Latest On Bengals-Trey Hendrickson Talks
When the Bengals finally signed wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to long-term extensions, it appeared that defensive end Trey Hendrickson would be next to cash in.
Reports indicated that the Bengals had engaged with Hendrickson on contract talks and took the possibility of a trade “off the table.”
Since then, though, negotiations have gained little traction. At league meetings in Florida, Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn said that she “doesn’t know what will happen” with Hendrickson, per Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Blackburn then put some of the blame for the lack of progess on Hendrickson.
“I think he should be happy at certain rates that maybe he doesn’t think he’d be happy at,” she said on Tuesday (via Conway). “I think some of it is on him to be happy at some point, and if he’s not, you know, that’s what holds it up sometimes. So, you know, it takes him to say yes to something.” Blackburn then added that the Bengals “have all the respect in the world” for Hendrickson, calling him a “great player” and saying that the team is “happy to have him.”
Hendrickson expressed frustration and confusion about Blackburn’s comments during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.
“The one thing I was hoping was an April Fool’s joke was that article,” said Hendrickson. “That was a little disappointing, because communication has been poor, that’s something that I hold in high regard. They have not communicated with my agent directly. It has been…a little bit frustrating.”
Hendrickson also took umbrage with Blackburn’s uncertainty about the future and characterization that the ball is in his court.
“To read what I read yesterday was confusing, like it’s my decision,” he said. “I would’ve been willing to sign three years ago, two years ago, and this year. It was communicated to me that we would get something done this year.”
Hendrickson said that he doesn’t want to be the highest-paid player at his position. He was also willing to wait for Chase and Higgins to sign before the Bengals turned their attention to his deal.
“We don’t have any desires of being highest-paid or first in line,” he said.“We try to be as patient as possible.”
Hendrickson didn’t offer any specific terms that he was seeking, but repeated his desire for a long-term deal with significant guarantees.
“I’m not willing to play for incentives that will be out of my control,” he said, suggesting that he would not sign a contract with incentives for team success in the regular season or the playoffs. “I don’t think I want to play for a short-term contract and see where it goes.”
Hendrickson also mentioned the departure of Bengals defensive captain, Sam Hubbard, pointing out the team’s leadership void ahead of OTAs and hinted that he may not attend without a new contract.
Patriots, Saints To Host DT Mason Graham
One of the top prospects in this year’s draft, Mason Graham will be a candidate to go off the board early. Naturally, Shedeur Sanders‘ landing spot will be of interest to teams eyeing Graham; the Colorado QB going in the top three would keep a higher-rated prospect on the board.
Excluding positional value, Graham is rated as a higher-caliber prospect than either Sanders or Cam Ward. And teams will begin to look closely into the Michigan product. The Patriots and Saints will meet with the high-level defensive tackle prospect this week, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets.
Despite the Patriots not needing a quarterback, Sanders’ landing spot is likely of particular interest to the team. If the Browns or Giants end up with this draft’s second-best QB prospect, Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter — in the likely event the Titans start the draft with a Ward investment — will be there for the Pats at No. 4. This would leave Graham available as perhaps the next-best player available.
Daniel Jeremiah’s latest NFL.com big board slots Graham fourth overall — behind Carter, Hunter and Ashton Jeanty. The 2024 Heisman runner-up is highly unlikely to be a top-four pick, due largely to positional value, pointing to Graham being the first non-QB off the board after Carter and Hunter. Declaring for the draft early, Graham combined to total 6.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss over the past two seasons. The 21-year-old interior D-lineman collected first-team All-Big Ten honors last season.
A Pats-Graham link emerged before free agency, but the team then authorized the top guarantee on this year’s market to land Milton Williams. With Christian Barmore extended, the Patriots considering Graham at 4 would represent a tremendous commitment up front. Then again, Mike Vrabel said early this offseason the lines would be a priority.
The Pats need a left tackle far more than they need D-line help, and Will Campbell‘s name will continue to circulate — arm-length concerns notwithstanding. A scenario in which Sanders remains on the board also could open the door to a trade-down move, in the event Carter and Hunter are gone by No. 4, but Graham would serve as a high-end option for a top-10 team making a best-player-available pick.
Holding the No. 9 overall pick, the Saints invested first- and second-round selections into their D-line in 2023, taking D-tackle Bryan Bresee and D-end Isaiah Foskey to start that draft. New England also dealt veteran DT Davon Godchaux to New Orleans last month. The Saints also still roster 2023 free agency additions Khalen Saunders and Nathan Shepherd at DT, though Graham would profile as a player expected to be an early-career starter if he ended up in Louisiana.
Brock Purdy Extension Aim Influenced 49ers’ Free Agency Approach; Team Upped Dre Greenlaw Offer
Many of the players that helped the 49ers push the Chiefs near double overtime in Super Bowl LVIII exited San Francisco this offseason. After the team traded Deebo Samuel, it let a host of talent walk.
The Broncos poached Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga, while Aaron Banks‘ Packers deal eclipsed both the Denver pacts in base value. The 49ers traded Jordan Mason after slapping a second-round RFA tender on the backup running back and stood down as the Chiefs gave Jaylon Moore a $15MM-per-year deal to jump from the backup level to, in all likelihood, a starting job. The team also cut Javon Hargrave and Leonard Floyd while letting 2023 All-Pro Charvarius Ward join the Colts on a big-ticket deal.
While cornerstone players remain, Brock Purdy‘s fourth season at the controls will involve some new personnel. And it should be expected to come with a roster-reshaping contract. The 49ers expecting to go from paying Purdy a seventh-round salary to a top-market contract influenced their free agency approach.
“I get it. Fans care. You want to win. And when you’re in a world where everybody is watching the NFL the first week of free agency or at least the first few days of free agency, it’s a frenzy,” owner Jed York said, via ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner. “… When you’re not overly active in that space, it gets easy to say, ‘Oh, you don’t want to win.’ … I don’t know that, as we looked at the board, that there was somebody that we felt made that type of an impact more so than making the decision to try to go pay Brock.”
The 49ers used Purdy’s rookie deal to splurge on Hargrave in 2023, doing so after carving out cap room for Ward’s free agency deal in 2022 — a deal agreed to when the expectation remained Trey Lance would eventually succeed Jimmy Garoppolo. With Purdy on track to command more than $50MM per year, sacrifices will need to be made. Identifying more rookie-deal starters will become paramount as the draft approaches.
As for Purdy’s next contract, Wagoner floats a deal between $53MM and the $55MM number authorized for Trevor Lawrence and Jordan Love last year as a potential sweet spot. That said, Purdy has accomplished more than both. Convincing the former Mr. Irrelevant to settle south of the Jaguars and Packers starters after the cap spiked by another $24MM — and after Dak Prescott reset the QB market at $60MM per year — may be difficult. The 49ers are confident they will sign Purdy, rather than allow him to play out his rookie contract, and negotiations have begun.
While the team is believed to be shying away from Prescott territory, a number north of $50MM per year — as should be expected — is firmly in play. The team has needed to go into training camp (or near Week 1) to extend George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Nick Bosa and Brandon Aiyuk in recent years. The 49ers appear to be aiming to avoid that timeline with Purdy, but nothing is imminent. Plans for a monster re-up are obviously in place, as the 49ers have not wavered from a stance in which the Iowa State alum remains in place for many years. That aim has already reshuffled the roster.
Kyle Shanahan confirmed (via The Athletic’s Matt Barrows) the 49ers attempted to retain Greenlaw before the legal tampering period, but the team saw him sign a three-year, $31.5MM Broncos accord. Denver has an out after Year 1, in guaranteeing only $11.5MM at signing, protecting itself after Greenlaw’s recent injury trouble.
San Francisco also kept its Greenlaw effort going after his Denver commitment, and the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel reports Lynch and Shanahan flew to Greenlaw’s home in Texas to continue recruitment. The 49ers upped their offer before seeing Greenlaw keep his pledge to join the Broncos. The 49ers power brokers flew out after Greenlaw had agree to Broncos terms, Gabriel adds, representing a more serious attempt to flip a commitment during the legal tampering period.
In addition to Greenlaw’s injury playing a central role in the 49ers’ Super Bowl LVIII loss, it may well have led him to the market. 49ers interest in retaining Greenlaw was known late last season, and the sides discussed terms in February. Had the longtime Fred Warner sidekick not suffered an Achilles tear, the team presumably would have made a stronger effort to retain him before he became free agency-eligible March 10. Sean Payton viewed (via the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson) Greenlaw’s Achilles setback as a key reason he was available.
