Tag: nfl season

Texans part ways with team president Greg Grissom

Greg Grissom, who spent 25 years with the Houston Texans, is moving on to the next chapter in his career.

The Houston Texans will need a new leader of daily operations.

The Texans announced Thursday that they parted ways with team president Greg Grissom.

Grissom had been one of the longest-tenured employees with the organization, starting at the corporate level before rising through the ranks, eventually becoming the team president in March 2021.

“Leading the Houston Texans’ business operations has been the opportunity of a lifetime,” Grissom said. “After almost 25 years with the Texans, including the last four as president, I feel it’s the right time to embrace new challenges and opportunities.”

The Texans look to move in a different direction following back-to-back 10-win seasons under DeMeco Ryans. There have been advanced talks of a new stadium in the works in the future.

“We want to thank Greg for his contributions to the organization,” Chair and CEO Cal McNair said. “Since he became our team president in 2021, Greg helped me implement numerous initiatives to help our organization fearlessly evolve and grow in many ways, which we are very thankful for. We wish Greg and his family all the best in the future.”

Grissom also thanked the staff at NRG Stadium and the civic leaders across Houston and Harris County for their support.

“These connections have been the most rewarding part of my time here and will always hold a special place in my life,” Grissom said.  “I am grateful for my time with the Texans and look forward to what’s next.”

McNair there would be movement on the next team president in the coming days.

Texans QB coach Jerrod Johnson is on Aaron Glenn’s radar as potential Jets offensive coordinator

Houston Texans quarterback coach Jerrod Johnson could be on the move this offseason to the Big Apple.

Former Houston Texans Pro Bowl cornerback Aaron Glenn received a promotion Wednesday afternoon when he was named the New York Jets’ next head coach.

Now, he could be taking a Texan to the Big Apple to run his offense for the 2025 season.

According to MMQB’s Albert Breer, Texans quarterback coach Jerrod Johnson is one of three favorites to land the Jets offensive coordinator position this offseason. Rams tight ends coach and pass game coordinator Nick Caley and Las Vegas Raiders Scott Turner have reportedly already spoken to Glenn and seem like favorites to get the job.

Minnesota Vikings QBs coach Josh McCown is also expected to receive consideration and has ties to the organization, which could bode well in his favorite.

Johnson just completed his second season with the Texans and is considered a rising star in the industry. Last season, several teams reached out to him to interview for offensive coordinator openings, including the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

A former Texas A&M standout quarterback, Johnson chose to remain in Houston and work with Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud. While the former No. 2 overall pick took a step back, he still led the Texans back to the playoffs and impressed in the postseason.

It’s unclear if offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik will be back with the Texans in 2025, but many believe Johnson would be the top internal candidate to replace the play-caller next fall.

Johnson’s relationship with Stroud has factored into the young gunslinger’s success over the past two seasons, so losing him would be detrimental to his growth.

Texans sign 11 players to reserve/future deals entering 2025 offseason

The Houston Texans have inked deals with 11 players heading into the offseason.

The Houston Texans will have at least 11 players back in 2025 as part of their 90-man roster.

Following their 23-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Houston inked deals with multiple players on a reserve/futures contract. This means they’ll have a spot on the staff for offseason workouts, OTAs and potentially training camp.

Here’s a list of all 11 players below.

Tremayne Anchrum Jr. G 6-2 314 26 3 Clemson
Anthony Averett CB 5-11 185 30 6 Alabama
Solomon Byrd DE 6-3 250 25 R USC
Johnny Johnson III WR 6-1 199 25 1 Oregon
Xavier Johnson WR 6-1 210 25 R Ohio State
Jawhar Jordan RB 5-10 185 25 R Louisville
Gregory Junior CB 6-0 190 25 3 Ouachita Baptist
Jayden Peevy DT 6-5 308 25 1 Texas A&M
Kedon Slovis QB 6-2 223 23 R BYU
J.J. Taylor RB 5-6 185 27 3 Arizona
Russ Yeast S 5-10 195 25 3 Kansas State

The Texans finished the season with an 11-8 overall record after winning the AFC South for the second consecutive year. Houston will select 25th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Chiefs-Texans Week 16: Offense, defense and special teams snap counts

The Houston Texans fell short of securing a 10-win season on Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs on the road.

A hurt Houston roster heads home for the holiday season.

