Sunday Roundup: Payton, Lacy, Osweiler
As Week 13 gets underway in full force, let’s take a look at some news and notes from around the league:
- The Saints will not release head coach Sean Payton, but the team is warming to the idea of trading him for draft picks, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. New Orleans though, would not deal Payton to a team he does not wish to coach, and Payton would not sign an extension with any team that does not appeal to him.
- 2015 has been nothing short of a disappointment for Packers RB Eddie Lacy, and his on-field struggles are just one cause for concern. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (article via Conor Orr of NFL.com), Green Bay is troubled by Lacy’s off-field behavior–Lacy was, of course, disciplined for a curfew violation Wednesday night–and the team in fact cut fellow RB Alonzo Harris and did not resign him to the practice squad because he is a close friend of Lacy’s and the Packers apparently believe Harris is a bad influence on their star back.
- Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com examines the type of deal that Broncos QB Brock Osweiler might command in the offseason. The Broncos may offer him a contract with an AAV of roughly $12MM–which is what Nick Foles is earning with the Rams–but assuming Osweiler finishes the regular season with a 6-1 or 5-2 record as a starter, he would have no reason to accept such an offer, as there would be plenty of teams willing to shell out much more than that in free agency. Instead, Denver may be forced to extend Von Miller and use the franchise tag–which it planned to use on Miller–on Osweiler.
- In a separate piece, Fitzgerald examines the 2016 class of free agent defensive ends.
- Although he lost the opportunity to finish the season as the Browns‘ starting QB several weeks ago, Johnny Manziel has been told by the club that he will start again this season, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. When that will be, however, is anyone’s guess.
- After failing in his attempts to purchase the Bills, Jon Bon Jovi is still attempting to buy an NFL club, and La Canfora writes that Bon Jovi, along with a number of other potential suitors, is paying close attention to the Titans, a team that other owners believe could formally come for sale in the spring or fall as the Adams family continues to sort through tax and estate issues.
- Texans right guard Brandon Brooks, who has dealt with a number of stomach ailments over the past year, experienced nausea this morning at Ralph Wilson Stadium and went to a Buffalo-area hospital for further evaluation, per Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle. Needless to say, Brooks was scratched from Houston’s game with the Bills this afternoon.
- Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee tweets that the 49ers have not yet determined if they will move rookie WR DeAndre Smelter off the NFI list. The deadline to do so is tomorrow, and the team’s decision could be impacted by its injury situation after today’s clash with the Bears.
East Notes: Kelly, McDaniels, Coughlin
Just a week after Eagles head coach Chip Kelly was said to be “despondent” and “mulling all options” on the heels of back-t0-back blowout losses, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that the head coach is likely to return to the Philadelphia sidelines in 2016. Owner Jeffrey Lurie remains a staunch Kelly supporter, even though he is aware of some dissension in the locker room, and per La Canfora, Lurie “did not hand Kelly total control to the roster a few months ago to consider launching a new search for a coach and GM now.” Although it is not inconceivable that Kelly could return to the college ranks in 2016, those vacancies are filling up quickly and team officials would be shocked if Kelly left the Eagles before completing his fourth season with the club.
- Although Kelly surely appreciates Lurie’s loyalty, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if Kelly himself is too loyal to under-performing players. During Kelly’s tenure with the Eagles, he has never released or benched a player for poor performance, and McLane thinks certain members of the club may have become complacent.
- Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is once again a hot head coaching candidate, and La Canfora writes that he is open to speaking with teams this offseason. Of course, given McDaniels’ disastrous stint in Denver, he would only go to a team that has a strong organizational structure from ownership down, since another failed tenure would likely spell the end of his head coaching opportunities. Many clubs are enamored with McDaniels’ offensive mind and ability to extract a great deal of production from an offense that has to continually reinvent itself, and McDaniels is viewed as the closest thing to a Belichick clone to emerge from the Belichick coaching tree.
- If McDaniels is to leave the Patriots, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe sees the Lions as the most likely landing spot, given that the team has a good young quarterback in place and ownership that has shown patience in the past. The Titans have been viewed as a fit, and they may be, but their ownership situation is unstable, and Volin does not believe McDaniels would disrespect New England by going to a team like the Dolphins or Colts that has a history of bad blood with the Patriots.
- Giants head coach Tom Coughlin may be on the hot seat, but as Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News writes, Coughlin typically thrives with his back to the wall. Of course, the team had a chance to take a commanding lead in the NFC East last week and failed to do so, which means that the Giants’ string of four straight seasons without a playoff berth is in danger of continuing. If that happens, Coughlin’s two Super Bowl rings and respect from team ownership may not be enough to save him.
