NFL Mailbag: Crosby, Ravens, Murray, FA
This week's edition of the PFR Mailbag touches on plenty of free agency-related questions. Topics include the Ravens' controversial edge rush maneuvering, the Vikings' Kyler Murray addition, impacts on incumbent Patriots and Cardinals players and more.
Rick asks:
Re: [Maxx] Crosby. Who conducts the physical exams that are used in trades, signings, etc.? Are exams done in real-time or do teams swap medical evaluations? Thanks!
It’s no surprise this has come up given the events of recent days. I’ll finish with my overall thoughts on the Ravens’ handling of Crosby and Trey Hendrickson, but let’s get into this first.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/13/26
Here are Friday’s minor NFL moves as free agency continues into the weekend:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: WR Simi Fehoko
Carolina Panthers
- Re-signed: LB Claudin Cherelus
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: CB Jaylon Jones
Cleveland Browns
- Re-signed: CB D’Angelo Ross
Dallas Cowboys
- Re-signed: TE Princeton Fant
Denver Broncos
- Signed RFA tender: CB Ja’Quan McMillian
Houston Texans
- Waived: DT Kurt Hinish
Miami Dolphins
- Signed ERFA tender: CB Ethan Bonner
- Signed: P Seth Vernon
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: C Zeke Correll
New York Giants
- Signed: S Elijah Campbell
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed: TE Ko Kieft
After making the call not to tender him as a restricted free agent, the Panthers were able to come to an agreement to re-sign Cherelus. The undrafted linebacker has started six of 27 game appearances in his last two years with Carolina, logging 60 total tackles.
McMillian did get tendered in Denver. With 16 starts in 51 games appearances over four years with the Broncos, McMillian’s tender is worth $5.77MM for the 2026 season, per Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette.
The Texans signed Hinish to a one-year deal last year, but the Notre Dame product spent the year on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. They could technically roll his deal over for the upcoming season, but they’ve, instead, decided to cut him from the roster.
Browns, DL Kalia Davis Agree To Deal
Defensive lineman Kalia Davis was a 17-game starter for the playoff-bound 49ers in 2025, but they did not retain the restricted free agent. Davis is now joining the Browns on a one-year deal worth up to $3MM, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
The 49ers had the option of giving Davis a second-rounder tender ($6.26MM) or an original-round tender ($3.82MM). They passed in both cases, leading the 2022 sixth-rounder to his second organization.
Aside from last season, the 6-foot-2, 310-pound Davis did not see much action in San Francisco. The UCF product spent his entire rookie season on the reserve/non-football injury list. Davis picked up his first sack in 2023, but he played just three games and 54 defensive snaps. The 49ers became more reliant on Davis in 2023, a year in which he appeared in 13 games and was on the field for 260 defensive plays. Davis totaled 12 tackles and recorded the only interception of his career.
Dealing with a deluge of defensive injuries last season, the 49ers turned to Davis more than ever. Although Davis underwent surgery on a broken hand in early October, he did not miss any time. The 27-year-old amassed the third-most snaps (492) among 49ers D-linemen and finished with 28 tackles, four TFL and three passes defensed. While Davis’ availability was a positive for an injury-plagued defense, Pro Football Focus rated his play 122nd among 127 qualifying interior defensive linemen.
In moving to Cleveland, Davis will fall in behind Mason Graham and Maliek Collins in the club’s interior D-line mix. Michael Hall, a 2024 second-rounder,and Adin Huntington are also among the Browns’ options. Shelby Harris piled up over 500 defensive snaps last year, but he is now a free agent.
DT Da’Shawn Hand Signs With Falcons
With veteran defensive tackle David Onyemata departing in free agency, the Falcons had big shoes to fill in the middle. Atlanta addressed the position today, signing Da’Shawn Hand to a one-year, $3MM deal, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. 
Hand’s story is one of patience and determination. Finding his way to the NFL as a fourth-round pick out of Alabama, Hand found himself playing a big role as a rookie, starting eight games while appearing in 13. Injuries derailed Hand’s sophomore campaign; he missed the first six weeks of the season, made two starts in three appearances over the next seven, and spent the last three weeks on injured reserve.
