Jaguars, LT Walker Little Agree To Extension
The Jaguars have agreed to a three-year, $45MM extension with left tackle Walker Little, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first to report. The deal, which features $26MM in guaranteed money, will keep Little under club control through 2027.
Little, 25, was selected by Jacksonville in the second round of the 2021 draft and saw just six regular season starts over his first two professional seasons. However, three of those games — along with two more postseason appearances as a starter — came at the end of the Jaguars’ exciting 2022 campaign, when the club rallied to a playoff berth and won a memorable wildcard round bout against the Chargers. Little’s efforts during that stretch earned the praise of quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
This season, speaking shortly after the Jags traded longtime LT Cam Robinson to the Vikings (thereby paving the way for Little), Lawrence said, “[Little] had to come in, in ‘22 when Cam got hurt, and finish the season when we were on that run. We didn’t skip a beat because he was prepared, and he prepared every day like a starter. … [H]e’s more than ready and he’s done a great job. I’m excited for him. I’ve got all the faith in the world, and he’s played great so far” (h/t John Shipley of SI.com).
Little received extensive work in 2023 thanks in large part to Robinson’s PED suspension and subsequent knee injury (though some of Little’s action came at left guard). In 14 games (11 starts), Little was flagged for seven penalties and yielded 26 total pressures, seven of which got home for sacks. That amounted to a middling 58.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which positioned him as the 58th-best tackle out of 81 qualifiers.
Now the unquestioned starter at left tackle in the wake of this year’s Robinson trade, Little has started each of the Jags’ last four games and has allowed just one sack and three QB hits during that time. PFF has assigned him a strong 67.9 overall mark for his 2024 work, and his performance to date has convinced Jacksonville brass that Little is the right player to protect Lawrence’s blind side for the foreseeable future.
Naturally, GM Trent Baalke was “heavily involved” in the Little negotiations, as Schefter confirms. Of course, Baalke is very much on the hot seat, so it is at least notable that he is making major decisions that will impact the long-term future of the Jaguars. A rival executive tells Schefter that the Little extension is a sign that Baalke is planning to remain with the club, though Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle throws some cold water on that notion. As Branch reminds us, Baalke authorized a five-year, $35MM deal for tight end Vance McDonald in December 2016, when Baalke was serving as GM of the 49ers. Baalke was fired less than a month later.
Regardless of what it means for Baalke’s future, Little’s new contract likely takes the 2-9 Jaguars out of the running for an offensive tackle when they make their first pick of the 2025 draft, as ESPN’s Field Yates posits.
Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence Carted Off, Ruled Out With Concussion
Trevor Lawrence‘s return to the lineup has come to an abrupt end. Jacksonville’s quarterback was carted off the field following a hit from Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (video link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). 
Lawrence has since been ruled out of the game with a concussion. Al-Shaair was ejected from the contest, and the matter of whether or not he faces supplemental discipline will be worth watching closely over the coming days. In the meantime, the Jaguars will move forward without their starting quarterback once again.
By the start of the current campaign, Lawrence had only missed one game due to injury. The former No. 1 pick suffered an AC joint sprain in his non-throwing shoulder during Jacksonville’s Week 9 contest, though, and that left him sidelined through to Jacksonville’s bye week. As expected, Lawrence managed to return to action today, but a head injury suffered in the closing weeks of a 2-9 season may represent his last action in 2024.
Prior to suiting up for Sunday’s contest, Lawrence acknowledged that surgery on his shoulder was a possibility (albeit one he preferred to avoid given how it would shut him down for the remainder of the season). Jacksonville is not in playoff contention, so taking a cautious approach would not have come as a surprise with respect to his shoulder. Now, the team may opt to keep the Clemson product on the sidelines for the rest of the year. At a minimum, more missed time should be expected.
