HEADLINES

Tampa Bay Buccaneers News & Rumors

Ndamukong Suh Announces Retirement

July 12th, 2025 at 10:17pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Longtime NFL defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has officially announced his retirement in a social media post.

Suh was one of the most dominant defensive linemen of the 2010s, earning five Pro Bowls and three first-team All-Pro selections across his 13-year career. He finished one game shy of 200 regular-season appearances and recorded 600 total tackles, 71.5 sacks, and 130 tackles.

Suh revealed that his father passed away exactly one year ago, inspiring him to seek out a post-football career hosting No Free Lunch, a podcast with The Athletic focused on business and finance. He hopes to use his platform to help athletes and young entrepreneurs.

Suh had a stellar career at the University of Nebraska, including a monstrous senior year in 2009 with 12.5 sacks and 21 tackles for loss. He won the Nagurski and Bednarik Awards as the best defensive player in college football, was named a unanimous All-American, and finished fourth in Heisman voting.

He was then selected by the Lions with the No. 2 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and burst onto the pro scene with 10.0 sacks as a rookie, earning him the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award along with Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors. He never reached double-digit sacks again, but remained a fierce disruptor on the interior with three more Pro Bowls and three more All-Pro nods in Detroit.

Suh was one of the biggest prizes of free agency in 2015 and ultimately signed a massive six-year, $114MM contract with the Dolphins. Suh’s $19MM per year — a defender-record contract at the time — may not seem like much relative to the modern interior defensive line market, but it represented a whopping 13.3% of the 2015 salary cap. Adjusted to the 2025 cap, Suh’s APY would be over $37MM, by far the highest-paid DT in the league, per OverTheCap.

However, after 36 sacks and 66 tackles for loss in five years with the Lions, Suh only had 14.5 sacks and 23 tackles for loss in his first three years in Miami. He was released in 2018 and signed with the Rams for one season before a three-year stint in Tampa Bay. Suh helped the Rams to Super Bowl LIII, pairing with Aaron Donald for a season, and returned to the sport’s biggest stage with the Buccaneers.

Suh’s time with the Bucs featured a resurgence in play (12 sacks across 2020 and 2021) and his first and only championship in Super Bowl LV. Suh teamed with Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul to hound Patrick Mahomes in a home Super Bowl romp, the Bucs’ second championship. As the Bucs attempted to run it back with their full starting lineup in 2021, that meant re-signing Suh. The former Heisman runner-up ended up signing three one-year contracts with the Bucs, the last of which being worth $9MM.

Finishing off his career with five one-year contracts in a row, Suh then joined the Eagles partway through the 2022 season and even appeared in Super Bowl LVII. Although he was connected to a 2023 return, no comeback commenced. He received interest from the Ravens and the Dolphins during the 2023 season, but no deal came to fruition.

Suh finishes his career with just over $168MM in total earnings. He was already been named to the Hall of Fame All-2010s team and will have a chance at being inducted in five years. His candidacy, along with other modern DTs like Fletcher Cox, Geno Atkins, and Cameron Heyward, will be an interesting litmus test for the position’s Hall of Fame standards.

Bucs May Try Zyon McCollum In Slot

July 10th, 2025 at 5:17pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Buccaneers’ safeties have taken the majority of the team’s slot snaps over the past three years, but reports out of their spring practices indicate that head coach Todd Bowles could slide one of his outside cornerbacks into the nickel in 2025.

Tampa Bay is returning both of its starting cornerbacks from last season (Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum) and also added two Day 2 cornerbacks in April’s draft (Benjamin Morrison, Jacob Parrish). All four have primarily played on the boundary in the last three years, so getting more than two on the field will require at least one to play in the slot.

Dean has been a consistent contributor on the outside for his entire six-year career when healthy, so he will likely remain in that role this year. Parrish, a third-round pick, took first-team reps at nickel during spring practices. He primarily played on the boundary in college, but multiple pre-draft projections pegged him for a switch to the slot. If he were to hold onto the starting role, Dean and McCollum would likely reprise their 2024 roles as full-time starters on the boundary.

Bowles also mentioned McCollum as a potential nickel convert, according to Dan Pompei of The Athletic. The fourth-year corner has played more than 80% of his NFL snaps on the outside, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). In his last six seasons – three in college and three in the pros – McCollum has only played 267 snaps in the slot, but he will have plenty of time to adjust during training camp. However, he may object to moving to a less-valuable position in a contract year.

