Falcons Part Ways With Exec Chris Olsen, Hire Eagles’ Bryce Johnston
APRIL 29: Johnston will hold the title of senior vice president of football administration/senior personnel executive in Atlanta, per a team announcement. He will thus play a leading role as part of the Falcons’ significantly revamped front office.
APRIL 27: The Falcons are continuing to reshape their front office under new vice president of football operations Matt Ryan and general manager Ian Cunningham. The latest change is the departure of senior director of football administration Chris Olsen, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Olsen is a longtime NFL executive who began his career working for the NFL Management Council. In 2007, he was hired as the Texans’ senior vice president of football administration, a post he held until his firing in 2020. He then joined the Falcons the following year and played a key role negotiating contracts and managing Atlanta’s tight cap situation over the last several years.
Replacing Olson will be Eagles senior vice president/tertiary football executive Bryce Johnston, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. He spent the last decade working under one of the league’s preeminent contract/cap experts in Howie Roseman, which included the execution of major deals with Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and several others.
Johnston overlapped with new Falcons GM Ian Cunningham in Philly. Johnston will now take that expertise to Atlanta where he will manage the salary cap, lead contract negotiations, and handle similar roster-related duties under the Falcons’ new regime.
The Falcons are also overhauling their scouting department. The team has parted ways with scouts Alex Brown, Ben Martinez, and Shepley Heard, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. Brown joined the team just last year, while Martinez arrived in 2023. Heard was previously Atlanta’s director of pro personnel under former general manager Thomas Dimitroff, but was demoted to an area scout role when Terry Fontenot took over in 2021.
Jets Decline Mazi Smith’s 5th-Year Option
The Jets announced on Wednesday that they picked up the fifth-year option for their 2023 first-round pick, Will McDonald. However, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, they will not do the same with Mazi Smith, the Cowboys’ 2023 first-rounder who was acquired as part of the Quinnen Williams deal at the 2025 trade deadline.
New York’s second fifth-year option decision certainly comes as no surprise. Smith did not develop as hoped during his tenure with the Cowboys, something which made him expendable in the Williams swap. He will now enter next season as a pending free agent.
Smith played sparingly as a rookie but took on a full-time starting role during his second season in Dallas. The Michigan product did not emerge as a notable presence in the pass rush department. Run defense remained a concern, and while the Cowboys initially displayed a desire to keep Smith in the fold his name was mentioned in trade speculation. Upgrading along the defensive interior was a goal for the team last offseason, and Kenny Clark was part of the package Dallas received in the Micah Parsons blockbuster.
More to come.
Panthers Pick Up Bryce Young’s 5th-Year Option
The Panthers officially picked up quarterback Bryce Young‘s fifth year option, per a team announcement, locking the 2023 No. 1 overall pick into a fully-guaranteed $25.9MM salary for the 2027 season.
Carolina was expected to make this move after Young demonstrated clear signs of development in 2025 and put up career-bests in nearly every statistical category. The 24-year-old benefitted from a stronger supporting cast, including first-round receiver Tetairoa McMillan and breakout running back Rico Dowdle, but he undoubtedly showed a much better command of head coach Dave Canales‘ offense, too.
Still, Young has a ways to go before fully living up to his draft slot by establishing himself as one of the league’s top quarterbacks. $25.9MM will be a fine price for a starting quarterback in 2027, but the two sides could get to work on an extension right away. If the Panthers are already confident in Young’s ability to be their long-term starter, a multi-year deal now could look like a steal in a few seasons. That still carries significant risk, as the former Alabama star barely cracked 3,000 passing yards last season with 23 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and an 87.8 passer rating.
That is hardly the output of a high-end starting quarterback, so Carolina may want to wait another year before agreeing to a long-term contract with Young. He could absolutely play himself into a better deal, but even in that case, the Panthers will know they have their franchise QB. In other words, the risk of having to pay Young more next offseason might be preferable to the risk of ponying up significant guarantees right now without knowing if he is truly the future of their team.
More to come.
Texans, LB Azeez Al-Shaair Agree To 3-Year Extension
The Texans are signing linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair to a three-year extension, per Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, keeping the leader of Houston’s defense under contract through the 2029 season.
Al-Shaair, 28, first arrived in Houston in 2024 on a three-year, $34MM deal and immediately took over a starting role in DeMeco Ryans‘ defense. He only appeared in 11 games in his first year – due in part to a three-game suspension – but made 16 starts in 2025 with a team-high 103 tackles. He did not stuff the stat sheet otherwise, but his consistency in the middle of the Texans’ league-leading defense earned him his first career Pro Bowl selection. That gave Al-Shaair significant leverage when negotiating his new deal, which should be a solid raise over his first contract with the team.
