NFL Player News

Mayfield is pleased with the Browns' decision to promote Freddie Kitchens to head coach, Pat McManamon of ESPN.com reports. "I kind of had that sense the whole time," Mayfield said Wednesday. "Seeing how [Kitchens] was, how he didn't change when he made the jump from running backs coach to offensive coordinator. Then just taking over and the difference that we had while he was calling plays."

Promising yet inconsistent during the first half of his rookie season, Mayfield completed 68.4 percent of his passes for 8.6 yards per attempt with 19 touchdowns in eight games after Kitchens replaced Todd Haley as the Browns' offensive coordinator. With Nick Chubb enjoying a similarly strong finish while running behind an impressive offensive line, the Browns can focus their offseason efforts on improving the defense and giving Mayfield more receiving weapons. The history of organizational dysfunction is still a concern, but few teams have a better situation in terms of the combination of talent, cap space and draft picks. While he'll likely be drafted as a low-end starter or high-end backup in most 2019 fantasy drafts, Mayfield could solidify a spot as a top-10 quarterback if the Browns make a significant investment in a wideout this offseason.

Beathard started five games for the 49ers this season, finishing with 1,252 passing yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 60 percent of his passes.

Beathard took over for Jimmy Garoppolo (knee) starting in Week 4, and while he couldn't lead the 49ers to a victory in his five starts, he performed adequately from a statistical standpoint. Still, the 49ers' losing streak forced Kyle Shanahan's hand, and he benched the 25-year-old in favor of practice-squad quarterback Nick Mullens. The latter possessed a stronger arm and was able to make some big plays for the team, leaving Beathard on the bench for the rest of the campaign. The initial assumption is that Garoppolo will be ready to go next season, so the 49ers will have to make a decision on who their backup quarterback will be. Beathard and Mullens figure to compete in camp, with the latter having the upper hand based on how the 2018 season concluded. It wouldn't be surprising to see San Francisco trade one of the two young signal-callers, as both have proved that they can play at the NFL level.

Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin suggested Dalton (thumb) will enter 2019 as the team's starting quarterback, Fletcher Page of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. "We're very comfortable with Andy," Tobin said. "We think he's got a number of years left. We feel like we can win with him. But with any position group, we don't just throw away the whole draft board at a group just because we're satisfied with who we have."

An overhaul of the coaching staff has led to rumors of a possible change under center, but it's probably an easy decision to keep Dalton given that he has two seasons remaining on a team-friendly contract. This doesn't mean the Bengals won't explore options for a long-term upgrade, but it does mean there's an excellent chance Dalton will get the Week 1 start in 2019. Of course, he may not feel so great about the contract situation, with no guaranteed money remaining on his deal and a 2019 cap hit ($16.2 million) that ranks dead last among starting quarterbacks that aren't on a rookie contract (per overthecap.com). Working his way back from late-November thumb surgery, Dalton should have plenty of time to return to full strength before the Bengals start their offseason program in April under new head coach Zac Taylor.

Mariota (neck/foot) will work with the same playbook terminology in 2019 after the Titans promoted Arthur Smith to replace the departed Matt LaFleur as their offensive coordinator, Jim Wyatt of the team's official site reports.

Coach Mike Vrabel said he didn't want to subject Mariota and his teammates to massive changes for a second straight offseason. Of course, the Titans still have a lot of work to do on the offensive side, coming off a 2018 season in which they ranked 27th in points (19.4 per game) and 25th in yards (312.6 per game). The team seemed to find an identity with running back Derrick Henry's late-season explosion, but the bigger picture shows a campaign defined by Mariota taking sacks and having trouble staying healthy. The 25-year-old quarterback is now heading into a contract season, playing under the fifth-year option on his rookie deal. It's unclear if the Titans are interested in discussing an extension, as Mariota didn't inspire much confidence in 2018. There haven't been any indications his late-season neck injury will impact his offseason preparation.

Garoppolo (knee) was recently seen throwing at the 49ers' facility for the first time since suffering a torn ACL on Sept. 23, Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee reports.

General manager John Lynch noted that Garoppolo "hasn't had any setbacks" in his recovery from surgery and is "doing really well," with the team hopeful that the quarterback will be fully cleared by May or June in advance of OTAs. With that in mind, Garoppolo shouldn't face significant limitations -- if any -- during training camp, at which time he'll look to build chemistry with the rest of the team's offense. The 49ers will bring back an emerging star at tight end in George Kittle and will likely bolster their receiving group via free agency and the draft along with returning multiple wideouts from injury.

Litton signed a reserve/future contract with the Chiefs on Tuesday, according to the NFL's official transaction log.

Litton signed with the Chiefs last May after going undrafted out of Marshall and spent the 2018 season on the team's practice squad. Chad Henne is under contract for 2019 and is likely to once again serve as Patrick Mahomes' backup, leaving an uphill battle for Litton to make the 53-man roster next year.

Tannehill may be released during the offseason, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports.

Scheduled for cap hits above $25 million in the final two seasons of his four-year extension, Tannehill would need to accept a pay cut to have any shot at sticking around in Miami. The contract will also make it difficult to work out a trade, as teams won't have much interest in acquiring the 30-year-old quarterback unless he verbally agrees to reduce his salary. With the Dolphins bringing in a new coaching staff and eventually a new franchise quarterback, the likeliest scenario has Tannehill being released and hitting the open market as an unrestricted free agent. Possible fits include the Jaguars and Redskins, though he may end up settling for a backup job.

Stafford will work with a new offensive coordinator in 2019 after the Lions hired Darrell Bevell to replace Jim Bob Cooter, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports.

Cooter helped Stafford produce three straight seasons (2015-17) with at least 7.2 yards per attempt and a completion percentage above 65, but the Lions opted not to renew their coordinator's contract after a disappointing 2018 campaign. Personnel seemed to be a bigger problem than coaching, with Golden Tate traded away in late October and Marvin Jones suffering a season-ending knee injury shortly thereafter. It didn't help that the team insisted on giving LeGarrette Blount carries (154) even as he eked out just 2.7 yards per attempt. Bevell is best known for his run-heavy offenses led by Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson in Seattle, not to mention the infamous Malcolm Butler goal-line interception in Super Bowl XLIX. The hiring is probably better news for Kerryon Johnson (knee) than Stafford, though general manager Bob Quinn did emphasize his desire to field a balanced offense. Head coach Matt Patricia seems to prefer a conservative approach, though it requires his defense to take a big step forward from 2018.

Broncos general manager John Elway recently described Keenum as "probably a short-term fix," Kyle Fredrickson of The Denver Post reports. "Obviously, we've got to - Case is probably a short-term fix - find the long-term guy for us," Elway said. "When we do find that guy, we've got to have the continuity on the offensive side to where we can train him and develop him and get him there."

Elway seems to have abandoned any hope of Keenum being the franchise quarterback, but that doesn't mean the 30-year-old won't return for the second season of his two-year, $36 million contract. Keenum was at least competent in 2018, completing 62.3 percent of his passes for 6.6 yards per attempt with 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. It was a big step back from his breakout 2017 campaign in Minnesota, though he did keep the Broncos in the playoff hunt until they closed out their campaign with four consecutive losses. Picking at No. 10 overall in a draft that appears weak at quarterback, the Broncos may have a tough time landing a clear upgrade on Keenum in the offseason, but they do at least have a decent cap situation to add talent at other positions. New head coach Vic Fangio named former 49ers quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello as his offensive coordinator for a unit that will largely rely on second-year players Phillip Lindsay, Royce Freeman, Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton.

New offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich confirmed Winston will be the Buccanners' starting quarterback in 2019, Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Leftwich said he and Winston will be "connected at the hip" throughout the process of implementing head coach Bruce Arians' vertical offense. The 39-year-old is expected to get his second shot as an NFL play-caller, after taking over in Arizona when Mike McCoy was fired midway through the 2018 campaign. Despite some initial improvement, Leftwich ultimately was unable to turn things around in the desert, faced with the limitations of a rookie quarterback playing behind an atrocious offensive line. The situation in Tampa Bay is vastly superior, albeit far from perfect. Winston's strong arm and aggressive nature make him a natural fit working with Arians and Leftwich, but there's still a lot of work to be done when it comes to ball security and establishing a running game. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and O.J. Howard (ankle) will be back in 2019 to lead the Tampa Bay receiving corps, while Adam Humphries, DeSean Jackson (Achilles/finger) and Cameron Brate (hip) all face uncertain futures. Meanwhile, the 25-year-old quarterback is signed for just one more season under the fifth-year option on his rookie contract.