Bucs’ Jacob Parrish To Compete For Outside CB Job
After cornerback Jacob Parrish showed off his inside-outside versatility at Kansas State, the Buccaneers added him in the third round of the 2025 draft. The 84th overall pick wound up spending most of his rookie season in the slot, but he could take on new responsibilities in Year 2. Parrish will compete for a starting job on the outside, according to Jenna Laine of ESPN.com.
The Buccaneers’ secondary has undergone a couple of notable changes this offseason, which could lead to a different role for the 5-foot-10, 198-pound Parrish. They lost starting corner Jamel Dean to the Steelers in free agency and did not pick up any real replacement(s) on the open market. The Dean-less Buccaneers entered the draft with Zyon McCollum and Benjamin Morrison on the outside and Parrish in the slot, but they went on to grab Keionte Scott in the fourth round. Scott logged a large amount of snaps as a nickel corner during a four-year college career divided between Auburn and Miami.
The addition of Scott could lead to more work on the outside for Parrish, who played 127 snaps on the boundary last year and amassed 496 in the slot. During a 17-game, five-start campaign, Parrish finished second among Tampa Bay’s corners in defensive snap share (71.46%), Only McCollum was on the field more than Parrish, who racked up 76 tackles, seven passes defensed, two interceptions and a pair of sacks. He ended the year as Pro Football Focus’ 31st-ranked corner among 112 qualifiers, handily beating out McCollum (51st) and Morrison (108th), and earned a place on the All-Rookie Team.
McCollum, who started in all 30 appearances from 2024-25, inked a three-year, $48MM extension last September. That came several months after the Bucs drafted Parrish and Morrison. They used a second-rounder on Morrison, the 53rd overall choice, but a hip injury limited him to 10 games and three starts. If Morrison has a healthier second season, the club figures to bank on him, Parrish, McCollum and Scott for plenty of snaps.
With their offseason heavy lifting likely done, the Buccaneers will expect their current group of corners to help lead an improved pass defense in 2026. The Bucs were a lowly 27th against the pass last season, which helps explain their 8-9 finish and their failure to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2019.
Kenneth Walker Knew He Would Leave Seahawks In Free Agency
Although running back Kenneth Walker posted his second 1,000-yard regular season and then took home Super Bowl LX MVP honors, the Seahawks did not re-sign the four-year veteran in free agency. Walker ended up joining the Chiefs on a three-year, $43.05MM deal when the negotiating period opened March 9. Leaving Seattle did not come as a surprise to Walker, who told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that he saw it coming months ago.
“I would say probably, if I’m being honest, probably like sometime during the season,” Walker said. “You know, things ain’t working out how I was expecting to, and that’s all right. It worked out for the team. So sometime during the season and then we get to free agency, pretty much knowing like you weren’t gonna be there no more.”
As the Seahawks were preparing to face the Patriots in the Super Bowl, general manager John Schneider said he “would love” to keep Walker. The 25-year-old went on to further boost his stock with a 135-yard performance against the Pats, helping the Seahawks to a 29-13 romp.
Walker made it known after the Super Bowl that he hoped to stay in Seattle, but it is unclear if the reigning champions even made him an offer. Without a long-term deal, the Seahawks still could have attempted to retain Walker for another year via the $14.29MM franchise tag (as the Jets did with Breece Hall) or the $11.32MM transition tag. They deemed those prices too rich, though, and allowed their former second-round pick to walk away for a significant raise.
Walker now sits fourth among RBs in total value, average salary ($14.35MM) and guarantees ($28.7MM). The Chiefs expect him to boost a running game that ranked a lackluster 25th in the league last year. Meanwhile, several weeks after Walker left, the Seahawks spent a first-rounder on his replacement, Jadarian Price. As the 32nd pick in the draft, Price’s fully guaranteed rookie deal will check in at approximately $16.73MM over four years.
