Cowboys DE Donovan Ezeiruaku Expected To Recover In Time For Training Camp
Donovan Ezeiruaku appeared in every game during his rookie campaign, but he underwent hip labrum surgery last month. His recovery process in ongoing, and no setbacks have been encountered.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer recently said (via ESPN’s Todd Archer) Ezeiruaku remains on schedule with respect to his rehab following surgery. The 2025 second-rounder is on track to receive full medical clearance in time for training camp as a result. Ezeiruaku will be present for Dallas’ upcoming offseason program, although he will not participate in any team drills.
Logging nine starts in 2025, Ezeiruaku handled a defensive snap share of 55%. The Boston College product managed 40 total stops, nine tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. Ezeiruaku added 26 pressures and one forced fumble while playing in then-defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus‘ 4-3 scheme. The arrival of Christian Parker has resulted in a shift to a 3-4 setup on defense, something which could benefit Ezeiruaku moving forward.
A strong second season from the 22-year-old would help a Cowboys team in need of improvements along the edge. Dallas traded for Rashan Gary and re-signed Sam Williams, but Jadeveon Clowney – who led the team with 8.5 sacks in 2025 – remains on the open market at this time. Archer confirms the Cowboys are expected to focus heavily on defense during the draft, and it would come as no surprise if that were to include an early EDGE investment.
In any event, Ezeiruaku will be counted on to remain a key part of Dallas’ pass rush group for 2026 and beyond. A clean bill of health will certainly be welcomed when padded practices begin during training camp. Acclimating to Parker’s scheme and preparing for Year 2 will be key goals for Ezeiruaku, and he will be able to resume on-field work at the most important part of the offseason provided his recovery remains on track.
CB Joey Porter Jr. Could Be Steelers’ Top Extension Priority
The Steelers had a policy of not negotiating contracts during the season well before general manager Omar Khan took on his current role. Khan has continued that organizational practice while at the helm.
As a result, Pittsburgh has until Week 1 of the 2026 campaign to take care of several financial matters. That includes extensions for pending 2027 free agents such as cornerback Joey Porter Jr. To little surprise, Mark Kaboly of the Pat McAfee Show names Porter as the player likely to be Pittsburgh’s top priority with respect to extensions after the draft takes place.
As the 32nd pick in the 2023 draft – one in which the Dolphins’ were stripped of their Day 1 selection – Porter entered the league as a second-rounder. That means he is not subject to a fifth-year option decision like each of the players drafted ahead of him. Porter’s rookie deal will therefore expire after the 2026 campaign. Urgency on the part of Khan and the front office to work out an extension this summer will be something to watch for.
Porter handled a heavy workload during his rookie season and has been a full-time starter since then. The second-generation Steeler has been the subject of criticism based on the rate at which he is penalized, but he has been durable and productive so far in his career. Porter thrived in coverage during the 2025 campaign, allowing just five yards per target and a passer rating of 57.2 as the nearest defender. He also notched double-digit pass deflections for the second time, totaling a career-best 14 this past year.
Entering his age-26 season, Porter is a candidate for a major raise on his second NFL contract. Kaboly predicts a three-year extension allowing the Penn State product to collect $100MM in total – including the nearly $4MM he is owed for 2026 – could be in the range of what winds up being necessary for a deal to be struck. The CB market recently reached $31MM per season, and Porter figures to be among the early beneficiaries of its continued upward movement.
NFL Mailbag: Giants, Love, Jets, Saints
In this week's edition of the PFR Mailbag, questions on both New York teams are addressed. The top running back prospect in this year's class along with the Saints' offseason are also explored.
Cole asks:
Are both Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the Giants by Week 1? Who do you think has the better chance of being traded?
Many trade requests in the modern NFL are more about trying to attain leverage in contract talks than a genuine desire to change teams. That seems to be the case for Lawrence, with his request coming after another unsuccessful round of extension negotiations.
Colts To Seek CB Kenny Moore Trade
Kenny Moore‘s tenure with the Colts is likely nearing an end. The veteran cornerback is under contract for 2026, but a change of scenery could soon be coming.
Moore and the Colts have mutually agreed to seek out a trade, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. A parting of ways is viewed as beneficial in this case, so it will be interesting to see if a market develops leading up to the draft. Moore has spent his entire nine-year career with Indianapolis.
