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AFC Staff Updates: Jaguars, Patriots, Steelers, Jets, Dolphins, Titans, Colts

May 17th, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Ely Allen

With rookie general manager James Gladstone and rookie head coach Liam Coen taking over in Jacksonville, we’ve seen a mass migration of coaches and front office staff from Los Angeles to Duval this offseason. Gladstone and Coen created several connections during their time with the Rams, and Sean McVay has never been known to keep his coaches from pursuing positions with upwards mobility elsewhere.

The latest staff members we see making the move are former national scout Brian Hill and former director of draft management JW Jordan. Per Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com, Hill is set to become the new director of college scouting in Jacksonville. Hill had been with the Rams since 2013, spending two years as a scouting assistant and ten years as an area scout responsible for the Midwest region. He had just been promoted to national scout in March, but he will pass up the opportunity for an even bigger elevation with the Jaguars.

Jordan has been with the Rams for 13 years, spending the last six in his role as director of draft management and serving as a scouting consultant before that. His new role has not yet been announced, but Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 tells us that it will be an executive role.

Here are some other staff updates from around the AFC:

  • Stratton also gave us two recent updates for the Patriots scouting staff. Just over a week after Tennessee moved on from scouting director A.J. Highsmith, he has found a role in New England as the new director of pro scouting. The move puts Highsmith on the same team as his father, Alonzo Highsmith, who is entering his second season as a senior personnel executive with the Patriots. Stratton also informed us that southeast area scout Josh Hinch will not be returning to the team in 2025.
  • After four years with the Steelers, it appears Mike Sullivan will not be back next season. It’s unclear if something occurred, but ESPN’s Brooke Pryor pointed out that he no longer appears on the team’s website. The 58-year-old spent three years as Pittsburgh’s quarterbacks coach before moving to a senior offensive assistant role last year. Additionally, the Steelers have hired Luke Smith to serve as a quality control coach for the team in 2025. The nephew of Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith, Luke has spent the past eight years as the wide receivers coach at nearby Duquesne, per Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot. This will be Smith’s first position in the NFL.
  • Stratton gave us another front office update recently, pointing out a change to the LinkedIn profile of Jets assistant director of pro personnel Kevin Murphy. Murphy seems to have indicated on the account that his time with New York has come to an end. The profile currently does not indicate any next steps for the pro personnel specialist who spent time with the Texans, Bills, and Jets over the last 19 years.
  • Jordan Happle has been hired as a new player personnel scout for the Dolphins. According to Stratton, the former collegiate safety who played at both Boise State and Oregon was recently added to Miami’s website in the new position.
  • Stratton also tells us that the Titans are hiring former Pitt director of college scouting Alex Kline to their scouting department this season. Kline began his football career as a wide receiver at John Caroll University before becoming a grad assistant and, eventually, a coach and coordinator at Saint Vincent College. He worked for a year at Pitt as an offensive quality control coach before leaving for a recruiting role at Akron. He returned to Pitt as the wide receivers coach before leaving once again for the director of player personnel job at Memphis. He returned once more to Pitt in 2022 in his most recent role before making the trip back to Tennessee. It stands to be seen whether or not he’ll attempt to continue his back-and-forth career movement between coaching and personnel.
  • Lastly, Seth Walder of ESPN informs us that Ashleigh Prugh is joining the Colts as a football analytics fellow. This will be Prugh’s first position in the NFL following an internship with SumerSports.

DB Notes: 49ers, Gordon, Lions, Colts, Titans

May 17th, 2025 at 12:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers‘ decision to let Charvarius Ward walk in free agency points to Renardo Green receiving an extended opportunity to become a full-time starter opposite Deommodore Lenoir. Extended months before Ward’s departure, Lenoir has worked as both a boundary and slot corner. His $17.96MM-per-year contract, which checks in far north of the slot-only market, reflects this versatility. But the 49ers have been unable to find a pure slot option since K’Waun Williams departed in 2022. The team will give third-round pick Upton Stout a shot to buck that trend, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco.

Standing 5-foot-8, Stout profiles as a slot performer. He excelled in the role in a college career spent at North Texas and Western Kentucky. Stout also led all DBs in the gauntlet drill and bench press (21 reps) at the Combine, creating an interesting profile. The 49ers’ issues in the slot have prompted them to use Day 2 picks on two corners (Green, Stout) since 2024; Stout proving up to the task would stand to limit Lenoir’s inside work. It will be interesting to see if the 49ers will keep their top cover man on the perimeter.

