Giants Intend To Start Tommy DeVito In Week 13
The start of the post-Daniel Jones era did not go well for the Giants. The team’s lopsided Week 12 loss will not lead to another change on the quarterback depth chart, however. 
Head coach Brian Daboll said after Sunday’s 30-7 loss that Tommy DeVito will get the start on Thanksgiving if healthy. DeVito was forced to briefly exit the game during New York’s final drive before returning. His status will be worth watching closely over the coming days, but Daboll said on Monday (via NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo) he is “hopeful” DeVito will be available on a quick turnaround.
Jones was benched in the wake of New York’s loss against Carolina in Munich. That move did not come as a total surprise given the Giants’ record and the looming 2025 injury guarantee in Jones’ pact. Eyebrows were raised, though, when it was DeVito – not Drew Lock – who got the nod for Week 12. Lock had dressed as the backup all season, with DeVito serving as New York’s emergency third quarterback.
Lock inked a one-year, $5MM deal in free agency to operate as the Giants’ QB2. Despite that, Jones’ benching paved the way for DeVito to return to the lineup after he stepped in late in 2023. The former UDFA posted underwhelming numbers during his audition period last year, and on Sunday he threw for 189 scoreless yards at an average of 6.1 yards per attempt. He has the backing of the coaching staff, however, and Garafolo reports DeVito himself believes he will be at full strength for Thanksgiving’s contest against the Cowboys.
With the Giants sitting at 2-9 on the year, they are on track to have the chance to draft a new franchise passer this spring. Their spot in the order will depend in part on their showings over the coming weeks, including DeVito’s ability to lead the offense to improved performances compared to Sunday. A matchup with Dallas could provide a strong opportunity to do so, but struggles could give Daboll increased incentive to turn to Lock.
Plenty of speculation has been tied to the future of Daboll and Giants general manager Joe Schoen, although both could remain in place through the offseason. The decision to start DeVito had previously been tied to the potential of Daboll being on the hot seat, but for at least the time being that move is on track to be repeated.
Brandon Graham Suffers Triceps Tear
Brandon Graham made Eagles history this year, becoming the first player in franchise history to suit up for a 15th season with the franchise. The 36-year-old edge rusher also made an impact in Sunday night’s game, but it is now expected to be his last this season — and potentially his final NFL contest.
Following the game, Graham said (via ESPN.com’s Tim McManus) he suffered a triceps tear. This injury regularly shelves players for extended periods, and while it may be slightly premature to deem Graham done for the season, he went as far as to proclaim his campaign is over.
While this injury comes for an Eagles team that just lost Bryce Huff for a period due to a wrist injury. Huff landed on IR this week but is expected back later this season. For the time being, an Eagles team flush with D-end investments will be shorthanded.
As for Graham, it is fair to speculate on whether Sunday night will be his NFL finale. The Eagles have continued to sign the 2010 first-round pick to one-year contracts, and he put off retirement to play a 15th season this year. Graham said this offseason he would retire after the 2024 season, though he did not confirm that when asked postgame.
Graham left the Eagles’ Week 12 win over the Rams during the fourth quarter. He sacked Matthew Stafford once and compiled three QB hits in Philadelphia’s convincing road victory. If Graham’s season is over, he finishes with 3.5 sacks and seven QB hits in 11 games. The Eagles have Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith still healthy on the edge, and the team drafted Jalyx Hunt in Round 3 this year. The Eagles regularly pour premium assets into their lines, but the 9-2 team is now down two regulars.
The Eagles re-upped Graham on a one-year, $4MM deal in March. This came when the club’s “Core Four” split via the retirements of Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox. Graham and Lane Johnson remain, though it has been expected the quartet would lose another member after this season. Steve Smith famously put off retirement because he suffered an injury in what was to be his exit year (2015), but it remains to be seen how Graham will handle his own late-career setback.
Drafted before the other three core Eagles linemen, Graham has 79 sacks for his career. This does not include the Super Bowl LII takedown of Tom Brady, a forced fumble that became one of the most iconic plays in Eagles history. The sequence led to the Eagles staving off the Patriots and winning their lone Super Bowl and celebrating their first championship since 1960.
