Jets Host QB Russell Wilson
After spending last season with the Giants, quarterback Russell Wilson may not have to go far to find his next team. Wilson visited the Jets on Monday, Brian Costello of the New York Post reports.
No signing is imminent, but there is “mutual interest” between the Jets and the 37-year-old Wilson, according to Connor Hughes of SNY. Wilson still lives in the area and “doesn’t really want to leave,” per Hughes.
Wilson was among the NFL’s top signal-callers for a large portion of a Seattle run that spanned from 2012-21, but the one-time Super Bowl winner’s production has fallen off in recent years. Since the end of his decade-long tenure in Seattle, where he earned nine Pro Bowl nods, Wilson has played for three teams in a four-year span.
Wilson’s fruitful Seahawks stint came to an end when they sent him to the Broncos for two first-round picks, a pair of second-rounders, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, tight end Noah Fant and QB Drew Lock in a March 2022 blockbuster. It ended up an ill-fated trade for the Broncos, who got two underwhelming seasons from Wilson and sputtered to a 13-21 record. They released Wilson in March 2024 and took on a then-record $85MM in dead money.
Looking for an upgrade over Kenny Pickett, the Steelers made a pair of dart throws when they added Wilson and Justin Fields ahead of the 2024 season. Both players wound up making starts, but Wilson got more action. Across 11 starts, he threw 16 touchdowns against five interceptions. While the Steelers went a middling 6-5 in Wilson’s outings, they finished 10-7 and earned a wild-card berth. Wilson completed 20 of 29 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns in the first round of the playoffs, but the Ravens handled the Steelers in a 28-14 victory. That proved to be Wilson’s last game in Pittsburgh.
Wilson was one of three high-profile QB pickups for the Giants last offseason. Before trading back into the first round to draft Jaxson Dart 25th overall, they signed Wilson to a one-year, $10.5MM guarantee and gave Jameis Winston $8MM over two years. Wilson opened the season as the Giants’ starter, but then-head coach Brian Daboll quickly pulled the plug. Daboll handed the reins to Dart in Week 4. Even though Dart later missed two games with a concussion, the Giants turned to Winston instead of Wilson in those instances. Wilson’s last start as a Giant came Sept. 21, 2025. He attempted just nine passes the rest of the year.
Shortly after the Giants’ season ended in January, Wilson revealed he suffered a hamstring tear last September. Despite that, he has insisted on multiple occasions that he wants to play a 15th season in 2026. The rebuilding Jets already have a bridge starter in offseason acquisition Geno Smith, Wilson’s former backup with the Seahawks, but the former enjoyed working with the latter in Seattle, per Costello. While rookie fourth-rounder Cade Klubnik, Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe are also in the fold, the Jets may turn to Wilson as Smith’s primary backup next season.
Saints Offered Giants Fourth-Round Pick For OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux
Although Joe Schoen dismissed trade talks involving Kayvon Thibodeaux, the Friday report about Saints interest in the former Giants top-five pick appears to have been accurate. New Orleans did pursue Thibodeaux, only to see their effort fail before pivoting to Tyree Wilson on Saturday.
New Orleans sent Las Vegas a fifth-round pick for Wilson and a seventh, and although the team declined the incoming pass rusher’s fifth-year option, it will determine his fit alongside Chase Young beginning soon. Wilson was not the Saints’ first choice, though, with The Athletic’s Dan Duggan indicating the team made a better offer for Thibodeaux.
The Saints offered a fourth-round pick for Thibodeaux, per Duggan, who adds the Giants held out for a second-rounder. It is unclear if this was the only offer a team made during the draft.
Considering Thibodeaux’s inconsistency, injury history and contract status, a second-round pick is probably unrealistic. But New York stuck to its guns, even after yet another top-five investment in a pass rusher (Arvell Reese). While Reese will begin his career as an off-ball linebacker in New York, the Giants will surely explore capitalizing on his hybrid skillset.
The Giants having extended Brian Burns — a 2025 second-team All-Pro — and drafted Abdul Carter third overall last year. Reese may be opening his career at ILB, but the Giants will undoubtedly deploy him as a rusher frequently. Even the franchise that popularized the NASCAR package around an edge-rushing surplus in the early 2010s may not have a good way to get Burns, Thibodeaux, Carter and Reese on the field together too often. While the Giants have held firm on Thibodeaux, trade rumors have followed the 2022 draftee for a while.
Now in a contract year, Thibodeaux is also tied to a $14.75MM full guarantee for 2026 — his fifth-year option salary. That affects his trade value. The Broncos received first- and fourth-round picks for Bradley Chubb in his 2022 fifth-year option season, while the Commanders fetched a second-round return from the Bears for Montez Sweat a year later. Both players had shown more promise than Thibodeaux on their respective rookie contracts. A few edge rushers in recent years — from Jaelan Phillips to Chase Young to Yannick Ngakoue to Dante Fowler — have brought third-round returns or a third plus a Day 3 choice. This is probably the best the Giants can hope for in a 2026 Thibodeaux trade.
