Giants To Reunite With S Jason Pinnock
The Giants are reuniting with Jason Pinnock, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz. The veteran safety is set to return to New York on a one-year deal, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan adds.
Pinnock, 26, appeared in 44 games for the Giants from 2022 to 2024. He started five games in 2022 with a 49% snap share before taking on a full time role with 16 starts in each of the next two years. He recorded 85 tackles in each of those seasons – the fourth-most on the team – and a combined five sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Pinnock also pulled in two interceptions in 2023, the only picks of his career.
The five-year veteran then signed a one-year, $2.2MM to be the 49ers’ third safety in 2025. Pinnock struggled in San Francisco, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), earning the lowest grades of his career and posing the highest missed tackle rate and completion percentage allowed of his career.
Pinnock will be vying for a similar role in New York in 2025 behind Giants starting safeties Jevon Holland and Tyler Nubin. That was Dane Belton‘s job in 2025, but he switched New York clubs this week and now plays for the Jets. Pinnock’s primary competition will be Ar’Darius Washington, a former Ravens safety who followed John Harbaugh to his new team on a one-year deal.
Washington’s relationship with Harbaugh – as well as new defensive coordinator and former Ravens secondary coach Dennard Wilson – may give him a leg up in earning a role in the defense. Pinnock clearly has fans in the building, though, and with more than 3,500 snaps of experience before turning 27 years old, he will likely find his way on the field in the Meadowlands.
49ers DE Bryce Huff To Retire
After six years in the NFL, 49ers defensive end Bryce Huff is calling it a career. Huff announced his retirement on Instagram on Thursday (via Nick Wagoner of ESPN).
Huff, 27, was traded to the 49ers last offseason and appeared in 15 games during the regular season. He recorded four sacks and six tackles for loss, the second-best production of his career that was still disappointing relative to double-digit totals in both categories in 2023.
The former Memphis standout signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and carved out a rotational role on the defensive line as a rookie. He put up 7.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss in his first three years, though peripheral metrics like his pass rush win rate suggested he had more to offer.
That turned out to be the case in 2023, when he put up 10 sacks and 10 tackles for loss to go along with a 22.9% PRWR that ranked third among defensive linemen, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Huff peaked at the right time and earned a three-yera, $51MM payday from the Eagles with $34MM in guaranteed money.
A disappointing follow-up effort led the Eagles to reconsider their investment, and they ended up trading Huff to the 49ers for a conditional Day 3 pick. He rebounded upon reuniting with Robert Saleh, his head coach in New York, leading the 49ers with 46 pressures.
Huff was due just over $17MM in 2026 with a $5.4MM cap hit, per OverTheCap, but his retirement will wipe both of those numbers off San Francisco’s books. The 49ers will now be looking for edge-rushing depth with Yetur Gross-Matos and Clelin Ferrell also hitting free agency.
Huff will leave the NFL with 81 appearances (21 starts), 24.0 sacks, and 26 tackles for loss to his name, along with just over $40MM in career earnings. In his retirement announcement, he revealed his post-playing plans of starting a company to build safety infrastructure to reduce fire risk when using lithium batteries.
Falcons To Sign DE Samson Ebukam
The Falcons are adding another new edge rusher to their defense. Former Colts defensive end Samson Ebukam has agreed to sign in Atlanta, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Ebukam, 30, appeared in 14 games in 2025 after missing the entire 2024 season due to a torn Achilles. The Colts were understandably cautious about his return to the field; his snap count and sack production were both the lowest of his career since his 2017 rookie year. Ebukam did put up a respectable 10.2% pass rush win rate, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), which represented a much less severe drop from his production between 2019 and 2023.
In that time, Ebukam recorded at least 4.5 sacks every season with a career-high of 9.5 in 2023, his first year in Indianapolis on a three-year, $27MM deal. Returning to that peak seems unlikely given that his pressure generation that season was not significantly higher than the rest of his career, but another year removed from a major injury should offer better results in Atlanta in 2026.
Ebukam is the second edge rusher the Falcons have added in free agency. They also signed Azeez Ojulari, another veteran who will provide depth behind 2025 first-rounders Jalon Walker and James Pearce. Pearce is currently facing felony charges in Florida and could be subject to league discipline, which would push Ebukam and Ojulari into bigger roles.
If Pearce is available, Ebukam and Ojulari will instead profile as more direct replacements for Leonard Floyd and Arnold Ebiketie, who combined for 5.5 sacks in 2025 and hit free agency this week.
Chiefs To Sign CB Kader Kohou
The Chiefs are signing former Dolphins cornerback Kader Kohou, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
Kohou, 27, missed all of the 2025 season due to a torn ACL suffered in training camp. He served as Miami’s primary nickel for the previous three seasons with 47 appearances, 38 starts, and more than 2,500 defensive snaps. He only played sparingly on special teams with no involvement in 2024.
Kohou arrived in Miami in 2022 as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M-Commerce. He was targeted more than any other defender in the league as a rookie, but allowed only 6.1 yards per target and three touchdowns. He regressed in 2023 with 7.7 yards per target and eight touchdowns but returned to his 2023 numbers the following year. That earned him a $3.26MM restricted free agent tag last offseason, though he will likely earn significantly less with the Chiefs.
