Joe Flacco Odd Man Out In Browns QBs Room?
While the ink still isn’t dry on Joe Flacco‘s contract with the Browns, there’s already speculation that the veteran may not make it to the regular season with his new squad. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Joe Flacco is likely the odd man out in the Browns quarterbacks room.
The team’s positional depth has obviously changed a bit since Flacco inked a deal with Cleveland in early April. The Browns added a pair of big-name rookies via the draft, and it sounds like the team is committed to giving roster spots to both third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and surprising fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders.
As the Browns navigated Deshaun Watson‘s injury and tenuous standing on their squad, the team went out and made a trade for Kenny Pickett earlier this offseason. Cabot believes the former first-round pick is in prime position to retain his roster spot, and that would leave Flacco on the outside looking in.
The team would surely only commit three roster spots to the quarterback position, but Cabot says the team could hang on to four QBs for the first iteration of their 53-man roster. The team did something similar last year, when they kept Tyler Huntley with the hopes of a trade popping up. A deal never came to fruition, and the organization moved on from Huntley before Week 1.
It’s hard to envision a long line of suitors for Flacco. That has nothing to do with his quality of play—even during his age-39 season, Flacco won a pair of games while tossing 12 touchdowns vs. seven interceptions. Rather, teams will likely be cognizant of Flacco’s spot on Cleveland’s roster, and they may just wait out an inevitable release if they truly have interest in the veteran.
On the flip side, Flacco could simply play himself into a role, potentially leading to a tricky situation for the Browns. The most likely path would see them move on from Pickett, but if both vets are truly deserving of a spot, then it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for them to ditch a draft pick or try to sneak a rookie onto their practice squad.
Meanwhile, we’ve finally gotten some details on Flacco’s contract (via OverTheCap.com). His one-year, $4MM pact includes $3MM in guaranteed money, although a chunk of that total is tied to roster bonuses that could be avoided. Flacco is also attached to a $2.85MM cap hit, and the Browns would be left with half of that on the books if they outright released the quarterback.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/6/25
Today’s draft pick signings:
Denver Broncos
- TE Caleb Lohner (seventh round, Utah)
The Broncos kicked off their draft pick signings by inking their final draft pick to a rookie contract. Tight end Caleb Lohner was pick No. 241 in the draft, but the team’s relatively deep depth chart at TE means the rookie could ultimately land on the practice squad. After exclusively playing basketball to begin his collegiate career, the six-foot-eight prospect spent the 2024 campaign on Utah’s football team, where he hauled in four catches for four touchdowns.
NFL Minor Transactions: 5/6/25
Today’s minor moves:
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: WR Jimmy Holiday, LB Cooper McDonald, DB Major Williams
- Released: CB Robert Rochell
- Waived: S Will Brooks, WR Justin Lockhart
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: DB T.J. Jackson, LB Jackson Woodard
A trio of players had successful tryouts at Chiefs rookie minicamp, and the team added those three rookies to their growing list of UDFAs signings. To make room on the roster, the Chiefs had to move on from veteran Robert Rochell, who just signed with the team in March. Rochell has mostly seen a role as a special teamer in recent years, and he’s been limited to only 27 defensive snaps over the past three years. In total, the former fourth-round pick has 25 career tackles.
Broncos, Nik Bonitto Begin Extension Talks
Nik Bonitto picked a good time to deliver a breakout season. The edge rusher market is amid an offseason surge, after a bit of a lull (Nick Bosa‘s contract excluded) in recent years. More deals topping $40MM per year should emerge once T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons and Aidan Hutchinson are extended. Hutchinson is not a lock to be paid this year, but the Lions dynamo’s trajectory places him as a clear candidate to be paid the new going rate for All-Pro-caliber edge rushers.
Becoming a second-team All-Pro in 2024, Bonitto may not be aiming as high. But it will still cost the Broncos to keep him on a second contract, as the team will seek to do. The former 2022 second-round pick is eyeing a deal at least north of the $20MM-per-year barrier, the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson notes. Bonitto, 25, has said he wants to stay in Denver long term, Tomasson adds. The sides have begun extension talks.
[RELATED: Assessing Bonitto’s Extension Candidacy]
For the Broncos to have Bonitto extension talks start near $20MM AAV would probably be a win for the team, which saw its top edge rusher zoom to a 13.5-sack season that featured defensive touchdowns in back-to-back games. Bonitto, however, displayed difference-making potential in 2023 as well. His 2024 season included only four more QB hits (24) than he racked up in 2023. The Oklahoma product also tallied only three more tackles for loss (16-13) compared to 2023, when he only started four games.
