We're on to Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season. Insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano have been calling sources around the league for the latest news and buzz on key situations.

This week, we dive into Daniel Jones' Achilles injury and its ramifications, which go beyond the Colts' playoff chances. How will Jones' injury affect his free agency and the quarterback market in general? Dan and Jeremy also evaluate several disappointing 2025 teams and the fixes they could make to bounce back next season. And we're also diving headfirst into the upcoming coaching cycle. How many franchises will be looking for new head coaches, and which coordinator stands out most among the talent pool?

It's all here, as our national reporters answer big questions and empty their notebooks heading into Week 15.

Jump to:
Jones injury fallout | Moves for falling contenders
Open coach jobs | What's next for Vance Joseph
More on Week 15

What are you hearing on how Daniel Jones' injury could affect free agency and the QB market?

Graziano: I've heard a few theories in the couple of days since Jones injured his Achilles. One is that it makes sense for him to re-sign with the Colts, since they know him and know he can run their offense. He could rehab with them all offseason and hit the ground running whenever he's cleared. That could be on another one-year deal or maybe a two-year deal with incentives that could make the second year more lucrative if he recovers fully and plays well.

Another is that it would make sense for him to go back to Minnesota, where he finished last season as Sam Darnold's backup, and rehab there with a staff that knows him and wanted to retain him but couldn't guarantee him the starting job this past offseason. Either way, the idea of a lucrative, long-term contract extension in Indianapolis (or somewhere else) probably slides to the back burner in light of Jones' most recent season-ending injury.

The other thing to consider, Jeremy, is who's going to be making the decisions for the Colts this offseason, since there has been chatter about coaches and front office personnel being on the hot seat since last offseason. I wonder how a potential late-season collapse (if that's coming) would affect things on that front.

Fowler: The Colts' brass had quelled the noise with this season's hot start, Dan, but new owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon will evaluate the full body of work. Since a repeat 8-9 season is still on the table, finishing with seven consecutive losses wouldn't be the best thing for the future tenures of head coach Shane Steichen or general manager Chris Ballard. But I think everyone there recognizes that Indy has built a good team that thrived over the season's first 10 games -- especially Jones, who remains the top free agent quarterback available despite this injury.

If the Colts and Vikings pursue Jones, then he has a nice little market to drive up his demand. But maybe it doesn't get that far ... if Indianapolis puts the franchise or transition tag on Jones. That's not totally off the table after asking around. Those numbers are projected somewhere between $39 million and $46 million. Either way, getting creative with the contract to cover both sides will be important, but Jones will need security beyond a one-year deal considering how late in the calendar year the Achilles tear occurred.

So, the injury is a factor, but I'm not so sure it affects his market too much. As you know, Dan, the upcoming free agent class isn't exactly loaded at quarterback.

Graziano: Sure, but I guess the point of the question is more about the reduced likelihood of a big deal, like a Baker Mayfield-type deal or Darnold-level deal -- or heck, even the type of deal Jones got from the Giants a few years back. I think that's the impact of the injury -- that he and whichever team he ends up with will have to be creative and, as you suggest, build something that gives Jones some time to not only get back onto the field but also get back to playing at a relatively high level.

Jones is still only 28, so there's certainly plenty of hope for him to recover and still have a future in the league. But this is also the third season-ending injury of his career, and that history has to be a concern for whichever team is interested in signing him.

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Pat McAfee bummed by Daniel Jones' Achilles injury

Pat McAfee reacts to Daniel Jones' Achilles injury and praises Jones for the positive affect he has had on the Colts.

Fowler: That's valid. My sense is Indianapolis will want to see how Jones is progressing in his rehab before deciding. That will help inform the team on how to proceed. If the Colts believe Jones will be a productive starter for them over the next three to four seasons, then perhaps paying him a respectable market deal now will be a discount in two years, instead of haggling over the level of discount required because of the injury.

Jones has been Indy's most viable quarterback option since Andrew Luck, so the Colts might not be afraid to pay him big. Coaches and teammates there love him. And a few other teams could be facing a quarterback transition -- the Browns, Jets and Raiders among them.

