Browns’ Joel Bitonio To Play In 2025
March 5: Bitonio will play for the Browns in 2025, per a team announcement. After considering retirement for two months, Bitonio opted to return to the NFL for another season in Cleveland.
March 4: Myles Garrett has requested a trade, and Denzel Ward indicated the Browns trading Garrett would impact his long-term plans in Cleveland. As moving parts remain for Browns still contracted, the team may not have to worry about replacing one of the best offensive linemen in team history just yet.
Joel Bitonio has not made his retirement call yet, but ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler indicates the Browns are optimistic he will return for a 12th season. The optimism is at a place where the Browns do not appear to be closely monitoring the guard market for a potential replacement.
[RELATED: Browns Dug In On Keeping Myles Garrett; Bills Also Interested?]
A Brown since the Ray Farmer years, Bitonio helped salvage — to a degree, at least — a disastrous Browns draft that included first-round selections of Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel. Bitonio has been an anchor on Cleveland’s O-line, taking that baton from Joe Thomas. The former second-round pick has been a Browns starter for 11 seasons, and he and Wyatt Teller have become one of the NFL’s best guard tandems.
Bitonio, 33, has not asked the Browns for a trade or release. It appears the Nevada alum will be a one-team player, as he is in a year-to-year stage regarding retirement. He is currently tied to a three-year, $48MM extension, which expires after the ’25 season. He is due a $3MM roster bonus March 15, per ESPN.com’s Daniel Oyefusi, so a decision should be expected soon. If Bitonio does make the decision to retire, the Browns — thanks to their penchant for adding void years onto contracts to create cap space — would be tagged with $14.5MM in dead money this year.
Having made the past seven Pro Bowls, Bitonio is more notably a five-time All-Pro. No accolades came for the talented blocker until 2018, when the Browns began a Baker Mayfield-centered resurgence of sorts. Bitonio helped Mayfield lead the team to snapping a 17-year playoff drought in 2020 and then was back in place at his left guard post when Joe Flacco stormed to a stunning Comeback Player of the Year season to guide a battered Browns team to the playoffs. It would be a tall order for the Browns to replace Bitonio, especially considering the dead money coming when Deshaun Watson is in place to count more than $72MM on Cleveland’s 2025 cap.
Teller, 30, is under contract through the 2025 season as well; the Browns signed both guards to extensions during the 2022 season. They will need a post-2025 plan soon. That may mean extensions or identifying replacements. For now, however, the Browns expect Bitonio to reprise his role for a 12th season before reassessing retirement.
Saints To Release RB Jamaal Williams
The Saints entered Tuesday more than $47MM over the cap; they have barely a week to move into the black. In what will be a small part of this equation, the team is cutting Jamaal Williams, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets.
Leading the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 2022, Williams was unable to make an impact in New Orleans. The Saints had signed the ex-Packers and Lions RB to a three-year, $12MM deal in 2023. This move will clear nearly $2MM off the Saints’ cap sheet.
Williams, 30 in April, was set to make $3.15MM in base salary next season. With the Saints using the oft-injured Kendre Miller as their top Alvin Kamara backup and having re-signed Clyde Edwards-Helaire this offseason, Williams was an obvious cap casualty. Though the Saints still have tremendous work to do to move under the cap by 3pm CT March 12, they have completed more arduous journeys before.
A spirited figure on Hard Knocks during the Lions’ 2021 summer HBO effort, Williams anchored Detroit’s rushing attack while on his second contract. Although D’Andre Swift had shown elusiveness on his rookie deal, the Lions gave Williams 262 carries during the 2022 season. He turned those into 1,066 yards and an NFL-high 17 rushing TDs. This gave him a springboard into free agency, though it came during a rough year for running backs.
The Lions attempted to re-sign Williams, but he turned down their offer. The terms of Detroit’s proposal were likely similar to David Montgomery‘s three-year, $18MM pact. Williams found less in terms of AAV in New Orleans but did see $8.15MM guaranteed at signing. He had played out a two-year, $6MM Lions deal. Williams has done well to score two modest RB contracts despite spending his career in committees, but he was unable to contribute much to the Saints’ cause.
