Bradley to run defense for Chargers
Former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach and Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley has agreed to a contract to become the Chargers’ defensive coordinator, a person familar with the situation confirmed Friday evening. He was the man first-year head Coach Anthony Lynn sought from the start, and Lynn now has surrounded himself with two highly experienced play-callers in Bradley and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.
The Chargers also reportedly hired Alfredo Roberts, a tight ends coach in the league from 2002 to 2015, to oversee their running backs.
Bradley traditionally has run a 4-3 base defense, a change from the 3-4 base alignment the club long has featured. — Michael Gelken
The Green Bay Packers may not know the status of injured receivers Jordy Nelson, Davante Adams and Geronimo Allison until just before the NFC championship game against Atlanta on Sunday. Coach Mike McCarthy said Friday that all three receivers would be “given every chance to play.” All three players were listed as questionable Friday.
Nelson was limited in practice this week as he recovers from broken ribs. He led the NFL with 14 touchdown catches. Adams, who has an ankle injury, had 12 touchdown catches. Allison, a rookie, emerged in the last couple of weeks of the regular season with eight catches for 157 yards and a score. He has a hamstring injury.
Meanwhile, Falcons star wide receiver Julio Jones cleared his final hurdle for the game against Green Bay by practicing for the first time this week. Atlanta Coach Dan Quinn said Jones had no limitations in his first practice since aggravating a sprained toe on his left foot last week.
Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s interim tag was removed by Coach Mike Zimmer. The move was finalized Friday by the Vikings, who also fired quarterbacks coach Scott Turner and hired running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu and tight ends coach Clancy Barone. Kevin Stefanski switched from running backs coach to quarterbacks coach. Polamalu was fired as UCLA’s offensive coordinator in November.
Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Zachary Orr announced his retirement after learning he has a congenital spinal condition. The 24-year-old Orr led the Ravens this season with 132 tackles. He joined Baltimore in 2014 as an undrafted free agent out of North Texas and became a starter this season.
Orr hurt his neck on Christmas Day in a game against Pittsburgh. A CT scan “revealed that I had a condition I was born with that less than 1% of the world has,” Orr said. “At the top of my spine, it was never formed completely.” Orr was told he could not pass a physical and that playing football was potentially life-threatening.
Buffalo Bills star receiver Sammy Watkins will spend his second straight off-season recovering from surgery for a broken left foot. The operation took place last week. Watkins is expected to be sidelined until the start of training camp in the summer.