Commanders To Sign DT Tim Settle
Tim Settle will return to Washington in 2026. The veteran defensive tackle has agreed to a Commanders deal, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
This will be a three-year pact with a base value of $24MM. The contract could max out at $25.5MM. Settle played in Washington from 2018-21, and he will now return to the fold.
More to come…
Falcons To Sign QB Tua Tagovailoa
The Dolphins released Tua Tagovailoa on Monday, and just a few hours later, he has found a new team. The 28-year-old quarterback will be moving one state north to join the Falcons, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
As expected, Tagovailoa will receive a one-year, veteran-minimum deal in Atlanta, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, as Miami is still paying him $56MM this season. He will join fellow lefty Michael Penix in a Falcons quarterback room that should soon lose Kirk Cousins. In fact, Tagovailoa projects as the team’s bridge starter as Penix works his way back from knee surgery, filling a role that could have kept Cousins in Atlanta. Instead, the veteran will now get the opportunity to pick a new team that he did not receive last offseason.
More to come.
Cardinals To Sign QB Gardner Minshew
Nomadic quarterback Gardner Minshew has found his sixth NFL team. Minshew will sign a one-year, $8.25MM contract with the Cardinals, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
More to come…
Raiders, DE Kwity Paye Agree To Deal
Not long after agreeing to trade away Maxx Crosby, the Raiders have lined up a notable replacement along the edge. Kwity Paye is heading to Vegas.
Paye worked out a Raiders deal on Monday, Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report. This will be a three-year pact worth $48MM, NFL insider Jordan Schultz adds. Paye represents the second big-ticket addition for the team today, with center Tyler Linderbaum having also worked out a massive free agent deal.
This has been a big day for edge rushers, with Jaelan Phillips, Odafe Oweh and Boye Mafe agreeing to deals (with the Panthers, Commanders and Bengals) earlier today. Paye’s contract checks in south of those three, who respectively scored $30MM, $25MM and $20MM per year. But the five-year Colt still did quite well. His 3/48 framework matches what the Bears gave ex-Indianapolis teammate Dayo Odeyingbo last year.
Slotted behind the Phillips-Oweh-Mafe trio in PFR’s top 50 (at No. 19), Paye is coming off an unremarkable contract year. But the former first-round pick fared much better in Gus Bradley‘s defense from 2023-24. Paye combined for 16.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss in those seasons. His Michigan ties probably don’t hurt here, either, with Raider decision-makers Tom Brady and John Spytek being ex-Wolverines.
Last season, however, Paye only registered four sacks and nine QB hits. But he was still an active pressure artist. Paye’s 23 pressures in 2025 were a career high, and he only trailed Oweh by one in that category. Considering Paye’s better sack work in the past, the Raiders will make a midlevel ($16MM suddenly qualifies as such) bet on the power-based rusher having superior production ahead.
Paye, 27, will not remind Raiders fans closely of Crosby. The team, which looks to have missed on 2023 first-round pick Tyree Wilson, also has Malcolm Koonce unsigned. Las Vegas is effectively starting over in terms of pass rush, as the team memorably cut high-priced D-tackle Christian Wilkins in 2025.
The Colts have now lost Paye and Odeyingbo in consecutive offseasons, and Samson Ebukam and Tyquan Lewis are also UFAs. The Colts have Laiatu Latu in place as Lou Anarumo’s top edge rusher, with DeForest Buckner still anchoring the team’s D-line. But Indy may need another piece after losing a five-year starter.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Jaguars Listening To Offers For WR Brian Thomas Jr.
Arriving during Trent Baalke‘s final draft as Jaguars GM, Brian Thomas Jr. enjoyed a promising rookie season before submitting to a sophomore slump. With a new regime running the show now, Thomas’ standing in Duval County may be a bit shaky.
The Jaguars are believed to be listening to offers on Thomas, SNY’s Connor Hughes reports. Teams called the Jags about Thomas at last year’s deadline — the Giants, Jets and Steelers among them — but the team was not open to dealing the 2024 first-rounder. It appears the AFC South club is now more willing to hear what Thomas can bring in a trade.
The Steelers called the Jags on Thomas last year, but they agreed to trade for Michael Pittman Jr. earlier today. The Jets added Adonai Mitchell in their Sauce Gardner trade. The Giants lost Wan’Dale Robinson to the Titans in free agency, though they still roster Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton. Thomas played with Nabers at LSU, and Slayton’s contract can be shed fairly easily in 2027.
Although the Jags are prepared to shift Travis Hunter to more of a cornerback-first role, they saw Thomas fail to make a big impact in Liam Coen‘s debut. The big-bodied target slumped to a 48-catch, 707-yard season. That would not exactly qualify as a woeful campaign, but Thomas posted 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie. He caught just two TDs last season, and trade pickup Jakobi Meyers checked in as a more reliable option in Coen’s offense. The Jags have since given Meyers a three-year, $60MM extension.
It would seemingly take at least a Day 2 pick — possibly with another choice sprinkled in — to convince the Jags to move off a player with a 1,200-yard rookie season in his recent past. Two years remain on Thomas’ rookie contract, increasing his value. No extension talks can commence until 2027. As it stands, the Jags do not look likely to ever initiate those.