Here is the latest from NFL secondaries:

  • Kyler Gordon‘s $13.3MM-per-year deal set the market for slot patrolmen recently. That deal checks in more than $11MM south of Jaycee Horn‘s extension and a whopping $16MM-plus lower than where Derek Stingley Jr. has taken the boundary CB market. While a recent Trade Rumors Front Office post highlighted the value teams receive when they identify a quality slot defender, the Bears are not committed to keeping Gordon inside. New Bears DC Dennis Allen said (via ChicagoBears.com’s Larry Mayer) Gordon will train at safety and at outside corner in his scheme, as the team looks to increase its recently extended defender’s usage rate. Gordon played 97% of Chicago’s defensive snaps as a rookie, but upon shifting to more of a slot role in 2023, the former second-round pick has not cleared 80% in a season since.
  • The Lions will have 2024 second-round pick Ennis Rakestraw train on the outside in Kelvin Sheppard‘s first DC offseason, per Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers. Playing only 46 defensive snaps as a rookie, the 5-11 CB received what amounted to a redshirt year. The Lions used a premium pick on Rakestraw, though he does not look to have a path to a starting job in a secondary that will feature Terrion Arnold, D.J. Reed and Amik Robertson as regulars.
  • Detroit also added some depth in Avonte Maddox, a longtime Eagles slot corner who drifted to a backup role after a slew of injuries. Maddox will be expected to serve as a backup in the slot and at safety, according to Lions safeties coach Jim O’Neil (via Rogers). Maddox, who did make a pivotal pass breakup in Super Bowl LIX, saw his snap share drop to 33% last season — after he missed most of 2023. The eighth-year veteran is on a one-year, $1.42MM deal ($1.2MM guaranteed).
  • Titans third-round pick Kevin Winston, per HC Brian Callahan, is expected to be cleared for training camp after sustaining a partial ACL tear last year. Winston, who suffered the injury in early September, underwent knee surgery but had recovered in time to run at the Penn State pro day. The Titans chose Winston with the No. 82 overall pick.
  • The Colts roster one of the NFL’s best slot corners, and Kenny Moore is going into his ninth season with the team. Indianapolis, however, may be grooming an heir apparent. They team is likely to have third-round pick Justin Walley begin his offseason in the slot, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes. Moore’s three-year, $30MM contract features a fully guaranteed 2025 salary but no guarantees beyond this year. The Pro Bowl defender, who has protected the Colts at one CB spot while they have dealt with enduring issues on the perimeter, is going into his age-30 season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/14/25

May 14th, 2025 at 6:44pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are Wednesday’s minor transactions from around the NFL:

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: WR Jadon Janke

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

Tennessee Titans

Williams, who recently worked out for Houston without getting a contract, turned a workout with the Patriots into a roster spot for the summer. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, New England also worked out former Saints running back Jordan Mims, but Williams walked away with the deal.

Titans Add CB Amani Oruwariye, DE Carlos Watkins

May 13th, 2025 at 9:23pm CST by Ben Levine

The Titans made a handful of changes to the bottom of their roster today, adding a trio of defenders in the process. For starters, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that the team has signed cornerback Amani Oruwariye. The team later announced that they claimed linebacker Amari Burney off waivers from the Raiders.

The Titans also added defensive end Carlos Watkins, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston. To accommodate these moves, the team waived defensive tackle Abdullah Anderson (per Wilson).

Oruwariye will add some veteran depth to Tennessee’s secondary, as the veteran has appeared in 61 games over the past six seasons. Following a brief stint as one of the Lions’ starting cornerbacks, Oruwariye has bounced around a bit. He most recently got into seven games (four starts) for the Cowboys in 2024, compiling 29 tackles and three passes defended.

Oruwariye earned headlines last season after mishandling a blocked punt that led to an eventual game-deciding score. His special teams coach in Dallas, John Fassel, is now serving in the same role in Tennessee, and there’s a good chance the new free agent acquisition will likely be playing a similar special teams-centric role in 2025.

Watkins was also in Dallas last season, as the veteran defensive tackle compiled 12 tackles in 15 games. While he’s likely been added as a ST option for Fassel, Watkins actually saw more time on defense in 2024, getting into 225 snaps. The former fourth-round pick has appeared in 87 career games, collecting 151 tackles and six sacks.

