Jets Claim Phidarian Mathis; Three Other Teams Attempted To Add DT
Washington broke up its Alabama trio at defensive tackle over the weekend, activating Jonathan Allen from IR and cutting Phidarian Mathis. This decision generated interest around the league.
Mathis did not make it far down the waiver wire, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reporting the young D-lineman is heading to the Jets. They are far from the only team to make a play for the former second-round pick, who has another season remaining on his rookie contract.
The Bengals, Lions and Texans also stepped in with waiver claims for Mathis, Rapoport adds. Sitting at 4-12, the Jets held the top waiver spot here and will almost certainly take the 2025 offseason to further assess Mathis, who came off the board early during the 2022 draft. He just has yet to justify that Commanders investment.
Despite this Washington regime change leading many Ron Rivera investments off the roster this offseason, Mathis played a career-high 34% of the playoff-bound team’s defensive snaps this year. He played in 12 Washington games but did not make much of a statistical impact, totaling only 17 tackles (two for loss). Mathis deflected a pass as well. He has yet to start an NFL game. Pro Football Focus has Mathis graded as the worst D-tackle regular (123rd overall) this season.
When Washington drafted Mathis 47th overall, questions about Daron Payne‘s long-term future loomed. Payne was set to play out his fifth-year option season; that year going well for the 2018 first-rounder led to a 2023 franchise tag and subsequent extension. With Allen signed long term and no strong consideration being given to trading the 2017 first-round pick, the Commanders’ youngest Alabama-produced DT lingered as a rotational player. Mathis also missed 16 games as a rookie due to suffering a season-ending injury in Week 1.
It is interesting the Jets have made this claim, seeing as they are without a GM and likely in the final days with interim HC Jeff Ulbrich. Mathis is set to carry a $1.8MM 2025 base salary. That price looks to have been fine for a few other teams to submit claims, but the next Jets regime will take a look at the 26-year-old defender.
Mike Vrabel Rumored As Potential Raiders Frontrunner; Saints On Radar
With the 2025 coaching carousel not viewed as especially deep, the chances of Mike Vrabel slipping through the cracks for a second straight year appear slim. Vrabel joins Lions HC Ben Johnson as the top candidates in this year’s pool, and multiple teams are being tied to the former Titans leader.
The Raiders have not fired Antonio Pierce, but that will be considered. If the team pulls the plug on Pierce after one season as full-time HC, Vrabel should be considered on the radar. Plenty around the NFL believe Vrabel would be the Las Vegas frontrunner if the team did fire Pierce, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes. Considering Vrabel and Tom Brady‘s past, it would not surprise if this became a landing spot to closely monitor.
For a minority owner, Brady appears set to hold substantial power in Vegas — both with regards to the team’s HC and QB searches — despite his role as a broadcaster. While Brady’s announcing gig could cause issues ahead of Super Bowl LIX, Mark Davis is prepared to lean on the all-time QB great during a pivotal offseason. Brady and Vrabel played together in New England for eight years, and Breer adds the ex-quarterback’s appearance at a Raiders practice late last season — when he was not yet a part-owner — signaled to some Vrabel would be on the team’s radar for the 2024 season.
As it turned out, no one hired Vrabel this year. Though, the Chargers are believed to have viewed him as their Jim Harbaugh backup plan. Vrabel, 49, closed out his consulting run with the Browns on Monday. His Cleveland contract expired, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, freeing him up for HC interviews before season’s end. Vrabel’s contract having this particular expiration date certainly points to the free agent coaching candidate wanting to explore an NFL return, and although a return to Ohio State surfaced recently, the former linebacker’s alma mater may well not have a job opening at season’s end.
Regardless, Breer adds Vrabel is leaving the Browns on good terms, as the sides separating now would allow Vrabel to conduct in-person interviews for HC positions before his competition. All coaches who are tied to other teams must wait until divisional-round week to begin meeting with teams, but unattached coaches can begin interviews for vacant jobs at any point. The Raiders do not have a vacancy presently, but other teams who do figure to be interested in Vrabel.
The Saints are one of three teams who can interview coaches now, having fired Dennis Allen weeks ago, and Breer adds Vrabel is on Mickey Loomis‘ radar. The 23rd-year GM is believed to be safe and free to run another coaching search. The Saints went with an in-house option to succeed Sean Payton, though the latter had not previously worked with Loomis when he was hired in 2006. Considering Allen’s struggles, Loomis casting a wider net this time around makes sense.
