Chiefs Extend HC Andy Reid, GM Brett Veach, President Mark Donovan
The Chiefs have put together a leadership group that helped the team go to six straight AFC championship games, advance to the Super Bowl four times in five years, winning three of them, and become the first franchise to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the Patriots did so 20 years ago. As a result, Chiefs chairman and chief executive officer Clark Hunt announced today that head coach Andy Reid, general manager Brett Veach, and team president Mark Donovan have all received contract extensions. 
The trio has been responsible for one of the biggest franchise transformations over the last couple of decades. While we do not have details on the length of Donovan’s extension, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports Reid’s contract now runs through the 2029 season and that Veach will also be under contract through the rest of the 2020s. The Chiefs will embark on their threepeat quest soon, and they will have their top decision-makers locked down before the draft.
Kansas City had just finished last in the AFC West for the fourth time in five years when Reid and Veach arrived in 2013. Since their arrival, the team has missed the playoffs just once. This marks Veach’s second extension and Reid’s third with the Chiefs, who last extended their top two power brokers in 2020. Plenty has changed since.
Donovan has been with the team the longest of the three, being with the franchise since 2009. The longtime Chiefs president joins Veach in being an ex-Eagles staffer during Reid’s Philly tenure. Donovan served as senior vice president/operations for the Eagles, holding that role until coming to Kansas City. Two years after Donovan’s arrival for the Chiefs’ CEO gig, he earned his current role. After rolling through head coaches Herm Edwards, Todd Haley, and Romeo Crennel, Donovan played a role in reaching out to a familiar face.
Reid settled with the Chiefs on a five-year contract. In Philadelphia, Reid had made the playoffs in nine of 14 seasons, lost four NFC championship games, and Super Bowl XXXIX. In Kansas City, Reid has been even more efficient. The Chiefs are 10-for-11 in playoff berths under the all-time great. Reid’s team has won the AFC West in each of the past eight years, running the franchise’s Super Bowl championship count from one to four.
Donovan not only stole Reid back in 2012, but he also brought in a 35-year-old scout in Veach. The latter landed his first NFL job as a coaching intern for the Eagles in 2004. After Veach rose to the scouting level in 2010, Donovan and Reid lured him from Philadelphia with the position of pro and college personnel analyst. After two years in that role, Veach spent another two years as co-director of player personnel before officially earning his current job title of general manager in 2017.
Veach’s input has obviously been valuable over the years, as the team drafted the likes of Eric Fisher and Travis Kelce in his first year in Kansas City — during John Dorsey‘s GM tenure. In the two years before Veach was promoted to his current role, he contributed to a personnel department that drafted players like Marcus Peters, Chris Jones, and Tyreek Hill.
While Dorsey made the most important draft choice in Chiefs history by selecting Patrick Mahomes 10th overall in 2017, Veach has been widely credited as beginning the push for the future superstar. The Chiefs’ trajectory certainly changed as a result of the Mahomes investment, and the team booted Dorsey for Veach ahead of the 2017 season. Since then, Veach has overseen a personnel department that drafted L’Jarius Sneed, Creed Humphrey, Trent McDuffie, Isiah Pacheco, Rashee Rice, and several other contributors.
Aside from his draft hits, Veach has made a name for being unafraid to trade off top assets like Peters, Hill, and Sneed for draft compensation. He also has made a number of deft moves over the years in free agency, bringing in players like Joe Thuney and Jawaan Taylor in recent years and Marquise Brown this year.
Reid is the second-longest-tenured HC in Chiefs history, passing Marty Schottenheimer in longevity in 2023. Residing only behind Hall of Famer Hank Stram, Reid cinched up his Hall of Fame resume in Kansas City. Sitting fourth on the all-time wins list, Reid has shot down retirement rumors in each of the past two offseasons. His enduring commitment to the Chiefs has changed the franchise, with the Mahomes years quickly leading to an AFC power shift. Veach gave Reid and Mahomes a strong defensive safety net last season, and the Chiefs will almost definitely enter the 2024 season as Super Bowl favorites.