Denver made a key decision about its EDGE future by trading Baron Browning and extending his former Ohio State teammate, Jonathon Cooper, before last year’s deadline. Cooper is signed to a team-friendly accord — four years, $54MM. It will cost far more to extend Bonitto, whose age and early-career production would give him a case to check in much higher than $20MM per year. Another impact season would crystalize that value and likely drive up the price, especially should Watt, Parsons and Hutchinson make $40MM-AAV deals a true salary bracket rather than a Myles Garrett-only zone. Twelve edge rushers are tied to deals worth at least $20MM per year now.
The Broncos carried a top-market OLB salary on their books for five-plus seasons, after having paid Von Miller before the 2016 franchise tag deadline. Denver used the pick the Rams sent over for Miller (No. 64 overall) on Bonitto and then passed on paying Bradley Chubb, trading him in 2022. Thanks to recent salary cap spikes, Bonitto will almost definitely land a higher AAV than Miller’s Broncos or Bills deals produced. When Denver extended Miller at $19.1MM per year nine summers ago, the cap stood at $155.3MM. It is now $279.2MM, creating a landscape in which a $40MM-per-year deal for a top-tier pass rusher can happen. Bonitto can make a case to secure a second-tier EDGE pact.
Bonitto may be the Broncos’ top extension candidate, in terms of earning potential, but the team has both Zach Allen and Courtland Sutton on the re-up radar this year. Sutton talks have begun, while Allen has expressed interest in staying beyond his 2025 contract year. Both players are tied to $15MM-per-year deals, and each has outplayed them. Allen having joined Bonitto as a second-team All-Pro last season offers a complication for the Broncos, who paid Patrick Surtain a then-market-setting rate at cornerback and gave eight-figure AAVs to D.J. Jones, Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw in March.
The Broncos were able lock in Surtain at a favorable rate ($24MM) on a deal that runs through 2029, but if they run into a value gap with Bonitto, a 2026 franchise tag would stand to be in play. While Allen and Sutton money will need to be factored in — if/once extensions are hammered out — the team is projected to hold $69MM-plus in cap space next year. It will carry more flexibility in 2026, as the Russell Wilson dead money will be off the books. Bo Nix must stay on a rookie contract through at least the 2026 season. Though, Nix’s progress — re: a potential 2027 payday — will become a factor as the Broncos consider long-term deals this offseason.
OL Notes: Conerly, Commanders, Dolphins, Patriots, Seahawks, Bears, Giants, Rams
As OTAs near, teams will begin evaluations regarding roles for rookie offensive linemen — and potential veteran relocations stemming from draft decisions. A couple of changes figure to come out of the Commanders‘ Josh Conerly Jr. draft choice. The Browns and Texans attempted to trade up for Conerly, but the Commanders ended up with the two-year Oregon left tackle starter at No. 29. Washington GM Adam Peters said (via ESPN.com’s John Keim) Conerly could play tackle or guard as a rookie.
Washington, which let Cornelius Lucas walk in free agency (to Cleveland), had already planned to move primary 2024 LT Brandon Coleman to RT before the draft. Two-year RT starter Andrew Wylie accepted a pay cut this offseason, and his past as a guard could become relevant again. Wylie has only played RT over the past four seasons, but the ex-Chief worked almost exclusively at guard from 2018-20. Wylie and potentially Coleman could be in the guard mix if Conerly stays at tackle opposite new LT Laremy Tunsil. The Commanders have ex-Chief Nick Allegretti at LG and a rehabbing Sam Cosmi at RG; the latter’s spot obviously will not be in jeopardy once he recovers from his January ACL tear, but he will not be a lock to avoid the PUP list to open the season.
Here is the latest from O-lines around the league:
- The Dolphins are slotting second-round pick Jonah Savaiinaea at guard, per GM Chris Grier, who expects (via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson) the No. 37 overall pick to start from Day 1. Miami traded up for the Arizona product, outflanking the Patriots, who were (via the Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard) believed to be eyeing him at No. 38. Savaiinaea will likely be set to displace Liam Eichenberg, who played all five O-line spots during his Dolphins rookie deal. Eichenberg, a 2021 second-round pick who re-signed on a one-year deal worth $2.23MM, is now set to operate as a swingman behind new starters Savaiinaea and James Daniels.