The Texans are certainly happy to keep their star linebacker and defensive green-dot wearer around for a few more years. Today’s agreement represents their continued commitment to their elite defense after signing edge rushers Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter to new deals this offseason.
It was reported in March that Al-Shaair and the Texans had mutual interest in reaching an extension as he entered a contract year. The Cowboys still made an attempt to trade for the seven-year veteran during their pursuit of linebackers this offseason, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. Houston, though, had no desire to move Al-Shaair, according to KRPC2’s Aaron Wilson, and Dallas pivoted to former 49ers Dee Winters and Curtis Robinson.
Al-Shaair will continue to partner with 2023 fifth-round pick Henry To’oTo’o as the Texans’ starting linebackers. To’oTo’o is entering the final year of his rookie deal and could be another extension candidate, as Houston has demonstrated a clear desire to retain their top defenders. The 25-year-old has racked up 200 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, seven passes defended, and four sacks over the last two years, making him a solid all-around complement to his veteran teammate.
The details of Al-Shaair’s contract have yet to be reported, but a raise over his current $11.33MM AAV would almost certainly propel him into top-10 linebacker pay. That is an excellent result for the former 49ers undrafted free agent, who developed under Ryans in San Francisco with a one-year stint in Tennessee before the two reunited in Houston.
Jets Pick Up Will McDonald’s 5th-Year Option
The Jets officially picked up Will McDonald‘s fifth-year option, per a team announcement, ensuring the 2023 first-rounder remains under contract through the 2027 season.
McDonald, 26, had a quiet rookie year but emerged as a productive edge rusher in the last two seasons with 18.5 sacks and 21 tackles for loss. Those numbers did not earn him any Pro Bowl recognition, which, combined with his minimal playing time as a rookie, keeps his fifth-year option at the lowest tier. He will be owed a fully-guaranteed salary of $13.75MM, an excellent price for a consistent pass rusher.
That number looks even better considering McDonald’s upside. He is an elite athlete with nearly 35-inch arms, though his otherwise undersized frame significantly limits him against the run. That, of course, is less important in a league that pays for pass rushing production more than anything else.
The two sides can now get to work on a long-term extension, though negotiations could be tricky. McDonald’s traditional counting statistics over the last two years place him among the league’s top 20 edge rushers and in the company of players like Odafe Oweh, who just signed with the Commanders for $24MM per year. However, his pass rush win rate and pressure production fall closer to the middle of the pack, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). In fact, those numbers closely compare to Joseph Ossai, who just signed with the Jets for $11.5MM per year. A McDonald extension should certainly come in higher than Ossai’s due to his option value, but there is still a significant gap between that and Oweh’s deal.
However, both player and club have plenty of reason to come to the table. McDonald is set to earn just $3MM in 2026, per OverTheCap, and his fifth-year option will be paid out as base salary over the course of the 2027 season. A multi-year deal would give him a sizable up-front payday and some long-term security as soon as he puts pen to paper. The Jets would also benefit from an early extension. The new years and money would be added on to McDonald’s current deal, resulting in a much more favorable annual cost over the full term of the contract.
Kadyn Proctor’s Dolphins Career To Begin At Guard
In 2016, the Dolphins benefited from Laremy Tunsil‘s slide to No. 13 overall. Although Miami eventually stationed the high-level prospect at his natural left tackle position, Year 1 featured Tunsil at guard while Branden Albert remained on Ryan Tannehill‘s blind side. Kadyn Proctor‘s NFL journey may begin similarly.
The Dolphins intend to use the Alabama left tackle — this year’s No. 12 overall pick — at guard to open his career, GM Jon-Eric Sullivan said during an appearance on the Joe Rose Show (h/t ESPN.com’s Marcel Louis-Jacques). Specifically, the new Miami GM said left guard will be where Proctor begins his NFL run.
While the Dolphins intend to cross-train the college left tackle at both guard and tackle, the team will have him learn LG while 2025 LG Jonah Savaiinaea moves to RG. All 982 of Savaiinaea’s rookie-year snaps came at left guard. Rather than ensure continuity there and have Proctor try right guard to begin his career, a new Dolphins regime will relocate Chris Grier‘s final second-round pick.
