AROUND THE NFL
Daily Briefing
| Peter King on the past postseason, forgetting the Wild Card round:
Apples to apples, this was the most competitive playoff season in modern NFL history.
I measured it in two ways: one-score games (games decided by eight points or fewer) in the final seven playoff games per season, and average margin of victory in the last seven playoff games per season. And the 2021 playoffs—with margins of 3, 3, 3 and 6 points in the division round, 3 and 3 points in championship games, and 3 points in the Super Bowl—were clearly the closest of any postseason in history.
Most one-score playoff games
Divisional, Championship and Super Bowl rounds
Since 1970
7 of 7 games: 2021
6 of 7 games: None
5 of 7 games: 1970, 1972, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017
Closest margin of victory, combined
Divisional, Championship and Super Bowl rounds
Since 1970
2021: 3.43 points
2003: 6.14
1970: 7.00
2012: 7.71
Those four seasons, out of 52, are the only years when the average margin in the last seven games was one score or less.
This was a fun project to research, as a writer of a certain age. I’d forgotten what a defensive game football was at the time of the merger. There were 27 points scored in the average playoff game in 1970, capped by the 16-13 Baltimore win over Dallas in Super Bowl V. That game featured the most amazing stat by a Super Bowl winner, I believe, in NFL history: The Colts turned it over seven times and won.
Coolest game of the 1970 postseason happened in the NFC divisional round: Dallas 5, Detroit 0. (Starter at right corner for Detroit: Dick LeBeau.) Some interesting quarterbacking by Craig Morton, Greg Landy and Bill Munson in the game, played in the Cotton Bowl—11 of 38 for 120 yards, combined, on a windy, chilly day.
– – –
Trouble with the Scouting Combine. Mike Florio:
I may have picked a bad week to take a break from PFT Live and #PFTPM.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, 155 players represented by 13 different agencies are prepared to announce on Monday a formal boycott of the 2022 Scouting Combine.
The NFL issued on Saturday an email regarding restrictions that will apply to this year’s Combine, due to the ongoing pandemic. The league intends to create a bubble environment, which will strictly limit the ability of players to interact with others.
There is great strength in numbers, and it’s great to see the players and agents coming together to push back against a process that thrives on pushing the buttons of young men who are wired to compete.
Hopefully, the effort prompts the kind of revisions that will get the players to choose to show up. If not, the Combine will proceed with nearly half of the 324 invited participants not participating.
It was unclear from reading the above whether the agents were concerned that their players were concerned that the NFL had exposed their clients to too much danger from the dreaded virus or whether the NFL’s restrictions, including requiring boosted vaccination were too invasive. This story makes clearer, that it is the latter, especially as it applies to the agents themselves.
The players’ main priority is reportedly the NFL softening its restrictions on who may attend the event. Currently, players may only have one medical support person accompany them to Indianapolis, rather than the full team of coaches and trainers they reportedly desire.
– – –
The NFL owners may want to throw even more millions at Roger Goodell. Peter King:
Ben Fischer and John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reported Friday that NFL owners were interested in re-upping commissioner Roger Goodell—who turned 63 on Saturday—beyond his current term that ends in 2024. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy denied this. But I believe whatever the state of negotiations are regarding a new deal, owners want to see Goodell continue his tenure into the future.
The NFL has a history rivalling Steelers coaches with its recent commissioner. The NFL has three commissioners in the past 62 years. The Steelers have had three head coaches in the last 52 years.
The terms of the last three NFL commissioners:
Pete Rozelle: 29 years, 9 months (1960-89)
Paul Tagliabue: 16 years, 10 months (1989-2006)
Roger Goodell: 15 years, 6 months (2006-22)
If Goodell serves till at least training camp 2023, he will pass Tagliabue in length of tenure. He’d have to serve till 2036 to pass Rozelle. |
| NFC NORTH |
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GREEN BAY
Bob McGinn on the calculating nature of AARON RODGERS as he chooses his targets:
“Rodgers … for years has played a careful, calculating game understanding that number of interceptions plays a disproportionate, nonsensical role in the passer-rating formula. Bad interceptions are, well, bad. Then there are interceptions that are the cost of doing business for unselfish, competitive, stats-immune quarterbacks battling to make plays and lead comebacks until the bitter end. When a quarterback, especially one with a powerful, usually accurate arm like Rodgers, deliberately minimizes chances to deliver a big play for fear of an interception … that’s just hurting his team. In the playoff game, a modest talent like Jimmy Garoppolo was under every bit as much pass-rush pressure as Rodgers but drilled more tight-window completions down the field largely because he wasn’t afraid of a pick and the moment.”
More from Peter King:
For all the harsh assessments of Rodgers’s off-field behavior and comments in 2021, this is the most stinging critique of his on-field performance that we’ve seen. The dichotomy nevertheless has become jarring. Rodgers has won the regular-season MVP award four times. Not once in any of those four seasons has Rodgers led his team to the Super Bowl. (Then again, no regular-season MVP has won the Super Bowl since Kurt Warner in 1999.) Three of the four playoff runs ended at home, with the Giants stunning the Packers at Lambeau Field in 2011, the Buccaneers beating Green Bay in Green Bay in 2020, and the 49ers upending the Packers on their own home turf in 2021.
This question emerges at a time when Rodgers is trying to decide whether to stick around with the Packers for another season. And here’s where the decision gets trickier for Rodgers, who would hope to follow Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford as winning a Super Bowl to cap the first year with a new team. The Patriots were fading when Brady left. The Lions were, well, the Lions. But Green Bay has a team that hovers on the fringes of the title game. If Rodgers doesn’t fare as well elsewhere, his move will be viewed as a failure.
And if he takes a new team to the top seed in the conference (whether AFC or NFC) and doesn’t get to the Super Bowl for a third straight year, he’ll be viewed as the primary reason for his team soaring during the regular-season — and flying into a window in the postseason. He’s smart enough to consider that possibility. Given McGinn’s theory regarding Rodgers’s unreasonable fear of failure one throw at a time, would Rodgers ultimately shy away from making the jump to another team due to concerns of another one-seed-one-and-done while wearing a new helmet?