It is not like the 49ers stood down entirely in free agency. The team gave backup tight end Luke Farrell a three-year, $15.75MM deal and added safeties Jason Pinnock and Richie Grant. Returning Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha, the 49ers added the safety depth pieces at low rates. Pinnock could be more than depth, after starting 32 Giants games from 2023-24, but he signed with the 49ers for just $2.2MM over one year. The contract is fully guaranteed, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. An ex-Falcons starter, Grant signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal, Wilson adds. Only $345K is guaranteed.
49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk On Track For Midseason Return; Trade Unlikely To Happen After 4/1?
APRIL 2: Lynch effectively confirmed the 49ers do not intend to trade Aiyuk. As the Tuesday bonus vesting date has come and gone — meaning the $76MM fully guaranteed to Aiyuk has now triggered (via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo) — San Francisco will move forward with its 2024 extension recipient.
MARCH 30: A report from FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz several days ago indicated the 49ers, who have seen salary cap constraints trigger a mass exodus of talent this offseason, are open to trading wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Given the lucrative extension Aiyuk signed in August and the season-ending ACL tear he suffered in October, the Niners would be selling low if they were to move him, and an unofficial deadline in that regard is fast approaching.
As Schultz observed in his report and as ESPN’s Adam Schefter echoed on a recent episode of his podcast (h/t Kyle Posey of Niners Nation), Aiyuk has a $22.85MM roster bonus due on April 1. Schefter cannot envision a scenario in which San Francisco pays out that bonus and then trades Aiyuk at any point in 2025, particularly when the wideout’s value is at its nadir.
Instead, assuming the April 1 “deadline” passes without a trade having been consummated, Schefter expects the 49ers will simply wait for Aiyuk to get healthy and display the same high-end ability that landed him a four-year, $120MM contract last year and that made him such a sought-after trade commodity prior to the contract being signed. The Niners have already traded Deebo Samuel, and their WR depth chart outside of Aiyuk presently consists of 2024 draftees or veteran ancillary targets, so a healthy and productive return for Aiyuk would, if nothing else, dramatically improve the club’s 2026 outlook.
On that point, Schefter says noted surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache is pleased with the progress Aiyuk has made in his recovery. It appears as if the 2020 first-rounder is on track to return to the field by the middle of the upcoming campaign, which should give San Francisco plenty of time to evaluate his future in the organization.
Schultz’s report noted the 49ers had discussed an Aiyuk trade with several teams. That jibed with an earlier report from Dianna Russini of The Athletic, who said — on the same day Samuel was traded — that Aiyuk was also drawing trade interest.
Schefter appears to deviate from his fellow pundits by saying there has not been much external interest in Aiyuk’s services due to his contract and injury concerns. That leads him to believes a trade will not happen, but if a WR-needy club is willing to roll the dice, the ESPN reporter confirms it would not take a significant offer to convince GM John Lynch to pull the trigger.
If such an offer does not come in the next two days, though, it seems fair to expect Lynch to retain Aiyuk through the 2025 season.
NFL Owners Approve Expanded Replay Assist, Amended OT Format
Tuesday brought about a number of rule changes to be enforced starting in 2025. Among them are an expansion to the use of replay assist, along with a tweak to the overtime format. 
It was known well in advance of this week’s league meetings that consideration would be given to broadening the use of replay assist. To no surprise, then, the league has committed to doing so. Expanded use of video replay to help on-field officials was experimented with in 2024, and that will continue next year, as detailed by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
As a result, penalties issued for calls such as roughing the passer, intentional grounding and unnecessary roughness are now subject to review (without a coach’s challenge being needed). Video officials can correct calls by nullifying penalties when clear evidence overturning the original decision exists. With that said, today’s changes do not allow for penalties to be issued upon review for plays where no flag is thrown.
The NFL recently amended playoff overtime rules to ensure both teams receive the ball at least once in the extra frame. That change brought about the expectation it would soon be duplicated in the regular season. Indeed, Dianna Russini of The Athletic notes both teams will have possession even in the event of a touchdown being scored by one of them in regular season contests.
In spite of that tweak, OT during the regular season will still consist of a 10- (rather than 15-) minute quarter. That could result in time constraints for the second team to receive the ball depending on how long the first team’s touchdown drive lasts. Nonetheless, the result of the coin toss at the beginning of the extra frame will carry less weight in the wake of today’s change.
