Steelers To Waive CB Darius Slay
The rare modern cornerback to play an age-34 season, Darius Slay will see his time with the Steelers end earlier than expected. Pittsburgh is moving on from the veteran defender.
This is being described as a mutual parting, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Pittsburgh will sign fellow corner Asante Samuel Jr. from the practice squad to fill Slay’s roster spot. Slay was a healthy scratch for the Steelers’ Week 13 game against the Bills, foreshadowing this decision.
Slay is interested in continuing his career, but he will need to wait a bit before being allowed to pick his next destination. Although Slay is on a one-year, $10MM deal, the two-time Super Bowl starter’s base salary is the veteran minimum (for his service time) at $1.26MM. That would not put a waiver claim off the table for a corner-needy club. If Slay is unclaimed by 3pm CT on Wednesday, he will head back to free agency.
The NFL’s oldest active corner, Slay had viewed this as most likely his final season. The 13th-year cover man reunited with ex-Lions DC Teryl Austin in Pittsburgh and started nine games. Pro Football Focus viewed Slay on the fringes of the middle class at the position, slotting him 71st out of 110 qualified options.
Slay has certainly played much better, as he enjoyed a quality prime. As evidenced from a free agency deal requiring $10MM, Slay generated interest when the Eagles cut him this offseason. It would not shock if he landed elsewhere to close one of the better CB careers in this era.
As we discussed in a Trade Rumors Front Office piece this offseason, the Steelers have not been shy about deploying aging corners. They traded for Jalen Ramsey this offseason, doing so two years after being Patrick Peterson‘s last stop; the future Hall of Famer played an age-33 season in Pittsburgh. The Mike Tomlin tenure has also seen Joe Haden, William Gay and Ike Taylor play into their 30s. With the Steelers residing at a crossroads following a one-sided loss to the Bills — a game that brought steady boos and calls for Tomlin’s ouster — they are shaking up their secondary.
The Steelers have experimented with Ramsey at safety, but Slay has continued to work in the boundary corner position — one that brought him considerable success since being a 2013 Lions draftee. Slay logged 422 outside CB snaps during a 10-game Steelers stint. The six-time Pro Bowler broke up three passes and did not log an interception. Slay did allow a 75% completion rate and a 108.0 passer rating as the closest defender. While he is charged with only one touchdown allowed as a Steeler, his performance fell short of expectations ahead of the healthy scratch.
Tuesday’s transaction also blocks other teams from making sales pitches to Samuel, who could have been poached from Pittsburgh’s practice squad. Added after an extensive visit tour last month, Samuel debuted for the Steelers — as a practice squad elevation — in Week 13. He played 28 defensive snaps in a backup role.
With teams seeing Samuel healthy, interest may well have come after he reverted back to the practice squad. But the 26-year-old CB is now on the 53-man roster, ending such speculation. The team will hope the four-year Chargers starter, whose free agency stalled because of neck surgery, can help out a pass defense ranking 28th.
Micah Parsons’ Packers Extension Paused Aidan Hutchinson’s Lions Talks
The anticipated sea change on the edge rusher market did not disappoint. With a host of Hall of Fame-caliber players receiving new deals in the same offseason, the position’s salary ceiling climbed by more than $12MM in AAV between March and August. The final domino did not fall until late October, but it will influence how future contract-seeking edge players proceed.
Although Aidan Hutchinson‘s Lions extension did not eclipse Micah Parsons‘ Packers pact, it came close. The Lions gave their ace pass rusher a four-year, $180MM deal, checking in just south of Parsons’ four-year, $186MM Green Bay accord. The Lions and Hutchinson had been in talks off and on since before Maxx Crosby began the offseason fireworks in March. In that time, the EDGE ceiling rose from $34MM per year (Nick Bosa) to $46.5MM. The sides began talks at the Combine.
Green Bay’s late-August Parsons blockbuster raised the market by nearly $6MM per year, topping where the Steelers went for T.J. Watt ($41MM AAV) in July. While Detroit has shown a willingness during the Brad Holmes GM era to extend standout players in-season — as the Alim McNeill deal showed last year — the team and Hutchinson’s camp may have completed their deal by Week 1 were it not for the Packers’ process. The Cowboys-Packers trade slowed the Lions’ negotiations, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler and Eric Woodyard.
