Colts To Seek CB Kenny Moore Trade
Kenny Moore‘s tenure with the Colts is likely nearing an end. The veteran cornerback is under contract for 2026, but a change of scenery could soon be coming.
Moore and the Colts have mutually agreed to seek out a trade, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. A parting of ways is viewed as beneficial in this case, so it will be interesting to see if a market develops leading up to the draft. Moore has spent his entire nine-year career with Indianapolis.
After handling a part-time workload as a rookie, the former undrafted free agent became a defensive starter for the Colts. Moore has been a mainstay in the secondary since then, racking up 111 starts over the course of his career. During the 2024 offseason, a $10MM-per-year deal was worked out to ensure he would remain in the fold. That represented a record figure for pure slot corners at the time.
Moore remained a key figure in the secondary during the first year of that new contract, collecting three interceptions. The former Pro Bowler totaled 14 appearances this past season, but playing under new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo his snap share saw a notable drop. Scheme fit is seen as an issue in this case, Schefter’s colleague Stephen Holder notes. A parting of ways could allow Moore to start over while paving the way for Justin Walley – who was drafted in the third round last year but did not play during his rookie campaign – to take on first-team slot duties.
Moore’s contract was restructured in October to lower his immediate cap hit. As a result, his pact is set to void in February 2027. The 30-year-old is owed $10MM this season with a scheduled cap charge of $13.11MM. A trade at this point would create $7.06MM in cap savings while generating a dead money charge of $6.05MM. If the Colts waited until after June 1, the financial benefits of a swap would be far greater ($9.91MM in savings, $3.2MM in dead money).
The Colts have named getting younger and faster on defense as an offseason goal, and moving on from Moore (one of the team’s longest-tenured players) would allow for that to happen. It would also give an acquiring team a veteran presence in the secondary, and one who has played at least 11 games in every season of his career to date. Adding draft capital for this month’s event could also beneficial for the Colts since they do not own a first-round selection in 2026 or ’27.
Moore has been held without an interception for a year only once in his career, and he has notched at least one sack during a season on seven occasions. He could be counted on as a starting presence for an acquiring team, although that will of course depend in large part on where he winds up in the event of a trade being finalized at some point this offseason.
CB Andre Chachere Announces Retirement
Finding longevity in the NFL at any level is an impressive feat. Doing so as an undrafted free agent out of college takes some serious determination. After seven years in the NFL, cornerback Andre Chachere failed to find his way onto a roster in 2025, and today he announced his decision to retire from the NFL.
Chachere came out of San Jose State, where he played almost exclusively on the outside as a cornerback. After seeing few snaps as a freshman, he found a consistent role coming off the bench in his sophomore year. His strongest season came in a breakout junior campaign that saw him intercept four passes, returning them for a total of 117 yards, and register 14 passes defensed as a full-time starter. His production dipped a bit in his final year, though, and Chachere went undrafted in 2018, initially signing with the Texans.
Patient and determined, Chachere didn’t make his NFL debut until his fourth year in the league. After failing to make the initial 53-man roster in Houston, he started the season on the Texans’ practice squad but ended up in Detroit, signing to the Lions’ taxi squad in mid November. He was briefly called up to the active roster as a rookie in Detroit but didn’t see any game time. After failing to make the Lions’ 53-man roster the next year, Chachere signed to the Cardinals’ practice squad, was released a month later, signed to the Panthers’ practice squad, then was signed off the Panthers’ p-squad to the Cardinals’ active roster, again failing to see any game time. After getting cut in the offseason, Chachere spent the 2020 season on the Colts’ practice squad.
Once again failing to make an initial 53-man roster, Chachere was claimed off waivers by the Eagles for the 2021 season. He finally made his way into an NFL game, initially serving mostly on special teams before earning his first career start in the final week of the regular season. He remained in Philadelphia in 2022, but after appearing in 16 games the prior year, he only saw action in seven games in his second season making it onto the field. Waived again in the offseason, Charchere was claimed off waivers by the Cardinals, marking his third stint with the team. In the most active season of his career, he found his way onto the field as a nickelback for the Cardinals, spending a good portion of his snaps back at safety, in the slot, and in the box after playing in college on the outside. Appearing in all 17 games that season, he made five starts.
