The Los Angeles Rams 2024 season came to an end on Sunday afternoon following their 28-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the playoffs. It was a disappointing end to an extremely fun season. The Rams had chances and began the fourth quarter trailing by only one point. However, their season was fumbled away on back-to-back drives as Saquon Barkley rushed for over 200 yards once again. Here are my 10 takeaways from the Rams final loss of the year. 1. Offense got off to a good start A theme for the Rams offense this season was how they consistently got off to slow starts. The Rams were one of the worst first quarter teams, ranking 30th in scoring. They also ranked 30th in first quarter offense EPA. That was not the case in the playoffs. The Rams scored a touchdown on the opening drive against the Vikings. They did so once again on Sunday against the Eagles. On the opening drive, the Rams moved the ball down the field methodically. It took 13 plays, but they ended in the end zone. Two possessions later, they scored a field goal. It was always important for the Rams to keep the game close early and not let it get out of hand. The offense had its issues, but keeping the game within reach in the first half following two explosive runs was a huge win. 2. Defense needed to contain Saquon Barkley and didn’t All week it was said how the Rams needed to contain Saquon Barkley. They didn’t necessarily need to avoid the explosive runs, but the devastating ones. Barkley had two of them. For the most part, the Rams did contain Barkley. Outside of his two touchdown runs, Barkley had 24 carries for 65 yards. That’s 2.7 yards per carry to go with a 40 percent success rate. However, it was the devastating runs that were the difference. On the opening drive, Jalen Hurts had a 44-yard tuck and run on a read option. Barkley then took a run 62 yards for a score on a 3rd-and-4 in the first quarter. The touchdown in the fourth quarter was the nail in the coffin. With the Rams trailing by seven, Barkley went 78 yards on the first play. Both of Barkley’s touchdowns came against eight and nine man boxes. Bad angles and missed tackles in the secondary led to big touchdown runs. 3. Jared Verse walked the walk Coming into the week, Jared Verse did a lot of talking, specifically about how much he hated Eagles fans. The Rams rookie had just one pressure in the first game against the Eagles, but continued to show how he has the ability to back up everything that he says. Verse had four pressures and two sacks against the Eagles. He had two pressures and a sack while going up against each of the elite Eagles offensive tackles. His four pressures also don’t mention the opportunities that he created for others along the defensive line. Defensive coordinator Chris Shula did a good job bringing Verse inside on a few stunts to get him more favorable matchups. The Rams rookie took over the game defensively and it’s going to be exciting to see the steps that he takes going into year two. 4. Some concerns about interior offensive line At some point this offseason, a conversation may need to be had about Steve Avila. That’s not to say he should get benched, but there’s no question that he didn’t progress like some were expecting. Some of that may have had to do with the injury early in the season. Beaux Limmer stepped in nicely at center, but it’s worth wondering if the Rams can still upgrade at that spot and use him as depth. The Rams have invested a lot in the interior of the offensive line. There’s no shame in getting beat by Jalen Carter. At the same time, a player like Avila or Kevin Dotson need to be able to hold up in the big moments. Limmer was simply overmatched at times. Avila can get better in year three and the same can be said about Limmer. Still, in big moments in pass protection and in short yardage situations, the Rams got beat on the interior. It was arguably the worst performance this season when all five starting offensive linemen played. 5. Defensive line took over On the other side of the ball is where the Rams can be really excited about moving forward. Despite losing Braden Fiske early in the game, the Rams defensive line took over in the passing game. Weather was certainly a factor, but Hurts finished with 128 yards passing and just 65 net yards through the air. Hurts didn’t complete a single pass more than five yards down the field. The Eagles quarterback was sacked seven times. This is all after the Rams sacked Sam Darnold nine times the week before. With the group of Byron Young and Kobie to go with Fiske and Verse, the Rams have a defensive front that can take over games and win in the playoffs. The safety by Neville Gallimore should have been a momentum shifting play. A better game against the run and this Rams defensive front likely leads them to another playoff win. 6. Another Kyren Williams fumble shifted momentum Back in Week 12, the Rams were driving and inside the red zone on their opening possession. Kyren Williams fumbled, stalling any early momentum that the Rams might get. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Rams looked to be in a place of control. Gallimore had just sacked Jalen Hurts in the end zone for a safety. Two plays later, Williams fumbled and the Eagles to recovered in scoring range. The fumble in that spot negated the safety’s positive impact. The loss isn’t solely on Kyren Williams, but his fumble played a big part in it. Not every running back is Saquon Barkley, but