As Rodgers closes in on making a decision, it’s a factor that can’t be ignored. If he shies away from making a misstep on a micro level, will he do the same thing on a macro level, too?
McGinn’s critique, that Rodgers will not risk an interception when trailing and needing a comeback, offers an explanation for this stat that the DB has long noted – Rodgers isn’t very good at game-winning drives.
Here are the top 11 for GWDs – plus some other active players:
Rank Player GWD
1 Peyton Manning+ 54
2 Tom Brady 53
Drew Brees 53
Ben Roethlisberger 53
5 Dan Marino+ 47
6 Brett Favre+ 43
7 Matt Ryan 42
Matthew Stafford 42
9 John Elway+ 40
10 Johnny Unitas+ 38
11 Eli Manning 37
17 Russell Wilson 32
19 Derek Carr 30
23 Andy Dalton 28
27 Aaron Rodgers 27
29 Ryan Tannehill 26
We know it is not a perfect statistic, with plenty of variables. A QB can have a GWD, only to lose it when his opponent comes up with his own GWD later in the game for example. But seeing where all of Rodgers’ contemporaries are and how long his career has been – you would think he would at least be around 40. |
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MINNESOTA
Wes Phillips, the offensive-minded son of Wade Phillips, is the OC of the Vikings. Grant Gordon of NFL.com:
The Super Bowl champions’ loss is once again the Minnesota Vikings’ gain.
Wes Phillips, the Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator and tight ends coach, is being hired as the Vikings’ new offensive coordinator, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday.
Phillips will join rookie head coach Kevin O’Connell’s staff. O’Connell was previously the Rams’ offensive coordinator before taking on the Vikings’ head coaching job. Phillips’ role is likely to mirror what O’Connell’s was under Rams head coach Sean McVay in terms of serving as a key voice in planning and developing the offense, Rapoport added.
Phillips is the son of longtime former NFL head coach and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and the grandson of beloved former Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints head coach Bum Phillips.
The 43-year-old Phillips joined the Rams in 2019 as the tight ends coach and in 2021, ahead of the team’s Super Bowl run, also became pass game coordinator. Phillips’ NFL coaching tenure stretches back to 2007 when he joined the Dallas Cowboys as an offensive assistant. Following seven seasons with the Cowboys, Phillips moved on to become the Washington tight ends coach from 2014-2018.
In his introductory news conference last week, O’Connell expressed his optimism of building “an offensive system like we had in L.A.” as he sees similarities in Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and Rams QB Matthew Stafford. Adding Phillips to his staff would seem to be a step in that direction.
For the Rams and McVay, losing coaches is nothing new. McVay’s coaching tree continues to grow with O’Connell and Phillips branching out and following the similar path of Matt LaFleur, Brandon Staley, Zac Taylor, Shane Waldron, Ejiro Evero and others who coached under McVay before taking on head coach or coordinator positions elsewhere.
Los Angeles is expecting assistant head coach Thomas Brown, who’s been with the squad for two years, to return to the staff, while Rams assistant QB coach Zac Robinson will remain in L.A. with a better title, Rapoport reported. With O’Connell’s offensive coordinator spot still vacant, Kentucky’s Liam Coen is a top candidate, Rapoport added. |
| NFC SOUTH |
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TAMPA BAY
The DB was among many who have heard the tale that a rift between Bruce Arians and QB TOM BRADY emerged late in 2021 – and said rift contributed to Brady’s decision not to pursue a 2022 season with Tampa Bay. It’s out as a public rumor now, and Arians is miffed at reports of a rift. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times gets the official denial:
Bruce Arians doesn’t believe Tom Brady will come out of retirement. But the Bucs coach is certain his relationship with the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback is not why he left the game after only two seasons in Tampa Bay.
“That would shock me,’’ Arians said Saturday of speculation that Brady would play in 2022. “And he let us know in time to do the free agency like we’ve done in the past, that’s why I don’t see it happening.’’
But what really bothers Arians is a series of what he calls “far-fetched” claims that Brady’s relationship soured with the Bucs coach.
“It seems like there’s one (story) every day now,’’ Arians said. “Everybody is speculating he’s going somewhere else. That don’t bother me. This other bulls—, the relationship thing, that’s so far-fetched.’’
The most recent one came from former NFL player Rich Ohrnberger, who tweeted Friday that Arians created tension between himself, Brady and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.
“Apparently, while Arians was rehabbing the Achilles (tendon) in the early mornings, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and Brady would work on the week’s game plan,’’ Ohrnberger tweeted. “Arians would later come in and take the red pen to work they’d done. The QB and OC felt undermined, there was tension.’’
Arians, speaking from Birmingham, Ala., where he was preparing for a birthday party for one of his grandchildren, said that Ohrnberger’s claim was completely false and that he couldn’t remain silent anymore.
“I mean, that’s such bulls—‚’’ Arians said. “That’s what pisses me off. I guess probably Byron could corroborate this, too.’’
Since arriving in Tampa Bay, Arians has allowed Leftwich to do all the game-planning and the results have been pretty good, even dating back to 2019 when Jameis Winston was under center. The Bucs have ranked in the top three in total offense and scoring all three seasons under Arians, and they were second with 30.1 points per game this past season. Brady also led the NFL in passing yards 5,316 and 43 touchdowns last season.
Specifically, Arians said there were a couple of things in Ohrnberger’s claim that he said were untrue. Arians is recovering from a partially torn Achilles but so far has avoided surgery. He said he never received treatment for the injury in the morning.
“First of all, I don’t rehab my Achilles in the morning,’’ Arians said. “I will go over the game plans and add things, but I don’t delete anything. I don’t have to because they do such a good job.