In Kansas City, Kohou will look to prove his health and compete for a role in the Chiefs’ secondary, which has already lost three cornerbacks this week, including Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, two of their starters in 2025. Joshua Williams, who played key snaps in the previous three seasons but not 2025, is also gone, so the Chiefs will need to find new options on the boundary in 2026.
Kohou has played a majority of his career snaps in the slot, but 2023 fourth-rounder Chamarri Conner will likely keep that role next season. But his 743 snaps of experience on the boundary could help him compete for a job in a Kansas City pass defense that will look very different relative to last year’s unit.
Ravens Release QB Cooper Rush, Sign OL Jovaughn Gwyn
The Ravens signed Cooper Rush to a two-year deal last year to serve as Lamer Jackson’s backup, but that experiment ended during his second start after the MVP’s early-season knee injury.
Baltimore went back to Tyler Huntley – who won both of his starts in 2025 – and Rush rode the bench for the rest of the season. The Ravens were expected to part ways with the former Cowboys in the offseason, and re-signing Huntley to a two-year deal over the weekend supported that projection.
Indeed, the Ravens have released Rush, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The move comes without a post-June 1 designation, so it will be processed right away, clearing $453k and leaving $2.2MM in dead money. The eight-year veteran will now hit the open market in search of a new backup opportunity, though his struggles in Baltimore will likely force him to compete for a job during training camp.
The Ravens’ other Thursday move is the signing of Jovaughn Gwyn (also via Pelissero), who is coming to Baltimore to reunite with offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford. Gwyn, 26, was a seventh-round pick out of South Carolina in 2023. He has only played 11 regular-season offensive snaps – all in 2025 – with nine at right guard plus one as an inline tight end and another as a fullback, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
In the preseason, though, Gwyn has played center as well, a key still for a Ravens offensive line that just lost Tyler Linderbaum in free agency. Gwyn does not project as a starting-caliber replacement, though he is clearly valued by Ledford. But with the potential for 2025 backup center Corey Bullock to step into a bigger role this year, Baltimore needed to add more depth at the position and now has Gwyn to back up multiple spots along their line.
Lions To Sign DB Christian Izien
The Lions are adding some more insurance to their secondary after an injury-riddled 2025 season. Former Buccaneers safety Christian Izien is headed to Detroit on a one-year deal, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz. The pact is worth $2MM, including $1MM guaranteed, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Izien, 25, signed in Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and carved out a role as the team’s primary nickel defender. He appeared in every game with four starts and a 64% snap share, allowing 6.9 yards per target and bringing in two interceptions.
The Buccaneers increased and diversified Izien’s role in 2024 with rookie safety Tykee Smith taking over as the full-time nickel. Izien started 10 out of his 14 appearances with a 75% snap share and moved all around the defense with 308 snaps at free safety, 205 snaps in the slot, and 135 in the box, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). His coverage stats improved and he also ranked fourth on the team with 75 tackles.
Izien was pushed out of the secondary rotation in 2025. Rookie cornerback Jacob Parrish took over in the slot, which pushed Smith into Izien’s 2024 role. Izien did not play more than two defensive snaps in a game until December and finished the year with just 166 total, though he did the most special teams work of his career.
The Buccaneers declined to place a restricted free agent tag on Izien, clearing his path to Detroit. The Lions did not have a dedicated nickel in 2025, but Izien could fill that role in 2026. He may even step into bigger duties early on with star safety duo Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph both recovering from significant leg injuries.
Bears, Chargers Looked Into Tyler Linderbaum
Several teams were reported to have interest in Tyler Linderbaum as free agency approached, among them the Bears and Chargers, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. Though neither won the bidding war for the former Ravens Pro Bowler, both teams did their homework on the veteran center in the weeks leading up to the start of the legal free agent tampering period. 
Expected to reset the market at the center position, Linderbaum was arguably the hottest player slated to hit the open market with massive projections for his next contract. Because the Raiders’ three-year, $81MM offer blew expectations of a $25MM annual average out of the water, the Ravens, Bears, Chargers, and any other potential suitors were all forced to pivot.
Both Chicago and Los Angeles fell out of the race for Linderbaum far before the price tag rose to $27MM per year. Signs began pointing to the veteran center landing back with Baltimore or with the Raiders as the competing bidders started dropping like flies — made apparent by transactions made for other centers. After moving on from the idea of landing the highest-paid center in the NFL, the Bears traded for Garrett Bradbury, acquiring him from the Patriots. Instead of paying $27MM, Chicago was able to move forward simply by relinquishing a fifth-round pick to land Bradbury for a single season at $3.7MM.
The sign that the Chargers had dropped out of the race for Linderbaum came when the team added Tyler Biadasz after he was cut by the Commanders. Los Angeles even secured Biadasz long term, signing the 2022 Pro Bowler to a three-year, $30MM contract. Also, because he had been released from his contract before the start of free agency, he was able to join the Chargers right away and won’t count against the team’s compensatory pick calculations for next year.