10 takeaways from Rams heartbreaking playoff loss to Eagles
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson knows how to “Make America Hate Again”
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson knows how to “Make America Hate Again” Larry Brown Jr. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson led a dynamic NFL campaign that stemmed from a meltdown in the AFC Championship last season. Yet, with an opportunity to change the narrative against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round, Jackson made huge mistakes that will only delight his critics this upcoming week in the media. Sure, tight-end Mark Andrews dropped a game-tying two-point conversion, but that play doesn’t omit the heinous fumble Jackson yielded in the second quarter when the Ravens were building a potential lead-yield offensive drive. Nor does it explain the blasphemous net loss of five on a sack allowed that Jackson gifted the Bills when the Ravens had 2nd and Goal from the opponent’s three-yard line. Three of the Ravens’ four first-half offensive drives ended in an interception, fumble, and field goal when they possibly should have been touchdowns. As Jackson trotted pompously to the locker room, trailing 21-10 at half-time, Ravens’ fans could feel the anguish. Again, Jackson was in the biggest game of his career, making more mistakes. Nobody loves to see him lose more than his haters. Contrarily, Bills quarterback Josh Allen yielded three first-half touchdowns, no turnovers, and didn’t even need to render a single touchdown in the second half to defeat the real MVP. Jackson continues to leave his fans vexed, subjecting them to the painful scorn of being his devotee. Jackson will get a 2nd term, but in year eight, he must be prepared to finish stronger in the AFC Playoffs.
Twitter has mixed reactions to Bengals hiring Scott Peters as offensive line coach
Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Will Peters be the guy who finally gets the Bengals offensive line going? Monday morning, the Cincinnati Bengals announced that they had signed Scott Peters to be their new offensive line coach. Peters will be joined by Michael McCarthy, who the team named assistant offensive line coach. Peters comes to Cincinnati after spending one year as the New England Patriots’ offensive line coach. Prior to that, he was the assistant offensive line coach under Bill Callahan with the Cleveland Browns, when Cleveland consistently put out strong offensive line units. McCarthy moved to the NFL ranks last season to join Peters in New England after being the offensive line coach at Brown for the four years prior. Bengals fans have been laser-focused on offensive line play since Joe Burrow’s rookie year was cut short due to injury. Unfortunately, the hits have kept coming for Burrow and it is now Peters’ job to get the until to keep No. 9 upright. Here is how Twitter reacted to the news. We have named Scott Peters as offensive line coach and Michael McCarthy as assistant offensive line coach. : https://t.co/d66U2i7phw pic.twitter.com/N1T9QXOCqR — Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) January 20, 2025 @Bengals hired a really good Oline coach in Peters! #Whodey — Willie Anderson (@BigWillie7179) January 20, 2025 Bengals great Willie Anderson approves of the hire, which can only be a good sign. Scott Peters, the new offensive line coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, played OL in the NFL and is also a martial arts expert, using this training to help teach his lineman how to counter the myriad of moves defensive lineman use today. While reviews are mixed on his latest stint… pic.twitter.com/w0sfOIh0hn — (@BengalsCaptain) January 20, 2025 The #Bengals have hired a 2 time martial arts world champion as the New Offensive Line coach. A coach who has founded a training and development organization. This is a SERIOUS hire. He was in Cleveland when they had a top offensive line in the NFL. He himself says it’s important… pic.twitter.com/TYv1oyhcIC — WHO DEY est. 2000 (@dpainclain) January 20, 2025 Let’s remember what a problem on the Bengals offensive line was as well last season, physicality. Joe Burrow was getting beaten down and face masked, and what did the o-line do when they saw it? NOTHING. Peters I feel will bring that, can’t judge him based on last season in NE https://t.co/l4mfAgWwYT — Landon Belote (@Landon_Belote) January 20, 2025 The Bengals need more emphasis on player development, especially on the offensive line. Adding a former player (Peters) and someone who’s mostly coached at the college level (McCarthy) is a good sign imo. They’re teachers. They understand and have worked with young