Seahawks To Re-Sign WR Rashid Shaheed
Rashid Shaheed is sticking in Seattle. The midseason acquisition is re-signing with the Seahawks, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The speedy receiver is signing a three-year, $51MM deal, per Schefter. The contract includes $34.7MM in guaranteed money.
The Seahawks acquired Shaheed from the Saints ahead of the trade deadline, sending New Orleans fourth- and fifth-round picks. The veteran’s offensive production dropped a bit following the trade; Shaheed’s 20.9-yards-per-game would have represented a career-low. He ultimately hauled in 15 catches for 188 yards in his nine games with the Seahawks, adding to the 44 catches, 499 yards, and two touchdowns he compiled with the Saints.
Of course, Shaheed continued to be a dynamic special teamer for his new squad. The 27-year-old had a punt return touchdown and kick return touchdown during his short regular-season stint in Seattle. His 16.2 yards per punt return and 29.9 yards per kick return were both career-high marks.
Shaheed carried his returning prowess into the postseason. He returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown in Seattle’s Divisional Round win over the 49ers, and he paced the NFL with 41.8 yards per kick return during the playoffs. He continued to have a relatively limited role on offense, however, as he finished the team’s three-game run to a championship with three catches for 78 yards.
A 2022 UDFA out of Weber State, Shaheed emerged as one of the NFL’s most dynamic returners during his time in New Orleans. He returned three punts for touchdowns during his stint with the Saints, plus another kickoff touchdown. He also had some flashes on offense, including a 2023 campaign when he finished with 46 catches for 719 yards and five touchdowns.
With Shaheed under contract, the Seahawks are set to return much of their same receivers corps in 2026. Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba will continue leading the position, leaving Shaheed to compete with the likes of Cooper Kupp and Tory Horton for leftover targets.
Panthers To Sign QB Kenny Pickett
Kenny Pickett is once again on the move. The quarterback is joining the Panthers via a one-year contract, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The pact is worth up to $7.5MM, per Schefter. The deal also includes $4MM in guaranteed money.
Pickett was the 20th overall pick in the 2022 draft, but he is already joining his fifth team four years later. The former Pitt Panther began his career as the Steelers’ primary starter from 2022-23. Across 24 starts, Pickett mustered an underwhelming 13 touchdowns against 13 interceptions.
After Pickett failed to establish himself as the Steelers’ solution under center, they brought in Russell Wilson as a replacement in the spring of 2024. The Steelers then traded Pickett and the 120th pick in that year’s draft to the Eagles for the 98th selection and a seventh-round choice in 2025. With Jalen Hurts entrenched as the Eagles’ starter, Pickett unsurprisingly saw little action during a Super Bowl-winning season for the club.
Pickett wound up on the move twice more before the start of the 2025 campaign. The Eagles traded Pickett to the Browns for fellow signal-caller Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-rounder last March. Expectations were that Pickett would compete for the Browns’ starting gig, but a training camp hamstring injury took a sledgehammer to his chances. Joe Flacco won the job, while rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders rounded out the depth chart behind him.
When Cleveland settled on its Flacco-Gabriel-Sanders depth chart last August, it dealt Pickett to Las Vegas for a fifth-rounder. Although Geno Smith struggled during a dreadful season for the Raiders, he still started 15 games. Pickett filled in for an injured Smith twice and finished the year 28 of 45 for 188 yards, a touchdown and two picks.
Coming off an NFC South-winning season in 2025, the Panthers are sticking with Bryce Young as their starting QB. But it appears Pickett will have a chance to steal the No. 2 role away from 38-year-old Andy Dalton. General manager Dan Morgan said last month that the Panthers “want to get a little younger and a little more athletic at that backup quarterback spot.” Pickett, 27, may be their answer.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.
Giants To Re-Sign WR Isaiah Hodgins
After losing Wan’Dale Robinson via free agency earlier today, the Giants are retaining another one of their free agent wideouts. According to Jordan Schultz, the Giants are re-signing wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins.
Hodgins will be sticking in New York via a one-year deal, according to Schultz. The wideout will now continue his second stint with the organization for at least another year.
