Caleb Banks Underwent Surgery On Broken Foot
Injuries during the pre-draft process always shake up big boards around the NFL, and this year will be no different.
Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks surged up post-Combine rankings after an impressive athletic performance from his 6-foot-6, 327-pound frame. He may now head in the other direction after undergoing surgery on a fractured fourth metatarsal last week, according to Dane Brugler of The Athletic.
Banks suffered the broken foot the day before his testing session, making his numbers – including a 9-foot-6 broad jump – all the more impressive. However, the injury may also be a concern for some teams, especially after Banks missed most of the 2025 college season with a foot injury.
The injury was discovered during a pre-draft visit to an undisclosed team, per ESPN’s Jordan Reid. Banks is expected to return to the field by June, so he likely will be sidelined for rookie minicamp, most (if not all) of OTAs, and potentially mandatory minicamp. Currently viewed as a late first-round prospect, Banks seems unlikely to rise into the top 20 after news of his injury, though it only takes one team to have confidence in his recovery.
In other pre-draft medical news, Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion underwent a “routine and preventative” knee scope last week, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. He played in all but one of his teams’ games in college with All-SEC honors for his contributions as a receiver and returner in 2025.
The 5-foot-11 wideout did not participate in athletic testing in Indianapolis, though he did run receiver drills on the field. His surgery will likely sideline him for the Aggies’ Pro Day on March 25, but Concepcion is expected to be ready for rookie minicamp after the draft. Concepcion is also viewed as a borderline first-rounder, but preventative arthroscopic surgery on a player without a significant injury history is unlikely to negatively impact his draft stock.
Jamaree Salyer To Compete For Starting Guard Job In Miami
The 2025 season was one of the healthiest in recent memory for the Dolphins’ offensive line.
Four players played over 800 snaps, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required): left tackle Patrick Paul, left guard Jonah Savaiinaea, center Aaron Brewer, and right guard Cole Strange. Austin Jackson held the starting right tackle job in Week 1, but injuries resulted in Larry Borom finishing the year with 11 starts.
Borom left in free agency, but Jackson agreed to a revised contract and will likely enter the season as the starting right tackle once again. Strange’s departure to Los Angeles will force new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik to find a new right guard, and after ranking as the NFL’s lowest-graded starting offensive lineman in 2025 (via PFF), Savaiinaea’s starting job may not be secure, either.
New free agent signing Jamaree Salyer is expected to factor into the starting guard competition in Miami this summer, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. In fact, such an opportunity was among the reasons he opted to take an inexpensive deal in Miami over better offers from other teams.
The 2022 sixth-round pick took over as the Chargers’ starting left tackle four games into his rookie year but was replaced by Rashawn Slater after he was drafted the following spring. Salyer played almost every snap at right guard in 2024 and has spent the last two years as a versatile backup. That skillset came in handy amid the Chargers’ offensive line injuries, with Salyer starting nine games and taking snaps at every position except center.
His competition for a starting guard gig will include Savaiinaea and Andrew Meyer, per Jackson, and the team could also augment the position with another veteran signing or a draft pick in April. Kion Smith, who started two games last year, could also get a look, though he struggled mightily in his limited playing time.
Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love Visited Titans, Giants
Drafting running backs early in the first round has gone in and out of fashion over the last decade. From 2015 to 2018, six running backs were selected within the first 15 picks; since then, only three have been taken that high, all in the last three drafts.
2026 prospect Jeremiyah Love could be the fourth with apparent interest from multiple teams with top-10 selections. He visited the Titans at the beginning of March (via NFL insider Jordan Schultz) and the Giants this past weekend (also via Schultz).
The hype train for Love took off at the Combine in Indianapolis, where his 4.36-second 40-yard dash and smooth hands and footwork in pass-catching drills attracted the attention of several teams.
“The NFL loves Jeremiyah Love,” NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe said in early March. “I spoke with execs for three different teams who said that Jeremiyah Love is the best player in this draft. The Notre Dame running back should go in the top 10, and the word I’m hearing, don’t be surprised if he goes in the top five.”
