Charges Against Falcons WR Zachariah Branch Dropped; Latest On James Pearce Jr.’s Pretrial Program
The State of Georgia has dropped the misdemeanor charges that were pending against Falcons rookie wide receiver Zachariah Branch, per Seth Emerson of The Athletic (subscription required). Branch had been facing the charge of misdemeanor obstruction of a law enforcement officer and had received a citation for obstructing private sidewalks
The details of the incident suggested it would have little to no impact on Branch’s professional prospects. The Falcons selected the USC and Georgia product in the third round of the draft less than a week after his arrest, and as Emerson notes, The Athletic draftnik Dane Brugler considered Branch a third-round talent anyway (subscription required).
“After reviewing all evidence, including videos, and discussing the case with us, the State agreed to dismiss all charges against Mr. Branch,” Kim Stephens, Branch’s lawyer, said. “Zachariah cooperated fully with law enforcement and did not commit a crime on the night of his arrest and never should have been arrested. We are glad this matter is over and that Mr. Branch’s excellent reputation and good name restored.”
While the NFL can of course impose punishment even in the absence of criminal charges, that would seem unlikely in this case. Instead, Branch can probably focus exclusively on carving out a spot in a receiving corps that would seem to offer plenty of opportunities behind the newly-extended Drake London.
Branch’s height (5-9) makes him an obvious candidate for slot work. While he offers plenty of speed and led the SEC with 81 receptions in 2025, Brugler observes that Branch’s average depth of target over the course of his college career was just 5.2 yards. In Brugler’s view, the Las Vegas native did not exhibit a refined route tree, and if he does not improve in that regard, he could be limited to a gadget/return specialist role. Still, the top two receivers behind London on the depth chart are offseason signees Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus, so Branch should have a real chance to make a name for himself this summer.
There is additional legal-related news concerning the Falcons. Josh Kendall of The Athletic reports that edge rusher James Pearce Jr.‘s pretrial intervention program, which was originally six months in length, has been extended to one year. However, the program’s conditions remain the same.
As Kendall relayed back in April, Pearce will be required to stay away from the alleged victim in the matter, Rickea Jackson, take part in therapy sessions, and avoid further legal trouble (subscription required). Pearce will also be required to submit to random drug testing and write a letter of apology to law enforcement (we had passed on some, but not all, of those details already).
It is unclear whether the extended timeline will impact when the NFL will make a decision on imposing any of its own sanctions. If Pearce successfully completes the program, the three felony charges he faced (including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon) will be dismissed.
DT Zach Sieler Wants To Retire With Dolphins
After signing an extension that made him the highest-paid player on Miami’s defense just a year ago, defensive tackle Zach Sieler likely isn’t planning to retire anytime soon. Whenever he does, though, he’ll want to do so as a Dolphin. Per ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, Sieler told the media recently that “he’d like to spend the rest of his career in Miami and will do whatever it takes to make that happen.”
Once an unranked high school recruit who walked on at Ferris State University, Sieler has come a long way since former Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome made him the last draft pick of Newsome’s tenure as GM. Baltimore waived Sieler in only his second season with the team, but the Dolphins got to make one the more impactful waiver claims in the franchise’s history, as a result.
With a need for someone at his position, Miami put Sieler to work, quickly having him make his first NFL start within three weeks of moving to Miami, for which he rewarded them with his first career sack. That was only a small sample of the disruptiveness Sieler would offer. In his first full year with the Dolphins, Zieler showed just what the Ravens had let go as he pestered opposing backfields with three sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and 11 quarterback hits.
Sieler saw a bit of a dip in production in the next two years before delivering two straight 10.0-sack seasons in which he also notched 24 tackles for loss and 41 quarterback hits. Over the course of his seven years in Miami, Sieler’s 35.5 sacks, 59 tackles for loss, and 78 quarterback hits have made him a vital part of the Dolphins’ defense and pass rush.
