Bears Interview Titans’ Monti Ossenfort
Today the Chicago Bears announced that they interviewed Monti Ossenfort for the their open general manager position. While not previously mentioned as a candidate for Chicago, Ossenfort has interviewed with the Giants and will interview with the Vikings tomorrow.
Ossenfort has been the director of player personnel in Tennessee for the past two years. Prior to the Titans, he spent 17 seasons in the Patriots’ organization, acting as the director of college scouting in his last six years in New England.
As far as we’ve seen, Ossenfort is the fifth candidate to interview for the open general manager position and Chicago has several other targets who have yet to interview. Follow the updates on all three open general manager positions on our 2022 NFL General Manager Search Tracker.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/11/22
A number of players continue to sign reserve/futures contracts, which allows organizations to retain (mostly) young, practice squad players throughout the offseason. We’ve compiled today’s reserve/futures contracts below:
Carolina Panthers
- DE Austin Larkin, OL Austen Pleasants
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
- WR Omar Bayless, TE Jordan Franks, WR Gary Jennings, RB Brenden Knox, FB Lorenzo Neal, WR/PR Matthew Sexton, DT Darius Stills
Los Angeles Chargers
- WR Michael Bandy, DL Andrew Brown, LB Cole Christiansen, DB Ben DeLuca, LB Emeke Egbule, WR Maurice Ffrench, G Ryan Hunter, TE Hunter Kampmoyer, DL Forrest Merrill, WR Jason Moore, OT Foster Sarell
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: C Drake Jackson
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
- QB Blake Bortles, C Cohl Cabral, DT Malcolm Roach, CB Bryce Thompson, WR Kevin White, TE Ethan Wolf
New York Giants
- WR Alex Bachman
Tennessee Titans
- LB Kobe Jones, DB Chris Williamson
Washington Football Team
- FB Alex Armah, RB Reggie Bonnafon
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/11/22
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: DL Matt Dickerson, LB Tahir Whitehead
Detroit Lions
- WR Geronimo Allison, G Parker Ehinger, TE Nick Eubanks, OT Darrin Paulo, CB Nickell Robey-Coleman, TE Ross Travis
Houston Texans
- Released: DB Cre’von LeBlanc
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: DL Isaiah Buggs, TE Daniel Helm, LB Justin March-Lillard
- Released: LB Asmar Bilal, LB Will Compton, WR Javon Wims
Los Angeles Rams
- Released: K Ryan Santoso, LS Carson Tinker
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR John Hurst
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: RB Jeremy McNichols
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/10/22
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: LB Nate Hall
Green Bay Packers
- Released: G Ben Braden
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR Jaylen Smith
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR Tyler Vaughns
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: TE Tanner Hudson
Tennessee Titans
- Released: OL Paul Adams
Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order
The NFL’s first ever 17-game regular season is now over, and the 14-team playoff field is set. The end of the year also confirms, of course, the draft order for the top 18 picks, allowing the non-playoff clubs to begin planning for the offseason.
Despite their upset win on Sunday, the Jaguars will have the top selection for the second year in a row; this marks the fifth time a team has had back-to-back No. 1 picks, and the first since the Browns did in 2017-18.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.
Here is the final draft order (for non-playoff teams) along with the current projected order for the 14 postseason clubs:
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
- Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
- Houston Texans: 4-13
- New York Jets: 4-13
- New York Giants: 4-13
- Carolina Panthers: 5-12
- New York Giants(via Bears)
- Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
- Denver Broncos: 7-10
- New York Jets (via Seahawks)
- Washington Football Team: 7-10
- Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
- Cleveland Browns: 8-9
- Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
- Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
- New Orleans Saints: 9-8
- Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8*
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1*
- New England Patriots: 10-7*
- Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)*
- Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7*
- Arizona Cardinals: 11-6*
- Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7*
- Buffalo Bills: 11-6*
- Detroit Lions (via Rams)
- Dallas Cowboys: 12-5*
- Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5*
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4*
- Tennessee Titans: 12-5*
- Green Bay Packers: 13-4*
* = Playoffs
Field For AFC’s Top Seed Narrows
The Chiefs’ win tonight over the Broncos eliminated the razor-thin hopes that the Bengals and Patriots held for a first-round bye. With a Chiefs loss, the Bengals could have clinched the #1 Seed with a win over the Browns and a Titans loss to the Texans. The Patriots could have clinched with those three teams losing, a win over the Dolphins, and a Bills loss to the Jets. 