While he returned to health in his third year, he found himself coming off the bench, and injuries continued to plague his time in Detroit which came to an early end partway through the final year of his rookie contract. Even in short stints with the Colts and Titans, his health continued to serve as a handicap. Injuries limited him to 10 games in 2020, four games in 2021, and a single game in 2022.
In 2023, Hand got a fresh start in Miami and reached a new high, playing in 16 games, the most for a season at that point in his career. He even improved upon that number with a fully healthy 2024 campaign, appearing in 17 games and even earning two starts. Those two improved seasons earned him an opportunity with the Chargers last year, and Hand made the best of it by earning a full-time starting role for the first time in his career. He did, unfortunately, find his way back to IR, but after the four-game minimum had passed, Hand slid right back into his starting spot to finish the season with 13 games.
The Falcons will hope to continue building off that momentum as it looks like Hand could compete with 2024 second-round defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro for snaps on the interior. Ohorhoro has struggled mightily in his first two years out of Clemson, and Hand may serve as a bit of insurance if Ohorhoro continues not to live up to his draft stock in Year 3.
Commanders Re-Sign G Chris Paul
Playing the last season of his four-year rookie contract in 2025, Commanders guard Chris Paul logged his first 17-game campaign and totaled a career-high 15 starts. The Commanders are now bringing Paul back on a one-year deal, veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports.
Paul wanted to test the market, per John Keim of ESPN, but the former seventh-rounder from Tulsa did not find any compelling reason to leave Washington. While he explored “many options,” according to Schultz, Paul’s desire to continue playing alongside stalwart left tackle Laremy Tunsil won out. Tunsil reeled in a market-setting extension earlier this week.
The 27-year-old Paul entered last season with just 17 games’ experience and eight starts under his belt. He took on a full-time role when the Commanders benched 2024 third-rounder Brandon Coleman in Week 3. Paul started at left guard for the rest of the year and finished third among Commanders offensive linemen in snap share (87.86%). Pro Football Focus took a negative view of Paul’s performance in ranking him 69th 79 qualifying guards, though he drew wildly different reviews as a run blocker and pass blocker. Only three guards earned a higher pass-blocking grade than Paul’s 78.2. On the other hand, just three posted worse run-blocking grades than his 38.2 mark.
A vastly improved showing in the running game should help the 6-foot-4, 324-pound Paul secure a better deal a year from now. In the meantime, he could rejoin Tunsil, right tackle Josh Conerly and right guard Samuel Cosmi as starters along Washington’s line in 2026. The Commanders are facing uncertainty at center, though, having released two-year starter Tyler Biadasz in late February. While the team tried to sign the best free agent center available, Tyler Linderbaum, he instead joined the Raiders on a record-setting pact for his position.
Jets To Re-Sign S Andre Cisco
The Jets have been active in adding starters from elsewhere this week, and now they will keep one of their own. The team will re-sign safety Andre Cisco, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. The Queens native will ink a one-year deal worth up to $5.25MM.
Cisco, a five-year veteran, spent his first four seasons in Jacksonville. After the former third-rounder from Syracuse started in 47 of 63 games pulled in eight interceptions as a Jaguar, he joined the Jets on a one-year, $10MM pact last March. The soon-to-be 26-year-old is settling for less this time in the wake of an injury-limited season.
Cisco played eight games (all starts) on a defense that stunningly failed to record an interception in 2025. The 6-foot, 210-pounder suffered a pectoral tear in late October and underwent season-ending shoulder surgery days later. His year wrapped up with 41 tackles and one pass defensed. Cisco ranked as one of Pro Football Focus’ top 40 safeties in both 2022 and ’23, but he was in the 60s for the second straight season in 2025.
The Jets are expecting a bounce-back 2026 from Cisco, who will be part of a remade safety group in his second year with the team. At the outset of what has been an aggressive week for the Jets, they acquired five-time Pro Bowler/three-time first-team All-Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick from the Dolphins. They also brought in former Giant Dane Belton on a one-year, $4MM agreement. The Jets lost starter Tony Adams to the Titans on Thursday, but they have two holdovers in Cisco and Malachi Moore joining Fitzpatrick and Belton as options at the back of their defense.
