49ers To Bring In Nicholas Petit-Frere, Andre Dillard
The Titans’ preferred 2023 tackle starters, Andre Dillard and Nicholas Petit-Frere are making an interesting joint move. The one-time Tennessee first-string tackle duo is heading to San Francisco.
Despite signing D.J. Humphries after the draft, the 49ers will also bring in Dillard and Petit-Frere. Tennessee waived Petit-Frere before the draft; no team claimed him. Dillard, whom the Titans released after one season, played in Green Bay last year. Both will be tied to one-year deals.
This particular Titans tandem did not last long together. Petit-Frere, who had served as the team’s primary right tackle in 2022, missed the start of the 2023 season due to a gambling suspension. Upon return, Petit-Frere split time between RT and LT (as Dillard did not pan out). An injury early into his already-abbreviated season shut down the former third-round pick, keeping Dillard as Tennessee’s primary LT. The Titans, however, moved on from his three-year, $29MM contract after that season.
Last year, Dillard made his way to the Packers. The Chiefs had shown interest, but Dillard ended up in Green Bay as a backup. The former first-rounder played all of 13 offensive snaps for a Packers team that used Rasheed Walker as its starting LT and used a first-round pick on Jordan Morgan.
Dillard, whom the Eagles traded up for in 2019, has made 19 career starts. Most of them have come at left tackle. Humphries having an extensive injury history does open the door to the 29-year-old tackle potentially having a shot at the 49ers’ swing tackle gig. For now, he will vie for a depth role behind Trent Williams and Colton McKivitz.
Petit-Frere, 25, may be the more interesting Friday addition. While Dillard had fallen off the starter level in 2024, Petit-Frere logged 614 right tackle snaps for the Titans last season. The Ohio State product has made 28 career starts; almost all of them have come at RT. Pro Football Focus has never graded Petit-Frere outside the bottom quartile among tackles, slotting him 76th (among 81 regulars) at the position last year. But his experience is certainly notable, especially as McKivitz has not established himself as an upper-echelon option.
One season remains on McKivitz’s contract; he is entering his third season as San Francisco’s post-Mike McGlinchey option at right tackle. It would not seem Petit-Frere is a direct threat to that job, given the latter’s spotty track record. But the 49ers bringing him in this early in the offseason could bring a storyline to monitor due to the younger blocker’s age an experience.
In addition to the tackle moves (and their Drake Jackson cut), the 49ers waived offensive lineman Jalen McKenzie and waived cornerback Tre Tomlinson with an injury designation.
Dolphins To Sign LS Joe Cardona
After 10 Patriots seasons, Joe Cardona joined Jonathan Jones, Deatrich Wise and David Andrews as Super Bowl-era bastions to move on this offseason. New England released the veteran long snapper following the draft.
As the Pats became the only team to draft a pure long snapper this year (in Vanderbilt’s Julian Ashby), Cardona will see another opportunity come soon. The Dolphins are signing him Friday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. A intra-division transfer is now in play for Cardona, who joins a Miami team that entered Friday without a long snapper.
This move comes a day after the Dolphins released deep snapper Blake Ferguson, who did not finish the season with the team. Ferguson had stepped away due to an undisclosed medical issue, landing on the reserve/NFI list last season. Veteran Jake McQuaide finished the season as Miami’s long snapper. McQuaide, 37, is unsigned.
Patriots-to-Dolphins paths were more common during the Brian Flores era in Miami, but Cardona will bring extensive experience nonetheless. The Pats drafted him in the 2015 fifth round, as Bill Belichick regularly placed a premium on special teams play. He suited up for all but four Patriots games from 2015-24, playing in three Super Bowls and collecting two rings in that span.
Although Cardona has never made a Pro Bowl, the Navy alum is certainly a well-regarded snapper. He probably will not become the first deep snapper to break the $2MM-AAV barrier, as we may still be years away from that benchmark being cleared, but he now has a clear path to continuing his career with a Pats rival. Cardona, Jones and Wise have found new homes; the latter two landed in Washington. Following another season featuring a lengthy absence, Andrews remains without a team.