The Texans might be headed to the playoffs, but they’ll be short-handed on their run following the injuries suffered in Saturday’s 27-19 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

Second-year wideout Tank Dell was carted off the field with what’s been ruled a dislocated kneecap injury after hauling in a 30-yard touchdown pass from C.J. Stroud in the third quarter.

Dell, who was on pace for his second 100-yard outing of the regular season, is expected to be out for the remainder of the year.

“We know how much he meant to this team,” Texans wide receiver Nico Collins said of Dell. “But losing one of your brothers, man, it hurts. Speedy recovery for my dog. Mentally, he’s going through it, but we have to keep stepping, keep climbing for him.”

On Houston’s first possession of the second half, Stroud found Dell at the back of the end zone to cut Kansas City’s lead to 17-16. As he went down, fellow receiver Jared Wayne collided with Dell’s lower leg.

Dell immediately grabbed his leg but otherwise barely moved. He was placed in an air cast and was lifted into the back of an ambulance for further evaluation.

After the game, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said that Dell would stay behind at the  University of Kansas Hospital for further testing. Surgery has not been ruled off the table as of this moment.

“All our thoughts and prayers are with Tank right now,” Ryans said. “You guys can see what he means to our entire team.”

Dell wasn’t the only Texans player to leave early Saturday afternoon. Defensive back Jimmie Ward was carted off in the second quarter with a foot injury and did not return.

Offensive lineman Shaq Mason left on the fourth play of the opening drive with a knee injury and did not return. He’s expected to undergo an MRI once the team returns to Houston.

Here’s the snap count for every player in Saturday’s showdown at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Texans return home to face off against the playoff-bound Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day at 3:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast locally in Houston and globally as part of a two-game deal with Netflix.

Steelers K Chris Boswell should win 2024 fantasy football MVP award

Chris Boswell’s historic 2024 season is shaking up fantasy football, outscoring top TEs and propelling many fantasy teams to the playoffs

Sorry, WR Ja’Marr Chase, while your fantasy football points scored are impressive, one kicker has turned many fantasy football leagues upside down.

Steelers K Chris Boswell, AKA the ‘Wizard of Boz,’ is not only putting together a historic NFL season with 36 field goals made through 13 games played, but his fantasy football points are also off the charts!

ESPN compiled a list of which players belong to the most fantasy football playoff teams in 2024, and Boswell ranks 24th, above huge fantasy football names like WR CeeDee Lamb, WR Puka Nacua, WR A.J. Brown, QB Jayden Daniels, and TE Travis Kelce.

One of the most surprisingly true statistics in all of fantasy football is that Boswell is currently beating out all TEs for points scored in standard and half-PPR Sleeper fantasy football leagues.

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No one can deny Boswell’s elite kicking prowess on gameday, but no one could have predicted the impact he would have on the world of fantasy football in 2024.

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Peter Schrager predicts Broncos will make playoffs this season

NFL Network’s Peter Schrager has the Broncos making the playoffs this season. Do you Bolieve?

Going into the 2024 NFL season, not many people view the Denver Broncos as a playoff contender. However, there is one analyst who sees more than what is on the surface. NFL Network’s Peter Schrager declared on a recent episode of Good Morning Football that the Broncos would be the fifth seed in the AFC come playoff time.

“Rookie quarterback Bo Nix, the sixth quarterback (selected in the 2024 NFL draft), no Justin Simmons, all these guys you’ve known on this team — in Sean Payton I trust,” Schrager said earlier this week. “He’s had a full year to get his cards in order and his guys in places he wants them to succeed. I’ve seen this guy do it with a lot less in New Orleans.”

https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/status/1830978624427540819

Schrager’s take is a far cry from what the Las Vegas over/under is on the Broncos. Oddsmakers have set Denver’s win total for 2024 at 5.5 wins, which the Broncos will have to crush in order to get into the playoffs, much less the fifth seed. In 2023, the Cleveland Browns locked up the fifth seed with 11 wins.

Can the Broncos exceed all (except Schrager’s) expectations in 2024? Let’s get past Week 1 before we make assumptions!

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NFL Network sets modest win projections for Steelers

The Steelers should once again hover around a .500 record.

If you think you have a good grasp on how good or bad the Pittsburgh Steelers will be this season, you are probably kidding yourself. Every year the Steelers head into the season with more questions than answers about the players and staff only to find their way above .500 and more often than not sneak into the playoffs.

However, you can take comfort in knowing the Steelers are going just barely to get past .500 and if they do make the playoffs, they are longshot to get a win.

Cynthia Frelund of the NFL Network took on the massive project of running countless simulations of the full NFL regular season to put together her projections for all 32 teams.