Texans To Sign LB Jacob Phillips
The Texans did some linebacker work early in free agency, reuniting DeMeco Ryans with 49ers pupil Azeez Al-Shaair. More than a month later, the team is still doing work on its defensive second level.
Jacob Phillips came in for a workout earlier today, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes, and ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter indicates that the parties have a deal in place. After four seasons in Cleveland, Phillips will make his way to Houston on a one-year deal. Phillips found his way to the Browns in 2020 thanks to a trade that sent running back Duke Johnson to the Texans. Now, four years later, that pick comes back to Houston.
As a third-round pick out of LSU, Phillips never quite panned out with Cleveland. Injuries were the primary factor for Phillips’ struggles throughout his rookie deal. Phillips missed seven games in his rookie season, 13 games in his sophomore campaign, and the last 10 games of the 2022 season before missing all of 2023. Out of a possible 67 career regular season games, Phillips has only appeared in 20, making eight starts.
Whether COVID-19 or a knee injury in 2020, a torn biceps muscle in 2021, a torn left pectoral muscle in 2022, or the torn right pectoral muscle that sidelined him for all of last year, Phillips’ struggles to stay on the gridiron have been unprecedented. Still, his ability to find his way into the starting lineup in the short windows when he’s healthy just shows the potential that lies in Phillips’ game.
While the Browns never got to see that potential fully develop and blossom, the Texans are hoping they’ll get to see it in 2024. Phillips will come to a Houston team that lost two starters at the position when Blake Cashman departed for Minnesota and Denzel Perryman returned to Los Angeles. Henry To’oTo’o, the only backup linebacker to see significant time on the defense as a rookie in 2023, is set to fill one of the starting spots alongside side returning starter Christian Harris.
The former 49er and Ryans disciple, Al-Shaair, was signed back in March to compete for the other starting spot. In a one-year deal with the Titans last year, Al-Shaair started every game of the season for the first time in his career and set a career high with an impressive 163 total tackles, good for fifth in the NFL in 2023.
With the starting lineup in 2024 assumed to be Harris, Al-Shaair, and To’oTo’o, Phillips will come in with less pressure to deliver right away. If healthy, Phillips could fill in To’oTo’o’s role from last year as the first man off the bench at the position in occasions of injury replacement or rotation. He’ll compete with fellow free agent addition Del’Shawn Phillips for that role. Phillips served a similar role with the Ravens over the last four years while also being a core special teamer in Baltimore.
It’s the start of a new opportunity for Phillips in Houston. After an injury-riddled start to his career, the 25-year-old has a chance to make an impact off the bench for the Texans without the pressure to do so right away. He’ll also embark on this journey with one of the league’s premier defensive minds as his head coach.
Commanders Release DE Shaka Toney
Shaka Toney was one of five players recently reinstated from a year-long gambling suspension. The defensive end and special teamer will not be with the Commanders in 2024, though; the team announced his release on Monday. 
Toney had two years remaining on his rookie contract, something which distinguished him from the other players who were reinstated (C.J. Moore, Quintez Cephus, Rashod Berry and Demetrius Taylor) but are currently free agents. A fresh start under new Washington head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters could have been in play for Toney, but instead he will join the others on the open market.
The 2021 seventh-round pick recorded 1.5 sacks during his rookie season. Toney added eight QB pressures in 10 games that year, but his defensive playing time took a step back in 2022. Playing primarily on special teams, the 26-year-old was held to just eight tackles. Last April, he received an indefinite ban stemming from one of several violations of the NFL’s gambling policies which was noted during the offseason.
Toney’s rookie pact tolled as a result of the suspension, and he was due base salaries of $1.06MM and $1.1MM over the next two years. Washington will not save any cap space with the decision to release him, but the team will incur a dead cap charge of only $23K in 2024, since that was the value of his signing bonus for this year. The Commanders will move forward with a new-look edge group which no longer features Montez Sweat or Chase Young but has seen a number of free agent signings and could include a rookie drafted this week.
A new agreement for Toney will no doubt come about only during the post-draft wave of free agency. His age could lead to interest from teams as an upside addition, but a lack of production along with the suspension will likely leave him taking a one-year flier this spring or summer.
Broncos To Sign CB Levi Wallace
APRIL 22: Wallace is set to head back to Denver today with the intention of signing a one-year deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. His free agent visit obviously went well, and Rapoport notes Wallace had other offers but he preferred to play under Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. Cornerback could still be a position of interest in this week’s draft, but the team now has a starting-caliber veteran in the fold.
APRIL 11: Preparing to go into last season with Damarri Mathis as the boundary starter opposite Patrick Surtain, the Broncos made a switch by moving veteran Fabian Moreau into that starting spot. Moreau is a free agent, and the team is looking into other options at cornerback.
One prospective addition has emerged. Ex-Buffalo and Pittsburgh corner Levi Wallace is visiting Denver on Friday, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz. Wallace spent the past two seasons with the Steelers.
[RELATED: Broncos To Pick Up Patrick Surtain‘s Fifth-Year Option]
Wallace, 28, started 18 games for Pittsburgh but played a regular role in Buffalo. For his career, the former UDFA has 70 starts under his belt. He would certainly supply the Broncos with some experience and profile as an option opposite Surtain. The Broncos still roster Mathis and traded back into last year’s third round to draft Iowa’s Riley Moss. The latter did not see much playing time as a rookie.
Even before Tre’Davious White‘s seminal ACL tear, the Bills used Wallace as a regular starter. The Alabama alum started every game he played with Buffalo from 2018-21. Wallace never allowed a passer rating north of 86 in his first five NFL seasons, posting sub-77 numbers as the closest defender in 2018 and ’21. Pro Football Focus rated Wallace as the NFL’s fourth-best corner in 2018, marking a surprising emergence given his draft status. Wallace’s PFF marks steadily declined over the next five years, and the Steelers demoted him in 2023.
After starting five of the Steelers’ first six games, Wallace dropped to a backup role for the next several weeks. Injuries in the secondary prompted Pittsburgh to insert Wallace back into the lineup to close the season, but after he had signed a two-year deal worth $9MM, the Steelers had made other plans. On the whole, Wallace allowed six touchdown passes last season. After signing Patrick Peterson and drafting Joey Porter Jr. 32nd overall last year, the Steelers swapped out Peterson for Donte Jackson this offseason. Going into the draft, Pittsburgh has Porter, Jackson and Josiah Scott positioned as their top three CBs.
In Ja’Quan McMillian, the Broncos found a promising rookie in the slot. But they are still in need of an answer opposite Surtain. The team may well look to the draft to address this role as well, with Moss presumably set to factor into a potential competition. With Moreau unsigned, the team will see if Wallace proves a low-cost fit.
Texans Re-Sign RB Dare Ogunbowale
The Texans have re-signed running back Dare Ogunbowale, per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. It is a one-year deal, with no financial details available at this time.
Houston was connected to a running back addition this offseason, and while the team did not land a premier free agent like Saquon Barkley, it did swing a trade for longtime Bengals RB Joe Mixon. While it is fair to question the wisdom of trading for a back with Mixon’s mileage while allowing Devin Singletary — who played well in 2023, his first and only season in Houston — to depart in free agency, the fact that the Texans subsequently extended Mixon underscores their faith in him.
The club currently has third-year pro Dameon Pierce as its RB2. Pierce played well in his rookie campaign but cratered last season, mustering a meager 2.9 yards-per-carry average on 145 rushing attempts after boasting a 4.2 YPC rate on 220 totes the year before. Rounding out the RB depth chart are J.J. Taylor, who did not play a single snap in 2023, and Gerrid Doaks, who has yet to see any regular season action since being selected by the Dolphins in the seventh round of the 2021 draft.
Clearly, then, there was a need for the Texans to add to the running back room, and they did so by reuniting with Ogunbowale, who just finished the two-year, $3.3MM deal he signed with the club in March 2022. Though he carried the ball just eight times last season, he will at least reprise his role as a core special teams player — he appeared in 68% of Houston’s third phase snaps in 2023 and 61% in 2022 — even if he does not get more looks on offense.