players. — Bengalscentre (@benga1scentre) January 20, 2025 One thing I absolutely love about new #Bengals OL coach Scott Peters? He brings a background in MMA and jiu jitsu to the team, integrating into his coaching techniques. Expect a much more violent Bengals offensive line in 2025 and beyond. Lovely news for Amarius Mims. — Willie Lutz (@willie_lutz) January 20, 2025 I’d venture to say if OL are scientists in this analogy, Callahan/Peters are teaching PHD courses at MIT. The infrastructure and language they have in Cleveland is unique (and really freaking cool imo) https://t.co/oYc7wEBodO — Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) April 7, 2023 League source, approving the Bengals’ hiring Scott Peters:– Expert pass pro technician– Well versed in run scheme, will fit it to personnel– Super detailed– Takes no shit, but players will enjoy his demeanor — Jake Liscow (@JakeLiscow) January 20, 2025 Scott Peters seeing that he gets to coach Amarius Mims instead of “Michael Jordan” pic.twitter.com/3HhlcIhL7v — gamerboy6042 (@tigerclaw888) January 20, 2025 As always, not all reviews were great… The Patriots had the 31st ranked pass blocking offensive line and 32nd ranked run blocking offensive line in 2024, per PFF. They also had the 30th ranked running game by EPA/play. But at least we can look forward to this. https://t.co/AXAFnEQGg3 pic.twitter.com/CJQhWJgdFy — Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) January 20, 2025 it is a bullshit hire but again what did you expect? does anybody really believe that anybody worth their salt would want to go work with an idiot head coach, high school defense, pathetic offensive line, and a poverty stricken owner. Bengals need to fire their idiot head coach… — Hercules Singh (@claydeath1) January 20, 2025 The @bengals organization just cannot help themselves!! What an absolute trash hire when the offensive line has gotten Joe killed his entire career! It really is unacceptable. — Anthony P (@Cinci_Ant) January 20, 2025 Scott Peters coached the second worst offensive line in the league last year. The Bengals had the worst offensive line, so technically, this is an improvement. https://t.co/rqCajgzvMR — Rodney Summers Jr. (@RSumm22) January 20, 2025 pic.twitter.com/MdS6NHwk7r — MiguelitoDeCincy (@miked4158) January 20, 2025 Now, how about drafting? Coaches play a huge role in prospect evals for the Bengals. The Patriots had 2 of our bottom 7 OL picks by value in the 2024 Draft – Caedan Wallace and Layden Robinson. Hard to know Peters’ role here as a new coach, but hope they weren’t his choices. pic.twitter.com/p07v0A4OR0 — Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) January 20, 2025
Report: Colts to hire Lou Anarumo as their defensive coordinator
Photo by Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images Indianapolis lands its new defensive coordinator in Lou Anarumo. The Indianapolis Colts are expected to hire Lou Anarumo as their next defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports. The #Colts are expected to hire former #Bengals DC Lou Anarumo as their new defensive coordinator, a big hire for Shane Steichen’s staff, per the Insiders. After moving on from Gus Bradley, Indy lands one of the top targets on the market. pic.twitter.com/mLW04X7zZb — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 20, 2025 The Colts moved on from defensive coordinator Gus Bradley after three season. From there, Indianapolis moved quickly in interviewing five candidates that included Anarumo. Anarumo was most recently a part of Bengals’ staff, where he had been the team’s defensive coordinator for the past six seasons before being let go following the 2024 season. Anarumo will bring a completely different style to the Colts’ defense compared to what we have seen under the team’s previous defensive coordinators in Bradley and Matt Eberflus. Most notably, Anarumo’s defensive units were at their best from 2021-2022, ranking atop the league in points per game and touchdown percentage allowed, according to The Athletic. One of the key factors in the Bengals’ defense ranking as high as they did in those key metrics during that timeframe was their personnel. Personnel changes, including the loss of star safety Jessie Bates and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie through the last few offseason’s, for example, can be partially attributed to the Bengals’ defensive decline over the last couple of seasons. The hiring of Anarumo, who played a major role in helping the Bengals reach the Super Bowl in 2021, shows a shift in the Colts’ minds regarding how they want their defense to operate in 2025. With Indianapolis having a number of talented players on defense, especially along the defensive line, Anarumo will have solid personnel to work with in that unit. He’ll be tasked with getting more production out of a talented group. The Colts’ secondary is arguably where changes could be made this offseason. We’ll have to see if such a drastic shift in their defensive philosophy leads to changes in personnel for Indianapolis in the months ahead.
