NFL Player News

Allan is a developmental rookie. He is the team’s third tight end. Thigpen is another project. He is Kansas City’s third quarterback.

The good news is that the Jags can now attract the top head coaching candidates of this hiring cycle. They’re all gone? Oh. Jags owner Shad Khan initially chose to retain Baalke and fire head coach Doug Pederson after another failed season. He later expressed some flexbility on retaining Baalke if it prevented the team from landing a new head coach. Despite Baalke being an obvious deterent for potential hires, Khan held strong and kept Baalke in town, only to watch both Lions coordinators take jobs elsewhere and Bucs OC Liam Coen turn down Jacksonville to stay in Tampa Bay. These decisions made the message to Khan undeniable. Baalke had to go. Now the Jags will get to pair their next head coach annd general manager together, hopefully building some cohesion within the building. Baalke’s run in Jacksonville ends with a 25-43 record plus an iconic playoff win over the Chargers two years ago.

The good news is that cornerback Christian Benford was listed as limited, meaning he is already making progress through the league’s concussion protocol. Rapp left the Bills’ Divisional Round game after just 19 snaps and did not return. Rapp appeared in 14 regular season games, totaling six pass breakups and two interceptions. He also picked off Lamar Jackson before leaving with the hip injury.

The Jags lost out on Ben Johnson while Liam Coen chose to stay in Tampa Bay. Robert Saleh is beleived to be next in line, but the Jags could open their search back up after losing out on the biggest names of the cycle. Brady already interviewed with the team once and has since put another playoff win under his belt. He also had intreviews with the Bears and Saints. New Orleans has yet to make a hire. With Trevor Lawrence’s career at a bit of a crossroads, getting an offensive mind at the helm should be a priority for the orgnazation. Instead, keeping GM Trent Baalke has seemingly been the goal of the offseason for owner Shad Khan, and it’s already cost him dearly.

The connection of Glenn to the Jets has been made for months and came into focus earlier this week when the team brought him into New York for an interview with the plan of hiring him on the spot. Glenn’s ties to the franchise run deep. The Jets drafted Glenn, a former cornerback, in the first round 30 years ago and he even spent time in the organization as a scout after his playing days were over. Glenn served as a DBs coach in New Orleans and followed Dan Campbell to Detroit in 2021, accepting the position of defensive coordinator. In 2024, Glenn led the Lions to top-10 ranks in EPA per play and total points allowed despite the team being bombarded by injuries on the defensive side of the ball. He now joins a Jets team with plenty of talent on defense including Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams. The offensive side of the ball is the bigger issue, meaning Glenn’s choice of offensive coordinator will be crucial.

As Rapoport points out, Spytek was in the Bucs’ front office when they brought it Tom Brady and won a Super Bowl. Brady is now a part-owner of the Raiders and is heavily involved in their search for a new head coach and general manager. Spytek also had interviews with the Titans this offseason. His first order of business will be landing the aforementioned head coach. Ben Johnson was the team’s top target but took the Bears’ gig instead. With fellow Buccaneer Liam Coen deciding to stay in Tampa Bay and Lions DC Aaron Glenn likely headed for New York, the coaching pool is thinning out rather quickly, leaving the Raiders scrambling once again.

Hardman suffered a knee injury during practice ahead of Week 14 and was placed on injured reserve. The team opened his practice window nearly three weeks ago, meaning they had to make a choice whether to activate him or not this week. He had yet to get in a full practice, so it’s possible the knee issue didn’t progress the way Kansas City thought it would. On the other hand, the return of Marquise Brown meant there wasn’t much of a role for Hardman on offense. Reid may not have had a roster spot to spare for Hardman. Either way, the speedy special teamer ends his sixth NFL season with 12 catches for 90 scoreless yards. He will look for a return role in free agency in the spring.

Hurts sustained a knee injury in last week’s win against the Rams and was seen limping during and after the game. It’s good news for his NFC title game prospects that Hurts will be able to go through the team’s walk-through ahead of Sunday’s matchup against Washington. If Hurts is able to get in a limited practice on Thursday and/or Friday, he should be good to go against the Commanders. Hurts threw for 221 scoreless yards in his only full game against Washington in the regular season.

Saleh is scheduled to meet with the Jags’ front office and ownership on Thursday and Friday. He may now be considered a favorite for the Jacksonville job after Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen — who had been considered a strong candidate for the Jags job — signed a new deal with Tampa on Wednesday morning. A defensive minded coach, Saleh was 20-36 over three and a half seasons with the Jets before being fired. Jacksonville’s defense in 2024 allowed the league’s fifth most points and second most yards.

It’s quite the turn of events, as Coen was widely expected to take the Jaguars head coaching job after Ben Johnson was signed by the Bears. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Coen’s new deal with Tampa will make him one of the NFL’s highest paid coordinators. Coen’s offense finished the 2024 season with the league’s fifth highest EPA per play and the third highest offensive success rate, trailing only Johnson’s Lions and the Lamar Jackson-led Ravens. Baker Mayfield thrived in Coen’s system, throwing for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2024. The Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud reports there “is no coach in waiting stipulation in his new contract similar to what the Patriots did with Jerod Mayo.” Coen remaining in Tampa is a big blow to Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville offense. Former Jets head coach Robert Saleh would seem to be the favorite to land the Jags head coaching job with Coen out of the picture.

After the Chargers’ devastating loss to the Texans in the Wild Card round, Mack said he wasn’t sure if he would return for his 12th NFL season. Mack, entering his age-34 season, will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said last week that the team would be interested in bringing back Mack for 2025 after he recorded six sacks and 35 quarterback hurries over 16 games in 2024. LA had the league’s sixth lowest QB pressure rate (19 percent) in 2024.