“I’ll see some things. Add some things. It’s an awesome collaboration, one of the best I’ve ever been around.’’
Arians said he also has never used a red pen to alter a game plan. “I never heard of that one,’’ he said laughing. “That was the best one ever. That’s pretty graphic to not know what the (expletive) you’re talking about.”
Ohrnberger also claimed Brady’s relationship soured with Arians after editing the game plan.
“Heard some interesting things recently … The Tom Brady & Bruce Arians honeymoon was over in Tampa,’’ Ohrnberger tweeted. “The retirement announcement wasn’t because of the trouble seeing eye to eye on the offensive game-planning, but the relationship was souring.’’
Ohrnberger is not the first to suggest Brady was unhappy with the ways things were operating under Arians toward the end of the 2021 season.
There has been plenty of speculation that Brady will play in 2022 but for another team other than the Bucs. Brady still remains on Tampa Bay’s roster but will move to the reserve/retired list after June 1. The Bucs will retain his rights, and only $8 million of the $32 million of dead money for Brady’s contract will go under the 2022 salary cap.
But that hasn’t stopped the speculation about Brady’s future.
“I’m telling you, it’s unavoidable. He’s not going to lower himself to have to dirty himself the way Aaron Rodgers is,’’ said Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk Live. “He’s going to work behind the scenes. I just … I think he’s going to be with the 49ers Week 1 (of the 2022 season).’’
Arians said he believes Brady’s career is finally over. “I don’t know if there’s really a story there,’’ he said.
But what won’t go away is speculation about Brady’s future and why he retired.
Arians confirmed the Bucs have to approach the offseason as if they won’t have Brady as their starting quarterback. He said all options are being evaluated, from possible trades to free agency to starting the season with Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask at quarterback.
Arians said he was advised not to speak out on all the speculation, but Ohrnberger’s claim that the coach altered the game plan in the 31-28 loss to the Rams in the NFC division playoff game forced him to end his silence.
“This one pissed me off too bad,’’ he said.
The same rumor mill is churning out the Dolphins as the best contender for Brady’s services in 2022, not the 49ers. We shall see.
This from Mike Florio on a rebuttal by Ohrnberger to the rebuttal of Arians:
Ohrnberger began by explaining that Brady and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich were “responsible for the entirety of the offensive game plan,” and that Arians would take a figurative red pen to their work. Ohrnberger also said that Brady and Leftwich had “major disagreements . . . on strategy, especially regarding the run game.”
Ohrnberger added that, “at a certain point during the 2021 season, Brady successfully seized control of the offensive game plan, adjusting play calls he didn’t believe would work.” Added Ohrnberger: “Additionally, there was a feeling of resentment inside the building toward Arians.”
More Ohrnberger: “While others worked around the clock in Tampa to build a winner, Head Football Coach Bruce Arians had a much lighter work schedule, per multiple impregnable sources.”
Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times responded to Ohrnberger by contending that Arians took the job on the condition of not game planning, that he had no figurative red pen, that it was always Leftwich and Brady doing the game planning, and that it worked.
Ohrnberger replied by reiterating that his sources are “impregnable,” and by pointing out that on-field success isn’t an indication that “relationships are/were on steady footing.”
Although Ohrnberger recently was duped (and admitted it) into tweeting that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes told his fiancée and brother not to attend games because of their in-stadium antics, Ohrnberger backed off after he realized he’d been fooled. On this point, Ohrnberger may indeed have impregnable sources.
First, he played with Brady for three years in New England. While I’m not saying one of his sources was Brady, (1) they clearly know each other and (2) Brady would be an “impregnable” source.
Second, the folks at JoeBucsFan.com have explained that Ohrnberger said on his radio show that he was “talking to a guy who’s pretty embedded with the Bucs,” and that Ohrnberger played college football at Penn State with Buccaneers assistant coach A.Q. Shipley.
How’s the relationship between Ohrnberger and Shipley? A 2008 article in the Penn State school paper described Shipley as one of Ohrnberger’s closet friends on the team. The following year, Ohrnberger posed as Shipley for a 15-minute conference call with reporters.
In 2018, Shipley appeared on Ohrnberger’s radio show, and Ohrnberger opened the interview with this: “Teammate of mine, a guy who I love. This is one of my brothers.”
While it’s considered taboo among reporters to guess their sources (that’s never stopped me), Ohrnberger isn’t a reporter. Also, he opened the door to this kind of stuff by dropping bombs on Bucco Bruce and calling the sources “impregnable.”
Look at it this way. Given the relationship between Ohrnberger and Shipley, common sense suggests that, even if Ohrnberger didn’t hear it first from Shipley, he surely would have run it by him.
We can choose to believe or to not believe whatever we want. I believe Ohrnberger. As noted last night, I also believe Arians protested Ohrnberger’s claims just a little too much.
– – –
Peter King explains why the Buccaneers are likely headed to Munich this fall:
I think if you’re an NFL fan and live in Germany, you’re likely to see Patrick Mahomes play in your country in either 2023 or 2025. Roger Goodell announced that four games will be played in Germany in the next four seasons, two in Munich and two in Frankfurt. In December, four teams were awarded marketing rights to the German market by the NFL: Kansas City, New England, Carolina and Tampa Bay. Two AFC, two NFC. It’s logical to think that the NFL will give each of those teams one game in Germany over the first four years of the marketing-rights deal. Because NFC teams have nine home games in 2022 and ’24, look for Tampa Bay and Carolina to play the “home” games in those years, while Kansas City and New England, with nine home games in 2023 and 2025, could play a game in Germany in those years. The ’22 game was set up perfectly, with Tom Brady slated to lead the Bucs into Germany. But his retirement means the NFL will likely have to find the best “host” of two teams with questionable QB situations, Bucs and Panthers, to kick off the Germany experiment this fall.