With the regular season still four months away, Price, free agent addition Emanuel Wilson, George Holani and Kenny McIntosh are among the Seahawks’ healthy backfield options. They also have Zach Charbonnet, who shared snaps with Walker over the previous three years, but his status for the start of 2026 is uncertain after he tore his ACL in the divisional round.
Chargers’ Jake Slaughter To Vie For LG Job
The guard position stood out as one of the Chargers’ few glaring needs entering the draft. Despite that, they did not use one of their early picks on a traditional guard. Rather, the Bolts are counting on second-round center Jake Slaughter to successfully transition to left guard as a rookie. They expect Slaughter to compete for the starting job, according to general manager Joe Hortiz (via Kris Rhim of ESPN).
Zion Johnson, the 17th overall pick in the 2022 draft, was the Chargers’ starting left guard in three of his first four seasons (he was their right guard as a rookie). Although Johnson was remarkably durable in Los Angeles, where he missed just two games and started in 65 of 66, he has not turned into a great lineman at the NFL level. The Chargers let him walk in free agency as a result.
After Johnson accepted the Browns’ three-year, $49.5MM offer in free agency, the Bolts responded by re-signing Trevor Penning to a one-year, $4.5MM pact and adding Kayode Awosika on a modest deal. Both players are likely better off as depth, which could clear the way for Slaughter to step in as a Day 1 starter. There may be growing pains, however, considering Slaughter did not play a single snap at guard in college.
A former Florida Gator, Slaughter was one of the nation’s best centers over the past couple of years. Slaughter earned first-team All-SEC honors in each of the previous two seasons. He was also a first-team All-American in 2024. The Chargers scooped him up at pick 63. They later selected guards Logan Jones and Alex Harkey in the sixth round, but they will likely vie for backup roles as rookies.
While Slaughter may eventually move back to center for the Chargers, the position is spoken for as of now. Earlier this offseason, the Chargers replaced the retired Bradley Bozeman with Tyler Biadasz, whom they brought in on a three-year, $30MM accord. Biadasz will man the pivot, free agent pickup Cole Strange will take over at right guard for the released Mekhi Becton, and the excellent Rashawn Slater–Joe Alt duo will handle the tackle spots. Slater missed all of last season with a torn patellar tendon, and ankle issues held Alt to six games, but both blockers are ahead of schedule in their recoveries.
If Slater and Alt return to full strength, left guard will be the biggest question on the Chargers’ line heading into next season. In a best-case scenario for them, Slaughter will quickly adapt to a new position and help make life easier on franchise quarterback Justin Herbert. Thanks to a combination of injuries and subpar blocking, Herbert suffered the third-most sacks in the league last year (54). While the Chargers still managed 11 wins and a playoff berth, they were unable to get out of the wild-card round. The Patriots sacked Herbert six times in a lifeless offensive showing for the Chargers, who fell 16-3.
Giants Claim DT Zacch Pickens
The Giants made one of Tuesday’s most noteworthy moves in agreeing to sign defensive tackle D.J. Reader to a two-year, $12.5MM deal. Not content to stop adding at the position, the Giants have claimed Zacch Pickens off waivers from the Chiefs.
Pickens is quickly landing on his feet after the Chiefs cut him Monday. The 6-foot-4, 303-pounder spent all of last season in the Kansas City organization, mostly as a member of its practice squad. Pickens got into three games and played 59 defensive snaps.
Before arriving in KC, Pickens spent the first two years of his career in Chicago. The Bears invested a third-round pick (No. 64 overall) in the South Carolina product in 2023, but the move did not work out as hoped. Pickens logged his lone 17-game season as a rookie, though he did not make any starts. He finished with a 24.65% defensive snap share, 20 tackles and a half-sack. While Pickens made the first three starts of his career in 2024, he totaled just nine appearances, 19 tackles and a sack on the season. Led by then-rookie head coach Ben Johnson, the Bears waived Pickens last August.
