NFL Player News

Johnson (6'3/200) has a chance to continue coming into his own after he totaled 79 tackles (53 solo), five passes defended, one sack and one interception in 2021. According to Pro Football Focus, he recorded an 89.5 run defense grade that was top among SEC cornerbacks. He’s a name that’s a bit more under the radar, but maybe he won’t be for too much longer.

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.

Campanile, who spent three seasons as Miami’s linebackers coach under Brian Flores and Mike McDaniel, is fresh off coaching the Jaguars defense to an astounding 2025 season. Jacksonville ranked second in takeaways and allowed the NFL’s third lowest rushing success rate and the 11th lowest drop back success rate. In Miami, Campanile would take over a defense in need of a rebuild and an uncertain quarterback situation.

Smith, still technically the Steelers’ offensive coordinator, is apparently a hot name on the head coaching circuit right now. The Titans are slated to talk with Smith — who once coached Tennessee’s offense — about their head coaching vacancy and now the Cardinals are interested after firing Jonathan Gannon after his disastrous run as Arizona’s head coach. Smith would likely oversee a rebuild in Arizona, with the team seemingly intent on moving on from Kyler Murray. A run-heavy play caller, Smith’s Steelers ranked sixth in rushing success rate and seventh in rushing EPA in 2025.

O’Connor describes the meeting as a “big development” as multiple teams pursue Harbaugh as their next head coach. The Giants have reportedly been “all in” on landing Harbaugh since he was fired by the Ravens last week. Harbaugh, who won 61.4 percent of his games over 18 seasons in Baltimore, has also talked to the Titans and Falcons about their head coaching vacancies. Jaxson Dart’s hopeful rookie season performance could be the deciding factor for Harbaugh as he weighs his options.

Though Smith technically remains the Steelers OC, he’ll be elsewhere in 2026 after head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down on Tuesday afternoon. Smith served as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2020, creating a dominant run-heavy offense quarterbacked by Ryan Tannehill. If the Titans bring back Smith as the team’s head coach, he would likely install a similarly run-first offense around QB Cam Ward. Probably it wouldn’t be a great development for Ward’s fantasy prospects in 2026 and beyond. Smith’s Steelers offense in 2025 ranked 18th in EPA per play. They had the league’s sixth highest rushing success rate.

After firing offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo following a mostly disastrous 2025 season, the Eagles should seek “a fresh set of eyes” to reevaluate the Philly offense and how it utilizes its skill position players, Murphy said. McDaniel, who designed and called plays for a Miami offense that ranked among the NFL’s most efficient from 2022 to 2024 — before the team’s 2025 collapse. Eagles players, including DeVonta Smith, said after the team’s Wild Card loss to the 49ers that the offensive scheme had not changed at all in recent years despite the Eagles shuffling through offensive coordinators. That suggests the problem lies with head coach Nick Sirianni. “Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie pride themselves on being ahead of the curve. They’d rather be a year early than a year late,” Murphy said. “Right now, it is getting late early. McDaniel or not, they need a new voice, an inventive mind, and a fresh set of eyes. Anybody else will end up right where Patullo is. And that’s not fair to anybody.”