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Rob Gronkowski Confirms 2022 Bills Talks, Insists Second Comeback Will Not Happen

February 8th, 2023 at 1:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Rob Gronkowski already delayed his Hall of Fame induction, returning from his 2019 WWE sabbatical to help out Tom Brady in Tampa. Both Brady and Gronkowski retired in 2022 — Brady for the first time, Gronk for a second — but the All-Decade tight end did consider playing with another team last year.

Gronk confirmed he spoke with the Bills about a 2022 agreement and said he only considered relocating for a Buffalo pact. Prior to attending college at Arizona, the future first-ballot Hall of Famer grew up in the Buffalo area.

“My options were out on the table at that moment for about three weeks throughout the free agency period,” Gronkowski said, via The Athletic’s Jeff Howe (subscription required). “I talked to [the Bills] just a little bit. I just saw what my options were. I knew I probably wasn’t going to play football again, but I just wanted to see the options. I didn’t want to shut the door or anything.

“I just talked to the Bills. If Tom stayed retired and I was willing to play another year of football and to go all in, I think the Buffalo Bills would have been the team for sure.”

Brady unretired just before the legal tampering period began last year, which seemingly means Gronk’s Bills chats came after his longtime quarterback announced he would return to the Buccaneers. Though, illegal tampering obviously occurs regularly as well. Buffalo also pursued Gronkowski in 2021, to no avail. Amid its historic roster-retention effort, the Bucs reupped their top tight end on a one-year, $8MM deal. The Bills signed ex-Bucs tight end O.J. Howard last year, though they cut him before the season began. Buffalo also extended Dawson Knox late last summer, solidifying its long-term tight end plan.

Gronkowski, as many expected he would, discussed another unretirement with the Bucs during the season. Nothing came together, and Brady missed his longtime teammate during one of his worst pro seasons. As Brady-Raiders talk surfaced last month, talk of another Gronk comeback naturally re-entered the equation.

With Brady retiring for a second time, Gronk shot down the notion he will play again. The former Patriots All-Pro and Bucs starter will be Canton-eligible a year before Brady.

“No, no. I’m done, man,” Gronkowski said. “Tom is not reopening that door. I don’t know. Maybe he is. I don’t know.”

Coaching Notes: Klemm, Solari, Stoutland, Locust, Landow

February 5th, 2023 at 7:01pm CST by Ely Allen

Former Patriots offensive lineman and current associate head coach/run game coordinator/offensive line coach at the University of Oregon Adrian Klemm has been in consideration for an assistant coaching role with his former team this offseason, reportedly heading to Las Vegas to interview with the staff during their time at the Pro Bowl. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning claimed that he doesn’t anticipate any staff changes, though, indicating that Klemm will be remaining with the Ducks, according to James Crepea of Fox Sports Eugene.

This wasn’t the only coaching position Klemm has been considered for in New England. The 45-year-old assistant coach was also a candidate for the offensive coordinator position that was eventually awarded to Bill O’Brien. Keeping Klemm in Eugene is a big win for Lanning, as Klemm clearly has a lot of potential as a coach in the NFL.

Here are a few other coaching notes that may get swept aside as bigger names and jobs continue to make headlines:

  • Longtime offensive line coach Mike Solari will return to a coaching position in Dallas for the first time in 35 years. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, Solari will be replacing Joe Philbin as the team’s new offensive line coach. Solari was an assistant offensive line coach and special teams coach for the Cowboys under Tom Landry in the 1987 and 1988 seasons and worked under Mike McCarthy in Green Bay for a year in 2015. He was not coaching in the NFL last year after a four-year stint in Seattle.
  • One of the key pieces to the Super Bowl-bound Eagles‘ staff will be sticking around for a bit longer, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. Philadelphia’s run game coordinator/offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland was an attractive candidate for multiple offensive coordinator jobs this offseason but has reportedly agreed to a contract extension that will keep him in the City of Brotherly Love. The Eagles boasted a top-five rushing attack this year that led the league with 32 rushing touchdowns behind an elite offensive line coached by Stoutland. He has been a huge part of what has helped the Eagles lead the NFC in points and yards this season and will be sticking around to attempt to continue that success.
  • The Titans have landed an exciting new defensive assistant, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, signing a deal with former Buccaneers assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust. She reportedly impressed both head coach Mike Vrabel and general manager Ran Carthon in the interview process and will continue to work her way up the NFL coaching ladder.
  • The Broncos are reportedly parting ways with strength and conditioning coach Loren Landow, as reported by Mike Klis of 9NEWS. The 27-year veteran is seeking other opportunities as new head coach Sean Payton is expected to bring in his own strength and conditioning coach. In a year that saw Denver suffer an unusually large number of injuries, Landow surprisingly avoided much of the blame, which seemed to fall on the shoulders of former head coach Nathaniel Hackett and his unusual practice schedules. Landow has his own practice, Landow Performance, that has seen a remarkable level of success, but he will likely be considered for open strength and conditioning positions for the league in the future.

2023 NFL Cap Space, By Team

February 2nd, 2023 at 1:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

Earlier this week, the NFL revealed its 2023 salary cap. Teams can now budget for their offseasons, knowing a $224.8MM ceiling is in place. This year’s nonexclusive franchise and transition tag numbers also emerged, giving teams more clarity on those fronts as well. With that in mind, here is where every team stands in terms of cap space:

  1. Chicago Bears: $90.91MM
  2. Atlanta Falcons: $56.42MM
  3. New York Giants: $44.28MM
  4. Houston Texans: $37.56MM
  5. Cincinnati Bengals: $35.55MM
  6. New England Patriots: $32.71MM
  7. Seattle Seahawks: $31.04MM
  8. Baltimore Ravens: $26.87MM
  9. Las Vegas Raiders: $19.78MM
  10. Arizona Cardinals: $14.47MM
  11. Kansas City Chiefs: $13.96MM
  12. Detroit Lions: $13.83MM
  13. Indianapolis Colts: $12.59MM
  14. Denver Broncos: $9.07MM
  15. San Francisco 49ers: $8.28MM
  16. Washington Commanders: $8.24MM
  17. Philadelphia Eagles: $4.24MM
  18. Pittsburgh Steelers: $1.03MM
  19. New York Jets: $1.31MM over the cap
  20. Dallas Cowboys: $7.18MM over
  21. Carolina Panthers: $8.94MM over
  22. Los Angeles Rams: $14.19MM over
  23. Cleveland Browns: $14.64MM over
  24. Miami Dolphins: $16.45MM over
  25. Green Bay Packers: $16.48MM over
  26. Buffalo Bills: $17.88MM over
  27. Los Angeles Chargers: $20.38MM over
  28. Jacksonville Jaguars: $22.35MM over
  29. Minnesota Vikings: $23.43MM over
  30. Tennessee Titans: $23.67MM over
  31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $55.03MM over
  32. New Orleans Saints: $60.47MM over

These figures (courtesy of OverTheCap) will change dramatically in the coming weeks, but this is where each team stands ahead of Super Bowl LVII. After that point, cap-casualty cuts can begin taking place. Restructures, extensions and trades will commence as well, with the Saints of recent years doing well to prove there are a few roads to cap compliance.

While New Orleans is in its usual February place, the team actually was further over the 2021 and ’22 caps at this point on the NFL calendar. Using void years to load up its roster during Tom Brady‘s three-year stay, Tampa Bay has seen much of that bill come due. If Brady does not re-sign a procedural deal, which would allow for the Buccaneers to spread out his dead money, the team will be hit with a $35.1MM dead-cap charge this year.

The Browns led the league by a wide margin in cap carryover from 2022, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Cleveland carried over $27.6MM in cap space. The Browns paced the league in cap space throughout the 2022 season, bracing for the Deshaun Watson contract’s spike. As of now, Watson’s cap figure will balloon from $9.4MM to $54.9MM. No NFL player has ever played a season on a cap number higher than $45MM.

