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Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

January 7th, 2024 at 10:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Week 18 is in the books, meaning the top 18 draft slots are locked in going into the offseason. The Commanders, Patriots, Cardinals and Chargers all lost. Only the Bolts changed positions, by virtue of the Giants’ win over the Eagles. The Giants, however, only dropped one spot through their home win.

The Falcons and Saints’ efforts to upend the Buccaneers in the NFC South did not pan out, with Tampa Bay beating two-win Carolina in its regular-season finale. This will keep Atlanta and New Orleans in much better draft positions. Despite finishing 8-9, Tampa Bay now cannot move past No. 19 without a trade.

While the Bears’ seminal decision — Justin Fields or Caleb Williams, seemingly, with all the trade and contract factors that go along with this forthcoming choice — will headline the leadup to this draft, the Commanders have secured the No. 2 selection and will have their own call to make. New owner Josh Harris showed he will help drive his front office to moves that will load up draft capital, as the Montez Sweat and Chase Young trades showed, and he is all but certain to hire a new regime in the coming weeks.

The draft’s second-best quarterback will be available to Washington, which saw its Sam Howell wire-to-wire season fail to solidify him as the team’s surefire long-term QB. Will Washington become closely connected to Howell’s North Carolina successor (Drake Maye)? The Commanders’ call will help shape how the Patriots proceed, unless New England — which is also all but certain to move on from Bill Belichick and start anew — completes a trade-up effort.

As the postseason determines the bottom 14 draft slots, here is how the top 18 look after the regular season:

  1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
  2. Washington Commanders: 4-13
  3. New England Patriots: 4-13
  4. Arizona Cardinals: 4-13
  5. Los Angeles Chargers: 5-12
  6. New York Giants: 6-11
  7. Tennessee Titans: 6-11
  8. Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
  9. Chicago Bears: 7-10
  10. New York Jets: 7-10
  11. Minnesota Vikings: 7-10
  12. Denver Broncos: 8-9
  13. Las Vegas Raiders: 8-9
  14. New Orleans Saints: 9-8
  15. Indianapolis Colts: 9-8
  16. Seattle Seahawks: 9-8
  17. Jacksonville Jaguars: 9-8
  18. Cincinnati Bengals: 9-8
  19. Green Bay Packers: 9-8
  20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 9-8
  21. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
  22. Los Angeles Rams: 10-7
  23. Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-7
  24. Miami Dolphins: 11-6
  25. Philadelphia Eagles: 11-6
  26. Kansas City Chiefs: 11-6
  27. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  28. Detroit Lions: 12-5
  29. Buffalo Bills: 11-6
  30. Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
  31. San Francisco 49ers: 12-5
  32. Baltimore Ravens: 13-4

Exec Rumors: Caserio, Peters, Aponte

January 7th, 2024 at 12:45pm CST by Rory Parks

With Bill Belichick perhaps coaching his last game for the Patriots today, the club could have head coach and general manager vacancies in relatively short order (Belichick, of course, has operated as New England’s de facto GM throughout his tenure). Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post hears that Texans GM Nick Caserio, whose 20-year stint in the Pats’ personnel department earned him the Houston gig, would be open to a return to Foxborough, but Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required) says Caserio does not want to leave the Texans.

Russini points out that Caserio, who squeezed an excellent return from the Browns in the 2022 Deshaun Watson trade and who appears to have hit a home run in drafting quarterback C.J. Stroud and hiring head coach DeMeco Ryans last year, has laid the groundwork for sustained success in Houston and wants to see it through. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine Caserio leaving a young and talented HC-QB pairing for the uncertainty that would await him in New England.

Here are a few more rumors relating to league executives:

  • 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters is once again expected to be a hot name in the upcoming hiring cycle, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com writes in a subscribers-only piece. Peters turned down GM interview requests from the Cardinals and Titans last year, and it has been rumored for some time that he is the heir apparent to current San Francisco GM John Lynch. Per Fowler, it remains possible that the Niners will simply promote Peters to general manager now that Lynch has been given the additional title of president of football operations.
  • Like Peters, Falcons assistant GM Kyle Smith has been viewed as a future general manager, and as Albert Breer of SI.com notes, Atlanta GM Terry Fontenot promoted Smith to his current role this year partly to dissuade rival clubs from trying to poach him (a team can block an assistant GM from interviewing for anything other than a GM job). While the Falcons have yet to find a long-term answer at quarterback since Fontenot and Smith joined the team, they have injected a great deal of talent into the rest of the roster, and Smith appears poised to generate serious GM interest.
  • We recently heard that the Commanders may wish to add a president of football operations to oversee both their head coach and general manager, and Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post reports that Dawn Aponte‘s name has come up in connection with that role. Aponte, who presently works as the league’s chief administrator of football operations, was mentioned as a potential candidate for the Giants’ GM job in 2022, though she was not interviewed for that post. Aponte has, however, served in high-ranking executive positions for the Jets, Browns, and Dolphins.
  • In another subscribers-only piece, Fowler and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com compiled a list of other top candidates for GM jobs, a list that includes Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz, and Browns assistant GM Catherine Raiche. Cunningham was offered the Cardinals’ GM job last year but turned it down, while Hortiz and Raiche have both taken GM interviews in recent years.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/6/24

