Jaguars To Sign T Fred Johnson
Jordan Mailata‘s primary fill-in at left tackle during the Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning season, Fred Johnson will be the latest member of the champions’ roster on the move. The veteran swingman is heading to Jacksonville.
The Jaguars are signing the six-year O-lineman to a one-year deal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. A former Bengals and Buccaneers blocker, Johnson spent the past two seasons in Philly.
Jacksonville already signed Chuma Edoga as a possible swingman behind Walker Little and Anton Harrison, making this Johnson addition a bit more interesting. Johnson is coming off a season in which he saw at least 110 snaps at both left and right tackle for the Eagles. He primarily manned the left side, filling in for Mailata while he rehabbed a hamstring injury that landed him on IR.
Grading Johnson better during a 2023 season in which he logged only 35 offensive snaps, Pro Football Focus viewed him as a bottom-10 tackle option (among regulars) last year. The Eagles still thought highly of Johnson, keeping him in place throughout Mailata’s four-week IR stay. Philly’s word on O-linemen goes a long way right now, given the team’s success up front, and the Jags will give Johnson an opportunity.
Also making six starts for the 2020 Bengals, Johnson logged more than 100 snaps at right guard that season. The Jags have invested midlevel money inside this offseason as well, adding Robert Hainsey on a somewhat surprising three-year, $21MM deal while giving Patrick Mekari a three-year, $37.5MM contract. Considering Mekari’s versatile Baltimore past and Hainsey’s work at both center and guard, Jacksonville has acquired more flexibility up front since free agency opened.
Bears, Jets, Titans, Vikings On Rondale Moore Radar
Traded straight up for Desmond Ridder last March, Rondale Moore suffered a season-ending injury that kept him from playing a down as a Falcon. Now out of contract, the former Cardinals slot receiver is generating considerable interest despite his recent setback.
The Vikings brought in the young slot target for a visit last week, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets; that was the first stop on a Moore tour. The Bears then met with the former second-round pick, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, while ESPN’s Field Yates indicates the Jets huddled up with Moore on Tuesday. A Titans-Moore summit is on tap today, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets.
This is a rather interesting market, as Moore went down early during Falcons training camp last year. While that timing did provide an extended rehab period, Moore missing a full season could have diminished him on a market that still includes Stefon Diggs, Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen and Tyler Lockett. Though, the veteran wing of the receiver market does not stand to impact Moore. A slot weapon and gadget presence, the 24-year-old WR is looking to rebound after the Cardinals bailed on him. The Purdue alum did bring some intrigue while in Arizona, as teams are lining up to determine a fit.
At just 5-foot-7, Moore presents limitations but operated as a Cardinals supporting-caster for Kyler Murray (and others) during his rookie contract. Drafted to play in Kliff Kingsbury‘s spread attack, Moore caught 54 passes for 435 yards and a touchdown as a rookie. During a 2022 season in which Murray went down in early December, Moore posted a 41/414/1 line. Current Cardinals OC Drew Petzing used Moore as a runner extensively, and he posted 178 rushing yards (on 28 carries) to go with 40 catches for 352 through the air in 2023. The Cards still used Moore as a trade chip to acquire a passer they eventually cut before Week 1.
Allen has shown interest in returning to the Bears, and they have already added slot option Olamide Zaccheaus in free agency. With Jalen Nailor supplementing Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, Minnesota has a crowded receiving situation as well. The Jets signed Tyler Johnson as a supplementary option, but their receiving corps has questions post-Davante Adams. Moore would not exactly answer them, but he would provide some Garrett Wilson support. The Titans have not re-signed Tyler Boyd, though they did add five-year vet Van Jefferson as a potential Calvin Ridley sidekick.
The Bears also worked out Mecole Hardman previously, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero adds (h/t Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams). Hardman has since signed with the Packers. Chicago GM Ryan Poles was in Kansas City when the Chiefs drafted Hardman in the 2019 second round.
Broncos, Seahawks Pursued TE Juwan Johnson; Latest On Evan Engram’s Free Agency Call
In what may be the least surprising free agency what-if in this year’s cycle, the Broncos were one of the teams in on Juwan Johnson. The veteran tight end confirmed (via ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell) a Sean Payton reunion was on the table.