McCollum playing in the slot would open up an opportunity for Parrish or Morrison to compete for a starting role on the boundary in nickel and dime sets. Morrison did not participate in spring practices as he recovers from last year’s hip injury and subsequent surgery, but he is expected to be ready for training camp.

It is still possible that the Buccaneers revert to their previous strategy of deploying safeties in the slot. Even if Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tykee Smith as more traditional safeties this year, Christian Izien has been one of the team’s most frequent slot defenders over the past two years. He earned Tampa Bay’s primary nickel job as an undrafted rookie in 2023, but struggled in 2024 as he ceded more slot snaps to Smith. A return to his 2023 form could keep him on the field in a contract year.

33 Unsigned 2025 Draft Picks Remain

July 9th, 2025 at 9:19pm CST by Ely Allen

The NFL has hit a logjam and is collectively lagging far behind where it normally is at this point in the offseason. Two years ago, the league hit its last 30 unsigned players before July. Last year, teams were signing rookies as quickly as they were drafting them, and only 10 players remained unsigned by June 17. A couple intriguing situations have caused pens to go quiet in 2025, and as a result, here are the 33 remaining unsigned rookies of the 2025 NFL Draft:

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 4:

  • No. 107 (Jaguars): Jack Kiser (LB, Notre Dame)

In recent years, a trend has seen second-rounders lasting the longest, but what we’re seeing this year is unheard of. As rookies have been getting a bit of flexibility in negotiating structures of guarantees, getting deals done has become a waiting game of seeing what surrounding picks are getting for comparison. Last year, teams breezed through the issue, but 2025 has seen significantly increased troubles.

Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins set the tone by signing a fully guaranteed rookie contract, the first ever for a second-round selection. The next day, the Browns were essentially forced to do the same for Carson Schwesinger, picked one slot before Higgins. Shough, the Saints rookie quarterback, is seeking the same deal, hoping that his elevated status as a passer will help convince New Orleans to continue making history. Shough’s efforts have caused every pick between him and Higgins to stand pat, waiting to see if they get to ask for full guarantees from their teams, as well. This would be a drastic development, as last year’s 40th overall pick, Cooper DeJean, received only two fully guaranteed years with only partial guarantees in Year 3.

The biggest story outside of the second round is that of the standoff between Stewart and the Bengals. Stewart has issues with what he perceives as a lack of protection in Cincinnati’s offer that causes a contract default in any year to void any guarantees in all the following years. It’s a new precedent the team is trying to set, and Stewart seems intent on preventing them from doing so.

It will be interesting to see which standoff gets settled first: Stewart’s or Shough’s. The latter standoff ending would likely set off a domino reaction of second-round deals that would help a large number of teams close out their rookie classes. To this point, only four NFL teams have done so.

Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs Will Miss Start Of 2025 Season

July 9th, 2025 at 9:12pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Buccaneers All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs is expected to be sidelined for the start of the 2025 regular season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this week, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

Wirfs sprained the MCL in his right knee last November, per FOX Sports’ Greg Auman, but only missed one game before returning to the field. The soreness from that injury lingered into the offseason, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, sidelining Wirfs for parts of spring practices, during which he wore a brace on his knee. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said last month (via Auman) that Wirfs’ limited participation was “precautionary,” adding that “he’ll be fine in training camp.”

However, the team determined that surgery was best for Wirf’s long-term health. The knee scope revealed more damage than expected, and the 2020 first-rounder will be placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list during training camp, per Stroud. His stay on the PUP list will likely extend into the regular season.

All eyes in Tampa Bay will now turn to the team’s tackle depth. Wirfs is not expected to miss more than a few games, so the Buccaneers are unlikely to flip right tackle Luke Goedeke to the blind side. The team swapped out veteran swing tackles this offseason, letting Justin Skule depart in free agency and signing Charlie Heck. Heck started two games at left tackle for the 49ers last season and will likely be the Buccaneers’ Week 1 starter.

Wirfs will now begin the recovery process from the recent surgery with the goal of missing as few games as possible. Of greater importance to both him and the Buccaneers will be a full and complete recovery from his MCL injury with five years remaining on his extension signed in 2024.