George Pickens Planning To Play Out Cowboys Contract Year
MAY 8: When speaking to reporters for the first time since the trade, Pickens confirmed (via NFL Network’s Jane Slater) his focus is not on his contract situation at this point. Playing out the 2025 campaign as a pending free agent would certainly add a layer of intrigue to his debut Dallas season.
MAY 7: The Cowboys are now the team evaluating George Pickens regarding an extension, having acquired the contract-year wide receiver from the Steelers on Wednesday morning. With CeeDee Lamb already on Dallas’ payroll at $34MM per year, Pickens should not be considered a lock to receive his second contract in Dallas.
Sending the Steelers a trade haul headlined by a third-round pick, the Cowboys should certainly be considered open to a Pickens extension. As of now, however, Pickens may not be overly interested in one. The fourth-year wideout is not believed to be interested in an immediate payday, according to AllDLLS.com’s Clarence Hill. The trade pickup sounds prepared to increase his value in Dallas.
Pickens, 24, could certainly boost his stock by thriving as a Lamb complementary piece with Dak Prescott targeting him. Russell Wilson‘s eventual Hall of Fame case notwithstanding, Prescott is a better option than the former Super Bowl winner’s age-36 season presented Pickens. A player previously tied to Wilson, Justin Fields and Kenny Pickett during his Pittsburgh run, Pickens wanting to show he can put up better numbers with Prescott makes sense. A Cowboys team that has been known to delay high-profile extensions is familiar with such patience, even as prices rise.
Steelers hesitancy regarding a Pickens extension cropped up months before the trade. The Georgia product entered the NFL with maturity concerns, and he has not dispelled those. The Steelers dealt with Pickens’ occasional issues while using him as their No. 1 wide receiver last season. A position group that housed Pickens and the mercurial Diontae Johnson together for two years proved challenging for the Steelers, who have remade their receiver room around D.K. Metcalf‘s $33MM-per-year contract. Going all the way back to the Hines Ward days, the Steelers have refrained from giving two receivers notable extensions. Ward, Antonio Brown and, briefly, Johnson held slots as extended Steelers wideouts. Metcalf now steps into that role, one Lamb holds in Dallas.
The Cowboys had the opportunity to extend Lamb in 2023, his first year of eligibility, and drew criticism for not doing so and letting the market rise. Justin Jefferson‘s deal drove up Lamb’s price, and he eventually agreed on a four-year, $136MM contract. Though, Lamb also did not sound overly eager to land an extension before his fourth season. The 2020 first-rounder reshaped his market by posting a first-team All-Pro season in 2023. Pickens may not have that ceiling in Dallas, assuming Lamb stays healthy, but his work with Pickett, Fields and Wilson point to upside — especially as the proven deep threat enters only his age-24 season.
The receiver market has seen two boom periods since Pickens’ debut, as the 2022 and ’24 offseasons brought fireworks. Ja’Marr Chase has since taken the market past $40MM per year. This ceiling lift probably will not closely impact Pickens, but Tee Higgins having secured $28.75MM per year could. With a $40MM-plus-AAV Micah Parsons accord — to top Chase as the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB — likely coming before Week 1, the Cowboys may have a difficult time paying Pickens, especially if the former No. 52 overall pick is committed to betting on himself.
With Higgins off the board as a potential 2026 free agent, Pickens could become the WR market’s prize next year. As it stands, Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel are out of contract in 2026. So are Mike Evans and Courtland Sutton. Being much younger than this group, however, will stand to vault Pickens to the top of the line. With no Cowboys WR2 extension imminent, Pickens appears to be aiming to land a No. 1-level deal after a season in Dallas.
Steelers Trade George Pickens To Cowboys
Coming up as a team interested in George Pickens ahead of the draft, the Cowboys are indeed moving forward with a trade to land him. The Steelers will cut bait on Pickens a year early; they are sending him to Dallas, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Todd Archer report.
The Cowboys will obtain the contract-year wide receiver in exchange for a third-round pick. Here are the terms of the now-official trade:
Cowboys receive:
- Pickens
- 2027 sixth-round pick
Steelers receive:
- 2026 third-round pick
- 2027 fifth-round pick
Shortly before the draft, Jerry Jones had said his team was working on multiple trades. Closely linked to Tetairoa McMillan, Dallas left the draft without acquiring a CeeDee Lamb complementary target. This led to the owner confirming his team was still hunting for help at the position. The team has secured it. Pickens will relocate ahead of his contract year, becoming the latest WR talent the Steelers will pass on extending.