Lawrence joined the growing list of quarterbacks attached to monster extensions this offseason, signing a five-year, $275MM deal. Given the nature of Jacksonville’s commitment to him, it would come as no surprise if a stint on injured reserve were to be explored. That would entail at least a four-game absence, something which could in turn lend itself to Lawrence remaining unavailable until 2025.
Jacksonville will once again turn to backup Mac Jones at quarterback. The former Patriots first-rounder did not impress during his two starts when Lawrence was previously sidelined, but this latest injury will give him another opportunity to deliver a strong showing. Doing so would help Jones’ value as a pending free agent.
Patriots Rumors: Strange, Robinson, Peppers
Patriots interior offensive lineman Cole Strange has yet to make his 2024 season debut, but when he does, it may not be in the same position he has been playing for New England in the early years of his career. Though the team designated Strange to return from the reserve/physically unable to perform list back on November 20, he has been unable to be activated to date. Despite the delay, head coach Jerod Mayo claims that “the plan remains for Strange to play this season,” per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
The 2022 first-round pick has started 27 games in his first two seasons with the team, all at left guard. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt has insisted that upon his return, Strange will get looks at all three interior positions. Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald provided the report that Strange would be tried at left guard, center, and right guard over the next few weeks. Kyed later provided an update that the focus will be moving Strange to center.
Here are a few other rumors coming out of New England:
- The Patriots have been starting Michael Jordan at left guard, but after waiving the veteran lineman and signing him to the practice squad this week, it became apparent that a change was in the works. Reiss was the first to report early this morning that replacing Jordan in the starting lineup today would be fourth-round rookie Layden Robinson. The Texas A&M-product played only right guard in college and in the first six starts of his career this year, but Jordan’s demotion opened the door for Robinson to make a move on the left guard position. With little to play for in the rest of this season, New England will have a chance to evaluate whether or not Robinson has a future on the left side of the line.
- The latest on the domestic violence charges facing Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers came last week. Per Reiss, the hearing for the case was completed on November 22. The next key date for the case will reportedly be a jury trial set for January 22.
NFL Contract Notes: Henry, Barkley, Smith, Reddick, Hubbard
Ravens running back Derrick Henry has been enjoying a phenomenal first season in Baltimore. The team signed him to a two-year, $16MM deal that saw him receive $9MM in cash in the first year. Henry’s deal also came with five $500K incentives.
His incentives are maxed out at $2MM, so he can only cash in on four of those five incentives, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. So far this year, Henry has hit on three incentives: 1,200 rushing yards, 13 total touchdowns, and 15 total touchdowns.
The remaining two incentives would require him to reach 1,500 rushing yards or would require the team to win the Super Bowl. While the Ravens still have a ways to go in order to get to the big game, Henry only needs 93 yards in the team’s final four games in order to max out his incentives.
Here are a few other contract notes from around the NFL:
- Eagles running back Saquon Barkley also is tracking down some incentives. Smartly, none of Barkley’s incentives revolve around rushing touchdowns, thanks to the infamous “tush push,” per Garafolo and Ian Rapoport. Barkley will earn $250K if he reaches 1,500 scrimmage yards (he’s 36 yards away from that total after today’s game in Baltimore) and an additional $250K if he reaches 2,000. Additionally, each incentive acts as an escalator for next year’s base salary, adding a potential $1MM to his total contract value. He also would receive $250K for a second-team All-Pro or Pro Bowl selection and $500K for a first-team All-Pro selection. That incentive would act as an escalator for next year, as well. Lastly, Barkley would earn $250K each for victories in the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl.
- Jets left tackle Tyron Smith may have just been placed on injured reserve, but his health up to that point had been paying dividends. His recent injury history required him to settle for a heavily incentivized contract with only $6.5MM in base salary and $12MM in playing time incentives. By playing every snap through nine games, Smith essentially qualified for the 50% of offensive snaps threshold that earns him $2.75MM. Every additional game after that would essentially net him an additional $1MM, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini, with the final five games being worth $1.25MM per week. Unfortunately, he only fit one game in before moving to IR. He could make his way back to earn a couple more incentives, but New York may prefer to get an extended look at their tackle of the future, Olu Fashanu, instead.
