HEADLINES

Month: June 2025

Seahawks Extend P Michael Dickson

June 10th, 2025 at 7:28am CST by Nikhil Mehta

The punter market continues to rise with the Seahawks signing Michael Dickson to a four-year, $16.2MM extension, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

Seattle made Dickson the NFL’s highest-paid punter in 2021 with a $3.625MM AAV deal that was set to expire after the 2025 season. In May, the Raiders surpassed that number with $3.95MM per year for A.J. Cole, and the Jaguars gave Logan Cooke an even $4MM AAV yesterday. That gave Dickson enough leverage to reclaim the top spot after another solid year for the Seahawks in 2024.

The 29-year-old has spent each of his seven seasons in Seattle, and he delivered a strong showing during his rookie campaign. Dickson earned a Pro Bowl nod in addition to first-team All-Pro honors in 2018, raising expectations and cementing his status as a key special teams contributor for the Seahawks. Since then, he has remained among the league’s most consistent punters.

On three occasions, Dickson has recorded a net punting average of 44 yards or more; in 2023, his gross average of 50 yards marked a career best. The former fifth-rounder was unable to duplicate either of those figures in 2024, but his totals still bested his career averages. As a result, today’s news comes as little surprise.

Seattle has kicker Jason Myers attached to one of the league’s most lucrative contracts at his position. He is on the books through 2026. Long snapper Chris Stoll is under contract for 2025, so he will spend at least one more year with the team. The coming season will therefore bring continuity on special teams for the Seahawks, and Dickson will remain in place for years to come.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.

Steelers Preferred Matthew Stafford, Justin Fields To Aaron Rodgers?

June 9th, 2025 at 10:10pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Steelers have Aaron Rodgers under contract in time for minicamp, meaning the team will have its expected quarterback starter for 2025. Other options received consideration this offseason, though, and it appears at least two of them were higher on Pittsburgh’s wishlist.

During an appearance on Get Up, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Rodgers represented the Steelers’ third choice at the quarterback spot (video link). Schefter notes Pittsburgh first attempted to work out a trade with the Rams for Matthew Stafford this offseason. The Super Bowl winner wound up remaining in Los Angeles on another revised contract, but a number of suitors showed interest in a trade before that agreement was reached.

The Steelers were among them, with a February report linking them to Stafford. Pittsburgh checked in with the Rams on that front, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated writes, but the team doubted a departure from Los Angles was realistic. Likewise, interest was shown in Kirk Cousins, but at no point was he regarded as a preferred option to Rodgers.

Per Schefter and Breer, the Steelers’ efforts were aimed first at re-signing Justin Fields before serious Rodgers consideration took place. Pittsburgh was well known to have interest in keeping one of Fields or 2024 starter Russell Wilson for the coming season. The Jets – having released Rodgers with the arrival of a new HC-GM combination – provided Fields with an unquestioned starter’s role on a two-year pact, however. Once he agreed to head to New York, Rodgers became one of the best veteran options on the market.

The 41-year-old visited the Steelers early in free agency, and he and head coach Mike Tomlin remained in touch throughout the spring. As Breer notes, that communication played a key role in Pittsburgh’s ongoing confidence that a deal would eventually be worked out. He adds much of the legwork regarding the contract details have been in place since March, leaving only certain aspects of its structure to be finalized recently.

Rodgers will receive $10MM in guarantees and $5.85MM in incentives could increase his earnings for the campaign. The four-time MVP’s pact stands in contrast to what Fields received from the Jets ($40MM over two years, including $30MM fully guaranteed) and Stafford’s new Rams arrangement ($84MM across the 2025 and ’26 seasons, up from the $58MM he was originally owed). At a discounted price compared to the top of the position’s market in particular, it will be interesting to see how Rodgers fares with his third career team.

