Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold resurrected his career by leading the Vikings to 14 wins in 2024 while posting career-highs in passing yards (4,319) and touchdowns (35), but he came crashing down hard in losses to the Detroit Lions in Week 18 and the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round in which he had a combined 23 off-target throws and took 11 sacks. Darnold's future is now as unsettled as ever as he heads toward free agency in March, but ESPN's Jeremy Fowler writes that Darnold is still the top free-agent QB. The teams that Fowler has spoken with recently forecasted Darnold in the Geno Smith/Baker Mayfield weight class of contracts. Mayfield got a three-year, $100 million deal last offseason with Tampa, while Smith signed a three-year, $75 million deal before the 2023 season. Darnold tanked to end the year, but he did enough to find work as a starter somewhere else if Minnesota doesn't want him back.

From RotoBaller

Houston Texans rookie tight end Cade Stover (collarbone) suffered a broken collarbone in the wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers last Saturday and will require season-ending surgery. The Texans officially placed Stover on Injured Reserve on Tuesday. The 24-year-old first-year player caught all four of his targets for 28 yards in the 32-12 win over the Bolts and played 36 offensive snaps. Stover was mostly a blocker for the Texans in his first year in the NFL and took a back seat pass-catching-wise to starter Dalton Schultz, as he had only 15 catches for 133 yards and one touchdown on 22 targets over 15 regular-season games. If Teagan Quitoriano (calf) isn't activated from IR to play this Saturday in the Divisional Round against the hosting Kansas City Chiefs, Irv Smith Jr. would operate as the primary backup to Schultz.

From RotoBaller

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (knee) was listed as a full participant in the team's first practice of the week on Tuesday. An MCL sprain to his right knee kept Montgomery out for the final three games of the regular season, and he had an extra week to heal up with the Lions on bye during the wild-card round of the playoffs last weekend. With the 27-year-old back to a full-go in practice, even though it was merely a walkthrough on Tuesday, he's on track to be available this Saturday in the Divisional Round against the visiting Washington Commanders. It's good news for the Lions offense for sure, but fantasy managers in playoff leagues should be hesitant to rely on Monty, who could have a reduced role alongside Jahmyr Gibbs in his first game back. In 14 games before his knee injury in 2024, Montgomery had 185 rushing attempts for 775 yards and 12 TDs and also caught 36 passes for 341 yards.

From RotoBaller

The Pittsburgh Steelers are signing free-agent quarterback Skylar Thompson on Tuesday, according to Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team. Thompson, a 2022 seventh-round pick out of Kansas State, has played in 10 regular-season games (three starts) for the Miami Dolphins. Overall, he has completed 58.7% of his passes for 721 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. While the Steelers might have a quarterback issue to address this offseason, Thompson is clearly not going to be viewed as a serious candidate to start next season. The team is undecided on the futures of Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, so Thompson could find his way into the QB2 or QB3 role for Mike Tomlin in 2025, though it's early in the process.

From RotoBaller

Minnesota Viking safety Harrison Smith said there is no current plan to retire, but he will consider it this offseason, according to Andrew Krammer of The Minnesota Star Tribune. The 35-year-old was mulling a decision to retire last offseason before reaching a restructured contract with the organization. The 2012 first-round pick out of Notre Dame has played in 193 games across 13 seasons for Minnesota. He's racked up 1,127 total tackles (823 solo), 20.5 sacks, 12 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries, 37 interceptions, and 97 pass deflections en route to two All-Pro honors and six Pro Bowl nods. Smith missed just one start in 2024 and is impressively still a starting-caliber defensive back in the league. He is scheduled to be a free agent during the 2025 offseason, which could impact his decision of whether to hang up the cleats or keep competing.