What is one realistic offseason move that could help fix a fallen preseason favorite?

Fowler: The Chiefs and Ravens both need a classic boundary receiver on the outside and could address that with one big move in free agency. George Pickens would be a significant upgrade in Baltimore, and Alec Pierce would satisfy that need in Kansas City, which has been starved for explosive playmaking on the outside since Tyreek Hill was traded after the 2021 season.

Both would be costly, and Pickens might be franchise tagged by Dallas. But if available, the Ravens could use some of their $40 million in 2026 cap space on Pickens, knowing John Harbaugh is good at managing big personalities. The Chiefs are much lower on space, sitting at negative-$42.8 million, but cuts are on the way for a team that might look drastically different this time next year. Also, adding an explosive running back such as Breece Hall or Travis Etienne Jr. is worth exploring for Kansas City.

Graziano: Running back makes sense for the Chiefs, as does diversifying their WR room. I wonder if missing the playoffs and having a reset forced upon them might not be the worst thing in the world -- though I'm sure the Chiefs don't see it that way.

The Commanders need pass-rush help, linebacker help, secondary help ... all of it. I wouldn't be stunned if they devoted most of their draft resources to the defense, though they don't have any picks in the second or fourth rounds because of the Laremy Tunsil trade. On offense, Washington is a spot a lot of people have pegged as a potential destination for Brandon Aiyuk, as it's believed he'd like to team up with former Arizona State teammate Jayden Daniels.

Fowler: The Aiyuk-Washington connection makes a ton of sense. Speaking of the Commanders, it was shocking to me when they didn't aggressively address pass rusher last offseason. As a result, their sack leader is Dorance Armstrong -- who tore his ACL in Week 7 -- with 5.5. Plenty of pass rushers should be available in free agency. But Washington could also identify rushers on rookie deals who might want a trade due to inactivity on a contract extension with their current team. The Jaguars' Travon Walker, Giants' Kayvon Thibodeaux and Jets' Jermaine Johnson are among players on expiring rookie deals who could be 2027 free agents.

As for Cincinnati, Dan, the Bengals need everything on defense except maybe a cornerback. Up the middle, there's a need at every level (defensive line, linebacker, safety).

Graziano: Trey Hendrickson seems certain to be leaving Cincinnati, which hasn't exactly hit it out of the park with its recent, high-round edge rusher draft picks. The Bengals don't spend big, but they hit in free agency once upon a time with Hendrickson, and I think they'll look for a solution along those lines again this offseason.

So yes, I'm interested to see what the Bengals do on defense. Do they give Al Golden a second year as coordinator, or are we looking at another scheme change? The way they feel their linebackers have improved as the season has progressed makes me think they'll run it back with Golden and add players he thinks fit his system. I always wonder if the Bengals will get creative with a player-for-player trade and bring in someone like Thibodeaux or Byron Young, who could be available toward the tail end of their rookie deals.

What's the over/under on open head coaching jobs this offseason?

Graziano: I'll set it at six, since two (Titans and Giants) are already open and we're watching for potential change in places such as Las Vegas, Atlanta, Arizona, Miami, Cleveland and Cincinnati. I'm not saying all of those will come open, of course, but it wouldn't be shocking if three or four of them did.

Pete Carroll's first season with Raiders has been a disaster and they've already let go of two coordinators. The Falcons and Cardinals had higher preseason expectations than what has been delivered (though I lean toward Arizona keeping its coaches and letting them try to develop a quarterback post-Kyler Murray). It sounds as if Mike McDaniel has a chance to save his job in Miami with a strong finish, which he seems to be on his way to putting together, but any time the GM gets fired midseason (as Chris Grier was in Miami), more potential change could be on the way.