While interim HC Darren Rizzi is well-liked, it would be rather surprising if the Saints went with a second straight in-house promotion given the issues they have had since Payton left. Joe Brady having worked as a Payton assistant for two late-2010s seasons could be of note if the Saints prefer familiarity again, but the second-year Bills OC may have options as well. Lions DC Aaron Glenn, who coached the Saints’ DBs before heading to Detroit, is expected to factor into the team’s HC search prominently as well.
Latest On Garrett Wilson’s Jets Future
During the 2022 offseason, the Jets explored several avenues to upgrade at wide receiver. This included making trade offers for Tyreek Hill and Deebo Samuel and also pursuing the likes of A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf and Amari Cooper. The route the team ended up taking provided early promise, but it has suddenly brought hiccups.
After two seasons with a bottom-tier quarterback targeting him, Garrett Wilson has seen Aaron Rodgers stay healthy and deliver a competent season — albeit one far off his MVP-level work from earlier this decade. Rodgers has peppered Wilson with targets, throwing him 141 passes — fourth-most in the NFL after Week 16 — and has the former Offensive Rookie of the Year on pace for his third 1,000-yard season. But Wilson’s happiness in New York has been in question for a bit.
Wilson joined Breece Hall in expressing disappointment in then-OC Nathaniel Hackett during the 2023 season, and Davante Adams has since usurped Wilson — as could be expected given the trade pickup’s history with Rodgers — as the Jets’ top receiving option. Wilson drew three targets before the Jets’ final drive in their loss to the Rams on Sunday and displayed frustration after the game. This came after Wilson and wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson argued during the team’s Week 15 win over the Jaguars.
Wilson added that a new Jets regime would have “no impact” on his desire to stay or go; that response mirrored what the third-year wideout said about the team keeping or jettisoning Rodgers in 2025. A recent report, however, indicated it would not surprise if Wilson requested a trade soon, and the New York Post’s Brian Costello notes speculation from informed parties points to a trade request coming. With Costello adding this situation appears “headed toward a divorce.”
“I’m gonna worry about these last two games and see what happens, man. I’m not gonna speak on that,” Wilson said (via the New York Post’s Steve Serby) when asked about a potential trade request. “All that’s out of my control. I just gotta play my part, and try to win games for this organization.”
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears that the Wilson-Rodgers relationship is not in a good place, and even when Wilson was receiving the lion’s share of Rodgers’ targets prior to the arrival of Adams, there were questions about whether the QB and his third-year receiver could fully reconcile after their training camp “blowup.” According to Rapoport, if the Jets choose to retain Rodgers — which is more of a possibility in light of his improved play down the stretch — they would likely retain Adams as well, and a Wilson trade request would certainly be on the table at that point.
Rich Cimini of ESPN.com says that, while the Jets have grown tired of Wilson’s frustration, it should be noted that Wilson is not necessarily frustrated by the number of targets he has received, but the quality of them. Since Adams joined the club, Wilson has received only eight red-zone looks, compared to 17 for Adams. Wilson’s overall target total is also skewed a bit by the 23-target game he enjoyed in a Week 5 (pre-Adams) loss to the Vikings.
If the Jets do part ways with Wilson, it would still represent a strange unraveling, as Wilson is about to go three-for-three in 1,000-yard seasons. The Jets have, however, been quick to move on from young starters via trade in the not-so-distant past. The team dealt Sam Darnold in 2021, Jamal Adams in 2020, Leonard Williams in 2019 and Sheldon Richardson in 2017. Joe Douglas was involved in three of those swaps, but the Jets have since canned their GM and are early in the interview process to replace him. That said, the perception of how this franchise is run has taken substantial hits this year. And it is not slowing down.
Following an explosive report from The Athletic regarding Woody Johnson‘s outsized role in personnel, Cimini confirms the owner’s teenage sons, Jack and Brick Johnson, are “very much involved” in football matters. Woody Johnson has already been accused of listening to his sons’ Madden-based assessments on players — Jerry Jeudy among them — and the two are believed to have made their voices known in the locker room after games as well. The Jets have denied the Johnson sons play any such roles, but these reports will not do well to attract GM and HC candidates.