“[The contract] would’ve probably been done earlier, but with the Micah thing,” Aidan’s father, Chris, said via ESPN. “Nobody could predict that, so that threw a wrench into it. So then everybody had to, as the expression goes, ‘get used to the new price of gas’ as he reset the whole market, so everybody had to take a step back, and it just took a while.”
As of early August, the Lions and Hutchinson had not engaged in serious talks. The Parsons contract was finalized August 28, but we heard shortly after that trade/extension came together that the Lions would need more time. Unsurprisingly, the new EDGE going rate stalled the talks.
Turning 25 shortly before the Parsons extension, Hutchinson is more than a year younger. He could have pushed the Lions to move the bar closer to $50MM per year, and the Lions could have waited after having exercised a fifth-year option on the Michigan alum in April. A delay into 2026, however, would likely have cost more.
Another cap rise coupled with Hutchinson perhaps ready to tack an All-Pro season onto his resume — after successfully returning from a broken leg — would have positioned the fourth-year player to pounce. The Texans, who reset the cornerback market early this past offseason via Derek Stingley Jr.‘s deal (agreed to in March), also could have impacted the process by using the same timeline with the fast-rising Will Anderson Jr. — which is believed to be a goal.
Ultimately, Hutchinson did not choose to drag his negotiations out further and delay an assured windfall. His extension is much closer to where Parsons resides than the Watt-Myles Garrett tier. Parsons also had the leverage of negotiating with multiple teams due to his Cowboys relationship deteriorating into the NFC East team shopping him.
The Lions held Hutchinson’s negotiating rights until March 2027, and they certainly would have been prepared to unholster the franchise tag at that point had matters really stalled. But Detroit has been able to lock down its cornerstone cogs acquired during the Holmes-Dan Campbell era. Hutchinson followed McNeill, Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jared Goff, Kerby Joseph and Jameson Williams in signing an extension north of $20MM per year.
“There’s a lot of factors that went into it, but ultimately, I know I wanted to be in Detroit and that was the goal,” Hutchinson told ESPN. “Obviously, as a player, you have a responsibility when you’re in the echelon of players that I’m in to continue to push the market up, but was it at the expense of continuing to draw this process out and try to get an extra $1 or $2 [million] or get above Micah or whatever it was.”
After leading the Lions in sacks despite finishing just four games last season, Hutchinson has 8.5 sacks and 24 QB hits this year. He is not on the stratospheric pace of 2024, but the Lions employ one of the NFL’s best players. Acquiring a better No. 2 edge rusher — a need for a while now — should only boost Hutchinson.
As they did with Sewell and St. Brown, the Lions kept the full guarantee low but included guarantee mechanisms that will trigger early payouts. Hutchinson received “only” $55.72MM at signing, trailing Parsons ($120MM) by a staggering margin. But a 2027 option bonus worth $28.29MM will vest by Day 3 of the 2026 league year. The same structure is in place for 2028, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who adds most of Hutchinson’s 2029 money will vest a year early as well. He will see $29MM of his $35.43MM 2029 compensation guarantee on Day 3 of the 2028 league year, per Florio, who adds the remaining $6.43MM will lock in on Day 3 of the ’29 league year.
The early triggers were a priority for Hutchinson, per Fowler and Woodyard, who add the Lions structured the deal to have cash payouts lower in 2027 and ’28 — when the team is high on extension dollars — compared to 2029 and ’30. Hutchinson’s 2030 money is nonguaranteed, but this deal does not include a lofty final-year number to inflate the value. The Lions also built in five void years to delay cap surges. The contract does not produce a cap number beyond $21.7MM until 2029, when it inflates to $53.9MM.
Lack Of Momentum Behind Offensive Candidates Could Shape 2026 HC Carousel
The NFL's upcoming coaching carousel lacks a Ben Johnson- or Mike Vrabel-level presence. Barely a month out, no slam dunks look to be heading to the upcoming market. The makeup of said market also figures to create some complicated decisions among ownership and, in certain situations, within front offices.
A breakdown of the NFL's offensive coordinator list does not reveal a candidate on Johnson's level or even where Shane Steichen was as a 2023 HC aspirant. Flaws and negative stock fluctuations abound among this year's OC ranks. Some of the coordinators for successful teams are unrealistic candidates, and the some of the NFL's top-shelf quarterbacks are tied to play-callers whose value has not climbed since rides on the 2025 HC carousel.