Chachere failed to make one more 53-man roster the next year and signed to the Jaguars practice squad for less than a month before a fourth stint in Arizona on the practice squad. Chachere has made the decision to end his playing career with eyes on an unclear future. After working three full years before making his NFL debut and spending so much time on the waiver wire, he still found a way to make an impact for a short time on an NFL defense and lasted seven years in the league.
Malachi Lawrence Drawing Major Interest; Colts, 49ers, Seahawks Schedule Visits
As a potential first- or second-round pick, UCF edge defender Malachi Lawrence is generating significant interest in the lead-up to the NFL draft. Sixteen teams have set up visits with Lawrence, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. The Colts, 49ers and Seahawks will all meet with him this week.
The 6-foot-4, 253-pound Lawrence’s college career took off as a redshirt sophomore in 2023. He registered 10.5 tackles for loss and a personal-best 7.5 sacks in 13 games that year. Lawrence’s production dropped a bit during an 11-game 2024 (six TFL, five sacks), but he earned a first-team All-Big 12 selection last season. Over 12 games, Lawrence picked up 11 TFL and seven sacks.
Lawrence further boosted his stock with an off-the-charts performance at the Combine, where he ran a 4.52-second 40-yard dash. He finished second among edge defenders at the Combine in 40 time, 10-yard split, vertical jump and broad jump (via PFF College). Dane Brugler of The Athletic (No. 36) and Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com (No. 46) consider Lawrence a top-50 prospect.
It is not ideal that Lawrence will already turn 24 before the season starts (Miami’s Akheem Mesidor, 25, is in a similar boat), but half the league is intrigued enough to meet with him. The three reported clubs – Indianapolis, San Francisco and Seattle – have an obvious need along the edge.
The Colts were a passable 15th in sacks last season, but they ranked an alarming 30th in pass rush win rate. The team made a run at Trey Hendrickson early in free agency, but the Ravens won that sweepstakes. The Colts have settled for modest additions (Arden Key and Micheal Clemons) to replace the departed Kwity Paye and Samson Ebukam. They continue to lack needle-moving pass rushers to complement Laiatu Latu. Indianapolis is devoid of a first-round pick, but Lawrence could be on the board when it selects 47th overall in the second round.
The 49ers will pick 27th and 58th in the first two rounds. They totaled the fewest sacks in the league last season, though losing Nick Bosa to a Week 3 ACL tear heavily contributed to their struggles. They should get Bosa and Mykel Williams, who tore his ACL in November, back next season. The rest of their edge rushers – Sam Okuayinonu, Keion White, William Bradley-King, Andrew Farmer and the just-signed Cameron Sample – combined for just five sacks last year. With that in mind, bolstering the pass rush via the draft should be a high priority for the 49ers.
The reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks aren’t exactly teeming with weaknesses, but taking an edge defender early may be on their to-do list. Owners of just four picks, including Nos. 32 and 64 in the first two rounds, the Seahawks lost Boye Mafe in free agency. They have not brought in a replacement for Maye, and the clock is ticking on Demarcus Lawrence‘s career. The soon-to-be 34-year-old pondered retirement after the season, which could add to the Seahawks’ urgency to make a notable investment along the edge.
Packers Made Previous Efforts To Acquire Zaire Franklin From Colts
The Colts’ 2018 draft class resided as one of this era’s best hauls before Zaire Franklin‘s early-2020s emergence. Indianapolis’ second Chris Ballard draft included Quenton Nelson, Braden Smith, Shaquille Leonard, Nyheim Miller-Hines and Tyquan Lewis. Franklin moving to the All-Pro tier from Round 7 provided a bonus.
Indianapolis bid farewell to a few members of its long-held core this offseason. Beyond the Michael Pittman Jr. trade, the Colts parted with two members of their ’18 class — Smith and Franklin — and they have not re-signed Lewis. It took Franklin a few years to transition from special-teamer to every-down linebacker, but his new team’s front office boss was a fan during that stage of his career.