The ex-Green Bay draftee gained just 304 rushing yards in 2023, despite making four starts in place of Kamara — who was suspended for three games that season. In 2024, that yardage number dropped to 164. Although a Week 18 Williams TD in 2023 — on a rogue play call via Jameis Winston — became a memorable part of the Saints-Falcons rivalry, Williams did not eclipse 3.5 yards per carry during his two New Orleans years.
CB Notes: Reed, Jets, Davis, Ward, Packers, Alexander, Hobbs, Raiders
As is the case at wide receiver, the cornerback market will feature several players who have been in free agency before. A handful of this batch of third-contract-seeking cover men, however, are under 30. D.J. Reed may lead this contingent, with SNY’s Connor Hughes indicating the three-year Jets starter is believed to be the top free agent corner on the market. The Jets are not expected to re-sign Reed, per Hughes and The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt. This is certainly not too surprising, as the team paid slot corner Michael Carter last summer and has a top-market deal with Sauce Gardner on the horizon. Reed saw the writing on the wall as well, saying before his contract year he would test free agency. He has continued to point to an exit for months, and the former 49ers and Seahawks CB — who will turn 29 during the 2025 season — will soon see a strong market.
Here is the latest from the cornerback ranks:
- The Eagles took two 30-something CB contracts (for Darius Slay and James Bradberry) off their payroll this week, leaving the market for experienced vets at the position thin. Beyond Jalen Ramsey, Chidobe Awuzie (three years, $36MM) is the only boundary corner attached to an eight-figure-per-year salary on a third contract. That number should expand soon, with the cap going up by another $24MM and a host of late-20-somethings hitting the market. Two more names who should do well: Carlton Davis and Charvarius Ward. Davis and Ward’s markets could reach the “high teens” in terms of AAV, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz notes. That would be a substantial jump from where Awuzie is. Davis and Ward are each 28 and coming off three-year contracts, with the Buccaneers having traded Davis’ to the Lions. The 49ers extending Deommodore Lenoir points Ward out of town, while Davis did not discuss an extension with the Lions before season’s end. The Jaguars have been connected to the former Super Bowl LV starter.
- Another late-20-something corner could be joining this quartet soon. Although the Packers are shopping Jaire Alexander, Schultz adds many NFL staffers expect the team to move on via release. The Packers have been viewed as highly unlikely to keep the 28-year-old CB another year, as injuries keep intervening during a $21MM-per-year contract. Two years remain on Alexander’s accord. The Pack could save $17.1MM by designating Alexander as a post-June 1 cut; they would need to wait until the start of the 2025 league year (March 12) to cut him in that case.
- Not all of the notable corners hitting free agency will be gunning for a third contract. Nate Hobbs joins Paulson Adebo and Asante Samuel Jr. as regular starters set to test the market for the first time. Adebo is expected to, despite suffering a broken femur in October, garner significant interest. The Saints are interested in re-signing him. Hobbs is close to seeing an interesting market emerge. Despite an inability to stay healthy, the Raiders slot corner is being mentioned as a player who could command Kenny Moore-level money, The Athletic’s Tashan Reed notes, adding that significant interest is coming the four-year vet’s way. Moore’s third Colts contract came in at three years, $30MM last March. Taron Johnson soon upped the slot market to just beyond $10MM per annum. Although Hobbs is not as proven as those two players, he did generate trade interest from the 49ers and has four years of experience patrolling the slot for the Raiders.
Darius Slayton Aims To Join Contender, Expects Notable Free Agent Market
Darius Slayton‘s Giants tenure has included the threat of a departure on multiple occasions. The veteran receiver remained in place through the 2024 season, but he is now a pending free agent.
