Minor NFL Transactions: 3/17/26
Tuesday’s minor moves from around the NFL…
Cleveland Browns
- Re-signed: CB D’Angelo Ross
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed ERFA tender: CB Reddy Steward
- Signed RFA tender: G T.J. Bass
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed RFA tender: DT Thomas Booker
New Orleans Saints
- Suspended: CB Beanie Bishop
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-signed: LB Chazz Surratt
Tennessee Titans
- Re-signed: RB Julius Chestnut
- Signed: OL Austin Deculus
Since signing with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2023, Bass has started in just 10 of 48 games. Nevertheless, the Cowboys placed a second-round tender on Bass on March 7. The Cowboys would have received a second-rounder had they passed on matching an offer sheet, but nobody presented one to Bass over the past week and a half. The 26-year-old signed his tender with Dallas on Tuesday and will collect a substantial raise as a result. After earning a base salary of $1.03MM in 2025, Bass will rake in $5.75MM next season. As Tommy Yarrish of DallasCowboys.com notes, Bass could be a candidate to start at left guard if Tyler Smith moves to left tackle.
The league has issued a three-game suspension to Bishop for violating its substances of abuse policy, according to Mike Tripplett of NewOrleans.Football. As an undrafted rookie with the Steelers in 2024, Bishop surprisingly picked off four passes in 17 games. But Bishop did not survive the Steelers’ final cuts last August, and though he returned to their practice squad, they waived the 5-foot-9, 182-pounder in November. Bishop joined the Saints’ practice squad in December, but he did not see any action with them down the stretch. The Saints kept Bishop around after the season on a reserve/futures deal.
Deculus, whom the Texans drafted in the sixth round in 2022, has played in 26 games over his four years in the league. He notched career highs in games (13) and starts (five) during his lone season with the Chargers in 2025. Deculus stepped in for 498 tackle snaps (476 on the left side, 22 on the right) as O-line cornerstones Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt dealt with major injuries, but it did not go well. Pro Football Focus ranked Deculus’ performance last among 84 tackles. He will now compete for a spot behind Titans tackles Dan Moore Jr. and JC Latham.
2026 NFL Draft Visits: Browns, Cooper, Proctor
Though free agency is dominating the news feed this week, the 2026 NFL Draft is fast-approaching and teams around the league have been welcoming draft prospects for top 30 visits. The Browns got busy with these early into March, hosting Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson on March 4, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Cleveland hosted Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson and Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate the next day.
The Browns’ passing attack struggled in 2025, ranking 31st in the NFL. Cleveland didn’t have a 1,000-yard receiver for the first time since 2021. Despite playing every game this year, WR1 Jerry Jeudy‘s receiving line totals (50 receptions-602 yards-2 touchdowns) were nearly all half what they were in 2024 (90-1,229-4). The team’s leading receiver in 2025 was third-round rookie tight end Harold Fannin (72-731-6).
Seeing this, it makes sense the Browns are looking to add elite talent to the receiving corps. Daniel Jeremiah at NFL.com ranks Tate as the sixth-best prospect in the class and the best wide receiver, slotting Tyson in at 21st overall and WR4. Both pass-catchers are explosive playmakers with prototypical size and length. They own similar skillsets when it comes to their control of changing speed and direction, but Tyson slides down the board a bit as some health issues in college have led to durability questions.
Simpson is the bridge between projected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza and the rest of the QB crop projected to go in the third or fourth round of the draft. Simpson is currently hovering near the back of the first round in most projection but could easily jump up if a quarterback-needy team gets antsy. After only playing one season as a starter in college, some scouts feel Simpson would benefit from sitting and developing a year or two before starting. The Browns currently are slated to watch Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders battle for the QB1 job. The team could consider drafting Simpson to sit behind them both for a year before competing for the job himself.