Brian Gutekunst said (via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman) he attempted to trade for Franklin before he became a starter. Franklin did not become a regular starter until his 2021 contract year. He heads to Green Bay, being acquired for defensive tackle Colby Wooden, with 82 career starts and a second-team All-Pro selection (in 2024) on his resume. Like the Steelers, the Packers caught a Colts team looking to shed salary to afford new deals for Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce.
“He was a really good special teams player,” Gutekunst said. “We kind of tried to acquire him then, so (he’s) been a really good player for a long time. Obviously, a very good leader as well, captain there, so I think as we kind of went down and we realized it was gonna be really tough to get Quay (Walker) back, I wanted to make sure we had an answer at middle linebacker, particularly one that might have some veteran presence, and I think we were excited to accomplish that.”
Making Franklin sound like an indie band that later hit big, Gutekunst alluding to a past attempt to acquire the special-teamer version of him certainly points to the Packers potentially eyeing the Syracuse product (drafted 235th overall) as a UDFA in 2018 — Gutekunst’s first draft as a GM. With Ballard holding firm on Franklin and allowing him to blossom, the Packers drafted Walker in the 2022 first round. Gutekunst said multiple times last year he was interested in a Walker extension, and the sides discussed a deal both last summer and earlier this year. But the four-year starter defected in free agency, joining the Raiders. A lofty fifth-year option number ($14.75MM) helped lead Walker out of Wisconsin.
The linebacker fifth-year option figure has been an issue for several teams this decade. No team has picked up an off-ball linebacker’s fifth-year option since the Buccaneers exercised Devin White‘s in 2022. The Packers and Jaguars were the latest teams to lose first-round ILBs in free agency after declining options; Devin Lloyd joined the Panthers a day after Walker’s Raiders pledge. Walker signed a three-year, $40.5MM deal with Las Vegas; that pact includes $28MM guaranteed at signing.
Upon acquiring Franklin, Green Bay adjusted his contract. Franklin, who signed a Colts extension in 2024, is now on a two-year, $18MM deal. That contract only includes $3.75MM at signing. Franklin agreed to this to facilitate a swap. He had been tied to a three-year, $31.26MM accord. The only guarantees present in the deal come via a signing bonus, but as a vested veteran, Franklin will see his 2026 base salary ($4.24MM) lock in shortly before Week 1.
Franklin did not fit Lou Anarumo‘s defensive system as well as he did Gus Bradley‘s, with Pro Football Focus ranking the prolific tackler as the NFL’s second-worst full-time ILB last year. Then again, PFF has never been too high on Franklin, who graded outside the top 10 even as he was among the league’s top tacklers. Franklin posted at least 167 stops each year from 2022-24. The Packers will hope Franklin still has this gear, as they will replace Walker with a player nearly four years older (30 in July).
The Pack have committed more resources to the linebacker position in recent years than they did during Gutekunst’s early GM days and during the final offseasons under Ted Thompson. They have now used three first- or second-round picks on the position (Walker, Edgerrin Cooper, Ty’Ron Hopper) and re-signed De’Vondre Campbell (five years, $50MM). Both the Campbell deal and this Franklin rework carried team-friendly structures, however, and Green Bay will have a longtime Gutekunst favorite teaming with Cooper’s rookie contract in 2026.
Colts Aiming For Jalen Travis To Replace Braden Smith; Latest On Indianapolis S Situation
Braden Smith absences became an issue in Indianapolis in recent years, but the Colts had used the same primary right tackle for the past eight seasons. As they did when Ryan Kelly left as a 2025 free agent, the Colts will need to replace a long-running O-line starter.
Indianapolis promoted from within to fill Kelly’s post, inserting Tanor Bortolini into their lineup to start his second season. A similar plan exists post-Smith. The Texans gave Smith a two-year, $20MM contract that includes $13.5MM guaranteed at signing. The Colts are not looking to, as of now at least, to add a veteran. Instead, Fox59’s Mike Chappell notes second-year blocker Jalen Travis moving into the lineup at RT will be the goal.
The Colts drafted Travis in the 2025 fourth round, furthering the similarities between the Kelly succession plan and the one hatched to replace Smith. Indy added Bortolini in the 2024 fourth round and turned to him as a starter during Kelly injury absences that year. Travis played sparingly as a rookie before starting the final four Colts games, bringing a near-21-year age gap between center and quarterback when he snapped to Philip Rivers in three of those contests.
Transferring from Princeton to Iowa State, Travis played left tackle during his season with the Cyclones. He also worked on the blind side in his final season at the Ivy League program. Travis logged 61 LT snaps and 247 RT snaps as a Colts rookie. While he did not play enough to qualify as a regular, Pro Football Focus viewed the Day 3 draftee’s work favorably (via 72.2 grade that would have been good enough for 32nd among tackles).
Indy turned to two second-year blockers in 2025 — Bortolini and Matt Goncalves — as Will Fries also departed in free agency. Goncalves is a converted tackle, and Chappell adds he could be shifted back to the outside in the event Travis is not ready. That would leave a hole at right guard, where Goncalves played 949 snaps last season. For now, however, the Colts are planning to go with a rather tall right side of the O-line by aligning the 6-foot-6 Goncalves and the 6-8 Travis alongside one another.
The Colts also lost safety starter Nick Cross in free agency. This was to be expected, as the AFC South club has devoted considerable resources to strengthening its secondary in recent years. After authorizing a $10MM-per-year deal for Kenny Moore, the Colts won bidding wars for Charvarius Ward (three years, $54MM) and Camryn Bynum (4/60) in free agency last year. They then agreed on a trade that sent Sauce Gardner‘s four-year, $120.4MM extension over from New York. This spree of investments made it unrealistic Cross — a two-year starter — would stay. The Commanders signed Cross to a two-year, $13MM pact.
Indianapolis gave Jonathan Owens and Juanyeh Thomas low-cost deals, with Chappell indicating a competition is coming to fill Cross’ role. But each of the Colts’ top three decisionmakers — Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Chris Ballard, Shane Steichen — brought up 2025 seventh-round pick Hunter Wohler recently, per the Indianapolis Star’s Joel Erickson, pointing to the Wisconsin alum having a real shot to make a big leap. Wohler joined fellow Colts 2025 DB draftee Justin Walley in missing all of last season due to a summer injury; Wohler went down with a Lisfranc issue, landing on IR in mid-August.
Wohler earned first-team All-Big Ten acclaim in 2023, making 120 tackles (5.5 for loss) and snaring two interceptions. Known a bit more for his Simone Biles marriage, Owens has been a spot starter for a while. The 30-year-old safety has made 35 career starts, including 17 for the Texans in 2022 and 16 for the Packers and Bears over the ensuing two seasons. Thomas, 25, has made four career starts. Dallas nontendered him as an RFA in March.
It would stand to reason the Colts would prefer Wohler, drafted to develop in Lou Anarumo‘s scheme last year, to commandeer the starting role. But this year’s draft will obviously be a place to monitor with regards to a Cross replacement as well.
LB Anthony Walker Announces Retirement
After playing a career-low two games in 2025, linebacker Anthony Walker is hanging up his cleats at the age of 30. The nine-year veteran took to Instagram on Thursday to announce his retirement.
A former Northwestern standout, Walker entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick of the Colts and then-rookie general manager Chris Ballard in 2017. Walker mostly worked as a backup in an injury-limited rookie year, but he put together a productive run in Indianapolis from 2018-20. Playing alongside star linebacker Shaquille Leonard during that 47-game, 46-start stretch, Walker averaged 107 tackles per season while totaling 3.5 sacks and three interceptions.
Walker did not stick with the Colts after his rookie contract expired in 2021, and he never inked another multiyear pact. He signed his first one-year deal in Cleveland, where he piled up 113 tackles despite missing four games with a hamstring injury. It proved to be the last season with triple-digit tackles for Walker, who continued battling injuries for the rest of his career. The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder appeared in just 31 of a possible 68 games from 2022-25.
Walker was a starter in all 12 of his contests in 2023, his last year in Cleveland, and notched another eight over 14 appearances with the Dolphins in ’24. While Walker reunited with the Colts last September, he did not see any action before the Buccaneers plucked him off Indy’s practice squad in mid-December. Walker went on to play just 15 snaps (14 on special teams) in a pair of appearances with Tampa Bay.
Over a combined 101 games and 83 starts with four teams, Walker recorded 581 tackles, 5.5 sacks and four interceptions.
