NFL Player News

Vaughn’s mid-August knee surgery was only going to cost him the first few weeks of the season, so he must not have shown much on the practice field pre-injury. The 2009 fourth-round pick will be back to compete in 2010.

The cynical way to look at this is that the Patriots have fulfilled their obligation to the Rooney Rule by interviewing Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton today and are now moving on to their main target. Guess we’ll see just how cynical things are. Vrabel has been rumored to be the main target of the Patriots for weeks ahead of Jerod Mayo’s firing and has already been linked to interviews for the Jets, Bears, Raiders, and Saints jobs. This is, of course, an obvious fit of former team and a highly-respected head coach who seems to be the top choice for many teams this hiring cycle.

It’s a new listing for the Chargers second-year wideout after he hauled in 186 yards in Week 18’s win over the Raiders. (And yes, we checked, Zion Johnson also is listed this time so the Chargers don’t appear to have made a mistake with this listing.) Johnston is probably just being managed ahead of the Wild Card Round game against the Texans on Saturday, but we’ll keep checking in on him.

It is his first practice since the Tuesday ahead of Week 17. We saw Edwards get listed with a limited session and then be unable to get to game day that week, so Wednesday’s participation will be important to monitor. Assuming JK Dobbins (ankle) is healthy, Edwards will probably only be a committee back against the Texans in the Wild Card Round.

This is likely just maintenance for the running back, but it is a new listing after Week 18’s win over the Raiders. Dobbins will likely be the lead back for the Chargers against the Texans in the Wild Card Round. He managed 18 of the 35 Chargers carries in Week 18 and only was eased up on once Hassan Haskins got run during the game’s final drive.

He was wearing a non-contact jersey, but this still bodes well for his chances of playing in the Wild Card Round against Pittsburgh on Saturday. Hill has missed two games in a row since suffering the concussion against the Steelers in Week 16. This is his first practice participation since the injury.

It is Kafka’s second interview request cycle as the Bears have also requested his time. The Giants finished as one of 2024’s worst offenses, but have you seen Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito, Daniel Jones, and Tim Boyle throw? Kafka has been New York’s offensive coordinator since 2022 and likely still retains some shine from Jones’ excellent season that year. The Saints would like to sit down with him and see what his plans are for fixing what ails Derek Carr and Alvin Kamara.

Shaw was Stanford’s head coach from 2011-2022, keeping the momentum going after Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL, and spent last season with the Broncos as an executive. He did, however, go 14-28 in his last four seasons at Stanford. It’s the first actual interview — as opposed to a reported chance with the Saints that didn’t materialize — for Shaw in this coaching cycle. He met with the Titans and Chargers last offseason and the Broncos in 2023.

The 28-year-old back got in to 14 games for the Rams in 2023 and will be Los Angeles’ replacement for Blake Corum in the playoffs. Ronnie Rivers is expected to get most of the RB2 reps for the Rams behind Kyren Williams in the playoffs.

With minority owner Tom Brady reportedly having more influence in this process, it would have been stunning if Vrabel wasn’t on the Raiders radar. Coen caught eyes around the league for his innovative screen designs as the Buccaneers finished well above offensive expectations in his first year as offensive coordinator. Carroll has not, as far as we know, taken an interview yet but obviously has a very distinguished history as an NFL head coach. The hardest thing for the Raiders may be selling potential candidates on the current state of their roster.

Well, Brock Bowers certainly doesn’t hurt the cause. Drafting good players in the first round has never been Telesco’s problem, though, it’s the rest of the NFL roster assembly sausage. The Raiders came into this year without a real plan at quarterback and were often relying on practice-squad receivers and running backs. Telesco didn’t inherit a great situation, but he also didn’t do much beyond adding Bowers to it in year one. We’re a little surprised he has seemingly escaped without deeper scrutiny.