Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) has been activated from IR. It makes him eligible to play in Sunday's Super Bowl, although it's still unclear if he will. Edwards-Helaire has been out since suffering a high-ankle sprain in Week 11. If he does play against the Eagles, he'll likely be used sparingly behind RBs Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon.
Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman (pelvis) has been placed on IR, officially knocking him out for the Super Bowl. He went down way back in Week 9 and aggravated the injury when he tried to return for the AFC Championship. We're still waiting to find out whether WRs JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) and Kadarius Toney (ankle) will be available for Sunday's showdown vs. the Eagles.
WR A.J. Green announced his retirement on Monday. His play tailed off dramatically over the past couple of seasons, but Green had an awesome NFL career. He topped 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first 5 seasons and 6 of his first 7. He reached double-digit TDs 3 times. Green currently sits inside the top 50 in all-time receiving yards and scores.
The Athletic's Daniel Popper considers WR Keenan Allen 1 of the Charger's most likely salary cap casualties. (L.A. is currently about $23.5 million over the projected 2023 salary cap.) Allen missed 7 games and most of 2 others with hamstring trouble this past season and turns 31 in April. But he averaged 10.4 targets, 7.5 catches, 84 yards and .5 TDs over 8 healthy regular-season games. And he ranked 12th among 96 qualifying WRs in yards per route run. Allen would draw plenty of interest on the open market if he is released. His departure would be a significant boost to WR Mike Williams and especially WR Josh Palmer. Palmer averaged 7.3 targets, 4.6 catches and 49 yards across 8 games with Allen out or limited this past year.
The Cowboys named Brian Schottenheimer their new OC. He spent this past season in Dallas as an offensive consultant. HC Mike McCarthy is expected to take over play-calling duties from the departed Kellen Moore, so we're not sure Schottenheimer's role will change much in 2023. He does have 12 seasons of experience as an NFL OC, most recently from 2018-2020 with the Seahawks. Those were run-leaning attacks, with 2 of the 3 finishing top 3 in rushing attempts.
The Panthers are hiring Ejiro Evero as DC, according to multiple reports. In his 1st year as Broncos DC, Evero earned widespread praise. He piloted a unit that ranked 7th in yards allowed, 14th in points allowed and 10th in Football Outsiders' DVOA. Denver likely would have ranked even better but traded EDGE Bradley Chubb during the season and lost S Justin Simmons to injury for 5 games (among other injuries). Evero -- who has been on NFL staffs since 2007, except for 1 year spent at the D-III level -- impressed enough to draw head-coaching interviews this offseason. He'll take over a Panthers defense with some talented pieces. Chief among those are EDGE Brian Burns, S Jeremy Chinn, CB Jaycee Horn and DT Derrick Brown. Don't be surprised if the Carolina defense becomes more of a fantasy football factor in 2023.
Raiders RB Josh Jacobs said Saturday that he’d like to re-sign with the team. Per Jacobs, contract talks should begin next week. “This is where I want to be,” the 25-year-old said. “I feel like I’ve left my mark on this organization. With the guys in the locker room — obviously, it’s going to be shaken up next year, but I feel like this is home. For me, this is where I want to be, but I’m not going to discredit myself trying to be here, either. So, it’s just got to make sense.” Jacobs smashed prior career highs with 393 touches and 2,053 total yards in 2022.
Seahawks QB Geno Smith told Sirius XM NFL Radio on Saturday that he’s in talks with the team on a new contract and that things are “looking very good.” We’ve been assuming Smith would re-sign, as the move just makes sense for both sides. We’ll be tracking the process, of course. If you’re jumping into early best-ball drafts — or managing your dynasty rosters — treat Smith as though he’ll start for Seattle in 2023. The length of his new contract should help clarify how long he might stay beyond that
The misdemeanor menacing charge against Bengals RB Joe Mixon was dismissed by a judge on Friday, at the request of the prosecution. But the prosecution reserves the right to re-file the case after additional investigation. The legal side of this story isn't over yet. And the NFL can discipline Mixon even if he isn't legally found guilty. That has Mixon's 2023 and dynasty value in limbo for now. We'll keep you updated on the situation.
