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.
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.
Reunion Between Kirk Cousins, Vikings Gaining Momentum?
The Vikings’ desire to add competition for quarterback J.J. McCarthy could lead them back to old friend Kirk Cousins. With the Falcons expected to release Cousins in the next few weeks, he could be free to sign anywhere soon.
There is “growing sentiment” among NFL executives in the QB market that Cousins will rejoin the Vikings, Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom reports. The move would reunite the 37-year-old with head coach Kevin O’Connell, who had success with Cousins in the past.
In 2022, the Vikings’ first season under O’Connell, Cousins threw for 4,547 yards and 29 touchdowns on his way his fourth and most recent Pro Bowl nod. The Vikings went 13-4 and won the NFC North, but a 9-7-1 Giants team upended them in the wild-card round.
Statistically, Cousins got off to an even better start in 2023. However, a Week 8 Achilles tear wound up ending his Vikings tenure.
With Cousins hitting free agency during the ensuing offseason, the Vikings tried but failed to re-sign him. They were unwilling to give Cousins full guarantees through 2025. That wasn’t going to fly for Cousins, who went on to accept the Falcons’ Godfather offer of four years, $180MM and $100MM in guarantees.
A month and a half after adding Cousins, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot took another enormous gamble in drafting former Indiana and Washington signal-caller Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall. It came as a major surprise, and Cousins later revealed he may have re-signed with the Vikings had he known the Falcons would draft Penix.
“It felt like I had been a little bit misled or certainly if I had had the information around free agency, it would have affected my decision,” Cousins said last summer. “I had no reason to leave Minnesota, as much as we loved it there, if both teams were drafting a quarterback high.”
Despite Fontenot’s efforts, the Falcons still don’t have a clear answer at QB. Cousins struggled to regain form in the first year of his contract, leading head coach Raheem Morris to bench him for Penix ahead of Week 16. The Falcons were 7-7 and fighting for a playoff spot when Morris made the change. They finished 1-2 under Penix and missed the postseason for the seventh straight year.
Penix remained Atlanta’s starter entering last season, but it proved to be another rough season for the club. The Falcons went 8-9 again, and the oft-injured Penix was inconsistent before suffering a partially torn ACL in Week 11. The Falcons were 3-7 at the time. Cousins quarterbacked them to a 5-2 mark to wrap up the season, but it wasn’t enough to save Fontenot or Morris. Owner Arthur Blank fired the pair and replaced them with a new regime of president of football Matt Ryan, GM Ian Cunningham and head coach Kevin Stefanski.
A couple days after ousting Fontenot and Morris, the Falcons reworked Cousins’ contract, which signaled a forthcoming release. If Cousins is still a Falcon on the third day of the league year, he’ll earn a guaranteed $67.9MM for 2027. The restructuring also includes an $80MM poison pill for March 13, according to La Canfora. Considering the language in his deal, he’s as good as gone. The Falcons would take on a $35MM dead cap charge in designating Cousins a post-June 1 release, but they’d spread that over two seasons ($22.5MM in 2026, $12.5MM in ’27). The team would also save $2.1MM in cap room next season.
As is the case with the Falcons and Penix, the Vikings don’t know if they have the solution in their own 2024 first-round passer. Two picks after Penix came off the board, the Vikings selected McCarthy 10th overall.
A year after winning the national championship at Michigan, McCarthy missed his entire rookie campaign with a torn meniscus. The Vikings didn’t miss a beat without McCarthy, though, as veteran Sam Darnold revived his career during a 14-win outburst.
After their season ended with an ugly wild-card round loss to the Rams, the Vikings didn’t retain Darnold. They also couldn’t prevent late-season backup acquisition Daniel Jones from leaving for a chance to start in Indianapolis. Darnold walked in free agency for the Seahawks’ three-year, $100.5MM offer. One season later, Darnold and the Seahawks are Super Bowl champions. Jones had a terrific year in his own right before it ended with a torn Achilles in Week 14.
Meanwhile, the Vikings are coming off a nine-win season in which poor QB play torpedoed their chances of earning a playoff berth. McCarthy posted subpar numbers over 10 starts, and three injuries – a high ankle sprain, a concussion and a hairline fracture in his right hand – kept him out of seven games. The Vikings have since fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the GM who drafted McCarthy.
“They can say what they want publicly, but they have some serious questions about McCarthy,” one GM told La Canfora.