Here are a few other draft visits from around the league:
- According to Luca Evans of The Denver post, the Broncos hosted Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. this past Friday. Jeremiah slots Cooper in at 18th overall and WR3. The AFC West Champs return all their top receivers from last year but may be looking for more consistent production in an upgrade at the WR3 role. Alongside many transfer additions, Cooper’s championship season with the Hoosiers was the culmination of four years of work from the bottom. He led the No. 1 team in the country in receptions (69) and receiving yards (937) and finished second on the team in receiving touchdowns (13).
- Lastly, the Texans hosted Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor on March 6, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. The Texans return three starters on the offensive line from last year, and signed Braden Smith and Evan Brown to potentially fill the empty two spots. Still, the Texans have struggled to find consistent lineups on the interior line and could benefit by adding a lineman in the draft to compete at both guard and tackle, allowing Smith to do the same. Proctor slots in as Jeremiah’s 23rd-best overall prospect and the sixth-best offensive lineman.
NFL Free Agency Rumors: Giants, Aubrey, Browns, Robinson
One of the first free agent priorities for the Giants this past week was re-signing right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, ensuring that the offensive line would be returning at least four out of five starters from the 2025 season. With Eluemunor under contract, New York only needs to fill its right guard spot now, left vacant as Greg Van Roten hits the free agent market.
The team did re-sign former seventh overall pick Evan Neal, who has failed to live up to his draft status in four years with team, but they’re eyes were clearly set on bigger fish to fill the role. After analyzing the options available on the free agent market, though, the Giants may return to the familiar. In their view, the crop of guards available could certainly be serviceable starters, but they aren’t worth the price they’re going for at the moment.
One such option is former Browns starting guard Wyatt Teller. A three-time Pro Bowler who twice earned second-team All-Pro honors, Teller certainly has displayed a high level of play during his time in Cleveland. While New York would be interested in Teller filling their hole at right guard, his $10MM per year price tag has made them balk at the prospect of signing him. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan has gone so far as to say that the Giants are “no longer willing to pay a mid-tier guard,” ruling them out of signing options like Teller, Joel Bitonio, or Dylan Parham. Connor Hughes of SportsNet New York believes that, because of this, the team could revisit re-signing Van Roten off the open market.
Lastly in New York, veteran kicker Graham Gano remains on the team’s roster at this time, but Dan Duggan of The Athletic, does not believe that will be the case for long. Duggan asserts that his continued presence could be related to the Injury Protection Benefit in the players’ Collective Bargaining Agreement. Regardless, he does not believe Gano will be on the roster next year.
Here are a few other rumors concerning free agency from around the NFL:
- Since entering the NFL three years ago, Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey has left no doubt that he is one of the premier placekickers in the NFL. In three years of play, Aubrey has three Pro Bowl selections, one first-team All-Pro honor, and two second-team All-Pro honors. Recognizing his greatness, the Cowboys have already offered to make him the highest-paid kicker in the NFL, raising the current highest annual average salary of $6.5MM with a $7.5MM offer, but no deal has gotten done, as Aubrey’s agent is asking for $10MM per year. Per Joseph Hoyt of The Dallas Morning News Aubrey was hoping that Dallas allowing him to test the market as a restricted free agent would show that other teams would match the value he’s seeking, but the second-round tender Dallas placed on him might prevent that from occurring.
- We had known that the Browns would be saying goodbye to the abovementioned Teller and veteran tight end David Njoku, and we had even speculated that a post-June 1 designation could assist the team in both transactions. Well, this week, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported the final post-June 1 designations, and as expected, both Teller and Njoku were on that list. Cleveland will get some cap relief as a result of applying the designation to each departure.
