NFL Rumors: Calvin Johnson, T.Y. Hilton, Coaching Changes, Patriots

Calvin Johnson

Steven Albritton of KMBC reported Sunday that the Eagles are “aggressively pursuing” the rights for retired Lions WR Calvin Johnson.

However, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that this report is not accurate.

Florio points out that if Johnson really wanted to return to the NFL and gain his freedom, all he would have to do is simply show up to the Lions’ facility, as his $16 million base salary would instantly hit Detroit’s books.

The Lions would be a position to pay Johnson $940,000 per week, which could lead to them releasing Johnson.

T.Y. Hilton

• Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is now reporting that multiple sources have told him that the Colts are, in fact, willing to move WR T.Y. Hilton, but they aren’t going to give him away.
• According to Florio, Hilton doesn’t want to leave the Colts and most likely wouldn’t be willing to alter his contract to facilitate a trade out of Indianapolis.
• On Sunday Night in America, Mike Florio mentioned Colts RB Frank Gore could be a trade candidate before Tuesday’s deadline.

Coaching Changes

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports runs down some potential coachings changes that could be coming after the year.

• According to La Canfora, Hue Jackson (Browns), Chuck Pagano (Colts), Dirk Koetter (Buccaneers), Marvin Lewis (Bengals), John Fox (Bears) and Todd Bowles (Jets) are all worth keeping an eye on in the second half as some coaches who could be coaching for their jobs.
• La Canfora also reports that Bears DC Vic Fangio’s contract is up at the end of the year and he could not only draw interest from teams looking to improve their defense, but it’s possible he could be linked to a few head-coaching vacancies as well.

Patriots

• Mike Florio said on Sunday Night in America that the Patriots are a team to keep an eye on in regards to potential trades before the deadline and mentioned that they could move one of their running backs to improve their front seven on defense.