Browns Not Planning To Trade Myles Garrett
MARCH 30: New Browns head coach Todd Monken echoed a similar sentiment when asked about Garrett’s status with the organization.
“I don’t see a time where I would not want Myles Garrett part of our team,” Monken said during an appearance on NFL Network (via Tom Pelissero). “I don’t — I can’t even envision that, where I would not want Myles Garrett to be a Cleveland Brown.”
MARCH 29: The Browns recently agreed to a revised contract with All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett, who saw his option bonus dates pushed back from the first week of the league year to the week before the regular season begins.
The adjustment makes it more financially feasible to trade Garrett. Any deal would have to take place after June 1 to allow Cleveland to push some of the resulting dead money into 2027. Previously, Garrett’s option would have triggered in March, adding another $31.5MM in prorated cap hits to the Browns’ ledger and increasing the dead cap charges over $70MM, per OverTheCap.
[RELATED: ‘Wholly Realistic’ Browns Add Young QB]
By pushing back the option bonus date, the Browns could execute a post-June 1 trade with Garrett’s new team taking on the payments (and cap hits). But general manager Andrew Berry is maintaining his long-held stance that the team would not be trading Garrett.
“If we wanted to trade Myles, we wouldn’t have needed to make a contract adjustment,” Berry said on Sunday (via ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi). “So it doesn’t have anything to do with that.”
Technically, Berry is correct. The Browns could have left Garrett’s contract as is and traded him after June 1, which would have left just over $21MM in dead money in 2026 with the other $59MM set to hit in 2027. They would see an increase in 2026 cap space with plenty of time to adjust other contracts and budget for the remaining dead money the following year.
But the new contract still makes those numbers significantly more favorable for Cleveland’s finances, which are already in a somewhat precarious state due to the Deshaun Watson deal, which will leave more than $130MM in dead money when it voids next year. Reducing the overall amount of potential dead money from a Garrett trade is certainly worth doing, if only for the flexibility. It is also worth noting that the option bonus payment dates were pushed back in each remaining year of Garrett’s contract, which essentially preserves this flexibility for the rest of the deal.
Garrett, though, has a no-trade clause. He was willing to make this alteration, which offers him some unknown benefits, likely relating to his payment schedule. His blessing would still be required for any sort of a trade, but this latest contract revision will ensure that such speculation will continue to be an annual affair.
Dolphins Plan To Extend De’Von Achane, Aaron Brewer
The Dolphins have identified running back De’Von Achane and center Aaron Brewer as priorities for contract extensions, general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said at league meetings this week (via Omar Kelly of The Miami Herald).
Achane, 24, has established himself as one of the league’s most dynamic running backs. Last year, the 2023 third-round pick ranked sixth in the NFL with 1,838 all-purpose yards and 12th with 12 total touchdowns. Other teams sniffed around at the 2025 trade deadline, but the Dolphins set a high price with no real interest in trading Achane. Sullivan reiterated that position this week.
“There is zero effort on my end to move Achane,” he said, though he acknowledged that “nobody is untouchable” and his job “is to always listen.”
Still, the Dolphins see Achane as a long-term star for their offense, one that can get things going on the ground or through the air. Accordingly, he will likely be looking for a deal on the high end of the positional market at $14MM per year or more. With the 2027 running back franchise tag projected for $15.2MM (per OverTheCap) and as the centerpiece of a rebuilding unit, Achane argue for even more than that.
Achane has already indicated a desire to lock in an extension this offseason, and now, the Dolphins have, too. At a minimum, the two sides are primed for negotiations, and both seem incentivized to come to an agreement.
Miami also wants to retain Brewer, their 28-year-old starting center who earned a second-team All-Pro nod for his standout 2025 season. He led all centers with a 91.5 run blocking grade and trailed only Chiefs All-Pro Creed Humphrey in overall grade, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Brewer’s 98.7 pass block efficiency also ranked fifth among starting centers.
The interior offensive line marketed has skyrocketed in recent years, capped by Tyler Linderbaum‘s stunning $27MM AAV deal from the Raiders that is effectively fully guaranteed. Brewer will not get anywhere near that sum, but a rising tide theoretically lifts all boats. However, the Dolphins may argue that Linderbaum’s contract is an extreme outlier for a market that is otherwise capped by Humphrey at $18MM per year.