The Chiefs’ win ensures that they will finish with a top 2 seed, at the very least, with a chance to earn a first-round bye if the Titans lose tomorrow in Houston. Cincinnati, seeing the long odds required to get them a rest next week, had already made the decision to rest some of their starters this week in their regular season finale in Cleveland, despite the fact that seeding between them and the AFC East winner is still at play.
Tennessee is a 10.5-point favorite over the Texans, but the Titans are one of Houston’s four wins this year. Chaos could certainly ensue as we look to close out our first ever 18-week NFL regular season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/8/22
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: TE David Wells, LB Tahir Whitehead
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted: WR Austin Trammell
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: S Tony Jefferson, T Jaryd Jones-Smith, Isaiah Mack, Tony Poljan
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: RB Reggie Bonnafon, DT Frank Herron, WR Keith Kirkwood, WR C.J. Saunders, TE Stephen Sullivan, DB Madre Harper
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: WR Dazz Newsome
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: QB Jake Browning, DT Mike Daniels, K Elliott Fry, S Trayvon Henderson, DE Noah Spence, G Keaton Sutherland, WR Trent Taylor, DT Renell Wren
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: CB Brian Allen, S Adrian Colbert, G Hjalte Froholdt, CB Herb Miller, DE Curtis Weaver
- Waived: LB Willie Harvey Jr.
Dallas Cowboys
- Activated from IR: TE Blake Jarwin (story)
- Promoted: S Tyler Coyle, RB JaQuan Hardy, RB Ito Smith
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: LB Tavante Beckett, T Dan Skipper
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from IR: C Josh Myers (story)
- Promoted: DL Abdullah Anderson, LB La’Darius Hamilton
Houston Texans
- Promoted: WR Jalen Camp, DL Michael Dwumfour, LB Connor Strachan
Indianapolis Colts
- Activated from IR: WR Parris Campbell
- Promoted: DB Anthony Chesley, DB Will Redmond, DT Chris Williams
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: P Joseph Charlton, RB Nathan Cottrell, QB Danny Etling, WR Josh Hammond, OL Badara Traore, OL Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms
Las Vegas Raiders
- Activated from IR: TE Derek Carrier
- Promoted: OL Lester Cotton, WR Tyron Johnson, DT Damion Square
- Waived: TE Daniel Helm
Los Angeles Chargers
- Activated from IR: LB Kyler Fackrell
- Waived: CB Essang Bassey
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted: DB Jake Gervase, DB Grant Haley
- Waived: S JuJu Hughes
Minnesota Vikings
- Activated from IR: TE Ben Ellefson
- Promoted: LB Tuf Borland, TE Zach Davidson, S Myles Dorn, DT T.Y. McGill, CB Bryan Mills, CB Parry Nickerson, CB Tye Smith, DE Kenny Willekes
New England Patriots
- Promoted: DB Sean Davis, DL Daniel Ekuale, DB D’Angelo Ross
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: C Will Clapp, DL Malcolm Roach, DB KeiVarae Russell
New York Giants
- Promoted: WR Alex Bachman, QB Brian Lewerke, WR David Sills
New York Jets
- Promoted: WR Tarik Black, DE Ronald Blair
- Waived: S Sharrod Neasman, DE Shaq Lawson (story)
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: T Kayode Awosika, LB Christian Elliss, RB Jason Huntley, DB Jared Mayden, DB Mac McCain, TE Richard Rodgers, TE Noah Togiai, T Casey Tucker, DT Raequan Williams, DT Marvin Wilson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: G Rashaad Coward
- Waived: DE Isaiah Buggs
San Francisco 49ers
- Activated from IR: CB Emmanuel Moseley
- Promoted: LB Mark Nzeocha, LB Curtis Robinson
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: WR Aaron Fuller, DB Michael Jackson, DB Josh Jones, WR Cody Thompson
- Placed on IR: T Brandon Shell
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Activated from IR: G Aaron Stinnie
- Promoted: RB Kenjon Barner, TE Darren Fells, WR Cyril Grayson
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: DE Kevin Strong, RB Jordan Wilkins, DE Da’Shawn Hand
- Waived: RB Jeremy McNichols
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: FB Alex Armah, DE William Bradley-King, TE Temarrick Hemingway, S Jeremy Reaves
- Placed on IR: TE Ricky Seals-Jones
Latest On Titans’ Backfield Situation
Although a Derrick Henry return in Week 18 surfaced as a possibility weeks ago, the Titans will remain cautious with the two-time reigning rushing champion.
