NFL Player News

If this is the split the Texans are going to use next week against the Patriots, Ogunbowale should have fantasy value if Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce remain out. Ogunbowale is completely miscast as a between-the-tackles back, as the Texans noticed when they ran him into the line on a fourth-down go in the first half. But he’s proven capable of PPR scam lines in the C.J. Stroud offense and he can find a productive run here or there. Probably not worth a huge FAAB investment, but if Mixon and Pierce continue to sit, Ogunbowale could find himself in an RB3-esque role for Week 6.

The Bears requested to interview Shaw last week and finally completed an interview with the 52-year-old on Tuesday. Shaw was the head coach for Stanford for 12 seasons, resigning after a disappointing last two seasons. He joined the Broncos as a senior personnel executive for 2024 and now gives the four-time Pac-12 coach of the year gives his first official interview of the coaching cycle. The Bears are interviewing a vast spread of coaches, from college to the NFL, for their open head coaching spot.

Slater reports that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had talks with Witten to join the Cowboys’ coaching staff under Mike McCarthy and be an heir to the head coaching role. However, with McCarthy now moving on, the plan for Witten is in flux. Slater adds Witten could still be in the mix to join the Cowboys’ staff, not necessarily in a head coach role, but in some coaching capacity. The Cowboys have indicated interest in Deion Sanders, among others, for head coach. Jerry Jones has been “making calls” and Dallas has several options for their head coaching vacancy. Time will tell just who will helm Jerry’s squad for 2025 and beyond, whether it is Sanders, Witten, or some other option.

White has several years of front office experience under his belt, operating as the Steelers’ director of pro personnel for the last three seasons. Before that, he was a scout for the Commanders, executive director of player personnel and recruiting for Michigan State, and rotated several different front office positions for the Lions. White would be a first-time general manager for the Raiders, though he was an interim general manager for the Lions in 2015. The Raiders fired Tom Telesco last week and have several interview requests lined up to fill the role.

Williams retires after not playing a snap in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He began his career as an undrafted free agent for the Browns, spent a season with an ankle injury on the Bears, then played five seasons with the 49ers from 2017-2021. In his time with the 49ers, Williams started 36 games with 17 passes defended and four interceptions. His last season playing snaps was 2022 as the Broncos’ nickel cornerback. Williams’ 2023 season ended without playing a single snap due to an ankle injury. Though he was cleared to play for 2024, he did not sign with a team and the 33-year-old is now headed for retirement. His agent says Williams is set up with a real estate license in Florida for life after football.

Sinnott left the Commanders’ Wild Card win against the Buccaneers with a shoulder injury. It does not seem like a major issue, with Sinnott being listed as limited for Tuesday. Regardless, Sinnott has had a minimal impact this season. He should not be considered for any DFS purposes with Zach Ertz poised for another start in the Divisional Round against the Lions.

Schultz has been dealing with this shoulder injury since Week 15, but hasn’t been on the injury report with it until now. It’s likely that he’ll continue to be a touchdown-or-bust bet against the Chiefs in the Divisional Round. Schultz did, notably, catch a score against the Chiefs on Christmas. He also saw a season-high eight targets in that game.

With the Texans cutting loose Diontae Johnson earlier today, we could see a condensed target tree for the Texans going forward. Woods probably isn’t in any real danger of missing the Divisional Round, but dealing with a hip injury is a boost for the odds of John Metchie and Xavier Hutchinson seeing expanded roles for sicko DFS purposes. Woods played 51 percent of the snaps against the Chargers last week and saw four targets.

Watson injured his ankle in Week 7’s win over the 49ers, and the Chiefs struggled to find decent cornerback play next to Trent McDuffie in his stead. Watson had a 74.2 PFF coverage grade in 221 coverage snaps this season. Andy Reid said he was “in good shape” and said “he has a chance of playing” earlier today. The full practice would certainly seem to suggest he has a good chance of being active on Saturday.

Jones sat out the final two weeks of the season after injuring his calf against the Texans on Christmas, but he looks primed to be ready to go for the rematch on Saturday. The Week 18 rest likely would have happened either way. Kansas City’s best pass rusher finished the year with five sacks in 15 games, but a 91.0 PFF pass rush grade and a team-high 53 hurries.

The 28-year-old Udinski has been on the Vikings staff since 2022 and was previously a coaching assistant for the Panthers. This is the first known interview request for the young coach. A November Minneapolis Star-Tribune article declared Udinski “the most interesting man on the Vikings coaching staff” and noted that unofficially he’s J.J. McCarthy’s “mentor.” Udinski played tight end and defensive end at Davidson and Townsend, and also worked as a grad assistant to Matt Rhule before landing on his Panthers staff.