Raiders, Titans Expected To Pursue WR Addition In Free Agency
The Raiders and the Titans are entering 2026 in similar situations.
Both franchises are hoping that new head coaches can reverse their fortunes. Both will have No. 1 picks at quarterback, assuming Las Vegas drafts Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza as expected. And both are expected to be in the wide receiver market in free agency, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Each team has one receiver with any meaningful experience under contract in 2026 and two 2025 draftees who had quiet rookie seasons. In Las Vegas, that trio is Tre Tucker, Jack Bech, and Dont’e Thornton, while Calvin Ridley, Elic Ayomanor, and Chimere Dike fill those roles in Tennessee.
That will likely bring the Raiders and the Titans in direct competition for the top wideouts who hit the market in March. George Pickens would the belle of the ball, but he will likely be tagged by the Cowboys. That would leave Alec Pierce as the most coveted young wideout in free agency. He put up a career-high 1,003 receiving yards in 2025 with excellent efficiency metrics for a second year in a row. In both seasons, he recorded 11.9 yards per target – which ranked first in 2024 and third in 2025 – while also leading the league in yards per reception (22.3, 21.3).
Other receivers expected to be available include Romeo Doubs, Rashid Shaheed, Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel, and Wan’Dale Robinson. Doubs has an appealing profile and could benefit from a bigger role in a new offense, while the other four have connections to the Raiders’ and Titans’ new coaching staffs. Klint Kubiak could try to bring Shaheed to Las Vegas after the two worked together in New Orleans in 2024 and Seattle in 2025. Jennings and Samuel both know new Titans head coach Robert Saleh from their shared time in San Francisco, though Saleh has not drawn from the 49ers for his new offensive staff. And Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll drafted and developed Robinson during his time as the Giants’ head coach.
Like any young quarterback, Mendoza and Cam Ward would benefit from veteran pass-catchers, especially ones who are already familiar with their new coaching staffs. As the two teams with the most salary cap space in the NFL (via OverTheCap), the Raiders and the Titans are both well-positioned to add impact receivers in free agency.
Final 2026 NFL Draft Order
With Super Bowl LX in the books, the full 2026 NFL draft order has been set. Free agency is not far away, but attention will increasingly turn to April’s event as the offseason progresses.
The top of the first-round order is not subject to much in the way of speculation. The Raiders own the No. 1 selection and are widely seen as the landing spot for Fernando Mendoza, the lone quarterback regarded as a first-round lock at this point. How other QB-needy teams positioned throughout the order operate over the coming weeks – knowing there is a lack of high-end prospects this year – will make for an interesting storyline around the league.
This year’s NFL Combine will begin on February 23. Events such as the Senior Bowl have already taken place, leaving the Combine as the next major checkpoint in the evaluation of top prospects. Teams will begin arranging ‘Top 30’ visits with several players of interest relatively soon during the build-up to the draft. This year’s event will take place in Pittsburgh from April 23-25.
Pending the inevitable trades which will shake up the order, here is a final look at how things stand leading up to Day 1:
- Las Vegas Raiders (3-14)
- New York Jets (3-14)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-14)
- Tennessee Titans (3-14)
- New York Giants (4-13)
- Cleveland Browns (5-12)
- Washington Commanders (5-12)
- New Orleans Saints (6-11)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-11)
- Cincinnati Bengals (6-11)
- Miami Dolphins (7-10)
- Dallas Cowboys (7-9-1)
- Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons)
- Baltimore Ravens (8-9)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9)
- New York Jets (via Colts)
- Detroit Lions (9-8)
- Minnesota Vikings (9-8)
- Carolina Panthers (8-9)
- Dallas Cowboys (from Packers)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
- Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)
- Philadelphia Eagles (11-6)
- Cleveland Browns (from Jaguars)
- Chicago Bears (11-6)
- Buffalo Bills (12-5)
- San Francisco 49ers (12-5)
- Houston Texans (12-5)
- Los Angeles Rams (12-5)
- Denver Broncos (14-3)
- New England Patriots (14-3)
- Seattle Seahawks (14-3)
2026 NFL Offseason Outlook Series
Pro Football Rumors is breaking down how all 32 teams’ offseason blueprints are shaping up. Going forward, the Offseason Outlook series is exclusive to Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers, and that link provides details on how to sign up for an annual membership.
This post will be updated as more Outlooks are published.
AFC East
- Buffalo Bills
- Miami Dolphins
- New England Patriots
- New York Jets
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
- Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South
- Houston Texans
- Indianapolis Colts
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Tennessee Titans
AFC West
- Denver Broncos
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Los Angeles Chargers
NFC East
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Giants
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Washington Commanders
NFC North
- Chicago Bears
- Detroit Lions
- Green Bay Packers
- Minnesota Vikings
NFC South
- Atlanta Falcons
- Carolina Panthers
- New Orleans Saints
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West
- Arizona Cardinals
- Los Angeles Rams
- San Francisco 49ers
- Seattle Seahawks
Bills To Hire Bo Hardegree As QBs Coach
After two years as the Titans’ quarterbacks coach, Bo Hardegree is taking the same position with the Bills, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports.
Hardegree will replace Ronald Curry, the Bills’ QBs coach from 2024-25. New Bills head coach Joe Brady, who took over for the fired Sean McDermott last week, was the team’s offensive coordinator during that span.
Despite Brady’s familiarity with Curry (the two were also together on New Orleans’ staff from 2017-18), he’ll bring in an outsider to coach superstar Josh Allen and the rest of the Bills’ quarterback room in 2026.
This will be the fourth stint as an NFL QBs coach for the 41-year-old Hardegree, whose initial experience came with Ryan Tannehill and Jay Cutler in Miami from 2016-18. Cutler came out of retirement in 2017 to fill in after Tannehill suffered a torn ACL. It proved to be the last season for Cutler, who completed 62% of passes with 19 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and an 80.8 rating in 14 games.
Hardegree later held the job with the Raiders from 2022-23. He led Derek Carr, Aidan O’Connell and Jimmy Garoppolo to uninspiring results in two years in Las Vegas.
After the Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels midway through 2023, Hardegree finished the season as the Raiders’ interim offensive coordinator. The Raiders promoted interim head coach Antonio Pierce to the full-time job after the season, but he didn’t retain Hardegree.
With Brian Callahan grabbing the reins as the Titans’ head coach in 2024, he tabbed Hardegree to guide young passer Will Levis. While Levis was only a year removed from going 33rd in the draft, any hope he’d break through as the Titans’ solution under center went out the window that season.
Desperate for an answer at the game’s most important position, the Titans used the top pick in last year’s draft on former Miami QB Cam Ward. With little help around him, Ward predictably struggled as a rookie. Hardegree spent most of the season as the Titans’ play-caller after Callahan handed off those duties in late September. The Titans fired Callahan in mid-October, though, and they went on to rank 30th in total offense and 31st in scoring during a three-win campaign.
Hardegree should have a far easier time in Buffalo, where he’ll coach a 2024 MVP winner who is a finalist for the award again this season. The dual-threat Allen piled up 39 touchdowns (25 passing, 14 rushing), ranked top five in the league in completion percentage (fourth), yards per attempt (fifth) and passer rating (fifth), and led his position with 579 rushing yards in 2025.
Titans To Hire Gus Bradley As DC
Known to be an interested party with respect to Gus Bradley, the Titans are indeed bringing him aboard. Tennessee is hiring Bradley for the role of defensive coordinator, as first reported by NFL insider Jordan Schultz. 
The 49ers assistant saw Raheem Morris brought in as San Francisco’s new defensive coordinator yesterday. That move opened the door to a departure on Bradley’s part. The Titans and Cardinals emerged as potential destinations in short order. As such, today’s news come as little surprise.
Robert Saleh returned to the 49ers as their defensive coordinator last year. Following one season in that familiar role, the ex-Jets head coach managed to land a new HC gig with Tennessee. Bradley loomed as a candidate to be promoted as Saleh’s replacement in San Francisco. Instead, he will now follow Saleh to Nashville.
Saleh will call plays on defense, a departure from his approach during his time in New York. Bradley’s newest DC gig will still see him handle a key role on staff, though, and he will represent another experienced voice in Tennessee. Brian Daboll is in place as the Titans’ offensive coordinator, and Saleh’s staff also includes longtime special teams coordinator John Fassel. Tennessee prioritized veteran coaches in the team’s HC search, and several of them are now in the fold.
Bradley has worked as a defensive coordinator with the Seahawks, Chargers, Raiders and Colts over the course of his lengthy NFL career. The 59-year-old also served as the head coach in Jacksonville from 2013-16. His record on that front has not yielded a second HC opportunity, but Bradley remains a well-regarded defensive mind around the league. He spent 2025 with the title of assistant head coach/defense in San Francisco.
The Titans saw Dennard Wilson depart last month when he took the defensive coordinator position on John Harbaugh‘s staff. Tennessee ranked second in the NFL in total defense during Wilson’s first year in place, but the team regressed in 2025 in a number of areas. Improvement across the board will be sought out with Saleh and now Bradley in place.
