By Sam Robinson |
at September 9, 2025 2:55 pm
Although the Bengals signed Dalton Risner in late August, they gave Lucas Patrick the right guard job. Patrick did not make it out of Cincinnati’s Week 1 game, and he will be shut down for a while.
The Bengals placed Patrick on IR today. That will keep the veteran interior O-lineman out until at least Week 6. The Bengals signed defensive tackle Mike Pennel from their practice squad to fill the empty roster spot.
[RELATED: Recapping Bengals’ 2025 Offseason]
Zac Taylor had said the calf injury Patrick suffered would sideline him for a least a couple weeks. The Bengals will not carry him on their 53-man roster while he recovers, and it will be interesting to see if Patrick can regain his starting RG job. The Patrick-Cody Ford competition did not impress, leading to the Risner signing. Risner replaced Patrick in Cincinnati’s lineup following the injury, and the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway notes the seventh-year veteran will start in his place in Week 2.
Patrick signed a one-year, $2.1MM deal. Although the pact came with just $200K guaranteed, Patrick is a vested veteran and saw his full $2.1MM number lock in earlier this month. Risner is on a one-year, $1.34MM deal. The latter has become known for slow-moving free agency markets, having agreed to terms with the Vikings in September 2023 and with the Bengals just before this season. In between, Risner waited until May to rejoin the Vikings.
Risner, 30, has made 81 career starts. Patrick, 32, has started 65 games in a nine-year career that has included time at guard and center. Risner is a pure guard, having started for four seasons in Denver and having lined up as a Vikings first-stringer in 19 games from 2023-24. Making in-season moves to starting lineups in each of the past two seasons, Risner is familiar with this routine. He will have a chance to take Patrick’s job, one neither he nor Ford seized during training camp. The Bengals replaced both their guards this offseason, using Patrick and third-round rookie Dylan Fairchild at the positions in Week 1.
A 12th-year veteran, Pennel joined the Bengals last week and played in Week 1 as a gameday elevation. Spending four of the past six seasons with the Chiefs, Pennel has now seen game action with six teams.
The 25-game starter lined up as a Kansas City first-stringer last season, playing 30% of the team’s defensive snaps. Pennel lined up for 22 Bengals defensive plays Sunday. He serves as experienced depth behind B.J. Hill and Tedarell Slaton, with The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. indicating the team had aimed for depth behind its new nose tackle.
The Bengals also will give Isaiah Foskey a second chance, as veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports the former Saints second-round defensive end is joining Cincinnati’s practice squad. While Foskey registered zero sacks in 27 Saints games before failing to make their 53-man roster this year, he played under new Bengals DC Al Golden at Notre Dame. Golden was the Fighting Irish’s DC in 2022, Foskey’s final season in South Bend.
The Bengals also signed defensive end Myles Cole to their P-squad and released defensive end Isaiah Thomas.
By Sam Robinson |
at September 7, 2025 9:13 am
SEPTEMBER 7: In an update on this matter, Schefter reports Judkins will meet with the NFL this week as part of the league’s investigation. However, Cabot says Judkins is not expected to be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list, and one source tells Schefter it is likely Judkins will make his professional debut against the Ravens in Week 2.
SEPTEMBER 6: Quinshon Judkins‘ off-field situation continues to cloud his NFL career, even after a recent resolution. But the second-round Browns draftee is moving toward an early-season debut.
The Browns agreed to terms with the running back on a fully guaranteed rookie contract Saturday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Judkins is not expected to play this week but could see his debut come in Week 2, Rapoport adds. He will fly to Cleveland to sign his deal this afternoon, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who confirms the former Ohio State and Ole Miss back’s debut date is not yet known.
Chosen 36th overall, Judkins was ticketed for a fully guaranteed contract based on where the line of demarcation for such deals settled back in July. Tyler Shough receiving a fully guaranteed Saints deal — as the No. 40 overall choice — always pointed to Judkins securing such terms. But charges of battery and domestic violence led to this process dragging to the eve of Week 1.
Even with prosecutors deciding not to move forward with this case, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot notes the NFL is still conducting an investigation — one that could lead to a suspension under the personal conduct policy.
Cleveland is expected to receive a temporary roster exemption for Judkins, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. This can last up to two games. Judkins, 21, has not practiced since the Browns’ offseason program. Needing a ramp-up period before being deemed ready to play, Judkins may well be sidelined beyond Week 2. But this agreement puts an early-season debut in play while also finalizing the 2025 rookie class’ contracts. It is an $11.4MM slot deal.
Suspensions typically void guarantees, which led to the Judkins contractual slowdown. That remains a matter to monitor, but the Browns may have inserted language — as they did with Deshaun Watson — to protect the rookie RB in the event of a ban. For the time being, Jerome Ford and fourth-round rookie Dylan Sampson will be expected to lead Cleveland’s backfield. But Judkins will have a say soon.
One of the impact transfers for the Buckeyes last season, Judkins heard his name called before teammate TreVeyon Henderson. The Browns chose Judkins two spots before the Patriots drafted Henderson. While the latter has received far more buzz ahead of his rookie season, Judkins drew extensive interest during the draft runup — after a college career that included three 1,000-yard rushing seasons in three years. He amassed 1,567 rushing yards and 16 TDs as a true freshman, and after leading the SEC with 15 rushing scores a year later, the former high-end recruit formed a 1,000-1,000 duo with Henderson in Columbus.
The Browns bid farewell to longtime backfield stalwart Nick Chubb this offseason, letting the former Pro Bowler walk in free agency. Chubb joined the Texans, who are expected to give the former Browns second-rounder a key role in light of Joe Mixon landing on the reserve/NFI list. Cleveland has Ford — Chubb’s primary fill-in over the past two seasons — under contract for one more year. Judkins and Sampson, however, represent longer-term solutions in being contracted through 2028.
By Sam Robinson |
at September 6, 2025 11:06 pm
On one hand, the Bengals avoided two major distractions by extending Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in March. On the other, a franchise regularly involved in money-driven drama ran into two more such issues via the Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart sagas, each dragging deep into summer. However, the club reached resolutions with both defensive ends as well.
Entering the season, the Bengals have a healthy Joe Burrow and an elite weaponry array. The superstar quarterback’s MVP-caliber 2024 season was not enough to drag a poor defense to the playoffs, and questions remain on that side of the ball. The Bengals made a coaching change in hopes of stopping the bleeding on defense, and with Burrow squarely in his prime, considerable pressure exists to avoid a third straight playoff absence.
Extensions and restructures:
No real doubt existed about the Bengals’ long-term Chase plans. After college teammate Justin Jefferson set the market last year, Chase would come in ahead of him and continue to thrive with Burrow. Where doubt existed involved Higgins.
Rumors for over a year pointed Higgins to a 2025 exit — via either a tag-and-trade transaction or a free agency defection. But Burrow kept applying pressure on the team to keep his overqualified WR2 in place. Not 15 years removed from their previous star-level QB (Carson Palmer) growing frustrated with a thrifty roster-building approach, the Bengals gave in and enter the season with the NFL’s highest-paid receiver duo.
By the July 2024 franchise tag deadline, the Bengals and Higgins had not negotiated in over a year. Last year profiled as a last ride for the Chase-Higgins tandem. While the Bengals rebuffed trade interest in their Chase sidekick after a slow start to the season, a November report revealed there was “little to no chance” the former second-round pick would remain a Bengal in 2025. Weeks later, Burrow went back to work on what became an all-out lobbying effort to convince the Bengals to keep the high-end starter.
During an offseason appearance on ESPN’s First Take, Burrow cited annual cap growth — to the point he referenced the league’s TV deals — as part of his pitch to the Bengals re: Higgins. It is safe to assume Burrow said more behind the scenes, and the effort appeared to crest between the Combine and the tag deadline.
Two years after shutting down Higgins trade talk at the 2023 Combine, Bengals VP of player personnel Duke Tobin said in Indianapolis the team wanted the receiver back at “the right number.” As it turned out, the Clemson alum did much better than he would have had he signed in 2023 or ’24. Fourteen years after Palmer forced his way out via a quasi-retirement threat, the Bengals listened to their quarterback’s pleas and began a process that would keep Higgins in Cincinnati.
Cincy tagged Higgins a second time, irking the receiver. After the sides were far apart on terms in 2023 — when no offer of even $20MM per year came Higgins’ way — real negotiations transpired this spring. Both the Bengals’ WR extensions showed the damage waiting too long on deals can cause, but in the franchise’s defense on Higgins, it did appear 2025 was set to bring a separation. Burrow’s relentless push also showed the power prime-years QBs carry, and it will interesting to see if others follow the Cincy centerpiece player’s lead. Because it brought results.
After not approaching $20MM AAV in 2023 negotiations, the Bengals signed Higgins at $28.75MM per year. While the Bengals kept the deal in line with their preference of no guaranteed salary after Year 1, the team did guarantee a $10MM 2026 roster bonus. Higgins, 26, also will be due a $5MM 2027 roster bonus. But the Bengals can escape this deal with just $7.5MM in dead money in 2027. Higgins will see his 2026 base salary ($10.9MM) become guaranteed on Day 5 of the 2026 league year, providing strong assurances he will be a Bengal for at least two more seasons.
Higgins was viewed as a player who could fetch $30MM per year on the open market, and the Patriots — as they have been with just about any remotely available wideout over the past two years — were interested. The 6-foot-4 receiver would have been attached to a $26.2MM franchise tag salary this season and would have hit free agency at 27 in 2026. He almost definitely could have done better by taking that route, but this one will tie the two-time 1,000-yard receiver to one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in his prime. Chase will also continue giving his older teammate favorable matchups.
All the Higgins departure buzz that emerged from 2023 until early this year was contingent on the Bengals’ plan to prioritize Chase. Jefferson’s contract, however, made a scenario in which the Bengals could avoid future salary guarantees a nonstarter. The Vikings guaranteed their superstar LSU-developed WR $88.7MM at signing. That covered fully guaranteed compensation in two future years. With the exception of Burrow, the Bengals had avoided such commitments. Jefferson’s contract undoubtedly provided a stumbling block as the sides attempted to hammer out a deal before the 2024 season.
By waiting, the Bengals saw the price rise. Chase submitted a triple-crown receiving season, dominating as Burrow returned after his 2023 wrist injury. The cap then spiked by another $24MM. With 2021 receiver draftees Amon-Ra St. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and Nico Collins being extended in 2024, Chase was a lock to come in much higher. And with wideouts and pass rushers suddenly competing to land the top non-QB contract, the Bengals saw their mission become a multifront fight. The Browns’ four-year, $160MM Myles Garrett extension, rather than Jefferson’s 2024 payday, ended up establishing the Chase floor.
Chase, 25, was eyeing $40MM per year before the Garrett windfall surfaced. Seeing as the Bengals were planning all along to pay their top weapon, the Garrett deal — as strange as it looks — crystalized Chase’s price point. The Bengals unveiled their WR extensions on the same night, and Chase’s re-up breaks with team precedent.
Cincinnati guaranteed Chase’s 2026 salary, and the All-Pro secured a rolling guarantee structure. If on the Bengals’ roster on Day 5 of the 2026 league year (which he will be), Chase locks in his $30MM 2027 base salary. The Bengals even threw in a rolling guarantee involving 2028 money; if Chase is on Cincy’s roster by Day 5 of the 2027 league year, $7MM of his ’28 money locks in.
It would have behooved the Bengals to do these deals in 2024, but they have placated Burrow by paying one of the best one-two receiving punches in recent NFL history. That should satisfy their perennial MVP candidate for a while.
Burrow also lobbied the Bengals to extend Hendrickson, doing so at multiple points in 2025. That proved a more complicated situation compared the receiver contracts. On-and-off extension rumors circulated, with intermittent trade buzz factoring into this process. But the Bengals never appeared willing to break with their precedent on future guarantees for a 30-year-old defensive end.
Even with Hendrickson winning the 2024 sack title by posting a second straight 17.5-sack season, he never received a Bengals offer that included guarantees beyond Year 1. A familiar Cincinnati stalemate ensued as a result.
With Higgins higher in Cincy’s extension queue, Hendrickson received permission to seek a trade just before free agency. The Commanders and Falcons were among the interested teams, but the Bengals naturally set a high asking price. It was believed the team wanted more than a first-round pick for its sack ace. The prospect of paying a 30-something top-market money and surrendering a first-round pick grounded this trade market early, and the eight-year veteran became rather vocal about this Bengals standoff.
From OTAs, Hendrickson said the Bengals had broken off talks; this came after executive VP Katie Blackburn called upon the disgruntled defender to be happy with the offer he had received. We later learned the Bengals never reached $35MM per year — the price Danielle Hunter narrowly exceeded on his one-year Texans bump — and topped out at a backloaded three-year, $95MM proposal. That offer did not include any guarantees past Year 1, leading to a holdout, a hold-in and more trade rumors.
Despite the Steelers guaranteeing T.J. Watt $108MM at signing on just a three-year extension, Hendrickson (who is two months younger) could not secure a comparable offer. The Bengals’ second round of trade talks did not appear to produce anything close to a swap. As was the case in the spring, teams viewed Cincy’s trade ask as unrealistic. This left Hendrickson in a bind. Rather than miss regular-season games in protest — as he had threatened to do — he took the team’s late-emerging raise offer. That will at least pause this drama.
While the Bengals gave Hendrickson a $14MM raise for 2025, they could still use the franchise tag on their top defender next year. It would be a pricey tag (more than $34MM), but the Bengals have both tagged a player on a veteran contract (A.J. Green, 2020) and unholstered a tag on another (Tee Higgins) after reporting pointed to a free agency exit.
It would not surprise to see the organization cuff Hendrickson next year. The ex-Saints third-rounder had signed a one-year, $21MM extension in 2023 in fear of a 2025 tag. It is quite possible the sides’ feud resumes with the Bengals keeping the talented D-end off the 2026 market via the tag.
In lower-profile Bengals extension business, Karras agreed to a one-year deal for a second straight offseason. The veteran center’s one-year, $6MM bump from 2024 had him under contract for this season; his $5MM agreement will extend the partnership through 2026. The Bengals have separated from the other two free agency additions brought in after the 2021 Burrow sack avalanche, cutting La’el Collins in September 2023 and Alex Cappa in March 2025. Karras, 32, has endured.
The third-generation NFLer has started all 34 Bengals games over the past two seasons and has been a starter for the past six NFL campaigns. An ex-Bill Belichick-era Patriots contributor-turned-starter, Karras has two Super Bowl rings. He initially joined the Bengals on a three-year, $18MM pact in 2022. He has outlasted all his O-line mates from that division-winning season and, now on a third Cincy contract, will line up between two newcomers this season.
Volson will not factor into this Bengals season, being placed on season-ending IR after suffering a shoulder injury. The Bengals had demoted the former fourth-round pick late last season and had him on the roster bubble after the offseason pay cut. The 48-game guard starter will head to free agency on a down note.
Free agency additions:
- T.J. Slaton, DT. Two years, $14.5MM ($5MM guaranteed)
- Noah Fant, TE. One year, $2.75MM ($1MM guaranteed)
- Oren Burks, LB. Two years, $5MM ($750K guaranteed)
- Samaje Perine, RB. Two years, $3.6MM ($400K guaranteed)
- Lucas Patrick, G. One year, $2.1MM ($200K guaranteed)
- Mike Pennel, DT. Signed 9/1
- Dalton Risner, G. Signed 8/28
Cutting Cappa opened a starting guard spot. The Bengals are set to use third-rounder Dylan Fairchild at left guard, and they have cycled through unappealing RG options. Patrick and Cody Ford waged a competition during training camp. While Patrick is slated to open the season as the starter, Risner is aboard. And the seventh-year blocker, for all his issues convincing a team to pay him starter-level money, has a history of taking over on short notice.
After four seasons in Denver, Risner did not see his 2023 free agent market take off. He settled for a one-year, $2.78MM Vikings deal — one that did not emerge until September. Risner moved into Minnesota’s starting lineup after the team traded Ezra Cleveland to Jacksonville. The Vikings did not re-sign him until May 2024, and a pay cut even from the 2023 terms emerged.
Playing on a one-year, $2.41MM pact, Risner started eight games last season. After being activated from IR, Risner finished off a 19-game Minnesota starter run. Pro Football Focus graded the former second-round pick as the No. 22 overall guard last season.
Risner, 30, appeared on Cincy’s radar in April and took an August visit. He did not sign until after the preseason slate. This will apply pressure on Patrick, 32, after beating out Ford for the job. Patrick started 10 Saints games last season, ranking as PFF’s No. 37 guard. He played mostly center in two prior seasons (in Chicago). Risner at least gives the Bengals another option in case Patrick falters; the team will need a patchwork solution while hoping Fairchild can be a long-term answer.
Fant joining Mike Gesicki rounds out what might be the NFL’s best pass-catching corps. Still 27, Fant has six years’ experience as a team’s top tight end. The Seahawks had re-signed him on a two-year, $21MM deal in 2024 but cut him before this past training camp. Fant has two 670-yard receiving seasons (both in Denver) on his resume. To put that in perspective, the Bengals have not had a 670-yard TE season since Jermaine Gresham in 2012.