Hiring an offensive-oriented coach represents the most logical path to sustained success. A glance at recent Super Bowls highlights this path. That team's quarterback, in most cases, will not lose his play-caller if an offense-based candidate is hired. That creates vital stability. QB success has provided teams a playoff fast-pass for ages, while defense carries more volatility. Having your HC be the offensive play-caller is not a must-have, as the Eagles have shown by advancing to Super Bowls with two different OCs under CEO leader Nick Sirianni. Then again, this Eagles period also show the value of a long-running play-caller.
The performances of Kevin Patullo and Brian Johnson have underwhelmed, with the former (Jalen Hurts' fifth play-caller as a pro) commanding a cascade of boos in Philadelphia's Black Friday loss to Chicago. The value Ben Johnson has brought the Bears reinforces how a proven play-caller with leadership chops can change a franchise's direction.
Pro Football Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat: 11/28/25
Pro Football Rumors' Sam Robinson will be holding a live chat at 1pm Central today, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers!
Rams Claim CB Derion Kendrick; WR Tutu Atwell, CB Ahkello Witherspoon In IR-Return Window
NOVEMBER 27: Witherspoon clarified (via Henderson’s colleague Sarah Barshop) his injury was actually a broken scapula, rather than a clavicle. That has allowed for his rehab process to move quicker than anticipated.
NOVEMBER 26: Derion Kendrick is heading back to Los Angeles. After the Seahawks waived the cornerback Tuesday, the Rams made a successful claim to reacquire him.
Additionally, the NFC West-leading team has two players in the IR-return window. The Rams, who have not used any of their eight allotted injury activations this season, designated wideout Tutu Atwell and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon for return Wednesday. In a corresponding move, however, corner Roger McCreary is now on IR. Los Angeles also signed tight end Nick Vannett from its practice squad.
[RELATED: Injured Reserve Return Tracker]
The Seahawks hoped to circle back to Kendrick via a practice squad spot, per ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson, but this waiver claim will scuttle that. Kendrick played in 10 games as a Seattle reserve this season, intercepting two passes. But the team reduced his playing time and cut the fourth-year player following a mistake on the Titans’ punt-return touchdown in Week 12.
Kendrick has now been cut and claimed twice apiece by NFC West teams this year. The Rams waived him upon setting their initial 53-man roster in August, leading to a Seahawks claim. He now returns to L.A., which has seen cornerback present some health concerns this season.
McCreary heads to IR a month after being acquired from the Titans via trade. The fourth-year cover man must miss at least four games. Witherspoon has missed the past nine Rams contests, dealing with a broken clavicle. Sean McVay, however, expressed optimism Witherspoon and Atwell would return to practice this week.
A sixth-round Rams draftee in 2022, Kendrick started 18 games for the team from 2022-23. He played 76% of the Rams’ 2023 defensive snaps, helping the team back to the playoffs, but suffered an ACL tear before the 2024 season. Kendrick logged a mere 18% snap rate with Seattle this season. The Rams did not make a notable CB move this offseason, seeing a much-rumored Jalen Ramsey return not come to fruition. They did obtain McCreary at the deadline but will now need to make some adjustments after the ex-Titan slot cog suffered a hip injury Sunday.
McCreary has not made an impact as a Ram, seeing all of one defensive snap in four games. The Rams have used Emmanuel Forbes and Cobie Durant as their primary CBs this season, with Darious Williams and Josh Wallace mixing in. Witherspoon started in the two games he played this season, and the 30-year-old defender made 22 starts from 2023-24 with L.A. Witherspoon represents an experienced piece the Rams could redeploy soon, as they make a push for their first No. 1 seed since the Kurt Warner-led 2001 squad went 14-2 en route to Super Bowl XXXVI.
The Rams re-signed Atwell on a one-year, $10MM contract this offseason; he went down with a hamstring injury in October. Atwell has not played since Week 6.
The diminutive wideout has an eye-popping stat line this season, catching four passes but totaling 164 yards on those plays. An 88-yard TD keyed this explosive start. After a 562-yard 2024, Atwell stands to contribute again as a tertiary target alongside Puka Nacua and Davante Adams down the stretch. Atwell still sits third among Rams WRs in yardage, and with Tyler Higbee on IR, the team could use auxiliary help in a hotly contested NFC West race.