For the Giants, the Pickens claim continues an active couple of weeks along their interior defensive line. The first domino to fall was the mid-April trade of nose tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals for the 10th overall pick. The Giants have since brought in Reader, Pickens, Leki Fotu and sixth-rounder Bobby Jamison-Travis to join Darius Alexander, Sam Roberts and Marlon Tuipulotu
Browns’ Deshaun Watson Leading QB Competition; Ownership Pushing For Watson To Start?
MAY 1: During a Friday appearance on 92.3 The Fan, Monken confirmed his preference would be to have a QB1 in place to start training camp. He added, though, that the split of first-team reps during the team’s remaining spring practices may not be a final indication regarding Cleveland’s approach under center with preseason contests still providing an opportunity for the depth chart to change.
APRIL 30: The 2026 regular season is still four-plus months from kicking off, but first-year Browns head coach Todd Monken wants to identify his starting quarterback by the end of the team’s June 9-11 minicamp, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Monken still has several weeks to make his choice, but Deshaun Watson currently has the “edge” over Shedeur Sanders, according to Cabot.
This comes as a surprise after Sanders appeared to be the frontrunner three weeks ago. As a fifth-round pick last year, Sanders finished his rookie season as the Browns’ starter. Despite posting poor numbers, Sanders earned a Pro Bowl invite as an alternate. Meanwhile, Watson has not taken the field since he ruptured his Achilles on Oct. 20, 2024. The three-time Pro Bowler ruptured it again in January 2025, forcing him to miss all of last season.
The Browns made perhaps the worst trade in league history when they sent four picks (three first-rounders and a third-rounder) to the Texans for Watson in March 2022. They immediately handed Watson a fully guaranteed $230MM over five years, which has gone down as another disastrous decision.
While facing widespread sexual misconduct allegations, Watson opened his Browns tenure serving an 11-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Injuries have held him to just 19 starts since then. The Browns have gone 9-10 with Watson at the helm. To worsen matters, they have been forced to repeatedly restructure his bloated contract. They did so for the fourth time last month.
Although Watson’s deal will finally expire after this season, the Browns will still spread an $86.2MM dead money charge from 2027-28. Owner Jimmy Haslam, who has paid a cripplingly expensive price for almost no production from Watson, admitted last April that acquiring him was a “big swing and miss.” Over a year later, though, the Haslams (Jimmy and wife Dee) are making a behind-the-scenes push for Watson to start, Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom relays.
“Jimmy Haslam has paid this guy $180MM and he’s got nothing to show for it,” one general manager told La Canfora. “He’s trying to get blood from a stone but it’s not going to work. Watson is done.”
If Watson proves to be “done,” it could eventually lead to opportunities for Sanders and/or the rest of the Browns’ signal-callers. Dillon Gabriel and 2026 sixth-rounder Taylen Green are also in the team’s QBs room, but it does not appear they are under serious consideration for the starting gig. Rather, they are vying for a “developmental spot,” Cabot writes. It is more likely Gabriel and Green will receive third- and fourth-team work, leaving Watson and Sanders to divide the starting reps.
Monken has left the door open for Green, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound dual threat, to take the field in specialty packages (via Cabot). If the former Boise State and Arkansas starter impresses enough to earn a roster spot, Gabriel could be on his way out just a year after the Browns spent a third-rounder on him. The Browns may have trouble getting Gabriel on their practice squad, notes Cabot, who points to a trade as a possibility.
Gabriel made six underwhelming starts for the Browns after they traded Joe Flacco to the Bengals last October. He lost the job to Sanders after suffering a concussion in a Week 11 loss to the Ravens. Depending on how the next few months unfold, that may prove to be Gabriel’s last meaningful appearance with the Browns.
Vikings Wanted Second-Rounder For Jonathan Greenard; Finances Played Role In Trade To Eagles
After several weeks of rumors, the Vikings and Eagles pulled off a trade involving edge defender Jonathan Greenard on Day 2 of the draft. The Eagles sent two third-rounders to the Vikings for Greenard and a seventh.