The Broncos already employ two former Saints tight ends, in Adam Trautman and Lucas Krull, and their roster and coaching staff includes other ex-Saints. Denver, though, looked to serve as the lead driver of a market that ended with a three-year, $30.75MM deal for one of Payton’s more successful UDFAs.
New Orleans carved out enough cap room, primarily using Derek Carr‘s contract as a tool, to re-sign Johnson and Chase Young and add Justin Reid. Johnson will stay with the team with which he has spent his entire career, remaining paired up with Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill. Johnson, 28, will be the lead target among this trio thanks to this contract.
The Seahawks also pursued Johnson, which represents a less predictable push due to the team having re-signed Noah Fant during last year’s legal tampering period. Fant is on a two-year, $21.5MM deal, but Johnson carries a season of experience with Klint Kubiak, who did not overlap with Fant in Denver. The former first-round pick does not have any guaranteed salary on the books for 2026, though he is a year younger than Johnson.
Prior to agreeing to return in a new Saints offense, Johnson said (via NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill) he met with new HC Kellen Moore. Johnson called the new Saints HC the night before he signed to go over his vision for himself in the offense. Evidently, this conversation went well, as Johnson will be a key piece of Moore’s first Saints operation.
Although we included Johnson as the only tight end in the PFR Top 50, the list emerged before the Jaguars cut Evan Engram. A more accomplished player, Engram also looks to have benefited from where the Saints went for Johnson. A day after the Johnson pact, the Broncos gave Engram a two-year, $23MM accord. That narrowly topped Johnson’s AAV number, as Engram has two Pro Bowls on a resume that includes five 575-plus-yard seasons (to Johnson’s zero).
Engram, though, is two years older than Johnson. The 30-year-old TE also received an offer from the Chargers, 9News’ Mike Klis adds, noting the Bolts’ proposal checked in around where the Broncos’ offer came in. Engram visited both teams, meeting with the Broncos before Johnson recommitted to the Saints. The Broncos may have passed on beating the Saints’ offer to reunite Payton and Johnson, but they received news of Engram’s commitment barely a day later. This stands to help a team that saw Trautman’s 188 yards lead its TE contingent last season.
Of Engram’s $16MM guarantee at signing, $5MM comes as part of his 2026 base salary ($10.99MM), KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes. Though he gave the Saints a three-year commitment, Johnson did better at signing; New Orleans gave its TE find $21.25MM fully guaranteed.
Although they have signed half of last year’s AFC West starting centers (Bradley Bozeman, Andre James), the Chargers have thus far stood down at tight end. Their offer to Engram, of course, shows an interest in upgrading. Hayden Hurst hit free agency last week, while the team lost Stone Smartt to the Jets. Will Dissly, last season’s Bolts TE yardage leader, remains under contract.
NFC Contract Details: Mason, Vikings, Wharton, Panthers, Pack, Bears, Cowboys, Giants, Bucs, Brissett
Here are the details on a few of the more notable NFC contracts agreed to in recent days:
- Tershawn Wharton, DT (Panthers). Three years, $45.1MM. The former Chris Jones Chiefs sidekick will see $30.25MM fully guaranteed, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Wharton’s 2025 and ’26 base salaries ($1.17MM, $13.45MM) are locked in. While the $45.1MM base value is less than initially reported, sack-, playoff- and Pro Bowl-based incentives make up a $9MM incentive package.
- Grady Jarrett, DT (Bears). Three years, $42.75MM. While $27.25MM is guaranteed at signing, the Bears are guaranteeing almost all of the ex-Falcon’s 2026 base salary ahead of time. $13MM of Jarrett’s $14.25MM 2026 paragraph 5 pay is locked in, with Wilson adding the other $1.25MM shifts from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee of Day 3 of the ’26 league year. Jarrett is due a $1MM roster bonus on Day 5 of the 2027 league year, representing the Bears’ first true out on this contract.
- Ben Bredeson, G (Buccaneers). Three years, $22MM. The Bucs are guaranteeing their 2024 O-line signee $12.5MM at signing. A $5.5MM roster bonus is due on Day 5 of the 2026 league year, per Wilson, who adds a $500K roster bonus is due on Day 5 of the ’27 league year.
- Bobby Brown, DT (Panthers). Three years, $21MM. Of this total, only $6.8MM is guaranteed at signing, per OverTheCap. Brown will see $9.58MM guaranteed in total, with $2.77MM of Brown’s $5.55MM 2026 base salary shifting from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 3 of the ’26 league year, Wilson adds. A $6MM incentive package is present in the Panthers’ other notable DT deal.