After handling a part-time workload as a rookie, the former undrafted free agent became a defensive starter for the Colts. Moore has been a mainstay in the secondary since then, racking up 111 starts over the course of his career. During the 2024 offseason, a $10MM-per-year deal was worked out to ensure he would remain in the fold. That represented a record figure for pure slot corners at the time.
Moore remained a key figure in the secondary during the first year of that new contract, collecting three interceptions. The former Pro Bowler totaled 14 appearances this past season, but playing under new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo his snap share saw a notable drop. Scheme fit is seen as an issue in this case, Schefter’s colleague Stephen Holder notes. A parting of ways could allow Moore to start over while paving the way for Justin Walley – who was drafted in the third round last year but did not play during his rookie campaign – to take on first-team slot duties.
Moore’s contract was restructured in October to lower his immediate cap hit. As a result, his pact is set to void in February 2027. The 30-year-old is owed $10MM this season with a scheduled cap charge of $13.11MM. A trade at this point would create $7.06MM in cap savings while generating a dead money charge of $6.05MM. If the Colts waited until after June 1, the financial benefits of a swap would be far greater ($9.91MM in savings, $3.2MM in dead money).
The Colts have named getting younger and faster on defense as an offseason goal, and moving on from Moore (one of the team’s longest-tenured players) would allow for that to happen. It would also give an acquiring team a veteran presence in the secondary, and one who has played at least 11 games in every season of his career to date. Adding draft capital for this month’s event could also beneficial for the Colts since they do not own a first-round selection in 2026 or ’27.
Moore has been held without an interception for a year only once in his career, and he has notched at least one sack during a season on seven occasions. He could be counted on as a starting presence for an acquiring team, although that will of course depend in large part on where he winds up in the event of a trade being finalized at some point this offseason.
Travis Hunter To Be Limited During Jaguars’ OTAs
An LCL tear ended Travis Hunter‘s rookie season and required a lengthy recovery process. His rehab is ongoing, but a return to a full workload during the spring is not expected.
Jaguars general manager James Gladstone said (via NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe) Hunter is set to be a limited participant in upcoming OTAs. Spring practices are voluntary and do not involved contact, but returning to the fold in some capacity would of course be welcomed news. Gladstone added Hunter is on track to be a full participant in training camp.
When the 2025 Heisman winner is back in the fold, a talking point will of course be his workload. Hunter was used on both sides of the ball during his rookie campaign, with a heavier emphasis on his receiver duties than his cornerback ones. A two-way role is still the plan for 2026, but Hunter is set to operate as a full-time cornerback moving forward. That would mark a shift in philosophy, with the receiver spot becoming only a part-time position.
Finding a long-term plan in Hunter’s case will obviously be a priority for Jacksonville. The team traded up to No. 2 last April to select the Colorado product, and as such the Jags do not own a first-rounder for this year’s draft. Generating production on both sides of the ball would be highly beneficial for all involved, especially given the price paid to acquire Hunter. Nevertheless, stability with respect to his weekly role and reducing the risk of injury based on an abnormal workload would be key for 2026 and beyond.
Hunter, 23 in May, was limited to seven games last season. He is set to return to a receiver room including Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers and Parker Washington. At cornerback, the Jaguars have Montaric Brown – who inked a lucrative deal to avoid departing in free agency – and 2025 free agent signing Jourdan Lewis atop the depth chart. Hunter should have a clearer path to playing time on defense, making his planned position setup a logical one.
Jacksonville’s offseason program will begin later than the those of teams which changed head coaches during the hiring cycle. When it does get underway, Hunter’s workload will be worth watching as the Jaguars prepare for a ramp-up period during the summer.
Commanders To Host Omar Cooper Jr.; WR’s Stock Rising?
Omar Cooper Jr. has drawn interest from a number of teams as top-30 visits continue around the league. The Indiana receiver’s next meeting has been lined up.
Cooper will visit the Commanders today, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports. That will be the fifth team Cooper meets with during the pre-draft process, and Pelissero adds another four visits are scheduled in his case. Cooper has long been mentioned as a first-round prospect in the 2026 class.
Carnell Tate and Makai Lemon are widely seen as locks to be selected on Day 1 at the receiver position. Jordyn Tyson‘s stock may be dropping, but he too could come off the board during the opening round. Denzel Boston is another strong candidate to be selected early, and some teams view him as the second- or third-best WR in this year’s class. Cooper has often been viewed as a similar prospect to Boston in terms of his draft range, and widespread interest from NFL teams certainly points to a brief wait before he hears his name called.
