NFL Player News

Metcalf did not build on his strong Week 16 game against the Vikings (8-95-1) and was a non-factor on a night where the Seahawks only were able to throw for 160 yards. The 27-year-old wideout was at least efficient in his targets, but fantasy managers would have gladly taken some volatility if it resulted in more than three targets. The Seahawks will (probably) try and get Metcalf more involved in a Week 18 clash against the Rams to end the campaign.

Higbee was hospitalized after leaving the game with a chest injury because he was “spitting up a little bit of blood.” That’s our sport, folks. It’s great news for the Rams that he appears to be good to go for Sunday because he looked excellent before leaving, catching 5-of-5 targets for 58 yards and helping stake them to an early lead. He may have taken over the No. 2 role from what looks to be a declining Cooper Kupp. Higbee will be a worthwhile DFS play this weekend.

We don’t have a reason yet. Stover caught four passes for 28 yards against the Chargers in the Wild Card Round and finishes his rookie season with a 15/133/1 receiving line. There’s no reason to expect the team to move on from Dalton Schultz in the short-term, but Stover could eventually become Houston’s No. 1 tight end in 2026 once getting out of Schultz’s contract becomes less onerous.

Johnson will go down in Texans 3:30 PM CT Wild Card Saturday history as “one player who caught a pass once.” The receiver has been waived three times this year and mercifully, we don’t think there’s another team left that will claim him this year. He finishes the season with a 33/375/3 receiving line in 12 games and will hit the high-risk one-year bin in free agency. NBC Houston’s Aaron Wilson reports that he was visibly upset after the game over his role in the offense — an offense he just arrived to three weeks ago. Entering his age-29 season, we may have seen the end of Johnson as a fantasy football asset. Certainly NFL teams are telling us that very loudly by their actions this season.

The fact that Rees got the first interview was pretty telling about the direction that this search was going. Cleveland also interviewed Falcons tight end coach Kevin Koger, Seahawks quarterbacks coach Charles London, Saints OC Klint Kubiak, and Dolphins QB coach Darrell Bevell for the position. Rees, a former Notre Dame quarterback, coordinated their offense from 2020-2022 and the Alabama offense under Nick Saban in 2023 before taking a position with the Browns as their tight ends coach and passing game coordinator. Rees won’t call plays — that is Kevin Stefanski’s job — but this is still a big promotion for a 32-year-old and one that marks him as a potential NFL head coach at some point.

Clements coordinated the Bills offense in 2004-2005 and the Packers from 2012-2014, but he is most known as a quarterbacks coach. He was Green Bay’s quarterbacks coach from 2006-2011, winning a Super Bowl in the process as he helped develop Aaron Rodgers into one of the NFL’s best. The 71-year-old has served as Packers quarterback coach for the last three seasons after a short stint in Arizona. He’s also coached quarterbacks for the Saints, Chiefs, and Steelers over a career that started more than 30 years ago.

This was regarded as a likely outcome following the Cowboys parting ways with McCarthy yesterday. The former Saints offensive coordinator from 2000-2004 has worked with GM Mickey Loomis before, and the Saints have prioritized trying to find people with experience in their building in this coaching search. McCarthy will speak with the Bears ahead of this interview, and those are the only two teams he’s talking to at this point. We’d expect more teams to follow shortly.

Today’s main character has emerged. The Falcons defense had a mini-resurgence after their bye week under recently-fired Jimmy Lake, but weren’t able to sustain it down the stretch against the Commanders and Panthers with a chance to get into the playoffs. Michigan finished sixth in defensive FEI (Fremeau Efficiency Rating) last season under Martindale’s eye, and the longtime NFL defensive coordinator looks to be eyeing a return to the professional ranks. He’s also interviewing with the Colts on Friday.

Martindale, 61, is a long-time NFL defensive coordinator who is known for his aggression. His most recent NFL experience was with the Giants defense in 2022-2023, but he also coordinated the Ravens and Broncos defenses at the NFL level. It would seem a jarring fit to transition from a Gus Bradley scheme to Martindale’s big blitz tactics, but the Colts are at least interested in understand what Martindale thinks it would look like. The interview will reportedly take place on Friday.

“We are certainly open to considering those guys, but we have a lot of work ahead of us,” Tomlin told reporters Tuesday. It’s hardly a surprise given the shortcomings of both Fields and Wilson as Pittsburgh’s starter in 2024. Wilson, who appeared this fall to be on his way to establishing himself as the Steelers’ medium-term starter, collapsed down the stretch and would seem unlikely to return to the team for next season. Fields, meanwhile, could stick around if he doesn’t get interest from elsewhere. Fields in 2024 was 21st in quarterback success rate among 42 qualifying QBs while Wilson ranked 33rd.

Borgonzi, widely viewed as a strong candidate for the Jets’ GM opening, is among the many front office candidates interviewing for the Titans general manager vacancy. Tennessee enters the offseason with the first overall pick in the 2025 draft. Borgonzi has been closely involved in the Chiefs’ roster building throughout the Mahomes era and should land a GM job sooner rather than later.