Category: NFL News

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Instead of finding a veteran to replace Kirk Cousins, the Minnesota Vikings reportedly want J.J. McCarthy to be their next starting quarterback. The expectation is that the Vikings will aggressively try to trade up to either the No. 4 or No. 5 overall pick in order to select the former Michigan quarterback, according to ESPN. The Vikings currently own the 11th overall pick. 

Four of our five CBS Sports NFL draft experts have the Vikings trading up to select a quarterback. Three of our experts have the Vikings selecting McCarthy, while one has Minnesota taking former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye with the third overall pick. 

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah did not attend Michigan’s pro day. However, quarterbacks coach Josh McCown was there and kept a close eye on McCarthy, who this past season helped the Wolverines win their first national championship since 1997.

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The Bills are signing defensive lineman Austin Johnson.

Bills defensive tackle DaQuan Jones first reported the news on social media. Jones and Johnson played together at Penn State and with the Titans.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports the one-year deal is worth up to $4 million.

Johnson chose the Bills over the Cardinals, who he visited Friday.

He spent the past two seasons with the Chargers, starting every game last season and totaling 46 tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two passes defensed. He also has played with the Giants as well as the Titans during his eight years in the NFL.

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The Tennessee Titans have been aggressive in free agency, overhauling the offense with additions such as running back Tony Pollard, wide receiver Calvin Ridley and center Lloyd Cushenberry. Now they appear focused on bolstering their defense having reached an agreement with the Kansas City Chiefs to acquire cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, according to ESPN.

Tennessee is expected to send a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to Kansas City and swap seventh-round picks in the 2024 draft. Sneed, who was given the franchise tag earlier this offseason, reportedly has an agreement with the Titans on a new contract that will make him one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in NFL history. 

The Indianapolis Colts also had interest in Sneed, SI reported last week, but Sneed’s desire for a lucrative new contract was the primary holdup in a deal coming to fruition.

Spotrac’s market value tool predicted Sneed would sign a multi-year deal that carried a $16.3 million annual average value, but that hypothetical deal would rank No. 8 among cornerbacks. The Titans had the third-most available cap space in the league, per Over the Cap, so they were well-positioned to swing a deal. 

Sneed recorded 78 combined tackles, a career-high 14 passes defensed and two interceptions last season. He led the NFL in fewest yards per attempt allowed with 4.7 (min. 75 targets) and stands as one of just two players to record at least two interceptions and five tackles for loss in each of the past three seasons.

The Titans added Chidobe Awuzie during the first wave of free agency, giving the former Bengals cornerback a three-year contract. Tennessee did lose its former top CB in Kristian Fulton on Friday; he reached a one-year agreement with…

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Defensive lineman Austin Johnson’s search for a new team is taking him across the country.

Johnson visited with the Bills earlier this week and Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that he will be in Arizona on Friday for a meeting with the Cardinals.

Johnson started every game for the Chargers last season and had 46 tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and two passes defensed. He also played for the Chargers in 2022 and had previous stints with the Giants and Titans during his eight years in the NFL.

The Cardinals have signed defensive linemen Bilal Nichols, Justin Jones, and Khyiris Tonga as free agents this month. They also re-signed L.J. Collier, but signing Johnson would make for a nearly complete overhaul of the unit heading into 2024.

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The “Tush Push” is here to stay … at least for the 2024 season. NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent has confirmed that the controversial play will remain a legal play this season, via ESPN. Vincent added that there will not be a proposal presented this offseason that would attempt to ban the play. 

While there isn’t a strong push to ban it, the NFL will continue to monitor the play, according to CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones. 

The “Tush Push” has become the NFL’s most scrutinized play over the past two seasons. The play rose to fame in 2022 after becoming an integral part of the Philadelphia Eagles offense. The play helped the Eagles reach the Super Bowl that season while aiding in Jalen Hurts’ setting a new quarterback record by running for 15 regular-season touchdowns. He had an additional three touchdown runs during the Eagles’ Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. 

