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Players To Spend Season On Franchise Tag Since 2015

July 13th, 2025 at 10:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs and Trey Smith have just less than 48 hours to agree on a long-term extension; otherwise, the Pro Bowl guard will play on the franchise tag and negotiations will be tabled until 2026. That is 2025’s only tag situation as the July 15 deadline approaches.

Over the previous 10 offseasons, 77 players received the franchise tag. Many of those signed extensions before the midsummer deadline. Here are the players who did not and ended up playing the season for the tag price:

2015

Pierre-Paul’s infamous fireworks accident led to Giants rescinding $14.8MM tag, setting up revised agreement 

2016

2017

2018

Bell did not collect any money on his 2018 tag, being the 21st century’s lone franchise-tagged player to skip season

2019

Texans applied $15.9MM linebacker tag on Clowney, trading him to Seahawks in August 2019; edge rusher agreed to salary reduction upon being dealt

2020

Ravens, Judon agreed on compromise between defensive end, linebacker tag prices. Ngakoue agreed to salary reduction to facilitate trade from Jaguars. Vikings traded edge rusher to Ravens before 2020 deadline. Prescott received exclusive franchise tag from Cowboys.

2021

2022

2023

Raiders provided raise to Jacobs to bring him into training camp

2024

33 Unsigned 2025 Draft Picks Remain

July 9th, 2025 at 9:19pm CST by Ely Allen

The NFL has hit a logjam and is collectively lagging far behind where it normally is at this point in the offseason. Two years ago, the league hit its last 30 unsigned players before July. Last year, teams were signing rookies as quickly as they were drafting them, and only 10 players remained unsigned by June 17. A couple intriguing situations have caused pens to go quiet in 2025, and as a result, here are the 33 remaining unsigned rookies of the 2025 NFL Draft:

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 4:

  • No. 107 (Jaguars): Jack Kiser (LB, Notre Dame)

In recent years, a trend has seen second-rounders lasting the longest, but what we’re seeing this year is unheard of. As rookies have been getting a bit of flexibility in negotiating structures of guarantees, getting deals done has become a waiting game of seeing what surrounding picks are getting for comparison. Last year, teams breezed through the issue, but 2025 has seen significantly increased troubles.

Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins set the tone by signing a fully guaranteed rookie contract, the first ever for a second-round selection. The next day, the Browns were essentially forced to do the same for Carson Schwesinger, picked one slot before Higgins. Shough, the Saints rookie quarterback, is seeking the same deal, hoping that his elevated status as a passer will help convince New Orleans to continue making history. Shough’s efforts have caused every pick between him and Higgins to stand pat, waiting to see if they get to ask for full guarantees from their teams, as well. This would be a drastic development, as last year’s 40th overall pick, Cooper DeJean, received only two fully guaranteed years with only partial guarantees in Year 3.

The biggest story outside of the second round is that of the standoff between Stewart and the Bengals. Stewart has issues with what he perceives as a lack of protection in Cincinnati’s offer that causes a contract default in any year to void any guarantees in all the following years. It’s a new precedent the team is trying to set, and Stewart seems intent on preventing them from doing so.

It will be interesting to see which standoff gets settled first: Stewart’s or Shough’s. The latter standoff ending would likely set off a domino reaction of second-round deals that would help a large number of teams close out their rookie classes. To this point, only four NFL teams have done so.

The NFL’s Longest-Tenured GMs

July 5th, 2025 at 10:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL’s 2025 HC carousel brought five new sideline leaders; this year’s GM market eventually featured four new hires. Two teams made quick-trigger decisions involving front office bosses this offseason.

Not long after the Raiders fired Antonio Pierce, they booted Tom Telesco — brought in to give the inexperienced HC a seasoned GM — after just one season. New minority owner Tom Brady, who certainly appears to have downplayed his Raiders role in a recent interview, wanted a fresh start. That meant firing Telesco despite the GM’s Brock Bowers draft choice last year. John Spytek, an ex-Brady Michigan teammate who was with the Buccaneers when the team signed the QB icon, replaced him. Formerly the Chargers’ front office boss, Telesco had entered every season in a GM chair since 2013.

Ran Carthon received two years in charge in Tennessee, but owner Amy Adams Strunk — a year after the surprise Mike Vrabel firing — moved on and arranged an interesting power structure this offseason. The Titans installed Chad Brinker, who had been one of Carthon’s two assistant GMs, as president of football operations. The ex-Carthon lieutenant holds final say over new hire Mike Borgonzi, who did run the Titans’ draft this year. Borgonzi, who interviewed for the Jets’ GM job as well, comes over after a lengthy Chiefs tenure.

