Los Angeles Chargers Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Chargers To Let RB Austin Ekeler Test Free Agency

February 26th, 2024 at 10:34pm CST by Adam La Rose

The 2024 free agent class is set to feature a number of high-profile running backs. Austin Ekeler is likely to be one of them with his Chargers deal about to expire.

Ekeler is expected to reach the open market, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. That comes as no surprise given the nature of Ekeler’s 2023 offseason, one in which he asked for an was granted permission to seek a trade. He will have the ability to depart the organization he has spent his entire career with, although the plethora of accomplished backs who will also be available will no doubt limit his value.

None of the three running backs who received the franchise tag last year (Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard) are expected to be tagged a second time. No member of that trio performed at a level in 2023 which would make them an obvious candidate for a long-term deal, something which has no doubt informed their respective teams’ hesitancy to make a lucrative commitment. Schefter confirms that Titans stalwart Derrick Henry is also expected to reach free agency, something which was foreshadowed throughout the campaign.

Ekeler sought out a raise on a new Chargers deal, and his inability to land one led to his trade request. No suitors emerged, and he ultimately remained in Los Angeles on a re-worked contract. The two-time NFL leader in total touchdowns thus set himself up for free agency, while being a vocal member of the league’s running backs who have aired their frustrations over the stagnant nature of the position’s market. In an era where a number of positions have seen surging values, the RB spot has flatlined.

The 2023 campaign was an important one for Ekeler given his status as a pending free agent. The 28-year-old was limited to 14 games, however, and he was less efficient when on the field (3.5 yards per carry) than any other season in his career. After scoring 38 total touchdowns from 2021-22, Ekeler managed only six as part of a Chargers offense which struggled across the board but especially in the ground game.

While then-head coach Brandon Staley hinted at a divvying up of running back opportunities late in the campaign, Ekeler averaged 12.8 carries per game in 2023. That falls in line with his usage rate of the past four seasons, which has seen his career carries total reach 990. Many backs at his age have more mileage on them, but last season’s struggles will still likely be a key factor working against him on the open market.

The former UDFA landed a four-year, $24.5MM deal in 2020. That $6.13MM AAV ranks 11th in the league amongst running backs, and Ekeler will likely be hard-pressed to improve on his standing in the position’s pecking order on his new deal, regardless of where it comes from. Chargers backup Joshua Kelley is also a pending free agent, so the team could see significant turnover at the RB spot in the near future.

Raiders Add JoJo Wooden To Front Office

February 26th, 2024 at 1:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

FEBRUARY 26: The Wooden hire is now official, per a team announcement. The veteran executive will hold the title of senior director of player personnel, meaning he will be able to carry on in the same capacity as his time paired with Telesco with the Chargers.

FEBRUARY 8: Tom Telesco will bring one of his former lieutenants to the desert. The staffer who replaced Telesco as Chargers GM to close out the season, JoJo Wooden, is expected to join the Raiders.

Wooden, who worked alongside Telesco for 11 years in San Diego and Los Angeles, is set to become a key part of the next Raiders front office structure, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Prior to finishing out the season in the interim Bolts GM role, Wooden was in place as the team’s director of player personnel.

Although the Chargers interviewed Wooden for their GM job, no other teams brought him in for a meeting this offseason. The Raiders did not interview Wooden in 2022, though both the Bears and Steelers brought him in to discuss their GM jobs that year. Wooden, 54, has been a front office staffer in the NFL since 1997.

Telesco did not work with Wooden during his long-running Colts stay; the latter spent more than a decade with the Jets prior to trekking to San Diego in 2013. The former Syracuse defender started his personnel career during Bill Parcells‘ stay with the Jets in the late ’90s and stayed in New York through the 2012 season. Wooden rose to the role of assistant director of player personnel with the Jets, rising up the ranks on the scouting side.

Telesco hired Wooden as his player personnel director upon taking over as GM in 2013; the latter will bring extensive experience as a high-ranking FO staffer. The Raiders will rely on a Chargers blueprint they viewed in a positive light, despite their AFC West rivals’ frequent underachievement on the field.