I think my guess would be the Bucs in Munich this fall, even without Brady. Tampa’s a bigger sell for the NFL than the Panthers are right now: The Super Bowl LV champs, trying to get back to the big game with a new quarterback. |
| NFC WEST |
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LOS ANGELES RAMS
Peter King with DT AARON DONALD as he thinks about retirement:
f this is it—Donald would only say he’s living in the moment and wants to enjoy today; plenty of time to think about playing more football—then no NFL player has ever ended a career more dramatically: game-turning sack to stunt a huge momentum swing in the third quarter, then a run stuff and a QB-stopper on the two clinching plays of a Super Bowl.
Talking to some people close to Donald and the team, it sounds 50-50 on retirement. There will be time for that. Good for Donald taking his time to revel in the greatest game of his life. The man has been playing football for 25 years. Give him 25 days, 50, 75, to enjoy this.
“Just imagine being a kid—I’ve been playing football since I was 5 or 6 years old,” Donald said. “I always talked about, I wanna make it to the NFL. I always set high goals but I surpassed anything that I ever thought was possible. I remember being a kid watching the Super Bowl, cheering for the Steelers. I got to play in my second Super Bowl and win one.
“Like, that’s the type of experience that … You can’t dream bigger than that, man. If you ain’t playing for this, if you ain’t playing to be a world champion, then you’re in the wrong business.
“When you visualize this game, when you think about being in big moments and big games, wanting to close out a game like that and make the big play, that’s why you do the extra rep in a weight room. That’s why you do the extra sprint during the offseason. That’s why you exhaust your body. That’s why you study so much film. You’re groomed for that moment.
“When you’re just chasing a goal like this, you really working for that and you’re really putting the time in when nobody’s watching … That’s the best [advice] I can give to people or young guys. Just work. Don’t worry about money, don’t play for stats, don’t play for individual awards. Play to be a world champion and really work at that. Grind at that. And I promise you, you’re gonna accomplish more than you ever thought you’d accomplish.”
– – –
Peter King thinks Sean McVay is still in play for TV despite his fiance’s proclamation that he was not “retiring.”
“He is NOT retiring!!” Sean McVay’s fiancée, Veronika Khomyn, said Wednesday on Instagram. It appears McVay will return to coach the Rams for a sixth season in 2022. And maybe that’s the end of the story. It probably is.
But it would be understandable if he strongly considered a TV job. First, if he leaves for TV, he’s not retiring. Not many people retire at 36; Vince Lombardi won his first game as a head coach at 46. For insight on why McVay would even consider this, I give you this name: Tony Romo. CBS pays Romo $17.5 million a year to work about 20 games a year on TV. McVay makes about half that to coach the Rams, and though he’s surely in line for a bigger payday after making two Super Bowls and winning one in five years, it’s pretty logical for McVay to think seriously about being a TV analyst. Why wouldn’t he consider ESPN on Monday night or Amazon on Thursday night, if they’re willing to pay more than $15 million a year? (I thought it was around $15 million; one source told me “more.”)
Two trains of thought here, and I understand both.
• Stay With Rams. McVay got a contract extension in 2019, and told the Rams he wanted quarterback Jared Goff to get one too; they’d be joined at the hip for the future. But after two more years with Goff, McVay was unhappy and pushed for trading Goff, two first-round picks and a third-rounder to Detroit for Matthew Stafford. That two-year marriage to Goff, and the trade, cost the Rams three prime picks and $85 million, and owner Stan Kroenke okayed both that massive contract and the trade. Surely McVay owes the team more than one season after the commitment the team made for him at quarterback.
• Leave The Rams. McVay delivered two Super Bowl seasons in five years. He made the Rams legitimate when they desperately needed to be in their new city with the $5-billion stadium; they won 31 games in the five seasons pre-McVay, and they’ve won 62 in his five years. He delivered a world championship. So he should be allowed to do what he wants.
I see both sides. And isn’t it interesting that football enriches the TV networks, and the networks use that largesse to try and steal from the NFL? Dean Blandino got plucked from the NFL to be an officiating analyst for FOX; that defection wounded the league. If McVay leaves, it would wound the Rams. A generation ago, the NFL didn’t have to worry about its major players leaving prematurely for TV. Now it’s a part of the landscape. |
| AFC WEST |
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DENVER
Could crypto “enthusiasts” buy the Broncos? Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:
The Broncos are for sale. Plenty of people would like to buy the team.
In one case, literally. Via MacKenzie Sigalos of CNBC, a group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts hopes to raise $4 billion to buy the team.
“We know it sounds a bit crazy, but it’s also a bit badass,” said Sean O’Brien, a lawyer who previously worked for Cisco. “The purpose essentially is to establish an infrastructure so that fans from all walks of life can be owners of the Denver Broncos.”
Here’s the biggest problem, which is never addressed in the article. One person must acquire control of the team by paying 30 percent of the purchase price. That person likewise needs to have the money to operate the team. Also, all other owners must be approved by the NFL. Unless the NFL fundamentally changes its ownership rules, the idea floated in this article can never happen.
Yes, the league reportedly may craft a one-time exception to allow a Black owner to acquire a controlling stake in the Broncos. But that’s a far cry from basically creating a publicly-held company with none of the safeguards that would apply to the issuance of stock that actually rises and falls in value.
So, basically, it’s not happening. |
| AFC NORTH |
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CINCINNATI
Coach Zac Taylor tells Peter King about a hidden blessing for a coach who works for Mike Brown:
I don’t know if Taylor is going to turn out to be a great coach. He’ll have a chance, with a good young roster and potentially great quarterback. Now he’ll have every chance to keep the Bengals a contender—the franchise signed him to a four-year contract extension through the 2026 season.
Of course, owner Mike Brown is one of the few executives in football who doesn’t care what the outside world thinks about his decision-making. They all say they don’t care, but their actions show otherwise. Brown laughs at that stuff. (Literally.) He never seriously considered firing Taylor when he was 6-25-1 in his first two years. “I always felt like I was going to get another opportunity,” Taylor told me before the Super Bowl.