Stafford declined to join teams such as the Raiders and Giants despite their willingness to reach the $50MM-per-year mark. Fields, meanwhile, understandably departed on the open market after Tomlin elected to keep Wilson ahead of him on the depth chart once both passers were healthy last season. It took until well after the draft and through much of OTAs for the Rodgers acquisition to become official, but Pittsburgh’s apparent Plan C under center is now set to take shape.

Extension Candidate: Tyler Linderbaum

June 9th, 2025 at 10:03pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Ravens declined the fifth-year option of center Tyler Linderbaum in May, making 2025 a contract year for the 2022 first-round pick.

Typically, that decision means that a team doesn’t want to sign a player to a long-term extension. The Ravens, for example, didn’t pick up Patrick Queen‘s fifth-year option in 2023 and let him walk in free agency the following year.

Linderbaum’s situation is a little different. The NFL calculates fifth-year option values based on the top salaries at each position, but the formula groups all offensive linemen together. With two Pro Bowls under his belt, Linderbaum’s fifth-year option reached the highest tier at $23.4MM; effectively, the Ravens would have been paying their starting center like a premium left tackle in 2026. That figure would have also set a high bar in long-term contract talks as players rarely sign extensions with an average value below their fifth-year option.

As a result, a new deal for Linderbaum is still firmly in play in the coming months. The Ravens confirmed as much in a statement when they announced their fifth-year option decisions, though general manager Eric DeCosta said the same thing about Queen on a team podcast in 2023. At that time, the Ravens had recently traded for Roquan Smith and used a third-round pick on Trenton Simpson, but this year, they have no clear successor for Linderbaum on the roster. (A franchise tag for 2026 is likely out of the question. Thanks to the same positional designation quirk, Linderbaum is projected by OverTheCap to cost $24.7MM on the transition tag and $27.603MM on the franchise tag.)

Even if Baltimore could find a replacement by next season, he likely will not offer the same elite level of play as Linderbaum. The 25-year-old center has been one of the league’s best since he was drafted in 2022 with the No. 25 pick, which the Ravens acquired as a result of the Marquise Brown trade. Linderbaum immediately stepped in as Lamar Jackson‘s starting center and put together a solid rookie year before making a leap in 2023 after the arrival of offensive coordinator Todd Monken.

Improvements in Linderbaum’s anchor in pass protection and Monken’s creative use of his athleticism in the run game has brought out the best in Linderbaum over the last two seasons. In that time, he reached two Pro Bowls and hasn’t allowed a single sack, per PFF (subscription required), and the Ravens have dominated opponents on the ground.

The former Iowa Hawkeye has also been durable in his career thus far, starting 54 of the Ravens’ 56 games since he was drafted (including the postseason). Jackson struggled with consistency at center before Linderbaum’s arrival in 2022, so the team has reason for wanting to lock the position down for the foreseeable future.

Given Linderbaum’s pedigree and durability, an extension is likely predicated on making him the highest-paid center in the NFL. Currently, that title belongs to the Chiefs’ Creed Humphrey, who signed a four-year, $72MM deal last August with $35MM guaranteed at signing and $50.315MM in total guarantees, per OverTheCap. That should get Linderbaum above $18MM per year with a commensurate increase in guaranteed money.

He may even push to join the ranks of the highest-paid interior offensive linemen with the guard market above $20MM per year. That may prove difficult for the Ravens, who are working on an extension for Jackson with several other key players in the last year of their contracts. Baltimore would likely prefer to make Linderbaum the league’s most expensive center at a more symbolic $18.25MM or $18.5MM APY rather than resetting the market at $19MM or more. They could rely on a familiar strategy to accomplish that.

DeCosta has kept a lid on the team’s major contracts by offering significant guarantees at signing in exchange for a discount on APY. For example, Ronnie Stanley could have signed for more than $20MM per year on the open market, but he took $60MM over three years from the Ravens, in part because his $44MM in fully guaranteed money ranks third among NFL left tackles.

