Two Broncos offensive linemen have been named finalists for the NFL’s inaugural Protector of the Year Award.
Left tackle Garett Bolles and right guard Quinn Meinerz are among the six candidates for the award. The prize is designed to honor the league’s top offensive lineman for a given season.
Bolles and Meinerz are joined as finalists by Dolphins center Aaron Brewer, Chiefs center Creed Humphrey, Lions right tackle Penei Sewell, and Bears left guard Joe Thuney.
The winner will be announced at next week’s NFL Honors show and will be chosen by a panel of former NFL offensive linemen. LeCharles Bentley, Jason Kelce, Shaun O’Hara, Orlando Pace, Will Shields, and Andrew Whitworth make up that panel.
Lions Clips
After taking a step back in 2025 and missing the postseason, the Lions have a new direction on offense after hiring coordinator Drew Petzing.
General Manager Brad Holmes said this week that Petzing, who spent the last three seasons as Arizona’s offensive coordinator, “checked all the boxes.”
“Just very sharp, very just open-minded, was able to fit in with the staff,” Holmes told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “Knew some people on the staff already, but 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. So we just felt like it was the best fit for us.”
Holmes noted that Petzing did an “impressive” job with the Cardinals, particularly with the numerous injury issues the team experienced over the last year. Also in 2023 and 2024, the Cardinals finished with top 10 rushing offenses.
How different will the Lions look in 2026?
“I mean, look, it’s his offense,” Holmes said. “And a lot of it is, what I liked about him is that it’s not a system. … It’s what you do you have, what’s the personnel that you have? Like, what can we do? And so that’s what I think he showed us in that process is that he can maximize personnel of what’s available. So that’s real exciting.”
Plus, the Lions were able to hire Mike Kafka for a high-ranking offensive assistant role. Holmes noted Kafka’s specific title will be worked out later.
“We were really high on Kafka, too, in the process and so to be able to get that one, too, I was just like, ‘Holy cow,’” Holmes said. “So, very, very happy.
“But [Petzing is] just very sharp, very bright, just really liked his attention to detail. He was very well recommended, all the vetting that we did. I mean, all the sources couldn’t speak highly enough about him, and just kind of just really liked what his philosophy was behind the offensive football and how he utilized personnel. So, it just, he just checked all the boxes, man. So we were we were excited about him.”
It’s been percolating for days that, 13 years after his first head-coaching stint ended, Jim Schwartz could be getting a second chance.
Now, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that Schwartz “seems to be gaining momentum” in the Browns’ ongoing search for a head coach.
The 59-year-old Schwartz coached the Lions from 2009 through 2013, with one playoff appearance and a record of 29-51. He arrived in Cleveland in 2023; in his first year, the Browns had the top defense in the league (based on yards per game) but he got no head-coaching interviews.
In the current cycle, only the Browns and Ravens interviewed Schwartz, who coordinated the Eagles defense that won Super Bowl LII.
As one source put it last week to PFT, the Browns have to weigh promoting Schwartz against potentially losing him.
Others in the mix include former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken and Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. Those who have withdrawn from consideration include Mike McDaniel, Jesse Minter, and Grant Udinski.
If Schwartz gets the job, his most important hire will be offensive coordinator. Because the offense has been the problem for the Browns in recent years. Thanks to Schwartz, the defense has been better than fine.
Former Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka has found a landing spot for 2026.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Kafka is joining the Lions’ staff as a high-ranking offensive assistant.
Detroit recently hired Drew Petzing to take over as offensive coordinator after the team fired John Morton. While Kafka’s title is not yet known, he will ostensibly work closely with Petzing to revamp the Lions’ offense in the coming season.
Kafka, 38, joined the Giants as offensive coordinator in 2022 after spending most of his coaching career with the Chiefs under head coach Andy Reid. Kafka took over as the team’s interim head coach midway through the 2025 season, leading the club to a 2-5 record over its last seven games.
The Giants interviewed Kafka for their head coaching position, which ultimately went to John Harbaugh. The Eagles also spoke with Kafka about their offensive coordinator vacancy.
The Lions finished 2025 9-8, missing the postseason. The club finished No. 4 in points scored and No. 5 in total yards after former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson left the squad to become Bears head coach.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff has been named a Pro Bowler for the fifth time in his career.
The Lions announced on Monday that Goff has been added to the NFC roster as a replacement for Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold. Darnold will not be available because he will be preparing to play in the Super Bowl.
Goff’s own bid to make it to Super Bowl for the second time in his career ended when the Lions failed to make the playoffs. He was 393-of-578 for 4,564 yards, 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions while starting all 17 games for Detroit.
Matthew Stafford and Dak Prescott were the other quarterbacks originally selected for the Pro Bowl from the NFC.
