a decision will have been made by owner Mark Davis regarding any coaching moves.
On that note, Davis said (via Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal) during the league meetings he will evaluate the Raiders’ staff, including Pierce, after the season ends. Notable changes have of course already been made during the campaign, with Pierce electing to fire offensive coordinator Luke Getsy in November. Scott Turner took over as interim OC, a move which has also seen his father Norv join the staff. Those moves have not yielded a notable uptick in offensive efficiency, although other factors have contributed to that.
Quarterback injuries have been seen throughout the campaign, with Gardner Minshew suffering a broken collarbone and Aidan O’Connell missing time. The latter suffered a bone bruise in Week 14, but he may be available for the Raiders’ next game. Failing that, Desmond Ridder will be in line to start against the Falcons, his former team. Minshew was added in free agency as a bridge starter option, although he only narrowly won out a training camp competition with O’Connell. Their collective struggles have left the Raiders near the bottom of many offensive categories.
League sources are split on Pierce’s job security, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, partially because his contract length was shorter than most other recent hires. Firing him after one injury-riddled season in which the Raiders were not expected to compete seems harsh, but Tom Brady‘s addition to the team’s ownership group could complicate matters.
Davis wants Brady to “have a real role in the decision-making,” per ESPN’s Dan Graziano. If Brady already has his eyes on a different long-term head coach – or simply believes that Pierce isn’t the man for the job – Las Vegas may not waste their time (or Pierce’s) by giving him another year.Davis recently clarified that Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco will be evaluated separately.
“They didn’t come in as a team. They are individuals,” said Davis, per The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, though the Raiders made the decision to hire Telesco less than a week after elevating Pierce from his interim status.
The early returns on Telesco’s moves this offseason have been positive. First-round pick Brock Bowers is a candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year, and second-rounder Jackson Powers-Johnson has cemented himself as the team’s starting center. The jury remains out on the $110MM given to defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who had a solid start to the year but has been on injured reserve since October with a Jones fracture in his foot.
Nikhil Mehta contributed to this post.
Broncos, Garett Bolles Agree To Extension
Uncertainty is no longer in place with respect to Garett Bolles‘ future. The longtime Broncos left tackle announced on Thursday he and the team have reached agreement on a new deal.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero adds this will be a four-year extension. Bolles was on track for free agency, but now he will remain on the books with Denver through 2028. Colleague Ian Rapoport notes this pact has a base value of $82MM, with upside for $86MM. The Broncos’ longest-tenured player, Bolles will collect $42MM guaranteed.
This marks the second time the Broncos have extended Bolles during the second half of a season. The first such instance came in November 2020, during the former first-round pick’s fourth season. Denver had circled back to paying its longtime LT that year despite passing on his fifth-year option. While Bolles has been somewhat inconsistent, he has been a better player over the course of his second contract than he was on his rookie deal.
Bolles, 32, had pursued an extension for a while now. After completing a rehab effort on a broken leg, Bolles had expressed a desire for a third Broncos contract. The team let him play out the 2023 season unsigned and let him enter his contract year without a new deal. Between those points, the team had signed Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey and extended Quinn Meinerz. While it looked for a stretch like Bolles would be allowed to hit the market in 2025, the Broncos will continue their run of high-end O-line payments. Four of their five starters up front are now attached to deals worth at least $13MM per year.
At $20.5MM per year, Bolles is once again the Broncos’ highest-paid O-lineman. McGlinchey’s 2023 deal had bumped him down to second, but with left tackle remaining the NFL’s top O-line market, it was expected a third deal would need to be in this range. That said, Bolles did not secure top-five money at the position. His AAV will check in fifth among left tackles, just ahead of Bills blindsider Dion Dawkins but south of Jordan Mailata‘s $22MM-per-year accord agreed to earlier this year.
The Broncos have an interesting situation in terms of near-future commitments. While their O-line deals now overlap with Bo Nix‘s rookie contract, the team still has the second half of the Russell Wilson dead money bill due in 2026. Though, Denver took on the larger portion of the penalty ($53MM) this year. A $30MM-plus dead cap hit is still on tap for 2025, but the team will be free of it in 2026. Nix cannot be extended until 2027.
Bolles has excelled this season, ranking in the top 10 in both pass block (seventh) and run block (10th) win rate at tackle. Pro Football Focus slots the Utah alum 16th among tackle regulars. He has done well to protect Nix, with Denver’s high-paid O-line ranking first in pass block win rate and fifth in run block win rate. After the sack-prone Wilson was dropped 45 times last season, Nix has only taken 19 this year.
Returning to make all 30 regular-season starts since a broken leg ended his 2022 season, Bolles has made the most starts by a Bronco left tackle (112) left tackle. He will now proceed to create more distance between himself and the field.
This contract will at least cover the 2017 first-rounder through the 2026 season, and it would stand to reason — due to Bolles’ age — the team will reassess at that point. McGlinchey’s deal runs through 2027, while Powers’ goes through 2026. Meinerz’s pact extends to 2028. While the team’s ascending right guard had profiled as the cornerstone piece, this Bolles agreement ensures he will continue to be the leading man on this unit for a while.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Bill Belichick’s UNC Contract Details Emerge
Bill Belichick shocked the football world when he accepted a position as the head coach of the University of North Carolina’s football program.
As a state employee at a public university, Belichick’s contract is available in the public record, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. It includes $10MM per year – $1MM in base salary and $9MM in “supplemental income” – for a period of five years, the first three of which are guaranteed. That translates to a five-year, $50MM contract with $30MM guaranteed, a considerable drop from the $25MM per year Belichick was rumored to earn at the end of his tenure with the Patriots.
Belichick can also receive up to $3.5MM per year in bonuses tied to the Tar Heels’ regular season record, appearances and victories in the ACC Championship, bowl games, and the College Football Playoffs, and placement in the final CFP poll of the season. Bonus incentives also include Coach of the Year awards and the team’s academic performance.
The contract also includes a buyout that Belichick can exercise for $10MM, which drops to $1MM after June 1, 2025. That particular language is meant to dissuade the longtime NFL coach from returning to the pros during this offseason’s hiring cycle.
Belichick’s demands to join the Tar Heels also included additional funding for his staff, which is reflected in the deal. He will have $10MM for assistant coaches, $1MM for strength staff, $5.3MM for support staff (including a new general manager), and an additional $13MM as “revenue sharing,” per USA Today’s Steve Birkowitz.
Belichick also received a number of personal considerations in his contract, including $100k in annual expenses, membership at Chapel Hill Country Club, and the right to retain his “outside income opportunities.” That includes his appearances on the Manningcast and The Pat McAfee Show, per The News & Observer’s Andrew Carter. Not only will Belichick continue his presence in football media, he’ll now bring additional visibility to his new football program.
The contract reflects Belichick’s desire for complete, Patriots-like control over the Tar Heels’ football program, as well as North Carolina’s concern that Belichick could jump ship back to the NFL if the opportunity arises. He received little interest from the league this past offseason and was not expected to be a top candidate in 2025. Belichick could still attempt an NFL comeback after the 2025 season, but he will be 73 at that point. A return to the NFL at that age would be unprecedented; the oldest hire in history was Bruce Arians at 66 years old in 2019, and Andy Reid is the oldest current coach at the same age.
For now, Belichick seems focused on his new job at the school where his father once coached. He will look to forge a new legacy at North Carolina and cement his status as one of the greatest coaches in the history of the sport.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/12/24
Here are the latest practice squad moves from around the NFL:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: WR Jakeem Grant
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: OT Braeden Daniels