NFL Player News

The Giants continue to revamp their pass rush with a little more than a week to go until the start of the regular season. After acquiring linebacker Isaiah Simmons from the Cardinals last week, they have now added Basham, a former second-round pick from the 2021 NFL Draft. Since entering the league, Basham has totaled 4.5 sacks in 23 games and could serve as a situational pass rusher in Wink Martindale’s blitz-heavy scheme.

This was to be expected. Goodell noted that the league will review the “serious issues” surrounding Tucker while adding that the allegations could be both civil and criminal. Since news first broke about Tucker’s alleged sexual misconduct at massage parlors, the number of accusers has risen from six to 10, with one woman reporting that Tucker “stroked her inner thigh” while giving him a massage. Another provided a screenshot of an internal report she made to her employer regarding Tucker, that she no longer feels “safe or comfortable working with him.” This continues to be a developing story that may take months to resolve as the Ravens and the league continue to gather all of the facts.

While Goodell and the league have not had formal discussions, the commissioner did acknowledge having preliminary discussions with the NFLPA about expanding the regular season. Goodell has long been pushing for an 18-game season that would likely be achieved by cutting the preseason down from three games to two. He added that increased safety of the game has made any discussions of an 18-game season possible while noting that the league still needs “to be incredibly sensitive and smart about it.” Any chances of the league adding an extra game sounds like a matter of when, not if. It’s possible that talks of expansion ramp up during the league’s annual meetings, which are set to begin on March 30th. Regardless, this won’t be the last time we hear about the topic.

“The majority of team personnel that I spoke with believe he’ll hit or clear the over.” The Bengals could franchise tag Higgins for less than this, but it seems clear that most sourced accounts of the league expect Higgins to hit free agency. He will be easily the league’s No. 1 priority in free agency, as even despite battling through soft tissue injuries the last few years, a wideout of this caliber rarely makes the open market in his prime. Justin Jefferson is the current leader in average annual value per season at $35 million. It wouldn’t be surprising if Higgins found somewhere around that number if he makes it to free agency.

Perhaps this is something that has been made NFL-approved by Jayden Daniels’ rise last year, but Thamel notes that “Ward’s profile is atypical of a potential top draft pick, as he started at an FCS school and starred with three different programs -- Incarnate Word, Washington State and Miami -- during his time in college.” Teams typically have been reticent to take chances on players that transferred that often high in the draft, but Daniels’ success after his LSU transfer appears to have changed the perception on that. Ward threw for 39 touchdowns and 4,313 yards for the Hurricanes last year, adding 204 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. His landing spot will be a point of interest for fantasy managers this draft season regardless of if he’s the No. 1 pick or not.

Caley reportedly decided against pursuing the Jets offensive coordinator vacancy and decided not to take the Patriots offensive coordinator job last year, so he has been selective in finding his first role as a playcaller. It is hard to find a more high-profile spotlight situation than being the main architect of fixing what ailed Bobby Slowik’s offense with C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins in 2024. We imagine the Texans will probably throw a little more often than they did under Slowik, who was often lambasted for how easily he dialed in on running the ball on long second downs. Caley will also have to work on the team’s pass protection and how to get that into a cohesive place. If he’s as good as the clippings and NFL attention from other teams foreshadow, Caley should have no problem turning a Texans offense with plenty of good-to-great parts into a better unit in 2025.

“He’s gonna have some choices this offseason,” Schefter continued. Mariota led a comeback drive to clinch the sixth-seed for the Commanders in Week 18 and looked superb against the terrible Panthers defense in his other relief outing for all-world rookie Jayden Daniels. Mariota would make sense as a Tua Tagovailoa backup in Miami, and the connections to the Raiders are now obvious with Mariota’s former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly hired as their offensive coordinator.

Duggan hypothesizes that the Giants will pick up the option despite saying “Thibodeaux hasn’t made the impact that was expected when he was the fifth pick in the 2022 draft.” Through three seasons, Thibodeaux has 23 NFL sacks and 78 hurries. He’s been a solid EDGE player, but it’s probably fair to say he hasn’t quite lived up to being the No. 5 pick in the draft yet. The 24-year-old will look to take a step forward in 2025 next to Brian Burns.

Garafolo said this news comes after Garrett made his request for a trade public on Monday morning. The Browns have been adamant about their desire to keep Garrett with the team for the entirety of his career, but that could prove difficult. The star pass rusher has officially requested a trade from the team in hopes of having a chance to compete for a Super Bowl, and the Browns, who currently hold the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, are nowhere near said goal. At just 29 years old, Garrett could still fetch the Browns plenty of draft capital via a trade. They would be wise to listen to any offers as they near what appears to be a rebuild following their 3-14 finish last season.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was the first to report the hiring. This was to be expected. Janocko worked as Klint Kubiak’s QB coach during their time in Minnesota and New Orleans and will now follow Kubiak to Seattle as he prepares to serve as their offensive coordinator. Janocko inherits a solid veteran starter in Geno Smith but will have his work cut out for him in turning around Sam Howell, who was acquired by the team last offseason in a trade with the Commanders.

Boselli played seven seasons for the Jaguars and is a member of the 2022 Hall of Fame class. The former left tackle has assisted in the Jaguars’ latest coaching and GM search and is expected to form a “football leadership unit” consisting of himself, head coach Liam Coen, and a general manager who has yet to be named. The expectation is that all three will report directly to owner Shad Khan, who is hoping this latest round of front office turnover will last more than two seasons. Boselli has never held an official front office position but has worked closely with the organization for years.