Titans Eyeing Peter Skoronski Extension
While the Titans fired Ran Carthon after two years, the first of the GM’s draft picks has become a cornerstone performer. Peter Skoronski has started every game he has played through three seasons and will be on track to see his fifth-year option exercised.
Missing only three career games due to injury, the converted tackle has been Tennessee’s left guard starter throughout his career. Although the Titans can/will extend his rookie contract through the 2027 via the option, a true extension will be pursued.
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“We always try to secure our best players early,” GM Mike Borgonzi said. “And that is obviously a tool, an option we can use. But our goal is to get something done with Peter. With Peter, he is one of our better players, and we’d like him here long-term.”
ESPN’s pass block win rate metric has graded the Northwestern alum in the top 20 among guards in each of the past two seasons, slotting him 15th in 2024 and seventh in ’25. Pro Football Focus graded Skoronski fifth overall at the position in 2025, tabbing him as the NFL’s second-best pass blocker among guards. The 24-year-old blocker has generated momentum for an extension.
The Titans are among the teams, however, that have never authorized a post-Year 3 extension for a first-round pick. By exercising Skoronski’s option (a projected $20.5MM, per OverTheCap), Tennessee would move his contract year to 2027. That would buy the organization time. The team proceeded this way with Jeffery Simmons, waiting until 2023 to pay the 2019 first-rounder. They paid 2014 first-rounder Taylor Lewan in 2018, after picking up his option the year prior. Those are the only two first-round picks to receive an extension from the Titans in the option era (2014-present).
Considering some of the failures this organization has run into in Round 1 over the past decade, the Titans will likely be eager to have Skoronski on a second contract. The team has only one big-ticket contract along its O-line (for LT Dan Moore Jr.) presently, but in holding the NFL’s most cap space (increasing that margin by cutting center Lloyd Cushenberry on Thursday) and having Cam Ward on a rookie deal, a Skoronski payday will be fairly easy to accommodate this offseason. The NFL has seven $20MM-per-year guards; Skoronski could be No. 8, depending on when the Titans move to complete this deal.
Cowboys To Place Second-Round RFA Tender On G T.J. Bass
The Cowboys are showing a strong commitment to their restricted free agents. With a second-round tender coming to kicker Brandon Aubrey, Dallas has another one planned for a lesser-known player.
Three-year guard T.J. Bass will receive a second-round RFA tender, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. The second-round tender price is not yet known, as the salary cap has not been revealed, but OverTheCap projects it to come in at $5.81MM. This will mean around $12MM allocated to two RFAs for the Cowboys.
Bass has been a key backup in Dallas, starting 10 games in relief during his career. Part of the Cowboys’ 2023 UDFA class, the Oregon alum has logged between 315 and 351 offensive snaps in each of his three seasons. Bass split his time nearly equally at LG and RG last season, making starts in relief of Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker. Pro Football Focus graded Bass 29th overall among qualified guards last season.
With Smith extended and Booker locked in at the other guard spot after being drafted 12th overall, Bass has no pathway to a starting job in Dallas. That does make the use of a second-round tender interesting, but the Cowboys are effectively making sure they would collect a valuable asset (a Round 2 pick) if a team signed Bass to an offer sheet and Dallas did not match.
This tender is also interesting due to Bass having only taken snaps at guard as a pro. In place as a second-stringer throughout his Dallas run, the soon-to-be 27-year-old blocker has not made any appearances at tackle or center. Bass, though, came to Dallas after spending his final Oregon season as the Ducks’ left tackle during Bo Nix‘s first Ducks season. Bass moved to LT during his junior season at Oregon, being a guard starter for the Ducks in the 1 1/2 seasons prior to that switch.
Offseason Outlook: Las Vegas Raiders
Counting Rich Bisaccia, the Raiders have employed six head coaches since 2021. Counting Champ Kelly, they are on GM No. 5 in that span. A chaotic decade in Las Vegas continues, but a ray of hope is expected to come from the Midwest. The Raiders outflanked competitors to land the No. 1 overall pick, and Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza appears ticketed for Sin City.
