NFC East

The Philadelphia Eagles announced defensive tackle Javon Hargrave was added to the 2022 Pro Bowl roster after the Green Bay Packers' Kenny Clark withdrew because of injury.

Hargrave posted career highs in tackles (63) and sacks (7.5) across 16 appearances in 2021, his sixth NFL season and second with the Eagles. It's his first Pro Bowl selection.

The 28-year-old North Carolina native, who also recorded 18 quarterback hits, put together the breakout campaign despite facing double-teams after a strong start to the season.

"It just means you're getting a lot of respect from the other team," Hargrave told Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia on Tuesday. "That speaks volumes for what they think about me. I don't let it frustrate me. I just do the best I can to try to beat it."

Fletcher Cox, a six-time Pro Bowler who lined up alongside Hargrave, provided a simple reason for his teammate's strong year.

"He worked his butt off," Cox told Zangaro.

Hargrave was a third-round pick of the in-state rival Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2016 draft. He signed a three-year, $39 million contract, which runs through next season, with the Eagles in 2020.

He joins the Los Angeles Rams' Aaron Donald and the Washington Football Team's Jonathan Allen as the defensive tackles from the NFC.

Meanwhile, Clark played in Saturday's playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers and wasn't listed on the injury report prior to the game. He dealt with a back injury earlier in the season.

The two-time Pro Bowler tallied 48 tackles, 14 quarterback hits and four sacks in 2021.

Incoming New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen sounds like he's prepared to go into next season with Daniel Jones as the starting quarterback. 

Speaking to reporters at his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Schoen said the front office will "build an offense to accentuate what Daniel does best."

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported last month the Giants were planning to bring back Jones and head coach Joe Judge. 

Giants ownership had a change of heart about Judge, who was fired on Jan. 11 after going 10-23 in two seasons. 

Jones, the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NFL draft, has one more guaranteed year remaining on his rookie contract. The Giants have until May 3 to decide if they want to pick up his fifth-year option worth around $21.3 million in 2023.

Things haven't worked out for Jones or the Giants over the past three seasons. He did have a promising rookie campaign with 3,027 yards, 24 touchdowns and 279 rushing yards in 13 appearances. 

Since the start of 2020, Jones has thrown for 5,371 yards, 21 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in 25 starts. He ranked 22nd out of 31 qualified quarterbacks in ESPN's QBR during the 2021 season. 

There are many problems with the Giants roster around Jones that have made things more difficult for him. They had the third-worst offensive line in the NFL this season, per Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson. 

The Giants haven't had a winning season since making the playoffs with an 11-5 record in 2016.    

Philadelphia Eagles guard Brandon Brooks announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday.

"How do you say goodbye to something you loved your whole life?" he told reporters.

Brooks spent 10 years in the NFL, including the last six in Philadelphia. He earned three Pro Bowl selections with the Eagles and helped them win the Super Bowl during the 2017 season.

Injuries hampered him over the past two seasons, including a torn Achilles tendon that cost him all of the 2020 campaign. He then suffered a torn pectoral muscle in Week 2 of 2021 and did not return for the remainder of the season.  

"It didn't end the way I would have liked it, but to me, it's never about the ending. It's about the journey," he said Wednesday.

Brooks also discussed his love for the city of Philadelphia:

The Houston Texans selected Brooks with a third-round pick in 2012. He won a starting job in his second season and started 44 games for the Texans over the next three years.

His career took off when he signed with the Eagles in 2016. He helped form one of the NFL's top offensive lines alongside All-Pros Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce and Jason Peters. 

After Brooks started every game from 2017 to 2019, injuries derailed his career in the past two seasons, which caused the 32-year-old to step away from the sport.

Despite facing salary-cap questions heading into the offseason, there is an expectation around the NFL that Amari Cooper will remain with the Dallas Cowboys. 

Pro Football Network's Aaron Wilson cited multiple league sources who think the Cowboys will keep the wide receiver, but the team hasn't made a final decision on what it wants to do with the four-time Pro Bowler. 

