NFL Player News

The Giants continue to revamp their pass rush with a little more than a week to go until the start of the regular season. After acquiring linebacker Isaiah Simmons from the Cardinals last week, they have now added Basham, a former second-round pick from the 2021 NFL Draft. Since entering the league, Basham has totaled 4.5 sacks in 23 games and could serve as a situational pass rusher in Wink Martindale’s blitz-heavy scheme.

Tomlin told his players that he plans to step away from coaching. We’re not completely sure that he’ll be content with a booth gig, and at the very least other NFL teams will spend the next 36-48 hours trying to change his mind on that. Tomlin was 193-114-2 in his 19 years as Steelers head coach, winning a Super Bowl in 2008 and going to another in 2010. The end of his career became a morass of tough defensive teams that didn’t have a quarterback as Ben Roethlisberger declined, and yet Tomlin persisted in dragging the team to the playoffs in five of the last six seasons anyway. The Steelers head coaching vacancy figures to be an extremely attractive one for other head coaches, but Tomlin has set a standard that will be hard to match.

Everybody’s doing it. Not enough people are talking about the dangers of peer pressure forcing you to interview Jesse Minter for their head-coaching vacancy at home. Here are the signs you need to look out for if your teens come home wanting to interview Jesse Minter. There are now eight teams with head-coaching vacancies and all eight have requested an interview with the 42 year-old defensive coordinator who held Drake Maye’s offense to 16 points in the AFC Wild Card round. We’re not sure if Minter will get a head-coaching job this cycle, but he’s definitely going to lead all coaches in words used in interviews.

J.J. McCarthy “is going to be a major emphasis” per O’Connell, but the coach said “the competition in that room will only enhance the entire team.” It sure sounds like the Vikings are going to give McCarthy a bar he’ll have to clear in 2026 to start, whether that’s something like Mac Jones, another rookie, or perhaps a different bridge quarterback. McCarthy’s dynasty value and 2026 redraft value will take a major hit until and unless he manages to beat his competition out, leaving him a best ball flier at best.

Kafka also has an interview scheduled with the Lions for their offensive coordinator vacancy. The Giants offense struggled for most of last year, though they did use three quarterbacks including rookie Jaxson Dart. Kafka never actually played with a full suite of options as Giants offensive coordinator and would be mildly interesting in a spot with better personnel. His roots with Andy Reid have led several reporters to conclude he might draw an interview there once the Chiefs moves on from Matt Nagy. (Or once Matt Nagy moves on from the Chiefs.)

Busy day in the Brian Flores mines. This is the only head-coaching interview Flores has had thus far. He’s obviously more-than-qualified after a mostly-successful run with the Dolphins, but his impending lawsuit with the NFL has kept him from getting the kind of interview totals he likely deserves. The Vikings finished third in defensive DVOA last year and were second in 2024. It’s hard to come up with a better recent resume for any defensive mind who is actually available to interview.

It’s true that the Chargers were dealing with a precarious offensive position without star tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, but no team with Justin Herbert and the amount of skill position talent this one had should have struggled to put up six points against the Patriots in the playoffs. Several Chargers played were non-committal about Roman’s return after the game and star safety Derwin James said Herbert was “fighting for his life” back there. So, there you have it. Jim Harbaugh will be looking for his first non-Roman offensive coordinator in the NFL. As for Roman, John Harbaugh is looking for a new spot right now. The Chargers also fired offensive line coach Mike Devlin.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell would not say much about it when asked at a presser today, stating that he only “just learned about that very, very recently, so I don’t want to speculate on that in any way, shape, or form.” The Vikings will have to decide this offseason on extending a fifth-year option or beginning contract talks with Addison, entering his fourth season in the league in 2026. Given his DUI suspension last season and now this, a troubling pattern is beginning to emerge off the field for the talented receiver. Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah added: “Jordan is unique because 99% of the days that Jordan Addison is a Viking, he’s a joy to be around. He’s incredibly intelligent, confident, responsible. And then it’s like all of us: What are you like on those 1 percent of days? Is it the type of thing that draws attention or not? Obviously that’s something we have to consider when you’re talking about long-term ramifications of a contract extension and different things like that, or letting somebody like Jalen Nailor leave.”

A dejected Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was non-committal about Roman’s return as OC following LA’s blowout loss to the Patriots on Sunday night — a loss that saw Justin Herbert have one of his worst games as a pro as the Chargers scored just three points. The team’s offensive lineman, including Bradley Bozeman, were circumspect when asked whether Roman should return as the team’s OC in 2026 and call plays. “That’s their call upstairs,” Bozeman told The Athletic. Widely considered a run-first coordinator, Roman’s Bolts offense in 2025 ranked eighth in pass rate over expected, ranking 13th in total pass attempts. It would hardly be a shock if the Chargers moved on from Roman after two mediocre seasons.

It’s unclear if the Commanders have formally requested an interview with Flores, whose Minnesota defense terrorized opposing passers and allowed the NFL’s third lowest EPA per play in 2025. In Washington, Flores would be taking over a talent-bereft defense that was among the league’s worst against the rush and the pass in 2025. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said Tuesday that the team would be “very aggressive” in retaining Flores for 2026 and beyond.

The Vikings are reportedly working on a new contract for Flores, one of the game’s best defensive minds who headed a Minnesota defense that allowed the league’s third lowest EPA per play in 2025. Flores, who once served as Dolphins head coach, could be a head coaching candidate for some of the teams looking to hire in the coming days and weeks. The Commanders are in talks with Flores about their defensive coordinator vacancy. It appears the Vikings are ready to do whatever it takes to keep Flores for 2026 and beyond, however.