Mutual Interest Between Broncos, WR Cooper Kupp?
A report several days ago listed the Broncos as being uninterested in a trade for Cooper Kupp. No one traded for Kupp, as the Rams abandoned that pursuit and cut the former All-Pro. With Kupp on the market, however, Denver is believed to have interest.
Kupp may also have interest, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who said during an appearance on Altitude Sports 92.3 FM that if the veteran receiver had his way, “he would like to be in Denver.” Adding that the Broncos would be an appealing destination for the cap casualty, Schefter points to interest on the player’s part. The team would stand to be interested as well, and Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz describes the Broncos as “firmly in the mix.”
The 31-year-old receiver has been connected to a potential $12MM-per-year number, and with at least four other teams (the Patriots included) in the mix, Schultz expects Kupp’s asking price to ultimately be met. Kupp has been connected to wanting to stay on the West Coast. Colorado certainly does not qualify, but the Broncos would qualify as a fit.
Denver has one of the game’s best contested-catch players in Courtland Sutton, a two-time 1,000-yard receiver who operates primarily as an outside playmaker. Beyond Sutton, a host of unproven rookie-contract wideouts round out Denver’s group. Marvin Mims presents the most promise of this cast, being 2-for-2 in first-team All-Pro nods as a returner and impressing as a receiver down the stretch. The Broncos also saw flashes from fourth-round rookie Troy Franklin — a Bo Nix college teammate — and seventh-rounder Devaughn Vele. That said, this offense could benefit from a veteran performer.
Sean Payton named tight end as a position he was more interested in filling compared to receiver, and the team has checked that box by adding Evan Engram on a two-year, $23MM deal ($16.5MM guaranteed). Kupp appears to land in a similar price range, after not staying healthy during his three-year, $80MM Rams extension. The Broncos do have a rookie-QB contract to build around, though they are also carrying $30MM-plus in Russell Wilson dead money this season. While Nix being tied to rookie-scale money through 2026 presents an opportunity, the Wilson number is not exactly an afterthought on the Broncos’ 2025 cap sheet.
Engram stands to help give Nix a short- and mid-range target, while Mims profiles as a long-range threat who has often been used as a gadget weapon under Payton. A veteran third receiver, the presences of Vele and Franklin notwithstanding, could benefit Nix. Though, the Broncos will undoubtedly join other teams in being hesitant due to Kupp having missed 18 games — primarily due to ankle issues — since his dominant 2021 season.
Kupp’s 1,947-yard 2021 also included a 478-yard, six-touchdown playoffs he capped with the Super Bowl LVI game-winner. While Kupp has not matched that form since, he averaged 90.2 receiving yards per game in 2022 and combined for 11 TD receptions over the past two years. He notched three 100-yard games last season, even as Puka Nacua became the Rams’ clear-cut WR1. Teams eyeing a veteran No. 2 target have a bevy of options now, as Stefon Diggs, Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen and Tyler Lockett are available. Kupp’s release, however, may have vaulted him to the front of the line on this market.
Dolphins To Re-Sign OL Liam Eichenberg
Roaming around the Dolphins’ offensive line during his rookie contract, Liam Eichenberg settled into a starting guard role last season. After some guard shuffling on Miami’s roster during free agency’s opening week, Eichenberg will be prioritized.
The former second-round pick is staying in Miami on a one-year deal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Eichenberg will be a starter option for a Dolphins team that replaced its other 2024 first-string guard — Robert Jones — with James Daniels, who agreed to a three-year, $24MM deal.
Eichenberg, 27, completed an O-line cycle during his rookie contract, playing at least 100 snaps at all five positions. The Notre Dame alum worked as Miami’s primary left tackle in 2021, while also seeing time at RT. He slid to left guard in 2022 and was the team’s center fill-in — after Connor Williams‘ ACL tear — in 2023. Eichenberg won the Dolphins’ RG job last year, however, and only played that position for Mike McDaniel’s team from that point on. After 1,036 snaps at RG last season, Eichenberg will be an option for Miami once again in 2025.
The Dolphins needed a right guard replacement for Robert Hunt, who landed a monster Panthers contract last March, and it will be interesting if Eichenberg has the chance to play the same position two years in a row for a change. Eichenberg entered the NFL after a three-year run as Notre Dame’s left tackle. A move to the blind side is highly unlikely, as another second-round pick — Patrick Paul — is in line to succeed Terron Armstead, who is expected to retire.