With Jim Harbaugh reshaping the Chargers’ front office, hiring longtime Ravens execs Joe Hortiz and Chad Alexander to lead the way in L.A., Wooden did not appear to have a realistic chance of sticking around. The ex-Chargers bastions will go about competing with Harbaugh, along with Andy Reid and Sean Payton, in Las Vegas. While Harbaugh, Reid and Payton are the top figures with the other AFC West teams, the Raiders are the only one to have installed a GM atop their decision-making hierarchy. Telesco will control the Raiders’ roster.

NFC Coaching Updates: Falcons, Vikings, Garcia, Glenn

February 25th, 2024 at 6:21pm CST by Ely Allen

As the offseason chugs along, teams continue to reconstruct their coaching staffs. The Falcons made a number of moves just before the weekend, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN. The staff continues to take shape under new head coach Raheem Morris.

On offense, two announcements were made on assistants looking to hold over from Arthur Smith‘s staff last year. Rothstein reports that assistant offensive line coach Shawn Flaherty and offensive assistant Patrick Kramer, who each came to Atlanta last offseason, will be retained in their previous positions.

A new hire was announced, as well, with the team naming Jacquies Smith as their new outside linebackers coach. Formerly a seven-year NFL defensive end, the former undrafted player out of Missouri will now accept his first NFL coaching position. After disappearing from the NFL-world for a spell and making an appearance in the XFL, Smith worked with draft-eligible players in pre-draft training. He most recently spent the 2023 season as an assistant edge coach for the Texas Longhorns.

In the front office, the team announced the hires of John Griffin as director of player performance and Rob Dadona as manager of coaching operations. Griffin follows Morris after spending the past three years with the Rams. Dadona replaces Brian Griffin, who departed to serve as Chief of Staff at the University of Maryland. Dadona spent the past five seasons with the Jets, serving as assistant to the head coach for the last three.

Here are a few other staff updates from around the NFC, starting with a couple out of Minneapolis:

The Vikings announced two staff additions this weekend, naming assistant offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett and assistant to the head coach Henry Schneider IV. Sarrett replaces Justin Rascati, who departed for Los Angeles to serve as the Chargers pass-game coordinator. The two essentially swapped places, as Sarrett spent the past three years in the assistant offensive line coaching role with the Chargers. Schneider spent the last five years with the Raiders, most recently as the manager of coaching operations.
The Cowboys added a hot, young name out of Washington to their defensive staff this weekend. Cristian Garcia, who spent part of last year as the Commanders interim defensive backs coach, will head to Dallas as a defensive quality control coach, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. Garcia was a name that former Commanders head coach Ron Rivera turned to for leadership after firing defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. Now he’ll join the NFC East rival.
Washington added their own coaching assistant last week. According to ESPN’s John Keim, John Glenn will join the staff as the Commanders’ new assistant special teams coach. Glenn replaces Ben Jacobs, who had served in the same role since following Rivera from Carolina in 2020 but was not retained by the new staff. Glenn changes roles a bit after spending the past six seasons as the Seahawks linebackers coach.

2024 NFL Cap Space, By Team

February 24th, 2024 at 9:33pm CST by Adam La Rose

The NFL provided clarity to its teams on Friday by setting the salary cap ceiling ($255.4MM). Franchise tag figures have been locked in as well, and clubs can now proceed with their offseason planning knowing exactly where they stand with respect to financial flexibility. Courtesy of Over the Cap, here is the current landscape in terms of salary cap space:

Washington Commanders: $79.61MM
Tennessee Titans: $78.66MM
Chicago Bears: $78.34MM
New England Patriots: $77.96MM
Indianapolis Colts: $72.34MM
Houston Texans: $67.58MM
Detroit Lions: $57.61MM
Arizona Cardinals: $51.1MM
Cincinnati Bengals: $50.67MM
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $43.68MM
Los Angles Rams: $43.11MM
Las Vegas Raiders: $42.94MM
Minnesota Vikings: $35.81MM
Carolina Panthers: $34.57MM
Atlanta Falcons: $33MM
New York Giants: $30.8MM
Philadelphia Eagles: $27.35MM
Jacksonville Jaguars: $24.68MM
Kansas City Chiefs: $18.19MM
Baltimore Ravens: $16.63MM
Seattle Seahawks: $12.97MM
New York Jets: $12.76MM
Pittsburgh Steelers: $9MM
Green Bay Packers: $2.3MM
San Francisco 49ers: $5.07MM over the cap
Cleveland Browns: $7.76MM over
Dallas Cowboys: $9.86MM over
Denver Broncos: $16.81MM over
Los Angeles Chargers: $25.61MM over
Miami Dolphins: $27.92MM over
New Orleans Saints: $42.11MM over
Buffalo Bills: $43.82MM over

