With the 2021 NFL season coming to an end, the offseason begins with tons of rumors, free agency speculation, coaching movements and draft drama.
Who else is on the hot seat? Who will receive a pink slip? Follow along with RamDigest.com for up-to-date information on all the moves.
MARCH 14 RAMS KEEP STAPLE OF OFFENSIVE LINE The L.A. Rams have signed center Brian Allen to a three-year deal worth $24 million. The Rams’ fourth-round pick (111th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft has chosen to remain in Los Angeles. This means the offensive line that helps the Rams to a Super Bowl LVI win last month will remain largely intact as the team attempts to “keep the band together to run it back.”
MARCH 14 FREE SAFETY REMAINS IN PACIFIC NORTHWESTÂ The Seattle Seahawks have agreed to terms with free safety Quandre Diggs on a three-year extension worth $40 million. Diggs has taken over as the long-term replacement for Earl Thomas and will pair alongside Pro Bowl strong safety Jamal Adams.Â
Since being traded by the Detroit Lions, Diggs has become one of the more consistent free safeties in the sport. In Seattle, Diggs has recorded 13 interceptions, including five in each of the past two years. He suffered a season-ending leg injury in the final game of last season, but is expected to be ready for Week 1.Â
Diggs, 29, last season recorded two picks against Rams’ quarterback Matthew Stafford. In two games against Los Angeles, he recorded nine tackles and three pass breakups as well.Â
MARCH 14 FORMER No. 2 PICK GETS SECOND SHOT IN PITTSBURGH
The Pittsburgh Steelers are singing former No. 2 pick Mitchell Trubisky to a two-year contract. Trubisky last played for the Buffalo Bills and was drafted initially by the Chicago Bears in 2017.Â
In four seasons with Chicago, Trubisky posted a 29-21 record and threw for 10,652 yards, 64 touchdowns and 38 interceptions. He completed 64.4 percent of his passes. Last season with the Bills, Trubisky completed 75 percent of his passing backing up Josh Allen Â
The Steelers are replacing 18-year veteran Ben Roethlisberger, who elected to retire following the 2021 season. Pittsburgh has yet to have a losing season under Mike Tomlin and made the postseason at 9-7-1 last fall.Â
MARCH 14 NOTE-BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITEÂ The Rams are bringing back offensive tackle Joe Noteboom on three-year deal worth $40 million. Noteboom, 26, is expected to be the long-term option at left tackle once Andrew Whitworth calls it a career for good.Â
A former third-round pick from TCU, Noteboom has played four different positions on the offensive line. Last season following an injury to Whitworth, Noteboom filled in at left tackle. He is guaranteed $25 million and can make a max value of $47.5 million.
MARCH 13 PSYCH! BRADY’S BACK! Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady announced on social media that he is un-retiring and returning to the Bucs for his 23rd NFL season.
© Kim Klement | 2021 Jan 3
Tom Brady
© Kim Klement | 2021 Jan 3
Tom Brady
© Tim Fuller | 2020 Dec 26
Tom Brady talking with Bruce Arians
Brady announced his retirement two months ago, but revealed that he didn’t want to part ways with the game just yet.
These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG
MAR 10 CHARGERS BOLT UP PASS RUSH The Chicago Bears are trading Pro Bowl pass rusher Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for draft capital. According to ESPN, the Bears will receive Los Angeles’ second-round pick (No. 48) and a 2023 sixth-round pick, pending a physical from Mack.
Mack, 31, is coming off a career-worst with Chicago, but still is regarded as one of the top pass rushers in the game. Last season in seven games, he recorded 19 total tackles, six tackles for loss and six sacks. Mack was placed on the injured reserve following a season-ending foot injury that required surgery.
With the addition of Mack, Chargers’ coach Brandon Staley will continue to run his defense in a 3-4 approach with an emphasis on attacking the quarterback. Last season, Chargers’ standout Joey Bosa recorded 51 total tackles and 10.5 sacks. Los Angeles finished middle of the pack in sacks with only 35.
