Looking Into Patriots’ Options With WR Stefon Diggs
We’ve seen relative silence from the NFL league office and the Patriots about a video that shows recent free agent signing Stefon Diggs holding what appears to be a pink substance while on a boat with a number of women. 
While the time and date of the video are currently unknown and the substance has yet to be identified, Scott Zolak of 98.5 The Sports Hub ventured that the controversial video could lead to the wide receiver’s exit from the team, per Justin Leger of NBC Sports Boston. Off of this speculation, Mike Florio of NBC Sports reportedly examined Diggs’ contract to see exactly what recourse New England would have if it intended to cut Diggs without absorbing the brunt of the recently signed deal.
Florio posits that the Patriots may have a few avenues that they could address through clauses in his contract. Firstly, any guarantees are contingent on Diggs passing a physical. Considering that Diggs has not been participating in offseason activities because of the torn ACL that ended his 2024 campaign, it stands to reason that he has not been physically cleared yet. If the team physician refuses to clear him, the team could avoid paying a majority of the guarantees in the deal.
Another clause focuses on pre-existing conditions and could help the team to avoid paying $10.6MM of the remaining $12.6MM of guarantees following the first $4MM installation of Diggs’ signing bonus. Either of those two decisions could be challenged with a grievance by Diggs, something the team has seen before when they released Antonio Brown. They had refused to pay Brown $9MM of his signing bonus and ended up settling the grievance with $5MM. Florio suggests that the team could hope for a similar result with Diggs and potentially could avoid paying the majority of the costs in question.
Lastly, Florio points to two areas of the contract that deal with the default language of the contract and a provision stipulating that Diggs would not “participate…in any conduct or activity that is illegal, unlawful, or immoral.” With a league suspension unlikely, it would be hard to prove that Diggs defaulted, and the Patriots would also have to prove what the pink powder is in order to determine if Diggs’ activity was illegal. That doesn’t appear to be likely either.
Ultimately, the team may just dismiss the situation altogether and hold on to their new receiver. If they do decide, though, that they’d like to move on, it appears that there are some avenues New England could explore.
Assessing Packers’ CB Options Absent Jaire Alexander
As longtime starting cornerback Jaire Alexander‘s future with the team remains in question, the Packers have had to put together a depth chart under the assumption that he won’t be on it. With the team having to determine who starts at the outside spots, the candidates to fill the slot come into question, as well. The clear candidates for that nickel role are second-year safety Javon Bullard and free agent addition Nate Hobbs. 
Bullard, a safety drafted in the second round out of Georgia last year, was relegated to a role in the slot after Evan Williams, drafted two rounds after him, was granted the starting safety job next to Xavier McKinney. The second-round rookie led the team in snaps as the nickelback as a result, just barely outpacing veteran Keisean Nixon. Nixon, though, is not a candidate for the inside assignment, after he led the team in snaps on the outside. He is likely expected to man one of the two starting spots on the outside once again in 2025.
Hobbs spent three years of his rookie contract, including the most recent two seasons, as the Raiders primary option in the slot. His sophomore campaign, though, saw him primarily play as an outside corner, starting all 11 games that he played in that year. According to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, this experience on the outside could mean that Hobbs will be asked to start across from Nixon, in the presumed absence of Alexander.
Carrington Valentine is another option to start on the outside. He’s opened both of his two seasons in the NFL coming off the bench but has found himself in eventual starting positions in both years, as well, starting 19 games over that span. Schneidman predicts that Valentine will be coming off the bench to start the season for the third time in a row, serving as the third option at outside cornerback behind Nixon and Hobbs.
While the potential absence of Alexander certainly poses a challenge, thinning the depth of the team’s secondary, the Packers certainly have options they can employ. Whether it’s as Schneidman predicts with Nixon and Hobbs manning the outside and Bullard in the slot or Nixon and Valentine starting on the outside with Hobbs continuing his nickel role, Green Bay should have the ability to field a starting unit sans Alexander.
