Raiders QB Kirk Cousins Not Certain To Start In Week 1
The general consensus in Las Vegas has been that veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins will open the season as the team’s QB1. According to ESPN’s Ryan McFadden, new head coach Klint Kubiak claims he hasn’t made a decision on a starter yet and “that the answer will reveal itself during training camp.”
When the Raiders utilized their No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, it was with the intention that he would eventually become the organization’s next franchise quarterback. Knowing that it can be harmful to a prospect’s development if they are thrown into NFL competition too soon, the team brought Cousins in as an experienced, veteran option.
While Cousins’ experience and accomplishments provide a decent case for him to start on their own, his familiarity with Kubiak theoretically solidifies his status as the man to beat for the starting job on opening day. Cousins played for the Vikings from 2018-23, and in three of those seasons, he had Kubiak as a quarterbacks coach (2019-20) or offensive coordinator (2021), so the two have worked together before. As the Raiders implement Kubiak’s offense, Cousins’ knowledge can help make the transition smooth, in comparison to the rookie Heisman-winner who will be coming in with a blank slate.
But the season doesn’t start tomorrow, and there’s a lot that can happen between now and Week 1. Players and coaches alike have been very impressed with Mendoza in the early days. Left tackle Kolton Miller called the young passer “wired” and “a sponge, soaking in information and taking notes during team meetings.” Kubiak doubled down on that notion, saying, “Anything you put in front of him, he’s going to attack it. Anything new, he spends extra time on. You can tell he fixes things from one day to the next.”
At the moment, Cousins is the first quarterback on the field, former starter Aidan O’Connell is second, and Mendoza is third, but Kubiak hasn’t provided a timeline for when he’ll name the Week 1 starter, counting instead on the answer revealing itself in training camp. And, while Kubiak has a history with Cousins, he won’t be making the decision alone as Kubiak claims “he wants his players to decide who should be the starter.”
Packers Announce Promotions In Player Personnel Department
In the player personnel department of the Packers front office, the departure of former vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan for the general manager job in Miami left GM Brian Gutekunst without his No. 2. Addressing that concern, Green Bay announced a series of internal promotions throughout its player personnel department this week.
Filling the vice president of player personnel role left vacant by Sullivan will be Milt Hendrickson. Starting his NFL career as a training camp intern for the Packers in 2004, Hendrickson’s first full-time opportunity came in Baltimore, where he spent 14 years going from player personnel assistant to midwest area scout to mid-regional scout to national scout before finally making his way to Green Bay. He’s been with the Packers for the past eight years, working the last seven as director – football operations.
Formerly the co-director of player personnel, John Wojciechowski has been promoted into Hendrickson’s old role of director — football operations. Wojciechowski is in his 14th year with the Packers and his 31st in the NFL. He started as a player personnel assistant for the Steelers in 1996 and worked as a college scout in Jacksonville for five years and Dallas for nine more before ultimately landing in the same role for the Packers in 2012. He was promoted to director of pro personnel in 2017 before landing in his most recent role, which he held for the past eight years.
Richmond Williams will follow the same path as his predecessor, moving from his most recent role of director of pro personnel to director of player personnel. Williams is entering Year 19 in Green Bay. After serving as the team’s NFS scout covering the southwest region, Williams was named a college scout in 2012 and a pro scout in 2017, holding the latter role for only two years before reaching his most recent role before the promotion.
The chain of successive promotion broke up just a bit after that. According to the Packers, senior personnel executive Lee Gissendaner will add the title of director of pro scouting to his title. Matt Malaspina will also assume the title of senior player personnel executive after getting promoted from director of college scouting, and former assistant director of college scouting Pat Moore has been promoted to succeed Malaspina in the full director role.
Gissendaner has spent 25 non-consecutive years with the Packers, starting with the team in 1998 and taking a three-year sabbatical as a national scout with the Jets from 2015-17. He worked 14 years as an area scout before leaving for New York and was named a player personnel executive upon his return.
Malaspina has been with the team for nine years but is entering his 28th season of NFL experience. Starting with NFS in 1998, Malaspina worked with the Panthers for a year, Seahawks for five years, and 49ers for 12 years before landing in Green Bay and getting promoted to director of college scouting following a year as a college scout with the team. Moore held a series of collegiate coaching roles before turning to scouting with the Browns in 2013. He arrived as a college scout in Green Bay in 2018 before getting promoted to his most recent role in 2021.