Release Candidate: Jamel Dean

July 6th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean has enjoyed an impressive career in Tampa Bay. Since the team drafted him out of Auburn in the third round of the 2019 draft, Dean has been a consistent, impactful presence in the Buccaneers’ secondary, starting 63 games in 82 appearances while recording eight interceptions, 52 passes defensed, and 313 tackles. He even won a Super Bowl in his second year with the team. Even so, it stands to reason that Dean’s time in pewter and red (and occasionally Creamsicle orange) could reasonably come to an end.

To begin with, injuries have been starting to impact the 28-year-old lately. Now, Dean has never played every game in a season, missing at least two games each year, but 2023 saw Dean miss four games with neck, knee, and ankle issues and 2024 saw Dean miss five games, including four straight, with a hamstring issue and a knee injury. Ultimately, it’s understandable to a degree, given the nature of the sport, but as Dean’s salary ($12.5MM in 2025 and $13MM in 2026) and cap hit ($15.14MM in 2025 and $15.78MM in 2026) continue to increase each year of his second contract, those missed games hurt that much more.

That brings us to our second point to this theory. Dean’s second contract — a four-year, $52MM re-signing in 2023 — features a potential out after the 2024 season that would have allowed the team to terminate the deal with only $6.85MM of dead money and $8.29MM of cap savings. Now that we are post-June 1, that potential out looks even more tempting as it would leave Tampa Bay with only $2.28MM in dead money and $12.85MM in cap savings.

In order to cut a starter like Dean, though, they should be confident that they can replace him. That makes it interesting, then, to go back and see that the Buccaneers utilized two Day 2 picks on second-round Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison and third-round Kansas State cornerback Jacob Parrish.

Morrison was garnering plenty of first-round buzz before suffering a season-ending hip injury in mid-October. His film from his freshman and sophomore campaigns — showing fluidity, vision, and big play ability — was enough to land him in the second round. Parrish is an extremely quick and twitchy cornerback with balance and physicality that help him play much bigger than his actual size. When matched up against the Heisman-winning, No. 2 overall pick Travis Hunter this season, Parrish limited the two-way player to only three catches for 26 yards and no touchdowns.

If all that’s been laid out here comes to pass, and the Buccaneers part ways with the veteran of six years, Dean should be fine. He’s only two years removed from having earned a significant second contract, and at 28, he still has plenty of tread on his tires. Not to mention, any team lucky enough to have a hole at cornerback and a healthy chunk of available cap would be getting a cornerback who has never ranked lower than 26th (he averages around 16th over six seasons) in Pro Football Focus’ position rankings (subscription required).

The Buccaneers may very well intend for Dean to see his contract through, or perhaps they may even restructure the deal or extend him on new terms. He’s been a consistent, impactful presence and could be for years to come in Tampa Bay. But should the team want to improve its cap space from an admittedly already healthy $26.63MM, per OvertheCap.com, to $39.48MM, moving them from 14th in the NFL to fourth, this would be a potential option.

Extension Candidate: Mike Evans

July 6th, 2025 at 9:42pm CST by Rory Parks

Despite missing three full games due to injury in 2024, Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans completed his mission of topping 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first 11 seasons in the NFL. The six-time Pro Bowler and franchise icon is entering the final year of the two-year, $41MM contract he signed in March 2024, and he therefore profiles as an obvious extension candidate.

However, prior to putting pen to paper on his current pact, Evans appeared to be on track to hit the open market, and he considered the Chiefs and Texans to be viable destinations if he had become a free agent and left Tampa. So, while it is difficult to imagine Evans in anything other than a Bucs uniform, he has at least entertained the notion in recent history.

That reality, combined with his age (he will turn 32 next month) and the Bucs’ heavy investment in the WR position could lead Evans elsewhere in 2026. Indeed, Tampa Bay re-upped Chris Godwin on a three-year, $66MM deal before free agency opened this year, and the club surprised many by adding Ohio State standout Emeka Egbuka in the first round (No. 19 overall) of this year’s draft. Jalen McMillan was selected in the third round of the 2024 draft, and he flashed as a rookie, securing 37 catches for 461 yards and eight scores.

On the other hand, newly-extended GM Jason Licht has made a habit of retaining his own talent. And, with the Bucs firmly in the midst of a competitive window, there is certainly an argument to be made for retaining Evans, who has continued to be productive into his early 30s. 

That is especially true in light of the fact that Godwin has operated primarily in the slot since becoming a full-time starter in 2019 (outside of Dave Canales’ one-and-done season as offensive coordinator in 2023). Egbuka likewise spent most of his college career working out of the slot, so even with multiple high-end contracts and premium draft picks populating the wide receiver depth chart, Evans’ skill set as a dangerous boundary target is hardly redundant.