The Raiders are 0-for-3 in quarterback plans post-Derek Carr, but this represents a different tier of opportunity. It will be the Raiders' first No. 1 overall pick since 2007 (JaMarcus Russell). Tom Brady and John Spytek have plenty of work to do in what has become a stacked AFC West, but Mendoza is poised to bring a solid starting point as yet another staff overhaul commences.
Coaching/front office:
- Fired head coach Pete Carroll
- Hired Klint Kubiak as HC replacement
- Hired Andrew Janocko as offensive coordinator
- Promoted D-line coach Rob Leonard to defensive coordinator
- Hired Joe DeCamillis as special teams coordinator, Marquice Williams as senior ST coach
- Hired Mike McCoy as senior offensive assistant
- Brought in Al Holcomb as senior defensive assistant
- Added Rick Dennison as offensive line coach
- Retained defensive pass-game coordinator Joe Woods
- Blocked from interviewing Seahawks' Justin Outten for run-game coordinator role
It was not hard to see the writing on the wall early for Carroll. The Raiders attempted to convince Ben Johnson to sign up. Even though no official offer came, Johnson was clearly the team's top HC choice in 2025. After the late-30-something coordinator turned the team down, a pivot to the oldest head coach in NFL history occurred. Carroll secured that honor by coaching at 74. He went 3-14, with win No. 3 coming against a noncommitted Chiefs team.
Latest On Cardinals, QB Kyler Murray
11:40am: The Cardinals will explore trade options for Murray at the Combine this week, per OutKick’s Armando Salguero, who offers the Jets as a potential destination. With a weak quarterback draft class behind projected No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza, a 29-year-old with three years left of a reasonable-priced contract could draw some interest on the trade market.
9:33am: This year’s round of Combine GM interviews generated an early refrain. This this week represents the GM-speak Super Bowl, and nothing seems to be off the table. Monti Ossenfort joined fellow GMs using this phrase by indicating the Cardinals are keeping their options open with Kyler Murray.
A subsequent report, however, brought an unexpected development. Ossenfort responded in the affirmative to a question about having talked to Murray after his injury-shortened 2025 season. But a source informed ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss no communication has taken place between GM and player yet this offseason.
Ossenfort indeed indicated “all options are on the table” at quarterback. No dialogue between Ossenfort and Murray through late February certainly points to the Cardinals moving toward a separation. Previous reports have pegged Arizona as hoping to move on via trade, but assumptions of a release have taken hold thus far.
Murray, 28, missed 12 games last season but has made 87 starts at QB for the Cards; only Jim Hart and Neil Lomax have topped that among passers in franchise history. Murray is Arizona’s longest-tenured QB1 since Lomax’s seven-plus-season run in the 1980s. While a January report did not close the door on the Cardinals running it back with Murray, a new chapter appears on tap.
It would behoove the Cardinals to get rid of Murray by March 15, the day $19.5MM of his 2027 base salary becomes guaranteed. Thanks to a player-friendly extension structure that brought early vesting dates, Murray is already guaranteed $36.8MM for next season. The Cardinals would surely have to pay down some of the eighth-year QB’s contract in a deal, but finding a taker would benefit their salary cap outlook.
Murray is owed nearly $23MM in base salary in 2026. The Cardinals convincing a team to take on part of that would create cap savings — even in a pre-June 1 swap. Were the Cardinals to cut Murray, they would almost definitely need to designate him as a post-June 1 release (when $54.7MM in dead money would be split over two offseasons). Like Russell Wilson in 2024 (or Tua Tagovailoa this year, in all likelihood), Murray would then be cut on Day 1 of the league year. That comes March 13, which would allow the Cardinals to avoid that $19.5MM 2027 guarantee.
The Ossenfort-Mike LaFleur tandem has kept matters close to the vest here, though a report connected the NFC West club to Malik Willis. The Cardinals will have the Dolphins, known Willis suitors after hiring ex-Packer staffers at GM and HC, outflanked in cap space for Willis — whose market appears promising but hazy due to his limited experience — but it is certainly premature to say the former Titans draftee-turned-Packer backup would be a better option than Murray.
While the Raiders are poised to draft Fernando Mendoza at No. 1, the Cardinals could circle back to one of the other options in this top-heavy class. But one season remains on Jacoby Brissett‘s contract, giving Arizona some options in the likely event Murray is done in the desert.