The Panthers, Broncos, Bears and Raiders rounded out the top five in carryover dollars, ranging from $10.8MM to $6.7MM. Chicago ate considerable dead money via the Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn trades. The rebuilding team is still paying most of Quinn’s salary, doing so in order to secure a better draft pick from the Eagles. The Bears will have quite the opportunity to bolster their roster in Ryan Poles‘ second year in charge, leading the league by a massive margin and holding the No. 1 overall pick. The Falcons still have $12MM-plus in Deion Jones dead money on their 2023 payroll, but the team is rid of Matt Ryan‘s record-setting dead-cap hit ($40MM).

Baltimore will have a major decision to make in the coming weeks. GM Eric DeCosta said he has not decided if the team will place the exclusive or nonexclusive tag on Lamar Jackson. Even the nonexclusive number — $32.42MM — will dramatically change the Ravens’ budget ahead of free agency. The exclusive tag, which prevents other teams from submitting an offer sheet to Jackson, is expected to come in just north of $45MM.

Buccaneers Interviewed Ronald Curry For OC Job

February 1st, 2023 at 8:17pm CST by Ben Levine

The Buccaneers are looking within their own division to fill their offensive coordinator vacancy. The team announced that they interviewed Saints passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry for their OC job on Tuesday night.

[RELATED: Bucs To Interview Georgia OC Todd Monken]

Curry wasn’t the only candidate in the building yesterday. We previously learned that Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken and Giants QBs coach Shea Tierney also met with Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The team previously interviewed Jaguars passing-game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, Broncos QBs coach Klint Kubiak, Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell, and Bengals QBs coach Dan Pitcher (who ultimately decided to stick in Cincy) for the job. Former Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has also been mentioned as a potential candidate, while Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton (who is likely on his way out in Houston) declined his interview request.

Curry has been with the Saints organization since the 2016 season, working his way from offensive assistant to wide receivers coach to quarterbacks coach. While New Orleans has dealt with an inconsistent quarterback depth chart during Curry’s two seasons in the role, the Saints have still managed to put up impressive passing numbers. Jameis Winston and Trevor Siemian combined for 25 touchdowns vs. only six interceptions in 2021, and the coach squeezed an 18-touchdown, nine-interception season out of Andy Dalton in 2022.

During Curry’s stint as New Orleans’ WRs coach, Michael Thomas established himself as one of the most product wideouts in the NFL. Thomas earned a pair of first-team All-Pro nods playing under Curry, and the receiver also set the single-season record with 149 catches in 2019.

The Buccaneers are looking at some major changes on offense next season with Byron Leftwich out as offensive coordinator. Of course, we also learned earlier today that quarterback Tom Brady was hanging up his cleats, leading to major question marks at the quarterback position heading into the offseason.

Dolphins Not Eyeing Tom Brady Addition?

January 29th, 2023 at 4:43pm CST by Adam La Rose

One of several names set to dominate the QB storylines of the 2023 offseason is Tom Brady. The all-time great is a pending free agent who faces a number of possible options should he choose to continue his playing career.

One of those could be a move to Miami, something which has come close to taking place in the past. The Dolphins were involved in a tampering scandal in an unsuccessful attempt to land both he and head coach Sean Payton. That led to a number of punishments being handed down by the league, including the team forfeiting its first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Despite that, the Dolphins were said to be a potential suitor for him in 2023.

Momentum for a Brady-to-Miami contract does not appear to exist at this point, however. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Dolphins “are not expected to pursue” the 45-year-old in the event he hits the open market for the second time in his career. Brady helped the Buccaneers make the playoffs for the third straight year in his tenure there, but signs have pointed since their Wild-Card loss to him not returning to Tampa Bay.

