NFL Player News

Smith was cut by the Saints during roster cut downs and was re-signed to the practice squad soon after. The veteran linebacker appeared in 13 games for the Giants last season, totaling 46 tackles and one sack. The former second-round pick is now on his fifth team in three seasons and will look to prove he still has something left to offer over the final 10 weeks of the regular season.

Palmer was injured in the Bills’ regular season finale against the Jets. Bills head coach Sean McDermott told WGR 550 that the 26-year-old wide receiver wouldn’t practice again Friday. That doesn’t bode well for his availability against the Jaguars on Sunday. This is nothing new for the Bills as Palmer missed five games during the regular season, which led to career-lows in catches (22), yards (303) and touchdowns (zero). The Bills can continue to lean on Khalil Shakir, Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox and Brandon Cooks as receiving options.

One day after firing head coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins made another major move in adding Sullivan as the general manager. The Packers’ VP of player personnel since 2022, Sullivan joined Green Bay as an intern in 2003 and worked his way up through various positions, which include a scouting background. Sullivan has stated in interviews how important it is to build through the draft, an approach that likely makes the most sense for this Dolphins rebuild. He is the son of Jerry Sullivan, who spent 25 years as an NFL coach, mostly coaching wide receivers.

That was fast. ESPN’s Todd Archer reported on the Commanders’ request to interview Wells just a few hours ago. Wells ostensibly has a relationship with Commanders head coach Dan Quinn from their time together with the Cowboys in 2021-2023, and Wells is said to have been a “big part of game planning” since the Cowboys hired him in 2020.

Alexander has close ties to former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, which could give him an edge with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer deserves credit for his reporting late last week, when he identified Sullivan as a candidate for the job in Miami. Per Breer, the Dolphins are expected to “have three guys atop the football side—the head coach, the new GM and [senior vice president of football and business administration Brandon] Shore.” He believes the team is seeking a general manager “with a strong player-evaluation background” to complete the trio.

Jones now has two defensive coordinator interview requests. Good for him. He is also considered a candidate to replace Vikings DC Brian Flores, if were Flores to leave the Vikings’ organization for another opportunity.

Banda has coached the Browns’ safety group since the team brought him aboard in 2023. The unit stands out in a league that now frequently utilizes two-high safety looks. The Browns’ defense allowed the league’s ninth-fewest yards per pass play (6.61) despite Banda’s unit logging an NFL-high 773 defensive snaps with just one safety lined up deep this season.

Jones was initially hired by the Vikings to coach only the defensive backs in 2022. They added defensive pass game coordinator to his title in 2023. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert believes Jones “would be on a very short list to replace Brian Flores as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator, if Flores departs.”

Shortly before issuing this report, ESPN’s Todd Archer let it be known that the Falcons had denied the Cowboys’ request to interview DC Jeff Ulbirch. The Cowboys are smartly casting a very wide net to fill their vacant defensive coordinator role. Leonhard served as the Broncos’ DB coach and defensive passing game coordinator in 2024 before swapping out the DB coach role for an assistant head coach promotion in 2025.

Kittle is on track to play, though it would be great to see him practice fully on Friday. The 49ers could be short-staffed when they face the Eagles this week. No. 1 WR Ricky Pearsall (knee/ankle) has not yet resumed practicing since aggravating the PCL sprain in his knee in Week 17.

Pearsall is now on the wrong side of questionable for the 49ers’ Wild Card Round game against the Eagles. The 49ers’ talented route runner aggravated his PCL sprain in Week 17 against the Bears and was unable to play on it last week. It is possible that the team is just taking it easy with him, but things are not looking good.