The Bengals now have two members of the 2019 Broncos’ draft class, but Fant did not prove as good of a fit in Seattle — a team with a deeper receiving corps — as he did in Denver. The Russell Wilson trade component did not eclipse 500 yards in any of his three Seattle seasons. With Gesicki signed beyond 2025, this profiles as a bounce-back opportunity — one he chose after also meeting with the TE-needier Dolphins and the banged-up Saints — for his new backup.
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Enjoying the benefits of a low-volume workload, Perine is in Year 9. Perine, 30 this month, has only eclipsed 100 carries in one season (his 2017 rookie year). He stopped through Denver and Kansas City as a complementary back, totaling a career-high 455 receiving yards in 2023 while helping the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl last year. He fared well as Joe Mixon‘s backup previously, and the Bengals made an offer to keep him in 2023. He will return as Chase Brown‘s top backup.
No interior D-lineman outranked Slaton in run stop win rate last season. The Packers used the former fifth-rounder as a two-year nose tackle starter. The woeful Bengals defense fared better against the run (19th) than pass (21st) last season, but Slaton coming as a B.J. Hill complementary option will provide a boost in ground deterrence. Not missing any games in four Packers seasons, Slaton profiles as one of the more underrated FA signings — a move overshadowed by other happenings along Cincy’s D-line — this offseason.
Re-signings:
- B.J. Hill, DT. Three years, $33MM ($11MM guaranteed)
- Mike Gesicki, TE. Three years, $25.5MM ($6.5MM guaranteed)
- Joseph Ossai, DE. One year, $6.5MM ($3MM guaranteed)
- Cody Ford, OL. Two years, $6MM ($1MM guaranteed)
- Marco Wilson, CB. One year, $1.52MM ($100K guaranteed)
- Cameron Sample, DE. One year, $1.27MM ($100K guaranteed)
- Tanner Hudson, TE. One year, $1.26MM
The Bengals sure won the Hill-for-Billy Price Giants swap in 2021. Hill became a key performer for Cincinnati’s Super Bowl-winning team and has played well long enough to become a third-contract player. The interior D-lineman’s market required an $11MM-per-year deal, and he will have a new NT to play alongside after D.J. Reader‘s 2024 Lions defection.
Hill did quite well as a second-time free agent despite turning 30 and finishing with 12 fewer QB hits (nine) than he did in 2023. He made an immediate impact, with 5.5 sacks, in 2021 and the ex-Dexter Lawrence/Leonard Williams Giants wingman did tally a career-high seven tackles for loss last season. Seeing as this is the Bengals, the signing bonus is the only guarantee. That will make a 2026 separation manageable (barely $7MM in dead cap, albeit for a team rather averse to that type of transaction) if the late-career re-up does not work.
At long last, Gesicki found a taker for a long-term deal. Franchise tagged as a Dolphin in 2022, Gesicki did not turn out to be a fit in Mike McDaniel‘s scheme. The NFL’s goofiest Griddy-er then underwhelmed in New England, receiving less than half of his Miami tag value in Bill Belichick‘s final season. The Bengals gave Gesicki another pay cut, rostering him at $2.5MM last season. Gesicki, 30 in October, posted 665 yards last season despite being the clear-cut third target in Cincy’s aerial hierarchy.
This does appear a team-friendly accord, as the Bengals guaranteed barely a fourth of it at signing. A $2MM roster bonus will be due on Day 5 of the 2026 league year, giving Gesicki a bit of security ahead of his second season. If the Bengals do not pay that bonus, however, they would be on the hook for just $4.3MM in dead money with a 2026 release.
Notable losses:
- Cal Adomitis, LS
- Joe Bachie, LB
- Vonn Bell, S
- Trent Brown, T
- Alex Cappa, G (released)
- Akeem Davis-Gaither, LB
- Khalil Herbert, RB
- Mike Hilton, CB
- Sam Hubbard, DE (retired)
- Zack Moss, RB (released)
- Germaine Pratt, LB (released)
- Sheldon Rankins, DT (released)
- D’Ante Smith, T
- Jay Tufele, DT
- Trayveon Williams, RB
Pratt requested a trade, which is not new in recent Bengals history. Also not new: the veteran linebacker did not see his request granted. This matter differed from Tee Higgins, Jonah Williams and Trey Hendrickson‘s request. Rather than not being traded due to value to the Bengals, Pratt was eventually cut. The team took on $2.3MM in dead money — amazingly, that is the top dead cap figure on Cincy’s payroll, which holds only $10.9MM in dead money entering Week 1 — with that release.
The Raiders added Pratt, while the Cardinals signed Davis-Gaither. Bell, whose return after a year away (in Carolina) did not go as well as his first stint, is unsigned after nine seasons. Jordan Battle, a 2023 third-round pick, had already replaced Bell as a starter late last season. Drawing offseason praise, Battle will continue in that role to open this season.
Rankins caught on with the Texans, returning to Houston after a rocky Ohio trip. The former first-round DT did not play during the season’s second half, battling a hamstring injury and self-reporting symptoms of an illness — which eventually led him to the reserve/NFI list. Rankins’ Cincy stop was his least eventful as a pro.
A far more productive Bengal, Hilton had expressed interest in staying late last season. The former Steelers slot corner was part of the Bengals’ early-2020s return to free agent spending, a window that coincided with Joe Burrow‘s rookie contract. Hilton worked as Cincy’s slot corner for his entire tenure, outlasting fellow CB additions Chidobe Awuzie and Trae Waynes. Hilton, 31, played at least 70% of the Bengals’ defensive snaps in each of his four seasons. He joined the Dolphins during training camp but did not make their 53-man roster.
Moss reworked his two-year, $8MM contract to remain a Bengal, but the neck injury he sustained will threaten his career. A two-month stay in a neck brace commenced after the injury surfaced, and Moss indicated he discussed retirement with HC Zac Taylor. The former Bills and Colts running back, though, did not need surgery and was cleared for offseason work. No team has picked up the five-year veteran.
A Cincinnati native who played at Ohio State, Hubbard leaves the NFL after just seven seasons. The Bengals had the solid Hendrickson complement on a four-year, $40MM extension that ran through the 2025 season. The former third-round pick produced five seasons of between six and eight sacks, though he only recorded two last year. A PCL injury also ended Hubbard’s NFL finale early.
Hubbard is responsible for one of the Bengals’ signature plays — a 98-yard fumble-six that powered the team to a 2022 wild-card win over the Ravens. That came a year after he sacked Patrick Mahomes twice in the 2021 AFC championship game. With Hubbard (who walked away at 29) having given the Bengals some protection as 2023 first-rounder Myles Murphy has failed to show much, attention shifted to the draft as a means to both replace Hubbard and find a potential long-term Hendrickson successor.
Draft:
- Round 1, No. 17: Shemar Stewart (DE, Texas A&M) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 49: Demetrius Knight (LB, South Carolina) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 81: Dylan Fairchild (G, Georgia) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 119: Barrett Carter (LB, Clemson) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 153: Jalen Rivers (T, Miami) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 193: Tahj Brooks (RB, Texas Tech) (signed)
Meeting with James Pearce Jr., the Bengals opted for Stewart over the polarizing Tennessee pass-rushing prospect. The Bengals choosing Stewart was noteworthy due to his low-impact stat sheet; the Texas A&M EDGE posted just 1.5 sacks in each of his three college seasons. That became a footnote this offseason, with another Bengals contract dispute taking shape.
Stewart did not participate in any Bengals offseason workout and was not on the field to start training camp. Issues with the team’s contract structure kept the mid-first-rounder off the field. The Bengals made it a point to change their rookie-deal language involving defaults — in the event of a suspension impacting guarantees — and aimed to deviate on bonus payment schedule. Stewart and his agent, the latter of which became the punching bag for Bengals brass during this ordeal, wanted the same terms 2023 and ’24 first-rounders Myles Murphy and Amarius Mims received.
Unsigned rookies almost always take part in offseason programs before sitting to begin training camp, but Stewart took issue with the Bengals’ waiver agreement as well. This led to both the Bengals’ top D-end investments, as Trey Hendrickson‘s impasse with the team persisted, missing the entire offseason program.
An exasperated Stewart eventually gave in, though he did secure a Bengals concession in terms of bonus payments. This still represented a bad look for the franchise, which regularly is labeled frugal and rigid on contract matters.
Even with Chase and Higgins paid, the Bengals still absorbed these criticisms because of how the defensive end matters played out. The team refused future guarantees with Hendrickson, even as the Texans and Steelers had signed off on such agreements for 30-something edge rushers (Danielle Hunter, T.J. Watt) and turned a matter as routine as a rookie-scale-era negotiation — for a fully guaranteed contract — into a monthslong slog that could certainly stunt Stewart’s development.
The Bengals had included the default language in Knight’s rookie deal, setting the stage for the Stewart showdown. Knight will be expected to replace Pratt in Cincy’s starting lineup. He comes to western Ohio after a six-year college career — spent at Georgia Tech, Charlotte and South Carolina — and will bring a low-cost contract alongside Logan Wilson.
Neither Daniel Jeremiah nor Dane Brugler included Knight in their top 100s for NFL.com and The Athletic, respectively. The Bengals, who entered the offseason looking to address the LB spot, will be looking to prove skeptics wrong with their latest second-round pick.
Also linked to O-linemen pre-draft, Cincinnati is plugging Fairchild in as a Week 1 LG starter. Fairchild will make the common SEC-to-NFL jump, coming from Georgia. Fairchild started for the Bulldogs over the previous two seasons, earning second-team All-America acclaim for his 2024 performance.
The Bengals were ready to name Fairchild their starter fairly early in training camp, despite still having Cordell Volson healthy and rostering veterans in Cody Ford and Lucas Patrick. This points to high expectations for Fairchild, who will be working between experienced vets in Orlando Brown Jr. and Ted Karras.
Other:
Making a cameo on the HC carousel during a six-year tenure as Bengals DC, Anarumo also coached in two AFC championship games — one of them featuring a Chiefs collapse. The Bengals erased an 18-point deficit in the 2021 AFC decider, relying on creative Anarumo adjustments to flummox a then-high-powered Chiefs offense in an overtime win. Cincy then ranked sixth defensively in 2022, smothering the favored Bills en route to another conference title game. But Anarumo’s unit trended downward over the past two seasons.
The Bengals missed Jessie Bates dearly in 2023, dropping to 31st in total defense, and completed an embarrassing 2024 season that squandered Burrow’s MVP-level work and Chase’s triple crown in a 9-8 showing. The Bengals’ weekly need to overcome a poor defense (ranked 25th), despite Hendrickson’s dominance, led to the expectation Anarumo — hired in Zac Taylor‘s first offseason in charge — would be out. On Black Monday, that happened.
Golden returns from the college game, having built considerable momentum after helming Notre Dame’s defense during the FBS independent’s journey to the CFP championship game. Golden, 56, has mostly coached in college. His only NFL experience came as a position coach in Detroit and Cincinnati. Taylor initially hired Golden as linebackers coach, having him in place on that level from 2020-21. A 10-year college HC (at Temple and Miami), Golden will be tabbed to field a unit that does better to maximize Burrow and Chase’s primes.
Anarumo played a bad hand at cornerback last season, losing both Hill and DJ Turner. Hill missed 12 games with an ACL tear, while Turner was down for the final six. Both were back at work by training camp. Turner has two seasons left on his rookie deal; thanks to the Bengals’ option decision, Hill is also signed through 2026.
A rookie-year backup who struggled as a starting safety in 2023, Hill moved to cornerback on a full-time basis last year. Despite the poor safety stretch and minimal in-game CB work, Hill still saw his option exercised. The Bengals are showing tremendous confidence in the 2022 first-rounder, even though his participation to date left him eligible for the bottom-rung CB option price. Hill will join Turner and Cam Taylor-Britt at corner, as the Bengals attempt their mulligan at this position.
Top 10 cap charges for 2025:
- Joe Burrow, QB: $45.99MM
- Tee Higgins, WR: $24.06MM
- Ja’Marr Chase, WR: $23.57MM
- Trey Hendrickson, DE: $21.67MM
- Orlando Brown Jr., LT: $15.03MM
- Logan Wilson, LB: $8.76MM
- B.J. Hill, DT: $8.63MM
- Mike Gesicki, TE: $7.67MM
- Geno Stone, S: $6.4MM
- Ted Karras, C: $6.3MM
The Bengals made sure they would have another season with Hendrickson supplementing the Chase-Higgins duo. The team did not lower its receivers’ cap numbers considerably with the extensions, though, representing rare contract balance. Higgins’ cap number only rises by $2MM in 2026, Chase’s by just $3MM. These issues are finally in the past for the Bengals, who still have Super Bowl aspirations due to Burrow’s status as one of the NFL’s best players.
With Burrow, Chase and Higgins expected to light up scoreboards and fantasy apps again, how Golden’s Hendrickson-fronted defense fares will define the Bengals’ sixth Burrow season. This will be the last season Burrow finishes in his 20s, raising the stakes a bit for the team. Although other second-tier AFC squads outflanked Cincinnati last season, the Bengals profile as more dangerous than any in that contingent due to their QB. Can the team’s defense — one featuring key questions in terms of pass rush and coverage — ensure another top-quality Burrow season does not go to waste?
By Sam Robinson |
at September 6, 2025 12:01 pm
The Falcons rebuffed Kyle Pitts trade interest, though with the former top-five pick set to begin a contract year, it is possible the franchise could revisit this topic. Pitts was mentioned as “relatively available” this offseason, with the price of a Day 2 pick floated. No Pitts extension is planned, but a franchise tag would not be out of the question if the tight end puts together a good contract year. Still, teams indeed viewed the Florida alum as available in the past, per The Athletic’s Josh Kendall. The Falcons stumbling out of the blocks this season could reignite the prospect of Pitts being traded during his fifth-year option season.
How Pitts’ salary would be divvied up in a trade would be a key component in negotiations, as he is tied to a $10.88MM option salary. The later in the season he is dealt, the less money an acquiring team would be responsible for. The Falcons having Pitts would give Michael Penix Jr. a fairly talented weapon, but if the team intends to make the 6-foot-6 pass catcher a one-contract player, it would make sense to listen to offers before the November deadline.
Here is the latest from the NFC South:
- Buccaneers extensions for Luke Goedeke and Zyon McCollum have surfaced this week, but the team appears through with its preseason paydays. No Cade Otton deal is expected, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes. Otton would join Pitts as promising TE options in 2026, barring any franchise tags. The former fourth-round pick is interested in a Bucs extension, and Tampa Bay is rather good at retaining its own. Next year’s tight end market would stand to include, barring extensions or tags, big names. Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Dallas Goedert, David Njoku and Isaiah Likely‘s contracts expire after this season. Otton, Pitts and Likely would be of particular interest as second-contract-seeking players. Otton, 26, is looking to build on a career-best 600 yards and four touchdown catches last season.
- Pro Football Focus rated Alontae Taylor as the NFL’s worst full-time cornerback last season, ranking him 116th. The former second-round pick’s perception within the league appears different, as Fowler notes the Saints CB is on the extension radar. New Orleans jettisoned Marshon Lattimore at last year’s deadline and lost Paulson Adebo — a player the team hoped to re-sign — in free agency. Although the Saints drafted Kool-Aid McKinstry in Round 2 last year, they appear interested in a second Taylor contract. He has started 37 career games entering his platform year.
- Chase Young is again dealing with injury trouble. The recently re-signed defensive end, who bounced back from neck surgery to play 17 games last season, will miss the Saints’ opener with a calf injury. Young joins Trevor Penning, who has been battling turf toe, in being ruled out.
- The Falcons have not ruled out Darnell Mooney for Week 1, but the team has been coy regarding the deep threat’s status after a late-July shoulder injury. In other Mooney matters, the team restructured his contract. Atlanta created $6MM in cap space by restructuring Mooney’s deal, ESPN’s Field Yates tweets. Mooney is tied to a three-year, $39MM contract — a deal that includes three void years. The sixth-year receiver’s restructure ballooned his 2026 cap hit to $18.05MM.
- Last September, Bryce Young‘s January 2026 extension-eligible date did not appear to mean much. The Panthers were moving toward a 2025 separation with a QB they benched. Young’s second-half turnaround last season, though, has the prospect of a 2026 payday back in play, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano. The Panthers believe the undersized passer has turned a corner in terms of confidence and competitiveness, and Carolina believes the improvement he showed late last year will carry over. While it would be perhaps more newsworthy if the Panthers didn’t believe Young would sustain this form, the prospect of an extension for the 5-foot-10 QB is still notable considering the separation rumors that engulfed him less than a year ago.
By Sam Robinson |
at September 6, 2025 10:26 am
The Broncos have now completed their three top extension priorities, coming to terms with Courtland Sutton, Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto. The Bonitto deal came to pass Thursday, and it marked a fourth contract given to a front-seven starter since November 2024.
Denver also re-upped Jonathon Cooper and D.J. Jones in this span. This spending spree naturally will leave some on the outside looking in. John Franklin-Myers expects to be one of those who miss out, with the Denver Post’s Luca Evans reporting no extension is likely. Franklin-Myers, then, will be on track to hit free agency in 2026. No talks had taken place as of late August.
[RELATED: Recapping Broncos’ 2025 Offseason]
“Shoot, it’s only a matter of time,” Franklin-Myers said, via Evans, after the Bonitto deal emerged. “You can’t deny me. And a lot of that stuff is circumstantial, is based on circumstances. But after this year, I’m a free agent, and I control the circumstances.”
