Lions’ John Morton Hire, Kelvin Sheppard Promotion Driven By Continuity Concerns
After three consecutive winning seasons and two straight NFC North titles, and after coming heart-wrenchingly close to a Super Bowl appearance at the end of the 2023 campaign, the Lions have had to come to grips with the reality that other successful franchises face: a brain drain. On the heels of its 15-2 showing in 2024, Detroit lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, as both men accepted head coaching gigs elsewhere.
However, the Lions did not search far and wide to replace them (as our 2025 coordinator tracker shows). With respect to the OC post, there were no publicly-reported interviews other than the one for John Morton, and new DC Kelvin Sheppard’s only competition for his job prior to his promotion was Buccaneers inside linebackers coach Larry Foote.
As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press confirms, that was by design. Although it would be reductive to say that Morton and Sheppard landed their positions solely due to continuity concerns, Birkett says continuity was certainly a major factor.
Morton, 55, worked as the Lions’ senior offensive assistant in 2022, which was Dan Campbell’s second season as the club’s head coach and Johnson’s first as the offensive coordinator. Birkett noted in a human interest piece on Morton earlier this year that Campbell wanted to replace Johnson with someone who would retain much of the outgoing play-caller’s terminology and playbook, and that is what he will get in Morton.
After the 2022 season, Morton left Detroit to join Sean Payton’s first staff with the Broncos. The success that rookie passer Bo Nix enjoyed in Denver in 2024 helped Morton rebuild his OC stock, and the upcoming season will mark his second attempt at the position (he was the Jets’ offensive coordinator in 2017, when the team was quarterbacked primarily by Josh McCown). In addition to his familiarity with Johnson’s scheme, Morton will inherit a roster that returns its core group of high-end skill-position players and O-linemen. Birkett believes Morton will call for more downfield throws than his predecessor, but the offense should otherwise look quite similar.
Sheppard, 37, enjoyed an eight-year playing career, and he has quickly risen up the coaching ladder since becoming a part of Campbell’s first Lions staff in 2021 as the team’s outside linebackers coach. He has earned praise for helping revive the careers of veterans like Alex Anzalone and helping guide young draft picks like Jack Campbell and Malcolm Rodriguez, and his reputation as a rising star in the coaching world extended beyond Michigan.
While Birkett says Sheppard (a former linebacker) sees defense through a different “prism” than Glenn (a former defensive back), Sheppard will, like Morton, inherit a strong collection of returning players, including the likes of Anzalone, Jack Campbell, Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, Brian Branch, and Kerby Joseph. The Lions finished in the bottom half of the league in terms of total defense in 2024, but they allowed the seventh-fewest points per game.
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert Never Sought Trade
Earlier this offseason, TE Dallas Goedert’s future with the Eagles was very much in doubt, and it was reported he would have to take a pay cut to avoid being traded or released. As PHLY’s Zach Berman writes, Goedert never requested a trade to avoid a reduction in 2025 pay and/or to find a team willing to authorize a new contract for him.
Instead, the 30-year-old seemingly realized he would have to take a cut, and he put forth a number he was comfortable with. Ultimately, he agreed to accept $10MM in 2025, with a chance to earn up to an additional $1MM in incentives. He was previously scheduled to take home $14.25MM.
Prior to April’s draft, Philadelphia was believed to be shopping Goedert, and trade offers did emerge. The fact that the Eagles were reportedly willing to accept 2026 draft compensation for their TE1 suggested a trade was a real possibility, but clearly a deal never materialized. The club did not select a tight end in the draft, and talks about a reworked pact accelerated thereafter.
From a purely on-field perspective, it never made much sense for the reigning Super Bowl champions to part ways with one of their better offensive players. The lack of high-end additions to the TE depth chart in free agency or the draft made it clear that, despite the trade chatter, Philadelphia was always amenable to retaining Goedert at a reduced rate, and the player likewise preferred to remain with the team that made him a second-round pick in 2018.
The pay cut did not change the term of the contract, so Goedert remains eligible for free agency in 2026. He has battled injuries in recent seasons, and he played a career-low 10 regular season games in 2024 (though he did lead the Eagles with 215 receiving yards during the team’s Super Bowl run). George Kittle recently proved that a tight end on the wrong side of 30 can still land a top-of-the-market contract, and a strong, healthy season from Goedert will give him a good case for another lucrative deal of his own.