The Bears, now led by former Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, will now have two second-round picks to build around second-year QB Justin Fields.
MAR 10 7:50 AM RAMS ADD LB HINES The Rams added some depth to their linebacker room on Wednesday night, signing Anthony Hines to a reserve/futures contract.Â
Hines is now a part of the 90-man roster and will have to compete for a job on the final 53-man roster next fall.Â
Hines was signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M last season.Â
MAR 8 12:47 PM The Rams NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks will have a new man under center in 2022.Â
On Tuesday morning, Russell Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos in one of the biggest trades in NFL History.Â
The Seahawks had been in the midst of negotiations will Wilson for weeks, with Wilson sitting as the focus of trade rumors around the NFL, including with the Washington Commanders, Houston Texans, and many more.Â
Wilson now becomes the second major quarterback domino to fall on Tuesday, following the Packers extension of Aaron Rogers, which made him the highest-paid player in NFL history.Â
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford will likely be the next quarterback to land a lucrative extension, while Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson could be the next prominent signal-callers to be on the move via the trade market.Â
MAR 1 NEW RB COACH CANDIDATE? In search of a new running backs coach to fill the void left by recently promoted Thomas Brown, the Los Angeles Rams have begun to target various names across the country, including a pair of rising stars in the college game in TCU’s Ra’Shaad Samples, and most recently, Memphis’ Anthony Jones Jr.Â
Jones has been with the Tigers since the 2017 season and has helped his team reach five-consecutive bowl games in that time.Â
So far during his tenure in Memphis, Jones accumulated some impressive honors, including a selection for the AFCA 35 Under 35 Leadership Institute, and the 2022 NCAA and NFL Coaches Academy.
In his first two seasons as the running backs coach, the Tigers got off to an impressive start, rushing for 6,533 yards and 78 touchdowns under his tutelage.
Jones has also played a major role in getting his players to the NFL, including Darrell Henderson, Tony Pollard, Kenneth Gainwell, and many more.Â
Anthony Jones
Anthony Jones
Anthony Jones
FEB 20 COACH PHILLIPS Wes Phillips is continuing a rich family football tradition, the grandson of Bum Phillips, son of Wade Phillips and former Dallas Cowboys assistant now joining the Minnesota Vikings as their new offensive coordinator under head coach Kevin O’Connell.
Phillips has been on the Rams staff, where McConnell was recently as Los Angeles won the Super Bowl.
Wes, 42, a native of Houston, was in Dallas from 2007 to 2013 in a variety of roles, including time when dad Wade, now 74, was the Cowboys head coach.
Grandfather Bum was of course a legendary former Houston Oilers coach.
FEB 19 FLORES HIRED The Steelers have named Brian Flores as their senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach.
Flores was most recently the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and in the wake of his recent firing – and his job interviews for head coaching positions that did not come to fruition, including in Houston – has filed a lawsuit against the NFL claiming racial injustices in the league’s hiring practices.
“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. “Brian’s resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team.”
JAN 25 PAYTON’S LAST CALL
Following Tuesday’s news, the New Orleans Saints enter the conversation for a new head coach. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Sean Payton has informed the Benson family that he will be “stepping away” from the team after 16 seasons. According to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, Payton is retiring and will not be interested in coaching as of this time.
Hired in 2006, Payton, 58, became one of the two faces to transform the Saints from one of the league’s worst teams into a stable organization. Teamed with future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees, the Saints became one of the NFC’s best franchises, finishing with nine seasons of 10-plus wins and nine playoff appearances during that span.
This past season without Brees, the Saints finished 9-8, missing the postseason for the first time since 2016. Jameis Winston was expected to replace Brees, but a torn ACL in Week 8 cost him the remainder of the season, leading New Orleans into playing four different quarterbacks over the 17-game period.
Payton finishes his time with the Saints with a 152-89 record and a Super Bowl win in 2009. Multiple reports suggest that the Dallas Cowboys could be interested in firing Mike McCarthy in order to bring Payton over after an early Wild Card Round loss to the San Francisco 49ers earlier this month.Â
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