Stephon Gilmore Announces Retirement
Former Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore is calling it a career. The 13-year veteran cornerback announced his retirement Thursday via social media.
Gilmore, 35, finished his career as a member of six teams — the Bills, Patriots, Panthers, Colts, Cowboys and Vikings — and as a Super Bowl champion. Gilmore played in two Super Bowls with the Patriots, becoming a key piece to help New England secure its sixth championship.
Although Gilmore played for five teams over his final five seasons, he will be best remembered for his tenures in New England and Buffalo. The Bills drafted the outside cornerback in the 2012 first round, and the Patriots deviated from their generally conservative Bill Belichick-era free agency blueprint to hand him a big-ticket deal in 2017. That led to Gilmore’s career apex, as he secured back-to-back first-team All-Pro nods with the Pats.
The veteran cover man did not play last season but expressed interest in doing so. Gilmore contemplated retirement following his 2024 Minnesota season, and after not following through last year, the South Carolina native will walk away in 2026. Intercepting 32 regular-season passes and starting 173 career games, Gilmore was certainly one of the better cornerbacks of his era. He delivered one of the greatest stretches in the position’s history as well, and it played a key role in the Patriots venturing to Super Bowls LII and LIII.
New England brought Gilmore in on a five-year, $65MM deal that featured $31MM guaranteed at signing. Gilmore joined the Pats during the offseason in which the team placed a first-round RFA tender on Malcolm Butler. Infamously scratched for Super Bowl LII, Butler soon left (for Tennessee) in free agency. Gilmore shined from 2018-19, earning first-team All-Pro acclaim in each season. In 2018, Gilmore delivered lockdown coverage for a Patriots team gunning for its third straight Super Bowl appearance. His interceptions of Philip Rivers and Jared Goff in the playoffs did plenty to hand that dynasty a sixth title, with Pro Football Focus handing out a career-best grade (90.9) to the former No. 10 overall pick.
Gilmore outdid his 2018 season a year later, and while the Patriots could not voyage to a fourth straight Super Bowl, Gilmore became the first cornerback in 10 years to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors. Intercepting six passes in 2019, Gilmore returned two of those picks for scores and allowed a measly 44.1 passer rating as the closest defender. These two seasons prompted Gilmore to push for a revised contract, but he did not end up securing a true extension in Foxborough.
The Patriots gave Gilmore a $4.95MM raise for the 2020 season, but the sides could not come to terms on another agreement in 2021. That led the Pats to trade Gilmore to the Panthers — after nearly cutting him — before the 2021 deadline. Gilmore had not played for the Pats yet in 2021, being placed on the reserve/PUP list due to a quad issue. The Panthers obtained the ex-South Carolina Gamecock for a 2023 sixth-round pick. While the move brought Gilmore back home, he signed with the Colts (two years, $20MM) in 2022.
As Indianapolis retooled around Shane Steichen in 2023, the team traded Gilmore to Dallas for a fifth-round pick. Gilmore worked opposite DaRon Bland in 2023, with the latter setting an NFL record with five pick-sixes after Trevon Diggs suffered a seminal ACL tear in a September practice. Gilmore expressed interest in re-signing with the Cowboys but ended up with the Vikings (one year, $7MM) just before the 2024 season. Minnesota used Gilmore as a full-time starter on the boundary during a 14-3 season — a period that brought a Gilmore reunion with ex-Pats de facto DC Brian Flores — but the team did not opt to re-sign him in 2025.
The Bills initiated Gilmore’s NFL launch, drafting him to play for Chan Gailey and Dave Wannstedt. By 2013, Doug Marrone and Mike Pettine were in the HC and DC roles. Gilmore toiled for five Bills teams that extended the franchise’s playoff drought to 17 by the 2016 season. The Bills did see their No. 1 corner make his first Pro Bowl that year, bolstering his free agent market. Buffalo let Gilmore walk in 2017 and drafted future All-Pro Tre’Davious White (via the Patrick Mahomes trade) weeks later.
Gilmore’s Colts pact bumped him past $100MM in career earnings; his Vikings contract moved him to $115.37MM over the course of 13 seasons. Falling short of the All-Decade team for the 2010s (despite a strong late push from his Pats days), the 6-foot corner will not be a Hall of Fame lock. But he crafted a strong midcareer apex that made a considerable difference in multiple Super Bowl chases.