While that certainly leaves the door open to a second retirement decision (one which the seven-time Super Bowl winner has said would be final, unlike his last one), it could also lead him elsewhere in free agency. The Raiders have quickly emerged as a logical landing spot for him, given the presence of Josh McDaniels and the team’s apparent desire to move on from Derek Carr. Earlier this month, it was reported that Vegas is doing their homework on Brady, amongst other QB options.

Miami has given Tua Tagovailoa a vote of confidence heading into the 2023 season, so it would come as little surprise if the team avoided making a big splash on the QB market. A veteran insurance policy is expected as a backup, given his concussion issues that arose this year, but the former top-five pick showed considerable improvement when healthy this season. Even if Miami is out of the running, Brady is likely to sill have multiple suitors in the coming weeks.

Bengals Extend QBs Coach Dan Pitcher

January 29th, 2023 at 11:10am CST by Rory Parks

Dan Pitcher will be sticking with the Bengals. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Cincinnati has signed its quarterbacks coach to a lucrative contract extension that will take him through at least the 2023 season.

Pitcher, 36, interviewed for the Buccaneers’ open offensive coordinator position on Friday, which was the first time in his career he had been connected to a coordinator post. Rapoport says that the Ravens also inquired on Pitcher, but rather than risk losing him to another club, the Bengals made a proactive move to reward one of their most important staffers.

Pitcher broke into the professional coaching ranks in 2016 as an offensive assistant on the staff of former Cincinnati HC Marvin Lewis. When Zac Taylor took over as the Bengals’ head coach in 2019, he retained Pitcher and promoted him to assistant quarterbacks coach. Pitcher became the club’s top quarterbacks coach the following year, and his work with 2020 No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow over the past three seasons is starting to pique the interest of other organizations.

Burrow, of course, has become one of the league’s best signal-callers and could be in line for a market-topping extension this offseason. He has the Bengals on the cusp of their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance, and assuming the team continues to thrive in 2023, Pitcher will likely garner more OC looks.

Of course, the Bengals’ own offensive coordinator, Brian Callahan, has generated some HC buzz, and Pitcher could fill Callahan’s seat in Cincinnati if the latter should land a job as a bench boss elsewhere.

Bucs To Interview Georgia OC Todd Monken

January 27th, 2023 at 5:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

Surfacing as a candidate shortly after Byron Leftwich‘s firing, the prospect of Todd Monken coming back to Tampa is moving closer to a reality. The Buccaneers plan to interview Monken for their offensive coordinator job next week, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com tweets.

Monken, who worked as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator under Dirk Koetter in the late 2010s, is currently Georgia’s OC. He has been in that position for the past three years. This will be an interesting interview, considering the same GM — Jason Licht — is on staff after he moved on from Koetter and Monken four years ago.

Serving as the Bucs’ OC for much of Jameis Winston‘s tenure, Monken generated some momentum late in that run. Despite the Bucs moving on in 2019, Monken interviewed for five NFL jobs — including head coaching positions — that offseason. Ending up in Cleveland as Freddie Kitchens‘ OC, Monken went one-and-done after that disappointing Browns season but landed on his feet at Georgia. The Bulldogs have won back-to-back national championships, the second of which via a historic 65-7 rout of TCU.

The Bucs ranked in the top 10 in total offense in both 2017 and ’18, the latter year producing a third-place finish for the team’s offense. This still led Koetter and Monken out, but the latter was the primary play-caller when Ryan Fitzpatrick averaged 9.6 yards per attempt — a mark that still ranks in the top 10 for a season (an abbreviated one, as Fitz started seven games) in NFL history — for a squad that rostered an intriguing mix of wideouts and tight ends. While Koetter called plays for a point in 2018, Monken spent most of that season doing so. Kitchens was at the controls for the 2019 Browns.