“I think we all understood that we needed to start winning a lot more games than we were. But the beauty of working for Mike and the family here is you meet almost on a daily basis. There is no earth-shattering conversation that needs to be had after a season because you have that conversation every day in the offseason, training camp, during the season. We’re always on the same page to where there’s not these big State of the Union meetings that need to happen where there’s been no communication for weeks or months. I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. Makes sure we’re always on the same page.” |
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PITTSBURGH
As he sues the NFL, Brian Flores will not be unemployed. Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com:
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has a new home.
The Pittsburgh Steelers announced the hire of Flores, who is suing the NFL and three teams, as a defensive assistant and linebackers coach Saturday.
“I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a news release. “Brian’s resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team.”
Flores’ hire significantly boosts a defensive unit that recently saw the promotion of Teryl Austin to defensive coordinator following the retirement of Keith Butler, who also coached the team’s outside linebackers.
Flores spent the past three seasons as Miami’s head coach, compiling a 24-25 record before he was fired last month. And prior to that, he was the defensive playcaller for the New England Patriots, including in Super Bowl LIII.
Flores, 40, filed a lawsuit against the NFL and the Giants, Dolphins and Broncos this month, alleging discrimination in the interview process with New York and Denver and in his firing by Miami.
– – –
Despite the Steelers’ hiring of Flores, his lawyer, Douglas H. Wigdor, issued a statement Saturday indicating the lawsuit against the league would proceed.
“While Coach Flores is now focused on his new position, he will continue with his race discrimination class action so that real change can be made in the NFL,” said Wigdor. |
| AFC SOUTH |
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INDIANAPOLIS
Bob Kravitz of The Athletic, a longtime Indy scribe, pulls no punches on the failure of QB CARSON WENTZ with the Colts:
Earlier this week, my colleague Zak Keefer offered up 10 reasons why Carson Wentz should return to the Colts and 10 reasons why Wentz should not be Indianapolis’ quarterback next season, deftly laying out the pros and cons for each option.
I read each — closely — in the wake of hearing Chris Mortensen’s Super Bowl day report that Wentz was out after one season and generally keeping my ear to the ground, I’ve reached this conclusion:
The Wentz Experiment was an abject failure in ways that went beyond his on-field performance and choice to eschew the COVID-19 vaccine and he will not be behind center when the Colts arrive at training camp this summer.
This is not a sourced report. This should not end up on a TV crawl, saying, “The Athletic reports that Wentz will be traded or released before the March 18 deadline.” This is your humble correspondent reading the tea leaves. This is my strongly held opinion. Nothing more than that.
Wentz is good as gone.
He … just … is.
Just the way Peyton Manning was a goner during the dreadful 2011 season when the Colts hit rock bottom on the way to a 2-14 season and Andrew Luck was available in the upcoming draft. (Nobody believed me back then, for the record.)
It’s like this: If you’re in a bad marriage, you don’t stay in it just because you’re not sure there’s a Miss or Mr. Right waiting outside the door. Clearly, the Colts don’t have much in the way of favorable options, not unless Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson suddenly decide it’s their dream to play in Indianapolis. Jimmy Garoppolo? He looks like the most likely alternative, even if he doesn’t appear at first glance like a significant upgrade on Wentz. (But he wins, even if his numbers aren’t overwhelming.)
Sam Ehlinger? Really?
Have you looked at the free-agent quarterbacks? Good heavens. Not good, not at all.
But again, you don’t stay in a bad marriage, even if it costs you far more than you’d like to spend. For owner Jim Irsay, money has never been an object, and it won’t be this time around.
It’s been my sense for some time that you don’t throw the baby out with the bath water based on A) Wentz’s wretched play the final two weeks of the season, and B) his refusal to get vaccinated. After all, nobody played particularly well the final two games, especially against Jacksonville, when the entire team failed to show up. As for the vaccination issue, let’s be straight about this: Several key players chose to eschew the vaccine, which left them terribly short-handed for their game in Arizona (which, incredibly, they won) and cut into their practice and meeting schedule the week before the Vegas game (which, not-so-incredibly, they lost).
It’s become clear to me over time, though, it goes beyond all of that — beyond the late-season implosion, beyond the refusal to get the vaccine.
When head coach Frank Reich and general manager Chris Ballard met with the local media at season’s end, both men failed to commit to Wentz’s return, at which point I was convinced it was a 50-50 proposition. The idea was that they would see what their options were, see which quarterbacks might become available, consider their choices for next year and beyond. It was a stark departure from one year earlier when both men expressed their commitment to staying with Philip Rivers, who had a comparatively strong season for the Colts during his one-year stay in Indy.
Not so with Wentz.
A clear giveaway.
Then came the day of the Super Bowl and Mortensen’s report that Wentz’s prospects for a return to Indianapolis were “bleak,” and it didn’t take a genius to figure out where that came from.
Clearly, it wasn’t Ballard, who, even if he felt that way, would never share that kind of information at the risk of diminishing Wentz’s trade value — such as it is or might be. Nor was it Reich, who was the driving force behind the deal that sent first- and third-rounders to Philadelphia; there’s no way he was going to whisper in a reporter’s ear that his preferred quarterback was on his way out.
It had to be Irsay, who has been very vocal about his anger and disappointment with Wentz and the way his quarterback, and team in general, fell to pieces the final two weeks, playing themselves right out of a playoff spot that was a 98 percent guarantee prior to the Vegas game. His private plane-side videos, made with the engines roaring, made it abundantly clear: He’s over Wentz after just one season.
He wasn’t just angry; he was embarrassed. This is the same owner, one who is often given to hyperbole, who talked about winning multiple Lombardi Trophies while Wentz was under center. Here’s what he boldly tweeted after the Colts struggled to a 1-4 start this past season:
During an interview before the season, Irsay called the Wentz trade “a rare, long-term answer you can achieve through a trade.”
And:
“Carson is THE man for the job at this time … He can be the guy to build these great teams around for the next decade in Indy.”