Slayton agreed to a new Giants pact in 2023, but last summer he made it known he would have been OK with being dealt in the event the team aimed to reduce his role in the offense. Despite the fact New York fell well short of expectations during the campaign – and interest from suitors like the Steelers – the team elected to keep Slayton (and fellow pending free agent) Azeez Ojulari in the fold.
That decision has left the door open to Slayton departing on the open market next week. As could be expected, the 28-year-old is seeking to join a contender in free agency. Each of his six seasons to date have been with the Giants, but only once in that span has the team reached the postseason. New York also, of course, faces uncertainty at the quarterback position after the team’s efforts to trade for Matthew Stafford fell short.
“Definitely, winning and being in an advantageous situation are probably two things that are really important for me right now,” Slayton said when speaking about his goals during an appearance on the Talkin’ Ball With Pat Leonard podcast. “Obviously, five out of my six years with the Giants we weren’t competitive. We didn’t make the playoffs. We weren’t really close to making the playoffs.”
The regime led by general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll authorized Slayton’s most recent contract (a two-year, $12MM pact) but to little surprise Leonard’s piece in the New York Daily News about the situation notes a departure can be expected. The Giants’ receiving corps includes Malik Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt on their rookie contracts, but losing Slayton will leave the team short on experience at the position.
Slayton will be an interesting part of this year’s receiver market, which features a host of 30-something standouts (Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs, Keenan Allen, DeAndre Hopkins and now Davante Adams) but not as many prominent pass catchers south of 30. Slayton joins Chris Godwin, who is also a third-contract-seeking wideout, as top options in their 20s. Diontae Johnson, 28, would have joined them had he not torpedoed his value during a year in which four teams moved on from him.
Slayton should do better than the $6MM-per-year deal he was attached to, as ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler lists him as an under-the-radar player who should fare well on the market. Slayton could certainly help a contender after being a regular Giants target for six seasons. No Giants re-signing is expected, as the Auburn alum appears set to explore the market. The salary cap is now $55MM north of where it was when he last did so.
“When you look at that, my ability to stretch the field becomes more valuable because that leads to shorter drives, one-play touchdowns. You need chunk plays to score in this league,” Slayton told the Daily News reporter. “We know we have a lot of interest out there. And when free agency opens up, we’ll have a lot of different conversations to have with a lot of different people.”
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
Vikings Will Not Franchise Tag Sam Darnold
MARCH 4: Minnesota’s decision is now official. No tag will come to pass before today’s 3pm CT deadline, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. The sides will continue to discuss a deal, but Darnold is now less than a week from exploring the open market with far more momentum than he carried into 2024.
Other teams have been linked to the resurgent passer, which stands to make it difficult for the Vikings to retain him before he reaches free agency. The team has until 11am CT March 10 to negotiate exclusively with its 2024 starting quarterback. With the Vikings and Dolphins respectively passing on Darnold and Jevon Holland tags and the Cowboys re-signing Osa Odighizuwa, the 2025 tag deadline — still 20-plus minutes away — looks like it will only include two players hit with the tag (the Bengals’ Tee Higgins and Chiefs’ Trey Smith).
MARCH 3: The Vikings are not expected to place the franchise tag on quarterback Sam Darnold, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Darnold was one of this offseason’s strongest tag candidates after turning his career around in Minnesota last year.
On a one-year, $10MM deal, Darnold posted career-bests in several statistical categories and ranked fifth among all quarterbacks in passing yards and touchdowns. However, he ended the season on a low note, making an already-tough decision even more difficult for the Vikings. They could tag Darnold in the hopes that he can lead them deeper in the playoffs in 2025 or let him hit free agency and risk losing a bidding war.
Minnesota seems to have chosen the latter, though the team still has interest in retaining Darnold. They will have to do so without a franchise tag, thereby eliminating the possibility of a tag-and-trade.
A Darnold franchise tag has been considered unlikely for a few weeks. At $40.2MM, the quarterback franchise tag is too high of a one-year cap burden for the Vikings. Minnesota has the seventh-most cap space in the NFL, according to OverTheCap, but they have several starters hitting free agency that they will have to re-sign or replace.