I mentioned in our Giants Offseason Outlook piece that the Giants stringing this situation out until the trade deadline may be the best way to maximize Thibodeaux’s value. Of course, that is before the team chose to make another prime investment at the position via Reese. With Reese needing to see pass-rushing time, it is certainly possible the Giants do not let this trade market reach the regular season.
The Saints held No. 132 overall in Round 4; their Round 2 selection came in 42nd. The latter pick was understandably a no-go in a trade; New Orleans chose Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller with that choice. Although the Saints traded for Wilson, one year remains on his contract (he is only due $4.2MM this year). Two years remain on Young’s three-year, $51MM pact while two seasons are also left on Carl Granderson‘s four-year, $52MM extension. No guaranteed money remains on Granderson’s accord. The Saints did not draft an edge rusher this year.
An early-March report indicated the Giants would “prefer” to trade Thibodeaux; again, that came well before the team knew Reese — closely linked to the Jets at No. 2 — would be available at 5. A draft-week report suggested the Giants would accept a mid-round pick for the fifth-year rusher, but the team is not there yet. If the Giants stand pat here, we may see a fascinating redux of their oversaturated pass-rushing groups from the early ’10s — which housed Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul and Mathias Kiwanuka.
This quartet has obviously not proven to be on that level, but teams rarely feature this level of EDGE talent together, making it a must-follow position group for as long as Thibodeaux stays in the Big Apple.
Titans President Of Football Operations Chad Brinker Stepping Down
Titans President of Football Operations Chad Brinker is stepping down from his role, the team announced this evening. The 46-year-old spent the past three years in Tennessee’s front office.
“It has been an honor to serve as President of Football Operations of the Tennessee Titans,” Brinker said in his statement. “Over the years, I’ve understood and embraced my role as the leader of the football strategy, but as I’ve spent less time in personnel, I have a renewed conviction that it is time to return to what I love and move towards my next chapter. I’m grateful for Amy’s understanding in my decision, and for allowing me to pursue other opportunities.
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done over the past three years – under challenging circumstances – to begin the process of getting the Titans football organization back on track, not the least of which was last year’s general manager search. I believe the Titans have exceptional people and long-term stability at the general manager position and throughout the scouting department. While there is work to be done, I believe we’ve laid the foundation to restore the Titans to its rightful place as a sustainable, winning program.
“My family and I will always be grateful for Amy’s belief and trust in me, and for our time in Tennessee.”
Following a brief playing career that included a stint in NFL Europe, Brinker joined the Packers front office. He spent more than a decade with the organization, working his way up from a scouting intern to assistant director of pro scouting to eventually an administration executive gig.
Brinker left for the Titans in 2023, earning a promotion to assistant general manager under Ray Carthon. When the GM was ousted after only one season in Tennessee, Brinker was named the Titans president of football operations, a role in which he reportedly had full control of the team’s roster. The Titans website notes that he also reported directly to owner Amy Adams Strunk.
Brinker kept his title through the 2025 campaign, although the Titans did hire a true GM in Mike Borgonzi last offseason. Brian Callahan was fired six games into the regular season, and the two front office leaders were tasked with conducting a coaching search. The organization ultimately landed on Robert Saleh. Now only a few months into the head coach’s tenure, the team is seeing another significant change in leadership.
The Titans website notes that Brinker was widely credited with reshaping the organization’s analytic approach, and his apparent desire to return to “personnel” indicates that he wants a bit more from his front office role. Of course, there aren’t any teams reshaping their front offices at this point in the offseason, but perhaps Brinker could emerge as a GM candidate during next year’s cycle.
Sean McVay, Ty Simpson Had ‘Secret Meetings’; McVay ‘High’ On QB
The win-now Rams shocked many observers when they spent the 13th overall pick in this year’s draft on a developmental quarterback, former Alabama signal-caller Ty Simpson. For his part, Simpson suggested afterward he had little pre-draft contact with the Rams, saying (via Sarah Barshop of ESPN): “I met with some scouts at (Alabama), and that was really it. They talked to my agent, but that was really not much.”
[Poll: Grading Rams’ Simpson Pick]
It turns out Simpson was being cagey, as he revealed Monday in an interview with Ian Fitzsimmons on ESPN Radio.
“We tried to keep this under wraps as long as we could,” Simpson told Fitzsimmons. “It was something to where I knew they were interested, but they wanted to make it private and didn’t want people to know that they were interested.”
