NFL Week 12 latest buzz, questions, news and fantasy tips

As we prepare for Week 12 of the 2025 NFL season, insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano have been making calls to sources around the league for the latest news and buzz on key situations — including some nuggets that might matter for fantasy football.

This week, they got the newest intel on whether we should expect quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels to get back on the field and help their teams down the stretch. Burrow has been out since Week 2 because of a toe injury, and Daniels went down because of a left elbow injury in Week 9. Plus, Jeremy and Dan checked in on the Vikings’ quarterback situation, where J.J. McCarthy has struggled through his first five starts. Is Minnesota worried about his progress?

Additionally, we have the latest on the head coaching carousel. The Titans and Giants already made changes, but who else is on the hot seat with seven weeks left in the season? And who are the hottest names to watch as potential candidates for interviews? It’s all here, as our national reporters answer big questions and empty their notebooks heading into Week 12.

Jump to:
Will Burrow, Daniels return?
Is Minnesota concerned about McCarthy?
Which coaches are on the hot seat?
Who are the top coaching candidates?

What are you hearing on potential returns for Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels this season?

Graziano: The Bengals plan to give Burrow more work in practice this week than he got last week. He has said he’s targeting the Thanksgiving Day game against the Ravens, which is of course next Thursday. A lot of the answer here will depend on how his toe responds to the work he’s getting in practice. But from what I’ve been told, so far, so good. If he doesn’t make it back for Thanksgiving, the Bengals would still have a couple of more days after that left on his 21-day practice window to activate him for the Week 14 game in Buffalo.

Fowler: What appears clear is that Burrow wants to play football, record be damned. Whether he actually plays remains to be seen — the team will have something to say about that — but he’s of that mindset right now. The AFC North has left the door slightly open for the 3-7 Bengals if they can somehow upgrade their defense to passable. Stranger things have happened than Cincinnati making a run, especially since it has the offense to pull it off.

Graziano: I expect him to play as soon as he’s cleared. The Bengals are going to regret blowing those fourth-quarter leads against the Jets and Bears in Weeks 8 and 9, respectively, because they could be 5-5 and one game out of first place in their division. I still expect them to get him back on the field, because this coaching staff might need to win some games to feel fully comfortable about keeping jobs. And this team expected huge things out of this season. I don’t expect the Bengals to white-flag it until the math says they’re done.

Fowler: Burrow produces at an elite level when healthy but has also missed significant portions of three different seasons since 2020. So returning to play — even if the playoffs are out of reach — could help build confidence and momentum for both the player and team. Maybe the Bengals opt to save him for 2026, but I could see him playing this season. With Cincinnati in danger of a third consecutive season without a playoff berth, coach Zac Taylor would welcome Burrow’s return. After all, the Bengals’ organization could be taking a hard look at the operation in the offseason as a hopeful season turns sour. With owner Mike Brown turning 90 in August, expect executive vice president Katie Blackburn to play a pivotal role in the direction of the franchise.

Graziano: As for Daniels, the Commanders have a bye this week and will examine everything. They’ve lost six games in a row to drop to 3-8 in what looked like a promising season, and there has been external debate about whether it makes sense to bring back Daniels at all this season. From what I’ve been told, the plan in Washington is still that Daniels will return to the starting lineup once doctors clear him from his elbow injury.

Fowler: Washington’s situation with Daniels is more complicated from my view. Sources have maintained that while Daniels could return as quickly as three weeks from the occurrence of the injury (so, Week 13 vs. Denver), the team has loosely braced for a five-to-six-week absence just in case. That tells me that shutting him down remains a possibility, based on his durability this season (three separate injuries) and the team’s current standing. Big-picture talks about how to proceed will play out over the coming days and provide clarity one way or the other.

Graziano: I’m pretty sure the way this season has unfolded has thrown the Commanders for a loop. They did not see a 3-8 record coming. So this bye week offers a chance to reset and make some longer-lens decisions without having to prepare for a game. Daniels will lobby to get back on the field as soon as he can, and the fact that the injury he’s dealing with right now isn’t to his legs or his throwing arm certainly offers grounds for encouragement.

What’s the buzz on J.J. McCarthy through five starts? Are the Vikings concerned?

Fowler: The accuracy is a concern. There’s no hiding from that. Balls are sailing, and that affects the entire offense. McCarthy needs to hit the layups. The Vikings will be working to help him find more consistency as a thrower. From a developmental standpoint, the team still believes in his work ethic and skill set — he’s “made of the right stuff,” as coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday. Minnesota really has no choice but to work through this and help McCarthy manage the growing pains. Carson Wentz underwent season-ending shoulder surgery, and Max Brosmer has potential but is an undrafted free agent. Perhaps Brosmer would get a shot if McCarthy were a middle-round pick, but I just don’t see that happening in the short term.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert put it best Monday: The Vikings’ two goals — competing for championships and developing a young quarterback — are cannibalizing each other.