Steelers To Sign DL Sebastian Joseph-Day
The Steelers are adding Sebastian Joseph-Day to their defensive line, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Joseph-Day has landed a two-year, $11MM contract. He will earn $6MM in 2026.
Joseph-Day, who will turn 31 on March 21, is headed to his fifth NFL organization. The Rutgers product has logged 90 starts in 105 games since he entered the league as a Rams sixth-round pick in 2018. Joseph-Day stayed with the Rams through 2021, their Super Bowl LVI-winning season, and has since played for the Chargers, 49ers and Titans.
Although Joseph-Day signed a three-year, $24MM deal with the Chargers in 2022, he did not make it through two full seasons on the pact. The Chargers cut him in late 2023. The 49ers scooped up Joseph-Day, who played two regular-season games with them and appeared in all three of their playoff matchups. San Francisco won the NFC, but Joseph-Day was on the field for just four defensive snaps in the team’s Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Chiefs.
After his brief 49ers stint, Joseph-Day joined the Titans on a one-year deal in 2024. He wound up starting in 12 of 17 games and picking up 44 tackles, six QB hits and 2.5 sacks. The Titans were impressed enough to give Joseph a raise on another one-year pact last March. Playing for a guaranteed $5MM in 2025, the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder logged another 17-game season and notched 41 tackles, six QB hits and a pair of sacks over 10 starts.
While Joseph-Day’s traditional numbers were similar in each of his two seasons in Tennessee, Pro Football Focus assigned him a much higher grade in 2024. He ranked 22nd among 132 qualifying interior defensive linemen then. Joseph-Day fell to a still-respectable 41st among 127 qualifiers last year.
A Stroudsburg, Pa., native, Joseph-Day will return to the Keystone State to join the likes of Cameron Heyward, Keeanu Benton, Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black on the Steelers’ defensive line. With new coordinator Patrick Graham at the helm, the Steelers have also added other notable defenders in cornerback Jamel Dean and safety Jaquan Brisker in free agency.
Lions To Sign CB Roger McCreary
The Lions have an agreement with veteran cornerback Roger McCreary, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports. The former Titan and Ram will sign a one-year deal with his new team.
A 2022 second-round pick from Auburn, McCreary emerged as a full-time starter during a 17-game rookie campaign. While dividing his time between the outside and the slot, McCreary played every snap in his debut season. He then logged a 92% snap share during a 15-game, 11-start second year. Although McCreary combined for 170 tackles, 14 passes defensed and two interceptions in his first two years, the Titans’ reliance on him began to drop.
Across 14 games and three starts in 2024, McCreary played just under 62% of defensive snaps. He hovered around the 60% mark over the Titans’ first eight games last season. With the team out of contention in late October, it traded the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder to the Rams for a late-round pick swap. McCreary did not end up a factor in Los Angeles, where he totaled just 38 defensive snaps in six games. The 26-year-old also spent time on IR with a hip injury.
McCreary, a 38-game starter with three career picks, lined up almost exclusively in the slot in the past two years. Amik Robertson took 287 snaps from the slot for the Lions last season, but he left this week to sign a two-year, $16MM pact with the Commanders. McCreary and fellow newcomer Christian Izien could help cover for Robertson’s departure.
Eagles Not Ready To Trade A.J. Brown
The Eagles’ A.J. Brown trade talks are on hold for the time being. After engaging in “serious conversations” with the Rams and Patriots, the Eagles have decided to retain Brown for now, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic. If a trade materializes, it won’t happen until around June, Russini adds.
Dealing Brown before June would come at a severe cost to Philadelphia. The Eagles would absorb a $43.45MM dead cap charge, a record for a receiver. They would also lose $20.12MM in cap room.
A post-June 1 deal would be reminiscent of the Falcons trading star wideout Julio Jones to the Titans in 2021. With Jones then entering his age-32 season, the Falcons dealt him and a sixth-rounder for a second- and a fourth-rounder.
In the event general manager Howie Roseman pulls the trigger then, the Eagles would spread Brown’s dead money over two years. While the Eagles would face a $16.35MM charge in 2026 and a $27.1MM fee in ’27, they would save $7MM on their cap next season.
