Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Indianapolis Colts
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
New York Jets
One of the top defenders still available, Asante Samuel Jr. will take the visit route to enhance his market. The four-year Chargers regular met with the Cardinals on Thursday, ESPN.com’s Field Yates reports.
Samuel is coming off a season in which a stinger-like injury limited him to four games. But the second-generation NFL corner is going into an age-26 season and worked as a primary Chargers starter during his rookie contract. The Bolts have signed Donte Jackson and Benjamin St-Juste this week, signaling Samuel might need to find a second contract elsewhere.
Operating primarily as a boundary corner, Samuel delivered a splashy wild-card performance by intercepting Trevor Lawrence three times as the Chargers built a 27-point lead. While that margin famously unraveled, Samuel maintained a regular Chargers role until going down last season. Samuel helped save the Chargers – to a degree, as their HC and GM were still fired – after their major J.C. Jackson miscalculation in 2023 and was a 2024 starter early in Jesse Minter‘s first DC season.
After winning the slot job during the Bolts’ 2023 training camp, Samuel shifted back outside – where he played almost exclusively from 2021-22 – after the team ended the Jackson experiment. Pro Football Focus graded the 5-10 cover man as a top-30 corner in 2022 and ’23, though he gave up seven touchdowns as the closest defender during the ’22 season. Also showing some ball-hawking ability, Samuel intercepted six passes from 2021-23 (nine if the Lawrence thefts are included) and posted 35 passes defensed in that span.
While we ranked Samuel 32nd among free agents this year, the cornerback rush did not include he or Rasul Douglas (No. 42). The more experienced batch of CBs — D.J. Reed, Byron Murphy, Carlton Davis, Charvarius Ward — each scored deals averaging at least $16MM per year, while Paulson Adebo and Nate Hobbs did well on the market. Samuel needing to take a visit does not signal he generated immense interest at free agency’s outset.
Letting Murphy and Patrick Peterson walk in free agency earlier this decade, the Cardinals are still in search of cornerstones here. They saw promise from slot defender Garrett Williams last season and used a second-round pick on Max Melton as well. Weeks prior to that, Arizona signed Sean Murphy-Bunting. Starling Thomas maintained a regular role for Arizona last season as well. While the Cardinals have more options than usual at this point, the Samuel visit confirms the team is still on the hunt for starter-level help at the position.
As the 2025 league year begins, here are the Wednesday tender decisions involving restricted and exclusive rights free agents:
Tendered:
Nontendered:
Tendered:
Nontendered:
The Ravens have discussed an extension with Washington, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. For now, the safety is on Baltimore’s cap sheet at $3.26MM. A second-round tender would have cost the Ravens $5.35MM and brought back a second-round pick if the team did not match an offer sheet elsewhere. An unmatched Washington offer sheet now would not bring the Ravens any compensation. Washington started 10 games for the Ravens last season.
Veteran defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson didn’t last long on the free agent market. After getting released by the Browns at the start of the week, Tomlinson is signing with the Cardinals, per Field Yates of ESPN. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network adds that the deal is for two years with a base value of $29MM, including $16MM in guaranteed money. 
Tomlinson has been a full-time starter in the NFL ever since the Vikings drafted him in the second round out of Alabama in 2017. While he doesn’t stuff the stat sheet with sacks (only 19.0 in his career), he’s been plenty disruptive throughout his career, racking up tackles for loss (36) and quarterback hits (67) aplenty. Tomlinson really hangs his hat on being one of the more well-rounded defensive tackles in the league, often seeing his run defense grades as high as his pass rush grades on Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Tomlinson had a decent year in 2024, grading out as the 32nd-best interior defender of 118 players graded by PFF. While that was certainly a strong bounce back from 2023, when he graded 57th (the worst of his career), it still hasn’t been up to par with every other season he’s played with the Giants and Vikings, when he would routinely rank in the top 20.
Tomlinson becomes the second big addition to the Cardinals’ defensive line this offseason, joining the huge, impact signing of defensive end Josh Sweat. Along with Sweat, Tomlinson joins a line that features defensive tackles Bilal Nichols, whose first year in Arizona was cut short last season with a season-ending stinger, and defensive tackle Justin Jones, who also missed most of the season with a torn triceps. They’re also joined by L.J. Collier, who re-signed with the team today on a one-year deal.
