Titans OL Far From Set
The Titans offensive line is most likely set on the outside with right tackle JC Latham and left tackle Dan Moore Jr. returning from last year’s starting lineup, and they’ll be joined by left guard Peter Skoronski, who had a breakout 2025 campaign. After releasing center Lloyd Cushenberry III and allowing veteran guard Kevin Zeitler‘s contract to expire, though, the other inside spots are far less secure at this point.
According to ESPN’s Turron Davenport, former Bengals starter Cordell Volson and last year’s fifth-round pick Jackson Slater will battle for the starting right guard job. Volson presumably has the inside track on the job after spending nearly three years as a starter on the left side in Cincinnati. He shouldn’t have any issue switching sides since he started games at left tackle, right tackle, and right guard in his college years at North Dakota State.
Slater’s collegiate experience at Sacramento State came all on the left side, as did his only snaps on offense for the Titans in his rookie year, which all came in a meaningless Week 18 matchup. Davenport believes that Day 3 additions from this year’s draft — fifth-round Arkansas guard Fernando Carmona and sixth-round Indiana center Pat Coogan — could also factor into the competition of this battle. Carmona started three years at left tackle in Fayetteville before making the move to left guard for the Razorbacks, and Coogan started a year at left guard for Notre Dame two years before transferring to the Hoosiers.
Tennessee also signed interior swingman Austin Schlottmann back in early March, but he appears to be the favorite to win the starting center job, though he has never held a role in the NFL as a full-time starter. Over his eight years in the league, Schlottmann has only started 18 of 85 game appearances. He started six games at right guard and one at center over three years in Denver, seven games at center over the next two in Minnesota, and four games at center for the Giants last year after only appearing in one game in 2024.
Schlottmann’s competition for the job is currently former Bengal Trey Hill and Coogan. Hill, originally a sixth-round pick himself, hasn’t started an NFL game since his rookie year in 2021 and has only appeared in one game in the past three seasons — a three-snap special teams appearance in 2024. Coogan is joining his third team in as many years after transferring from Notre Dame to Indiana for a championship run last year. Following his season at left guard, Coogan started a season at center for the Fighting Irish before snapping the ball for a year to the Heisman-winning No. 1 overall pick, Fernando Mendoza.
Despite Coogan’s success on paper, he was a Day 3 pick for a reason. With his general size and strength, he looks the part of an NFL center, but he projects as a backup early on, until he can be a bit more disciplined with his pad-level. Hill has been relegated to a practice squad role in recent years, and it’s hard to picture him making Week 1 his first start in five years. The job appears to be Schlottmann’s at the moment.
The inside tracks for Volson and Schlottmann could be altered if the roster continues to change, and it doesn’t sound like the team is done making adjustments. Following the draft, Titans assistant general manager Dave Ziegler told the press (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk), “There’s a level of competition that’s still going to be taking place there…we’ll continue to look to improve. Free agency is over and the draft is over, but there’s still an element of different areas of the team we will continue to add competition to. Offensive line will be one of those positions.”
Having seen so little of a new group that has such limited experience, head coach Brian Daboll is far from making any decisions. While he claims to like what he’s seeing from the guys that have come in and gotten to work so far, he knows they’re far away from playing meaningful football in pads, and they’ll learn more when those days come along. For now, they’ll continue to develop and compete, but concerning the starting five, “all that will play itself out come training camp,” as Daboll puts it.
Bucs’ Jacob Parrish To Compete For Outside CB Job
After cornerback Jacob Parrish showed off his inside-outside versatility at Kansas State, the Buccaneers added him in the third round of the 2025 draft. The 84th overall pick wound up spending most of his rookie season in the slot, but he could take on new responsibilities in Year 2. Parrish will compete for a starting job on the outside, according to Jenna Laine of ESPN.com.
The Buccaneers’ secondary has undergone a couple of notable changes this offseason, which could lead to a different role for the 5-foot-10, 198-pound Parrish. They lost starting corner Jamel Dean to the Steelers in free agency and did not pick up any notable replacement(s) on the open market. The Dean-less Buccaneers entered the draft with Zyon McCollum and Benjamin Morrison on the outside and Parrish in the slot, but they went on to grab Keionte Scott in the fourth round. Scott logged a large amount of snaps as a nickel corner during a four-year college career divided between Auburn and Miami.
