NFL Rumors: Steelers adding veteran S Eric Rowe, LB Myles Jack
Injuries have been less kind to the Pittsburgh Steelers than the Kenny Pickett-Matt Canada combo on the other side of the ball, which is saying a lot.
Linebackers Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander have both landed on IR with season-ending injuries. Meanwhile, star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick has now been out for several weeks. And that's not even mentioning a handful of other role players on the defense that are out of action or on IR. Now sitting at 6-4 on the season, the Steelers could use some reinforcements.
It appears they're working on that.
After speculation about the possibility, the Steelers reportedly had former linebacker Myles Jack, who retired after being released by Pittsburgh and signed by the Eagles, in for a physical with plans to sign him. Furthermore, indications were by the state of the locker room that veteran safety Eric Rowe had also been signed to the Steelers practice squad.
Jack spent the 2022 season with the Steelers, appearing in 15 games and recording 104 total tackles. He has never amounted to the player that teams hoped when the Jaguars selected him with a second-round pick out of UCLA in 2016, but he's still been solid and productive, which is what Pittsburgh needs right now.
As for Rowe, he spent the last four seasons with the Miami Dolphins, playing in 14 games last season. Now 31 years old, his skills have diminished slightly. But for the Steelers eyeing rotational depth in the secondary, he should serve that purpose quite well with his experience.
Shoring up the defense with depth additions could be crucial for Pittsburgh down the stretch, though. With the way the offense has performed, they are going to have to continue winning on the back of their D.
NFL Rumors: Bears dream plans for 2024 offseason
Things have been evolving and revolving for the Chicago Bears throughout much of the 2023 season at just about every turn. But a little past midway through the year, and we're starting to see some plans start to take shape. Perhaps that could also allow the organization and fan base to dare to dream about what could transpire in the 2024 offseason.
Before we get into the dream, though, let's look at what we know. The Bears roster is not ready to compete for the NFC North, much less a Super Bowl, as currently constructed. However, reports before the team's Week 11 game against the Lions indicated that the organization is largely committed to quarterback Justin Fields and would have to be "blown away" to draft a replacement in the first round.
Beyond that, though, what else do the Bears need to do to get this thing on the right track? One NFL analyst has a simple, clear-cut solution that would be a dream for Chicago -- but also isn't that implausible.
Jon Greenberg of The Athletic ($) offered a two-step plan to help start fixing the Bears. First, he suggested that Chicago hire current Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh is at the center of the sign-stealing scandal ravaging the Wolverines program right now, which could pave the road for his long-expected return to the NFL. And for all his quirks, we know that Harbaugh can win at any level.
The second part of the plan is to use one of the Bears' two first-round picks, one of which is likely to be first overall by way of the Panthers, to draft the "best player in the draft", Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
Of course, there's a touch of irony in bitter rivals at the college level uniting to save the Bears. However, given the needs regarding Chicago's skill position players and the possible upgrade from Matt Eberflus as head coach, there have been far worse ideas than this one. And most importantly, this seems like a plan that could conceivably be executed with relative ease.
Now we'll just have to see if Ryan Poles and the Bears brass are interested in making it happen.
NFL Rumors: Patriots could bench Mac Jones in Week 12, put future in doubt
The last time that we saw the New England Patriots was when Bill Belichick's team was across the pond in Frankfurt, Germany, taking a loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 10. They had their bye in Week 11 and are now moving forward. But the conclusion of that game raised questions about whether or not the team would be moving forward with Mac Jones at the helm of the offense.
Jones was benched in favor of Bailey Zappe on the Patriots' final drive against the Colts after a red-zone turnover all but sealed New England's fate in that contest. The question has since been whether or not Belichick would return to the struggling former first-round pick or rip off the band-aid by going to another option. In the week-plus since the loss, though, we haven't gotten a clear indication.
But offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien may have dropped a hint on Monday morning.
When asked about the starter for the Patriots' Week 12 matchup on the road against the New York Giants, O'Brien played it coy, saying, "At the end of the day, Bill (Belichick) will make that decision at some point and we'll go from there."
At the very least, there is some indecision at quarterback in Foxboro right now, which is not good news for Jones.
Even if Belichick and Co. end up keeping Mac Jones as QB1 for this matchup, the leash for the Alabama product has certainly never been shorter. And at the first sign of a spiraling mistake, we could see the Patriots pull him with no intentions of giving the job back to him.
Needless to say, though, not much is going well for the 2-8 Patriots, and it seems as if the drama is only starting.