Acquired in a salary-dump trade with the Jets during the 2024 draft, Franklin-Myers became a full-time starter in the Broncos’ 3-4 defense. The versatile D-lineman played a part in the Broncos leading the NFL in sacks, finishing with seven to go with eight tackles for loss and 18 QB hits. The seven sacks marked a career-high tally for the soon-to-be 29-year-old defender. Another strong year would make him a candidate to land a starter-level deal in free agency come March.
Franklin-Myers has not reached free agency previously. The Jets claimed him from the Rams and later extended him. With the team expecting to have Haason Reddick in Week 1 of last season, it unloaded Franklin-Myers to Denver for a 2025 sixth-round pick. Franklin-Myers joined Allen and Jones as Broncos D-line starters last season but saw the team trade up for D-lineman Sai’Vion Jones (via the Eagles) in the third round this year. With money going to Allen and D.J. Jones (and the two OLBs), Franklin-Myers appears set to play out his two-year, $15MM deal before potentially giving way to Sai’Vion Jones in 2026.
Malcolm Roach joins Franklin-Myers as a contract-year Denver D-lineman, though the ex-Sean Payton Saints charge would be easier to retain by comparison. Roach, though, will not start his second Broncos season on time. The interior defender suffered a grade two calf strain, 9News’ Mike Klis notes. The Broncos have already ruled out Roach and linebacker Dre Greenlaw for Week 1. Spending most of his first Broncos offseason out, Greenlaw is down with a quad issue.
The team was already going to keep Greenlaw on a pitch count to start the year, due to his recent Achilles trouble, but the Broncos’ LB depth will again be tested. Justin Strnad, who replaced Alex Singleton last season, will be the likely next man up. Singleton has returned from the ACL tear he sustained in Week 3 last season.
Circling back to Bonitto’s deal, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports it contains $38.35MM at signing. The four-year, $106MM extension includes a key 2026 date. If/when Bonitto is on the Broncos’ roster on Day 5 of the ’26 league year, his $24.49MM 2027 base salary shifts from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee, according to OverTheCap.
The Broncos used this rolling guarantee structure in their Allen and Mike McGlinchey contracts, and it effectively ensures Bonitto will be on this deal for at least the next three seasons. Bonitto, who only landed the 10th-largest EDGE deal despite waiting out a market that skyrocketed this offseason, also secured a rolling guarantee structure for 2028. If on Denver’s roster by Day 5 of the 2027 league year, the All-Pro OLB will see $7.16MM of his $20.99MM 2028 base salary become fully guaranteed, per Florio. Bonitto’s 2029 base salary is nonguaranteed.
By Sam Robinson |
at September 6, 2025 9:54 am
Amani Hooker will agree to a second extension in Tennessee. The veteran safety will put pen to paper on a new three-year deal before Week 1, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports.
The longtime Titans starter is signing a three-year, $48.6MM accord — one that comes with $29MM guaranteed in total. Hooker was set to enter the final season of his previous deal (three years, $30MM). This will mark a significant raise for a player extended two GMs ago. The Titans have since announced the extension.
[RELATED: Assessing Titans’ 2025 Offseason]
Jon Robinson signed off on Hooker’s previous contract nearly three years ago today. The Titans have changed coaching staffs since then and have fired two GMs — Robinson and Ran Carthon — in that time. Formerly in place as a Kevin Byard sidekick, Hooker has endured in Tennessee and factors in prominently moving forward under the Chad Brinker–Mike Borgonzi power structure.
Hooker’s second Titans extension comes after he intercepted five passes last season. Although the Titans bottomed out at 3-14, Hooker has been one of their best players for several years. The team traded Byard to the Eagles during the 2023 season, building their safety corps around Hooker. One of Robinson’s top draftees, the former fourth-rounder is still only 27. He has started 51 games. That number will continue to climb in Nashville, as the Titans are now building around Cam Ward‘s rookie contract.
If the $48.6MM number represents the contract’s base value, Hooker becomes the NFL’s fifth-highest-paid safety. He would settle between Derwin James and Budda Baker, though initial reports frequently reflect contracts’ max values. At $29MM in total guarantees, Hooker sits 11th. Only agreeing to a three-year extension naturally stands to reduce the seventh-year vet’s standing in that category. But this deal should keep the door open for another lucrative deal down the line; Hooker will turn 30 in his 2028 contract year.
No Pro Bowls are on Hooker’s resume, though he was extended the first time following a third-place finish in Pro Football Focus’ 2021 rankings. Last year, PFF slotted Hooker 33rd among safeties. This came on a Titans defense that produced a 30th-place points ranking but second in total yardage. Ward’s presence should help bring those numbers closer together, and Tennessee wants Ward as a key part of its Ward-years nucleus.
The Titans made a few investments at safety this offseason, adding Xavier Woods and re-signing Quandre Diggs. The team also drafted Kevin Winston Jr. in the third round. Woods is expected to start alongside Hooker, having signed a two-year, $8MM deal.
By Sam Robinson |
at September 5, 2025 10:21 pm
Making one of the more stunning conference championship game journeys in NFL history, the Commanders altered their trajectory in the first year of the Adam Peters–Dan Quinn regime. Although early-career QB promise has fooled this franchise in the past, Jayden Daniels looks to have solved one of the NFL’s longeststanding position issues. The 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year gives Washington hope, as evidenced by the team’s (convincing) upset win over the No. 1-seeded Lions in the divisional round.
Sustaining that promise will not be easy, but the Commanders went to work on filling their roster with veteran talent to complement Daniels’ rookie contract. This formula has paid off big for teams in the rookie-scale contract era, and the Commanders will take their swing. Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel are in the nation’s capital to help, and the Daniels-centered roster is now flanked by a host of experienced veterans.
Extensions and restructures:
Washington has been unable to find a viable McLaurin sidekick, striking out in free agency and on first-round pick Jahan Dotson. McLaurin, however, continued to produce regardless of the overmatched quarterbacks the franchise trotted out from 2019-23. Regardless of the value displayed during his career, McLaurin ran into some obstacles with Adam Peters embroiled in his first major extension talks as GM.
Upon drafting Daniels, the Commanders continued to lean on McLaurin, who continued his run of durability and delivered another solid season. McLaurin’s 1,096 yards were not a career high; his 13 touchdown catches were. And he added three more scores in the playoffs, cementing a second extension candidacy.
Entering the offseason tied to his 2022 deal, McLaurin also approaches an age-30 season — which became a point of contention during a long-running set of negotiations. While fellow 2019 Day 2 wideouts A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf had third contracts in place, both players are two years younger than McLaurin. The Ohio State product being Washington’s top weapon throughout his career counted for plenty, but this became a difficult negotiation. Drafted during the Bruce Allen regime’s final offseason, McLaurin ran into trouble convincing the Peters-led front office of his value this year.
In the Amari Cooper boat as a perennial 1,000-yard receiver but one never especially close to the league lead, McLaurin carries a bit more of an alibi due to the likes of Taylor Heinicke, Dwayne Haskins and Sam Howell being his primary passers. With Case Keenum and Carson Wentz sprinkled in, McLaurin doing enough to assemble a five-season streak of that sort is impressive. And Metcalf was less consistent despite having better QB play in Seattle. Still, this Commanders regime held McLaurin’s age against him.
Not reporting to OTAs or minicamp, McLaurin soon expressed frustration about the tenor of his second round of extension talks. The Commanders were surprised by how difficult the talks were proving to be, but the receiver market had shifted considerably over the past two offseasons.
Washington’s Ron Rivera–Martin Mayhew brass extended McLaurin — on a three-year, $69.6MM deal — during the 2022 WR market boom, but that deal preceded those given to Metcalf and Deebo Samuel. With Garrett Wilson‘s Jets accord moving the $30MM-per-year WR club to nine, it is unsurprising the top Washington pass catcher wanted in. Despite McLaurin’s importance to the team, the Commanders preferred his deal land south of that point.
McLaurin held out before quickly reporting to camp and shifting to an injury-based hold-in. A July 31 trade request emerged, and the Patriots — as they have been with just about every potentially available wideout over the past two years — were interested. Even after the Commanders activated the seventh-year veteran from their active/PUP list, he was not doing team drills. Unlike Micah Parsons or even Trey Hendrickson, no real possibility existed of a Commanders trade. But a future in which McLaurin played out his 2022 extension — 
ahead of a possible 2026 franchise tag — was in play.
Finding a compromise at $29MM per year, the sides agreed to terms on a deal that placed McLaurin 10th in receiver AAV. This landed him south of where Wilson and Metcalf settled this offseason but above the Tee Higgins and Jaylen Waddle WR2 deals. The Commanders guaranteed McLaurin’s compensation through 2026, but an out is in place by March 2027. On April 1, 2027, McLaurin will see $5.35MM of his $23.3MM 2027 base salary become guaranteed, per Spotrac. There are $2.05MM in incentives in each year of the deal.
After two seasons as a starter, Wylie accepted a reduction in the final year of his contract. Given a three-year, $24MM deal to follow ex-Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy to Washington in 2023, Wylie started 29 Commanders games since. Wylie’s guard past in Kansas City is expected to come in handy early, with Sam Cosmi out to open the season, but the 2024 extension recipient’s return will bump the veteran to the bench.
Trades:
The Commanders’ tackle equation changed significantly this offseason, leading Wylie and primary 2024 left guard starter Nick Allegretti to the bench (once Cosmi recovers). Step one in that process involved another Tunsil trade. The Texans had extended Tunsil twice during his six-season stay but were not ready to discuss a third contract. Nearly six years after Houston gave up two first-round picks in a megadeal with Miami, Tunsil still fetched four draft choices to change teams.
While the Texans did not field a good offensive line in 2024, Tunsil was their most talented option. The team unloaded the Pro Bowl mainstay anyway, shaking things up ahead of C.J. Stroud‘s third season. They found another team with a rookie-deal QB to take the 10th-year veteran, and the final two years on Tunsil’s contract overlap with Jayden Daniels‘ two remaining rookie-pact seasons.
If Washington does not extend Tunsil — and no substantial talks have occurred — the overlap with Daniels’ rookie deal represents nice balance. Tunsil, 31, has proven a shrewd negotiator. If no talks take place early next offseason, drama should be expected.
Tunsil has played at least 14 games in eight of his nine seasons, only missing significant time during a woeful 2021 Texans season. He suited up for every Houston contest last year, ranking 10th among tackles in pass block win rate. Pro Football Focus viewed Tunsil as a top-20 tackle in each of his past two seasons. He will provide the Commanders with a considerable upgrade from Coleman and Cornelius Lucas.
As a result of the trade, Coleman shifted away from left tackle but is on track to take over at left guard. The 2024 third-round pick is in front of Allegretti, another ex-Chief. Allegretti and Wylie are likely to be experienced bench cogs once Cosmi returns from his ACL tear.
Two seasons remain on Allegretti’s three-year, $16MM accord, while Coleman has three years remaining on his rookie deal. Coleman (12 rookie-year starts) was mentioned as a right tackle candidate ahead of the Josh Conerly Jr. draft choice before sliding into the guard mix. Coleman started eight games at guard for TCU in 2021, a period that should help his transition.
Prior to the costlier Tunsil trade, the Commanders turned to Peters’ former team for a long-overdue McLaurin wingman. Samuel will attempt to reignite his career in Washington, as the versatile playmaker could not live up to his 49ers contract. Piggybacking on McLaurin’s 2022 terms, Samuel signed a three-year, $71.55MM extension weeks later that summer. The former second-round pick was coming off a first-team All-Pro season. Unfortunately for Samuel and the 49ers, he has not approached that 2021 showing since.
Still a valuable piece in Brock Purdy‘s four-All-Pro skill-position fleet, Samuel had a productive year in 2023 (892 receiving yards, 225 rushing yards, 12 total TDs). And he has only missed three games due to injury over the past two seasons. In 2024, however, Samuel only totaled 670 receiving yards and saw his yards per carry — a stat pretty much applicable to only one active NFL wideout — drop from 6.1 in 2023 to 3.2 in ’24.
Samuel derives part of his value from the “wide back” job description, but 202 career carries (plus 52 more playoff totes) may make him — in boxing parlance — an old 29. He is undoubtedly an upgrade on what Washington was deploying opposite McLaurin last season, and Kliff Kingsbury should have some good concepts ready for usage following this trade. But this was effectively a 49ers salary dump.
The Broncos and Texans showed interest, but neither team made an offer. The Commanders had been mentioned as a Cooper Kupp suitor via trade, but they had already pulled the trigger on Samuel when the Rams cut him.
Although Samuel saw his new team fully guarantee his 2025 compensation ($17MM) in a summer transaction, that was a misleading gesture due to the WR/RB’s vested-veteran status requiring that amount become guaranteed in early September. Samuel is still in a contract year, and this season figures to determine if another lucrative multiyear deal will be in play for the 2019 second-round pick. If the Commanders do not re-sign Samuel by the 2026 league year, they will be hit with $12.34MM in dead money due to void years.
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Washington and San Francisco reconnected months later. After shopping Robinson in August, the Commanders found a taker. Considering Christian McCaffrey‘s injury history and Jordan Mason‘s departure (via trade) for Minnesota, San Francisco made sense as a destination. A Rivera-Mayhew investment, Robinson had fallen out of favor in Washington. The Commanders considered trading their starting running back in 2024 and moved on in the third-rounder’s contract year.
More grinder than elusive ballcarrier, Robinson complemented Austin Ekeler last season. He produced 799 rushing yards and eight TDs despite missing three games, but Ekeler’s arrival cut into his pass-game usage. Robinson will become a vital McCaffrey fantasy handcuff (for those who participate) and should generate 2026 free agency interest.
The Commanders are turning to Chris Rodriguez, Jeremy McNichols and intriguing seventh-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The latter profiles as the most logical Ekeler complement. If “Bill” does not live up to the form he showed during training camp, the Commanders would make sense as a team that shops for a back before the November trade deadline.
Free agency additions:
- Javon Kinlaw, DT. Three years, $45MM ($30MM guaranteed)
- Von Miller, DE. One year, $6.1MM ($4.99MM guaranteed)
- Jonathan Jones, CB. One year, $5.5MM ($4.5MM guaranteed)
- Matt Gay, K. One year, $4.33MM ($3.99MM guaranteed)
- Will Harris, S. Two years, $8MM ($3.39MM guaranteed)
- Deatrich Wise, DE. One year, $3.25MM ($2.35MM guaranteed)
- Jacob Martin, DE. One year, $2.05MM ($1.59MM guaranteed)
- Eddie Goldman, DT. One year, $1.26MM ($315K guaranteed)
- Josh Johnson, QB. One year, $1.42MM ($40K guaranteed)
- George Fant, LT. Signed 8/19
- Antonio Hamilton, CB. Practice squad
- Chris Moore, WR. Practice squad
This Commanders free agency class certainly skewed older. Six of the outside free agents who landed on the active roster are north of 30; that list will expand to eight by New Year’s, with Harris and Martin’s 30th birthdays coming in December. The top contract went to a 20-something, at least, though Kinlaw commanded a somewhat surprising guarantee figure given his injury past.
Adam Peters was the 49ers’ VP of player personnel when they drafted Kinlaw in the 2020 first round. The South Carolina defensive tackle became DeForest Buckner‘s replacement, being drafted with the selection that came from the Colts in that 2020 trade. Kinlaw never resembled Buckner in San Francisco and was relegated to backup status in his final 49ers season. Kinlaw missed 24 games from 2021-22, and while he has not missed a contest since, unremarkable numbers are on his resume.
Battling knee issues in college, Kinlaw suffered an ACL tear in 2021. He barely saw the field in 2022 due to knee trouble. Despite a surprising 17-game 2023 season, Kinlaw still settled for a one-year, $7.25MM Jets deal to reunite with Robert Saleh.
Another 49ers connection led to one of this free agency period’s most surprising deals, and the Commanders will run him out — after a 4.5-sack Jets season spent as a full-time starter — as a first-stringer. Kinlaw has yet to eclipse six QB hits or five sacks in a season, though working alongside Daron Payne will help his cause.
The Wise and Martin signings did not exactly move the needle regarding the apparent defensive end need the team carried for most of the offseason. Miller, 36, may not solve it at this point in his career, either. But the future Hall of Famer does stand to help in a rotational role.
Miller is now nearly three years removed from his second ACL tear, an injury that sidetracked his Bills tenure. After a woeful 2023 season (zero sacks), Miller quietly reached six sacks as a Buffalo backup in a 13-game 2024. After his Bills release, Miller preferred to land with another ascending quarterback, indicating Daniels’ presence provided a major influence.
Commanding two $100MM contracts — with the Broncos and Bills, respectively — Miller dominated in Super Bowl 50 en route to MVP honors and helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI six years later. He showed that form in Buffalo before his 2022 ACL tear, but the 15th-year star is squarely in his rotational-rusher period. Many aging pass rushers have been effective contributors in this role, but with Dorance Armstrong perhaps underqualified as an A-side DE presence, the Commanders will probably be on the hunt for more help before the deadline.