Simpson added that he and head coach Sean McVay “had some secret meetings” and “talked for hours and hours” about football. Meeting with a prospect is atypical for Rams brass (McVay and general manager Les Snead), Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic notes. While McVay drew plenty of attention online when he looked less than thrilled in the aftermath of the Simpson pick, that was not the case. McVay has “significant say” over the Rams’ first selection every year, Rodrigue relays. General manager Les Snead would not have pulled the trigger on Simpson had McVay been against it.
After making a mere 15 starts in college, there is no shortage of skepticism regarding Simpson’s chances of succeeding in the NFL. But both McVay and Snead are “very high on Simpson,” per Rodrigue. McVay, who has earned a reputation as an offensive guru, will play a key role in developing the 23-year-old as he breaks into the league as a backup.
It is unclear how long it will take for Simpson to get a look as a starter, as he is stuck behind one of the league’s premier signal-callers. Matthew Stafford will play his age-38 season in 2026, but he has shown no signs of slowing down. The 17-year veteran won his first MVP after throwing a career-high 46 touchdown passes last season. He came within a few points of reaching his second Super Bowl, but the Seahawks upended the Rams in a 31-27 NFC championship game. The Stafford-led Rams will aim to get over the hump and win their first title since 2021 next season, but in the meantime, he is likely to ink a lucrative extension.
The Rams may have just landed their QB of the future, but it does not appear Simpson will overtake Stafford any time soon. As was the case with past first-round QBs like Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love in Green Bay, it may be multiple years before Simpson takes the reins.
Ravens To Sign QB Diego Pavia
Initially set to take part in a Ravens tryout at their weekend rookie minicamp, Diego Pavia has secured a UDFA deal ahead of that point. Baltimore is signing the undrafted quarterback Tuesday, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets.
This will be a standard three-year UDFA contract. Pavia follows Jalon Daniels (Buccaneers) and Haynes King (Panthers) as QBs to find homes post-draft. The Vanderbilt quarterback finished second in the 2025 Heisman voting, completing a four-year career spent with the Commodores and at New Mexico State.
The SEC Offensive Player of the Year led the conference with a 70.6% completion rate, 29 touchdown passes, and 9.4 yards per attempt in 2025. He finished second to No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza in Heisman voting, but as our Nikhil Mehta noted during the pre-draft process, size is a major concern about his potential in the NFL. Listed as 6 feet tall in college, Pavia measured in at 5-foot-9 at the Combine.
Transferring from New Mexico State in 2024, Pavia completed 59.4% of his passes in his first Vanderbilt season. That year did include a 20:4 TD-INT ratio while also featuring 801 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. The run game served as a key component for the undersized QB in college, as he gained 923 yards at New Mexico State in 2023 and 862 (to go with 10 TDs) in his Heisman runner-up season. Pavia’s rushing ability certainly should appeal to a Ravens team that deploys the league’s most dynamic quarterback as its starter.
Baltimore has used Tyler Huntley as its backup for a chunk of Lamar Jackson‘s career, reacquiring him last year and re-signing him this offseason. Jackson and Huntley entered Tuesday as the only QBs on the Ravens’ roster (Baltimore gave Huntley a two-year, $5MM deal coming with $3.5MM at signing). That opens the door to a potential developmental backup, and it will be interesting to see if Pavia can make a case to land on Baltimore’s 53-man roster or practice squad by summer’s end.
Falcons’ Bijan Robinson Expected To Receive Top-3 RB Money
Earlier this month, the Falcons picked up Bijan Robinson‘s fifth-year option, which is projected to be $11.3MM (via OverTheCap). The next step is a multi-year extension, which will come in at a much higher annual price tag.
Robinson is expected to break into the upper echelon of the running back market on a long-term deal, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. He should surpass Derrick Henry ($15MM AAV) and approach, if not eclipse, Christian McCaffrey ($19MM AAV). He could even push to become the league’s highest-paid running back ahead of Saquon Barkley, who is currently earning $20.6MM per year.
Robinson should receive more than fellow 2023 first-rounder Jahmyr Gibbs, Jones adds. The Falcon has outperformed the Lion in terms of rushing and receiving yards since they were drafted, though Gibbs has significantly more touchdowns.
It is unclear, though, which deal gets done first. The Falcons have yet to finalize a long-term extension with 2022 first-round pick Drake London – another franchise cornerstone – and could prioritize the more pressing contract situation. The Lions have typically been proactive in signing their players to early extensions when possible, though they also have key players (Jack Campbell, Brian Branch) entering the final year of their contracts.
Another factor is Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, who is due a raise as he enters the final year of his $14MM per year contract. He led the league in rushing attempts, first downs, and touchdowns last year and has his own case to join Barkley and McCaffrey close to $20MM per year. In other words, expect to see another significant bump in the running back market within the next year.
