Tag: NFL

Over 13 NFL seasons, Gilmore established himself as a shutdown corner capable of erasing any receiver lined up across from him. His career peaked in 2019 when Gilmore led the NFL with 20 passes defensed and six interceptions, earning All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors to line up alongside the most coveted award: 2019 Defensive Player of the Year.

A year earlier, Gilmore played a pivotal role in a Patriots defense that was a statistically middling unit but came together at the perfect time in Super Bowl LIII, shutting down the high-powered Los Angeles Rams in a 13-3 triumph on the sport’s grandest stage. In that contest, Gilmore shined, finishing second in tackles (five), forcing a fumble and intercepting Jared Goff in New England’s red zone late in the fourth quarter to shut down the Rams’ best and last chance to tie the game.

Like many Patriots near the end of the Bill Belichick era, Gilmore saw his time in New England end unceremoniously during the 2021 season when the Patriots couldn’t agree to terms with Gilmore on an extension and instead traded him to his hometown Carolina Panthers in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick. Gilmore struggled through a quadriceps injury for much of that season before returning on Halloween, appearing in eight games (three starts) and earning his fifth and final Pro Bowl selection while with the 5-12 Panthers.

In his final few seasons, Gilmore bounced around as a mercenary, spending one season each with Indianapolis, Dallas and Minnesota. After spending 2025 out of the league, the 35-year-old Gilmore decided it was time to hang up the cleats that helped him rise to fame.

Gilmore’s pro career began as a first-round pick of the Buffalo Bills out of South Carolina in 2012, and he quickly established himself as an effective cornerback who only grew with each passing year. He finally received his deserved recognition in his fifth and final season in Buffalo, earning a Pro Bowl nod in a season that saw Gilmore record 12 passes defensed and five interceptions (then a career-high mark). Gilmore’s time in Buffalo preceded the Bills’ rise to prominence, but when new coach Sean McDermott arrived and the Bills decided they’d prefer to move on from the former first-rounder, a division rival with years of experience playing against Gilmore was happy to scoop him up.

The rest is history, a storybook career that can officially be closed with Thursday’s news.

Mendoza didn’t run or perform any of the other testing drills, but he did weigh in at a very sturdy 236 pounds – 11 pounds more than he weighed at the combine just over a month ago. That’s quite notable when you consider how late Indiana’s season ended, with the Hoosier’s National Championship victory over Miami on Jan. 19, with Mendoza having a shorter window to prepare for the draft.

It appears that Mendoza isn’t only preparing for the draft but also for his rookie season in the NFL and the yearlong grind that comes with being a highly drafted quarterback.

“A lot of trainers, a lot of coaches talk about the rookie wall. That once you finish playing January 19, you go straight into training and you go all the way to next February, hopefully,” Mendoza told Lewis after the workout. “But … I love football. I’ve never burnt out. I’m never going to hit a rookie wall.”

Mendoza said he rested for a week after the Miami game and then buckled up for the long haul.

“In early February, (I started) training, lifting, running. All those things are fun to me and I find great pride and satisfaction in those activities anyways,” he said. “… There was a little bit of an itch to get back. But part of performing is also resting, so I had a very calculated rest regimen.”

The workload and added weight didn’t appear to hinder him. Following a protracted warmup that saw Mendoza getting loose with dozens of throws, he was ready to go. Mendoza appeared to stick closely to his 56-throw script, which relied heavily early on shorter timing throws, to nine different receivers.

Once the action began, Mendoza threw with excellent tempo and pace. He completed his first 23 throws before WR E.J. Williams let a slant pass glance off his hands. About halfway through his script, Mendoza had arguably his one off-target pass, which was a slight overthrow on a “go” route. The only other ball that hit the John Mellencamp Pavillion turf was another drop, this one by TE Riley Nowakowski.

There were a handful of deeper attempts that were arguably underthrown, but it was an impressive display of accuracy nonetheless. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah was impressed with the effort.

“To me, there were three things he accomplished today,” Jeremiah said. “No. 1, he showed up. That’s pretty much what he needed to do. No. 2, he’s in phenomenal shape. You really can tell he’s added that weight, (he’s) close to 240 pounds. And No. 3, he threw the ball as well as you saw him throw it on tape

“(There was) a lot more under center, so you got to see some of that as well. If you had objectives in this thing, I think those were the three and he accomplished all three.”

Mendoza’s accuracy – even in the sterilized environment of a pro day – stood out to NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks.

“I love the fact that the ball was consistently in the strike zone,” Brooks said. “We talk about in these workouts when you don’t have a defense on the field, you don’t necessarily want to see the ball on the ground, but more importantly, I want to see it consistently on the facemask. He did that and he delivered a bunch of different ranges, a bunch of different throws.

“Touch, timing, anticipation – he did all that. It’s exactly what you want to see in a pro day workout.”

Now we wait to find out if the Raiders agree.

Traditionally, Green Bay isn’t an organization that makes knee-jerk decisions regarding it leadership. It was fair, though, to wonder if the Packers had already reached their maximum potential with LaFleur at the helm, especially when considering the fashion in which they collapsed multiple times against the upstart Bears, a team Aaron Rodgers had once notoriously owned during his time with the Packers.

In Week 16, Green Bay squandered a 16-6 lead in the fourth quarter to lose, 22-16, in overtime. A month later, Green Bay lost its fifth in a row to conclude its season, falling, 31-27, to the Bears in the Wild Card Round despite having held a 21-3 lead in the first half. Having previously won 11 straight against the Bears, the Packers have now lost three of four in the rivalry and dropped consecutive games in the NFL’s oldest feud for the first time since 2007.