Free agency makes the most sense for Darnold, too. After playing for four different teams over the last five years, he may be looking for a long-term home in the NFL. The Vikings still see 2024 first-rounder J.J. McCarthy as their quarterback of the future, so any deal with Darnold would be a short-term pact. By hitting the open market, Darnold will have more flexibility to negotiate a long-term contract with the potential to incite a bidding war between QB-needy teams.
Packers To Re-Sign K Brandon McManus
Brandon McManus‘ 2024 partnership with the Packers became mutually beneficial. The team had given the embattled kicker another chance, while the veteran stabilized a kicking situation that had been spotty.
The Packers are making sure that arrangement sticks for more than one season, with ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reporting the sides have a deal in place. McManus agreed to a three-year, $15.3MM deal. The pact comes with a $5MM signing bonus. Green Bay brass had expressed interest in keeping McManus, and after a turbulent 2024, the former Super Bowl-winning kicker has another contract in place.
Last year was not a smooth one for McManus, whose Packers contract comes roughly 51 weeks after a one-year, $3.6MM Commanders agreement. After allegations of sexual assault (stemming from a September 2023 incident during a Jaguars international flight), Washington cut McManus. Two flight attendants accused McManus of sexual assault, leading the Commanders to cut bait. Last September, however, the NFL did not suspend the veteran specialist.
McManus, 33, denied wrongdoing but was hit with a civil suit by the anonymous flight attendants. An accusation of McManus trying to kiss one of the women while she was strapped into her seat emerged, with a separate allegation of the kicker “rubbing himself and grinding against them” led McManus back to free agency in June 2024 coming out of a mess that led to scrutiny into the Jaguars having alcohol on a team plane. The league not taking action led to McManus being given another opportunity. He made the most of it with the Packers.
In his first Packers game, McManus drilled a walk-off 45-yard field goal to lift the team over the Texans. That helped a Packers team that had seen Brayden Narveson struggle in the weeks prior. McManus proceeded to make 20 of 21 field goals to help Green Bay back to the playoffs. After the team made 2023 draftee Anders Carlson a one-and-done as Mason Crosby‘s successor, McManus is now in that chair. And he has some security after an impressive half-season.
Best known for a nine-season stay in Denver, McManus had secured multiple extensions to stay with the Broncos. Released months into Sean Payton‘s HC tenure, McManus caught on with the Jaguars and made 30 of 37 field goals in 2023 — his most recent full season. The Packers will bet on McManus’ career-best 95.2% make rate — after he had never previously cleared 86% — giving them a long-term option.
Seahawks Release Dre’Mont Jones, George Fant, Roy Robertson-Harris, Rayshawn Jenkins
A year after the Seahawks cut Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs on the same day, they are removing another significant payroll chunk all at once. Four more Seattle regulars are out.
The team has announced it is releasing Dre’Mont Jones, George Fant, Roy Robertson-Harris and Rayshawn Jenkins. All four were acquired within the last two years, with Fant, Robertson-Harris and Jenkins added in 2024. Seattle entered Tuesday over the cap; these moves free up $27.25MM in funds ahead of the 2025 league year.
These releases only moved the Seahawks to $16.4MM in cap space, and they show how quickly value can decline. In particular, Jones came to Seattle as high-end free agent in 2023. The former Broncos draftee, who played both on the Seahawks’ defensive line and on the edge, is out two years into his three-year accord.
As the Broncos pivoted to Zach Allen during Sean Payton‘s first free agency at the wheel, the Seahawks rewarded Jones with a three-year, $51.53MM contract. Allen climbed to an All-Pro perch on his Denver pact; Jones did not make a similar leap on his. The Seahawks demoted the high-priced defender last season, as they used a first-round pick on Byron Murphy. (The team’s Leonard Williams acquisition also came after its Jones signing.) Though, Jones still started 23 games for the team during a two-season span. Jones, who totaled 8.5 sacks in his two Seattle slates, will land another opportunity soon, as he is only going into his age-28 season.