That would keep Brewer’s valuation in line with centers like Connor McGovern and Luke Wattenberg, two similarly-aged players who signed for $13.1MM and $12MM annually, respectively. Brewer will still push to reach Cam Jurgens‘ per-year figure of $17MM and will have leverage to do so coming off a career year. Ending up somewhere in the middle would feel appropriate for both sides.
49ers Likely To Draft Competition For Left Guard Job
The 49ers started three different players at left guard last season, and the leader – 2022 fourth-round pick Spencer Burford – signed with the Raiders in free agency.
That left 2025 seventh-rounder Connor Colby (six starts, 454 snaps) and veteran Ben Bartch (two starts, 195 snaps) as the main candidates for the starting job in 2026. The team then signed former Dolphins starter Robert Jones in free agency as additional competition, and more is expected to come.
“We’re not done yet,” general manager John Lynch said (via The Athletic’s Vic Tafur), indicating that San Francisco could target the position in the draft.
It is a good year to need guard talent. Penn State’s Vega Ioane is considered an elite prospect at the position, and Utah tackle Spencer Fano has been tabbed for a move to the interior due to his arm length. Both are expected to be drafted in the first round, with a slew of guards (or potential tackle-guard converts) available on Days 2 and 3 as well.
With a starting competition on tap, the 49ers may not feel compelled to use their first-round pick (No. 27 overall) on a guard, if Ioane or Fano are even available. Their second-rounder (No. 58 overall) might make sense for Oregon’s Emmanuel Pregnon or Texas A&M’s Chase Bisontis, but both will likely be drafted by that point.
But Lynch has indicated that one of the 49ers’ four Day 3 picks – all in the fourth round – will be used on an offensive lineman who can factor in the guard competition. There are no shortage of options, though San Francisco will no doubt be looking for fleet-footed blockers who best fit Kyle Shanahan‘s zone scheme.
Browns GM Andrew Berry: ‘Wholly Realistic’ To Add Young QB
Last year’s draft class was underwhelming at the quarterback position outside of No. 1 pick Cam Ward. As a result, the Browns opted to trade down from the No. 3 pick and select defensive tackle Mason Graham rather than the best quarterback available.
The deal with the Jaguars added another 2026 first-rounder to Cleveland’s cache of picks, suggesting that they were amassing capital to secure a quarterback from that class. But they also drafted Dillon Gabriel in the third round and Shedeur Sanders in the fifth, with both getting playing time as rookies. Neither emerged as a clear long-term starter, and Deshaun Watson does not fall into that category, either. None of the three have shown enough for the Browns to pass up on an elite quarterback in the draft.
But this year’s crop of prospects thinned significantly after a number of top college passers opted to stay in school for another year. That left Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza alone atop draft boards with Alabama’s Ty Simpson generally considered a distant QB2.
Despite calls from the Giants, the Titans were unwilling to move off Ward last year, and the Raiders likely have the same mindset with Mendoza, their widely-projected No. 1 pick. If the Browns wanted to draft Mendoza, they would likely have to trade their two first-round picks this year plus their first-rounders in 2027 and 2028 – and Las Vegas may not even accept that. (Notably, the Browns recently proposed a rule change that would allow teams to trade picks up to five years in the future. Currently, they are limited to three.)
But even with Mendoza off the table, Browns general manager Andrew Berry said on Sunday (via Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot) that it is “wholly realistic” to add another young quarterback to the team. He did not explicitly say that player would be a rookie, but outside of an Anthony Richardson trade, no other names fit his description. That has increased speculation that the Browns could target Simpson next month, especially given that the 23-year-old visited Cleveland at the beginning of the month.
“I have spent time with Ty,” Berry said. “I think that’s obvious and we’ll continue to do so. But I think he has a bright NFL future.”
Is it bright enough for the sixth overall pick? The current consensus is no, but the Browns have plenty of time to be convinced. They also hold the No. 24th selection and could hope that Simpson falls there, though they will run the obvious risk of quarterback-needy teams snapping him up first.
But Berry chooses his words carefully. Just because something is realistic does not mean that it is likely or a priority. The 2027 class is significantly stronger at the quarterback position, and waiting another year would also give new head coach Todd Monken a chance to see what he has in his current trio.