All teams must be cap compliant by the start of the new league year, but it will of course be more than just those currently over the limit which will make cost-shedding moves in the near future. Cuts, restructures and extensions are available as tools to carve out space in advance of free agency. Several have already taken place around the league.

That includes the Dolphins’ release of defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and the planned cut of Xavien Howard. The latter cannot be designated a post-June 1 release until free agency begins but once it happens, Miami will move much closer to cap compliance. The Saints have moved considerable commitments into the future via restructures (as usual), but more transactions on that front will be required even with the cap seeing an historic single-season jump.

The roughly $30MM spike from 2023 will provide unforeseen spending power for teams already set to lead the pack in cap space while also making the task of those at the bottom of the list easier. Spending more on backloaded contracts this offseason at the expense of future space obviously carries risk, however. Still, the news of a higher-than-expected ceiling will add further intrigue to each team’s financial planning.

With Dak Prescott and Deshaun Watson each set to carry record-breaking cap hits for 2024, the Cowboys and Browns will be among the teams most in need of working out a deal to lower those figures. In Dallas’ case in particular, an extension would provide immediate breathing room in addition to clarity on his future beyond the coming season. For Cleveland, Watson’s fully-guaranteed deal has already been restructured once and will need to be again to avoid consecutive years of a $64MM cap charge over its remaining term.

If the Commanders and Patriots add a quarterback with the second and third picks in this year’s draft, each team currently in the top six in space will enjoy the benefits of having a signal-caller on their rookie contracts. That would allow for an aggressive approach to free agency, although the Chiefs’ success after Patrick Mahomes signed (and re-worked) his monster extension has proven it is possible to win Super Bowl titles with a substantial QB investment on the books.

Seahawks To Add Josh Bynes To Staff; Chargers, Ravens Showed Interest

February 20th, 2024 at 6:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Josh Bynes announced his retirement in December; he already has a coaching gig lined up. Bynes will bypass the quality control level as well and join former coach Mike Macdonald in Seattle.

Enjoying three stints as a Raven, Bynes will reunite with his former defensive coordinator soon. He accepted an offer to join the Seahawks’ staff, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. This came after an interesting derby for the veteran linebacker. It is unclear if other teams extended the former linebacker offers, but Wilson adds the Chargers and Ravens interviewed Bynes this offseason.

Bynes, 34, will step in as the Seahawks’ assistant linebackers coach. He will join fellow recent linebacker retiree Daren Bates on Macdonald’s first Seattle staff. Known for his special teams work, Bates is onboard as the Seahawks’ assistant ST coach. Given Bynes’ background with Macdonald, he should be quite familiar with the system the Seahawks plan to run.

Initially a Ravens UDFA back in 2011, Bynes returned to Baltimore in 2019. Macdonald was his position coach during that stint, working as the Ravens’ LBs instructor under Don Martindale from 2018-20. When Bynes came back for his final tour of duty in Maryland — from 2021-22 — Macdonald had ascended to the defensive coordinator role. Bynes made that season his last in the league.

Despite Bynes’ journeyman status, he remained a Ravens starter to open the 2022 season. The team turned to the veteran alongside Patrick Queen for the season’s first seven games, keeping that arrangement in place until trading for Roquan Smith before the 2022 deadline. Bynes did not play following that trade, though he remained with the Ravens on a practice squad deal. Following the likes of NaVorro Bowman and Dont’a Hightower, Bynes will transition from linebacker duty straight onto an NFL staff. Bynes will also be working under DC Aden Durde and senior assistant Leslie Frazier.

The Seahawks are also expected to hire Jeff Howard as their defensive backs coach, per 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Howard worked as an assistant under Frazier in Minnesota. He served as pass-game coordinator under Joe Woods in Cleveland from 2020-22, coaching the Browns’ DBs, and stopped in as the Chargers’ linebackers coach last season.

