March 2018 - Football Wiretap

Antonio Brown Upset With Steelers, Skipped Practices Before Week 17

Dec 31, 2018 6:56 PM

Antonio Brown reported "went off" on a teammate and skipped multiple meetings and practices before and after the Pittsburgh Steelers' finale against the Bengals.

The Steelers kept Brown out of the game due to the dispute and not because of a reported knee injury.

Brown became "disgusted" and threw a football in anger at one of his teammates during a walk-through.

Ben Roethlisberger was involved in the discussion with Brown, but this wasn't a head-to-head clash.

Brown got upset that Roethlisberger wanted to run a hot read over again during a walkthrough, so coaches sent another player to run the play.

Brown got upset, left practice and talked with Roethlisberger afterward, telling the quarterback that he felt underappreciated and had issues with people in the organization.

"It's a difficult situation," one player said. "It's hard to know what to think. This is the stuff that's hard to deal with."

Brown finished the season with 104 catches for 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns. 

Jeremy Fowler/ESPN

Tags: Pittsburgh Steelers, Misc Rumor

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Bengals Part Ways With Marvin Lewis

Dec 31, 2018 10:52 AM

The Cincinnati Bengals have parted ways with Marvin Lewis after 16 seasons.

Lewis had a 131-122-3 record with the Bengals. Lewis had an 0-7 record in the playoffs and 8-26 record against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Bengals re-signed Lewis last season despite mounting dissatisfaction from the fan base.

Dianna Russini/ESPN

Tags: Cincinnati Bengals, Misc Rumor

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Broncos Fire Vance Joseph

Dec 31, 2018 10:51 AM

The Denver Broncos have fired Vance Joseph as head coach after two seasons.

Joseph led the Broncos to a 6-10 record in 2018.

"I spoke with Vance this morning and thanked him for all of his hard work as our head coach," said John Elway via statement. "Although we decided to make this change, I believe Vance is a good football coach who has a bright future in this league.

"Vance made a lot of strides and deserves credit for how hard and competitively the team played this season. There's always going to be a high standard here -- the bottom line is we need to win more football games. We're excited about the foundation that's being built and look forward to putting in the work to get the Broncos back on the winning track."

Jeff Legwold/ESPN

Tags: Denver Broncos, Misc Rumor

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Dolphins Fire Adam Gase

Dec 31, 2018 10:49 AM

The Miami Dolphins have fired Adam Gase after three seasons.

Gase finished his tenure with the Dolphins with a 23-25 record.

The Dolphins finished 24th or worse in total offense in all three seasons under Gase, including finishing 31st in 2018.

Cameron Wolfe/ESPN

Tags: Miami Dolphins, Misc Rumor

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2018 NFL Wild Card Round Schedule

Dec 31, 2018 9:10 AM

The matchups and start times for the 2018 NFL Wild Card round have been set.

Saturday, January 5th

- Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans, 4:35 PM EST (ESPN/ABC)

- Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys, 8:15 PM EST (FOX)

Sunday, January 6th

- Los Angeles Chargers at Baltimore Ravens, 1:05 PM EST (CBS)

- Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears, 4:40 PM EST (NBC)

RealGM Staff Report

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Raiders To Hire Mike Mayock As GM

Dec 31, 2018 8:56 AM

The Oakland Raiders have agreed to hire Mike Mayock as general manager. Mayock is a longtime NFL Network draft analyst.

Jon Gruden called Mayock a "passionate personnel man." 

"He loves it," Gruden said. "He has done it for a long time. I know he has had opportunities to get back into the NFL as a general manager. We will see what happens. We will see how the dust settles."

Mayock will replace Reggie McKenzie, whom the Raiders fired on Dec. 10.

Adam Schefter/ESPN

Tags: Las Vegas Raiders, Misc Rumor

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Buccaneers Fire Dirk Koetter As Head Coach

Dec 31, 2018 8:54 AM

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have fired Dirk Koetter as head coach.

Koetter finished his stint with Tampa Bay with a 19-29 record, going 5-11 this season.

"We sincerely appreciate the hard work and commitment shown by Dirk over the past several years," Buccaneers owner/co-chairman Joel Glazer said in a statement. "Working with Dirk has been a pleasure and we wish him and his family all the best in the future. Our search for a new head coach will begin immediately and will be conducted by General Manager Jason Licht."

"There's no 'deserve'; there's no such thing as 'deserve' in the NFL," Koetter said Sunday before news of his dismissal. "Numbers are nice, but this is a winning league. I've been fired before and I've been hired before, and I know this: If you look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and know you did everything you could, then I've got no problem holding my head up."

Jenna Laine/ESPN

Tags: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Misc Rumor

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Jets Fire Todd Bowles, Retain Mike Maccagnan As GM

Dec 31, 2018 8:53 AM

The New York Jets have fired Todd Bowles as head coach.