January 6th, 2024 at 8:33pm CST by Ely Allen

The last week of pregame transactions and gameday callups for several teams this season:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Placed on IR: T Mike McGlinchey
  • Activated from IR: T Alex Palczewski
  • Signed to active roster: CB Art Green
  • Elevated: S Devon Key

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Placed on IR: TE Hunter Henry
  • Signed to active roster: TE La’Michael Pettway
  • Elevated: TE Matt Sokol, OL Andrew Stueber

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Several teams whose season is set to come to an end tomorrow have elected to move injured players to injured reserve in order to create roster spots for practice squad options, particularly those who have had their three gameday elevations exhausted. In the case of the Broncos, McGlinchey will see his debut campaign in the Mile High City come to a premature end. Signed to a five-year, $87.5MM deal, the 28-year-old was part of a revamped O-line which did not produce the desired rebound on offense. Manning his usual right tackle spot, McGlinchey was charged with eight sacks and 49 pressures allowed by PFF, resulting in an overall grade of 67.5.

While the Giants will have an interesting decision to make with respect to Xavier McKinney‘s future, they will have Pinnock on the books for at least one more season. The latter’s rookie contract is set to expire following the 2024 campaign, one in which he will no doubt remain a vital member of New York’s secondary. Pinnock has recorded 85 tackles, two interceptions (including a 102-yard pick-six), six pass deflections and a pair of forced fumbles while logging over 1,000 defensive snaps this season. A return to health and a continuation of his 2023 level of play will be sorely needed next fall.

49ers CB Jason Verrett To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

January 5th, 2024 at 8:59pm CST by Ely Allen

Veteran 49ers cornerback Jason Verrett cannot catch a break, it seems. Playing in the 10th season of his NFL career, Verrett will undergo season-ending surgery for a heartbreaking eighth time. According to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, Verrett suffered a shoulder injury in practice today that will require surgery on his rotator cuff.

Verrett’s career has been marred by injury. Since being drafted 25th overall in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Chargers, Verrett has been forced to miss two entire seasons and has seen eight total seasons cut short due to varying injuries from a foot injury to torn ACLs to torn Achilles tendons. This is the first upper body injury that will sideline Verrett since his rookie season, when three labrum tears and a rotator cuff tear caused him to miss 10 games.

The loss of Verrett is a tough one for San Francisco, despite the team having the 1-seed locked up in the NFC. Because their playoff seeding is already determined, the 49ers have plans to rest several starters in their regular season finale against the Rams this weekend. With key players likely to get some rest on Sunday, Verrett was expected to get extended playing time against Los Angeles. In his only game appearance of the year, Verrett only saw five snaps, so this would’ve been an opportunity for the team to get their veteran some time to possibly participate in the 49ers’ playoff run.

The injury reportedly occurred when Verrett jumped for a pass in practice and landed on his shoulder. Head coach Kyle Shanahan estimated that the timeline for Verrett’s possible return will include about four to six months of rehabilitation time. This would allow Verrett a small cushion of time to work his way back in time for the 2024 NFL season, if he’s interested in continuing to play at 33 years old and finds a team that will provide him another opportunity.

Besides Ambry Thomas, who is on the injury report with a hand injury, no other cornerbacks are set to rest for the entire game this weekend. The likely plan was for the starters to sit after a series or two, but with Verrett becoming unavailable, those players may have to play a little more than anticipated.

49ers View Brandon Allen As QB2 Option For 2024

January 4th, 2024 at 1:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

Previously Joe Burrow‘s backup in Cincinnati, Brandon Allen could soon see the cards fall in his favor in San Francisco. Not joining the 49ers until May, their current third-string quarterback looks to have an opportunity to move up the depth chart fairly soon.