Miami has Daniels, Austin Jackson and Aaron Brewer‘s midlevel contracts in place up front. Eichenberg may not be the most exciting choice to start opposite Daniels — Pro Football Focus has graded him as a bottom-10 option everywhere he has been — but the 6-foot-6 blocker has made 52 career starts and will be a low-cost option on an offense housing high-end deals for Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
Cardinals Meet With Asante Samuel Jr.
One of the top defenders still available, Asante Samuel Jr. will take the visit route to enhance his market. The four-year Chargers regular met with the Cardinals on Thursday, ESPN.com’s Field Yates reports.
Samuel is coming off a season in which a stinger-like injury limited him to four games. But the second-generation NFL corner is going into an age-26 season and worked as a primary Chargers starter during his rookie contract. The Bolts have signed Donte Jackson and Benjamin St-Juste this week, signaling Samuel might need to find a second contract elsewhere.
Operating primarily as a boundary corner, Samuel delivered a splashy wild-card performance by intercepting Trevor Lawrence three times as the Chargers built a 27-point lead. While that margin famously unraveled, Samuel maintained a regular Chargers role until going down last season. Samuel helped save the Chargers – to a degree, as their HC and GM were still fired – after their major J.C. Jackson miscalculation in 2023 and was a 2024 starter early in Jesse Minter‘s first DC season.
After winning the slot job during the Bolts’ 2023 training camp, Samuel shifted back outside – where he played almost exclusively from 2021-22 – after the team ended the Jackson experiment. Pro Football Focus graded the 5-10 cover man as a top-30 corner in 2022 and ’23, though he gave up seven touchdowns as the closest defender during the ’22 season. Also showing some ball-hawking ability, Samuel intercepted six passes from 2021-23 (nine if the Lawrence thefts are included) and posted 35 passes defensed in that span.
While we ranked Samuel 32nd among free agents this year, the cornerback rush did not include he or Rasul Douglas (No. 42). The more experienced batch of CBs — D.J. Reed, Byron Murphy, Carlton Davis, Charvarius Ward — each scored deals averaging at least $16MM per year, while Paulson Adebo and Nate Hobbs did well on the market. Samuel needing to take a visit does not signal he generated immense interest at free agency’s outset.
Letting Murphy and Patrick Peterson walk in free agency earlier this decade, the Cardinals are still in search of cornerstones here. They saw promise from slot defender Garrett Williams last season and used a second-round pick on Max Melton as well. Weeks prior to that, Arizona signed Sean Murphy-Bunting. Starling Thomas maintained a regular role for Arizona last season as well. While the Cardinals have more options than usual at this point, the Samuel visit confirms the team is still on the hunt for starter-level help at the position.
Chiefs To Sign QB Gardner Minshew
Carson Wentz appears to be a Chiefs one-and-done. Kansas City will bring in a recent AFC West rival to replace him, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Gardner Minshew is Missouri-bound.
Designated a post-June 1 cut by the Raiders on Wednesday, Minshew will back up Patrick Mahomes next season. It is a bit interesting Minshew will take a deal so soon, as a few bridge opportunities may still exist. But the Chiefs have convinced the veteran to accept a QB2 role in his seventh year. It is a one-year agreement.
Minshew’s Raiders year did not go well, as he follows Jimmy Garoppolo in receiving a post-June 1 release designation to leave Las Vegas. Antonio Pierce benched Minshew on multiple occasions, and he suffered a broken collarbone during a November game against the Broncos. The Raiders used a failed physical designation to release Minshew, making this quick Chiefs agreement interesting from another angle.
Like Wentz, Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne before him, Minshew will step into the Mahomes QB2 role as an experienced starter. The former sixth-round pick has 46 starts on his resume. This includes a solid season with the Colts, as the Anthony Richardson injury fill-in piloted the team to the playoff precipice in 2023. Last season, Minshew was tied to a Raiders team that let Josh Jacobs walk and traded Davante Adams after he played just two 2024 games. Pierce named Minshew the starter but was certainly not satisfied with his work, expressing frustration about the Raiders’ QB situation behind the scenes and pulling the veteran for Aidan O’Connell in multiple games.