Ben Johnson goes to Chicago: What does it all mean?
Pete Carroll | Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images What’s next for the Raiders Ben Johnson, the Las Vegas Raiders’ top coach as their next head coach, has decided to join the Chicago Bears. Here are some early thoughts on what it all means: Shouldn’t be a surprise: Yes, there was a lot of media smoke that Johnson was the favorite to land in Las Vegas. But frankly that always sounded one sided. Yes, he was the top target of the Raiders and understandably so, but it’s pretty clear Johnson was focused on the Bears. He jumped on them on the very first day he was available to accept a job. The Raiders were, in reality, always a longshot in this sweepstakes despite the heavy speculation stating otherwise. Quarterback is a big deal: The Bears have Caleb Williams. The Raiders don’t have a clear path to their next quarterback. There’s the difference in Johnson’s decision. Quarterback is always a major factor for coaching decisions. Don’t get too down on Tom Brady: The Johnson-Raiders smoke was fueled by the presence of Raiders’ new part-time owner Tom Brady being part of the search committee. Yes, Brady’s presence was enough to get Johnson to talk to the Raiders, but not enough to get the hire finalized. Is this a failure by Brady? I don’t see it that way. I think maybe some observers overestimated Brady’s allure to coaching candidates is. After all, he is just a part owner. What’s next? There are seven other known candidates. They are former Seattle head coach Pete Carroll, Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken, former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh, Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Johnson and former Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera. The team could always interview other candidates as well. There has been media speculation Carroll, 73, may be the next top candidate. He has a big-time resume and is ready to coach again after sitting out last season. Offensive coach? Monken is the only current candidate who is an offensive coach. That was a big draw to Johnson, maybe Monken could get interest. Remember, he coached Brock Bowers at Georgia. Poor Tom Telesco: The rumors in the coaching agent community is the Raiders fired Telesco after one season to make the job more appealing to a top coaching candidate like Jonson. It didn’t work. How affects GM search? The Raiders interviewed Lance Newmark on Sunday. he worked closely with Johnson in Detroit as well as Glenn. We will see if a GM-coach pairing is till possible. The current rumors are the leading candidate for the general manager job is Tampa Bay’s John Spytek, who has long ties to Brady. Perhaps that could put Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator Liam Coen in play.
