Cowboys To Sign DT Otito Ogbonnia
The Cowboys continue to make moves on defense early in the negotiating period. Otito Ogbonnia is heading to Dallas on a one-year, $3MM deal, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. 
Ogbonnia just finished playing out his rookie contract with the Chargers. Across his four years in Los Angeles, the former fifth-round pick logged 20 starts. 17 of those came in 2024, a year in which Ogbonnia set a new career high with 37 tackles.
The 25-year-old will join a very crowded defensive front with the Cowboys. Osa Odighizuwa remains in the fold, as does Kenny Clark (whom the team acquired as part of the Micah Parsons blockbuster). Improving along the defensive interior remained a priority through the 2025 season, and Dallas acquired Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline. Further additions have nevertheless been targeted early in the negotiating period.
To little surprise, the Cowboys have focused on the defensive side of the ball so far this week. Another notable trade agreement with the Packers – this time for edge rusher Rashan Gary – has been worked out. Dallas has also lined up free agent deals with safeties Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke. Improving at all three levels of the defense will be critical in avoiding a repeat of the 2025 season.
Ogbonnia will look to carve out a role as part of that effort. The UCLA product’s defensive snap share varied significantly during his time with the Bolts, and last season he only handed a 25% workload. It will be interesting to see how much new Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker uses Ogbonnia in 2026. A strong showing in a rotational role could lead to a more lucrative pact next spring.
Lions, Malcolm Rodriguez Agree To Deal
Alex Anzalone will not be back with the Lions in 2026. The opposite is true for Malcolm Rodriguez, though, with NFL insider Jordan Schultz reporting he has agreed to a one-year deal.
As a sixth-round rookie in 2022, Rodriguez was a “Hard Knocks” star who ended up a 15-game starter in the regular season. The Oklahoma State product totaled 87 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble then, but it was not enough to hold down a starting job.
In 2023, Rodriguez’s only 17-game season, he played just 10.99% of defensive snaps. On the other hand, he recorded the Lions’ third-highest special teams snap share (67.92%).
Rodriguez saw more action as a defender than a special teamer in his third season, but he was one of many Lions defenders to suffer a serious injury that year. A torn ACL ended his season in late November. Rodriguez finished 2024 with 43 tackles and a career-high two sacks over 10 games and six starts.
After Rodriguez went through a year-long recovery from his knee injury, the 5-foot-11, 230-pounder came off the PUP list last November. He played 160 special teams snaps and 72 on defense over seven games. Rodriguez made 12 tackles during his late-season return.
With Anzalone on his way to Tampa Bay, Gonzalez could be a bigger factor in Detroit’s defense in 2026. As things stand, Rodriguez, Jack Campbell and Derrick Barnes are the only Lions linebackers under contract.
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.
Panthers To Re-Sign LB Isaiah Simmons
Isaiah Simmons will remain in place with the Panthers in 2026. The veteran linebacker has agreed to a new Carolina deal, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report.
As a Swiss Army knife at Clemson, the 6-foot-4, 238-pound Simmons logged at least 100 snaps at five positions: inside linebacker, slot corner, free safety, outside linebacker and strong safety. In 2019, his last college season, Simmons took home the Butkus Award for the nation’s best linebacker and earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Simmons’ success at Clemson convinced the Cardinals to draft him eighth overall in 2020. The Panthers considered Simmons at No. 7, but they wisely chose defensive tackle Derrick Brown instead. Brown remains a cornerstone defender in Carolina, while Simmons has not made the type of impact most expected when he entered the league.
Simmons did not find a home at either safety or linebacker in Arizona, though he mostly served as a starter there from 2020-22. The Cardinals sent Simmons to the Giants for a seventh-round pick before the 2023 campaign. The Giants shifted Simmons back to linebacker, where he played in 34 straight games over two seasons, but did not re-sign him in free agency last year.
Simmons joined the Packers last April, but he was unable to earn a roster spot. Three months after the Packers cut him in late August, the 27-year-old signed with the Panthers’ practice squad at the end of November. Simmons appeared in five regular-season games, though just one of his 88 snaps came on defense. In the Panthers’ lone playoff game, a wild-card round matchup against the Rams, Simmons came up with a well-timed blocked punt late in the fourth quarter. It nearly helped the Panthers to an upset, but they dropped a 34-31 nail-biter.