- Bears second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo served as Boston College’s RT starter in 2023 and ’24. Chicago choosing Trapilo at No. 56 points to him being eyed as a 2026 starter, as LT starter Braxton Jones is in a contract year. Ryan Poles said during a Kap & J-Hood ESPN 1000 interview (h/t ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin) the Bears will begin Trapilo at LT this offseason, as the team is sufficiently confident Trapilo in Trapilo’s RT seasoning. That opens the door to starter work while Jones recovers from ankle surgery; Chicago’s three-year LT is expected to miss training camp time.
- Seattle will use its first-round pick, Grey Zabel, at guard, The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar notes. As our Ely Allen noted in his mock draft, the North Dakota State product played across the O-line with the Bison. Zabel saw time at both guard spots and each tackle position in college, and a center NFL future came up as well. The Seahawks, who did not allocate much in the way of resources to guard following Damien Lewis‘ 2024 exit, are set to place Zabel at LG, per Hall of Fame ex-Seahawk guard Steve Hutchinson (h/t ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson). Zabel would replace Laken Tomlinson at LG, while Henderson adds primary 2024 RG starter Anthony Bradford competes with 2024 third-rounder Christian Haynes, Sataoa Laumea and rookie sixth-rounder Bryce Cabeldue at the other guard post.
- As Evan Neal transitions to guard, a player viewed as a potential Giants guard starter — fifth-round rookie Marcus Mbow — will begin his career at tackle, Brian Daboll said (via the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz). Mbow was a full-time guard starter at Purdue in 2022, while he finished his career as the Boilermakers’ starting right tackle. Mbow will begin his career behind Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eluemunor. The latter being in a contract year opens the door for an early-career move into the starting lineup, should Mbow prove ready.
- Rob Havenstein joins Jones in recovering from surgery, confirming (via The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue) he underwent cleanup procedures on both shoulders. Havenstein, 33 next week, will miss some offseason time but is not expected to be sidelined to start training camp. Missing six games last season, Havenstein is going into his 11th year as the Rams‘ RT starter.
Jaguars To Hire Brian Xanders
Shortly after the draft took place, the Jaguars moved on from Ethan Waugh. The departure of Jacksonville’s assistant general manager – who took over from Trent Baalke on an interim basis this winter – left a notable vacancy in the team’s front office. 
Brian Xanders is being hired by the Jags as part of their effort to fill that void, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports. The former Broncos general manager most recently worked with the Rams as a senior personnel executive. As a result, he represents a familiar face for both GM James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen.
Xanders’ NFL career began with the Falcons, spending considerable time in their player personnel department. That tenure was followed by his time in the Mile High City, which included the assistant general manager gig for 2008. He took charge of the Broncos one year later, overseeing one postseason appearance during his three years as GM. Xanders moved on to the Lions following his Broncos stint, but in the wake of Bob Quinn‘s firing he too found himself on the move in the spring of 2017.
It did not take Xanders long to find a new opportunity, though, as he was hired by the Rams later that offseason. The 54-year-old is a veteran executive who has handled a number of responsibilities during his career, something which should help the Gladstone-Coen tandem given both of its members are first-timers in their respective positions. Xanders will join a front office which has seen a number of other recent departures in addition to that of Waugh.
College scouting director Michael Davis is no longer in the fold, as noted by Neil Stratton of Inside the League. His tenure in Jacksonville began in 2021 under Baalke, but with Gladstone in place the team’s scouting department will move in a different direction. According to Stratton, other departures include that of scout Geep Chryst – in place since 2023 – and Claire Morrison (who had also worked for the Jags over the past two years). Further shuffling in the front office could take place over the coming weeks and months.
Jason Pierre-Paul Aims To Play In 2025
Jason Pierre-Paul‘s last NFL action came in 2023, but he made it clear this past December he intended to continue his career. That remains the case now. 
“Anybody that gives me the opportunity, I’m ready to go and I’m ready to rock right now,” the 36-year-old said during an interview with TMZ. Pierre-Paul spent the 2023 campaign with the Saints and Dolphins, and during his three total games that year he was held without a sack. That lack of production, coupled with his age, helps explain the lack of interest shown by NFL teams.
The three-time Pro Bowler had a decorated eight-year run with the Giants to begin his career. That was followed up by four seasons in Tampa Bay, a stretch which saw Pierre-Paul win his second Super Bowl. In 2022, he operated as a starter with the Ravens but managed only three sacks that year. The former first-rounder has topped nine sacks four times in a season, but the most recent time that was the case was 2020.