- Former Panthers defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson was released from Carolina the day before the start of the new league year, and he immediately signed the next day with the Buccaneers. According to Greg Auman of FOX Sports, Robinson explained that, when the Panthers granted him permission to seek a trade, Tampa Bay was one of two teams with which he communicated — the other being San Francisco. When no trade developed and he became a free agent with his release from the team, his prior experience talking to the Buccaneers laid a clear path forward.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/13/26
Here are Friday’s minor NFL moves as free agency continues into the weekend:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: WR Simi Fehoko
Baltimore Ravens
- Re-signed: G Corey Bullock
Carolina Panthers
- Re-signed: LB Claudin Cherelus
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: CB Jaylon Jones
Cleveland Browns
- Re-signed: CB D’Angelo Ross
Dallas Cowboys
- Re-signed: TE Princeton Fant
Denver Broncos
- Signed RFA tender: CB Ja’Quan McMillian
Houston Texans
- Waived: DT Kurt Hinish
Miami Dolphins
- Signed ERFA tender: CB Ethan Bonner
- Signed: P Seth Vernon
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: C Zeke Correll
New York Giants
- Signed: S Elijah Campbell
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed: TE Ko Kieft
After making the call not to tender him as a restricted free agent, the Panthers were able to come to an agreement to re-sign Cherelus. The undrafted linebacker has started six of 27 game appearances in his last two years with Carolina, logging 60 total tackles.
Unlike Cherelus, McMillian did get tendered in Denver. With 16 starts in 51 games appearances over four years with the Broncos, McMillian’s tender is worth $5.77MM for the 2026 season, per Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette.
The Texans signed Hinish to a one-year deal last year, but the Notre Dame product spent the season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. Instead of holding on to him for the upcoming season, they’ve decided to cut him from the roster.
Browns, DL Kalia Davis Agree To Deal
Defensive lineman Kalia Davis was a 17-game starter for the playoff-bound 49ers in 2025, but they did not retain the restricted free agent. Davis is now joining the Browns on a one-year deal worth up to $3MM, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
The 49ers had the option of giving Davis a second-rounder tender ($6.26MM) or an original-round tender ($3.82MM). They passed in both cases, leading the 2022 sixth-rounder to his second organization.
Aside from last season, the 6-foot-2, 310-pound Davis did not see much action in San Francisco. The UCF product spent his entire rookie season on the reserve/non-football injury list. Davis picked up his first sack in 2023, but he played just three games and 54 defensive snaps. The 49ers became more reliant on Davis in 2023, a year in which he appeared in 13 games and was on the field for 260 defensive plays. Davis totaled 12 tackles and recorded the only interception of his career.
Dealing with a deluge of defensive injuries last season, the 49ers turned to Davis more than ever. Although Davis underwent surgery on a broken hand in early October, he did not miss any time. The 27-year-old amassed the third-most snaps (492) among 49ers D-linemen and finished with 28 tackles, four TFL and three passes defensed. While Davis’ availability was a positive for an injury-plagued defense, Pro Football Focus rated his play 122nd among 127 qualifying interior defensive linemen.
In moving to Cleveland, Davis will fall in behind Mason Graham and Maliek Collins in the club’s interior D-line mix. Michael Hall, a 2024 second-rounder, and Adin Huntington are also among the Browns’ options. Shelby Harris piled up over 500 defensive snaps last year, but he is now a free agent.
Browns Re-Sign G Teven Jenkins
MARCH 13: The former second-round Bears draftee agreed to another one-year Browns deal, with KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson noting the contract is worth $4MM and brings a $2MM cap hit. This pact includes $3.96MM guaranteed, per OverTheCap. As they are wont to do, the Browns are tacking four void years onto the deal to keep the cap hit low. Jenkins played for $3.1MM in 2025.
MARCH 10: Teven Jenkins will remain in place with the Browns for 2026. The veteran guard has agreed to a new Cleveland deal, per a team announcement.
After Jenkins concluded his college career with First-Team All-Big 12 honors in 2020, the Bears drafted the former Oklahoma State Cowboy 39th overall the next spring. A back injury limited Jenkins to six games and two starts as a rookie, though, and the Bears shifted him to guard in his second season.