As a result, a four-year, $74MM extension with a stronger guarantee structure than Humphrey’s deal could offer a middle ground between Linderbaum and the Ravens. He has been present for all but one practice during Baltimore’s OTAs, indicating that he has no intention of holding out (or in) this year as the team works on a new contract.

Bengals Release LB Germaine Pratt

June 9th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

As expected, Germaine Pratt will not be with the Bengals in 2025. The veteran linebacker will be released today, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. The team has since confirmed the move.

Throughout the offseason, signs have pointed to a parting of ways in this case. Pratt has loomed as a release candidate for months, and today’s move will allow him to hit the open market ahead of training camp. The 29-year-old requested a trade in February, but no agreement was worked out with an interested team. Now, the sides will move on after six years together.

One season remained on Pratt’s contract, but none of his scheduled base salary was guaranteed. Instead of keeping the former third-rounder in place at a cap hit of $8.18MM, the Bengals will take the financial benefits of this move. Cutting Pratt after June 1 will generate $5.85MM in savings while incurring a dead money charge of $2.33MM.

Since the start of last month, a release has been seen as an inevitability. Cincinnati will continue to rely heavily on Logan Wilson as a productive contributor at the second level of the defense in 2025. That marks the first season with Al Golden in place as defensive coordinator, and he will have a pair of rookies in place at the linebacker spot. Second-rounder Demetrius Knight Jr. is in position to replace Pratt as a starter.

Golden’s predecessor, Lou Anarumo, now finds himself in charge of the Colts’ defense. To little surprise, Sports Illustrated’s Jay Morrison notes Indianapolis is a logical landing spot for Pratt. The team lost E.J. Speed in free agency, and with more than $20MM in cap space a low-cost Pratt signing aimed at inserting him into the starting lineup should not be a challenge.

After taking on a first-team role midway through his rookie campaign, Pratt remained a mainstay on defense through the remainder of his Bengals career. The NC State product has increased his tackle total every year, and he hit double-digits in that respect over each of the past two campaigns. With seven interceptions and 23 pass deflections to his name, production against the pass will also be expected once he lands with a new team.

The Bengals entered Monday mid-pack in the NFL in terms of cap space, but once the Pratt move is processed they will have additional funds available. It will be interesting to see if a linebacker addition winds up being made from outside the organization or if Cincinnati’s in-house options will be relied on to fill the vacancy.

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/9/25

June 9th, 2025 at 9:24pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest minor moves from around the league:

Cleveland Browns

New Orleans Saints

Barton started two games at right tackle for the Cardinals in 2024, but ended the season on injured reserve. He will join a crowded OT room in Cleveland with Dawand Jones and Jack Conklin as the expected starters at left and right tackle, respectively.

C Elgton Jenkins Reports To Minicamp

June 9th, 2025 at 8:45pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Just as one Pro Bowler is leaving Green Bay, another has arrived. Packers offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins has reported to mandatory minicamp after skipping OTAs amid a contract dispute, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

“It seems unlikely he’ll practice this week,” added Pelissero, which could simply mean that Jenkins needs a little more time to get in shape, or that he’s planning to stage a ‘hold-in’ as he seeks a contract adjustment.

The Packers are moving Jenkins from guard to center this year, which could threaten his financial future in multiple ways. Centers are typically paid less than guards, making it no guarantee that the Packers will keep him for the $20MM in cash and $24.8MM cap hit in 2026 (via OverTheCap).

Furthermore, whether or not Jenkins hits free agency next offseason or in 2027 when his contract expires, he could have a smaller market if he’s only seen as a center. Still, it’s worth noting that Jenkins has lined up at all five offensive line positions in his career and would likely draw robust interest as a guard if he ever reached the open market.

The Packers’ release of Jaire Alexander may have clarified their financial future enough to come to an agreement with Jenkins. His specific desires – whether they be an extension, a raise, and/or increased guarantees – remain unknown. The guard market has crossed $20MM per year since Jenkins signed his current deal in 2023, and none of the remaining $32.3MM is guaranteed.

