NFL

Bonsignore adds that Raiders minority owner Tom Brady has “been in contact with Stafford’s camp” to see if the Rams quarterback would come to Las Vegas. Stafford has wanted more guaranteed money with two years left on his contract with the Rams, but they have stood pat. The contract tension has generated trade interest in Stafford, with the 37-year-old now being pursued by Brady and the Raiders. Equipped with a new head coach and general manager, the Raiders are in the market for a quarterback to upgrade the group of Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell, and Desmond Ridder from last season. Stafford has now emerged as a possibility to lead a team that won just four games in 2024.

At the NFL Combine, Gutekunst was asked about Alexander’s status after a rocky season. Alexander played in just seven games last season and has dealt with several injuries over the past two years. The Packers would save $6.8 million in cap space by parting ways. Gutekunst expressed that the team has yet to make a decision and the defense would be better with Alexander; both sides have been frustrated over his injury issues. A change of scenery for Alexander remains a strong possibility, allowing the Packers to save money amid a seemingly strained relationship.

When asked about the conversations around the No. 1 pick and trading it, new general manager Mike Borgonzi said the Titans are not “anywhere near making a decision if we’re going to stay put and make the pick or trade out.” The Titans will have a decision to make on whether or not they should make a pick at No. 1 or trade out. A quarterback is a need, but in a weaker class, Tennessee could look to pick another top prospect - like Penn State’s EDGE Abdul Carter - or trade out for a haul. Either way, the Titans’ new general manager has an important choice to make over the next couple months.

The veteran quarterback carousel continues to churn. The 41-year-old Rodgers reportedly prefers to head to Los Angeles to play for the Rams and wants to pair up with Davante Adams once again. It would be the third team Rodgers and Adams would play together on, after a successful stint on the Packers and a short, unsuccessful stint with the Jets. The Rams would only consider bringing in Rodgers if they deal the incumbent Matthew Stafford, who has been heavily rumored to move on. One potential scenario is a Stafford trade to the Giants while Rodgers and Adams head to the Rams for one more hurrah.

Griese got a request to interview for the Jets head coaching vacancy earlier this year, and had an interview with the Saints for their offensive coordinator position in 2024. He likely has enough connections to find a new NFL coaching gig if he wants it. We’ll see where the 49-year-old former quarterback winds up, but it’s pretty late in the cycle for him to get more than an assistant gig for 2025.

Lombardi was swept away with the Josh McDaniels sands in Las Vegas and worked as a senior offensive assistant for the 49ers last season. He’ll replace Brian Griese as the 49ers elevate Lombardi in-house. Lombardi spent four years as an assistant with the 49ers from 2013-2016 before setting out on his own with the Jets, and, later, riding the McDaniels train from New England to the Raiders. This is only the second time he’s had an unquestioned position coach role — he was New England’s wideouts coach in 2020 and 2021.

“Obviously we have a plan there. In the next few weeks we’ll address that issue,” Mougey continued. He may be on the team now, but it sure doesn’t look like the Jets plan to keep him on the team much longer. The Jets could be letting Adams find a trade partner to recoup some value from the 32-year-old, but otherwise it seems likely that he’ll get walking papers from the Jets despite a 85/1,063/8 receiving line in 14 games in 2024. Adams is not the same player he was four years ago, but he hasn’t lost enough steps to fall out of the No. 1 wideout conversation for most of the league just yet. He’s been rumored to want to go join a West Coast team.

Baun was a first-team All Pro and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting as, essentially, a lightly-regarded free agent pickup in the 2024 offseason. The Eagles have been up front about how even they didn’t expect things to turn out this way for Baun — if they did, maybe they would have thought to build in a second year to the contract. Roseman said, when asked about how the team hasn’t traditionally valued linebacker: “To put us in a box and say...we’re not going to pay because we historically have not done that, part of what we do is evolve. We look at things and see how they’re affecting the team, see how they’re affecting the league, and our place in that.” Baun’s lack of track record might give teams some pause, but entering his age-29 season it’s hard to not call him the most impactful defender in free agency this offseason.

Sirianni went into a lengthy dissertation about how one guy wears all the blame or credit for calling plays in revealing this answer, which is true but fairly tedious. Patullo will now be in charge of handing the ball off to Saquon Barkley. The first-time playcaller will also have to keep A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith happy. There are certainly first-time playcallers who have had less to work with, we guess we’re saying. Patullo has never called plays before, but he has walked through thousands of plays with Kellen Moore, Brian Johnson, and Shane Steichen throughout his four seasons as Eagles passing game coordinator. Normally we’d bet on the passing game coordinator to bring a more pass-focused game plan, but it’s hard to not lean on Saquon Barkley after how he played in 2024.

“It’ll be good for Anthony,” Ballard said. Richardsoncoin is getting liquidated left and right. That the Colts would put this out there doesn’t necessarily mean that Richardson won’t win a competition — it’s hard to tell what quality of quarterback the Colts want to bring in during free agency. Ballard did say it had to be “someone who can challenge from a production standpoint, too.” What it does mean is that any kind of struggle stretch won’t be tolerated as “growing pains” and would probably lead to a benching. Even without knowing who the Colts are going to sign this offseason, it’s hard to imagine Richardson starting more than half the team’s games based on his 2024 form. He’ll need to take a major step forward this offseason to restore his franchise quarterback status.