2027 NFL Fifth-Year Option Tracker
NFL teams have until May 1 to officially pick up fifth-year options on 2023 first-rounders. The 2020 CBA revamped the option structure and made them fully guaranteed, rather than guaranteed for injury only. Meanwhile, fifth-year option salaries are now determined by a blend of performance- and usage-based benchmarks:
- Two-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternates) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag
- One-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag
- Players who achieve any of the following will receive the average of the third-20th top salaries at their position:
- At least a 75% snap rate in two of their first three seasons
- A 75% snap average across all three seasons
- At least 50% in each of first three seasons
- Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will receive the average of the third-25th top salaries at their position
PFR’s Offseason Outlook series examined each of these decisions in-depth, and weeks remain until this year’s deadline. In the meantime, we will use the space below to track all the 2027 option decisions from around the league:
- QB Bryce Young, Panthers ($25.9MM): To be exercised
- QB C.J. Stroud, Texans ($25.9MM): Exercised
- DE Will Anderson Jr., Texans ($21.51MM): Exercised
- QB Anthony Richardson, Colts ($22.48MM)
- CB Devon Witherspoon, Seahawks ($21.16MM): Exercised
- LT Paris Johnson Jr., Cardinals ($19.07MM)
- DE Tyree Wilson, Raiders ($14.48MM)
- RB Bijan Robinson, Falcons ($11.32MM): Exercised
- DT Jalen Carter, Eagles ($27.13MM)
- RT Darnell Wright, Bears ($19.07MM)
- G Peter Skoronski, Titans ($19.07MM)
- RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions ($14.29MM)
- DE Lukas Van Ness, Packers ($13.75MM)
- LT Broderick Jones, Steelers ($19.07MM): To be declined
- DE Will McDonald, Jets ($13.75MM): To be exercised
- CB Emmanuel Forbes, Rams ($12.63MM)
- CB Christian Gonzalez, Patriots ($18.12MM): Exercised
- LB Jack Campbell, Lions ($21.93MM)
- DL Calijah Kancey, Buccaneers ($14.48MM)
- WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks ($23.85MM): Exercised*
- WR Quentin Johnston, Chargers ($18MM)
- WR Zay Flowers, Ravens ($27.3MM): To be exercised
- WR Jordan Addison, Vikings ($18MM): To be exercised
- CB Deonte Banks, Giants ($12.63MM)
- TE Dalton Kincaid, Bills ($8.16MM): Exercised
- DT Mazi Smith, Jets ($13.93MM)
- RT Anton Harrison, Jaguars ($19.07MM): Exercised
- DE Myles Murphy, Bengals ($14.48MM)
- DT Bryan Bresee, Saints ($13.93MM): Exercised
- DE Nolan Smith, Eagles ($13.75MM)
- DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Chiefs ($13.75MM)
* = Seahawks gave Smith-Njigba four-year, $168.6MM extension
AFC Contract Details: Titans, Hawkins, Ravens, Flacco, Bengals, Browns, Broncos, Colts, Patriots
Here are the latest details from contracts agreed to around the AFC, with many coming out of Nashville:
- Daniel Bellinger, TE (Titans). Three years, $24MM. Bellinger secured $14MM guaranteed at signing, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. This covers $4.91MM of Bellinger’s $5.94MM 2027 base salary, per OverTheCap.
- Jaylinn Hawkins, S (Ravens). Two years, $10MM. Hawkins landed $5MM guaranteed at signing, per Wilson. None of Hawkins’ 2027 compensation is guaranteed.
- Jacob Martin, DE (Titans). Two years, $9MM. Tennessee authorized $4.5MM fully guaranteed, Wilson tweets. None of Martin’s 2027 compensation is guaranteed.
- Jordan Elliott, DT (Titans). Two years, $8MM. The Titans authorized a $3.24MM guarantee at signing for the former Browns and 49ers D-tackle, Wilson tweets. None of Elliott’s 2027 compensation is guaranteed.