These two changes come on the same day that the NFL’s dynamic kickoff was approved on a full-time basis (with touchbacks being moved up five yards to encourage further upticks in the rate of returns). Consideration to amending onside kicks will take place later this offseason; the same is also true of the tush push play.
Browns Not Expected To Trade Up To No. 1
A few weeks ago, we saw Browns defensive end Myles Garrett make an about face on his stance for the team’s chances for contention on their current trajectory. While it hasn’t been said exclusively, one may assume that, in the team’s meetings and negotiations with Garrett, Cleveland gave him some insight into the team’s plans for becoming contenders. 
One would also assume that that would indicate some sort of improvement at the quarterback position, but so far, the Browns have exchanged Jameis Winston for Kenny Pickett and watched Deshaun Watson‘s rehab activities stall due to a second Achilles tendon tear that could hold him out for the 2025 NFL season.
[RELATED: Jimmy Haslam Admits Mistake On Deshaun Watson Trade]
One way that Cleveland could improve at the position is by drafting a talented rookie, but at No. 2 overall, the Browns sit just out of reach of the class’s best quarterback, Miami’s Cam Ward, who’s expected to be taken No. 1 overall by the Titans. While one might think it wouldn’t take too much to move up and exchange places with Tennessee, general manager Andrew Berry said at league meetings this week that the team is “unlikely” to trade up for Ward, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
In fact, Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam seemed to indicate that they may not add a quarterback at all, telling the media that they’re “not going to force it,” per Cabot. Instead, Cleveland may address Garrett’s position group by adding Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, who is widely seen as the top prospect in the class. Despite recent news of a stress reaction in Carter’s foot, Berry made it clear that the team is not concerned by the injury, stating that it shouldn’t “be prohibitive to a long, successful career,” per ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi.
By not further addressing the quarterback position, the Browns would be setting themselves up to enter the 2025 NFL season with only Watson — who is questionable to be healthy by that time — and Pickett as options at QB1. That doesn’t seem to worry Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, who told the media today that he believes in Pickett to be the team’s Week 1 starter “if it lands that way.” Over three years with the Steelers and Eagles, Pickett has a 15-10 record as a starter in the NFL with 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Vote On Tush Push Ban Postponed
In the build-up to Tuesday’s vote on banning the so-called ‘tush push’ play, it was clear opinions were split on the matter. That opened the door to a vote being tabled for the future, which has indeed taken place. 
No vote will be held on banning the play today, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. That comes as little surprise considering where things stood entering the final day of the league meetings. Reports from Russini as well as Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz noted there were not enough votes present to approve a ban, leading to the expectation of a delay.
The Eagles and Bills have enjoyed considerable success with the tush push, but Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott was among the Competition Committee members in favor of banning the play. Debate on injury risk and the specific wording of the proposal sparked debate on both sides prior to the scheduled vote, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated writes. In all, a 16-16 split existed between the two sides, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.
Like with all other rule changes, at least 24 votes will be required to ban the play. In other words, those in favor of doing so will need to use the coming weeks to secure at least eight more votes and move forward with a ban. As Russini notes, today’s decision could allow for the wording of the rule regarding the play to be tweaked, something which could sway opinions one way or the other. The tush push could remain in place for 2025, but the door is open to the play being fundamentally altered depending on how the pending vote shakes out.
In May, owners will convene for the next round of meetings. Coaches and general managers will not be present (unlike now), though, and it will be interesting to see how many minds are changed between now and then about supporting or banning the tush push. Maintaining the status quo, eliminating the play or tweaking it remain options at this point.
NFL To Use New Measurement Technology In 2025
While we already mentioned this technology back in February, the NFL has announced that Sony’s Hawk-Eye system will be used as the league’s primary method for measuring the line to gain starting in the 2025 NFL season, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. On-field officials will still be responsible for spotting the ball and a chain gang will still exist as a backup measure, but the new technology will be the official measuring tool and the increase in cameras will, in theory, provide more angles for replay reviews. 
