Raiders To Sign LB Quay Walker
The Raiders are making a major addition to the middle of their defense. They have agreed to a deal with linebacker Quay Walker, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network report. Walker will sign a four-year, $40.5MM contract with $28MM in guarantees, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The Cowboys were among the teams in the mix for Walker before he reached an agreement with the Raiders, Todd Archer of ESPN relays. Walker had a Zoom meeting with the Cowboys on Monday, but they could not fend off the Raiders for the 25-year-old.
Walker, the 22nd pick in the 2022 draft, served as a full-time starter in Green Bay throughout his four-year run there. The former Georgia Bulldog opened his career with three straight 100-tackle seasons, during which he combined for 6.5 sacks. The Packers still declined Walker’s fifth-year option for 2026 last spring, though it did not come as a surprise. The league controversially groups middle and outside LBs together for valuation purposes. Teams typically turn down the option for middle linebackers, as the Jaguars (Devin Lloyd) also did last year.
Playing what proved to be his last Packers season in 2025, Walker collected a career-high 128 tackles in 14 games. He added eight TFL, a personal-best seven QB hits, five passes defensed and 2.5 sacks. Despite quality production, Pro Football Focus took a harsh view of Walker’s 2025 in ranking his performance 76th among 88 qualifiers at his position.
In heading to Las Vegas, Walker will reunite with former Georgia teammate Nakobe Dean. After spending his first four seasons in Philadelphia, Dean agreed to a three-year, $36MM pact with the Raiders on Monday. Walker and Dean starred in college as part of Georgia’s linebacker corps, especially during a national title-winning campaign in 2021. They will reunite in a remade Raiders LB group. Devin White, Elandon Roberts and Jamal Adams were Las Vegas’ top LBs last year, but all three are now unsigned.
While the Raiders traded superstar pass rusher Maxx Crosby to the Ravens last week, they have since made several noteworthy investments to improve a roster that finished last in 2025. Before bringing in Walker and Dean, the Raiders acquired nickel cornerback Taron Johnson from the Bills, re-signed corner Eric Stokes, and reached free agent agreements with center Tyler Linderbaum, defensive end Kwity Paye and receiver Jalen Nailor.
Saints To Sign TE Noah Fant
The Saints are signing free agent tight end Noah Fant to a two-year deal, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. After stints with the Broncos, Seahawks, and Bengals, the 2019 first-round pick will join his fourth team in New Orleans.
Fant, 20, appeared in 15 games in 2025 as Cincinnati’s No. 2 tight end behind Mike Gesicki. He finished the year with 34 catches for 288 yards and three touchdowns in 15 games, the lowest production of his career. With it, though, came improved run-blocking relative to the rest of his career. He received a 58.9 grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required), his second-highest in seven years behind a career-best 59.6 grade in 2023.
That element of Fant’s game will be crucial to his ability to extend his career since he has never broken through as a high-end pass-catcher. In New Orleans, he will operate alongside Juwan Johnson, who ranked third among NFL tight ends in 2025 with 889 receiving yards. The Saints used Foster Moreau and Jack Stoll as their blocking tight ends, but Fant will bring more receiving upside to that role.
First drafted by the Broncos in 2019, Fant never lived up to his billing as an elite receiving threat. He put up solid numbers in his first three years in Denver and could very well have been on his way to more if not for the Russell Wilson trade. Fant went to Seattle in the deal, and he languished in a Seahawks offense that did not prioritize its tight ends. Johnson ate up almost all of the Saints’ targets at the position in 2025, but Fant might be more capable of taking advantage of mismatches in the passing game than his predecessors.
Chargers To Re-Sign OL Trevor Penning
The Chargers are re-signing offensive lineman Trevor Penning, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. It’s a one-year, $4.5MM agreement.
The Saints spent the 19th pick in 2022 on Penning, though the former Northern Iowa standout has not lived up to his draft slot. After a mediocre first three seasons divided between the tackle positions, the Saints declined Penning’s fifth-year option last spring. New Orleans then shifted Penning to left guard, but turf toe kept him out of its first three games last season.