Proctor’s draft stock was partially boosted by his left tackle ability, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, as the two tackles drafted before him — Spencer Fano and Francis Mauigoa — were primarily RTs in college. Ditto Lions first-rounder Blake Miller. Proctor played left tackle for three seasons at Alabama, earning first-team All-SEC and second-team All-America honors last season. Our Ely Allen noted in PFR’s mock draft that many teams would be interested in seeing how Proctor looks at guard, and the Dolphins will kick the tires here.
Proctor checked in at 6-foot-6 and 352 pounds at the Combine. He will become one of the NFL’s biggest guards. Sullivan said (via Louis-Jacques) following the Proctor pick — which came after a one-spot trade-down move via Dallas — he could potentially play four positions along the O-line (all but center). Featuring needs at many positions entering the draft, the Dolphins made Proctor their first pick — over the likes of Rueben Bain Jr. and Makai Lemon — of the Sullivan era. The team also traded out of No. 11, giving the Cowboys Caleb Downs access. Passing on Bain and Downs certainly provide expectations for Proctor, whose path to a left tackle job may not materialize as Tunsil’s did nearly 10 years ago.
The Dolphins moved Tunsil to LT in 2017 upon trading Albert to the Jaguars. The Sullivan-Jeff Hafley regime, however, has Patrick Paul going into his second season as the left tackle starter. Austin Jackson is in place at RT, though injuries have regularly impacted the O-line nomad in Miami. Jackson has settled at RT, receiving a three-year extension worth $36MM in late 2023, but he did play guard previously with the Dolphins.
Paul replaced a retired Terron Armstead at LT last year, doing so as Jackson missed 11 games (after missing nine in 2024). Jackson missed 15 games in 2022, with his healthy 2023 leading to the extension. Miami gave Jackson a pay cut this offseason, potentially opening the door for Proctor at RT (the team also lost swing tackle Larry Borom in free agency). Jackson’s deal expires at season’s end. More clarity will come on Proctor’s positional future by then, but for now, a Tunsil-like path at LG to open his career is in the cards.
Miami drafted another guard — Texas’ D.J. Campbell — in Round 6. The team is planning to try the former Longhorns blocker at center in addition to guard, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson notes. The team also added ex-Charger swingman Jamaree Salyer in free agency, providing another potential answer at tackle or guard.
S Justin Simmons Announces Retirement
Last month, Justin Simmons revealed a desire to return to the NFL in 2026. But the accomplished safety has since changed his mind. Simmons announced his retirement Wednesday.
Retiring as a Bronco (via an announcement shared by the team), Simmons exits the NFL after nine seasons. Eight of those came in Denver, with the All-Pro spending the 2024 season in Atlanta. Simmons, 32, did not play last season. He timed his announcement 10 years after being drafted.
Simmons was not part of the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 defense, arriving months after the team’s championship parade as a 2016 third-round pick. But he enjoyed several quality seasons as the franchise transitioned from its Peyton Manning era. Simmons ended his career as a four-time All-Pro and was among his era’s best ballhawks.
The Broncos parked Simmons behind their No Fly Zone safety starters — T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart — as a rookie but released Ward upon deeming the Boston College product ready by Year 2. Simmons then anchored the Broncos’ secondary for a few seasons, eventually commanding two franchise tags (in 2020 and ’21).
Simmons was among many players to play on the tag in 2020 — when the COVID-19 pandemic created cap uncertainty — and was tied to a $11.44MM salary that year. Simmons earned Pro Bowl recognition in 2020 and saw the Broncos re-tag him in 2021. Simmons joined Chris Godwin, Brandon Scherff and Leonard Williams as players to receive the tag in 2020 and ’21 (Dak Prescott was procedurally tagged in ’21) but ended up with a market-setting extension soon after the Broncos applied tag No. 2.
The Broncos gave Simmons a four-year, $61MM extension in March 2021. At the time, that represented the safety position’s high-water mark. Jamal Adams‘ ill-fated Seahawks payday months later established distance between his pact and Simmons’, but the Broncos certainly saw more value from their safety accord. Simmons found spots on the next three All-Pro second teams, camping on that tier; from 2019-23, Simmons earned four second-team All-Pro nods.
