NFL Player News

In Pittsburgh, 26-year-old Cole (later this month) will replace incumbent Kendrick Green, who graded out as one of Pro Football Focus’ worst starting centers from last season. Cole, on the other hand, was PFF’s No. 19 center, receiving strong marks for his run blocking. Running the ball is what the Steelers want to do more of in the post-Ben Roethlisberger and new Mitchell Trubisky world.

The smoke has been strongest on Coen and Robert Saleh for the Jaguars since Ben Johnson signed on with the Bears. Coen has also been linked to the Raiders, but has not had an official interview with the club yet. The Jaguars would certainly boost Trevor Lawrence’s short-term outlook with Coen, a creative screen-designer who excelled with the Buccaneers last year as they finished seventh in offensive DVOA. The Jaguars are reportedly set to meet with Coen tomorrow.

This makes sense given how late in the season the injury occurred. It’s likely that Watson starts the year on the PUP list and, depending on how his recovery is going, eventually gets a 21-day window opened for his return in the first or second month of the season. Asked if the Packers were going to pursue another wideout in Watson’s absence, GM Brian Gutekunst said "[If] that makes some sense for us, we’ll certainly look to do that, but we’re also looking for these guys to continue to grow and hopefully grow into that space.” It seems more likely that the Packers will continue with Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed as their main receivers while giving Dontayvion Wicks another shot outside based on that quote.

Rodgers was named a co-defensive coordinator for the Buccaneers in 2022, but the unit has struggled over the last few years and Tampa Bay may need to make some face-saving changes along the staff. The Buccaneers still allowed only 4.3 yards per carry, 10th-best in the NFL in 2024. The secondary was the bigger issue. Rapoport adds that Rodgers is “viewed as a top free agent assistant who will have a robust market.” Green Bay fired their defensive line coach, Jason Rebrovich, after they lost to the Packers in the Wild Card Round.

Breer adds that Udinski is reportedly a finalist for the Seahawks offensive coordinator job. The Patriots have returned to being close to the vest on OC interviews, with our only news coming from head coach Mike Vrabel admitting during an interview on WEEI that the team would talk to Josh McDaniels. Udinski, suddenly in demand after helping lead the Sam Darold resurgence and reportedly acting as a mentor for J.J. McCarthy, would be an unorthodox choice on paper but certainly seems to have developed some momentum in the cocoon this season that we didn’t see much of on the outside.

“Here’s the expected timeline,” Dehner Jr. writes, “Golden will spend today and early tomorrow wrapping things up at ND. Then Taylor looks to officially interview him Wednesday. From there, just what looks like an inevitable matter of when pen hits paper.” Patrick Graham was the other finalist for the job, and it appears the Bengals are leaning with Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator. Golden was Cincinnati’s linebackers coach in 2020-2021 under Lou Anarumo before leaving for the job. He also was the head coach at Temple from 2006-2010, and Miami from 2011-2015.

Hess worked with Josh Allen to refine Allen’s rough early-career throwing mechanics. The changes that stemmed from Allen’s work with Hess made him one of the NFL’s most efficient, accurate passers. Entering a phase of his career in which his viability as an NFL starter is in question, Richardson will reportedly look to refine “his throws on short and intermediate routes” and work on his short-area touch, which was severely lacking in 2024. Only Dorian Thompson-Robinson was more inaccurate than Richardson on passes between 0-10 yards last season. “I’ve just got to make sure I’m on point,” Richardson said, “doing everything I can to help this organization go in the right direction.” Holder reported this week that the Colts could pursue Justin Fields in free agency — a move that would likely create a Week 1 starting competition between Richardson and Fields.

Schottenheimer has been with the Cowboys for three years, serving as the team’s OC for the past two seasons under former head coach Mike McCarthy. This would be his first head coaching job in the NFL after being offensive coordinator for four teams over the past 18 years. Schottenheimer, 51, led the Cowboys to the second most points and the third most yards in 2023 before injuries doomed the team’s 2024 campaign. His work with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb could provide a seamless transition for the Dallas offense in the wake of McCarthy’s exit. Giving him the monumental task of replacing Mike McCarthy when he wasn’t even trusted to call offensive plays last year sounds like a dire idea.

Pompei said Johnson — as he did with Jared Goff in Detroit — will give Williams more control over the Chicago offense, including free reign to change plays at the line of scrimmage. “He gave Goff authority with protection adjustments that not all QBs have, and eliminated plays that Goff didn’t love,” Pompei said, adding that the Bears’ offense will be more aggressive on fourth downs with Johnson in charge. The Bears in 2024 were the fourth most aggressive offense in fourth down situations. Johnson has been complimentary of Williams following his down rookie campaign. Williams, according to Johnson, has “quite a fastball and has some creativity to him, can extend plays and is accurate down the field as well.” Williams ranked 27th out of 33 qualifying quarterbacks last season in downfield accuracy.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said the Jets’ “goal is to keep him from leaving the building” and to sign him to a deal. Glenn is also in the running for the Saints and Jaguars head coaching jobs after four years as Detroit’s defensive coordinator. The Lions defense over the past two seasons has given up the league’s 12th lowest offensive success rate and the 11th lowest EPA per play. Glenn would face a total rebuild in New York after the Jets’ Aaron Rodgers experiment went belly up. Adding fuel to the fire is the idea that Commanders executive Lance Newmark, who worked with Glenn in Detroit before taking his current gig, will also be interviewing and in the building today.

Kupp is still under team control through the 2026 season but the Rams worked an out into his three-year, $80 million contract signed prior to the 2024 season. He carries a $29 million cap hit with over $22 million in dead money into the 2025 season but the team could save over $20 million over the next two seasons by moving on now. Kupp started the season off hot before missing four games, never really appearing the same on the field following his absence. Injuries have been a common trend for Kupp in his advanced age, something that could factor into the equation this offseason.