The Commanders showed these cards early by pursuing Joey Bosa (who replaced Miller in Buffalo), Trey Hendrickson and ex-Dan Quinn Dallas charge DeMarcus Lawrence in free agency. With Jonathan Allen gone too, the Commanders appear at least a man down up front. Combining for 17 sacks since 2022, Wise is no slouch in this department. The complementary Patriots rusher has been a solid pressure artist for most of his career, notching 11 QB hits in four seasons despite rarely working as a full-time starter.
Moving on from Wise, Jones, center David Andrews and long snapper Joe Cardona, the Patriots ditched all their remaining Super Bowl holdovers this offseason. Jones, 32 this month, made his early-career mark in the slot before transitioning to more of an outside role during Bill Belichick‘s final seasons. That versatility should serve the Commanders well, even with Jones one of the NFL’s oldest active corners. He could not beat out second-round pick Trey Amos for a starting job, but having an experienced backup with extensive experience in both CB roles should still help.
The Colts dropped Gay two years into a big-ticket (for kickers) free agency deal. Washington used four kickers (Zane Gonzalez, Austin Seibert, Greg Joseph, Cade York) last season. The team re-signed Gonzalez after he finished the year as the kicking option but moved on in signing Gay.
Gay (now 31) missed eight field goals in 2023 and was 31-for-37 last season; all six of those misses came from beyond 50 yards. He did connect on at least 93% of his FG attempts in 2021 and ’22, but his Washington terms are a fraction of his 2023 Indianapolis pact (four years, $22.5MM).
Re-signings:
- John Bates, TE. Three years, $21MM ($11.52MM guaranteed)
- Bobby Wagner, LB. One year, $9MM ($8MM guaranteed)
- Marcus Mariota, QB. One year, $8MM ($7.39MM guaranteed)
- Zach Ertz, TE. One year, $6.25MM ($5.59MM guaranteed)
- Noah Brown, WR. One year, $3.25MM ($2.47MM guaranteed)
- Tress Way, P. One year, $2.87MM ($2MM guaranteed)
- Nick Bellore, LB. Two years, $4.2MM ($1.75MM guaranteed)
- Noah Igbinoghene, CB. One year, $1.5MM ($500K guaranteed)
- Jeremy McNichols, RB. One year, $1.34MM ($493K guaranteed)
- Trenton Scott, OL. One year, $1.42MM ($415K guaranteed)
- Sheldon Day, DT. Practice squad
- Michael Deiter, OL. Practice squad
Wagner, Mariota, Ertz, Bellore, Way and Scott are over 30; Brown and McNichols will be 30 by season’s end. The Commanders have 17 players at least 29 or older, and their average age (28.09) going into the season makes them the league’s oldest team. Two of their aging defenders, though, will be first-ballot Hall of Famers.
Miller and Wagner on one defense will be interesting to see; the latter is in better late-career form. Reaching Meryl Streep-level status with All-Pro voters and PFF, Wagner now has a staggering 11 All-Pros on his resume. Wagner’s first-team count stopped after the 2020 season, but into his mid-30s, he has strung together four more second-team accolades.
These honors make Wagner one of the most decorated defenders in NFL history. Only Hall of Famers Joe Schmidt, Ray Lewis and Mike Singletary have earned more first-team All-Pro honors among off-ball ‘backers than Wagner’s six. The ex-Seahawks and Rams dynamo has each beat in terms of total All-Pro honors.
Wagner, 35, racked up 132 tackles (10 for loss) last season and ranked as PFF’s No. 3 off-ball LB. Reuniting with Dan Quinn after nine years apart, Wagner became an important piece of the HC’s first Commanders defense. Plenty of outside hires this year are in Wagner’s age bracket; Millennial references will not be lost in this locker room. But this is the best-performing one of the lot. Wagner earned a raise for his 2024 work as well, having played for $6.5MM last season.
The Commanders are running it back at tight end, keeping their top receiving option (Ertz) and blocking presence (Bates). Going into an age-35 season, Ertz did not appear to have a big market. But with no consistent WR2 presence emerging alongside McLaurin, Ertz had his best season since 2021. Working with Kingsbury a second time, the ex-Eagles and Cardinals pass catcher tallied 654 yards and seven touchdowns as a shorter-range Daniels target.
Deebo Samuel may take some looks from Ertz this season, but the 13th-year tight end should still be a prominent part of Kingsbury’s offense. Bates, 27, is regarded as a high-quality blocker at his position. Bringing experience without age concerns, Bates will be a vital part of the Commanders’ offense this season. His role has not fluctuated in four seasons. The 2021 fourth-rounder has played between 500 and 519 snaps each season.
Washington did not need Mariota to make any starts last season, representing a promising sign given Jayden Daniels‘ run-game usage. Yet, the former No. 2 overall pick still commanded a nice QB2 salary. Among backup signings this year, Mariota led the pack by a notable margin. Ex-Commander Jacoby Brissett‘s Cardinals deal came closest — at $6.25MM per year. Washington’s mobile backup completed 77.3% of his passes and presented a 4:0 TD-INT ratio in a 44-attempt season.
Igbinoghene re-signed but was soon shopped before last week’s roster-setting deadline. The former Dolphins first-rounder followed Quinn from Dallas and saw a career-high usage rate last season (818); his previous most was 287. But Washington added both Jonathan Jones and Trey Amos, which will minimize Igbinoghene’s role. PFF graded the sixth-year vet as the NFL’s second-worst CB regular in 2024, and backup duty awaits this year.
Notable losses:
- Jonathan Allen, DT (released)
- Dyami Brown, WR
- Jeremy Chinn, S
- Jamison Crowder, WR
- Michael Davis, CB
- Jeff Driskel, QB
- Clelin Ferrell, DE (released)
- Darrick Forrest, S
- Dante Fowler, DE
- Zane Gonzalez, K (released)
- Nate Herbig, C (retired)
- Cornelius Lucas, LT
- K.J. Osborn, WR (released)
- Benjamin St-Juste, CB
- Mykal Walker, LB
Allen was among a handful of veterans given permission to seek a trade this offseason. The 49ers asked about him during the Samuel negotiations, but the sides could not agree on terms. Washington released Allen soon after, and he landed with the Vikings. Minnesota gave both Allen and Javon Hargrave soft landings after the DTs had become cap casualties. Allen signed a three-year, $51MM contract that came with $23MM guaranteed at signing.
A 2017 first-round pick, Allen teamed with ex-Alabama teammate Daron Payne for seven seasons. Payne remains on his four-year, $90MM deal — which runs through 2026 — but the Commanders did not want Allen back on a $22.47MM cap number. By releasing the two-time Pro Bowler in his contract year, Washington gained $16.47MM in cap space. Allen (42 career sacks) missed nine games due to a triceps injury last season, but the reliability gap between he and Kinlaw is rather wide.
Elsewhere on the D-line, the team jettisoned Ferrell months after re-signing him. The former top-five pick did not beat out Deatrich Wise and Jacob Martin in a position group that added Von Miller just before training camp. Fowler will be much more difficult to replace. The 2015 top-five pick registered a team-high 10.5 sacks, doing so despite playing for a fraction of what Dorance Armstrong is making. Fowler outproduced Armstrong 10.5-5 in sacks and 14-7 in tackles for loss (though, Armstrong’s 14 QB hits led the team last season). The 31-year-old vet rejoined the Cowboys on a one-year, $6MM contract.
Chinn helped restore his value in Washington, going from benched Panther to key Commanders starter. Last season, the former second-rounder logged 412 snaps in the box, 299 at free safety and 202 in the slot. After a 117-tackle, two-sack, five-pass deflection season, Chinn joined the Raiders on a two-year, $16.26MM contract. St-Juste, who saw his role reduced under Quinn, signed a one-year, $2.5MM Chargers deal.
Lucas, 34, spent the past five seasons in Washington. An oft-used swing tackle, Lucas made 38 starts with the team. He helped serve as a bridge to Brandon Coleman at left tackle last year, making seven starts during a season in which he logged 318 snaps at LT and 139 at RT. Hours after the Tunsil trade became known, Lucas signed with the Browns for a 12th NFL season.
Draft:
- Round 1, No. 29: Josh Conerly Jr. (T, Oregon) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 61: Trey Amos (CB, Ole Miss) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 128 (from Texans): Jaylin Lane (WR, Virginia Tech) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 205: Kain Medrano (LB, UCLA) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 245: Jacory Croskey-Merritt (RB, Arizona) (signed)
Conerly made a “30” visit to Washington and drew interest from other teams late in the first round. Both the Browns and Texans discussed trades that would have moved them back into Round 1, with Conerly the rumored target. Instead, the Commanders are making him an immediate starter and a player who will be a candidate to switch positions down the road.
The Commanders have found multiple stopgaps at left tackle, first adding Charles Leno before a gap year of sorts last season. The Tunsil trade could bring a second such measure, depending on how extension talks take shape in 2026. Judging by how they went with McLaurin, negotiations with a 32-year-old Tunsil next year figure to be eventful. Washington will look to Conerly as a long-term LT option, one the team has not had since the 2019 Trent Williams dispute. For now, the Oregon prospect will play opposite Tunsil.
A two-year starter at Oregon, Conerly showed improvement in Year 2 en route to first-team All-Big Ten acclaim and a third-team All-American landing spot. A Tunsil-Conerly tackle pairing brings more flash than Brandon Coleman–Andrew Wylie, but the Commanders have important depth options thanks to holding onto Wylie and Nick Allegretti.
Although Washington withstood Detroit’s counterattack in a divisional-round shootout with an injury-gutted Lions team, the Eagles smashed through their defense for an NFC championship game-record 55 points. Joe Whitt‘s first unit showed improvement from Jack Del Rio‘s finale, climbing from 32nd to 13th in total defense. Washington also ranked third in pass defense, albeit against a fairly easy schedule. Amos will be called upon to help, following Marshon Lattimore and Jonathan Jones as CB additions made since the start of last season.
Amos, who spent five years in college (at Louisiana, Alabama and Ole Miss), saw a back injury affect his draft stock. Viewed as a potential first-rounder, the 6-foot-1 defender dropped toward the end of Round 2. The Commanders’ previous regime came to regret its Emmanuel Forbes-over-Christian Gonzalez play, and the new regime cut Forbes in the second year of his contract. While Lattimore is 29 and required a Tunsil-like trade package to acquire at the 2024 deadline, he has missed 25 games over the past three seasons.
Two seasons remain on Lattimore’s Saints-designed extension, but the early returns on that trade — which sent third-, fourth- and sixth-rounders to New Orleans — were not good. Defending an SEC-best 16 passes last season, Amos joins 2024 second-rounder Mike Sainristil as part of Washington’s hopeful long-term inside-outside duo. Amos’ arrival is expected to keep Sainristil in the slot this season.
Other:
Kingsbury came up as a target for a few teams on this year’s HC carousel. The Bears, Cowboys, Jaguars and Saints showed interest in the rejuvenated play-caller, but no meetings commenced. Kingsbury, who rocketed from USC’s QBs coach back to a prominent NFL perch, told teams he would not interview until after the Commanders’ season ended. All interested teams but the Saints moved on, but Kingsbury still joined Mike McCarthy and Joe Brady in bowing out of that pursuit.
Fired months after he signed a Cardinals extension, Kingsbury is tied to another dynamic quarterback. Daniels appears to have a higher ceiling compared to Kyler Murray, and Washington’s 46-year-old play designer will assuredly remain a high-end HC candidate while he is tied to the dual-threat Commander.
Bobby Slowik‘s quick fall while mentoring C.J. Stroud does prove a cautionary tale, but Kingsbury — who was not exactly aggressive in pursuing NFL jobs in 2023 after his Arizona ouster — is willing to take his chances after an apathetic approach to upward mobility this year.
Newmark interviewed for both the Jets and Raiders’ GM jobs, garnering serious consideration for both. 
Having a Lions background is now a plus in coaching and executive searches, and the longtime Detroit exec-turned-Peters-aide nearly reunited with Aaron Glenn in New York. When the Raiders were trying to lure Ben Johnson to Las Vegas, Newmark was firmly in play in another pairing of ex-Lions staffers. But Johnson chose the Bears; the Raiders then pivoted from Newmark.
Given an extension late last summer, Cosmi has rewarded Washington for a second-round investment (2021). The tackle-turned-guard was the Commanders’ best O-lineman last season, and his divisional-round ACL tear represented one of the reasons for the team hitting a wall in Philadelphia (run defense: another reason).
Cosmi is out at least four games due to the PUP placement. While a return earlier than Week 5 was mentioned, Washington will give its long-term RG preference more time. The nine-month mark typically provides the early range for ACL recoveries; that does not arrive until mid-October.
Top 10 cap charges for 2025:
- Daron Payne, DT: $26.17MM
- Laremy Tunsil, LT: $21.35MM
- Marshon Lattimore, CB: $18MM
- Terry McLaurin, WR: $17.6MM
- Frankie Luvu, LB: $12.54MM
- Samuel Cosmi, G: $10.5MM
- Dorance Armstrong, DE: $10.18MM
- Tyler Biadasz, C: $9.17MM
- Bobby Wagner, LB: $9MM
- Jayden Daniels, QB: $8.58MM
Converting fourth downs at an NFL-best 78.95% rate last season, the Commanders also did not beat a playoff team in a game its starting QB finished until the playoffs. Washington went 1-4 against playoff-bound opposition last season, its only win coming in a game Kenny Pickett closed. The team has eight games against 2024 postseason teams this season and nine against clubs that won 10 games last year. Washington’s impressive 12-win season marked its best total since the dominant 1991 Super Bowl-winning team won 14 games; the franchise has not posted back-to-back double-digit win seasons since 1990-91. A follow-up will naturally be difficult.
But Tunsil and Samuel provide clear upgrades at key spots. The Conerly pick could make a key difference as the season progresses. Age-related concerns are warranted, but hitting on Daniels overshadows moderate roster issues. For the first time in ages, Washington looks to have a true franchise QB. In Year 2 of the post-Dan Snyder era, hopes should certainly be high in the nation’s capital as a result.
By Sam Robinson |
at September 4, 2025 10:00 pm
The only team to advance to five Super Bowls in six years, the Chiefs continued their dynasty but saw the Eagles’ blowout win deny them a threepeat. Kansas City’s metrics and point differential last season pointed to a record far worse than 15-2, but the team still managed to skate to Super Bowl LIX. After Philadelphia exposed the 2024 K.C. edition’s flaws, the Chiefs — like they did after their Super Bowl LV loss to the Buccaneers — went to work addressing them.
Changing up along their offensive line once again, the Chiefs added two left tackle options and swapped out Joe Thuney‘s big-ticket deal for a Trey Smith payday. The team’s latest high-profile suspension (for wide receiver Rashee Rice) will impact the start of its latest AFC title defense, and there is no shortage of challengers heading into the season. But the Chiefs still roll out the Patrick Mahomes–Travis Kelce–Chris Jones troika that, along with Andy Reid, created this dynasty. The team worked on the future Hall of Famers’ supporting cast this offseason.
Extensions and restructures:
Paying Creed Humphrey a center-record deal last year, the Chiefs were unable to come to terms with Smith. That led to a $23.4MM franchise tag. For a while, it appeared the team would let Smith walk in free agency as it had Orlando Brown Jr. But Smith’s age made him a player the franchise would do what it needed to in order to retain. This space pondered what was effectively a Thuney-for-Smith payroll swap last year; not long after Super Bowl LIX, the Chiefs executed the switch. Thuney’s move to Chicago came days after the Smith franchise tag, and the Chiefs are now committed to the former sixth-round find.
Prioritizing interior protection for Mahomes during a 2021 offseason that saw the arrivals of Thuney, Humphrey and Smith, the Chiefs have now reset the guard market twice in the past five offseasons. They gave Thuney a five-year, $80MM deal in March 2021; the cap having spiked by $97MM since made Smith’s market more lucrative. He ended up becoming the first guard to exceed $21MM per year and did so by a healthy margin. Smith, 26, enters this season with a $23.5MM AAV.
Teams rarely use franchise tags on interior offensive linemen. That brought a complication for the Chiefs, as the CBA groups all O-linemen together under the tag and fifth-year options formulas. Since 2012, Thuney, Smith and Brandon Scherff have been the only guards tagged. The Chiefs tagging Smith helped the guard market climb, as the Tennessee alum being grouped with tackle salaries on the tag inflated the tender price. Smith signed his tender soon after, making this a rather peaceful negotiation. It still took a while for a deal to be struck.
Although only two players (Smith and Tee Higgins) were tagged this year, the Chiefs still injected some old-school drama into the July tag deadline. They reached an extension with their Pro Bowl right guard hours before the July 15 deadline. This came three Julys after they failed to extend Brown, creating a left tackle revolving door. A question about Kansas City’s LG position now exists, but the team is set on the other side.
Pro Football Focus has graded Smith as a top-15 guard in each of his four seasons, while ESPN ranked him sixth among interior blockers in run block win rate last year and fourth in pass block win rate in 2024. Blood clots in Smith’s lungs caused his draft stock to crater in 2021, but the Chiefs hit big on the No. 226 overall pick that year.
Smith earned fully guaranteed 2025 and ’26 compensation, but like their Jawaan Taylor deal, the Chiefs built in a rolling guarantee structure to complete this deal. Smith’s $23.25MM 2027 base salary locks in on Day 3 of the ’26 league year, effectively tying him to the Chiefs for at least three more seasons. Smith’s consistency points to this partnership having a chance to last longer.