These reports also could alienate players, though the Jets still have plenty of control with Wilson, who can be kept on his rookie deal through 2026 via the fifth-year option. The team also has option decisions on Sauce Gardner and Jermaine Johnson coming in May. No trade noise has circled the defenders, but this has become attached to Wilson. With Adams’ Big Apple future uncertain, the next Jets football-ops bosses appear to have major issues to navigate at receiver.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
Myles Garrett Seeking Answers On Browns’ Long-Term Plan; DE Would Consider Trade Request
DECEMBER 28: Garrett confirmed (via Cabot) one member of the Browns’ front office reached out to him to assess his thoughts on any potential trade request. With no rebuild being considered, though, Cabot adds Garrett’s comments have not drawn a significant reaction from the organization. Watson’s latest restructure could provide added financial flexibility to made a QB move this offseason, something which could further dissuade thoughts of being dealt on Garrett’s part.
DECEMBER 20: Drafted first overall after the Browns went 0-16, Myles Garrett has been through a rebuild. Overseen by three GMs, that climb produced a quality roster that has seen quarterback hiccups — one that has the team in an unprecedented bind — otherwise define the period.
In a statement that sounds a bit more like what an NBA superstar would provide, Garrett wants clarity from Browns management about the team’s plans. Making it clear he is not interested in being part of another rebuild, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year did not dismiss a trade request if he does not receive the answers he wants.
“First of all, I want to win. I want the Browns to be able to put me and us in position to win. I’m not trying to rebuild,” Garrett said, via cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. “I’m trying to win right now. I want that to be apparent, when the season’s over and we have those discussions, I want them to be able to illuminate that for me, illustrate that for me, so that can be something that I can see in the near future.
“I’m going to stay loyal to a team that showed loyalty to me and faith in me by drafting me. But we have to do, at the end of the day, what’s best for us.”
This strategy has keyed numerous NBA exits, in a league in which the stars hold more power compared to the NFL. The league Garrett plays in features additional mechanisms, most notably the franchise tag, for teams to retain stars. As Deshaun Watson‘s struggles pushed that situation well past a crisis point ahead of the trade deadline, teams asked about Garrett. The Browns shot them down, viewing he and Denzel Ward as building blocks. But Garrett may be ready to force the issue soon.
“Absolutely,” Garrett said when asked (via Cabot) if the Browns need to explain a QB plan. “As uncertain as it is now from the outside looking in, it’s uncertain for us as well. So if [Dorian Thompson-Robinson] is the solution or someone else is, it’s got to be drawn out. There’s got to be a plan of action and just got to know where things are going.
Cleveland has Garrett under contract (at a below-market rate) for one more season. The team did well to sign the 2017 top pick to a five-year, $125MM deal, giving the club seven years of control. Probably the best pass rusher in Browns history, Garrett has outplayed that deal. Nick Bosa now leads the pack with a $34MM-per-year deal, and 2025 will also bring Micah Parsons and T.J. Watt contract years. Although Garrett is also in line to cash in during a Browns contract year, doing so appears contingent on the team convincing its top player it can compete despite the Watson albatross.
Trading Garrett would cost the Browns more than $36MM in dead money. This being the Andrew Berry-era Browns, four void years are on the standout’s contract. That will raise the price of a trade, one that would not bring any cap relief if completed before June 1. While the Browns could take the route of overwhelming Garrett with an extension offer, inking him to a third contract appears contingent on a better quarterback plan.
The Browns have no way out of the Watson mess. No second suspension under the personal conduct policy is coming, keeping the QB’s guarantees intact. It would cost the Browns more than $172MM to release Watson in 2025, making it a non-starter. The team plans to keep the struggling quarterback as a result. Although Browns decision-makers are not saying Watson will be benched in 2025, signs point to a search for competition — at the very least — coming soon. The contract Berry authorized in 2022 will prevent an expensive QB search, but he does plan on going through with a third restructure to reduce Watson’s 2025 cap hit (currently a record-shattering $72.9MM). This will make it harder for the Browns to dump the disappointing trade acquisition in 2026, but that appears the cost of doing business at this point.
A team that traded for Garrett would need to pay up; the Browns would undoubtedly ask for a first-round pick and change. The prospect of an acquiring team needing to then authorize a market-setting extension north of $35MM per year would complicate trade talks, as would Garrett turning 30 in 2025. But the five-time All-Pro would be ready to ask for a deal if he and the Browns are not aligned.