AFC Rumors: Titans, Revis, Collins, Broncos
On their third head coach in four years after employing just one during the previous 15, the Titans are working diligently to find a full-time replacement for the recently fired Ken Whisenhunt.
GM Ruston Webster, controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk and interim president/CEO Steve Underwood to find the team’s next coach as Mike Mularkey helms the Titans through another disappointing season.
“I’m working with Steve every day along those lines and also talking to Amy,” Webster told ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky. “I talked to her for a long time yesterday. Yeah, we’re right in the middle of it. Right now it’s mostly background work, building lists.”
Tennessee is 23-42 since their 9-7 season in 2011, Mike Munchak‘s first before he was fired after the 2013 campaign.
Webster told Kuharsky in working on this search he assumes he’ll be part of the power structure once a coach signs on.
Here are some other items coming from the AFC as Week 13 Sunday looms.
- With Darrelle Revis set to miss Sunday’s Jets-Giants game with a concussion, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes the 30-year-old All-Pro’s future isn’t as certain as people may think, considering he’s now suffered head injuries in each of his past four seasons. Revis sustained official concussions this season and in Sept. 2012 and missed time with concussion-like symptoms in December 2013 and in January of this year.
- Jets cornerback Marcus Williams‘ emergence points toward him ascending to the starting lineup full-time next season in place of Antonio Cromartie, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. Cimini expects the Jets to strongly considering cutting Cromartie after one season of a three-year deal, with the nine-year veteran having no dead money on his contract after this season. A second-year UDFA, Williams will make just $600K in 2016.
- Expected to return after a four-week absence, Patriots outside linebacker Jamie Collins provided little on the illness that sidelined him. “I was sick,” Collins told media, including Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. “That’s all I know. I was just feeling real bad. I don’t want to talk about it, bring up memories.” The athletic linebacker’s lack of interest in disclosing what was behind a mysterious absence falls in line with the Patriots’ M.O. That notwithstanding, New England figures to need his services now that it’s expected to be without Dont’a Hightower for a bit.
- The Broncos delaying their season-defining decision on whether to officially bench Peyton Manning should be put off as long as possible, Troy Renck of the Denver Post writes. Renck notes that while Osweiler’s inspired more confidence among his teammates than Brian Griese had when he was prematurely promoted in 1999, an injury or subsequent struggles from the career backup would make a Manning return awkward if the team had already declared him the backup.
Practice Squad Updates: 11/30/15
Today’s practice squad moves from around the NFL:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: C Cornelius Edison (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune)
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Asa Jackson (Twitter link via Coley Harvey of ESPN.com)
- Cut: OG Dan France
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: OL Daniel Munyer (Twitter link via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star)
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Mike Lee, LB Brandon Hepburn (Twitter link via team)
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Rico Richardson (Twitter link via Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com)
Washington
- Signed: CB Jeremy Harris (via press release)
Coaching Notes: USC, Payton, Fisher, Fins
It wasn’t an NFL coaching job, but the USC head coaching position was expected to have an impact on the NFL, since a number of the school’s potential candidates were current coaches or coordinators around the league. However, the Trojans announced today (via Twitter) that interim coach Clay Helton will become the team’s permanent head coach going forward, meaning that Chip Kelly and other coaches around the NFL can be crossed off the list.
It sounds like USC did reach out to Kelly to gauge his interest before deciding to move forward with Helton though. According to FootballScoop.com (Twitter link), USC officials met with Kelly last week, but the Eagles head coach prefers to remain in the NFL. Similarly, USC checked in on Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio, who told the Trojans he’s not leaving Oakland, tweets Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News.
Here are a few more coaching-related items from around the league:
- Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com believes that the Saints should “go ahead and start sniffing around” for teams that may be interested in giving up a draft pick or two for head coach Sean Payton, since this winter looks like a good time for an overhaul. La Canfora identifies the Browns, Colts, Dolphins, and Titans as teams that might have interest in Payton, and suggests that the draft pick return could be “substantial.”
- Having lost four games in a row, Jeff Fisher‘s Rams are in a downward spiral, and Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com believes it’s time for the team to make coaching change at season’s end.
- Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter link) hears that the decision to fire offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was made by Dolphins interim head coach Dan Campbell, who had “shown signs of displeasure” with the offense during the club’s last few games.
- The Giants could have taken a commanding lead in the weak NFC East division with a win over Washington on Sunday, but the fact that the team couldn’t get it done puts head coach Tom Coughlin on the hot seat, writes Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
- Several weeks ago, with his team scuffling along at 2-5, head coach Bill O’Brien didn’t exactly look safe in Houston. Four wins later though, Texans owner Bob McNair is giving O’Brien credit for the team’s success, telling Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, “I think he’s doing a fine job.”