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.
Panthers Release DT A’Shawn Robinson
As expected, A’Shawn Robinson‘s tenure with the Panthers has come to an end. The veteran defensive tackle was released on Tuesday, per a team announcement. 
Robinson’s time in Carolina was in doubt leading up to the new league year. The Panthers granted him permission to seek a trade, a typical sign a release will be coming. No suitors were willing to take on the remaining year of Robinson’s contract. As such, he will now hit the open market.
This cut will free up $10.5MM in cap space for Carolina. The team will take on just $2.06MM in dead money charges along the way. Robinson, 31 later this month, lasted through two seasons after arriving on a three-year free agent deal. The former Lion, Giant and Ram served as a full-time starter during that time.
Robinson set a new career high with 5.5 sacks in 2024; he also reached a new personal mark with 80 tackles that season. In 2025, the Super Bowl winner’s snap share remained steady but his production dipped. Derrick Brown returning to health played a role in that, along with the arrival of free agent signing Bobby Brown. Those two, plus 2025 fifth-rounder Cam Jackson, will remain in place while Robinson heads elsewhere.
Teams in need of help against the run will likely be interested in this case. Robinson has topped two sacks in a season only twice, but he is a consistent producer on early downs. The Alabama product is not in competition with a particularly long list of free agents at the D-tackle spot, and the coming draft is not held in the same regard as last year’s at that position.
Carolina has already lined up a pair of major front seven additions (edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, linebacker Devin Lloyd). With this Robinson release freeing up additional space, it will be interesting to see if the Panthers pursue another big-ticket signing in free agency.
Texans To Extend K Kaʻimi Fairbairn
Tuesday afternoon has brought about more in the way of kicker news. The Texans have worked out a new deal with Kaʻimi Fairbairn. 
Fairbairn has agreed to two-year, $13MM extension, Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network report. As a result, he is now on the books through 2028. The $6.5MM average annual value of this extension is the highest in league history for kickers.
In 2024, Fairbairn inked a Houston deal worth an average of $5.3MM per year. A healthy raise has now been worked out in the wake of his continued strong play. The nine-year veteran led the NFL in made field goals this past season, connecting on 44 of 48 attempts. Each of his four misses came from beyond 50 yards, and Fairbairn topped 90% in terms of accuracy for the third time in the past four seasons.
The 32-year-old also connected on each of his extra point attempts in 2025, doing so for the second time in his career. High-level play will be counted on for years to come in Fairbairn’s case. This marks the latest in-house player for Houston to receive a new deal on the eve of the new league year. The likes of Danielle Hunter, Sheldon Rankins and Dalton Schultz have worked out new Texans contracts in recent days. Fairbairn now joins them in that respect.
Harrison Butker‘s $6.4MM-per-year-pact led the way in terms of kicker deals entering Tuesday. The market has now seen a small upward move. It will be interesting to see how this affects future contracts at the position. In any case, Fairbairn’s Houston future has been assured beyond 2026.
Lions To Sign RB Isiah Pacheco
The Lions have identified their David Montgomery replacement. Isiah Pacheco has agreed to terms with Detroit, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. This is a one-year pact, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press adds.
Montgomery was recently traded to the Texans in a move which gave Houston a new lead back. He will serve as Joe Mixon‘s replacement with the Texans. Meanwhile, Kansas City made one of the most impactful RB additions of free agency yesterday by agreeing to terms with Kenneth Walker. That news confirmed Pacheco would be departing after playing out his rookie contract with the Chiefs.
The Montgomery trade left Detroit with Jahmyr Gibbs atop the running back depth chart. He is eligible for an extension this offseason, and a pact at or near the top of the position’s market can be expected. The Lions entered this week in need of inexpensive backfield depth, and Pacheco will be counted on to serve as Gibbs’ new partner.