Sam Darnold resides as Brock Purdy‘s unquestioned backup, but after injuries changed a slew of teams’ QB plans this season, it would not surprise to see the NFL collectively place a greater emphasis on the backup role in free agency. Darnold would stand to benefit, being one of the league’s top backups. While Darnold said he chose the 49ers in large part because of Kyle Shanahan and the team’s weaponry, the former No. 3 overall pick may well become too expensive for the team to retain.

Enter Allen, whom The Athletic’s Matt Barrows notes the team views as a “strong candidate” to be Purdy’s backup next season (subscription required). The 49ers made it a priority to acquire Allen after the draft, despite employing Trey Lance at the time. Allen is tied to a veteran-minimum deal (one year, $1.23MM) for his experience level. The journeyman backup will carry a much lower price tag compared to Darnold, who will be in position to command more than the one-year, $4.5MM deal he signed in March.

Allen, 31, is a ninth-year veteran who has taken snaps in just four of those seasons. A 2015 Jaguars sixth-round pick, the Arkansas alum spent time with the Rams and Broncos prior to a three-year run as Burrow’s Bengals backup. Allen’s most notable work came during the 2019 and ’20 seasons, when he made eight combined starts in place of injured starters (Joe Flacco and Burrow). Allen does not bring an impressive statistical resume, holding a career 6.1-yard average per attempt and a 56.7% completion rate. He is 2-7 as a starter. But the 6-foot-2 passer, who stepped into the QB3 role in earnest after the 49ers traded Lance to the Cowboys, will have a year of experience in Shanahan’s offense.

Considering the issues the 49ers have experienced at quarterback under Shanahan, it would surprise if the team did not explore a higher-end backup in the event Darnold leaves for either a bridge-QB job or joins a team with a less solidified starter. San Francisco, however, has seen Purdy recover from his UCL tear and become a Pro Bowl invitee. The experience gap between Darnold and Allen is certainly notable, and even with Nick Bosa on a defender-record extension and Brandon Aiyuk an extension candidate, it would surprise if the 49ers did not explore the backup market again. But Allen looks to be a clear QB2 option for 2024.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/3/24

January 3rd, 2024 at 6:49pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

  • Activated from IR: DL Viliami Fehoko
  • Placed on IR: RB Deuce Vaughn

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Troy Andersen is eyeing a return for the regular season finale after having been sidelined since late September with a pectoral injury. The 2022 second-round pick started five of his 17 appearances as a rookie, finishing with 69 tackles. Andersen had 19 tackles in a pair of appearances this season, with the linebacker missing Week 2 while sitting in concussion protocol.

An ankle injury will end Deuce Vaughn‘s rookie season early, with the sixth-round pick finishing with 80 yards from scrimmage on 30 touches. Regular backup RB Rico Dowdle missed last week while dealing with a lingering ankle injury, but Vaughn’s removal from the active roster probably bodes well for Dowdle’s availability. Of course, this move will also lead to even more speculation surrounding a potential Dalvin Cook pursuit.

After starting five of his 23 appearances through his first four seasons in the NFL, Phil Haynes entered the 2023 campaign as Seattle’s starting right guard. He started each of Seattle’s first eight games this season before landing on injured reserve with a toe injury. Anthony Bradford has been starting at the position in Haynes’ place, and he could keep his starting gig with Jason Peters sidelined with a foot injury.

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey, CB Ambry Thomas Out For Week 18

January 2nd, 2024 at 10:31am CST by Adam La Rose

The 49ers have locked up the NFC’s top seed, making their regular season finale a game with no impact on the standings. That is a welcomed development given the team’s injury situation at a few key positions.

Running back Christian McCaffrey exited Sunday’s win with a calf injury, and it will lead to an absence to close out the campaign. The NFL’s rushing and scrimmage yards leader is dealing with a mild calf strain, per head coach Kyle Shanahan. To no surprise, therefore, McCaffrey will sit out the 49ers’ season finale against the Rams.

Since arriving via trade in San Francisco last year, the two-time Pro Bowler has been a vital component of the team’s vaunted skill-position group. McCaffrey has posted 2,205 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground in 27 games with the 49ers, keeping himself in the MVP conversation through the 2023 season. Any missed time in the postseason would be crippling to the team’s offense, but an extra week of recovery (coupled with the first round bye) should have him healthy in time for the divisional round.