AFC West Rumors: Bozeman, Mahomes, Rice, Raiders
The Chargers‘ interior offensive line blocking was a weakness of the team in 2024. The team addressed the right guard position by signing Mekhi Becton after the former first-round pick had a breakout season in Philadelphia. The center and left guard spots, though, are currently a bit more up in the air as Los Angeles has been experimenting with swapping Bradley Bozeman and Zion Johnson from the positions at which they started in 2024.
As the team has continued in this experiment, Daniel Popper of The Athletic has called into question whether or not Bozeman will start at all. While Bozeman has been a starting lineman in the NFL for most of the past four seasons, he has never graded out as one of the NFL’s best interior blockers, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Bozeman filled starting roles at left guard and center for the Ravens throughout his rookie contract, but they allowed him to walk in free agency. He signed with Carolina as a backup, only earning the starting center role because of injury. The Panthers did re-sign him, but they quickly released him only a year into his three-year, $18MM deal.
After he started for a year in Los Angeles, the Chargers gave him a more reserved two-year, $6.5MM deal. Popper seems pretty sure that Johnson will be starting, though whether at center or left guard remains to be seen. He thinks Bozeman could end up starting at the other position, but the team has set themselves up well regardless. Free agent signing Andre James provides insurance at center, while Trey Pipkins III and Jamaree Salyer both started games at guard last year and could potentially step in if Bozeman struggles. The Chargers also drafted Branson Taylor out of Pittsburgh in the sixth round and worked him at left guard in rookie minicamp. Suffice it to say, Los Angeles has plenty of options as they continue to try and improve their interior offensive line.
Here are a few other rumors coming out of the AFC West, starting with a couple from Kansas City:
- There was a bit of chatter after it was decided that NFL players would be allowed to participate in flag football in the 2028 Olympics concerning which players would be best suited to represent Team USA. One player sure to show up on many people’s dream team took himself out of the running. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes told reporters he was not planning on playing, saying that he would “leave that to the younger guys.”
- Another Chiefs player is making less light-hearted news as wide receiver Rashee Rice continues in his legal struggles. Per Mike Florio of NBC Sports, Rice is now facing a third lawsuit related to the street-racing crash in Dallas back in March of 2024. Kayla Quinn is the latest person to allege that she and her son sustained physical and mental injuries as a result of the incident.
- According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Raiders have developed a reputation for traditionally operating in a cash-poor manner. New limited owner Tom Brady has reportedly made it known that he intends to change that reputation. Per Breer, Brady promised any coaching candidates in January that he and his fellow new limited partners would “materially change” the team’s spending habits.
NFL Front Office Updates: Ravens, Jets, Eagles, Raiders
The Ravens announced a number of promotions in their front office this weekend, per team editorial director Ryan Mink, with four new positions in the scouting department and two more in analytics.
In the scouting department, we saw Bobby Vega elevated from national scout to senior personnel executive. Vega started his career as a player personnel intern for two months before landing a scouting assistant role in Cleveland. Over 13 years with the Browns, Vega moved up the ladder to college scout, national scout, and eventually director of college scouting. In 2018, he reunited with Baltimore, spending seven years as a college scout before moving into his most recent role for the last two years.
Vega’s role will reportedly be filled by two staffers, Brandon Berning and Chas Stallard. Berning has been with the Ravens since 2015 after shorts stints with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, the MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers, the University of Wisconsin football team, and the Giants. He most recently served as the team’s midwest/southwest area scout. Stallard joined the Ravens in 2018 as a player personnel assistant and most recently served as Baltimore’s southwest area scout.
Lastly, in the scouting department, Terrell Parker will become the team’s central area scout after serving a year as pro scout & salary cap analyst. He worked two internships with the team in 2018 and 2019 before getting hired as a player personnel assistant and moving up to scouting and salary cap analyst then elevated again to his most recent role.