Florida Attorney General Threatens Legal Action Over NFL’s Rooney Rule
The Rooney Rule has been the centerpiece of the NFL’s initiative to expand opportunities for minority coaches and front office executives for more than two decades. Now, it is under attack.
Florida attorney general James Uthmeier called on the NFL to suspend the Rooney Rule in a social media post and a letter sent to commissioner Roger Goodell this week. Uthmeier characterized the policy as “blatant race and sex discrimination” and threatened legal action if the league does not comply by May 1.
The NFL acknowledged receipt of the letter and responded with a statement from executive vice president Jeff Miller (via ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler): “We believe our policies are consistent with the law and reflect our commitment to fairness, opportunity, and building the strongest possible teams.”
The Rooney Rule, named for late Steelers owner and then-chair of the league’s Workplace Diversity Committee, was instituted in 2002. Tony Dungy and Dennis Green, two of the league’s three minority coaches, had just been fired – Dungy after a winning season and Green after his first losing season in a decade. The original rule required teams to interview one ethnic-minority candidate for head coaching vacancies. It has since expanded in a number of ways to cover other positions and include women in the definition of minority candidate.
Teams are now required to in-person interviews with two minority candidates for head coaching, general manager, and primary football executive positions. Two candidates are also required for coordinator jobs, though they may be conducted virtually. One minority candidate must be interviewed for quarterback coach openings, as the position has become a popular pipeline for future head coaches.
The league also introduced a system to reward teams who developed minority talent. If a minority coach or executive leaves for head coaching or general manager jobs with another team, the original club will third-round compensatory picks in future drafts.
The results are undeniable. Seven teams hired a total of seven minority coaches from the start of the NFL’s modern era in 1970 to the institution of the rule in 2002. The Colts hired Dungy as their head coach that offseason, and the Bengals hired Marvin Lewis the year after. Green returned to a top job with the Cardinals in 2004, and by 2005, there were six minority head coaches in the league. Previously, there were never more than three at a time; since then, there have not been fewer than four.
The NFL has clearly accomplished its goal of expanding coaching and front office opportunities for minorities, but the Rooney Rule is still not perfect. Brian Flores‘ lawsuit brought the issue of sham interviews – conducted only to fulfill league requirements as opposed to legitimate consideration to be hired – into the spotlight, and the 2026 hiring cycle represented significant regression for minority candidates. Despite 10 openings, tied for the most in league history, Robert Saleh was the only minority to land a head coaching job.
Now, the rule is in danger, at least in Florida. The NFL is reviewing Uthmeier’s letter, which was also sent to the league’s three teams within his jurisdiction: the Buccaneers, Dolphins, and Jaguars. But other states could follow suit, especially those with leadership from the Republican Party, which has been leading nationwide efforts to end diversity-based hiring policies.
Art Rooney II – who succeeded his father in Pittsburgh and as the chair of the the NFL’s renamed DEI Committee – said (via Kahler) that the league has “an obligation to make sure that our policies comply with the laws.”
“That’s just the environment we’re existing in today,” he added.
Cowboys Considered Trading For Steelers LB Patrick Queen
After a dismal defensive showing in 2025, the Cowboys entered the offseason looking to upgrade their roster on that side of the ball.
Among their top priorities was the linebacker position. Kenneth Murray and Shemar James both finished the season with sub-40.0 grades from Pro Football Focus (subscription required), putting them right alongside the Bengals for the worst starting duo in the league. Rotational contributors like Jack Sanborn, Logan Wilson, and Marist Liufau could not step up and fill the games, though DeMarvion Overshown played well upon his return from injury in November.
Dallas let Murray, Sanborn, and Wilson hit free agency, with Wilson electing to retire. Overshown will start in 2026, the final year of his rookie deal, but the Cowboys need to find a running mate and potential successor. The team considered three options (via Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News): Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker, and Patrick Queen.
Dean and Walker, who started together at Georgia, reunited in Las Vegas. The Cowboys could have afforded to match or even beat the Raiders’ offers, but the former Bulldogs have said that the opportunity to once again play next to each other was a key motivator in their decision. The same opportunity was not available in Dallas with Overshown locked in as a starter.