Once Penning returned to health, he started six straight games before the Saints sent him to the Chargers for a 2027 sixth-rounder at last November’s trade deadline. The Chargers, then dealing with a rash of injuries up front, were in dire need of depth. Penning wound up totaling 193 offensive snaps with the Chargers down the stretch. The plurality of the 26-year-old’s work came at right guard (90 snaps), but he also saw action as an in-line tight end (50) and at left tackle (47).
The Chargers went all of last season without injured left tackle Rashawn Slater and most of it without right tackle Joe Alt. Those two cornerstones should be at full strength next year, but Penning could provide depth behind them. He also may be in the mix for playing time at guard, where the Chargers have lost both starters from last season. The team released Mekhi Becton, and free agent Zion Johnson agreed to a three-year, $49.5MM contract with the Browns on Monday.
Broncos To Release LB Dre Greenlaw
Agreeing to terms to bring back Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad, the Broncos are bailing on their other primary 2025 linebacker. Dre Greenlaw is out after one season, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.
Greenlaw was due to see a $2MM salary guarantee this week. The Broncos will not pay that and will instead move on from the increasingly injury-prone talent. Because of Greenlaw’s Super Bowl LVIII Achilles tear and the ensuing near-season-long absence in 2024, the Broncos were able to sign him by guaranteeing one year of a three-year contract. Denver will use the escape hatch in the deal.
Before training camp, Greenlaw suffered a quad injury. He then sustained a separate quad injury during camp, leading to an IR placement to start the season. The former Fred Warner San Francisco sidekick then sustained a hamstring injury in December, costing him time to close the regular season. While Greenlaw returned for the playoffs, he played just eight regular-season games — losing another due to a suspension — during his time as a Bronco.
Formerly one of the NFL’s best linebackers, Greenlaw has seen his stock fall since that seminal Achilles tear. While that made a significant difference in the 49ers’ defensive plan against the Chiefs in an overtime loss, Greenlaw played only a few dozen snaps in 2024. The 49ers still out-offered the Broncos — though, it was never specified if that meant in total compensation, AAV or guarantees — for Greenlaw after an 11th-hour push in 2025, but Denver won out. But the payoff did not come.
Denver will save just more than $6MM by releasing Greenlaw, who played his age-28 season in Colorado. Even though Greenlaw’s three-year, $31.5MM deal did not pan out, he should have a chance to bounce back. Though, the former 49ers fifth-rounder’s injury issues may bring a one-year “prove it” deal at this point.
In retaining Singleton and Strnad, the Broncos will be going with two 30-something starters at linebacker. Singleton is 32, while Strnad will turn 30 this year. It would not surprise to see the defending AFC West champs add a piece early in the draft. For now, though, a Singleton-Strnad duo is in place.
Broncos To Re-Sign LB Alex Singleton
The Broncos will retain another member of their linebacking group ahead of the new league year. Alex Singleton has agreed to a two-year, $15.5MM pact, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports.
Singleton’s contract includes $11MM guaranteed, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. That figure includes a $3.75MM guarantee for 2027, giving Singleton a bit of security by forcing the Broncos to eat some dead money if a release occurs after 2026.
This represents a per-year raise for Singleton, who played out a three-year deal worth $18MM. After going 14-3, the Broncos are retaining much of their roster. Following the in-season extensions for Wil Lutz, Luke Wattenberg and Malcolm Roach, Denver has agreed to re-sign Singleton, Justin Strnad, J.K. Dobbins, Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins.
As Singleton’s fourth Broncos season wound down, the former CFL import received a testicular cancer diagnosis. That only ended up costing him one game, as the veteran underwent surgery and recovered during Denver’s bye week. Singleton also returned from an ACL tear, an injury that cost him most of 2024 and opened the door for Strnad to begin raising his stock.
Initially signed to a low-cost deal following the Eagles’ decision to non-tender him as an RFA, Singleton teamed with Josey Jewell in Denver. The Broncos let Jewell walk in 2024, having re-signed Singleton in 2023. The former Eagles starter played out that deal and has been a prolific tackler in Denver, helping Sean Payton craft a Broncos resurgence.