The Eagles focused on the defensive side of the ball in the draft, and the offseason addition of Terrace Marshall notwithstanding, it appears Goedert will retain his status as one of QB Jalen Hurts’ top-three receiving options, behind wideouts A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. His blocking contributions in support of running back Saquon Barkley likely played a role in the team’s decision to keep him on the roster as well.
49ers’ Brock Purdy Sought $65MM/Year Deal; No Trade Interest In QB
The 49ers and quarterback Brock Purdy recently agreed to an extension that moves the former seventh-rounder near the top of the quarterback market in terms of average annual value ($53MM) but still outside the top five earners at his position. Cowboys passer Dak Prescott still leads the way with a $60MM AAV, and when negotiations between San Francisco and its own signal-caller commenced, Purdy tried to shatter Prescott’s number.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, in an appearance on UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio, Purdy sought a yearly payout of $65MM at the outset of contract talks (via David Bonilla of 49ersWebZone.com).
“Yes, that was his initial asking price, 65 [million],” Schefter said. “But you know what? Everybody’s initial asking price should be high. That’s how it should be, and his was. I don’t know that he thought he was going to get that, but you might as well start high. Nothing abnormal or unusual about that at all.”
Given Purdy’s regression in 2024 and the fact that rival clubs have been rumored to view his surprising success largely as a function of head coach Kyle Shanahan’s system, it was always unlikely he would approach his $65MM/year overture. However, contrary to prior suggestions that an overly-ambitious ask could throw a wrench in negotiations, it seems that was not the case.
Club brass never wavered on its long-held goal of finalizing an extension for Purdy, and after conversations got underway in February – Purdy was not eligible for a new contract until this offseason – there was no whisper of a hiccup or any other development that would delay an agreement. Rather, all public reports published after that date indicated the two sides were making good progress, and that progress culminated in a five-year, $265MM accord on May 16.
It thus appears that neither player nor team ever injected the notion of a trade into these proceedings, and Schefter confirms as much.
“I remember talking to teams, and just being like, ‘Hey,’ as they were trying to solve their quarterback needs, ‘any interest in Brock Purdy?'” Schefter said. “And they were like, ‘Great player, but he’s a great player for them.’ So they didn’t see it that way. So that was the opinion of other teams.”
Schefter’s statement does seem to validate the above-referenced belief that other teams see Purdy as a Shanahan product who would not do as well in a different offense. Perhaps aware of that reality, Purdy & Co. came down quite a bit from their initial proposal and ultimately “settled” for a contract well below their $65MM shot across the bow (the deal does come with a no-trade clause and favorable short-term cash flow, though the new money figures become more team-friendly in the second year of the extension term).
With his contract situation now resolved, Purdy and the Niners will attempt to regroup from a significant departure of talent this offseason – which was triggered in no small part by the QB’s impending big-money deal – and launch a bounceback 2025 campaign.
Lions Unlikely To Pursue Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson
As the Bengals-Trey Hendrickson contract impasse drags on, the possibility of a trade looms over the situation. The Lions, despite recent interest in elite EDGE players like Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby, do not appear to be a Hendrickson suitor.
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press says a pursuit of the 2024 sack leader would run counter to the Lions’ current operation. After all, Detroit is in the midst of negotiations with its own standout pass rusher, Aidan Hutchinson, and those discussions may well culminate in an extension that catapults Hutchinson to the top of the EDGE market (currently paced by Garrett’s $40MM average annual value).
It would therefore be quite difficult for the Lions to surrender notable draft capital to complete a Hendrickson trade – even if Cincinnati relaxes its demand of a first-round pick plus more – and then authorize a contract near the top of the market for a second defensive end. Hendrickson’s age (30) will likely prevent him from reaching the $40MM/year club, but as Birkett suggests, a $35MM AAV is not out of the question.
Plus, the Lions have other contractual matters to resolve. While Hutchinson is presumably at the top of GM Brad Holmes’ agenda at the moment, Birkett says the club is looking ahead to a second deal for running back Jahmyr Gibbs – who will be eligible for a new contract at the end of the 2025 season – and other internal cornerstones. While Birkett does not expressly say so, it could be that Gibbs’ 2023 draftmates like Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta, and Brian Branch are already on Holmes’ extension radar (Holmes finalized a record-setting extension for safety Kerby Joseph just a few weeks ago).