Latest On Chip Kelly, Howie Roseman
It was not that long ago that Eagles executive vice president of football operations, Howie Roseman, was essentially demoted from general manager and relieved of most of his personnel duties while head coach Chip Kelly was given the reins as de facto GM. Now, however, the tide may be turning in Roseman’s favor. After Philadelphia’s blowout loss on Thanksgiving, Kelly, according to a tweet from Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, was “despondent,” “feeling the heat,” and “considering all options.” Although Kelly remains intent on fixing his team’s struggles, the odds that he remains in Philadelphia beyond this season are growing slimmer with each passing day.
That is not to say that he will definitely not return. After all, he guided his club to 10-6 records in each of his first two years in Philadelphia, and if the team is able to acquire a quarterback that has the skill-set to excel in his offensive system–like Colin Kaepernick, for instance–there is no reason to believe that the Eagles cannot return to the top of the NFC East in 2016. If we were talking simply about Kelly the coach, it would be almost foolish to think that he would not remain with the team next year.
The problem is, Kelly the coach is also Kelly the GM, and as Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com points out, that means that Kelly is fully responsible for what has happened to the Eagles this season, including the predictable struggles of the Sam Bradford-led offense. Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that Kelly the GM took gambles on players with extensive injury histories who unsurprisingly have missed time with injury, he chose the wrong veteran players to send packing, and per Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Kelly’s behavior concerning injured players has left much to be desired.
If Kelly is to leave Philadelphia, voluntarily or otherwise, he would immediately become the most sought-after option among college programs looking for a new head coach, and that may be an increasingly tempting possibility for him. Indeed, Rapoport tweets that USC has reached out to Kelly to express the school’s interest in him, and the Trojans are just one of a number of teams that could be a nice landing spot for the embattled coach (although Rapoport does add that the Titans, who are committed to the quarterback that Kelly tried to draft in May, Marcus Mariota, could make a run at Kelly if he becomes available).
Should Kelly depart, Florio speculates that Roseman could be on the verge of seizing a level of control over the Eagles that he has never had before. After all, as Kelly rightfully has borne the brunt of the blame for his club’s struggles in 2016, Roseman has, by comparison, come out smelling like a rose. Although there are plenty of writers both inside and outside of the Eagles beat who believe Kelly will remain in Philadelphia next year, it would be very easy for owner Jeffrey Lurie to move on from Kelly and restore Roseman to the GM role. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but if the Thanksgiving debacle was a harbinger of things to come, Roseman could once again be running the show in Philadelphia in a couple of months.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/28/15
As teams finalize their rosters for Week 12 games, we’ll round up Saturday’s latest minor transactions from around the NFL right here:
- In addition to making the promotion of tight end Asante Cleveland (reported yesterday) official, the Patriots have also moved linebacker Darius Fleming from their practice squad to the 53-man roster, cutting safety Dewey McDonald to make room, tweets Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. McDonald’s stint on the active roster didn’t last long — he was just signed two days ago.
Earlier updates:
- The Chiefs have promoted wide receiver Frankie Hammond to the 53-man roster, waiving cornerback Saalim Hakim in a corresponding move, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. Hammond returned 15 punts for the Chiefs in 2014, so he may get a shot at that job this weekend with De’Anthony Thomas sidelined.
- The Dolphins have made a change on defense, cutting linebacker Mike Hull and replacing him on the 53-man roster with safety Shamiel Gary, who received a promotion from the practice squad (Twitter link). If he’s active on Sunday, Gary would get the opportunity to appear in his first regular season NFL game.
- As expected, the Titans have elevated outside linebacker Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil to their active roster, waiving wide receiver Rico Richardson to create an opening, tweets Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com. Head coach Mike Mularkey had indicated on Friday that Cudjoe-Virgil was in line for a promotion from the practice squad.
- The Bears have swapped one long snapper for another, signing Patrick Scales and waiving Thomas Gafford, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Having been with the team all season, Gafford is eligible to collect the rest of his 2015 salary in termination pay.
AFC Notes: Bills, Jets, Titans
A quick look around the AFC:
- The Bills will be without injured Pro Bowl defensive linemen Mario Williams and Kyle Williams in Kansas City on Sunday, and The Buffalo News’ Tyler Dunne wonders (on Twitter) whether the team will part with them in the offseason. If the Bills cut both after the season, they’ll save $17.9MM on their salary cap in 2016 ($12.9MM for Mario Williams, $5MM for Kyle Williams).
