NFL Player News

Francisco, one of Arizona’s top special teams players, has a sprained MCL. LB Karlos Dansby is awaiting test results on his own knee, and hoping he only has an MCL sprain. Monty Beisel is Dansby’s backup on the weak side.

McDaniel, who is no sure-fire shot to get a head-coaching job though he’s still a candidate with the Ravens and Raiders, is interviewing for the Chargers offensive coordinator job today. It doesn’t look great for the Browns that they couldn’t convince McDaniel to come in for a second interview given the fact that he may be looking at settling into an offensive coordinator spot. Still on the Browns list for second interviews are: Jaguars OC Grant Udinski, Rams passing-game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, former Ravens OC Todd Monken and Chargers DC Jesse Minter.

Not that this qualifies as “surprising,” but Kraft out-and-out said as much in an appearance on a Boston radio show. He also noted that owners were planning to “push like the Dickens” to make “so that every team every year will play one game overseas.” Kraft concluded by saying “as long as we can keep growing revenue we can keep long-term labor peace.” The current NFL CBA extends through the 2030 season, so we won’t have to spend too much time on this in the near future, but the specter of 18 games will continue to hover over labor negotiations as we hit the end of the decade.

Specifically, Petzing ran with much heavier personnel than the Lions are used to seeing and have run a lot of 13-personnel (three tight ends, one running back) since 2023. We doubt the Lions will go quite that big quite that often — that means one of Jameson Williams or Amon-Ra St. Brown is off the field — but we do think that Trey McBride’s success under Petzing generally augurs well for LaPorta in 2026. Of course, given that LaPorta (back) seems questionable for training camp after surgery, we don’t exactly know that the Lions will be able to pull this off. LaPorta seems like a boom-bust pick in Best Ball drafts from where we sit in January.

A late-season cut by Dallas, the Packers added Diggs to the roster on New Year’s Eve. He played 33 defensive snaps in Week 18’s loss to the Vikings (started by Clayton Tune) and one snap in their loss to the Bears in the NFC Wild Card round. Diggs is entering his age-28 season and seems likely to be a stopgap option for some team in free agency.

Do take a minute to look at the linked graphic for “Jesse Minter 2nd Interview,” what a glorious expression of the NFL coaching silly season. Minter remains in play for the Ravens, Browns, and Raiders jobs. We’d be surprised if he didn’t land one of them considering he’s had multiple second interviews, but the Chargers would happily take him back if Minter struck out on the remaining vacancies.

He added, “things can change.” Lot of caveats in this bit of hope, it sounds like. Nabers told reporters after the season that he was unsure about his return date. It wouldn’t be surprising if Nabers’ ACL and meniscus repairs keep him out well into training camp. He’ll be a caveat emptor all-star in offseason drafts — the talent is obviously there and he barely even got to play with Jaxson Dart. His health remains a big question mark at this time.

“It was rough, man. It was rough,” Odunze said. “I’m not going to sit here and say I can barely — you know, it is what it is. We play through injuries. It’s part of the game. I’m not going to sit here and make excuses about the foot, but something I was dealing with.” Odunze managed identical 2/44 lines in both Bears playoff games while playing through the foot injury. It’s great news that the injury won’t be a long-term concern for Odunze, who should be high in the Bears passing game pecking order again in 2026.

Jackson starts with Malik Willis, who spent the last two years marinating in Packers culture. The Dolphins have a very clear need at the position after benching Tua Tagovailoa late last season. Money might be an issue with the Dolphins starting the offseason $30 million over the cap, but it’s easy to connect the dots here and see Willis in Miami. Quay Walker, Kingsley Enagbare, Romeo Doubs and Sean Rhyan are also potential fits per Jackson.

Pitcher had an interview for the Browns head-coaching position and was also allowed to interview for a lateral move with the Buccaneers, a place where he’d actually get to call plays. To say the Bengals winding back up with Callahan after his stint as Titans head coach would be predictable is an insult to the word predictable. It would practically be written in the stars. Well, assuming Pitcher gets a new gig, anyway. Callahan has also interviewed for the Chargers and Buccaneers offensive coordinator jobs this cycle.

That would make three second interviews for Minter, who has also met with the Browns twice and Raiders twice. He’s also still an active candidate with the Steelers. He interviewed for the Dolphins, Titans, and Falcons jobs before they hired Jeff Hafley, Robert Saleh, and Kevin Stefanski respectively. Minter to the Ravens has felt like a natural fit for a bit and he was mentioned as a favorite early in the process, so it’s not surprising to see him get a second interview.