Of course, the prospect of pairing Hutchinson with Hendrickson is a tempting one. Hendrickson has earned Pro Bowl acclaim in each of his four seasons with the Bengals, and he has recorded 17.5 sacks in both of the past two seasons (his 2024 showing led to his first First Team All-Pro bid and placed him second in Defensive Player of the Year balloting). Hutchinson, who will turn 25 in August, averaged 10 sacks per season over his first two NFL campaigns and hit 7.5 sacks in just five contests in 2024 before suffering a season-ending leg injury.
It was that injury that led to Detroit’s in-season trade interest in Garrett and Crosby. After the team was rebuffed in those pursuits, it pivoted to Za’Darius Smith, and with Hutchinson ready to go for 2025, Birkett says the team will seek a complementary piece rather than a marquee addition.
Smith, who was released in a cost-cutting move in March, still profiles as a logical candidate to return. Holmes said last month he had not spoken with Smith’s camp since the release, but those comments were made before the 2025 draft. Now that the draft is in the books and clubs have a better idea of their roster needs, the two sides could circle back to each other. DeMarcus Walker, who visited Detroit in April, also remains unsigned, as does Von Miller.
The Lions re-signed DE Marcus Davenport this offseason after his first year in the Motor City was cut short by an elbow injury. As of the time of this writing, Davenport is penciled in as Hutchinson’s bookend on Detroit’s defensive front.
Saints’ Taysom Hill, Foster Moreau Out Until At Least Training Camp
Saints do-it-all weapon Taysom Hill and true tight end Foster Moreau suffered significant injuries in the latter stages of the 2024 season, which was a fitting end to a generally miserable year. It appears they are on the mend, but as Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports, neither of them will return to practice until training camp at the earliest.
It is worth noting that Underhill does not say whether Hill and Moreau are aiming for the start of camp in late July or if they will return on some later date. Both players are entering platform campaigns, so their future earning power will be impacted to a large extent by their health and productivity in 2025.
Hill, who is going into his age-35 season, was in line to build on the career-high 114 combined receiving and rushing touches he totaled in 2023. Last year, Klint Kubiak’s first (and only) season as the Saints’ offensive coordinator, it was reported that Hill could see more opportunities in the running game while still serving as an ancillary receiving option.
Unfortunately, the BYU product missed a handful of contests early on in the 2024 season due to a chest injury and fractured ribs, and he then sustained a torn ACL in Week 13. Given the usual timeline for ACL injuries, it would not be surprising if Hill were to miss the start of the 2025 regular season.
When he is healthy enough to return, it is unclear how new head coach Kellen Moore and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier plan to deploy Hill. Even without the ACL injury, it is unlikely the college quarterback – who does have a 7-2 record as a starting signal-caller in the pros but who has not thrown any passes except in special packages since 2021 – would have factored into New Orleans’ upcoming QB competition.
The Saints re-upped tight end Juwan Johnson on a lucrative three-year contract in March, thus cementing him the club’s TE1. Moreau will therefore have to again compete with Johnson (and Hill) for targets whenever he returns to the field.
Now 28, the former fourth-round pick of the Raiders started all 17 games for the Saints last year, his second season in New Orleans. He tied a career-high with five TDs, and his 32 catches and 413 receiving yards came up just shy of tying the personal-best marks he set with Las Vegas in 2022.
Moreau suffered a knee injury during the Saints’ season finale in 2024 and had to be carted off the field. Again, it is uncertain exactly when Moreau will be medically cleared, though he is of course hopeful it will be before the start of the regular season.
“The knee is doing great, and I’d have to say we are ahead of schedule,” Moreau recently said (via Rod Walker of NOLA.com). “I’d be pretty happy with a timeline that gets me back in either one of those spots (meaning before the start of training camp or the start of the regular season).”
Given Moore’s history of featuring tight ends in his offense, Moreau – who signed a three-year, $12MM pact with the Saints in 2023 – could position himself for another multiyear accord next offseason if he can return to full health sooner rather than later.
Jets’ Josh Myers, Joe Tippmann To Compete For Starting C Job
Josh Myers cracked our list of 2025’s Top 50 Free Agents (he checked in at No. 41), and his run as the Packers’ starting center seemingly positioned him well for a notable contract this offseason. However, it seems the league-wide perception of Myers mirrors the subpar Pro Football Focus grades he has earned over his four-year pro career, and he ultimately settled for a one-year, $2MM deal with the Jets.