Bills defense on doubters: ‘Somebody gives you motivation, you should take it’
Bills defense on doubters: ‘Somebody gives you motivation, you should take it’ David De Cristofaro The Buffalo Bills completed a perfect 10-0 run of home games this season including the playoffs and Sunday’s ice-cold 27-25 win over the Baltimore Ravens. While the Bills offense usually grabs headlines, their defense shined in the win. And they used the doubt and questioning heard in the outside noise of the media to motivate them. “What were they all saying?” defensive tackle Ed Oliver asked postgame, via The Athletic. “I know you know. So what were they all saying?” During the week leading into the matchup, the media scrutinized the Bills for not having enough size on defense to stop Ravens running back Derrick Henry or the ability to stop mobile quarterback Lamar Jackson. “I didn’t hear nothing!” He replied to his own question with a smile. “I’m trying to get it right now. So they said we weren’t big enough, weren’t physical enough?” The Buffalo defense held Henry to 84 yards while preventing any big breakout plays, and defended and limited Jackson. The highest-graded Bill in the divisional round by Pro Football Focus (PFF) against the Ravens, defensive end A.J. Epenesa (82.6), commented on the motivation factor as well. “We have a lot of pride in ourselves, what we do here as a defense,” Epenesa said. “Just speaking as a defense, we were told all week how they were going to do this, how they going to do that, and that just, I’d like to say, fueled us a little bit.” While the Bills struggled to defend on third down, they forced three turnovers on the day including two on Jackson, and had 10 points off those takeaways. And a motivational video helped fuel that effort as well. “Our highlight video this week was all the media people, talking,” fellow defensive tackle Jordan Phillips shared. “They can’t do this. They can’t do that.’ Our coaches suck. We’re too small. Well, now what?” In the regular season, Buffalo finished with the third-most takeaways in the NFL in 2024 (32) and was facing the Ravens who were among the top clubs in the NFL at protecting the football. The question was which team would prevail. “That was our motto all week: Let’s see who’s better,” Phillips added. Buffalo’s offense seized those opportunities to add 10 points off the turnovers, and the team is now tied for the NFL record for consecutive games with an even or positive turnover margin (21). All three takeaway plays were made by Buffalo starters who did not play the first meeting between the two teams in NFL Week 4 in Baltimore when the Ravens beat the Bills in the regular season. Safety Taylor Rapp kicked things off early with an interception, outside linebacker Von Miller recovered a fumble, and linebacker Terrel Bernard caused and recovered a fumble. “Biggest play of the game, bro. Not even close,” Bills cornerback Rasul Douglas said of the play by Bernard, who Phillips carried off the field in celebration. “You try your best to ignore outside noise,” Bernard said, “but in games like this, moments like this, sometimes you can’t avoid it. We did see a video of outside people talking about what we can and can’t do. “To make it this far in your career and to be a professional athlete, at some point you’ve been doubted. Everybody’s felt that. Everybody has had to deal with that. Somebody gives you motivation, you should take it.”
Notre Dame vs. Ohio State: Players to watch in the National Championship
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Will there be any future Giants on the field? Good evening New York Giants fans! The 2024-2025 college football season is almost at a close, and there’s just one more game to play. Tonight, seventh-ranked Notre Dame will take on eighth-ranked Ohio State in the College Football National Championship game. This game marks the culmination of the expanded College Football Playoffs. This is the first year of the new 12-team format, and both of these teams owe their presence in the game to the expanded format. Previously, neither Notre Dame nor Ohio State would have made the College Football Playoffs, as it was limited to just the top four teams. Both Notre Dame and OSU ran the gauntlet to get here, beating multiple Top 4 teams. Notre Dame had to take on both Georgia and Penn State, while Ohio State faced Oregon and Texas over the last two rounds. The fact that two teams that wouldn’t have made the playoffs in the previous format are competing for the Championship is proof positive that the change is a good one. Of course, this is also an excellent chance to get some scouting done for the 2025 NFL Draft. These are two talented teams and there will be plenty of prospects on the field. In a slight change in how we’ve done things this year, we’ll be highlighting an offensive and defensive player for each team. (7) Notre Dame It isn’t a surprise that Notre Dame had the opportunity to get to this game. Their status as an independent program gave them a pretty clear path to the College Football Playoffs. However, they’ve been bitten hard by the injury bug over the course of the year, which even claimed their best prospect in CB Benjamin Morrison. So with that in mind, it is a bit of a surprise that they beat (2) Georgia and (4) Penn State to get here. Offensive player to watch Mitchell Evans (TE) The Giants probably don’t need to add a tight end in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, that doesn’t mean that they won’t or can’t add a tight end if the value is right. This year’s draft class could be pretty deep at tight