Bowles went 24-40 over four seasons with the Jets, including 21 losses in his past 27 games.

Ownership decided against a complete overhaul, opting to retain embattled general manager Mike Maccagnan.

Rich Cimini/ESPN

Tags: New York Jets, Misc Rumor

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Jaguars Announce Doug Marrone, Dave Caldwell Will Return In 2019

Dec 30, 2018 4:01 PM

The Jacksonville Jaguars have announced that Doug Marrone and Dave Caldwell will return for the 2019 season.

One season after reaching the AFC Championship Game, the Jaguars struggled with a 5-11 record.

Adam Schefter/ESPN

Tags: Jacksonville Jaguars, Misc Rumor

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Marcus Mariota Unlikely To Play In Week 17

Dec 30, 2018 12:08 PM

Marcus Mariota is not expected to play in the Tennessee Titans' pivotal Week 17 game against the Colts with a playoff berth on the line. 

Mariota is dealing with a nerve issue that is putting his overall playing status in jeopardy.

Mariota is officially listed as questionable and reportedly will test his arm in pregame warm-ups. But one source told ESPN that an independent spine specialist has warned the Titans that further damage would put Mariota's ability to throw the football at significant risk beyond this weekend.

Blaine Gabbert will start in place of Mariota.

Chris Mortensen/ESPN

Tags: Tennessee Titans, Injury

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Buccaneers To Bring Back Jameis Winston As Starting QB In 2019
Jameis Winston is only 24 years old and he's due to make $20 million next season.

Adam Schefter/ESPN

Packers Interested In Interviewing Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald
Mark Murphy was Northwestern's athletic director when Pat Fitzgerald was hired.

Adam Schefter/ESPN

John Harbaugh Could Receive Interest From Rival Teams
At least one team will pursue John Harbaugh if the Ravens don't advance to the playoffs.

Adam Schefter/ESPN

Richard Sherman Expects 49ers To Pursue Earl Thomas
The 49ers are expected to have $70 million in cap space.

Matt Maiocco/Comcast

Jim Harbaugh Doesn't Have Reps To Be In Contract With NFL Teams
Jim Harbaugh has been linked with the Jets' anticipated head coaching vacancy.

Josh Alper/Pro Football Talk

Matthew Stafford Hopes To Spend Entire Career With Lions
Detroit would incur a $30 million cap hit if they trade Matthew Stafford

Michael Rothstein/ESPN

Chiefs Sign Damien Williams To Two-Year, $8.1M Extension
Damien Williams has emerged as an important player for the Chiefs in the past month since the release of Kareem Hunt.

Adam Teicher/ESPN

Kyle Williams Announces NFL Retirement
Kyle Williams has played his entire career with the Buffalo Bills as a defensive tackle.

Buffalo News

Todd Gurley Felt Similar Knee Issues After Week 1
Todd Gurley's knee got better after Week 1, but has yet to more recently.

Lindsey Thiry/ESPN

Lincoln Riley Not Interested In NFL At This Time
A number of NFL teams have interest in Lincoln Riley.

Howie Kussoy/New York Post

Matt Patricia Confident He Won't Be Fired By Lions
Matt Patricia enters Week 17 of his first season with the Lions holding a 5-10 record.

Kevin Patra/NFL.com

Ryan Tannehill Hopes To Finish Career With Dolphins
The Dolphins could save $13.18 million on Ryan Tannehill's $26.6 million salary cap number by cutting him.

Kevin Patra/NFL.com

DeSean Jackson Hopes To Leave Buccaneers In 2019
DeSean Jackson is signed for next season with a base salary of $10 million, none of which is guaranteed.

Josina Anderson/ESPN

Kyler Murray Won't Rule Out Future In NFL
Kyler Murray signed a $4.66 million contract to play baseball for the Oakland A's this summer.

Alex Scarborough/ESPN

Packers Interview Jim Caldwell For Head Coaching Job
The Packers are searching for a replacement for Mike McCarthy.

Mike Florio/Pro Football Talk

Monday Night Football Ratings Up Eight Percent Over 2017
The most-watched game was the Nov. 17 matchup between the Chiefs and Rams, which attracted 16.7 million viewers.

Associated Press

Eagles Remain Fully Committed To Carson Wentz
Carson Wentz is hurt for the second straight season and Nick Foles again has played well in place of him.

Charean Williams/Pro Football Talk

Justin Herbert Staying At Oregon For Senior Season
Mel Kiper had Justin Herbert ranked as the sixth overall prospect in the 2019 NFL Draft class.

ESPN

Tom Brady Restates Intention To Play In 2019
Tom Brady's current contract with the Patriots expires after the 2019 season.

Mike Reiss/ESPN

Jets Plan To Pursue Jim Harbaugh As Head Coach
Jim Harbaugh is finishing his fourth season at Michigan.

Mike Florio/Pro Football Talk