The Cardinals didn’t really get to see what their line could look like with Nichols and Jones for a full season last year, but now they’ll have a rotation including those two with Tomlinson. After being a weakness due to injury for most of last year, the defensive line is starting to look pretty strong in Arizona for 2025.
L.J. Collier will remain in Arizona for 2025. The former first-round edge rusher has agreed to a one-year Cardinals deal, the team announced on Wednesday.
This contract has a maximum value of $4MM, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports. Collier played on one-year pacts for each of his first two Arizona campaigns, and over that span he collected slightly more than $2MM. Following a 2024 campaign that qualifies as easily the best of his career, he has secured a raise.
Switching teams in the NFC West proved to be beneficial for Collier. The former first-round pick of the Seahawks never saw a single-season snap share above 49% during his four-year rookie contract with the team, and he even found himself a healthy scratch at times. Seattle made the easy decision to decline his fifth-year option, which sent him to the open market during the 2023 offseason.
He signed for the veteran minimum with Arizona in March 2023, and he impressed during his first training camp and preseason in the desert. Unfortunately, a bicep tear ended the campaign after just one game, but the Cards had seen enough to bring him back for 2024.
In 17 games (15 starts) last year, Collier enjoyed a 54% snap share and posted career-highs in tackles (29) and sacks (3.5). Those numbers do not jump off the page, and the underlying metrics do not necessarily suggest he will have more statistical success in 2025; he received a poor 49.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which was lukewarm on his efforts as a pass rusher.
As ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss indicates, however, the 29-year-old Collier is a valuable locker room presence who fits well within the club’s defensive scheme. And, as a former Day 1 draft choice who has finally shown flashes of his potential, there is hope for continued growth, or at least a steady presence along the defensive front.
The Cardinals retained another member of their EDGE contingent by agreeing to a re-up with Baron Browning a few days ago, and they also made a big splash and struck an agreement with Josh Sweat on Monday.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
The Cardinals are signing veteran linebacker Mykal Walker, per FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz.
Walker appeared in 17 games for the Commanders in 2024 with more than 80% of his playing time coming on special teams. In Arizona, he will likely compete for a role on defense while serving as a core special teams contributor.
Walker was originally a fourth-round pick by the Falcons in 2020 out of Fresno State. He started eight games across his first two seasons before carving out a full-time role in 2022 with 12 starts.
His 107 tackles ranked third on Atlanta’s defense, but the team waived him during training camp the following summer. Walker then spent time with the Bears and the Raiders before receiving his next playing opportunity with the Steelers.
Pittsburgh signed Walker to their practice squad in October 2023 and earned a promotion to the active roster in November. He appeared in the Steelers’ last eight games of the regular season with five starts and even started their wild card loss to the Bills.
Despite earning a starting job, Walker was not retained by the Steelers and instead hit free agency last spring. The Commanders signed him to a one-year deal, but also chose not to re-sign him this offseason.
Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett is planning to sign with the Cardinals, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The 32-year-old will serve as Kyler Murray‘s backup in Arizona in 2025.
Brissett has 53 career starts under his belt, per Fowler, including 11 in Cleveland in 2022 when Drew Petzing was the Browns’ quarterbacks coach. Petzing took over as the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator in 2022 and will now reunite with Brissett as his QB2.
Brissett’s contract in Arizona will be two years in length, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. The Cardinals are his sixth team since 2020, with his most recent stint coming in New England as Drake Maye‘s backup in 2024. Brissett appeared in eight games with five starts last year, completing 95 of his 161 passing attempts for 826 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
He was originally a Patriots third-round pick in 2016, but was traded to the Colts after his rookie year in exchange for Phillip Dorsett. Brissett then started in place of an injured Andrew Luck in 2017 but returned to a backup role upon Luck’s return in 2018. The former No. 1 pick’s surprise retirement during the 2019 preseason put Brissett back as the starter with one year remaining on his rookie contract. The Colts signed him to a one-year, $28MM extension in September 2019, but moved onto Philip Rivers in 2020 after a disappointing year from Brissett.