After trading away pass rusher Jaelan Phillips in the regular season, Miami saw the mass exodus of talent continue this offseason as it said goodbye to offensive stars like wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The team seemed mostly intent on retaining young talent, extending running back De’Von Achane and signing linebacker Jordyn Brooks, but despite reported trade interest, the Dolphins didn’t move Sieler.
At this point, it appears the team will not be moving Sieler, and that seems to be just fine with him. As he’s told the media, he wants to spend the rest of his career in South Florida, so as Miami navigates what appears to be a bit of a rebuild, Sieler’s veteran presence will continue to anchor the Dolphins defense for the foreseeable future.
NFL Front Office Updates: Raiders, Bills, Bears, Rams
As the offseason continues, the Raiders are one of several teams making updates to their front office. Per an announcement released by Las Vegas earlier this week, Ben Chester was promoted from assistant director to director, pro scouting, Kunal Singh was promoted from senior manager to director, football strategy, Patrick Parrilli was elevated from player personnel assistant to pro/college scout, and Jonah Lubin was promoted from football data science assistant to football data scientist.
Chester has been with the Raiders for 12 years, joining the team in 2014 as a pro scout after working in operations at UW-Oshkosh and coaching at UW-Stevens Point. He spent 10 seasons as a pro scout before being named to his most recent role. Singh found his way to the NFL after first working with the Milwaukee Brewers. He started in the league working two seasons as a football data scientist with the Broncos and was hired to his senior manager of football strategy role last year.
Parrilli joined the team two years ago in a move that took him from the coaching world to personnel. After starting off with an undergraduate role at Ave Maria University, Parrilli spent four years at Eastern Kentucky working different roles like running backs coach and quarterbacks coach before landing at Wake Forest. He found his way to Vegas after four years as an offensive analyst for the Demon Deacons. Lubin joined the team last year after a business internship with the Texans. He was a semi-finalist in last year’s Big Data Bowl.
Here are a few other front office updates from around the NFL:
- The Bills joined in on the promotions, elevating football research assistant Cole Jacobson to football analyst, according to ESPN’s Seth Walder. Jacobson arrived in Buffalo last offseason after years of freelance, seasonal, and part-time work with NFL Media, MLB Media, FOX Sports, Stats Perform, and Championship Analytics. He and his team were finalist in last year’s Big Data Bowl.
- Formerly a football analyst for the Bears, Fabian Martinez has been promoted to football data scientist, per Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. Martinez joined the team last year directly after earning his degree in Information and Data Science at Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
- Finally, in Los Angeles, the Rams no longer employ scouting analyst Grant Hizer, according to Walder. Hizer arrived in LA last year after a season working as a research analyst at NFL Next Gen Stats.
Browns’ 3% Sale To Private Equity Firm Approved
In August of 2024, NFL owners voted to permit private equity firms to purchase up to 10-percent stake in NFL teams with a minimum purchase of at least three percent for each stake. Back in May of this year, at the Orlando owners meeting, a vote was passed to approve the Browns’ sale of three percent of the team to Arctos Partners, LP, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
Arctos, based out of Dallas, is one of only a few private equity firms permitted by the league to purchase a stake in NFL teams, alongside “Ares Management Corporation, Sixth Street, and a consortium group including Blackstone, Carlyle, CVC, Dynasty Equity, and Ludis, led by Hall of Fame running back Curtis Martin.”
The firms are able to hold stake in up to six teams but won’t hold voting power in any of them. Arctos owns eight percent of the Chargers and 10 percent of the Bills, along with minority stakes in the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Golden State Warriors.
According to Forbes magazine, the Browns hold the 18th-highest valuation in the NFL and 28th-highest of all sports franchises in the world. The publication valued the team at $6.4 billion, meaning Arctos’ stake should be worth $190MM. The team’s value recently saw a boost after the team committed another $200MM to their new plans for a $2.6 billion indoor stadium that broke ground in Brook Park at the end of April and is set to open in 2029.