Minnesota and Philadelphia “heavily discussed” a Greenard trade in mid-March, but talks stalled over the Vikings’ asking price, Adam Schefter of ESPN said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. The Eagles initially offered a third-rounder, but the Vikings held out for a second-rounder. They reached a compromise over a month later.
Greenard spent the first couple months of the offseason hoping for a raise, but the Vikings “weren’t going to pay him,” Schefter says. That had nothing to do with frugality on the part of Vikings ownership, according to interim general manager Rob Brzezinski (via Kevin Seifert of ESPN).
“We want to make it perfectly clear that this has nothing to do with us or [owners Zygi and Mark Wilf] not wanting to spend money or cutting back in any way, pulling back the reins on our spending,” Brzezinski stated. “We have just spent so much money the last several years that it’s not sustainable for us to move forward. Our salary cap situation has been very, very challenging.”
Brzezinski isn’t wrong. As Seifert notes, the Vikings spent $100MM-plus over the cap from 2024-25 under former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, whom they fired in January. They were around $50MM in the red entering this offseason, but the Vikes now have approximately $10.74MM in effective cap space after the Greenard trade and the rest of their moves. While they have gotten themselves into better financial shape, Brzezinski admitted trading Greenard is “something that we understand is not making the Minnesota Vikings a better team today.”
The Vikings were not in position to hand Greenard a raise, but the Eagles quickly gave the 28-year-old pass rusher his coveted extension. It is technically a four-year, $100MM deal with $50MM in guaranteed money, but it may end up as a two-year pact. The Eagles will be able to escape the contract after the 2027 season, per OverTheCap. In releasing Greenard before June 1, 2028, the Eagles would save around $1.69MM while taking on $14.11MM in dead money. Designating Greenard a post-June 1 release would be more beneficial, as it would yield $11.09MM in savings and $4.70MM in dead cap.
Ravens Sign First-Round G Vega Ioane
The Ravens have acted quickly in getting first-round guard Vega Ioane under contract. The 14th overall pick has signed his rookie deal, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports. Ioane will earn a fully guaranteed $24.23MM over four years. The contract also comes with a fifth-year option.
The 6-foot-4, 325-pound Ioane was a standout at Penn State, where he became a full-time starter at left guard in 2024. Ioane earned second-team All-Big Ten honors that year, and he improved to first-team honors last season. He was also a first-team All-American after putting together a second straight season without allowing a sack or taking a holding penalty. Ioane yielded just four pressures over 614 snaps in his last year with the Nittany Lions.
Considered the best pure guard in this year’s draft class, Ioane ended up as one of a whopping nine offensive linemen to come off the board in the first round. The Ravens could have lost out on Ioane if not for the Rams’ affinity for Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. Teams hoping to jump the Ravens for Ioane called the Rams about acquiring the 13th overall pick, but general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay stayed put to draft a potential QB of the future.
Ravens GM Eric DeCosta and head coach Jesse Minter landed a plug-and-play starter in Ioane, though it is unclear whether he will line up on the left side in 2026. John Simpson, whom the Ravens signed to a three-year, $30MM contract in free agency, is more “comfortable” on the left than the right, Zrebiec notes. Regardless, Ioane and Simpson are poised to start next season, giving the Ravens two new No. 1s after they used Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele as 17-game starters last year. Vorhees is now ticketed for a bench role, while Faalele signed with the Giants and reunited with former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.
In addition to signing Ioane, the Ravens have inked fourth-round wide receiver Elijah Sarratt to a deal, Zrebiec relays. Sarratt enjoyed a productive three-year college career between James Madison and Indiana, where he combined for 200 catches and 31 touchdowns in 40 games. Sarratt was an integral part of the Hoosiers’ undefeated, national title-winning team in 2025. Serving as a key weapon for quarterback Fernando Mendoza and a strong complement to fellow receiver Omar Cooper Jr., Sarratt caught 65 passes for 830 yards and an NCAA-leading 15 scores. The Ravens snagged Sarratt at No. 115, 35 picks after they chose USC wideout Ja’kobi Lane at No. 80.