[RELATED: Pickens Planning To Play Out Contract Year]
The teams had discussed Pickens since before the draft, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports, and Dallas is believed to have upped its offer to move the trade across the goal line. Previously, Dallas had offered only a fourth-rounder, per Russini; a third proved enough to headline a successful offer. 105.3 The Fan’s Bobby Belt was the first to report the Cowboys had zeroed in on Pickens. Unlike Diontae Johnson last year, Pickens did not request to be moved, The Pat McAfee Show‘s Mark Kaboly adds.
The Cowboys have searched for a high-end Lamb complementary piece for years, and they will now trade for one. The Cowboys continue to turn to the trade market to land receiving talent. This move comes after swaps involving Brandin Cooks and Amari Cooper; the latter’s departure helped create a years-long need in Dallas. Although Jones has swung and missed on big-ticket trades for receivers in the distant past — for Joey Galloway and Roy Williams — the Cooper move panned out. A belated replacement will arrive in the form of Pickens, whose impending relocation may well nix a rumored Cooper reunion.
Dallas dealt Cooper to Cleveland in March 2022, only obtaining fifth- and sixth-round picks for him. Cooper then delivered two 1,000-yard receiving seasons for the Browns while nothing comparable occurred alongside Lamb with his previous team. The Cowboys became closely connected, mostly via Jones, to Odell Beckham Jr. that year. No signing took place, and the Cowboys played out the string without much help for Lamb.
Michael Gallup‘s December 2021 ACL tear sidetracked the former 1,000-yard playmaker’s career, and while Cooks still delivered reasonable production in 2023 following a trade, he missed a chunk of last season due to injury. Cooks returned to New Orleans as a free agent, leaving little alongside Lamb. Pickens joining holdover Jalen Tolbert in a contract year changes that equation ahead of Brian Schottenheimer‘s HC debut.
Having followed through with a rumored Pickens trade, the Steelers are now the team with a wide receiver need. This comes, of course, as the team is wooing Aaron Rodgers for what would likely be a one-and-done stay. Rodgers has not publicly committed to Pittsburgh, but he did throw passes to Metcalf and remains in communication with Mike Tomlin. The Steelers have remained confident the future Hall of Famer will ultimately sign, but his potential receiving corps is now suddenly much thinner.
That said, the Steelers have bolstered their 2026 draft arsenal. With Rodgers (or Kirk Cousins, potentially) only being a short-term fix, Pittsburgh will need better ammo in the event 2026 becomes the next draft featuring a bona fide QB1 investment. The AFC North team had been aiming to make an early-round move in either this draft or the next for a passer. After the team passed on doing so this year, by only adding Will Howard in Round 6, 2026 now looks like the draft the team will seek to acquire its belated Kenny Pickett replacement.
The Steelers still trail the Browns and Rams in terms of 2026 capital, with those teams acquiring future first-rounders in this year’s draft. Pittsburgh, however, is now projected to hold three third-round picks, two fourths and two fifths (via this trade and the compensatory process) in ’26. More work may still remain for GM Omar Khan, whose team’s ultra-high floor annually prevents a draft slot in the upper half of a first round, but this represents a start. Though, a Steelers team that struggled to find a Pickens supporting-caster last year returns to familiar territory.
Metcalf arrived a day before free agency but months after the Steelers failed to acquire Brandon Aiyuk from the 49ers. The teams had trade terms and an extension worked out. Even though the extension was worth less than what the Browns and Patriots proposed, Aiyuk had the Steelers as his safety team in case a 49ers deal did not work out. Aiyuk ended his trade derby by signing a San Francisco extension, and Pittsburgh attempted to address its receiver need with a Mike Williams trade at last year’s deadline. That move did not produce much of consequence, and Williams has since returned to the Chargers. After years of Tyler Lockett working as a quality supporting-caster, Metcalf now comes to Pennsylvania without a notable WR2 presence.
