Jets To Sign K Jason Sanders, Release K Younghoe Koo
The Jets are making a change at the kicker spot. A deal has been lined up with Jason Sanders, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reports. Fellow veteran Younghoe Koo is being released in a corresponding move.
Sanders was released by the Giants yesterday. He has certainly not needed to wait long to find his next opportunity, with a gig on New York’s other NFL franchise being arranged. Sanders joined the Giants this spring but all of his 118 career regular and postseason appearances have come as a member of the Dolphins.
The 30-year-old missed all of 2025 through injury. Sanders was one of several Miami veterans who were cut by new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan in March, and a short stint on the open market ensued prior to his Giants deal. New York’s NFC team will move forward with a pair of younger kicking options during training camp, but the Jets will have an experienced presence in the form of Sanders this summer.
Koo – who appeared in five games for the Giants last season – was signed by the Jets one week ago. The longtime Falcons kicker was one of three options in place for the team at that point, with Cade York and Lenny Krieg being the others. Rosenblatt predicts York and Sanders will now compete for the gig over the course of training camp. Sanders sports a career accuracy rate of 84.6% on field goals, while York has gone 33-for-45 across 23 games played for Cleveland, Washington and Cincinnati.
For much of his Falcons tenure, Koo was among the league’s most accurate kickers. The 31-year-old South Korean saw his Atlanta stint come to an end early in the 2025 season, though, and he was among the options used by the Giants to fill in for Graham Gano. Koo’s struggles over the past two years could result in a free agent spell lasting through at least the start of training camp, but he will offer his next team with a veteran capable of competing for the full-time kicking position in 2026.
Packers’ Micah Parsons Targeting Mid-October Return
Last January, a month after Packers outside linebacker Micah Parsons suffered a torn ACL, the five-time Pro Bowler expressed hope he would make his 2026 debut in Week 3 or 4. That would have meant returning in late September or the first week of October, but it is now clear Parsons will not make it back that early.
Speaking with Ryan Wood of USA Today and other reporters Wednesday, Parsons revealed he underwent a meniscus cleanup in addition to ACL surgery. Parsons added he will not consider coming back until he is at least nine months removed from the injury, which would point to a mid-October return in a best-case scenario. Speculatively, that could mean a Week 6 debut on Sunday, Oct. 18. The Packers happen to play Parsons’ former team, the Cowboys, in prime time that night.
The Cowboys and Parsons were unable to resolve a contract dispute last summer, leading to a late-August blockbuster trade with the Packers. The Cowboys parted with Parsons for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark, and Green Bay immediately handed the superstar a four-year, $188MM extension with $136MM guaranteed. Parsons lived up to the billing in his first 14 games as a Packer, during which he recorded 12.5 sacks and became the first player with a dozen-plus in each of his first five seasons. He also chipped in 79 pressures, 26 QB hits, 12 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
Parsons went down in a Week 15 loss to Denver, where the Packers’ season began to unravel. After dropping the Broncos game, they lost out to finish 9-7-1. While the Packers still held on for a wild-card berth and jumped out to a 21-3 halftime lead over the archrival Bears, they collapsed in the second half in a 31-27 loss. Their Parsons-less defense managed just one sack against quarterback Caleb Williams.
With Parsons likely to spend the first several weeks of 2026 on the reserve/PUP list, the Packers will have to lean on other edge defenders such as Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Brenton Cox and fourth-round rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton. The Packers still have around $25.80MM in cap space, giving them room for at least one noteworthy pass-rushing addition if they want to go that route. Cameron Jordan, Joey Bosa, Von Miller, Jadeveon Clowney, Leonard Floyd, Haason Reddick and Kyle Van Noy are among the established edge players still available in free agency.
Arrest Warrant Out For 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk
The Santa Clara Police Department has issued an arrest warrant for 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, Edward Lewis of the New York Post reports. Aiyuk is wanted on a misdemeanor charge of exhibition of speed.