Minshew, 29 in May, went 2-7 as a starter last season and posted a 9-10 TD-INT ratio. Minshew did up his completion percentage to 66.3 but averaged only 6.6 yards per attempt. With the Colts in 2023, the ex-Jaguars draftee went 7-6 in place of Richardson and posted a 15-9 TD-INT ratio. Minshew still averaged only 6.7 yards per pass as a Colt, but Indianapolis wanted him back in a veteran role. The Raiders’ two-year, $25MM offer proved well out of Indy’s price range, and Minshew will not collect anything close to that with the Chiefs.
Mahomes, 30 in September, has proven durable since a scare during the 2019 season. Although he has suffered multiple ankle injuries over the past three seasons, the three-time Super Bowl MVP has been able to largely play through them. With no need to develop a quarterback, the Chiefs have continued to take the veteran route. Minshew will be the latest to stop through Kansas City behind the QB icon.
Eagles To Sign CB Adoree’ Jackson
Adoree’ Jackson remained in free agency until days before the Giants’ opener last year; he will land a deal much earlier in 2025. Jackson will follow the Saquon Barkley path out of New York.
The Eagles will sign the former first-round cornerback, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports. The former Titans and Giants starter will join an Eagles team that cut Darius Slay and lost Isaiah Rodgers to the Vikings.
After making the plan to designate Slay a post-June 1 cut, the Eagles had hoped to retain Rodgers. The Vikings intervened, giving the one-year Eagle contributor a two-year, $11MM deal. Jackson likely will step in at a lower rate while bringing more experience. Jackson, who is going into his age-30 season, has made 82 starts — 41 apiece in Tennessee and New York.
The CB market unfolded without a Jackson accord last spring, and he ended up on a one-year, $1.75MM deal to stay with the Giants. After four Titans seasons, Jackson had initially played out a three-year, $39MM Giants contract. As New York aimed to go young in the secondary last year, Jackson still arrived as 11th-hour insurance. He ended up starting five games for the 3-14 team.
Playing 47% of the Giants’ defensive snaps last year, Jackson fared well considering his late arrival. Pro Football Focus graded him 38th among CB regulars, and Pro-Football-Reference’s coverage metrics charged Jackson with a 48.8 completion percentage allowed — far better than his 2023 showing (65.9). Jackson struggled in 2023, after having been reassigned to the slot in training camp before being shifted back to his usual perimeter role once Don Martindale benched Tre Hawkins, but was a key part of the Giants’ playoff trip in 2022. Allowing just 51.7% of passes his way to be completed, Jackson graded as PFF’s No. 31 corner. He missed time due to an MCL sprain but returned for the playoffs and led the effort to limit Justin Jefferson in a Giants wild-card upset.
Jackson figures to be a Rodgers replacement as a depth piece, but the Eagles have a need on the boundary (to accompany locked-in starters Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean) after Slay’s Steelers signing. Jackson could compete for that role, but it would surprise if Philly did not add a starter-caliber option in the draft or perhaps via trade. While Jackson may not be the Slay replacement, the Super Bowl champs at least secured some insurance.
Contract Details: Allen, Bills, Bears, Giants, Adebo, Packers, Hobbs, Chiefs, Saints
Starting with one monster Bills extension and another big-ticket deal, here are the latest contract details from around the NFL:
- Josh Allen, QB (Bills): Six years, $330MM. Classified as a two-year add-on that provides the reigning MVP with a roughly $90MM raise, the deal includes some key dates. On fully guaranteed salaries in 2025 and ’26, Allen will see all of his 2027 pay become fully guaranteed on Day 5 of the 2026 league year, per OverTheCap. On Day 5 of the 2027 league year, Allen’s 53.5MM salary locks in. $14MM of Allen’s 2029 roster bonus ($22.3MM) becomes guaranteed on Day 5 of the 2028 league year. Allen will be due a $35MM roster bonus on Day 5 of the 2029 league year. He is tied to a $41.3MM cap number in 2025, but restructures are likely coming; his cap hit spikes to $61.4MM in 2026.
- Gregory Rousseau, DE (Bills). Four years, $80MM. Rousseau will see $49MM guaranteed at signing, OverTheCap notes, while his 2025 and ’26 base salaries are fully guaranteed. The Bills are providing guarantees into Year 3, as KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes that $5MM of Rousseau’s $16.41MM base is locked in already. The rest will shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 5 of the 2027 league year. A $3MM roster bonus is also in place on Day 5 of the 2029 league year.