Next decade …
He survived one season.
Next year, he will be playing — or sitting — elsewhere.
I concede I liked the trade at the time. Matthew Stafford was my first choice — hell, he was almost everybody’s first choice — but the Colts weren’t interested in paying that price. Plus, the Rams were able to include Jared Goff in the deal with Detroit; the Colts didn’t have a starting quarterback they could work into a trade.
Wentz, who was coming off a horrendous season that could be sloughed off as something of an anomaly — or maybe that was just wishful thinking — had the tantalizing physical traits you look for in a starting quarterback. Good size. Strong arm. The ability to make plays with his legs. And there were a few moments when we saw how good he could be, like against Baltimore and then the game-sealing TD throw against Arizona.
What is it they say? Million-dollar arm, 10-cent head.
It’s virtually impossible at this point for the Colts to bring back Wentz. The well has been poisoned. The franchise — read: the owner — has made it abundantly clear he doesn’t believe he can move forward with this quarterback. And believe me, when it comes to quarterbacks, Irsay gets deeply involved. He’s not Jerry Jones, not in general, but when it comes to QBs, he’s very hands-on. He was when he decided to let Peyton Manning walk in favor of drafting Andrew Luck (which, I will say to my dying breath, was the right move at the time).
So, now what?
If I’m Ballard, I seriously contemplate moving one of my stud offensive linemen — a Quenton Nelson or a Ryan Kelly — in any deal that might help secure a decent quarterback. Nelson is a future Hall of Famer and Kelly is a Pro Bowler, but there is no more important position in sports than quarterback. Without one — and all they need is someone who won’t lose games — they will spend even more time on the hamster wheel. Maybe that means dealing for a QB and maybe that means moving up in the draft to take one, but if I’m Ballard, I’m not closing any doors.
Luck’s shocking decision to retire was a game-changer. How long did it take the Broncos to find a replacement for John Elway? Or the Dolphins, who’ve never suitably replaced Dan Marino? Four quarterbacks in four years — it will be five in five years when they dump Wentz — is not sustainable for winning anything, much less multiple Lombardi Trophies. Consider, this team had seven Pro Bowl players last season, and it missed the playoffs. The Colts can’t afford to run it back with Wentz, who never inspired all that much confidence of his teammates and his bosses during his time in Indy. Bring him back and you’re courting full-scale disaster.
It made perfect sense that if you surrounded Wentz with a solid offensive line, a great running game and a defense that didn’t force you to play from behind all the time, he would begin returning to the form that saw him earn MVP consideration his second season in Philadelphia. The Colts lack dynamic playmakers at wide receiver and tight end and need to address those issues this offseason and beyond, but good quarterbacks make average receivers better than they are. And again, all Ballard and Reich wanted was for Wentz to “make the layups,” the easy passes that move the sticks and keep an offense humming.
And he couldn’t even do that.
Irsay said after the season he was “emotional, not impulsive,” and that seemed to breathe some air into the notion that Wentz might return. But now we are months removed from the disaster in Jacksonville, and nothing has changed. This puts Ballard in an impossible position to make a deal on a diminished asset and it puts Reich, Wentz’s champion, in a tenuous position after he made the case to acquire Wentz.
But you don’t compound a mistake by doubling down.
The Colts are ready to start over.
Again. |
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MIAMI
New coach Mike McDaniel “made” WR DEEBO SAMUEL. Now, he will try to do the same thing with the Dolphins. Peter King:
The story of the new Dolphins coach is actually a story about Deebo Samuel. How McDaniel, the 5-9, 165-pound former Yale wide receiver, climbed the ladder from unpaid coaching staff intern/gopher in Denver in 2005 to the exclusive 32-coach fraternity is instructive. In fact, it says everything about McDaniel, who looks far more like a Geico account executive than one of 32 NFL leaders of men.
“So,” McDaniel began, “Deebo. We [the 49ers coaching staff] had him on our team at the Senior Bowl the January before we got to the Super Bowl. We had a saying: From Mobile to Miami, because the Super Bowl was in Miami that year, with our players. And we actually did it. He started calling me his favorite coach then. I don’t really know why. We were always close and whatever.
“This past season, I had a talk with him in the offseason. I was meeting with Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo at 6 a.m. every day during training camp because we needed them to step up. I asked Deebo, ‘Are you the best player on the offense?’ He was like, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘The time is now. Do you really wanna be great? Greatness is hard. That’s why it’s great. It’s not easy. It’s a burden, really.’ “
McDaniel told Samuel, as the best player on the offense, he needed to be more of a leader. Immediately he saw Samuel shift uncomfortably, like, That’s not me. Don’t ask me to be that.
No, McDaniel said. Being leader isn’t what you say. It’s what you do. Be the best student in the classroom. Work the hardest in practice. Give more effort at everything. You know those days you feel like crap? McDaniel said. Everybody else does too. Those are the days you’ve got to ask more of yourself, show more of yourself.
“Then I gave him a quote that he still says to me today. I said, ‘If you do that every day and stay healthy and take care of your body and all that extra leg work that the true great ones do, at the end of the season, you’ll be first team all-pro and you’ll make me a head coach.”
2021 all-pro receivers: Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel.
2022 head coach, Miami: Mike McDaniel.
There was another part of the Deebo maturation/development: “No player in my career has ever bothered me on a Tuesday,” McDaniel said. But last season, every Tuesday around noon, Samuel would come into McDaniel’s office, sit on his couch, and, in the midst of game-planning crunch time, Samuel would wait for McDaniel to have a break in between tape or conversations with other coaches on staff. McDaniel would stop what he was doing for maybe a half hour, 45 minutes, and turn to Samuel to talk about that week’s plan, and what role he’d play.