The warrant is the result of a video Aiyuk posted on his YouTube account in December. He filmed himself driving in excess of 100 mph around the 49ers’ home field, Levi’s Stadium. Aiyuk apologized afterward, but Santa Clara police investigated the video and then forwarded the case to prosecutors on Jan. 15, according to Aidin Vaziri of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The warrant continues a strange couple of years for Aiyuk, who has not played in a game since he torn his ACL and MCL in Week 7 of the 2024 season. The injury occurred about two months after the 49ers settled a contract dispute with Aiyuk, who signed a four-year, $120MM extension in August 2024. With Aiyuk coming off a second-team All-Pro showing in 2023, the 49ers’ investment was understandable at the time. The team has gotten little from it so far, however, and it is unlikely he will ever don a 49ers uniform again.
Dissatisfied with how Aiyuk was handling the rehab process, the 49ers voided his 2026 guarantees last July. Aiyuk had a 50-day window to file a grievance through the NFLPA, but he took no action and lost around $26MM as a result. The former first-round pick spent most of last season on the reserve/PUP list, but general manager John Lynch expressed hope he would return down the stretch. Any chance of that went out the window when the 49ers placed the 27-year-old on the reserve/left squad list in mid-December.
It has been obvious throughout the offseason that San Francisco will part with Aiyuk, though the team has taken its time. Lynch has held out hope for a trade, but finding a taker has never appeared likely. Just last week, two executives from rival teams told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Aiyuk is “untradeable.” Today’s news certainly won’t do anything to improve his stock.
Although the 49ers voided Aiyuk’s guarantees, they still owe him a $25MM option bonus in early September. If they exercise the option, it would be prorated through 2030. Declining it would mean paying all of it at once. While Aiyuk is also due base salaries of $27.27MM in 2027 and $29.15MM in 2028 on his current deal, odds are the 49ers will eventually release him.
A.J. Brown Fallout: Roseman, Rams, Hurts
The long-awaited A.J. Brown trade between the Eagles and Patriots finally came together on Monday. Before agreeing to ship out a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder for Brown, the Patriots held out hope the Eagles would accept a package headlined by a second-rounder, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The sides began discussing the 2028 first-rounder about a month ago, Rapoport adds.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was not going to move Brown unless he got a Round 1 selection back, Zach Berman of The Athletic reports.
Speaking with the media on Monday, Roseman said: “I think that when we looked at the totality of the circumstances and having the conversations we had with him, felt like where we were, where we were going, where he was, that if we could find something that kind of achieved our goals of getting a first-round pick going forward here in the near future, getting the money back to spend on other players on our team and other teams, and it was a win-win situation based on where he was and how he felt, we were open to that.”
The first-rounder Roseman received is still two years down the line, but having to wait isn’t a big deal to him.
“We’ve always been in the mindset a pick is a pick — a first-round pick is a first-round pick,” he said. “Doesn’t matter. Teams are still going to be playing football in 2028.”
The Eagles now have two firsts in 2028, which Roseman regards as “a huge, huge part of this move.” Meanwhile, the Patriots have a new No. 1 receiver in Brown, a three-time Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro who is entering his age-29 campaign. Brown will reunite with head coach Mike Vrabel, a key figure earlier in his career in Tennessee. Brown played for Vrabel over his first three seasons.
In a post-trade interview with Maria Taylor on “7PM in Brooklyn,” Brown revealed he thought his “time was up” in Philadelphia after the season. While Brown went over 1,000 yards for the sixth time in his seven-year career, he voiced frustration with the Eagles’ sputtering offense on multiple occasions. Brown admitted he should have gone about things differently in public and on social media, but he noted: “Nothing I said was ever for personal gain. it was to help the team win.”
Philadelphia ran roughshod over the NFL during a 14-win regular season in 2024 and capped off the campaign with a blowout victory over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. The team took home its second straight NFC East title last year, but it hardly resembled the juggernaut from the previous season. The Eagles went 11-6 and quickly bowed out of the playoffs in a wild-card round loss to the 49ers. Brown believes the defending champion Eagles pressed as a result of the high expectations they placed on themselves. He also revealed he and quarterback Jalen Hurts drifted apart during the season.
“Not as close as we once were,” Brown said. “And I believe that’s fine. There’s no bad blood. There’s actually still a lot of love.”
Brown will now work with a new quarterback in the Patriots’ Drake Maye, though there was a possibility of him joining Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles. The Rams ultimately bowed out of trade talks, leaving New England as the only real suitor for Brown. It turns out the Rams backed out because they “weren’t satisfied by what they saw” in Brown’s medicals, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer said on the “unCovering the Birds” podcast.