- Brandon McManus, K (Packers). Three years, $15MM. The veteran kicker’s $5MM signing bonus represents his only at-signing guarantee, though the deal includes what amounts to a guaranteed $1.4MM 2025 base salary as well. ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky also indicates a $1MM roster bonus is in place for 2026. Nothing is guaranteed beyond 2025, however.
- KaVontae Turpin, WR (Cowboys). Three years, $13.5MM. This is $4.5MM south of the initially reported value. The Cowboys have guaranteed the All-Pro returner $5MM at signing; that comes from a $3.6MM signing bonus and a $1.4MM 2025 base salary, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer tweets. Nothing is guaranteed beyond 2025. After Turpin totaled 420 receiving yards last season, Dallas included a $250K yearly incentive for a 500-yard season, Archer adds. That jumps to $500K for a 700-yard season.
- Jacoby Brissett, QB (Cardinals). Two years, $12.5MM. This is a nice bump for Brissett, who has played on one-year deals in each of the past four seasons. The nomadic backup/fill-in starter will see $8MM guaranteed, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets.
- James Hudson, OL (Giants). Two years, $11MM. Hudson will see $5.8MM guaranteed at signing, per OverTheCap. That comes from a signing bonus and a guaranteed 2025 salary; no 2026 Hudson money is locked in.
- Jordan Mason, RB (Vikings). Two years, $10.5MM. Minnesota is guaranteeing Mason $7.23MM at signing, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes. The former Christian McCaffrey backup will see $2MM of his $4.73MM 2026 base salary fully guaranteed. Incentives on Mason’s deal start at 800 rushing yards in a season, with a $200K bump coming if the former sixth-round pick reaches that number.
- Roy Robertson-Harris, DL (Giants). Two years, $9MM. Robertson-Harris will see $5.3MM guaranteed at signing, Wilson tweets. The Giants guaranteed the veteran interior D-lineman $1MM of his $3.5MM 2026 base at signing. It would cost the Giants $2.4MM in dead money to move on after one season, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan adds.
Raiders Nearing Geno Smith Extension?
MARCH 16: Smith has a $16MM roster bonus that is due today, per The Athletic’s Tashan Reed. The Raiders will pay him that money, but for accounting purposes, it can be incorporated into an extension as a signing bonus. That would also allow the Raiders to reduce his $31MM 2025 cap hit.
MARCH 14: The Raiders do not appear to be planning to hold Geno Smith to his Seahawks-constructed contract going into the season. An extension is considered likely, and it could be coming soon.
Smith is expected to agree to a new deal this week, The Athletic’s Tashan Reed reports. Smith negotiated with the Seahawks this offseason, but the sides were far apart on terms. As Smith’s camp pushed for a deal north of $40MM per year, the Seahawks offered him a similar contract to the one they gave Sam Darnold (three years, $100.5MM). The value gap led Seattle to trade Smith to Las Vegas, which will now be tasked with pinpointing the middling quarterback’s price.
Proving more valuable than his current contract suggests, Smith is coming off a season where he eclipsed his 2022 Comeback Player of the Year campaign in passing yards (4,320) and completion percentage (70.4) while matching his yards-per-attempt number (7.5) from that breakout season. He is tied to a deal in QB no-man’s land (three years, $75MM). No quarterback is within $5MM AAV of Smith either way, with Justin Fields (two years, $40MM) and the Darnold/Baker Mayfield range being the closest to the new Raiders starter.
The Seahawks not moving close to $40MM per year for Smith illustrates their view of the ex-Russell Wilson backup. While Smith has not been connected to approaching the $50MM-per-year club, that ballooning contract tier has raised the market as a whole. Smith exited last season as the NFL’s 18th-highest-paid QB; Darnold’s deal bumped him to 19th.
Smith is going into his age-35 season, which offers another complication. The Raiders, however, are likely to authorize an extension that covers at least three years in length, Reed adds. Smith is joining a Las Vegas team that had slogged through two grim years at quarterback following the team’s December 2022 Derek Carr benching, one that led to a release weeks later. Carr had kept the Raiders’ QB1 reins longer than anyone in team history, and the Josh McDaniels regime did not effectively replace him, as Jimmy Garoppolo did not play well despite being given a three-year deal that nearly matched Smith’s Seattle numbers.