Ogunbowale, who will turn 30 next month, does have some kickoff returns on his resume, and it is possible he will compete for work as a returner in light of the league’s revised kickoff rules. Of course, he made headlines last season when he converted a 29-yard-field goal attempt as the Texans’ emergency kicker in a Week 9 victory over the Bucs.
Houston, which clinched the AFC South by a one-game margin in 2023, defeated Tampa Bay 39-37 in that contest.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/19/24
Today’s minor transactions from around the league:
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: OL Tyler Shatley
Seattle Seahawks
- Invited to rookie minicamp: QB Kory Curtis
Shatley will continue his run as the Jaguars’ longest-tenured player with a new contract. The long-time Jacksonville sixth man on the offensive line has continued to play a big role into his 30’s. In the first seven seasons of his career, Shatley started 25 games as an injury fill-in or replacement starter. In the three seasons since he’s turned 30 years old, Shatley has 26 starts. He isn’t projected to be a starter in 2024, but he should continue to be the first man off the bench in situations of injury or ineffectiveness.
Curtis is a name that’s been around college football for a while. After spending two years backing up J.T. Barrett and Dwayne Haskins at Ohio State, Curtis transferred to Bryant University, where he started for two more seasons. Utilizing his redshirt season and his extra year of eligibility as a student during the COVID-19 pandemic, Curtis played two more seasons at Gannon University. Playing his final season with the Golden Knights in 2022, Curtis returns to the football world via a rookie minicamp invitation to Seattle.
Colts TE Andrew Ogletree Removed From Commissioner’s Exempt List
Last month, domestic violence charges against Andrew Ogletree were dropped. At that time, the Colts tight end remained under investigation by the NFL, but he has been cleared to return. 
During a Friday press conference, general manager Chris Ballard said Ogletree has been removed from the commissioner’s exempt list. As a result, he is back on Indianapolis’ active roster ahead of his third season in the NFL. Ogletree was arrested in December on a pair of charges: domestic violence committed in the presence of a child less than 16 years old and domestic battery resulting in moderate bodily injury.
Both of those charges were dismissed with prejudice, though, which brought an end to the 25-year-old’s legal situation. The league’s investigation continued, but in that case as well no discipline has been found necessary. Ballard added that Ogletree is taking part in the Colts’ offseason program.
Indianapolis drafted the Youngstown State product in the sixth round of the 2022 draft. Ogletree’s rookie campaign ended before it began due to an ACL tear, however. His first regular NFL action came this past season, and he made a total of 12 appearances (nine starts). In that span, he recorded 147 yards and a pair of touchdowns on nine receptions.
Ogletree is joined on the Colts’ depth chart by the likes of veteran Mo Alie-Cox and 2022 third-rounder Jelani Woods. He will spend this offseason aiming to cement a roster spot with two years remaining on his rookie pact knowing the matter which halted his 2023 season has been resolved.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/18/24
Today’s minor moves:
Houston Texans
- Placed on exempt/international list: OT Kilian Zierer
Los Angeles Chargers
- Placed on exempt/international list: DL C.J. Okoye
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived/non-football injury: OT Coy Cronk
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on exempt/international list: OT Isaac Alarcon
Each team is allowed an extra practice squad spot in 2024 if they carry an international player. By placing a player on the exempt/international list, these teams are all but declaring which international player they’re choosing to roster next season.
NFL Reinstates Five Players Banned For Gambling
Last year’s round of gambling suspensions affected a few teams’ starting lineups, but a handful of depth-level players also received significant suspensions for violating the NFL’s betting policy. Five players from this group will have a chance to resume their careers.
The NFL is reinstating Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney, along with veteran special-teamer C.J. Moore, wide receiver Quintez Cephus, linebacker Rashod Berry and defensive lineman Demetrius Taylor. None of the five played last year due to indefinite suspensions that covered at least one season in length. Moore, Cephus, Berry and Taylor are currently free agents.
Cephus, Moore and Toney were part of the initial wave of suspensions — a development headlined by Jameson Williams‘ six-game suspension — last April. Cephus and Moore lost their jobs as a result. Isaiah Rodgers headlined the Colts’ suspensions, but Berry was also banned for at least a season. Indianapolis waived both players. Rodgers, now with the Eagles, has not been reinstated.