Lastly, a trio of scouts earned promotions. Mike Owen, a former national scout in his 15th year with the team, was named assistant director of pro scouting, Sam Seale, in his 32nd season with the team, was promoted from national scout to senior national scout, and former college scout Luke Benuska was promoted to national scout in his 11th year in Green Bay.
Owen arrived in Green Bay in 2012 and held a role as a college scout for 13 years before getting promoted to national scout last year. Seale started as a college scout in 1995, became a west regional scout in 2012, and was named a national scout in 2018. Lastly, Benuska originally joined the Packers as a scouting intern in 2016, following recruiting work at his alma mater, TCU. He became a pro scout in 2017 before working the past eight seasons in the college scouting role.
Roger Goodell Claims ‘Tremendous Interest’ In Seattle Franchise
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is pushing back against the recent narrative of a “soft” market for the league’s most recent franchise for sale. After recent reports claimed that there has been less interest in the purchase opportunity for the Seahawks, Goodell has refuted that notion, telling the media that “there has been ‘tremendous interest‘ among prospective buyers,” per NFL insider Mark Maske.
Days before Seattle was set to play in — and ultimately win — Super Bowl LX, rumors emerged that, about four years after the death of former Seahawks owner and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, his sister, Jody Allen, was finally ready to sell the franchise. With the ownership shares kept in the late-Allen’s trust, his sister was tasked as the executor of his estate. After initially refusing to grant any veracity to the rumors as they focused on the big game ahead, the Estate announced the commencement of a formal sale process 10 days after the team won its second championship.
Early speculation on the sale focused on projected valuations that some tried to push even into 11-digit figures. With the Broncos selling for $4.65 billion in 2022 and the Commanders selling for $6.05 billion in 2023, consistent appreciation on par with that increase — ignoring any additional factors — would put the franchise’s potential value around $10.25 billion, well in range of the $9-11 billion initially speculated. The Browns also recently sold a three-percent ownership share in their franchise, and according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the transaction was established on a $9 billion valuation, far higher than projected valuations, which put Cleveland closer to $6-7 billion.
In order to reach the record dollar values the NFL is hoping Seattle can reach, there will likely need to be “tremendous interest” to spark a competitive market. Per Jones, though, only one bidder, former Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, has emerged as a potential buyer., though 49ers investor Vinod Khosia is reportedly on track to prepare a bid, as well. Early into the process, Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was also reported to be a name to look out for as a potential buyer. The longtime Microsoft CEO owns property in Seattle and a network of approximately $120 billion, but there were concerns that Ballmer was “really a hoops guy” that ultimately wouldn’t be interested in adding a football team to his portfolio.
At this point, it’s not expected that an individual buyer will emerge. More likely, it’s believed that the sale could function in a similar manner as did the sale in Washington. Commanders majority owner Josh Harris put together several limited partners to subsidize his bid. Jones adds that Harris’ purchase of the Commanders wasn’t even really for $6.05 billion, it was for up to $6.05 billion in a complex agreement that “included deferred payments vis ‘earnouts.'” The “earnouts” could end up holding about $200MM of value, which means that the ultimate sale value could end up truly being $5.85 billion, if the “earnouts” aren’t earned.
Goodell could be providing some new information, breaking an update on the changed nature of the sale, or he could just be trying to create the illusion of a crowded market where there is none. Regardless, as the NFL continues its efforts for record valuations and sales, the deal in Washington shows how creative bids can get in an effort to push the apparent value of a bid as high as the league may want it to go.
Vikings Notes: Adofo-Mensah, GM, Brandel
It looked like business as usual for the Vikings’ front office early in the winter. On the heels of a disappointing 9-8 campaign, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah met with the media on Jan. 13 to discuss the upcoming offseason. At the time, sources inside and outside the organization believed his job was safe, according to an ESPN report. But Vikings owners Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf were discussing Adofo-Mensah’s future behind the scenes, and they elected to fire him on Jan. 30.
Almost four full months since they moved on from Adofo-Mensah, the Vikings have not named a replacement. That was the plan all along, as they indicated upon firing Adofo-Mensah that a search would begin after the draft in late April.
Executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski led the Vikings’ front office through the most important parts of the offseason as their interim GM. He is now one of five finalists for Adofo-Mensah’s old job, joining outside assistant GMs Reed Burckhardt (Broncos), Terrance Gray (Bills), John McKay (Rams) and Nolan Teasley (Seahawks).
The Vikings are likely to hire someone within a “couple of weeks,” per The Athletic’s Alec Lewis, who leaves the door open for the team changing its power structure. That is something the Wilfs have been reluctant to do. If it happens, though, it may mean promoting Brzezinski to a president of football operations-type role and hiring, in Lewis’ words, a “personnel guy” to work under him. The Falcons did that earlier in the offseason when they created a president of football position for Matt Ryan and brought in Ian Cunningham as their GM.