From RotoBaller

The Cleveland Browns are promoting former pass-game specialist and tight ends coach Tommy Rees to offensive coordinator, according to NFL insider Tom Pelissero. The 32-year-old spent the 2020, 2021, and 2022 seasons as the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame before calling the shots on offense for Alabama in Nick Saban's final year on the sideline (2023). He joined Kevin Stefanski's staff for the 2024 season and has quickly been promoted following the firing of Ken Dorsey. The Deshaun Watson experiment seems to be over in Cleveland, so it will be interesting to see if the Browns select a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

From RotoBaller

Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee (chest) exited the NFC Wild Card game against the Minnesota Vikings early due to a chest injury. Head coach Sean McVay said the veteran was spitting up blood on Monday and was sent to the hospital. However, Higbee traveled home with the team and is expected to play in the NFC Divisional Round against the Philadelphia Eagles. The 32-year-old missed the team's first 14 regular season games due to a knee injury before coming back to haul in eight receptions for 66 yards and two scores in three games to close the season. On Monday, he caught all five of his targets for 58 yards before leaving the game in the first half. Los Angeles is clearly looking to get him involved in the offense, but the Eagles allowed the second-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends in 2024, meaning he's drawing a tough matchup for DFS or fantasy football purposes.

From RotoBaller

Dynasty | The Texans have cut wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Dynasty Analysis: He was going to be a free agent at the end of the season anyway, but it's telling that the receiver-needy Texans are cutting bait with him while they're still in the playoffs. After playing in Carolina, Baltimore and Houston this season, Johnson looks like a player who needs a major image overhaul. He'll likely sign somewhere this off-season, but his dynasty value is falling off a cliff.

From Dynasty League Fantasy

The Houston Texans are releasing veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson on Tuesday, according to the team's X account. Johnson has been traded twice and released twice in the last calendar year, so this is clearly not a good sign for his future fantasy football outlook. After logging 30 receptions for 357 yards and three touchdowns in seven games with Carolina this season, he accumulated just three receptions on nine targets for 18 yards in five games combined with the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. Johnson posted three seasons of at least 882 receiving yards earlier in his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but those days seem long gone after four WR-needy franchises have let him go. All that said, he could join one of the remaining playoff contenders ahead of Super Bowl 59.

From RotoBaller

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was non-committal on both quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields for next season and talked about seeing who is available at the position on the outside. Both Wilson and Fields will become free agents in March, and the Steelers want to see what else is out there before committing to them for the 2025 campaign. Wilson said he'd like to return to the Steel City, but also acknowledged it's not up to him. The 36-year-old Wilson missed most of training camp and the first six games of the season with a calf injury but eventually returned and won six of his first seven starts before losing the final five games. The Steelers averaged 28 points and 372 yards of offense in his first seven starts but dropped to 14 points and 263 yards in five straight losses to close the year. Wilson said earlier this season that he wanted to play five to seven more years.

From RotoBaller

Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is expected to interview with the New Orleans Saints next week for their vacant head-coach job, according to sources. After being let go by the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, McCarthy will also interview for the Chicago Bears' head-coach job this Wednesday. Outside of the 2019 season, the 61-year-old McCarthy has been a head coach in the NFL since 2006 and won a Super Bowl title with the Green Bay Packers, so he is going to be in high demand now that he's on the open coaching market. He went 125-77 with nine playoff appearances during his 13 seasons in Green Bay and went 49-35 with three playoff appearances in his five years in Dallas. McCarthy has gone .500 (11-11) in 22 career playoff games. He also spent five years with the Saints (2000-04) as their offensive coordinator, so he has some history in New Orleans.

From RotoBaller

The New York Jets requested an interview with Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. for their head-coach opening, according to sources. It's the first head-coach interview for the 46-year-old, who followed Commanders head coach Dan Quinn from the Dallas Cowboys. Whitt has been an integral part of Washington's turnaround this year and put together a masterful game plan to slow down quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense in the wild-card win on Sunday night. Before going to D.C., Whitt spent the last three years as the passing-game coordinator and secondary coach in Dallas. Before that, he worked in similar roles with the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. Before requesting to speak with Whitt, the Jets have already interviewed nine candidates for their head-coaching position.

From RotoBaller

Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant general manager John Spytek is scheduled for a second interview this week for the Las Vegas Raiders' general manager job, according to a source. In addition to the Raiders, Spytek will receive a second interview for the GM position with the Tennessee Titans. The Raiders are looking to replace Tom Telesco after he was fired after just one year on the job in Vegas. In addition to Spytek, the Raiders have also asked to speak with Green Bay Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan. Spytek is very familiar with NFL legend Tom Brady, who is now a minority owner of the Raiders. Spytek has spent the last nine years with the Bucs and was around when Brady led the team to a Super Bowl title. Spytek also played at Michigan at the same time that Brady did, which could give him a leg up for the job.

