As free agency continues, restricted and exclusive rights free agent tender decisions are being uncovered around the league:
RFAs
Nontendered:
- Chiefs: CB Keith Taylor
- Texans: T Zachary Thomas
The Chiefs are signing quarterback Bailey Zappe to a one-year deal, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Adding Zappe is Kansas City’s second move at quarterback this week; they also signed Gardner Minshew to a one-year deal. That likely means that Carson Wentz will be looking for a new gig in 2025 after backing up Patrick Mahomes in 2024.
Zappe’s signing is technically a reunion, as he spent the first few months of the season on the Chiefs’ practice squad. He didn’t appear in any games in red and gold before he was signed by the Browns after Deshaun Watson‘s season-ending Achilles injury.
Zappe became the QB3 in Cleveland behind Jameis Winston and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. He only appeared one game: a rough Week 18 start against the Ravens. That loss secured the No. 2 overall pick for the Browns in April’s draft.
Zappe will likely take up a similar role in Kansas City behind Mahomes and Minshew. Though he holds the distinction of being Bill Belichick‘s last quarterback in the NFL, it seems Zappe’s starting days are behind him. Joining the Chiefs will give him a shot at a Super Bowl, though, and potentially help him develop and earn a QB2 job in the future.
The Chiefs have lost Tershawn Wharton in the early stages of free agency, but they have quickly lined up a depth addition which will help replace him. Jerry Tillery has agreed to head to Kansas City on a one-year deal, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports.
Tillery started 11 games for the Vikings last year, lining up primarily along the interior of the defensive line with some snaps on the edge. He had one of the least productive seasons of his career and finished with 28 total tackles, zero sacks, and one tackle for loss.
Tillery was a 2019 first-round pick who began his career in the AFC West with the Chargers. He carved out a starting role in his second season and amassed 9.5 sacks, and 12 tackles for loss in 29 starts across his first three years in the NFL. Tillery’s production didn’t match his high snap counts, so the Chargers declined his fifth-year option after the 2021 season.
A slow start in 2022 led to Tillery’s release after seven games. He was claimed off waivers by the Raiders and appeared in the last eight games of their season with four starts. He re-signed in Las Vegas in 2023 before taking a one-year, $2.75MM contract with the Vikings in 2024.
Tiller will provided much-needed defensive line depth in Kansas City. In addition to losing Wharton, the Chiefs had three other defensive linemen hit free agency this week in Mike Pennel, Derrick Nnadi, and Marlon Tuipulotu. The team has yet to re-sign any and is currently only returning Chris Jones from last year’s unit.
Kareem Hunt returned to the Chiefs last season, and his second Kansas City run will continue into 2025. The former rushing champion is re-signing on a one-year deal, as first reported by Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz. 
This pact has a base value of $1.5MM, Schultz adds. Incentives can add another $1MM to Hunt’s earnings. After a five-year run with the Browns, the 2017 Offensive Rookie of the Year came back to Kansas City and handled a notable offensive workload. He will remain part of the team’s backfield plans for at least one more campaign.
Isiah Pacheco was expected to handle a heavy workload in 2024, but he was limited to seven games due to a broken fibula. His absence helped open the door for Hunt signing and then receiving 200 carries on the year; he turned that opportunity into 728 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. The 29-year-old added 176 yards in the passing game, then scored a pair of touchdowns in the playoffs.
Before the start of free agency, it became clear the Chiefs would be interested in adding a veteran running back this spring. That plan resulted in a one-year agreement with Elijah Mitchell, who missed all of last season. The former 49er nevertheless figures to have a role of some kind with Kansas City. Pacheco, meanwhile, is entering the final year of his rookie contract.
The Chiefs could also look to the draft to add a long-term option at the position, something which would make sense since all three of their current top backs are pending 2026 free agents. Hunt – who saw his yards per carry average rebound slightly to 3.6 after it dropped at the end of his Browns tenure – will nevertheless compete for playing time in 2025. Regardless of how Kansas City’s backfield shakes out, the Toledo product figures to have a notable role based on the trust he has received from the organization.
Hunt made a mid-season return to the Browns in 2023 after Nick Chubb‘s season-ending knee injury. The latter is a free agent, and his departure (which would not come as a surprise at this point) would leave Cleveland in need of at least one notable addition. Today’s news confirms another new Hunt agreement will not be possible, though.
MARCH 14: In an unusual step, the NFL has awarded the Saints a seventh-round compensatory pick and stripped one from the Dolphins. The Saints’ pick appears to check in in front of the Browns and Chargers’ Nos. 254 and 255 slots, as NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero notes Cleveland and Los Angeles’ last 2025 picks will slide down one spot. The Dolphins will retain their other seventh-round comp pick, however.
MARCH 11: The NFL has awarded compensatory draft picks for teams in the 2025 draft. Based on an add/subtract formula that covers the 2024 free agency period, comp picks span from Round 3 to Round 7. The higher picks go to the teams that endured the most significant free agent losses.
This year, the NFL awarded 35 comp picks. The comp pick formula assigns picks to franchises who suffered the largest net losses, so teams that signed multiple free agents have a lesser chance of receiving picks.