Known for making receiver investments on Day 2 in the draft, the Steelers passed on doing so this year. They left the draft with their 2022 second-round find still rostered, but incessant trade rumors clouded Pickens’ future. He will now follow the likes of Johnson, Santonio Holmes, Martavis Bryant and Chase Claypool as a wideout dealt ahead of a contract year.
The modern-era Steelers have made a habit of having just one wideout tied to a notable second contract at a time. As Hines Ward, Antonio Brown, Johnson and now Metcalf (four years, $131.99MM) cashed in, moving parts abounded. Pickens had become a player to monitor as a one-contract Steeler for months, and a post-draft report pointed to no Pittsburgh extension coming, and another Pittsburgh WR search will be a storyline to follow in the coming months.
Pickens, 24, has flashed brightly during his first three seasons. He became the latest Steelers receiver find from Day 2, leading the NFL with 18.1 yards per catch (1,140 in total) in 2023 despite inconsistent quarterback play. Pickens posted 900 yards last season, doing so despite missing three games and having a low-ceiling Russell Wilson–Justin Fields tandem targeting him. 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.
As Dak Prescott recovers from a significant hamstring injury and enters his age-32 season, he will become the top QB tied to Pickens, who has produced some of the NFL’s most acrobatic catches during his short time in the NFL. While the latter’s contract year will unfold in Texas on a team that has already paid Lamb, Prescott targeting him should prove a welcome sight for a player who will be eager to cash in — as a Cowboy or a 2026 free agent.
Maturity concerns have mounted with Pickens, undoubtedly factoring into both Steelers WR trades this offseason, but the Cowboys will take a chance on a talented player entering his mid-20s. The Cowboys will have the Georgia alum tied to a $3.66MM 2025 base salary. They will hold exclusive negotiating rights with Pickens until March 2026. Although the Cowboys have dragged their feet on extension talks in recent years, they will have a higher-profile player to evaluate regarding a long-term fit once again.
While two lofty WR payments may be too steep for a Cowboys team that will likely enter Week 1 with monster deals for Prescott, Lamb and Micah Parsons on its cap sheet, the team has upgraded its 2025 receiver cadre in exchange for third- and fifth-round picks. It will be interesting to see how the Steelers regroup.
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert Accepts Pay Cut
10:10pm: Goedert is indeed accepting a pay cut. The Eagles will reduce his 2025 number from $14.25MM to $10MM, ESPN.com’s Field Yates reports. The Pro Bowler will have the chance to earn $1MM via incentives. This updated deal, regardless of Goedert’s performance this coming season, reducing his earning potential is interesting given the player’s importance to the team. But returning for a Super Bowl champion looks to have mattered for Goedert, who will make a case for a third contract soon.
9:40am: A busy morning of NFL news now involves the defending Super Bowl champions. After a host of Dallas Goedert trade rumors, it appears the Eagles will retain the talented tight end.
Goedert is expected to stay in Philly on a reworked deal, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane reports. One season remains on Goedert’s Eagles extension. The sides are indeed proceeding with a reworking, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo.
Trade offers did emerge for Goedert during the draft, Garafolo adds, and the Eagles were open to adding 2026 draft assets for the proven pass catcher/blocker. But Goedert remains one of the NFL’s top tight ends. He will be crucial to Philly’s title defense. As could be expected, Garafolo adds Eagles coaches wanted Goedert back for an eighth season. Talks about Goedert staying accelerated after the draft, McLane notes.
It is unclear what teams made offers for Goedert, but the former second-round pick preferred to stay with the Eagles over being dealt to one of the interested teams. Goedert, 30, remained in contact with the Eagles during this process. It is uncertain if he will score a second extension from the Eagles, who passed on a third Zach Ertz contract back in 2021 (before trading him and paying Goedert), but the team will have its third pass-catching pillar back for the 2025 season.
Eagles contract structures have become increasingly complicated, as option bonuses and void years pile up on their cap sheet, but Goedert was due $14.25MM in the final season of a four-year, $57MM deal. The Eagles were unwilling to commit to that nonguaranteed $14.25MM, per McLaine; a new number will emerge soon.
George Kittle and Trey McBride have upped the TE market this offseason. With A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts on big-ticket deals, the Eagles may have a difficult time paying Goedert as well. But the sides will huddle up once again, giving Goedert a chance to cement his value as part of a Super Bowl title defense.