Per Spotrac, the Cowboys are currently $21.3 million over the 2022 cap. Randy Gregory, Jayron Kearse, Dalton Schultz and Michael Gallup are among their notable players eligible for free agency. 

In October, ESPN's Todd Archer cited the need for the Cowboys to win big this season because of their cap situation. 

Archer did note Dallas could fix some of its issues by restructuring Dak Prescott's deal to create "as much as $15 million" in cap space. 

Cooper is set to have the third-highest cap hit among wide receivers in 2022 at $22 million. Only DeAndre Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals ($25.05 million) and Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints ($24.7 million) will count more against the cap. 

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seemed to express frustration with Cooper's performance this season during a recent appearance on 105.3 The Fan (h/t NFL.com's Adam Maya): 

"I don't have any comment on Cooper's contract. I thought that the way we were playing early when we did make something happen, I thought Cooper had a big part of it. And I'm not being trite. But how he fits in, he should take half the field with him when he runs a route. Not half—half is an exaggeration, of course, but a whole bunch of that defense should have to honor Cooper. And he ought to be able to catch it in the middle of when they're going with him."

The Cowboys signed Cooper to a five-year, $100 million extension in March 2020. The 27-year-old has been a steady presence for the offense since being acquired from the Oakland Raiders midway through the 2018 season. 

Cooper has averaged 79.7 receptions, 1,056 yards and seven touchdowns per season in his three full years with Dallas from 2019-21. 

The Cowboys won the NFC East with a 12-5 record during the regular season but lost to the San Francisco 49ers 23-17 in the NFC Wild Card Game on Jan. 16.    

Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is "clearly the favorite," to become the next head coach of the New York Giants, according to SNY's Ralph Vacchiano.

Daboll will have a second interview with the Giants on Tuesday.

"[Daboll] has been the favorite to many all along, given his relationship with new Giants GM Joe Schoen and the fact that Daboll has other supporters inside the organization, too," Vacchiano writes. 

SNY previously reported that Daboll was "very high" on Schoen's list of candidates, even before he took the Giants general manager position. And given his work turning Josh Allen into an elite quarterback, it should come as no surprise that the Giants are interested. 

Daboll has been brilliant coaching the Bills offense over the last four years and took the team to new heights in 2021. Buffalo's offense ranked ninth in the NFL averaging 252 passing yards per game and eighth with 36 passing touchdowns. The team also ranked sixth with 129.9 rushing yards per game and eighth with 20 rushing scores. 

The postseason has only furthered Daboll's case to become a head coach. The Bills had 482 total yards and scored seven touchdowns against the New England Patriots and their fourth-ranked defense in the AFC Wild Card Round, and had 422 total yards and five touchdowns against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round. 

But while the Giants want Daboll, he's a candidate for several head coaching jobs around the league. He already interviewed for the position in Chicago and Miami, and could have more interviews in the coming weeks. 

Aside from Daboll, the Giants are interested in former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and the team's current defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. 

The Giants have not made the playoffs since 2016 and are in desperate need of a solid head coach, something they haven't been able to find since Tom Coughlin held the job from 2004-14. 

The New York Giants have requested to interview Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll for a second time, according to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. 

The team also plans to interview Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn on Monday and former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores and its current defensive coordinator Patrick Graham later in the week. 

Daboll, 46, has spent the past four seasons as Buffalo's offensive coordinator, leading the team to back-to-back campaigns as a top-five offense in both yards and points. His scheme has helped Josh Allen become one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL and has played a major role in the team reaching the postseason in three straight years.

Before the Bills, he had stints as an offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (2009-10), Miami Dolphins (2011), Kansas City Chiefs (2012) and the Alabama Crimson Tide (2017). The Canada native has been part of the New England Patriots staff for 11 seasons in various roles.

Quinn, 51, spent the past season as Dallas' defensive coordinator, leading the team to a No. 7 finish in points allowed. He helped rookie Micah Parsons have a debut season for the ages (84 tackles, 13 sacks) while playing him in multiple roles, including off the edge. 

