Advertisement

Notebook: Seattle Seahawks fire assistants

By The Sports Xchange
National Football League Twitter
National Football League Twitter

The Seattle Seahawks have fired offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and offensive line coach Tom Cable, the team announced Wednesday.

Bevell was dismissed after seven seasons with the team. Cable has been with the Seahawks since 2011.

Advertisement

The Seahawks may be looking for a new defensive coordinator too, as multiple reports indicate Kris Richard, the leader of Seattle's defense since 2015, will be let go as well.

Seattle's offense was unable to find consistency this season despite Russell Wilson leading the league in touchdown passes with 34. The Seahawks finished 15th in total offense (330.4 yards per game) and 11th in scoring (22.9 points) this season, but struggled to move the ball in a Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and a Week 16 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

Advertisement

--Pittsburgh Steelers starting cornerback Artie Burns sustained an injury to his right knee during Wednesday's practice, multiple media outlets reported.

It was a non-contact injury, which is worrisome. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that Burns' ligaments are intact. That suggests Burns may be ready for Sunday's game, although the team has not announced an official diagnosis.

Burns started every game this season and had 54 tackles and one interception during the 2017 regular season.

--Tennessee Titans running back DeMarco Murray has been ruled out for this weekend's AFC divisional round game versus the New England Patriots, ESPN reported.

Murray, the team's starting running back during the regular season, is dealing with an MCL tear he sustained two weeks ago. It's an injury that can take from two to six weeks to heal.

--The Cleveland Browns named Eliot Wolf as the team's assistant general manager.

Wolf, who is the son of Hall of Fame general manager Ron Wolf, is the third former Green Bay Packers executive recently to head to the Browns staff -- joining current GM John Dorsey and vice president of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith.

Advertisement

The Browns also made the hiring of Highsmith official. He spent the past 19 seasons with Green Bay, and was its senior personnel director in 2017.

Cleveland also cut ties with Ryan Grigson, who spent one season with the team as a senior personnel executive. He was fired as general manager of the Indianapolis Colts in January 2017.

--The Green Bay Packers filled both of their vacant coordinator positions quickly.

Just hours after Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday night that the Packers hired Mike Pettine as their defensive coordinator, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Joe Philbin has returned to Green Bay as the Packers' offensive coordinator.

Philbin was the Indianapolis Colts assistant head coach and offensive line coach the past two seasons, but he spent nine seasons with the Packers from 2003 through 2011, filling a variety of roles. He was Green Bay's offensive coordinator from 2007 through 2011 before becoming the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

Philbin was fired by the Dolphins four games into the 2015 season following a 1-3 start.

--Tom McMahon agreed to terms with the Denver Broncos to be their special teams coordinator, the club announced.

Advertisement

Also, the Broncos named Chris Strausser as their offensive line-tackles coach, Greg Williams as their defensive backs coach and Zach Azzanni as their wide receivers coach.

--Steelers safety Mike Mitchell told Sports Illustrated that he expects the Steelers to face the New England Patriots in the postseason -- and feels his team will redeem itself.

"We're going to play (the Patriots) again," the 30-year-old Mitchell said. "We can play them in hell, we can play them in Haiti, we can play them in New England. ... We're gonna win."

Mitchell and the second-seeded Steelers might be better served to focus on the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars, the team's opponent in the AFC divisional round on Sunday. The top-seeded Patriots host the fifth-seeded Tennessee Titans on Saturday.

--Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier attended his first practice since suffering a serious spinal injury early last month.

Shazier, who was at the Steelers' practice facility in a wheelchair, posted a photo and a message on his Instagram account, calling his visit a "first down" in his progress.

"I was finally able to make it to practice with my teammates. It's great to be back for practices and meetings. Just to be able to feel a part of it means the world. So I'm working harder than I ever have to get back. I've been making strides over the past month and continue to make progress. Taking it day-by-day, but I'm far from done," wrote Shazier as part of the message.

Advertisement

Shazier was injured on Dec. 4 in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

--Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton will replace Cincinnati Bengals wideout A.J. Green on the AFC roster in the upcoming Pro Bowl, the league announced.

Green is nursing an undisclosed injury and will sit out the event on Jan. 28 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

--Carolina Panthers kicker Graham Gano and guard Trai Turner were added to the Pro Bowl roster as injury replacements.

Turner will take the place of Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin, who was forced to miss the game after undergoing elbow surgery. It marked the third consecutive Pro Bowl selection for Turner. Gano earned his first Pro Bowl honor.

--The Los Angeles Chargers signed kicker Roberto Aguayo to a reserve/future free-agent contract, the team announced.

The Chargers used five kickers in 2017 and connected on an NFL-worst 67 percent of their field-goal attempts.

--New York Jets cornerback Rashard Robinson was arrested for possession of edible marijuana after he was pulled over for careless driving last month.

Advertisement

According to the Hanover Township (N.J.) police report, Robinson's 2018 Mercedes Benz smelled like marijuana at the time he was pulled over on Dec. 15 in Morris County. Police then found "THC infused Peanut Budda Buddah Candy" in the 22-year-old's possession.

A spokesman for Hanover police told NJ Advance Media that Robinson did not appear for his initial court date on Monday. Should Robinson fail to show for his next court date on Jan. 29, a warrant will be issued for his arrest.

--Three Alabama players announced their intention to enter the NFL Draft.

Wide receiver Calvin Ridley, defensive lineman Da'Ron Payne and running back Bo Scarbrough -- all juniors -- will not return for their final seasons at the school, Alabama.com reported, citing sources.

Ridley, who had 63 receptions for 967 yards and five touchdowns this season, later confirmed his future plans via social media.

No player boosted his stock at the end of the season more than Payne, who earned defensive MVP honors in both the national title game as well as the Alabama's semifinal win over Clemson. Scarbrough rushed for 596 yards and eight touchdowns this season after racking up 812 yards and 11 TDs during his sophomore campaign.

Advertisement

--Virginia Tech defensive players Terrell Edmunds and Tremaine Edmunds plan to leave college and enter the NFL Draft this year, multiple media outlets reported.

Redshirt junior safety Terrell Edmunds and true junior linebacker Tremaine Edmunds are brothers and are expected to be drafted in the first three or four rounds.

Tremaine Edmunds is ranked as the No. 64 overall prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, and is ranked No. 4 among outside linebackers.

Latest Headlines