Vikings Remain Willing To Bring Back Harrison Smith
In March, the Vikings released franchise stalwart Harrison Smith with a post-June 1 designation, as his contract was due to void and a decision needed to be made. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported the release and noted it was not an indication that Smith plans to retire (although the 37-year-old safety did contemplate hanging up his cleats in 2025 before re-upping with Minnesota).
Now that the March free agent frenzy and the April draft are in the books, Seifert echoes his prior report and says the Vikings have let Smith know they would be happy to have him back. Per Seifert, “all signs were pointing” to retirement following the 2025 campaign, but as Smith himself has made no public remarks in that regard, it seems as if another season could be in store.
While the Vikings return Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson, and Jay Ward and added Jakobe Thomas in the third round of last month’s draft, they have made no other notable additions at the safety position. Minnesota still believes it will have a better defense with Smith, whose 85% snap share trailed only Metellus’ 97% mark among the club’s safety contingent last season.
It has been a few years since Pro Football Focus considered Smith a top-tier defender, but his 68.9 overall grade in 2025 is still strong and is squarely in line with the site’s evaluation of his work from the prior three seasons. That mark placed him 33rd among 91 qualified safeties last year.
Pro Football Reference did charge him with a 115.1 quarterback rating allowed in 2025, which was far and away a career-worst figure. However, he did record two interceptions among 10 passes defensed and added 54 stops, including one sack and three tackles for loss.
Smith joined the Vikings in the first round of the 2012 draft and has never played for any other team, collecting six Pro Bowl nods and one first-team All-Pro selection during his 14-year career. His 207 games played is currently fifth in Minnesota franchise history, and he could move into third place, leaping Carl Eller (209) and Fred Cox (210), if he inks another deal.
The Vikings saved $1.3MM with the March release and are spreading out $3MM in dead money over the next two years. That number is separate from the cost of any new contract for Smith.
Bengals, DT Dexter Lawrence Agree To One-Year Extension
APRIL 23: The new Lawrence deal will pay out $11MM in base salary along with a $10MM roster bonus and $1MM in per-game roster bonuses next season, as detailed by The Athletic’s Dan Duggan. 2027 also contains an option bonus ($8.25MM) along with the same roster bonuses and a workout bonus. Lawrence is due to collect $5MM more across the next two years than he was with the Giants, and the Bengals will easily be able to move on after that span.
APRIL 19: The trade sending DT Dexter Lawrence from the Giants to the Bengals in exchange for the No. 10 overall pick in this week’s draft also featured a revised contract. ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first to report that Lawrence has inked a one-year, $28MM extension that will keep him under the Bengals’ control through 2028.
A report that emerged in the immediate aftermath of the trade suggested the Giants did make an effort to retain Lawrence even after the Bengals put the No. 10 pick on the table. Paul Schwartz of the New York Post corroborates that report and confirms Big Blue made offers that would have resulted in a sizable raise for Lawrence, which the 28-year-old obviously declined.
Connor Hughes of SNY.tv adds that the Giants’ proposals included an average annual value “near” $28MM, but in exchange, they wanted to add more years to Lawrence’s existing deal (which had two seasons remaining). Per Hughes, Lawrence’s camp did not even make a counteroffer, which – combined with the relatively modest terms of his Cincinnati extension – make it plain that the player simply wanted a fresh start elsewhere.
Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk passes along a full breakdown of Lawrence’s Cincinnati deal. He was due $42MM over the final two seasons of his Joe Schoen-constructed contract, and the $28MM add-on makes it a three-year, $70MM agreement. The $23.33MM average annual value places Lawrence 10th among defensive tackles, just one spot higher than he was before the trade (though he will get some near-term raises; he was previously scheduled to earn $20MM in 2026 and $22MM in 2027, but he is now due $22MM in ‘26, $25MM in ‘27, and $23MM in ‘28, as Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano summarizes).
Lawrence’s potential impact on a Cincinnati defense that has undermined the club’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs in recent seasons, together with a financial commitment that does not shoot their new acquisition particularly high up the league’s DT hierarchy, help to justify the Bengals’ uncharacteristic aggressiveness here. That said, league sources still believe the Giants did well to land the No. 10 choice.
