Steelers Extend RB Jaylen Warren
Retained on an RFA tender this spring, Jaylen Warren has received a new commitment from the Steelers. The fourth-year running back received an extension on Monday, per an announcement from his agency. 
This new pact is two years in length, Warren’s agency announced. As a result, he is now under contract through 2027. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes the contract will pay out over $7MM this season and includes $12MM guaranteed. Colleague Mike Garafolo adds the total compensation owed across the next three years is nearly $17.5MM. A $5.95MM signing bonus is present in the pact, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The coming campaign will represent the first year Warren, 26, operates as Pittsburgh’s lead back after Najee Harris departed in free agency. Before the start of the season, the Steelers have made a notable investment. How he fares in an increased role will be critical to the team’s new-look offense.
Warren received the second-round RFA tender just before the start of free agency in a move which prevented him from testing the market. The tender is valued at $5.35MM, a notable step up from his previous earnings in the NFL. The details available so far on this pact demonstrate it is a strong sign Warren will be counted on as Pittsburgh’s RB1 beyond 2025.
The former UDFA flashed potential during his rookie season by averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Warren received 149 carries the following season and averaged 5.1 yards per attempt (a stark contrast to Harris’ efficiency). Pittsburgh declined Harris’ fifth-year option last offseason, an indication 2024 would be his final year with the team. That proved to be the case, with the former first-rounder joining the Chargers in March and the Steelers electing to move forward with Warren atop the depth chart. The Oklahoma State product has never handled a snap share higher than 49% to date, but that is likely to change this year.
Pittsburgh added Kenneth Gainwell in free agency before selecting Kaleb Johnson in the third round of the draft. Those two will handle complementary roles in 2025, with Gainwell being added on a one-year deal. Johnson could take on a larger workload over the course of his rookie contract, but today’s news means Warren will remain in place for most of that time. It will be interesting to see how the backfield workload gets split up over the coming months.
Warren’s ability as a receiver allowed him to amass 1,154 scrimmage yards in 2023. His production took a step back last year, a season in which he missed two games. After scoring just one touchdowns as a rookie and again in 2024, improvement in that capacity will be a target for team and player. Plenty of time remains for Warren to find the end zone with increased regularity though, as he will continue in the team’s offensive plans for the foreseeable future.
Bengals Sign DT Mike Pennel
Mike Pennel has a deal lined up in time for Week 1 shortly after becoming a free agent. The veteran defensive tackle is set to join the Bengals, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. 
This will be a practice squad arrangement, per Fowler. An elevation to the active roster could be in store in relatively short order, though. Pennel is a veteran of 125 appearances and 25 starts in the NFL. His Cincinnati signing is now official.
Pennel played on a one-year Chiefs pact in 2024, and he was retained by Kansas City in March on a contract of the same length. That appeared to set up the 34-year-old for a third consecutive Chiefs campaign during his second stint with the franchise. Pennel was among the team’s roster cuts last week, however.
Instead of remaining in place on Kansas City’s practice squad, the former UDFA will head to Cincinnati. The Bengals will be Pennel’s sixth career team, with his second Chiefs stint being preceded by time with the Packers, Jets, Falcons and Bears. Never a full-time starter on defense or a known presence in the pass rush department, he set a new career high with three sacks in 2024.
Pennel will look to carve out a role along the defensive interior whenever he finds himself on the active roster. The two-time Super Bowl winner is joining a group featuring returnee B.J. Hill, free agent signing T.J. Slaton and 2024 draftees Kris Jenkins and McKinnley Jackson. Cincinnati ranked 19th against the run last season, and improvement in that department will be a goal under new defensive coordinator Al Golden.
The Bengals entered Monday with roughly $17MM in cap space, more than enough afford what will be an inexpensive Pennel addition. It will be interesting to see how early he receives a gameday elevation or winds up being promoted to the active roster.
Chiefs, CB Trent McDuffie Will Not Reach Extension Agreement Before Week 1
Both guard Trey Smith and edge rusher George Karlaftis have finalized long-term Chiefs extensions this offseason. Cornerback Trent McDuffie has long been known to be high on the list of players next in line for a deal of their own. 
Talks on an extension for the 24-year-old have taken place through the summer, with the goal emerging of an agreement being reached in time for Week 1. With days remaining before Kansas City’s season begins on Friday, however, that will not be the case. ESPN’s Nate Taylor reports a deal is not expected in time for the Chiefs’ opening game.
“Moving forward now, really, it’s just about the season and about [Friday’s] game,” McDuffie said (via Taylor). “I’m not too worried about the contract. That can just happen in the [next] offseason. Let’s just go out there and have a great year.”
Extensions can of course be finalized during the campaign, but based on McDuffie’s comments that is unlikely in this case. Kansas City picked up his fifth-year option this spring, meaning a 2026 salary of $17.6MM is in store. A multi-year pact will cost much more on an annual basis, something illustrated by this year’s movement in the cornerback market. Jaycee Horn secured $25MM per year with the Panthers before Derek Stingley Jr. moved the bar to $30MM on his Texans extension. Most recently, the Jets have made Sauce Gardner the top earner at the position with an average of $30.1MM annually.
McDuffie will look to join the elites at the CB position whenever his second Chiefs contract is in hand. Kansas City does not have a long history of committing to corners on a lucrative deal in recent years. Charvarius Ward was allowed to depart in free agency in 2022, and last offseason saw the team place the franchise tag on L’Jarius Sneed before trading him. With two All-Pro nods (first-team in 2023, second-team in ’24) to his name already, McDuffie is an obvious candidate to be treated as an exception from an organizational standpoint.
As Taylor notes, conversations about an extension have taken place over the past six weeks. Since no agreement was reached during that time, however, attention will turn to the coming season. The Chiefs’ efforts to return to the Super Bowl will depend in large part on how McDuffie fares in leading a secondary which added Kristian Fulton in free agency. Another standout campaign would stand to raise the value of a new pact in McDuffie’s case when negotiations resume in the middle of the season or next spring.