He previously served as the Atlanta Falcons head coach from 2015 to 2020, going 43-42 and leading the team to the playoffs twice, including a Super Bowl appearance in the 2016 season.

The New Jersey native also served as the defensive coordinator for the Florida Gators (2011-12) and Seattle Seahawks (2013-14). 

Flores, 40, spent the 2019-21 seasons as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, going 24-25 without any playoff appearances. He previously spent 15 seasons with the New England Patriots (2004-18), holding multiple roles on the coaching staff. 

Finally, the 43-year-old Graham spent the past two seasons as the Giants defensive coordinator. The Giants were ninth in points allowed in 2020 and 12th in yards allowed, though those numbers ballooned to 23rd and 21st, respectively, this past season.

He also served as the Dolphins defensive coordinator in 2019.

Whoever gets the job will be taking the reins of a franchise in disarray. The Giants haven't had a winning season since 2016 and just one playoff berth since 2012. For a team that won two titles in the Tom Coughlin era, the results since his departure have been well below standard. 

New York Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is interviewing for the team's vacant head coaching position, and if he doesn't get the job, he's reportedly interested in remaining on board as the team's DC under a new head coach, per SNY's Ralph Vacchiano.

According to Vacchiano, "many believe the Giants would be open to his return in the right situation."

Of note, though, the Pittsburgh Steelers have requested to interview Graham for the defensive coordinator vacancy, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Graham is interested in remaining the team's defensive coordinator. As Vacchiano writes, he was popular with the players and was well-liked by Giants owners. In addition, he declined the opportunity to interview for the New York Jets' head coaching job last year.

Graham has also made it known in the past that coaching the Giants defense is his "dream job." 

He told Zack Rosenblatt of NJ Advance Media:

This is my dream job, being the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants. It’s a great opportunity, to be able to stay here, and the commitment they’re showing me. But the fact is, it’s the NFL. I still got a ways to go. We’ve got to perform better than this past year. That’s my goal. But I love being here.

The Giants fired Joe Judge earlier this month after just two seasons. He went 10-23 as head coach in New York. 

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores and Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll are considered the early favorites to replace Judge as head coach of the Giants. If either takes over, there's a good bet Graham will stay on as the team's defensive coordinator. 

Graham worked with both Flores and Daboll with the New England Patriots from 2013-16. In addition, Graham served as Flores' defensive coordinator with the Dolphins in 2019 before joining Judge's staff in New York.  

If Graham doesn't remain with the Giants, there are currently only two other defensive coordinator positions available with the Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks. It's unclear if he'd be considered for either position. 

The Giants ranked No. 21 in total defense and No. 23 in scoring defense last season. Those ranks aren't eye-popping, but New York's defense often had to make up for its subpar offense.  

The New York Giants will reportedly interview Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo for their head coach vacancy on Sunday, per Dan Graziano of ESPN.

Anarumo is in his third year with the Bengals, helping the team reach the AFC Championship Game with Saturday's 19-16 win over the Tennessee Titans. The defense forced three turnovers while holding star running back Derrick Henry to just 62 rushing yards in the upset win.

The Giants are seeking a replacement for Joe Judge, who was fired after going 10-23 across two seasons.

New York hired Joe Schoen as the new general manager Friday and has quickly advanced its search for a new head coach. Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier reportedly interviewed this weekend, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, while Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is also set to interview, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

The organization is seeking someone who can turn things around after five straight losing seasons, a stretch that has spanned three different coaches.

Anarumo knows what it takes to reshape a franchise after a significant transformation the past three years in Cincinnati. After winning just six games in 2019 and 2020 combined, the Bengals went 10-7 this year with an AFC North title. The squad is now one win away from a trip to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1988.

Though the Bengals defense finished just 17th in the NFL in points allowed this year, it's been a steady climb after ranking 30th in the category the year before Anarumo came to town.

The 55-year-old also has experience with the Giants, serving as the defensive backs coach in 2018.