- Jets receiver Devin Smith, a second-round pick in last year’s draft, has put up a disappointing rookie season in terms of production. Smith has just seven catches in as many games and has had issues with drops, but offensive coordinator Chan Gailey isn’t worried. “We’ve got to keep letting him have the opportunity,” Gailey said, according to The Associated Press. “I think he just needs to get his confidence back. I haven’t lost confidence in him. I’ve just got to make sure that he keeps confidence in himself.”
- The Titans could promote linebacker Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil from their practice squad sometime this weekend, interim head coach Mike Mularkey said (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com). Cudjoe-Virgil signed with the Titans in the spring as an undrafted free agent out of Maryland.
Extra Points: Martin, Manziel, Kelly, Coaches
As we progress into Thanksgiving night, here’s some news from around the league, beginning in Tampa Bay.
- Buccaneers running back Doug Martin is set to hit the open market after this season, but it sounds like he wants to stay put. “I love Tampa. I built a house here,” Martin said, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (on Twitter). When asked if Tampa is his No. 1 priority, the tailback responded in the affirmative. On Tuesday, coach Lovie Smith called the fourth-year back a “priority” for the team in the offseason.
- Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) hears that the decision by Browns coach Mike Pettine to bench Johnny Manziel is part of an overall power struggle between Pettine and GM Ray Farmer. Farmer and others within the organization would like to see Manziel continue on as the starter in 2015, but Pettine doesn’t believe that Manziel has made any strides towards getting his act together. Cole speculates that Pettine could move to trade or cut Manziel in the offseason and that could lead to a showdown between the coach and GM.
- Black coaches around the league are concerned with the lack of black offensive coordinators or quarterback coaches, Cole hears (video link). There are only three black OCs — Hue Jackson (Bengals), Edgar Bennett (Packers) and Harold Goodwin (Cardinals) — and only Jackson calls plays for his team. Cole goes on to mention how there are no black quarterback coaches and how the coaches that spoke to him are observing a key avenue for potential promotions being largely cut off for black coaches.
- Months after a Chip Kelly–Marcus Mariota reunion didn’t end up transpiring in the draft, the embattled Eagles coach could end up instructing him again, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Should Kelly be interested in coaching the Titans, whose placement of Mike Mularkey as head coach Florio views as a temporary status considering his past, the teams could work out a trade if Jeffrey Lurie is willing to part with Kelly after what’s looking like a disappointing season concludes. A trade or Kelly forcing his way out of Philadelphia could be in play, Florio offers.
Sam Robinson contributed to this report
Latest On Brock Osweiler, Peyton Manning
The Broncos are in no rush to get Peyton Manning back on the field, and they intend to give Brock Osweiler at least two games under center, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Manning, who is dealing with a partial tear in his foot along with the rib and shoulder issues that have been plaguing him for some time, is not expected to play until he is able to practice regularly in preparation for a game. And if Osweiler performs well, or even decently, there is a chance that the Broncos will not turn back to Manning at all. Indeed, after speaking to sources inside the organization, Mike Silver of the NFL Network has concluded that Osweiler is not merely keeping Manning’s seat warm until the future Hall-of-Famer returns. Instead, Silver says, Manning has simply been benched (Twitter link via NFL Media).
To say that Manning has performed poorly this season would be an understatement. He leads the NFL in interceptions (17) and ranks 31st in overall passer rating. If his name were not Peyton Manning, he may have been benched several weeks ago. And, since the Broncos will likely be in rebuilding mode next season, the switch to Osweiler represents something of a win-win scenario; Osweiler, who is considerably more mobile than Manning, will allow head coach Gary Kubiak to open up his playbook and therefore help the team in its current playoff push while also allowing Denver to determine if he can be the permanent answer under center.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com agrees with La Canfora’s report, although he adds that Broncos officials are split as to whether Osweiler is the team’s quarterback of the future. That is why the team has not yet discussed a possible contract extension with Osweiler, who is eligible for free agency at the end of the season. However, if Osweiler can effectively manage the next several games, the Broncos’ approach to their quarterback situation could begin to take shape.
The expectation is that Manning, after he retires, will ultimately pursue a front office position. Whether that happens immediately after he retires is another story, but La Canfora writes in a separate piece that if Manning is ready for such a role in 2016, there will be a number of teams willing to give him a shot. Per La Canfora, the Titans and Browns are two clubs that would love to bring Manning aboard, and there are a few factors to suggest that either team would be an attractive landing spot. For instance, Manning has strong ties to Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, and he has long held that he would like to live in Tennessee when his playing days are over. Of course, someone with Manning’s reputation can afford to wait for the perfect opportunity, but as the end of his playing career may be accelerated this afternoon, it is natural for the rest of us to speculate as to what will come next for an all-time great.