Kevin Stefanski isn't necessarily to blame for the Browns' quarterback mess, but his record the past two seasons is 6-24 and a turnaround doesn't seem imminent. A couple of people have suggested to me that Stefanski would be of interest to other teams if the Browns moved on, as he's well-regarded around the league. And the Bengals are unpredictable, and Zac Taylor has only one year left on his deal. Then again, he's either the most or second-most successful coach in franchise history, has established a contending culture and is well liked by the star quarterback. So my guess is he returns. But again, more was expected this season in Cincinnati, so at the very least we have our antennae up.

Fowler: A spot-on breakdown of the landscape, Dan, and though I'd love to say seven openings for entertainment, I'm not sure I can get there yet. I'll stand firm with you at six. Picking up where you left off, Bengals owner Mike Brown operates a little differently -- perhaps he lets Taylor coach out his contract that runs through 2026. It feels as if anything is possible there. Across the state, one thing that helps Stefanski's case is that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam finally found a dependable infrastructure with Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry, and the two-year struggle can be directly tied to the failed Deshaun Watson experiment. The team is very young but should be good in 2026 due to their exciting 2025 rookie class. That said, 6-24 is 6-24. Let's see what happens over the next month.

I'm with you on the Cardinals. Keeping Jonathan Gannon is a sensible play for owner Michael Bidwill. But Arizona is staring at a potential 1-14 finish. The team is miserably bad right now and finishes the season with the Texans, Falcons, Bengals and Rams. Gannon might need to win one, maybe two games to reach solid footing. The Raiders are really struggling, which should surprise no one given the talent disparity. This team needs someone to usher in the rebuild. And McDaniel is helping his cause with Dolphins, and enough people around the league think he has made a compelling case to stay.

So, if we're sliding Miami out of the mix, that means four of the five spots you mentioned above would need to open to reach six. That's entirely possible, especially with the smoke rising around Raheem Morris in Atlanta. If we're forecasting potential surprises, what comes to mind? There's usually at least one.

Graziano: Well, my stock answer to that is always, "If I knew that, it wouldn't be a surprise!" But you're right, there does always seem to be one that catches us off guard. I keep getting asked if I think the Steelers or Ravens jobs would come open if either team were to miss the playoffs. I don't think they will come open, but the market would shake up in a big way if I'm wrong.

Andy Reid turns 68 next spring and retirement noise swirled around him a couple of years ago, but I think the contract extension he received indicates that he's not interested in hanging it up any time soon -- especially with how disappointing this season seems to be for the Chiefs. How about you? What's your surprise pick?

Fowler: The Ravens are really interesting. That would qualify as a pretty major surprise, and while I think Harbaugh stays, something seems off there. They should not be 6-7 based on their roster talent. The lack of offensive production has been a source of frustration internally. This feels more like a reset in 2026, with multiple staff changes on the way. The Mike Tomlin smoke surfaces annually, but he's fiercely loyal to Pittsburgh, and here he is rallying the Steelers to a big late-season divisional win again. We touched on the Colts earlier ... that would qualify as a surprise, too.

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What are you hearing about Vance Joseph's chances to land a head coach gig? Is he the top candidate at the moment?

Fowler: The coaching pool is strongest on the defensive side this year, and Joseph is well-positioned among available defense-oriented candidates. His Broncos defense set a franchise record with 63 sacks in 2024, which this year's defense easily should break, with 55 sacks through 13 games. Former head coaches will be a theme this year, and Joseph has head coaching experience. Much will depend on exactly what teams are looking for and the interview process, but he should get plenty of chances. If Miami opens, remember that Joseph was a finalist for the Dolphins job that went to Mike McDaniel in 2022 and is still well-regarded there.

Graziano: Joseph seems to be the name we're hearing the most, because of Denver's defensive success and his previous head coach experience (with Denver, oddly enough). People close to the situation point out that Joseph never had a stable quarterback situation in his first head coaching stint and didn't have full autonomy over the hiring of his staff, so it would seem unfair to completely hold his 11-21 record against him. I think he gets several interviews and could be a strong candidate in a place such as Las Vegas, should that job come open.

Fowler: Joseph is part of a crowded class of defensive coordinators. The Rams' Chris Shula, Packers' Jeff Hafley, Chargers' Jesse Minter and Dolphins' Anthony Weaver are all ascending coordinators looking to be first-time coaches. The Seahawks' Adin Durde and Jaguars' Anthony Campanile are under-the-radar names bubbling to the surface. And the 49ers' Robert Saleh has reestablished himself as a potential second-time head coach after helping lead injury-hampered San Francisco to a winning season. Lou Anarumo has also reestablished himself in Indy.

Graziano: I think the key point you made earlier, which I keep hearing from people in discussions about this coaching cycle, is that teams will be looking for candidates with previous head coaching experience. There's a thought that the coordinator pool, especially on the offensive side, has dried up a bit because of all the quick hirings and firings of the past decade-plus.

People see what Mike Vrabel has been able to do in New England this season and what Jim Harbaugh has been able to do with the Chargers in his first two years there, and teams want to make sure they're bringing in someone they know can run a program -- not someone who has just been really good at the smaller job who they think can run a program. I think that gives guys like Joseph, Arthur Smith, Matt Nagy, etc. a chance. Even if they weren't successful in their first stints as head coaches, they've done the job and probably learned from whatever mistakes they might have made the first time.

What else are you hearing this week?

Fowler's notes:

• Some people around the league were starting to think the Eagles might draft a quarterback high in 2026 even before Jalen Hurts' four-interception performance Monday. The prediction from those folks: Roseman snags a passer on Day 2, allowing Hurts to serve as the starter in 2026 while having a future starter to develop. "[The Eagles] will do to Jalen what they did to Carson Wentz," one industry source predicted.

The Eagles know that their passing game struggles largely because Hurts has limitations. The reality is the 2024 season was an aberration because Saquon Barkley and a dominant O-line were breaking off big gains weekly, opening up play-action and downfield shots for the passing game. This isn't the same offensive line, which means the Barkley gains aren't as frequent. That places the spotlight on Hurts, for better or worse. We saw the good in glimpses against the Chargers -- an 11-play drive late in the first half was run-heavy and set up a pair of 11-yard completions for Hurts. But the game featured Hurts in straight dropback situations often, and that can lead to problems.

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Jeff Saturday, Jason McCourty and Dan Graziano criticize the Eagles’ offensive performance vs. the Chargers.

This is a talented team, and Hurts' 54-25 record as a starter is outstanding. Rallying late in the season wouldn't surprise. But Hurts is still a question mark in Year 6.

• The Lions are approaching $1 billion in extension money for their bevy of stars, and this offseason will test that strategy of spending on homegrown talent yet again. The path forward seems clear, in part because of injury. Detroit has four stars eligible for deals coming up: running back Jahmyr Gibbs, linebacker Jack Campbell, safety Brian Branch and tight end Sam LaPorta. Branch and LaPorta are premier players at their positions, but both are out for the season due to injury (Branch to a torn Achilles and LaPorta to a back procedure). Like with Aidan Hutchinson in his return from a severe leg injury, the Lions might want to see both players take the field for an offseason or a few games before gauging when to pay them.

In the short term, that plan leaves more money for Gibbs, who is positioned to become the league's highest-paid running back soon enough. He's the deadliest open-field force in the league, getting better by the week, and the Lions keep giving him more in the passing game (31 targets over the past month). "He's just getting started," coach Dan Campbell said after last Thursday's win over Dallas. And Campbell is worthy of a new deal due to his banner third season. So, my sense here is Detroit will push to get Gibbs done, gauge Campbell's market and wait and see on the other two.

• Giving Shedeur Sanders the rest of the season as the Browns' starter was actually the plan before the 364-yard performance against Tennessee on Sunday. They just didn't announce it until Monday. His performance only reinforces that stance. Originally, the Browns believed Sanders could avoid turnovers and make enough plays to keep the offense moving. By far the biggest concern from the team's standpoint was his propensity to take sacks (94 in two collegiate seasons). Would he hold the ball too long in a league where elite rushers are on your hip in less than three seconds? That was a legitimate question for Cleveland. But he has answered the bell in this area, taking just eight sacks in four games.