Months later, Kansas City completed a quieter negotiation with Karlaftis. Not part of the Tyreek Hill trade package (like Trent McDuffie was), Karlaftis went 30th overall in 2022. The Purdue product has been a steady producer on a Chris Jones-fronted D-line over the past three years. After a 10.5-sack 2023 season, Karlaftis smashed his career high in QB hits by tallying 28 in 2024. This body of work prompted the Chiefs to act early on a player without a Pro Bowl nod.
Because Karlaftis has not hovered especially close to the best at his position, the Chiefs completed a rare middle-class extension with a player paid early. Karlaftis became the third Chiefs player in the fifth-year option era to sign an extension in the same offseason his option was exercised, joining Mahomes (2020) and Eric Fisher (2016). Despite the EDGE market exploding this offseason, it took a deal that ended up less than halfway to Micah Parsons‘ record-setter ($46.5MM per year) to lock in Karlaftis through 2030.
The Chiefs inked their Karlaftis extension days before T.J. Watt moved the market once again. While Karlaftis was never a candidate to land a near-top-market accord, Kansas City getting in ahead of the Watt and Parsons windfalls represented good timing. This deal reminds of the Bills’ March Gregory Rousseau extension (4/80), and when the dust settled, Karlaftis is the NFL’s 13th-highest-paid edge rusher. The Chiefs topping the payments for Rousseau, Josh Sweat and 2024 Pro Bowl starter Jonathan Greenard illustrates the workmanlike D-end’s importance on their roster.
Trades:
While the team created considerable cap space by going back to the restructure well with Mahomes’ contract (and using the same tactic with Jones’ new deal), it needed to offload Thuney’s contract. Carrying one remaining season (at $15.5MM), Thuney’s pact worked out well for the Chiefs. The former Patriots third-rounder became an All-Pro mainstay, landing there in 2023 and ’24 to help the Chiefs to Super Bowls. Thuney had also produced a second-team All-Pro season to boost Kansas City to the Super Bowl LVII title a year prior.
Minutes after a report the Chiefs were shopping Thuney, terms of the Bears swap surfaced. The Chiefs are passing on Thuney’s age-33 season, while the Bears handed him a two-year, $35MM extension. Chicago GM Ryan Poles was in Kansas City’s front office when the team signed Thuney in 2021; the nine-year veteran becomes part of a Bears interior O-line revamp that included a trade for Jonah Jackson and a Drew Dalman free agency addition.
While the Eagles exposed the Chiefs’ final left tackle plan last season — moving Thuney outside — he had been mostly passable in that role after the previous three options (Kingsley Suamataia, Wanya Morris, D.J. Humphries) faltered. Andy Reid benched Suamataia during a rough outing against Trey Hendrickson in Week 2, never giving him the LT job back. The 2024 second-rounder is now on track to succeed Thuney. With Suamataia having minimal guard experience, the Chiefs are taking a risk. With Smith commanding the extension he did and Jawaan Taylor‘s albatross contract remaining on the books for 2025, this became the cost of doing business.
Moore did not pan out as a second-round pick, being demoted during a 2023 season that brought a Mahomes-era-worst six regular-season losses. The Chiefs saw their receiving corps improve after moving Moore and Kadarius Toney out of the rotation. Toney was out by Week 1 of the 2024 season, and Moore never regained a regular role.
After not eclipsing 275 receiving yards in either of his first two seasons, Moore did not catch a pass in 2024. That reduced his trade value to a mere 2027 pick swap — an exchange in line with Nnadi’s. The seven-year Chiefs nose tackle makes the same move Mecole Hardman did in 2023, being back to K.C. months after signing with the Jets. The 87-game starter did lose his job last year, starting just one game and seeing his snap rate fall from 46% in 2023 to 20% in ’24. But he is back in the mix.
Re-signings:
- Nick Bolton, LB. Three years, $45MM ($30MM guaranteed)
- Marquise Brown, WR. One year, $7MM ($6.5MM guaranteed)
- Charles Omenihu, DE. One year, $4MM ($3.45MM guaranteed)
- James Winchester, LS. One year, $1.65MM ($1.65MM guaranteed)
- JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR. One year, $1.42MM ($1.2MM guaranteed)
- Kareem Hunt, RB. One year, $1.5MM ($850K guaranteed)
- Robert Tonyan, TE. One year, $1.26MM
PFR’s No. 10 free agent, Bolton saw the Thuney trade and Mahomes/Jones reworks clear a path for him to stay in Missouri. The Chiefs extended their top linebacker an offer that kept him out of free agency, agreeing to terms the day before the legal tampering window opened. Bolton, 25, arrived in the same draft that produced Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. This contract set the market for the Jets and Jamien Sherwood, but Bolton approached the free agency doorstep with a much better resume.
Bolton would have never been a franchise tag candidate — even if Trey Smith had already been extended — due to the CBA grouping on- and off-ball linebackers together. This made Bolton a real candidate to leave in free agency, but the agile defender has been central to the Chiefs’ still-underappreciated defensive success. Kansas City made the past two Super Bowls without the No. 15-ranked scoring offense, highlighting the backbone their Jones-Bolton-Trent McDuffie defense provides.
Functioning well against the run, Bolton also posted a top-20 coverage grade (per PFF) last season. The former second-round pick added 11 tackles for loss in 2024, matching his 2022 total (two injuries cost the Mizzou alum eight games in 2023). He added six passes defensed last season. Three of Bolton’s four Chiefs teams have deployed a top-eight defense, and the club convinced the Texas native to stay rather than weigh his Chiefs offer against others during the tampering period.
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Bolton’s deal came during a key market update at linebacker. Zack Baun‘s $17MM-per-year Eagles deal set the table for Bolton and Sherwood, with the NFL seeing its eight-figure-per-year linebacking contingent expand to 16 after some pay cuts and releases had affected this market in recent years. Bolton’s three-year accord also will give him a shot a second lucrative extension or free agency deal during his prime.
Brown’s one-year pact in 2024 did not boost his market, as the former Ravens first-rounder continued to see injuries provide limitations. After missing eight games during his two-season Cardinals tenure, Brown sustained his most significant NFL setback — a shoulder injury that required surgery — and missed 14 games due to injury last season. A player who discussed an Arizona extension and at least appeared primed for a notable 2024 FA deal has now accepted back-to-back one-year contracts — this one cheaper than his 2024 terms.
The Chiefs will need Brown more during Rashee Rice‘s six-game suspension, but the former first-round pick did not show much during Kansas City’s playoff run. He caught five passes totaling just 50 yards during the three-game postseason, perhaps lowering expectations for his Chiefs encore. Time is running out for the 5-foot-9 playmaker, 
who had cleared 700 receiving yards each year from 2020-22, to command a big-ticket contract. At 28, Brown needs to put together a strong season (while avoiding many injury absences) to recharge his free agency stock.
Just a year older than Brown, Smith-Schuster has settled into role-player status three years after he posted 933 receiving yards on a Super Bowl-winning team. Catching on back in Kansas City after a dreadful New England season, Smith-Schuster caught 18 passes for 231 yards and two TDs last year. Like Brown, he will be more important during the Chiefs’ Rice-less schedule sector.
Mentioned as interested in a running back trade, the Chiefs reunited with Clyde Edwards-Helaire after circling back to Hunt. The latter became Kansas City’s primary RB while Isiah Pacheco recovered from a broken leg. Plenty will be on Pacheco’s shoulders this year, with Hunt posting the second-worst rush yards over expected (minus-112) last season, according to Next Gen Stats.
Free agency additions:
- Jaylon Moore, OL. Two years, $30MM ($21.24MM guaranteed)
- Kristian Fulton, CB. Two years, $20MM ($15MM guaranteed)
- Jerry Tillery, DT. One year, $1.79MM ($1.79MM guaranteed)
- Elijah Mitchell, RB. One year, $2.5MM ($1.35MM guaranteed)
- Gardner Minshew, QB. One year, $1.17MM
- Mike Edwards, S. Practice squad
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB. Practice squad
- Brodric Martin, DT. Practice squad
- Zacch Pickens, DT. Practice squad
49ers GM John Lynch expressed surprise at Moore’s price tag, but we had heard leading up to free agency the previous 49ers swing tackle would command a good market. A player never looked to as a non-injury fill-in in San Francisco securing $15MM was eye-opening, but Moore could serve a few purposes in Kansas City.
Unlike in 2021, when the Chiefs lost both tackles (Eric Fisher, Mitchell Schwartz) for Super Bowl LV, the team was healthy up front to face the Eagles. Philly’s pass rush still mowed down the Kansas City O-line and wrecked Mahomes’ effort. This came on the Chiefs’ fourth LT experiment (Thuney).
With Moore, Kansas City has a second LT option (behind first-rounder Josh Simmons) and insurance against Jawaan Taylor not elevating his play after two bad seasons. It is still rather strange a $15MM-per-year player is a backup — even the QB2 landscape, sans Kirk Cousins, has no such option in place presently — but that looks to be the case entering the season.
Moore filled in for Trent Williams during the future Hall of Famer’s seven-game absence to close last season. While not grading out well in pass block win rate, Moore checked in as a plus option in limited duty (259 snaps) at left tackle. The Chiefs gave Moore guard work during training camp, in an effort to craft a potential “best five” setup up front, but the fifth-year veteran has never played guard in an NFL game.
Moore will enter the season as an overpaid sixth man up front, but Suamataia and Taylor have some in-house competition in case either falters. The Chiefs are likely to release Taylor in 2026. They needed to carry the struggling RT this year due to his $20MM-per-year deal carrying a year-out guarantee, locking in a $19.5MM base salary for this year. A scenario in which Moore takes over there by 2026 (at the latest) should be considered likely.
The Chiefs zagged a bit at corner this offseason. Under Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo, the team has regularly made CBs one-contract players (Steven Nelson, Marcus Peters, Kendall Fuller, Charvarius Ward, L’Jarius Sneed). This setup has also kept costs low at the position, with the team steering clear of notable outside payments as well. But the team did not effectively replace Sneed last season. Jaylen Watson suffered a broken leg and did not return until late in the season. The Trent McDuffie sidekick struggled in Super Bowl LIX, giving up a deep touchdown to DeVonta Smith. Fulton gives the Chiefs more options here.
A sub-package trio of McDuffie, Fulton and Watson would probably be a reasonable way to go. Chamarri Conner also represents an inside option for Spagnuolo, who will look to continue Fulton’s midcareer rebound. Benched by the Titans in his contract year, the 51-game starter became one of many Charger defenders to outperform their contracts last season. PFF rated Fulton 39th among corners last season, with Jesse Minter primarily stationing the 5-foot-11 defender on the boundary.
The rare eight-figure-AAV CB in Kansas City, Fulton gives the Chiefs a proven option — and one that is contracted for 2026, which 2022 draftees Watson and Joshua Williams are not. Kansas City had cycled through low-cost CBs during most of Reid’s tenure, but the team also looked into a Ward reunion. While the Colts won that derby at $18MM per year, the Chiefs’ interest nevertheless showed a willingness to change stripes.
A year after receiving a two-year, $25MM Raiders offer, Minshew appears underpaid even after disappointing in Las Vegas. Minshew, 29, settles in as the latest veteran QB2 behind Mahomes. Blaine Gabbert and Carson Wentz followed Chad Henne in this role, and Minshew brings a 46-start resume to K.C. Still carrying a 68:34 TD-INT ratio, Minshew nearly piloted the 2023 Colts to a surprising playoff berth. Were Mahomes to miss games due to injury for the first time since 2019, Minshew represents one of the NFL’s top backup options.
Notable losses:
- Mecole Hardman, WR
- DeAndre Hopkins, WR
- D.J. Humphries, LT
- Samaje Perine, RB
- Justin Reid, S
- Justyn Ross, WR (waived)
- Joshua Uche, DE
- Justin Watson, WR
- Carson Wentz, QB
- Tershawn Wharton, DT
The Chiefs attempted to re-sign Reid, their Tyrann Mathieu successor, but lost out to a Saints offer (three years, $31.5MM). Reid will now once again succeed Mathieu, who retired months after the signing. With Bolton staying on a $15MM-per-year deal and the Chiefs paying Trey Smith a guard-record rate, it looked necessary for Reid to find his third contract elsewhere.
Spagnuolo used Reid as an effective chess piece in his complex defense. PFR’s No. 18-ranked free agent, Reid joined a host of veteran cornerbacks on this year’s market in commanding big money despite being on a third contract. Reid, 28, helped create this interest by signing a three-year second contract; that 2022 decision gave him two 20-something seasons to market.
Ranking as PFF’s No. 11 safety last season, Reid played at least 160 snaps at free safety, in the box and in the slot last season and at least 250 in all three spots in 2023. He finished with five TFLs in each of the past two years.
The Chiefs have a couple of options to replace Reid, with versatile DB Chamarri Conner joining 2024 fourth-round safety Jaden Hicks as options alongside Bryan Cook. Both are likely to see regular time for a team that did not address the safety position in the draft or free agency. With McDuffie squarely on the extension radar, the Chiefs will need more rookie-contract production from their safety position.
Also showing interest in re-signing Wharton, the Chiefs bowed out. The former UDFA’s market reached $15MM per year, as the Panthers lost out on Milton Williams and snagged the contract-year breakout performer as a consolation prize. Even with the Division II product playing well alongside Chris Jones last season, a $30.25MM guarantee represented a gamble from Carolina. Wharton played on a one-year, $2.74MM deal last season. While he notched career-best numbers in sacks (6.5) and QB hits (11), he never eclipsed two sacks or five QB hits in his four prior seasons.
Prior to a costly drop in Super Bowl LIX, Hopkins did not closely remind of his prime version last season. The declining receiver proved serviceable during the regular season (41 catches, 437 yards, four touchdowns in a 10-game stint) but only caught three passes for 29 yards throughout Kansas City’s postseason docket. Hopkins, 33, joined the Ravens as a third option — on a one-year, $5MM deal.
Draft:
- Round 1, No. 32 (from Eagles): Josh Simmons (T, Ohio State) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 63: Omarr Norman-Lott (DT, Tennessee) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 66 (from Titans): Ashton Gillotte (DE, Louisville) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 85 (from Broncos through Panthers and Patriots): Nohl Williams (CB, Cal) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 133: Jalen Royals (WR, Utah State) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 156: Jeffrey Bassa (LB, Oregon) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 228 (from Cowboys via Lions through Patriots): Brashard Smith (RB, SMU) (signed)
After Reid quickly backtracked on his hopes Suamataia could hold down the LT spot, he then benched Wanya Morris for midseason free agent signing D.J. Humphries. The former Cardinals starter did not regain his starting job after suffering a hamstring injury in his debut, and after the Eagles made Joe Thuney‘s Chiefs finale difficult, the team made a bigger LT investment. Simmons joins Jaylon Moore in a two-pronged effort here, representing the Chiefs’ first Round 1 tackle move since taking Eric Fisher first overall in 2013.
Kansas City became a team to monitor for a tackle trade-up move, but the team’s target remained on the board when Howie Roseman called about a Jihaad Campbell-based trade-up. Moving up one spot to ensure no other team could leapfrog them for Campbell, the Eagles essentially handed the Chiefs a free fifth-round pick. Kansas City will roll the dice on Simmons, who dropped on teams’ draft boards due to a patellar tendon tear and some questions about his effort level at Ohio State.
Off to a strong start before suffering the knee tear, Simmons was ready in time for training camp. That marked a smooth recovery involving one of the tougher injuries to surmount, and Simmons commandeering the Chiefs’ LT job quickly is obviously a good sign for a team that has used stopgap options since cutting Fisher in 2021. The Chiefs made a strong offer to Orlando Brown Jr. at the 2022 tag deadline, but he declined and left for Cincinnati in 2023. Simmons becomes the organization’s new long-term plan at this high-value post. Better blindside protection will, in theory, help Mahomes’ attempt to rediscover his early-career deep-ball form.
Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com big board did not have Norman-Lott in its top 150. Transferring from Arizona State, Norman-Lott did combine for 9.5 sacks in two Tennessee seasons. Chris Jones is entering his age-31 season, and while the Chiefs have their durable future Hall of Fame D-tackle signed for four more seasons (via last year’s DT-record deal), this is Year 10 for him. Even with Derrick Nnadi back and Michael Danna showing the ability to kick inside at points, the Chiefs need a Wharton replacement. Norman-Lott will start his career as a backup.
With the pick acquired in the L’Jarius Sneed trade, the Chiefs chose Gillotte. The team has not seen much from 2023 first-rounder Felix Anudike-Uzomah, and Gillotte delivered tremendous production at Louisville. He registered an ACC-best 11 sacks in 2023 and combined for 25 TFLs over the past two seasons.
Danna is listed opposite George Karlaftis on Kansas City’s depth chart, and Charles Omenihu is back as a rotational option. Gillotte will be part of K.C.’s pass-rushing plan, and it will be interesting to see if he can carve out a regular rookie-year role.
The Chiefs moved up 10 spots for Nohl Williams, who arrives as Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams are on track to depart (based on the organization’s track record at corner) in 2026. Nohl Williams is the Chiefs’ earliest CB draftee since Trent McDuffie (2022 first round), and he led Division I-FBS with seven INTs last season. Jeremiah’s No. 54 overall prospect, Nohl Williams has landed in a good spot. Spagnuolo’s staff has continually coaxed starter-level work from midlevel CB investments. This is the latest cog in that assembly line.
