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Bisaccia and the Colts met over a week ago and are now prepared for another sit-down. In what has proven to be an extensive coaching search for the Colts, Bisaccia is one of several candidates who have received a second interview as they look to beat out former interim head coach Jeff Saturday. Bisaccia last led the Raiders to a 7-5 record in 2021 following the dismissal of John Gruden, but wasn’t asked to return as head coach after the season. He spent the past season in Green Bay serving as the team’s special teams coordinator.

It sounds like most of Detroit’s regulars will be going against the Bears in Week 18, though perhaps if there’s any long-term concern about a particular injury, a player or two could sit. Detroit has nothing to play for but can still spoil Chicago’s bid to be the No. 2 seed.

Steichen said in his Monday press conference that the team was still “having discussions” on who will start the finale against Houston, and that the team would announce a decision Wednesday. It’s possible that 44-year-old Philip Rivers could get one more chance at a win, but the Colts may want to see what they have in the (much) younger Riley Leonard. Anthony Richardson could also potentially get the nod for the meaningless finale, but with the signal-caller still dealing with vision limitations, it seems unlikely.

Campbell said that St. Brown should be good “long term” and that the wideout wants to play against the Bears. But Campbell also noted “If we’re sitting there borderline and...it could be hard or we think they’re setting themselves up for long-term risk, then no, it’s not worth it” when asked about playing injured players. It’s hard to read between the lines there, but we think St. Brown has a chance to play in Week 18 based on how minor this feels.

For those of you keeping up-to-the-minute updates on the end of the Raiders season — there’s a few of you, right? — Carroll said yesterday that Smith had a high-ankle sprain. He apparently does not have that, after all. But what he does have remains significant. The end result is probably still Kenny Pickett starting in Week 18 against the Chiefs in a game that the Raiders clearly want to lose. Pickett does, admittedly, give them a leg up in that competition. We’ll see if he can match Chris Olodokun throw for throw.

Badgley had a PAT blocked after being elevated from the practice squad in the one-point loss to the Eagles in Week 17. Matt Prater (quad) is expected to be ready to kick in Week 18 as well as the playoffs.

McCreary played four games for the Rams earlier this season after being acquired from the Titans before the trade deadline. His return will help cover over the loss of Quintin Lake as the Rams look to get their defense back on track ahead of the playoffs.

The Vikings will see how McCarthy’s grip strength is at the end of the week. It still feels like it’s more likely that McCarthy sits if they’re only really going to check him at week’s end, but the door is at least cracked a little for a Week 18 return against Green Bay. If McCarthy sits again, Max Brosmer will likely get to close out the season with his unique sack-taking stylings. O’Connell did notably say that he wants all quarterbacks (including John Wolford and Brett Rypien) to be “ready to play.”

His lingering litigation against the NFL for discriminatory hiring practices has not stopped teams from realizing he runs a great defense. Flores interviewed for the Bears head-coaching job last year, and was also requested to interview by the Jets and Jaguars in the carousel. Despite several injuries and a (quarterback-driven) bad offense, Flores’ Vikings enter the final week of the regular season fourth in defensive DVOA.

“Never say never but not an ideal timeline to be fully cleared,” the source added. PFT also adds that Mike Tomlin told CBS’ Tracy Wolfson that Watt won’t play until he has a “week of practice as a full participant,” meaning the tea leaves could reveal themselves rather quickly on Wednesday. Watt got in three limited practices last week.

He had been a rumored target for NFL teams in the coaching carousel this year and drew interest from the Bears last offseason. The Giants, in particular, had been linked to Freeman. Still just 39, Freeman probably will have more NFL interviews in the future. For now, it seems like Freeman got a nice raise out of being linked around the coaching cycle, so that’s just good business by him.