NFL Player News

Barkley’s season officially ends with a rush line of 345-2005-13. The decision to rest the star back ahead of the playoffs was expected after head coach Nick Sirianni said earlier in the week that the team planned to rest several starters in the meaningless Week 18 contests. Fantasy managers in the DFS streets can look to Kenneth Gainwell and Will Shipley as cheap streaming options against the Giants defense.

Washington called signals for the Bears down the stretch after they canned Matt Eberflus. He had spent the previous four years with the Bills as their defensive line coach and, in 2023, assistant head coach. He also coached the Panthers defensive line from 2011-2017 and the Bears’ line in 2010. In short: He’s a fairly experienced defensive line coach and would make a solid add for the Packers.

There has been no official reports of contract years added or money, but O’Connell was entering the final season of his coaching contract and gets a huge multi-year extension after starting his career 34-17, including a 14-3 record in 2024. O’Connell turned Darnold into wine before the scrapheap quarterback fell apart in his final two starts of the season against the Lions and Rams and is likely on the shortlist for Coach of the Year honors. The #sources are going off about an extension for GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as something that is down the road as well. It’s a well-earned reward for O’Connell, one that ends a few wishful thinking storylines out of places without a locked-in head coach. After wrapping up a Adofo-Mensah extension, the Vikings will get to work on how to build on their upstart campaign.

The longtime defensive line coach moved over to Detroit this offseason after spending 2018-2023 on Mike Vrabel’s staff in Tennessee. With Tennessee, he was an assistant head coach in 2023. He also has a long history in the league as a defensive line coach, including stints in Miami (2015-2017) and Oakland (2012-2014) as well as Tennessee. Williams served as Vrabel’s head coach in a preseason game in 2023, so Vrabel clearly believes he has the chops for a higher-level job. We expect this deal will come together shortly. The brain drain of the Lions continues.

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.