Sorted by round and by team, here are the league’s 2025 compensatory selections:
By round:
Round 3: Vikings (No. 97 overall), Dolphins (98), Giants (99), 49ers (100)*, Rams (101)*, Lions (102)*
Round 4: Dolphins (135), Ravens (136), Seahawks (137), 49ers (138)
Round 5: Bills (169), Cowboys (170), Cowboys (171), Seahawks (172), Bills (173), Cowboys (174), Seahawks (175), Ravens (176)
Round 6: Chargers (209), Ravens (210), Cowboys (211), Ravens (212), Raiders (213), Chargers (214), Raiders (215), Browns (216)
Round 7: 49ers (249), Packers (250), Chiefs (251), 49ers (252), Dolphins (253), Browns (254), Chargers (255), Dolphins (256), Chiefs (257)
By team:
- Baltimore Ravens: 4
- Dallas Cowboys: 4
- Miami Dolphins: 4
- San Francisco 49ers: 4
- Los Angeles Chargers: 3
- Seattle Seahawks: 3
- Buffalo Bills: 2
- Cleveland Browns: 2
- Kansas City Chiefs: 2
- Las Vegas Raiders: 2
- Detroit Lions: 1
- Green Bay Packers: 1
- Los Angeles Rams: 1
- Minnesota Vikings: 1
- New York Giants: 1
* = special compensatory selection
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.
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.
As the 2025 league year begins, here are the Wednesday tender decisions involving restricted and exclusive rights free agents:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Cardinals: WR Greg Dortch
- Chiefs: LB Jack Cochrane, DB Nazeeh Johnson
- Falcons: OL Ryan Neuzil
- Ravens: S Ar’Darius Washington
Nontendered:
- Cardinals: S Andre Chachere, LB Jesse Luketa, T Carter O’Donnell
- Eagles: WR Britain Covey
- Packers: TE John FitzPatrick
- Seahawks: WR Jaelon Darden
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Buccaneers: DL C.J. Brewer
- Cardinals: TE Travis Vokolek
- Giants: LB Dyontae Johnson
Nontendered:
- Seahawks: LB Josh Onujiogu, LB Josh Ross, WR Cody White
The Ravens have discussed an extension with Washington, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. For now, the safety is on Baltimore’s cap sheet at $3.26MM. A second-round tender would have cost the Ravens $5.35MM and brought back a second-round pick if the team did not match an offer sheet elsewhere. An unmatched Washington offer sheet now would not bring the Ravens any compensation. Washington started 10 games for the Ravens last season.
The gift that keeps giving for the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes‘ contract has now been restructured four times. Having franchise-tagged Trey Smith and paid Nick Bolton and then Kristian Fulton, the Chiefs are again turning to the Mahomes restructure tactic.
Kansas City is also completing a base-to-bonus restructure on Chris Jones‘ contract, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates, who indicates these two moves saved the defending AFC champions $49.4MM. After coming into Wednesday over the cap, the Chiefs now hold more than $29MM in space ahead of the 2025 league year.
Even five years after it was signed, Mahomes’ 10-year, $450MM deal remains the NFL’s only deal to run through 2031. The megastar quarterback gave up a more lucrative path by locking himself in on that July 2020 extension. Only Josh Allen has come close to replicating Mahomes’ path, as the reigning MVP’s initial Bills deal — one since updated — is the only six-year QB contract to be finalized since. Rather than coming back to the table, Mahomes remains under Chiefs control for many years.
The Chiefs did rework Mahomes’ contract after the wave of $50MM-AAV deals hit in 2023, moving money around to create $133.7MM in guarantees. That said, the contract running through 2031 continues to give the Chiefs short-term flexibility. The franchise will undoubtedly do more work on this deal moving forward, as the restructures have spiked Mahomes’ 2026 cap hit beyond $78MM and his 2027 number past $74MM.
Jones agreed to a more player-friendly deal last year, resetting the defensive tackle market shortly before the 2024 legal tampering period. The Chiefs gave Jones $95MM guaranteed in total on a five-year, $158.75MM contract. That number came in well north of where the Chiefs were willing to go during Jones’ 2023 holdout, but after another dominant season, the team relented as the future Hall of Famer neared free agency. As the Chiefs attempt to trek to a fourth straight Super Bowl, they are using their top two players’ contracts as tools to free up immediate funds.
Here are today’s minor moves from around the NFL:
Buffalo Bills
- Re-signed: FB Reggie Gilliam
- Signed: RB Darrynton Evans
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: LS Scott Daly
Dallas Cowboys
- Re-signed: P Bryan Anger
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: DT Myles Adams
Houston Texans
- Re-signed: S M.J. Stewart
- Signed: LB Nick Niemann
Indianapolis Colts
- Re-signed: C Wesley French
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: TE Robert Tonyan, LB Cole Christiansen
Los Angeles Rams
- Suspended: WR Drake Stoops
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed: LB Quinton Bell
New Orleans Saints
- Re-signed: WR/KR Dante Pettis
Tennessee Titans
- Re-signed: S Mike Brown
Washington Commanders
- Re-signed: RB Jeremy McNichols
Anger is a 13-year veteran who has spent the last four years in Dallas, which included Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors in 2021 and 2023. He will stay with the Cowboys on a two-year deal, per ESPN’s Todd Archer.
Tonyan had a few strong seasons in Green Bay earlier in his career, but he has struggled to produce over the last two years. He spent 2024 in Minnesota, but only played 15 snaps on offense with zero targets. He will add tight end depth in Kansas City.
Stoops received a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s Performance-Enhancing Substances Policy, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He will be eligible to participate in training camp and preseason games, but will be sidelined for the first two games of the regular season.
McNichols is staying in Washington on a one-year deal, according to Pelissero. The seven-year veteran appeared in 17 games for the Commanders in 2024 and rushed for 261 yards and four touchdowns on 55 attempts. McNichols will likely continue as Washington’s RB3 behind Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler.