Month: December 2022

Cardinals defensive end JJ Watt announced Tuesday that this will be his last NFL season, sharing the news in a Twitter post about his newborn son.

The tweet shared pictures of Watt with his son Koa and his wife Kealia at Arizona’s last home game of the season, which was on Christmas Day this past weekend. Watt tweeted: “Koa’s first ever NFL game. My last ever NFL home game. My heart is filled with nothing but love and gratitude. It’s been an absolute honor and a pleasure.”

Watt leaves the NFL after a 12-year career that includes three defensive player of the year awards, seven All-Pro selections and five Pro Bowl selections.

The 33-year-old was drafted with the No. 11 pick in the 2011 draft by the Texans, with whom he spent the first 10 seasons of his career. He holds franchise records in sacks (101), forced fumbles (22), tackles for loss (172) and quarterback hits (282). He led the NFL in sacks in both 2012 and 2015, and racked up 20.5 sacks in both 2012 and ’14, making him the the only player in NFL history to have multiple 20-sack seasons.

Watt will play his final two games in the NFL on the road starting with the Falcons on Sunday and then the 49ers in Week 18.

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Veteran lefty pitcher Rich Hill has agreed to a one-year contract with Pittsburgh Pirates for $8M. Hill, a Boston native who turns 43 in March, went 8-7 with a 4.27 ERA in 26 starts for the Red Sox this year.

Hill is the latest in a list of players signed to the Pirates; first baseman and DH Carlos Santana signed with the team in free agency, and first baseman Ji-Man Choi was acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay. Catcher Austin Hedges and right-hander Vince Velasquez also agreed to free agent contracts.

Hill made his big league debut with the Chicago Cubs in 2005. Pittsburgh will be his 12th major league team. The 6-foot-5 left-hander, known for his curveball, is 82-59 with a 3.85 ERA in 350 career appearances, including 221 starts.

Pittsburgh had a disappointing season in 2022, going 62-100 and marking their fourth consecutive losing season. The Pirates finished with a 4.66 team ERA, 26th in the majors.

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Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel announced on Monday that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has returned to the NFL’s concussion protocol, and his status for Sunday’s game vs. the Patriots is up in the air. Tagovailoa played the entire game vs. the Packers on Sunday but, according to McDaniel, reported concussion symptoms to the team on Monday. Tagovailoa appeared to bang his head on the ground when he was tackled in the second quarter against the Packers, but he never left the game and was not evaluated for a concussion. McDaniel said: “As far as the game was concerned, no one recognized anything with regard to any sort of hit. I can’t really tell you exactly what it was.”

The concussion protocol is enacted whenever a player reports concussion-related symptoms, even if he isn’t certain to have a concussion. There is no set timetable for exiting the protocol, so Tagovailoa could potentially play in Sunday’s game at New England if he advances through the NFL’s five-step process, and is cleared. If Tagovailoa can’t play, the Dolphins will start Teddy Bridgewater vs. New England.

This is the second time this season Tagovailoa has entered concussion protocol. Previously, Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in a game vs. Cincinnati, just days after taking a hard hit in a game vs. the Bills. The incident led to an NFLPA investigation over the team’s handling of Tagovailoa, with the NFL tweaking its concussion protocol rules as a result.

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The Denver Broncos announced on Monday they have fired first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett. The move comes after the Broncos were defeated by the Los Angeles Rams on Christmas Day, 51-14, with Russell Wilson throwing three interceptions and Denver’s defense failing to force a single Rams punt. Hackett compiled a 4–11 record in his first season with Denver after replacing Vic Fangio as head coach this past offseason.  Broncos senior assistant Jerry Rosburg will take over for Hackett as interim head coach.

Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner released this statement announcing the decision: “On behalf of our ownership and organization, I want to thank Nathaniel Hackett for his dedication as head coach of the Denver Broncos. We sincerely appreciate Nathaniel’s efforts and wish him and his family all the best in the future. Following extensive conversations with George and our ownership group, we determined a new direction would ultimately be in the best interest of the Broncos. This change was made now out of respect for everyone involved and allows us to immediately begin the search for a new head coach. We recognize and appreciate this organization’s championship history, and we understand we have not met that standard. Our fans deserve much better, and I can’t say enough about their loyalty during such a challenging stretch for our team. Moving forward, we will carefully evaluate every aspect of our football operations and make whatever changes are necessary to restore this franchise’s winning tradition. I will lead our head coaching search with support from our ownership group and George, whom I have confidence in as our general manager. As we begin the process of selecting our next head coach, we remain focused on playing competitive football to finish the season on a positive note.”

The Broncos’ offense is one of the worst in the NFL this season, and QB Wilson is having the worst year of his career, throwing for just 3,019 yards and 12 touchdowns to nine interceptions in 13 games.

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