49ers Finalize 2026 Coaching Staff
The 49ers made a number of coaching changes this offseason with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh accepting the Titans’ head coaching job and taking a number of assistants to Tennessee.
San Francisco gradually filled its vacancies and recently announced a full staff, including official titles for new hires and several internal promotions.
Jerry Gray arrived in San Francisco in February and has since been announced as the team’s defensive pass-game coordinator. He is entering his fourth decade of coaching defensive backs and will work closely with cornerbacks coach Ray Brown.
The 49ers also promoted a few members of their defensive staff. Johnny Holland, who has primarily worked with linebackers in his nine seasons with the club, will now serve as the defensive run game coordinator. Replacing him as the linebackers coach will be K.J. Wright, who spent 11 years playing the position for the Seahawks and Raiders. He first joined the 49ers in 2024 as a defensive quality control coach.
The team made a number of internal promotions on the offensive side of the ball, too. Joe Graves was promoted from offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach to run game coordinator. Taking his role will be Jacob Webster, who is being promoted from an offensive quality control role. The same is true of Deuce Schwartz, now an offensive assistant/tight ends coach.
Roman Sapolu, who was also hired in February, will be the assistant offensive line coach, overseeing the position he once played at Oregon State and coached at multiple college programs. He will serve under offensive line coach/assistant head coach Chris Foerster.
Malik Nabers Not Expected To Begin Giants Training Camp On Time
One of the reasons that John Harbaugh took the Giants’ head coaching gig was his excitement about the young talent on their roster. However, he will have to wait a while longer for two of those players to be healthy enough to join the rest of the team on the field.
Wide receiver Malik Nabers and running back Cam Skattebo were both present for the start of the Giants’ offseason program this week, but both are still rehabbing from major injuries that ended their 2025 seasons. Nabers tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee in Week 4; Skattebo suffered a fractured and dislocated ankle in Week 8.
Harbaugh indicated that Skattebo would be on the field “at some point” for spring practices, per Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. Any OTA or minicamp participation from the second-year running back would be a good sign for his ability to take the field at the start of training camp.
Skattebo is ahead of Nabers, who will be back “closer to the season,” Harbaugh added. His pronouncement somewhat contradicts general manager Joe Schoen‘s previous prediction that Nabers would be “ready for training camp.”
Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart may not have his top wideout and running back on the practice field at the beginning of OTAs, but he will be able to start building chemistry with free agent signing Darnell Mooney. The veteran wide receiver signed in New York for a one-year, $3MM contract that includes another $7MM in incentives, which range across a number of categories, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan.
Mooney can earn $250K for playing at least 75% of the Giants’ offensive snaps. $375K is available for eclipsing 35 receptions, which increases every 10 with a maximum of $2.5MM for 75 catches or more. The same is true for receiving yards, starting at $375K for 450 yards and increasing every 150 with up to $2.5MM available for recording at least 1,050 yards. Mooney will also receive $375k for three touchdowns, $750K for five, $1.25MM for seven, and $1.75MM for nine or more.
Mooney did not hit any of these numbers in 2025, a down year for the veteran receiver, so all of his incentives are considered Not Likely To Be Earned. They will not count against this year’s salary cap, and if Mooney hits any of them, the Giants will be charged on next year’s cap.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/8/26
Here are today’s midweek minor transactions:
New York Jets
- Signed ERFA tender: LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Received roster exemption (international player): LB Julius Welschof
Going undrafted out of Indiana in 2022, McCrary-Ball will be back for his fourth year in New York. After serving solely on special teams in his first two years, McCrary-Ball saw some extended time on defense for the first time in his career last year.
Welschof has been with the Steelers since he signed with the team as an undrafted free agent two years ago out of Charlotte, where the German-born defender had transferred after five years at Michigan. With the international player roster exemption, the Steelers will be able to place Welschof on their practice squad in the regular season without him counting against the 16-man limit.
S Jessie Bates Wants To Retire A Falcon
The Falcons lost a notable contributor to retirement when right tackle Kaleb McGary hung up his cleats Wednesday. Shortly before the McGary news broke, safety Jessie Bates declared that he would like to spend the rest of his career in Atlanta (via Josh Kendall of The Athletic).
“I want to retire as a Falcon,” the eight-year veteran said. “My family loves it here.”