Those who believed a change might be necessary pointed toward those shortcomings and the generally bad vibes surrounding the team in 2025. LaFleur acknowledged as much when speaking with reporters at the Annual League Meeting on Tuesday, explaining he planned to solve the issue with a reset of sorts entering 2026 that will include stripping the offense down to the studs and reinstalling it as if he’d only just arrived.

Lesser, more ego-driven coaches would scoff at such an approach, point to the success LaFleur has produced — a 76-40-1 record in seven seasons with six playoff trips — as proof they didn’t need to change a thing and likely repeat the same mistakes. Not LaFleur, who is acutely aware of his surroundings and isn’t too proud to make changes when necessary.

“If I’m being honest about it, I think there were some guys that were upset about roles last year, and I think that took a toll on our football team,” LaFleur said, via ESPN.

“I think from a coaching standpoint, role clarity is key. So we’ve got to obviously do a better job communicating with our players, ‘Hey here’s your role and if you’re unhappy about your role, it’s on you to do something about that, to carve out a role on this football team.’ But yeah, the buy-in is absolutely critical. Getting guys in there that are juiced and ready to go to work each and every day is going to be critical for us.”

Green Bay has built a roster strong enough to contend for Super Bowls and acted as such when swinging a blockbuster deal for All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons just before the start of the 2025 season. Now, however, the Packers must deliver on those expectations.

Judging by LaFleur’s responses, he isn’t resting on any laurels. A couple of losses to a former little brother (Chicago) should be bitter enough to motivate him now more than ever.

Houston could certainly use Dell’s contributions. The 2025 Texans finished with the league’s 18th-ranked offense, including a 14th-ranked passing attack, but lacked a true No. 2 receiving option opposite C.J. Stroud‘s favorite receiver, Nico Collins. Tight end Dalton Schultz finished second on the team in receiving yards at 777 with three touchdowns, more than 300 yards behind Collins (1,117 yards and six scores).

Dell’s injury and Stefon Diggs‘ departure meant Stroud needed to rely on rookie Jayden Higgins and usual third option Xavier Hutchinson, lowering their ceiling slightly. That potential dropped further once it became clear Houston’s offensive line, while improved, couldn’t form a firm wall of protection in front of Stroud.

Stroud’s struggles snowballed at the worst time in the postseason, turning it over seven times in two playoff games. Luckily, his team’s defense managed to score two touchdowns in a 30-6 win over Pittsburgh on Wild Card Weekend, but that good fortune didn’t carry over to New England, where Stroud’s meltdown led to a 28-16 loss to the eventual AFC champions.

If the Texans are going to clear the hurdle — the Divisional Round — that has stopped them in their tracks in each of the last three seasons, they’ll need as many weapons available as possible. A healthy Dell would, in theory, provide that boost.

That’s why Ryans isn’t rushing Dell back. He knows the most important days arrive in winter, not spring.

Houston will continue to be patient as the organization keeps its eyes trained on January.

Coen made light of the situation this week while in Phoenix, revealing the topic became a joke for a few of the coaches gathered in the desert.

“Sean [McVay] was killing Kyle [Shanahan] and Saleh about sign stealing, and they were killing me about keeping their name out of my mouth,” Coen said, also via ESPN. “It was fun. I have a ton of respect for Kyle, for Robert, and those guys.”

In the moment, the visual of Coen barking at Saleh was entertaining and drove conversations early in the season. Months later, both parties can laugh at it as a thing of the past.

“We’re all finding those edges in those different ways of trying to motivate your team, motivate yourself, motivate your community,” Coen said. “I mean, we’re all doing that on a constant basis.

“And so when those things may happen, we joke on them after the fact and when we’re here, but we can all appreciate because we all respect what we’re doing and how we are all doing in different ways.”

McCarthy said Tuesday that Rodgers is in “a very positive space” and that he and his former quarterback have been speaking regularly this offseason since McCarthy took the Steelers’ job.

“So he’s really engaged with what’s going on,” McCarthy said on Monday, via ESPN. ” … We’ll just continue to engage in conversations.”

Rodgers, 42, played well at times in his first season with the Steelers in 2025, throwing for 24 touchdowns and only seven interceptions, leading Pittsburgh to the postseason. But they were wiped out by the Texans in the Wild Card Round, leading to Mike Tomlin’s ouster and Rodgers’ future left murky with it.

Yet recent signs appear relatively positive for Rodgers’ return and a 22nd NFL season — either that or the Steelers appeared unconcerned about it. The other quarterbacks on the roster include Mason Rudolph and 2025 sixth-rounder Will Howard, whom McCarthy said was “definitely a real prospect as a starting quarterback.”

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye buzzed his head for a good cause on Tuesday, but his injured throwing shoulder, which gave him trouble during the 2025 NFL playoffs, shouldn’t be a problem for the upcoming season.

“Shoulder’s feeling good, feeling great,” Maye said, via the Boston Globe. “Just having some time off, being able to get back into throwing and lifting.”

Maye suffered the injury to his right throwing shoulder during the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos but was able to finish off the Patriots’ victory. It appeared to still affect him in the Super Bowl LX loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Maye told reporters, after a game in which he had three turnovers and took six sacks, that he required a pain-killing injection beforehand.

No surgery is expected to be needed, with Maye saying Tuesday that he is on the mend.

With players chosen in the 2023 NFL Draft having finished their third regular season, it’s decision time on fifth-year options for the class’ first-rounders.

All drafted rookies are given four-year contracts to begin their careers — and teams have the option to extend that pact for a fifth year with players selected in Round 1.

The fifth-year option window for the Class of 2023 opened Jan. 5, with the final deadline set for May 1.

NFL.com is tracking each team’s decision leading up to the deadline.