Brown has a history of knee issues, but Roseman downplayed that when McLane asked and lauded the receiver’s durability. He missed six of a possible 68 regular-season games with the Eagles, though a few of those absences came as a result of hamstring problems.
When asked about his knee after the trade, Brown responded (via Karen Guregian of MassLive.com): “Maybe in four years I’ve missed one game from a shot to the knee. So, that’s nothing to worry about. I’m ready to go.”
Cardinals Not Planning Josh Sweat Trade
One season into a four-year, $76.4MM contract, Cardinals outside linebacker Josh Sweat has drawn trade interest this spring. However, it appears those teams will have to look elsewhere for pass-rushing help. The Cardinals are not dealing Sweat, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
After coming off the board in the fourth round of the 2018 draft, Sweat spent his first seven seasons in Philadelphia. He broke out as a starter from 2021-22, Jonathan Gannon‘s two-year run as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, and continued to perform well after Gannon left to become the Cardinals’ head coach.
Sweat capped off his Eagles tenure with a 2.5-sack outburst in a Super Bowl LIX victory over the Chiefs in February 2025. Hitting free agency a few weeks later enabled Sweat to reunite with Gannon in Arizona, but their second partnership lasted just one year. The Cardinals fired Gannon in January on the heels of a 4-13 season, though new head coach Mike LaFleur retained defensive coordinator Nick Rallis.
Gannon is now the Packers’ D-coordinator, which has sparked social media rumors that they will swing a trade for Sweat. It might make sense for a team that will likely open the season without elite edge defender Micah Parsons, who is rehabbing from the tore ACL he suffered last December. But Rapoport dumped freezing cold water on the possibility, writing on X: “#AZCardinals edge rusher Josh Sweat is not being traded. Not to the #Packers or anywhere.”
Sweat has stayed away from Cardinals OTAs, but that was also the case when Gannon was in charge last year. LaFleur is unconcerned. He spoke highly of Sweat last week, saying (via Grant Gordon of NFL.com): “I’m just excited about the fact that I don’t have to game plan against this guy. I got to know him when I first got this job. He’s a good dude. He goes about his process and he’s not the first guy to go about his process the way he is in terms of how he’s training and all that.”
As a member of one of the NFL’s worst teams in 2025, Sweat was a rare bright spot. He put together his second 17-game season and tallied career highs in sacks (12) and forced fumbles (four). Despite his efforts, the Cardinals tied for the third-fewest sacks in the league (30). While his importance to their defense is obvious, they are expected to remain among the league’s bottom feeders in 2026. With that in mind, there is a case general manager Monti Ossenfort should seriously consider trading Sweat this summer. It seems Ossenfort, whose job may be on the line, is in no hurry to do so.
Perhaps the Cardinals will be more open to moving Sweat around the Nov. 3 trade deadline if they are out of the playoff race and contenders come calling. With an affordable $9.78MM base salary coming his way in 2026, Sweat’s contract adds to his value. His deal does not include any guarantees past the upcoming season.
Pats’ Kayshon Boutte Interested In Trade
Although the Patriots had not yet acquired receiver A.J. Brown from the Eagles, they made fellow wideout Kayshon Boutte available in the lead-up to the draft in April. While a deal has not occurred, Boutte’s status in New England has remained in question. Now that Brown is on the roster, having joined the team in a trade on Monday, it looks like a strong possibility the Patriots will ship out Boutte before the season.
For his part, Boutte has been interested in a trade, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on his podcast on Tuesday. A summer deal involving Boutte may be something to watch for, according to Schefter. Albert Breer of SI.com reported last month that the Patriots would likely take a fifth- or sixth-round pick in return for Boutte, who has not attended voluntary OTAs.
Boutte has been a member of the Pats since they chose him in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. The former LSU Tiger got off to a slow start in a five-game, two-catch rookie season, but he has taken on a much bigger role in the Patriots’ offense since then.