Early during free agency, the Eagles were believed to be shopping Goedert. This preceded a rumor the team would not keep the South Dakota State alum around absent a pay cut. That may well be what is transpiring. Nevertheless, the Eagles’ pass game is all set to run through Brown, Smith and Goedert together for at least one more season. After not addressing the tight end position in the draft, the Eagles would have run into a difficult time finding a Goedert upgrade this offseason. It always made more sense for the sides to find common ground, though it will be interesting to learn what other destinations presented themselves to Goedert.
While injuries have continued to crop up for Goedert, he has continued to come back after short-term IR stints. Last season did bring an extended absences — separate three- and four-game hiatuses — but Goedert reemerged to lead the Eagles in playoff receiving yards (215). Goedert has not offered the Eagles Ertz-level receiving production, having topped 800 yards in just one of his seven seasons (2021), but he has been one of the game’s best all-around TEs. He played a key role in Saquon Barkley‘s 2,000-yard rushing season, doing so after having helped Miles Sanders and D’Andre Swift to 1,000-yard years.
The Eagles will still need to address this position soon, especially if they are not intending to give Goedert a third contract. The team added Harrison Bryant and Kylen Granson this offseason, but both profile as supplementary pieces rather than a starter. While Goedert’s post-2025 future will remain a talking point, his return will strengthen the Eagles’ chances at mounting a strong championship defense. His having worked with the team on a solution also should keep the door open for a compromise on staying in Philly beyond this season.
Jaguars Release WR Gabe Davis
Jacksonville’s new regime continues to reshape its pass-catching corps. A year after Trent Baalke gave Gabe Davis a lucrative contract in free agency, James Gladstone is moving on.
Following the exits of Christian Kirk and Evan Engram, the Jaguars announced a Davis release. The $13MM-per-year player is back in free agency after a disappointing Jags debut. The team added Travis Hunter in the draft, and the 2024 Heisman winner team with 2024 first-round pick Brian Thomas Jr. Davis is departing via a failed physical designation, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero notes.
This release will bring a steep price for the Jags. As the team will build around two first-round contracts at the position to complement Trevor Lawrence‘s $55MM-per-year deal, they will incur a $20MM dead money hit by cutting Davis. That is on the higher end in WR history, but incoming regimes are generally less concerned about taking on notable cap hits for previous staffs’ failed investments.
After a productive Buffalo tenure, Davis indeed qualified as a failed signing. The Jags could reduce this dead cap considerably by designating Davis a post-June 1 cut. In that event, the team could take the dead money down to just $5.7MM for 2025 — with the rest of the bill due in 2026.
Davis caught only 20 passes last season, producing only 239 yards — by far a career-low mark — in a season that ended with a meniscus surgery. That contributed heavily to the low yardage total, as Davis missed seven games. The former fourth-round find had arrived in Jacksonville on the heels of a 746-yard Buffalo finale. The former Stefon Diggs sidekick had posted 27 regular-season touchdown receptions with the Bills and delivered one of the greatest receiver performances in playoff history — via a four-TD night in a Bills-Chiefs classic in the 2021 divisional round. The Central Florida alum did not closely resemble that version with the Jags.
Davis’ 2024 and ’25 free agencies will not produce comparable price tags. With the Jags tied to the sixth-year veteran’s 2025 money, offset language could allow Davis’ next team to add him for the veteran minimum. That would slightly subtract from the Jaguars’ dead money total. But they will still take a significant loss here. But Gladstone appears fine doing so, having made a blockbuster trade to secure Hunter as his new offensive centerpiece. Suddenly, a Jags team that had several veteran pass catcher salaries is not tied to much in that area.
Jacksonville carried eight-figure-per-year deals for Kirk, Engram and Davis last year. In 2023, the team rostered Kirk, Engram, Zay Jones‘ $8MM-per-year contract and Calvin Ridley‘s fifth-year option. Baalke’s final offseason featured a push to retain Ridley despite having given Davis a three-year, $39MM deal hours into the legal tampering period. Tennessee outbid both Jacksonville and New England for Ridley, but the Jags were still carrying a pricey skill-position corps. A year later, all those contracts are gone — even if Davis’ could still linger on the payroll through 2026 (depending on a post-June 1 decision).