Saints Add 10 UDFAs
The Saints left the draft with eight rookies, and they’ve added 10 more players to their class. The team announced the signing of the following undrafted free agents:
- CJ Donaldson, RB (Ohio State)
- Cody Hardy, TE (North Carolina State)
- Alan Herron, OT (Maryland)
- Michael Heldman, DE (Central Michigan)
- DaShawn Jones, CB (Alabama)
- Jeremiah McClendon, CB (Southern Illinois)
- KeeShawn Silver, NT (USC)
- Mason Shipley, K (Texas)
- Jay’Viar Suggs, DT (Wisconsin)
- Alex Wollschlaeger, OT (Kentucky)
Alan Herron was among the UDFAs to earn a chunk of money from the Saints. According to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, the Maryland offensive tackle got a $25K signing bonus and a total guarantee of $272.5K. After spending two years at Division II Shorter University, Herron joined Maryland ahead of the 2024 campaign. He struggled during his first season at the school but he improved his performance in 2025, earning him an All-Big Ten honorable mention.
After finishing his Texas State tenure as the school’s all-time leader in field goal percentage (88.6), Mason Shipley left for Texas in 2025. He finished this past year converting 20 of his 24 field goal attempts, with a season-long of 53 yards. Charlie Smyth didn’t run with the opportunity in 2025, as the rookie kicker made 12 of his 16 FG attempts for the Saints. Shipley should provide some competition at the kicker position, and the rookie could end up earning a roster spot with a strong summer showing.
Steelers Sign 6 Undrafted Free Agents
The Steelers entered the 2026 NFL Draft with 73 players under contract and a league-high 12 picks. As a result, they did not need to sign many undrafted free agents to fill out their roster. Here is Pittsburgh’s six-player UDFA class (via a team announcement):
- Devan Boykin, CB (Indiana)
- Daylan Carnell, LB (Missouri)
- Kevin Jobity Jr., DL (Syracuse)
- Laith Marjan, K (Kansas)
- Lake McRee, TE (USC)
- Chamon Metayer, TE (Arizona State)
Boykin, 24, played at North Carolina State from 2020 to 2023, but missed the 2024 season due to a torn ACL. He transferred to Indiana last year and served as the primary slot corner on their national championship squad. In coverage, he allowed just 5.6 yards per target and made two interceptions, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), with a 93.9 run defense grade and a 3.6% missed tackle rate. Boykin will join a deep Steelers cornerback room with the goal of proving himself as a depth nickel and on special teams, where he also excelled at Indiana.
Marjan comes to the NFL as a relatively inexperienced kicker, having attempted just 34 field goals in his college career. He made 30 of them to go along with a 97.6% conversion rate on his 84 extra points, suggesting that he has an accurate leg with limited power. It seems unlikely that he is a real threat to longtime Steelers kicker Chris Boswell, though he is entering the final year of his contract after somewhat of a down performance in 2025. Perhaps the door is open for Marjan to push Boswell under a new regime, but another extension for the veteran feels far more likely.
McRee started for the better part of the last three years at USC with 50 catches for 507 yards (but just one touchdown) in 2023 and 2024. He took a clear step forward in 2025 with 30 catches for 450 yards and three touchdowns. He will compete with 2025 UDFA J.J. Galbreath for a potential TE4 spot on the Steelers’ roster.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/28/26
Today’s minor moves:
New England Patriots
- Released: RB Elijah Mitchell
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: TE Jaheim Bell
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released: QB/WR John Rhys Plumlee
Multiple Teams Tried To Trade Up To Browns’ No. 9 Pick
Browns general manager Andrew Berry‘s phone would not stop ringing during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. He had already moved down from the sixth to the ninth overall pick, and by the time Cleveland came back on the clock, he received multiple offers to trade back again.
Two calls came in from NFC teams before the Saints officially selected Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson with the No. 8 pick. Berry received – and immediately declined – another offer as the Browns’ scouts were going over the profile of their eventual pick. He also opted to stay put at No. 24 overall despite a ton of trade action during the second half of the first round. By the end of Day 1, Cleveland rejected at last six trade proposals from other teams, per Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports, and walked out with two of their most coveted players: Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano and Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion.
On the Browns’ end, moving down from No. 9 presented a significant risk that they would miss out on Fano, whom they perceived as the top offensive tackle in the draft class. The Giants were thought to be targeting an offensive lineman at No. 10, as were several teams in the teens. Berry’s decision to stay at No. 9 and select Fano seems to have been the right one. Between the 10th and 21st picks, six teams drafted offensive linemen, including the Giants, who selected Miami’s Francis Mauigoa.
As for the teams attempting to trade with the Browns, they may have been looking to jump the Giants. New York had been linked with Ohio State safety Caleb Downs throughout the pre-draft process and were also seen as a plausible destination for Mauigoa or even Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane. The Cowboys were known to have interest in Downs and even moved up one spot to draft him, so they very well could have given Berry a call about the No. 9 pick.