Vikings executive vice president Rob Brzezinski is now their interim GM, but O’Connell wields plenty of decision-making power. If he regards Cousins as an ideal veteran to place in the QB room with McCarthy, a reunion could be in store.
Offseason Outlook: Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons entered last season aiming to break a seven-year playoff drought. At the very least, finishing above .500 for the first time since 2017 would have represented a modicum of progress. It turns out that's all it would have taken to win an underwhelming NFC South in 2025. The Falcons still couldn't do it. While their subpar 8-9 record matched the top mark in the division, tiebreakers doomed the Falcons to a third-place finish behind the Panthers and Buccaneers.
The Falcons rattled off four straight victories to end the season, but it was a hollow winning streak for a team that was eliminated from playoff contention in Week 14. Fed up with another season of unsatisfactory results, owner Arthur Blank hit the reset button on his front office and coaching staff.
In an effort to lead Atlanta back to relevance, Blank lured 14-year Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan from his CBS gig with a newly created position: president of football. Ryan has since steered the Falcons to a new GM and head coach, but not everything has gone according to plan. With foundational edge rusher James Pearce Jr. facing five felony charges, Ryan has already encountered unexpected adversity in his first several weeks atop the Falcons' front office.
Coaching/front office:
- Fired general manager Terry Fontenot, head coach Raheem Morris
- Hired Matt Ryan as president of football
- Hired Ian Cunningham as general manager
- Hired Kevin Stefanski as head coach
- Hired Tommy Rees as offensive coordinator, replacing Zac Robinson
- Retained defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich
- Hired Craig Aukerman as ST coordinator, replacing Marquice Williams
- Hired Alex Van Pelt as QBs coach, replacing D.J. Williams
- Hired Bill Callahan as O-line coach, replacing Dwayne Ledford
- Hired Tanner Engstrand as pass-game coordinator
- Hired Robert Prince as wide receivers coach, replacing T.J. Yates
- Defensive pass-game coordinator Mike Rutenberg became Browns' DC
Robert Woods Announces Retirement
Veteran wide receiver Robert Woods announced his retirement on Instagram on Tuesday (via Adam Schefter of ESPN). The 33-year-old signed a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Rams.
A former USC Trojan, Woods entered the NFL as Buffalo’s second-round pick in 2013. He ended up spending four years as a member of the Bills, with whom he caught 203 passes for 2,451 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The California native parlayed his solid production as a Bill into a five-year, $39MM deal with the Rams in 2017. The move worked out beautifully for both parties.
Joining the Rams in Sean McVay‘s first season as their head coach, Woods racked up 56 catches for 781 yards (then a career high) and five touchdowns. Woods went on to post his three best seasons after that. He finished with between 86 to 90 receptions in each year and surpassed the 1,100-yard mark twice, including a personal-high 1,219 in 2018.
Woods’ career began going downhill when he suffered an ACL tear in practice in November 2021. The injury limited Woods to nine games and held him out for the Rams’ Super Bowl-winning playoff run.
In March 2022, several weeks after the Rams hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, they traded Woods to the Titans for a sixth-round pick. Woods played his lone 17-game season that year, but after he put up 53 catches, 527 yards and two TDs, the Titans released him.
In the wake of his Titans breakup, Woods landed a two-year deal with the AFC South rival Texans. He saw the pact through and played in 29 games, though Woods only combined for 60 catches, 629 yards and one score.
Woods stayed in the AFC when he inked a one-year, $2MM contract with the Steelers last offseason, but he didn’t crack their roster. The Steelers released Woods in late August, and he didn’t sign elsewhere all season. He’ll now wrap up an impressive 12-year career that included 683 catches, 8,233 yards and 38 TDs over 171 games.
Browns, Joel Bitonio Push Back Void Date; Bitonio Mulling Retirement
A 12-year veteran and a career-long Brown, guard Joel Bitonio is scheduled to become a free agent next month. Before Bitonio signs with the Browns or anyone else, he’ll have to decide whether to play in 2026.
With Bitonio mulling retirement, he and the Browns agreed to push back the void date on his contract until the end of the league year in March, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic reports. The original void deadline for Bitonio was Feb. 16. Had Bitonio’s contract voided, it would have stuck the Browns with a $23MM dead cap charge.