Other:
Unquestionably one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history, Kelce has certainly seen his profile rise over the past two years. While helping the Chiefs to two post-Tyreek Hill Super Bowl titles drew plenty of attention, his Taylor Swift alliance garnered just a bit more. Rather than transition to what promises to be a highly publicized post-NFL period, the All-Pro TE/popular podcaster will play at least one more season. Kelce (36 in October) deliberated for a bit, but the Chiefs wanted his answer by the start of the 2025 league year.
By remaining on the Chiefs’ roster on March 14, Kelce saw $11.5MM of his 2025 compensation become guaranteed. Another $1MM roster bonus kicked in during training camp. Kelce has been underpaid for most of his NFL run, having lapped the field in terms of TE 1,000-yard seasons — with seven (no one else has five). Kelce has played in the best era for stat production, due to the rules in place in the modern game, so his place among the all-time TE greats remains up for debate. But the increasingly famous pass catcher has been essential to the Chiefs’ mission since recovering from microfracture surgery more than 10 years ago.
With Rice out, Kelce will be needed early. The 13th-year veteran’s production continued to dip last season, as he fell to a career-low 8.5 yards per reception. Kelce came in between 12.2 and 13.5 each year from 2014-22 but dropped to 10.6 in 2023, his first sub-1,000-yard year since 2015.
Excelling with Mahomes and Alex Smith, Kelce will be a first-ballot Canton inductee. He also sits behind only Jerry Rice in terms of playoff receptions, yards and touchdowns. While no decision has been made regarding 2026, Kelce is not eyeing a jersey change after his contract expires. He is an obvious candidate for a one-year deal, assuming the Cleveland native wants to keep going, in 2026.
Borgonzi’s Chiefs tenure predated Andy Reid’s; the veteran exec arrived in Missouri during Scott Pioli‘s GM tenure. Retained under both John Dorsey and Brett Veach, Borgonzi climbed to the assistant GM level in 2021. He drew GM interest from the Jets as well, but the Titans convinced him to leave Kansas City. Like Brandt Tilis last year, Borgonzi left the Chiefs without having full roster control. Tilis is Dan Morgan‘s top lieutenant, while Borgonzi — GM title notwithstanding — joined a Titans organization that has Chad Brinker holding roster control.
It does not appear the Chiefs and McDuffie will beat the buzzer on a new contract from Brazil. The team has, however, identified the All-Pro cornerback as an extension candidate. While Jones and Nick Bolton anchor the Chiefs’ first and second levels on defense, McDuffie is the secondary’s clear centerpiece. Showing an ability to excel outside and in the slot, the fourth-year defender has already collected first- and second-team All-Pro nods through three seasons.
The fifth-year option formula only takes original-ballot Pro Bowls into account, so the Chiefs caught a break here (via McDuffie’s lower option price). It is unlikely the option number, however, comes into play. A McDuffie extension should be expected before he takes the field in 2026.
The Chiefs’ hesitancy regarding CB payments is a storyline to follow re: McDuffie’s talks, as is the position’s skyrocketing market. With Derek Stingley Jr. and Sauce Gardner taking the CB ceiling past $30MM per year, McDuffie can aim for at least something just south of that. But a third All-Pro nod preceding another cap spike would likely prompt the soon-to-be 25-year-old cover man to set his price beyond $30MM AAV.
A suspension candidate (again) provided the central Chiefs offseason storyline. Showing an extreme tolerance for off-field misbehavior, the Reid-era Chiefs have been preparing for a Rice ban for a while. The talented wideout was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years probation in connection with a March 2024 hit-and-run accident that brought eight felony charges. Receiving deferred adjudication, Rice can avoid jail time and see his case dismissed if he completes the probation process. While it is unlikely Rice spends any time behind bars, this remains a concerning early-career saga.
It took over a month for a Rice suspension to surface, as the NFL was eyeing a potential double-digit ban. The NFL’s investigation was believed to cover other incidents as well. Rice, 25, was accused of punching a photographer at a nightclub following that freeway street-racing accident. While the receiver was at SMU, Rice or a member of his party fired gunshots into an empty vehicle belonging to a Mustangs basketball player. Even with the Sept. 30 hearing with disciplinary officer Sue Robinson scheduled, a settlement was always the most likely outcome.
Coming off an LCL tear, Rice wanted to serve his suspension early in the season. It would have made less sense for the Chiefs’ top WR to begin the season only to be banned midway through. The Chiefs will face four 2024 playoff teams (Chargers, Eagles, Ravens, Lions) without Rice, however, creating another challenge for a team that has struggled with receiver consistency since trading Hill.
Top 10 cap charges for 2025:
- Patrick Mahomes, QB: $28.06MM
- Jawaan Taylor, RT: $27.39MM
- Chris Jones, DT: $23.6MM
- Travis Kelce, TE: $19.8MM
- Trey Smith, G: $14.25MM
- Jaylon Moore, OL: $11.2MM
- Creed Humphrey, C: $10.79MM
- Drue Tranquill, LB: $8.5MM
- Michael Danna, DL: $8.05MM
- Kristian Fulton, CB: $7MM
Crafting one of the great runs in NFL history, the Mahomes-Reid partnership enters an eighth season. The Chiefs again enter as a Super Bowl frontrunner, but the 2024 resurgences from the Chargers and Broncos preceded an offseason Raiders makeover. With Las Vegas looking improved, the AFC West looks like one of the NFL’s toughest divisions. The Chiefs will have a tougher time securing the AFC’s No. 1 seed this year. While the road wins over the Bills and Ravens during the 2023 playoffs occurred, Kansas City has booked four of its five Mahomes-era Super Bowls without playing away from home in the postseason.
The O-line shuffle figures to provide vital aid to the megastar quarterback, but he will be again tested early due to Rashee Rice‘s suspension. How Kansas City fares without its No. 1 receiver will go a long way toward determining if the AFC’s premier team can hold off Buffalo, Baltimore and others for the conference’s top seed. Having the game’s premier HC-QB combo, however, will continue to make the Chiefs a formidable opponent in a hotly contested AFC race.
By Sam Robinson |
at September 3, 2025 10:02 pm
Well, this veered into rather interesting territory late in the game. After another drawn-out negotiation with an All-Pro, the Cowboys were mostly just viewed as unnecessarily prolonging extension talks en route to a deal more expensive than it needed to be. Even as the ice was not thinning between ownership and Micah Parsons in this latest Cowboys offseason saga, the CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott endgames still had an 11th-hour resolution — or a situation where the star edge rusher remained a Cowboy by Week 1 — as the most likely 2025 outcome.
Instead, Jerry Jones completed a shocking twist ending. Parsons is a Packer, after the longtime Cowboys owner broke off negotiations amid a strange approach to dealing with one of the NFL’s highest-powered agents. This took place a week before Dallas’ new head coach is set to debut. The Cowboys dealt Brian Schottenheimer‘s best player shortly after the team’s preseason finale, reshaping how this Cowboys period is viewed. Will it end up being the right choice?
Coaching/Front Office:
Months before the Parsons showdown came to a head, the Cowboys completed another unusual coaching separation. Viewed as likely to move on from McCarthy for weeks, the Cowboys let the lame-duck HC dangle a week after Black Monday. McCarthy had outperformed Jason Garrett as Cowboys HC, stringing together three straight 12-win seasons — which had not happened in Dallas since their now-Netflixed 1990s glory years — from 2021-23 but was not extended following the Packers’ upset wild-card win two seasons ago.
Prescott did not play particularly well before his season-ending hamstring injury, but McCarthy became the extraordinarily rare leader to coach out a contract. As McCarthy’s assistants — including Schottenheimer — awaited the boss’ fate, the Cowboys waited while the rest of the league had begun coaching searches. McCarthy, 62, was out after two seasons as a play-calling HC (and three prior years as a non-play-caller). The sides discussed a new contract, with term length an issue during the brief talks, but McCarthy moved on and ultimately decided to bow out of the Saints’ HC search. What happened next proved quite surprising.
Part of the reason the Schottenheimer hire did not stun: this coaching search reminded closely of the 2020 effort that brought McCarthy to Dallas. Jerry Jones left Garrett dangling for days after the 2019 season ended, announcing a separation after interviews were being scheduled elsewhere. Jones then hired McCarthy after an interview process that only included — due to the Rooney Rule that at the time required only one external minority interview — Marvin Lewis as the box-checking meeting. The Schottenheimer process included a week-long wait but only three other candidates, as the Rooney Rule now requires two external minority candidates be interviewed.
Although conversations with Deion Sanders and Pete Carroll commenced, the Cowboys conducted official interviews with Robert Saleh, Leslie Frazier and Schottenheimer’s OC predecessor (Kellen Moore). It appeared the one-and-done Eagles OC was the early favorite, but he ended up in New Orleans after Super Bowl LIX. An hours-long Schottenheimer meeting changed the course of the Cowboys’ talks. Not long after, a Friday-night hire took place.
PFR’s pages had tracked zero Schottenheimer HC interviews since our January 2014 inception. A prominent name in HC cycles in the late 2000s, Schottenheimer had settled onto the coordinator radar. He held Jets, Rams, Seahawks and Cowboys OC positions from 2006-24. Despite Russell Wilson‘s Pro Bowl work in the late 2010s and even after Prescott’s second-team All-Pro season in 2023, no Schottenheimer interview requests emerged. It certainly seemed the second-generation NFL staffer missed his window, but a lengthy Cowboys meeting changed his trajectory.
Admitting he did not expect to land the job after his boss was fired, Schottenheimer nevertheless impressed Jerry and Stephen Jones during the multiday interview. Schottenheimer, 51, discussed the OC positions with the Jets and Seahawks but 
was informed Cowboys ownership wanted him to at least stay on as OC. The Cowboys had retained Moore this way while looking to replace Garrett in 2020. After what-ifs involving Dolphins and Bills HC positions more than a decade ago, Schottenheimer became one of the unlikeliest HC hires in recent NFL history.
Schottenheimer calling himself “Sean McVay before Sean McVay” is certainly revisionist history, and Jones referred to this hire as “a risk, not a Hail Mary.” It took Schottenheimer until his 11th NFL OC year (with the 2019 Seahawks) to produce a top-10 total offense, though that recurred when the 2023 Cowboys ranked third. He will hold the call sheet for the first time since 2020, his third and final Seattle season, and carried tremendous support from Prescott, who had previously called for McCarthy to be given a sixth season.
Adams, who spent the past two seasons as the Cardinals’ O-line coach, will step into the non-play-calling OC role Schottenheimer vacated. Two of the Cowboys’ past three OCs have been Boise State grads. Adams, 42, had been the Colts’ tight ends coach from 2021-22, following ex-Indianapolis coworker Jonathan Gannon to Arizona. Adams has a short history as an OC, working as co-OC at Colorado in 2018.
Like Schottenheimer, the Cowboys were his only option for upward mobility. The Cowboys will have Dorsey, the recent Bills and Browns OC, providing input to the less experienced NFL staffer.
The Cowboys also provided a soft landing for Eberflus, who returns to Dallas after six years as a head coach or defensive coordinator. Eberflus had left his role as Cowboys LBs coach in 2018, thinking he would be Josh McDaniels‘ DC in Indianapolis. Frank Reich honored the would-be HC’s offer, and Eberflus helmed the Colts to top-10 scoring defenses in three of four seasons on the job.
Eberflus’ Bears tenure did not go well, as he followed both John Fox and Matt Nagy in being fired months after the team drafted a first-round quarterback. The Bears went 14-32 under Eberflus. After some 2023 progress, the rebuilding team bottomed out after the Jayden Daniels-to-Noah Brown Hail Mary.
A Thanksgiving clock-management debacle sealed Eberflus’ fate, but he immediately resurfaced on the radar for the Cowboys’ DC gig once Schottenheimer was hired. Eberflus, 55, has not worked with Schottenheimer previously. But he spent seven seasons in Dallas (2011-17) under Garrett.
Trades:
Regardless of timing, Jerry Jones has done well to complete extensions with star players. Before Prescott and Lamb, the Hall of Fame owner paid the likes of Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant, DeMarcus Ware, Zack Martin, Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick top-market contracts. The previous wave of deals came on Dallas’ terms, however, with only Bryant’s 2015 five-year extension south of six years.
Parsons’ camp was believed to have issues with that long of a contract, as the 2020s salary cap spikes make long-term deals ill-advised, but Jones launched a bizarre crusade to go around David Mulugheta to hammer out what was a five-year proposal averaging $40.5MM per. With Parsons not deeming his agreement on deal parameters as official (as players with agents use them to finalize their contracts), this negotiation broke stride with past eras of Cowboys contract talks.
None of the aforementioned batch of players requested a trade. After Parsons spoke of a desire to have his deal finalized by training camp and, on multiple occasions, said his price would rise the longer the Cowboys waited — just as costs climbed during the lengthy Prescott and Lamb talks last year — he pulled the trade-request lever August 1. Although Jones had informed Cowboys fans not to lose sleep over the Parsons request, the next chapters produced a full-on unraveling of this relationship.
Jones and Parsons did not resume negotiations after the trade ask, with the owner hung up on what he described as the All-Pro pass rusher reneging on an agreed-upon deal. Had Parsons been a self-represented player like Lamar Jackson or Bobby Wagner, such talks were permissible. But the fifth-year player designating Mulugheta to handle his talks meant the Cowboys needed to go through the agent.
Jones, 82, said during a now-seminal Michael Irvin interview Mulugheta told Cowboys ownership to “stick [the Parsons agreement details] up their ass.” Mulugheta, of course, denied that account. Jones’ comments, which also included the owner/GM threatening to take the two-franchise tag route with Parsons, did not exactly bring anything closer to a peaceful resolution.
Parsons, who had not held out from minicamp or training camp, had long aimed to sign a Cowboys extension. Days after Jones’ comments, however, Schottenheimer needed to address his sideline actions during the team’s preseason finale in a meeting with the disgruntled player.
Mentions of Packers interest in the sack dynamo emerged soon after, and a year after Jones had signed off on the Prescott and Lamb top-market extensions, he traded the younger, better performer for two first-round picks and Clark — a 10th-year veteran. Prior to the deal, the Cowboys had told Parsons to play on his fifth-year option — after the player had attempted to restart extension talks — or head out. The explosive trade followed.
Framing this as a Herschel Walker-style haul is rather optimistic, as that kind of trade — which brought three first-rounders, three seconds, a third and more in October 1989 — squeezed the Vikings in a deal that supplied even more assets than the historic Deshaun Watson trade did. Picks-wise, the Parsons haul did not match what the Seahawks gave up for Jamal Adams (two firsts, a third and safety Bradley McDougald) or what the Rams surrendered for Jalen Ramsey (two 1s and a 4). Jones did point to Clark as a main attraction, with the Cowboys targeting the Packers in a deal largely because of the 29-year-old D-tackle’s presence.
Perhaps more important than the trade package itself, Jones’ post-trade presser revealed the Cowboys — as we had heard previously — internally discussed the prospect of trading Parsons before the draft. However, no conversations with teams transpired at that point. A staggering eight Cowboys first-round picks since 2010 have become All-Pros, pointing to the Will McClay-led draft operation’s ability to find talent. Regardless of how well Green Bay fares over the next two seasons with Parsons, those picks will be valuable in Dallas’ hands. But Jones indicating a Parsons-for-Clark swap — all that matters for 2025 — would make this year’s team better marked another tough sell.
Moving Parsons before the draft or even before free agency would have presumably brought a better return, with more clubs having cap space and needs to pull off the kind of megadeal (four years, $186MM, $120MM fully guaranteed) the 26-year-old defender received. While the coaching staff was said to have been unanimously onboard with moving on, leaks involving dissenting opinions could certainly come out down the road — especially if Parsons stays on his current career path.
A year younger than Khalil Mack when he was dealt to the Bears for a two-first-rounder package, Parsons joins only Reggie White as players to post 12-plus sacks in each of their first four seasons. The 2021 first-rounder did that despite missing four games last year; Jones alluding to Parsons’ high ankle sprain during one of his many media-availability sessions further enflamed this situation.
Clark, 30 in October, is a three-time Pro Bowler tied to a through-2027 extension (three years, $64MM). Plenty will be on his shoulders this season, and Jones referencing the Cowboys’ D-end depth (with Dante Fowler and Donovan Ezeiruaku joining the Sam Williams–Marshawn Kneeland duo) adds up. But the Cowboys ranked first in defensive EPA with Parsons on the field from 2021-24 and 31st when he was sidelined.
Trading Parsons when they did marks a historic gamble for the Cowboys, and it is perhaps telling a Packers team dead set against post-Year 1 guarantees authorized fully guaranteed money through 2027 to acquire Parsons.
It seemed the Cowboys were loading up around their Prescott-Lamb-Parsons trio in May, when they acquired Pickens’ rookie contract from the Steelers. The team had searched for a promising Lamb sidekick since trading Amari Cooper in March 2022, and after looking into a Cooper reunion and gauging the Cooper Kupp and Rashod Bateman markets, the Cowboys landed Pickens in a package headlined by a third-rounder.