“I mean, it’s a possibility, but I want to be a Cleveland Brown,” Garrett said of a trade request. “I want to play here, play my career here. But if we choose to do a rebuild and it’s two, three, four years out, I want be able to compete and play at a high level, play meaningful games and be playing past January.”
Garrett did not provide any clarity whether he would ask to be moved if Berry and Kevin Stefanski are fired, which they are not expected to be, or if a to-be-determined rookie usurping Watson would change his plans. But the Browns may soon be dealing with an ultimatum, providing a significant complication as they attempt to weather the storm the Watson contract has brought.
Geno Smith Seeking 2025 Seahawks Commitment; Team Expected To Look Into QBs
Efforts from Geno Smith‘s camp to secure an extension this year did not produce a deal. After all, the Seahawks have their starting quarterback on a team-friendly deal that runs through the 2025 season. As Smith moves closer to a contract year, the need for a resolution will arise.
The Seahawks have Smith tied to a three-year, $75MM deal. As the market has soared well beyond the $50MM-per-year level — to the point Dak Prescott is now at $60MM AAV — Smith’s contract is in no-man’s land. He is the only passer sandwiched between Gardner Minshew‘s would-be bridge-starter deal (two years, $25MM) and Baker Mayfield‘s three-year, $100MM pact. Previous reports have pegged the Seahawks as hesitant on their current passer, which is not good news for the Russell Wilson successor due to his age.
[RELATED: Smith Aiming For 20-Year NFL Career]
Set to play an age-35 season next year, Smith is moving toward QB limbo. He will again pursue a commitment from the Seahawks in 2025, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, who adds the team is expected to do work on a potential successor.
Although Seattle was connected to Patrick Mahomes in 2017 — though, the future Kansas City icon did not fall especially close to where the Seahawks were drafting that year — and then “poked around” on Josh Allen in 2018, the team stayed with Wilson and then took a low-cost route to replacing him via Smith, who had been the potential Hall of Famer’s backup from 2019-21.
Needing to beat out Drew Lock to replace Wilson in 2022, Smith was tied to a one-year, $3.5MM deal that year. He delivered a stunning Comeback Player of the Year effort and received a substantial raise, though the contract did not closely rival where the Giants went for Daniel Jones or what the Saints did to sign Derek Carr that offseason. The market has passed Smith by, and it will be interesting to see how his camp proceeds.
QBR places Smith a few decimal points above Wilson this season, slotting the ex-teammates at Nos. 21 and 22. The former Jets washout has not been able to sustain his 2022 form, but he has been far from the central concern in Seattle, regularly showing plus form. If the Seahawks entertained trading Smith, a starter market would likely form. He is on pace to eclipse his career-high yardage mark set in 2022, having passed for 4,097 in 16 games this season. Smith’s 70.2% completion rate also outflanks his then-NFL-best 69.8 mark from 2022. Though, untimely interceptions have also been a key component for the 12th-year veteran this season; his TD-INT ratio sits at 17-15.
With nine wins thus far, the Seahawks will not be close to the top of the 2025 draft order. A route to adding one of next year’s top prospects does not seem to exist. The team showed interest in Anthony Richardson in 2023, when it held the No. 5 overall pick, and hosted Bo Nix on a visit this year. But Smith has remained the unchallenged starter. While the Seahawks may not be thrilled with their QB’s play, finding a surefire upgrade in 2025 will not be easy.
A short-term deal could benefit both sides here, as it would add to the career earnings of a player who never secured a notable veteran contract after his Jets exit. While Smith will probably fall short of what he could have fetched on this market, another middle-class contract would allow the Seahawks another offseason to find a potential successor — should one not emerge this year — but Smith will obviously have to weigh that type of commitment against what he could earn as a 2026 free agent. Plenty of moving parts exist here, and this will be one of the many QB situations to monitor in 2025.
Eagles To Start Kenny Pickett In Week 17
4:37pm: The Eagles have indeed ruled Hurts out for their matchup with the Cowboys, according to the team’s official injury report. Pickett is expected to start with McKee backing him up. Book could be a gameday elevation to serve as an emergency third quarterback.