Selecting a running back with such a high pick will no doubt draw criticism based on positional value. Running backs earn significantly less than other positions like wide receiver and edge rusher that have a more direct impact on the passing game. Ashton Jeanty, taken with the No. 6 pick last year, immediately became the NFL’s 12th-most expensive running back, per OverTheCap, greatly reducing the financial advantage offered by rookie contracts.
Taking Love in the top 10 would result in a similar inefficiency. A top-five selection would result in the most guaranteed money ever for a running back being handed to a rookie before he plays a single down in the pros.
However, as Wolfe notes, the 2026 draft class is viewed as thin on truly elite prospects. Love is one of the few, so rather than pursue a less talented player at a more valuable position, teams could opt to land a potential game-changing running back with the hopes that he can have a similar impact as Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs have in Atlanta and Detroit, respectively.
NFL Restructures: Broncos, Bosa, Burns, Granderson, Tranquill
Teams around the NFL have been engaging in their usual financial gymnastics to create enough cap space to sign new players – or for some – simply retain the ones already under contract.
The Broncos restructured Quinn Meinerz‘s deal earlier in the week to ensure they were compliant with the 2026 salary cap by the start of the new league year on Wednesday. But with more than a dozen signings – including multi-year pacts with Alex Singleton, J.K. Dobbins, and Adam Trautman, plus a second-round restricted free agent tag signed by Ja’Quan McMillian – Denver needed to free up more cap space.
To do so, they completed a restructure of outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper‘s contract, per Luca Evans of the Denver Post. His salary was reduced to the veteran minimum with $10.2MM converted into a signing bonus that was prorated across the remaining five years of the contract, which includes two added void years. Cooper’s 2026 cap hit dropped by $8.2MM to $5.78MM as a result, with $17.55MM cap hits now scheduled for 2027 and 2028, per OverTheCap.
The Broncos also altered the contract of guard Ben Powers. He was set to earn a $500k roster bonus on Sunday, but that has instead been moved into his base salary for the season, according to Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette.
Powers was viewed as a potential cap casualty entering the final year of his deal, but the team affirmed their commitment to him before free agency. However, this move – pushing a financial obligation months into the future – indicates that Denver may still be open to moving on the seven-year veteran after re-signing Alex Palczewski at the beginning of the month.
Here are some other recent restructures from around the NFL:
- The 49ers restructured defensive end Nick Bosa‘s contract to clear $17.7MM in salary cap space, per Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap. Like Cooper, his salary was reduced to the veteran minimum by converting $21.465MM to a signing bonus and prorating it across the four remaining years of the contract plus one new void year. His cap hits in each of those seasons has risen by $4.293MM as a result.
- The Giants also restructured a starting edge rusher, like the Broncos with Cooper and the 49ers with Burns, though they did not add any void years to his deal to maximize the cap savings from the move. $22.75MM of Brian Burns‘ 2026 salary was converted to a signing bonus and prorated across the remaining three years of the contract. The move yields $15.16MM in cap savings this year, though ESPN’s Jordan Raanan notes that the money is for “operating funds” – such as contracts for the upcoming draft class – as opposed to another major free agency signing. Burns will now have cap hits of just over $44MM in 2027 and 2028, which will likely cause the Giants to explore another extension next offseason to reduce those obligations.
- Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill accepted a pay cut in the last year of his contract, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. He was previously due a non-guaranteed salary of $6MM; now, he will make $3.5MM with $3MM of his guaranteed. The deal ensures Tranquill will remain in Kansas City in 2026, his fourth season with the team.
- The Saints already began their annual tradition of restructuring most of their top contracts to become cap-compliant before the start of the new league year, and they added another to the ledger this week with an edge rusher of their own. Carl Granderson‘s $2MM roster bonus and $9.45MM of his 2026 salary was converted into a signing bonus and prorated across the remaining four years of the contract, per Fitzgerald. Interestingly, the Saints, who have been one of the NFL’s most aggressive teams in terms of using void years, did not add another void year to Granderson’s deal (which already contained two) to maximize their cap savings, according to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. As a result, his 2026 cap hit was reduced by $8.59MM, creating a $20.924MM cap hit in 2027.