That left Queen, the Ravens’ first-round pick in 2020 who signed with their AFC North rivals in free agency in 2024. His grades from PFF have slipped in Pittsburgh relative to his last two years in Baltimore, with a significant step back from 2024 to 2025. Queen’s 20.4 % missed tackle rate was the highest of his career, as were his 829 yards and 11.2 yards per reception allowed when targeted in coverage.
Queen was owed $13.33MM in 2026, per OverTheCap, with $2.5MM getting paid out as a roster bonus on March 15. With his declining performance, 2026 compensation, and a new coaching staff, Pittsburgh could have considered moving the 6-foot-1 linebacker, but the Cowboys decided not to pursue a deal. It is unknown if the Steelers even would have been open to such a deal.
Dallas has yet to add a linebacker this offseason, with James, Liufau, and Justin Barron as the returning candidates to start next to Overshown. There are still a few proven veterans available – Bobby Okereke and Germaine Pratt chief among them – as well as a strong crop of linebacker prospects in April’s draft. The Cowboys should be able to find a starter on Day 1 or 2 with the option of making a post-draft veteran addition or two to round out the room.
DE Rueben Bain Jr. Visits Titans
The Titans hosted Miami edge rusher and projected first-round pick Rueben Bain Jr. for a pre-draft visit this week, per NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe.
Bain, 21, is among the more polarizing prospects in this year’s class. He has posted elite production over the last three years (20.5 sacks, 33.5 tackles for loss), with almost half coming in his 2025 All-American campaign. However, his 30.825-inch arms are well below NFL standards for the position, raising concerns about his ability to translate his production to the pros.
However, Bain’s power and pass rushing profile are undeniably appealing. He logged a 23.5% pass rush win rate and a 92.4 pass rushing grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) last year, displaying an array of moves and a relentless desire to get to opposing quarterbacks. That has kept him in the conversation for a top-10, or even top-five, pick in April.
The Titans hold the No. 4 selection and need a young, high-upside edge rusher opposite recent trade acquisition Jermaine Johnson. Bain is best as a ‘hand-in-the-dirt’ 4-3 defensive end than as a standing outside linebacker in a 3-4, which requires more athleticism and versatility. That makes him an excellent fit for Robert Saleh‘s system that rarely asks defensive linemen to drop into coverage and instead encourages them to pin their ears back and attack the backfield. Bain’s physical play style, attack-oriented mentality, and dedication to his game are all major pluses, especially for a new coaching staff looking to establish their own culture in Tennessee.
Colts Finalize 2026 Coaching Staff
The Colts were one of the few NFL teams to retain their head coach and all three coordinators this offseason, but they still announced a number of changes to their staff last month.
Among the new arrivals are Jeremy Bruce, Dillon Doyle, and Aditya Krishnan. Bruce will take on a defensive quality control role after eight yards at various colleges, including three different Power 5 programs. His most recent job was UNLV’s outside linebackers coach.
Doyle is the younger brother of new Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. The two overlapped for one year at Iowa, with Declan serving as an offensive assistant and Dillon playing linebacker. The younger Doyle began coaching a year ago for Central Michigan and served as an intern for the Bills last season.
Krishnan comes to Indianapolis from the Chargers, where he was the director of football research. His position, game management coordinator, is rapidly becoming a standard part of forward-thinking teams’ staffs.
The Colts also promoted three assistants who have spent the last two years in minor roles. Kalon Humphries, previously was a defensive coaching fellow, will now be the assistant defensive line coach. Diego Ortiz, who had a fellowship on the other side of the ball, will be an offensive quality control coach. He will be joined in that role by Brent Stockstill, a former defensive assistant.
RB Jeremiyah Love At Top Of Giants’ List?
Drafting running backs early in the first round is back in style. Ashton Jeanty went at No. 6 last year, and in 2023, Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs went eighth and 12th overall, respectively. This year’s draft is expected to add another name to the list. 
The running back most likely to continue this trend in 2026 is Notre Dame star Jeremiyah Love. Tennessee has been a popular projection, as both Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears are in the final years of their contracts. However, as ESPN’s Jordan Reid notes, Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi came up in a Chiefs front office that prioritized premium positions with premium draft picks. Taking a running back with the No. 4 pick – especially with needs at more valuable positions – would fly in the face of that philosophy.