Tennessee will not activate Henry from IR on Saturday, keeping him shelved until the playoffs. The Titans designated Henry for return this week, giving them options moving forward. Henry’s ramp-up period can last up until before the AFC championship game, should the Titans’ season extend that far. But the team has long been preparing to have its top weapon ready to go before that point.
Henry has been out since suffering a Jones fracture in his foot in Week 8. The Titans initially struggled to pick up the pieces, and they moved on from Adrian Peterson fairly quickly. However, the AFC South champs have since seen D’Onta Foreman — also a midseason pickup following Henry’s injury — begin to establish himself as a starter. Foreman has notched three 100-yard games over his past five. Should Henry indeed return to action in the playoffs, Foreman would stand to be a key off-the-bench performer.
For now, however, the Titans are reshuffling their backfield. One of the early candidates to replace Henry, Jeremy McNichols, is no longer on the roster. The Titans waived the veteran backup Saturday and promoted Jordan Wilkins from their practice squad. A former Colts fifth-round pick, Wilkins caught on with the Titans after a midseason Indianapolis exit. He joins Dontrell Hilliard alongside Foreman on Tennessee’s active roster.
Wilkins topped 5.5 yards per carry in each of his first two seasons, playing behind Marlon Mack, and eclipsed 300 rushing yards in each of his first three. Now rostering the NFL’s rushing leader in Jonathan Taylor, the Colts dropped Wilkins this season. A former Buccaneers fifth-round pick who also spent time with the Colts, McNichols has been with the Titans for the past two seasons. He is averaging just 3.8 yards per carry this year, on 41 totes, and saw Foreman take over the backfield down the stretch.
The Titans also promoted defensive linemen Da’Shawn Hand and Kevin Strong on Saturday. The team has a chance to clinch home-field advantage for the first time since 2008 Sunday. A win over the Texans would secure Tennessee the AFC’s No. 1 seed. This would obviously be beneficial for both the Titans and Henry. The Chiefs would recapture the conference’s top slot with a win over the Broncos today and a subsequent Titans loss.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/6/22
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: QB Matt Barkley
- Released: WR Marvin Hall
Chicago Bears
- Signed: OLB John Daka
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: TE Chris Myarick
- Placed on practice squad injured list: TE Thaddeus Moss
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: RB Benny LeMay, T Alex Taylor
- Released: T Elijah Nkansah
New England Patriots
- Signed: LB LaRoy Reynolds
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DB Chris Jones, LB Joe Jones
NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/4/22-1/5/22
Here are Tuesday and Wednesday’s activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Breon Borders, LB Markus Golden, OL D.J. Humphries, LB Devon Kennard
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Zach Kerr, LB Tanner Vallejo, TE Maxx Williams (from IR)
Atlanta Falcons
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Marlon Davidson, S Jaylinn Hawkins, TE Hayden Hurst, WR Tajae Sharpe, LB James Vaughters
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: G Willie Beavers
Baltimore Ravens
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Josh Oliver
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: CB Kevin Toliver
Carolina Panthers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Darryl Johnson, LB Haason Reddick, TE Tommy Tremble, QB P.J. Walker
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Yetur Gross-Matos
Chicago Bears
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Jesper Horsted (remains on IR), OLB Charles Snowden
Cincinnati Bengals
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Trenton Irwin, DB Trae Waynes
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR Scotty Washington
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DB Vonn Bell, LB Akeem Davis-Gaither, DE Trey Hendrickson, C Trey Hopkins, G Quinton Spain, DT B.J. Hill, RB Joe Mixon
Cleveland Browns
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Elijah Lee, LB Tony Fields
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: QB Nick Mullens, S Tedric Thompson
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: RB D’Ernest Johnson, RB Dexter Williams
- Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: S Jovante Moffatt
Dallas Cowboys