Brissett then signed with the Dolphins in 2021, kicking off the second half of his career as one of the league’s top backup/bridge quarterback. He played the same role for the Browns in 2022 and the Commanders in 2023 before reuniting with the Patriots in 2024. Brissett sought more security on his latest contract, opting for a two-year deal rather than the single-season contracts he played on over the last four years.
Zay Jones joined the Cardinals on a one-year deal last offseason. That has proven the be the case again on his latest Arizona pact, but the veteran receiver has earned a raise for 2025. 
Jones has agreed to a one-year, $4.4MM deal, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports. That marks a healthy bump in pay compared to the $2.25MM pact he played on in 2024. The 29-year-old will be counted on to remain a secondary member of the team’s passing attack. The deal is now official, per a team announcement.
Jones’ most productive season to date came during his first of two seasons with the Jaguars in 2022. He recorded 823 yards and five touchdowns on 82 catches. After a less impactful follow-up campaign, Jones was released, leading to his one-year run with the Cardinals in 2024. That did not get off to a welcomed start, of course, as he was hit with a five-game suspension to begin the campaign.
Upon returning to the lineup, Jones made 11 appearances but he only saw a snap share of 35%. That sparse usage resulted in just eight scoreless catches, but a raise will no doubt come with increased expectations in 2025 for the former second-rounder. Arizona ranked 18th in passing yards last season, and Jones will have a role in aiming to improve in that department.
The Cardinals have 2024 No. 4 pick Marvin Harrison Jr. along with Michael Wilson at the receiver spot. Tight end Trey McBride (who could soon have an extension near the top of the position’s market in place) is in line to remain a focal point of the team’s offense. Jones should occupy a secondary role in the passing game, and increasing his production from last year will help his free agent market in 2026.
The Vikings added one former Colt along the offensive line in the form of center Ryan Kelly yesterday, and another is also headed to Minnesota. Guard Will Fries has a deal in place, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports.
This will be a whopping five-year, $88MM pact, Fowler adds. KTSP’s Darren Wolfson’s reported yesterday that the sides were discussing a deal, so it comes as little surprise one has now been worked out. Fries will face massive expectations upon arrival given the nature of this commitment.
Fries does not have a connection to Ryan Grigson like Kelly does, as Fries is a first-time free agent who had joined the Colts in the 2021 draft. Despite not joining a team on Day 1 of the legal tampering period, Fries will cash in. While this is on the longer end of the term-length spectrum — especially as the cap has climbed like his has this decade — Fries is receiving a big number to join the Vikings. Guarantees will provide more illumination, but it is clear Minnesota eyed Fries from the start.
The Vikings have been busy Tuesday, agreeing to deals with two high-profile street free agents (Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave) to beef up their defensive line alongside Harrison Phillips while adding Fries as their other new piece with Kelly. The two Colts defections come as Indianapolis added long-rumored Minnesota Sam Darnold fallback option Daniel Jones. As Jones prepares to take a run at another starting job, two Colts blockers will prepare to help J.J. McCarthy transition after missing his rookie season.
A Colts starter for roughly two seasons, Fries is coming off a season-ending injury. He sustained a broken leg early last year; that halted considerable momentum. The fifth-year veteran is not yet 100%, per ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder, but all indications point to him having no issues being ready for next season on time. This contract certainly displays Vikings confidence on this front. The Vikings needed to go big for Fries, whom the Colts tried to re-sign. Pushes from the Patriots, Giants, Seahawks and Cardinals drove the market to this place, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes, as Fries did very well for himself despite the early-season injury.
Fries, who emerged out of the 2021 seventh round, graded as the league’s second-best guard (per Pro Football Focus) and had won his run- and pass-blocking matchups at a career-best rate (per ESPN) before the Week 5 setback. This came after a 17-start 2023, as Fries had taken over for less effective starter Danny Pinter during the 2022 season.
Not on the younger end among this year’s free agent class, Fries (27 in April) will be asked to start at one of the Vikings’ guard spots. Former second-round pick Ed Ingram‘s Vikings future is in doubt, after a 2024 benching, and Dalton Risner — who has not seen free agent markets come close to Fries’ new level — is again out of contract.
Adam La Rose contributed to this report.
Here are today’s minor NFL moves that may have been missed during an otherwise extremely busy first day of the tampering period:
Arizona Cardinals
Chicago Bears
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
San Francisco 49ers
Tennessee Titans
Washington Commanders