Simmons finished his Bronco career with 32 interceptions, recording at least five each year from 2020-22; he tied for the league lead with six in ’22. The Broncos paired Simmons with first-round cornerback Patrick Surtain for three seasons, with both earning All-Pro acclaim in 2022. Simmons helped the Broncos complete a turnaround in Sean Payton‘s first months on the job. After missing the team’s infamous 70-20 blowout loss to the Dolphins in Week 3, Simmons was part of a five-game win streak that had the Broncos as surprising playoff contenders. One of those wins included a Week 8 victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs, which featured one of Simmons’ six career interceptions of Patrick Mahomes.
As the Broncos braced for a then-record-smashing single-player dead money hit — from Russell Wilson‘s release — they included Simmons’ contract as a way to reach cap compliance. Denver released Simmons along with Wilson in March 2024. He caught on later with the Falcons, who authorized a one-year deal worth $7.5MM. Atlanta paired Simmons with Jessie Bates that season, and while the veteran made 16 starts that year, he did not land anywhere in 2025. The Eagles and Panthers — in potential reunions with Vic Fangio and Ejiro Evero — emerged as possibilities for Simmons last summer, but nothing came to fruition.
Although Simmons never played in a playoff game, he led all safeties in INTs during his eight-year Broncos run. While Simmons is unlikely to follow decorated Broncos safeties Steve Atwater, John Lynch and Brian Dawkins into the Hall of Fame, he will likely land in the franchise’s ring of fame down the road. The free safety staple retires having earned more than $69MM over the course of his career.
QB Bo Nix Undergoes Follow-Up Ankle Procedure
The party line coming out of Denver pointed to Bo Nix being ready for OTAs; the most recent update from this situation tabbed the QB as being ahead of schedule on his ankle rehab. But it now looks quite possible the Broncos will be careful with their starting quarterback this offseason.
As Nix’s rehab from an ankle fracture continues, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo note the third-year passer underwent a follow-up procedure described as a cleanup. While the NFL.com duo indicates this is not an unexpected development, the prospect of the Broncos being careful with Nix this offseason also emerged.
This comes after Nix’s scheduled recheck last week. The Broncos are expected to be cautious with their signal-caller, but Rapoport and Garafolo note the QB is “firmly” expected to be ready for training camp. While Nix is going into his third season in the same system, the Broncos are changing play-callers — with Sean Payton giving the reins to QBs coach-turned-OC Davis Webb — this year.
Denver lost Nix at a rather inopportune moment, seeing the durable passer suffer his injury during the overtime period of a 33-30 divisional-round win over the Bills. Payton announced postgame it would be Jarrett Stidham making the start in the AFC championship game. Although the three-year Broncos backup started off well, an untimely fumble gave the Patriots vital early field position — in a game later mired in a blizzard — that helped them unravel a defense-oriented Broncos game plan.
The Broncos’ Nix-driven “what if?” regarding a Super Bowl LX berth represented the latest bad break for Payton in the playoffs, with the late-season QB injury coming years after the Minneapolis Miracle sequence and the infamous uncalled pass interference play in the Rams-Saints 2018 NFC championship game. Payton appears quite confident in his 2025 nucleus, with the Broncos having re-signed a host of players from that roster in free agency (to go with the Jaylen Waddle trade).
Stidham enters the second season of a two-year, $12MM contract, and the Broncos also included third-stringer Sam Ehlinger in their re-signing spree. That duo figures to see more work during OTAs and minicamp. Although it could be construed as a setback in that Nix was viewed as on track for OTAs before word of this second procedure surfaced, training camp is nearly three months away.
Giants To Sign DT Shelby Harris
Trading their cornerstone defensive lineman days before the draft, the Giants created a glaring need. Dexter Lawrence is now part of a deep Bengals D-tackle group, while the Giants need some answers after devoting their early draft resources elsewhere.
One of those answers is coming from a recent visitor. A month after meeting with the Giants, Shelby Harris is signing with the team (according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson). Harris joined D.J. Reader in visiting the team while Lawrence remained a Giant, though Harris’ visit came before the All-Pro’s trade request.
This agreement will give Harris a chance to play an age-35 season. Formerly a key Broncos D-line piece who became part of the 2022 Russell Wilson trade, Harris spent the past three seasons as a Jim Schwartz charge in Cleveland. Regularly redirecting passes via batdowns, Harris started 25 games with the Browns and has 89 career starts on his resume.
The Giants have been looking for multiple D-linemen, according to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, who indicates the team has been searching for a nose tackle and a three technique. Harris qualifies for the latter role, while Reader would be a nose addition. Reader remains unsigned but has been closely linked to the Giants this offseason.