Over 15 games and 13 starts in 2024, quarterback Drake Maye‘s rookie campaign, Boutte caught 43 of 68 targets for 589 yards (13.7 YPC) and three touchdowns. Although Boutte missed three more games last year, he made 10 starts for the AFC champions and hauled in 33 of 46 targets for 551 yards. He set career bests in yards per catch (16.6), TDs (six) and drop percentage (2.2). Maye, who was the MVP runner-up, recorded a 133.1 passer rating when he targeted Boutte.
Now that Brown is in the fold, the Patriots have something of a logjam at receiver, which could seal Boutte’s fate. Brown and big-money free agent signing Romeo Doubs are locked in as starters. Mack Hollins (who led Patriots receivers in snaps last year), DeMario Douglas, second-year man Kyle Williams and Efton Chism are also in the fold. Like Boutte, Douglas does not look like a lock to remain in New England. He could be fighting Chism for a roster spot.
In the event the Patriots find a taker for Boutte, he could at least give an acquiring team an affordable stopgap. Boutte is entering the last season of his rookie contract and due a $3.67MM salary. Another club could extend Boutte, which seems unlikely to happen in New England with the expensive Brown-Doubs duo on the books.
QB Nathan Peterman Retires
Longtime NFL quarterback Nathan Peterman is hanging up his cleats, but the 32-year-old will remain in the game in a different capacity. Peterman is working to become a certified NFL agent with Range Sports, which represented him as a player, according to Irving Mejia-Hilario of Sports Business Journal.
“I got to live through what I’m now getting tested on in the CBA,” Peterman told Mejia-Hilario. “Being up and down on a roster, being put on IR, negotiating contracts. I hope I can help a younger person that’s on a similar journey.”
Peterman, who divided his college career between Tennessee and Pittsburgh, became a pro when the Bills chose him in the fifth round of the 2017 draft. He spent two years in Buffalo, where he struggled over eight appearances and four starts.
Former Bills head coach Sean McDermott briefly benched Tyrod Taylor and turned to Peterman for his first career start in a Week 11 game against the Chargers in 2017. It was a short-lived promotion for Peterman, who threw five first-half interceptions in a 54-24 loss and lost the job at halftime. Taylor held the reins for the rest of the season and helped the Bills to a 9-7 finish, ending their 17-year playoff drought, but suffered a concussion late in their wild-card game in Jacksonville. Peterman came in and tossed an interception with 1:16 left to clinch a 10-3 win for the Jaguars.
During the 2018 offseason, Buffalo shook up its quarterback room when it traded Taylor to Cleveland and drafted Josh Allen seventh overall. With the goal of easing Allen into the league, McDermott named Peterman the Week 1 starter. However, he was once again unable to get through a full game. After Peterman went 5 for 18 for 24 yards and two interceptions, McDermott yanked him late in a 40-3 loss to the Ravens. Allen came on in relief and then took over as the Bills’ starter, a job he has not relinquished. Peterman’s last start as a Bill came when he filled in for an injured Allen in Week 9 against the Bears. He completed 31 of 49 attempts for 188 yards and three picks in a 41-9 loss. The Bills cut him eight days later.
After the Bills moved on from Peterman, he had stints with the Raiders, Bears, Saints and Falcons. His fifth and final start came with Chicago in Week 18 of the 2022 campaign. Peterman threw a touchdown and no interceptions in an 11-of-19, 104-yard performance, but the Bears fell 29-13 to the Vikings. The loss clinched the No. 1 pick for Chicago, which traded it to Carolina in a blockbuster that significantly altered the courses of both franchises. Peterman, meanwhile, never attempted another regular-season pass in the league, leaving him with a 53.1% completion rate, four TDs, 13 INTs and a 39.4 rating.
Peterman, most recently a member of Atlanta’s practice squad in 2024, worked out for the Jets, Lions and 49ers last year. None of those teams gave him a contract. Neither did the Broncos, who had Peterman in for a tryout just a few weeks ago. After they passed on signing him, Peterman will turn his attention to a new career in the game.
Browns Trade Myles Garrett To Rams
JUNE 3: The third-rounder in 2029 is conditional, per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. It will turn into a first-rounder if the Rams trade Garrett to a team in the Browns’ division, the AFC North.
JUNE 1, 11:20pm: Both teams have announced the trade. It is indeed Garrett for Verse, a 2027 first-rounder, a 2028 second-rounder and a 2029 third-rounder.