Bengals RB Joe Mixon is being charged with "aggravated menacing" for an incident that allegedly occurred in downtown Cincinnati the day before the Divisional Round game against the Bills. Mixon is accused of pointing a gun at a woman and saying, "You should be popped in the face, I should shoot you, the police can't get me." NFL Network's Tom Pelissero spoke Thursday night with Mixon's agent, who claims the charge will be dropped on Friday. We'll keep you updated on the situation. Remember that Mixon entered the NFL with red flags after he was caught on camera punching a woman at a restaurant in 2014.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid expressed optimism on Thursday that WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) will be able to practice next week and play in the Super Bowl. "He’s in a good place," Reid said. "The main thing is that we let that [injury] calm down. I’m very optimistic right now… We’ll just see where it goes.” Check back next week for updates on Smith-Schuster's progress.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid said Thursday that WR Kadarius Toney (ankle) is "close." He didn't practice on Thursday but did participate in the walkthrough. It sounds like Toney has a good chance to play in next weekend's Super Bowl. We'll keep you updated on his progress.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid conceded Thursday that WR Mecole Hardman is unlikely to play in the Super Bowl after aggravating his pelvis injury in the win over the Bengals. “I think it’ll be tough for him," Reid said. "I doubt he’ll make the Super Bowl… He was not going to be denied the other day [in the AFC Championship Game], and that’s a tribute to the kid. He’s a tough, tough kid.” Hardman is scheduled to hit free agency in March.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said Thursday that his ankle is "in a good spot" coming out of the AFC Championship win over the Bengals. Mahomes ran for just 8 yards in that one but didn't seem impacted when throwing, finishing with a 326-2-0 passing line. He has another 10 days to get ready for the Super Bowl.
Falcons TE Kyle Pitts is "on schedule" in his recovery from November knee surgery to repair a torn MCL, TEs coach Justin Peele said this week. “It’s an ongoing process every day,” Smith added. “Ultimately, what matters is getting ready for training camp. Feel pretty good about where he’s at.” We never got a reported timeline for Pitts' recovery, but he should at least be ready for the start of training camp, if not some of the offseason program. Pitts was a major fantasy disappointment in 2022, posting a 28-356-2 line across 10 games. He still ranked 6th among 32 qualifying TEs in yards per route run, though, and remains a player to bet on long term. The big question for 2023 is whether the Falcons open up their passing game after finishing 31st in pass attempts last year.
Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy will take over play-calling duties from departed OC Kellen Moore, owner Jerry Jones said. Jones added that McCarthy will deploy a "version of the offenses he ran in Green Bay," according to The Dallas News' Calvin Watkins. McCarthy spent 13 years running the Packers offense, leading 10 of those teams to top 10 finishes in points, total yards or both. He was helped, of course, by having Brett Favre under center for his first 2 seasons and Aaron Rodgers for the final 11. McCarthy's offenses leaned pass, with 9 of them ranking higher in pass attempts than rush attempts. We'd expect a similar attack with QB Dak Prescott in 2023 but will keep an eye on McCarthy's plans throughout the offseason.
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa has cleared the concussion protocol after meeting with "several medical professionals," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "They are confident he’ll be 100% when the time comes for football," Rapoport adds. Tagovailoa sustained 2 concussions -- and appeared to sustain a 3rd -- during the 2022 season, ultimately missing 4 games and most of another. When he was on the field, he scored as a top 10 fantasy QB. It sets him up as 1 of the bigger risk/reward picks at QB in 2023 fantasy drafts.
After speaking with Bears HC Matt Eberflus, insider Albert Breer expects the team to do its due diligence on the 2023 QB class but ultimately trade the 1st overall pick and stick with QB Justin Fields for this coming season. "They love [Fields] as a leader. They love him as a person. ... The question is is he the right QB," Breer said on the Rich Eisen Show. "The great thing about the position they're in right now is that they can probably get something significant for the 1st pick and use whatever they get to put something great around Fields. ... We'll give Justin a better situation. We'll get a cleaner evaluation of Justin in 2023. And then in 2024 we'll either have our QB of the future in Justin Fields, or we'll have a high pick in a draft with [USC QB] Caleb Williams and [North Carolina QB] Drake Maye are gonna be coming out." We'll see how this situation plays out over the next few months leading up to April's draft, but it sounds like 2023 will be a make-or-break year for Fields in Chicago. He was obviously dominant as a runner this past season but averaged just 150 passing yards per game on a 60.4% completion rate and 7.1 yards per attempt. A better offensive line and better weaponry would certainly help his chances of improving as a passer in 2023. Regardless, Fields is a safe pick in early fantasy drafts because he'll be starting somewhere this coming season, whether it's Chicago or elsewhere.
Cowboys WR Michael Gallup underwhelmed this past year, posting 39-424-4 in 14 games. Recall that he was returning from a left ACL tear from Week 17 of 2021. Now, we have more information to help explain his difficult 2022. On Tuesday, the career-long Cowboy underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right ankle and right knee, per beat writer Michael Gehlken. He’s expected to be fine for team workouts in April. Gallup’s $11 million salary for 2023 is fully guaranteed, so he’ll return for a 6th season in Dallas. Still, it’s quite possible that the Cowboys add competition to the WR corps. Dallas picks 27th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport believes QB Lamar Jackson will get the exclusive franchise tag. The exclusive tag would allow Baltimore to set the price in a potential deal, while the non-exclusive variety would net the team only two 1sts. Rapoport makes clear that a trade is unlikely, although such an outcome isn’t totally dismissed. An exclusive tag for Jackson would cost Baltimore roughly $45 million.
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