If the Titans pass on Love, he will likely wind up in New York, according to Reid’s colleague, Matt Miller. New Giants head coach John Harbaugh may not have such qualms about Love’s position with more of an emphasis on his game-changing talent. He consistently prioritized a strong ground game in Baltimore, though the Ravens never drafted a running back in the first-round during his tenure.
Were New York to choose him, Love would immediately have the best draft pedigree of anyone in the Giants’ running backs room. Veteran Devin Singletary currently holds that honor as a former third-round pick out of FAU. Eric Gray and Tyrone Tracy were fifth-round picks in back-to-back years for New York, in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Singletary and Gray are also set to play on the final years of their contracts. Combined with last year’s fourth-round rookie, Cam Skattebo, there are plenty of mouths to feed, but inserting Love into the room immediately would change the outlook for the current players’ roles in the room.
If running back isn’t the answer in New York, the team’s top decision makers could start the trend for another position that isn’t notoriously taken early on Day 1. Harbaugh was part of a large contingent that attended the Ohio State Pro Day on Wednesday. It was notable enough to see Harbaugh there, given he hasn’t frequented many pro days in recent years, but in Columbus, Harbaugh, team owner Chris Mara, general manager Joe Schoen, assistant general manager Brandon Brown, and player personnel director Tim McDonnell all showed up to evaluate Buckeyes, and Harbaugh was seen getting some face time with standout safety Caleb Downs, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
The highest a safety has ever been drafted was second overall in 1991, when Eric Turner‘s name was called by the Browns. Since then, only two other safeties have even been drafted in the top five picks of the draft, Sean Taylor in 2004 and Eric Berry in 2010. Downs could be the next to join that list if the Giants decide to write his name down a month from now. Harbaugh’s defenses in Baltimore almost always featured strong safety play from names like Ed Reed, Eric Weddle, and Kyle Hamilton. Downs may be just the man to upgrade Big Blue’s defensive outfield in 2026.
Ely Allen contributed to this post.
Buccaneers Contract Updates: Goedeke, McCollum, FA Signings
The Buccaneers restructured the contracts of right tackle Luke Goedeke and cornerback Zyon McCollum to clear up cap space for their new free agent signings.
Goedeke was due a $20.275MM roster bonus at beginning of the league year that was not guaranteed in his original contract. Tampa Bay converted it to a guaranteed roster bonus, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, which allows them to prorate the cap obligations like a signing or option bonus. This saved $16.2MM in cap space with a $4.05MM added to the remaining four years of the contract, which now has one new void year.
The Buccaneers executed a similar move with McCollum, who was due a $12.87MM roster bonus that was guaranteed and prorated across the remainder of the contract. That reduced the veteran cornerback’s 2026 cap hit by $10.3MM with increases of $2.57MM in each of the next four seasons, including two new void years.
The moves created a total of $26.5MM in 2026 cap space, allowing Tampa Bay to process its free agency signings while budgeting for their rookie class.
Here are some contract details on those new signings:
- Initially reported as a fully guaranteed deal, A’Shawn Robinson‘s $10MM contract has $9.15MM in guarantees. The remaining $850K will be paid out in the form of a per game roster bonus (via OverTheCap), giving him $50K for every game for which he is active.
- The base value of edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad‘s deal is $4MM with $2.5MM guaranteed, Wilson reports.
- The Buccaneers retained safety and special teams ace Miles Killebrew on a one-year, $1.79MM deal. According to Wilson, the agreement includes $490K in guaranteed money with a $1.3MM salary.
- Tight end Ko Kieft received $413K in guarantees on his one-year, $1.65MM deal, per Wilson. His salary is set at $1.46MM.
- New backup quarterback Jake Browning signed a one-year, $1.3MM deal with $400K guaranteed, per OverTheCap.
- Former Rams and Panthers linebacker Christian Rozeboom has a base value of $1.55MM with upside to $2.15MM, according to FOX Sports’ Greg Auman. His playtime incentives offer him $100k for a 40% snap share, $200k for 50%, and 300k for 60%.
- Wide receiver Sterling Shepard was a healthy scratch at the end of the 2025 season, leaving him just short of two incentives worth $125k each. The Buccaneers decided to pay out those bonuses anyway, along with an additional $250K, per Auman.