Meanwhile, New York’s incumbent center, Joe Tippmann, graded out as PFF’s seventh-best pivot in 2024, which was just his second year in the league. The Jets made him a second-round pick the year prior, and given his draft pedigree and strong sophomore showing, it initially appeared Myers would have to accept a backup role with his new club.
While that still may be the case, it is apparently not a sure thing. The Jets have a new regime in place, a regime that signed Myers but did not draft Tippmann, and as ESPN’s Rich Cimini relays, first-year GM Darren Mougey said in March that Myers is “going to compete to push Tippmann.”
That competition is indeed taking place, with presumptive left guard John Simpson saying Myers and Tippmann are “battling their asses off right now.” Gang Green wrapped its first set of OTAs last week and is set to begin its next series on Wednesday.
Of course, this could be a simple matter of a rookie GM and head coach (Aaron Glenn) attempting to rebuild the Jets’ culture and making sure all of their players truly earn their jobs. On the other hand, as Cimini notes, Myers’ 56 career starts are the most among any player on New York’s O-line at the moment, and with a 2024 first-rounder (Olu Fashanu, who started seven games in his rookie year) and a 2025 rookie (Armand Membou) poised to start at the tackle positions, there is some logic to having a more experienced center.
In theory, Tippmann – who played some right guard in his rookie campaign in 2023 – could shift to one of the guard positions to make room for Myers. However, 2021 first-rounder and extension candidate Alijah Vera-Tucker appears entrenched at right guard for the long haul, leaving Simpson’s LG post as the only other interior position that could be up for grabs.
But Simpson turned in a strong debut effort for the Jets in 2024, starting all 17 contests and earning a 77.3 overall PFF grade that placed him 16th among guards. That was something of a surprising showing given his more pedestrian performances with the Raiders and Ravens in prior years, so one wonders if the Tippmann-Myers battle could ultimately have an impact on Simpson’s status.
That is merely speculation, as Cimini’s report only suggests Tippmann and Myers are fighting for the starting center spot. The ESPN scribe certainly believes there is more than just GM- or coach-speak at play here, as he characterizes the positional competition as one to watch.
Aaron Rodgers To Sign With Steelers By End Of May?
It has long seemed like a foregone conclusion that, assuming Aaron Rodgers chooses to play in 2025, he will suit up for the Steelers. A report from earlier this week indicated Pittsburgh was still optimistic it would get a deal done with the future Hall of Famer, and signs continue to point in that direction.
Rodgers’ biographer, Ian O’Connor, recently appeared on 93.7 The Fan’s The PM Team and predicted the 41-year-old would put pen to paper by the end of May (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). Although he declined to disclose the personal issues that Rodgers himself has cited for his delay in signing with a club, O’Connor does not believe those issues – which pertain to a member of Rodgers’ inner circle – would preclude him from playing football.
Florio previously expressed his belief, supported by a source who knows Rodgers but who has no specific knowledge of the current situation, that the eccentric signal-caller may have wanted to avoid being a distraction by signing a contract with the Steelers but remaining away from the team for the early stages of the club’s offseason program as he sorts out his personal matter. Of course, given Rodgers’ status and the coverage that constantly surrounds him, the fact that he has not signed a contract at all is its own form of distraction. Still, it is fair to conclude that officially joining Pittsburgh and not reporting during the first phases of the offseason – which Rodgers has openly opposed anyway – would have invited even more scrutiny.
“I just think verbally, behind the scenes, not that he guaranteed it, but he’s told [the Steelers], ‘Listen, I’m gonna play for you. I just don’t want to go there and then miss part of mandatory minicamp because of my personal issues. I’m pretty sure they’re gonna be solved by the end of May, at least in my satisfaction where I can give you my all,'” O’Connor said (via Ross McCorkle of SteelersDepot.com).
Florio believes O’Connor was referring to the offseason program in general and not mandatory minicamp specifically, as mandatory minicamp does not take place until June 10. Florio also believes there is a good chance Rodgers will have signed with Pittsburgh by next week, as OTAs get underway on May 27.
Outside of the quarterback position, the Steelers have a playoff-worthy roster and did not select a signal-caller in this year’s draft until they added Ohio State’s Will Howard in the sixth round. As such, the runway is very much clear for Rodgers to come aboard and supplant Mason Rudolph as Pittsburgh’s QB1.
O’Connor, who interviewed 250 people for his book Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers, believes Pittsburgh is the “perfect place” for Rodgers to finish his playing career.