Jacob Monk and Sean Rhyan both spent time at center during Jenkins’ absence during OTAs and will likely do the same at the Packers’ minicamp this week.

Jaire Alexander’s Contract Impeded Packers’ Trade Attempts

June 9th, 2025 at 7:36pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Packers tried to trade veteran cornerback Jaire Alexander on multiple occasions before his release earlier today, but his contract proved to be a significant barrier in completing a deal.

The Packers even reached an agreement with an unknown team on trade compensation, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, but that team did not want to absorb Alexander’s 2025 salary. He was set to earn a total of $17.5MM this season, per OverTheCap, and refused to take a pay cut to facilitate a deal, as reported by Silverstein and confirmed by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Alexander also rejected a revised contract to stay in Green Bay that would have reduced his 2025 salary and made him a free agent after the season, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. That deal would have given Alexander the opportunity to earn back some of the money via incentives, but it also lopped off the final year of his contract that was worth $19.5MM.

The two-time Pro Bowler has been worth that kind of money when healthy, but he has struggled with a variety of injuries throughout his career with a particularly tough spell across the last four years. Since 2021, Alexander has played in just 34 of the Packers’ 68 regular-season contests, including just seven in each of the last two seasons. He underwent season-ending knee surgery

Packers outgoing team president Mark Murphy said (via WBAY’s Dave Schroeder) that Alexander “has been a great player for us,” but acknowledged that his injury history played a major factor in his release.

“Unfortunately, that’s a big part of the game,” added Murphy, who expressed confidence in the Packers’ secondary without Alexander.

“We’ve been used to it,” Murphy said, specifically mentioning former UDFA Keisean Nixon as a cornerback who could step up. Nixon spent the first three years of his career as a reserve with the Raiders, but he signed with Green Bay in 2022 and started 28 games over the last two years amid Alexander’s absences. He also earned first-team All-Pro nods in 2022 and 2023 as the league’s leading kick returner.

As for Alexander, he is expected to have a market for a one-year deal, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. His injury history may limit the base value of a new contract, but he should receive significant upside if he can stay healthy and hit playtime incentives.

Texans Officially Sign RB Nick Chubb

June 9th, 2025 at 5:17pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Texans’ Nick Chubb agreement is now finalized. The parties agreed to terms, with a passed physical greenlighting a one-year deal with a base value of $2.5MM (per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport).

Chubb’s contract can reach a maximum value of $5MM with incentives, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, but it remains a far cry from the three-year, $36.6MM deal he signed with the Browns in 2021.

The four-time Pro Bowler took a significant pay cut to remain in Cleveland last year after his season-ending ACL tear in September 2023. (Chubb played for $2.28MM in 2024.) He returned to the field a little over a year after his ACL injury but was not the same prolific runner, posting a career-low 3.3 yards per carry in eight games before ending the season on injured reserve due to a broken foot.

Health will no doubt be a factor in Chubb’s ability to compete for touches in Houston, both for him and the rest of the Texans’ backfield. Joe Mixon ranked ninth in the NFL with 72.6 rushing yards per game in 2024, but missed three games due to injury. His backup, Dameon Pierce, was sidelined for the same three weeks, plus three more, and finished the season with just 111 offensive snaps. Pierce was efficient when healthy; even discounting his season-long of 92 yards, he averaged 5.15 yards across his 39 regular-season carries. No other Texans running back had more than 40 attempts or 150 rushing yards on the year.

Chubb passed his physical on Monday, but his ability to return to his pre-injury form remains to be seen. It’s not surprising that the 29-year-old struggled to hit the ground running last year, but he’ll be just shy of two years removed from his knee injury when the 2025 season starts. Provided that his foot is no longer an issue, Chubb will have plenty of time across the next three months to learn the Texans’ playbook and carve out a role in the offense.

That process will start at Houston’s mandatory minicamp this week.