Graham has started 106 games but has settled in as a rotational rusher, accumulating a career-high 11 sacks during the 2022 season — an NFC championship campaign that nearly broke the 1984 Bears’ single-season sack record of 72. The Eagles finished with 70 sacks that year. Tonight marked the Michigan alum’s 206th as an Eagle — 13 more than the next-closest player (Kelce). Graham broke Chuck Bednarik‘s mark by playing a 15th season with the franchise.
Philly let Haason Reddick seek a trade, preceding what turned out to be a messy year for the accomplished sack artist, and Sweat is due for free agency in 2025. The team has Graham in place as an apparent stopgap, given his offseason retirement comments, and Huff has seen his role diminish despite signing a three-year, $51.1MM deal. It will be interesting to see how Philly goes about reassembling its pass-rushing puzzle following its two recent setbacks, and monitoring Graham’s future plans — which appear less clear now — will be necessary in the coming months.
Jets Expected To Target Experience In GM, HC Searches
Since Bill Parcells stepped down nearly 25 years ago, the Jets have leaned toward first-time head coaches. Woody Johnson‘s ownership tenure has featured seven HC hires; only one has been a retread. As they navigate another disappointing season and the slew of negative press that has come with it, the Jets look to be aiming in different direction.
Gang Green wants experience at both the HC and GM spots, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. Although second-chance GMs are not overly common in today’s NFL (only two — Tom Telesco, Trent Baalke — are currently in place), retread HCs are.
[RELATED: Woody Johnson-Aaron Rodgers Drama Overblown?]
Thus far in Johnson’s tenure, only one (Adam Gase) signed on to be the Jets’ HC. And that came while Christopher Johnson was serving as acting owner. One experienced HC candidate, however, has thrown his hat in the ring already. Eager to return to the league, ESPN’s Rex Ryan — the Jets’ HC from 2009-14 — wants to return to the Jets. Ryan has not coached since the Bills fired him late in his second season.
With Woody Johnson still mentioned as returning to his role as ambassador to the United Kingdom during the second Donald Trump administration, Christopher may need to play a central role in another hire. Christopher was in charge when the Jets hired Gase (2019) and Robert Saleh (2021), but Woody will lead the searches now. The Jets want to launch their GM search now, per Jones, though they cannot interview any HC or GM candidates currently on NFL staffs until the regular season ends. For the most part, that will stall searches.
Although Jones adds the Jets are likely to have an advisor helping steer these hires without going as far as using a search firm, the obvious question of HC/GM aspirants’ willingness to work for the franchise comes up. Woody Johnson impeded since-fired GM Joe Douglas at many stops. He was believed to have blocked a substantial effort to add a quarterback following Aaron Rodgers‘ Achilles tear last year; a year later, the owner suggested Saleh’s staff bench the four-time MVP after Week 4. Johnson also stonewalled Douglas on a Jerry Jeudy trade and meddled on the Bryce Huff and Haason Reddick contract fronts.
This has not been a good year for Johnson, whose team will undoubtedly extend the longest active NFL playoff drought to 14 seasons soon. A habit of listening to non-football staffers has added to Johnson’s list of shortcomings, and Sportskeeda.com’s Tony Pauline adds the 77-year-old owner is not well regarded in most aspects around the league. The consensus in the aftermath of the Douglas ouster has been for the criticized owner to hire a presence to check his meddling, but staffers around the NFL do not expect Jets ownership to cede that much power.
As Douglas had expressed a disenchantment with Johnson for years, per Pauline, the Jets may need to dole out a higher salary to replace their six-year GM. The team is believed to be prepared to pay well, Jones adds, but it certainly would surprise if this job was at the top of most candidates’ lists. Rodgers boosting the Jets to a worse draft pick would also hinder the next set of Jet decision-makers, though it is now viewed as likely the team sits its high-profile QB — via IR or a straight-up benching — soon ahead of an expected 2025 divorce.
Woody Johnson’s anticipated departure for an ambassador post would stand to help mitigate the meddling issues that have resurfaced in recent days, but Christopher Johnson is not exactly a highly regarded football presence, either. The Jets will be tasked with adding another quarterback to lead what is still viewed as a talented roster.
The latter component will be a top selling point for the Johnsons, who have failed on the QB front with both veterans (Rodgers, Brett Favre) and with every rookie prospect — save for some early-career Mark Sanchez work — since Chad Pennington. After a wildly disappointing season, how Jets ownership goes about convincing quality HC and GM candidates to sign up will be one of the offseason carousels’ top storylines.