- Paulson Adebo, CB (Giants). Three years, $54MM. The young cornerback will see $34.75MM guaranteed at signing. Despite Adebo only signing a three-year deal, that full guarantee ranks 10th among corners. The Giants guaranteed $13.5MM of Adebo’s $17.25MM 2026 salary, ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell tweets. The rest becomes guaranteed on Day 5 of the 2026 league year.
- Dayo Odeyingbo, DE (Bears): Three years, $48MM. The ex-Colt will see $29.5MM guaranteed at signing, per OverTheCap. $13MM of Odeyingbo’s $15.5MM 2026 base salary is guaranteed at signing, with Wilson adding the rest locks in on Day 3 of the 2026 league year. A $1MM roster bonus is also due on Day 5 of the 2027 league year; Odeyingbo’s 2027 base is nonguaranteed.
- Nate Hobbs, CB (Packers). Four years, $48MM. While Hobbs is guaranteed $16MM at signing, the general Packers contract structure resurfaces here. Reminding of Josh Jacobs‘ 2024 deal (also 4/48), his former Raiders teammate has no guarantees beyond that $16MM signing bonus, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes. A $6.25MM roster bonus is due on Day 3 of the 2026 league year, Wilson tweets. The Packers typically do not guarantee second-year salaries, but they would be out $12MM in dead money if they move in on 2026 — due to signing bonus prorations.
- Darius Slayton, WR (Giants). Three years, $36MM. Now on a third Giants contract, Slayton will receive $22MM at signing, Wilson tweets. That is $10MM more than his second contract was worth in total. Slayton’s 2026 salary is mostly guaranteed, with Wilson adding $9.75MM of that $12.25MM is locked in. A $2.5MM roster bonus in place on Day 5 of the 2027 league year.
- Juwan Johnson, TE (Saints). Three years, $30.75MM. Johnson will see $21.25MM at signing, with Wilson adding his 2025 and ’26 base salaries are guaranteed. Johnson’s 2027 paragraph 5 number ($7.5MM) is nonguaranteed, but a $2MM roster bonus is due on Day 5 of the 2027 league year.
- Jaylon Moore, T (Chiefs). Two years, $30MM. The Chiefs are guaranteeing their new left tackle hopeful $21.24MM at signing. A career-long 49ers backup, Moore will see $7MM of his $14.24MM 2026 base salary guaranteed at signing, Wilson tweets.
Commanders To Re-Sign WR Noah Brown
Authoring one play that will go down in franchise history, Noah Brown suffered a season-ending injury weeks after his Hail Mary touchdown. But the Commanders want to keep going with the former Cowboys and Texans wide receiver.
Brown is re-signing with Washington on a one-year deal worth up to $4.5MM, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Brown had overlapped with Dan Quinn in Dallas, before playing two seasons in Houston. Brown is coming off an injury that ended his season in early December. He had previously indicated hope a Commanders re-signing would commence.
Following K.J. Osborn in re-signing with Washington, Brown played a more notable role than the late-season slot addition. Coming over after a late-summer Texans release, Brown caught 35 passes for 453 yards in his Commanders debut. While the Jayden Daniels heave that began a Bears tailspin inflated Brown’s yardage total, the former Texas-stationed WR posted four other games with more than 50 receiving yards. He will be back and set to vie for a job as an auxiliary piece alongside Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel.
A clear-cut backup for his first five NFL seasons, Brown caught on as a reliable target in 2022 and has remained such since. Following the Cowboys’ Amari Cooper trade, Brown stepped into a bigger role and posted 555 receiving yards in 2022. The Texans added him on a one-year deal in 2023, and the 225-pound target helped a team depleted at receiver. Brown’s 567-yard, two-touchdown season aided C.J. Stroud during his Offensive Rookie of the Year season. Brown has since played supporting roles for back-to-back Offensive Rookies of the Year.
Brown’s skillset differs from Osborn’s, as the latter has been primarily a slot player during his career. Both will have a clear chance to supplement the recently formed McLaurin-Samuel duo. Brown is going into his age-29 season. Despite not surpassing 185 yards in a season, he is still going ahead of a ninth NFL campaign. Although Washington added Samuel, the team has otherwise been retention-heavy with its skill-position group. Zach Ertz, John Bates and Jeremy McNichols are back in the fold as well.
The re-signings of Osborn and Brown come after the Commanders met with Michael Gallup, a long-running Brown Cowboys teammate who recently unretired. Gallup visited the Commanders on Tuesday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. A 2024 Cowboys release, Gallup (29) retired after joining the Raiders. A 2021 ACL tear altered Gallup’s career, but he still had scored a Cowboys payday weeks later. Not clearing 500 receiving yards in a season since 2020, Gallup appears to be searching for a path back into the league.
Raiders To Sign RB Raheem Mostert
Despite going into an age-33 season, Raheem Mostert will secure another chance. The speedy running back is joining the Raiders, according to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz. It is a one-year deal.
Although Mostert will turn 33 in April, his late start to RB1 duty has helped him extend his career. Despite making his NFL debut in 2015, Mostert only has 759 carries on his resume. Almost all of them have come in the past six seasons, as Mostert bounced around the league as a special-teamer before being given ball-carrying chances in 2019.
The Dolphins dropped Mostert after three seasons, doing so two years after he led the NFL in touchdowns (21). Miami has younger backs in De’Von Achane and Jaylen Wright, but Las Vegas has some uncertainty here. After Zamir White and Alexander Mattison could not closely remind of Josh Jacobs, the team carried big questions into free agency. Mostert will attempt to be a key part of the Raiders’ backfield for at least one season.
The late-blooming RB did not enjoy an extended opportunity until the 49ers gave him work alongside Tevin Coleman in 2019, but new Raiders OC Chip Kelly was present during Mostert’s nomadic period. During his final year as Eagles HC, Kelly received personnel control in an effort that led to a Howie Roseman demotion. That regrettable Eagles decision produced a memorable 2015, but one of the lower-level moves does come into play 10 years later.
The Eagles’ 2015 UDFA class included Mostert, who was out of Philly by September (after a first Dolphins stint came during Joe Philbin‘s HC run) and off on a journey that included Ravens, Browns, Jets and Bears stops before the 49ers took a flier.
Mostert’s contract is worth $2.1MM, NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe tweets. The Purdue alum had initially joined the Dolphins for $2.13MM in 2022, but he signed two more contracts to stay in Mike McDaniel‘s system. Mostert, whose 2019 NFC championship performance (220 yards, four touchdowns) still ranks among the best playoff rushing outings ever, totaled 891 rushing yards in 2022 and posted his first 1,000-yard season (1,012) in 2023. Both seasons featured at least 4.8 yards per carry. In 2024, Achane reduced Mostert to a backup; the latter gained only 278 rushing yards in 13 games.
White is going into a contract year, while Ameer Abdullah — who joined Mostert as a 2015 rookie — joins Mattison in free agency. It should be expected the Raiders add more pieces to their backfield, but it has yet to take shape under Pete Carroll. The draft will be a place to watch, but for now, Mostert has a path to regular playing time in Vegas.
Commanders To Re-Sign WR K.J. Osborn
Formerly a productive slot receiver in Minnesota, K.J. Osborn did not build on that work in New England. A Patriots team in need of steady receiving aid shopped Osborn before last year’s deadline and eventually cut him, leading Washington to take a flier.
The Commanders are set to see if Osborn can return to his pre-2024 form, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes the ex-Viking regular is re-signing on a one-year deal in Washington. Osborn is heading into his sixth NFL season.
Washington has lost four-year tertiary target Dyami Brown (to the Jaguars), but the team already made a splash to land an inside receiver by sending the 49ers a fifth-round pick for Deebo Samuel. The versatile All-Pro will become Terry McLaurin‘s top complementary option, but the team remains in need of players to operate around their top two. Noah Brown, Olamide Zaccheaus multi-stint Washington target Jamison Crowder are unsigned at this point.
An effective third option alongside Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen in Minnesota in 2021 and ’22, Osborn surpassed 600 receiving yards in each season and combined for 12 touchdown receptions. He added 540 yards and three scores during a 2023 season that brought a Kirk Cousins Achilles tear, but a modest market formed — ahead of a one-year, $4MM Patriots pact — and the former fifth-round pick managed only seven catches with New England. Even as the Patriots played a season in need at the position, Osborn did not provide much help.
Extensive shopping did not lead to a trade, even though the Chargers were believed to have interest. The Pats waived Osborn in December, and while he landed in Washington via waiver claim, he played in just one game and did not see any playoff action. Essentially, Osborn will look to forget 2024. Going into his age-28 campaign, the Michigan native will have a full offseason in Kliff Kingsbury‘s offense.