C Frank Ragnow To Unretire, Rejoin Lions
An injury-stricken Lions offensive line will receive a surprise boost. Frank Ragnow is set to come out of retirement, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport confirms.
The former Pro Bowl center retired after the 2024 season, one that featured him play through a significant injury. With the Lions down multiple pieces up front, an impact player is coming back. This week marked the deadline for players on a reserve/retired list to be activated to play this season, ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes. That deadline, which loomed today for the Lions due to their Thanksgiving matchup, has proven to be rather important for this year’s Detroit edition.
Playing without guard starter Christian Mahogany (who is on IR), the Lions have seen Ragnow successor Graham Glasgow miss practice this week with a knee injury. Glasgow has been ruled out for Thursday. Glasgow, who has logged extensive time at center and guard throughout his career in Detroit and Denver, could be an option to fill in for Mahogany at guard once Ragnow returns. The Lions, also are unlikely to see left tackle Taylor Decker at full strength this season, would certainly benefit from Ragnow returning to action. Although the seven-year starter had been retired, he is only 29.
When asked about this situation earlier this month, Dan Campbell had said the ship had sailed. But the fifth-year HC, who is back in a play-calling role, will have a chance to oversee Ragnow again. Ragnow had been one of the NFL’s best centers at the time of retirement. He walked away in June, making a surprise announcement. The Lions retained his rights, as the former first-rounder’s extension ran through the 2026 season. It will certainly be worth monitoring if Ragnow views this as a one-off or if he would be interested in sticking around beyond 2025.
As for Ragnow’s current readiness, Rapoport indicates the accomplished blocker should be able to return to action “sooner, rather than later.” Ragnow is obviously not coming back for the Lions’ Thanksgiving game against the Packers, and Schefter pours cold water on a return next Thursday against the Cowboys. A Week 15 debut (against the Rams) is believed to be in play, however. This timetable is encouraging for a Lions team that had the luxury of top-level center play for an extended period.
Ragnow earned second-team All-Pro acclaim three times from 2020-24. With Jason Kelce gobbling up first-team All-Pro nods as he built a rock-solid Hall of Fame case, second-team All-Pro distinctions became the de facto ceiling for others at the position. And Ragnow played hurt en route to the second-team honor behind Creed Humphrey in 2024. Although Brandon Graham and Darren Waller have unretired this season, Ragnow represents — at this stage of his career — a higher-quality player returning. This could make a considerable difference for a Lions team in a heated NFC North battle.
Ragnow received his most recent All-Pro nod despite suffering a torn pectoral muscle early in the 2024 season. The 2018 first-round pick anchored a dominant Lions offensive line, joining Decker and Penei Sewell as pillars for a team that motored to 15-2 behind its offense.
Detroit lost dependable guard Kevin Zeitler in the offseason, replacing him with second-round pick Tate Ratledge. But Ragnow’s mid-offseason retirement brought Glasgow back to center — where he last played in 2022. The return has not gone smoothly; Pro Football Focus ranks him 28th at the position. Replacement LG Kayode Awosika has also been a slight step back from Mahogany, prompting PFF to rank the Lions’ O-line — one of the NFL’s best position groups in 2024 — 10th ahead of Week 13.
The Lions extended Ragnow on a four-year, $54MM deal — at the time, this was the NFL’s top center pact — during Campbell and GM Brad Holmes‘ first year (2021). That proved a timely signing for Ragnow, who suffered a season-ending injury early in 2021. His return helped catalyze the Campbell mission, as the Lions stormed to 9-8 after a 1-6 start. They then finished 13-4 in 2023 and steamrolled to the NFC’s No. 1 seed last season. Defensive injuries did in Detroit, which lost Ben Johnson to Chicago. Campbell yanking the play sheet from replacement John Morton was obviously not a good sign for the OC, and the Lions sit 7-4 — third in the NFC North — ahead of a crucial Packers tilt.
Following the Cowboys contest, the Lions close the season with games against the Rams, Steelers, Vikings and Bears. Ragnow being available for the final four games would stand to be a key variable in the NFC playoff race.