“It may be me as an optimist, but I think this is gonna work out,” O’Connor said. “Do I think the Steelers will win the Super Bowl next year? No. But if you told me 11-6 with at least one playoff victory … I think that’s realistic.”
Rodgers has never been linked in any meaningful way to the Saints this offseason, and that did not change after it became clear Derek Carr would retire, per NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan. New Orleans will conduct an open competition between second-round rookie Tyler Shough and holdovers Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener as it seeks its starting quarterback for 2025.
First Round Fallout: Giants, Dart, Sanders, Steelers, Broncos, Alexander
The Giants, heavily connected to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders throughout the pre-draft process, used the No. 3 overall in last month’s draft – a pick once seemingly ticketed for Sanders – on Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter. The club ultimately got the player it hopes will become its franchise passer when it struck an agreement with the Texans to trade up from No. 34 to No. 25 and select Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart.
A recent episode of Giants Life, which is worth a watch for any NFL fan and for Giants fans in particular, offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how the trade-up with Houston materialized (video link). As New York GM Joe Schoen confirms, rival teams knew that Big Blue, after having used its first selection on a non-quarterback, was still in the market for a QB. As such, when the draft proceeded to the No. 18 pick (at which point the Seahawks were on the clock), Schoen began getting calls from other GMs looking to trade down to No. 34.
When the draft moved into the 20s, Schoen himself became proactive and began making calls to determine who was interested in trading down. As Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post observes, Schoen believed he could swing a deal with the Broncos to acquire Denver’s No. 20 overall pick, which would have allowed him to leapfrog the Steelers and their No. 21 choice. Schoen knew Pittsburgh was in need of a quarterback as well, though he had intelligence indicating the team was also looking to trade back, which suggested the Steelers were not prepared to take a signal-caller at that point.
He nonetheless considered offering the Steelers the same deal that apparently had been discussed with multiple clubs. However, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Giants were banking on the belief that Pittsburgh would select a defensive player with the No. 21 pick, thereby obviating the need to trade for No. 20 or No. 21. This is despite Schoen’s concern, as he voiced in Giants Life, that the QB-needy Browns or Saints could also move back into the first round (though he knew division rivals Pittsburgh and Cleveland would not come together on a trade of that magnitude). Fowler also says New York did not want to part with its No. 65 selection, which the Texans were willing to exclude from a trade package.
Ultimately, the Giants and Texans agreed to a trade that sent the Nos. 34 and 99 picks of the 2025 draft, along with a 2026 third-rounder, to Houston in exchange for the No. 25 pick and the right to select Dart. As Schoen admitted, no one will remember the third-round picks that went to the Texans if he got the Dart pick right. Interestingly, right before Houston GM Nick Caserio called Schoen to formally accept the deal, it looks as if Schoen received a call from Rams GM Les Snead. Los Angeles originally held the No. 26 pick, one spot behind the Texans, so Schoen naturally put Snead on hold to talk to Caserio and finalize a trade. Ultimately, Snead found a taker for his No. 26 selection, which he dealt to the Falcons in exchange for a package fronted by a 2026 first-rounder.
Dunleavy highlighted the portion of Schoen’s war room conversations in which he told head coach Brian Daboll, “you guys are convicted in [Dart]. You believe in him. We did the process. He checked all the boxes. Let’s roll the dice.” That exchange leads Dunleavy to believe the Dart pick, as previously reported, was indeed driven by the coaching staff.
Earlier reports also indicated Daboll was one of the coaches who did not see eye-to-eye with Sanders, and while the Giants reportedly still would have entertained a trade-up for Sanders if Dart had been taken off the board, multiple Daboll-Dart connections formed in the run-up to the draft. It became clear that Dart was Daboll’s preferred target, and Sanders himself acknowledged that he “didn’t hit it off with Giants coaches,” according to Fowler.
The No. 65 pick that the Giants did not want to include in a trade-up maneuver was used to select Toledo defensive end Darius Alexander. Though New York had already added the high-ceiling Carter to a group that includes Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, the club further leaned into its defensive front with Alexander, whom many scouts viewed as an ascending prospect. One team source told Fowler, “when you think of the New York Giants, you think of how they are built up front.”
Seahawks GM Discusses D.K. Metcalf Trade
In March, the Steelers and Seahawks swung a blockbuster trade in which Seattle sent two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver D.K. Metcalf to Pittsburgh in exchange for a package headlined by a second-round pick. The Steelers and Metcalf hammered out a lucrative extension upon completion of the trade, a transaction that precipitated a later deal that saw the Steelers send former WR1 George Pickens to the Cowboys.
