play2:06Schefter to McAfee: Tua benching the first step in Miami moving onAdam Schefter joins Pat McAfee to break down the Dolphins’ options after benching Tua Tagovailoa.
play1:36How Liam Coen has galvanized the Jaguars this seasonPeter Schrager tells Pat McAfee how Liam Coen has brought an “us against the world” mentality to Jacksonville.
Jeremy FowlerCloseJeremy Fowlersenior NFL national reporterJeremy Fowler is a senior national NFL writer for ESPN, covering the entire league including breaking news. Jeremy also contributes to SportsCenter both as a studio analyst and a sideline reporter covering for NFL games. He is an Orlando, Florida native who joined ESPN in 2014 after covering college football for CBSSports.com.Follow on XDan GrazianoCloseDan Grazianosenior NFL national reporterDan Graziano is a senior NFL national reporter for ESPN, covering the entire league and breaking news. Dan also contributes to Get Up, NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, Sunday NFL Countdown and Fantasy Football Now. He is a New Jersey native who joined ESPN in 2011, and he is also the author of two published novels.Follow on XDec 24, 2025, 06:20 AM ET
Orlovsky: Trevor Lawrence is the NFL’s most improved player (0:45)Dan Orlovsky has some praise for Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. (0:45)
Schefter to McAfee: Tua benching the first step in Miami moving onAdam Schefter joins Pat McAfee to break down the Dolphins’ options after benching Tua Tagovailoa.
How Liam Coen has galvanized the Jaguars this seasonPeter Schrager tells Pat McAfee how Liam Coen has brought an “us against the world” mentality to Jacksonville.
Peter Schrager tells Pat McAfee how Liam Coen has brought an “us against the world” mentality to Jacksonville.
What are you hearing on Joe Burrow? Could he actually want out of Cincinnati?
This week, we asked around on Joe Burrow and his Bengals outlook. Could the star quarterback want out of Cincinnati? Should we read into his recent comments? And which other QBs could theoretically be looking at changes this offseason?
Jeremy and Dan also poked around on the Jaguars, who are in the middle of a six-game win streak and are in the AFC 1-seed mix. They also gathered reaction to Pro Bowl rosters, which were announced Tuesday morning. It’s all here, as our national reporters answer big questions and empty their notebooks heading into Week 17.
But it feels like a crucial year for both the direction of the franchise and Burrow’s place within it. Would Burrow like to see improvements to the roster and the overall strength of the team? Most likely. But even then, league executives I’ve spoken to see no chance Cincinnati ever considers trading him. He’s under contract for four more seasons.
The most fascinating situation has to be Miami, which must decide whether to pay Tua Tagovailoa $54 million to walk away (assuming no trade) and start a cost-effective option in his place.
Schefter to McAfee: Tua benching the first step in Miami moving on
Adam Schefter joins Pat McAfee to break down the Dolphins’ options after benching Tua Tagovailoa.
They wouldn’t be replacing him with a better player, because there really aren’t any better players. But given that Jackson and coach John Harbaugh have won a total of three playoff games together since Jackson was drafted in 2018, it might be worth the Ravens examining whether a new extension in excess of $60 million per year is the best way for them to build their team moving forward.
Like with the coaching carousel, one or two surprises will surface at some point. Last offseason featured 10 quarterback changes. Yes, 10! And that’s with only one rookie starter in Week 1 of 2025 (Titans’ Cam Ward). The veteran market was booming, producing six new starters via either free agency and the draft. Derek Carr retiring and Geno Smith heading to Las Vegas via trade was not in the December forecast a year ago.
Fowler: I’ve heard people say Coen is right there with Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel in first-year coaches at their respective spots who are vying for Coach of the Year. The job Coen has done not only with the roster but also with streamlining Lawrence has been smooth. From footwork to decisiveness, Lawrence looks like a different quarterback, and Coen deserves credit for that.
Keep in mind, this was an attractive job during the carousel. If GM Trent Baalke wasn’t in the picture early in the process, Jacksonville potentially luring Johnson wasn’t totally off the table for me. Jacksonville realized that it had a good job on paper and had to pivot off Baalke to get a prime candidate, making Coen an offer he couldn’t refuse. So from a talent standpoint, Coen was not walking into a rebuild. But what he has done with that talent on the roster is commendable.