- Also in New York, pass rusher Haason Reddick still has an opportunity to earn some playing time incentives after ending his holdout, per Cimini. Through the four games (before today) Reddick has appeared in, he has played 179 of 275 defensive snaps, good for about 43 percent. If he can keep that percentage over 40, he’ll earn a $791,628 incentive bonus, but his last two games have seen him only play 37 percent of the team’s snaps, so that bonus may be in danger. Reddick could also earn a $500K bonus if he reaches eight sacks, but with only 0.5 sacks through five games with only five more remaining, that incentive feels out of reach.
- Lastly, we saw the Panthers reward running back Chuba Hubbard with a recent four-year, $33.2MM extension. Per our friends at OvertheCap.com, the deal comes with a signing bonus of $7.71MM and only sees the first year’s base salary guaranteed.
NFC Injury Updates: Warner, Wright, Paschal
49ers linebacker Fred Warner is having an outstanding season, grading out as the best linebacker in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The veteran’s impressive display is happening despite an apparent injury.
According to Nick Wagoner of ESPN, Warner recently reported that he’s been dealing with a fractured bone in his ankle. The injury reportedly occurred in a matchup with the Patriots, which took place all the way back on September 29. This means that Warner has been playing through the injury for eight weeks with only the bye week as respite.
Warner doesn’t expect to miss anytime, planning to continue to play through the injury. “Anytime you fracture a bone, if you just continue to play on it, the bone is usually not going to be able to heal itself. So (I) just (have) got to continue to just fight through.”
Here are a few other updates on injuries across the NFC:
- The Bears were dealt a number of blows during Thursday’s Thanksgiving game. The most concerning of these blows was a knee injury that saw right tackle Darnell Wright carted off the field, per Gene Chamberlain of Sports Illustrated. Luckily, the mid-week game gives Chicago ten days to rest and recover, but the location of the injury is troublesome as Wright’s only missed time this year (three weeks ago) came as a result of a knee injury. It will be something to watch for in early injury reports when the team attends practice this week under new interim head coach Thomas Brown.
- The Lions cannot afford to lose any more bodies on the defensive line. There was initially some concern that defensive end Josh Paschal might be in trouble after suffering a non-contact knee injury on Thursday, but things are looking up. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, “Paschal’s knee injury is not believed to be serious.” He will likely require some physical rehabilitation, but the injury will not be a season-ending one, as was initially feared.
Lions’ Ray Agnew Expected To Receive GM Interviews
As the 2024 season has shown, Lions general manager Brad Holmes has enjoyed a successful run in charge of the franchise. One of his top assistants might soon receive opportunities to lead a front office of his own, however.
[RELATED: OC Ben Johnson Open To Remaining With Lions In 2025]
Ray Agnew – who has served as an assistant GM under Holmes since 2021 – is expected to be on the interview radar of interested teams during the 2025 cycle, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports. Agnew followed Holmes from the Rams to the Lions. He has remained a key front office figure ever since.
Agnew’s playing career lasted from 1990-2000, and it included time with the Rams for their Super Bowl XXXIV-winning team. He first worked with the Jets on the personnel side before spending time with the Rams from 2017-20. He held the title of pro personnel director during that span, and his success in that role made him a logical candidate to take on increased responsibilities under Holmes in Detroit.
The Lions have built one of the league’s top rosters over recent years, with one of the key moves in that regard of course being the Matthew Stafford–Jared Goff swap. Detroit has a number of other foundational players on both sides of the ball, many of whom received extensions during the offseason (or during the year, in the case of running back David Montgomery). Defenders like Aidan Hutchinson and Brian Branch have been added through the draft, and they represent future extension priorities. Replacing Agnew’s contributions during the Holmes era would represent a notable challenge for the Lions if he were to depart.