Raiders’ Gardner Minshew Out For Season
Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew suffered a season-ending broken collarbone against the Broncos in Week 12, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.
Minshew left the game in the fourth quarter after being sacked by Cody Barton and Jonathon Cooper. Desmond Ridder finished the game at quarterback for the Raiders, completing five of his 10 passing attempts for 64 yards and a 70.4 passer rating.
Las Vegas will now have to decide between Ridder and 2023 fourth-rounder Aidan O’Connell as their starting quarterback next week. O’Connell is still on injured reserve after a broken thumb suffered in October, but he is eligible to return this week. He is likely the team’s preferred choice – the Raiders only signed Ridder after O’Connell’s injury – but his original return timeline was expected to be four to six weeks.
O’Connell’s practice availability will be a major indicator of his potential to play in Week 13, but he will have less time than usual to prepare with the Raiders playing the Chiefs on Friday. If he is designated to return to practice this week, he should be able to start. However, if there are any setbacks – or if O’Connell’s thumb is simply not healed yet – then Ridder will start under center in Kansas City with practice squad quarterback Carter Bradley likely to be elevated for backup duties.
As for Minshew, he will spend the rest of the season on the sidelines, waiting for his collarbone to heal so he can work his way back to full strength. He signed a two-year, $25MM deal with the Raiders this offseason but won just two of his eight starts with 178 completions on 264 attempts for 1,783 yards with more interceptions (nine) than touchdowns (eight). His $14MM cap hit in 2025 is reasonable for a potential starting quarterback, but Las Vegas may be in search of long-term stability at the position. If O’Connell performs well to close out the year, he may get a shot as a full-time starter next year. If not, the Raiders should be well-positioned to select a top quarterback prospect in the 2025 draft.
Just $3.16MM of Minshew’s 2025 salary is guaranteed, so the Raiders could save $9.34MM in cap space with a post-June 1 cut, leaving dead cap hits of $4.66MM and $3MM in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
Minshew’s injury will naturally stir speculation that the Raiders could sign Daniel Jones, who was officially waived by the Giants on Saturday. Multiple reports listed Las Vegas as a potential destination for Jones even before Minshew went down. Those rumors will likely intensify with Minshew sidelined, though it’s worth noting that Jones would reportedly rather join a team contending for a postseason berth, not a top-10 pick in next April’s draft.
Giants Expected To Retain GM Joe Schoen; Brian Daboll On Steady Ground?
The past few offseasons have featured momentous swing-and-miss transactions on quarterbacks. The Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson moves proved the most costly, but they did not (as of yet, at least) lead to GM firings. A spotlight on how the Giants’ ill-fated Daniel Jones contract will impact their current regime is shining, but New York is still only expected to feature one GM vacancy this offseason.
With a third of the season to go, the Giants are still looking to stand pat with Joe Schoen. The third-year GM is not on track to follow Joe Douglas to the chopping block, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. Although a recent report pegged Brian Daboll as coaching for his job over the homestretch, Schoen may be on steadier ground.
Mara said in October he did not envision Schoen or Daboll being booted before season’s end or in 2025, but the Giants have not won a game since those comments. While momentum for a third Joe Judge year surfaced before his eventual firing, Jones adds Daboll is also still presumed safe due to the owner wanting more stability.
The quick hooks given to Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur and Judge are benefiting Daboll, who has gone 8-19 since his 2022 Coach of the Year season. That 2022 showing led the Giants to pay Jones (four years, $160MM), and the team is set to eat the remainder of the QB’s guarantees at signing this year and then $22.2MM in prorated bonus money come 2025. Tommy DeVito will have a significant say in whether Daboll is brought back, and Mara’s past at GM would suggest Schoen is safer than Daboll.
Jerry Reese received an extended chance to return the Giants to contender status, as the two-time Super Bowl-winning GM oversaw four seasons without a playoff berth before the 2016 slate — one coming after a free agency splurge for defensive help — led to a return. Mara canned Reese and McAdoo after an Eli Manning benching late in the 2017 season, but Reese’s extended run preceded Dave Gettleman being given four full seasons; none of those brought a postseason berth. Schoen being dropped after three years, the first of which being viewed as a rebuild, would seem hasty by comparison.