Plus, the use of void years in Evans’ current deal will force the Bucs to eat over $13MM in dead money if he is not on the roster next year. When talking about possible Olympic participation in 2028, Evans said he would likely be retired by that point, which suggests he plans to keep playing for at least the 2026-27 campaigns. As such, a two-year add-on would make plenty of sense for both sides, and as the Bucs presently sit in the top half of the league in terms of cap space ($26.53MM), they seemingly have the flexibility to make it work (although quarterback Baker Mayfield may be eyeing a new contract and substantial raise next year). 

Regardless of where his next contract comes from, Evans stands to add considerably to his ~$134MM in career earnings, which positions him in the top-15 among active non-quarterbacks. He also has an excellent chance to bolster his Hall of Fame candidacy over the next several years.

Although he is currently in 24th place on the all-time receiving yards list (12,684), Evans can quickly catapult up that index of luminaries if he can sustain what has become ordinary output for him. By the time the 2027 season is in the books, it would not be surprising to see him in the top-five in terms of receiving yards (Isaac Bruce presently sits at No. 5 with 15,208) and receiving touchdowns (Marvin Harrison Sr. and his 128 TDs are in fifth place in that regard, while Evans leads the way among all active players with 105 receiving TDs).

In addition to his tremendous 17-game average triple-slash of 85/1,284/11, Evans has never played in fewer than 13 games in a season. There have been no reports of extension talks yet, but one would imagine that Licht & Co. are at least giving it some thought.

The NFL’s Longest-Tenured GMs

July 5th, 2025 at 10:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL’s 2025 HC carousel brought five new sideline leaders; this year’s GM market eventually featured four new hires. Two teams made quick-trigger decisions involving front office bosses this offseason.

Not long after the Raiders fired Antonio Pierce, they booted Tom Telesco — brought in to give the inexperienced HC a seasoned GM — after just one season. New minority owner Tom Brady, who certainly appears to have downplayed his Raiders role in a recent interview, wanted a fresh start. That meant firing Telesco despite the GM’s Brock Bowers draft choice last year. John Spytek, an ex-Brady Michigan teammate who was with the Buccaneers when the team signed the QB icon, replaced him. Formerly the Chargers’ front office boss, Telesco had entered every season in a GM chair since 2013.

Ran Carthon received two years in charge in Tennessee, but owner Amy Adams Strunk — a year after the surprise Mike Vrabel firing — moved on and arranged an interesting power structure this offseason. The Titans installed Chad Brinker, who had been one of Carthon’s two assistant GMs, as president of football operations. The ex-Carthon lieutenant holds final say over new hire Mike Borgonzi, who did run the Titans’ draft this year. Borgonzi, who interviewed for the Jets’ GM job as well, comes over after a lengthy Chiefs tenure.

The in-season Joe Douglas firing brought a Jets GM change for the first time in six years. As Woody Johnson overreach became a regular talking point in New York, the Jets started over with Darren Mougey. Johnson changed up his workflow upon hiring Mougey, however. Rather than the GM directly reporting to the owner (as Douglas had), both Mougey and Aaron Glenn will do so. Mougey, though, does control the roster.

Telesco’s January firing left Trent Baalke as the NFL’s lone second-chance GM. The Jaguars had kept Baalke despite firing Doug Pederson, but as the team’s coaching search brought significant concerns from candidates about the presence of the resilient GM, Shad Khan eventually made a change. This move came after top HC candidate Liam Coen initially turned down a second interview, doing so after Ben Johnson concerns about the situation circulated. Gladstone is now in place as the NFL’s youngest GM, at 34, coming over from the Rams.

This offseason also brought three GM extensions — for Jason Licht, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Omar Khan. Licht is heading into his 12th season at the helm. Adofo-Mensah joined Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell in being extended this offseason. Also a 2022 GM hire/promotion, Khan signed a Steelers extension this week.

Although Jerry Jones and Mike Brown have been in place longer, the Cowboys and Bengals’ owners hold de facto GM titles. Mickey Loomis is not only the longest-tenured pure GM in the NFL; the Saints boss trails only Hall of Famer Tex Schramm as the longest-tenured pure GM in NFL history. Hired four years before Sean Payton in New Orleans, Loomis heads into his 24th season at the controls. Loomis hired his third HC as a GM (Kellen Moore) in February.