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Quinton Bohanna, LB Micah Parsons (story), LB Keanu Neal
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: S Tyler Coyle, T Isaac Alarcon, CB Kyron Brown
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: T Josh Ball
- Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: DT Josiah Bronson
Denver Broncos
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DE McTelvin Agim, LB Baron Browning, DB Bryce Callahan, LB Bradley Chubb, LB Jonathon Cooper, DB Mike Ford, WR Jerry Jeudy, T Bobby Massie, WR Tim Patrick, NT Mike Purcell, DB Caden Sterns, LB Stephen Weatherly
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR Tyrie Cleveland
Detroit Lions
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Kalif Raymond
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Joel Heath, TE Hunter Bryant (from NFI)
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: G Elgton Jenkins, T Dennis Kelly, S Darnell Savage, WR Amari Rodgers, DE Kingsley Keke
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: K J.J. Molson, LB Ray Wilborn
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: G Billy Turner
Houston Texans
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Danny Amendola, TE Antony Auclair, LB Ron’Dell Carter, T Tytus Howard, RB David Johnson, DB Lonnie Johnson, WR Chris Moore
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: K Dominik Eberle, TE Paul Quessenberry
Indianapolis Colts
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: Luke Rhodes
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Dan Arnold (remains on IR), TE Jacob Hollister, WR Jaydon Mickens, DT Jay Tufele
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR Josh Hammond
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: P J.K. Scott
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: DB Josh Jackson
Las Vegas Raiders
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Carl Nassib, G Jordan Simmons, TE Darren Waller
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: T Kamaal Seymour (from NFI)
Los Angeles Chargers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Jared Cook, LB Damon Lloyd (remains on IR)
Minnesota Vikings
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Nick Vigil, QB Kirk Cousins, T Brian O’Neill
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Chris Herndon, DE Tashawn Bower
- Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: CB Parry Nickerson
New Orleans Saints
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: T Ryan Ramczyk, DB Dylan Mabin
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR Kevin White, TE Ethan Wolf
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Albert Huggins
- Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: CB Jordan Miller
New York Giants
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: T Korey Cunningham, DE Dexter Lawrence, T Matt Peart (remains on IR), NT Danny Shelton, WR Darius Slayton
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: LB Omari Cobb, CB Ka’dar Hollman
- Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: NT Woodrow Hamilton
New York Jets
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Tevin Coleman, TE Tyler Kroft, DE Quinnen Williams
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: G Isaiah Williams
Philadelphia Eagles
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: WR KeeSean Johnson
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR John Hightower, RB Craig James, TE Noah Togiai
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Dallas Goedert
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: T Zach Banner, LB Devin Bush, DB Arthur Maulet, RB Anthony McFarland, LB Joe Schobert, DE Chris Wormley
- Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR Anthony Miller, WR Steven Sims, WR Tyler Vaughns
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DB Joe Haden
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Dontae Johnson, DB Jimmie Ward, DB Ambry Thomas, CB Deommodore Lenoir
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DB Blessuan Austin
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Gavin Heslop, DE Alton Robinson, DT Myles Adams, DT Al Woods
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Jaelon Darden, P Bradley Pinion
Tennessee Titans
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Monty Rice
Washington Football Team
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: P Tress Way, G Ereck Flowers, RB Antonio Gibson
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Deshazor Everett, DB William Jackson