Additionally, Jonathan Jones notes Mara’s involvement in Giants day-to-day operations made the owner well aware why the Giants paid Jones in 2023. This well-chronicled sequence eventually led Saquon Barkley to Philadelphia, and while Hard Knocks portrayed Mara as somber once the running back bolted this offseason, the Giants had long held a Jones-over-Barkley stance in 2023. Mara also stumped for Jones in 2022, proclaiming he would remain the starter despite struggles in prior years. The owner cited an inability to build a team around Jones back then, and although Schoen authorized the QB’s second contract, the owner being onboard with that move points to Schoen having a chance to acquire his own quarterback.
Schoen passed on the Michael Penix Jr.–J.J. McCarthy–Bo Nix trio to draft Malik Nabers this year, doing so after the Patriots rebuffed his Drake Maye-centered trade offer for No. 3 overall. This proved risky, as the 2025 QB class is not held in the same regard as this year’s crop. But Schoen was in Miami for the Hurricanes’ Wake Forest matchup, per Jones; Miami, of course, rosters one of next year’s top prospects in QB Cam Ward. The team has already been tied to Shedeur Sanders as well. With Ward and Sanders viewed as next year’s top two QB prospects, connections to the Giants should persist.
The Giants chose their last QB1 in what was viewed as a down draft, having passed on both Sam Darnold and Josh Allen (to take Barkley) in 2018. Unless the team would be OK with a veteran replacing Jones, it appears another dive into a maligned draft pool at the position is on tap. As it stands, it will be Schoen making that call.
Ravens Do Not Anticipate Major Role For Diontae Johnson
The Ravens were happy when they landed Diontae Johnson at the trade deadline, but the veteran wide receiver is not expected to step into a major role in Baltimore’s offense this season.
Johnson’s acquisition was more about value, versatility, and depth. The Ravens only had to give up a fifth-round pick for Johnson and a sixth-round pick from the Panthers, with Carolina eating most of the wideout’s remaining salary. Based on current draft pick projections, Baltimore essentially moved back about 20 spots in the 2025 draft to add Johnson to their roster, a pittance for a receiver with a career average of 54.3 yards per game.
The Ravens believed that Johnson was “too good a player to pass up” for such a low price, though they did not make the trade expecting Johnson to immediately slide into a starting role, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano. Instead, he provides veteran depth as insurance for injuries to Zay Flowers or Rashod Bateman while giving the Ravens “a chance to use more three-receiver sets than they usually do, should they want to go that route.”
Flowers and Bateman have been firmly entrenched as Baltimore’s starting wideouts this year with a healthy dose of heavy personnel looks on offense with fullback Patrick Ricard and tight ends Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, and Charlie Kolar. Johnson’s main path to more playing time is obvious passing downs that require three receivers, though the Ravens rely on their league-leading rushing attack with Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry to keep them out of such situations.
Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken hinted at the difficulty of working Johnson into the offense.
“It’s not easy for him,” said Monken. “We’re going to continue to try to find ways to get him on the field, but we haven’t really lost anybody, we’re doing pretty good with the guys we’ve got.”
Monken has a point: Baltimore leads the NFL with 4,731 yards and 7.0 yards per play this season, with significant gaps between them and the second-ranked teams. Johnson still has the talent to contribute, but the Ravens won’t go away from what’s worked this season.
Dave Canales: Bryce Young Will ‘Absolutely’ Start In Week 13
Panthers head coach Dave Canales emphatically backed quarterback Bryce Young after Sunday’s game, saying that the 2023 No. 1 overall pick will “absolutely” start in Week 13, per ESPN’s David Newton.
Young began the season as Carolina’s starting quarterback, but lost the job after just two weeks with a dismal combined statline of 31 completions on 56 attempts for just 245 yards with three interceptions and zero touchdowns. Andy Dalton took over under center, but sprained his thumb in a car accident in October, pressing Young back into a starting role in Week 8. He delivered his best game of the year with 224 passing yards and two touchdowns against the Broncos, earning him another start in Week 9, even though Dalton was healthy enough to play.