Chargers, C Corey Linsley Agree To Restructure

February 19th, 2024 at 12:20pm CST by Adam La Rose

Chargers center Corey Linsley has likely played his final NFL game. In a move further pointing in that direction, he has agreed to adjust his contract ahead of an expected retirement announcement.

Linsley agreed to lower his base salary to the veteran’s minimum for 2024, per ESPN’s Field Yates. That figure was scheduled to be $11.5MM, but today’s move creates $10.29MM in cap space for Los Angeles. The former All-Pro will now be positioned to retire after June 1; doing so will allow the Chargers to spread out the dead cap hit remaining on his contract over a two-year span.

After being limited to just three games in the 2023 season, Linsley confirmed last month he is “99%” likely to retire. The longtime Packers starter was sidelined due to a heart-related issue, and it will cause him to hang up his cleats later this offseason. This arrangement will result in a $2.6MM dead cap charge for 2025, the final year of Linsley’s deal, as Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap notes.

The 32-year-old played out his rookie contract with Green Bay, then inked a three-year, $25.5MM deal to remain with the Packers. He maintained his status as one of the game’s top centers over that span, creating a lucrative market when he reached free agency in 2021. Los Angeles gave him a five-year pact averaging $12.5MM per year. That represented a record for centers at the time, and led to high expectations for his venture to the West Coast.

Linsley earned second-team All-Pro honors in his debut Chargers campaign, along with his lone Pro Bowl nod. He managed to suit for 14 games the following year, but his health issue resulted in the second year of his career which featured significant missed time. In his absence, the Chargers underperformed along the offensive line. The team ranked last in PFF’s run-blocking grades for 2023.

While today’s move provides further clarity on the need to replace Linsley, doing so could be a challenge in free agency. Even with the added spending power for this year, Los Angeles is one of several teams currently projected to be well over the salary cap when the new league year begins. The draft could offer an addition along the interior O-line, though no options in that department will be considered with the N0. 5 selection. The Chargers’ next pick is 37th overall, which could fall in range for a center prospect.

Assessing NFL’s OC Landscape

February 15th, 2024 at 8:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

This offseason showed the turnover that can take place at the offensive coordinator position. As a result of several decisions in January and February, the NFL no longer has an OC who has been in his current role for more than two seasons. Various firings and defections now have the 2022 batch of hires stationed as the longest-tenured OCs.

One of the longest-tenured coordinators in NFL history, Pete Carmichael is no longer with the Saints. The team moved on after 15 seasons, a stay that featured part-time play-calling duties. The Browns canned their four-year non-play-calling OC, Alex Van Pelt, while three-year play-callers Arthur Smith and Shane Waldron are relocating this winter. Brian Callahan‘s five-year gig as the Bengals’ non-play-calling OC booked him a top job.

The recent lean toward offense-oriented HCs took a bit of a hit of a hit this offseason, with five of the eight jobs going to defense-oriented leaders. Callahan, Dave Canales and Jim Harbaugh were the only offense-geared candidates hired during this cycle. But half the NFL will go into this season with a new OC. Following the Seahawks’ decision to hire ex-Washington (and, briefly, Alabama) staffer Ryan Grubb, here is how the NFL’s OC landscape looks:

2022 OC hires

Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions*
Mike Kafka, New York Giants*
Wes Phillips, Minnesota Vikings
Frank Smith, Miami Dolphins
Adam Stenavich, Green Bay Packers
Press Taylor, Jacksonville Jaguars*

Although this sextet now comprises the senior wing of offensive coordinators, this still marks each’s first gig as an NFL OC. Three of the six received HC interest this offseason.

Johnson’s status back in Detroit has been one of the offseason’s top storylines and a development the Commanders have not taken especially well. The two-year Lions OC was viewed as the frontrunner for the Washington job for weeks this offseason, and when team brass did not receive word about Johnson’s intent to stay in Detroit (thus, waiting until at least 2025 to make his long-expected HC move) until a Commanders contingent was en route to Detroit for a second interview, a back-and-forth about what exactly broke down took place. Johnson should be expected to remain a high-end HC candidate next year, but Dan Campbell will still have his services for 2024.