One general manager vacancy is in place for now, with the Jets having moved on from Joe Douglas. New York has brought in Mike Tannenbaum and Rick Spielman to assist with the process of finding his replacement. It will be interesting to see if the team looks into first-year GM candidates, something which could leave Agnew as an option. If not, the 56-year-old could still be a name to watch for other openings this winter.
Chiefs Considered Donovan Smith Reunion; Marquise Brown December Return In Play?
DECEMBER 1: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports Brown has an appointment with his surgeon scheduled for Week 15. It is at that point he could receive full clearance, paving the way for a return to practice. Brown could be an option to play late in the regular season, but at a minimum he appears to be on track to be available during the playoffs.
NOVEMBER 27: Bolstered by a strong interior O-line trio for the past four seasons, the Chiefs have seen their tackle situation deteriorate. The perennial contenders have not exactly presented stability at either tackle spot since left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.‘s free agency defection, with 2023 free agency addition Jawaan Taylor not panning out at right tackle, either.
Tied to a $20MM-per-year deal that features a guaranteed 2025 salary, Taylor continues to start at RT. The Chiefs may be on the verge of using a third LT starter soon. They signed longtime Cardinals blindside blocker D.J. Humphries last week, shortly after the 10th-year veteran was cleared from ACL rehab, passing on a reunion with Donovan Smith in doing so.
[RELATED: Isiah Pacheco, Charles Omenihu Expected To Play In Week 13]
The Chiefs turned to Smith shortly after the 2023 draft, adding him as a plug-and-play left tackle. Kansas City considered bringing Smith back to help its tackle situation, according to The Athletic’s Nate Taylor, but ended up preferring Humphries (subscription required). Describing the two-time defending champs’ LT move as a “close call” between Humphries and Smith, Taylor adds the Chiefs are hoping the former will be ready to start either in Week 14 (against the Chargers) or Week 15 (vs. the Browns). Smith remains a free agent.
No talk of Humphries being a high-profile insurance policy for the ineffective Wanya Morris–Kingsley Suamataia tandem appears taking place, as it certainly looks like Humphries was signed to start. Patrick Mahomes has been sacked 15 times over the past four games, including five times by a Panthers team that did not exactly invested much in its pass rush post-Brian Burns. While OC Matt Nagy said (via ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher) Humphries will not be thrown into the fire immediately, the expectation will be the soon-to-be 31-year-old tackle will become the Chiefs’ blindside starter before the regular seasons ends.
Injuries have been a problem for Humphries throughout his career. Prior to the ACL tear sustained in Week 17 of last season, the eight-year Cardinals starter missed nine games in 2022 (with a back injury). He missed 11 games in 2017 and seven in 2018 as well. A productive midcareer stretch — one that booked him two Arizona extensions — followed, but Kansas City is effectively rolling the dice here. Smith, 30, missed five starts last season and four in 2022; the former Buccaneers LT bastion also only missed two combined games over his first seven seasons.
Holding a Suamataia-Morris position battle throughout the offseason, the Chiefs had not planned to bring back Smith, who played out a one-year, $9MM deal in 2023. It will certainly be interesting to see how much Humphries can help, as inexperience will no longer be an issue at that position once the rehabbed LT is ready to play.
On the subject of players returning from injury, the Chiefs continue to express optimism on Marquise Brown. Rumored to be sidelined throughout at least the regular season, the free agency addition has generated hope he will play before the season ends. Now, Taylor adds the Chiefs are aiming for Brown to begin practicing by mid-December. This would not look to mean Brown will be playing in games by then, as it sounds like the Chiefs will attempt to take advantage of the three-week IR-return window.