Young then led the Panthers to back-to-back victories to bring them to 3-7 ahead of their Week 11 bye, keeping him under center against Kansas City in Week 12. He put up a season-high 263 passing yards on Sunday and especially excelled against the blitz with 11 completions on 13 attempts for 135 yards and a touchdown, according to Newton.
Sunday’s performance earned Young an unusually strong backing from his head coach. Canales has typically waited at least 24 hours (and up to three days) before naming Young as the next week’s starter since Week 8, saying that he has to watch game film and consult his staff before making a decision. This time, Canales didn’t need any time to make up his mind.
In addition to winning over his head coach, Young seems to have earned the confidence of his teammates. Veteran offensive guard Robert Hunt was “fired up” by Young’s postgame speech in the locker room, a rare occurrence since he was drafted, per Newton.
Many expected Canales to kickstart Young’s development after his success with Geno Smith in Seattle and Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay. The benching may have eroded Young’s confidence initially, but his recent starts have the young quarterback trending in the right direction.
Aaron Rodgers-Woody Johnson Drama ‘Overblown’
Jets owner Woody Johnson‘s decision to fire head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas in back-to-back months has painted a picture of a dysfunctional franchise rife with drama in the front office and the locker room.
However, reports of tension between Johnson and Aaron Rodgers are “overblown,” according to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz, despite a recent bombshell that Johnson suggested benching his star quarterback earlier this season. The two have remained in communication throughout the recent turmoil with both men disappointed in the team’s performance thus far this season.
After losing all of the 2023 season due to an Achilles tear, Rodgers has struggled to stay fully healthy this year, landing on the injury report several times due to issues with his hamstring, knee, and ankle. The mercurial quarterback has still started every game this season, playing 98% of the Jets’ offensive snaps to date.
However, it remains unclear exactly how banged up Rodgers is. He has refused medical scans on his leg injuries to avoid revealing their severity so he can keep playing, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. His September 29 hamstring injury “was believed to be a particularly significant one,” but the 40-year-old insisted that it was not significant and refused to consider taking a game off to recover. A stint on injured reserve has been floated as a way to force Rodgers to heal from his injuries while allowing him to save face publicly.
Rodgers’ injury struggles in New York – which have led to one of the worst statistical seasons of his career – have stirred doubt about his future as a Jet. As recently as November 14, Rodgers has confirmed his desire to play in 2025, though he was noncommittal about returning to the Jets for a third season. He reportedly desires a more stable situation, which has not been applicable to the Jets for several years. However, it is fair to wonder how much Rodgers contributed to the Jets’ instability over the past two years, between the arduous process for his acquisition, his subsequent influence over team personnel decisions, and his struggles to remain healthy.
Most signs are pointing to a mutual parting of ways after this season, with league executives predicting that the Jets will designated Rodgers as a post-June 1 release during the offseason, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. The team’s new head coach and/or general manager may prefer to move on from Rodgers and look for a new quarterback around whom they can rebuild. Rodgers would then be a 41-year-old free agent coming off the worst two-year stretch of his career and may not draw as much interest compared to when he wanted to leave Green Bay.
Steelers Intend To Re-Sign Russell Wilson
NOVEMBER 24: Adding further on the point of a new Wilson deal only coming after the campaign is over, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports an agreement being worked out midseason would “complicate” the offsets present in Wilson’s 2024 compensation. The Broncos are on the hook for most of his earnings this season owing to the guarantees remaining on his Denver pact at the time he was released. With that in mind, Wilson’s market will indeed be determined entirely by his performance over the coming weeks.
NOVEMBER 21: Russell Wilson will turn 36 next week, and while the decorated quarterback has not been on the league’s top tier at the position for a bit, he has found some traction in Pittsburgh. The 13th-year veteran has established himself as the Steelers’ starter, and the team is not deviating from an aim it expressed upon acquiring him.
The Steelers had gone to notable lengths to assure Wilson he was the priority this offseason, with rumors about a second contract — despite the two-year Broncos starter having just signed his first with the team — coming out immediately after the Justin Fields trade commenced. Fields and Wilson remain free agents-to-be, and with the Steelers not changing their policy of not negotiating in-season to account for this unique situation, the team has some decisions to make early in the 2025 offseason.
Although Fields caught up with Wilson during training camp — to force a late-August Mike Tomlin call — and started the first six games due to the veteran’s nagging calf injury, Wilson has stayed healthy since the September setback. The former Super Bowl winner has not done anything to prompt the Steelers to change plans, with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac indicating the club intends to re-sign its current starter.