11:00am: Jalen Hurts sustained a concussion last week, and it does not look like he will be ready to return Sunday. Nick Sirianni said Friday (via the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane) that Hurts looks unlikely to play in Week 17.
This would lead to Kenny Pickett making his first start since midway through last season. Benched and then traded by the Steelers, Pickett replaced Hurts in Week 16 — a shootout loss that ended the Eagles’ lengthy win streak — and picked up a rib injury in the process. This led to the Eagles adding a reinforcement (Ian Book) at QB, but Pickett logged a full practice Thursday and would be good to replace Hurts if/when that time comes this week.
As Hurts did not practice Wednesday or Thursday, Pickett moved from limited to full participation over the past two days. The Eagles appear set to avoid a scenario in which they would need to go to third-stringer Tanner McKee, but the Hurts-to-Pickett drop-off keyed the team’s loss to the Commanders. That defeat dropped the Eagles to 12-3, in a year in which three defeats might not be good enough to land the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The winner of Week 18’s Vikings-Lions rematch may well obtain that coveted perch, but the Eagles have a bigger concern in the short term.
As Hurts closes out his fourth season as Philly’s starter, he has done well to rebound from an inconsistent 2023 campaign — one marred by a leg injury the QB played through. Hurts has been available throughout this season, accounting for 32 touchdowns (an NFL-high 14 rushing) and just five interceptions. This came after the one-time 2022 MVP frontrunner — before a late-season shoulder injury — threw 15 INTs last season. Hurts left Sunday’s game in the first half, and the Eagles blew a 14-point lead.
Philly and Pittsburgh agreed to the Pickett trade not long after the Steelers signed Russell Wilson. Disappointed by both the way his 2023 season ended and the Steelers replacing him with Wilson, Pickett was eager for a fresh start. He could not live up to his No. 20 overall draft slot in Pittsburgh and finished his second season on the bench behind Mason Rudolph. A sprained ankle initially sidelined Pickett in Week 12 of last season; he did not play again for the Steelers.
Pickett went 14 of 24 for 143 yards last week, throwing a touchdown pass and an interception in Washington. A DeVonta Smith drop cost the Eagles dearly, preceding the Commanders’ game-winning drive. That sequence, in what has been a top-heavy NFL year, may plant the Eagles as the NFC’s No. 2 seed. With the current format no longer giving second-seeded squads a bye, Hurts would have two weeks to be ready for a wild-card game.
Recoveries from concussions obviously vary, but this timetable would make Hurts a fairly safe bet of being cleared in time for the Eagles’ playoff opener. Sunday’s Cowboys rematch, however, will give Pickett another opportunity. The Eagles have the 2022 first-rounder signed through next season.
QB Teddy Bridgewater Rejoins Lions
10:25pm: This is an active-roster deal, Rapoport adds. Rather than take the practice squad route like so many veterans have upon signing in-season, Bridgewater will be on the Lions’ 53 immediately.
Teams also showed recent interest in the successful high school coach/part-time QB for assistant positions, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. While coaching at the NFL level may be in the experienced passer’s future, Bridgewater preferred the chance to try to win a Super Bowl as a player first.
11:37am: Teddy Bridgewater enjoyed tremendous success in his first season as a high school head coach, leading his team to a state championship. He had announced intentions to explore an NFL return, however, and a familiar team will take him up on that effort.
The Lions are bringing Bridgewater back, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo report. Bridgewater spent last season in Detroit, announcing last December would retire and pursue coaching. As the Lions attempt to reach their first Super Bowl a year later, they have secured veteran QB depth via a reunion.
This will give the Lions more familiarity, as Bridgewater rejoins a quarterback room housing Jared Goff and Hendon Hooker. Bridgewater, 32, had played ahead of Hooker during the latter’s rookie season — one spent mostly on the reserve/NFI list thanks to a college ACL tear — but the second-year passer has worked as Goff’s backup this year. Goff and Hooker are the only two QBs on Detroit’s active roster. Unless Bridgewater is joining the NFC North leaders’ practice squad, the team will carry three QBs again.
Upon retiring, Bridgewater landed an interesting gig. He became the head coach of his alma mater, Miami Northwestern High, and he led the school to a state championship. This might not be a long-term move, as Bridgewater hinted at returning to the league before potentially stepping back into the role of head coach at his former high school. It appears Bridgewater and the Lions had kept in contact, and the sides have at least agreed on a short-term partnership for a second straight year.