Unlike McGary, the 29-year-old Bates is not ready to walk away. But with just one season left on his contract, Bates’ long-term future with the Falcons is in question. The sides have not engaged in extension talks.
A highly productive Bengal over his first five seasons, the former second-round pick left Cincinnati for Atlanta after the 2022 campaign. The Falcons gave Bates a four-year, $64MM contract, then one of the five all-time richest deals at the position.
The Falcons have extended their playoff drought to eight years since they added Bates, but he has been worth the investment. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder has not missed a game in Atlanta, where he has started in all 51 appearances. His defensive snap shares have ranged from 98.38% to 99.47% in each of his Falcons seasons, and he has added 13 interceptions and eight forced fumbles. The ball-hawking Bates picked off a career-high six passes and amassed 132 tackles in 2023, which is surprisingly his lone Pro Bowl season to date. He also earned second-team All-Pro honors.
Bates was a second-team All-Pro for the third time last season, during which he came down with another three INTs and upped his career total to 27. After working with safeties Richie Grant and Justin Simmons over his first two years in Atlanta, Bates teamed with a new partner in Xavier Watts last season. Watts emerged as a core defender as a rookie, giving the Falcons at least one long-term safety starter.
Bates is set to join Watts for at least another year, but it could be their last as a tandem. While Bates wants to ride out his career in Atlanta, his fate is in the hands of a front office that was not in place when he joined the team.
Browns Meet With WR KC Concepcion, TE Kenyon Sadiq
The Browns are clearly lacking receiving weapons as the 2026 NFL Draft nears. Armed with two first-round picks, they could snag at least one pass catcher with a high selection. The team hosted a pair of likely first-rounders in Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion and Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq on Wednesday, per reports from Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Cleveland is light at wideout, especially after Jerry Jeudy‘s production plummeted last season. Jeudy went from 90 catches and 1,229 yards in 2024 to 50 and 602 in those categories in 2025. No other returning Browns receiver even reached the 25-catch mark, and they have not added anyone of note to the group this offseason. That explains their interest in Concepcion and several other draft-bound receivers. Concepcion may be more realistic for the Browns’ second first-rounder (No. 24) than their top selection (No. 6).
The Browns are not expected to re-sign longtime starting tight end David Njoku, who remains a free agent, after finding a replacement last year. A third-round rookie in 2025, Harold Fannin was a rare bright spot in Cleveland’s offense. The 6-foot-4, 241-pounder led the Browns in catches (72), yards (731) and receiving touchdowns (six). Fannin’s presence suggests the Browns do not need to make a major investment in a tight end. However, as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator from 2023-25, new Browns head coach Todd Monken made use of the Mark Andrews–Isaiah Likely pass-catching duo.
Monken and the Browns will at least consider pairing Sadiq with Fannin, though it is unclear if they are interested in using a top-10 pick on the position. Sadiq may not be there at 24, yet six could be too rich in this case. Only three tight ends (including Kellen Winslow II to the Browns in 2004) have come off the board at No. 6 or higher since 2000.
Regardless of whether the Browns take him, Sadiq looks like a shoo-in first-rounder after a second-team All-America season and a spectacular performance at the Combine. He has a notable Cleveland connection in quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who played with Sadiq at Oregon in 2024. That may not matter, though, considering Gabriel is not expected to start for the Browns in 2026.
Falcons To Sign RT Jawaan Taylor
The Falcons may have already found their replacement for retired right tackle Kaleb McGary. Atlanta has agreed to a one-year deal with Jawaan Taylor, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. The contract carries a $5MM base value and up to $1MM in incentives.
McGary missed all of last season with a knee injury, but expectations were the longtime Falcon would step back into the starting lineup in 2026. Instead, though, McGary walked away from the game on Wednesday. Having already lost 2025 starter Elijah Wilkinson to the Cardinals in free agency, McGary’s retirement left the Falcons dangerously thin at right tackle. It did not take long for the Falcons to find an experienced option in the 28-year-old Taylor, who will presumably start opposite left tackle Jake Matthews next season.
Taylor entered the NFL in 2019 as part of the same draft class as McGary. The Jaguars took Taylor 35th overall, four picks after the Falcons selected McGary. Taylor has since started in all 111 regular-season games, including 66 as a Jaguar over his first four seasons.