end, and there are prospects to fit most roles and schemes in the NFL. Evans is the next in a long line of Notre Dame tight ends who feature a prototypical build and a well-rounded game. He has great size at 6-foot-5, 260 pounds and is a good blocking tight end — he was their blocker opposite Michael Mayer in 2022. Evans has also emerged as a good receiving tight end in his own right since becoming the TE1 in 2023. He makes great use of his size and is one of the best contested catch players in college football, and is also tough for individual defenders to bring down. NFL teams will want to do their due diligence on Evans after he tore his ACL and MCL in 2023. A good performance could make him a solid Day 2 prospect. Defensive player to watch Xavier Watts (S) It’s too bad that cornerback Benjamin Morrison was lost for the year to injury. But that makes Watts the top prospect on the field for Notre Dame, and one of the top prospects in the game. Watts has good size for the position at 6-foot, 205 pounds, and can play deep as a free safety as well as close to the line of scrimmage as a box safety. He’s a smart, instinctive player who consistently takes smart angles to the ball and is a ballhawk. Watts has fantastic ball skills which, when combined with his instinctive play, has resulted in 13 passes defensed and 13 interceptions (1 touchdown) over the last two years. The Giants just drafted Tyler Nubin in the second round and Dane Belton has stepped up when he’s gotten the chance, but Watts’ ability to generate turnovers should put him in strong consideration for the Giants. (8) Ohio State If Notre Dame’s presence in the National Championship game is something of a surprise, Ohio State’s probably shouldn’t be. The Buckeyes season wasn’t up to their usual standards and they certainly had to earn their way to the big game, but the Buckeyes also boast one of the most thoroughly stacked rosters in the nation. There will be future NFL players at almost every position for Ohio State tonight. As usual, my advice is to enjoy the game and take note of whichever players leap off the tape. Offensive player to watch Emeka Egbuka (WR) Wide receiver might not be the most pressing need for the Giants, but Egbuka is an intriguing one. He could fill a variety of holes for a variety of teams, depending on scheme and the roster around him. He has great run-after-catch ability and could be a primary receiver for a team that makes a point of scheming YAC into their passing game. On the other hand, he’s also a savvy route runner with reliable hands and solid size (6-foot-1, 205 pounds), and could be a reliable possession receiver on the outside. He has played alongside and behind some of the best receiving prospects to come out of college in recent years, and his ability to find a role opposite them speaks to his ability. The Giants need to continue to upgrade their offense, and a player like Egbuka could be a versatile piece as the Giants rework their offense around a changing quarterback situation. Defensive player to watch Jack Sawyer (edge) Sawyer has been one of the best edge defenders in college football over the last two years, and he’d be a welcome addition to almost any defense. He has prototypical size for an edge defender at 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, and should be able to play in a three or four-man front at the NFL level — though he might fit best as a traditional 4-3 DE. He’s probably best described as
One Potential Brian Flores Suitor Hires New Coach
Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images His options have been reduced Over the course of last weekend, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores had a trio of interviews with teams who are looking for a new head coach. On Monday, one of those three teams decided that they were going to go in a different direction. The Vikings’ NFC North rivals, the Chicago Bears, have announced the hiring of former Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to be their new head coach. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed yet, but enough connected sources are reporting it to make it realistic enough to report. Johnson was one of the top names available in this cycle, and now he’ll go to a Bears team that has been, to say the least, offensively challenged in recent years and has a quarterback who looks like he’s in need of some direction. Will Johnson be able to provide that? For the Vikings’ sake, I certainly hope not. That means that two of the three teams that Flores interviewed with are still looking to fill their head coaching vacancies. Those teams are both in the AFC, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets. The Jets might be tempting for Flores, as it would give him a shot at his former employers in Miami twice a year (and in New England as well, though I don’t think there’s any potential bad blood there like there might be with Miami). Jacksonville fired an offensive-minded head coach in Doug Pederson and might be willing to turn to someone with Flores’ defensive prowess. Flores has been on record stating that he won’t take a head coaching job just to take one, so we’ll see if either the Jaguars or the Jets can impress him enough to get him to make the move. If they each go in a different direction as well, it seems likely that Flores would return to the Vikings for a third season as the team’s defensive coordinator. We’ll be keeping an eye on the coaching carousel around the league, as well as any Vikings coaches who might get snagged by other teams with new coaches looking to fill out their staffs.