Chargers Want To Re-Sign OLBs Khalil Mack, Odafe Oweh
The Chargers are not expected to be aggressive with outside free agents; that keeps with the team’s Joe Hortiz-Jim Harbaugh regime trend through two offseasons. But the Bolts do have some high-end UFAs-to-be they want to retain.
Guard Zion Johnson is unattached, as are their two Tuli Tuipulotu sidekick options — Khalil Mack, Odafe Oweh. Although Tuipulotu is now extension-eligible after a breakthrough third season, Hortiz wants both Mack and Oweh back.
[RELATED: Charger OLBs To Be In Demand As FAs]
“They know we want them back,” Hortiz said of Mack and Oweh, via The Athletic’s Daniel Popper. “When players go into free agency, once the season ends, it takes a little bit of time, but we’ll keep chipping away at it, and we’ll see if we can get something done with them. I have no problem having a bunch of great edge rushers.”
Mack played out a one-year, $18MM deal — the highest non-QB one-year pact in NFL history — and turned 35 on Sunday. Missing time with a dislocated elbow, Mack was back after the four-game IR minimum to help a Bolts pass rush refueled by the Oweh trade. The Chargers and Ravens swapped picks along with Oweh and safety Alohi Gilman. Both are moving toward free agency. Oweh impressed after a slow start in his final Ravens stretch. After registering zero sacks with Baltimore last year, he surged to 7.5 in 12 Los Angeles games.
As we covered in our Chargers Offseason Outlook piece, the team holds more than $80MM in cap space and can reach around $100MM with reasonable cuts. That would keep the door open for another Mack contract, and both an Oweh re-signing and Tuipulotu extension could coexist considering all the space available. The Chargers have not spent much on defense since Harbaugh’s arrival, but an Oweh re-signing would change that. No Tuipulotu extension talks have commenced yet, per Hortiz.
L.A. is not expected to tag Oweh; that move is projected to cost upwards of $28MM. This would be a way to ensure the 2021 first-rounder stays, but the team still has until March 9 to conduct exclusive negotiations with the 27-year-old EDGE’s camp. If Oweh reaches the market, he will join Jaelan Phillips, Trey Hendrickson, Kwity Paye and Bradley Chubb among this FA class’ top edge rushers.
Mack has played the past four seasons with the Bolts, accepting a pay cut in 2024 and re-signing in ’25. While Mack has only produced one season with more than eight sacks as a Charger (17.5 in 2023), he has remained a productive cog into his mid-30s.
Hortiz was less definitive about the team’s stance with Johnson, who saw his fifth-year option declined in 2025. Addressing Johnson’s free agency, the third-year GM said the Chargers will “see how the market goes, if he gets to the market.”
With this year’s guard class including several older players, Johnson could cash in. Popper projects a deal that could reach $20MM per year. Johnson joins Ed Ingram, Dylan Parham and Daniel Faalele as notable first-time UFA guards. The 2022 Bolts first-rounder has been durable — among the only Charger O-linemen able to make that claim — and has served as a four-year starter.
Declining to address whether the Chargers would move off Mekhi Becton‘s two-year, $20MM contract after a disappointing season, Hortiz said the team will “try” to replace the recently retired Bradley Bozeman in free agency. The veteran center loomed as a cut candidate but opted to retire after eight seasons.
Sean Payton Expects Broncos To Extend GM George Paton
George Paton worked with the Saints to acquire Sean Payton‘s rights in 2023, giving up power in the process. The Super Bowl-winning head coach is the lead Broncos decisionmaker now, stepping into that role after Paton’s disastrous 2022.
Denver’s decision to hire Nathaniel Hackett and complete a trade-extension sequence with Russell Wilson set the franchise back, moving Paton to a hot seat considering his lack of a past with the incoming HC. But the Payton-Paton tandem has worked well together, hitting on some key draft choices and completing a round of team-friendly extensions.
[RELATED: Payton Cedes Play-Calling Duties To Davis Webb]
Paton is in the final year of a six-year contract, one agreed to after he succeeded John Elway as Broncos GM. Although rumblings about Vikings interest in a reunion with Paton surfaced, Payton expects an extension for the GM to happen soon.