If Minnesota takes a similar tack, it is worth pointing out Burckhardt and Gray are former Vikings employees who have past working experience with Brzezinski. That might give either a leg up if the plan is to keep Brzezinski, who has been in the Vikings’ front office since 1999. Sources believe Brzezinski will stick around in some capacity, Lewis reports.
Turning to on-field matters, Brzezinski and head coach Kevin O’Connell saw starting center Ryan Kelly retire before free agency began in early March. Kelly had another season left on his two-year, $18MM deal, but the longtime Colt walked away in the wake of a concussion-filled 2025. The Vikings considered addressing the position in free agency and the early rounds of the draft, Lewis notes, but nothing came together. The inactivity at center is a positive development for holdover Blake Brandel, who is the favorite to take over for Kelly.
A Viking since they selected him in the sixth round of the 2020 draft, the versatile Brandel has played all over the line and picked up 31 starts in 73 appearances. He hasn’t missed a game since 2022, but last year was the first time Brandel primarily lined up at center. With Kelly out for most of the season, Brandel made nine starts and finished as Pro Football Focus’ 23rd-ranked center among 37 qualifiers. The Vikings seem confident in Brandel’s chances of holding down center on a full-time basis. Otherwise, they would have done more than add Gavin Gerhardt, whom they drafted in the seventh round.
Dolphins S Dante Trader Jr. In Lead For Starting Job
Minkah Fitzpatrick, Ashtyn Davis and Ifeatu Melifonwu logged the most playing time among Dolphins safeties last year, but all three are now off the roster. The rebuilding Dolphins traded Fitzpatrick to the AFC East rival Jets a couple of days before the new league year began in March. Davis and Melifonwu hit free agency the same week, but both remain unsigned two-plus months later.
With Fitzpatrick, Davis and Melifonwu out the door, rookie head coach Jeff Hafley and defensive coordinator Sean Duggan have to find new regulars at the position. While training camp is still two months away, Dante Trader Jr. looks like the frontrunner for a starting job, according to Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald. Trader has taken “significant” snaps at OTAs and impressed in practice, per Kelly.
In what turned out to be his last draft as the Dolphins’ general manager, Chris Grier took Trader in the fifth round (No. 155) in 2025. The former Maryland Terrapin was fourth in the Dolphins’ safety pecking order in a three-start rookie season, but he got into all 17 games, combined for 681 snaps (419 on defense, 262 on special teams) and made 55 tackles.
Trader finished as Pro Football Focus’ 68th-ranked safety among 91 qualifiers, wedging him between Melifonwu (53rd) and Davis (82nd). As Kelly notes, a shoulder injury hampered Trader for a portion of his rookie campaign. That is no longer an issue, evidenced by Trader’s three-interception performance in a recent practice.
Previously the Packers’ defensive coordinator, Hafley turned to safeties Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams as full-time starters last season. There is far less certainty on the back end of Miami’s defense, but it looks as if Trader will seize a starting role. He is not competing against a particularly strong group of contenders.
The Dolphins’ other options include safety/linebacker Jordan Colbert and newcomers Lonnie Johnson Jr., Zayne Anderson, Omar Brown, Michael Taaffe and Louis Moore. Johnson, Anderson and Brown were all inexpensive free agent pickups. The Dolphins made an NFL-high 13 picks in last month’s draft, but they did not prioritize safety. Taaffe, a fifth-rounder, was their lone selection at the position. They added Moore as an undrafted free agent.
Chargers Announce Coaching Promotions
The Chargers announced a number of staff promotions this week, including coordinator titles for three senior coaches.
Defensive line coach Mike Elston has added defensive run game coordinator to his title, and defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale has taken on defensive passing game coordinator responsibilities. Both have been with Jim Harbaugh for at least four years having held similar roles at Michigan before coming to Los Angeles in 2024.
Clinkscale interviewed for the Chargers’ defensive coordinator job this offseason but was passed over for Chris O’Leary. His new title bump is somewhat of a consolation prize that could help him get attention for other teams’ DC vacancies next year, should he have such ambitions. Elston certainly does not. He revealed this week that he turned down an interview to replace outgoing DC Jesse Minter and prefers to remain a defensive line coach for the foreseeable future.
