HEADLINES

Landon Grier

NFC West Notes: Rams, Kittle, Hawks, Cards

May 14th, 2025 at 10:45am CST by Sam Robinson

Tyler Higbee has been the Rams‘ top tight end for many years, dating back to the team’s separation from Gerald Everett in 2021. Higbee, however, is now in Year 10 and coming off a three-game season. The Rams have attempted to install an heir apparent on multiple occasions, most notably failing in an attempt to trade up for Brock Bowers last year. Los Angeles then was tied to an effort to move up for Colston Loveland last month, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler indicates the team did discuss trades with teams holding top-10 picks.

Once Loveland went to the Bears at 10, the Rams regrouped and traded down, picking up a 2026 first-rounder (from the Falcons) to do so. Upon leaving Round 1, however, the Rams eyed the next wave of tight ends in this draft. Both Mason Taylor (LSU) and Terrance Ferguson (Oregon) were on the team’s radar, per Fowler, who notes Ferguson was rated higher despite Taylor going to the Jets four spots earlier. The Rams have Ferguson (591 receiving yards in 2024) readying to become the Higbee heir apparent.

Here is the latest from the NFC West:

  • Ferguson is unlikely to unseat George Kittle as the NFC West’s top tight end anytime soon, as the 49ers extended their All-Pro dynamo recently. San Francisco’s four-year, $76.4MM deal includes $35MM guaranteed at signing. Beyond fully guaranteed money in 2025 and ’26, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes $2MM of Kittle’s 2027 pay ($17.15MM) is locked in at signing. The 49ers have also dived into the option bonus game, which will help keep Kittle’s cap hits under $19MM until 2029. Kittle can unlock $5MM more in 2027 guarantees by being a 2026 Pro Bowler or landing on the All-Pro first or second team that year; reaching a number of statistical benchmarks that year also could allow Kittle to cash in on that $5MM 2027 bump, Florio adds.
  • Sam Darnold‘s three-year, $100.5MM Seahawks contract became classified as a pay-as-you-go pact, and ESPN’s Brady Henderson provided an important detail here. Seattle gave Darnold a $15MM roster bonus, but it is not due until February 13 — five days after Super Bowl LX. The Seahawks can cut bait during that window, reminding of the Raiders’ 2023 Derek Carr divorce, if the Darnold partnership does not pan out. Seattle would still pick up a $25.6MM dead money hit (due to signing bonus proration) by cutting Darnold after one season.
  • DC Aden Durde pushed for Rylie Mills in Round 5 (via the pick obtained in the Sam Howell trade), but the Seahawks will wait a bit to see the Day 3 D-lineman in action. A torn ACL sustained in December is expected to keep the Notre Dame product out until at least midseason, John Schneider said (via Henderson). A late-season return is also in play for a player who will be more of a long-term option in Seattle.
  • Not rostering a fullback in many years, the Seahawks had planned to add one to work in Klint Kubiak‘s offense. They did so in the draft, as Schneider confirmed (via Henderson) Alabama tight end Robbie Ouzts — a fifth-round pick — will begin his career at fullback. The 274-pound SEC product will compete with Brady Russell, who has played 26 Seahawks games (zero starts) since arriving in September 2023.
  • A former South Carolina defensive back, Landon Grier made an early foray into the NFL scouting ranks. The Cardinals hired him straight out of college to be a scouting assistant. The son of Dolphins GM Chris Grier, Landon is not expected back with the Cards in 2025, with InsidetheLeague.com’s Neil Stratton noting the younger Grier is on track to return to the college ranks for a personnel role.
  • The 49ers are also parting ways with a scouting staffer, with Stratton adding Michael Zyskowski is moving on after three years with the franchise. Late spring regularly serves as a point teams reshuffle scouting staffs, as contracts usually run through the draft in an effort to ensure continuity ahead of the event.

NFC Front Office Updates: Panthers, Falcons, Cardinals

June 29th, 2024 at 6:00pm CST by Ely Allen

The Panthers are one of several NFC teams who continue to make updates to their front office staff in recent days. Carolina made two moves and two new hires in this month.

The first move sees area scout Caden McCloughan move from the west coast to the southwest, per Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. He’s in his third year with the team since joining as a scouting intern in 2022. Joining McCloughan as an area scout is Kaleb Leach, who is getting promoted to northeast area scout for Carolina after also joining the team in 2022. Leach started as a scouting assistant after both playing and scouting in international football.

The two new hires are pro scout Adam Maxie and scouting assistant Gabby Weinrich. Maxie has NFL experience dating back t0 2017. He’s worked as a quality control coach with the Buccaneers, a scouting intern with the Vikings, and a pro scout with the Raiders. Weinrich takes Leach’s old position as scouting assistant. She attended scout school with the Jets in 2022 and worked as a training camp intern with the Bears the following year, all while working as a player personnel and recruiting assistant for the University of Nebraska. This will be her first full-time position in the NFL.

Here are a few other front office updates from around the NFC, starting with another NFC South squad:

  • The Falcons have promoted Nathan Ellis from scouting assistant to scouting coordinator, per Stratton. Previously a pro scouting intern for the Chargers for two summers, Ellis joined Atlanta as a scouting intern last summer, turning that time into a full-time gig at the start of the season. His previous full-time job was as a recruiting assistant/coordinator with the University of South Carolina.
  • The Cardinals made a number of moves to their scouting staff, as well, per Stratton. Chad Jenkins has been moved from NFS scout to area scout. Jenkins has been with the team since 2018 after some time at Tulane and Tennessee State. Stephen Wise will take Jenkins’ NFS scout role, moving from his role as a scouting assistant. Wise joined the team in 2021 after three years as a football recruiting assistant at South Carolina where he overlapped with Ellis for a few months. Andrew Ford will also get promoted from scouting assistant. Formerly a quarterback at UMass, he’ll now work as a pro scout for Arizona. Landon Grier has been hired to fill one of the two newly vacated scouting assistant roles. This will be Grier’s first job out of college after graduating from South Carolina.