Tom Brady Strongly Influenced Raiders’ Chip Kelly Hire; Latest On Pete Carroll
The Raiders have somehow regressed despite moving from the Gardner Minshew/Aidan O’Connell quarterback situation to Geno Smith, with the Antonio Pierce-to-Pete Carroll transition also failing to move the needle in the win column. One domino has already fallen in Las Vegas, as Chip Kelly is out as OC. More may well be positioned to topple soon.
Kelly had loomed as a Raiders OC target for two offseasons, being hired shortly after the team installed Carroll as HC. Minority owner Tom Brady is believed to have wielded strong influence in the Kelly hire, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. This is unsurprising given how much power Brady is believed to have in Vegas, and Russini adds Mark Davis‘ preferred football czar is frustrated with the team’s overall performance.
Brady’s frustration likely contributed to the team’s decision to fire Kelly. It has now been three straight years of a Raiders OC being dismissed in-season. The team canned Mick Lombardi shortly after firing Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler in 2023, and Pierce booted Luke Getsy midway through the 2024 campaign. With Smith taking 10 sacks in an abysmal loss to the Browns, the Raiders acted early yet again. Kelly, who became the NFL’s highest-paid coordinator (at $6MM per year), is an NFL one-and-done once again. His most recent NFL post, as 49ers HC in 2016, ended after one year.
The Raiders firing Kelly now strips Carroll from having the chance to make this move in the offseason. Such an effort occurring then would have given the veteran leader a chance to frame that move as a way to convince Brady, Davis and GM John Spytek positive 2026 change would take place. With the firing coming in November, will Carroll have a chance to return as HC in 2026?
Some around the NFL are wondering if Carroll will join Kelly as a Raiders one-and-done, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. The oldest HC in NFL history, the 74-year-old sideline staple has not come especially close to being the floor-raising presence expected in Vegas.
The Raiders made a stark pivot to Carroll after losing out on Ben Johnson, a coach Brady aggressively pursued this offseason (though, the team was not believed to have made an offer to the now-Bears HC). The team is 2-9 and ranks 31st in scoring offense (a unit that ranks 32nd in EPA per play). While EPA slots Patrick Graham‘s defense 20th, the Raiders have lost six games by double figures and have only beaten the one-win Titans since what looks to be a fluky Week 1 triumph in New England.
Carroll, who also fired special teams coordinator Tom McMahon this month, is on a three-year contract that carries an option for a fourth season. Most HC deals cover five or six years, but Carroll’s age undoubtedly factored into the Raiders’ thinking upon designing this deal. No clear succession plan appeared to exist, and with the Raiders at two wins by Thanksgiving, it would shock if Carroll’s replacement was on staff.
Carroll also holds considerably less power than he did in Seattle, with Brady and Spytek heavily involved. Carroll held final roster say with the Seahawks; the 2024 Seattle change was partially structured around John Schneider receiving a chance to fully steer the ship. Brady is highly unlikely to be going anywhere, so the all-time QB great’s fingerprints figure to be on the coaching situation. Carroll, who sat out the 2024 season but became intrigued with the Raiders once Brady was approved as a part-owner, may well be coaching for his job down the stretch this season.
Bengals Activate Joe Burrow From IR
Joe Burrow will indeed return before December. Despite the Bengals’ swoon, they are activating their star quarterback from IR, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport confirms.
This moves Burrow in place to face the Ravens in what looms as a crucial divisional tilt — though, the game is not exactly pivotal for the Bengals at this point. While Baltimore and Pittsburgh are vying for the AFC North crown, Cincinnati has fallen to 3-8. Burrow’s latest injury, along with another woeful defensive effort, has buried the Bengals. With Cincy poised to miss the playoffs for a third straight season, questions about whether Burrow should return from his turf toe malady are valid. But he is coming back anyway.
Burrow returned to practice November 10, and while Week 14 initially loomed as his most likely return date, the Bengals have seen enough from their centerpiece player to pull the trigger without waiting for a post-Thanksgiving mini-bye. Considering Burrow’s extensive injury history and Cincinnati’s place in the AFC standings, this is a strange decision. But such a move clearly points to team and player being comfortable with this return.
The Bengals have lost four straight since their Joe Flacco-guided upset win over the Steelers. Pittsburgh prevailed in the rematch, with Cincy losses to Chicago, New England and the Jets also commencing. For all intents and purposes, the Bengals are out of the playoff race. Yet, they will redeploy probably the most important player in franchise history with six games remaining.