Hughes spoke with several coaches who were “stunned” by the return. Those coaches agreed that Lawrence is a very good player but pointed to his age and conditioning as cause for concern, as well as the fact that he needs to be kept on something of a snap count to maximize his production. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan says the Giants themselves were surprised by the strength of the Bengals’ offer, and Raanan’s colleague, Jeremy Fowler, hears no one was going to top it.
Lawrence is coming off a down year – albeit one Schoen partially blamed on the elbow injury the three-time Pro Bowler sustained late in 2024 – and even though their gamble is mitigated to some degree by the nature of the extension, the Bengals are clearly banking on a return to elite form. In a statement issued after the trade became official, director of player personnel Duke Tobin made sure to thank much-maligned owner Mike Brown for greenlighting the transaction and added that he expects Lawrence to elevate the players around him (the full statement is available here, courtesy of SI’s Jay Morrison).
Lawrence is the centerpiece of an offseason defensive overhaul in the Queen City that also includes the additions of Jonathan Allen, Boye Mafe, Bryan Cook, and Kyle Dugger. The Giants, meanwhile, could consider one of the top DT prospects in the draft as a Lawrence replacement, and they now have two top-10 selections to aid in their quest for a return to contention.
Steelers’ Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig Seen As Trade Candidates; Highsmith Likelier To Be Dealt?
APRIL 21: It seems the Steelers may be willing to listen but would need to be wowed by an offer to actually move one of Watt’s wingmen. The odds of Highsmith or Herbig being traded are “minuscule,” according to the Pat McAfee Show‘s Mark Kaboly.
“Yeah, it happens every year — it happens throughout the year, not just now,” GM Omar Khan said regarding trade interest. “People will call and say, ‘Hey, any interest in this player, in trading this player for this player?’ Or they’ll call and say, ‘Hey, we have this player we would consider. You guys interested?’ There’s a lot. I’d say maybe probably less than 5% of those calls actually turn out to be something.”
APRIL 19: The Steelers presently boast an enviable trio of pass rushers in T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig. Although GM Omar Khan recently said “you can’t ever have enough” pass rushers, rival clubs apparently believe Pittsburgh is willing to deal from that perceived surplus, as Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports details.
Per Robinson, Highsmith and Herbig are “floating around front offices” as possible trade targets in the run-up to the draft, with one high-ranking personnel executive expressing his belief that the Steelers will move one of them. Robinson reports Highsmith is the likelier trade candidate.
Highsmith’s contract situation is one of the reasons for that. The 28-year-old (29 in August) still has two years remaining on the four-year, $68MM extension he signed in August 2023 and is owed $14.5MM in base pay in 2026 and $17.5MM in 2027, with cap hits in excess of $20MM in both of those seasons. The year before he signed the contract, he posted 14.5 sacks, but he has failed to hit double-digits in any of the last three campaigns and missed time due to injury in both of the past two.
On the other hand, Highsmith’s upcoming salaries are palatable for a talented edge defender, and he will likely not require a contract adjustment in 2026, as Robinson suggests. Herbig, meanwhile, is four years younger than Highsmith, is entering the last year of his rookie deal, and is viewed as an ascending player. He has performed well despite mostly operating in a platoon capacity, notching 5.5 sacks in 2024 (when he had a 50% snap share) and 7.5 in 2025 (60%).
Khan has expressed a desire to extend Herbig, and as noted above, he believes the importance of quality edge defenders justifies an allocation of resources that would keep all three of Watt (who enjoys a $41MM average annual value on his current deal), Highsmith, and Herbig in the fold. However, retaining Herbig may be impractical unless either Highsmith is traded or Herbig agrees to a team-friendly extension, and Robinson indicates another strong showing in ‘26 could lead to a $20MM/year deal for Herbig if he hits the open market.
So while it is far from a guarantee that Khan will pull the trigger on a trade jettisoning one of his top pass rushers, it is easy to see why other clubs believe he will be amenable to such a move. Quarterback uncertainty continues to loom over the Steelers, but as we get closer to the draft, Khan has plenty of non-QB matters to keep him busy.
Eagles Still Preparing For A.J. Brown Trade
A report from mid-March suggested a trade sending wide receiver A.J. Brown out of Philadelphia is seen as “inevitable,” and no subsequent reporting has offered any real pushback on that notion. Consistent with the prevailing thought on the matter ESPN’s Jeff Darlington (video link) says the Eagles will be navigating this week’s draft as if Brown will be dealt (a post-June 1 transaction has always felt like the most logical move given the dead money charges Philly would incur if it were to consummate a trade prior to that date).
Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports echoes those sentiments and uses GM Howie Roseman’s offseason additions of Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore, and Dontayvion Wicks to a WR room that already includes DeVonta Smith (and, for the time being, A.J. Brown) as further evidence that the three-time Pro Bowler will soon be on the move. Robinson hears the Eagles have especially high hopes for Wicks, whom they believe can unlock another level in Philly after showing flashes over his three seasons in Green Bay. Roseman acquired Wicks from the Packers in exchange for two Day 3 selections and then authorized a one-year, $12.5MM extension that keeps him under club control through 2027.
Darlington cautions that his report does not necessarily mean the Eagles will add a receiver in the draft, although they certainly have the ammunition to do so. The club currently holds the No. 23 overall pick as well as three Day 2 choices (Nos. 54, 68, and 98), and prior rumblings have suggested Roseman will be targeting WR help early in the draft. In terms of physicality and skillset, Washington’s Denzel Boston is something of an A.J. Brown comp, and Roseman could consider him with the No. 23 selection, as former NFL executive Mike Tannenbaum posits in the above video report.
Obviously, using a premium pick on a wideout like Boston would be yet another indication that a Brown trade is in the offing, but even if Roseman does not make such a move, Darlington would not take that as a sign that Brown will remain in Philly. It still appears the soon-to-be 29-year-old has already played his last snap with the Eagles – as a majority of PFR readership believes – and the Patriots remain the frontrunner for his services.
New England added Romeo Doubs in free agency this offseason, but the reigning AFC champs are squarely within the window of opportunity afforded by quarterback Drake Maye’s rookie contract and have the cap space to absorb Brown’s contract. Even in a down season defined by struggles throughout the Eagles’ offense, Brown managed to catch 78 passes for 1,003 yards and seven TDs.
Ravens WR Zay Flowers Wants To Stay In Baltimore
The Ravens will exercise wide receiver Zay Flowers’ fifth-year option at some point before the May 1 deadline, a decision that will lock the 2023 first-rounder into a fully-guaranteed $27.3MM salary for the 2027 season. That buys the parties more time to hammer out a long-term deal, and Baltimore already has expressed interest in an extension.
The interest is mutual. When speaking to reporters earlier this month (video link via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley), Flowers said he does not want to play anywhere other than Baltimore. He was asked specifically about the four-year, $168.6MM pact that draftmate Jaxon Smith-Njigba recently signed with the Seahawks, and he replied by offering congratulations to JSN while noting he is not focused on his own contract. As players often do, Flowers said he will allow his agents to handle extension conversations while he focuses on training and preparing for the season.
Smith-Njigba, who was selected two picks before Flowers in the 2023 draft, raised the bar even higher for a receiver market that continues to explode. Presumably, Flowers will not be able to match the Seattle standout’s $42.15MM average annual value, and Rams WR Puka Nacua – a 2023 fifth-rounder who is now entering a platform year since he does not have a fifth-year option – likely has more earning power as well. Still, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (subscription required) recently predicted Flowers would not be too far behind his elite peers in terms of contract value.
The Ravens, who lost center Tyler Linderbaum to the Raiders this offseason, do not want to let the best homegrown wideout in franchise history sniff the open market. Flowers’ close relationship with quarterback Lamar Jackson, along with his work ethic and durability, also help his cause.
Then, of course, there is the on-field production to consider. The Boston College product has averaged 80 catches for 1,135 yards over the last two seasons, both of which ended with Pro Bowl nods. In 2025, Flowers ranked seventh in receiving yards, 11th in catches, and 14th in yards per target. His 2.53 yards per route run trailed only Nacua and Smith-Njigba among wide receivers. Those numbers become more impressive when considered in the context of the Ravens’ run-heavy operation.
It is unclear if contract talks have commenced as of the time of this writing. Even if he cannot reasonably expect to set a WR record when he ultimately secures his second NFL contract, the market for his position will still give the WIN Sports Group client a chance to break the bank.
OSU’s Kayden McDonald Expected To Be First DT Selected In 2026 Draft; Giants A Potential Fit?