Here is what Frelund had to say about the Steelers as she projected 8.6 wins.

In the NFL’s most stacked division, questions about the Steelers’ offensive line get magnified in the win projection. However, the offense gained +216 rushing yards over expected on designed runs in 2023 (sixth-most in the league, per NGS). The arrival of new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith, who has shown creative and effective run strategies, could help mitigate some of the O-line concerns. 

Frelund has the Steelers win ceiling at 10.4 and the floor at 5.9. Both are very fair estimates. The Steelers have one of the toughest schedules in the league and it is back loaded. Pittsburgh often gets off to a slow start and if this happens the team might not be able to make up that ground late in the season.

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Who will be the Steelers Week One starting quarterback?

Cast your vote for who you think Mike Tomlin will name the starting quartrback.

After the Pittsburgh Steelers preseason loss to the Detroit Lions, head coach Mike Tomlin was asked who would be his starting quarterback for Week One. Pittsburgh is taking on the Atlanta Falcons on the road and we will see former Falcons head coach and current Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith take on his old team.

But Tomlin wasn’t ready, or perhaps a better term is wasn’t willing to name a starting quarterback this early. Tomlin said there is still plenty of Steelers vs Steelers work to do this week and he would name a starter at the end of the week.

Who will be the Steelers Week One starting quarterback?
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While we appreciate Tomlin’s flair for the dramatic he’s not really holding us in suspense is he? After only having Russell Wilson play one drive in the team’s final preseason game and four total drives in the preseason, it’s hard to imagine he’s not the pick.

After the second week of the preseason, I asked Steeler Nation the same question and nearly 66 percent of you said Justin Fields. Cast your vote again and tell us if you changed your mind.

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Who is the Steelers most overrated player?

Vote for who you consider the Steelers most ovverrated player.

The folks over at Pro Football Network put together their list of who the most overrated player is on each of the 32 NFL teams. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, they went with wide receiver George Pickens.

Here’s what they had to say about Pickens:

Surprise! Another wide receiver from the 2022 NFL Draft has landed on this list.

It feels like we’ve been waiting an eternity for George Pickens to have a breakout season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yet, he’s only heading into his third NFL season.

Following Russell Wilson’s arrival in Pittsburgh, Pickens will be playing with easily the most talented quarterback he’s had throwing to him at the next level. Now, we’ll wait and see if Pickens can finally put it all together on the field and live up to the hype.

Sort of an odd choice given how bad the quarterbacks have been in Pittsburgh since Pickens was drafted (as he mentions). Last season, Pickens ended up finishing 16th in the NFL in receiving yards in 2023 ahead of guys like DK Metcalf, DeAndre Hopkins, Chris Olae and Garrett Wilson. Pickens also led the league in yards per catch.

But despite all this, it did get us thinking about who the most overrated guy is on the Steelers. In today’s poll we offer up some options based on hype, production and contract for you all to consider. Personally, we don’t view any player on the team as truly overrated in the truest sense but if you take salary into consideration, Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick both are coming off down seasons and have cap hits over $20 million this season.

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Cast your vote and let us know who you consider the Steelers most overrated player.

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Report: NFLPA wants larger rosters for switch to 18-game season

The NFL wants to expand to an 18-game season, and NFL players are reportedly willing to accept it by expanding teams’ rosters:

It feels like it’s only a matter of time until the NFL expands its regular season again, having already made the switch from 16 games to 17. League commissioner Roger Goodell has already begun campaigning for it in public, suggesting the preseason could be trimmed down to just two exhibition games while adding another week to the regular season.

But it would take some concessions to convince the NFL players association to agree to this. NBC Sports’ Mike Florio reports that the NFLPA would ask for expanded rosters to accommodate another regular season game, going from 53 roster spots to 55 with 50 players active on game days as opposed to 48.

Florio adds that “greater freedom for teams to make practice-squad elevations” would be another priority. Right now teams are allowed to bring up two players from their practice squad each week, but only three times during the regular season. Expanding the regular season would add to the workload so it makes sense to have more players available on game days.

Whenever the season expands again (and there’s enough support, it seems, to make that a case of when rather than if) we’ll experience some big changes. Adding a second bye week has also been floated as a possibility. How teams build their rosters may change. But for now, all we do is parse through what’s being told to reporters and speculate. The season can’t expand until the current collective bargaining agreement expires in 2030, so there’s plenty of time to find a solution that makes both sides happy.

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