The Ravens, too, will need to find a new center after their 2022 first-round pick left Baltimore in free agency. General manager Eric DeCosta was willing to go up to $88MM over four years, a $22MM AAV that would have reset the center market by $4MM per year, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. But the Raiders came in with $27MM per year and a structure that essentially guarantees all $81MM. The three-year term will also give Linderbaum significant leverage to negotiate another raise during the 2028 offseason, which was another sticking point with the Ravens.
The Raiders clearly thought it was worth every penny to land the top center option available as they close in on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the presumed No. 1 overall pick of the draft. The rookie passer will find himself behind one of the league’s top centers. A smart, experienced interior lineman like Linderbaum should be able to take a significant load off Mendoza’s shoulders when it comes to the offense’s presnap operations and blitz recognitions. In the meantime, the Bears and Chargers have paired their young passers with veterans of their own, and the Ravens remain with a hole to fill.
Ely Allen contributed to this post.
Giants To Re-Sign OT Evan Neal
In another example of new head coach John Harbaugh‘s influence in New York, the Giants are re-signing offensive lineman Evan Neal, per his agency, AMDG Sports. It will be a one-year deal for a veteran-minimum salary, per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post.
The former No. 7 pick was expected to leave New York this offseason after not appearing in a single game in 2025. The Giants had high hopes that Neal could form an elite bookend duo with left tackle Andrew Thomas, but the former Alabama star never lived up to his draft billing.
Neal missed four games as a rookie due to an MCL sprain. When healthy, he graded out as one of the worst right tackles in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Neal only only appeared in 16 games over the next two years and continued to struggle in pass protection, though his run-blocking grade jumped to 80.8 in 2024.
The Giants declined Neal’s fifth-year option last offseason and attempted to move Neal to guard, but the transition never took. He instead spent the season as a healthy scratch until November, when a hamstring injury forced him on injured reserve.
At that point, it truly seemed that Neal’s rocky tenure in New York was over. Another team may want to roll the dice on his obvious physical gifts, but the Giants could not figure it out in four years. Multiple reports indicated that Neal would be leaving the team after he landed on injured reserve, but Harbaugh must have a different perspective and plenty of faith in new offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren.
T Jedrick Wills To Sign With Bears
Jedrick Wills is indeed returning to the NFL. The former first-round pick missed all of the 2025 season due to a knee injury suffered the year before and is now set to sign a one-year deal with the Bears, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The five-year veteran previously visit the Patriots and the Lions as he explored his options, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
Wills, 26, arrived in Cleveland as the No. 10 selection in the 2020 draft. He took over as the team’s starting left tackle and was named to the All-Rookie team in what remains the best pass-blocking performance of his career, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Wills missed four games in 2021, but returned for a full season in 2022. The injuries began to crop up after that with only 13 appearances across 2023 and 2024, the latter of which featured a season-ending MCL tear in Week 9.
Wills looked into playing in 2025, but opted to sit the season out to solidify his recovery. He will be another left tackle option for the Bears, who used four different players at the position last year. Second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo held down the starting job in the second half of the season but is expected to miss most of 2026 with a knee injury suffered in the playoffs.
Wills will compete for Trapilo’s spot with Braxton Jones, who was retained on a one-year contract, and second-year UDFA Theo Benedet. Both started multiple games last season, with Jones opening the year as the starter as he did for the previous three and Benedet supplanting him in Week 4.
That could be a tough battle for Wills. His pass blocking efficiency and grades from PFF have steadily trended downward since his rookie year with injuries impacting his availability and level of play. Ideally, the extended time away from the field will have allowed him to not only fully recover from his last injury, but improve his durability to prevent more.
Falcons To Sign OLB Azeez Ojulari
Azeez Ojulari is headed back to Georgia. The Marietta native and former Bulldog is signing with the Falcons on a one-year deal, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Ojulari, 25, will need to rebuild his stock in Atlanta after appearing in just three games for the Eagles last season. He will add edge rushing depth behind 2025 first-rounders Jalon Walker and James Pearce, the latter of whom could be facing league discipline as a result of pending felony charges.
The 2019 Giants second-round pick flashed high-end potential as a rookie with eight sacks. Injuries became an issue moving forward, as Ojulari appeared in just 29 games over the next three seasons, though he still put up solid production with 14.0 sacks when healthy. His trade value jumped in the final year of his rookie deal with five sacks in three games right before the 2024 deadline, but no team would meet New York’s asking price.
Ojulari then landed on injured reserve for the third season in a row and took a one-year, $3MM contract with the Eagles in the offseason. Philadelphia’s outside linebacker depth kept Ojulari from earning a consistent role in Vic Fangio‘s defense. He should get more opportunities in a Falcons edge rushing room that let Arnold Ebiketie and Leonard Floyd hit free agency.
The Eagles only played Ojulari for 67 snaps in 2025, so they will not need to find a dedicated replacement. However, Jaelan Phillips‘ departure to the Panthers will leave a much bigger hole in their defense.