Georgia has ranked as a top-10 offense nationally in each of the past two seasons, though the Bulldogs’ defense has generated more attention from NFL scouts. He enjoys a pretty nice gig for the SEC powerhouse, however, coaching sought-after recruits and, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud (on Twitter), earning the highest salary among college assistants ($2.01MM). Monken, 56, has spent most of his career in the college ranks. Though, he also coached the Jaguars’ wide receivers from 2007-10. Only the Bucs have reached out to Monken so far. Excepting Keenan McCardell, Tampa Bay has identified a host of young position coaches for its role. Here is where that search stands thus far:

Dan Pitcher Interviews For Bucs’ OC Job

January 27th, 2023 at 3:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Buccaneers’ future with Tom Brady is uncertain, but if the team is to retain the 45-year-old icon, a significant age gap may exist between he and the offensive coordinator.

Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher interviewed for the Bucs’ OC position Friday, the team announced. Although Pitcher has served as Joe Burrow‘s position coach throughout the superstar quarterback’s Cincinnati tenure, he is a Marvin Lewis staff holdover who has been with the franchise since 2016.

Pitcher, 36, joins other 30-somethings Jim Bob Cooter (38) and Klint Kubiak (35) to interview for the Tampa Bay play-calling gig. The Bucs also plan to interview Giants QBs coach Shea Tierney (36) for the job. Although it is not certain the Bucs will go forward with the unusual Gen-X quarterback-Millennial OC setup, the team is targeting a host of young play-caller types. Keenan McCardell, who played for the team in the early 2000s, is the only staffer the Bucs have interviewed over 40.

Following the Browns’ Alex Van Pelt OC hire in 2020, Pitcher moved from the Bengals’ assistant quarterbacks coach to QBs coach — during an offseason in which Burrow-to-Cincinnati became a foregone conclusion. The Bengals striking gold with the LSU-developed talent has meant attention for Pitcher, who began his NFL coaching career as a Bengals staff assistant back in 2016. Pitcher worked in that low-level capacity during Lewis’ final three seasons, and Zac Taylor kept him on board upon arriving in 2019.

Burrow has yet to land any Bengals assistants jobs elsewhere just yet, and few teams have inquired about Pitcher or OC Brian Callahan. The latter had one HC interview this offseason — with the Colts — and this is believed to be Pitcher’s first OC meeting. Taylor calling plays undoubtedly has an effect on the interest in his lieutenants, but the Bengals’ rise over the past two years will run the risk of Taylor’s staff splintering. However, due to the sparse interest so far, the prospect of a Taylor-Callahan-Pitcher trio returning for a fifth season together in 2023 appears live. Though, a batch of new OC openings is set to emerge — as the HC-needy teams have yet to begin their searches in earnest — and the Bengals’ playoff success could certainly lead to additional Callahan or Pitcher interest.

Buccaneers To Interview Giants’ Shea Tierney For OC

January 27th, 2023 at 11:39am CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants’ surprising season has led to Mike Kafka and Don Martindale head coaching interviews and Brian Daboll becoming a Coach of the Year finalist. The interest is now advancing to the team’s position coach level.

The Buccaneers sent Giants quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney an interview request to discuss their offensive coordinator position, and NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo notes Tierney will meet with Bucs brass about the job (Twitter link).

This season marked Tierney’s first in a quarterbacks coach role. The former Bills assistant worked under Ken Dorsey with Buffalo last season, being the team’s assistant QBs coach. Daboll brought Tierney with him to the Giants, and folks around the league certainly observed Daniel Jones making considerable strides in his contract year.

Tierney, 36, began in Buffalo as an offensive assistant and worked with Daboll at Alabama as well. Overachieving based on expectations and roster talent this season, the Giants made one of the more stunning voyages to the divisional round in recent memory. Jones is now a franchise tag candidate who is expected to command a contract north of $30MM per year. That is quite the leap from where the once-scuffling ex-top-10 pick — whose fifth-year option the Giants passed on — resided coming into the season.

Tampa Bay has interviewed Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell, Broncos quarterbacks coach Klint Kubiak and Jaguars passing-game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter so far. Considering the team’s OC hire may well play a role in whether Tom Brady returns for a fourth season with the team, it looms as a rather important task this offseason.

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