Via PFR’s Coordinator Search Tracker, here is a final look at how Tennessee landed on Bradley for the defensive coordinator position:
- Gus Bradley, assistant head coach (49ers): Hired
- Aaron Whitecotton, defensive line coach (Cowboys): Interview requested; hired as DL coach
- Al Harris, defensive backs coach (Bears): Interviewed 1/24
- Mike Rutenberg, defensive pass-game coordinator (Falcons): Interview requested
- Dino Vasso, defensive backs coach (Texans): Interviewed 1/24
Titans, Cardinals Eyeing Gus Bradley For Defensive Coordinator
Less than two weeks ago, it appeared 49ers assistant head coach Gus Bradley was poised to replace the departed Robert Saleh as the team’s defensive coordinator. While Kyle Shanahan called Bradley an “obvious” candidate for the position in late January, the head coach hired Raheem Morris to run the 49ers’ defense on Sunday.
Bradley is still on the 49ers’ staff, but other defensive coordinator jobs are on the table for the 59-year-old. Both the Titans and Cardinals are interested in Bradley, Albert Breer of SI.com reports. Landing with either team would give Bradley a fifth chance to serve as an NFL defensive coordinator.
Bradley previously led defenses with the Seahawks (2009-12), Chargers (2017-20), Raiders (2021) and Colts (2022-24). He was particularly successful from 2011-12, the beginning of Seattle’s dominant “Legion of Boom” era, which convinced the Jaguars to hire him as their head coach.
The Bradley era couldn’t have gone much worse for Jacksonville. The Jags gave Bradley nearly four full seasons, but after he managed just 14 wins in 62 games, the team pulled the plug in December 2016.
Bradley’s Jaguars tenure produced disastrous results, though he garnered more working experience with Saleh after the two coached on the same staff in Seattle from 2011-12. They reunited in San Francisco this past season, but Saleh left last month to become the Titans’ head coach. There’s now a chance Bradley and Saleh will work together with a fourth different franchise in 2026.
Although Bradley’s relationship with Saleh is a plus, the latter will call the defensive plays in Tennessee. Conversely, Bradley would work as the Cardinals’ play-caller, and that could tip the scales in their favor, according to Breer. Bradley and just-hired Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur have no previous experience together. Nevertheless, bringing in Bradley would give the offensive-minded, first-time head coach a grizzled complement on the other side of the ball.
Despite the presence of a defensive-minded head coach in Jonathan Gannon, LaFleur’s predecessor, the Cardinals ranked a subpar 27th in yards allowed and 28th in points surrendered in 2025. The Titans, 21st and 28th in those categories, endured similar struggles under defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson. Saleh is now eyeing Bradley to take over for the fired Wilson, but he’ll have to fend off the Cardinals for his services.
Mike Rutenberg ‘Leading Candidate’ For Titans’ DC Job
New Titans head coach Robert Saleh has found an offensive coordinator in Brian Daboll, but the team’s D-coordinator position remains open. That may change soon, though, as Falcons defensive pass game coordinator Mike Rutenberg has emerged as a “leading candidate” to take over as the Titans’ DC, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 reports. The Titans requested an interview with Rutenberg last week.
The 44-year-old Rutenberg is coming off his first season in Atlanta, whose pass defense ranked a respectable 13th in the NFL. The Falcons also tied for sixth with 16 interceptions, five of which came from rookie third-round pick Xavier Watts, and 11th in passer rating against (88.2).
A few weeks after his productive first season with the Falcons ended, Rutenberg could reunite with Saleh in Tennessee. The two already have a long history together that began in Jacksonville over a decade ago.
Saleh was the Jaguars’ linebackers coach in 2014, and Rutenberg was their assistant defensive backs coach. Six years later, Rutenberg worked under Saleh, then San Francisco’s defensive coordinator, as the 49ers’ passing game specialist in 2020. Saleh then brought Rutenberg with him to New York when he became the Jets’ head coach in 2021.
Rutenberg coached the Jets’ LBs through last season, Saleh’s final year on the job. Jeff Ulbrich finished the campaign as the Jets’ interim head coach after they fired Saleh in October 2024. With Ulbrich on his way out to take the Falcons’ defensive coordinator gig last offseason, Rutenberg accompanied him to Atlanta.
Since beginning his career as an intern with Washington in 2003, Rutenberg hasn’t worked as a defensive coordinator at either the pro or college levels (he coached at UCLA and New Mexico from 2006-12). Past play-calling experience isn’t a must in this case, though, with Saleh set to handle those responsibilities in 2026.
Aside from Rutenberg, here’s the small list of DC candidates Saleh has considered to replace the fired Dennard Wilson:
- Aaron Whitecotton, defensive line coach (Cowboys): Interview requested; hired as DL coach
- Al Harris, defensive backs coach (Bears): Interviewed 1/24
- Dino Vasso, defensive backs coach (Texans): Interviewed 1/24
Titans To Hire QBs Coach Shea Tierney, OL Coach Carmen Bricillo
New Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has started filling his staff, with multiple of his former Giants assistants set to join him in Tennessee.