While Jones is the biggest name included in Tuesday’s round of Seahawks cap casualties, Fant closes out a second stint with the team. The older of the two Fants on the Seahawks’ 2024 roster, George struggled to stay healthy. The converted basketball player-turned-Jets tackle starter came back to his initial NFL team but only played in two games, landing on IR twice due to knee trouble. Opening the season as Seattle’s RT starter in place of the injured Abraham Lucas, Fant went down with a knee injury early in Week 1. The Seahawks saved an IR activation for him but did not see the 2024 free agency addition make it through his Week 9 return unscathed.
This was a theme for the Seahawks, who had re-signed Jason Peters (to the practice squad) as insurance. With Peters now retired and set to mentor Seahawks O-linemen, the team will need to look into more RT help, as Lucas has battled injury trouble for the past two seasons.
It is also unsurprising the Seahawks have released Jenkins, who was benched after he returned from IR midway through last season. The Seahawks gave Jenkins — a 2024 Jaguars cap casualty — a two-year, $12MM deal in the wake of cutting Diggs and Adams. Seattle, which benched Jenkins for Coby Bryant, allowed the veteran safety to seek a trade last week. Nothing materialized, and the eight-year veteran — a Chargers draftee who has started 89 career games — is back in free agency.
The Seahawks traded for Robertson-Harris early last season, obtaining him from the Jags for a 2026 sixth-round pick. The veteran interior D-lineman did not start for the Hawks and logged only a 25% snap share on defense with the team. Robertson-Harris, 31, had been attached to a three-year, $21.6MM deal signed by the Jags in 2023. He has 62 career starts on his resume.
Fant, 32, was tied to a two-year, $9.1MM accord. While the above-referenced cap savings do come out of these cuts, OverTheCap’s Jason Fitzgerald notes $18.4MM in dead money will as well.
Jets Grant WR Allen Lazard Permission To Seek Trade
As the Jets sort out their plans at the receiver position, movement will likely be coming soon. Davante Adams is on the trade block, although his contract leaves as release as the likelier outcome. 
That would come as no surprise given the team’s commitment to moving on from Aaron Rodgers. His arrival in 2023 brought with it several acquisitions rooted in duplicating his success with the Packers. That included trading for Adams before his past season’s deadline, but also the free agent signing of Allen Lazard the previous spring. The latter is now in line to be on the move.
Lazard’s camp has received permission to seek a trade, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The 29-year-old is due $11MM in 2025 with a scheduled cap hit of $13.18MM. None of his base salary is guaranteed, however, something which would make a release a logical outcome. A report from last month indicated the Jets can be expected to cut Lazard, but like any number of teams facing a similar situation they will at least explore a deal which would yield draft compensation.
Schefter notes New York is open to keeping the former UDFA in the fold, but cutting him would yield $6.63MM in cap savings while incurring a dead money charge of $6.55MM. Especially with a new regime in place compared to the one which brought in Lazard, starting over would be a feasible approach. Expectations were high upon arrival for the seven-year veteran after his final Green Bay campaign produced a new career high in receptions (60) and yards (788). Lazard inked a four-year, $44MM deal to join the Jets.
Things did not go according to plan during his debut New York season, though. Rodgers’ Week 1 Achilles tear left the Jets without their starter under center, and Lazard posted only a 23-311-1 statline. The Iowa State alum’s production rebounded to an extent in 2024, including six touchdowns (matching the second-highest total of his career) but the team could look for other options to complement Garrett Wilson moving forward.
With Tee Higgins off the market, the 2025 free agent class does not boast a high number of available wideouts. Compared to recent years, meanwhile, the incoming group of rookies is not held in high regard regarding first-round options. Movement on the trade front can be expected at the receiver position as a result, and Lazard could be the next name included in a swap. Even if that is not the case, his Jets future is certainly undecided.