The Ravens have hired Jesse Minter as their head coach and they’re now working on filling one of the most important spots on his staff.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that they will interview Lions assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery for the role. Montgomery is the first known candidate for the job in Baltimore.
Montgomery also coached Detroit’s wide receivers in 2025 and he had the running backs coach role in addition to the assistant head coach title in the previous two seasons. He spent two seasons as the Colts’ running backs coach and he went 9-26 over three seasons as the East Carolina head coach.
Minter’s background is as a defensive coach, so the offensive coordinator hire will be a significant one for a team that is hoping they can finally get over the postseason hump with quarterback Lamar Jackson.
One of the Lions’ offensive linemen is moving on to the next phase of his career.
Dan Skipper announced his retirement on social media on Thursday.
“[Twenty-four] years of putting on pads and a helmet every fall. This year I’ll trade that out to pursue a career on the other side in coaching,” Skipper wrote on Instagram. “The memories and experiences that the NFL has brought me and my family are hard to put into words. Thankful for every person that has been apart of my journey. It’s time for me to “report” as retired. (Sorry I had to do it one last time!)”
Via Justin Rogers of the Detroit Football Network, Skipper will work with the offensive linemen and tight ends at the upcoming East/West Shrine game.
Skipper, 31, appeared in 69 games with 16 starts since 2017, spending the vast majority of his career with the Lions.
In 2025, he appeared in 12 games with five starts, playing 228 offensive snaps and 60 special teams snaps.
As part of the announcements for all AP award finalists, the NFL has revealed the five athletes who are up for comeback player of the year.
Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs, Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott are the five up for the award.
Diggs suffered a torn ACL midway through the 2024 season, but started all 17 games in 2025, catching 85 passes for 1,013 yards with four touchdowns.
Hutchinson suffered a season-ending leg injury in October 2024, breaking his tibia and fibula. He posted a career-high 14.5 sacks along with 14 tackles for loss, and 35 quarterback hits in 17 games for Detroit in 2025.
Lawrence started only 10 games in 2024 after dealing with multiple concussions last season. But he helped pilot the Jaguars to the postseason in 2025, starting all 17 games and passing for 4,007 yards with 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
After playing only four games due to multiple injuries in 2024, McCaffrey led the league with 413 touches to help the 49ers reach the postseason. He took 311 carries for 1,202 yards with 10 touchdowns and caught 102 passes for 924 yards with seven TDs.
Finally, Prescott returned from a hamstring avulsion to start all 17 games, finishing the year with 4,552 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He led the league with 404 completions.
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is expected to be named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year after breaking the league record for sacks in a season. Sacking the quarterback is what every nominee for the award does best.
The NFL announced the five finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year, and all five are edge rushers.
In addition to Garrett, the finalists are Houston’s Will Anderson, Denver’s Nik Bonitto, Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson and Green Bay’s Micah Parsons.
Garrett had 23 sacks, Hutchinson had 14.5, Bonitto had 14, Parsons had 12.5 and Anderson had 12.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II, and he’s a rare winner from the secondary, as pass rushers win the award. In fact, this year’s finalists are so heavily skewed toward edge rushers that it’s fair to question whether enough voters are fully considering every defensive player, or simply filling out their ballots with five famous pass rushers.
The same panel of Associated Press voters who vote on the Defensive Player of the Year also choose the All-Pro team, and oddly that panel ranked Hutchinson sixth and Bonitto seventh among pass rushers. It’s odd, to say the least, to think Hutchinson and Bonitto are not among the Top 5 players at their position, but are among the Top 5 defensive players in the entire league.
We’re nearly certain the Defensive Player of the Year will be Garrett, and we’ll find out for sure at the NFL Honors. We can say for sure who it won’t be: Any interior defensive lineman, inside linebacker, cornerback or safety.
The Dolphins completed interviews with Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard for their head coaching job, the team announced on Monday.
Graham was the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator in 2019.
He joined the Raiders as a member of Josh McDaniels’ staff in 2022, and he remained with the team through the changes to Antonio Pierce and Pete Carroll. The Raiders fired Carroll after one season.
Graham served as the defensive coordinator for the Giants in 2020-21. He spent seven seasons in various roles with the Patriots and has also worked as an assistant with the Packers.
Sheppard became the Lions’ defensive coordinator a year ago — his first time as a coordinator — when Aaron Glenn left to become the Jets’ head coach. Sheppard was the Lions’ outside linebackers coach (2021) and linebackers coach (2022-24) before becoming the team’s coordinator.
The Dolphins have also interviewed or will interview Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile, Packers defensive coordinator Jim Hafley, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. They also had interest in Kevin Stefanski before the Falcons hired him.