Bills Traded Down After Running Out Of First-Round Grades; Brandon Beane Viewed Corner As Biggest Need
The Bills entered the 2026 NFL Draft with the 26th overall selection, but they did not end up picking in the first round. General manager Brandon Beane made three separate trades to move down to No. 35. Beane revealed that he began wheeling and dealing after the Bills ran out of players with first-round grades (via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN).
While it is unclear which prospects the Bills were considering at 26, it is worth noting that two edge defenders – Akheem Mesidor (Chargers) and Malachi Lawrence (Cowboys) – as well as receiver KC Concepcion (Browns) and safety Dillon Thieneman (Bears) came off the board in the four preceding picks. Any of them would have filled a need for the Bills, who eyed at least three of them before the draft. The team hosted Concepcion on a “30” visit, and it met with Lawrence and Thieneman at the Combine (via Bills Wire).
After going down nine spots, the Bills used their first pick on former Clemson edge defender T.J. Parker. They later addressed receiver in the fourth round (Skyler Bell, No. 125) and safety in the fifth (Jalon Kilgore, No. 167).
Beane’s second pick on Day 2 was former Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun, whom he moved up for in the second round. He sent a third-rounder (No. 66) and a sixth-rounder (No. 182) to the Broncos for the 62nd choice. Beane did it for two reasons (per Getzenberg): 1.) He saw outside corner as the Bills’ biggest need entering the draft. 2) He noticed a run on corners in the second round. Colton Hood (No. 37, Giants), Avieon Terrell (No. 48, Falcons), D’Angelo Ponds (No. 50, Jets) and Brandon Cisse (No. 52, Packers) were all taken before Igbinosun in Round 2.
Whether corner was the Bills’ most glaring pre-draft need is debatable, but it is clear they were light at the position. They went into the draft with little behind the starting duo of Christian Benford and 2025 first-rounder Maxwell Hairston. Dorian Strong, a 2025 sixth-rounder, may never play again after suffering a neck injury last year. Their only other options on the outside were M.J. Devonshire, Te’Cory Couch and Daryl Porter Jr.. Devonshire and Couch have zero regular-season appearances between them, while Porter has played in just one game (last year with Pittsburgh).
The Bills now have Igbinosun and seventh-round speedster Toriano Pride Jr. as depth behind Benford and Hairston, but they could still add to the position in free agency. Tre’Davious White, a starter for the Bills last year, is among the league’s unsigned veterans. Beane said before the draft that he had not ruled out re-signing White, though he may have changed his tune after the Igbinosun and Pride picks.
Eagles’ Makai Lemon Signs Rookie Deal
A week after the Eagles selected him 20th overall, first-round wide receiver Makai Lemon has signed his rookie contract, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Lemon is the first member of the 2026 class to put pen to paper. His fully guaranteed four-year deal is worth $20.81MM. It includes an $11.5MM signing bonus and a fifth-year option.
After starring at USC over the past couple of seasons, Lemon nearly began his NFL career in the area. The Rams considered Lemon at No. 13 overall, but they instead chose Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. The Steelers then looked poised to draft Lemon 21st, but Eagles general manager Howie Roseman swooped in by trading up three spots for the wideout. Lemon got a call from the Eagles when he was on the phone with the Steelers, forcing them to pivot to Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor with their top selection.
The 5-foot-11, 192-pound Lemon cemented himself as a first-rounder with a stellar performance in 2025. After Lemon hauled in 79 receptions for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games, the 21-year-old won the Fred Biletnikoff Award (given to the best receiver in the nation).
The Lemon pick became the latest notable transaction at receiver this offseason for the Eagles, though it probably won’t be the last. Before landing Lemon, Roseman added to the team’s receiving corps in free agency (Marquise Brown, Elijah Moore) and the trade market (Dontayvion Wicks). Those four are now part of a group led by the high-end DeVonta Smith–A.J. Brown one-two punch, but the latter might not be in place much longer. A Brown trade has looked likely throughout the offseason, and expectations are that it will occur sometime after June 2.
