Bears To Re-Sign QB Case Keenum
Case Keenum will indeed remain in place with the Bears next season, but he will not do so as a coach. The veteran quarterback has agreed to a new contract.
Keenum is set to re-sign on a two-year deal with a base value of $5.5MM, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The pact can max out at $8MM. Keenum could of course still be a coaching candidate in the future, but for now his playing days will continue.
More to come…
Cowboys To Sign S Jalen Thompson
Jalen Thompson emerged as a name to watch regarding the Cowboys on Monday. The veteran safety is indeed heading to Dallas.
ESPN’s Todd Archer recently reported the Cowboys were in contact with Thompson. A deal has now been struck, according to Ian Rapoport and Jane Slater of NFL Network. This will be a three-year contract worth up to $36MM.
More to come…
Bengals To Sign DE Boye Mafe
The Bengals are adding former Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe, agent Mike McCartney announced. Mafe will sign a three-year, $60MM contract, insider Jordan Schultz relays.
Cincinnati’s pass rush took a hit when defensive end Joseph Ossai agreed to sign with the Jets on Monday. The Bengals are also expected to lose their best D-end, Trey Hendrickson, to free agency. At least one outside pass-rushing addition became a necessity for the Bengals, whose defense was among the NFL’s worst in 2025. The unit ranked 26th in sacks, 30th in scoring and 31st in total defense.
Mafe has not posted Hendrickson-like production (few have), but he should at least serve as a credible Ossai replacement. The four-year veteran has 20 career sacks over 65 games (34 starts). In 2023, Mafe’s most productive year, he worked as a full-time starter and tallied 52 tackles, 16 QB hits, nine sacks, nine TFL and six passes defensed in 16 contests.
Mafe notched another 12 QB hits and six sacks during a 15-game, 11-start 2024, but the 27-year-old took on a lesser role for the Super Bowl champions last season. The former second-rounder from Minnesota came off the bench in 13 of 17 games and logged a 50% defensive snap share. Mafe could only muster four QB hits and a pair of sacks, but he nonetheless entered free agency with plenty of earning potential. He will indeed rake in a substantial raise in moving from Seattle to Cincinnati.
Mafe’s exit is the latest blow to the Seahawks’ roster on the first day of the league’s free agent negotiating period. They previously lost running back/Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III to the Chiefs and safety Coby Bryant to the Bears.
Packers To Release OL Elgton Jenkins
In a move which comes as little surprise at this point, the Packers are parting ways with Elgton Jenkins. The veteran offensive lineman is being released, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
More to come…
Lions To Sign OL Larry Borom
Having already agreed to terms with center Cade Mays, the Lions have lined up another offensive line addition. Larry Borom has worked out a Detroit deal, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network report.
More to come…
Commanders To Re-Sign Marcus Mariota
The Commanders will once again have stability at the quarterback spot in 2026. Marcus Mariota has agreed to another new Washington deal.
The veteran quarterback is set to re-sign on a one-year deal, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. This latest Mariota contract has a base value of $7MM and can top out at $11MM via incentives. Mariota has been with the Commanders since Jayden Daniels‘ rookie season (2024), and the two will continue to work together.
More to come…
Titans To Sign CB Alontae Taylor
The Titans’ spending spree continues. Alontae Taylor is the latest free agent to line up a deal with Tennessee as the team’s overhaul is in full force.
The parties have agreed to a deal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This pact will be worth $60MM over three years, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network adds. Taylor will cash in following his rookie contract stint in New Orleans, with Rapoport adding he will collect $42MM in full guarantees.
Experienced as both a slot and perimeter corner, Taylor may command the top CB salary on this year’s market. Ranked 12th overall in PFR’s top 50 (first among corners), Taylor has a skillset that will allow Saleh options in coverage. The former second-round pick has more than 1,500 snaps inside and outside.