The in-season Joe Douglas firing brought a Jets GM change for the first time in six years. As Woody Johnson overreach became a regular talking point in New York, the Jets started over with Darren Mougey. Johnson changed up his workflow upon hiring Mougey, however. Rather than the GM directly reporting to the owner (as Douglas had), both Mougey and Aaron Glenn will do so. Mougey, though, does control the roster.

Telesco’s January firing left Trent Baalke as the NFL’s lone second-chance GM. The Jaguars had kept Baalke despite firing Doug Pederson, but as the team’s coaching search brought significant concerns from candidates about the presence of the resilient GM, Shad Khan eventually made a change. This move came after top HC candidate Liam Coen initially turned down a second interview, doing so after Ben Johnson concerns about the situation circulated. Gladstone is now in place as the NFL’s youngest GM, at 34, coming over from the Rams.

This offseason also brought three GM extensions — for Jason Licht, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Omar Khan. Licht is heading into his 12th season at the helm. Adofo-Mensah joined Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell in being extended this offseason. Also a 2022 GM hire/promotion, Khan signed a Steelers extension this week.

Although Jerry Jones and Mike Brown have been in place longer, the Cowboys and Bengals’ owners hold de facto GM titles. Mickey Loomis is not only the longest-tenured pure GM in the NFL; the Saints boss trails only Hall of Famer Tex Schramm as the longest-tenured pure GM in NFL history. Hired four years before Sean Payton in New Orleans, Loomis heads into his 24th season at the controls. Loomis hired his third HC as a GM (Kellen Moore) in February.

Here is how long every GM has been in place across the NFL:

  1. Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys): April 18, 1989[1]
  2. Mike Brown (Cincinnati Bengals): August 5, 1991[2]
  3. Mickey Loomis (New Orleans Saints): May 14, 2002
  4. John Schneider (Seattle Seahawks): January 19, 2010; signed extension in 2021
  5. Howie Roseman (Philadelphia Eagles): January 29, 2010[3]; signed extension in 2022
  6. Les Snead (Los Angeles Rams): February 10, 2012; signed extension in 2022
  7. Jason Licht (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 21, 2014; signed extension in 2025
  8. Chris Grier (Miami Dolphins): January 4, 2016[4]
  9. John Lynch (San Francisco 49ers): January 29, 2017; signed extension in 2023
  10. Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts): January 30, 2017; signed extension in 2021
  11. Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills): May 9, 2017; signed extension in 2023
  12. Brett Veach (Kansas City Chiefs): July 11, 2017; signed extension in 2024
  13. Brian Gutekunst (Green Bay Packers): January 7, 2018; agreed to extension in 2022
  14. Eric DeCosta (Baltimore Ravens): January 7, 2019
  15. Andrew Berry (Cleveland Browns): January 27, 2020; signed extension in 2024
  16. Nick Caserio (Houston Texans): January 5, 2021
  17. George Paton (Denver Broncos): January 13, 2021
  18. Brad Holmes (Detroit Lions): January 14, 2021; agreed to extension in 2024
  19. Terry Fontenot (Atlanta Falcons): January 19, 2021
  20. Joe Schoen (New York Giants): January 21, 2022
  21. Ryan Poles (Chicago Bears): January 25, 2022
  22. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Minnesota Vikings): January 26, 2022; signed extension in 2025
  23. Omar Khan (Pittsburgh Steelers): May 24, 2022; signed extension in 2025
  24. Monti Ossenfort (Arizona Cardinals): January 16, 2023
  25. Adam Peters (Washington Commanders): January 12, 2024
  26. Dan Morgan (Carolina Panthers): January 22, 2024
  27. Joe Hortiz (Los Angeles Chargers): January 29, 2024
  28. Eliot Wolf (New England Patriots): May 11, 2024
  29. Mike Borgonzi (Tennessee Titans): January 17, 2025
  30. John Spytek (Las Vegas Raiders): January 22, 2025
  31. Darren Mougey (New York Jets): January 24, 2025
  32. James Gladstone (Jacksonville Jaguars): February 21, 2025

Footnotes:

  1. Jones has been the Cowboys’ de facto general manager since former GM Tex Schramm resigned in April 1989.
  2. Brown has been the Bengals’ de facto GM since taking over as the team’s owner in August 1991.
  3. The Eagles bumped Roseman from the top decision-making post in 2015, giving Chip Kelly personnel power. Roseman was reinstated upon Kelly’s December 2015 firing.
  4. Although Grier was hired in 2016, he became the Dolphins’ top football exec on Dec. 31, 2018

NFL Staff Updates: Chargers, Bills, Saints

July 5th, 2025 at 3:13pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are a few recent staffing updates to front offices in the NFL:

  • According to ESPN’s Seth Walder, the Chargers are losing a member of its analytics staff. Senior analyst Alex Stern will be leaving the team in order to take a position with “Teamworks Intelligence (formerly Zelus Analytics), a major third-party sports analytics company with NFL clients.” After being named a finalist in the 2019 Big Data Bowl and concluding an analytics and research internship with the University of Virginia, Stern joined the Chargers as a research analyst in 2021. He was promoted to senior analyst last June.
  • Where one team loses an analyst, another team gains one. Walker reported this week that the Bills are hiring a new football research assistant. Cole Jacobson makes his NFL debut in the position after years of doing freelance, seasonal, and part-time work with NFL Media, MLB Media, FOX Sports, Stats Perform, and Championship Analytics. He and his team were named finalists in this year’s Big Data Bowl.
  • Lastly, the Saints have hired an operations admin out of Boise State in Garrett Holle to serve as their new director of rehabilitation, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. Holle heads to New Orleans after a quick rise through the collegiate ranks. Following an internship at Arizona State in 2023, Holle joined Boise State in the same season, rising from assistant athletic trainer and rehabilitation coordinator to assistant athletic director of sports performance and health and wellness in 2024. He fills the role vacated by Johnathan Gress, who left for the University of Oklahoma after six years in the position with the Saints.

2025 Offseason In Review Series

July 4th, 2025 at 9:01pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are PFR’s breakdowns of each NFL team’s 2025 offseason. The list will be updated between now and Week 1.

AFC East

  • Buffalo Bills
  • Miami Dolphins
  • New England Patriots
  • New York Jets

AFC North

  • Baltimore Ravens
  • Cincinnati Bengals
  • Cleveland Browns
  • Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC South

AFC West

NFC East

NFC North

  • Chicago Bears
  • Detroit Lions
  • Green Bay Packers
  • Minnesota Vikings

NFC South

NFC West

  • Arizona Cardinals
  • Los Angeles Rams
  • San Francisco 49ers
  • Seattle Seahawks

The NFL’s Longest-Tenured Head Coaches

July 3rd, 2025 at 10:26pm CST by Adam La Rose

By the end of the 2024 regular season, the Bears, Jets and Saints had already moved on from their head coaches. Those teams were joined by Cowboys, Jaguars, Raiders and Patriots in making a change on the sidelines.

After their midseason terminations, Matt Eberflus, Robert Saleh and Dennis Allen each landed defensive coordinator gigs during the 2025 hiring cycle. The staffers who remained in place through the end of the campaign have yet to line up their next NFL opportunity, however. Mike McCarthy withdrew from the Saints’ search, setting the 61-year-old for at least one year out of coaching (just like the pause between his Packers and Cowboys stints).

Meanwhile, Doug Pederson was unable to parlay interest in an offensive coordinator position into a hire this spring. The former Super Bowl winner is thus set to be out of coaching for 2025. The same will also be true of Antonio Pierce and Jerod Mayo after their one-and-done stints as full-time head coaches did not go as planned.

While recent months have brought about the latest round of changes, many of the longest-tenured head coaches around the league remain in place. McCarthy was the only staffer within the top 10 on last year’s list in that regard who has been replaced. In all, nine head coaches hired at the beginning of this decade (or earlier) will carry on with their respective teams in 2025.

Six of those reside in the AFC, with Mike Tomlin – who became the league’s longest-tenured head coach last year in the wake of Bill Belichick’s Patriots departure – once again leading the way, albeit with questions about his future beyond this season present. The NFC will include Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan and Matt LaFleur handling their familiar roles in 2025, although the latter (who has two years left on his deal) will not receive an early extension.

Here is a look at how the league’s head coaches shape up entering the 2025 campaign:

  1. Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers): January 27, 2007; extended through 2027
  2. John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens): January 19, 2008; extended through 2028
  3. Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs): January 4, 2013; extended through 2029
  4. Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills): January 11, 2017; extended through 2027
  5. Sean McVay (Los Angeles Rams): January 12, 2017; extended through 2027
  6. Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers): February 6, 2017; extended through 2027
  7. Matt LaFleur (Green Bay Packers): January 8, 2019: extended through 2026
  8. Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals): February 4, 2019; extended through 2026
  9. Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns): January 13, 2020; signed extension in June 2024
  10. Dan Campbell (Detroit Lions): January 20, 2021; extended through 2027
  11. Nick Sirianni (Philadelphia Eagles): January 21, 2021; signed offseason extension
  12. Brian Daboll (New York Giants): January 28, 2022
  13. Kevin O’Connell (Minnesota Vikings): February 2, 2022; signed offseason extension
  14. Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins): February 6, 2022; extended through 2028
  15. Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): March 30, 2022; extended through 2028
  16. Sean Payton (Denver Broncos): January 31, 2023
  17. DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans): January 31, 2023
  18. Shane Steichen (Indianapolis Colts): February 14, 2023
  19. Jonathan Gannon (Arizona Cardinals): February 14, 2023
  20. Brian Callahan (Tennessee Titans): January 22, 2024
  21. Jim Harbaugh (Los Angeles Chargers): January 24, 2024
  22. Dave Canales (Carolina Panthers): January 25, 2024
  23. Raheem Morris (Atlanta Falcons): January 25, 2024
  24. Mike Macdonald (Seattle Seahawks): January 31, 2024
  25. Dan Quinn (Washington Commanders): February 1, 2024
  26. Mike Vrabel (New England Patriots): January 12, 2025
  27. Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears): January 20, 2025
  28. Aaron Glenn (New York Jets): January 22, 2025
  29. Liam Coen (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 23, 2025
  30. Pete Carroll (Las Vegas Raiders): January 24, 2025
  31. Brian Schottenheimer (Dallas Cowboys): January 24, 2025
  32. Kellen Moore (New Orleans Saints): February 11, 2025

