Latest On Eagles’ Situation With WR A.J. Brown
It’s been just over a month since the Eagles’ season ended with a home loss to the 49ers that featured what appeared to be a heated shouting match between head coach Nick Siriani and wide receiver A.J. Brown on the sidelines. Despite late-season rumors that the team could consider the possibility of trading Brown in the offseason, it’s been all quiet on that front up to this point. It might not remain quiet for much longer, though. 
According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, while “substantial conversations about his future have not yet taken place,” there are expectations that talks on the matter will “ramp up around the NFL combine.” With over 300 college athletes headed to Indianapolis next week for the NFL Scouting Combine, scouts and executives from every NFL team will be congregating to evaluate and speak with draft prospects. With so many personnel decisionmakers in one place, the combine has become a notorious event for teams to begin preliminary discussions on players that might be available for the right price. This allows front offices to gauge interest in players and determine which teams may be willing to enter conversations.
Until then, though, discussions on the possibility of Philadelphia dealing Brown have continuously pointed to the idea that, more likely than not, the veteran wide receiver isn’t going anywhere. Jason Fitzgerald of OvertheCap.com did a deep dive on the financial implications of cutting or trading Brown with four years remaining on his current contract. Cutting him makes little sense. Doing so now would only help the team avoid a nominal $4MM 2027 salary guarantee set to be triggered soon while still requiring them to cover his $29MM guaranteed salary for 2026, resulting in $72.45MM of dead money along with a loss of $49.06MM in cap space. A post-June 1 designation only slightly deflates those figures to $45.35MM of dead money with a $21.96MM cap loss.
Moving Brown in a trade is a bit more viable, due to the nature of how Philadelphia structures their contracts. Per Fitzgerald, the Eagles utilize option bonuses that cover “all of the salary for a player in a year except for the minimum that is mandated” by the Collective Bargaining Agreement. This essentially functions in the same way teams use signing bonuses on restructures to pay players more in a given year while reducing their cap hit for the season. The deadlines for those options do hit until late in the preseason, so the team gets all summer to explore trade options for Brown.
Financially, trading Brown now would have similar costs to designating him as a post-June 1 cut. The transaction would result in $43.45MM of dead money with a $20.06MM cap loss. Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, because of those costly figures, the Eagles would likely require some serious compensation in order to move him any time from now until June 1. Trading him June 2 or later finally starts to make some modicum of sense, as the dead money figure reduces to $16.35MM and $7.04MM of cap relief becomes a possibility.
With how difficult it could be to move Brown, there’s always a possibility that the Eagles resort to retaining the veteran wideout for the 2026 NFL season, and if Brown’s recent appearance on The Edge With Micah Parsons podcast is any indication, that very well could be where things are headed. Throughout the interview, Brown had only good things to say. When asked about the firing of offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, Brown told host Micah Parsons that he had “the utmost respect for (Patullo),” going on to claim that “he did a tremendous job,” despite the offense racking up the ninth-fewest yards in the NFL. Brown even spoke on the future of the team. He started ambiguous, expressing his excitement “for the season” and “for what’s to come” but then laid out some team-oriented goals.
“As an offense, we just come back and just really watch tape and, like I said earlier, rediscover ourselves and go to work,“ Brown told his host. “We have great leadership in our locker room, and I’m fortunate to be part of it on offense. We do have a lot of talent, but talent gets us nowhere. It’s all about being detailed and disciplined.”
That all sounds nothing like a player making trade demands. That sounds everything like a player who has every intention of returning to run it back with his current team. There’s always a possibility that Brown realizes the financial restrictions his contract imposes on a potential trade and that acting like he has no intention of ever playing for the Eagles again would kill any leverage Philadelphia may need in order to accumulate the compensation necessary to make a trade worth the dead money and cap loss.