The addition of Scott could lead to more work on the outside for Parrish, who played 127 snaps on the boundary last year and amassed 496 in the slot. During a 17-game, five-start campaign, Parrish finished second among Tampa Bay’s corners in defensive snap share (71.46%), Only McCollum was on the field more than Parrish, who racked up 76 tackles, seven passes defensed, two interceptions and a pair of sacks. He ended the year as Pro Football Focus’ 31st-ranked corner among 112 qualifiers, handily beating out McCollum (51st) and Morrison (108th), and earned a place on the All-Rookie Team.
McCollum, who started in all 30 appearances from 2024-25, inked a three-year, $48MM extension last September. That came several months after the Bucs drafted Parrish and Morrison. They used a second-rounder on Morrison, the 53rd overall choice, but a hip injury limited him to 10 games and three starts. If Morrison has a healthier second season, the club figures to bank on him, Parrish, McCollum and Scott for plenty of snaps.
With their offseason heavy lifting likely done, the Buccaneers will expect their current group of corners to help lead an improved pass defense in 2026. The Bucs were a lowly 27th against the pass last season, which helps explain their 8-9 finish and their failure to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2019.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/5/26
Today’s mid- to late-round rookie signings from the 2026 NFL Draft:
Denver Broncos
- LB Red Murdock (seventh round, Buffalo)
Kansas City Chiefs
- RB Emmett Johnson (fifth round, Nebraska)
The Broncos have secured the signature of Mr. Irrelevant who received a $122K signing bonus, per Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post. Johnson joins a crowded backfield in Kansas City, where he’ll work for reps behind free agent addition — and Super Bowl LX MVP — Kenneth Walker, all the time competing against another free agent signing in Emari Demercado and last year’s draft pick, Brashard Smith.
Kenneth Walker Knew He Would Leave Seahawks In Free Agency
Although running back Kenneth Walker posted his second 1,000-yard regular season and then took home Super Bowl LX MVP honors, the Seahawks did not re-sign the four-year veteran in free agency. Walker ended up joining the Chiefs on a three-year, $43.05MM deal when the negotiating period opened March 9. Leaving Seattle did not come as a surprise to Walker, who told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that he saw it coming months ago.
“I would say probably, if I’m being honest, probably like sometime during the season,” Walker said. “You know, things ain’t working out how I was expecting to, and that’s all right. It worked out for the team. So sometime during the season and then we get to free agency, pretty much knowing like you weren’t gonna be there no more.”
As the Seahawks were preparing to face the Patriots in the Super Bowl, general manager John Schneider said he “would love” to keep Walker. The 25-year-old went on to further boost his stock with a 135-yard performance against the Pats, helping the Seahawks to a 29-13 romp.
Walker made it known after the Super Bowl that he hoped to stay in Seattle, but it is unclear if the reigning champions even made him an offer. Without a long-term deal, the Seahawks still could have attempted to retain Walker for another year via the $14.29MM franchise tag (as the Jets did with Breece Hall) or the $11.32MM transition tag. They deemed those prices too rich, though, and allowed their former second-round pick to walk away for a significant raise.
Walker now sits fourth among RBs in total value, average salary ($14.35MM) and guarantees ($28.7MM). The Chiefs expect him to boost a running game that ranked a lackluster 25th in the league last year. Meanwhile, several weeks after Walker left, the Seahawks spent a first-rounder on his replacement, Jadarian Price. As the 32nd pick in the draft, Price’s fully guaranteed rookie deal will check in at approximately $16.73MM over four years.
With the regular season still four months away, Price, free agent addition Emanuel Wilson, George Holani and Kenny McIntosh are among the Seahawks’ healthy backfield options. They also have Zach Charbonnet, who shared snaps with Walker over the previous three years, but his status for the start of 2026 is uncertain after he tore his ACL in the divisional round.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/5/26
Here are Tuesday’s NFL minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: T Trevonte Sylvester
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived: G Sidney Fugar
Miami Dolphins
- Received international exemption: TE Seydou Traore
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: OLB Isiah King
- Reverted to IR: S Tucker Large
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Reverted to IR: S Daequan Hardy
The Ravens and Cowboys opted to cut two linemen from their recently signed undrafted free agent classes, while the Steelers and Eagles both made moves to waive their safeties with an injury designation then revert them to injured reserve. For as long as they are on IR during the offseason, they will not count against the team’s 90-man roster limit.
Traore will also not count against Miami’s 90-man limit; the team’s fifth-round pick out of Mississippi State was born in France but raised in London before moving to Florida in an attempt to play college ball. He earned a scholarship offer from Arkansas State, where he played for two years before transferring to the Bulldogs.