The Lions had initially signed Bridgewater during their 2023 training camp. They then placed Nate Sudfeld on IR, clearing the way for the veteran passer to back up Goff. Detroit did not need Bridgewater last season, as Goff continued to display durability, and has not needed Hooker to make any starts this year. During his Lions stint, Goff has only missed time due to injury in 2021. His rebound has been one of the defining NFL stories this decade, and the sides agreed on a long-term extension this offseason. Bridgewater, however, would supply experience Hooker does not.
It would stand to reason Bridgewater has kept himself in good shape during his initial stint coaching at the high school level. The former first-round pick was unable to stay healthy during his 2022 Dolphins stint, but he held up in a backup role with the Lions. Bridgewater has made 65 starts over the course of his career, one that included a recovery from a severe knee injury. The 2014 draftee has since worked as a full-time starter for the Panthers and Broncos. Two concussions ended his run in Denver; that 2021 season marked the last time Bridgewater was a starter.
Dan Campbell said during training camp Sudfeld was outperforming Hooker, but the Lions did not keep three QBs on their active roster. They instead cut Sudfeld, adding Jake Fromm to their practice squad a day later. Fromm serves as Detroit’s No. 3 quarterback; his status will be worth monitoring now that Bridgewater is back.
The Lions drafted Hooker in last year’s third round, signing off on a rehab project that included a lengthy NFI stay. Three Detroit blowouts this season gave Hooker some playing time; he has thrown nine passes after sitting last season. If Goff were to go down now, Bridgewater’s season in Ben Johnson‘s offense may well move him back into the role of the immediate backup. Two more seasons remain on Hooker’s rookie deal. While the Tennessee alum may well go back to the role of top Goff backup entering the offseason, it is certainly worth wondering if he has lost that job for the season’s remainder.
Campbell confirmed he and Bridgewater have stayed in touch, adding (via Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers) this does not mean the team has lost faith in Hooker. Having both players active sounds like it is in the cards for the Lions, with Campbell indicating the team taking advantage of the emergency QB rule in the playoffs was a factor in the Bridgewater reunion.
Extension Candidate: Nik Bonitto
As the Broncos reconstructed their pass-rushing corps following the Von Miller trade, high-profile veterans Bradley Chubb and Randy Gregory headlined the team’s depth chart. Baron Browning and fellow Ohio State alum-turned-2021 Broncos draftee Jonathon Cooper loomed as rotational pieces as well. The team’s plans changed fairly quickly to start its first post-Miller season.
Denver traded Chubb for a big haul, collecting first- and fourth-round picks from the Dolphins for the 2018 first-rounder. The team, which had dealt two firsts and six more assets to the Seahawks for Russell Wilson, then sent that first to the Saints for Sean Payton‘s rights. Immediately coming in as the lead decision-maker in Denver, Payton bailed on Gregory and has since traded Browning — a 2021 third-rounder. That trade with the Cardinals came days after the Broncos extended Cooper at what looks like a team-friendly rate, considering what the emerging edge defender could have made if he tested the 2025 free agent market.
While Cooper’s four-year, $54MM deal locks the seventh-round success story in through 2028, the Broncos’ other OLB starter has become one of the NFL’s top 2024 breakthroughs. Chosen with the second-round pick obtained from the Rams in the Miller trade, Nik Bonitto has produced a season that will price him well north of the range into which Cooper settled. Eligible for an extension next month, the third-year EDGE will provide an interesting case for a Broncos team that is both building around a rookie-quarterback contract while still paying the penalty for its previous QB mistake.
Coming to Denver as a pass rush specialist deemed a work-in-progress against the run, Bonitto has delivered the Broncos’ first double-digit sack season since Miller and Chubb both did so in 2018. The Broncos kept seeing injuries derail further efforts to deploy Miller and Chubb together, but thus far, Bonitto and Cooper have been catalysts for the team’s defensive turnaround. With Cooper locked in, the focus will shift to Bonitto, whose rookie contract runs through next season.
Bonitto’s 11.5 sacks are tied for fourth in the NFL; the Oklahoma alum’s 20 QB hits match his full-season total from 2023. Bonitto’s 32 pressures are tied for 11th leaguewide. The improved defender also has memorably produced two defensive touchdowns, recording a pick-six against the Browns and then snatching a backward pass — on a slow-developing Colts trick play — and adding a second score. While Bovada gives Patrick Surtain the only realistic chance to overtake T.J. Watt as Defensive Player of the Year, Bonitto sits third among the odds for this award.