The Chargers gave quarterbacks coach Shane Day an offensive passing game coordinator role. He was considered for a promotion to offensive coordinator in Los Angeles was well as the same job on John Harbaugh‘s inaugural staff in New York. Day was a senior offensive assistant in Houston during C.J. Stroud‘s 2023 breakout season and oversaw Justin Herbert‘s career-best efficiency in 2024. Last year, of course, was greatly impacted by the team’s offensive line injuries, which dragged down Herbert’s numbers significantly.
The Chargers also promoted Mike Hiestand from defensive assistant to defensive run game specialist. He will continue his work with the team’s front seven in that role. Additionally, offensive assistant Josh Hammond is now Los Angeles’ assistant wide receivers/assistant special teams coach.
No Timeline For Steelers’ Broderick Jones
Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones is facing plenty of uncertainty as he enters the final season of his four-year rookie contract. While Jones was the Steelers’ starting left tackle for the first time in 2025, a neck injury ended his season in November and limited him to 11 games. The 6-foot-5, 311-pounder is now working back from spinal-fusion surgery, but he is unsure when he will return.
“They didn’t really give me a timeline,” Jones said (via Chris Harlan of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). “They’re just monitoring it day by day, and we go from there.”
Jones’ surgery has been a major part of an eventful offseason for the former first-rounder. The Steelers traded up to select Jones 14th overall in 2023, but they have not seen enough to commit to him for the long haul. The team declined his $19.07MM fifth-year option for 2027 in April, the same month it drafted yet another first-round offensive tackle.
The Steelers were so confident they were going to pick receiver Makai Lemon 21st overall that they called the ex-USC star before they were on the clock. But the Eagles suddenly swooped in for Lemon in a trade-up to No. 20, dashing the Steelers’ plans. Pittsburgh then pivoted to former Arizona State right tackle Max Iheanachor.
The Steelers took Iheanachor after deploying Jones as a starter for most of his first three seasons. He logged perfect attendance in his first two years and racked up 27 starts on the right side along the way. The Steelers lost left tackle Dan Moore Jr. to the Titans in free agency after 2024, and they decided to shift Jones to the blind side as his replacement. It wasn’t a seamless transition, as Pro Football Focus ranked Jones’ performance an unimpressive 66th among 84 tackles and charged him with six sacks allowed. That continued a disappointing trend for Jones, who has never cracked PFF’s top 60 in a season.
Along with Jones and Iheanachor, the Steelers have Troy Fautanu in the fold as another recent first-round tackle. Fautanu, the 20th pick in 2024, took over as the club’s starting right tackle last year. He was a standout left tackle during his college career at Washington, though, and has gotten work on that side this offseason. A full-time shift is “up in the air,” according to Fautanu, but if it happens, it could relegate Jones to a backup role. That would depend on whether the Steelers are confident Iheanachor (or Dylan Cook) can start in Week 1. At the latest, Iheanachor should emerge as a full-time starter by 2027. It’s fair to say Pittsburgh didn’t draft him in the first round to sit the bench for multiple years.
To Jones’ credit, he has welcomed Iheanachor with open arms.
“I’m down to help Max wherever he needs me,” Jones told Harlan. “Because at the end of the day, all of us got to be ready.”
In a best-case scenario, Jones will be ready for training camp. That would give him a chance to retain a starting gig in what may end up as his last season as a Steeler. If the soon-to-be 26-year-old wins a job on either side and performs well in the wake of a significant injury, he could earn a nice second contract in free agency next March.
Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers’ Incentives Based On Playing Time, Playoff Success
Aaron Rodgers‘ new contract with the Steelers includes $22MM in fully guaranteed money with an additional $3MM available via incentives and other bonuses, per
Rodgers is almost certainly going to receive his two roster bonuses, worth $250K each. The first is due on August 7 for being on the 90-man roster, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer; the second will be earned if he is on the roster for Week 1 of the regular season.
The rest of Rodgers’ potential earnings can come via a set of four incentives worth $625K apiece for winning playoff games. For all of them, he must have played at least 75% of Pittsburgh’s regular-season snaps. The first incentive is for winning a wild-card game or receiving a first-round bye and going up through the divisional, championship, and Super Bowl rounds of the playoffs. He must play 50% of the snaps in all of those games, with an obvious exception for a first-round bye.
The structure of Rodgers’ 2026 deal is very different than last year’s $13.65MM deal that included a $10MM signing bonus and almost $6MM in incentives. The 42-year-old did not receive any signing bonus this time around with his $22MM salary instead making up his guaranteed money.