Here is how long every GM has been in place across the NFL:

  1. Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys): April 18, 1989[1]
  2. Mike Brown (Cincinnati Bengals): August 5, 1991[2]
  3. Mickey Loomis (New Orleans Saints): May 14, 2002
  4. John Schneider (Seattle Seahawks): January 19, 2010; signed extension in 2021
  5. Howie Roseman (Philadelphia Eagles): January 29, 2010[3]; signed extension in 2022
  6. Les Snead (Los Angeles Rams): February 10, 2012; signed extension in 2022
  7. Jason Licht (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 21, 2014; signed extension in 2025
  8. Chris Grier (Miami Dolphins): January 4, 2016[4]
  9. John Lynch (San Francisco 49ers): January 29, 2017; signed extension in 2023
  10. Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts): January 30, 2017; signed extension in 2021
  11. Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills): May 9, 2017; signed extension in 2023
  12. Brett Veach (Kansas City Chiefs): July 11, 2017; signed extension in 2024
  13. Brian Gutekunst (Green Bay Packers): January 7, 2018; agreed to extension in 2022
  14. Eric DeCosta (Baltimore Ravens): January 7, 2019
  15. Andrew Berry (Cleveland Browns): January 27, 2020; signed extension in 2024
  16. Nick Caserio (Houston Texans): January 5, 2021
  17. George Paton (Denver Broncos): January 13, 2021
  18. Brad Holmes (Detroit Lions): January 14, 2021; agreed to extension in 2024
  19. Terry Fontenot (Atlanta Falcons): January 19, 2021
  20. Joe Schoen (New York Giants): January 21, 2022
  21. Ryan Poles (Chicago Bears): January 25, 2022
  22. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Minnesota Vikings): January 26, 2022; signed extension in 2025
  23. Omar Khan (Pittsburgh Steelers): May 24, 2022; signed extension in 2025
  24. Monti Ossenfort (Arizona Cardinals): January 16, 2023
  25. Adam Peters (Washington Commanders): January 12, 2024
  26. Dan Morgan (Carolina Panthers): January 22, 2024
  27. Joe Hortiz (Los Angeles Chargers): January 29, 2024
  28. Eliot Wolf (New England Patriots): May 11, 2024
  29. Mike Borgonzi (Tennessee Titans): January 17, 2025
  30. John Spytek (Las Vegas Raiders): January 22, 2025
  31. Darren Mougey (New York Jets): January 24, 2025
  32. James Gladstone (Jacksonville Jaguars): February 21, 2025

Footnotes:

  1. Jones has been the Cowboys’ de facto general manager since former GM Tex Schramm resigned in April 1989.
  2. Brown has been the Bengals’ de facto GM since taking over as the team’s owner in August 1991.
  3. The Eagles bumped Roseman from the top decision-making post in 2015, giving Chip Kelly personnel power. Roseman was reinstated upon Kelly’s December 2015 firing.
  4. Although Grier was hired in 2016, he became the Dolphins’ top football exec on Dec. 31, 2018

2025 Offseason In Review Series

July 4th, 2025 at 9:01pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are PFR’s breakdowns of each NFL team’s 2025 offseason. The list will be updated between now and Week 1.

AFC East

  • Buffalo Bills
  • Miami Dolphins
  • New England Patriots
  • New York Jets

AFC North

  • Baltimore Ravens
  • Cincinnati Bengals
  • Cleveland Browns
  • Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC South

AFC West

NFC East

NFC North

  • Chicago Bears
  • Detroit Lions
  • Green Bay Packers
  • Minnesota Vikings

NFC South

NFC West

  • Arizona Cardinals
  • Los Angeles Rams
  • San Francisco 49ers
  • Seattle Seahawks

Largest 2025 Cap Hits: Defense

July 4th, 2025 at 9:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

The 2025 offseason has been defined in no small part by extensions amongst the league’s top edge rushers. A number of high-profile situations on that front remain unresolved at this point, which will make for interesting storylines over the coming weeks. Still, pass rushers once again account for some of the top cap charges around the NFL.