For a Broncos team that made three of this century’s worst personnel decisions (hiring Nathaniel Hackett as HC, trading for Wilson and then extending him), Bonitto has provided a vital spark — particularly with regards to GM George Paton‘s job status. Continuing to fight off rumors he might be jettisoned, Paton has given the now-Payton-led team integral pieces via the draft. Bo Nix obviously headlines the Broncos’ roster right now, but Surtain, Bonitto, Cooper and Quinn Meinerz have been important pieces to the team turning its operation around despite carrying a staggering $90.1MM in dead money.
Paton has extended Surtain, Meinerz, Cooper and John Elway-era draftee Garett Bolles this year. Bonitto’s 2024 season may be good enough that the Broncos cannot realistically entertain not paying him by 2026. The franchise tag could come into play for the former No. 64 overall pick at that point, as Bonitto’s value has climbed to an interesting place. But the Broncos would be wise to engage in earlier extension talks with their top pass rusher.
Cooper’s deal only made him the league’s 22nd-highest-paid edge rusher. It would seem unrealistic the Broncos could present Bonitto an offer outside the top 10 in that market. Anything beyond the top five ($25MM AAV and up) may also be a stretch, as both Brian Burns and Josh Hines-Allen each reached $28MM per year on their 2024 extensions. Those pacts rank second and third among edge players, and the market will change soon.
Fireworks are also likely coming in this market next year, with the likes of Watt, Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons and Trey Hendrickson entering contract years. Bonitto would be wise to wait to see what the market looks like late next summer, while the Broncos would be better off making an early move — as they did with Surtain this summer — and paying their ascending OLB before the top of the market changes.
The team took on the bulk of the Wilson dead money this year, carrying $53MM in dead cap on its payroll, but $30MM-plus is due to hit next year. That undercuts a Broncos effort to capitalize on Nix’s rookie deal. The Broncos’ 2026 cap sheet will look a bit better, with Nix still on rookie terms and Wilson’s contract removed from the equation, but a Bonitto extension — assuming Nix’s upward trajectory continues — would stand to overlap with a monster QB extension by the late 2020s. That would be a good problem for a Broncos team that whiffed many times trying to replace Peyton Manning, however.
Surtain and four of the team’s five offensive line starters are all now signed through at least 2026. Courtland Sutton and D-lineman Zach Allen‘s contracts go through 2025. Like Nix and this contingent, Bonitto has established himself as a core performer. When his extension talks start will be a key Broncos storyline to monitor during the upcoming offseason.
49ers Targeted Terry McLaurin In Potential Commanders Trade
The 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk saga brought countless rumors last summer. The what-ifs involved a host of teams and other wideouts — Amari Cooper, Justin Jefferson and Courtland Sutton among them — as San Francisco ultimately stayed the course with a player who snared second-team All-Pro acclaim last season.
Aiyuk talks with the Steelers became the 49ers’ top contingency plan, as the Browns and Patriots also made aggressive trade and extension offers. Given permission to explore trade avenues, Aiyuk was not interested in a deal to Cleveland or New England. And he eventually nixed a Pittsburgh path, signing a four-year, $120MM San Francisco extension. That deal soon became even more important for Aiyuk, who suffered a torn ACL that ended what had already been a disappointing season.
Throughout the process, the Commanders loomed as a stealth destination — dating back to Aiyuk suggesting the fit in June. It later came out that Aiyuk would have indeed been interested in being moved to Washington to team up with Jayden Daniels, Aiyuk’s teammate in 2019 with Arizona State. The Commanders were not believed to have been overly interested, despite an apparent need for a player to complement Terry McLaurin. New information sheds some light on why Washington did not dive into the Aiyuk sweepstakes.
The 49ers would have been open to appeasing Aiyuk by dealing him to the Commanders had the NFC East team included McLaurin in the deal, The Athletic’s Matt Barrows notes (subscription required). Unlike the Browns, the Commanders were not offering their No. 1 target for Aiyuk. Incongruous plans presumably doomed a 49ers-Commanders swap this summer.