Replacing the UDFA they reverted to IR, the Eagles have added King, a versatile linebacker, after he went undrafted out of Idaho. A two-year starter for the Vandals, King split his time fairly evenly last year between the box, the slot, and the edge.
Chargers’ Jake Slaughter To Vie For LG Job
The guard position stood out as one of the Chargers’ few glaring needs entering the draft. Despite that, they did not use one of their early picks on a traditional guard. Rather, the Bolts are counting on second-round center Jake Slaughter to successfully transition to left guard as a rookie. They expect Slaughter to compete for the starting job, according to general manager Joe Hortiz (via Kris Rhim of ESPN).
Zion Johnson, the 17th overall pick in the 2022 draft, was the Chargers’ starting left guard in three of his first four seasons (he was their right guard as a rookie). Although Johnson was remarkably durable in Los Angeles, where he missed just two games and started in 65 of 66, he has not turned into a great lineman at the NFL level. The Chargers let him walk in free agency as a result.
After Johnson accepted the Browns’ three-year, $49.5MM offer in free agency, the Bolts responded by re-signing Trevor Penning to a one-year, $4.5MM pact and adding Kayode Awosika on a modest deal. Both players are likely better off as depth, which could clear the way for Slaughter to step in as a Day 1 starter. There may be growing pains, however, considering Slaughter did not play a single snap at guard in college.
A former Florida Gator, Slaughter was one of the nation’s best centers over the past couple of years. Slaughter earned first-team All-SEC honors in each of the previous two seasons. He was also a first-team All-American in 2024. The Chargers scooped him up at pick 63. They later selected guards Logan Jones and Alex Harkey in the sixth round, but they will likely vie for backup roles as rookies.
While Slaughter may eventually move back to center for the Chargers, the position is spoken for as of now. Earlier this offseason, the Chargers replaced the retired Bradley Bozeman with Tyler Biadasz, whom they brought in on a three-year, $30MM accord. Biadasz will man the pivot, free agent pickup Cole Strange will take over at right guard for the released Mekhi Becton, and the excellent Rashawn Slater–Joe Alt duo will handle the tackle spots. Slater missed all of last season with a torn patellar tendon, and ankle issues held Alt to six games, but both blockers are ahead of schedule in their recoveries.
If Slater and Alt return to full strength, left guard will be the biggest question on the Chargers’ line heading into next season. In a best-case scenario for them, Slaughter will quickly adapt to a new position and help make life easier on franchise quarterback Justin Herbert. Thanks to a combination of injuries and subpar blocking, Herbert suffered the third-most sacks in the league last year (54). While the Chargers still managed 11 wins and a playoff berth, they were unable to get out of the wild-card round. The Patriots sacked Herbert six times in a lifeless offensive showing for the Chargers, who fell 16-3.
Browns Considered Trading Into First Round For WR Denzel Boston
Reloading at wide receiver, the Browns did not stop after choosing KC Concepcion 24th overall. Cleveland made another big move at the position during the draft, tabbing Denzel Boston at No. 39.
The Browns entered this draft with two first-round picks, obtaining the No. 24 overall selection via the Jaguars’ 2025 Travis Hunter trade-up. The Jags’ dramatic improvement from 2024 to ’25 made that pick less valuable, but the Browns came out of Round 1 with a tackle and a receiver — their long-rumored preference.
Cleveland, however, considered joining the Jets in making it a three-first-rounder haul. The Browns pondered trading back into Round 1 to secure Boston, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, who notes the team viewed the Seahawks (No. 32) as a potential option. Seattle GM John Schneider confirmed the team was looking to trade down, which the veteran exec has done many times in Round 1 during his lengthy tenure; the defending champs entered the draft with only four picks.
Schneider confirmed potential trade-down opportunities arose, but the Seahawks stayed put and drafted Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price. It should be viewed as a safe bet the Browns represented one of those trade-down chances for the Seahawks, but the team viewed the 49ers as a threat to draft Price. San Francisco, after trading down twice in Round 1, held the No. 33 overall pick to start Round 2.
After the Browns stood down on a first-round trade-up — and what would have been their first three-first-rounder haul since 2017 (when the team added Myles Garrett, David Njoku and Jabrill Peppers) — Fowler adds discussions took place regarding a move up the board early in Round 2. We heard before the 49ers’ No. 33 pick the Browns were among the teams interested in climbing, but no Cleveland trade commenced.