“It’s overdue,’’ Payton said, via the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson. “I say that respectfully to the process, but he and I have a great working relationship. So my job wouldn’t be as fun or as exciting if he wasn’t a part of it. That should be something that gets handled quickly.”
Denver’s power brokers engineered two playoff berths despite the record-setting Wilson dead cap on the payroll. Wilson’s $32MM number did not impede the Broncos on their path to the AFC’s No. 1 seed. That money is now off the books, giving the team an opportunity to build around Bo Nix‘s rookie contract. The Broncos agreed on a host of extensions last year, paying the likes of Zach Allen, Courtland Sutton and Nik Bonitto a year after extending Patrick Surtain, Garett Bolles, Jonathon Cooper and Quinn Meinerz. Six 2025 Pro Bowlers came from that septet, giving Paton more momentum after his rocky start.
Elway lasted 10 years in the GM chair, stepping down after the 2020 season. The Broncos hired Paton, the former Vikings assistant GM who had long been a GM candidate. After three years working with Payton, the seasoned exec looks set to sign another contract this offseason (as lame-duck status would await otherwise).
Elsewhere on the Broncos’ staff, Tomasson adds they are hiring recent Drake staffer Kyle Kempt as an offensive assistant. A former Iowa State quarterback in the 2010s, Kempt served as Drake’s QBs coach last season. He was a Matt Campbell assistant with the Cyclones for six years prior to the Drake move.
49ers Holding Out Hope For Brandon Aiyuk Trade, In Talks With Jauan Jennings
Brandon Aiyuk will not be a 49er in 2026. John Lynch confirmed that last month. For now, though, the former All-Pro wide receiver remains on San Francisco’s roster and will be part of it for a bit longer.
Lynch said from the Combine that Aiyuk will remain with the team until the start of the league year (March 11), indicating (via The Athletic’s Matt Barrows) a trade will be sought. The Combine serves as an annual venue to gauge trade interest, and Lynch plans to do so with Aiyuk.
Although the 49ers’ options are limited here, they could hope for late-round compensation — perhaps from a team not confident in luring the seventh-year veteran in free agency. The 49ers worked with Aiyuk during his 2024 trade saga, and he had multiple destinations — Cleveland, New England — he preferred to avoid then. It does not seem like the team would do the disgruntled wideout any favors, though a team trading for Aiyuk’s contract would need assurances he would be content with such a move — especially after the events of the past year.
The 49ers voided Aiyuk’s guarantees last July, representing rarely traversed terrain for a player who did not incur a suspension. Issues with Aiyuk’s rehab effort triggered that decision, and Kyle Shanahan said he was unable to reach the 27-year-old pass catcher after a certain point. That led to his placement on the reserve/left squad list.
Due to bonus proration, an Aiyuk trade would cost the 49ers $29.59MM in dead money. They were tagged with a receiver-record $34.12MM in dead cap from the Deebo Samuel trade. With the 49ers only receiving a fifth-round pick for Samuel, the upcoming Aiyuk trade/release will mark a disappointing ending for the team with its long-running wideout tandem.
It would seem the 49ers will need to release Aiyuk, who has missed 1 1/2 seasons due to an ACL tear suffered in October 2024. Aiyuk did not suffer a clean tear, and his strange 2025 course creates questions for teams as well. After being rather deep at receiver for a while, the 49ers were low on bodies there in 2025. They have more questions to answer as free agency nears.
Jauan Jennings is unsigned after receiving only an incentive package last year. The 28-year-old pass catcher has overachieved as a former seventh-round pick, and this offseason represents his window to cash in. After expressing interest in re-signing Jennings, Lynch said the team has spoken with the free agent-to-be. Though, the 49ers will gauge his market at the Combine. Their exclusive negotiating window expires March 9 when the legal tampering period begins.
After a 975-yard 2024 season, Jennings produced 643 yards — to go with a career-high nine touchdown receptions — last season. With Aiyuk shelved and Ricky Pearsall regularly unavailable, the 49ers relied on Jennings. After signing his two-year, $11.89MM extension when he was the team’s WR3 alongside Aiyuk and Samuel, he could return as San Francisco’s top wideout. Though, the 49ers will certainly be looking at outside help at this position.