The Raiders aggressively pursued Matthew Stafford, though Smith’s age and familiarity with Pete Carroll probably makes him a better fit. Stafford is heading into an age-37 season. With the Raiders finishing 4-13 after Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell operated as the primary passers and playing in a division that sent three teams to the playoffs and one to Super Bowl LIX, identifying a starter who could be in place for a few seasons probably lined up better than trading for a year-to-year QB who would have still drawn a guarantee in the $100MM range.
Smith secured only $27.3MM at signing from the Seahawks, who had paid him just $3.5MM in 2022 and lower rates before that. Mayfield received $50MM guaranteed in total ($40MM at signing), while Darnold’s locked-in number likely rivals that. If the Raiders give Smith a deal in the $40MM-per-year range, the guarantee will need to come in higher than where Mayfield’s settled last year. Regardless of where that number comes in, the Raiders will soon be back in the franchise-QB contract game.
Seahawks To Sign WR Cooper Kupp
Cooper Kupp‘s homecoming is a go. The Washington native is set to sign with the Seahawks, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports.
Joining the Broncos, Cowboys, Patriots and Saints in pursuit of Kupp, the Seahawks are adding him on a contract expected to be worth at least $15MM, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. An Eastern Washington alum, Kupp had been in contact with Seahawks brass Friday. He will pass on the non-NFC West interest and will be set to, health permitting, face his former team twice this season.
The Seahawks needed to go big here, as The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports they are giving Kupp a three-year, $45MM deal. While some teams were reported as hesitant at $12MM per year, the market grew. The Seahawks were in front the start, per Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager. Guarantees will tell the full tale, but the Seahawks are bringing back the local product. This will be Kupp’s ninth NFL season, and he will join a team that has seen its receiver situation change dramatically in recent days.
Multiple obstacles stood to impede Kupp on the market. He will turn 32 this summer and has missed 16 games due to injury since his dominant 2021 season. But a host of teams joined this push. The Packers were also among them, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz tweets. A Seahawks team that presented a homecoming opportunity — and one that suddenly brings a receiver need due to jettisoning Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf in the same week — won out and will pair Kupp with emerging top receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
While making a significant size downgrade (though, more offseason time obviously remains for the team to add more help) in going from Metcalf to Kupp, the Seahawks do have the player who authored this decade’s most impactful wide receiver season under contract.
Kupp’s 1,947-yard 2021 slate marked the best threat to Calvin Johnson‘s single-season record, and he completed a triple-crown effort with 145 catches and 16 touchdowns. Kupp then passed Hakeem Nicks for the second-most receiving yards in one playoff run, totaling 478 and six TDs that postseason. Only Larry Fitzgerald‘s 2008 performance has that yardage number beat, though Kupp tacked on a Super Bowl MVP award after scoring a game-winning TD.
Forming an immediate connection with Matthew Stafford, Kupp elevated from his years with Jared Goff and powered the Rams — along with obvious contributions from Stafford and Aaron Donald — to a Super Bowl title. The Rams then gave that game’s MVP a three-year, $80MM deal — despite two years remaining on Kupp’s previous pact — during an offseason in which they paid Stafford and Donald. Kupp, however, ran into steady injury trouble on his third contract. And the Rams ripped that deal up Wednesday, taking on some dead money to do so. The Rams will see their former third-round find again soon.
A high ankle sprain ended Kupp’s 2022 season, costing him eight games during a disastrous Rams title defense. He also began the 2023 season late, starting it on IR because of hamstring trouble. Kupp sustained another right high ankle sprain in September 2024, going down soon after Puka Nacua did. That led the Rams into a 1-4 hole, and they looked into a Kupp trade at that point. Ultimately deciding to stand down, the Rams saw both Nacua and Kupp come back to drive a playoff push. Though, Nacua moved into the lead role while Kupp was a capable sidekick.
Missing 10 games over the past two years (though, two were not due to injury), Kupp still combined for 1,447 yards and 11 touchdowns in that span. Kupp’s work when healthy drove a competitive market, but the Seahawks held a location advantage. Kupp was open to leaving the West Coast, but he preferred not to. The Seahawks disbanded a six-year Lockett-Metcalf partnership and will hope Kupp can stay on the field alongside Smith-Njigba to justify this investment.
Kupp, who also suffered an ACL tear midway through the Rams’ Super Bowl LIII-bound 2018 season, has two 1,000-yard years on his resume. That checks in as one fewer than Metcalf, who is now on a $33MM-per-year Steelers extension. This is certainly a risk for the Seahawks, in John Schneider‘s second season at the wheel post-Pete Carroll, but Kupp did contribute three 100-yard games for the Rams last year. His hometown team will bet on Kupp joining Smith-Njigba and Noah Fant in providing key support for free agency addition Sam Darnold.
Vikings Considering Aaron Rodgers Push; Giants Have Submitted Best Offer?
The Aaron Rodgers market has persisted long enough that Russell Wilson is taking visits. Appearing to sit behind his former 2014 NFC championship game opponent the aging QB pecking order, Wilson has attempted to shake things up with Browns and Giants meetings. Wilson is meeting with Big Blue today.
But the Giants have done plenty of work on Rodgers. Linked to the 41-year-old cap casualty for several days, the Giants may also be leading the way in terms of offers. Although the Steelers have also made Rodgers an offer, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini indicated during her Scoop City podcast (h/t Steelers Depot) that New York is believed to have submitted a better offer.
Considering the earnings Rodgers has put together, the Giants offering a bit more probably would not move the needle enough. If the former Packers and Jets starter were to join the Giants, fit would most likely be the top box to check. Money is not believed to be the driver of Rodgers’ delay with the Steelers, so it would stand to reason no Giants offer would be pushing him in either direction. That said, a sizable gap forming between the two teams’ proposals could serve as a tiebreaker of sorts.
The Jets discussed Rodgers with “five or six” teams since the Combine, The Exhibit’s Josina Anderson tweets, but they had previously determined they were moving on. It would appear that Gang Green made a last-ditch attempt to trade Rodgers, but nothing transpired on that front. Rodgers became a post-June 1 release Wednesday, saddling the Jets with $49MM in dead money through 2026. The Jets’ new regime making the call to move on from an all-time QB talent only to see three more teams swoop in is rather interesting, and the wild-card suitor here may be helping drive the delay.
Rodgers was viewed as being intrigued by a Vikings partnership — in what would be an eerily similar move to some late-2000s activity involving the Packers’ previous starting quarterback — but SI.com’s Albert Breer adds that, as of Thursday night, the Vikes were merely considering diving into the Rodgers market. Going a bit further here, Russini notes that the Vikings are “seriously” considering Rodgers, who is giving the NFC North team time to make its decision. That extra piece of information from Russini may do the best to explain this delay; the Vikings appear to be holding up the Steelers and Giants’ QB plans.
In addition to completing the Brett Favre arc, a Rodgers-to-Minnesota storyline would leave the Steelers and Giants scrambling at QB. While the Giants hold the No. 3 overall pick — and likely would still be connected to using it to acquire a QB even if Rodgers signs — the Steelers reside at No. 21. Rodgers choosing Pittsburgh would stand to give him the best chance of finishing the 2025 season as a starter, but he has clearly shown respect for what the Vikings have put together under Kevin O’Connell.
Minnesota has now been connected to Rodgers for nearly a week, with the Steelers being in play a bit longer. Both Sam Darnold and Vikes contingency plan Daniel Jones committed elsewhere. Jones was down to a Minnesota-or-Indianapolis choice; had the late-season Vikings addition chosen to stay in the Twin Cities, we might have a Rodgers answer by now. Jones, however, signed with the Colts to push Anthony Richardson. It will be interesting to see if either the Giants or Steelers blink and go with Wilson, whose free agency is in an interesting position at this point.
While it remains interesting Rodgers has this much sway after a wildly underwhelming Jets tenure, the glaring needs the Giants and Steelers bring partially explains it. One member of this trio will be left without Rodgers or Wilson, providing serious complications about 2025 viability. The Falcons have not let Kirk Cousins out of his contract (yet), and the Browns’ interest in Wilson provides another wrinkle here.
The Vikings are still preparing to give the keys to J.J. McCarthy, but a true entrance into the Rodgers derby would seemingly throw a wrench into the 2024 draftee’s timetable. Minnesota’s confidence in McCarthy would also stand to give Rodgers pause, but for now, he appears genuinely intrigued about see what the team’s sales pitch would be.
Eagles Shopping Dallas Goedert, Bryce Huff?