A veteran of 193 combined regular and postseason games, Pierre-Paul would certainly add considerable experience to any team willing to sign him. He has amassed over $101MM in career earnings, but that figure would not stand to increase to a large extent if a 2025 contract agreement were to be reached. Teams are in the midst of signing their draft classes, something which will take up a portion of their remaining cap space. Plenty of funds will still be available by training camp if a suitor emerges during the summer, though.
The likes of Von Miller, Za’Darius Smith and Matt Judon are still on the market as veteran edge rush options. Each member of that trio has a stronger chance of landing a deal this offseason, but Pierre-Paul clearly still aims to play in 2025 as well.
Browns Sign WR Diontae Johnson
MAY 6: To no surprise, ESPN’s Field Yates notes Johnson’s pact is one year in length and is worth the veteran minimum ($1.17MM). No money is guaranteed, so this move represents a low-risk investment on the Browns’ part. Johnson will turn his attention to securing a roster spot knowing a return to his previous form could greatly help his 2026 market value.
APRIL 28: Diontae Johnson‘s eventful 2024 effectively torpedoed his free agency stock, the now-well-traveled wide receiver has found a new home.
The Browns are signing the veteran wideout, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. This will be Johnson’s third AFC North stop, as the formerly productive Steelers pass catcher’s turbulent year wrapped with the Ravens. Johnson visited the Browns on Monday.
As expected, we heard next to nothing about Johnson during the pre-draft free agency period. His having been moved four times last year — twice traded, twice waived — saw to it that the former 1,000-yard Ben Roethlisberger target would need to rebuild his stock. The Browns will give him a chance after not selecting a receiver in the draft.
Johnson follows Tyler Lockett off the board at receiver. Lockett joined the Titans just before Round 1, leaving Keenan Allen and ex-Browns 1,000-yard target Amari Cooper as the most notable unsigned talents at the position.
Going into 2024, Johnson carried a reputation as a high-end route runner and a player who dealt with drop issues. Effort concerns also cropped up late in his Pittsburgh tenure, but that no longer defines the former third-round pick. Instead, Johnson burned bridges at every turn last season. He asked out of Pittsburgh, which traded him to Carolina for cornerback Donte Jackson. Johnson, 28, then sought a trade from the Panthers. It only worsened from there, as he wore out his welcome quickly in Baltimore and Houston.
The Ravens acquired Johnson in a pick-swap deal involving Day 3 choices. At the time, that seemed like a win for Baltimore due to the experience and production Johnson accumulated during his first five seasons. But Johnson’s Ravens tenure showed why that trade price emerged. The Ravens suspended the trade pickup for refusing to enter a Week 13 Eagles matchup after Rashod Bateman had gone down with an injury. This led to the Ravens waiving Johnson, who did not reach free agency thanks to claims from the Chargers and Texans. Houston’s waiver priority won out, but the team — even after injuries ended Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell‘s seasons — barely deployed its late-season addition and waived him barely two weeks after making the successful claim.
Johnson, who had signed at two-year Steelers extension worth $36.7MM in 2022, was believed to have been needed to be calmed down by teammates after he was sparsely used in the Texans’ wild-card win over the Chargers. The six-year veteran played all of 16 offensive snaps across two Texans games, as the team did not deem him a reliable auxiliary cog. The Ravens then claimed Johnson for the sole purpose of potentially recouping a late-round comp pick, as they are known to hoard those. No such reward will arrive, as no team signed Johnson until after that deadline passed.
Cleveland has not re-signed Cooper, whom it traded to Buffalo before last year’s deadline. As Cooper has resurfaced as a Dallas option, the Browns will take a flier on Johnson. This will mark an interesting Johnson-Kenny Pickett reunion. Pickett’s rookie year famously involved Johnson setting an NFL record for most receptions (86) in a season without a touchdown. Johnson scored five TDs in 2023, but the Steelers had begun to sour on Pickett by then. Pickett is now one of four QBs in the picture for the Browns, who drafted Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders after re-signing Joe Flacco.
The Browns have Jerry Jeudy entrenched as their top receiver, with Cedric Tillman Jr. tentatively in place as their No. 2 option. The team has also not re-signed Elijah Moore, who served as a slot performer following a 2023 trade.
Johnson, who totaled at least 680 receiving yards each year from 2019-23 (including a 1,161-yard 2021 to help the Steelers to the playoffs), has a resume that would support a starting role. But he will need to prove he can be relied upon again. It is interesting that Cleveland would make this move with two rookie QBs set to begin development, but Johnson has been one of the league’s better separators. If he can reestablish himself as a usable piece, the Browns would benefit.
Nikhil Mehta contributed to this post.