So, either Brown is playing the role of dutiful teammate to better his team’s chances of trading him or Brown is genuinely excited about his future with the team, and a trade might not be necessary. It’s hard to solidly get behind either theory at the moment, but more information may clear things up a bit once talks pick up at the NFL Scouting Combine next week.
Raiders Fill Multiple Coaching Positions
Klint Kubiak and Co. were busy today as the team filled multiple coaching roles. This evening, reports came out on the hiring of Ronell Williams as linebackers coach (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter) and Al Holcomb as a senior defensive assistant (per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network). 
Williams finds his way to Las Vegas after spending three seasons with the Eagles. Starting as a linebackers coach at Widener and a graduate assistant/defensive analyst at Temple, Williams found his way to Chicago in 2019 as a defensive quality control coach for the Bears. He joined the Eagles in 2023 as the nickel cornerbacks coach, was moved to assistant linebackers coach in 2024, and added defensive quality control coach to his title last year. Like Young, this will be Williams’ first opportunity to lead a position room in the NFL.
According to Jonathan Jones of NFL on CBS, the team planned to interview Titans senior defensive assistant Ben Bloom for the role before landing on Williams. Bloom spent the past two years working with Tennessee’s outside linebackers, so he may still be able to find a role on staff working with that more specific division of the position group for the Raiders.
Holcomb arrives in Vegas with over 30 years of coaching experience, with the last 17 all coming from the NFL. Starting as a graduate assistant at Temple in 1995, Holcomb held roles at Colby, Bloomsburg, Kutztown, and Lafayette over the next 13 years. He made his NFL debut as a defensive quality control coach with the Giants before being named a defensive assistant for the team. He worked as linebackers coach of the Panthers for five years before earning a defensive coordinator opportunity with the Cardinals. That opportunity only lasted a year, though, before he went to Cleveland as linebackers coach and run game coordinator.
After returning to the Panthers for three years and serving as an interim defensive coordinator before departing, Holcomb found his way to his most recent stop, Buffalo. He’s spent the past three years in Buffalo, starting as a senior defensive assistant before working the past two seasons as linebackers coach. His tenure with the Raiders will begin in a similar fashion as he provides his wealth of NFL experience in a minor role.
Lions President Rod Wood To Retire
After 10 years of service with the Lions, team president/CEO Rod Wood will be retiring from his position in Detroit. He will remain with the team until a “global search” led by Russell Reynolds Associates finds his replacement. The search for Wood’s successor is set to begin immediately.
Wood was hired by the Lions in 2015 following the dismissal of his predecessor, Tom Lewand. Then-team owner Martha Ford reportedly promised to conduct “a national search for the best leadership to manage (the) team going forward” after firing Lewand. Two weeks later, the position was given to Wood, who was already extremely familiar with Ford from his prior occupation as president and CEO of Ford Estates. Despite the team’s claim that Wood had been working closely with the team throughout Lewand’s tenure, which began after the Lions became the first NFL franchise to record a winless season, Wood acknowledged his lack of football experience, telling reporters that he “would probably say that (he’s) not qualified to run any other NFL team.”
Detroit intended for Wood to focus solely on the business side of the front office, while the team’s general manager would handle all things personnel. Wood still held some personnel-related duties tied to financials including management of the Lions’ salary cap and the signing of any high-value players. During his tenure, Wood oversaw the first planned major renovations to Ford Field since it had opened in 2002, completely overhauling the stadium’s videoboards and sound system and upgrading club seating areas. The team also installed new turf in 2023, replacing the previous 10-year-old turf with one meant to provide a more grass-like feel and improve player safety, though the results have since been questioned by the NFLPA.
During Wood’s tenure the Lions were 85-85-2, but seeing winning records in each of the past four seasons shows a positive trajectory for the franchise that had only seen two winning seasons in the 15 years before Wood was hired. The statement released by the team relayed that “Wood and his wife, Susan, are proud parents and grandparents who are excited to spend more time together and with their family,” so it appears that the executive in his mid-60s will be retiring from the workforce instead of returning to other business ventures. He gave the following quote in the Lions’ release:
I want to thank the Ford Family and, ultimately, Lions fans everywhere for trusting me to lead the Detroit Lions for the last 11 seasons. It has been an absolute thrill for me to lead this organization, and I am proud of what we have accomplished over that decade-plus. I am most proud of where I am leaving this organization, in the capable hands of (team owner) Sheila Hamp, (general manager) Brad Holmes, and (head coach) Dan Campbell.
Minor NFL Transactions: 2/18/26
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves from around the NFL…
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-signed: WR Kendric Pryor
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: WR Michael Bandy
Los Angeles Rams
- Re-signed: OL David Quessenberry
San Francisco 49ers
- Re-signed: OL Nick Zakelj
The 35-year-old Quessenberry, by far the most experienced player in this quartet, has 97 games and 30 starts on his resume. Quessenberry was a sixth-round pick of the Texans in 2013, but a foot injury and then a three-year battle with Lymphoma kept him off the field in his first four seasons. He beat cancer to make his long-awaited NFL debut in 2017. Quessenberry has since gotten into games with the Titans, Bills, Vikings and Rams. In 2025, his first season as a Ram, he made 13 appearances and totaled 91 snaps (73 on special teams, 18 on offense).
Zakelj, 26, has been a career-long 49er since they chose him in the sixth round in 2022. The former Fordham Ram has come off the bench in 27 of 29 appearances, including three last season. Zakelj picked up his only two starts in 2024, his lone 17-game season.
Wyatt Teller Expects To Leave Browns
With a trip to free agency looming, longtime Browns tight end David Njoku took to Instagram on Feb. 9 to say goodbye to Cleveland. Another Browns staple, pending free agent guard Wyatt Teller, did the same on Wednesday (via Mike Garafolo of NFL Network).
As part of a lengthy letter, Teller wrote: “I wish things were different and this is hard to put into words. When Buffalo traded me to Cleveland seven years ago, I never could have imagined how much this city would mean to me. Ultimately, the Browns took a chance on me that changed the trajectory of my life forever … While we are excited and look forward to what the future holds, Cleveland will always have a special place in our hearts.”
Teller joined the Bills as a fifth-round pick out of Virginia Tech in 2018, but they moved on despite seeing him start in seven of eight appearances as a rookie.
Shortly before the start of the 2019 season, the Bills traded Teller and a 2021 seventh-rounder to the Browns for a fifth- and sixth-rounder in 2020. It proved to be a great trade for then-Browns general manager John Dorsey, though he ended up losing his job after a 6-10 campaign.
A left guard in Buffalo, Teller turned into a stalwart on the right side in Cleveland. After coming off the bench in six of 15 games in 2019, he became a full-time starter the next year. The 31-year-old has since gone to three Pro Bowls and earned second-team All-Pro honors twice.
Teller logged his second 17-game season in 2023, but he followed that up with back-to-back years with stints on injured reserve. He missed four games with an MCL sprain in 2024 and then sat out four more with a calf injury last season. Pro Football Focus ranked the banged-up Teller a middling 39th among 79 qualifying guards in 2025, but his track record suggests he’ll land the second lucrative contract of his career soon.
Teller just wrapped up the four-year, $56.8MM extension he signed in 2021. As of last September, there was reportedly a decent chance of a new deal coming together with the Browns. Five months later, it appears the two will go in different directions.
It is obvious the Browns’ offensive line will look much different next season. Not only is Teller on his way out, but their other top guard, Joel Bitonio, is unsigned and considering retirement. Center Ethan Pocic, tackles Jack Conklin and Cam Robinson, and backup guard Teven Jenkins are also scheduled to reach the open market in March.
Dolphins Shopping Minkah Fitzpatrick
Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick may be part of a mass offseason exodus of high-priced veterans in Miami. The Dolphins have discussed a Fitzpatrick trade with other teams, veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports. It’s unclear if they have made progress in those talks.
[RELATED: Dolphins Offseason Outlook]
Fitzpatrick, a Dolphins first-round pick in 2018, is in his second stint with the franchise. His first run ended when the Dolphins traded him to the Steelers in September 2019 for a package headlined by a 2020 first-rounder. The Dolphins wound up re-acquiring Fitzpatrick in a swap involving another decorated defensive back, Jalen Ramsey, and tight end Jonnu Smith last June.
Fitzpatrick did not add to his five Pro Bowl nods and three first-team All-Pro selections in his first season back in Miami. However, the 29-year-old still put together another productive season.
Over 14 games (all starts), Fitzpatrick tallied 82 tackles, six passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, an interception and his first career sack. Logging a significant number of snaps in the slot, at free safety and in the box, Pro Football Focus ranked Fitzpatrick a superb fifth among 91 qualifying safeties.
Despite his strong output, the floundering Dolphins were open to trading Fitzpatrick before last season’s Nov. 4 deadline. Nothing came together then, but with a new regime of general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley, the rebuilding Dolphins are making over their roster. Fitzpatrick could soon follow wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, outside linebacker Bradley Chubb and guard James Daniels out the door. The team also figures to give quarterback Tua Tagovailoa his walking papers sometime soon.
The Dolphins were unable to trade the released group of Hill, Westbrook-Ikhine, Chubb and Daniels. Meanwhile, they’ve hit nothing but roadblocks in attempting to move Tagovailoa. Finding a taker for Fitzpatrick should be easier. He’s due a non-guaranteed base salary of $15.6MM in 2026, the last year of his contract. The Dolphins would take on approximately $13MM in dead money with a pre-June 1 trade, but they’d free up $5.83MM in cap space.
Eagles DE Brandon Graham Interested In Playing In 2026
Today is the 11-month anniversary of Eagles defensive end and franchise legend Brandon Graham announcing his retirement. It proved to be a brief exit for Graham, who rejoined the Eagles in late October.
With Graham now a pending free agent who’s set to turn 38 in April, there are once again questions about his future this offseason. It doesn’t appear Graham is ready to go back into retirement for good, though. The career-long Eagle has interest in returning in 2026, Zach Berman of The Athletic reports.
Since going 13th overall in the 2010 draft, Graham has climbed to the top of the Eagles’ all-time games played list (215) over 16 years. The Michigan product is now a two-time Super Bowl champion and a one-time Pro Bowler who’s third in franchise history in sacks (79.5).
Despite logging just 113 defensive snaps in 2025, Graham chipped in three sacks over a nine-game span. His return helped make up for the in-season loss of another grizzled pass rusher in Za’Darius Smith, who retired 10 days before Graham came back. Graham also filled in at a previously foreign position, defensive tackle, when Jalen Carter was on the shelf for most of December with injuries to both shoulders.
In coming off the couch last fall, Graham raked in a prorated $4.9MM for a half-season of work. Another one-year deal at an affordable price will be in order if he keeps playing. With fellow edge options Jaelan Phillips (the team’s top free agent-to-be), Joshua Uche, Azeez Ojulari and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo also among the Eagles’ pending free agents, they may have added incentive to retain Graham as capable depth. For now, the Eagles are dangerously low on choices behind Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith.
AFC West Notes: Broncos, Powers, Raiders, Staff, Tart, Chargers, Chiefs
As it stands, the Broncos are the rare team with five offensive linemen signed to eight-figure-per-year contracts. They ensured this status by extending center Luke Wattenberg (four years, $48MM) during their November bye week. Three-year left guard starter Ben Powers was injured when that deal went down, and PFR’s Broncos Offseason Outlook mentioned the veteran as a cut candidate following Wattenberg’s payday. We may be moving closer to that reality.