If Brown returns by mid-December, the Chiefs could aim to slow-play his comeback from shoulder surgery until the divisional round. Given the Bills’ momentum and two-score win over the Chiefs in Week 11, the latter’s threepeat bid involving a bye is far from a lock. But the Chiefs remain the AFC leaders, at 10-1, and could give Brown a month to ramp up before a Round 2 return. Granted, Kansas City would surely be interested in the former first-round pick coming back sooner to establish some semblance of a rapport with Mahomes, but considering the reports of how long Brown would need to be out, the organization holding out hope for a playoff re-emergence would line up with the timeline.
The Chiefs have featured uneven receiving situations in each of the past two seasons. While DeAndre Hopkins has provided some support, the potential Hall of Famer has been inconsistent early in his Chiefs run. The team had aimed to have a Brown-Rashee Rice–Xavier Worthy trio, but Brown and Rice’s injuries nixed that. Rice is out for the season, while Worthy has proven unreliable thus far. Brown coming back would add a proven veteran to the mix, which would stand to help a team that has seen Travis Kelce show glaring signs of a decline this season.
Bengals Demote G Cordell Volson
Cordell Volson had served as a full-time starter up to this point in his Bengals career. The third-year left guard is no longer a first-team option along the interior, however. 
Cincinnati has replaced Volson with Cody Ford at the left guard spot beginning with today’s contest against Pittsburgh. Volson was healthy for each game during the 2022 and ’23 campaigns, logging every offensive snap during that span. He remained a first-team option this year through the team’s first 11 games, but Ford recently had the opportunity to handle left tackle duties in place of Orlando Brown Jr.
Ford’s PFF grades during that stretch left much to be desired, but he did not allow a sack while stepping in at left tackle. Brown is now healthy, leaving the Bengals with the option of returning Ford to backup duties or demoting Volson. The latter path has been taken for the time being as Cincinnati looks to remain productive on offense as part of a playoff push.
Selected in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, Volson graded out as PFF’s 64th-ranked guard during his rookie campaign. The following season saw a step forward (42nd out of 79 qualifiers), but it certainly left plenty of room for improvement. To date in 2024, Volson sits just 53rd in PFF grade with a 58.4 mark. Ford has not delivered demonstrably better figures over the course of his career – one in which he has seen time at both tackle spots as well as left and right guard – but he will get a look for at least a short-term stretch.
In Volson’s case, this demotion is notable from a financial perspective. The 26-year-old will first be eligible for an extension this offseason, and continuing his run of logging every snap would have have helped his chances of landing a new deal. Instead, his play once he is next on the field will be key in determining his value.
Ford, meanwhile, is a pending free agent since he is playing on his second straight one-year Bengals pact. The former second-rounder is attached to the veteran minimum for his base salary this season, but holding onto a full-time starting spot down the stretch would help his ability to secure a raise in 2025.
Lions Sign S Jamal Adams
Shortly after signing linebacker Kwon Alexander, the Lions are adding another former Pro Bowler in the hopes of strengthening their injury-ravaged defense. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Detroit is signing safety Jamal Adams to the practice squad with the intention of elevating him to the active roster in short order.
Adams, 29, was cut by the Titans in October, a move that the player himself requested. He had just signed with Tennessee in July, but he appeared in a grand total of 20 snaps with the team before landing on the reserve/non-football injury list with a hip ailment. His placement on that list coincided with reports of his discontent regarding his playing time, and he was granted his release shortly thereafter.
The Jets made Adams the No. 6 overall pick of the 2017 draft, and the LSU product delivered on his draft pedigree by earning Pro Bowl acclaim in his second and third professional seasons. Understandably, he angled for a lucrative contract extension when he first became eligible after the end of the 2019 campaign, but the lack of an offer and the fact that he had been dangled in trade talks in advance of the 2019 trade deadline irked him, and he formally requested a trade in June 2020. A month later, the Jets obliged and sent Adams to the Seahawks in exchange for a package headlined by two first-round draft picks.