A former UDFA out of Montana State, Singleton has started 47 Broncos games. After 177- and 163-tackle seasons in 2022 and ’23, he came back with 135 in 16 games last season. Not an upper-crust option in coverage, Singleton has still been a key factor on back-to-back Vance Joseph top-three defenses. He came through with a key forced fumble in the divisional round, stalling some Bills momentum during a back-and-forth Broncos win.
This signing will change the Broncos’ LB setup, though perhaps not by too much. Denver cut Dre Greenlaw shortly after this deal surfaced. Greenlaw played in only eight games last season, battling multiple injuries after missing almost all of 2024 with the Achilles tear he suffered in Super Bowl LVIII. While the Broncos could add a younger option to develop behind Singleton and Strnad, the longtime team will entrust LB duties to holdovers familiar with DC Vance Joseph‘s system.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Chiefs To Re-Sign Travis Kelce
4:30pm: A deal has now been finalized, Rapoport’s colleague Tom Pelissero reports. This will be a one-year pact with a base value of $12MM, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Kelce can earn up to $15MM in 2026.
10:31am: Travis Kelce has long said he could not envision himself in another NFL uniform. Despite a rumor that indicated a potentially shocking late-career address change was possible, the career-long Chief does not look to be going anywhere.
Set to return for a 14th season, Kelce is indeed expected to do so with the Chiefs, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. While no deal is official yet, teams interested in potentially poaching the superstar tight end may need to stand down.
Sunday’s report indicated Kelce was likely to speak with other teams as a free agent. Kelce, 36, had played out his contract — one agreed to in 2020 and modified to include a raise in 2024 — and joined his brother as a late-career free agent. Jason Kelce finished his career on multiple Eagles one-year contracts.
The other future Hall of Fame Kelce may be in line for a one-year Chiefs accord. SI.com’s Albert Breer tweets a one-year pact is expected. A contract worth up to $15MM is viewed as the potential compensation, per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, who indicates no deal has been finalized. Russini, though, continues to report Kelce is exploring the market and has not finalized a return to Kansas City. This could be a negotiating tactic, as Kelce had previously left little mystery about his desire to stay.
Kelce is one of the greatest players in Chiefs history, being a cornerstone piece of five Super Bowl teams and three champions. The Chiefs landed Kelce in the 2013 third round, and after he missed most of his rookie season due to microfracture knee surgery, the Cincinnati alum showed star potential alongside Alex Smith. The Kelce-Tyreek Hill tandem hit another gear when Patrick Mahomes took over in 2018, and Kelce smashed the NFL record for most 1,000-yard receiving seasons by a tight end. Kelce’s seven, a streak started with Smith at the helm, are three more than any other tight end.
Rumors about a Kelce retirement swirled after a Chiefs 6-11 season. The franchise’s worst record in Kelce’s tenure did not move the gregarious tight end/world-famous fiancé to walk away. Despite some untimely drops last season, Kelce improved on his 2024 step backward by totaling 76 receptions for 851 yards and five touchdowns. Although Mahomes did not play in the Chiefs’ final three games due to ACL and LCL tears, Kelce upped his yards-per-catch average to 11.2 — his first mark past 11 since a first-team All-Pro 2022 season.
The Chiefs had extended Kelce in 2016 and then in 2020. The 2020 deal briefly stood as the game’s top TE contract, before George Kittle‘s first 49ers re-up, and Kelce certainly has not been paid in accordance with the value he has provided the Chiefs. Kansas City did give him a $4MM raise after Super Bowl LVIII, making him the game’s highest-paid tight end once again. Kelce not maximizing his value has helped the Chiefs, though it has also played a role in no tight end being tied to a $20MM-per-year deal — as the wideout market is now past $40MM AAV.
Kelce was the lead factor in the Chiefs overcoming a shaky post-Hill receiving situation en route to 2022 and 2023 Super Bowl wins, and he helped Mahomes and Co. to the threepeat precipice — as the first two-time champ to reach a Super Bowl the following season — though did not play especially well against the Eagles. Vowing not to end his career after that blowout loss, Kelce looks set to make a similar pledge after the Chiefs endured a Super Bowl LIX hangover. While the Chiefs’ 2026 roster will look different, their core three performers — Mahomes, Kelce and Chris Jones — are prepared for at least one more year together.