Kafka interviewed for the Seahawks’ HC job, and the Giants then blocked him from meeting with the NFC West team about its OC position. Rumblings about Kafka and Brian Daboll no longer being on great terms surfaced this year, with the latter yanking away play-calling duties — given to Kafka ahead of the 2022 season — at points in 2023. Taylor may also be on the hot seat with his team. Doug Pederson gave Taylor the call sheet last season, and Trevor Lawrence did not make the leap many expected. After a collapse left the Jaguars out of the playoffs, the team had begun to look into its offensive situation.

2023 OC hires

Jim Bob Cooter, Indianapolis Colts
Nathaniel Hackett, New York Jets*
Mike LaFleur, Los Angeles Rams
Joe Lombardi, Denver Broncos
Todd Monken, Baltimore Ravens*
Matt Nagy, Kansas City Chiefs
Drew Petzing, Arizona Cardinals*
Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys
Bobby Slowik, Houston Texans*

Only nine of the 15 OCs hired in 2023 are still with their teams. One (Canales) moved up the ladder, while others were shown the door following that organization canning its head coach. The Eagles were the only team who hired an offensive coordinator last year to fire that staffer (Brian Johnson) after one season. Nick Sirianni fired both his coordinators following a wildly disappointing conclusion.

Hackett may also be drifting into deep water, given what transpired last year in New York. Rumblings of Robert Saleh — who is on the hottest seat among HCs — stripping some of his offensive play-caller’s responsibilities surfaced recently. This marks Hackett’s fourth chance to call plays in the NFL; the second-generation staffer did so for the Bills, Jaguars and Broncos prior to coming to New York. After the 2022 Broncos ranked last in scoring, the ’23 Jets ranked 31st in total offense. Hackett’s relationship with Aaron Rodgers has largely kept him in place, but 2024 may represent a last chance for the embattled coach.

Of this crop, Monken and Slowik were the only ones to receive HC interest. Neither emerged as a frontrunner for a position, though Slowik met with the Commanders twice. The Texans then gave their first-time play-caller a raise to stick around for C.J. Stroud‘s second season. Stroud’s remarkable progress figures to keep Slowik on the HC radar. Monken, who is in his third try as an NFL OC (after gigs in Tampa and Cleveland), just helped Lamar Jackson to his second MVP award. The former national championship-winning OC did not stick the landing — as Jackson struggled against the Chiefs — but he fared well on the whole last season.

Schottenheimer is on his fourth go-round as an OC, while Lombardi is on team No. 3. The latter’s job figures to be more secure, being tied to Sean Payton, compared to what is transpiring in Dallas. With the Cowboys having Mike McCarthy as the rare lame-duck HC, his coordinators probably should not get too comfortable.

2024 OC hires

Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills*
Liam Coen, Tampa Bay Buccaneers*
Ken Dorsey, Cleveland Browns
Luke Getsy, Las Vegas Raiders*
Ryan Grubb, Seattle Seahawks*
Nick Holz, Tennessee Titans
Kliff Kingsbury, Washington Commanders*
Klint Kubiak, New Orleans Saints*
Brad Idzik, Carolina Panthers
Kellen Moore, Philadelphia Eagles*
Dan Pitcher, Cincinnati Bengals
Zac Robinson, Atlanta Falcons*
Greg Roman, Los Angeles Chargers*
Arthur Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers*
Alex Van Pelt, New England Patriots*
Shane Waldron, Chicago Bears*

The 49ers do not employ a traditional OC; 16 of the 31 teams that do recently made a change. Most of the teams to add OCs this year, however, did so without employing play-calling coaches. This naturally raises the stakes for this year’s batch of hires.

Retreads became rather popular. Dorsey, Getsy, Moore, Van Pelt and Waldron were all OCs elsewhere (Buffalo, Chicago, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Seattle) last season. Smith will shift from calling the Falcons’ plays to running the show for the Steelers. Dorsey, Getsy and Van Pelt were fired; Moore and Waldron moved on after the Chargers and Seahawks respectively changed HCs. Moore and Smith will be calling plays for a third team; for Moore, this is three OC jobs in three years.