Indeed, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated writes some teams appear to rank Cooper alongside the best prospects at the receiver spot. Versatility will be key for Cooper, who spent four seasons with the Hoosiers. That included a major role on offense as part of Indiana’s championship-winning 2025 season, during which he set career highs in catches (69), yards (937) and touchdowns (13). An ability to play in the slot but also on the perimeter should help Cooper find a role early in his NFL career and make him an attractive option for numerous teams.
The Commanders could stand to add a starting-caliber WR during this year’s draft. Terry McLaurin remains in place, but Deebo Samuel is unsigned deep into free agency. Washington has long loomed as a logical landing spot in the event of a Brandon Aiyuk trade, although the 49ers may end up retaining him. In any event, the Commanders are waiting until a potential Aiyuk release, something which would allow them to pursue him as a free agent.
Washington owns the seventh overall pick, and taking Cooper at that point would likely be considered a reach. The team’s next selection is No. 71, however, by which point he will surely be off the board. A trade down the first-round order may make Cooper more viable, although the Commanders have looked into a number of other prospects likely to be on the board when they are first on the clock.
Resumption Of Talks On 18-Game Schedule Not Imminent?
Expansion to an 18-game regular season has long been viewed as an inevitability based on the owners’ support of an increased slate of games. Negotiations on that front have been on hold during the NFLPA’s period without a full-time executive director.
J.C. Tretter was recently elected to the role, marking a surprising comeback after he resigned from the organization last summer. He and the union will now move forward in preparing for negotiations with the NFL on a number of matters. One of those will be an 18-game schedule, although talks on that front do not appear to be imminent.
Expanding the regular season was not something on the agenda at the recent league meeting. As ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes, making progress toward an agreement with the NFLPA on this matter “is not a pressing issue” as things stand. The view of owners has long been that an 18-game slate would be beneficial to all involved based on the increase in revenue it would provide. The league is also known to be eyeing a setup in which 16 international contests are played per year; that would of course be more viable with an additional game on the NFL calendar.
Even so, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones confirms a major ramp-up in negotiations on the matter of schedule length should not be expected in the immediate future. Any agreement prior to the 2028 season at the earliest would come as a surprise, he adds. The current collective bargaining agreement runs through March of 2031, but a new deal can be arranged at any time prior to that point. A strong push from the owners to institute an expanded schedule nevertheless remains something to watch for given the NFL’s immense popularity, something Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke about when asked by Jones about the idea of additional games.
“When the ducks quack, feed them,” Jones said. “And we have that demand for our games. And because of the hard work and great players that we have, we have great demand. We should address it, respond to it and feed it.”
Each of the past five seasons have included a 17-game schedule. That will remain the case for 2026, and more years beyond that under the current setup could be in store if Tretter – who has spoken out against schedule expansion – and Co. choose to remain patient in preparing for the latest round of CBA negotiations.
Chiefs To Host DE Rueben Bain
To no surprise, Rueben Bain remains one of the prospects taking several visits leading up to the NFL draft. The Miami edge rusher will meet with another interested team on Thursday.
Bain has a top 30 visit lined up with the Chiefs for today, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. That represents another team near the top of the first-round order which will meet in person with the 2025 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Bain has previously taken visits with the Dolphins and Titans. Kansas City owns pick No. 9, which falls in between the Titans’ and Dolphins’ top selections.
The Chiefs have taken a look at some of the top receiver prospects in the 2026 class. Taking one would help an offense in need of a stronger showing in the passing game, but as expected Kansas City has looked into of number of pass rushers as well in recent days. The team has met with Ohio State’s Arvell Reese and Texas Tech’s David Bailey. Those two are expected to be the top edge rushers to come off the board, leaving Kansas City with the possibility of looking elsewhere at the position. That could very well result in Bain being selected.
During his three-year tenure with the Hurricanes, Bain amassed 20.5 sacks and 33.5 tackles for loss. He earned first-team All-American honors for his play in 2025, a year in which he and teammate Akheem Mesidor helped lead Miami to the national championship game. The team’s pass rush shone during the College Football Playoff, and Mesidor is also seen as a first-round prospect. Despite the fact he will enter the NFL as a 25-year-old rookie, Mesidor was recently reported to be viewed by some teams as a better player than Bain.