The Eagles’ Bryce Huff signing was about the only blemish on a well-constructed Super Bowl team. Huff signed for just more than $17MM per year last March but was a healthy scratch for Philadelphia’s season-ender against Kansas City. The Super Bowl champions are now looking into parting ways with the former Jets pass rusher.
Huff is coming up in trade rumors; more interestingly, so is Dallas Goedert. Philly is open to trade talks involving Goedert and Huff, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz tweets. The Eagles had been eyeing a potential fourth-round pick for their long-serving tight end, The Exhibit’s Josina Anderson mentioned previously.
One of the league’s better all-around tight ends, Goedert is going into a contract year. He turned 30 earlier this offseason. Although Goedert has continually missed time due to injuries, he has consistently operated as Philly’s No. 3 target behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on his current contract — a four-year, $57MM deal. Though, the former second-round pick has missed 15 games over the past three seasons.
Tied to just a $1.3MM 2025 base salary, Goedert also carries a $5.8MM option bonus for 2025. The Eagles have regularly used these to create cap space in recent years, while four void years are in place to reduce cap numbers as well. Goedert is only set to carry an $11.8MM cap number this year. It would cost the Eagles $21.4MM in dead money to move off Goedert before June 1. The Eagles also appear open to a trade here that involves a 2026 or 2027 mid-round pick, Anderson adds.
A separation is firmly in play for the Eagles and Goedert, per 94WIP.com’s Eliot Shorr-Parks, who adds a pay cut may be the only way Goedert comes back to Philadelphia. Although the tight end market has not moved substantially since Goedert agreed to his current deal — one finalized shortly after the Eagles traded Zach Ertz during the 2021 season — Goedert remains a quality blocker who has contributed plenty in the passing game in recent years. Boasting three 600-plus-yard seasons, Goedert finished with 42 catches for 496 yards and two touchdowns in 2024 while adding, after being activated from IR following a knee injury, 17 grabs for 215 yards and another TD in the playoffs.
A Goedert trade would leave the Eagles with a significant tight end need, and three top options — Evan Engram, Juwan Johnson, Mike Gesicki — are off the market. This draft does house a few quality options, but potentially significant trade-ups would need to take place from No. 32 for the Eagles to have a chance at the top two (Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland).
Huff both suffered an injury and was ineffective in Vic Fangio’s defense. Playing just 285 defensive snaps last season, the former Jets rotational rusher tallied 2.5 sacks. Week 8 brought Huff’s final 20-plus-snap effort in a game of consequence, as the Eagles only turned to him in a regular role in Week 18. Huff had posted a 10-sack Jets season and received substantial free agency interest. The Eagles are ready to see if some clubs still view Huff highly.
Bengals Progressing On Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins Extensions
No longer appearing likely to extend Ja’Marr Chase and split with Tee Higgins, the Bengals have seen their updated plan — one featuring a hopeful long-term Higgins future in Cincinnati — produce notable progress.
After a report earlier this week indicated Higgins and the Bengals were still far apart, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports the team has made “significant progress” on extensions for both Chase and Higgins. As Trey Hendrickson resides in limbo because of the team’s renewed Higgins interest, Cincy could have deals done with its longtime WR pair soon.
[RELATED: Bengals Want First-Round Pick For Trey Hendrickson]
Nothing is developing on the Hendrickson trade front, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, who adds no contract adjustment appears imminent, either. This may be the cost of doing business for the Bengals, who have set a clear hierarchy that places Higgins above Hendrickson in the contract queue. Hendrickson has been given permission to seek a trade, giving Cincinnati a major hole to fill if a deal comes together.
Meanwhile, however, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini adds the Chase and Higgins contracts should combine to reach or surpass $70MM per year. This seemed like a scenario the Bengals wanted to avoid as recently as January, when Duke Tobin said a Higgins extension would have to come at the “right number.” But Cincy re-tagged Higgins, as Joe Burrow ramped up pressure on the organization to keep the duo together. The Bengals will need to pay their duo more than the Dolphins and Eagles did their impact tandems.
It is worth wondering if this would be the best way for the Bengals to invest, especially considering just about everything had pointed to the team moving on from Higgins in 2025. The Bengals have a history with a quarterback growing frustrated with its lack of aggressiveness, however, as a Carson Palmer–Mike Brown dustup ended with the former franchise QB traded in 2011. Tobin was with the Bengals at that point. The team now appears close to keeping Burrow’s troops together, likely at the cost of keeping Hendrickson.