Roseman has reportedly held out for a package consisting of at least a first- and second-rounder for Brown, but it does not appear anyone will bite before April’s draft. The Rams already dealt their original first-round pick away in acquiring former Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie last week. Los Angeles still has another first-rounder (No. 13 overall, originally Atlanta’s selection), and GM Les Snead has never been shy to ship out top picks for immediate upgrades. However, that may be too pricey for the soon-to-be 29-year-old Brown.
If the Rams do acquire Brown before the season, it would give them an embarrassment of riches at receiver. Head coach Sean McVay, offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase and MVP-winning quarterback Matthew Stafford would have Brown, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams as a trio for at least one season. While Brown is under contract through 2029, Nacua and Adams are on schedule to become free agents next year. In all likelihood, though, the Rams will work out a massive extension with Nacua before then.
The reigning AFC champion Patriots, meanwhile, are in line to keep the 31st pick. In heading to New England, Brown would reunite with Mike Vrabel, who was his coach in Tennessee from 2019-21. The two still have a strong relationship, but the Patriots have less urgency to meet the Eagles’ demands after adding former Packer Romeo Doubs on a four-year, $80MM contract in free agency.
If the Eagles are shutting down talks until the summer, other teams could enter the race for Brown by then. Aside from the Patriots, the three-time Pro Bowler’s wish list reportedly features the Bills, Chargers and Chiefs. None of those three clubs have pursued Brown with much gusto, but perhaps circumstances will change a few months from now.
Eagles Push Back Dallas Goedert’s Void Date
MARCH 13: It certainly seems like the sides are still interested in working together. Goedert’s void date has now been pushed back to Monday, Berman tweets. Philly’s previous deadline of this afternoon will not be met, but the parties will presumably continue negotiating this weekend.
MARCH 12: The Eagles added two tight ends during the legal tampering period, re-signing Grant Calcaterra and adding Jaguars cap casualty Johnny Mundt. But Dallas Goedert is still on the team’s radar.
Philadelphia made the move to push back the void date on Goedert’s contract, with The Athletic’s Zack Berman indicating it has been moved to Friday. As Connor Byrne’s Eagles Offseason Outlook detailed, Goedert is set to count $20.49MM in dead money if not re-signed. The Eagles, however, now have a bit more time to work out a deal before that money hits their cap sheet.
Goedert’s deal was to void at midnight March 11, per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, who notes the veteran tight end — as a result of this move — is not yet a first-time free agent. Although the Eagles gave Goedert a pay cut after trade rumors swirled last year, the eight-year veteran wants to finish his career in Philly.
Howie Roseman said at the Combine the Eagles want to bring back Goedert, who turned 31 earlier this year. Though, Berman predicted earlier this offseason Goedert would depart. The all-around TE talent has battled various injuries during his time in Eastern Pennsylvania but has been one of the better players at the position. Last season showed Goedert still has plenty left in the tank, as his 11 touchdown receptions were the most by an Eagles tight end in a season.
The Eagles brought the South Dakota State alum back on a $4.25MM pay cut last year, but he still made $10MM. The Eagles had given Goedert a four-year, $57MM extension shortly after trading Zach Ertz to the Cardinals in 2021. Goedert has started in two Super Bowls and averaged more than 11 yards per catch in four seasons — most recently doing so in 2024 (11.8). He totaled a career-high 60 receptions for 591 yards in 2025.
The Buccaneers took Cade Otton off the market by re-signing him; that move came after the Falcons franchise-tagged Kyle Pitts. Travis Kelce is predictably returning to the Chiefs, after rumors of a possible defection emerged, while Chig Okonkwo (Commanders) and Isaiah Likely (Ravens) are off the market. Goedert and David Njoku represent probably the top options left. TE-needy teams are surely monitoring this situation, and it is possible Njoku’s market is affected by the Goedert delay as well.
With Mundt a blocking tight end and Calcaterra totaling 76 receiving yards in 15 games last season, the Eagles would carry a glaring TE need if they did not re-sign Goedert. While Philly is pursuing an edge rusher — being in talks with Jonathan Greenard after a Trey Hendrickson pursuit failed — the team looks to still have Goedert in its plans.