From RotoBaller

The Athletic's Mike DeFabo suggests that the Pittsburgh Steelers should consider trading wide receiver George Pickens this offseason despite the fact that he's without a doubt the team's best offensive player. However, Pickens will enter the fourth and final year of his rookie deal in 2025, which means he could be a "hold in" during training camp this summer as he seeks a contract extension. DeFabo believes giving Pickens a big extension would be a mistake when considering some of his antics on the field. Instead of paying Pickens, the Steelers could choose from receivers scheduled to hit free agency in March that includes Tee Higgins, Chris Godwin, Marquise Brown, Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen, DeAndre Hopkins and Stefon Diggs. In fantasy, Pickens was the WR41 in 2024 with 59 catches for 900 yards and only three touchdowns in 14 games played.

From RotoBaller

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell (knee), who suffered a dislocated left knee in addition to a torn ACL, MCL, and LCL and a damaged meniscus in the Week 16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, will undergo one of multiple surgeries this offseason on Wednesday. It will obviously be a very long road to recovery for the second-year wideout after the devastating injury. Because of the timing of the injury late in the year and the extensive damage to his knee, it's highly unlikely that Dell will be ready to go for the start of the 2025 regular season this fall. "Unfortunately, it has to be considered career threatening, but we all hope not career-ending," orthopedic surgeon David Chao said. It's far from a guarantee that Dell will even be able to play again next year, which will obviously make him one to avoid in fantasy drafts. The 25-year-old finished with 51 catches, 667 yards and three TDs in his second season before the injury.

From RotoBaller

Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson brought in all five of his targets for 64 yards and a touchdown in Monday night's loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The 27-year-old was able to break free for a nifty 26-yard catch-and-run late in the third quarter, but that would be the team's only TD -- and highlight -- of the game. The Vikings' offense fizzled out for the second straight week as quarterback Sam Darnold's late-season collapse continued. It's an unfortunate ending to the season for Minnesota, who won 14 games and was on the brink of a first-round bye. Still, Hockenson can find a silver lining in that he did not re-injure the knee that kept him out of the season's first seven games. He'll now turn to 2025 with uncertainty at quarterback.

From RotoBaller

Updating a previous report, Los Angeles Rams TE Tyler Higbee (chest) went to a Phoenix-area hospital after suffering a chest injury in the NFC wild-card game Monday, Nov. 13, against the Minnesota Vikings. 'I think he's going to be okay,' head coach Sean McVay said.

Fantasy Spin: Higbee ended up with a team-best 58 receiving yards and five receptions on five targets before checking out. If he is unable to play in the NFC Divisional Round playoff game on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles, look for Davis Allen and Hunter Long to see an increased role in the offense.

From TheHuddle

Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee (chest) was taken to the hospital on Monday night. He is in stable condition and is expected to be okay, according to head coach Sean McVay. Higbee exited the Rams' Wild Card contest against the Minnesota Vikings during the first half, but he still managed to accumulate five receptions for 58 yards. He finished as the Rams' receiving leader and was trending toward delivering a historic performance before his departure. Moving forward, we will await updates from the Rams regarding his status and eventual release from the hospital. It's too early to speculate on his status for the Divisional Round against the Philadelphia Eagles, but given the severity of his injury, he likely faces an uphill battle to play. If Higbee can't suit up, Colby Parkinson would be the Rams' primary tight end with Davis Allen filling a complementary role.

From RotoBaller

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison caught 3-of-8 targets for 29 yards in his team's 27-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round. It was a forgettable day for the entire Vikings offense, as quarterback Sam Darnold was put in the dirt on nine occasions. Addison was the intended target on a few deep shots and could have had a more significant outing, but had trouble corralling most of the targets. The sophomore wideout performed well in a complementary role to his superstar teammate Justin Jefferson in 2024, and the two should continue to be a dynamic duo for the foreseeable future. However, it's impossible to know who will man the helm for Minnesota next season at this time. J.J. McCarthy (knee) is recovering from injury, while Darnold and Nick Mullens are set to be free agents, leaving Daniel Jones as the only healthy QB on the roster.

From RotoBaller