Hodgins started the 2025 campaign on the Steelers practice squad, but he was signed to the Giants active roster in November. He ended up getting into seven games (five starts) for New York, hauling in 10 of his 19 targets for 115 yards and one touchdown. In those seven games, Hodgins got into more than 75 percent of his team’s offensive snaps.
A former sixth-round pick by the Bills, Hodgins made a name for himself once he joined the Giants via waivers in 2022. He caught touchdowns in four of the team’s final five games that season, with the receiver ultimately finishing with 351 yards in eight games. He also showed up in the playoffs, when he hauled in 105 receiving yards and a touchdown on eight catches in a Giants win over the Vikings.
Hodgins got a full season in New York in 2023, when he finished with 21 catches for 230 yards and a pair of scores. He was waived after the 2024 preseason and spent most of that season on New York’s practice squad. He later inked a futures deal with the 49ers, and he eventually joined the Steelers practice squad prior to his second stint with the Giants.
The 27-year-old will likely continuing serving in a back-of-the-depth-chart role for the Giants in 2026. Malik Nabers will lead the grouping when he’s healthy enough to play, and Darius Slayton will continue to command targets. The team will surely continue adding to the position throughout the offseason, but Hodgins is currently set to compete with the likes of Gunner Olszewski, Xavier Gipson, Jalin Hyatt, and Ryan Miller for reps.
Raiders, LB Nakobe Dean Agree To Deal
The Raiders‘ spending spree continues with a linebacker addition. With Las Vegas needing to retool at this position, Nakobe Dean will be asked to be a core performer.
Dean is joining the Raiders on a three-year deal worth $36MM, veteran insider Jordan Schultz tweets. Despite injuries hampering him regularly in Philly, the former third-round pick will score a $12MM AAV. Though, guarantees will be particularly notable on this pact.
Vegas is loading up at linebacker, with Dean being the B-side addition. The team just agreed to terms with Quay Walker as well. This has been a busy day for the AFC West team, which headlined its work with a record-obliterating Tyler Linderbaum contract.
Entering today with more than $120MM in cap space, the Raiders have joined the Titans on a spending spree. The team had no notable holdovers at linebacker, and the Walker-Dean tandem looks set to be the next options under Klint Kubiak. The Cowboys were believed to be eyeing Dean to follow new DC Christian Parker from Philly, but the Raiders had the cap space to outmuscle anyone today. They’re throwing weight around.
Dallas did make a strong push for Dean, according to NFL.com’s Jane Slater. Dean was believed to be on the fence here, with Slater indicating the Cowboys made a good offer. Neither Texas nor Nevada carry a state income tax, but Dean decided to go with the rebuilding Raiders rather than working under Parker — Philly’s DBs coach last season — in Dallas.
Dean essentially redshirted his rookie year, seeing Kyzir White and T.J. Edwards start for the Eagles’ Super Bowl LVII team. Philly gave Dean a starting job in 2023, but foot trouble limited him to five games. A resurgence in 2024 helped the Eagles to the NFC East title and the conference’s No. 2 seed, but a patellar tendon tear in the wild-card round brought another setback. Dean did not debut until Week 6 of this past season, making it a bit surprising the Raiders are signing off on a $12MM-per-year deal.
The Raiders, who lost Robert Spillane in free agency last year, have Devin White, Elandon Roberts and Jamal Adams unsigned. Despite promoting from within at DC (Rob Leonard), Las Vegas is importing some bigger names at LB this offseason.
Raiders To Sign LB Quay Walker
The Raiders are making a major addition to the middle of their defense. They have agreed to a deal with linebacker Quay Walker, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network report. Walker will sign a four-year, $40.5MM contract with $28MM in guarantees, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The Cowboys were among the teams in the mix for Walker before he reached an agreement with the Raiders, Todd Archer of ESPN relays. Walker had a Zoom meeting with the Cowboys on Monday, but they could not fend off the Raiders for the 25-year-old.
