NFL Player News

Smith, who also had four catches, looked especially good on a 37-yard rumble. Mike Anderson finished with a pedestrian 17 yards on five carries.

This news comes shortly after it was announced that Saleh’s chances at landing the Jaguars’ head coaching gig would “increase” after the Bears hired Ben Johnson. Saleh showed well during his initial interview with the Jaguars and could soon find himself back in the driver’s seat of a team just months after being dismissed by the Jets following a 20-36 record over four seasons. It’s possible we’ll know by Friday if Saleh has a new home in Jacksonville.

It’s the exact kind of vague statement we’d expect from Sirianni, who often spearheads the team’s vague approach when it comes to discussing injuries. Hurts said after the game that he expects to play in next week’s NFC Championship Game against the Commanders. With a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, we’d expect the same. Hurts will likely be limited in practice this week, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he logged a DNP or two along the way. That said, he feels like a near-lock to start on Sunday, barring a major setback.

The Cowboys have now done three interviews: Kellen Moore, Robert Saleh, and Frazier. They are Rooney Rule compliant. Frazier got an interview for the Chargers head-coaching gig in 2024 and with the Giants in 2022. He’s been somewhat pushed off the radar in recent years after leaving Sean McDermott’s Bills staff, but latched on with the Seahawks as an assistant head coach. Given how wacky the Cowboys head-coaching search has been, anybody can legitimately be called a real candidate for the job, but all insider direction seems to point to Kellen Moore as the favorite.

Fassel has spent the last five seasons with the Cowboys but was free to speak with other teams following the dismissal of head coach Mike McCarthy. Fassel has held roles as a special teams coordinator since 2008 and moonlighted as an interim head coach for the Rams in 2016 for three games, where he went 0-3. In the first season with the new dynamic kickoff rule, the Cowboys ranked second in total kick return yards and first in yards per return. Having electric return man KaVontae Turpin certainly helped with those numbers, but Fassel is a widely respected special teams coach who should help elevate the Titans’ unit next season.

Benford will have six days to clear protocol before the AFC Championship game. It would be a huge loss for the Bills if they didn’t have their most effective cornerback (78.8 PFF coverage grade) against the Chiefs. Benford played all but one snap against the Ravens in the Wild Card round. McDermott also said that Taylor Rapp (hip) is “day to day” after leaving with just 19 snaps in the first half. Cole Bishop replaced Rapp.

Anarumo’s defensive implosion last season wasn’t enough to keep teams away this offseason. Once considered a potential head coaching candidate, the veteran coordinator saw his defense rank 25th in points and yards allowed per game last season, as their inability to keep points off the board proved to be enough to keep the Bengals out of the postseason despite MVP-caliber play from Joe Burrow. During his six seasons with the Bengals, Anarumo’s defense never ranked higher than 16th in yards allowed and ranked inside the top 15 only once in points allowed per game. Now, he’ll be tasked with taking over a Colts defense that’s ranked among the league’s worst for three straight seasons. It’s easy to argue that Anarumo was never given enough talent in Cincinnati to make him successful, but it’s also fair to wonder if the Colts will give him the players he needs to help them turn a corner.

Allen would be a solid hire for the Bears as they try to get the defense back to where it was before they fired Matt Eberflus mid-season. From 2020 to 2023, Allen’s defense ranked in the top-10 in points allowed every season, and was top 10 in yards allowed in three of those four seasons. It’s not hard to argue that the reason the Saints defense fell apart this season was simply that it got too old. Johnson was, per Dianna Russini, also talking to Lou Anarumo about a defensive coordinator job.

A rumored “surprise” candidate for the Jaguars, Saleh reportedly impressed there when he was a linebackers coach in the 2010s and would likely be someone who wouldn’t demand a general manager change to get the job. Saleh has also landed interviews with the Raiders and Cowboys (for their head coaching vacancy) and the 49ers (for their defensive coordinator vacancy) this cycle. The Jets were 2-3 under Saleh’s guidance in 2024 and 3-9 under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich.

Just hours after it was reported that Johnson would be finalizing his interview schedule, Johnson appears headed for the Windy City. ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report it, as any rumors of Johnson being the next coach of the Raiders can be laid to rest just days after he was being hyped as the favorite to land in Vegas. Johnson will now be tasked with helping Caleb Williams and the Bears take the next step after a tumultuous 2024 that featured multiple offensive coordinators and head coaches for the No. 1 overall pick of last year’s draft. During his three years in Detroit, Johnson’s offense consistently finished in the top five in yards and points per game and led the league with 33.2 points per game this season. Known for his elaborate schemes and ability to create room for his receivers to operate, Johnson is the exact kind of coach many believed Williams would need to reach his full potential as a pro after entering the league as one of the highest touted prospects of the last decade. Johnson will now take the upcoming days to round out his staff as he prepares to embark on his much-anticipated first season as a head coach.

“While he was Denver’s leading rusher with 513 yards, he had his share of struggles and is not the same player he was before suffering a serious knee injury in October 2022,” Tomasson writes. Yup, that about sums it up. Tomasson writes that Jaleel McLaughlin will be back as a reserve but that the Broncos “likely will look for a potential starter in free agency or the draft.” It sure seemed like the way the Broncos managed the running back room this year that they didn’t have a real No. 1 back on the roster, and this report pretty much confirms that finding.