As a Titans source put it after facing Sanders, "It's a wild ride -- he just extends a ton of plays." He's finding a way to evade pressure, which is a good first step. And he also let it rip more in this game after lacking anticipation on his throws at times against San Francisco in Week 13. Sanders has faced a softer schedule, to be sure. He has Chicago and Buffalo on deck, followed by Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. It looks like he'll get a chance versus all of them on an extended runway.

• Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (collarbone) is primed for a Week 15 return. Evans has a "great chance" to play Thursday night against Atlanta, per a source. He has been pushing to play over the next two weeks, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, and looks like he's meeting that goal early in the window. The Bucs also expect to have left tackle Tristan Wirfs (oblique) after a week off. Do-it-all safety Tykee Smith (stinger) is probably a long shot, though.

The presence of Evans can't be understated. When I spoke with an NFC South coach about the Panthers vying for the division, the person replied, "Mike Evans coming back to change that."

• The Packers look smart with the Christian Watson extension, getting ahead of his market while he rehabbed an injury. The team and player did a bridge one-year, $11 million extension in September, a month before he returned to action. He has been impressive upon return, pumping out a 25-452-5 line with big play after big play. And the team owes him $5.75 million in cash next year, essentially No. 3 receiver money. Watson has the upside to be a No. 1 if he puts it all together, which could lead him back to the bargaining table this offseason. The Packers are expected to part ways with free agent Romeo Doubs, who will do well on the open market.

• When it comes to receiver pay, the Jets have a few guys acquired via trades who might assuage their need to overpay for a receiver in March. John Metchie III and Adonai Mitchell have contributed steadily through the past month. The hope for New York is that one or both can serve as complementary pass catchers to Garrett Wilson and that the Jets will have flexibility with the market -- essentially, they wouldn't have to chase receiver help from a position of vulnerability. Now, that doesn't mean they won't potentially add. But New York already has to pay a premium for receivers due to the traditional passing game struggles, and hitting on Mitchell, Metchie or both would lessen the desperation factor.

• A few thoughts on Jacksonville's four-game winning streak after talking to people there:

• The Jakobi Meyers trade has paid off big. "He's been awesome," a team source said. He has a stat line of 22-284-3 in five games with the offense.

• Liam Coen and his staff are obsessive about Trevor Lawrence's process, including footwork and mechanics. They know he can get out of whack -- he looks great one stretch, erratic the next -- so they are trying to bridge that gap with consistency and every-day reinforcements. Lawrence is coming off two really good weeks.

• The job of defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile can't be overlooked. Since last season, the Jaguars have gone from 31st to 11th in total defense, 28th to 11th in scoring defense and 32nd to third in turnovers despite missing multiple players due to injury for stretches. He's a first-year coordinator, but I sense he has worked his way into the conversation come coaching cycle time.

• The Matt Nagy-Titans connection is one that comes up in league circles, with the belief that Tennessee general manager Mike Borgonzi has a good relationship with Nagy from their Kansas City days. Nagy's Chicago tenure has aged well, going 34-31 with Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback. The Chiefs' struggles could affect Nagy's chances. But I expect him to be a candidate in Tennessee.

• It looks like the Saints might have themselves a quarterback. The early returns are good on Tyler Shough, who is passing the eye test. "When I saw him rip an out route on third down before the receiver came out of his break, I was like, 'OK,''' someone with the Bucs told me about Shough's performance in a win over Tampa Bay on Sunday. "I think he's going to be pretty good. He can move, too."

• I recently caught up with Cowboys guard Tyler Booker, who is becoming a vocal leader for Dallas' offense. Here's why he likes the Cowboys' chances late in the season: "Because of how balanced we are. If you want to play shell the whole game, we're going to run the ball on you. And when we've been running the ball well for 2½ quarters and you stack the box, we've got guys for that in the passing game. So you have to pick, how do you want to lose?"