12:23pm: Myles Garrett‘s time in Cleveland is coming to an end. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is being traded from the Browns to the Rams, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero and ESPN’s Adam Schefter report.
The full trade terms, per Schefter, consist of Garrett being traded for Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a second-round selection in 2028 and a 2029 third-rounder. This swap is not official yet, as Browns GM Andrew Berry confirms (video link via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com). Once it is processed, though, it will no doubt go down as a seminal moment for both franchises.
[RELATED: Fallout From Browns-Rams Blockbuster]
Schefter reports Garrett has chosen to waive his no-trade clause to allow for this deal to take place. He will retain that clause upon arrival in Los Angeles. As Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports notes, today’s stunning swap represents the first time in history a reigning Defensive Play of the Year has been dealt.
Garrett has been the subject of trade speculation since he requested to be dealt last spring. That request was rescinded when a then-record extension was worked out. The seven-time Pro Bowler seemed to be in position to remain with Cleveland for years to come, but questions continued to be raised after the 2025 campaign saw him add further to his long list of accolades without any accompanying team success. Indeed, whispers about a trade lingered through the 2026 offseason.
In March, the Browns restructured Garrett’s contract in a way which did not add any new money or years to the pact. Nevertheless, the payment dates for his option bonuses were pushed back to one week before the start of the regular season. That move extended the window of opportunity for a trade – something Cleveland has denied would be taking place on multiple occasions – to be worked out.
June 1 is always a key checkpoint on the NFL calendar, and it was recently labeled the time after which a Garrett trade could occur. Just like the case of A.J. Brown, a deal formally being worked out any time after 3:00pm this afternoon will greatly impact the salary cap implications of the deal. Proceeding with this trade in a post-June 1 fashion will generate $8.34MM in cap savings for Cleveland with a $41MM dead money charge being spread out (and accounting for $15.53MM in 2026). Garrett’s contract runs through 2030.
Per Rapoport (video link), the Rams engaged in trade talks with the Browns shortly after the contract adjustment was made. Their efforts continued through the draft, with Cleveland remaining steadfast in rejecting offers. Things changed when Los Angeles general manager Les Snead offered to include Verse in the deal, though. Negotiations on an adjusted package of picks have now resulted in an agreement. Per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Rams informed Verse of the news earlier today.
Garrett has made clear his intention of playing on a contending team particularly toward the latter stages of his career. This blockbuster trade will help in that regard; the Rams fell just short of a Super Bowl appearance in 2025 and have made other win-now moves on defense since then. Garrett will join cornerback Trent McDuffie as a new face tasked with elevating Los Angeles’ defense while the teams seeks out another high-end campaign from quarterback Matthew Stafford and Co. on offense.
The Rams were a strong Brown suitor, but Breer notes their inability to acquire him helped set up this Garrett push. Another lucrative pact – one which averages $40MM per year – is now on the books, but Los Angeles will have a future Hall of Famer leading the way along a defensive front which was already among the league’s best. This acquisition will further deprive the Rams of draft capital (which was critical in establishing the post-Aaron Donald core on defense); then again, Snead’s stance when it comes to picks is rather well known.
Verse, whom Schefter notes was born in Dayton, Ohio, has enjoyed a strong start to his career. The 2024 first-rounder took home Defensive Rookie of the Year honors while thriving in a full-time starting role. Last season, the 25-year-old collected a second Pro Bowl nod in as many years while posting 7.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. His rookie contract runs through 2028, and Cleveland could keep him in place for a longer period via the fifth-year option.
Since Verse is five years younger than Garrett, he will align better with the roster reset Berry is overseeing. The 2025 class offered promising early results with respect to a new core emerging for Cleveland. The fate of the quarterback position beyond 2026 is unclear, but additional capital should help yield options on that front or at least provide upgrades at other spots.
In a series of remarks which have proved to provide noteworthy foreshadowing, new Browns head coach Todd Monken said earlier on Monday (video link via Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan) he was not given any assurances upon being hired about Garrett remaining with the team. Instead of having the single-season sack record holder in the fold for his first year leading an NFL team, Monken will be tasked with integrating Verse and developing the group of younger players brought in via Cleveland’s haul of draft picks.
Lions Add Chris Grier To Front Office
Lions general manager Brad Holmes is adding another experienced voice to his front office. Holmes has hired former Dolphins GM Chris Grier as a personnel executive, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
After the Dolphins struggled to a 2-7 start in 2025, they and the 56-year-old Grier parted ways on Halloween. The split ended a long run in Miami for Grier, who began his tenure with the organization as a scout in 2000. Grier worked his way up from there to become the Dolphins’ GM in 2016, though he did not have full autonomy at first. He reported to vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum until his late-2018 demotion.
Grier’s time atop the Dolphins’ front office included a pair of head coaching hires in Brian Flores (2019) and Mike McDaniel (2022). His first-round draft picks consisted of Laremy Tunsil, Charles Harris, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Christian Wilkins, Tua Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle, Chop Robinson and Kenneth Grant. Grier spent other first-rounders on veterans Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb in high-profile trades. Out of that group, only Robinson and Grant are still with the organization.
Tagovailoa looked like a franchise quarterback at times in Miami, leading Grier to authorize a four-year, $212.4MM extension with $167.1MM guaranteed in July 2024. That decision proved disastrous for the Dolphins, who released the former fifth overall pick this past March and ate a record-breaking $99.2MM in dead money. They are spreading that money out over the next two years, meaning Tagovailoa will be on their books through 2027. The same goes for Chubb. Tagovailoa, Hill and Chubb will combine to count over $96MM in dead money against the Dolphins’ cap this season. Former Grier acquisitions like Waddle, Fitzpatrick and Jalen Ramsey are also among ex-Dolphins who are eating into their cap to significant degrees.
Miami went to the playoffs three times with Grier as its GM and finished better than .500 in five seasons, but the team never won a playoff game. Rookie GM Jon Eric-Sullivan, Grier’s replacement, is now leading a full-fledged rebuild.
Retired DT Aaron Donald Mulling Return
11:58pm: Donald is adding more fuel to the fire. In a conversation with Jordan Schultz, the defensive lineman acknowledged that he’s considering a comeback.
“I’m for sure flirting with the idea. Helluva an opportunity with the Super Bowl in SoFi this year. If I can find the fire, it’s a possibility.”
2:35pm: The Rams added an all-time great defender when they acquired pass rusher extraordinaire Myles Garrett from the Browns on Monday. Garrett may not be the last future Hall of Famer to join the Rams’ defense before the upcoming season. On the heels of the Garrett trade, it appears retired Ram Aaron Donald is mulling a comeback.
When ESPN’s Pat McAfee contacted Donald via text about a potential return in the wake of the Garrett blockbuster, the 35-year-old admitted, “It for sure got me thinking.” Donald added that he’s “gotta see if that fire can light back up” after two full years out of the NFL.
With the Rams still based in St. Louis at the time, they spent the 13th overall pick in the 2014 draft on Donald. It quickly became one of the wisest decisions in franchise history, as Donald turned into one of the most dominant defensive tackles ever. He earned Pro Bowl honors in all 10 of his seasons, picked up eight first-team All-Pro selections (tied with Reggie White and Bruce Smith for most among D-linemen) and won the Defensive Player of the Year three times. Donald was also a major contributor on the Rams’ most recent Super Bowl-winning team in 2021.
The Rams were already atop the list of Super Bowl favorites for the upcoming campaign before they took a home run swing on Garrett. Although the trade cost them standout edge defender Jared Verse and three picks, including a 2027 first-rounder, they landed a player who set the single-season sack record (23) and won DPOY for the second time in 2025. Their odds of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy next February would only seem to improve with Donald, a well-known workout warrior who has stayed in shape in his post-playing days. With 111 sacks on his resume, he would join the likes of Garrett, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske and Poona Ford to form a terrifying group up front.
When Donald walked away from the game in March 2024, there was one season left on the three-year, $95MM extension he signed in 2022. His retirement forced the Rams to spread $33MM in dead money over the previous two seasons ($24MM in 2024 and $9MM in ’25). Donald is off the team’s books now, but that will change if he makes the bombshell decision to return. The Rams have approximately $16.34MM in spending room, according to OverTheCap.