The 2026 draft class is not viewed as a particularly strong one for defensive tackle talent, but there will of course be DT-needy teams looking for prospects they can mold into NFL-caliber starters. Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald is one such player, and ESPN’s Matt Miller reports McDonald is expected to be the first interior defender to hear his name called when the draft opens this week. Miller’s colleagues, Field Yates and Jordan Reid, are in agreement.
Although McDonald is one of 16 players who will be attending the first night of the draft, there is no guarantee he will be selected in the first round. Miller’s final prospect rankings did not include a DT in the top-40, and it is possible that, for the first time since 2021, there will be no Day 1 defensive tackles.
Still, McDonald is just 21 and possesses the size, strength, and talent to be an elite run stopper at the professional level. As Yates observes, the Dolphins used the No. 13 selection in last year’s draft on Kenneth Grant, a player with a similar profile to McDonald. While draftniks like NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah note McDonald needs to refine his skills as a pass rusher, Reid points out that the 6-2, 326-pound lineman has flashed the ability to not only withstand his gaps, but to make plays in the backfield as well.
Indeed, McDonald recorded three sacks and nine tackles for loss among his 65 total stops in his final season on campus, which resulted in first-team All-American acclaim and which Miller classifies as “remarkable on-ball production.” Given his floor as a high-end defender against the run and upside as a more disruptive playmaker, it would not be surprising to see McDonald sneak into the back end of the first round.
It is also worth wondering if he can fill the Dexter Lawrence-shaped void that now exists in the middle of the Giants’ defense. On Saturday, New York flipped Lawrence to the Bengals in exchange for the No. 10 pick in the upcoming draft, giving John Harbaugh & Co. more premium draft capital but stripping the club of a front seven stalwart.
While the Giants surely will not use their existing No. 5 selection or their new No. 10 choice on McDonald, their No. 37 pick could be the sweet spot, or it could be used as ammo in a small trade-up maneuver if necessary. Multiple sources have told ESPN’s Jordan Raanan that McDonald is an ideal fit for the Baltimore-style defense that Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson will install.
DOJ To Investigate NFL For Potential Antitrust Violations
The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the NFL to determine if the league has “engaged in anticompetitive tactics” regarding its game broadcasts, per Jessica Toonkel and Dana Mattioli of the Wall Street Journal. While the report acknowledges the nature and scope of the investigation is presently unknown, it references the Sports Broadcast Act of 1961 and the fact that viewers must pay subscription fees to watch certain games.
The Act gives the NFL an antitrust exemption with respect to its negotiation of television rights, and courts have ruled the Act applies only to broadcast television. Cable, satellite, and streaming services are not covered.
Nonetheless, in early March, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote a letter to the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission in which he urged those agencies to review whether the NFL’s practices comply with the Act (via ESPN News Services). In his letter, Lee alleged football fans spend nearly $1,000 per year on cable and streaming services, and Forbes estimated that it would have cost $765 for a fan to watch every NFL game last season.
It is true that subscriptions are required to watch Monday Night Football games on ESPN that are not simulcast on ABC, Thursday Night Football games and the Black Friday contest on Prime Video, and Christmas games on Netflix. Some international games air on the NFL Network, which is now owned by ESPN, and the league has given certain games to Peacock and ESPN+ in the past. Select playoff games have also required subscriptions.
Still, all games air for free in the broadcast markets of the two participating clubs, and the NFL has issued a statement emphasizing that point. The statement reads:
The NFL’s media distribution model is the most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry. With over 87% of our games on free, broadcast television, including 100% of games in the markets of the competing teams, the NFL has for decades put our fans front and center in how we distribute our content. The 2025 season was our most viewed since 1989 and reflects the strength of the NFL distribution model and its wide availability to all fans.
Since non-broadcast platforms are exempt from the Act, one would think the NFL would be in the clear here. However, as the ESPN article observes, a jury in a 2024 federal class-action case in Los Angeles awarded $4.7 billion in damages after finding the league violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on the “Sunday Ticket” subscription service. Federal antitrust laws allow for treble damages, so the NFL’s liability could have exceeded $14 billion if the judge had not overturned the jury’s verdict on the grounds that two of the plaintiffs’ witnesses used “flawed methodologies.”