A boundary wideout known for deep production in Buffalo, Davis ranked as PFR’s No. 23 overall free agent. He posted a career-high 836 receiving yards in 2022 and scored either six or seven touchdowns in each of his four Bills seasons. Davis will head into an age-26 season in 2025, which will certainly give him a chance to bounce back. But teams will certainly be leery of Davis being a Josh Allen creation as his second free agency commences.
Seahawks, CB Shaquill Griffin Discussing Reunion
Shaquill Griffin worked out for the Seahawks in April. After the team’s 11-man draft haul did not include a cornerback, a reunion remains in play.
A former Seahawks third-round pick, Griffin was among the Pete Carroll-era cornerbacks the team let walk in free agency. After making a few stops following his 2021 Seattle exit, Griffin appears to have a decent chance to come back. The Seahawks and Griffin are discussing a reunion, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Brady Henderson report.
John Schneider said post-draft the Seahawks are still looking for corner help. While Griffin would not answer long-term questions that have become necessary thanks to Riq Woolen, Josh Jobe and corner-turned-safety Coby Bryant entering contract years, the eight-year veteran would supply experience for a team that appears ready to add a veteran to at least supplement its rookie-deal core.
Griffin, 29, started 53 games for the Seahawks from 2017-20. Playing alongside Richard Sherman as a rookie, Griffin became the Seahawks’ Sherman successor in the following years. As it had with Byron Maxwell and later D.J. Reed, the Seahawks stood down on Griffin in free agency and let the Jaguars pay him (three years, $40MM). Jacksonville bailed on the Urban Meyer-year acquisition by cutting him in 2023. Griffin then stopped through Houston and Carolina, before spending the 2024 season as a Minnesota backup.
The Seahawks have not been mentioned as a Jalen Ramsey suitor, but the team has a host of other options it could also target. Rasul Douglas, Asante Samuel, Kendall Fuller, Cameron Sutton, Michael Davis and Jack Jones loom as starter-level free agents. This glut of options stands to allow the Seahawks to extend a low offer to Griffin about a return. Griffin played for $3.5MM in 2023 and $4.5MM last year.
Texans To Re-Sign DT Foley Fatukasi
More veteran defensive line help is heading to Houston. The Texans are reuniting with Foley Fatukasi, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
Fatukasi spent last season with the team, coming over after a Jaguars release. Fatukasi will join one of the most experienced defensive tackle groups in recent NFL history. The Texans now roster Fatukasi, Sheldon Rankins, Denico Autry, Mario Edwards and Tim Settle at the position.
Rankins is going into his 10th season, while Edwards is heading into Year 11. Autry has both beat, being set for his 12th NFL campaign. Fatukasi and Settle, by comparison, are youngsters; each will be in an eighth slate come 2025. This is an interesting veterans-only setup the Texans are attempting, and Fatukasi will be back after lingering in free agency for nearly two months.
The Texans used Fatukasi as a full-time starter last season. The former Jets sixth-rounder logged 11 starts, missing six games due to injury. Fatukasi, 30, missed six of the Texans’ final seven games. The shoulder injury Fatukasi sustained delayed his free agency process, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson adds. Giving Fatukasi a 46% snap rate on defense, the AFC South champions saw the low-cost DT produce a sack and four tackles for loss. He added a key TFL during the Texans’ wild-card win as well. The imposing interior presence has never been known as a pressure artist, with run-stuffing more the DT’s calling card.
The above-referenced quartet of previously acquired D-tackles have Houston covered for inside pressure to complement Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr., while the team will hope Fatukasi can potentially help his D-line mates see better matchups. Pro Football Focus has not been remotely as high as teams on Fatukasi — at least, not since his early Jets years. The advanced metrics website ranked the UConn alum as the third-worst interior D-line regular last season. This marked a steep drop from his second and final Jaguars campaign, when PFF slotted him 60th at the position.