The Haslam Sports Group originally committed to a $1.2 billion contribution which would have represented half of the proposed budget at the time of $2.4 billion. After initially upping only their contribution, the latest $200MM influx is intended to increase both the percentage of contribution to 67.5 percent and the budget for the project to $2.6 billion.
Contract Details: James, Steelers, Berrios
Here are the latest details from recently agreed to contracts from around the NFL:
- Derwin James, S (Chargers): Three years, $75.6MM. Almost all the details for James’ newest extension to stay in LA were divulged in the original post. Per OvertheCap.com, we can now add the final detail that the $3MM roster bonus in the final year of his contract will be due on the third day of the 2029 league year.
- Nick Herbig, OLB (Steelers): Four years, $100MM. Of the $42MM of guaranteed money on the deal, $21MM is fully guaranteed at signing, consisting of a $19.68MM signing bonus and Herbig’s 2026 base salary of $1.33MM, per OvertheCap.com. Herbig will have roster bonuses of $7MM, $6MM, and $6MM due to him on the third days of the 2028, 2029, and 2030 league years, respectively. He’ll also have $300K workout bonuses available to earn each year.
- Darnell Washington, TE (Steelers): Four years. $42MM. According to Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac, Washington’s new deal includes $20.25MM of total guarantees, $11.25MM of which is guaranteed at signing including a $10MM signing bonus and his 2026 base salary of $1.25MM. He’ll be able to earn annual roster bonuses $2.5MM from 2028-30.
- Braxton Berrios, WR (Giants): One year, $1.3MM. Per Dan Duggan of The Athletic, Berrios’ contract is simply a veteran minimum deal with a base salary of $1.3MM and no guaranteed money, similar to Odell Beckham, Jr.‘s deal.
DeMeco Ryans Hires Former Teammates As Coaching Fellows
DeMeco Ryans has reunited with former teammates Darren Sproles and Jordan Hicks, who have both been selected for Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellowships on the Texans’ staff.
While Ryan is best known for his time playing for the team he now coaches, he spent the last four years of his career in Philadelphia. He overlapped with Sproles in 2014 and 2015 and mentored Hicks, an Eagles 2015 third-round pick, during his rookie year.
The trio will now reunite in Houston where Sproles and Hicks will begin their coaching careers. Sproles was originally expected to join Sean Payton‘s staff in Denver, but instead will work with Ryans, Hicks, as well as the Texans’ seven other new Bill Walsh fellows.
Houston is also bringing analytics expert Russell Joyner back into the fold, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. He spent 11 years in Houston (2011-2022), starting as a football administration director, rising to director of football information systems, and finishing as the team’s senior head of decision science. He returns to the Texans as their senior director of research and development.
In another front office move, the Texans are hiring former Florida Gators and Penn Quakers defensive tackle Joey Slackman as a scouting assistant, per Wilson. He previously worked as a player personnel intern at Florida and James Madison University, according to his LinkedIn.
AFC Staff Changes: Titans, Dolphins, Browns
The Titans have made a few more additions to their front office, per a team announcement.
Daryl Nelson has come aboard as the senior director of player development and performance integration. From 2023 to 2025, he served as the Raiders’ director of team growth and development, per his LinkedIn. He previously worked for the Patriots from 2016 to 2023 with five years in the athletic training department and one as New England’s director of organizational development.
Nelson’s new role will involve coordinating between the Titans’ coaching, analytics, and athletic training departments to advance the development of their young roster. His background as a trainer will obviously contribute to this effort. In Las Vegas, he also prioritized players’ off-field education and overall well-being.