Burney also brings some experience, as the former sixth-round pick got into 24 games for the Raiders over the past two seasons. This included a 2024 season where he appeared in a career-high 17 games while compiling 17 tackles and one sack. The defensive lineman was waived by the Raiders yesterday.

Anderson has bounced around the NFL since going undrafted out of Bucknell in 2018. He spent most of last year on Tennessee’s practice squad, and he didn’t record a tackle in his four appearances with the big-league club.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/12/25

May 12th, 2025 at 9:56pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest minor moves from around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

  • Signed: CB Jeremiah Walker
  • Placed on Exempt/International Player list: P Tory Taylor

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: LB Jordan Turner, WR Kyrese White, LS Zach Triner, TE Cole Fotheringham
  • Waived: CB Kendall Bohler, LB K.J. Cloyd, NT Christian Dowell, TE Thomas Yassmin
  • Placed on Exempt/International Player list: P Jeremy Crawshaw

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: QB Taylor Elgersma
  • Released: OL Marquis Hayes

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: C Mose Vavao
  • Waived: DT Joe Evans

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: WR Dalevon Campbell, LB Kana’i Mauga
  • Waived: OL Bucky Williams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Signed: DT Isaiah Iton, G Mehki Butler, DT Wilfried Pene
  • Waived: OT Cole Birdow

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Signed: CB T.J. Moore
  • Waived: DB R.J. Delancey, DB Tommy McCormick

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: TE Drake Dabney,WR TJ Sheffield
  • Waived: CB Virgil Lemons, S Jerrin Thompson

Hoyland converted 79.3% of his field goal attempts for the Wyoming Cowboys across the last five years. He was ultra-consistent on extra points with 147 makes on 148 tries. Hoyland will compete with sixth-round pick Tyler Loop for the Ravens’ kicking job after the team released Justin Tucker.

Sheffield brings some much-needed experience to the Dolphins’ cornerback room, though he hasn’t started since 2020. He could provide crucial veteran depth in Miami, especially if Jalen Ramsey is traded.

Elgersma was the starting quarterback at Wilfried Laurier University in Ontario, Canada, for the last three years. In 2024, he won the Hec Crighton Trophy – the Canadian equivalent to the Heisman – and earned an invitation to the Senior Bowl, the first-ever for a Canadian QB. Elgersma was drafted in the second round of the 2025 CFL Draft by the Winnepeg Blue Bombers, but a successful tryout with the Packers will give him a chance at making an NFL roster.

Titans Sign 16 UDFA Rookies

May 10th, 2025 at 5:58pm CST by Ely Allen

MAY 16: The Titans gave significant guarantees to Jarris and Kimber, per veteran reporter Paul Kuharky. Both undrafted cornerbacks received around $200k in guaranteed money, among the highest amounts in team history.

Kimber ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at Penn State’s pro day, but his strength and technique will need to improve to play more than special teams in the NFL.

MAY 10: The success of the Titans’ 2025 rookie class will likely hinge almost entirely on the success of their No. 1 overall pick, Miami quarterback Cam Ward. Regardless, they hit on several other positions of need with the rest of their nine-man draft class and have announced the signing of an undrafted crop that will bring their rookie group to 25. Here are the 16 undrafted free agents who signed deals with Tennessee:

A lot of the focus with the UDFAs was on defense, but all three offensive signees were notable. Crenshaw-Dickson was expected to be a late-Day 3 pick based on impressive measurables (6-foot-7, 316 pounds). After three years as a starter at San Diego State splitting time between both tackle spots (18 at left, 18 at right), Crenshaw-Dickson transferred to the Gators, with whom he would start 11 games at right tackle. Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Tennessee gave Crenshaw-Dickson $245K in guaranteed money, including a $20K signing bonus, to ensure that he would land in Nashville.

Based on film and production, Restrepo was expected to be drafted in the fifth or sixth round, but a 4.85-second 40-yard dash at his pro day may have cost him. Intangibles are the name of the game with Restrepo, who, despite his lack of ideal speed or size, holds school records for the most career receptions (200) and receiving yards (2,844), over such names as Reggie Wayne, Michael Irvin, and Santana Moss. Restrepo uses instincts to feel out soft spots in coverage, physicality to block and churn out extra yards, balance and body control to get open and make tough catches, and pure competitiveness to succeed. As Ward’s No. 1 target in Coral Gables, he stands a strong chance of making the 53-man roster if that chemistry continues.