Bengals Pursued John Franklin-Myers, Osa Odighizuwa Before Jonathan Allen Signing
The Bengals have not had a game-changing defensive tackle since Geno Atkins‘ retirement in 2020, a problem they set out to solve this offseason. That made them willing to give Jonathan Allen a two-year, $26MM contract despite his lack of high-end production in the the last two seasons.
The level of interest Allen received from other teams is unknown, but it is worth noting that he was still owed $8MM in guaranteed salary from his last deal in Minnesota. That would have allowed another club to sign him for a veteran minimum contract with the Vikings still paying out those guarantees this year, but Cincinnati came in with a much bigger offer.
Their determination to land the two-time Pro Bowler came after failed pursuits of John Franklin-Myers and Osa Odighizuwa, per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, with the former signing in Tennessee and the latter heading from Dallas to San Francisco for the Cowboys’ third-round pick.
The Titans’ offer to Franklin-Myers of a three-year, $63MM (and a reunion with Robert Saleh) was hard to beat, especially given a strong guarantee structure, the likes of which the Bengals have historically been hesitant to match.
Instead, Cincinnati pivoted to Odighizuwa, who has been a consistent but not dominant interior disruptor in his career. His deal had three years and $57.75MM remaining (with no guarantees), making him a cheaper proposition than Franklin-Myers who could easily be moved again if the acquisition did not pan out. But it would also require a draft pick to get him – as it turned out, a third-rounder – and the Bengals were not willing to outbid the 49ers for Odighizuwa’s services. San Francisco offered a third-round pick (No. 92 overall) to Dallas, an offer that Cincinnati could have easily bested with their own third-rounder at No. 72 overall.
The Bengals declined to do so and swooped in to sign Allen shortly after he was released by the Vikings at the start of the new league year. Dehner notes that Cincinnati did not look into Javon Hargrave, who left Minnesota at the same time, instead focusing in on Allen as the solution to their lack of interior disruption in the defensive trenches.
Eagles DE Brandon Graham To Play In 2026?
Eagles edge rusher Brandon Graham retired last offseason only to reverse course and rejoin his longtime team in October. This year may not contain any such back-and-forth, as the 37-year-old is already talking about his plans to play in 2026.
“Hopefully we can win another [Super Bowl] in my last season coming up,” Graham said this week (via NBC Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro), indicating that he will return for the 2026 season, his 17th in the NFL.
Graham has spent every year of his career in Philadelphia, which featured championships after the 2017 and 2024 seasons. He has logged 215 appearances (106 starts) with 79.5 sacks and 128 tackles for loss, though he only has 9.5 sacks and 12 TFLs in the last three years. In 2025, he appeared in nine games with a 19% snap share, the lowest of his career, but still chipped in three sacks, though the season did feature his worst grades from Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Graham’s current contract with the Eagles is set to void on June 3, per OverTheCap, giving the two sides plenty of time to agree on a new deal. Philadelphia let Jaelan Phillips walk in free agency, and though they signed Arnold Ebiketie to a one-year deal, they still need more depth off the edge. Their outside linebacker room is currently made up of Ebiketie, Nolan Smith, and Jalyx Hunt, along with Jose Ramirez, a 2023 sixth-round pick who has only appeared in four games, all in 2024 for the Buccaneers.
Keeping Graham around for another year would maintain some veteran experience in a relatively young group, and he only cost the team $2.44MM in 2025. He will likely receive a similar amount to return to the Eagles’ locker room as a key leader for a bounce-back effort in 2026 after last year’s disappointing first-round playoff exit.
Texans, RB David Montgomery Agree To Upgraded Deal
The Texans have agreed to a new contract with running back David Montgomery, who arrived via trade from the Lions at the beginning of the month, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson.
