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The 28-year-old was a liability in coverage while picking up mid-season snaps with the Falcons last season. Lovie Smith’s Tampa-2 defense should be a better for his skills, though he’s unlikely to play beyond sub-packages.

Scheelhaase has quietly become a popular man on the head coaching circuit. The Ravens, Raiders, and Browns have all requested interviews with him. He received multiple offensive coordinator interviews last offseason but chose to stay with the Rams, at which point the team promoted him to his current position. The move, or lack thereof, proved prescient. LA led the league in scoring this year and Matthew Stafford is likely going to earn his first career MVP award. Scheelhaase would be a stark departure from the style of Mike Tomlin, but maybe that’s what Pittsburgh needs after nearly a decade without a postseason win.

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo notes that Pierce previously worked with Falcons president of football Matt Ryan at CBS Sports. Pierce served as the Raiders’ head coach in the NFL in 2024, after assuming interim head-coaching duties with in 2023. His 2024 Raiders squad went 4-13, and he was fired in January 2025.

Forrest spent time on the Bills, Colts and Steelers’ practice squads this season. He was on the Commanders’ roster from 2021-2024, posting career-bests in pass break-ups (five), interceptions (four) and tackles (66) in 2022. The 49ers also signed TE Hayden Rucci to the practice squad, released WR Javon Baker and signed WR Colton Dowell to a reserve/future contract.

Gonzalez is currently in the league’s concussion protocol and will presumably be limited in today’s practice. Still, it’s a step in the right direction from one of New England’s best defenders. Gonzalez suffered the brain injury versus the Chargers in the Wild Card Round and did not return. He tallied 10 pass breakups and 69 combined tackles during the regular season.

ESPN’s Todd Archer notes that Parker is the seventh known candidate for the position. Parker interviewed for the Saints’ defensive coordinator vacancy last year, after his first season in his current roles with the Eagles. He previously coached the Broncos’ defensive backs from 2021-2023.

The team seems intent on continuing the Hunter experiment, in which he plays cornerback and wide receiver. Hunter, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in November, wasn’t particularly effective as a wideout in 2025, but will get another shot in 2026 assuming he’s fully recovered from his knee injury. Hunter had 28 receptions for 298 yards and a touchdown over seven games this year. He could be the second or third pass-catching option for the Jaguars in 2026.

Thielen, 35, was clear about his intent to hang it up after the 2025 season. He was picked up off waivers after asking the Vikings to release him in early December when it became clear the team was not going to make the playoffs. An undrafted wideout out of Minnesota, he was signed by the home team Vikings in 2014 and went on to record 704 receptions for 8,497 yards and 64 touchdowns, establishing himself as an all-time Vikings great. Thielen’s career peaked in 2018, when he had more than 1,300 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. He was among the NFL scoring leaders with 24 receiving touchdowns over the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Rooney was asked in a Wednesday presser whether the Steelers would trade Tomlin to another team hoping to fill their head coaching vacancy with the Steelers legend this offseason. “Mike indicated that he did not anticipate coaching, at least in the near future,” Rooney said. “If something like that comes up, we’ll deal with it when it comes up. But right now, it doesn’t appear to be on his radar.” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday that several NFL teams were interested in talking to Tomlin about their head coaching jobs. It seems unlikely Tomlin will be on an NFL sideline in 2026.

Rooney said during a Wednesday press conference that Rodgers came to Pittsburgh last offseason to “play for Mike [Tomlin].” With Tomlin parting ways with the Steelers on Tuesday, there’s vanishingly little chance Rodgers will return for a second season with the Steelers. Rodgers, 42, collapsed in the team’s Wild Card loss to the Texans, and did not answer post-game questions about his future in the NFL. NFL fans are likely in for another long offseason of Rodgers hinting he might come back if he finds the right situation. He engaged in talks with the Vikings last offseason.

Tomlin on Tuesday stepped down from the Steelers head coaching job following the team’s Wild Card loss to the Texans. TV networks are reportedly jockeying to hire Tomlin as an NFL analyst for next season while teams with head coaching vacancies are reaching out in case Tomlin, 54, is still interested in coaching. Rapoport said the Steelers still have Tomlin’s “rights,” and that “draft compensation would be necessary” if a team were to sign Tomlin. “That said, teams were told Tomlin does not plan to coach next year,” Rapoport said. We don’t expect Tomlin on an NFL sideline in 2026.