The Titans also hired Kwame Agyei-Minta and Jacob Reeves as scouting assistants. Agyei-Minta has worked for the University of South Carolina since 2023, primarily as a player personnel and recruiting assistant with a promotion to assistant director of scouting earlier this year (via LinkedIn). Reeves, a former defensive lineman at Southeastern University, was formerly an intern with the Falcons and the NFL’s BLESTO scouting service. His most recent role was as the assistant director of college personnel at the University of Florida, a position he held for the last three years.
Here is the latest from the AFC staffing ranks:
- Tennessee is also expecting the eventual departure of assistant special teams coach Rayna Stewart. Special teams coordinator John Fassell said (via Main Street Media’s Terry McCormick) that he fought to keep Stewart amid the Titans’ coaching changes this offseason but believes he should get a chance at his own coordinator job in the near future.
- The Dolphins have hired former Rice University intern Savan Patel as a football analytics staff assistant, per Neal Stratton of InsideTheLeague. Patel worked in video operations, recruiting, and scouting at Rice dating back to 2022 and also interned with the MLB’s Houston Astros in 2025.
- The Browns are promoting Josh Meyer from scouting assistant to West Coast area scout, according to Stratton. Meyer previously worked in personnel and recruiting at the University of Michigan.
- Cleveland also promoted Kathleen Wood to scouting assessment and development advisor (via Stratton). She has held a similar role since 2024; for four years before that, she was an Northeast area scout. Wood also has past experience with the Dolphins, Bills, and Eagles.
Bills Moving Travis Clayton To DL
The Bills are moving 2024 seventh-round pick Travis Clayton from offensive to defensive line, per Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News.
Clayton, 25, is a native of Basingstoke, England, and a converted rugby player who arrived in the NFL via the International Player Pathway program. His size and athleticism inspired comparisons to Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata and excited the Bills enough to select him with their final pick of the 2024 draft (No. 221 overall).
Clayton suffered a shoulder injury during his first training camp and spent his rookie season on injured reserve. Last year, he appeared in two preseason games with 22 snaps at left tackle, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), and did not make the 53-man roster. He stayed on the practice squad for the entire season but did not receive any elevations.
The Bills have starting offensive tackles Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown under contract through 2028 with third-year UDFA Alec Anderson, 2024 sixth-rounder Tylan Grable, and 2025 sixth-rounder Chase Lundt all providing young developmental depth.
Buffalo’s defensive line also has a combination of proven veterans (Ed Oliver, DeWayne Carter) and recent draft picks (Deone Walker, T.J. Sanders, Zane Durant). Clayton is in just his third year playing football and is currently going through a crash course in defensive line play, so he faces an uphill path to making the 53-man roster. However, lining up on the defensive side of the trenches allows for more attacking, instinctive play that might be a smooth transition for a player who is still relatively new to the sport.
Bengals CB DJ Turner Hopeful For Extension Before Week 1
The Bengals are reportedly prioritizing new deals for cornerbacks DJ Turner and Dax Hill. In a piece focusing primarily on Turner, Jay Morrison of SI.com says the contract-year defender is optimistic he will have an extension in place before the start of the regular season.
Turner was a second-round choice in the 2023 draft, so his rookie deal does not come with a fifth-year option (Hill, a 2022 first-rounder, is currently scheduled to play out the fifth-year option of his rookie pact in 2026). As Morrison writes, Turner had been staying away from the club during voluntary spring work, but he was training elsewhere and remained in constant contact with head coach Zac Taylor. Turner reported to OTAs last Monday to begin practicing.
When asked after Tuesday’s OTA session about the chances of an extension coming to fruition in the near future, Turner said, “I’m real hopeful. This is definitely where I want to be.” He added that he wanted to be at the facility prior to mandatory minicamp because he wanted to meet the new additions to the defense and to simply be around the team.
“There’s a business side of it that will be ongoing, but I love the way that he’s handled it,” Taylor said of Turner. “I love the way he’s communicated it. I love the way his energy’s been. I love the way he’s worked. It’s been great to get him back.”