Montgomery’s last deal with the Lions – signed in October 2024 – had two years and $15MM remaining with $6MM due in 2026 and no guaranteed money (via OverTheCap). The new agreement is worth $16.5MM with $10MM in guarantees, according to details obtained by Wilson.
In 2026, Montgomery will receive a $6.5MM signing bonus, a guaranteed $1.5MM salary, and up to $500k in per-game roster bonuses, an increase from his previously-set compensation of $6MM. $2MM of his $7.5MM 2027 salary is guaranteed, and he will receive another $500k in per game bonuses as well.
Montgomery’s previous contract from Detroit paid him $9.125MM per year, the 13th-highest AAV at his position. He has now dropped to 15th at $8.725MM per year, still a strong figure for a running back heding into his age-29 season.
Financially, Montgomery qualifies as Houston’s RB1, though he will likely split time with 2025 fourth-rounder Woody Marks. Marks put up 703 yards on 196 carries as a rookie and will be looking to improve on his 3.6-yard per carry mark in his sophomore campaign. Montgomery has bested those numbers in each of his seven NFL seasons and only dropped below 800 rushing yards in the last two seasons due to the arrival of Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit. He also has 59 career rushing touchdowns, while Marks recorded just two as a rookie – though he found the end zone through the air three times.
Commanders To Sign RB Jerome Ford
The Commanders are signing former Browns running back Jerome Ford to a one-year deal, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Ford, 26, is the second running back to join Washington’s backfield this week. Rachaad White signed his own one-year deal on Thursday; he, Ford, and 2025 seventh-round pick Jacory Croskey-Merritt will look to follow up the Commanders’ top-five rushing effort last season.
Ford was drafted by the Browns in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. He served as the team’s primary kickoff returner as a rookie and stepped into a starting role after Nick Chubb‘s season-ending knee injury. Ford led Cleveland’s backfield with 813 yards on 204 carries and chipped in 44 catches for 319 receiving yards, the fourth-most on the offense. He also tied with Kareem Hunt for the team lead with nine total touchdowns.
In 2024, Ford maintained a strong role in the backfield as Chubb finished his rehab, though he was not as much of a lead back as the year before. He again paced the team in rushing and was the fifth-leading receiver, though he only found the end zone three times. Though Chubb left in free agency the following offseason, the Browns did not give Ford a featured role in 2025. Instead, they drafted two rookie running backs – Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson – who dominated the backfield and made Ford an afterthought in Cleveland.
In Washington, Ford gives the Commanders another experienced option in their backfield behind Croskey-Merritt and White. Croskey-Merritt barely factored into the receiving game as a rookie, so White will likely take on a third-down role in 2026. Ford profiles as more of an all-purpose RB3 who can eat carries and step in on passing downs as needed.
Falcons Sign QB Tua Tagovailoa
MARCH 13: Like Russell Wilson in 2024 and Kyler Murray on Thursday, Tagovailoa agreed to a veteran-minimum contract following a high-profile release. The former Dolphins starter, who will compete with Penix for the Falcons’ QB1 gig, will do so for barely $1MM, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones confirms. This will cut into Miami’s historic dead money bill, but not by much.
Exercising Tagovailoa’s 2026 option bonus before his release (per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson), the Dolphins will be tied to a $55.4MM dead money hit this year. That breaks Wilson’s single-season record ($53MM). Tagovailoa will count $43.8MM against Miami’s 2027 cap.
MARCH 9: The Dolphins are planning to release Tua Tagovailoa, and just a few hours later, he has found a new team. The 28-year-old quarterback will be moving one state north to join the Falcons, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
As expected, Tagovailoa will receive a one-year, veteran-minimum deal in Atlanta, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, as Miami is still paying him $54MM this season. He will join fellow lefty Michael Penix Jr. in a Falcons quarterback room that will likely soon lose Kirk Cousins.