Andrew Berry and Co. bet on a defense-heavy start to the second round and was mostly proven right. After the 49ers chose a receiver (De’Zhaun Stribling) and the Cardinals a guard (Chase Bisontis) to start the draft’s second night, four defensive players (EDGE T.J. Parker, DT Kayden McDonald, CB Colton Hood, S Treydan Stukes) respectively went to the Bills, Texans, Giants and Raiders. That left Boston on the board for longer than expected, and the Browns pounced at No. 39.
Boston was widely mocked as a first-round pick, with pre-draft rumors relaying the Washington product was viewed as a top-three receiver in this class by some teams. Those may not have been entirely accurate, though it is worth wondering if teams merely stood down and addressed other positions while still viewing Boston highly. The Browns conducted a “30” visit with Boston in mid-March and will plug him in alongside Concepcion and Jerry Jeudy. The team has no plans to trade Jeudy despite an underwhelming second season in Cleveland.
The Browns had not used a first- or second-round pick on a receiver under Berry or predecessor John Dorsey. Granted, Cleveland went three drafts without a first-round pick (due to the Deshaun Watson trade/fiasco), but the team has underinvested, draft-wise, at this premier position for a long time. After missing on Corey Coleman in the 2016 first round — when Berry worked under then-front office boss Sashi Brown — Cleveland opted to make other moves at receiver, like trading for Jeudy and Amari Cooper.
Giants Claim DT Zacch Pickens
The Giants made one of Tuesday’s most noteworthy moves in agreeing to sign defensive tackle D.J. Reader to a two-year, $12.5MM deal. Not content to stop adding at the position, the Giants have claimed Zacch Pickens off waivers from the Chiefs.
Pickens is quickly landing on his feet after the Chiefs cut him Monday. The 6-foot-4, 303-pounder spent all of last season in the Kansas City organization, mostly as a member of its practice squad. Pickens got into three games and played 59 defensive snaps.
Before arriving in KC, Pickens spent the first two years of his career in Chicago. The Bears invested a third-round pick (No. 64 overall) in the South Carolina product in 2023, but the move did not work out as hoped. Pickens logged his lone 17-game season as a rookie, though he did not make any starts. He finished with a 24.65% defensive snap share, 20 tackles and a half-sack. While Pickens made the first three starts of his career in 2024, he totaled just nine appearances, 19 tackles and a sack on the season. Led by then-rookie head coach Ben Johnson, the Bears waived Pickens last August.
For the Giants, the Pickens claim continues an active couple of weeks along their interior defensive line. The first domino to fall was the mid-April trade of nose tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals for the 10th overall pick. The Giants have since brought in Reader, Pickens, Leki Fotu and sixth-rounder Bobby Jamison-Travis to join Darius Alexander, Sam Roberts and Marlon Tuipulotu
WR Stefon Diggs Found Not Guilty On Assault, Strangulation Charges
A Boston jury acquitted Stefon Diggs on assault and strangulation charges Tuesday, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson reports. This stemmed from an alleged December 2025 incident, with accusations coming from a woman who had worked for the veteran wide receiver.
Diggs, 32, is a free agent after the Patriots cut him one season into a three-year agreement. While Diggs could still be subject to NFL discipline under the league’s personal conduct policy, this verdict should certainly help him land another opportunity ahead of the 2026 season.
A woman, Mila Adams, who had served as a Diggs personal chef accused the Pro Bowl receiver of assaulting her and testified in the jury trial Monday. Diggs was facing a charge of felony strangulation or suffocation as well as a charge of misdemeanor assault and battery.
Adams was allegedly working as a private chef for Diggs when a financial dispute arose. In a police report, she alleged Diggs entered her unlocked bedroom and, as the dispute continued in-person, “smacked her across the face.” Adams then claimed Diggs “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck” and that she feared she may pass out as a result. Diggs denied Adams’ claims, pleading not guilty in February, and is now legally in the clear.
Diggs did not testify in the trial, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who notes no visible injuries were present on the accuser’s body when she filed a police report. No photos were taken following the alleged incident. Diggs’ lawyers argued the woman’s claims of an assault were not credible, and the high-profile NFLer’s side won out.
The Patriots moved Diggs’ three-year, $63.5MM contract off their payroll in March, signing Romeo Doubs to a four-year deal worth $68MM ($35MM fully guaranteed). The Pats made a bigger commitment to the four-year Packers contributor, and they have been closely linked to A.J. Brown. No agreement is in place, and we last heard the sides were apart on terms — as the Pats are not believed to have put a first-rounder on the table yet. But New England is widely believed to be the frontrunner for the Philadelphia wideout, who is expected to be traded after June 1 for cap purposes.