Graziano's notes:

• What the 3-10 Commanders will do with second-year QB Jayden Daniels the rest of the season is a topic of some conversation around the league. They brought him back from a left elbow injury Sunday against Minnesota, and in that game, he hurt his left elbow again. Some have suggested resting Daniels for the remainder of a lost season in which he has already missed time with three separate injuries, though what the team and Daniels have said publicly so far indicates that he will play if healthy. We'll see if the thinking changes.

There are people around the league who think Washington isn't doing Daniels a lot of favors with the amount of no-huddle offense and the sheer number of plays the Commanders run in games, though that might be an outdated critique. Washington ran the fifth-most offensive plays of any team in 2024. This season, it has run the 23rd-most, but it also hasn't been as successful on offense, so time of possession is way down, too.

Some also feel there's a discussion Washington needs to have about how much it is exposing Daniels to potential contact with designed runs on first down. Daniels has the ninth-most first-down rushing attempts of any QB in the league this season despite playing only seven games. Over the past two seasons, he leads all NFL quarterbacks with 89 first-down rushing attempts. It's a useful weapon in his arsenal, for sure, and he'll need to continue to be able to run to be successful. But a leaner quarterback who came into the league with concerns about taking too many big hits might benefit from a change in philosophy, regardless of whether the Commanders shut him down for the rest of this season or not.

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• Talking to some Bills players and coaches when I was covering their game against Cincinnati last weekend was interesting. Last season, they had clinched the AFC East by this point. Now, they're looking up at the Patriots with four games to go, even after escaping with a wild win over the Bengals on Sunday. This season reminds them of two years ago, when they were just 6-6 after 12 games and had to chase down the Dolphins to win the division in the season's final week.

"When people start to count us out and we feel like we have nothing to lose, I feel like we're one of the scariest teams in the NFL," Bills offensive lineman Connor McGovern told me. "The AFC is so open right now that these last four, five games are like playoff games. It helps us tremendously that we've been in this situation before. I know a lot of these teams haven't really been through adversity like that, so maybe they fold, maybe they don't, we don't know yet. But I know the guys in this locker room will never give up. So anytime there's still a sliver of a chance to get something done, we'll do it."

If Buffalo gets into the playoffs -- even as a wild-card team -- and teams such as the Ravens and Chiefs miss, the Bills will be easily the most playoff-tested squad in the field. They'd prefer to play home games in Buffalo in January if possible, of course, but I wouldn't count them out just because they have to go on the road to a place like Foxborough or Pittsburgh or Jacksonville.

• On the Colts' signing of Philip Rivers, I was told that this is something he and the team have talked about a few times over the past several years, so it didn't come out of the blue to the people involved. With Jones out for the year, the Colts' preference would be to start rookie Riley Leonard and see what he can do, since they like the improvement he has shown in practices since the preseason. But once Leonard came up with a knee injury this week, they brought in Rivers as an emergency option in case Leonard couldn't play this week either. I still think if Leonard is healthy -- this week or in the coming weeks -- he's more likely to start for the Colts than Rivers. But if Rivers can go this week and plays well against Seattle, that plan could obviously change as the Colts fight for their playoff lives.

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• We talked about Vance Joseph's head coach candidacy earlier, and a defensive-minded head coach candidate is always going to have to sell a team on his choice of offensive coordinator. To that end, keep an eye on Broncos QBs coach Davis Webb, who's viewed as a strong coaching prospect in many circles and could be a candidate to go with Joseph as offensive coordinator if Joseph gets a head coach job this cycle. Webb has familiarity with the Giants' organization, which drafted him in the third round in 2017; he spent the first and last years of his career there before moving into coaching in 2023.

• A hat-tip to defensive lineman Jason Pierre-Paul, trying to make yet another comeback with the Buccaneers at age 36. I'll never forget the summer we wondered whether Pierre-Paul would ever play again after his horrible fireworks accident in 2015. Not only did he return to play that season, but he played nine more NFL seasons and won a second Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2020. Pierre-Paul deserves a ton of credit for his second act, and I'm eager to see what he can do with his third.