NFL Player News

The 27-year-old Wheeler will replace Kamerion Wimbley as Oakland’s starting strong-side linebacker. Wheeler is an obvious downgrade as an edge rusher, but the Raiders won’t be emphasizing pass-rush ability at SAM ‘backer in their revised 4-3 scheme. Wheeler was quietly one of the Colts’ top run defenders over the past couple of seasons. He’s a solid pickup on the cheap.

This was planned by Buffalo all along. Allen has the franchise record with 115 consecutive starts, and the team wanted him to keep that streak alive. He took one snap, handed the ball to James Cook, and then sprinted off the field. Allen will end the regular season with 3,731 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and six interceptions, plus 531 rushing yards and another 12 touchdowns on the ground. While the passing yardage seems light, Allen averaged the most yardage per attempt in his career and attempted almost 100 fewer passes than any other season in the last five years thanks to Buffalo having a solid ground game. The 28-year-old remains one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the NFL but could be in for a tough battle against a good Broncos defense in the Wild Card round if Denver wins today. If Kansas City wins, Allen would have a much easier matchup against either the Dolphins’ or Bengals’ defense.

Speaking on FOX NFL Pregame, Glazer noted that O’Connell is about to enter the final year of his contract and has not had extension talks with the team. O’Connell is 34-16 as the Vikings’ boss and is playing for the No. 1 overall seed later today. There’s no chance Minnesota parts ways with him, even for a king’s ransom. Expect the two sides to iron out a contract extension at some point in the offseason.

With the Packers already locked into the postseason, Jacobs said he was unlikely to get a heavy workload against Chicago. “Just being honest, being realistic, I don’t see me taking that many carries in this game,” Jacobs said. “Obviously, I want to play. I’m going to push to play, and I’m playing. But I don’t see myself taking 30 carries.” This could leave Emanuel Wilson as the team’s lead back, with Chris Brooks mixing in. Wilson has been efficient in limited opportunities behind Jacobs in 2024.

All eight players are starters and major contributors for the Bills, including three players on their starting defensive line; however, the Bills are locked into the second seed in the AFC, so there is no reason for any of them to suit up for this game. This would appear to be good news for Drake Maye and Rhamondre Stevenson, but the Patriots will secure the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft with a loss today, so it’s hard to gauge just how motivated anybody will be in this game. It would be best to avoid any players if you’re still playing in fantasy leagues.

In a run-on sentence for the ages, Schefter added loads of caveats including but not limited to teams wondering if they should inquire about the Steelers’ willingness to move on Tomlin. He quickly said he doesn’t expect a move to happen. Neither do we. The Super Bowl champion head coach has yet to see a losing record in 18 seasons on the headset. Pittsburgh is coming off back-to-back seasons with 10 wins. While the team hasn’t made it out of the Wild Card Round in seven years, it’s hard to pin that on Tomlin given Pittsburgh’s lackluster quarterback play during that stretch. Another first-round exit will keep the rumor mill turning, but all signs point to Tomlin sticking in Pittsburgh for 2025.

Richardson recently referenced having back issues since he was young, but that was apparently news to the Colts. Steichen also said Richardson is not expected to require surgery, and that his recent spasms flareup is a short-term issue. Alrighty then. It would certainly appear there is a disconnect between coach and player. How severe is unclear. With both Steichen and Richardson at a crossroads, the Colts are set to be one of the offseason’s most fascinating teams.

Schefter noted that it also feels like there will be changes within the organization. He named GM Chris Ballard as a potential candidate before mentioning assistant GM Ed Dodds as a potential replacement. Steichen has failed to make much of the oft-injured Anthony Richardson, leading many to believe the team will move on from him after two losing seasons. That doesn’t appear to be the case. It’s possible the Colts go in a different direction at quarterback next year, giving Steichen a shot to show his worth sans Richardson. Either way, he is definitively on the hot seat heading into 2025.

Texas has made the College Football Playoff each of the last two years after hiring Sarkisian away from his job as Alabama offensive coordinator. Sarkisian has NFL OC experience as well, as he coached the Falcons in 2017 and 2018 after Kyle Shanahan was hired away by the 49ers. Sark’s offense has been up-and-down this year at times at Texas, but he’s lost a ton of NFL talent and Quinn Ewers has not exactly delivered him exemplary quarterback play. He’d be an interesting hire for a team looking to help build an offensive culture.

Gonzalez and Henry are both dealing with injuries and will miss the season’s final game. The Bills will be resting many of their top offensive playmakers, so the loss of Gonzalez shouldn’t be a huge issue on Sunday. One name not listed here is Joe Milton, who is active on Sunday and could see additional reps if the team wants to limit Drake Maye’s potential injury risk. A loss for the Patriots would secure them the top pick in the NFL draft, so there’s some thought that seeing what Milton looks like in game action could be of interest to them this weekend.

Schefter noted a shift in the organization over the past 30 or so days. Despite Mayo being Bill Belichick’s hand-picked successor and recently having buy-in from owner Robert Kraft, the Pats’ late-season collapse has turned the tides against Mayo. New England’s last win came in Week 10 against Chicago. Now the only thing they have to play for is the No. 1 overall pick, which they are currently in line to secure this weekend. With Drake Maye looking as good as promised and the first pick potentially in hand, starting over with a new head coach makes sense for the Pats as they look to find their footing in their post-Belichick, post-Brady era.