After a productive debut season in Seattle, in which he set a DB record with 9.5 sacks, Adams was rewarded with a four-year, $70MM deal prior to the 2021 season. That was a record-setting mark for safeties at the time, but Adams’ career fell off track shortly after signing the contract. Over the 2021-23 seasons, he appeared in a total of 22 games due to injury, and his salary cap charges made him an obvious release candidate this year. The Seahawks cut ties in March, though the club subsequently expressed interest in a reunion on a less expensive deal.
If Seattle had re-signed Adams, it had hoped to deploy him as a linebacker. That would not have been too different than the in-the-box safety role he generally filled during his time with the ‘Hawks, but player and team could not come to terms on a second accord, and Adams eventually headed to Nashville.
After failing to make an impact with the Titans, Adams will now try to resuscitate his career with the Lions. Although Detroit has posted an 11-1 record in 2024, the club has dealt with a number of key injuries on the defensive side of the ball. Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu is back on IR for the time being, so Adams could offer safety depth behind the the starting tandem of Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch.
Interestingly, the Lions’ LB corps has been hit especially hard by injury (hence the Alexander acquisition). Perhaps Detroit will ask Adams to operate more on the second level of the defense — just as Seattle had planned to do — and/or to rotate in as a pass rusher.
49ers’ Brock Purdy To Return In Week 13; Trent Williams Still Out
DECEMBER 1: Purdy will suit up for the 49ers’ Week 13 game against the Bills today, as Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group reports. Per Inman and Schefter, Purdy was a full participant in practice over the last two days and did not experience any setbacks. As ESPN’s Dan Graziano notes, the Niners were surprised that Purdy’s shoulder injury was serious enough to keep him out of game action last week (subscription required), but the team was obviously correct in its belief that its QB1’s absence would be brief.
The news is not so good for Williams. Matt Barrows of The Athletic reported earlier this week that the left tackle was using a scooter to move around the locker room, and that even walking has been painful for him. Williams has been ruled out for Week 13.
NOVEMBER 24: A successful UCL rehab led to Brock Purdy not missing any time due to injury last season, but the 49ers’ starting quarterback is out for the team’s Week 12 matchup with the Packers today. It is not yet certain Purdy will return in Week 13, but the team views it as likely.
An injury to the blossoming passer’s throwing shoulder will keep him out in Green Bay, though no IR stint should be expected. The 49ers believe Purdy will be ready to play against the Bills next week, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter notes, as a high level of concern is not present. While a return after one absence would help put Purdy back on track — as offseason extension talks are expected — the 49ers are in a difficult spot presently.
Also hopeful (per Schefter) Trent Williams will play today, the 49ers will face the 7-3 Packers without their other two most important players. Nick Bosa is also out, dealing with hip and oblique injuries. The 49ers will face the 9-2 Bills on Sunday night next week. Although the defending NFC champions have two more NFC West games left, they also host the surging Lions in Week 17. Williams is battling an ankle injury and did not practice this week. One of five All-Pros on San Francisco’s offense, the future Hall of Famer certainly would be vital to protecting Purdy’s backup.
As Brandon Allen prepares for his first start since Week 17 of the 2021 season — when Bengals HC Zac Taylor rested starters — ESPN’s FPI gives the 49ers just a 21.5% chance to make the playoffs. Allen, 32, has not made more than one start in a season since 2020. The 49ers added him shortly after the 2023 draft, and Sam Darnold beating out Trey Lance for the backup job last year keyed the trade with the Cowboys and Allen rising to the No. 3 role. Darnold’s offseason Vikings defection bumped him to the No. 2 job, and Josh Dobbs will back up the former sixth-round pick today.
Following Jalen Hurts in going toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes in a Super Bowl, Purdy has established himself as the 49ers’ unquestioned starter. He ranks fifth in QBR this season and in 2023 became the first passer to average at least 9.6 yards per attempt over a full season since the 1950s. Although some rumblings around the league have suggested a Kirk Cousins trade as a contingency plan in case the 49ers become leery of giving a former seventh-round pick a contract at or near the Dak Prescott rate, Purdy is expected to secure a top-market salary in 2025.