In the analytics department, James Oncea has been promoted from football systems manager to director of football systems. He started with the team in 2021 as a football systems developer. Samantha Lazar also moves up in Baltimore’s analytics group. She started with the Ravens two years ago as a quantitative analyst and has been promoted to senior quantitative analyst.
Here are a few other staff updates from other teams around the NFL:
- The Jets also made recent additions to their scouting and analytics departments. Per Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, JaLun Morris has been hired as a scout. After time at UAB and Alabama, Morris breached the NFL ranks in Seattle before spending three years as a player personnel assistant for the Raiders. ESPN’s Seth Walder also tells us that Arjun Menon has been promoted to football analytics assistant. Menon had been working an internship with the team after his time as a data analyst on the championship-winning Michigan Wolverines team in 2023.
- Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com tells us that Ryan Myers is being promoted to director of college scouting for the Eagles. Myers has been in Philadelphia since 2013 after seven years with the 49ers, as well. Before that, he worked in the Canadian Football League, United Football League, Arena Football League, and the NFL league office. After serving in several college and pro scouting roles over his first five years with the Eagles, Myers spent four years as west coast area scout and three as assistant director of college scouting.
- Lastly, the Raiders have hired Andrew Fedele to work in the role of manager of football data science and engineering, per Seth Walder of ESPN. Fedele had previously been working with the Jaguars as senior manager of strategic research and development. Before coming to the NFL, Fedele worked analytics for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA.
49ers Hoping Rookie DT Alfred Collins Can Earn Starting Role
Many expected the 49ers to address the defensive line in the first round of this year’s draft, but the team surprised many when they addressed the edge instead of the interior, taking Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams on Day 1. Perhaps, they felt comfortable waiting until Day 2 to address the position because, with its next pick, San Francisco drafted Texas defensive tackle Alfred Collins, whom they hope can earn a starting role on the line as a rookie, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic. 
Currently, the starting tackle spots on the defensive line are manned by Jordan Elliott and Kevin Givens. Elliott joined the team last year after playing out his rookie contract in Cleveland and started 13 of 15 appearances. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has never graded Elliot favorably. The former third-round pick out of Missouri has only once graded in the top 100 players at his position in the NFL and that was this past year, when he ranked 97th out of 118.
Givens, too, has struggled in the eyes of PFF’s analytics throughout his six years with the team. His roles have been mostly rotational during that time, and although he earned a starting role in 2022 (11 starts in 13 appearances), he only has three starts in his career outside of that season. Last year, Givens was one of several 49ers to miss time with injuries, sitting for nine of the final 10 games of the season as he dealt with a pectoral tear.
Because of this, San Francisco is hoping to see not only Collins, but also fellow rookie CJ West and last year’s undrafted rookie Evan Anderson, earn significant roles on the line, as well. Anderson, signing with the team out of FAU last year, started one game in 12 appearances last season and graded out most favorably of the interior defenders on the 49ers, per PFF, ranking 49th out of 118 players graded at the position. West was extremely disruptive in four years as a starter in college — three at Kent State before transferring to Indiana. He had nine sacks and 27 tackles for loss in those four seasons. Although a bit undersized, West adds some pass rushing potential thanks to an impressive arsenal of ferocious moves.
Collins, though, is the player that was singled out by the staff with hopes of a starting role, per Barrows. What West lacks in ideal size, Collins makes up for with an exceptional 6-foot-5, 332-pound frame. His wide base and long arms give him impressive length, as well. His size doesn’t do him too many favors as a potential pass rusher, but he’s quick-footed enough at his size to erase gaps across the line in run defense. He’s a sure tackler who’s durable enough to handle the workload of a starter, even as a rookie.
We’ve got about two more months until training camp, but the next two weeks will see the team’s remaining Organized Team Activities workouts and mandatory minicamp. There’s plenty of time for the youngsters to earn more opportunities for bigger roles between now and the preseason. With hopes that Collins will break through as a strong run-defending starter, the team would ideally be looking to pair him with a defender with strong pass rushing potential like Givens, West, or Anderson.
Cowboys’ DaRon Bland Working At Slot CB; Jalen Ramsey Not On Team’s Radar
The Cowboys are dealing with a number of injuries at the cornerback position and, as a result, they have one of their best cornerbacks working outside of his usual position. Last week, Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News reported that All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland had been working out as a slot cornerback at Organized Team Activities. 
The team’s other usual starting corner, Trevon Diggs, is currently dealing with an injury and doesn’t have a clear timeline for his return, but it’s assumed at the moment that he will not be back for the start of training camp and may not be ready when the regular season rolls around. Additionally, third-round rookie Shavon Revel fell as far as he did, despite potential first-round talent, because of a torn ACL that forced him to miss most of his final season at East Carolina. While Revel could make his way back by camp, he’s not been available so far this summer.
These absences are not helpful at a time when the team is looking to fill a nickelback role that it had perfectly squared away in 2024. Last year, Jourdan Lewis played 606 snaps in the slot, and the next closest player didn’t even reach 100 snaps. Lewis, though, departed for Jacksonville in free agency, so now Dallas will need to find someone to replace him.
After Lewis, the next six players with the most slot snaps in 2024 were safeties and linebackers. Diggs was the next closest corner, and he only saw 28 snaps at nickel; Bland was the next cornerback with 16. Two of those safeties were starters Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker, so they’re not really options to take the role, but the third safety was backup Israel Mukuamu, who could be also an option to step up there in 2025. Watkins noted that another backup safety, Juanyeh Thomas, saw some work in the slot during OTAs, as well.
Bland prefers to play at outside cornerback, and there’s two good reasons why. The first, and most obvious, is that he’s played extremely well there. In his first two seasons, Bland reeled in 14 interceptions, returning five for touchdowns in 2023 alone. Last year didn’t see the same returns as he came back from a foot surgery that caused him to miss 10 games, but he still saw five passes defensed and graded out favorably, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), in comparison to his teammates.
The second reason is that he’s heading into the final year of his rookie deal. Especially after the injury-limited season he delivered last year, Bland is going to want to make the most of his 2025 campaign, and he’ll want to do so at the more lucrative position as a boundary cornerback, a position at which he’s shown extreme aptitude. Per Clarence Hill Jr. of All City DLLS, new head coach Brian Schottenheimer understands where Bland’s coming from but told the media that “it is still early” and that “they don’t have all their guys out there” at the moment, so versatility is necessary.
Watkins claims that the ‘Boys have two problems to solve this summer: “another starter opposite Bland and slot corner.” One option that the team has seemingly ruled out is Dolphins trading chip Jalen Ramsey. Per Hill, a source with the team claimed that “there is nothing to the” rumors that Ramsey could be traded to Dallas.
Bills Announce Front Office Changes
Today, the Bills announced a number of promotions to their personnel and analytics staffs. While we’ve already covered a few of them, let’s go over the new information provided this morning.
So, we noted a week ago that the Bills had hired Mk Collins as player personnel coordinator, a role previously held by Andrea Gosper, because Gosper had reportedly been promoted, but at the time, we didn’t have any additional information on Gosper’s new role. Now, we know that Gosper has been promoted to assistant to the general manager.
Gosper got her start with the Bills after meeting general manager Brandon Beane and then-assistant general manager Joe Schoen at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine. Thinking about going to grad school for sports nutrition at the time, she informed the two that she was interested in interning for them, if possible, and she later received a call from Schoen for a full-year role in the scouting department. Schoen’s leap of faith worked out as Gosper continues to climb the ladder in Buffalo.
Last year, R.J. Webb filled Keith Jennings‘ role as BLESTO college scout after Jennings was promoted to college area scout. A year later, Webb follows Jennings once again as he’s earned a promotion to a role as a college area scout covering the west coast. Webb started with the Bills in a scouting fellowship in 2018. His first full-time job was as player personnel coordinator before being elevated to pro scout. He held that role for four years before last year’s promotion. This time, Webb will be followed in the role of BLESTO college scout by Jay Hill. Hill formerly served in the role of scouting coordinator.