If Brown ends up out the door before next season, it will increase the already strong odds of Lemon taking on a significant role as a rookie. He and the rest of the Eagles’ rookies will start minicamp on Friday.
Von Miller Interested In Rejoining Bills
For the second straight offseason, future Hall of Famer Von Miller is taking his time in free agency. After the Bills released Miller in a cost-cutting move in March 2025, the edge defender took until July to join the Commanders on a one-year agreement worth up to $6.1MM.
Miller expressed interest in re-signing with the Commanders last November, but almost six months later, nothing has come together with them or anyone else. The 37-year-old is now turning his attention back to Buffalo.
“Man, I would love to go back to the Buffalo Bills,” Miller said on a recent live stream (video via Built in Buffalo).
Miller went on to make a bold prediction: The Bills will win the Super Bowl next season. Rewinding to March 2022, the Bills expected to finally get over the hump when they won the Miller derby in free agency.
Buffalo added the Super Bowl 50 MVP and two-time Lombardi Trophy winner (one apiece with the Broncos and Rams) on a six-year, $120MM contract, though the gamble did not pay off as hoped. Miller looked like his typical self over his first 12 games with the Bills, but he tore his ACL in a Thanksgiving Day win over Detroit and missed the rest of the season, including a second-round playoff loss to the Bengals.
After beginning his second Bills season on the PUP list, Miller returned to log another 12-game slate. However, for the only time in what is now a 14-year career, Miller failed to register a sack. He also went without a sack in a two-game playoff run that ended with a loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round.
Miller went through a third straight limited season in 2024, but injuries were not the issue. Rather, he served a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The ban came as a result of a November 2023 arrest on a domestic violence charge. Miller denied the allegations, and charges were never filed.
On the field, Miller bounced back to a degree during a six-sack regular season. He also chipped in a crucial 39-yard fumble return in a 27-25 divisional-round win over the Ravens. The Bills advanced to the AFC title game, but they once again could not get past the Chiefs. That proved to be Miller’s last game with Buffalo, which moved on after the season and replaced him with another accomplished veteran pass rusher in Joey Bosa.
While the Bills’ big-money bet on Miller did not yield the desired results, his modest deal with the Commanders was a clear success. For one, Miller enjoyed his first full season since 2018. Although he was only on the field for 36.87% of defensive plays, Miller easily led the Commanders with nine sacks. He ranked 19th in the league in that category and 20th in pressure rate (per Pro Football Focus).
Despite his quality pass-rushing production in Washington, there is no indication the team plans to re-sign Miller. The Commanders may have closed the door on Miller when they reeled in Odafe Oweh (four years, $100MM) and K’Lavon Chaisson (one year, $12MM) at the outset of free agency.
Like the Commanders, the Bills have been active in addressing their pass rush this offseason. They signed Bradley Chubb, who teamed with Miller in Denver from 2018-21, to a three-year, $43.5MM pact and used their first draft pick (No. 35 overall) on former Clemson edge defender T.J. Parker.
Jim Leonhard, another of Miller’s former Denver teammates, is now Buffalo’s defensive coordinator. With the Bills transitioning from a 4-3 base to a 3-4 under Leonhard, they will turn to Chubb and Greg Rousseau as their starting outside linebackers. Parker and Michael Hoecht are next on the depth chart. Hoecht tore his Achilles last November, leaving his status for the start of next season uncertain. Javon Solomon and Andre Jones are the Bills’ only other options at the position, though they may be content with the group after picking up Chubb and Parker.
A reunion with the Bills may not be in the cards for Miller, but the eight-time Pro Bowler should land a contract before next season. Assuming Miller plays in 2026, the Broncos icon will look to build on his career sack total of 138.5. Miller is 13th on the all-time list, but he is just three sacks away from tying Michael Strahan for 10th.