Just like on offense, here is a breakdown of the top 25 defensive cap hits in 2025:

  1. Maxx Crosby, DE (Raiders): $38.15MM
  2. T.J. Watt, OLB (Steelers): $30.42MM
  3. DeForest Buckner, DT (Colts): $26.6MM
  4. Daron Payne, DT (Commanders): $26.17MM
  5. Rashan Gary, OLB (Packers): $25.77MM
  6. Montez Sweat, DE (Bears): $25.09MM
  7. Denzel Ward, CB (Browns): $24.56MM
  8. Micah Parsons, DE (Cowboys): $24.01MM
  9. Derwin James, S (Chargers): $23.86MM
  10. Roquan Smith, LB (Ravens): $23.72MM
  11. Dexter Lawrence, DT (Giants): $23.64MM
  12. Chris Jones, DT (Chiefs): $23.6MM
  13. Jeffery Simmons, DT (Titans): $22.7MM
  14. L’Jarius Sneed, CB (Titans): $22.58MM
  15. Vita Vea, DT (Buccaneers): $22.47MM
  16. Minkah Fitzpatrick, S (Dolphins): $22.36MM
  17. Jonathan Greenard, DE (Vikings): $22.3MM
  18. Jessie Bates, S (Falcons): $22.25MM
  19. Myles Garrett, DE (Browns): $21.92MM)
  20. Quinnen Williams, DT (Jets): $21.59MM
  21. Jaylon Johnson, CB (Bears): $21MM
  22. Nick Bosa, DE (49ers): $20.43MM
  23. Kenny Clark, DT (Packers): $20.37MM
  24. Danielle Hunter, DE (Texans): $20.2MM
  25. Zach Allen, DE (Broncos): $19.8MM

Crosby briefly held the title of the league’s highest-paid pass rusher when his latest Raiders extension was signed. That $35.5MM-per-year pact was quickly overtaken in value, but it put to rest speculation about a potential trade. Now fully healthy, Crosby’s level of play in 2025 will be critical in determining Vegas’ success.

Garrett currently leads the way in terms of AAV for edge rushers (and, in turn, all defensive players). He landed $40MM in annual compensation from the Browns in a deal which ended his long-running trade request. The four-time All-Pro sought a change of scenery to a Super Bowl contender but then altered his stance following communication with Cleveland’s front office. Garrett is now on the books through 2030.

Other notable pass rushers face an uncertain future beyond the coming campaign, by contrast. That includes Watt, who is not close to reaching an agreement on a third Steelers contract. The former Defensive Player of the Year is reported to be eyeing a pact which will again move him to the top of the pecking order for pass rushers. He thus finds himself in a similar situation to fellow 30-year-old All-Pro Trey Hendrickson with the Bengals.

While Hendrickson is believed to be aiming for a new deal similar in average annual value to those like Bosa and Hunter’s, Parsons could leapfrog Watt atop the pecking order by the time the season begins. Little (if any) progress has been made since Parsons and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reached a handshake agreement on the framework of a deal. Time remains for a pact to be finalized before training camp; failing that, the possibility of a hold-in will increase.

Recent years have seen a major spike in the valuation of interior defensive linemen capable of producing against the pass. It comes as no surprise, then, to see a multitude of D-tackles on the list. Buckner and Chris Jones are among the veterans with the longest track record of success in terms of sacks and pressures (along with disruptive play against the run, of course). Payne, Lawrence, Simmons and Williams were among the players who helped moved the position’s market upward with similar second contracts during the 2023 offseason.

Gary, Sweat and Greenard will again be counted on to lead the way in terms of pass rush production for their respective NFC North teams. Green Bay, Chicago and Minnesota each have upside elsewhere on the depth chart, but expectations will remain high for those three based on their lucrative deals. The highly competitive division will no doubt come down to head-to-head games, and they will be influenced in large part by the performances of each defense.

The cornerback market reached $30MM per year this offseason thanks to Derek Stingley Jr.‘s Texans extension. Given the term remaining on his rookie pact, though, his cap charge for this season checks in at a much lower rate than that of teammates like Hunter or other top CBs. Ward and Jaylon Jones are on the books through 2027, and the same is true of Sneed. The high-priced Tennessee trade acquisition did not enjoy a healthy debut season with his new team in 2024, but he appears to be set for full participation in training camp.

Safety and linebacker are among the positions which have witnessed slower growth than others recently. Still, a few top performers are attached to deals landing them on this list. Smith has been a first-team All-Pro performer during his tenure with the Ravens; he will be expected to remain one in 2025 and beyond. James and Bates will likewise be counted on as key playmakers in Los Angeles and Atlanta. Fitzpatrick will, interestingly, return to his original team after being part of the blockbuster Steelers-Dolphins trade from earlier this week.