Kelce’s return stands to help a Chiefs team that has still run into trouble staffing its receiver posts. While Xavier Worthy‘s rookie contract runs through 2027, Rashee Rice has battled injuries and a suspension. And an ugly accusation of domestic violence by his ex-girlfriend could put the talented wideout in the NFL’s crosshairs once again. The Chiefs, who also have Marquise Brown unsigned for 2026, are at least poised to have Kelce anchoring at least one more Mahomes-piloted pass attack.
Giants To Re-Sign RT Jermaine Eluemunor
Offseason Giants negotiations with Jermaine Eluemunor will produce a deal. The two-year Big Blue right tackle starter is sticking around under John Harbaugh‘s staff.
New York is retaining Eluemunor on a three-year, $39MM deal that includes $26MM guaranteed, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Although Eluemunor will turn 32 before year’s end, this represents by far a career-best payday for the veteran tackle.
The upcoming staff change did not affect Eluemunor much, as he was a former Ravens draftee who played two seasons under Harbaugh (2017-18). Later moving to the Patriots and Raiders, Eluemunor collected vet-minimum money or not much above it until signing a two-year, $14MM Giants pact in 2024. HBO’s Hard Knocks: Offseason debut revealed Eluemunor only wanted a two-year deal from the Giants; that turned out to be a smart play.
A three- or four-year pact at the time could have aged Eluemunor out of a deal in this range. Because he is hitting free agency after two healthy years at 31, he will cash in. After spending time filling in for Andrew Thomas at left tackle last year, Eluemunor stayed at RT in 2025. New York was planning to use Eluemunor at left guard during the 2024 offseason, but Evan Neal issues prompted the team to kick the UFA addition to his most familiar O-line post.
Neal was supposed to be the Giants’ answer at right tackle opposite Thomas, but the former No. 7 overall pick is on track to become one of this decade’s biggest busts. Neal is no longer under contract with the Giants, who will go with Eluemunor opposite their cornerstone (but injury-prone) left tackle. Eluemunor worked as the Raiders’ primary RT from 2022-23, starting at guard in 2021. The former fifth-round pick has now started 76 career games; he represents one of GM Joe Schoen‘s success stories — there have not been many — during his rocky tenure.
While the Giants prioritized an Eluemunor deal, they were also interested in retaining Wan’Dale Robinson and Cor’Dale Flott. Both 2022 draftees defected to the Titans, rejoining former Giants HC Brian Daboll.
Bills, CB Dee Alford Agree To Deal
The Bills’ secondary will have a number of new faces in 2026. One of them will be veteran cornerback Dee Alford.
Team and player have agreed to a three-year pact, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports. The deal is worth $21MM, he adds. Alford will collect $10MM in guarantees.
This agreement, which includes $7.88MM fully guaranteed (per OverTheCap), comes after the Bills agreed to trade slot staple Taron Johnson to the Raiders. Alford’s 2027 base salary includes a partial guarantee, with the rest locking in on Day 5 of the 2027 league year. That gives the Bills some flexibility as they make a slot cornerback change for the first time since 2018.
Johnson had resided as Buffalo’s slot corner for eight seasons. As boundary defenders and safeties came and went, Johnson was the constant in Buffalo’s secondary. But the team needed to make significant changes to move under the salary cap, especially with D.J. Moore‘s salary coming onto the payroll. As of Monday night, the Bills are still $15MM-plus over the cap.
Alford’s contract will come in a bit cheaper, though not by too much. The former Falcons slot defender’s AAV is just less than $3MM south of Johnson’s. But the Bills are also implementing a new defensive system for the first time since Sean McDermott‘s 2017 arrival. Alford will be part of Jim Leonhard‘s vision.