Neither Harris nor Reader will count toward the 2027 compensatory formula, as that deadline passed Monday. Free agency annually reignites after that point on the NFL calendar. Joe Schoen said (via Duggan) the team had been in contact with a few veteran DTs, while John Harbaugh confirmed post-draft (via Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith) the Giants were “not done at all” at this spot.
A 2014 seventh-round Raiders draftee, Harris found a home in Denver after spending the 2016 season out of football. Harris served as a five-year cog for the Broncos, contributing for Vance Joseph and Vic Fangio‘s 3-4 defenses. Harris tallied two six-sack seasons under Fangio, and his pass-deflecting prowess shone during those years. Harris deflected nine passes in 2019 and re-routed seven more in 2020. From 2017-25, Harris ranks fourth among front-seven players with 40 pass deflections. Only Cameron Heyward, the since-retired Carlos Dunlap and T.J. Watt have more.
The Broncos re-signed Harris on a three-year, $27MM deal heading into Fangio’s final season as HC. A year later, they included that contract in the eight-asset Wilson trade package. The Seahawks used Harris as a starter in 2022 but released him in 2023, leading to the Cleveland trek. Used as a part-time starter, Harris totaled 18 tackles for loss over three Browns seasons. Pro Football Focus ranked Harris as a top-35 interior D-lineman in 2023 and ’24, slotting him 56th (out of 127 qualified options) in 2025.
Set to turn 35 in August, Harris certainly will not be a one-for-one Lawrence replacement. The Giants, who also lost Rakeem Nunez-Roches this offseason, waited until Round 6 to address the position in the draft. They do return veteran Roy Robertson-Harris and 2025 third-round pick Darius Alexander up front, but a team that ranked 31st in run stoppage with Lawrence last season certainly has more work to do after this Harris addition.
Jets Host QB Russell Wilson
After spending last season with the Giants, quarterback Russell Wilson may not have to go far to find his next team. Wilson visited the Jets on Monday, Brian Costello of the New York Post reports.
No signing is imminent, but there is “mutual interest” between the Jets and the 37-year-old Wilson, according to Connor Hughes of SNY. Wilson still lives in the area and “doesn’t really want to leave,” per Hughes.
Wilson was among the NFL’s top signal-callers for a large portion of a Seattle run that spanned from 2012-21, but the one-time Super Bowl winner’s production has fallen off in recent years. Since the end of his decade-long tenure in Seattle, where he earned nine Pro Bowl nods, Wilson has played for three teams in a four-year span.
Wilson’s fruitful Seahawks stint came to an end when they sent him to the Broncos for two first-round picks, a pair of second-rounders, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, tight end Noah Fant and QB Drew Lock in a March 2022 blockbuster. It ended up an ill-fated trade for the Broncos, who got two underwhelming seasons from Wilson and sputtered to a 13-21 record. They released Wilson in March 2024 and took on a then-record $85MM in dead money.
Looking for an upgrade over Kenny Pickett, the Steelers made a pair of dart throws when they added Wilson and Justin Fields ahead of the 2024 season. Both players wound up making starts, but Wilson got more action. Across 11 starts, he threw 16 touchdowns against five interceptions. While the Steelers went a middling 6-5 in Wilson’s outings, they finished 10-7 and earned a wild-card berth. Wilson completed 20 of 29 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns in the first round of the playoffs, but the Ravens handled the Steelers in a 28-14 victory. That proved to be Wilson’s last game in Pittsburgh.
Wilson was one of three high-profile QB pickups for the Giants last offseason. Before trading back into the first round to draft Jaxson Dart 25th overall, they signed Wilson to a one-year, $10.5MM guarantee and gave Jameis Winston $8MM over two years. Wilson opened the season as the Giants’ starter, but then-head coach Brian Daboll quickly pulled the plug. Daboll handed the reins to Dart in Week 4. Even though Dart later missed two games with a concussion, the Giants turned to Winston instead of Wilson in those instances. Wilson’s last start as a Giant came Sept. 21, 2025. He attempted just nine passes the rest of the year.
Shortly after the Giants’ season ended in January, Wilson revealed he suffered a hamstring tear last September. Despite that, he has insisted on multiple occasions that he wants to play a 15th season in 2026. The rebuilding Jets already have a bridge starter in offseason acquisition Geno Smith, Wilson’s former backup with the Seahawks, but the former enjoyed working with the latter in Seattle, per Costello. While rookie fourth-rounder Cade Klubnik, Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe are also in the fold, the Jets may turn to Wilson as Smith’s primary backup next season.