NFL Player News

They get SS Bob Sanders, WR Marvin Harrison, RB Joseph Addai, and LB Freddie Keiaho back after all missed Week 5 with injuries. TE Ben Utecht also returns. Dawson is Indy’s third-stringer behind Addai and Kenton Keith.

It turns out that not being told anything different yesterday didn’t actually mean much. Pierce, who went 5-4 as an interim coach last year, went 4-13 in 2024 with a roster that had almost no offensive upside. The little it did have walked out the door midseason when the team parted with Davante Adams in a trade to the Jets. Pierce was often bafflingly conservative as a game manager, giving Daniel Carlson 40 field-goal opportunities, and spoke after the season about not trusting his gut when it came to starting Aidan O’Connell over Gardner Minshew. The Raiders got a little scrappier after installing Scott Turner at offensive coordinator after the bye, but ultimately neither side of the ball played above their meager talent levels. It’s not Pierce’s fault the Raiders weren’t a winner, the seeds of that were sewn several years ago. But he clearly wasn’t elevating them either. Pierce’s future is an open question at this point as the NCAA has banned him from coaching through the year 2032 as part of a show-cause penalty against Arizona State. He may resurface as a defensive coordinator or, more likely, a linebackers coach on an NFL staff.

Vrabel, of course, has already interviewed with the Jets. He also has interviews on deck with the Bears and Saints. And, of course, the Patriots are looming even if we haven’t heard of their interview with him just yet. He’s also been floated as a possible candidate in Las Vegas to work with minority owner Tom Brady if the Raiders fire Antonio Pierce. It is notable that Vrabel is viewed as New York’s No. 1 choice, but ultimately it sounds like both sides have a lot of process to let play out over the next week or so.

Montgomery has missed the last three games of the season after sustaining his MCL sprain against the Bills in Week 15. It is likely that Jahmyr Gibbs will get more of the workload against Detroit’s Divisional Round opponent than he usually got in the regular season, particularly if the Lions feel Montgomery is in any way playing compromised. Still, this is great news for the Lions and a wrench for Gibbs in playoff best ball and DFS contests.

The defensive turnaround of the Ravens in 2024 can be traced almost directly to benching Williams and installing Kyle Hamilton at free safety. Williams has been a healthy scratch for the last five weeks and hasn’t played meaningful snaps since Week 10. Both sides likely see a release as the best way for Williams to continue his career elsewhere. The major free-agent signing played just three seasons in Baltimore after the Saints let him walk, with injuries impacting him in both 2022 and 2023. He’ll be 29 and is likely to be regarded as a flier in free agency once he gets there.

Palmer has not practiced since hurting the heel in Week 17. His absence led to season-high yardage total for Quentin Johnston last week against the Raiders. Harbaugh said following that Week 17 game that the absence would not require an IR stint, but Palmer sure doesn’t look likely to play against the Texans in the Wild Card Round based on this news.

Horn had a down year in 2024, with a career-low 57.9 PFF coverage grade, but everyone suffered as the Panthers failed to bring in the Jimmys and Joes to run Ejiro Evero’s Xs and Os. Horn did play more than 800 snaps for the first time in his career. The 2021 first-round pick is under contract for next season via his fifth-year option. Negotiating with him early in the offseason to lower his $12.4 million cap figure would likely get the Panthers some more space for free agency.

Requested by at this point, the Patriots, Bears, and Jaguars, Johnson seems to be this cycle’s 1 or 1A head coach prospect outside of Mike Vrabel. Johnson is notably not interviewing with the Jets, something that makes sense once you realize he has pulled out of several interviews with unstable ownership situations. Johnson would certainly be a major step towards restoring the sheen to Trevor Lawrence’s career, but given how careful he has been, he might ask the Jaguars to part ways with GM Trent Baalke as part of any agreement. To this point, that’s something Shad Khan has been unwilling to do.

Rizzi’s troops went 3-5 despite several weeks without Derek Carr down the stretch, playing much more inspired defense than they had been under the deposed Dennis Allen. Rizzi is interviewing for the Saints job in-house, but it isn’t a surprise that the Jets are adding him to their interview circuit because they are currently interviewing everyone they can, including you. Yes, you. Get to work on what your defensive staff would look like, your interview is Friday.

This will almost certainly go down as a DNP. Flowers sprained his knee against the Browns in Week 18 and it has been reported that it might be a challenge for him to be ready for this game. Baltimore’s tight ends and Rashod Bateman would likely see higher volume than normal against the Steelers on Saturday if Flowers isn’t able to go. We’re likely looking at a questionable tag at best as this point, even if he gets on the field the next two days in a row.