Coen, Kingsbury and Roman are back after a year away. Kingsbury became a popular name on the OC carousel, having coached Caleb Williams last season. This will be his second crack at an NFL play-calling gig, having been the Cardinals’ conductor throughout his HC tenure. This will be Coen’s first shot at calling plays in the pros; he was Sean McVay‘s non-play-calling assistant in 2022. Likely to become the Chargers’ play-caller, Roman will have a rare fourth chance to call plays in the NFL. He held that responsibility under Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco; following Harbaugh’s explosive 2015 49ers split, Roman moved to Buffalo and Baltimore to work under non-offense-oriented leaders.

Grubb, Holz, Idzik, Pitcher and Robinson represent this year’s first-timer contingent. Grubb has, however, called plays at the college level. Robinson is the latest McVay staffer to move into a play-calling post; he was a Rams assistant for five years. A host of teams had Robinson on their OC radar, but Raheem Morris brought his former L.A. coworker to Atlanta. Pitcher appeared in a few searches as well, but the Bengals made the expected move — after extending him last year — to give him Callahan’s old job.

* = denotes play-calling coordinator

Chargers Add Marc Trestman, Others To Coaching Staff

February 14th, 2024 at 4:10pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Chargers announced on Wednesday that a number of additions have been made to Jim Harbaugh‘s staff. Many have already been reported, but others include a few notable names.

Marc Trestman has been added as a senior offensive assistant. This marks his first NFL coaching opportunity since his run as offensive coordinator of the Ravens came to an end. Baltimore fired Trestman midway through the 2016 campaign, leading him to return to the Canadian Football League. Trestman coached the Toronto Argonauts in 2017-18, earning his second CFL Coach of the Year honor and third Grey Cup title in that span.

His return north of the border was followed by a one-year stint in the XFL as head coach of the Tampa Bay Vipers in 2020. Trestman has not coached since then, and he is far removed from his two-year run at the helm of the Bears. Still, the 68-year-old will offer considerable experience on the offensive side of the ball as the Chargers transition to a unit led by Greg Roman.

A familiar face is also among the new staffers set to join the Chargers. Los Angeles has hired former Pro Bowl center Nick Hardwick as an assistant O-line coach, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. Hardwick spent his entire 11-year playing career with the (San Diego) Chargers, but this will be his first coaching position at the NFL level. He and Mike Devlin will aim to oversee improvement up front as part of the development of the team’s offense as a whole.

Chris O’Leary is also joining the Bolts as safeties coach, per the team’s announcement. O’Leary previously spent the past three years in the same role with Notre Dame, and he will join a number of staffers (including Harbaugh himself) in making the jump from the college to the pro level. This post will be O’Leary’s first in the NFL.

Other notable names on the new staff include Rick Minter, who has been brought on under the title of senior defensive analyst. He is the father of Jesse Minter, who as expected followed Harbaugh from Michigan to Los Angeles to become the team’s defensive coordinator. Dylan Roney – who has held a number of positions in the college ranks since graduating from Ferris State in 2018 – has been hired as a defensive assistant.

Those two will be joined on the defensive staff by Steve Clinkscale. The latter will take on the title of defensive backs coach. Clinkscale, 46, served under Harbaugh on Michigan’s staff beginning in 2021. He coached the Wolverines’ defensive backs during that time, while also working as co-defensive coordinator for the past two years. While a number of changes have been confirmed, continuity on special teams will be present on the 2024 staff. ST coordinator Ryan Ficken will remain in place, and the same will be the case for assistant Chris Gould. The latter (brother of veteran kicker Robbie Gould) has been in Los Angeles since 2022.

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

February 12th, 2024 at 8:58am CST by Adam La Rose

With Super Bowl LVIII in the books, the 2023 campaign has come to a close. Teams outside Kansas City and San Francisco had already turned their attention to the offseason well before Sunday’s game, of course.

Regular season standings determine the order for the top 18 picks, so they have been known since the conclusion of Week 18. For the second straight year, the Bears face the question of dealing away the top selection and starting over at quarterback or re-committing to Justin Fields. Expectations still point toward Caleb Williams heading to Chicago, although the Bears will not move the No. 1 pick at a discounted price.