McDaniel’s imagination, and Samuel’s study/practice habits and athleticism, combined to make Samuel the most dangerous weapon in the league. Prior to Week 10 against the Rams, when McDaniel started feeling good about Samuel’s knowledge of the run game, McDaniel started building regular run snaps in the game plan for Samuel. In Samuel’s next five games, he ran it 5, 8, 6, 8, and 6 times, with three rushes over 25 yards and six rushing touchdowns. Samuel had become a dual-threat player at the highest level. “Each week, I’d add like one new type of run so he wouldn’t have to learn too much, but the defense hadn’t seen it,” McDaniel said. “By the end of the season, he could do almost every type of run that running backs could do.”
That’s how McDaniel plans to coach the Dolphins.
“You set the vision for somebody, and you go and make it happen,” he said.
That’s why the 2022 Dolphins should be fascinating to watch. |
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THIS AND THAT |
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CAP CASUALTY FREE AGENTS
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report prophesizes some players who may appear on the free agent market next month as cap-related cuts:
Free agency is a huge part of the NFL offseason, and fans don’t have to go too far to find lists of the top players set to hit the market or team-by-team predictions.
It’s worth remembering, though, that the free-agent market won’t be set until it actually opens on March 16. Every year, players become available on the cusp of free agency as a result of financially motivated moves.
Last offseason, for example, Eric Fisher, Kyle Van Noy, Duke Johnson Jr., Kyle Rudolph, Jared Cook and Riley Reiff were just some of the players released in cap-saving cuts before the start of free agency. We’re going to see more cap casualties in 2022, and some of the potential cuts could significantly impact the open market.
Below, you’ll find a list of nine notable players who could be released before the start of free agency. Not every potential cut is likely, but each makes sense for its own reasons—largely financial, but also based on factors like roster construction, recent performance and player health. We’ll dive into the specifics of each situation and how each player could alter free agency.
Players are listed in alphabetical order.
Bryan Bulaga, OT, Los Angeles Chargers
For nearly a decade, Bryan Bulaga was a reliable right tackle for the Green Bay Packers. Since signing a three-year, $30 million deal with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020, though, he’s been plagued by injuries.
Bulaga appeared in only 10 games (back) for Los Angeles in 2020 and then one game in 2021 because of back and groin injuries. He heads into the final year of his contract with a cap hit of $14 million. The Chargers could save roughly $10.75 million by parting with the 32-year-old.
Now, Los Angeles isn’t hurting for cap space. It’s projected to have $57.5 million in cap space available, second-most in the NFL. However, $10.75 million is still a lot of cash to pay a player who barely contributed last season.
This year’s right-tackle market—headlined by the likes of Trenton Brown, Germain Ifedi and Riley Reiff—isn’t particularly strong. The positional pool will be improved if Bulaga enters free agency as a cap casualty.
Bulaga’s recent injury history would make him a bit of a gamble. If the medicals check out, though, Bulaga could quickly climb the wish lists of right-tackle-needy teams.
Cole Beasley, WR, Buffalo Bills
Cole Beasley was a productive receiver for the Buffalo Bills and their No. 1-ranked passing offense in 2021. However, the slot specialist—who will turn 33 in April—was less impactful than he was a year ago.
In 2020, Beasley finished with 82 receptions, 967 yards and four touchdowns. This past season, he caught the same 82 passes but for only 693 yards and one score. With pass-catchers like Emmanuel Sanders, Dawson Knox and Gabriel Davis becoming key pieces in the offense, Beasley could be expendable.
A contract restructuring is probably Buffalo’s first option, as Beasley has earned the trust of quarterback Josh Allen. That said, a release is not impossible.
“First, Beasley is under contract for 2022. Second, Allen likes and trusts Beasley a great deal. And third, the Bills will want to minimize the turnover at receiver,” Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic wrote. “But something has to give.”
If Buffalo cannot restructure Beasley’s contract, it could save $6.1 million by releasing him outright. This will be a solid free-agent receiver class, one with players like Davante Adams, Chris Godwin, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Christian Kirk at the forefront. Beasley would be a savvy veteran option for teams, though, and he could impact the markets of guys looking to headline the slot market like Smith-Schuster and Kirk.
Amari Cooper, WR, Dallas Cowboys
As is the case with Beasley, an Amari Cooper release doesn’t feel incredibly likely. The Dallas Cowboys are set to possibly lose fellow pass-catchers Michael Gallup, Dalton Schultz and Cedric Wilson in free agency, and the early buzz suggests that Cooper will stay.
“According to league sources not authorized to speak publicly, the Cowboys haven’t made a decision on what they’re going to do, but most expect them to retain Cooper,” Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network wrote.
However, it would be foolish to rule out the idea of Dallas dumping Cooper’s contract. The 27-year-old followed back-to-back 1,100-yards campaigns with just 865 yards in 2021, though he did catch eight touchdowns. The Cowboys could save $16 million against the 2022 cap by trading or releasing Cooper.
If Cooper hits the open market, he would add another borderline No. 1 receiver to the player pool. He wouldn’t be as coveted as Adams, but he’s not coming off a significant injury like Godwin (torn ACL). The demand for Cooper would likely fall somewhere between those two.
For teams with plenty of cap space, Cooper could become a top free-agent target. The 2022 draft class is shaping up to be another strong one at receiver, but Cooper is a four-time Pro Bowler and a proven commodity.
Trey Flowers, DE, Detroit Lions
Defensive end Trey Flowers has been hampered by injuries pretty much since signing a five-year, $90 million deal with the Detroit Lions in 2019.
While Flowers played 15 games in 2019, his second season in Detroit was ended prematurely by a forearm fracture. His third was ended by a lingering knee ailment. The 28-year-old has played only 14 games over the past two years and has become a prime cut candidate for the Lions.
Flowers was acquired by the old regime, headed by head coach and former New England Patriots assistant Matt Patricia. Parting ways now would save roughly $10.4 million in cap space.
While Flowers’ knee injury will be a concern, he would undoubtedly gain attention on the free-agent market. More of a traditional edge-setting end than a pure edge-rusher, Flowers is still adept at pressuring opposing quarterbacks.
