NFL Player News

Roderick Johnson drew the start in Saturday’s preseason game against Detroit, leading some to question Kalil’s depth chart position, though O’Brien assured he’ll be protecting Deshaun Watson’s blind side come Week 1. “He’ll play next week,” said O’Brien, referring to next Saturday’s dress rehearsal at Dallas. “Just managing reps throughout the preseason, that’s all that is.” A one-time Pro Bowler, the eighth-year lineman missed all of last year with a knee injury.

The Steelers are now up to seven interview requests for the opening left by Mike Tomlin. Six of them are with defensive coordinators. Without a young quarterback in need of an offensive mind at the helm, it looks like Pittsburgh will attack the other side of the ball with its head coaching hire. Hafley has been contacted by six teams for head coaching interviews. He has held the role of defensive coordinator in Green Bay for two seasons.

Oliver and Curtis Samuel, also questionable, are on injured reserve. The Bills have to activate them from injured reserve tomorrow if they are going to play, so we will get more information on them soon. Oliver is the bigger name between the two, but even Samuel could be an important piece in the offense. Tyrell Shavers and Gabe Davis suffered season-ending injuries last week and Josh Palmer was placed on IR ahead of the playoffs. Oliver has only appeared in three games this year. He has a sack in each game.

Jordan Poyer will also miss this game with a hamstring issue. Neither player was able to practice before today. The Bills will be undermanned in the secondary as they travel to take on the Broncos in Denver. Per usual, it will be up to Josh Allen to put the team on his bcak this week.

Evero has been one of the more highly-regarded defensive coordinators in the league for a while. He has been with the Panthers as their DC for three years and previously spent a year in Denver with the same role. The Panthers just finished in the top half of the league in yards and points allowed, though they were a below-average unit by EPA per play. Evero has head coaching interviews with the Raiders, Falcons, and Steelers. He also received head coaching looks last year.

The Lions are in need of a new OC after firing John Morton. Morton lasted one season on the job and was stripped of play-calling duties late in the year. Head coach Dan Campbell took over that responsibility from Week 10 onward. The offense got more aggressive under Campebll but wasn’t that much more successful. Campbell is expected to give over play-calling duties to his next coordinator. Smith would likely get a lot out of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, but his history of run-first football would not bode well for Jared Goff and the rest of the passing attack. For a team chasing the loss of offensive guru Ben Johnson, Smith would be a markedly underwhelming hire.

John Harbaugh is expected to officially sign with the Giants later today. His refusal to move on from Monken was reportedly one of the reasons for his falling out with the Ravens. The Bucs are also interested in Monken for an OC gig. That would reunite him with Baker Mayfield after the two spent a year together in Cleveland. Of note, Jim Harbaugh also has an OC opening, though we suspect Monken will simply stick with John and head to New York. Though Lamar Jackson’s play fell off this year, Monken got an MVP season out of him and nearly picked up a second, though Josh Allen swiped the award at the final hour. The hope will be that Monken’s success with the hyper-mobile Jackson will translate to a second-year leap for Jaxson Dart. Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo would also get a boost in early drafts if Monken signs on.

Per Rapoport, the Giants will spend the morning hammering out the details, but Harbaugh has accepted the job. We should get confirmation on the deal later today. He will become one of the league’s highest-paid coaches once the ink is dry. Things have been moving in this direction for a while. Harbaugh visited the Giants’ facility yesterday, met with the New York brass, and even talked with Jaxson Dart in person. There were reports that he would meet with the Titans today, but those plans have likely been called off. The Giants have won more than eight games just twice in the past 13 seasons. Harbaugh, on the other hand, never won fewer than eight games during his 18-year run as the team’s head coach. He will bring an unmatched floor and cultural shift to the organization. The question now will be what kind of ceiling he can achieve. That was ultimately his issue at the end of his Baltimore days, and it will be the determining factor in whether or not his Giants tenure is a success.

That’s “barring setbacks.” Things have been trending this way for the past few days, though the Titans and Falcons were still hoping to make a race of it. The Giants have the quarterback and the seeming pure desperation to put them over the top in the fight for Harbaugh’s services. We would expect official word to arrive some time on Thursday, likely early in the day.

Robinson is from the Sean McVay coaching tree and has spent the last two seasons as the Falcons’ offensive coordinator. Though the mixture of Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins at quarterback did not work out, Robinson got productive seasons out of Drake London and Kyle Pitts to go along with a dual All-Pro 2025 season from Bijan Robinson. The Lions are continuing to look for a new offensive coordinator and Robinson has some history with Jared Goff from their days with the Rams.

The Dolphins throw another name into the mix, adding Brady to their list of head coaching interview requests. He helmed a season that seemed underwhelming as it pertains to the Bills’ usual offensive standards. The lack of passing attack was apparent, though the run game was consistently good for Brady’s group. Brady has received a couple of interview requests this offseason and would certainly bring an interesting dimension to De’Von Achane’s usage in the Dolphins offense should he get the role.