Aaron Rodgers Still Considering Vikings; Latest On Steelers’ Effort
As the Giants and Steelers have hovered as the leaders in this unusual Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes for multiple days, the future Hall of Fame quarterback is still deliberating. Rodgers is well aware the Giants and Steelers are interested, but the third team linked to him over the weekend is still believed to be in the mix.
Rodgers remains intrigued by playing for the Vikings, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Michael Silver note. Minnesota continues to evaluate its QB options, and we heard over the weekend Rodgers is one of them. While completing the Full Favre would be make for an eerie parallel for his one-time Packers successor, Minnesota has some selling points the other two suitors do not.
Kevin O’Connell is the reigning NFL Coach of the Year, riding to that honor mostly as Sam Darnold went from bottom-tier starter and borderline draft bust to an original-ballot Pro Bowler who threw 35 touchdown passes in guiding the Vikings to a stunning 14-3 record. Darnold targeted All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson, former first-rounder Jordan Addison and Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson. Longtime Rodgers teammate Aaron Jones also did heavy lifting for the 2024 Vikings, and he is back on a two-year, $20MM deal.
Minnesota also finished with a top-five defense last season, and during a week in which the team re-signed Byron Murphy and retained Harrison Smith, the Vikes added veteran D-linemen Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Brett Favre joined a Vikings team that had lost a wild-card game in 2008, albeit with a much worse record than last year’s Minnesota edition; Rodgers may be interested in helping a team to a higher level. Though, the four-time MVP failing to do so in New York — ahead of a Wednesday release — offers a warning sign for the suitors.
Favre took the Vikings to the 2009 NFC championship game, delivering an MVP-caliber season at 40. That ended badly, with a reckless interception stalling a potential game-winning Vikings drive in the NFC championship game. But Favre delivered a strong season at 40, beating Rodgers’ Packers twice. Unretirement No. 3 in 2010 did not go as well, as Favre’s ironman streak ended during a 6-10 Vikes season.
Rodgers is rumored to be interested in playing two more years, which is where a Minnesota decision would become complicated. Unlike in 2009 when they recruited Favre, the Vikings have a young quarterback (J.J. McCarthy) they are planning to build around. The 2009 Vikes had seen three Tarvaris Jackson seasons, as both a starter and backup, by that point. This Vikings regime is high on McCarthy, having centered its 2024 offseason around him before a meniscus tear entrenched Darnold at QB1. Rodgers may not be too keen on serving as a bridge who faces the risk of being benched during his first season with the team.
Chances are, he would not face that reality in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are not in position to grab a starter-level QB in the draft, though one of the QBs off the Cam Ward/Shedeur Sanders tier may rise up draft boards during the pre-draft process. But Rodgers could have a path, even as he will turn 42 in December, to starting throughout for a Steelers team that has a strong defensive nucleus — and one that just acquired D.K. Metcalf to play alongside George Pickens.
The Steelers have made their offer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reports, adding that money is not believed to be driving this Rodgers delay. The decorated quarterback has not publicly confirmed he even intends to play in 2025, though that has been the expectation for a bit. Although the Steelers are unlikely to essentially hand the keys to Rodgers in the way the Jets did, their hesitation on Russell Wilson does raise the stakes for this particular free agency pursuit.
Wilson looms as a Steelers backup option, but time may be ticking there, too. Wilson is visiting the Browns on Thursday and Giants on Friday. While Wilson has settled in behind Rodgers within the QB free agent hierarchy — to the point the Giants would be unlikely to sign him before they know they are out of the Rodgers derby — he remains a capable starting quarterback who could be a bridge option to a rookie.
The Vikings being in the Rodgers mix as well stands to give the 20-year veteran a good chance to remain a starter in 2025. While Rodgers is well off the 2012 Peyton Manning level in terms of free agency prize, as the all-time great’s free agency decision stalled the NFL that offseason, the Rodgers free agency is slowing the market for at least one quarterback and probably a couple more.
The two teams in this derby who do not land Rodgers figure to place an immediate call to Wilson’s camp. Options tail off soon after. Gardner Minshew is available, and Joe Flacco is interested in playing an age-40 season. The line moves to Jameis Winston, Carson Wentz and Mason Rudolph after. The Falcons continue to hold Kirk Cousins hostage, intent on keeping him for a potential trade market.