Between 2018 and 2019, Flowers logged 14.5 sacks and 71 quarterback pressures to go with 108 total tackles. That’s great solid all-around production for a versatile down lineman still on the younger side of 30.
Flowers might not garner the same demand as sack specialists like Chandler Jones, Von Miller and Haason Reddick, but he would be one of the better free agents available in the second tier.
Anthony Hitchens, LB, Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs inside linebacker Anthony Hitchens is still quite capable of playing at a high level. He started 15 games in 2021 and finished with 80 total tackles, two passes defended, an interception and four quarterback pressures.
Hitchens was also targeted 33 times in coverage and allowed an opposing quarterback rating of only 83.4.
However, Hitchens will turn 30 this offseason and is entering the final year of a five-year, $45 million deal. He’s set to carry a cap hit of $12.7 million, $8.4 million of which Kansas City could save by parting with him.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, are projected to have just $3.8 million in cap space.
If Hitchens hits the open market, he would become a great pickup for a team seeking a versatile second-level defender. His vast amount of playoff and Super Bowl experience would be a bonus for teams also seeking defensive leadership.
Several solid linebackers—Dont’a Hightower, Anthony Walker Jr. and Jayon Brown among others—are scheduled to be available. However, Hitchens might be the ideal choice for playoff-caliber teams with Super Bowl aspirations.
Matt Ioannidis, DT, Washington Commanders
Quite a few quality defensive tackles are expected to be available in free agency, but several of them, including Brandon Williams, Linval Joseph, Malik Jackson, Sheldon Richardson and Nick Williams, are over 30.
The selection of younger tackles is more limited, and rebuilding teams should have plenty of interest in 28-year-old Matt Ioannidis should he become available.
Ioannidis is under contract with the Washington Commanders through the 2022 season, and he played well in 2021. The Temple product appeared in 16 games and logged 38 tackles, 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss and 11 quarterback hits.
However, Washington could view Ioannidis as a cap casualty because of the sheer amount of capital it has invested in its defensive line. The Commanders have used multiple high draft picks on their line and are set to pay out a combined $31 million to Chase Young, Daron Payne, Montez Sweat and Jonathan Allen.
Ioannidis is set to eat another $8.4 million in cap space, but Washington could save $6.9 million of that by parting ways. That’s not a huge amount considering the Commanders are projected to have $30.4 million available. However, it could become significant if Washington goes big-name chasing in free agency.
While Ioannidis has been only part of a strong defensive-line rotation in Washington, he could become a major asset and a centerpiece as part of a front with less premier talent.
Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns’ passing game was a mess in 2021, due in large part to injuries. Quarterback Baker Mayfield suffered a torn labrum in Week 2 and battled various shoulder and leg injuries throughout the season.
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry spent time on injured reserve with a knee sprain, and between his injury, Mayfield’s and a general lack of chemistry on offense, Landry had his worst season as a pro.
Landry had just 570 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games. Given his lack of production and Cleveland’s need to overhaul its receiving corps, Landry seems likely to be a cap casualty. The Browns could save $14.9 million by releasing him.
While a down year will hurt Landry’s value some, the 29-year-old is a proven weapon on the perimeter and in the slot. He’s been to the Pro Bowl five times and has averaged 86 receptions and 950 yards during his career.
A consistent and largely reliable possession receiver, Landry could challenge guys like Kirk and Smith-Schuster at the top of the slot market if Cleveland decides to set him free—at least for teams in position to win right away.
While Landry won’t turn 30 until November, Kirk and Smith-Schuster are both 25 or younger.
Bradley Roby, CB, New Orleans Saints
Bradley Roby might not be an elite cornerback, but he’s been a dependable defender for both the Houston Texans and the New Orleans Saints in recent years. The 2014 first-round pick was a role player for the Saints in 2021, appearing in 14 games with one start.
Roby finished the 2021 season with 23 tackles, a sack, five passes defended and an interception. He allowed an opposing passer rating of 90.2 in coverage and has now allowed an opposing passer rating below 91.0 in three consecutive years.
New Orleans, though, is in a dire financial spot heading into free agency, as the Saints are projected to be $76.1 million over the cap. With Dennis Allen replacing Sean Payton as head coach, they could be in store for an overhaul.
The Saints could save $10.2 million with no dead-cap charge by parting with Roby.
This year’s cornerback market should be a good one, with players like Stephon Gilmore, J.C. Jackson, Patrick Peterson and Joe Haden all scheduled to reach free agency. Roby isn’t likely to jump to the top of the player pool if he becomes available.
However, Roby should land on the radar of teams seeking a seasoned veteran, and the 29-year-old could impact the markets of sightly older corners like Haden, Xavier Rhodes and Chris Harris. Roby wasn’t a full-time starter this past season, but he’s still squarely in his playing prime.
Za’Darius Smith, Edge, Green Bay Packers
Pass-rushers are always in high demand in free agency, and a great one could potentially enter the market as a cap casualty.
Za’Darius Smith was simply fantastic for the Green Bay Packers in 2019 and 2020. He made the Pro Bowl in both campaigns while amassing 26 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles and a whopping 89 quarterback pressures.
However, Smith missed the vast majority of the 2021 season after undergoing back surgery. He went on injured reserve after Week 1 and didn’t return until Green Bay’s playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers—he did record a sack in that game.
Smith has been extremely valuable to the Packers defense when healthy, but Green Bay is projected to be $48.5 million over the cap. While releasing Smith would cost the Packers $12.4 million in dead money, it would also save $15.3 million against the cap.
Some sort of renegotiation feels more likely for the Packers and Smith. However, if Smith hits the open market, he would immediately become one of the top edge-rushers available.
Teams would have to be comfortable with Smith’s medicals, of course, but he could potentially even impact the markets of top sack artists like Miller, Jones and Reddick. Given his past production and age (29), Smith should be coveted by potential contenders and rebuilding teams alike. |
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