The league’s deals with most of its broadcast partners run through 2033 (2034 for ESPN), but the league has an opt-out after the 2029 season (2030 for ESPN). The ESPN report says the NFL is likely to exercise its opt-out to capitalize on its immense popularity and land even more favorable terms. After all, Nielsen’s data shows that 83 of the top 100 broadcasts in 2025 were NFL games.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk posits that the entire effort could be a “political power play.” Shortly before the news of the DOJ’s investigation broke, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial questioning whether the NFL still deserves an antitrust exemption. The WSJ is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who also owns Fox.
In discussing the NFL’s presumptive exercise of its opt-out and subsequent renegotiations, Florio reports CBS is expected to agree to pay considerably more than its current $2.1 billion-per-year rate to avoid the opt-out and lock in a price for the 2030-33 seasons. Once that agreement is in the books, the NFL could then turn its attention to Fox. At some point, though, it is fair to wonder whether networks will refuse to go any higher and risk losing their NFL deals.
In any event, it would behoove all parties to maintain the status quo. Without the antitrust exemption, television rights would be sold by each of the league’s 32 teams. In such a scenario, the large-market teams would thrive, the small-market teams would not, and the NFL’s salary cap system – which is perhaps one of the foremost reasons for the league’s success – may disintegrate.
Ravens Offered Three-Year, Fully Guaranteed Deals To QB Lamar Jackson Prior To 2023 Contract
The NFL Players Association’s appeal of its collusion grievance against the NFL was unsuccessful. The three-person appeal panel found that the league invited its clubs to come together and collectively oppose future fully guaranteed contracts in the wake of the Browns’ decision to authorize such a deal for Deshaun Watson, but the panel also determined there was not enough evidence to show the teams accepted that invitation.
Aside from the ramifications the ruling has for the league, the union, and negotiations between the two, it also included other intriguing details. The grievance was originally filed in October 2022 on behalf of three players, including Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was seeking an extension at the time and who was attempting to land a Watson-esque contract.
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk relays, the appeal decision noted that Baltimore offered a three-year, fully guaranteed contract to Jackson on two separate occasions. Jackson declined both proposals and, in April 2023, signed a five-year, $260MM pact that included $185MM in guarantees (the first two years and part of the third were guaranteed at signing, and the rest of the guarantees locked in on a rolling basis; the fifth year contains no guaranteed money).
Aside from the fully guaranteed nature of the three-year proposals, the appeal decision does not include any other details, such as financial terms or whether either overture featured a no-tag clause. Therefore, it is impossible to truly analyze the merits of the offers and whether Jackson was wise to reject them, though it seems the Ravens were among the teams willing to resist the league’s efforts to remove fully guaranteed deals from the playbook (at least for a player of Jackson’s caliber).
Jackson, 29, rewarded the Ravens in his first season after putting pen to paper on his five-year deal by submitting his second MVP campaign and leading the team to the AFC championship game. He followed that up with an even better performance in 2024, though he finished second in MVP voting that year.
The 2025 season was a frustrating one for Jackson and the Ravens alike, as the star signal-caller struggled with injuries and Baltimore failed to qualify for the postseason. While Jackson’s legacy will ultimately be determined by whether he can lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl title, Jackson clearly represents the franchise’s best hope for a third championship.
To that end, Baltimore still wants to extend Jackson, whose current deal runs through the 2027 season. In order to conduct regular business this offseason, the Ravens freed up nearly $40MM in cap space by restructuring the contract in March, but it appears as if negotiations between the team and the self-represented player will continue. Thanks to the decision in the collusion matter, we now have a little extra context when considering those negotiations.
Chargers S Derwin James Seeking New Deal?
Chargers safety Derwin James is entering the final year of the four-year extension he signed in August 2022, a deal that set a new benchmark for safeties at the time. As ESPN’s Kris Rhim writes, James will “almost certainly” be seeking a new contract before training camp begins this summer.
Given James’ importance to the organization and continued strong performance, Rhim believes player and team will be able to reach an agreement. The one sticking point, naturally, could be the dollar amount, as Rhim suggests it might take another record-setting contract to secure James’ services for the foreseeable future. As of now, the Ravens’ Kyle Hamilton is the pacesetter for safeties in terms of total value ($100.4MM), average annual value ($25.1MM), and full guarantees ($48.02MM).