In fact, Tagovailoa projects as the team’s bridge starter as Penix works his way back from knee surgery, filling a role that could have kept Cousins in Atlanta. Instead, the veteran should now get the opportunity to pick a new team that he did not receive last offseason.
Considering Tagovailoa’s drastic fall since his 2023 Pro Bowl nod, Atlanta is a fine landing spot for the former first-round pick. The Falcons have been non-committal on Penix’s status as their franchise QB, and his injury will give Tagovailoa an opportunity to rebuild his stock surrounded by a strong supporting cast.
The Falcons have a solid offensive line and exciting young skill position players like Drake London, Bijan Robinson, and Kyle Pitts. But Tagovailoa’s struggles over the past two seasons will still give him an uphill battle in convincing Atlanta’s new leadership that he, not Penix, is the quarterback to steward the team’s offense into the future.
Finding no trade takers, the Dolphins will designate Tagovailoa as a post-June 1 cut Wednesday. That comes as little surprise, as it will allow Miami to spread out the record-breaking $99.2MM dead money charge in this case over two years. Thanks to Tagovailoa’s guarantees on his contract, he could account for $67MM a dead cap charges in 2026 as the Dolphins move forward with their full-scale roster reset.
Benched before Week 16 last season, Tagovailoa would welcome a fresh start. His four-year, $212.4MM extension — which included a $54MM 2026 option bonus that shifted from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in March 2025 — backfired quickly. Still, Tagovailoa played well for much of the 2022 and ’23 campaigns.
Tua, 28 in May, led the league in yards per attempt and passer rating in 2022, passing yards in 2023 and completion percentage in 2024. Concussion concerns resurfaced in 2024, and Tagovailoa missed six games that year. His 2025 season continued a downward trajectory. But at the veteran minimum, the Falcons will take a flier.
If Tagovailoa were to make that a serious consideration later this year, it would create a fascinating dynamic in Atlanta. The Falcons surprised many by selecting Penix with the No. 8 pick in the 2024 draft weeks after signing Cousins to a four-year, $160MM deal with $90MM guaranteed. Cousins started the regular season strong, but struggled with turnovers down the stretch and was replaced by Penix. He went into 2025 as the unquestioned starter with Cousins trying to force his way out of Atlanta. But Penix did not inspire much confidence himself before partially tearing his ACL, leaving the Falcons in a tricky spot this offseason.
Normally, a quarterback’s third season (second as a starter) is a good litmus test for their long-term capabilities. But Penix will not get that type of opportunity, as he is expected to miss offseason practices as the team transitions to Kevin Stefanski‘s coaching staff. Instead, Tagovailoa will have the first opportunity to impress the new regime on the field.
Titans To Release CB L’Jarius Sneed
The Titans are releasing L’Jarius Sneed, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, making him a late addition to the cornerback market in free agency.
Sneed, 29, arrived in Tennessee in a tag-and-trade deal with the Chiefs during the 2024 offseason. The Titans sent a third-round pick to Kansas City and handed the veteran corner a four-year, $76.4MM contract with $44MM guaranteed.
He only played 12 games on that deal due to quad injuries in both 2024 and 2025. When healthy, Sneed’s performance dipped notably with career-worst marks in several categories, including his ball production, tackling, and yards per target allowed. His grades from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) plummeted relative to his time in Kansas City, too.
The Titans certainly hoped to get more out of Sneed, especially since the third-round pick they sent to Kansas City turned out to be the second in the round. Instead, they will release him with two years remaining on his contract to save $11.4MM against the 2026 salary cap, per OverTheCap. The remaining prorations of Sneed’s signing bonus will leave an $8.1MM dead cap hit.
Tennessee used several different cornerbacks in the last two years and seem to be rebuilding the unit entirely under new head coach Robert Saleh. He declined to retain Darrell Baker, who led the corner room in snaps in 2025, and instead signed Cordale Flott, Alontae Taylor, and Joshua Williams, all young potential starters that will give the Titans plenty of options in their secondary.