The same is expected to be true of cornerback Ambry Thomas. The 2021 third-rounder is set to undergo hand surgery today, as noted by ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. The procedure will keep him sidelined for Week 18, which will leave San Francisco shorthanded in the secondary. Fortunately, however, Thomas is on track to suit up for the team’s first postseason contest.

The 24-year-old has only logged a 49% snap share on defense this season, but he has established himself as a key member of the 49ers’ backend. Thomas has seen a career-high workload in 2023, spending almost all of his time on the perimeter. He has posted 43 tackles, seven pass deflections and one interception while recording a new personal best in PFF grades along the way. Thomas’ performance did not stop the 49ers from exploring a CB addition at the trade deadline, but any missed postseason action would be acutely felt on defense.

San Francisco will be shorthanded both by necessity and by choice to close out the regular season, but the team will face substantial expectations once their playoff journey begins. The health of both McCaffrey and Thomas will be important factors in the 49ers’ postseason success, so their respective recoveries will be worth watching over the next several days.

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

January 1st, 2024 at 7:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

It took the Bears until Week 18 for the No. 1 draft slot to become a reality; the Panthers did not make them wait that long this year. Carolina’s struggles will give Chicago the No. 1 overall pick for a second straight year. How the Bears will proceed with that pick will become one of the NFL’s defining 2024 storylines.

The Cardinals’ unexpected conquest in Philadelphia knocked them down two slots in the 2024 draft order. As a result, the Commanders — who resided in the fourth position before the Patriots’ Christmas Eve upset ended the Russell Wilson era in Denver — hold the No. 2 pick going into the regular season’s final Sunday.

The Commanders benched Sam Howell in back-to-back weeks and were set to, prior to a midweek Jacoby Brissett setback, shelve him for Week 17 as well. The Ron Rivera era is in its final days, with front office changes likely as well. A Commanders-Caleb Williams connection has emerged, which would make Washington quite interested in what Chicago does at No. 1 overall — or key another round of Bears talks about dropping from 1 to 2, which took place with the Texans this offseason. With the Bears likely considering another Justin Fields season and the Cardinals having Kyler Murray tied to a $46.1MM-per-year contract, the Commanders are suddenly a team to watch regarding a QB investment.

Bill Belichick is also perched as a key 2024 domino, but with the legendary HC not eager to leave New England, one of the most important decisions in franchise history awaits Robert Kraft. Belichick or his replacement could hold a top-three pick in 2024, though another Pats win — they have the Jets in Week 18 — would complicate an effort to land a top-tier QB prospect.

Entering Week 18, here is how the 2024 draft order looks:

  1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
  2. Washington Commanders: 4-12
  3. New England Patriots: 4-12
  4. Arizona Cardinals: 4-12
  5. New York Giants: 5-11
  6. Los Angeles Chargers: 5-11
  7. Tennessee Titans: 5-11
  8. New York Jets: 6-10
  9. Atlanta Falcons: 7-9
  10. Chicago Bears: 7-9
  11. Las Vegas Raiders: 7-9
  12. Minnesota Vikings: 7-9
  13. New Orleans Saints: 8-8
  14. Denver Broncos: 8-8
  15. Seattle Seahawks: 8-8
  16. Cincinnati Bengals: 8-8
  17. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
  18. Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7
  19. Green Bay Packers: 8-8
  20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8-8
  21. Indianapolis Colts: 9-7
  22. Jacksonville Jaguars: 9-7
  23. Los Angeles Rams: 9-7
  24. Buffalo Bills: 10-6
  25. Kansas City Chiefs: 10-6
  26. Philadelphia Eagles: 11-5
  27. Detroit Lions: 11-5
  28. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  29. Miami Dolphins: 11-5
  30. Dallas Cowboys: 11-5
  31. San Francisco 49ers: 12-4
  32. Baltimore Ravens: 13-3

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/30/23

December 30th, 2023 at 9:14pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor transactions and callups for the remainder of the Week 17 matchups:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Alualu is set to make his Lions debut after signing earlier this month. Given the injury issues Detroit has faced up front, the 36-year-old has the chance to see playing time through the close of the regular season and into the playoffs. Alualu expressed a desire to continue playing with the Steelers this offseason, but he remained a free agent deep into the year. His tenure in the Motor City could help boost his free agent stock if he wishes to remain in the league in 2024, though.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/28/23

December 28th, 2023 at 7:12pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Buffalo Bills

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: LB Austin Ajiake

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: WR Griffin Hebert
  • Placed on IR: WR Devon Allen

San Francisco 49ers

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