In the analytics department, Dennis Lock was promoted to vice president of football research, Luis Guilamo was promoted to senior director of application development, Warren Zorilla was promoted to assistant director of application development, and Santino Parlato was promoted to football analyst.
Lock has been with Buffalo for six years — three as director of football research & strategy and three as senior director of football research — after working for the division rival Dolphins for almost five years. Guilamo was part of the team’s initial push into analytics, joining the franchise in 2018 as director of analytics and application development. Zorilla was added shortly after Guilamo as senior developer. Parlato joined the team as a football research analyst last July.
The operations department saw a promotion, too, as Ryan Moore was named manager of football administration and operations. Moore started in Buffalo as a community relations graduate assistant for the team in 2017, serving time as community relations youth programs coordinator and COVID protocol coordinator on his way to joining the operations department as football administration & operations coordinator. He served in that role for the last three years.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/30/25
We saw another late-round draft pick signing today:
Los Angeles Rams
- RB Jarquez Hunter (fourth round, Auburn)
The Rams traded up 10 spots, giving up a sixth-round pick in the process, to take Hunter in the middle of the fourth round. Hunter joins a room that returns its three leading rushers from last year in Kyren Williams, Blake Corum, and Ronnie Rivers.
That being said, Los Angeles essentially functioned with Williams as a bell-cow in 2024, seeing as how he accounted for nearly 75 percent of the team’s rushing yards and had nearly 1,100 yards more than the next rusher on the team. Hunter will likely compete with Corum in an attempt to give the team more of an impact in the RB2 role in 2025.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/30/25
Friday’s only minor NFL moves:
Green Bay Packers
- Reverted to IR: DL Jeremiah Martin
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Waived: DE Blake Mangelson
Ravens Sign DT John Jenkins
MAY 29: Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said (via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic) Jenkins will join the team after June 1. The veteran will thus be able to participate in many of Baltimore’s OTAs in addition to mandatory minicamp (which runs from June 17-19).
MAY 16: For seven of the last nine years, the Ravens have had a stout nose tackle in Michael Pierce plugging up the middle of the defense. Just two months after the 32-year-old retired, Baltimore will welcome a new veteran to man the middle. The Ravens announced today that John Jenkins will join the team on a one-year deal. 
At 35 years old, Jenkins has played in the NFL for 12 years. Originally a third-round pick out of Georgia, Jenkins very quickly became a main contributor on the Saints defensive line. His play plateaued a bit over the next two years, resulting in New Orleans drafting Sheldon Rankins in the first round, benching Jenkins, and ultimately, waiving him in the final year of his rookie deal. He signed a few days later with the Seahawks but only appeared in two games for the rest of the year.
After that, Jenkins bounced around the league, playing one-year deals with the Bears, Giants, Dolphins, and Bears a second time. He then spent two more years in Miami before signing with the Raiders in 2023. In his first 10 years of NFL play, Jenkins only started 30 games, 22 of which came on his rookie contract with the Saints while the remaining eight were spread over seven seasons. In Las Vegas for the past two years, Jenkins started all 34 of the Raiders’ contests.
Jenkins has never been much of a pass rusher, only collecting 4.5 sacks over his 12-year career. His best seasons, though, have been highlighted with impressive run defense. His play has dipped a bit in recent years as his snap count has increased, but luckily, he’ll return to more of a rotational role in Baltimore.
This year will see the Ravens return their main three defensive linemen from 2024. Nnamdi Madubuike led the group in playing time last season, followed closely by Travis Jones. Broderick Washington is the third contributor who saw more playing time than Pierce last year. Jenkins will likely slide in for Pierce in the rotation, and after playing 595 snaps in 2023 and 606 snaps in 2024 for the Raiders, covering Pierce’s 254 snaps from last year should be no problem.