Entering the NFL as a seventh-round pick, Pacheco made an immediate impact and became Kansas’s City’s starter as a rookie. He then took on an increased workload (205 carries) in 2023 and set new career highs across the board. Pacheco posted 935 yards and seven touchdowns that season, one which led to increased expectations. The Rutgers product was limited to just seven games in 2024, however.
Pacheco missed four contests this past campaign as well, one in which he averaged only 3.9 yards per attempt on a struggling Chiefs offense. The 27-year-old will look to bounce back with Detroit. The Lions lined up a few offensive line additions on Monday, including center Cade Mays. He and the team’s eventual Taylor Decker replacement at left tackle will make up a renovated unit along the O-line in 2026. Stronger play in that regard will of course help the Lions’ rushing attack.
Leading up to free agency, a report from SportsBoom’s Jason La Canfora named the Lions as a potential Mixon suitor. The veteran would have been a viable option to serve as Montgomery’s replacement. Instead, Detroit will use Pacheco in that capacity.
Steelers Interested In Kirk Cousins?
Kirk Cousins will be released by the Falcons tomorrow, ending his two-year run in Atlanta. That could lead to interest from a few QB-needy teams, including the Steelers. 
[RELATED: Steelers To Acquire, Extend WR Michael Pittman Jr.]
Pittsburgh’s quarterback plan for 2026 hinges once again on Aaron Rodgers. The future Hall of Famer is expected to arrive at a decision on his playing future sooner than he did last year, but at this point it remains to be seen if his career will continue. A second Pittsburgh campaign would be welcomed, but the team obviously needs to have contingencies in place as well.
Bringing in a different veteran passer could serve that purpose. SportsBoom’s Jason La Canfora reports Cousins is “among the top options” the Steelers are considering as a fallback in the event Rodgers does not return. Pittsburgh also has backup Mason Rudolph in the fold, while La Canfora confirms the team remains high on the potential of 2025 sixth-rounder Will Howard.
At least one more season with an experienced passer would buy time for Howard to continue developing. It could also provide the Steelers with a bridge to the 2027 draft, which is expected to provide teams with more options at the QB spot than April’s edition of the event. Cousins has not worked with new Pittsburgh head coach Mike McCarthy before, but he would be expected to ensure the team still has a high floor in the event of a short-term deal being worked out. Cousins, 37, is younger than Rodgers and is further removed from the Achilles tear which ended his productive 2023 campaign.
That season proved to be Cousins’ last in Minnesota, although a Vikings reunion has been floated as a possibility. Nevertheless, recent reporting – including today’s La Canfora update – has pointed to Kyler Murray as Minnesota’s top QB target. That could leave the Steelers in line to make a Cousins push depending on how things play out with respect to Rodgers’ future.
Packers To Release CB Nate Hobbs
Nate Hobbs‘ Green Bay future was a question mark leading up to free agency. The veteran corner will indeed be on the move after just one year with the team. 
Hobbs is being cut, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. This will be designated a post-June 1 release, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky adds. Green Bay will create $8.84MM in cap savings as a result while generating a dead money charge of $4MM.
No restructure was worked out in this case as the new league year approached, leading to questions about a separation. Hobbs inked a four-year, $48MM contract in free agency last spring upon playing out his rookie contract with the Raiders. As usual, the Packers did not include any full guarantees beyond the first season of the deal, with Hobbs being owed a $6.25MM roster bonus on Friday. In advance of that date, Green Bay has elected to move on.
Hobbs joined the Packers with injury concerns, and that proved to be a problem in 2025. A meniscus issue in training camp marked the first of three knee ailments the former fifth-rounder dealt with in Green Bay. The last was a season-ending MCL injury. Hobbs had found himself out of the starting lineup by the time that took place, pointing further to a cut in this case.
The Illinois product struggled in coverage with the Packers, surrendering a passer rating of 111.1 as the nearest defender in 2025. Between that and his injuries, Hobbs will be hard-pressed to secure a long-term contract like he did last spring. Still, at the age of 26, he could be seen as a bounce-back candidate by teams seeking depth in the secondary.