On defense, the Titans are bringing in two notable linemen. Horsley was a four-year starter in five seasons with the Eagles. He doesn’t get to the quarterback much (only 3.5 sacks in his collegiate career), but he’s shown plenty of disruption in the past three years with 15.5 tackles for loss and seven passes defensed over that time. A stout run defender in the middle, Horsley was projected to be an early-Day 3 selection as a nose tackle. Raikes held a similar role with the Tigers last year after four years at Texas A&M. The Titans gave Raikes $85K guaranteed with a $10K signing bonus on his rookie deal, according to Pelissero.

In the secondary, Harris comes from Iowa to compete for a roster spot on defense. After redshirt and pandemic-shortened seasons in Iowa City, Harris started 28 games in his final three years with the Hawkeyes. In that time, he racked up 27 passes defensed and eight interceptions.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/9/25

May 9th, 2025 at 9:10pm CST by Ely Allen

We saw a busy day of 2025 NFL Draft pick signings today. Here are the mid- to late-round picks who inked their four-year rookie deals:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Giants Made Draft-Day Attempt To Acquire No. 1 Pick

May 8th, 2025 at 10:15pm CST by Adam La Rose

To no surprise, the Giants were one of two teams which exited the opening night of this year’s draft with a quarterback, with the Titans being the other. Just before Cam Ward officially became the top pick, the teams discussed a trade.

Giants general manager Joe Schoen called counterpart Mike Borgonzi to discuss the first overall pick, as shown in the debut episode of the team’s Giants Life documentary (video link). The conversation proved to be rather brief, with Schoen remaining convinced the Titans turned aside the last-minute trade interest to select Ward. Minutes later, they did just that.

Moving out of the No. 1 slot was seen as a distinct possibility early in the offseason as a result of Tennessee’s myriad roster needs and the less-than-stellar nature of this year’s QB class. Over time, though, Ward distanced himself as the top option for signal-callers and a strong showing during the pre-draft process convinced the Titans to stand pat. That left suitors for the top selections – such as the Giants – to move in a different direction during the draft.

Just like Cleveland (which originally owned the second overall pick), New York (No. 3) showed interest well before the start of the draft in moving up to the top spot. A report from March linked both the Giants and Jets to pursuing a trade for the No. 1 pick, but by the start of April it appeared Schoen and Co. were convinced doing so would not be possible. That proved to be the case, albeit not without a last-minute attempt on the part of the Giants.

Schoen left the door open to a quarterback being selected third overall, although by the time edge rusher Abdul Carter heard his name called that move came as no surprise. After retaining the No. 3 selection, New York ultimately swung a deal to move back into the Day 1 order and select Jaxson Dart 25th overall. The Ole Miss product will spend his rookie season on a depth chart which also includes free agent additions Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston.

Dart gained traction as a first-round prospect in the build-up to the draft, and he found himself the second passer to come off the board. Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have their potential long-term answer under center in the fold as a result while their respective tenures remain a question after three years at the helm. It will be interesting to see how Dart’s New York tenure unfolds against the backdrop of the team’s continued efforts to acquire Ward prior to selecting him.

NFL Minor Transactions: 5/7/25

May 7th, 2025 at 9:05pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s minor moves in the NFL:

Baltimore Ravens

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: QB Taylor Elgersma

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Tennessee Titans

Though the Ravens and Packers have both already announced their undrafted free agent rookie class signings, both teams added an additional name to their groups today via rookie minicamp tryouts.

Martin, a smaller defensive back with impressive speed, transferred to Louisiana after two years at Youngstown State. He became a full-time starter for the Ragin’ Cajuns in 2023, tallying 109 total tackles, three interceptions, and 13 passes defensed during his two seasons in the starting lineup.

Coming out of Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, CAN, Elgersma went undrafted in the NFL draft but was selected in the second round of the 2025 draft for the Canadian Football League. He was also invited for a rookie minicamp tryout in Buffalo but will no longer attend after turning his Green Bay invite into a roster spot.

2025 NFL Draft Results: Team By Team

May 3rd, 2025 at 2:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is every team’s haul from the 2025 NFL Draft:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Read more

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