Pickens, 24, is set to play out his rookie deal in Dallas. With Parsons gone, a 2026 franchise tag should be in play for Pickens. Though, the latest Pittsburgh-developed mercurial wideout will need to show he is onboard in Dallas before a big commitment is authorized. The Steelers had determined after the 2024 season they would move on from Pickens, and after the Cowboys showed interest before the draft, talks intensified post-draft.
The rare mid-May trade came after the three-year Pittsburgh starter did not draw a big market. Maturity concerns have dogged Pickens, who has plenty of incentive to stay on track. A lucrative free agency could await ahead of an age-25 season, though the Georgia alum is open to staying in Dallas long term.
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Pickens is the NFL’s only player to generate three straight seasons north of 16 yards per reception and accumulated over 2,000 since 2022, according to ESPN Stats and Info. The former second-rounder has also only missed three career games. Prescott will be the best QB Pickens has played with, after having teamed with Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, Justin Fields and a post-prime Russell Wilson. Upside exists here, and with Parsons out of the picture, the Cowboys will likely need their receiver arsenal plenty to keep up in 2025.
The Bills did not see Elam justify his 2022 first-round draft slot, observing Christian Benford outplay him and never giving Elam a full-season run atop the depth chart. The fourth-year veteran’s unwanted cameo in the AFC championship game, as Benford exited early, helped swing the Bills’ fourth Sean McDermott-era postseason loss to the Chiefs.
Elam, nevertheless, landed on his feet in Dallas. He is on track for a Week 1 starting role for the first time. While Shavon Revel rehabs the ACL tear that ended his college career, Elam will be expected to play often.
Many teams checked in with the Patriots on Milton, who impressed in a meaningless Week 18 win over 
Bills second-stringers. Three years remain on the cannon-armed Tennessee prospect’s rookie contract, and he will head into the season as Prescott’s lone active-roster backup.
While Will Grier is on the practice squad, Milton is the only Prescott backup on the 53-man roster. Prescott has missed significant time in three of the past four seasons. Milton’s belief he can be an NFL starter affected his place in New England, which is building around Drake Maye, and he did not seem to fit under new HC Mike Vrabel.
With prices rising elsewhere on the roster, the Cowboys have kept costs low at linebacker. Murray represents a bit of an exception, being tied to a two-year, $15.5MM deal the Titans authorized in March 2024. Like Elam, Murray has not justified his first-round draft slot. But the former Chargers draftee has been a starter for most of his career.
Murray followed Azeez Al-Shaair as a Titans tackles leader (95; eight for loss) to leave town weeks after the season. Murray, whom the Bolts benched at points, and 2024 third-rounder Marist Liufau are set to hold down the fort while DeMarvion Overshown rehabs another major knee injury.
Extensions and restructures:
Days after the Parsons trade, the Cowboys paid Bland. The fifth-round find has become more important in Dallas since Trevon Diggs‘ two significant knee injuries. Bland is no stranger to health issues himself, having suffered a foot fracture during 2024 training camp; that injury kept him out 10 games last year.
The Cowboys will nevertheless buy in, as Bland is vital to their 2025 plans — with Diggs coming off injury and Shavon Revel not yet recovered from his. Considering Elam’s Buffalo track record, Bland will be one of the Cowboys’ five most important players this season.
The Cowboys identified Bland as an extension candidate early in the offseason, but the Parsons final hours effectively paused other matters. Bland went from rookie-year slot corner to the 2023 Diggs boundary replacement following the latter’s ACL tear. Bland proceeded to post a record-setting five pick-sixes during a nine-INT season, giving the Cowboys two first-team All-Pros at corner. Neither staying healthy in 2024 certainly hurt a defense that cratered from fifth to 31st in scoring (and that was with Parsons playing 13 games).
Pro Football Focus graded Bland second among CBs in 2023 and 33rd in ’24. Bland, 26, has played the majority of his snaps outside over the past two seasons; he is expected to shift to a more versatile role this year. A Deommodore Lenoir-like role appears set for Bland, who repped extensively in the slot this offseason. Bland shifting inside in sub-packages appears the plan. That stands to help maximize a CB corps that will likely face tougher assignments due to Parsons’ departure.
The lack of a true WR2 helped keep Ferguson a central piece in Dallas’ passing attack. The fourth-year tight end totaled 71 catches for 761 yards and five touchdowns in 2023, earning Pro Bowl acclaim. Missing three games due to an MCL sprain last season, Ferguson spent much of his third year catching passes from Cooper Rush. This Cowboys extension, which comes three years after they could not agree on terms with franchise-tagged TE Dalton Schultz, represents clear faith Ferguson can return to his 2023 form alongside Prescott.
At $12.5MM per year, Ferguson checks in as the NFL’s eighth-highest-paid tight end. Dallas guaranteed its top TE’s 2026 base salary but would carry only $7.2MM in dead money by moving on in 2027, providing flexibility on a through-2029 contract. Though, a March 2027 guarantee of $7MM will require an earlier decision. Ferguson carries a pair of $9.5MM option bonuses (in 2028 and ’29); both do not need to be exercised until Week 1 of those years.
The Cowboys have been able to find Day 3 options at tight end, as Schultz and Blake Jarwin (whose extension did not pan out) showed. This extension entrenches Ferguson above 2023 second-rounder Luke Schoonmaker on the depth chart.
Re-signings:
- Osa Odighizuwa, DT. Four years, $80MM ($39MM guaranteed)
- Markquese Bell, S. Three years, $9MM ($6.2MM guaranteed)
- KaVontae Turpin, WR. Three years, $13.5MM ($5MM guaranteed)
- Bryan Anger, P. Two years, $6.4MM ($3.3MM guaranteed)
- Trent Sieg, LS. Three years, $4.45MM ($1.81MM guaranteed)
- C.J. Goodwin, DB. One year, $1.26MM
The Cowboys have used the franchise tag six times since 2018. Odighizuwa was poised to run that count to seven had he not agreed to terms before the early-March tag deadline. Odighizuwa, 27, marks yet another Cowboys draft hit. He joins Prescott, Lamb, Bland and Kenny Clark as $20MM-per-year players on this roster.
Only Zach Allen and Chris Jones posted more pressures among interior D-linemen than Odighizuwa’s 33 last season. Odighizuwa’s work only produced 4.5 sacks — the former third-rounder’s next five-sack season will be his first — but those rushes led to 23 QB hits. A four-year starter, Odighizuwa has registered 28 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks in total. How his rush lanes look without Parsons will be a subplot to follow in Dallas this season, but the team does have a formidable DT duo with Clark arriving.
Jerry Jones has professed run defense was paramount in making the Parsons trade. The swap came after Odighizuwa ranked 67th (per PFF) in run defense among interior D-linemen (Clark ranked 43rd). ESPN’s pass rush win rate metric, however, ranked Odighizuwa 12th last season. He will be asked to provide consistent pressure to help the team’s lower-wattage edge rush produce.
The clubhouse leaders in choosing the right talent from this era of spring-league football, the Cowboys added Turpin in 2022 and Brandon Aubrey in 2023. Turpin is a two-time Pro Bowler who landed on the All-Pro first team last season, posting both kick- and punt-return touchdowns. The Cowboys found two special teams gems from the USFL, and Turpin is now signed through 2028.
Listed at just 153 pounds, Turpin also served as a gadget player for Dallas on offense last year. The Cowboys upped his offensive snap count to 315 in 2024, and the 5-foot-9 playmaker totaled 512 scrimmage yards and two TDs. The team was prepared to use a $5.35MM second-round RFA tender had this extension not been agreed to. A future suspension could be in play, however, as a July arrest on weapons and marijuana charges ensued.
Free agency additions:
- Dante Fowler, DE. One year, $6MM ($5MM guaranteed)
- Robert Jones, G. One year, $3.75MM ($3MM guaranteed)
- Javonte Williams, RB. One year, $3MM ($2MM guaranteed)
- Payton Turner, DE. One year, $2.5MM ($2MM guaranteed)
- Miles Sanders, RB. One year, $1.34MM ($1.2MM guaranteed)
- Jack Sanborn, LB. One year, $1.5MM ($150K guaranteed)
- Perrion Winfrey, DT. Two years, $2.04MM
- James Houston, DE. One year, $1.09MM
- Saahdiq Charles, OL. Practice squad
- Robert Rochell, CB. Practice squad
Fowler’s primary coaches from his previous stint in Dallas — Dan Quinn, Aden Durde — are gone, and the Cowboys are shifting to Eberflus’ scheme. But Schottenheimer and Fowler did overlap in 2023. He fetched a raise after outproducing the Commanders’ higher-paid ex-Cowboy D-end (Dorance Armstrong).
Fowler led Washington with 10.5 sacks, turning his second-best season. Unlike his last campaign with double-digit sacks (with the 2019 Rams), no big-ticket offer awaited. Still, the former top-five pick now appears a more important piece in Dallas post-Parsons.
Having played behind Parsons, Armstrong and DeMarcus Lawrence during his first Dallas stint, Fowler was productive in a limited role. He logged just 30% and 25% snap rates, respectively, in 2022 and ’23 — as a post-Randy Gregory solution. Joining Quinn for a third time, Fowler played 52% of the Commanders’ defensive snaps last season. With Dallas’ current DE corps consisting of unknowns, the 31-year-old EDGE will likely be asked to play more than he did during his first stint.
Williams and Sanders’ form over the past two seasons has led fantasy sites to push fifth-rounder Jaydon Blue. The older RBs, though, look set to receive more work early.
Williams has not looked the same since his ACL and LCL tears in October 2022. An eye-catching runner as a rookie, the 2021 Broncos second-rounder could not reach 3.8 yards per carry in either of his post-surgery seasons. The bulldozing runner, 25, could not capitalize on run block win rate’s best O-line last 
season, leading the Broncos with a paltry 513 rushing yards. Williams is listed as Dallas’ Week 1 starter nonetheless.
Sanders, 28, bombed on his four-year, $25.4MM Panthers deal. Carolina cleaned house after Sanders’ first season there, and Chuba Hubbard quickly usurped the former Super Bowl LVII starter. A four-year Eagles starter who amassed 1,269 rushing yards in 2022, Sanders only logged 55 carries last season. The Cowboys have the Ezekiel Elliott dead money off their books, but despite Rico Dowdle (1,079 rushing yards) far outproducing Williams and Sanders last season and garnering only a $2.75MM Panthers pact, the Cowboys are starting over with another low-cost backfield.
Dallas showed preliminary interest in Dre Greenlaw and pursued E.J. Speed in free agency. The Kenneth Murray trade became the team’s top LB investment. Sanborn, however, will bring scheme familiarity after starting 19 games under Matt Eberflus in Chicago. The Bears nontendered Sanborn as an RFA in March, leading to this low-cost Eberflus reunion.
Notable losses:
- Brandin Cooks, WR
- Rico Dowdle, RB
- Chuma Edoga, T
- Chauncey Golston, DL
- Linval Joseph, DT
- Eric Kendricks, LB
- Trey Lance, QB
- DeMarcus Lawrence, DE
- Carl Lawson, DE
- Jourdan Lewis, CB
- Zack Martin, G (retired)
- Cooper Rush, QB
- Matt Waletzko, OL (waived/injured)
Two of the greatest guards in NFL history have come through Dallas, which drafted Martin several years after Larry Allen‘s time with the team ended. Martin may not have dominated like the all-time mauler did, but he finished his career as a more decorated player.
Martin’s seven first-team All-Pro nods match Hall of Famers John Hannah and Randall McDaniel for most in guard history. A two-time second-team All-Pro as well, Martin earned All-NFL acclaim all nine seasons he finished. He will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
While Parsons’ star power outflanks Martin’s, the stalwart guard is the most accomplished of the Cowboys’ modern parade of successful first-round picks. The 2014 first-rounder’s importance to the Cowboys prompted the team to give in during his 2023 holdout, which turned the final two seasons of a six-year, $84MM deal into fully guaranteed salaries. Martin, 34, played out a two-year, $36.85MM revised pact but did not finish the 2024 season due to injury.
Ankle surgery ended Martin’s run as the Cowboys’ right guard. The ex-Notre Dame tackle, famously drafted over Johnny Manziel ahead of Tony Romo‘s age-34 season, had started all 162 games he played. Martin helped Elliott and DeMarco Murray to rushing titles (and Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle to 1,000-yard years) while aiding Dak Prescott to going from fourth-round pick to impressive Romo successor.
The Cowboys have a replacement lined up, in first-rounder Tyler Booker, but they are losing one of the best players in franchise history. This offseason wrapped the Cowboys’ All-Decade-teamer-laden O-line’s run, with Tyron Smith retiring after a Jets one-off. Martin’s exit created more than $25MM in dead money thanks to void years. The team will absorb $16.4MM of that total in 2026.
Last year’s Dallas edition also played mostly without Lawrence, who suffered a Lisfranc injury in Week 4. Lawrence stuck around longer than DeMarcus Ware did in Dallas, lasting 11 years. The twice-franchise-tagged D-end made the effective transition from the Cowboys’ edge anchor to their top Parsons complementary piece. The back half of Lawrence’s Dallas run did not produce high sack numbers; his last seven-sack season came in 2018. But he was one of the game’s better all-around DEs.
Lawrence, 33, had hoped to re-sign with the Cowboys but ultimately never received an offer. He rejoined Aden Durde in Seattle, receiving a soft landing (three years, $35MM with $13MM guaranteed at signing) despite the major foot injury. The Cowboys also lost Lawrence’s primary replacement, as Golston joined a now-loaded Giants pass rush — thanks to the ensuing Abdul Carter addition.
On his way to becoming one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history, Lance did not turn things around in Dallas. Acquired for a fourth-round pick in 2023, the ex-49ers draftee attempted just 41 passes as a Cowboy.
Rush started over the former North Dakota State phenom following Prescott’s hamstring tear. After two stints with the Cowboys, the former UDFA find became Lamar Jackson‘s backup in Baltimore. Going 9-5 as a starter, Rush signed a two-year, $6.2MM deal. Lance is on a one-year, $2MM pact as the Chargers’ backup.
The Cowboys did not see Cooks closely remind of Amari Cooper, helping explain the George Pickens gamble. The fourth trade of Cooks’ career brought him from Houston to Dallas in March 2023, and after an eight-touchdown debut season, Cooks missed seven games due to injury last year.
Cooks’ absence did allow slow-developing third-rounder Jalen Tolbert to grow more comfortable. After a 610-yard 2024, Tolbert becomes an interesting contract-year piece. He would stand to be a more affordable Lamb complement compared to Pickens as a 2026 free agent. Cooks, 31, returned to the Saints on a two-year, $13MM deal.
Draft:
- Round 1, No. 12: Tyler Booker (G, Alabama) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 44: Donovan Ezeiruaku (DE, Boston College) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 76: Shavon Revel (CB, East Carolina) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 149: Jaydon Blue (RB, Texas) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 152 (from Cardinals): Shemar James (LB, Florida) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 204 (from Lions through Browns and Bills): Ajani Cornelius (G, Oregon) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 217 (from Titans through Patriots): Jay Toia (DT, UCLA) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 239 (from Packers through Titans): Phil Mafah (RB, Clemson) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 247 (from Chiefs through Panthers): Tommy Akingbesote (DT, Maryland) (signed)
Booker is O-lineman No. 6 drafted in the past 15 Cowboys first rounds. The team was closely connected to eyeing a wide receiver in Round 1, hosting the likes of Tetairoa McMillan and Emeka Egbuka. The team has done extraordinarily well with first-round O-linemen, however, turning Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin and Tyler Smith into All-Pros. With Tyler Guyton a work in progress, the Cowboys will hope Booker can be a quick study.
Swapping out Martin for Booker will leave four rookie-deal O-linemen in Dallas’ starting lineup, with only RT Terence Steele signed to a lucrative second contract. The Crimson Tide’s starting left guard for most of the past three years, Booker drew All-America acclaim last season. The Cowboys were planning to draft McMillan had the draft’s top receiver prospect been there at No. 12, but the Panthers had a high view of the Arizona alum and took him at 8.
Both the Dane Brugler and Daniel Jeremiah big boards pointed to Dallas landing a steal in Ezeiruaku, whom The Athletic and NFL.com offerings respectively ranked 22nd and 30th. The mid-second-rounder brings elite college production, after a Division I-FBS-leading 16.5-sack season came two years after an 8.5-sack sophomore slate.
With Parsons gone, Williams coming off an ACL tear and Kneeland more of a traits-fueled project (zero rookie-year sacks), the Cowboys may need Ezeiraku early. They have three second-round picks invested at D-end; it is paramount the team see quality returns here if the Parsons trade is to work.
Like Cooper Beebe last year, the Cowboys laid a clear path to playing time for their third-round pick. Revel was viewed as a likely first-rounder before his ACL tear; a freefall instead commenced. Revel, as his father warned this summer, was not going to be ready by Week 1. The Cowboys had hoped a September return could happen, but their reserve/NFI placement sidelines him for at least four games.
With Elam struggling throughout his Bills tenure, Dallas may need Revel to develop into a rookie-year regular to join Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland.