Texans To Sign RB Nick Chubb

June 9th, 2025 at 4:10pm CST by Ely Allen

JUNE 9: Chubb passed his physical today, Russini reports. As a result, he is in position to suit up for the Texans in 2025.

JUNE 8: Shortly after reports that the Texans would be looking into the potential of signing veteran running back Nick Chubb, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Chubb is now expected to sign with the Texans on Monday, assuming everything goes well with a workout and physical.

We’ve seen two full NFL seasons come and go since we last saw Chubb at his best. Once a perennial Pro Bowler and a constant threat to rush for 1,500 yards and double-digit touchdowns, a serious knee injury that resulted in a torn MCL and damaged ACL has plagued Chubb in the past two seasons. The 29-year-old intends to not let it keep him down, though, and he has remained an attractive free agent option as a result.

The Texans are just three seasons removed from a year in which they had the worst rushing offense in the entire league and their top rusher had 427 yards. Before Joe Mixon rushed for 1,016 yards last year, the team hadn’t seen a 1,000-yard rusher since 2019. So even after a season of relative success, in which they had a Pro Bowl running back with over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns but still finished 15th in the league in rushing, Houston sees room for improvement.

Until this potential move, the team hadn’t touched the position in free agency, mostly because they didn’t lose anyone to free agency, but they did add Woody Marks in the draft. Marks, as a fifth-year transfer at USC, had a breakout season for the Trojans, rushing for 1,133 yards and nine touchdowns while showing a decent ability to catch out of the backfield. Perhaps the Texans believed Marks could compete to be an improved RB2 after Dameon Pierce rushed for only 117 yards before the team’s season finale which featured Mixon for only a single starting drive.

Additionally, some combination of Cam Akers, Dare Ogunbowale, J.J. Taylor, and British Brooks only added a combined 305 rushing yards and one touchdown. All this while sixth-round rookie Jawhar Jordan, out of Louisville, failed to make the initial roster and spent his rookie campaign on the practice squad.

So, ultimately, the potential of adding a veteran like Chubb to this sea of bodies has very little risk of hurting the team, while providing the potential that they can add a savvy, veteran rusher almost two full years removed from the serious injuries that sidelined him. Requiring a workout and physical will provide the team with the ability to walk away while also giving them significant information with which to inform the terms of a contract offer.

Expect a low-risk deal for the team with a potential for high rewards for Chubb should he reach certain benchmarks, if the two sides to put pen to paper tomorrow. This expectation is supported by a recent post by Dianna Russini of The Athletic, who reports that “Chubb received more lucrative offers from other teams but could sign a more incentive-laden contract to join (Mixon) in Houston.”

Texans To Promote James Liipfert, Chris Blanco To Assistant GM

June 9th, 2025 at 3:27pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Texans are the latest team to line up promotions with respect to upper management positions. James Liipfert and Chris Blanco will have new responsibilities in 2025.

Both of those executives are being promoted to assistant general manager, as first reported by Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. Liipfert began his front office career with the Patriots before being hired by the Texans as their director of college scouting. He and GM Nick Caserio worked together in New England, and today’s news confirms their partnership will continue in Houston.

After overseeing the Texans’ college scouting department, Liipfert took on the additional title of assistant director of personnel in 2022. The following offseason, he was promoted to executive director of player personnel. This latest move is an illustration of his success in his previous Houston positions, and an elevated role in the organization could put Liipfert on the general manager radar around the NFL.

Blanco began his time with the Texans as a pro scout. His time in that capacity was followed by a two-year stretch with the Vikings as their director of pro personnel in addition to assistant director of college scouting. When Blanco returned to the Texans’ front office in 2023, he took on the title of assistant director of player personnel. He too has seen his stock rise over the past two years, and added responsibilities will now be in play under Caserio.

The period after the draft often sees plenty of front office movement around the league. A number of teams have new front office setups in place, and the Texans are now among them as Caserio and Co. look to build off the success of the past two seasons.

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