The cornerback position was a sore spot for Green Bay down the stretch, as illustrated by the Trevon Diggs experiment to close out the campaign. He is no longer in the fold, and Hobbs will also be on the move in free agency. Early on Tuesday, though, the Packers lined up a CB addition by agreeing to terms with Benjamin St-Juste.
TE Hayden Hurst Retires
Hayden Hurst will not be among the players lining up free agent deals this week. The veteran tight end will instead begin his post-playing career. 
Hurst announced his retirement on Tuesday. He did not see any game time in 2025, and instead of spending another offseason in search of a new contract the former first-rounder will hang up his cleats. Today’s news brings an end to a seven-year NFL career.
“It is a blessing how far sports have taken me in this life,” Hurst’s retirement message reads in part. “I was determined to make football work after baseball failed me, and I never let anyone tell me I couldn’t do anything… I fought daily to be the best version of myself that I could, and I hope it showed on the field with the passion 1 played with every snap and every game. To all the fans in the cities I played in, thank you for supporting me along the way, and I hope I represented your hometown well.”
Hurst certainly had an unorthodox path to professional football. A 2012 draftee of the Pittsburgh Pirates, he wound up making only one start as pitcher in the minor leagues. With his baseball journey coming to an abrupt end, Hurst turned his attention to football and enjoyed a productive three-year tenure at South Carolina.
Hurst was selected with the 25th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, and he spent his first two seasons with the Ravens. Baltimore added Mark Andrews in the same draft, however, and the team committed to him as its top option at the tight end position. Hurst was traded to the Falcons, although he also dealt with the problem of being buried on the depth chart behind Kyle Pitts in Atlanta for one year.
During his first trip to free agency, Hurst signed a one-year deal with the Bengals. He was able to deliver strong production as a secondary option in Cincinnati’s passing game, something which resulted in a three-year Panthers contract. Hurst was limited to nine games in 2023, however, and his Carolina tenure was cut short after only one season. He spent 2024 with the Chargers, playing sparingly.
Hurst’s retirement announcement noted this news is probably one year too late, but in any case he can now turn his attention elsewhere at the age of 32. In all, Hurst played 93 combined regular and postseason games and amassed roughly $28.5MM in career earnings.
Giants To Sign CB Greg Newsome
The Giants’ roster overhaul is ongoing, and it will continue into Tuesday. Shortly after learning Cor’Dale Flott will depart, a cornerback addition has been arranged.
New York is expected to sign Greg Newsome, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports. This will be a one-year deal, he adds. Newsome is headed to the NFC after playing out his rookie contract in Cleveland and Jacksonville. He will collect up to $8MM in 2026 with $3MM in guarantees, per Connor Hughes of SNY.
The Browns spent the 26th pick in the 2021 draft on Newsome, a former Northwestern standout. Over his first three seasons, Newsome started in 39 of 41 games and combined for 29 pass deflections. Newsome’s only two interceptions during that span came in 2023, after which the Browns exercised his $13.37MM fifth-year option for 2025.
Newsome added another pick in 2024, but the Browns demoted him to a slot role in sub-packages during a 13-game, three-start season. With Martin Emerson taking his starting job on the outside, Newsome recorded a career-low 53.04% snap share. Pro Football Focus ranked Newsome’s play an unsightly 106th out of 117 qualifying corners.
While trade rumors swirled over Newsome at last year’s draft and in the summer, he stayed put to begin the season. The Browns reinstalled Newsome as a starter for their first five games, but they finally pulled the trigger on a trade in early October. The team shipped Newsome to the Jaguars in a corner-for-corner swap that delivered Tyson Campbell to Cleveland.
Newsome started in 11 of 12 games during his short stay in Jacksonville, which let him walk and re-signed Montaric Brown instead. Between the Browns and Jags, Newsome totaled 52 tackles, nine pass deflections and an INT in the first 17-game season of his career. PFF had a more favorable outlook on Newsome’s performance in 2025, though he still ranked a subpar 89th among 112 CBs.
The Giants thought they had a deal with Flott before Titans head coach Robert Saleh talked him into moving to Tennessee on Monday. A day later, the Giants have the 25-year-old Newsome in the fold as a potential starter opposite Paulson Adebo.
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.