Vea helped the Buccaneers rank fourth against the run last season while Clark and the Packers finished seventh in that regard. Both veterans have multiple years remaining on their deals, although in both cases the final season does not include guaranteed money. Vea and/or Clark could thus find themselves discussing an extension next offseason.

Allen is among the players listed who could have a new deal in hand before Week 1. The former Cardinal is coming off a career-best 8.5 sacks from the 2024 season. To no surprise, then, Allen is high on Denver’s list of extension priorities, and it will be interesting to see if the pending 2026 free agent works out a new pact prior to the start of the campaign.

The NFL’s Longest-Tenured Head Coaches

July 3rd, 2025 at 10:26pm CST by Adam La Rose

By the end of the 2024 regular season, the Bears, Jets and Saints had already moved on from their head coaches. Those teams were joined by Cowboys, Jaguars, Raiders and Patriots in making a change on the sidelines.

After their midseason terminations, Matt Eberflus, Robert Saleh and Dennis Allen each landed defensive coordinator gigs during the 2025 hiring cycle. The staffers who remained in place through the end of the campaign have yet to line up their next NFL opportunity, however. Mike McCarthy withdrew from the Saints’ search, setting the 61-year-old for at least one year out of coaching (just like the pause between his Packers and Cowboys stints).

Meanwhile, Doug Pederson was unable to parlay interest in an offensive coordinator position into a hire this spring. The former Super Bowl winner is thus set to be out of coaching for 2025. The same will also be true of Antonio Pierce and Jerod Mayo after their one-and-done stints as full-time head coaches did not go as planned.

While recent months have brought about the latest round of changes, many of the longest-tenured head coaches around the league remain in place. McCarthy was the only staffer within the top 10 on last year’s list in that regard who has been replaced. In all, nine head coaches hired at the beginning of this decade (or earlier) will carry on with their respective teams in 2025.

Six of those reside in the AFC, with Mike Tomlin – who became the league’s longest-tenured head coach last year in the wake of Bill Belichick’s Patriots departure – once again leading the way, albeit with questions about his future beyond this season present. The NFC will include Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan and Matt LaFleur handling their familiar roles in 2025, although the latter (who has two years left on his deal) will not receive an early extension.

Here is a look at how the league’s head coaches shape up entering the 2025 campaign:

  1. Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers): January 27, 2007; extended through 2027
  2. John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens): January 19, 2008; extended through 2028
  3. Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs): January 4, 2013; extended through 2029
  4. Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills): January 11, 2017; extended through 2027
  5. Sean McVay (Los Angeles Rams): January 12, 2017; extended through 2027
  6. Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers): February 6, 2017; extended through 2027
  7. Matt LaFleur (Green Bay Packers): January 8, 2019: extended through 2026
  8. Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals): February 4, 2019; extended through 2026
  9. Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns): January 13, 2020; signed extension in June 2024
  10. Dan Campbell (Detroit Lions): January 20, 2021; extended through 2027
  11. Nick Sirianni (Philadelphia Eagles): January 21, 2021; signed offseason extension
  12. Brian Daboll (New York Giants): January 28, 2022
  13. Kevin O’Connell (Minnesota Vikings): February 2, 2022; signed offseason extension
  14. Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins): February 6, 2022; extended through 2028
  15. Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): March 30, 2022; extended through 2028
  16. Sean Payton (Denver Broncos): January 31, 2023
  17. DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans): January 31, 2023
  18. Shane Steichen (Indianapolis Colts): February 14, 2023
  19. Jonathan Gannon (Arizona Cardinals): February 14, 2023
  20. Brian Callahan (Tennessee Titans): January 22, 2024
  21. Jim Harbaugh (Los Angeles Chargers): January 24, 2024
  22. Dave Canales (Carolina Panthers): January 25, 2024
  23. Raheem Morris (Atlanta Falcons): January 25, 2024
  24. Mike Macdonald (Seattle Seahawks): January 31, 2024
  25. Dan Quinn (Washington Commanders): February 1, 2024
  26. Mike Vrabel (New England Patriots): January 12, 2025
  27. Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears): January 20, 2025
  28. Aaron Glenn (New York Jets): January 22, 2025
  29. Liam Coen (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 23, 2025
  30. Pete Carroll (Las Vegas Raiders): January 24, 2025
  31. Brian Schottenheimer (Dallas Cowboys): January 24, 2025
  32. Kellen Moore (New Orleans Saints): February 11, 2025
Load More Posts