Wide receiver is not the only place housing priority free agents. Kicker Eddy Pineiro is also unsigned. While the kicker/punter tag is the cheapest available, Lynch said (via The Athletic’s Vic Tafur) the in-season signee will not be tagged.
The 49ers are interested in re-signing Pineiro, who became the team’s Jake Moody replacement. Pineiro, 30, made 28 of 29 field goals in his 14-game San Francisco season. He led the NFL in make rate. OverTheCap projects the kicker/punter tag to come in around $7MM. The 49ers will look to re-sign Pineiro at a lower rate.
Chiefs To Resume Trent McDuffie Extension Talks
Known for letting cornerbacks serve as one-contract players in the Andy Reid era, the Chiefs will strongly consider making an exception. Trent McDuffie extension talks, which began last year, are set to resume.
The Chiefs and their top defensive back negotiated during the 2025 offseason but could not come to terms on an extension prior to Week 1. While Kansas City hammered out a deal with fellow 2022 first-round pick George Karlaftis, McDuffie is on a higher level at his respective position. The prospect of McDuffie pursuing a market-setting contract came up in November, and his camp will have another chance to present a sales pitch to the Chiefs.
[RELATED: Assessing Chiefs’ Offseason Blueprint]
“We had a lot of dialogue with Trent last spring, last summer. He’s first out of the gate,” Chiefs GM Brett Veach said, via Fox4’s Jared Bush. “Looking forward to get with him and obviously Trent’s a great player. We’d certainly love to have Trent back for the long term.”
Going back to Marcus Peters, the Chiefs have not shown interest in paying corners over the past decade. They traded Peters and L’Jarius Sneed and let Steven Nelson, Kendall Fuller and Charvarius Ward walk. Jaylen Watson is expected to join that one-contract group, being set for free agency next month. One season remains on McDuffie’s rookie deal, which the team extended through 2026 via the fifth-year option.
McDuffie, 25, has been the Chiefs’ top cornerback since arriving in the 2022 first round. Chosen with the first-round pick obtained from the Dolphins in the Tyreek Hill trade, McDuffie has played well outside and in the slot. He is a two-time All-Pro, but because no original-ballot Pro Bowl honors have come his way, the Chiefs landed a discount on his fifth-year option (which checks in at $13.63MM).
Even after the Chiefs completed their latest Patrick Mahomes restructure, they are still projected to be more than $3MM over the cap. It would behoove Kansas City to extend McDuffie and reduce his cap number. The Chiefs’ history at this position should keep a potential blockbuster trade on the radar, in the event McDuffie’s price point (as Hill’s did amid 2022 negotiations) exceeds the team’s comfort zone. Though, the Chiefs could also string this process out — as they did with Orlando Brown Jr. in ’22 — via a franchise tag next year.
But the team, which re-signed its D-line and linebacker pillars (Chris Jones, Nick Bolton) over the past two offseasons, will explore what it will take to extend its secondary ace this week in Indianapolis.
Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Rams
A playoff institution once again, the Rams played in what ultimately became a 1990s-style de facto Super Bowl. While this year's NFC championship went the Seahawks' way, before Seattle thrashed an overmatched Patriots team in Super Bowl LX, this Rams nucleus extended its season by a week for the second straight year.
Los Angeles' recent draft classes have done well to reopen the team's Sean McVay-era Super Bowl window, after a disastrous Super Bowl LVI title defense brought a speedbump. This offseason will bring a good problem of sorts for McVay and GM Les Snead, with a strong 2023 draft class now extension-eligible. Without a fifth-year option on any of those picks, the Rams have work to do with a batch of young players. Oh, and another Matthew Stafford negotiation. That will also carve out some space on the PFR pages.