Graziano: They sure are, as Kevin lays out well, and you can see some of the frustration from the other players on the offense. Justin Jefferson slamming his helmet on the sideline isn’t something you see very often. I think that’s a big part of the concern the Vikings have — keeping everything together around McCarthy as he endures the growing pains. I don’t believe they’ve seriously considered going to Brosmer, who as you mentioned probably needs even more seasoning than McCarthy. The Wentz injury has really deprived them of any serious alternative even if they wanted to sit McCarthy to let him catch his breath.

And I agree that Minnesota still does believe in him, and it points to his fourth-quarter efforts in the games against the Bears as proof that he has the right kind of stuff in him. But he’s obviously missing too many throws, and by way too much. A scout with another team told me this week that McCarthy’s throwing at only one speed — all fastballs — and attributed that to trying to be the hero in a situation where he knows his team is counting on him to help it win. The general sense I get from inside the Vikings’ building and out is that he just needs time and reps. The problem is, as Kevin writes, the plan was to compete this year while McCarthy ramped up, and his sluggish development is keeping them from doing so.

Fowler: Most NFL storylines pale in comparison to the Vikings’ recent quarterback journey. They could have had a variation of Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones and Aaron Rodgers quarterbacking the team. Those passers are a combined 21-9 on the season. The Vikings’ thinking — which is typically correct when a rookie quarterback is on the books — is to load up the roster with support on both sides of the ball, hoping to contend for a Super Bowl with the starter on a rookie-scale deal. As a result, the Vikings lead the league with a $344.9 million payroll. But all of this is contingent on the young quarterback showing progress. Right now, Minnesota has the next seven games to cash in on that investment — or possibly pivot to a new plan.

Graziano: That’s my question, looking ahead. The schedule eases out a bit and McCarthy should have a chance to show improvement over the final seven weeks of the season (and beyond, if they rebound and make the playoffs). But if he doesn’t, what do they do in the offseason? Bring in a veteran mentor? Bring in a veteran for competition, the way the Colts did with Jones for a struggling Anthony Richardson Sr. this past offseason? Look to draft a potential replacement?

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Rich Eisen: J.J. McCarthy looked awful at times vs. Bears

Rich Eisen evaluates the pros and cons of J.J. McCarthy’s performance in a loss to the Bears

The Vikings’ quarterback plan next spring will tell us everything we need to know about where they really are with McCarthy, who, again, still has more than one-third of a season to show the team that it was right to put its faith in him.

Which coach has the hottest seat at the moment?

Graziano: The usual disclaimer applies here. A lot of the “hot seat” speculation this time of year is from other people around the league monitoring these situations, and in the end, not many people know what the team owners will decide to do. That said, the team owner in Atlanta was expecting the Falcons to be competitive this season, and they are not, so you do wonder about the possibility of a change there even though Raheem Morris is a personal favorite of Arthur Blank and in only his second season as head coach.

People I talk to also are watching the situation in Cincinnati with Taylor, and potentially Cleveland with Kevin Stefanski (who I think would be a candidate in other places if the Browns were to decide to let him go). The easy answer a few weeks ago would have been Mike McDaniel, but he survived the firing of GM Chris Grier, and the Dolphins are playing hard for him. Do you get the sense McDaniel can still salvage his job?

Fowler: I do. I wouldn’t call it likely, but in my mind, there’s a plausible scenario where he sticks in Miami. The team is coming off back-to-back wins and the vibe seems to be good. The Dolphins are responding to McDaniel more than they are tuning him out, which players will do when the message grows stale. And as one NFL executive put it in a conversation recently: If you’re looking for an offense-minded candidate, McDaniel is still better than most from this cycle’s pool, which is considered weaker. So, while cleaning the house feels entirely possible, McDaniel is at least making things interesting.

Graziano: One more point on McDaniel. He did something like this last season, when the team started 2-6 and then won six of its next eight to claw back onto the edges of the playoff race. He might still end up gone, but he has made the case that he can hold onto the locker room even when things are going badly, and that says something about him that ownership will surely consider when making its decision.

Fowler: Arizona’s Jonathan Gannon is also on the radar of people in the league who track such things, though opinions are split on whether Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill will take action. The Cardinals are clearly the odd team out in a loaded NFC West. Bidwill can’t be thrilled with that reality. But the notion of paying Gannon and Kyler Murray big money to go away (Murray has nearly $40 million in 2026 guarantees on the books) can’t be enticing, either. Gannon is 15-29 in the middle of Year 3, but he also hasn’t been able to hand-pick a young quarterback to groom.