The league’s current stance on the “Tush Push” differs from reports this past December that commissioner Roger Goodell wanted it out of the game. It appears that is no longer the case. 

There are two reasons why the play has received push back. The play isn’t safe as it often creates a pile, which increases the chances of injury. Many feel the play also gives the offense an unfair advantage as offensive players can push the quarterback forward. The Eagles had a 93.5% success rate running the play in 2022 and a 90% success rate in 2023, according to The Athletic. 

While it has its detractors, the “Tush Push” will remain in the NFL in 2024, and it’s up to the league’s 32 defensive coordinators to come up with a way to stop it. 

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Here’s what Caleb Williams says about being drafted by the Chicago Bears originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

We’re closing in on a month away from the 2024 NFL draft, where the Bears will inevitably take a quarterback with the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Will that quarterback be Caleb Williams? It’s all the more likely the USC star will be the next signal caller for the Bears. But how would he feel if the Bears drafted him with the first pick?

“I think it’d be great if I was blessed to be the No. 1 pick to the Chicago Bears,” Williams told Colin Cowherd on “The Herd.” “… I think it’s going to another big city. I’ve heard that they love football. So if that’s the place, I’m excited for that. The fans love football. It’s one of the biggest things that I care about is a place that cares. If that was the place, I’d be excited. Getting ready to go win games is what I’m excited for most importantly.”

Maybe not all of them, but that’s what some Bears fans want to hear. Rumors swirled earlier in the offseason about the USC quarterback’s reluctance to go to Chicago. Some, like Robert Griffin III, say he should pull an “Eli Manning” and demand he be traded before being drafted by them.

But that’s not where Williams is at in his draft process.

He’s said multiple times now he would welcome the Bears to draft him. He met with them at the NFL combine and he reportedly had dinner with them the night before his pro day on Wednesday. Close to 10 figures from the Bears were seen at USC’s pro day.

Williams also has a relationship with a couple of Bears players. He ran track with DJ Moore growing up. He also knows Keenan Allen, who the Bears acquired in a trade for a fourth-round pick recently. Williams characterized the trade as “crazy” because of the cheap price the Bears acquired him for.

“I’ve known Keenan for a year now, I’d say, before he was traded to the Bears for a fourth-round [pick],” Williams said. “It was pretty cool for him to come out here and show love.”

Allen did make…

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Bears head coach Matt Eberflus knew not all of his players would be thrilled to lose quarterback Justin Fields, so before the trade that sent Fields to Pittsburgh, Eberflus called Fields’ close friends on the team to touch base with them.

That included Bears tight end Cole Kmet, who said he was planning to go out for a St. Patrick’s Day weekend celebration in Chicago until Eberflus called him, at which point he decided he wasn’t in a mood to celebrate.

“I was planning to hit the city and go out, but then I got a call from Flus and the people with the Bears, and decided to stay in after the news with Justin,” Kmet said on the CHGO Bears podcast. “Obviously, really upsetting that it came to that, and where it was at that moment, but you kind of felt like the writing was on the wall with that.”

Still, Kmet said he appreciates that Eberflus was willing to talk to him about the situation.

“I don’t expect them to call me for that kind of thing, but it’s always nice when they do reach out,” Kmet said. “I think that’s a classy move by them to let guys who have been with Justin and are close with Justin let them know about the decision and why they made the decision. So I’m definitely grateful that they do that, and it’s not something they have to do, by any means.”

Kmet believes that the Bears are in a good position to win with a rookie quarterback, likely USC’s Caleb Williams.

“I still think, really exciting times for the Bears here,” Kmet said. “This is really exciting times and with whatever rookie they decide to go with, looks like that’s the direction that it’s going, what a great opportunity. What a great opportunity for a young kid to come in here with an infrastructure in place and be ready to go win football games from the get-go.”

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