In 2025, Rodgers’ incentives were based on playing at least 70% of the Steelers’ offensive snaps during the regular season with $500K available for making the postseason and escalating incentives for each playoff win. Another $1.5MM was available for winning the MVP, which would have been the fifth of his career.
Rodgers only hit the first incentive, which was considered ‘Likely To Be Earned’ and therefore counted against Pittsburgh’s salary cap in 2025. None of his incentives in 2026 are LTBE, so any that he earns will count against the 2026 cap.
Examining Fallout From Matthew Stafford’s Fourth NFL Extension
For a third straight offseason, the Rams have adjusted Matthew Stafford's contract. Unlike the past two years, the latest move represents a full-on extension rather than a rework. The 2024 and '25 changes provided some extra security for Stafford, but this one-year, $55MM pact will set him apart in NFL contract history.
The reigning NFL MVP is no longer in a contract year, and he has now become the rare player to sign four extensions (two with the Lions, two as a Ram). This was a long-expected conclusion, though the new timeline will create some questions. Once viewed as a player Los Angeles was open to trading -- after a concerning 2022 season -- Stafford boosted his leverage with strong mid-2020s showings. A year after the Rams balked at authorizing a $50MM-per-year contract, Stafford secured one -- albeit a deal structured differently than any other in this NFL salary bracket.
Several short- and long-term components are part of this negotiating endpoint, one that provides the first construction of the Rams' Ty Simpson onramp.
Stafford breaks new contractual ground
The NFL has now seen 14 $50MM-per-year contracts designed (15 if Patrick Mahomes' 2023 rework is included). Multiple facets separate Stafford from the pack. All but three of those contracts covered at least five years in length. Dak Prescott, armed with historic leverage, managed a four-year extension in 2024. That came two years after the Packers started the $50MM-per-year club with a three-year Aaron Rodgers extension. The Texans just gave Will Anderson Jr. a three-year, $150MM pact to make the edge rusher the first non-QB in this exclusive contingent. None of the previous $50MM-AAV players even scored a two-year deal.
Jacoby Brissett, Cardinals Far Apart In Contract Talks
The Cardinals signed Gardner Minshew and drafted Carson Beck in the third round, but the team still views Jacoby Brissett as its starter. Contract negotiations are ongoing, but they aren’t in a great place.
Brissett and the Cardinals are “significantly” apart on terms as the sides discuss a reworked deal, ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss reports. Brissett, Arizona’s primary 2025 starter, is tied to a two-year deal worth $12.5MM. Just $1.5MM guaranteed remains on that pact, however. That number trails projected backup Minshew’s $5.14MM guarantee at signing.
As Cardinals OTAs began this week, Brissett has been absent with negotiations ongoing. The journeyman passer has been seeking a starter-level extension. While Brissett is tied to backup money — after he signed to be the 2025 Cards’ QB2 behind Kyler Murray — Arizona is in a clear transitional phase. Brissett is prepared to miss more OTA time during these talks, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler.
The Cardinals will likely be connected to the 2027 quarterback class in the near future, and Brissett and Minshew are in place as bridges. The Beck pick is unlikely to stop the Cardinals from a high-stakes QB research project before the 2027 draft, but it stands to reason Mike LaFleur‘s team will want to see the Miami prospect in action as a rookie to gather more information.
Trading either Brissett or Minshew before the deadline would make sense, as the Cardinals may not need two veteran bridge options this season. As PFR’s Ely Allen noted recently, Beck was viewed by some evaluators as this draft class’ most pro-ready QB prospect. He will turn 25 before season’s end. With Minshew signing with the Cardinals after LaFleur’s hire, Brissett could well become the team’s preferred trade chip. But tepid interest has emerged thus far.
Brissett, 33, has not been tied to a deal worth more than $8MM per year since his Colts tenure ended in 2021. He has since played for five teams, with the Cardinals the only club authorizing a two-year pact in that span. Brissett played with the Colts from 2017-20, yoyoing between the starter and backup levels, but stopped through Miami, Cleveland, Washington and New England between 2021-24. He started 12 games last year, after Murray went down with an injury, and went 1-11 in those starts. Brissett did sport a 23:8 TD-INT ratio and finish with a career-best 64.9% completion rate, and his camp will surely emphasize these points in this renegotiation.
For now, the Cardinals have Minshew and Beck taking reps in the voluntary portion of their offseason program. While Arizona OTAs will continue past this week, the next notable chapter here may be mandatory minicamp in June. Brissett may be costing himself by not taking reps in LaFleur’s offense before that point, but for the time being, he is viewed as the Cardinals’ starter. Team and player, however, have differing views on how much that should cost in 2026.