With the Commanders also in position to add a signal-caller second overall, the Patriots and Cardinals will be worth watching closely. New England will be in the market for a QB, but it may not come via the team’s top selection. Arizona’s position could also be a trade-up target for teams seeking a quarterback addition. This year’s class is expected to be dominated by blue-chip prospects under center, as well as at wide receiver and offensive tackle.

The final 14 spots in the draft order are filled by postseason results. The Chiefs find themselves in familiar territory picking at or near the end of the first-round order for the fourth time in the past five years following another Super Bowl appearance. The team has a mixed track record with its selections in that regard, but another impact rookie would of course help its bid to sustain its impressive run.

While a number of selections will no doubt be swapped between now and draft day, here is the full 2024 first-round order:

Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
Washington Commanders: 4-13
New England Patriots: 4-13
Arizona Cardinals: 4-13
Los Angeles Chargers: 5-12
New York Giants: 6-11
Tennessee Titans: 6-11
Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
Chicago Bears: 7-10
New York Jets: 7-10
Minnesota Vikings: 7-10
Denver Broncos: 8-9
Las Vegas Raiders: 8-9
New Orleans Saints: 9-8
Indianapolis Colts: 9-8
Seattle Seahawks: 9-8
Jacksonville Jaguars: 9-8
Cincinnati Bengals: 9-8
Los Angeles Rams: 10-7
Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-7
Miami Dolphins: 11-6
Philadelphia Eagles: 11-6
Houston Texans (via Browns)
Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
Green Bay Packers: 9-8
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 9-8
Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
Buffalo Bills: 11-6
Detroit Lions: 12-5
Baltimore Ravens: 13-4
San Francisco 49ers: 12-5
Kansas City Chiefs: 11-6

Ravens Updates: Urban, Departures, Hewitt

February 11th, 2024 at 7:18pm CST by Ely Allen

After leading the league in scoring defense and finishing sixth in yards allowed this season, the Ravens saw their defensive staff get dismantled as several other teams around the league decided to provide opportunities for upward mobility to several assistants. Now begins the process of hiring replacements on new defensive coordinator Zach Orr‘s staff.

The first two new additions we see in Baltimore come from the college football ranks. First, University of Michigan defensive analyst Doug Mallory makes the move from one Harbaugh to another, per Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports. After working with Jim Harbaugh in Ann Arbor, Mallory heads to Charm City to work with his former coach’s older brother, John Harbaugh. Mallory will be taking the defensive backs coaching job, a role he previously held at the NFL level with the Falcons. He replaces Dennard Wilson, who now holds the defensive coordinator position in Tennessee.

Orr’s former position of inside linebackers coach will be filled by another former college staffer. Former University of Kansas defensive analyst Mark DeLeone is expected to fill his new boss’s former job coaching inside linebackers, according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. DeLeone has coached the same position group with the Chiefs, Bears, and Lions over the years.

With those two positions filled, and Chuck Smith perhaps staying as outside linebackers coach, the sole vacant position remaining to fill would be the defensive line coaching gig vacated by new Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.

Here are a few other coaching updates for the AFC runner ups:

We already knew of the departures of Wilson, Weaver, and defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec provided an update on a few other staffers who aren’t expected to return in 2024. On the offensive side of the ball assistant quarterbacks coach Kerry Dickson and assistant offensive line coach Mike Devlin will not be back next season. Devlin is set to serve as the Chargers‘ new offensive line coach. On special teams, assistant T.J. Weist is also not expected to return. Additionally, senior analysts James Urban and Craig Ver Steeg and director of football research Scott Cohen will not retain their roles in 2024.
With all the loss and new additions, longtime staffer Chris Hewitt has been rewarded once again for his longevity. A Ravens coaching assistant since 2012, Hewitt has moved through the ranks from assistant special teams coach to assistant secondary coach to defensive backs coach to pass defense coordinator to pass game coordinator and secondary coach. While Hewitt will remain the team’s pass game coordinator on defense in 2024, he will do so with the additional moniker of assistant head coach, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. The title was previously held by Weaver.

Los Angeles Chargers News & Rumors

2022 OC hires

2023 OC hires

2024 OC hires