Graziano: Agreed, but the sense I get on that one is that Cardinals ownership seems likely to stick with Gannon and GM Monti Ossenfort and let them pick that QB. (They inherited Murray.) The way Jacoby Brissett is performing in Drew Petzing’s offense gives the team reason to believe the structure is relatively sound and that more reliable QB play could unlock some things. Of course, as well as Brissett is playing, the Cardinals have still lost seven of their past eight games, and sometimes the record gets bad enough that the team feels it has to make a change.

What do you think about a couple of first-year head coaches who are struggling? I don’t think the Jets will dump Aaron Glenn after one year, no matter how rocky things get. But Pete Carroll only got a three-year contract in Las Vegas. You think there’s any chance of a one-and-done with any of the hires from this past offseason?

Fowler: Agreed on Glenn. Carroll is a name to monitor because the Raiders are clearly in rebuilding mode from a roster/talent standpoint. At 74, he is in it to win now and to prove that he’s capable of turning around an organization. Those plans aren’t meshing. I don’t necessarily see him walking away, though he’s clearly not getting what he signed up for in January. So, a question of whether the Raiders should reset and continue the rebuild with another coach is worth asking. At least the Raiders have pillars such as Brock Bowers, Maxx Crosby and Ashton Jeanty for a hopeful turnaround in 2026.

Either way, something has to change with the offense and playcaller Chip Kelly, whose name could surface for college jobs again. The 30th-ranked offense is a tough watch, especially when it involves the act of handing off the ball.

Who is the hottest name on the head coaching market right now?

Fowler: This cycle feels different than the past one, which featured two clear-cut standouts in Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel. Those two quickly turned around Chicago and New England, respectively. This cycle is far more wide open.

The group of “formers” — coordinators with head coaching experience — will be a factor. Vance Joseph’s defense in Denver might break the NFL record for sacks in a single season, and he has ties to Miami and Cincinnati if those jobs come open. From the defensive side, San Francisco’s Robert Saleh and Minnesota’s Brian Flores were heavy on last offseason’s circuit, and Green Bay’s Jeff Hafley — a Boston College head coach for four seasons — has impressed in two seasons with the Packers. On offense, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy (has connections in Tennessee), former Cowboys/Packers coach Mike McCarthy, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury (less momentum than last time around but teams are still intrigued) and Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith could get looks.

Graziano: I think the offensive coordinator names to watch are Joe Brady (Bills), Smith, Nagy and maybe Kingsbury, though Washington’s season has gone off the rails and that could dampen interest from teams in him. Otherwise, the OC pool has kind of thinned out in recent years, as so many of them have gotten head coach jobs and been fired within two or three years. I’m curious to see how Mike Kafka does the rest of the way with the Giants. He has been a finalist in Arizona and Seattle in recent years, and I think he’ll get a legitimate look from the Giants.

But there aren’t a ton of places right now where a playcalling offensive coordinator — who isn’t also the head coach — is having the kind of success that lands interviews. Could teams start looking beyond the coordinator positions to position coaches with potential, such as Josh McCown in Minnesota. He has been on head coach interviews in the past and is well regarded. McCarthy turning it around in these final weeks of the season would help his case.

Fowler: Yes, this seems like the ideal year to explore young change-of-pace options beyond the trendy coordinator names. McCown’s a good one. And Broncos quarterbacks coach Davis Webb, Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, Panthers offensive coordinator Brad Idzik and Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase come to mind in that mold.

The thinned-out offensive pool helps Kafka, who should have opportunities leaguewide and could push for the Giants job full time with a strong finish. Seattle’s Klint Kubiak has made an impression with the Seahawks attack, as have Indianapolis’ Jim Bob Cooter and Tampa Bay’s Josh Grizzard. Baltimore’s Todd Monken has interviewed for several jobs in recent years.

To me, though, Dan, the emerging defensive pool is really intriguing. I expect Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter to be on teams’ radar, as well as Rams’ DC Chris Shula. A name to file away: Seattle’s Aden Durde, a British minority candidate. I also wouldn’t be shocked to see Indy’s Lou Anarumo interview in New York, which showed interest in him in 2022.

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Rex Ryan praises Broncos’ defense in win vs. Chiefs

Rex Ryan joins “Get Up” and evaluates the Broncos’ defense after their win over the Chiefs.

Graziano: It’d be great to see Anarumo get another look after he got close in Arizona three years ago and then things fell apart for him in Cincinnati last season. He has bounced back nicely in Indianapolis, to no one’s surprise. I do hear a lot about Minter as a potential candidate in a couple of places. But to bring this back to where you started it, I was in Denver last week and got an up-close look at that Vance Joseph defense. I continue to think he might just end up being the guy at the top of a bunch of these lists.