Seattle, meanwhile, will move forward with 2023 first-rounder Jaxon Smith-Njigba and free agent signee Cooper Kupp at the top of its depth chart. In a recent interview on The Rich Eisen Show, ‘Hawks GM John Schneider indicated Smith-Njigba’s breakout 2024 campaign informed the Metcalf trade to a degree, but it was ultimately Metcalf’s desire for a new employer that carried the day (video link).
Seemingly confirming recent reports that the trade request Metcalf made shortly before the Steelers deal is not the first time the Ole Miss product asked out of Seattle, Schneider said, “DK and I had very open conversations the last couple years about his future, and what that looked like and what he wanted. … And it was apparent that he wanted to move on” (h/t Mike Masala of Sporting News).
The conversations between the long-term GM and Metcalf picked up again following this year’s scouting combine.
“And so, when we got back from the combine, we had some real, clear, direct conversations,” Schneider added. “And at that point, we decided it was probably best for both of us to move forward.”
Metcalf, 27, was entering the final year of the three-year, $72MM deal he signed in July 2022, and in light of the exploding wide receiver market, it was a given that he would soon be receiving a new contract and a significant raise. It was the Steelers who authorized a four-year, $132MM accord – thus topping Metcalf’s previous AAV by $9MM – but Schneider says finances also took a backseat to the simple fact that Metcalf wanted out.
“No, it really wasn’t [salary-related], and it was interest[ing] because it wasn’t like animosity either,” Schneider said. “It was like, he really, really wanted a fresh start. And it’s not like we went into the offseason thinking this would be a possibility, but he was just, he was pretty dug in on it.”
It seems clear that Schneider was willing to go into the 2025 season with Metcalf and Smith-Njigba as his top WR tandem and only parted ways with the former due to the player’s wishes. Initially reported to be seeking a package including a first- and third-round choice, Schneider eventually lowered his demands and settled for the second-rounder and a Day 3 pick swap. He ultimately packaged Pittsburgh’s second-round choice (No. 52 overall) with his original third-round pick (No. 82) as part of the deal to acquire No. 35 from the Titans, which he used to select South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori.
In addition to Kupp, the Seahawks signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling in free agency and added rookie wideouts Tory Horton and Ricky White on Day 3 of the draft. That group will be tasked with replacing Metcalf’s production, which amounts to a per-season average of 77/1,108/8 over the course of his six-year career.
Colts DE Samson Ebukam Expects To Be Cleared For Training Camp
Colts DE Samson Ebukam is entering a contract year, and fortunately for player and team, it appears he will be on the field when training camp begins in July. Per Mike Chappell of Fox 59, Ebukam expects to be medically cleared in time for camp.
Ebukam paced the Colts with 9.5 sacks in 2023, a performance that led to high expectations in 2024. Unfortunately, the former fourth-round pick of the Rams suffered a torn Achilles shortly after last year’s training camp got underway. While Indianapolis placed him on IR with a return designation in the hopes that he could suit up more quickly than expected, that did not materialize, and Ebukam ultimately missed the entire campaign.
His absence is one of the reasons why the Colts, after posting the fifth-most sacks in the league in 2023, finished with the seventh-fewest in 2024. Even with Ebukam in the fold, Indy’s defense was not a particularly stout unit in 2023, but his return, coupled with a shift in organizational philosophy that led to notable deals for Camryn Bynum and Charvarius Ward that are intended to address the club’s secondary woes, should beget an improvement in 2025.
While GM Chris Ballard finally landed a top tight end prospect in the first round of last month’s draft when he turned in the card for Penn State standout Tyler Warren, he continued to fortify the defensive side of the ball on Day 2, when he added Ohio State defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau and Minnesota cornerback Justin Walley. The team did lose Dayo Odeyingbo in free agency but still rosters DeForest Buckner and recent first-round draftees Kwity Paye and Laiatu Latu along the defensive front.
Like Ebukam, Paye is going into a platform season. The Michigan product, who has recorded 16.5 sacks over the past two years, is due to earn $13.39MM on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal and can take advantage of the booming pass rusher market if he can replicate or improve upon his recent performances.
Ebukam is entering his age-30 season and could therefore face a more limited market next March even if he has a healthy and productive season. Nonetheless, he should still have a number of suitors and a sizable new deal if he can match his 2023 production.