It would have stood to reason the Commanders would have wanted Aiyuk to play alongside McLaurin, as the Steelers did by eyeing an Aiyuk-George Pickens combo. Rather than offer Pickens to the 49ers in an Aiyuk package, the Steelers offered picks and eventually agreed to trade parameters. That opens the door to Washington potentially being able to have done the same, but reports did not have the NFC East club nearly as far down the road on a trade this summer.
Cleveland offered Cooper, along with second- and fifth-round picks, to San Francisco for Aiyuk, who would have paired with Jerry Jeudy. The Patriots discussed Kendrick Bourne with the 49ers. McLaurin, however, appeared to represent a bridge too far; moving their perennial leading receiver for Aiyuk would have not stood to produce much of a gain for the Commanders.
At 29, McLaurin is three years older than Aiyuk. But he had already been working with Daniels for months by the time serious Aiyuk trade talks commenced. The former third-round pick is having his best season, averaging a career-high 63.3 receiving yards per game.
McLaurin, who has only missed three career games, now has five 1,000-yard seasons, having crossed that barrier most recently in Week 16. His contract, one that helped shape the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel extension, runs through 2025. The Commanders will need to navigate extension talks soon, but they appear quite happy with McLaurin, whose third contract would complement Daniels’ rookie deal.
McLaurin has outplayed Samuel by a significant margin this season and would stand to have more 2025 trade value, but no indications have surfaced Washington plans to seriously entertain a move. Aiyuk’s 49ers deal runs through 2028.
Trent Williams Will Not Return This Season
DECEMBER 26: Williams has visited multiple specialists about the injury, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle notes. Shanahan confirmed the issue has not been resolved as quickly as hoped, but he added there has been no indication the injury is career-threatening. Needless to say, Williams’ ability to recover in full in time for next season will be imperative for the 49ers.
DECEMBER 23: Trent Williams did well to secure strong terms via a reworking completed just days before the season. The perennial All-Pro tackle will not be back to close out Year 1 of this revised agreement.
Kyle Shanahan announced Monday (via ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner) that his future Hall of Fame blindside blocker will not return from injury this season. Considering the 49ers have been eliminated, this is not especially surprising. Williams, who has been rehabbing an ankle injury, has not played since Week 11. Shanahan had said last week (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport) Williams would need to be close to healthy to come back this year, and he is not yet at that point. Two years remain on Williams’ contract.
This marks the second straight year in which Williams has missed multiple games due to injury. The 49ers went 0-2 in those contests last season; they are 1-4 without Williams this year. Though, San Francisco has seen other valuable cogs miss time during this disastrous stretch as well. The team sits 6-9 as another woeful NFC title defense winds down.
Williams, 36, has not made reference to a 2025 retirement yet. After securing a wave of guarantees midway through his six-year contract, it would represent a modest surprise if the former top-five pick walked away after this season.
Ending a lengthy holdout via the summer adjustment, the 49ers have moved all but $1.26MM of Williams’ 2025 base salary into void years and option bonuses. He received a $25.69MM signing bonus upon inking his updated deal in September and will not be moved in 2025, as such a move would be punitive for the 49ers, who would take on $55MM-plus in dead money by doing so. Although Williams is wrapping his age-36 season, he has remained one of the best linemen in football. San Francisco would benefit by having him back for what would be a 16th NFL season come 2025.
Williams came back this season in a partial effort to set the tackle record for Pro Bowl nods. He is sitting on 11 going into this year’s unveiling; Hall of Famers Anthony Munoz, Jonathan Ogden and Willie Roaf join him at that number. Pro Football Focus slotted Williams seventh overall among tackles this season, a slight drop-off from his usual place, but ESPN’s pass block win rate metric ranks him first. It would not surprise to see Williams, despite missing five games, to be selected to his 12th Pro Bowl soon.
The lucrative contract the 49ers gave to Williams has influenced their decision-making up front. The team has a midlevel deal at center (Jake Brendel) and a lower-end contract at right tackle (Colton McKivitz) and rookie pacts at guard (Aaron Banks, Dominick Puni). San Francisco is unlikely to re-sign Banks, and Williams’ contract should be expected to shape the team’s contractual blueprint — especially with Brock Purdy still on track to be paid in 2025 — with regards to its O-line. Williams announcing he is coming back would all but confirm this approach.