Although injuries held Jenkins to 39 of a possible 51 games from 2022-24, he racked up 36 starts. Pro Football Focus generally took a favorable view of Jenkins’ work as a guard in Chicago. The team still did not retain Jenkins last offseason, instead bringing in Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson as its new starting guards.
With his time in Chicago up, Jenkins headed to Cleveland on a one-year agreement last March. Jenkins put together the first 17-game season of his career, but the 28-year-old started just four times on a team with established guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller. Bitonio played every game and barely missed any snaps, but Jenkins stepped in four times for an injured Teller.
After totaling 329 offensive snaps last year, Jenkins’ role moving forward is in flux as the Browns continue a wide-ranging overhaul up front. Bitonio may retire, while Teller is on track to leave in free agency. Knowing they would need new guard starters, the Browns traded for ex-Texan Tytus Howard (who can also play tackle) and worked out an agreement with former Charger Zion Johnson on Monday.
Earlier today, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported Cleveland would still be involved in the guard market, so more outside additions could be coming. In any case, Jenkins will again be at least a depth option.
Browns Re-Sign P Corey Bojorquez
Corey Bojorquez is set to be back in Cleveland for a fifth season. The Browns announced today that they re-signed their veteran punter.
“This is a place we’ve been for now going to be over half my career,” Bojorquez said in the team’s statement. “So, to have that continuity and be here with a lot of the players, and I’m excited for the new coaching staff, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Bojorquez first caught on with Cleveland before the 2022 campaign, where he was set to compete with Joseph Charlton for the punting job. Bojorquez won the gig, and he’s only missed a single game for the Browns since that time. He inked a two-year extension with the organization back in 2024.
The 29-year-old has led the NFL in punts and punting yards in each of the past two seasons, but it’s not all quantity. Bojorquez had the NFL’s longest punt (84 yards) in 2024, and he accomplished the same feat in previous stops with the Bills (2020) and Packers (2021). He’s also landed 37.5 percent of his punts inside the 20 during his career.
His performance started to slip a bit in 2025. He landed a career-low 25.3 percent of his punts inside the 20, and his 37 net yards per punt also represented a career low. Still, Bojorquez will provide the special teams with additional continuity as they welcome in a new ST coordinator in Byron Storer.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/11/26
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: RB Zonovan Knight
- Signed: LS Casey Kreiter
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: C Corey Levin, LB Channing Tindall
Carolina Panthers
- Re-signed: DE Trevis Gipson, TE James Mitchell
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: TE Jack Stoll
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: LB Tyrus Wheat
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: FB Adam Prentice
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: OLB Brenton Cox, DT Jonathan Ford
Los Angeles Chargers
- Re-signed: LS Josh Harris
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: S Zayne Anderson, TE Ben Sims
New England Patriots
- Signed: S Mike Brown, TE Julian Hill
New York Giants
- Re-signed: LB Zaire Barnes
New York Jets
- Re-signed: OT Max Mitchell
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Re-signed: OL Jack Driscoll
San Francisco 49ers
- Re-signed: RB Patrick Taylor
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-signed: LS Chris Stoll
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DE Malik Herring
Browns Place Second-Round RFA Tender On S Ronnie Hickman
MARCH 11: Hickman has now officially been tendered, per a team announcement. His Browns tenure will continue for at least one more season.
MARCH 6: Three years ago, the Browns signed safety Ronnie Hickman as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State. Fast forward three years and Hickman has established himself as a starting safety in Cleveland. With Hickman becoming a restricted free agent this offseason, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that the Browns plan to place a second-round tender on the 24-year-old safety. 
Restricted free agents are free to negotiate and sign with other teams, but the original team can assign a tender that affects what needs to happen for the restricted free agent to be moved. With a second-round tender, the Browns have committed Hickman to at least a one-year, $5.81MM deal to stay in Cleveland.