In any event, bringing in a notable pass rush presence early in the draft could be key for the Chiefs. The team released Mike Danna earlier this offseason, and Charles Omenihu departed in free agency. George Karlaftis is on the books through 2030 and former first-rounder Felix Anudike-Uzomah is still in the fold. Adding a starting-caliber edge rusher would nevertheless be impactful for Kansas City’s defense, a unit which ranked just 23rd in sacks last season.
Bain has been the subject of questions regarding his arm length, although that may not be a major concern amongst NFL evaluators. Especially if that remains the case, he will not need to wait long to hear his name called on the opening night of the draft.
Kirk Cousins Eyed Klint Kubiak Reunion When Joining Raiders
Kirk Cousins officially signed with the Raiders on Monday. Vegas remains on course to select Fernando Mendoza first overall in the upcoming draft, but Cousins could begin the 2026 season atop the depth chart.
Rather than aiming for a full campaign spent in a QB1 role, Cousins elected to join a number of familiar faces on the Raiders’ coaching staff. That includes new head coach Klint Kubiak and other staffers who previously worked with Cousins in Minnesota. A reunion was seen as a selling point in this case, as the four-time Pro Bowler recently noted.
“It starts with the coaching staff,” Cousins said during an interview with the team (video link). “I was really excited to work with coaches I’ve worked with before in Klint Kubiak, Rick Dennison, Andrew Janocko. I had some of my best years playing with them… I think it’s a team that has a lot of young talent and they’re building something special, and I want to be a part of that.”
Kubiak served as the Vikings’ quarterbacks coach in 2019 and ’20 before spending the following season as the team’s offensive coordinator. That span overlapped with Cousins’ Minnesota stint, and it was followed by four straight one-year tenures around the league. Kubiak, 39, thrived as Seattle’s OC in 2025 and helped lead the team to a Super Bowl title. The play of quarterback Sam Darnold helped his head coaching stock and raised expectations regarding the development of Mendoza as he acclimates to the NFL.
Janocko (the Raiders’ new offensive coordinator) worked with the Seahawks as their QBs coach in 2025, making it no surprise when he followed Kubiak to Vegas. Janocko also spent time in Minnesota earlier in his career, serving in a number of roles from 2015-21. Dennison, too, overlapped with Cousins on the Vikings’ staff and was also a member of Seattle’s group this past season. He will work as Vegas’ offensive line coach in 2026.
Cousins is due $10MM guaranteed for the coming season, and his Raiders pact contains another $10MM in locked-in money in the form of a roster bonus early in the 2027 league year. His future beyond that point is unclear, but for now the veteran is set to spend the offseason reuniting with several coaches he has previously worked with.
Falcons Looking To Acquire Draft Picks
Ian Cunningham‘s first draft at the helm of the Falcons is approaching. Atlanta’s new general manager currently has only five picks to work with, but that could soon change.
“For us, it’s one of those things where we have to go into this thinking we only have five picks. That’s worst case,” Cunningham said (via the team’s website) when reflecting on his offseason moves so far. “If we come out of [the draft] with just five picks, we come out of it with just five picks. We are already looking at different ways to potentially manufacture some more. But if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.”
The Falcons do not have their first-rounder in 2026 thanks to the trade-up move executed by Terry Fontenot to acquire James Pearce Jr. last April. That has Cunningham and Co. in line for a lengthy wait at the beginning of this year’s event. Atlanta’s top selection as things stand is No. 48. The team also has picks 79, 122, 215 and 231.
Acquiring additional capital during rounds three through five would be a logical goal for the Falcons. The 2026 class has been noted more for its depth than its star power, and swinging a deal for a Day 1 pick would be challenging. Instead, focusing on depth acquisitions to supplement a large group of free agent additions would likely be more manageable. Cunningham noted his busy approach to free agency was partially informed by Atlanta’s lack of draft capital.
With the first few waves of open market activity in the books, attention around the league has increasingly turned toward the draft. The Falcons are coming off an eighth consecutive losing season, and Cunningham’s hire was part of a major housecleaning in the organization. Matt Ryan is in the fold as the team’s president of football, while Kevin Stefanski will lead a new-look coaching staff in 2026. Those new faces will shoulder the task of returning Atlanta to the playoffs.
A key factor in that effort will of course be the impact of the team’s draft picks over time. With Cunningham looking to increase the number of selections at his disposal, a trade down the board will be something to watch for once the draft begins.