NFL Player News

“Defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach” Steve Wilks will take over as interim coach. Essentially a dead man walking since late last season, Rhule did nothing to change his circumstances through his first 1-4 start to the 2022 season. Even in a bad year for offense, the Panthers have been a special brand of unwatchable, and seem to have zero coherent ideas about how to move the ball. Sunday saw the team resort to five “Shi Smith” targets. Baker Mayfield’s atrocious play is the biggest problem, of course, but it’s just a symptom of the larger issue of “offensive mind” Rhule having zero idea how he wants to generate points at the NFL level. He has gone after one quarterback scam after another. Likely already fueling up private jets for visits to places like Nebraska, 47-year-old Rhule will be back on NCAA sidelines next fall. As for the Panthers, it is time for supposedly analytics-minded owner David Tepper to get serious about bringing his franchise into the 21st century.

Per Wilson, Ferentz is expected to coach tight ends, though his role has not yet been formally defined. The former offensive lineman entered the NFL in 2014 as an undrafted free agent with the Texans. He joined the Broncos in 2015 and spent 2018-2023 with the Patriots. Ferentz spent the last two seasons serving as an assistant offensive line coach with the Giants.

Maye practiced in a limited capacity on Wednesday and Thursday, nursing an injury in his right shoulder. He was downgraded today after coming down with an illness. The Patriots have another week of practice before Super Bowl LX will be played. We have no concerns about his availability.

Darnold was limited in practice today. The Seahawks continue to smartly take it easy on their star quarterback as he rehabs his multi-week soft tissue injury. Darnold threw for a season-high 346 yards against the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. We have no concerns about his availability. The team removed him from this week’s injury report at the end of the day, indicating he would play if Super Bowl LX were to be played this weekend.

The hiring reunites Breyer with new Browns head coach Todd Monken, who previously served as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator. Breyer served as a Ravens offensive assistant, working closely with tight ends, over the last two years. The Ravens hired him in an offensive quality control capacity in 2023. He worked for the Falcons as an offensive assistant from 2020-2021 before serving as their run game specialist in 2022. He served as an analytics assistant with the Buccaneers in 2016 before working as a defensive assistant coach with them from 2017-2018. He worked with the Dolphins coaching staff during OTAs in 2015 as well.

Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, is the executor of the trust and has a “directive from her late brother to eventually sell both [the Seahawks and Trail Blazers] and donate the proceeds to charity.” Per the report, “Sportico values the Seahawks at $6.59 billion” and “one team executive told ESPN that the Seahawks could fetch $7 billion to $8 billion.”

The Raiders and Cardinals were among the first five teams to ask for interviews with Kubiak. He has consistently been linked to the Raiders, and co-owner Tom Brady has notably called multiple Seahawks games as of late. Kubiak impressed viewers early in 2024, running a then-healthy Saints offense that was eventually hampered by injuries down the stretch. Fortunately, the Seahawks’ offense has largely enjoyed good health this season, allowing Kubiak to establish himself as a top-tier play caller. Across the full season, the Seahawks rank fourth in yards per play (5.9) and second in yards per pass play (8.49).

It’s a bit of a surprise because Doyle removed his name from consideration for the Eagles job ... but this is Lamar Jackson. The Ravens were able to interview Doyle for a “lateral” move by giving him control of the playcalling. Doyle, who was on Sean Payton’s staff in Denver before being poached by Ben Johnson to the offensive coordinator role, has some powerful roots in some of the NFL’s best offenses. He also has never called plays before and was born in 1996, so there is some risk here. The Ravens are betting on pedigree. We’ll be fascinated to see what Doyle says at his introductory presser, as Baltimore’s focus on offense could raise or lower ceilings for some of the most high-profile players in the fantasy game.

Well, what he really said was “look, it’s his offense. It’s not something where he’s got to do something else or be like – this is his show, man.” Holmes praised Petzing’s “impressive” job calling plays despite Arizona’s personnel issues and noted that Petzing isn’t married to a system so much as a philosophy to “maximize personnel of what’s available.” We’re not totally sold on Petzing’s work in Arizona, but it’s clear that NFL decision makers saw it differently. How the Lions change schematically in Petzing’s view will be a very real question over the next six months.

Terms were not announced, but this was the expected outcome even after Green Bay’s playoff meltdown against the Bears in the Wild Card round. Gutekunst has done a great job of getting a wide base of talent for the Packers, and finally shook the “lack of star power” haters with a fearless trade for Micah Parsons before the season. Now without a first-round pick, the Packers will hope they can build enough talent around Jordan Love and Parsons for the team to be trending in the right direction for next year’s playoffs.

The exact range is said to be $301.2 million to $305.7 million per club. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero notes that this is nearly $100 million more than the $208.2 million salary cap in 2022. The exact number will be finalized before free agency begins on March 11th.