Bengals, S Geno Stone Agree To Restructure
Geno Stone will remain with the Bengals for 2025, but he will do so at a reduced rate. The veteran safety has agreed to a restructured pact, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap reports. 
Stone was due to receive $6.48MM this year, but that figure has now dropped to $4.9MM. The Bengals have guaranteed $1.5MM of the compensation contained in the new agreement, which ensures he will play in Cincinnati in 2025. Stone, 26, remains a pending 2026 free agent.
A seventh-round pick in 2020, Stone saw his usage rate increase with each passing season during his tenure with the Ravens. That included an 82% snap share in 2023, a year in which he posted seven interceptions and played a key role in Baltimore’s defensive success. That performance helped Stone’s market value, and he landed a two-year, $14MM pact from the Bengals last spring.
The Iowa product was a full-time starter during his debut Cincinnati campaign, but he was one of several defensive players on the team who underperformed. Stone managed four interceptions and a career-high 81 tackles, but his work in coverage left plenty to be desired. The safety spot was a talking point this offseason as a result, and in January Stone found himself among the Bengals’ potential cap casualties.
Instead, he and Jordan Battle remain in the fold. Cincinnati elected not to re-sign veteran Vonn Bell this spring, but the team did not select a safety during the draft. New defensive coordinator Al Golden has expressed confidence in Battle’s ability to take on a full-time starting gig starting in 2025, so a tandem with Stone is in store as things stand. The Bengals could of course still look to bring in a veteran, though; Justin Simmons, Julian Blackmon and Jordan Whitehead are among the experienced options still on the market.
The Bengals ranked 21st against the pass last season, and improvement in that department will be needed in 2025 for a return to the playoffs to be possible. Stone will have a role to play in that regard, and a bounce-back campaign would help his value ahead of free agency next spring.
Ravens Release K Justin Tucker
Justin Tucker‘s tenure with the Ravens has come to an end. The decorated kicker was released on Monday, per a team announcement.
“Sometimes football decisions are incredibly difficult, and this is one of those instances,” a statement from general manager Eric DeCosta reads in part. “Considering our current roster, we have made the tough decision to release Justin Tucker… We are grateful for Justin’s many contributions while playing for the Ravens. We sincerely wish him and his family the very best in this next chapter of their lives.” 
While this move is significant given Tucker’s lengthy run of success in Baltimore, it does not come as a surprise. The possibility of moving on from the 35-year-old has loomed throughout the offseason. On-field matters were cited as the reason why a release would take place during the official comments on the subject from the team’s decision makers, but today’s news also comes amid a backdrop of sexual misconduct allegations.
16 massage therapists have accused Tucker of inappropriate conduct dating back to the early portions of his NFL career. Denials of any wrongdoing have emerged on two occasions, and the Ravens made it clear in the wake of a league investigation being opened they would wait until its conclusion to make a decision. In spite of that, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports the matter is still being reviewed.
Prior to the draft, Tucker was informed by the Ravens the team could select a kicker. In the rare instances when teams do so, veteran incumbents are usually replaced. That will indeed be the case in this instance as well. Tyler Loop – selected in the sixth round of this year’s draft – is now the only kicker on Baltimore’s roster. Barring an addition for training camp, he will be tasked with replacing the NFL’s all-time most accurate kicker.
Tucker (a former undrafted free agent who took over kicking duties as a Ravens rookie in 2012) played a key role in the team’s Super Bowl victory that year. From that point on, he enjoyed a strong run of consistency, with his field goal success rate ranging from 82.5% to 97.4%. The 2010s All-Decade team member connected on a 66-yard field goal attempt in 2021, breaking the record for the longest in NFL history.
The 2024 campaign saw a notable downturn in accuracy, however. A midseason slump resulted in Tucker missing a total of 10 kicks (eight field goals, two extra points) during the season. A return to form late in the campaign did little to quell questions about a change at the position being on the horizon. That became especially true when news of the allegations broke.
Jeff Zrebeic of The Athletic notes Tucker will be designated a post-June 1 release, which represents the more feasible financial route from the team’s perspective. This move will generate $4.2MM in cap savings while incurring a dead money charge of $2.87MM. Three years remained on the five-time All-Pro’s contract, one which carried an average annual value of $6MM (the second-highest figure in the league for kickers).
While the Ravens will move forward with a new kicker for the first time in 13 years, attention will turn to the results of the league investigation. Tucker’s future in the NFL – if he has one – will no doubt depend in large part on the findings of the NFL probe.