How Liam Coen has galvanized the Jaguars this season
Fowler: Heavy chatter around the Eagles and the snubbing of defensive tackle Jordan Davis. Teammate Jalen Carter got the Pro Bowl nod among NFC defensive tackles, but if you ask the Eagles who has been their most dominant force up front this season, it’s Davis without debate. And Chargers left tackle Joe Alt making the Pro Bowl off six games raised some questions. It’s a weaker tackle pool in the AFC, but Indianapolis’ Bernhard Raimann was a surer bet.
Graziano: The Packers thought Jordan Love would have a good chance. He’s third in the NFL in QBR. Sam Darnold, who made the NFC roster, is 12th and has more than twice as many interceptions as Love has this season.
Fowler: Cornerback is of interest, because even though the position is loaded with top-shelf stars and the recipients were deserving, a few younger corners made compelling cases — including a pair of 2023 second-round picks out of the AFC North in Pittsburgh’s Joey Porter Jr. and Cincinnati’s DJ Turner II. And it feels as if several teams had too many Pro Bowl players; Dallas and Baltimore have losing records but boast five and six recipients, respectively.
Graziano: Maybe if we’d run the Jaguars’ section of this notebook a week or so ago, it might have helped them get someone into the Pro Bowl besides their long-snapper, Ross Matiscik, who is their only representative. In particular, the Jags would have liked to see Josh Hines-Allen get that recognition. Or Devin Lloyd and his five interceptions.
Fowler: Same, Dan. My sense is the Bengals have not received any sort of indication that Burrow wants out of Cincinnati. One team source believed that Burrow was simply having a “bad day” two weeks ago at that initial news conference that sparked the consternation, saying, “I truly think he wants to be here,” and that he has been great in game prep. Assuming the Bengals will run it back with coach Zac Taylor, whose contract runs through the 2027 season, then all signs point to Burrow staying with the franchise next season.
Fowler: Correct. The question is really pretty simple: Can the defense improve its personnel over the next four to five months? If it struggles mightily for another year, then I could see Burrow being more forceful. There’s simply not enough talent on that side to make a run at the AFC North. A few draft picks — defensive end Myles Murphy and corners DJ Turner and Dax Hill — look like keepers. But that’s not enough. The Bengals will need to get creative in free agency and the draft to properly support Burrow and the offense.
Fowler: Let’s set the line at six. The list of possibilities include the Jets, Dolphins, Browns, Vikings, Colts, Raiders, Cardinals, Falcons, Saints and Steelers. Several of these teams could keep their current starter, most notably the Colts aiming to retain Daniel Jones. The Vikings must decide whether to bring in competition for J.J. McCarthy, and the Steelers will await Aaron Rodgers’ plans. Multiple teams could stick with their rookies, too; Tyler Shough in New Orleans is making a compelling case.
Graziano: Miami has a problem. The $99 million dead money hit that would result from releasing Tagovailoa would be tough to manage, even if spread over two years. Denver has been just fine absorbing the $80 million dead money charge for Russell Wilson over the past two years, but part of that is because it has an elite defense and an elite offensive line, and was able to find a rookie QB in Bo Nix to start right away and keep the team competitive. I’m not sure the Dolphins are in position to have any of those things in 2026.
I’ve brought this up a few times, and I’m still not sure how likely it is that there’s a change here, but the Ravens have to do something with Lamar Jackson’s contract or move on. He has two years left at $51.25 million per year in base salary, but none of his remaining money is guaranteed — and the cap hit for next year balloons to $74.5 million. The Ravens need to extend him to get that cap hit down, or else they need to trade him, which obviously would open up yet another QB1 position for next season. Jackson has a no-trade clause, so he’d have some say in this if the Ravens decided to explore options.
Fowler: Good call, Dan. It’s clearly a situation Baltimore must handle with care. From that lens, it’s worth noting that Jackson isn’t exactly having his best “contract year.” At the very least, his play is below his normal MVP standards. He has sat out three games and could sit out a fourth with his latest injury, a back contusion. Baltimore probably will miss the playoffs for the second time of his career. Such contract decisions are easier for the front office when the player and team are peaking at season’s end, not declining.
Graziano: To some extent, yes. Multiple people have texted me since Sunday to say Liam Coen should be Coach of the Year, because of the team’s 11-4 record and the apparent improvement in Trevor Lawrence’s play. First-year defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile is also getting a lot of praise around the league for the way his unit has performed. And the trade deadline acquisition of Jakobi Meyers has been a difference-maker and allowed them to evolve an offense that’s averaging 33 points since the start of November.