The Lions released Moore, a four-year special teams contributor, despite having re-signed him in March 2023. Cephus, who has been a rotational wide receiver under Matt Patricia and Dan Campbell, hit the waiver wire. Of the contingent reinstated Thursday, Cephus has delivered the most early-career production. As a rookie in 2020, the former fifth-round Lions draftee caught 20 passes for 349 yards. He was at 15-204 in 2021, scoring four touchdowns in that span. Cephus, 26, spent much of the 2022 season on IR but had one more season remaining on his rookie deal at the time the Lions cut him.
Drafted in the seventh round during Ron Rivera‘s time with Washington, Toney totaled 1.5 sacks as a rookie but none during a 16-game 2022 season. For his career, Toney has played just 169 defensive snaps. He served as a special teams regular for the Commanders in 2022, however. With Dan Quinn taking over, it is worth wondering if the rebuilding team will keep Toney onboard.
Taylor joined Cephus and Moore in having been with the Lions in 2022. With an apparent communication breakdown transpiring in Detroit, the Lions axed multiple staffers amid this gambling scandal. The NFL tweaked its gambling policy last fall, which allowed for quicker returns for players given a six-game ban for betting on non-NFL games while on team grounds.
This adjustment did not impact the five players reinstated Thursday, as each was popped for betting on NFL games. Rodgers’ betting scheme was quite elaborate, so it will be interesting to see if the league greenlights the young cornerback’s return this year. It appears the Eagles had hoped to see the league reinstate Rodgers today, as the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane indicates they were monitoring today for a potential re-emergence. But Rodgers’ indefinite ban persists.
Seahawks To Sign G Laken Tomlinson
APRIL 18: While Tomlinson’s deal maxes out at $4MM, ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson notes the base value checks in at $1.21MM. Incentives cover the rest; $500K of Tomlinson’s Seahawks pact is guaranteed, providing a tremendous step back from the veteran guard’s 2022 Jets deal (three years, $40MM). For a 10th-year player, $1.21MM is the veteran minimum.
Tomlinson’s durability would make part of the incentive package attainable, though he will need to win a starting job. He would collect $1.29MM with a 90% snap rate; the former Lions, 49ers and Jets blocker has hit that in each of the past six seasons.
APRIL 12: Known to be in the market for guard additions, the Seahawks recently showed interest in Laken Tomlinson. That has now resulted in a deal; the veteran is signing with Seattle on a one-year contract, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adds the pact has a maximum value of $4MM.
The Seahawks have been connected to Tomlinson for some time now, and the team has shown interest in a number of options capable of starting along the interior. The 32-year-old offers plenty of first-team experience (138 starts), having missed only one contest across his nine-year career. He will aim to rebound from his time with the Jets upon returning to the NFC West.
Tomlinson spent the past two years in New York, manning the left guard spot during that time. He was released this offseason despite one year remaining on his contract, however. That move saved the Jets cap space and paved the way for additions to be brought in via free agency. Tomlinson has not drawn rave PFF reviews in recent years, with deficiencies in run blocking in particular being a factor working against him.
Prior to his time in New York, though, the former first-rounder was a consistent contributor along the interior. Tomlinson began his career with the Lions, but his best performances game during his five-year run with the 49ers. His lone Pro Bowl nod came in 2021, his final campaign in San Francisco. Adding another to his resume will likely not be in the Seahawks’ plans for 2024, but starting-level play at any position is welcomed this late in free agency.
Seattle lost Damien Lewis in free agency and Phil Haynes remains unsigned. The Seahawks were active on the veteran market in terms of interior O-line options, showing interest in Cody Whitehair and bringing in Greg Van Roten as well as Lucas Patrick and Ike Boettger for visits. It will be interesting to see if Tomlinson is joined by any of those blockers in Seattle before or after the upcoming draft.
The Seahawks entered Friday with just $1.8MM in cap space, the third-lowest figure in the NFL. While this Tomlinson addition has not come at a particularly prohibitive cost, the team will need to free up funds to afford its draft class. In any case, Seattle’s draft efforts will now take place with a veteran presence in place as a starting option ahead of the 2024 campaign.