- Austin Schlottmann, OL (Titans). Two years, $7MM. The veteran interior offensive lineman received $2.99MM guaranteed at signing, Wilson tweets. None of Schlottmann’s 2027 compensation is guaranteed.
- Joshua Williams, CB (Titans). Two years, $6.75MM. Like Elliott, Wilson adds Williams secured $3.24MM guaranteed at signing. One of several Chiefs DBs relocating this month, Williams will not see any 2027 guarantees on this deal.
- Joe Flacco, QB (Bengals). One year, $6MM. Flacco’s contract contains $4MM guaranteed, SI.com’s Jay Morrison notes. Generally against void years, the Bengals included two in this contract. Flacco’s cap hit will check in at $3.3MM as a result. Due to the void years, Flacco not being re-signed before the 2027 league year begins will result in a $2.7MM dead money charge. There are $3.5MM in incentives here, Morrison adds. Among the bottom-tier bumps in play, Flacco would see $1MM if he plays 60% of Cincinnati’s offensive snaps in a playoff season. If the Bengals do not make the playoffs and the 19th-year QB plays 60% of the snaps, he would see $250K. More notably, any Bengals win in which Flacco plays at least 60% of the snaps will bring $125K; this incentive has an eight-game cap.
- Durham Smythe, TE (Ravens). One year, $3MM. The former Dolphins and Bears tight end secured $2MM guaranteed at signing, Wilson tweets.
- Daniel Thomas, S (Browns). Two years, $3MM. Thomas landed just more than $1MM fully guaranteed, according to Wilson. No guarantees are in place for 2027.
- Akeem Davis-Gaither, LB (Colts). One year, $2.73MM. This contract includes $1.5MM fully guaranteed, Wilson adds.
- Mo Alie-Cox, TE (Colts). One year, $2.59MM. Like the Lions’ Malcolm Rodriguez deal, this contract is a four-year qualifying offer. It will come with $2.19MM fully guaranteed, Wilson adds. Because this is a four-year qualifying contract, Alie-Cox will count just $1.4MM toward the Colts’ cap.
- Tony Adams, S (Titans). One year, $2.14MM. Among the many former Robert Saleh-era Jets joining the Titans this offseason, Adams will see $1MM fully guaranteed on this deal (via Wilson).
- Kalia Davis, DT (Browns). One year, $2MM. The veteran interior D-lineman secured $1.75MM guaranteed at signing, according to Wilson.
- Corey Bojorquez, P (Browns). One year, $2MM. Bojorquez will see $938K guaranteed at signing on his third Browns contract, according to Wilson.
- Tycen Anderson, S (Broncos). One year, $1.5MM. The only outside Broncos free agent signing thus far, the veteran special-teamer received $650K guaranteed, 9News’ Mike Klis notes.
- James Hudson, T (Patriots). One year, $1.4MM. The Giants jettisoned Hudson’s two-year, $12MM deal months after benching him in Week 2. The New England swing tackle secured $538K guaranteed at signing, ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss tweets.
Chris Ballard: Anthony Richardson Could Stay In Indianapolis
Anthony Richardson‘s time in Indianapolis appeared to be over when he lost the starting quarterback battle to Daniel Jones last year. Missing virtually the entire season due to a freak injury furthered that belief, and receiving permission from the Colts to seek a trade seemed to cement it.
However, Richardson has drawn little interest on the trade market, and the Colts are not inclined to release him outright. General manager Chris Ballard said at league meetings this week (via ESPN’s Stephen Holder) that there is “definitely a scenario” in which the 23-year-old remains in Indianapolis.
The Colts may need a stopgap starter as Jones works his way back from last year’s Achilles tear. Their other options, at present, are both second-year players: sixth-rounder Riley Leonard and UDFA Seth Henigan.
Henigan signed with the Colts practice squad at the tail end of last season and extended his stay with a reserve/futures deal. It is hard to consider him a legitimate candidate to start if Jones is not ready for Week 1. Leonard had only two meaningful appearances as a rookie – first as relief for Jones in Week 14, then as the starter in Week 18 with Indianapolis eliminated from the postseason.
Despite his struggles thus far, Richardson might be the best option of that trio. If the Colts are not able to get a solid trade return for the former No. 4 pick, he can serve as an insurance policy for Jones as his recovery progresses.