NFL Player News

He was writhing in pain and needed to be carted off. With Michael Bennett gone, New Orleans would be thin at running back without Stecker. X-rays later came back negative for a high ankle sprain.

The Bills’ secondary is in rough shape. S Taylor Rapp (back/hip) has already been ruled out and Benford’s worsening practice participation following last week’s concussion bodes poorly for his availability. Benford still has a chance to pass the NFL concussion protocol’s five phases but it appears as though he may be backsliding. Benford is one of the NFL’s best perimeter cornerbacks. He effectively dissuades quarterbacks from targeting his coverage and efficiently breaks up would-be completions.

Rap added that Cole Popovich is the top candidate to fill Houston’s vacancy at offensive line coach. Johnson received numerous offensive coordinator interviews last offseason following C.J. Stroud’s historic rookie campaign. Stroud regressed drastically in his second season, leading the Texans to fire OC Bobby Slowik. Houston will also interview outside candidates for the gig, but Johnson may have the inside track.

Speaking with NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Ashlyn Sullivan, Slay put his odds of playing another year at 85 percent. Slay acknowledged that he is likely done in Philly and won’t play for more than one additional year. The Eagles have a strong group of young corners and will likely move on from him after the season. Assuming he decides to play in 2025, Slay will have plenty of suitors looking for stable cornerback play for a year.

Jurgens returned to practice on Friday and later declined to speak with the media, instead using the time to receive treatment for his back injury. Jurgens is a critical component of the Eagles’ rushing attack. His expected availability is a big boost in this regard.

After practicing in full on Thursday, it’s a foregone conclusion that Hurts will be cleared from the injury report later today. Hurts twisted his knee in the third quarter of the Eagles’ Divisional Round win over the Rams. He played through the issue but did appear limited for the remainder of the game. While the injury will likely hamper his mobility, Hurts will be out there on Sunday as the Eagles look to make it back to the Super Bowl. Expect plenty of Saquon Barkley versus Washington, per usual.

Getsy spent three years as the quarterbacks coach and eventually the pass game coordinator in Green Bay before landing a gig as the Bears’ offensive coordinator ahead of the 2022 season. He lasted two seasons in Chicago before being fired. The Raiders then took a shot on him in the same role. That too ended in Getsy’s firing, this time after less than one season. Getsy then returned to Green Bay late in the 2024 season in an advisory role. As Demovsky notes, Packers QB coach Tom Clements retired, leaving that role as a potential opening for Getsy.

We don’t know if Goedert will carry an official injury designation into the weekend, but that seems like a moot point. The veteran tight end missed two of three practices due to his ankle injury but was able to practice in some capacity on Friday. Goedert’s injury didn’t appear to hamper him in last week’s win over the Rams, but how much it will limit him this week is anybody’s guess. If he’s not able to play his normal assortment of snaps, the Eagles would likely lean a bit more on Grant Calcaterra.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was first. The struggles of 2024 proved to be too much for Slowik, who, in less than a year, went from a top head coaching candidate to the latest coach to be fired this coaching cycle. In his first year as the Texans’ OC, PFF Bobby’s offense ranked 13th in points scored, 12th in total yards, and 15th in EPA per play — all with rookie C.J. Stroud under center. With a talented roster in tow and another year of experience ahead of the 2024 season, many expected the Texans to take a massive leap in their second season. Instead, Slowik’s offense declined in nearly every way, and was ultimately bounced in the divisional round in the playoffs after managing just one touchdown and 14 points against the Chiefs. It’s possible we find out in the near future that not all of Houston’s offensive struggles should have been placed directly on Slowik, but as the offensive coordinator he was always going to be the first to go if the team decided it needed a change. At just 37 years old, Slowik will have plenty of opportunities to serve as an offensive coordinator or more in the near future. It wouldn’t be surprising if those opportunities came as soon as this season.

Sirianni also said on Thursday that Goedert would practice before the veteran tight end was listed as a DNP. Goedert did not appear to miss any time in last week’s win over the Rams with this ankle injury, so it would still come as a surprise if he were to miss Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Commanders. Goedert was present Friday’s practice, no we’ll wait to see what kind of injury designation he carries into the weekend.

Rapp was trending toward missing Sunday’s game after logging back-to-back DNPs to start the week. He will likely miss Friday’s practice as well but will have nearly two full weeks to recover from his injuries if the Bills win to advance to the Super Bowl. Rookie Cole Bishop, who the team selected with the No. 60 overall pick in this year’s draft, will step in to start in place of Rapp. Bishop has totaled 40 tackles and two pass breakups in 16 games for the Bills.