A former UDFA, Alford played for four defensive coordinators in four Atlanta seasons. Not being tendered as an RFA in 2025, Alford — who played for $1.5MM in 2025 — will secure a big raise after his fourth season. That slate under Jeff Ulbrich included a career-high six tackles for loss. After being charged with eight TDs allowed as the closest defender in 2024, Alford was tagged with four in 2025. His passer rating-against and completion rate-allowed numbers plummeted, though Pro Football Focus only ranked him 94th among corners last season. Nevertheless, the Bills like him for Leonard’s defense — where he will be expected to play alongside boundary CBs Christian Benford and Maxwell Hairston.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Commanders To Sign DT Tim Settle
Tim Settle will return to Washington in 2026. The veteran defensive tackle has agreed to a Commanders deal, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
This will be a three-year pact with a base value of $24MM. The contract could max out at $25.5MM. Settle played in Washington from 2018-21, and he will now return to the fold.
The Commanders will be quite different for Settle this time around. They weren’t even the Commanders when he last played in the nation’s capital. Joining the team during Ryan Kerrigan‘s OLB era, Settle later teamed with the team’s four younger first-round D-linemen — Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Montez Sweat, Chase Young. All but Payne are gone, and the 2018 first-rounder is in a contract year. Washington traded Sweat and Young in 2023 and cut Allen last year.
Working alongside the foursome during its lone full season of health together (2020), Settle tallied five sacks that season. That 2020 campaign undoubtedly helped Settle cash in as a free agent. He signed a two-year, $9MM Bills deal. Buffalo, however, gave Settle a pay cut during the 2023 offseason. He then signed a two-year, $6MM Texans deal.
A starter in DeMeco Ryans‘ defense, Settle is seeing by far the biggest payday of his career. The Texans’ dominant defense assuredly helped the veteran cash in. Ryans used Settle as a full-time starter in 2025, but Settle’s more productive season came a year prior. He totaled a career-best 10 tackles for loss and matched his career high with five sacks in 2024. ESPN’s run stop win rate metric also viewed Settle as sporting the league’s fifth-best mark in 2024.
Settle will join Payne and 2025 free agency addition Javon Kinlaw at D-tackle in Washington. This has the makings of a quality two-deep, with former second-round pick Jer’Zhan Newton in place as a backup. Newton has not made a big impact yet, however, and this Settle signing may further interfere with the Illinois alum.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Cardinals To Sign QB Gardner Minshew
Nomadic quarterback Gardner Minshew has found his sixth NFL team. Minshew will sign a one-year, $8.25MM contract with the Cardinals, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
A 47-game starter over his seven-year career, Minshew may be in the mix for playing time in Arizona. The Cardinals are moving on from longtime starter Kyler Murray, whom they plan to release. Journeyman Jacoby Brissett is on the roster as a de facto starter, but he could draw trade interest.
A 2019 sixth-rounder from Washington State, Minshew unexpectedly worked as the Jaguars’ primary starter in his rookie season. Nick Foles entered the year as the starter, but Minshew stepped in after he broke his clavicle in the opener. Foles returned later in the season, though he struggled enough that Minshew reclaimed the starting role.
While Minshew combined for 20 starts over his first two seasons, the Jaguars went just 7-13 during that stretch. Shortly before the 2021 season started, the Jags dealt Minshew to the Eagles for a sixth-round pick.
After two seasons as Philadelphia’s backup, Minshew signed a one-year, $3.5MM deal with the Colts to join first-round rookie Anthony Richardson in 2023. With multiple injuries limiting Richardson to four games, Minshew performed well over 13 starts. The Colts remained committed to Richardson, though, leading Minshew to accept the Raiders’ two-year, $25MM offer in 2024.
Even though Minshew went into ’24 as the Raiders’ starter, he was unable to hold the job for the whole year. The Raiders released Minshew after a disappointing season. He stayed in the AFC West to work as the Chiefs’ backup behind Patrick Mahomes last year. Mahomes suffered a torn ACL in Week 15, which could have given Minshew a chance to start for the rest of the season. However, making his first Chiefs start against the Titans the next week, Minshew went down with what was believed to be an ACL tear. It turned out to be a non-displaced tibial plateau fracture.
Minshew was reportedly back to full health as of three weeks ago. The 29-year-old will now catch on with the Cardinals as the owner of a career 63.1% completion rate with 68 touchdowns, 35 interceptions and an 88.0 passer rating over 63 games.