With the Steelers not changing their in-season negotiating policy — in place for 30-plus years — they have a narrow window to complete a second Wilson contract. How far Pittsburgh advances in the playoffs will shape that window, as 2025 UFAs will be free to speak with other teams beginning March 10. The franchise tag window opens Feb. 18, but like Baker Mayfield this past offseason, Wilson does not seem a true candidate to clog a team’s cap with a QB tag number (2024’s was $38.3MM) just so the Steelers can keep negotiating without outside interference. The March 10 deadline will apply here.
The Bucs re-signed Mayfield a day before this year’s legal tampering period, agreeing to a three-year deal worth $100MM. Mayfield being six years younger than Wilson complicates the latter’s path, though midlevel QB1 deals like Mayfield’s and those given to Derek Carr, Geno Smith and Daniel Jones could certainly be relevant. Smith’s three-year, $75MM Seahawks deal became team-friendly quickly, as he is the only quarterback with an AAV between $12.5MM and $33.3MM.
Wilson’s age makes that territory the Steelers will likely try to explore, though the potential Hall of Famer has a past as a shrewd negotiator. While Wilson’s fiercest negotiations came in Seattle, his Denver deal (five years, $245MM) has introduced a historically high hurdle for the Broncos to clear due to the record-setting dead money stretching to 2026. Wilson is tied to a veteran-minimum contract, as he had guaranteed money coming his way from Denver, with Pittsburgh.
Only making four starts with his new team before Thursday night’s game, Wilson has directed the Steelers to a 4-0 record. Starting off better than he did with the Broncos, Wilson has averaged 7.8 yards per attempt (60.3% completion rate) and thrown six touchdown passes compared to two interceptions. This is still a small sample size, but Pro-Football-Reference would rank Wilson 33rd in QBR (43.0) were he to have enough snaps to qualify. This is south of his 2023 Denver mark (50.7). The Steelers not negotiating in-season will allow for more data to emerge, as this probably will not be a simple negotiation assuming Wilson proves enough to be viewed as a 2025 starter.
The Steelers have not enjoyed quality QB play since before Ben Roethlisberger‘s 2019 elbow injury, with the Kenny Pickett plan backfiring quickly. How Wilson fares down the stretch will be a key NFL subplot, as Fields drifting to the backup level moves the 2021 draftee closer to free agency. Wilson and the Steelers’ price points will be fascinating, as the sides’ quest to find middle ground on a medium-term deal will be one of the 2025 offseason’s top storylines.
Lions’ Derrick Barnes: 2024 Return Possible
Derrick Barnes remains out of the lineup for Week 12 as he continues to recover from the knee injury he suffered in September. The fourth-year linebacker is in danger of missing the remainder of the campaign, but he has left the door open to a return in 2024. 
When speaking to the media, Barnes noted his knee suffered MCL and PCL damage, but added his ACL is intact. In the wake of that encouraging detail, the chance remains that his rehab could see him available to Detroit late in the regular season or in the playoffs. The 25-year-old is thus in a similar situation to teammate Aidan Hutchinson in terms of a return late in the campaign being an outside possibility.
“ACL was fine, so recovery obviously is shorter now than it would’ve been,” Barnes said (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “Thank God I woke up and he said he didn’t have to do anything with the ACL.”
Regardless of if Barnes manages to suit up again in 2024, his missed time will hurt his market value. That is especially notable since the former fourth-rounder is a pending free agent. Barnes acknowledged that shortly after the injury, he gave thought to the fact his rookie deal is set to expire this offseason. His attention for the time nonetheless being remains on his rehab process. Returning to the field would allow him to play at least a depth role at the second level of Detroit’s defense and help his case for a re-up in the spring.
Barnes saw a notable uptick in usage during the 2023 season, and after starting each of his three appearances this year he was expected to remain a key linebacking figure for the Lions. The team enters Sunday with a 9-1 record (good for top spot in the NFC), but that position has been hit with injuries. Alex Anzalone is currently sidelined with a broken forearm, an injury which prompted the addition of David Long. Getting Barnes back would provide another option at the LB spot, but Anzalone managing to return would help compensate if that turns out to be untenable.