Diggs will be looking for a fifth NFL team and fourth club in four years. The Bills traded their previous No. 1 receiver to the Texans in April 2024, and after removing three years from his contract, Houston did not re-sign him following a midseason ACL tear. Diggs rewarded the Patriots, leading the team in receiving (with 1,013 yards) and scoring four touchdowns to help Drake Maye‘s MVP push — which ended in a close runner-up finish. The Pats rode to Super Bowl LX with Diggs as their top target but decided to move on before a $6MM guarantee was due March 13.
Joining Tyreek Hill, Deebo Samuel and DeAndre Hopkins in the 30-something wing of free agent receivers, Diggs should be able to generate interest. A deal coming together, especially with the pass catcher not coming off injury like he was in 2025, in the near future — now that a contract would not affect a team’s 2027 compensatory formula — would not be difficult to envision now that this legal matter is in the past.
RB Isaac Guerendo In Uphill Battle To Make 49ers’ Roster; Latest On Team’s LG Situation
The 49ers have an established track record for mid-round running back investments during the Kyle Shanahan-John Lynch era. Unfortunately for the team, the moves have a high bust rate.
San Francisco drafted Joe Williams in the 2017 fourth round, trading up for the Utah back. Williams did not play an NFL snap. The team tried again by drafting Trey Sermon in the 2021 third round. Sixth-rounder Elijah Mitchell outplayed Sermon, who saw minimal San Francisco action before being waived in 2022. The team misfired once again in Round 3, with its Tyrion Davis-Price pick (2022) yielding little before a 2023 separation.
The 2024 draft brought another swing, with Isaac Guerendo joining the team in Round 4. Shortly before Guerendo’s second season, however, the 49ers traded for Brian Robinson to serve as Christian McCaffrey‘s backup. Robinson moved on in free agency (to the Falcons) in March, but the 49ers went back to the draft well again by choosing Indiana’s Kaelon Black in Round 3 despite the Indiana product not being invited to the Combine.
Black joins 2025 fifth-rounder Jordan James as McCaffrey backup options alongside Guerendo, but the third-year player may be on the outside looking in. Guerendo is now a long shot to make San Francisco’s 53-man roster this summer, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur writes. The 49ers are expected to feature an RB2 competition between James and Black, Tafur adds.
Guerendo, who clocked a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the 2024 Combine, averaged 5.0 yards per carry as a rookie (84/420) and scored four touchdowns. McCaffrey missed most of that season but returned to his full workload in 2025, with Robinson serving as the clear backup. Guerendo, who played alongside Mitchell in 2024, went from 227 offensive snaps as a rookie to zero last season. He could find himself elsewhere via waivers or perhaps in a low-level trade, though the 49ers could perhaps save a practice squad spot come August.
While McCaffrey’s backup — a rather important position considering the All-Pro’s injury history — has yet to be decided, the team will be looking for a Week 1 left guard starter as well. Spencer Burford and Ben Bartch defected in free agency (to the Raiders and Lions, respectively), leaving a hole opposite Dominick Puni. The team signed Robert Jones and will put him in a competition with second-year blocker Connor Colby and rookie fourth-rounder Carver Willis, Tafur adds.
Jones, who missed all of last season with a broken bone in his neck, comes over from the Cowboys but last made contributions with the Dolphins. The four-year Miami blocker, 27, started 30 games for the Dolphins — including 17 in 2024. Jones only commanded a one-year, $3.75MM Dallas deal and signed for $1.75MM ($1.64MM guaranteed) with the 49ers.
The 49ers initially turned to Colby after Bartch’s Week 2 injury last season but ended up going with Burford as a nine-game starter. Burford joined the Raiders on a one-year, $3.26MM contract. Willis played left tackle with Washington as a senior and was Kansas State’s starting right tackle in 2024. The 49ers, who signed Vederian Lowe as a swing tackle this offseason, are moving Willis to guard.
Although Jones has by far the most experience here, Colby — an Iowa product drafted in last year’s seventh round — will be given “every opportunity” to beat him out, per Tafur. Pro Football Focus ranked Colby 66th among guards as a rookie, but the 49ers look to remain bullish on his chances. Two years remain on Puni’s rookie deal, keeping the team’s RG situation stable for the foreseeable future.