Seeing his rookie season marred by an ACL tear and his 2023 campaign end early due to wrist surgery, Burrow has already undergone a toe procedure after going down in Week 2 of this season. While it would seem risky for all parties to reinstall Burrow with little at stake now, a recent report indicated the team would proceed in this direction regardless of record.
Joining Chad Pennington as a two-time Comeback Player of the Year, Burrow delivered standout seasons in each of his three healthy NFL slates. He powered the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI upon returning from the ACL tear and then nearly piloted a title defense in 2022. Last season, Burrow put up MVP-caliber numbers — only to see the Bengals’ defensive struggles render that showing moot. The Bengals have Burrow signed through the 2029 season, but they have already seen their QB wield tremendous influence in the building. Burrow’s push to see Tee Higgins extended succeeded, and it will be interesting to learn if the sixth-year passer aggressively lobbied to return to action rather than being shut down.
This season is all but certain to mark a rare occurrence of a superstar quarterback missing the playoffs in three straight seasons. Though, Burrow’s play has little to do with Cincy’s struggles since the 2022 AFC championship game. This is also Burrow’s final season in his 20s; the 2020 No. 1 overall pick will turn 30 late in the 2026 season.
Burrow having missed 22 games due to injury as a pro, along with battling some summer attendance issues for health reasons, has made him an unreliable NFL great. The end of this season could at least provide some positive momentum for the standout passer, though it would also not surprise to see the Bengals reassess this situation if more losses ensued.
The former Heisman winner led the NFL with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns last season. The Bengals finished 9-8 despite All-Pro seasons from Ja’Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson. A 25th-ranked defense — which keyed Lou Anarumo‘s firing — held Burrow back; the Bengals’ first Al Golden-led defense ranks 32nd. Chase will return from his one-game suspension, but Higgins will miss Week 13 due to a concussion. Not practicing again this week, Hendrickson has not played since October because of a hip injury.
For the time being at least, this will both end Flacco’s stay atop Cincinnati’s QB depth chart and inject an interesting wild card into the AFC playoff proceedings. Flacco has played fairly well since being acquired via trade, but the team’s plan of obtaining Flacco to keep its playoff hopes afloat failed. The team is 1-5 in Flacco starts. The Bengals are done with their Steelers matchups but still face the Ravens twice. They also match up with the Bills next week. Burrow certainly will give the struggling team a better chance of pulling off upsets in those games, but the Pro Bowler’s health will be the key element in this equation from a Bengals perspective.
Momentum Building For Mike McDaniel To Remain Dolphins’ HC?
Viewed as a lame duck as the Dolphins cleaned house in the front office midway through this season, Mike McDaniel has responded by winning three games since the Chris Grier separation. The Dolphins are not exactly topping “In the Hunt” graphics at 4-7, but they have played better over the past month.
McDaniel led the team to back-to-back playoff berths — the first such instance for Miami since its 1997-2001 string of postseason qualifications — to open his tenure and went 8-9 despite Tua Tagovailoa‘s six missed games in 2024. As rumors about instability within the Dolphins’ organization swirled this offseason and into the campaign, McDaniel still entered the season on the hot seat. While the fourth-year HC’s seat should still be considered warm, momentum may be building toward the team retaining him.
Stephen Ross still believes in McDaniel and wants to see him succeed, according to ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano, who adds the Miami sideline leader staying in place through 2026 is in play. This would make for an interesting dynamic, as the Dolphins will need a new GM after separating from Grier. But McDaniel’s success coaxing solid play from Tagovailoa, for the most part, will work in his favor — especially if Miami is to continue winning down the stretch.
I mentioned in last week’s PFR chat that a deeper pool of defensive-minded candidates — Vance Joseph, Chris Shula, Jeff Hafley, Jesse Minter, Robert Saleh among them — appears to exist compared to offense-oriented coaches with regards to a 2026 HC hire. Joe Brady and Kliff Kingsbury still figure to generate interest, but their stocks have not exactly soared this season. McDaniel being a proven offensive coach — one who would generate considerable interest on the 2026 OC carousel if fired — gives Ross something to think about, and Graziano colleague Jeremy Fowler indicates McDaniel being a superior option to most offensive minds on the ’26 HC carousel will work in his favor.
