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Samuel suffered a turf toe injury in training camp and appeared to be at risk of missing Week 1. A full practice this early in the week suggests there is almost no concern at all. Samuel’s role alongside Khalil Shakir, who also operates out of the slot, is not entirely clear. That makes him a risky play for his Bills debut. Still, the upside is that Samuel is a full-time player catching passes from Josh Allen. That is worth chasing as a FLEX play assuming Samuel makes it through the week without any further injury concerns.

In other words, this is exactly like the Mike McDaniel scenario that played out over the last week. Daboll had enough pull to organize a ready-made Plan B in case he did not win a head-coaching job this cycle, just as McDaniel picked the Chargers offensive coordinator position while completing interviews for head-coaching gigs. It’s very unlikely any of this would have leaked to reporters if Daboll actually had a real chance at winning the Raiders job, but sometimes NFL teams do very strange things at the last minute.

Stefanski added that he thinks “you see a player on tape that can get through progressions, can layer the ball, can push the ball down the field” and said Penix is attacking his rehab from a late-season torn ACL. Stefanski was notably reluctant to dive into the future on Kirk Cousins, which could be read as a non-endorsement for his return. If Cousins doesn’t return, the Falcons may need a new bridge quarterback for the early season while Penix returns to the field. But with no first-round pick, it always made sense for the Falcons to give Penix the balance of the season to see what he could do. Alternatives with notably higher upside would appear hard to find in free agency or in the later rounds of the draft.

Stefanski ceded play-calling power to Rees down the stretch in Cleveland last year and they turned into a heavily screen-focused team with (holding back laugh) Pro Bowler Shedeur Sanders under center. We wouldn’t necessarily expect the same things next year in Atlanta since we don’t know who the quarterback will be just yet, but Rees did get a decent amount of offense out of what was a fairly weak core on paper last year.

This is slightly longer than the original 12-week estimate given by Adam Schefter, but obviously there’s no rush to get Nix back on the field in April or May. Nix should have a full training camp and be raring to go in 2026 after losing his chance to play in the AFC Championship game to a broken bone in his ankle.

Both will come in for second interviews this week. Cunningham has been regarded as the favorite all along and interviewed for Atlanta’s preposterously-named “president of football” job before it wound up being Matt Ryan’s gig. Liipfert clearly impressed Falcons brass in his interview last week. We’d still imagine Cunningham as the favorite here, but we’ll see how both fare in an extended sitdown with Kevin Stefanski and Ryan.

With Joe Brady landing the Bills head coaching job, Daboll is resigned to take over as OC for head coach Robert Saleh’s Titans. Daboll, who served as Bills offensive coordinator before becoming Giants head coach, will be charged with molding second-year QB Cam Ward following Ward’s uneven rookie year in which he was among the NFL’s most inefficient passers. Turning Ward into a viable starting NFL quarterback will be Saleh’s priority for 2026 as he tries to establish a winning culture for a team that has struggled mightily in recent years.

Maye seemed to have injured his shoulder during the Patriots’ AFC title game win over the Broncos. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was vague when asked about Maye’s practice status for the coming weeks. “This is a sport where there’s gonna be things that come up. We’ll talk about whatever status each player has for the game once we’re required to,” Vrabel said. If Maye is struggling with an injured shoulder, he’ll have a while to recover ahead of New England’s Super Bowl matchup against a tough Seattle defense. Joshua Dobbs is the Patriots’ backup QB.

It’s reportedly a five-year deal for Brady. While it’s hard to separate Brady’s play calling and offensive scheming from the all-world quarterbacking of Josh Allen, Brady’s Buffalo offenses have been productive. The Bills have been top-six in points scored and top-ten in total yards in all three of Brady’s seasons at the helm of the offense. Brady, 36, served as OC for the Panthers before coming to Buffalo in 2023. The Bills over the past three years lead the NFL in EPA per play and rank second in offensive success rate, trailing only Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers. Brady, at worst, will bring continuity to the team after they fired longtime head coach Sean McDermott following a Divisional Round loss to the Broncos.

Daboll could have his choice of destinations, somehow, after a rough stretch as New York’s head coach. Daboll reportedly prioritized the Bills head coaching job but could fall back on the Raiders gig if Buffalo goes in another direction in the coming days. In Vegas, Daboll would be charged with heading a lengthy rebuild of a team without much talent and with no real direction from the front office, which may or may not be controlled by Fox Sports announcer Tom Brady. Daboll won 33.5 percent of his games as Giants head coach over three and a half seasons.

Schwartz could land the Browns’ head coach gig by default with so many candidates pulling out of the search for the league’s most unappealing job. During five seasons as Lions head coach, Schwartz was a disaster, posting a 29-51 record. He was unable to make the Lions a competitive team for much of that time; even the team’s defense was subpar. Schwartz, 59, would likely be a placeholder coach until the Browns can convince a young, up-and-coming coach to take a job no one really wants. Nate Scheelhaase and Todd Monken are reportedly also in the mix to coach Cleveland.