Other:
While the Cowboys have taken deserved heat for prolonging the Prescott (twice), Lamb and Parsons negotiations, they do have a history of locking up O-linemen early. Both Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick signed extensions not long after the team exercised their fifth-year options. Although it does not look like Tyler Smith will be extended by Dallas’ Thursday-night opener, a deal should still be expected before the 2026 season.
Manning both the LT and LG positions, Smith has settled at guard and become one of the NFL’s best. The Fort Worth native is now a two-time Pro Bowler who will be expected to anchor Dallas’ post-Martin front. The guard market has climbed past $23MM per year, thanks to Trey Smith‘s $23.5MM-AAV Chiefs extension. Tyler Smith, who is two years younger than Trey and holding a better resume, will be expected to come in north of that total.
This a clear candidate to be the NFL’s first $25MM-per-year guard, and Smith changed agents in preparation for these negotiations. A payroll devoid of a Parsons megadeal could accommodate such a contract more easily, even if the Cowboys still have the NFL’s highest-paid player and third-highest-paid WR (in Prescott and Lamb).
A big season awaits Diggs, who is on track to be ready after it appeared he would join Revel as a Cowboys CB starting the season late. Transitioned off the active/PUP list last week, Diggs has logged full practices ahead of the team’s Philadelphia trip. Diggs’ knee flared up during the 2024 season, after he had spent the year rehabbing an ACL tear. That invites questions about the former All-Pro’s long-term Dallas future.
The Cowboys can escape this five-year, $97MM extension fairly easily in 2026 by taking on less than $6MM in dead money in a release scenario. Bland’s payday points to the team being ready to move on. Still going into just an age-27 season, however, Diggs can still show he is a capable starter and either convince the Cowboys to keep him or create a nice post-cap-casualty free agent market. The aggressive corner will need to start that process by merely staying on the field, which he has been unable to do since signing his extension.
Overshown and Diggs each left December’s Cowboys-Bengals game with major injuries. The linebacker, who had rehabbed a 2023 ACL tear, is on Dallas’ reserve/PUP list and not expected to return for some time. While Guyton has joined Diggs in recovering in time for the team’s opener — as a three-Tyler O-line awaits NBC’s intro graphics — Overshown’s ACL, MCL and PCL tears have him set to wait longer. A midseason return appears the best-case scenario with Overshown, who had flashed in his first NFL action.
Top 10 cap charges for 2025:
- Dak Prescott, QB: $50.52MM
- Terence Steele, RT: $18.13MM
- CeeDee Lamb, WR: $15.33MM
- Trevon Diggs, CB: $12.09MM
- Donovan Wilson, S: $8.65MM
- Malik Hooker, S: $7.75MM
- Kenneth Murray, LB: $7.41MM
- Osa Odighizuwa, DT: $6.25MM
- Dante Fowler, DE: $6MM
- DaRon Bland, CB: $5.82MM
Jones is not going anywhere. Set to turn 83 this year, the omnipresent Cowboys czar has given no real consideration to stepping down as GM. It certainly can be argued the Cowboys would be better off had Jones done so years ago and only focused on the ownership component, his strength, while letting personnel men run the football side. That setup worked for the Cowboys during their modern-era apex. This offseason brought an important update to Jones’ GM run, as the Parsons trade dwarfed everything else the franchise did in 2025.
Of course, plenty will still be on Prescott — who is about to set a record for highest cap number in a season — to justify his $60MM-per-year contract. The oft-discussed passer is now 32 and has missed 24 games due to injury this decade. Drawing the NFC North (booking a Week 4 Parsons return trip) and AFC West, the Cowboys — who have 10 games against 2024 playoff qualifiers — will have a tough road this season.
Even as 2026 looks like the better bet for a potential Cowboys recovery from losing their top player, the NFL’s most-discussed team will remain in the spotlight. That will mean plenty of Jones assessments of his roster. While this season will be important, the 2026 draft now becomes a pivotal proving ground for the late-career decision-maker as he attempts to justify a potential legacy-altering trade.
By Sam Robinson |
at September 3, 2025 4:38 pm
Separating from Hendon Hooker after the former backup could not beat out Kyle Allen for the Lions’ backup job, the NFC power is still looking around at quarterback.
The two-time reigning NFC North champions brought in C.J. Beathard and Nathan Peterman for auditions Wednesday, per the Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers. With Hooker now on the Panthers’ practice squad, the Lions only have two QBs on the active roster and none on the practice squad heading into the season.
Teams almost always carry three passers into a season, with the increased flexibility for emergency third options helping clubs in this area. Jared Goff‘s durability would point to the Lions keeping only two (Goff and Allen) on their active roster, but a P-squad presence is probably needed at some point.
Despite woeful work early in his Bills run, Peterman has put together a lengthy career as a third-stringer or backup. The 31-year-old QB spent the full 2024 season on the Falcons’ practice squad, marking his eighth year in the NFL. Previously, Peterman enjoyed reserve opportunities with the Raiders and Bears. His most recent start — Week 18 of the 2022 season — helped the Bears secure the No. 1 overall pick in 2023.
The Jets worked out this duo together in mid-August, making for an interesting overlap. Beathard spent last season with the Dolphins and Jaguars, returning to Jacksonville after being signed off Miami’s practice squad. Beathard, 31, previously lost out on the Jags’ QB2 job to Mac Jones out of training camp last year. Like Peterman, he has not caught on with a team in 2025. Having made 13 career starts (to Peterman’s five), Beathard — a former third-round 49ers pick — is the far more experienced option.
The Bengals placed Patrick on IR today. That will keep the veteran interior O-lineman out until at least Week 6. The Bengals signed defensive tackle Mike Pennel from their practice squad to fill the empty roster spot.
A 12th-year veteran, Pennel joined the Bengals last week and played in Week 1 as a gameday elevation. Spending four of the past six seasons with the Chiefs, Pennel has now seen game action with six teams.
The Browns agreed to terms with the running back on a fully guaranteed rookie contract Saturday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Judkins is not expected to play this week but could see his debut come in Week 2, Rapoport adds. He will fly to Cleveland to sign his deal this afternoon, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who confirms the former Ohio State and Ole Miss back’s debut date is not yet known.
Rumors for over a year pointed Higgins to a 2025 exit — via either a tag-and-trade transaction or a free agency defection. But Burrow kept applying pressure on the team to keep his overqualified WR2 in place. Not 15 years removed from their previous star-level QB (Carson Palmer) growing frustrated with a thrifty roster-building approach, the Bengals gave in and enter the season with the NFL’s highest-paid receiver duo.
After not approaching $20MM AAV in 2023 negotiations, the Bengals signed Higgins at $28.75MM per year. While the Bengals kept the deal in line with their preference of no guaranteed salary after Year 1, the team did guarantee a $10MM 2026 roster bonus. Higgins, 26, also will be due a $5MM 2027 roster bonus. But the Bengals can escape this deal with just $7.5MM in dead money in 2027. Higgins will see his 2026 base salary ($10.9MM) become guaranteed on Day 5 of the 2026 league year, providing strong assurances he will be a Bengal for at least two more seasons.
By waiting, the Bengals saw the price rise. Chase submitted a triple-crown receiving season, dominating as Burrow returned after his 2023 wrist injury. The cap then spiked by another $24MM. With 2021 receiver draftees Amon-Ra St. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and Nico Collins being extended in 2024, Chase was a lock to come in much higher. And with wideouts and pass rushers suddenly competing to land the top non-QB contract, the Bengals saw their mission become a multifront fight. The Browns’ four-year, $160MM Myles Garrett extension, rather than Jefferson’s 2024 payday, ended up establishing the Chase floor.
Burrow also lobbied the Bengals to extend Hendrickson, doing so at multiple points in 2025. That proved a more complicated situation compared the receiver contracts. On-and-off extension rumors circulated, with intermittent trade buzz factoring into this process. But the Bengals never appeared willing to break with their precedent on future guarantees for a 30-year-old defensive end.
Despite the Steelers guaranteeing T.J. Watt $108MM at signing on just a three-year extension, Hendrickson (who is two months younger) could not secure a comparable offer. The Bengals’ second round of trade talks did not appear to produce anything close to a swap. As was the case in the spring, teams viewed Cincy’s trade ask as unrealistic. This left Hendrickson in a bind. Rather than miss regular-season games in protest — as he had threatened to do — he took the team’s late-emerging raise offer. That will at least pause this drama.
In lower-profile Bengals extension business, Karras agreed to a one-year deal for a second straight offseason. The veteran center’s one-year, $6MM bump from 2024 had him under contract for this season; his $5MM agreement will extend the partnership through 2026. The Bengals have separated from the other two free agency additions brought in after the 2021 Burrow sack avalanche, cutting La’el Collins in September 2023 and Alex Cappa in March 2025. Karras, 32, has endured.
Risner, 30, appeared on Cincy’s radar in April and took an August visit. He did not sign until after the preseason slate. This will apply pressure on Patrick, 32, after beating out Ford for the job. Patrick started 10 Saints games last season, ranking as PFF’s No. 37 guard. He played mostly center in two prior seasons (in Chicago). Risner at least gives the Bengals another option in case Patrick falters; the team will need a patchwork solution while hoping Fairchild can be a long-term answer.
Denver also re-upped Jonathon Cooper and D.J. Jones in this span. This spending spree naturally will leave some on the outside looking in. John Franklin-Myers expects to be one of those who miss out, with the Denver Post’s Luca Evans reporting no extension is likely. Franklin-Myers, then, will be on track to hit free agency in 2026. No talks had taken place as of late August.
The team was already going to keep Greenlaw on a pitch count to start the year, due to his recent Achilles trouble, but the Broncos’ LB depth will again be tested. Justin Strnad, who replaced Alex Singleton last season, will be the likely next man up. Singleton has returned from the ACL tear he sustained in Week 3 last season.
The longtime Titans starter is signing a three-year, $48.6MM accord — one that comes with $29MM guaranteed in total. Hooker was set to enter the final season of his previous deal (three years, $30MM). This will mark a significant raise for a player extended two GMs ago. The Titans have since announced the extension.
Washington has been unable to find a viable McLaurin sidekick, striking out in free agency and on first-round pick Jahan Dotson. McLaurin, however, continued to produce regardless of the overmatched quarterbacks the franchise trotted out from 2019-23. Regardless of the value displayed during his career, McLaurin ran into some obstacles with Adam Peters embroiled in his first major extension talks as GM.
In the Amari Cooper boat as a perennial 1,000-yard receiver but one never especially close to the league lead, McLaurin carries a bit more of an alibi due to the likes of Taylor Heinicke, Dwayne Haskins and Sam Howell being his primary passers. With Case Keenum and Carson Wentz sprinkled in, McLaurin doing enough to assemble a five-season streak of that sort is impressive. And Metcalf was less consistent despite having better QB play in Seattle. Still, this Commanders regime held McLaurin’s age against him.
ahead of a possible 2026 franchise tag — was in play.
The Commanders’ tackle equation changed significantly this offseason, leading Wylie and primary 2024 left guard starter Nick Allegretti to the bench (once Cosmi recovers). Step one in that process involved another Tunsil trade. The Texans had extended Tunsil twice during his six-season stay but were not ready to discuss a third contract. Nearly six years after Houston gave up two first-round picks in a megadeal with Miami, Tunsil still fetched four draft choices to change teams.
Tunsil has played at least 14 games in eight of his nine seasons, only missing significant time during a woeful 2021 Texans season. He suited up for every Houston contest last year, ranking 10th among tackles in pass block win rate. Pro Football Focus viewed Tunsil as a top-20 tackle in each of his past two seasons. He will provide the Commanders with a considerable upgrade from Coleman and Cornelius Lucas.
Still a valuable piece in Brock Purdy‘s four-All-Pro skill-position fleet, Samuel had a productive year in 2023 (892 receiving yards, 225 rushing yards, 12 total TDs). And he has only missed three games due to injury over the past two seasons. In 2024, however, Samuel only totaled 670 receiving yards and saw his yards per carry — a stat pretty much applicable to only one active NFL wideout — drop from 6.1 in 2023 to 3.2 in ’24.
Prioritizing interior protection for Mahomes during a 2021 offseason that saw the arrivals of Thuney, Humphrey and Smith, the Chiefs have now reset the guard market twice in the past five offseasons. They gave Thuney a five-year, $80MM deal in March 2021; the cap having spiked by $97MM since made Smith’s market more lucrative. He ended up becoming the first guard to exceed $21MM per year and did so by a healthy margin. Smith, 26, enters this season with a $23.5MM AAV.
Pro Football Focus has graded Smith as a top-15 guard in each of his four seasons, while ESPN ranked him sixth among interior blockers in run block win rate last year and fourth in pass block win rate in 2024. Blood clots in Smith’s lungs caused his draft stock to crater in 2021, but the Chiefs hit big on the No. 226 overall pick that year.
Because Karlaftis has not hovered especially close to the best at his position, the Chiefs completed a rare middle-class extension with a player paid early. Karlaftis became the third Chiefs player in the fifth-year option era to sign an extension in the same offseason his option was exercised, joining Mahomes (2020) and Eric Fisher (2016). Despite the EDGE market exploding this offseason, it took a deal that ended up less than halfway to Micah Parsons‘ record-setter ($46.5MM per year) to lock in Karlaftis through 2030.
While the team created considerable cap space by going back to the restructure well with Mahomes’ contract (and using the same tactic with Jones’ new deal), it needed to offload Thuney’s contract. Carrying one remaining season (at $15.5MM), Thuney’s pact worked out well for the Chiefs. The former Patriots third-rounder became an All-Pro mainstay, landing there in 2023 and ’24 to help the Chiefs to Super Bowls. Thuney had also produced a second-team All-Pro season to boost Kansas City to the Super Bowl LVII title a year prior.
Moore did not pan out as a second-round pick, being demoted during a 2023 season that brought a Mahomes-era-worst six regular-season losses. The Chiefs saw their receiving corps improve after moving Moore and Kadarius Toney out of the rotation. Toney was out by Week 1 of the 2024 season, and Moore never regained a regular role.
PFR’s No. 10 free agent, Bolton saw the Thuney trade and Mahomes/Jones reworks clear a path for him to stay in Missouri. The Chiefs extended their top linebacker an offer that kept him out of free agency, agreeing to terms the day before the legal tampering window opened. Bolton, 25, arrived in the same draft that produced Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. This contract set the market for the Jets and Jamien Sherwood, but Bolton approached the free agency doorstep with a much better resume.
Prescott did not play particularly well before his season-ending hamstring injury, but McCarthy became the extraordinarily rare leader to coach out a contract. As McCarthy’s assistants — including Schottenheimer — awaited the boss’ fate, the Cowboys waited while the rest of the league had begun coaching searches. McCarthy, 62, was out after two seasons as a play-calling HC (and three prior years as a non-play-caller). The sides discussed a new contract, with term length an issue during the brief talks, but McCarthy moved on and ultimately decided to bow out of the Saints’ HC search. What happened next proved quite surprising.
Although conversations with Deion Sanders and Pete Carroll commenced, the Cowboys conducted official interviews with Robert Saleh, Leslie Frazier and Schottenheimer’s OC predecessor (Kellen Moore). It appeared the one-and-done Eagles OC was the early favorite, but he ended up in New Orleans after Super Bowl LIX. An hours-long Schottenheimer meeting changed the course of the Cowboys’ talks. Not long after, a Friday-night hire took place.
was informed Cowboys ownership wanted him to at least stay on as OC. The Cowboys had retained Moore this way while looking to replace Garrett in 2020. After what-ifs involving Dolphins and Bills HC positions more than a decade ago, Schottenheimer became one of the unlikeliest HC hires in recent NFL history.
Like Schottenheimer, the Cowboys were his only option for upward mobility. The Cowboys will have Dorsey, the recent Bills and Browns OC, providing input to the less experienced NFL staffer.
Parsons’ camp was believed to have issues with that long of a contract, as the 2020s salary cap spikes make long-term deals ill-advised, but Jones launched a bizarre crusade to go around David Mulugheta to hammer out what was a five-year proposal averaging $40.5MM per. With Parsons not deeming his agreement on deal parameters as official (as players with agents use them to finalize their contracts), this negotiation broke stride with past eras of Cowboys contract talks.
Parsons, who had not held out from minicamp or training camp, had long aimed to sign a Cowboys extension. Days after Jones’ comments, however, Schottenheimer needed to address his sideline actions during the team’s preseason finale in a meeting with the disgruntled player.
Moving Parsons before the draft or even before free agency would have presumably brought a better return, with more clubs having cap space and needs to pull off the kind of megadeal (four years, $186MM, $120MM fully guaranteed) the 26-year-old defender received. While the coaching staff was said to have been unanimously onboard with moving on, leaks involving dissenting opinions could certainly come out down the road — especially if Parsons stays on his current career path.
It seemed the Cowboys were loading up around their Prescott-Lamb-Parsons trio in May, when they acquired Pickens’ rookie contract from the Steelers. The team had searched for a promising Lamb sidekick since trading Amari Cooper in March 2022, and after looking into a Cooper reunion and gauging the Cooper Kupp and Rashod Bateman markets, the Cowboys landed Pickens in a package headlined by a third-rounder.
The two-time reigning NFC North champions brought in C.J. Beathard and Nathan Peterman for auditions Wednesday, per the Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers. With Hooker now on the Panthers’ practice squad, the Lions only have two QBs on the active roster and none on the practice squad heading into the season.