Morrison acknowledges it will be a challenge to retain both Hill and Turner on the heels of expensive acquisitions like Dexter Lawrence, Boye Mafe, and Bryan Cook (together with the cap charges that were already on the books for Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins). Nonetheless, it makes sense that a team whose recent defensive struggles are well-documented would want to keep their talented starting CB tandem in the fold.
Turner was a regular defensive presence during his first two professional seasons, but he handled a career-high snap share (89%) in 2025. He notched a pair of interceptions and comfortably set a new personal best with 18 pass deflections while making strides in terms of his performance in coverage (Pro Football Focus considered him the fourth-best cover corner in the NFL last season).
Other corners like Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez are seeking extensions as well, and those players are eyeing the top of the CB market, which is presently topped by Trent McDuffie’s $31MM average annual value. Turner likely will not get to that number, but he is surely targeting an AAV of at least $20.1MM, which nine corners currently enjoy. That will represent a rather sizable raise on the $3.76MM salary he is due in 2026.
Cardinals Not Planning Josh Sweat Trade?
JUNE 6: While the Cardinals gave Albert Breer of SI.com an emphatic “no” when he asked prior to this year’s draft if they would trade Sweat, Breer says he would not rule out a deal. Given Gannon’s presence in Green Bay, Breer believes the Packers remain a viable landing spot, particularly if Gannon does not believe he can help former first-rounder Lukas Van Ness start living up to his draft status.
JUNE 3: One season into a four-year, $76.4MM contract, Cardinals outside linebacker Josh Sweat has drawn trade interest this spring. However, it appears those teams will have to look elsewhere for pass-rushing help. The Cardinals are not dealing Sweat, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
After coming off the board in the fourth round of the 2018 draft, Sweat spent his first seven seasons in Philadelphia. He broke out as a starter from 2021-22, Jonathan Gannon‘s two-year run as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, and continued to perform well after Gannon left to become the Cardinals’ head coach.
Sweat capped off his Eagles tenure with a 2.5-sack outburst in a Super Bowl LIX victory over the Chiefs in February 2025. Hitting free agency a few weeks later enabled Sweat to reunite with Gannon in Arizona, but their second partnership lasted just one year. The Cardinals fired Gannon in January on the heels of a 4-13 season, though new head coach Mike LaFleur retained defensive coordinator Nick Rallis.
Gannon is now the Packers’ D-coordinator, which has sparked social media rumors that they will swing a trade for Sweat. It might make sense for a team that will likely open the season without elite edge defender Micah Parsons, who is rehabbing from the tore ACL he suffered last December. But Rapoport dumped freezing cold water on the possibility, writing on X: “#AZCardinals edge rusher Josh Sweat is not being traded. Not to the #Packers or anywhere.”
Sweat has stayed away from Cardinals OTAs, but that was also the case when Gannon was in charge last year. LaFleur is unconcerned. He spoke highly of Sweat last week, saying (via Grant Gordon of NFL.com): “I’m just excited about the fact that I don’t have to game plan against this guy. I got to know him when I first got this job. He’s a good dude. He goes about his process and he’s not the first guy to go about his process the way he is in terms of how he’s training and all that.”
As a member of one of the NFL’s worst teams in 2025, Sweat was a rare bright spot. He put together his second 17-game season and tallied career highs in sacks (12) and forced fumbles (four). Despite his efforts, the Cardinals tied for the third-fewest sacks in the league (30). While his importance to their defense is obvious, they are expected to remain among the league’s bottom feeders in 2026. With that in mind, there is a case general manager Monti Ossenfort should seriously consider trading Sweat this summer. It seems Ossenfort, whose job may be on the line, is in no hurry to do so.
Perhaps the Cardinals will be more open to moving Sweat around the Nov. 3 trade deadline if they are out of the playoff race and contenders come calling. With an affordable $9.78MM base salary coming his way in 2026, Sweat’s contract adds to his value. His deal does not include any guarantees past the upcoming season.