Hamilton, however, is about 4.5 years younger than James (who will turn 30 in August), and there is a sizable gap between Hamilton’s AAV and those enjoyed by Kerby Joseph and Antoine Winfield Jr. ($21.25MM and $21.03MM, respectively). As such, there could be room for the Chargers and James to find common ground on an accord that keeps the star defender below Hamilton in the most important contractual metrics while placing him above all of his other peers.
At the time James signed his current deal — which came after a training camp “hold-in” — his health concerns were still a relatively fresh memory. An August 2019 stress fracture in James’ right foot shelved him for much of that season, and a meniscus injury during training camp in 2020 ended up sidelining the former first-rounder for the entirety of that campaign. But over the last five seasons, four of which ended with Pro Bowl acclaim, James has played in no fewer than 14 regular season contests and has suited up for 16 games in each of the last three years.
James’ improved injury history could help facilitate a deal, and his play largely speaks for itself. The Florida State alum consistently lands near the top of the pack in terms of Pro Football Focus’ safety evaluations (aside from a 2023 blip), and he finished as PFF’s ninth-best safety in both 2024 and 2025. He limited opposing passers to quarterback ratings of 74.2 and 59.6, respectively, in those two seasons, and he routinely records tackle figures at or near triple digits. He tallied three interceptions in 2025, his highest total since his rookie slate in 2018.
One thing that has generally eluded James is playoff success. The Chargers won their first postseason contest in ‘18 but have failed to record a playoff victory since then. If the Bolts do reverse that trend in the upcoming seasons, James likely will be a big reason why.
TE Darren Waller Unlikely To Return To Dolphins; Team Extended Offer To TE Julian Hill
At present, the Dolphins’ tight end depth chart is topped by Greg Dulcich, and according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the team is just fine with that arrangement. When asked to name the player he is most excited to see take a step forward in 2026, new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan identified Dulcich and said, “he had a really good back end to the season. I want to see if he can build on that. That’s why we brought him back.”
Dulcich, 26, is a former third-round pick of the Broncos who flashed in his rookie season in 2022, catching 33 passes for 411 yards and two scores. He compiled those stats in just 10 games, as he was forced to miss time due to a hamstring injury. Another hamstring ailment limited him to two contests in 2023, and he was a healthy scratch for the first eight games of the 2024 slate before Denver waived him.
Though the Giants claimed Dulcich off waivers, they utilized him on just 27 offensive snaps over five games and then jettisoned him during final roster cutdowns last August. The Dolphins added him to their taxi squad, and he was promoted to the active roster in late October as the corresponding move when fellow tight end Darren Waller was placed on injured reserve.
In 10 games (three starts) in 2025, Dulcich posted 26 catches for 335 yards and a touchdown. He continued to have a role in the offense even after Waller returned from IR, and as Sullivan indicated, the team’s new regime was intrigued enough to re-sign him (we did not provide contract details previously, but per OverTheCap.com, Dulcich’s deal is a one-year, $3.25MM pact, most of which is guaranteed).
Waller, meanwhile, is not expected back, as Jackson writes. Now 33, Waller came out of retirement last season, and the Dolphins acquired him via trade with the Giants, who still held his rights. As part of the trade, Waller signed a one-year, $5MM contract with the ‘Fins, but a hip injury pushed his Miami debut to Week 4, and then the above-referenced IR placement – which was triggered by a pectoral strain – cost him more time.
The 2020 Pro Bowler showed he still has something left in the tank, as he hauled in 24 passes for 284 yards and six touchdowns. On the other hand, health issues limited him to just nine games, and he expressed uncertainty about his playing future in December. If he does get another NFL deal, it appears it will not come from the Dolphins.
In more Dolphins TE news, Jackson says the team made an offer to Julian Hill in free agency. Prior to last year’s Waller acquisition, Hill seemed poised to operate as Miami’s top tight end, but he ended up taking a backseat to both Waller and Dulcich. The former UDFA caught 15 passes for 140 scoreless yards last season but was able to secure a three-year, $15MM deal ($7.5MM guaranteed) from the Patriots last month. According to Jackson, that offer was “much more lucrative” than the one the Dolphins extended.
Miami did add Ben Sims as a potential Hill replacement and also hosted NC State prospect Justin Joly on a predraft visit. Joly profiles as a late Day 2/early Day 3 talent.