Upon reaching free agency in 2023, Taylor left Jacksonville for Kansas City’s four-year, $80MM offer. Then the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Chiefs brought Taylor in to replace Orlando Brown Jr., who signed with the Bengals. Taylor was a 17-game starter in his first year in Kansas City, the most recent title-winning campaign for the franchise. The team went back to the Super Bowl the next season, a 16-start year for Taylor, but the Eagles blew them out.
Taylor had never missed more than one game in a season going into 2025, but a triceps injury held him to 12 appearances. His season officially ended when the out-of-contention Chiefs placed him on IR in late December. Pro Football Focus rated Taylor’s play a subpar 76th among 84 tackles. PFF has never been enamored of Taylor, who topped out at 49th in its rankings back in his rookie season.
With the chance to free up $20MM in cap space, the Chiefs took the expected route and released Taylor in March. Over his three years in Kansas City, Taylor took a whopping 40 penalties. With limited options in free agency, no first-round pick and just five selections in total, the Falcons will gamble on the 6-foot-5, 330-pound Taylor to protect the blind side of a left-handed quarterback. Either Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr. will open the season as their starting signal-caller.
CB Jermod McCoy To Visit Panthers
Despite missing last season with a torn ACL, Tennesee’s Jermod McCoy may be one of the two best cornerbacks in this year’s draft class. Two weeks away from the draft, McCoy is on Carolina’s radar. The Panthers will host McCoy on Friday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.
This is the first known visit for McCoy, who did his best to allay concerns over his knee at Tennessee’s pro day on March 31. The 20-year-old clocked in at 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash, logged a 38-inch vertical jump, and registered a 10-foot, 7-inch broad jump. Along with his athletic gifts, the 6-foot-1, 188-pound McCoy has good size and a quality on-field track record.
McCoy had Ivy League offers going into college, but he committed to Tulane and then flipped to Oregon State. In 2023, which proved to be his lone season with the Beavers, McCoy pulled in a pair of interceptions in 12 games. He then transferred to Tennessee, where he excelled during his healthy Volunteers season. McCoy picked off four passes in 2024 en route to a second-team All-America selection. While he was unable to build on that performance last year, McCoy is nonetheless battling LSU’s Mansoor Delane for top corner honors in this draft. Both players look like surefire first-rounders.
As owners of the 19th overall pick, the Panthers may be out of range for McCoy, whom Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com ranks as the 15th-best prospect available. The Panthers’ most recent first-round investment at corner came when they chose Jaycee Horn eighth overall in 2021. Now a back-to-back Pro Bowler, Horn inked a four-year, $100MM extension last offseason.
McCoy could team with Horn to comprise Carolina’s long-term corner duo, which may eventually push Mike Jackson out of the organization. Jackson was a 17-game starter opposite Horn in each of the past two years. Although Jackson was especially productive in 2025, the 29-year-old has just one season left on his contract. Drafting McCoy could lead Jackson elsewhere in free agency next March.
Giants To Sign G Daniel Faalele
John Harbaugh is bringing another former Raven to New York. The Giants are signing guard Daniel Faalele to a one-year deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Faalele will continue to play under Harbaugh, who coached the 2022 fourth-round pick during his first four seasons in the NFL. The 6-foot-8, 370-pound Australian operated as a backup tackle during his first two seasons in Baltimore, but he took on a full-time right guard role in 2024. Faalele registered his second straight 17-start season last year. He finished as Pro Football Focus’ 52nd-ranked guard among 79 qualifiers.
Weeks after Harbaugh’s tenure in Baltimore ended, the team replaced Faalele with John Simpson at the outset of free agency. Faalele took almost a month to land elsewhere, but he figures to at least compete for the Giants’ starting right guard spot. Greg Van Roten held the position last season, during which he was the team’s only lineman to play 100% of snaps. PFF gave Van Roten a solid review (he ranked 33rd among guards), but he remains a free agent.
The Giants have added Faalele and Lucas Patrick, whom they signed Monday, as veteran right guard options. They also have Evan Neal, Aaron Stinnie, Joshua Ezeudu and Bryan Hudson in the fold. Set to pick seven times in the draft, the Giants could add to the group in a couple of weeks.
As expected, Harbaugh has brought several familiar faces with him to his new organization. Before the Giants agreed to sign Faalele, they picked up former Ravens Isaiah Likely, Patrick Ricard, Jordan Stout and Ar’Darius Washington in free agency.