Eagles To Release James Bradberry
It was learned yesterday that Darius Slay is set to be released by the Eagles. The same is also true of another veteran member of the team’s secondary. 
James Bradberry has been informed he will be let go, as first reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. 2025 is a void year on Bradberry’s pact, and he was set to count $5.2MM on the cap. This move will allow the Eagles to avoid paying out a $4.85MM option bonus which was due on September 1. Philadelphia will use a post-June 1 designation, Fowler adds, meaning the team will create $2.1MM in cap savings while generating a dead money charge of just over $3MM.
Bradberry joined the Eagles in 2022, and he partnered with Slay to give the team a highly effective cornerback tandem. Starting all 17 games, the former Panther and Giant earned a second-team All-Pro nod and was expected to remain a key member of the secondary as a result. The following year, however, Bradberry’s coverage saw a notable decline as he allowed 11 touchdowns and a passer rating of 114.3 as the nearest defender.
As a result of that drop-off, the Eagles made a number of moves at the cornerback position (highlighted by the selections of Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the first two rounds of the 2024 draft). That set Bradberry up for a transition to safety in 2024, but he did not wind up playing this past season. The 31-year-old recently revealed his absence was due to a summer Achilles tear, an injury he said he expects to be fully recovered from in time for OTAs this spring.
Bradberry also made it clear he intends to resume playing cornerback with his next team, although he does not figure to have a strong market over the coming weeks. His release will not be processed until the new league year begins on March 12, but Fowler notes his agent has received permission to speak with teams right away. An agreement could therefore be reached before Bradberry officially becomes a free agent.
The possibility of Slay once again working out a last-minute deal to remain with the Eagles has been mentioned in the wake of his release. Presuming he moves on, though, the team will have Mitchell, DeJean and Kelee Ringo on their rookie contracts at the CB position. Bradberry will turn his attention to joining a fourth career team, and his willingness to play at safety could be a factor in determining where he lands on the open market.
Jets Expected To Exercise Jermaine Johnson’s Fifth-Year Option
The first round of the 2022 draft yielded a trio of impact players for the Jets. Cornerback Sauce Gardner and receiver Garrett Wilson have enjoyed strong starts to their careers, and extensions with one or both could be worked out as early as this offseason. 
Regardless of when a long-term pact is signed on each of those fronts, New York can be expected to exercise Gardner and Wilson’s respective fifth-year options covering the 2026 season. The team will also have to make the same decision as it pertains to edge rusher Jermaine Johnson. The Jets’ new regime has not stated its intention yet, but Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reports it is likely Johnson’s option will indeed be picked up this spring (subscription required).
Johnson will be classified as a linebacker for the purposes of his fifth-year option, and he lands in the fourth tier of compensation based on his playing time to date. As a result, his 2026 salary will be $13.41MM if his option is exercised. New York will have until May 2 to decide on Johnson’s situation (and that of the team’s other 2022 Day 1 selections).
After handling rotational duties along the edge as a rookie, Johnson took on a full-time starting role in 2023. The Florida State product totaled 7.5 sacks, 25 pressures and a forced fumble while confirming his status as a key defensive figure over the short- and long-term future. Expectations were high for a strong follow-up campaign, but Johnson was limited to only a pair of games in 2024 due to an Achilles tear.
The injury could give new general manager Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn pause when contemplating the Johnson situation, but declining his option would leave the door open to a free agent departure next spring. The Jets traded away John Franklin-Myers at the draft last season, and Haason Reddick will no doubt be playing elsewhere in 2025 given the way his New York tenure played out. Johnson, 26, should thus be in line to again handle a key pass-rushing role once healthy and he could easily find himself in the team’s long-term plans.
2023 first-rounder Will McDonald took a major step forward in production this past campaign, notching 10.5 sacks. He will be counted on to remain an integral member of the Jets’ front seven, and the same will be true for Johnson provided his option is picked up. Just like Gardner and Wilson, of course, a multi-year extension can be agreed to with the latter at any time.