Detroit Lions sign 11 players to futures contracts, 1 to active roster
Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images The Detroit Lions are starting to build their 90-roster for the offseason by keeping some homegrown talent in Allen Park. The Detroit Lions announced on Monday afternoon that they have made 12 roster transactions, signing 11 players to futures contracts as well as defensive back Morice Norris to the active roster. Norris, an undrafted free agent out of Fresno State in 2024, was released from the Lions roster during training camp after a hamstring injury cut his pre-season short. He was given an injury settlement, rehabilitated in the Detroit area, and rejoined the Lions’ practice squad when he became eligible. As the Lions roster continued to deplete due to injury, Norris was eventually signed to the active roster late in the season, seeing game action in Weeks 17, 18, and in the Divisional round of the playoffs—where he filled in for Ifeatu Melifonwu, who left the game early due to injury. Norris was not eligible for a futures deal because he ended the season on the active roster, but he was scheduled to have an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA) designation, meaning he joins the Lions active roster immediately. As for the 11 players signed to futures contracts, they all finished the season on the Lions practice squad, and many were with the team for the entire season. Here’s a look at who was signed: QB Jake Fromm WR Tom Kennedy OT Jamarco Jones IOL Kingsley Eguakun DT Chris Smith EDGE Isaac Ukwu LB Abraham Beauplan LB DaRon Gilbert CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver S Loren Strickland S Erick Hallett A futures contract is only eligible to street free agents (SFA)—players not signed to a team’s active roster—and it is a way to delay a player’s cap hit until the 2025 NFL new year begins. For example, if all 11 players with futures contracts were given only a base minimum deal (estimated to be around $840,000), that would equate to a $9.24 million cap hit. However, because of how “futures” contracts work, that cap hit will be delayed until the start of the new season, which coincides with free agency on March 12, 2025. Meaning, that these contracts won’t impact the 2024 salary cap, as well as other end-of-year bookkeeping, like “rollover cap” amounts. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that there were five players who ended the season on the Lions practice squad bt did not receive a futures contract on Monday. Oftentimes additional moves are made in the coming days, so any of the played listed below could still rejoin the Lions, but for now, they are street free agents who are free to sign with another team. RB Jermar Jefferson WR Donovan Peoples-Jones Wr Maurice Alexander TE James Mitchell LB Kwon Alexander
Reports: Lions OC Ben Johnson leaving to become Bears head coach
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson is reportedly accepting a head coaching job with the Chicago Bears. As first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and corroborated by several other NFL insiders, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is finalizing terms to become the Chicago Bears’ next head coach. Johnson has served as the Lions offensive coordinator for the last three years, producing top-five scoring offenses in each season. This year, the Lions led the NFL in scoring with 33.2 points per game. Johnson had also interviewed for the Patriots, Raiders, and Jaguars in this hiring cycle, as well as eight other head coaching jobs in the previous two offseasons. It’s a tough loss for the Lions offense and quarterback Jared Goff, who had built a strong relationship with the Lions offensive coordinator. It’s an even tougher pill to swallow that Johnson is now headed for a division rival. He’ll now work with quarterback, and 2024 first overall pick, Caleb Williams to help turn around a Bears offense that hasn’t ranked in the top half of scoring since 2018. Now we wait to see if Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is also on the move. Per reports, Johnson is expected to hire Dennis Allen as his defensive coordinator. With Allen’s ties to the Saints and Dan Campbell, he would have made a logical choice to replace Glenn, if Detroit finds themselves with a defensive coordinator vacancy. You can track the latest Lions coaching news with our 2025 NFL coaching carousel tracker.