In predicting how the Broncos will proceed with Powers, the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel pegs a release as the most likely outcome. Denver would save $8.4MM by releasing Powers, who signed a four-year deal worth $52MM in 2023. The Broncos signed Powers and right tackle Mike McGlinchey on Day 1 of the ’23 legal tampering period, and both have helped the team’s O-line complete a turnaround. But the Broncos have since paid Wattenberg and All-Pros Garett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz. With former UDFA Alex Palczewski replacing Powers for 10 starts last season, he is a candidate to take over at LG.
The Broncos will only make this Powers move if they view Palczewski — a 2023 UDFA who can be kept for one more season via RFA tender — ready to move into the lineup, The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider adds. Powers, 29, has played well when healthy. Run block win rate tabbed him first among all interior O-linemen in 2024, while Pro Football Focus ranked Powers 35th among guards (with Palczewski 62nd) last season. Here is the latest from the AFC West:
- Klint Kubiak is still assembling his Raiders staff, and another familiar name is on his radar. The Raiders requested permission to interview Vikings assistant Jordan Traylor for their quarterbacks coach position, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Traylor worked with Kubiak with the 2024 Saints, spending six seasons in New Orleans. He served as Vikings assistant QBs coach in 2025. Minnesota has already lost tight ends coach Brian Angelichio to an OC post (with the Steelers) and wide receivers coach Tony Sorrentino to the Cardinals. Traylor would represent another defection from Kevin O’Connell‘s offensive staff.
- The Raiders are also expected to hire Zach Azzani as their wide receivers coach, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Azzani, 49, previously worked with Kubiak on the 2022 Broncos’ staff. Denver’s five-year WRs coach (2018-22), Azzani coached the Jets’ receivers in 2023 and spent the past two years in that role with the Steelers. Las Vegas would be Azzani’s fifth NFL stop as a receivers coach.
- Dismissed by the Cowboys as they changed defensive staffs last month, Andre Curtis has found a new home. The Chiefs announced his hire as safeties coach. Curtis, 49, has been an NFL staffer since 2006. He spent seven seasons on Pete Carroll‘s Seattle staffs (2015-21), finishing that tenure with four seasons as the Seahawks’ pass-game coordinator on defense. After three seasons coaching Bears safeties, Curtis worked as the Cowboys’ defensive pass-game coordinator last season. Steve Spagnuolo had Curtis on all three of Rams staffs when the former was St. Louis’ HC from 2009-11.
- After dodging an ACL tear near the end of the Chiefs’ season, Gardner Minshew has returned to full strength, per Schefter. Minshew, who started in Week 16 but missed Kansas City’s final two games, will be healthy as teams evaluate him as a potential backup or bridge option in free agency.
- Broncos DB/special-teamer JL Skinner revealed he played the 2025 season with a labrum tear, confirming (via Mile High Sports’ Cody Roark) he underwent surgery recently. One season remains on Skinner’s rookie contract; he saw action on 68% of the Broncos’ special teams plays last season.
- The Chargers started a bit early in free agency by re-signing Teair Tart. The veteran defensive tackle has done well on his third Bolts deal. Tart re-signed on a three-year, $30MM contract that includes $15MM guaranteed at signing, per OverTheCap. This guarantee includes $4.98MM of his 2027 salary. Tart, 29 later this month, played on a one-year, $4.5MM deal in 2025. Both the Titans and Dolphins cut him earlier this decade.
Chiefs Restructure Patrick Mahomes’ Deal
The gift that keeps on giving for the Chiefs’ payroll, Patrick Mahomes‘ contract will see another restructure. Kansas City is going to this well for a fifth time since authorizing the megadeal in July 2020.
This latest adjustment will free up $43.56MM in cap space, according to OverTheCap’s Jason Fitzgerald. While this move clears considerable funds, the Chiefs still have a longer journey toward cap compliance. Per OverTheCap, they are still projected to be more than $11MM over the 2026 salary ceiling.