Chase turned down a Bengals offer this year, but after the team was unable to extend him before the 2024 season, the market has shifted. Tobin said he expected Chase to be the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback, after his triple-crown season upped his value. But another position’s market has affected this aim. After the Raiders eclipsed Justin Jefferson‘s previous non-QB AAV mark by paying Maxx Crosby $35.5MM per year, the Browns gave Myles Garrett a whopping $40MM per annum to back off his trade request. The Bengals are in the crosshairs here, as T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons and Aidan Hutchinson could change that number again this offseason. Acting early would be in Cincy’s best interests now, though that has not exactly been a strength as of late for the team.
Garrett getting to where he did has already changed things for the Bengals, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the leaguewide expectation is a deal that checks in between $40.1MM and $41MM per year. Chase would not have commanded this in 2024, but the Brown had said by training camp the Bengals were unlikely to pay their WR1 before last season. Although Chase’s hold-in applied pressure that did lead to negotiations, nothing commenced. Now recommitted to extending Higgins, the Bengals are set to authorize a monster Chase extension that will change their roster blueprint.
The Bengals sit at barely $26MM in cap space; that number would increase once the wideouts are paid. Higgins is on a $26.2MM tag number, while Chase is tied to a $21.8MM fifth-year option. This could open the door to the Bengals keeping Hendrickson, but with the 30-year-old sack kingpin in a contract year and pursuing an extension, Cincinnati attempting to keep Hendrickson without extending him would not go over well with a player coming off back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons.
The receivers are the priority, however, and Higgins can expect to score a deal north of $30MM per year. D.K. Metcalf having just agreed toa a $33MM-per-year Seahawks payday could pertain to Higgins, and the Bengals are almost definitely going to need to deviate from their policy of not guaranteeing future years to non-quarterbacks in order to move the Chase and Higgins contracts past the finish line. But the extension sagas involving Cincinnati’s receivers look to finally be nearing an end.
Bills Signees Larry Ogunjobi, Michael Hoecht Facing PED Suspensions
Active in the pass rusher market this week, the Bills will need some early-season help. It will be a while before their full pass-rushing squad can operate together.
Both Larry Ogunjobi and Michael Hoecht are facing suspensions under the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Brandon Beane confirmed this Friday, indicating the Bills knew about Hoecht’s suspension (via BuffaloBills.com’s Maddy Glab) but were not aware of Ogunjobi’s when they signed him.
Ogunjobi is coming off a Steelers release, having signed with the Bills on a one-year, $8.3MM deal. The AFC North veteran would not have been able to command that for an 11-game season, naturally, and it will be interesting to see how the contract is structured. Ogunjobi and Hoecht will lose six game checks from their suspensions. How his base salary is structured will determine how much he loses. While we do not have the Ogunjobi details yet, Hoecht signed a three-year, $21MM deal that includes a $3MM 2025 base salary.
This is not the first time Ogunjobi agreed to a contract before a snag surfaced. The Bears had a three-year, $40.5MM deal agreed to with the free agent defensive tackle in 2022, but the team pulled it back due to an issue that cropped up on a physical. Ogunjobi had recently sustained a foot injury. That led him to Pittsburgh on a one-year agreement after Chicago pulled out of the deal.
Informing the Bills before their negotiations, Hoecht said (via ESPN.com’s Alaina Getzenberg) he found out about his ban three weeks into the offseason. Hoecht played out his rookie contract with the Rams. While players almost never confirm they knowingly took banned substances, Hoecht said (via Getzenberg) he trusted a trainer he should not have and wanted to inform teams ahead of his free agency. Ogunjobi’s timeline is less clear.
These two checked in as B-team acquisitions to the Joey Bosa headliner. While Beane said the team will have a plan to help the decorated acquisition have a better chance of staying healthy, he may need to play more earlier. Though, the Bills were not believed to have closed the door on re-signing Von Miller at a reduced rate. As of now, Buffalo has Bosa, Gregory Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa anchoring their edge rush. Inside, Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones are in place as starters.
With Ogunjobi to miss time, the Bills may need to do more work to fortify their DT group. Third-round pick DeWayne Carter, however, is also a rotational option the team may need to lean on more while the ex-Browns, Bengals and Steelers DT sits.