The new Hawk-Eye tracking services from Sony were reportedly tested in the 2024 preseason and in the background during the 2024 regular season. The technology does not track the ball to determine if the ball crossed the line. An official is still needed to spot the ball and replay assist will confirm the accuracy of that placement. Once the spot is determined the tracking system will optimally notify officials if a first down was reached instantly, speeding up pace of play by avoiding lengthy measurements.
The setup requires six cameras to be used for the virtual line-to-gain technology, along with 12 boundary-line cameras and 14 Hawk-Eye’s SkeleTRACK cameras that monitor more than two-dozen skeletal points on a player’s body. Using the technology behind the scenes last year, the league reportedly saw a reduction in the time it took for a measurement from 75 seconds on average with the chain gang to 30 seconds on average with the new technology.
In order to accommodate and implement the system, all 30 NFL stadiums, as well as any international stadiums where NFL games will be played, will be equipped with 32 cameras each. With the additional cameras, there, theoretically, should be increased and improved replay angles, as well. The league will continue testing the system this spring during UFL games played in NFL stadiums like Detroit’s Ford Field.
While discussions of the use of this type of technology have been ongoing for years, a line is naturally going to be drawn between this rule and a Josh Allen fourth-down quarterback sneak that was ruled short of the line to gain in the fourth quarter of the Bills’ AFC Championship loss to the Chiefs. Similarly, the NFL passed a rule change three years ago that ensure both teams possession of the ball at least once in overtime of postseason games following a Bills’ divisional-round loss to the Chiefs during the 2021 season, a rule that was also augmented in the recent meetings.
Jimmy Haslam Admits Mistake On QB Deshaun Watson
Recent developments in Cleveland’s pursuit of veteran free agent quarterbacks and research into the 2025 rookie draft class’s group of passers seem to indicate that the Browns are perhaps ready to move on from their Deshaun Watson experience. The 29-year-old still has two years remaining on his deal, but it finally appears that the Browns are ready to recognize their mistakes and move forward. According to Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN, Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam admitted as much at Monday’s annual league meeting. 
“We took a big swing-and-miss with Deshaun,” Haslam told the media. “We thought we had the quarterback; we didn’t. And we gave up a lot of draft picks to get him, so we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole.”
Cleveland acquired Watson from the Texans in a trade package that included three first-round picks before signing the young passer to a five-year, $230MM extension, the league’s largest guaranteed contract in NFL history. Despite record-breaking contract after record-breaking contract being signed each year, no deal has come anywhere close to matching Watson’s $230MM in total guaranteed money at signing. Josh Allen‘s recent six-year, $330MM deal came the closest with only $147MM in total guaranteed money at signing.
In the three years since Watson signed that contract, though, he’s done little to earn that money he’s been guaranteed. He started just six games in each of the 2022 and 2023 seasons and seven games this past year. The first shortened season was a result of an 11-game suspension that Watson served as a result of “egregious” and “predatory behavior” that led to several sexual assault allegations. In 2023, Watson missed three games with injury in the first 10 weeks of the season before suffering a broken bone in his throwing shoulder that would end his year.
Last year, we saw Watson suffer a torn Achilles tendon after seven weeks of play. In early-January, Watson suffered a setback in his rehab from the tendon tear that was reported to potentially require a second surgery. Days later, it was disclosed that he had suffered a second Achilles tendon rupture, potentially endangering his availability in 2025.
If the Browns do go after a rookie passer, it could certainly be an indication that Watson’s time in Cleveland has come to an end. The team has worked out multiple restructures with Watson in recent years in attempts to help spread out his cap impact through the 2029 season, but at the moment, he represents cap hits of $36.94MM in 2025 and $81.68MM in 2026. With 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions at the low, low cost of $230MM, it does appear that the Watson-trade has turned out to be a bit of a swing and a miss.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/1/25
Today’s only minor move in the NFL:
Carolina Panthers
- Re-signed: RB Raheem Blackshear
Although Blackshear didn’t get much run on offense as RB3 behind Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders in 2024, and despite the addition of Rico Dowdle and the health of Jonathon Brooks for this upcoming season likely pushing him to RB4, the signing of Blackshear shores up an important position on special teams for the Panthers.
Blackshear served as Carolina’s regular return man on kickoffs and punts. In a year where the league was trying out something new with the kickoff rules, Blackshear led the NFL with 31 returns. He added 17 punt returns in 2024, as well. He ends up returning to Carolina after the team chose not to tender him as a restricted free agent a month ago.