Saints Pick Up Bryan Bresee’s Fifth-Year Option
Defensive lineman Bryan Bresee will stay in New Orleans through at least 2027. The Saints have picked up the 2023 first-round pick’s fifth-year option, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports. Bresee will earn $13.93MM if he plays under the option.
The Saints drafted Bresee with the 29th pick, which they received from the Broncos in the teams’ Sean Payton trade. While Bresee arrived as Clemson’s top recruit in 2020, he did not have a dominant college career. A 2021 ACL tear had something to do with that, though Bresee has been durable since then. He earned second-team All-ACC acclaim in his final season with the Tigers, and he has since appeared in 49 of a possible 51 games with the Saints.
Bresee did not log any starts during a 17-game rookie season, though he notched nine QB hits, seven TFL and 4.5 sacks in a rotational role. The 6-foot-5, 305-pounder has primarily worked as a starter since then. He recorded career-best numbers in his second year, a 17-game, 11-start campaign in which he posted 14 QB hits, 7.5 sacks and another seven TFL.
Bresee missed the Saints’ last two games in 2025 as a result of a knee injury, but he started in all 15 of his appearances. However, his production declined. The 24-year-old put up eight QB hits, five TFL and 2.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus, which has never been especially fond of Bresee’s work, rated him a below-average 87th among 127 interior defensive linemen.
Bresee has typically earned good reviews as a pass rusher, but his run defense has lacked during his three-year career. The Saints have seen enough positives to keep him around for the entirety of his rookie contract, but it remains to be seen if they will extend him this offseason.
Seahawks Not Expected To Adjust Uchenna Nwosu’s Contract
Neither Uchenna Nwosu nor DeMarcus Lawrence were healthy for much of the 2024 season. Nwosu missed a sizable chunk of the 2023 campaign as well. But the Seahawks saw both their top edge rushers hold up last season, doing plenty to pave a path to the franchise’s second Super Bowl title.
Missing 22 games between the 2023 and ’24 seasons, Nwosu accepted a pay cut in 2025. The deal reduced Nwosu’s 2025 compensation by $6.99MM and dropped his ’25 cap number to $12.45MM. The shift to a two-year, $19.51MM deal, however, left a $20MM cap hit for 2026. Considering Nwosu’s past unavailability, the veteran edge defender’s contract loomed as one to monitor this offseason.
But John Schneider does not anticipate the Seahawks adjusting the deal, per ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson. Nwosu returning to full strength after back-to-back six-game seasons made an impression for the Hawks, and Henderson notes Schneider appears comfortable with the player’s increased cap hit. This is the final year of Nwosu’s deal.
The Seahawks initially brought in Nwosu on a two-year, $19.1MM contract in 2022, bringing him over from the Chargers after a contract year spent as Joey Bosa‘s top sidekick. Nwosu impressed in his first Seattle season, posting career-high numbers in sacks (9.5) and QB hits (26). That led Seattle — in Pete Carroll‘s final offseason at the helm — to reward Nwosu with a three-year, $45MM extension. A pectoral strain ended Nwosu’s 2023 season midway through, and he missed time in 2024 because of knee and thigh trouble.
Last season, Nwosu played 16 regular-season games and tallied seven sacks. That tied for the team lead. Nwosu then scored a Super Bowl touchdown, returning a Drake Maye INT 45 yards for an easy TD. Nwosu, 29, did not record a sack in the playoffs. With Boye Mafe defecting to the Bengals — on a three-year, $60MM deal — amplifies Nwosu’s importance for 2026, though considering Lawrence has pondered retirement, it would not surprise to see the defending champions seek EDGE help early in the draft. Lawrence will turn 34 this year, and one season remains on Derick Hall‘s second-round rookie contract.
Interior rushers Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy tied Nwosu for the team lead with seven sacks. The Seahawks were not too active in adding talent in free agency. They lost several key players, however, with Kenneth Walker, Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen departing. Nwosu no longer looks like a release candidate, as the Seahawks will hope their 2022 offseason addition can replicate his healthy 2025. Nwosu doing so would position him for a solid short- or medium-term contract — be it from Seattle or elsewhere — in 2027. For now, the Seahawks have $32.95MM in cap space — eighth-most in the league.