Coen and GM James Gladstone gutted Baalke’s pass catcher setup last year, trading Christian Kirk and cutting Evan Engram, Gabe Davis and Devin Duvernay. Dyami Brown also played out his 2025 contract. If the Jags are to seriously entertain trading Thomas, they would need at least one more option. That said, Parker Washington took a step forward last year and led the division-winning team with 847 receiving yards. Though, he is now in a contract year. Thomas’ status will be a storyline to monitor as teams fill their receiver rooms in free agency.
49ers To Sign T Vederian Lowe
With Trent Williams‘ future in the air, the 49ers are making a depth addition at the offensive tackle spot. Vederian Lowe has agreed to a two-year San Francisco deal worth up to $12MM, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. He will collect $5.75MM guaranteed.
More to come…
Commanders, Odafe Oweh Agree To Deal
Another one of the major pass rush dominoes around the NFL has fallen. Odafe Oweh will neither return to the Ravens nor remain in place with the Chargers.
Instead, he will head to the nation’s capital. A four-year deal has been agreed to with the Commanders, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This will be a $100MM pact including $68MM guaranteed, Schefter adds.
This represents a big-ticket payday for another of this market’s edge rushers. Jaelan Phillips secured a four-year, $120MM Panthers deal earlier today, and Oweh will do very well for another team in need of pass-rushing support. The Commanders largely ignored their EDGE need in 2025, settling for an aging Von Miller just before training camp. While Miller was productive (team-high nine sacks), the team set out to do better this offseason. Oweh checks a key box.
Recording 17.5 sacks over the past two seasons, Oweh joined Phillips and Trey Hendrickson as this market’s top edge rushers. The four-year commitment will help inflate Oweh’s guarantee, and $68MM tops where the Chiefs went for George Karlaftis on his 2025 extension. The cap climbing past $301MM this offseason is benefiting players today. Oweh, 27, is the NFL’s 13th-highest-paid edge rusher as a result of this agreement. That checks in just south of the Broncos’ Nik Bonitto pact.
Oweh joined Phillips and Kwity Paye as edge rushers to play out their fifth-year option seasons. Like Phillips, Oweh was traded during his. The five-year veteran’s Chargers stay helped ignite his free agent market. After a sackless five games in Baltimore, Oweh recorded 7.5 QB drops during his Chargers run. That turned out to be a rental period.
Although the Chargers expressed interest in re-signing Oweh, they agreed to terms with Khalil Mack and have a Tuli Tuipulotu extension to negotiate this offseason. Oweh almost definitely, based on where the Tuipulotu payday will land, priced himself out of L.A.’s comfort zone.
No Oweh six-sack seasons transpired from 2021-23, but the Ravens still picked up his fifth-year option. Baltimore saw Oweh register 10 sacks in 2024, and he closed out his rookie contract by combining for 41 QB hits from 2024-25. The Commanders still have Dorance Armstrong tied to his three-year, $30MM contract, but after regarding him as a de facto A-side rusher, Washington looks set to have Oweh in that role moving forward.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Bears To Re-Sign QB Case Keenum
Case Keenum will indeed remain in place with the Bears next season, but he will not do so as a coach. The veteran quarterback has agreed to a new contract.
Keenum is set to re-sign on a two-year deal with a base value of $5.5MM, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The pact can max out at $8MM. Keenum could of course still be a coaching candidate in the future, but for now his playing days will continue.
More to come…
Cowboys To Sign S Jalen Thompson
Jalen Thompson emerged as a name to watch regarding the Cowboys on Monday. The veteran safety is indeed heading to Dallas.
ESPN’s Todd Archer recently reported the Cowboys were in contact with Thompson. A deal has now been struck, according to Ian Rapoport and Jane Slater of NFL Network. This will be a three-year contract worth up to $36MM.
More to come…
Bengals To Sign DE Boye Mafe
The Bengals are adding former Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe, agent Mike McCartney announced. Mafe will sign a three-year, $60MM contract, insider Jordan Schultz relays.
Cincinnati’s pass rush took a hit when defensive end Joseph Ossai agreed to sign with the Jets on Monday. The Bengals are also expected to lose their best D-end, Trey Hendrickson, to free agency. At least one outside pass-rushing addition became a necessity for the Bengals, whose defense was among the NFL’s worst in 2025. The unit ranked 26th in sacks, 30th in scoring and 31st in total defense.
Mafe has not posted Hendrickson-like production (few have), but he should at least serve as a credible Ossai replacement. The four-year veteran has 20 career sacks over 65 games (34 starts). In 2023, Mafe’s most productive year, he worked as a full-time starter and tallied 52 tackles, 16 QB hits, nine sacks, nine TFL and six passes defensed in 16 contests.
Mafe notched another 12 QB hits and six sacks during a 15-game, 11-start 2024, but the 27-year-old took on a lesser role for the Super Bowl champions last season. The former second-rounder from Minnesota came off the bench in 13 of 17 games and logged a 50% defensive snap share. Mafe could only muster four QB hits and a pair of sacks, but he nonetheless entered free agency with plenty of earning potential. He will indeed rake in a substantial raise in moving from Seattle to Cincinnati.
Mafe’s exit is the latest blow to the Seahawks’ roster on the first day of the league’s free agent negotiating period. They previously lost running back/Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III to the Chiefs and safety Coby Bryant to the Bears.