This is the third straight offseason in which Bitonio has considered retirement, but he hung around long enough to finish a three-year, $48MM extension. That was money well spent for Cleveland, which stole Bitonio in the second round of the 2014 draft. The 34-year-old Nevada product is now a seven-time Pro Bowler and a two-time first-team All-Pro.
Bitonio’s streak of seven straight Pro Bowls ended in 2025, but he remained a constant presence on an injury-ravaged line. He was the only member of the Browns’ front five to start all 17 games, the ninth full campaign of his decorated career. Bitonio was on the field for a team-high 99.72% of offensive snaps. As Pro Football Focus’ 21st-ranked guard among 79 qualfiiers, he remained a rare bright spot on a struggling offense.
While the Browns were able to count on Bitonio yet again, fellow starting linemen Dawand Jones, Ethan Pocic, Wyatt Teller and Jack Conklin all missed between four and 14 games. The injuries along the line negatively contributed to a 5-12 season and a 30th-place ranking in total offense for the Browns. Now, with Bitonio, Pocic (coming off a December Achilles tear), Teller and Conklin nearing free agency, the Browns are continuing to deal with uncertainty up front.
Mike Evans To Return In 2026
Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans has put any retirement talk to bed. Evans will return for a 13th season in 2026, agents Deryk Gilmore and Darren Jones told Kimberley A. Martin of ESPN. Although Evans is a career-long Buccaneer, the pending free agent will explore his options on the open market.
While Evans left the door open for retirement in September, he would have exited on a sour note had he gone through with it. The 32-year-old entered 2025 aiming for a 12th straight 1,000-yard campaign, which would have broken a tie with Jerry Rice for the all-time record. However, multiple injuries – including a broken clavicle – prevented Evans from surpassing the legendary Rice.
Playing in just eight of the Buccaneers’ 17 games, Evans wound up with 30 catches, 368 yards and three touchdowns. The 6-foot-5, 231-pounder’s injuries contributed to a disappointing finish for Tampa Bay, which went 8-9 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
On Feb. 8, Gilmore expressed optimism Evans would continue playing, stating: “[Evans] finished feeling better than he has in several seasons. I think his competitive nature leads to more football. That is my hope.”
Evans proved Gilmore right nine days later, but now their focus will turn to which uniform he will wear in 2026. As veteran insider Jordan Schultz notes, “Evans’ heart has always been in Tampa.” Nevertheless, if Evans sees a better opportunity after the Buccaneers fell flat in 2025, he may take it.
The last time Evans was on track to reach the open market, 2024, the Buccaneers prevented it from happening with a two-year, $52MM offer. A host of teams were prepared to line up for Evans before he re-signed. He later pointed to the Texans and Chiefs as clubs he would have considered joining had he rejected the Bucs’ proposal. As a Galveston native and a former Texas A&M standout, signing with the Texans would have given him a chance to play in his home state.
Since going to Tampa Bay as the seventh pick in the 2014 draft, Evans has amassed 866 receptions, 13,052 yards and 108 touchdowns. Now a six-time Pro Bowler and a one-time Super Bowl champion, the potential Hall of Famer is on his way to free agency as the most accomplished receiver available. Combining his injury-ruined 2025 and his age, Evans won’t test the market at an ideal time. Nevertheless, it’s likely he will garner plenty of interest from around the league.
Falcons ‘Likely’ To Tag TE Kyle Pitts?
Although he’s a pending free agent, Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts said in late January it would be “dope” to play for new head coach Kevin Stefanski. A potential trip to the open market is looming for Pitts, but it appears he will indeed work with Stefanski in 2026. Atlanta placing the franchise tag on Pitts is the “most likely outcome,” Josh Kendall of The Athletic writes.
[RELATED: Falcons Offseason Outlook]
The window to tag players opens at 3 CT Tuesday and will close March 3, giving the Falcons about two weeks to make a decision on Pitts. Stefanski, president of football Matt Ryan and general manager Ian Cunningham were not in place when the Falcons brought in Pitts as a first-round pick in 2021.They could nonetheless sign off on tagging Pitts for a projected $16.32MM.
A former Florida star, Pitts came off the board fourth overall, making him the highest-drafted tight end ever. Pitts has lived up to the billing at times, but probably not as often as former general manager Terry Fontenot was hoping for when he chose the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder.
The Falcons fired Fontenot after the season, ending his five-year run atop their front office. That set up a reunion with Ryan, who quarterbacked the Falcons for 14 years. With Pitts’ future up in the air, It’s worth noting Ryan and Pitts developed an on-field rapport in the latter’s rookie campaign. Pitts caught 68 passes and went over 1,000 yards (1,026) for the only time in his career that year, Ryan’s last season as a Falcon. Although Pitts scored just one touchdown, he earned his lone Pro Bowl invite.
Hamstring and knee injuries limited the normally durable Pitts to 10 games and 28 receptions in his second year. He hasn’t missed a game since then (nor did he in his first year), but Pitts’ numbers were closer to decent than great from 2023-24. He averaged 50 grabs, 635 yards and four TDs per season during that stretch.
Playing 2025 on his fifth-year option and a $10.88MM salary, Pitts enjoyed arguably the best season of his career at an opportune time. He set personal highs in catches (88), targets (118) and TDs (five). Pitts also finished with 928 yards en route to second-team All-Pro honors. However, there is skepticism in some corners that Pitts’ output would remain that strong on a multiyear contract.
“He didn’t really look like he really wanted it until it was time to get paid,” one personnel executive told Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom. “That’s a big red flag for me.”
If the Falcons are similarly hesitant to hand Pitts a sizable multiyear deal, it would still make sense to keep him around for a season with Stefanski. Known as a tight end-friendly coach, Stefanski had plenty of success in Cleveland with David Njoku from 2020-25. He and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees also helped third-round rookie Harold Fannin to a 72-catch, 731-yard, six-TD showing last season. Stefanski and Rees (now the Falcons’ OC) would likely expect even better results from Pitts.
Browns Close To Hiring D-Coordinator
6:28pm: Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com named three finalists for the defensive coordinator job in Cleveland today. Per Cabot, the two external candidates are both still in consideration, but of the two internal options, Banda will not be considered moving forward. In the next day or two, the Browns will be choosing between Undlin, Tarver, and Rutenberg for their defensive coordinator position.
11:52am: Nine days since Jim Schwartz resigned as their defensive coordinator, the Browns are getting closer to naming his replacement. Head coach Todd Monken‘s decision could come “within the next day or two,” Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports.
Monken has spent this weekend conducting in-person interviews with candidates, according to Cabot. Two finalists, Texans defensive pass-game coordinator Cory Undlin and Falcons PGC Mike Rutenberg, have met with Monken.
Browns linebackers coach Jason Tarver and safeties coach Ephraim Banda are also still in contention. Thanks in part to his defensive coordinator experience with the Raiders from 2012-14, Tarver is the “stronger internal candidate” than Banda, Cabot writes.
Banda was the co-defensive coordinator at Miami from 2019-20 and the DC at Utah State between 2021-22, but he has spent all three of his NFL seasons coaching safeties. If professional coordinator experience is preferred, Banda and Rutenberg may fall behind Undlin (the Lions’ DC in 2020) and Tarver in the pecking order.
Rutenberg has combined for 15 years in the league with Washington, Jacksonville, San Francisco, the Jets and Atlanta, but the longtime Robert Saleh colleague has never run a defense. He has also never been on the same staff as Schwartz. Considering Monken intends to keep Schwartz’s system in place, that may be important.
With Schwartz then the Eagles’ DC, Undlin spent four years under him (2016-19) as their defensive backs coach. They won a Super Bowl together in 2017. In addition to his experience with Schwartz, Undlin has also worked with Monken. The two overlapped as Jaguars assistants from 2009-10.
Tarver and Banda helped Schwartz’s defense finish 2025 fourth in scoring and 14th in yards. With a record 23 sacks, Myles Garrett steamrolled his way to Defensive Player of the Year honors. Linebacker Carson Schwesinger, Tarver’s pupil, was a tackling machine (156) who chipped in 2.5 sacks and two interceptions. That was enough for the second-rounder from UCLA to collect the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.
The Browns have a lot of problems to fix on the offensive side of the ball, but Garrett and Schwesinger help make their DC job an attractive one. With the Browns in the final stages of their search, here’s a refresher on the other names they’ve considered:
- Charlie Bullen, defensive pass-game coordinator (Giants): Interview requested; withdrew from search
- Jonathan Cooley, defensive pass-game coordinator (Panthers): Interview requested
- Aubrey Pleasant, defensive pass-game coordinator (Rams): Interviewed 2/9
- Dino Vasso, defensive backs coach (Texans): Mentioned as candidate; withdrew from search