[RELATED: Examining Chiefs’ Offseason Outlook]
Mahomes’ cap number was set to be an untenable $78.21MM; it now drops to $34.65MM. For the future, OverTheCap adds the superstar quarterback’s cap hits will rise by $10.89MM in each of the next four seasons. That will mean an $85.25MM number in 2027 (and likely another restructure). Mahomes’ 10-year, $450MM contract still runs through 2031.
The Chiefs completed a true reworking, rather than merely moving money around, in 2023 — after the $50MM-per-year QB club began to form (Mahomes’ AAV remains $45MM). They have moved to restructure that updated deal in 2024, 2025 and again Wednesday. Specifically, ESPN’s Adam Schefter indicates the Chiefs converted $54.45MM of Mahomes’ 2026 compensation into a signing bonus, which can be prorated into future years.
When the Chiefs designed this contract in 2020, Mahomes vaulted $10MM past the field in AAV. It took him committing to the team on a 10-year extension for the club to grant such a leap, but the field caught up to the three-time Super Bowl champion fast. Mahomes’ AAV now sits tied for 14th among QBs. No one else since Mahomes’ extension has agreed to a deal longer than six years, with Josh Allen‘s six-year pact coming closest. Both deals, the Chiefs’ especially, have allowed for tremendous cap flexibility.
More restructures could happen for the Chiefs this offseason; they redid Chris Jones‘ megadeal in 2025. But they also figure to make some true cap-casualty moves. A Jawaan Taylor release, which will save $20MM in cap space, is expected. The Chiefs can also turn to Mike Danna and Kristian Fulton‘s deals to create nearly $15MM in cap room.
Mahomes, 30, remains in the early stages of rehab from ACL and LCL tears. Week 1 remains the future Hall of Famer’s target, but the Chiefs will soon get to work on adding talent around their 10th-year passer.
2026 NFL Franchise Tag Candidates
We are now in Year 34 of the franchise tag, a retention tool that came about during the same offseason in which full-fledged free agency spawned. The NFL salary cap is rising at a rate allowing teams to hammer out more extensions than in previous periods. That has helped dilute free agency talent pools. This led to a 2025 landscape in which only two players — Tee Higgins and Trey Smith — received the franchise tag. The cap, which stood at $279.2MM in 2025, is expected to rise beyond $301MM this year.
This year’s free agent class looks to feature only one tag lock, but a handful of players make sense as candidates to be kept off the market. An antiquated NFL system regarding positional classifications also affects this year’s free agency crop, as a couple of high-end UFAs-to-be (Tyler Linderbaum, Devin Lloyd) would likely be kept off the market if the league modernized how it sorted positions with regards to tag prices.
Teams who use the franchise or transition tag have until July 15 to complete an extension; otherwise, negotiations cannot restart until after the 2026 season. The transition tag does not bring any compensation back for an unmatched offer sheet, but the two-first-rounder component associated with a franchise tag has not been especially relevant in ages. Although offer sheets have come out in previous eras (Sean Gilbert and Dan Wilkinson signed unmatched offers in the 1990s), clubs avoid these in fear of an unmatched proposal requiring two first-round picks to be sent to the tagging team.
The tag window opens at 3pm CT today. With clubs having until 3pm CT on March 3 to apply tags, here is who may be cuffed:
Likely tag recipients
George Pickens, WR (Cowboys)
Projected tag cost: $28.82MM
The Cowboys have regularly turned to the tag over the past decade. They cuffed DeMarcus Lawrence in 2018 and ’19 before locking down Dak Prescott in 2020 and ’21. The latter Prescott tag was procedural, as the quarterback used the threat of a lofty second tag number hitting Dallas’ cap sheet as leverage toward a player-friendly extension — one that laid the groundwork for his 2024 player-friendly extension. The Cowboys then kept Dalton Schultz (2022) and Tony Pollard (’23) off the market. After two years without unholstering their tag, the Cowboys appear all set to prevent Pickens from reaching free agency.