Jacksonville shed Fatukasi’s three-year, $30MM deal from its payroll in 2024. Houston added him on a one-year, $5.13MM accord. DeMeco Ryans‘ D-line will include veteran contracts surrounding Anderson, with Derek Barnett and Darrell Taylor in place at defensive end as well. The Texans also circled back to DT Kurt Hinish rather than tender him as an RFA. While the Texans will need a long-term D-tackle plan soon, they are going stopgap-heavy in 2025.
Browns Did Not Significantly Factor Deion Sanders Into Shedeur Sanders Evaluation; Latest On QB’s Slide
In 2018, Deion Sanders famously criticized the Browns as a poor place for a quarterback prospect to land. This assessment came before Baker Mayfield‘s inconsistent tenure, one that ended soon after the Deshaun Watson trade, but the cornerback legend/future college HC was not exactly off-base when it came to quarterbacks in Cleveland — at least, the second incarnation of the Browns.
Deion, of course, now has a vested interest in Browns QB development after seeing his son’s historic draft slide ended when Cleveland traded up to No. 144. Shedeur Sanders‘ three-day fall overshadowed this year’s draft, and Deion’s presence was viewed as an accelerant to his son’s tumble. Deion Sanders had said well before the draft “certain cities” would not work as his son’s landing spot. When it became clear the NFL had a much lower view of Shedeur’s prospect value, the Sanderses’ pre-draft game plan looks to have been a misplay.
[RELATED: Joe Flacco Could Be Browns’ Odd Man Out In QB Room?]
Regarding Deion’s involvement, however, Browns GM Andrew Berry said it did not play a significant role in the organization’s evaluation of his son.
“I felt like our personal relationship and interactions with Deion, that’s really been all positive from our perspective, and I mean that organizationally, not just me and Kevin (Stefanski),” Berry said, via SI.com’s Charlie Viehl. “But really, all of us who have interacted with Deion and the people out in Colorado. We don’t typically penalize prospects for their parents, so to speak. So I can’t say if that was a factor or not for other teams. But that was not a significant factor for us.”
While Deion Sanders has repeatedly shot down rumors about potentially moving up to the NFL as a coach, he admitted he spoke with Jerry Jones about the Cowboys’ offseason HC vacancy. Rumblings about coaching staffs’ potential leeriness regarding the elder Sanders being a threat to coach his son down the road surfaced as a potential contributor to the draft slide, as some of the teams with QB vacancies feature head coaches on hot seats. Deion signed a Colorado extension this offseason, but the buyout numbers would not impede an NFL team beyond this year. Shedeur’s pre-draft interviews, however, remain the most notable catalyst for his slip from potential top-five pick to fifth-rounder.
We have heard a few post-draft accounts about teams’ dissatisfaction with Sanders’ interviews. His Brian Daboll Combine meeting is not believed to have gone smoothly, and an encounter with an anonymous team concluded with the QB saying he and that team were not a good match. Sanders is being criticized for overplaying his hand, operating like a top-tier prospect — as his father was 36 years ago — while not having the skillset to justify it.
Sanders only met with teams holding a top-seven draft choice at the Combine, and Fox Sports’ Henry McKenna indicates the Colorado QB turned one of those meetings into his own evaluation of the franchise. Sanders asked team brass about its plan to support him. Had Cam Ward made posed such a question, that would have made a bit more sense due to the momentum the Miami QB had built. But Sanders is believed to have asked it after faring poorly when discussing that team’s playbook, McKenna adds. This may well have been part of a “sandbagging” effort, as CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones noted the accomplished college QB is believed to have attempted to purposely come off as unimpressive to teams he did not view as desirable destinations.
Understandably, that perceived effort did not go over well with teams, Jones adds. Multiple clubs are believed to have removed Sanders from their draft boards, with a report indicating Deion’s involvement “didn’t help” as teams evaluated his son. An unspectacular pro day, and Deion making the decision to retire his son’s Colorado number despite seemingly insufficient qualifications also may have influenced teams’ decisions once the draft wore on, per Jones.
The Browns effectively admitted they were not especially high on the 2024 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year by choosing Dillon Gabriel 94th overall. He and Sanders will now coexist on a team that added Kenny Pickett and reacquired Joe Flacco before the draft.
