PHILADELPHIA — Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz intends to take the year off from coaching in 2021 as he contemplates retirement, sources told ESPN.
Philadelphia will be in the market for a new defensive coordinator as it embarks on what promises to be an offseason full of significant change for the 4-10-1 team.
Schwartz, 54, intends to let his contract expire. He has had a couple of minor procedures over the past year-plus, including hip and eye surgeries, and believes stepping back from the daily grind of coaching would be in his best interest, a source said.
He also took a year sabbatical in 2015 after being let go as Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator and worked with the NFL’s officiating department in a consulting position.
Schwartz joined Doug Pederson’s staff in 2016 and helped deliver the city its first Super Bowl title a year later. The Eagles’ defense finished No. 1 against the run and fourth in points allowed (18.4) during the championship run in 2017. Schwartz’s unit gave up 17 total points in playoff wins against the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings prior to the 41-33 Super Bowl shootout against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
The Eagles ranked among the top 10 in rushing defense (1st, 93.4 YPG), red zone defense (2nd, 49.5%), third-down defense (3rd, 35.4%), scoring defense (7th, 20.8 PPG) and takeaways (9th, 94) over his first four seasons.
Known best for allowing his defensive linemen to pin their ears back and attack, the Eagles are in the top five in sacks in 2020.
Issues have crept in over the past two seasons in particular, however. An Achilles’ heel last season was the defense’s propensity to give up the big play, yielding 15 plays of 40-plus yards through the air, second worst in the NFL. In 2020, the group struggled to generate turnovers and entered Week 17 with the second-fewest interceptions (six).
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- Covered Rams for two years for Los Angeles Times
- Previously covered the Falcons
- Has covered the NBA and college football and basketball
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Los Angeles Rams outside linebacker Leonard Floyd was taken to the hospital Friday for precautionary measures after complaining about abdominal pain to a team trainer before practice, a Rams spokesperson said.
Floyd will be listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals (8-7). The Rams (9-6) can clinch a playoff berth with a win or a Chicago Bears (8-7) loss at home to the Green Bay Packers (12-3).
Playing on a one-year, $10 million contract, Floyd has 9½ sacks this season and has played a critical role on a defense that ranks second in efficiency.
“He has been so steady, so consistent, so versatile,” Rams coach Sean McVay said Friday before practice. “He is really affecting and influencing the game in a variety of ways.”
If Floyd is unable to play Sunday, expect rookie Terrell Lewis and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo to step in.
The uncertainty around Floyd’s health and availability Sunday adds to what has already been a tumultuous week for the Rams, who will be relying on several backups against the Cardinals for various reasons.
Undrafted free agent John Wolford will make his first NFL start in place of quarterback Jared Goff, who underwent surgery on his throwing-hand thumb last Monday and will be sidelined at least a week.
Malcolm Brown could be the only experienced running back available in a three-player committee after leading rusher Darrell Henderson was placed on injured reserve because of a high ankle sprain. McVay said Friday that Cam Akers will be a game-time decision because of a high ankle sprain that kept him out of Week 16. Rookies Xavier Jones and Raymond Calais have played only on special teams this season, but will be asked to step up if Akers can’t play.
And leading wide receiver Cooper Kupp and defensive lineman Michael Brockers, who has 5 sacks, will remain on the reserve/COVID-19 list and will not be available Sunday, according to McVay. This is the first game this season that a Rams starter will miss because of being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
DAVIE, Fla. — Miami Dolphins veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be unavailable for Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Buffalo Bills, a source confirmed to ESPN.
He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Thursday afternoon, the team announced.
The Dolphins and the NFL have conducted initial contact tracing with no high-risk close contacts determined as of Thursday afternoon, a source told ESPN, but that process will continue. Fitzpatrick practiced fully Wednesday and wasn’t listed on the injury report, but he didn’t practice Thursday afternoon, indicating that the positive COVID-19 test was a recent surprise.
Dolphins safety Eric Rowe said that coach Brian Flores informed the team about Fitzpatrick’s status during a Zoom meeting.
“It hurts. He’s a leader on our team. He brings energy,” Rowe said. “I’m sure it’s worse for him because he loves the game and no one wants to catch COVID. With that, you have to push forward.
“COVID is a real-deal thing whether you don’t have symptoms or you do. Just praying he doesn’t have symptoms or he didn’t pass it to his kids.”
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Rookie Tua Tagovailoa is the Dolphins’ starting quarterback, but Fitzpatrick has been called on twice in the fourth quarter to play what Flores compared to a “ninth-inning reliever” role. Fitzpatrick led the Dolphins to a 26-25 comeback win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday after a 34-yard heave coupled with a 15-yard face mask penalty set up the game-winning field goal.
The Dolphins signed Jake Rudock to the 53-man roster Thursday, and he is expected to be Tagovailoa’s backup Sunday. Tagovailoa, Rudock and practice squad quarterback Reid Sinnett practiced fully Thursday.
In addition, linebacker Elandon Roberts was placed on injured reserve and receiver Kirk Merritt was added to the roster as a COVID-19 replacement for Sunday’s game.
NFL Network first reported Fitzpatrick’s positive test.
The Dolphins would clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Bills. They could still make the playoffs with a loss but would need a loss from either the Cleveland Browns (vs. a Steelers team resting key starters), Indianapolis Colts (vs. Jaguars) or Baltimore Ravens (vs. Bengals). The Bills, who have clinched the AFC East but can earn the No. 2 (vs. No. 3) seed based on Week 17 results, have been coy on whether they will play their starters.
Fitzpatrick, who has never made the playoffs in his 16-year career, could be in jeopardy of missing the Dolphins’ first playoff game if they make it. Any asymptomatic player who tests positive for COVID-19 must wait at least 10 days before rejoining the team.
That means the earliest Fitzpatrick could return to the team is Sunday, Jan. 10, and only if he travels separately from the team via private transportation to participate in the game. There will be three playoff games on Saturday and three on Sunday for wild-card weekend this season.
Fitzpatrick, 38, is 4-3 as a starter this season, throwing for 2,091 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
INDIANAPOLIS — People in Lucas Oil Stadium during Sunday’s game between the Colts and Jaguars will have to find an alternative way to check the scores of games that have playoff implications for Indianapolis.
That’s because the Colts do not plan to post the scores of games involving Baltimore, Cleveland, Miami and Tennessee on the scoreboard at the stadium to try to avoid any possible distractions for players and coaches before and during their game against Jacksonville, which is 7-3 in its past 10 games against Indianapolis.
The Colts need to beat the Jaguars and have one of the Ravens, Browns, Dolphins and Titans lose to make the playoffs. Baltimore, Cleveland and Miami play at 1 p.m. ET. The Colts’ and Titans’ games are at 4:25 p.m. ET.
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“Maybe not to all guys, but if it’s a distraction to one guy, that’s one guy too many,” Colts coach Frank Reich said. “It’s better not to have them up there. It’s irrelevant. It can do nothing to add to what we have to focus on. It only has a potential negative effect in our view.”
Reich and general manager Chris Ballard started talking about the possibility of not posting the scores following Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It may seem like a good idea by Reich and Ballard to keep those scores off the scoreboard, but it’s only human nature for players to keep an eye on what’s going on with games that affect them when that information is easily accessible by phone.
“My normal mode when we play the 4 o’clock game, I kind of flip through the Sunday Ticket on my phone. So to say I won’t be doing that will be a lie,” quarterback Philip Rivers said. “I won’t be consumed with it, but I’ll be aware. To try to pretend like you’re not going to know the outcome of those games is probably unrealistic. But I don’t think it needs to consume our locker room. Go through normal routine. If your normal routine is checking on 1 o’clock games, I don’t know why you will change that to act like you’re not interested.”