Walker, the 22nd pick in the 2022 draft, served as a full-time starter in Green Bay throughout his four-year run there. The former Georgia Bulldog opened his career with three straight 100-tackle seasons, during which he combined for 6.5 sacks. The Packers still declined Walker’s fifth-year option for 2026 last spring, though it did not come as a surprise. The league controversially groups middle and outside LBs together for valuation purposes. Teams typically turn down the option for middle linebackers, as the Jaguars (Devin Lloyd) also did last year.
Playing what proved to be his last Packers season in 2025, Walker collected a career-high 128 tackles in 14 games. He added eight TFL, a personal-best seven QB hits, five passes defensed and 2.5 sacks. Despite quality production, Pro Football Focus took a harsh view of Walker’s 2025 in ranking his performance 76th among 88 qualifiers at his position.
In heading to Las Vegas, Walker will reunite with former Georgia teammate Nakobe Dean. After spending his first four seasons in Philadelphia, Dean agreed to a three-year, $36MM pact with the Raiders on Monday. Walker and Dean starred in college as part of Georgia’s linebacker corps, especially during a national title-winning campaign in 2021. They will reunite in a remade Raiders LB group. Devin White, Elandon Roberts and Jamal Adams were Las Vegas’ top LBs last year, but all three are now unsigned.
While the Raiders traded superstar pass rusher Maxx Crosby to the Ravens last week, they have since made several noteworthy investments to improve a roster that finished last in 2025. Before bringing in Walker and Dean, the Raiders acquired nickel cornerback Taron Johnson from the Bills, re-signed corner Eric Stokes, and reached free agent agreements with center Tyler Linderbaum, defensive end Kwity Paye and receiver Jalen Nailor.
Saints To Sign TE Noah Fant
The Saints are signing free agent tight end Noah Fant to a two-year deal, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. After stints with the Broncos, Seahawks, and Bengals, the 2019 first-round pick will join his fourth team in New Orleans.
Fant, 20, appeared in 15 games in 2025 as Cincinnati’s No. 2 tight end behind Mike Gesicki. He finished the year with 34 catches for 288 yards and three touchdowns in 15 games, the lowest production of his career. With it, though, came improved run-blocking relative to the rest of his career. He received a 58.9 grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required), his second-highest in seven years behind a career-best 59.6 grade in 2023.
That element of Fant’s game will be crucial to his ability to extend his career since he has never broken through as a high-end pass-catcher. In New Orleans, he will operate alongside Juwan Johnson, who ranked third among NFL tight ends in 2025 with 889 receiving yards. The Saints used Foster Moreau and Jack Stoll as their blocking tight ends, but Fant will bring more receiving upside to that role.
First drafted by the Broncos in 2019, Fant never lived up to his billing as an elite receiving threat. He put up solid numbers in his first three years in Denver and could very well have been on his way to more if not for the Russell Wilson trade. Fant went to Seattle in the deal, and he languished in a Seahawks offense that did not prioritize its tight ends. Johnson ate up almost all of the Saints’ targets at the position in 2025, but Fant might be more capable of taking advantage of mismatches in the passing game than his predecessors.
Chargers To Re-Sign OL Trevor Penning
The Chargers are re-signing offensive lineman Trevor Penning, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. It’s a one-year, $4.5MM agreement.
The Saints spent the 19th pick in 2022 on Penning, though the former Northern Iowa standout has not lived up to his draft slot. After a mediocre first three seasons divided between the tackle positions, the Saints declined Penning’s fifth-year option last spring. New Orleans then shifted Penning to left guard, but turf toe kept him out of its first three games last season.
Once Penning returned to health, he started six straight games before the Saints sent him to the Chargers for a 2027 sixth-rounder at last November’s trade deadline. The Chargers, then dealing with a rash of injuries up front, were in dire need of depth. Penning wound up totaling 193 offensive snaps with the Chargers down the stretch. The plurality of the 26-year-old’s work came at right guard (90 snaps), but he also saw action as an in-line tight end (50) and at left tackle (47).
The Chargers went all of last season without injured left tackle Rashawn Slater and most of it without right tackle Joe Alt. Those two cornerstones should be at full strength next year, but Penning could provide depth behind them. He also may be in the mix for playing time at guard, where the Chargers have lost both starters from last season. The team released Mekhi Becton, and free agent Zion Johnson agreed to a three-year, $49.5MM contract with the Browns on Monday.