While Tyreek Hill‘s 2022 arrival also played a significant role in Tagovailoa’s ascent, McDaniel’s arrival elevated the passer considerably after two uneven years. Tua’s legion of detractors notwithstanding, the left-handed passer has led the NFL in yards per attempt (2022), passing yards (2023) and completion percentage (2024) in separate seasons. To be fair, his 24th-place QBR placement this year leaves much to be desired. But if McDaniel can coax a solid finish from a player the Dolphins are pot-committed to — as his 2026 guaranteed salary will be difficult to move — that may be the difference in him receiving a fifth season.
As we discussed in a recent Trade Rumors Front Office piece, coaches and GMs being misaligned has proven to be an issue in recent years. Teams are shying away from not aligning their HC and GM hires; the Dolphins pairing McDaniel with a new GM hire would naturally keep the HC on the hot seat for 2026 as well. McDaniel’s extension also runs through 2028. Should the Dolphins stick with him for one more season or cut the cord and pair a new GM with his own HC?
Broncos Not Eyeing Extension For DL John Franklin-Myers
Like last year, the Broncos have completed a few extensions for starters in-season. Over the past two days, Denver has paid center Luke Wattenberg and defensive tackle Malcolm Roach. This came shortly after Wil Lutz‘s payday.
This continues a mission to retain core players, as the team re-upped Courtland Sutton, Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto during the summer. While the Broncos’ 2026 free agency figures to bring less noise as a result, the team still has a notable contract-year player. John Franklin-Myers is still unsigned for 2026, and it does not appear that will change this season.
[RELATED: Patrick Surtain, Alex Singleton Expected Back Soon]
Franklin-Myers said in September he was not expecting a Broncos extension, and the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson offers more on that front. The team has not expressed interest in extending Franklin-Myers, who has been a two-year starter since being acquired from the Jets via trade.
The team used its bye week, along with the stretch before returning to post-bye practices this week, to extend Lutz, Wattenberg and Roach. Lutz’s deal covers three years and is worth $16.1MM, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Lutz received a $5.2MM signing bonus and is due $9MM guaranteed. Kicking on Sean Payton-coached teams for all but one of his 10 NFL seasons, Lutz is positioned to continue in that capacity for the foreseeable future. Wattenberg, a fourth-year center, agreed to a four-year, $48MM deal; a D-tackle who followed Payton from New Orleans, Roach accepted a three-year, $24MM Broncos deal.
This next batch of games, however, could be Franklin-Myers’ last as a Bronco. The former Rams and Jets contributor expects to hit free agency and said (via Tomasson) some disappointment exists about not being offered an extension. While Franklin-Myers said he still has interest in re-signing, the Broncos’ slew of commitments — along with the D-lineman’s value — points him out of Colorado come March.
Although Allen and Bonitto spearhead a Broncos pass rush that has also seen consistent play from edge rusher Jonathon Cooper — as the team’s 49 sacks lead the NFL by a wide margin — Franklin-Myers has played well as a role player. Used as a D-end starter in the Broncos’ 3-4 scheme, Franklin-Myers has been effective rushing from D-tackle and D-end posts in his career. The Jets deployed him more as an outside rusher, while the Broncos have aligned him inside more often during his two-year tenure. The 29-year-old pass rusher has 4.5 sacks and eight QB hits this season. He finished with seven and 18, respectively, in his Denver debut last year.
Next year marks what could be Franklin-Myers’ last chance to fetch a notable contract. He signed a four-year, $55MM Jets deal — one the team shed following the Haason Reddick trade — and reworked it upon being moved, receiving a two-year, $15MM pact from the Broncos. That has proven to be a good value play for Denver, but the solid production received points Franklin-Myers toward a 2026 raise.
While the Broncos did re-sign nose tackle D.J. Jones just before free agency this year, they now have five front-seven pieces (Jones, Allen, Bonitto, Cooper, Roach) signed to extensions. That will make keeping Franklin-Myers quite difficult, as an eight-figure-per-year deal likely awaits.
Elsewhere on the Broncos’ depth chart, the team is still searching for running back help following J.K. Dobbins‘ Lisfranc injury. After placing Dobbins on IR, the Broncos made what 9News’ Mike Klis labels a strong pursuit for Dameon Pierce. The former Texans backup joined the Chiefs’ practice squad. Denver has RJ Harvey positioned as a starter now, with Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie in place as backups.