NFL Player News

The Vikings zeroed in on O’Connell weeks ago but couldn’t officially hire him until after the Rams completed their Super Bowl run. O’Connell becomes the latest Sean McVay coach to land a head coaching gig, joining an impressive coaching tree. When in Washington, O’Connell worked with Kirk Cousins, who has spoken highly of his new head coach and his role in his development. Cousins may ultimately not be back in Minnesota, depending on how new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah plays the offseason. However, if Cousins returns, O’Connell should be able to design an offense that plays to his quarterback’s strengths. The Vikings are likely to pass more than in the Mike Zimmer era, which is good news for Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, who could also benefit from the new play designs. The offense could still be much closer to balanced than pass-heavy, however, creating upside for Dalvin Cook as a workhorse in an improved offense.

DeVito cleared protocol and will back up Drew Lock as the NFL’s worst quarterback room tries to make it through the last three weeks of the season.

He did not practice all week and has not played since Thanksgiving. Darius Muasau and Micah McFadden started at middle linebacker for the Giants against Baltimore last week and should be in line to go again.

Samuel has been limited all week with the rib injury, getting in three partial practice sessions. Samuel has not been a particularly important part of the Bills game plan since Week 11’s win over the Chiefs, and if he did play he’d likely be more of a foil to Buffalo’s other receivers.

The James Conner show rides again. With Emari Demercado on injured reserve, the Cardinals only currently have DeeJay Dallas as a rostered Conner backup for Week 16. They will likely elevate Michael Carter or Tony Jones for the game. Conner is a good bet for RB1 production against the Panthers.

Kelly is in the last year of his contract and will turn 32 this offseason. The Colts drafted Tanor Bortolini as a potential Kelly replacement this year, and they’ve already had to use him quite a bit as Kelly has missed time with neck and knee injuries. The Colts’ interior offensive line could be a big source of churn this offseason with Kelly and Will Fries entering free agency and Quenton Nelson on a huge cap figure that he hasn’t played up to this year.

Sanders has not officially declared for the draft yet, but that is almost seen as a formality and Sanders has already said in a moment captured on Colorado’s X account that it was his “Last game at Folsom” on Senior Day in Boulder. The Giants and Raiders are tied for the worst record in the NFL with three weeks to play. The Giants have certainly done a lot of homework on Sanders as well, and Raanan adds “Sanders seems to be the most likely option should New York (currently 2-12) finish with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.” As things currently stand it would appear that Sanders and Cam Ward are potential top-10 picks, and having two teams likely to pick in the top-five tied to Sanders tells us a lot about what the NFL is thinking.

Barmore reportedly is dealing with recurring symptoms from the blood clots that forced him to miss most of this season. Mayo added: “I feel for Barmore. He did everything right.” It sure sounds as if the Patriots should go into this offseason not relying on Barmore for 2025. Barmore signed an extension in April that ties him to the roster that won’t allow the Patriots to save any money on a release through next season, so they’ll likely give him more runway for a comeback next season. Hopefully he’s able to shake the symptoms and return to the field at some point.

Because of how Cousins’ contract is structured, he’ll get a say in his future. The Falcons are taking either a $65 million cap hit in 2025 or $40 million in 2025 and $20 million in 2026 as part of post-June 1 release if they so choose. They can save cap space by trading Cousins — depending on how much of his guaranteed salary they’d have to eat to move him — but Cousins also has a no-trade clause. It’s hard to imagine a huge market for Cousins given his rough finish to the season, but perhaps a desperate team can be sold on him being another year removed from his Achilles injury and hope he rebounds physically.

“Obviously, he’s a popular player in the locker room and with the fan base, but the Browns will have to determine what they think Chubb has left as a player — and he will have to determine where he feels the Browns are headed and how he might fit in that plan,” Jackson adds. Chubb enters free agency at 29 this offseason. The Browns are an intriguing landing spot for a drafted running back if Chubb leaves. Jerome Ford will enter the final year of his rookie deal in 2025.

Vele snagged a six-yard touchdown from Bo Nix near the middle of the second quarter to give the Broncos a 21-10 lead. The Chargers dominated from that point on, and Vele wasn’t a factor for the rest of the contest. The 27-year-old rookie — still a weird thing to type — has been much more relevant than anticipated, but fantasy players should be able to find much better options than Vele in Week 17 against the Bengals.