Carroll is the third head coach to be hired by the Raiders since 2022. He’s not getting the 10-year, $100 million deal the Raiders gave Jon Gruden back in 2018, but according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 73-year-old coach has agreed to a three-year deal with the Raiders that includes a fourth-year team option. After spending 2024 in the Seahawks’ front office as an advisor, Carroll is ready to take on one of his toughest challenges in decades — turning around a Raiders team that has just two double-digit win seasons over the last 22 years, and only two playoff berths over that span. He’ll have his work cut out for him playing in the AFC West, where three of the four teams cranked out double-digit wins to make the postseason, while the Raiders finished a dismal 4-13. Currently holding the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Raiders are in dire need of a franchise quarterback — whether that’s by draft, trade, or free agency. Carroll takes over a team that ranked 29th in scoring last season, and allowed the sixth-most points on defense. The Raiders are a long way from being competitive, but Carroll is undoubtedly up for the task.

Thursday’s worst kept secret is now (basically) official. FOX’s Jordan Schultz reports the Jags are “so impressed” with Coen the sides will now “collaborate on the team’s new GM as well.” If that seems insane, it was clear it would be the outcome after the Jags’ stunning Trent Baalke about-face and immediate resumption of talks with Coen. A wizard with Baker Mayfield in Tampa this season — though, let’s be real, Mayfield deserves a lot of the credit after getting back-to-back OCs head-coaching gigs — Coen is strangely no stranger to coaching intrigue, as he left the University of Kentucky for the Rams in 2022 only to return to UK in 2023. It was then off to Tampa where he picked up where Dave Canales left off, overseeing an even more explosive offense. Still only 39 years old, Coen fits the league’s current preferred mold of first-time head-coaching hires. Young, and an offensive play-caller. We’ll see about Coen’s leadership skills. The supposed skullduggery he engaged in with the Bucs this week is mildly concerning. Tasks 1, 2 and 3 for Coen in 2025 will be getting Trevor Lawrence’s career back on the right track.

Brown was limited on Wednesday but said he was feeling better. That appears to be the case, as the Eagles’ star receiver was upgraded to a full participant in Thursday’s practice and has a chance to be removed from the injury report entirely by Friday. The Eagles have been managing Brown’s injury for the last several weeks in hopes of having him at his best come game day. He’ll be ready to go for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Commanders.

You can’t ask for much more than that. Just days after suffering a knee injury in the NFC Divisional Round against the Rams, Hurts went from being limited on Wednesday to a full participant on Thursday. His availability for the NFC Championship was never going to be in question, but how his knee will affect his mobility and ability to evade pressure will be something to watch.

This news comes after head coach Nick Sirianni said Goedert would practice today. Instead, Goedert has started the week with back-to-back DNPs, which casts some doubt over his availability for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Commanders. While two straight absences is concerning, we can’t blame teams for wanting to exercise caution with any injured players. Tomorrow’s final injury report should offer better clarity on where his availability stands heading into the weekend.

While the report is being called informal, Harris says, “the interest is legitimate enough to be reported.” It was reported earlier today that the Cowboys could hire offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as its next head coach as early as Thursday, but this latest bit of news on Carroll comes hours after that report. Carroll was thought to have a chance to land the Bears’ head coaching gig before they went out and poached Ben Johnson from the Lions, and there have also been rumors that the Raiders are considering Carroll as their “backup option” after they also lost out on Johnson. Now, the Cowboys could emerge as the third team with serious interest in Carroll, although it sounds like this courting is in its earliest stages. Carroll would have a multitude of offensive weapons at his disposal should he wind up in Dallas, but will have his work cut out for him to fix a defense that ranked 31st in points allowed and 28th in yards allowed last season.

Ertz is dealing with a rib injury, but Wednesday’s DNP was to allow him to rest said injury — as was the case last week. The veteran tight end isn’t at risk of missing Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Eagles and will have some upside as a DFS value against his former team.

With the Raiders GM vacancy now filled by former Buccaneers’ assistant GM John Spytek, the team can shift all of its focus to hiring a head coach. Carroll, 73, has been on a handful of teams’ coaching radars this offseason, and it was reported earlier this week by The Athletic’s Tashan Reed that he is “believed to be” the “backup” option to fill their head coaching vacancy. With former Lions OC turned Bears HC Ben Johnson the presumed top choice at the time, Carroll could now slide into the pole position for the Raiders job. Palmer cites Carroll’s familiarity with Tom Brady as something that could give him an inside edge on the job, while also highlighting Carroll’s track record as a proven winner. With one Super Bowl title under his belt and two Super Bowl appearances during his 14-year tenure with the Seahawks, it’s easy to see why he would be an attractive hire for a franchise in desperate need of wins and stability at head coach.

Hurts could be seen dressed for practice and with his helmet in hand. The Eagles’ QB1 was listed as a limited participant on Wednesday and will likely carry a similar designation on Thursday. Hurts isn’t expected to do too much in practice as he deals with a knee injury he suffered in Sunday’s win over the Rams, but there’s little reason to be concerned about his availability for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game at this time.

Goedert’s ankle injury sidelined him for Wednesday’s practice, but the veteran tight end will be back on the field in some capacity on Thursday. Goedert’s injury appears to be a minor issue. He did not seem limited by it in last week’s win over the Rams, and should be good to go for Sunday’s game against the Commanders, barring any setback.