As Deion Sanders assessments of the Browns will undoubtedly surface once his son begins competing for the starting job, the Browns having acquired a first-round pick — via their three-spot trade-down with a Jaguars team that acquired three-year Sanders teammate Travis Hunter — keeps the door open for Cleveland to make a move for a passer in 2026. A year out, that class is viewed as superior to 2025’s crop.
For now, the Browns — as they transition from a still-rostered Watson — will give all four of their passers a chance to win the QB1 gig. PFR readers view Flacco as the runaway lead candidate to make the most QB starts for the team this season, but Sanders’ path will certainly generate the most interest — regardless of what position on the depth chart he secures.
Broncos, Nik Bonitto Begin Extension Talks
Nik Bonitto picked a good time to deliver a breakout season. The edge rusher market is amid an offseason surge, after a bit of a lull (Nick Bosa‘s contract excluded) in recent years. More deals topping $40MM per year should emerge once T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons and Aidan Hutchinson are extended. Hutchinson is not a lock to be paid this year, but the Lions dynamo’s trajectory places him as a clear candidate to be paid the new going rate for All-Pro-caliber edge rushers.
Becoming a second-team All-Pro in 2024, Bonitto may not be aiming as high. But it will still cost the Broncos to keep him on a second contract, as the team will seek to do. The former 2022 second-round pick is eyeing a deal at least north of the $20MM-per-year barrier, the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson notes. Bonitto, 25, has said he wants to stay in Denver long term, Tomasson adds. The sides have begun extension talks.
[RELATED: Assessing Bonitto’s Extension Candidacy]
For the Broncos to have Bonitto extension talks start near $20MM AAV would probably be a win for the team, which saw its top edge rusher zoom to a 13.5-sack season that featured defensive touchdowns in back-to-back games. Bonitto, however, displayed difference-making potential in 2023 as well. His 2024 season included only four more QB hits (24) than he racked up in 2023. The Oklahoma product also tallied only three more tackles for loss (16-13) compared to 2023, when he only started four games.
Denver made a key decision about its EDGE future by trading Baron Browning and extending his former Ohio State teammate, Jonathon Cooper, before last year’s deadline. Cooper is signed to a team-friendly accord — four years, $54MM. It will cost far more to extend Bonitto, whose age and early-career production would give him a case to check in much higher than $20MM per year. Another impact season would crystalize that value and likely drive up the price, especially should Watt, Parsons and Hutchinson make $40MM-AAV deals a true salary bracket rather than a Myles Garrett-only zone. Twelve edge rushers are tied to deals worth at least $20MM per year now.
The Broncos carried a top-market OLB salary on their books for five-plus seasons, after having paid Von Miller before the 2016 franchise tag deadline. Denver used the pick the Rams sent over for Miller (No. 64 overall) on Bonitto and then passed on paying Bradley Chubb, trading him in 2022. Thanks to recent salary cap spikes, Bonitto will almost definitely land a higher AAV than Miller’s Broncos or Bills deals produced. When Denver extended Miller at $19.1MM per year nine summers ago, the cap stood at $155.3MM. It is now $279.2MM, creating a landscape in which a $40MM-per-year deal for a top-tier pass rusher can happen. Bonitto can make a case to secure a second-tier EDGE pact.
Bonitto may be the Broncos’ top extension candidate, in terms of earning potential, but the team has both Zach Allen and Courtland Sutton on the re-up radar this year. Sutton talks have begun, while Allen has expressed interest in staying beyond his 2025 contract year. Both players are tied to $15MM-per-year deals, and each has outplayed them. Allen having joined Bonitto as a second-team All-Pro last season offers a complication for the Broncos, who paid Patrick Surtain a then-market-setting rate at cornerback and gave eight-figure AAVs to D.J. Jones, Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw in March.
The Broncos were able lock in Surtain at a favorable rate ($24MM) on a deal that runs through 2029, but if they run into a value gap with Bonitto, a 2026 franchise tag would stand to be in play. While Allen and Sutton money will need to be factored in — if/once extensions are hammered out — the team is projected to hold $69MM-plus in cap space next year. It will carry more flexibility in 2026, as the Russell Wilson dead money will be off the books. Bo Nix must stay on a rookie contract through at least the 2026 season. Though, Nix’s progress — re: a potential 2027 payday — will become a factor as the Broncos consider long-term deals this offseason.