Taylor becomes the NFL’s 10th $20MM-per-year cornerback. The Titans still have L’Jarius Sneed tied to a $19.1MM-per-year contract. While other former Chiefs starters have justified their second-contract costs — the Rams are betting big on this having added Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson — Sneed has struggled to stay healthy and was embroiled in a legal situation during his time in Nashville. The Titans are likely to cut the underwhelming trade acquisition, veteran reporter Paul Kuharsky notes.
As Nikhil Mehta’s Titans Offseason Outlook detailed, Sneed will see $7.5MM of his 2026 salary shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 5 of the 2026 league year. That March 16 date will be tied to a physical, per Kuharsky, who notes Sneed being cleared would allow the Titans to cut him without that injury guarantee kicking in. The Titans would save $13.43MM if Sneed’s injury issue is resolved and he is released.
The Saints attempted to extend Taylor, but it became clear this week he would depart in free agency. New Orleans sought a Day 2 pick for Taylor in a trade, and the Bears and Colts pursued. Indianapolis then came in with a two-first-rounder offer for Sauce Gardner. Taylor, 27, finished out his contract year with the Saints — unlike Rashid Shaheed, who was moved at the deadline — and will be positioned as the Titans’ No. 1 corner. Barring a pay cut, Sneed will be out of the picture. Tennessee will still have work to do here.
New Orleans has now lost two homegrown options — Taylor and Paulson Adebo — to big-ticket contracts in back-to-back free agencies. The Giants gave Adebo a three-year, $54MM deal. A few corners landed those terms in 2025, but with the cap rising past $300MM this year, Taylor will outdo that lot and reside between the top tier and the cadre of ’25 market beneficiaries.
Seahawks To Re-Sign CB Josh Jobe
Losing Coby Bryant to the Bears during today’s frenzied transaction spree, the Seahawks also have Riq Woolen unattached from their Super Bowl secondary. Seattle is, however, bringing back one member of its DB cadre.
Josh Jobe is re-signing with the Seahawks on a three-year, $24MM deal, veteran insider Jordan Schultz tweets. Jobe became a regular starter for Seattle last season and, unlike Woolen, was acquired during Mike Macdonald‘s HC stay.
In PFR’s Seahawks Offseason Outlook, I mentioned Jobe as the most likely DB to stay due largely to his arrival under Macdonald. The former Eagles draftee landed in Seattle as a practice squad player in August 2024, and the Seahawks developed him into a starter. Jobe started 15 games last season, which turned out to be a breakthrough year for the corner’s value.
PFR’s No. 40-ranked free agent, Jobe logged career-high 818 defensive snaps (and starting more games than Woolen – 15-7). He allowed a measly 49.5% completion rate as the closest defender last season. Among boundary corners with at least eight starts, that ranked ninth leaguewide. Jobe, 27, only has two career INTs but closed last season with 12 passes defensed while making key contributions during Seattle’s Super Bowl run.
Woolen landed in trade rumors before last year’s deadline, potentially pointing to Seahawks confidence they could retain Jobe. While cap space wasn’t an issue for the reining champs entering free agency, big-ticket extensions are likely coming for Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Seahawks let Kenneth Walker defect to the Chiefs, who authorized more than $14MM per year for the Super Bowl LX MVP. Jobe represents a midlevel CB investment, but he will be expected to complement Witherspoon and a to-be-determined third corner next season.
Bengals, S Bryan Cook Agree To Deal
The Bengals have lined up a notable defensive addition early in free agency. Bryan Cook is set to join Cincinnati in 2026.
Team and player have agreed to a three-year deal, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo. Cook is set to receive $40.25MM on this new pact. That includes $18MM this season.
More to come…
Chargers To Sign TE Charlie Kolar
After playing out his rookie contract in Baltimore, Charlie Kolar has secured a major raise on his next deal. A notable agreement with the Chargers has been worked out.
Team and player agreed to terms on a three-year contract Monday, Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network report. This $24.3MM pact will include $17MM guaranteed, per the report. That will make Kolar the NFL’s highest-paid blocking tight end.
More to come…