NFL Player News

Both acquired in the second round of the 2009 draft, Byrd and Levitre emerged as nucleus players last season after disappointing sophomore seasons. They will be next on the docket after the front office extends Fred Jackson’s contract.

Jones reports that “sources last month indicated Belichick had interest in the Dallas job should it come open.” Of course, when Belichick took the job at North Carolina, there was no guarantee that the Cowboys’ head coaching job would become available, which likely factored into his taking the job with the Tar Heels. Belichick has a $10 million buyout in his contract with the Tar Heels that would require him to pay $10 million to the program if he were to leave before June 1 of this year. It’s a buyout that’s clearly in place to deter Belichick from leaving shortly after an NFL job comes available, but if the Cowboys really want to hire him, and he’s interested in a return to the league, there are plenty of ways owner Jerry Jones can get his guy. Last week, it was reported that Belichick had “no plans” to return to the NFL after some speculated the Tom Brady could lure him to the Raiders. We’ll see if he carries the same tone now that the Cowboys’ job has come available, or if Belichick would be willing to return for a job he was reportedly interested in.

Baalke was a surprising keep for Khan, but it sounds like the Jaguars owner will not keep Baalke if it keeps him from getting his No. 1 choice of the coaching carousel. It is extremely apparent that getting a coach who wants to work with Baalke will limit the desirability of the job — FOX’s Jordan Schultz ran a whole post about that last Monday. So the Jaguars head coaching role may come down to whether Khan wants the best coach he can get with Baalke, or the best coach he can get period. Perhaps those two will wind up being the same person and this is just splitting hairs, but it certainly seems like Baalke isn’t exactly off the hot seat yet.

The Browns could certainly make things contentious if they choose to here. Watson’s contract is fully guaranteed, and without the fully-guaranteed deal, there’s not much reason he needs to be on the roster at this point with little chance of playing in 2025 and almost no investment in the idea that he’s still a starting-caliber quarterback. Watson has $92 million in guaranteed money due to him over the next two years. Both sides moving on feels inevitable, it’s just a question of how long it takes to get there.

The rookie tackle played just one game for the Steelers this past season due after suffering a dislocated kneecap in the Friday practice ahead of Week 2. With Dan Moore a pending free agent, it seems likely the Steelers will slide Fautanu right back into the starting left tackle spot if he shows he’s healthy.

Cowden was reportedly Vrabel’s candidate to be general manager in Tennessee in 2023 before Amy Strunk Adams hired Ran Carthon. Now he resurfaces in New England under his former charge, and the Giants let him out of his contract to make it happen. It makes plenty of sense for Cowden, as the Giants front office isn’t exactly on firm ground right now despite being retained. Is he a real threat to Patriots GM Eliot Wolf, who didn’t exactly build a great roster for Jerod Mayo last year? That remains to be seen, but clearly Cowden is a Vrabel hire.

Harbaugh noted that Flowers doesn’t need to practice to play while adding the Pro Bowl receiver will play “if he feels healthy enough and it’s safe for him.” There was hope that Flowers would be available to play in the divisional round after missing Saturday’s wild card game against the Steelers, but it sounds like Flowers is anything but a lock to play on Sunday against the Bills. His practice status will be one to monitor when the Ravens release their first injury report of the week on Wednesday.

Ominously, ESPN’s Katherine Terrell notes that “the move is the same one the Saints made before quarterback Drew Brees’ retirement in 2021.” The Saints reduced Ramczyk’s base salary to the veteran minimum and freed up $16.47 million in cap space for 2025. He did not play in the 2024 season due to deteriorating cartilage in his knee. 31 in April, it would make all the sense in the world for the Ramczyk to walk away later this offseason if that is indeed the plan.

This was actually the first interview of their process. The former Fighting Irish quarterback was Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator from 2020-2022, and coordinated the Alabama offense under Nick Saban in 2023. It would seem like Rees is one of the favorites to get the role, though the Browns have three other candidates in the mix at this moment.

He will reportedly interview on Friday. Koger came into the league as a Packers offensive quality control coach in 2019-2020 and was Chargers tight ends coach under the Branden Staley regime. He picked up a job as Falcons tight ends coach this past season, so you know exactly who you can blame for this Kyle Pitts thing. Koger is, to date, one of four candidates for the Browns OC job.

“For instance, Lions assistant general manager Ray Agnew could be an appealing partner for [Ben] Johnson or [Aaron] Glenn,” Bonsignore writes. In a process that seems to be heavily run by Tom Brady per the story, it’s not unsurprising that the Raiders would pull this card as they don’t have much of a quarterback to sell candidates right now. Of course, the last time the Raiders paired a head coach and GM they wound up with Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler, so this doesn’t exactly guarantee great results. But it is noteworthy that the Raiders are willing to do this when other front offices are not.