Coaching/front office:
- Extended head coach Sean McVay, general manager Les Snead
- Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur became Cardinals' head coach
- Promoted pass-game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase as OC replacement
- Hired Bubba Ventrone as special teams coordinator
- Senior offensive assistant Alex Van Pelt hired as Falcons' QBs coach
- Added Kliff Kingsbury as assistant head coach; Brian Johnson hired as senior offensive assistant
- Scheelhaase interviewed for Bills, Browns, Raiders, Ravens, Steelers' HC jobs, withdrew from Raiders search
- DC Chris Shula interviewed for Browns, Cardinals, Dolphins, Raiders, Ravens, Steelers' HC jobs
- Parted ways with DBs coach Aubrey Pleasant; Jimmy Lake named replacement
- Hired Robert Woods as assistant WRs coach, Brian Allen as assistant O-line coach
- Pleasant interviewed for Browns, Cardinals, Chargers, Raiders' DC jobs
- Assistant general manager John McKay interviewed for Dolphins' GM job
Few HC hires in NFL history have been as transformative as the Rams' 2017 McVay decision. The franchise had missed 12 straight playoff brackets, and the L.A. market was treated to a first-year dud as the Jeff Fisher era wrapped. McVay reinvigorated the relocated organization, and the Rams went 7-for-9 in postseason berths in the coach's 30s. This included three NFC championship game cameos, two Super Bowl berths and the franchise's first L.A. championship since 1951.
OC Brad Idzik To Call Panthers’ Plays In 2026; Latest On QB Bryce Young
Dave Canales‘ work as the Buccaneers’ offensive play-caller in 2023 provided a springboard to a head coaching opportunity. The Panthers hired Canales after only one season of OC experience, and he has called plays throughout his Carolina tenure.
That will change in 2026. In a rather interesting development, the third-year HC confirmed OC Brad Idzik would serve as Carolina’s 2026 play-caller. This will be the first such assignment for the 34-year-old coordinator, who came to Charlotte along with Canales in 2024.
Idzik joins Canales in being an ex-Pete Carroll Seahawks staffer. He worked as a quality control assistant and assistant wide receivers coach (under Canales, the team’s WRs coach for much of his tenure) in Seattle. After Canales landed the Bucs’ OC gig, Idzik became Tampa Bay’s receivers coach. Following two years in a non-play-calling role, Idzik will receive a promotion of sorts.
Unlike HC carousel mainstay Ejiro Evero, no interviews have come Idzik’s way since he arrived in Charlotte. The Panthers are also coming off an inconsistent year on offense, ranking 27th in scoring.
This is an interesting decision from Canales, and it certainly suggests confidence he will be the coach beyond 2026. David Tepper has been known as a rather impulsive owner; he fired Matt Rhule less than 2 1/2 years into a seven-year contract and canned Frank Reich after 11 games. Tepper headlines have died down since the Reich ouster, but Canales taking his hands off the wheel after a playoff season is a bit unexpected.
The son of former Jets GM John Idzik, Brad Idzik will have more say in Bryce Young‘s development in 2026. The Panthers are expected to pick up Young’s fifth-year option, buying them time. Like the Texans and C.J. Stroud, though, an extension does not appear forthcoming this offseason.
Carolina is not expected to offer Young an extension before the ’26 season, The Athletic’s Joe Person notes. This is not especially surprising given the diminutive quarterback’s struggles through three seasons. Canales played a central role in elevating the former Heisman winner into a capable starter, after the Panthers benched the Tepper-driven QB draftee two games into his second season. After trade offers emerged, an Andy Dalton car accident led to Young being given another chance. He has kept the job since.
Young ranked 22nd in QBR last season, though it took him 16 games to clear 3,000 passing yards. Averaging 6.3 yards per attempt, Young finished with 3,011 yards and a 23-11 TD-INT ratio. That still represents considerable progress after a concerning rookie season. The Panthers devoted two first-round picks (Xavier Legette, Tetairoa McMillan) to staffing Young’s receiving corps, seeing McMillan win Offensive Rookie of the Year acclaim. More development will be necessary for the Panthers to complete an extension.
No extension will keep Young tied to a $1.15MM base salary in 2026, though his cap number checks in at $12.1MM. The Panthers picked up Sam Darnold‘s fifth-year option and gave Teddy Bridgewater a three-year, $63MM contract. But they have not extended a starting QB since paying Cam Newton ahead of his 2015 MVP season. That re-up came in Newton’s fifth NFL offseason. Newton had proven far more than Young on his rookie deal. This Tepper-Canales-Dan Morgan regime is expected to see how Young’s stock looks in his fifth offseason before committing long term.