Acquiring Pickens in a May 2025 trade with the Steelers — which featured a 2026 third-round pick as the top asset going back to Pittsburgh –Dallas reaped immediate benefits from that swap. Pickens, 24, smashed his career-high receiving mark with 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns. That booked the former second-round pick his first Pro Bowl honor; more impressively, Pickens was named a second-team All-Pro. The mercurial ex-Steeler WR1 was more than 300 receiving yards clear of CeeDee Lamb for the Cowboys’ receiving lead; even though Lamb missed three games, Pickens’ per-game average (84.1) better Lamb’s (76.9).
A tag surfaced on the radar here in mid-November, and momentum has steadily built for Pickens to follow in Dez Bryant‘s footsteps as a Cowboy wideout being kept off the market. It will take a near-Saints-level odyssey for the Cowboys to create sufficient cap space for a Pickens tag and reasonable spending room; they are projected to be more than $30MM (per OverTheCap) north of the 2026 salary ceiling, but enough smoke has emerged here — after Pickens fit the tag profile upon arrival — to make it safe to expect this outcome.
The Steelers shipped out Pickens in part because of reliability concerns, but the 6-foot-3 playmaker outperformed — with a considerable QB upgrade in Prescott — his previous work. With Lamb tied to a $34MM-per-year deal and Prescott on an NFL-record $60MM-AAV extension, the Cowboys are far from certain to extend Pickens. A tag-and-trade play has surfaced as a possibility, but with negotiations not having begun as of early February, expect the Cowboys to use the tag to at least buy themselves more time on their ultra-talented WR2.
On tag radar:
Breece Hall, RB (Jets)
Projected tag cost: $14.54MM
The Chiefs offered a fourth-round pick for Hall at the deadline, but the Jets held onto their starting running back after having asked for at least a third-rounder. Hall denied a report he was seeking a New York exit — after the blockbuster deals involving Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams — but he could have a chance to explore his value on the open market soon. The Jets, however, have spoken highly of the 1,000-yard rusher. The tag has surfaced as a possibility.
Hall, 24, is more than two years younger than Etienne. He will thus command more in free agency. The former second-round pick is also more than three years removed from the ACL tear that sidetracked his rookie season. The Jets waited on a Hall extension, keeping him on his rookie contract while giving Gardner and Garrett Wilson big-ticket deals, but Aaron Glenn has spoken highly of the Iowa State alum.
Gang Green wants to retain Hall. The easiest way for that to happen would be to extend his negotiating window via the tag. A $12MM-per-year offer could await the fifth-year player, making a tag logical. If the Jets were to place the transition tag on Hall, it would cost them a projected $11.73MM. They would receive no compensation in the event of an unmatched offer sheet, thus allowing another team to dictate the contract structure a la the Packers’ Kyle Fuller offer sheet in 2018.
The Jets saw Hall sidekick Braelon Allen miss much of the season, but the former Joe Douglas-era fourth-round pick remains signed through 2027. Allen gives the Jets some protection against a Hall exit, with a mid-round 2027 compensatory pick possible as well. But Hall is a dynamic RB that will be an attractive FA commodity if unattached come March 9. The Jets have a big decision to make over the next two weeks.
Trey Hendrickson, DE (Bengals)
Projected tag cost: $34.8MM
The defensive end tag is projected to come in at $27.32MM, but because Hendrickson was attached to a $29MM salary (following a late-summer raise), he is the rare tag candidate to whom the 120% rule would apply. As PFR’s glossary indicates, “the amount of the one-year offer is determined by a formula that includes the salary cap figures and the non-exclusive franchise salaries at the player’s position for the previous five years. Alternately, the amount of the one-year offer can be 120% of the player’s previous salary, if that amount is greater.” In Hendrickson’s case, it would be.