Broncos To Release LB Dre Greenlaw
Agreeing to terms to bring back Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad, the Broncos are bailing on their other primary 2025 linebacker. Dre Greenlaw is out after one season, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.
Greenlaw was due to see a $2MM salary guarantee this week. The Broncos will not pay that and will instead move on from the increasingly injury-prone talent. Because of Greenlaw’s Super Bowl LVIII Achilles tear and the ensuing near-season-long absence in 2024, the Broncos were able to sign him by guaranteeing one year of a three-year contract. Denver will use the escape hatch in the deal.
Before training camp, Greenlaw suffered a quad injury. He then sustained a separate quad injury during camp, leading to an IR placement to start the season. The former Fred Warner San Francisco sidekick then sustained a hamstring injury in December, costing him time to close the regular season. While Greenlaw returned for the playoffs, he played just eight regular-season games — losing another due to a suspension — during his time as a Bronco.
Formerly one of the NFL’s best linebackers, Greenlaw has seen his stock fall since that seminal Achilles tear. While that made a significant difference in the 49ers’ defensive plan against the Chiefs in an overtime loss, Greenlaw played only a few dozen snaps in 2024. The 49ers still out-offered the Broncos — though, it was never specified if that meant in total compensation, AAV or guarantees — for Greenlaw after an 11th-hour push in 2025, but Denver won out. But the payoff did not come.
Denver will save just more than $6MM by releasing Greenlaw, who played his age-28 season in Colorado. Even though Greenlaw’s three-year, $31.5MM deal did not pan out, he should have a chance to bounce back. Though, the former 49ers fifth-rounder’s injury issues may bring a one-year “prove it” deal at this point.
In retaining Singleton and Strnad, the Broncos will be going with two 30-something starters at linebacker. Singleton is 32, while Strnad will turn 30 this year. It would not surprise to see the defending AFC West champs add a piece early in the draft. For now, though, a Singleton-Strnad duo is in place.
Broncos To Re-Sign LB Alex Singleton
The Broncos will retain another member of their linebacking group ahead of the new league year. Alex Singleton has agreed to a two-year, $15.5MM pact, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports.
Singleton’s contract includes $11MM guaranteed, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. That figure includes a $3.75MM guarantee for 2027, giving Singleton a bit of security by forcing the Broncos to eat some dead money if a release occurs after 2026.
This represents a per-year raise for Singleton, who played out a three-year deal worth $18MM. After going 14-3, the Broncos are retaining much of their roster. Following the in-season extensions for Wil Lutz, Luke Wattenberg and Malcolm Roach, Denver has agreed to re-sign Singleton, Justin Strnad, J.K. Dobbins, Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins.
As Singleton’s fourth Broncos season wound down, the former CFL import received a testicular cancer diagnosis. That only ended up costing him one game, as the veteran underwent surgery and recovered during Denver’s bye week. Singleton also returned from an ACL tear, an injury that cost him most of 2024 and opened the door for Strnad to begin raising his stock.
Initially signed to a low-cost deal following the Eagles’ decision to non-tender him as an RFA, Singleton teamed with Josey Jewell in Denver. The Broncos let Jewell walk in 2024, having re-signed Singleton in 2023. The former Eagles starter played out that deal and has been a prolific tackler in Denver, helping Sean Payton craft a Broncos resurgence.
A former UDFA out of Montana State, Singleton has started 47 Broncos games. After 177- and 163-tackle seasons in 2022 and ’23, he came back with 135 in 16 games last season. Not an upper-crust option in coverage, Singleton has still been a key factor on back-to-back Vance Joseph top-three defenses. He came through with a key forced fumble in the divisional round, stalling some Bills momentum during a back-and-forth Broncos win.