Hickman will still be able to negotiate with other teams and potentially get a bigger deal, though. If he does find a better deal, Cleveland will get the option to match the new team’s offer sheet, If the Browns choose not to match the new team’s offer, they will be granted a second-round pick from the new team. As long as the transaction takes place more than two days before the draft, the second-round pick must be exchanged in the same offseason.
Hickman immediately found a role on the Browns as a rookie. His ability to fill in at safety allowed for Grant Delpit to roam around the defense and serve as a bit of a Swiss Army knife. In the two years since, Hickman has established himself as the team’s stalwart in the defensive backfield. His continued constancy as a deep safety in the past two years has helped the Browns defense establish itself as one of the league’s better units.
On fewer rotations in his first two years, Hickman combined for 70 total tackles, an interception, and four passes defensed. In 2025 alone, Hickman’s 103 total tackles was good for third on the team, and he saw career highs in interceptions (2) and passes defensed (7). The second-round tender is a fairly strong endorsement from the Browns who clearly wish to retain their young starting safety moving forward. We’ll now wait to see if any other teams decide to risk their second-round pick for the opportunity to lure Hickman away from Cleveland.
Browns To Sign OL Elgton Jenkins
Despite coming off a major injury and being a Monday Packers cap casualty, Elgton Jenkins had interested suitors waiting. The Browns will win that pursuit, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.
Jenkins was released with a failed physical designation, but the Browns will work with the rehabbing blocker. Jenkins agreed to a two-year deal worth $24MM, per NFL.com. Illustrating the interest coming in for the former Pro Bowler, $20MM of that deal is guaranteed.
The Browns explored trading for Jenkins, whom the Packers had dangled before his eventual release. The Ravens were also involved, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Baltimore lost Tyler Linderbaum to Las Vegas (and a record-obliterating center contract) on Monday.
A two-time Pro Bowler as a guard, Jenkins has played both tackle positions and most recently stepped in at center for the 2025 Packers. Green Bay extended Jenkins (four years, $68MM) during his second Pro Bowl campaign, but with one year remaining on that contract, the former second-round pick was deemed expendable. As the Packers have pivoted to other expenses on their O-line, they moved on. The Browns continue to reshape their front with outside vets.
The Browns’ offensive line, which featured five starters and its 2025 sixth man unsigned entering free agency, is taking shape. Cleveland traded for Tytus Howard and gave the ex-Texans starter an extension. The Browns then signed former Chargers first-rounder Zion Johnson. Spot starter Teven Jenkins re-signed with the team today, and Elgton Jenkins is coming in as well. With both Johnson and Teven Jenkins entrenched as guards, it would seem the Browns will ask Elgton Jenkins to play center.
Jenkins, 30, is coming off a season shortened by a lower leg fracture and ligament damage. That injury occurred in mid-November. While Jenkins had initially hoped to return late in the season, his failed physical designation points to the injury taking longer than expected to heal. But the Browns appear unconcerned with the accomplished veteran’s 2026 status. Jenkins has only played one season of center in the pros, but Cleveland looks likely to ask for an encore.
The Browns lost four-year center Ethan Pocic to an Achilles tear in December; the veteran is going into an age-31 season. Jenkins will turn 31 in December but has been a better player. A linchpin of the Packers’ O-line to close the Aaron Rodgers era, Jenkins earned Pro Bowl acclaim in 2020 and ’22 at guard. Green Bay used him at right tackle in between those seasons before deciding guard would be the best spot for the former second-rounder. When the Pack signed Aaron Banks last year, however, they slid Jenkins to center. A raise request was then met with silence from the team, but Jenkins has landed on his feet despite the 2025 injury.
It is possible the Browns have rounded out their O-line. The Jenkinses will join Johnson along the interior as Howard — frequently used at LG — will return to his natural RT post. Dawand Jones may be given a shot to win the LT job, but he has suffered two season-ending injuries in three years. The Browns could certainly go tackle at No. 6 overall.