Shea Tierney will be the Titans’ next quarterbacks coach, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. He held the same role in New York and spent the previous four years working under Daboll in Buffalo. Tierney was a Bills offensive assistant in 2018 and 2019 before a promotion to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2020. He worked closely with Josh Allen during that time and later coached several different passers in New York, including Jaxson Dart and Daniel Jones.
Tierney will be tasked with developing 2025 No. 1 pick Cam Ward, who had a rough rookie year with little talent around him. He led the league in sacks, sack yardage, and fumbles, and the Titans were a bottom-three team in nearly every offensive category.
Daboll will also be bringing former Giants offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo to Tennessee, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. After rising through the college coaching ranks, he joined the Patriots as an offensive assistant in 2019. He was promoted to co-offensive line coach in 2020 and held the position on his own the following season. Bricillo then followed Josh McDaniels to Las Vegas and served as the Raiders’ offensive line coach for two years before joining Daboll in New York.
Bricillo is a well-respected coach around the league. John Harbaugh‘s decision not to retain him drew some criticism, especially with Harbaugh’s original target for his offensive line coach, George Warhop, set to join Todd Monken in Cleveland. In Tennessee, he will work with recent first-round picks Peter Skoronski and JC Latham, as well as veteran left tackle Dan Moore Jr.
For his new wide receivers coach, Daboll is making an outside hire. Greg Lewis will be leaving Baltimore for Tennesseee after three years on Todd Monken’s offensive staff in the same role, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz. Lewis played a key role in the development of Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers and also oversaw Rashod Bateman‘s breakout 2024 campaign. Before that, he spent six years in Kansas City, working with their running backs and receivers and earning two Super Bowl rings in the process. The Titans will be hoping Lewis can quickly develop young wide receivers Elic Ayomanor, Chimere Dike, and Xavier Restrepo into more reliable targets for Ward.
With Tierney, Bricillo, and Lewis in hand, Daboll seems to building a strong foundation for the Titans’ offense as the franchise enters the Robert Saleh era.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/28/26
Today’s reserve/futures move:
Tennessee Titans
A former sixth-round pick by the Bengals, Trey Hill got into 25 games in Cincinnati, starting three of those appearances. After spending most of the 2024 campaign on the Bengals practice squad, he spent last offseason with the Packers organization, although he ended up being cut loose at the end of the preseason. He later signed with the Bears practice squad, where he spent most of the 2025 season.
Cowboys To Interview Shane Bowen, Dismiss Defensive Staffers
Dismissed by the Giants late in the season, Shane Bowen has not resurfaced on the coordinator carousel. But the two-time DC is back in the mix for another potential position.
The Cowboys hired Christian Parker from the Eagles as defensive coordinator, and they are now looking into adding the Giants’ previous DC. Bowen is interviewing for a Cowboys job, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer tweets. It is not known which position Bowen is discussing, but he coached the Titans’ outside linebackers prior to his Tennessee promotion under Mike Vrabel.
Dallas also interviewed Steelers OLBs coach Denzel Martin, according to veteran insider Jordan Schultz. This meeting will be about Martin making a lateral move to Dallas. Martin spent the past 10 seasons with the Steelers, working his way up to OLBs coach. He was at the helm when T.J. Watt tied the single-season sack record in 2021 and was a central figure in Alex Highsmith‘s development to an extension-worthy Watt sidekick.
With the Steelers hiring Mike McCarthy to replace Mike Tomlin, there will be staff turnover. The same goes in Dallas, where some of the defensive assistants are not being retained. Defensive pass-game coordinator Andre Curtis, who doubled as the team’s safeties coach, will not be back. Neither will secondary coach David Overstreet nor linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi, the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins notes.
Defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton is joining the Titans as their D-line coach, veteran Tennessee reporter Paul Kuharsky adds. Whitecotton, who also interviewed for Tennessee’s DC job, will also serve as the team’s run-game coordinator on that side of the ball, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Whitecotton has an extensive history with Robert Saleh; he served as the Jets’ D-line coach from 2021-24. Whitecotton was also a 49ers assistant in 2020 and a Jaguars staffer from 2014-16, a period where Saleh was on the Jacksonville staff.
The Giants hired Bowen in 2024, and he played a memorable part in their infamous Hard Knocks: Offseason series. The Giants ranked 21st defensively in 2024 but dropped to 26th this past season, plummeting despite the additions of Abdul Carter, Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland. The team fired Bowen not long after canning Brian Daboll. Bowen, 39, has not been connected to other jobs during this year’s cycle.
Prior to New York, Bowen spent six years on the Titans’ staff under Vrabel. The final three came as DC, where he served as the team’s primary play-caller. Bowen came over from the Texans, following Vrabel from Houston to Tennessee. It would stand to reason Vrabel would consider adding Bowen to New England’s staff, but the two-time DC is on Dallas’ radar presently.