This signing will change the Broncos’ LB setup, though perhaps not by too much. Denver cut Dre Greenlaw shortly after this deal surfaced. Greenlaw played in only eight games last season, battling multiple injuries after missing almost all of 2024 with the Achilles tear he suffered in Super Bowl LVIII. While the Broncos could add a younger option to develop behind Singleton and Strnad, the longtime team will entrust LB duties to holdovers familiar with DC Vance Joseph‘s system.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Chiefs To Re-Sign Travis Kelce
4:30pm: A deal has now been finalized, Rapoport’s colleague Tom Pelissero reports. This will be a one-year pact with a base value of $12MM, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Kelce can earn up to $15MM in 2026.
10:31am: Travis Kelce has long said he could not envision himself in another NFL uniform. Despite a rumor that indicated a potentially shocking late-career address change was possible, the career-long Chief does not look to be going anywhere.
Set to return for a 14th season, Kelce is indeed expected to do so with the Chiefs, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. While no deal is official yet, teams interested in potentially poaching the superstar tight end may need to stand down.
Sunday’s report indicated Kelce was likely to speak with other teams as a free agent. Kelce, 36, had played out his contract — one agreed to in 2020 and modified to include a raise in 2024 — and joined his brother as a late-career free agent. Jason Kelce finished his career on multiple Eagles one-year contracts.
The other future Hall of Fame Kelce may be in line for a one-year Chiefs accord. SI.com’s Albert Breer tweets a one-year pact is expected. A contract worth up to $15MM is viewed as the potential compensation, per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, who indicates no deal has been finalized. Russini, though, continues to report Kelce is exploring the market and has not finalized a return to Kansas City. This could be a negotiating tactic, as Kelce had previously left little mystery about his desire to stay.
Kelce is one of the greatest players in Chiefs history, being a cornerstone piece of five Super Bowl teams and three champions. The Chiefs landed Kelce in the 2013 third round, and after he missed most of his rookie season due to microfracture knee surgery, the Cincinnati alum showed star potential alongside Alex Smith. The Kelce-Tyreek Hill tandem hit another gear when Patrick Mahomes took over in 2018, and Kelce smashed the NFL record for most 1,000-yard receiving seasons by a tight end. Kelce’s seven, a streak started with Smith at the helm, are three more than any other tight end.
Rumors about a Kelce retirement swirled after a Chiefs 6-11 season. The franchise’s worst record in Kelce’s tenure did not move the gregarious tight end/world-famous fiancé to walk away. Despite some untimely drops last season, Kelce improved on his 2024 step backward by totaling 76 receptions for 851 yards and five touchdowns. Although Mahomes did not play in the Chiefs’ final three games due to ACL and LCL tears, Kelce upped his yards-per-catch average to 11.2 — his first mark past 11 since a first-team All-Pro 2022 season.
The Chiefs had extended Kelce in 2016 and then in 2020. The 2020 deal briefly stood as the game’s top TE contract, before George Kittle‘s first 49ers re-up, and Kelce certainly has not been paid in accordance with the value he has provided the Chiefs. Kansas City did give him a $4MM raise after Super Bowl LVIII, making him the game’s highest-paid tight end once again. Kelce not maximizing his value has helped the Chiefs, though it has also played a role in no tight end being tied to a $20MM-per-year deal — as the wideout market is now past $40MM AAV.
Kelce was the lead factor in the Chiefs overcoming a shaky post-Hill receiving situation en route to 2022 and 2023 Super Bowl wins, and he helped Mahomes and Co. to the threepeat precipice — as the first two-time champ to reach a Super Bowl the following season — though did not play especially well against the Eagles. Vowing not to end his career after that blowout loss, Kelce looks set to make a similar pledge after the Chiefs endured a Super Bowl LIX hangover. While the Chiefs’ 2026 roster will look different, their core three performers — Mahomes, Kelce and Chris Jones — are prepared for at least one more year together.
Kelce’s return stands to help a Chiefs team that has still run into trouble staffing its receiver posts. While Xavier Worthy‘s rookie contract runs through 2027, Rashee Rice has battled injuries and a suspension. And an ugly accusation of domestic violence by his ex-girlfriend could put the talented wideout in the NFL’s crosshairs once again. The Chiefs, who also have Marquise Brown unsigned for 2026, are at least poised to have Kelce anchoring at least one more Mahomes-piloted pass attack.