Saints’ Trevor Penning Likely To Start At LG

July 2nd, 2025 at 10:20am CST by Nikhil Mehta

Trevor Penning struggled at both tackle spots across his first three seasons with the Saints, so the team’s new coaching staff has moved him inside to compete for the starting left guard job.

Penning played with the first team “all throughout OTAs and minicamp,” according to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, giving him a strong chance at to start in Week 1. The Saints will be hoping that he can bring some stability to the position after using five different players at left guard in 2024.

New Orleans’ primary option, Lucas Patrick, started eight games last year, including Week 1, but injuries forced him first to center, and then the sidelines. Patrick signed with the Bengals this offseason, so Penning’s main competition will be 2023 fourth-rounder Nick Saldiveri, who started six games at left guard in 2024. Landon Young saw time at both guard spots last year, so he could be in the mix as well.

The Saints traded up in the first round to draft Penning in 2022, envisioning him as the team’s long-term left tackle after the departure of Terron Armstead. The move was questioned at the time given that Penning largely faced FCS-level competition at the University of Northern Iowa. Multiple foot injuries limited him to one start as a rookie, so those concerns were not substantiated until 2023, when Penning was benched after starting the first five games at left tackle.

Penning flipped to right tackle last offseason amid uncertainty around Ryan Ramczyk‘s knee; the former All-Pro ended up starting the entire year with the veteran on the PUP list before retiring this offseason. Penning still struggled to protect the quarterback and allowed 54 quarterback pressures, the second-most of any offensive tackle, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Starting the entirety of the previous season would normally position Penning to at least compete for the starting right tackle job this year, but it is expected to be filled by 2024 first-rounder Taliese Fuaga. This is the second straight offseason that Fuaga has bumped Penning out of his spot; last year, he took over at left tackle after primarily playing right tackle at Oregon State.

With Fuaga returning to his natural position, Penning has instead kicked inside to left guard in a contract year after the Saints declined his fifth-year option in May. That is typically a sign that a team plans to move on from a former first-round pick, so a smooth transition to the interior will be crucial for his market in 2026 free agency. Of course, impressing the Saints’ new coaches could keep Penning in New Orleans, but a guard market that continues to explode could price him out of the Big Easy.

OL Jesse Davis Announces Retirement

June 23rd, 2025 at 5:01pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Former Dolphins offensive lineman Jesse Davis announced his retirement from the NFL in an Instagram post (via Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams).

Davis put together an impressive career for an undrafted player, appearing in 95 games with 72 starts across his seven NFL seasons. He logged multiple starts at every offensive line position except center in his career, though he primarily lined up at right guard and right tackle in Miami. That versatility allowed the Dolphins to move him around their offensive line as needed to weather injuries.

Davis played college football at the University of Idaho and was not selected in the 2015 NFL Draft. He did not make a regular-season roster until he signed with the Dolphins and emerged as a starter in 2017. He played a rotational role at the beginning of the season before taking over a starting job – first at left guard, then at right tackle – before settling in at right guard for the last six games of the season, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Davis retained his starting gig into 2018 and started the entire season at left guard, earning a three-year, $15MM extension in September 2019. He started at both left and right tackle over the next two years before returning to right guard to finish the 2020 season. Davis moved around once again in 2021, starting 14 games at right tackle and two at left guard.

The Dolphins released Davis after the 2021 season, and he didn’t play another regular-season snap on offense for the rest of his career. He appeared in 14 games for the Steelers in 2022 and one for the 49ers in 2023 but only saw the field for special teams work. Davis retires with career earnings of $16.4MM, per OverTheCap.

Saints Officially Shifting To Base 3-4 Defense

June 22nd, 2025 at 1:13pm CST by Ely Allen

While all NFL defenses play around with formations depending on the situation, every team has a base defense that functions as their identity and the starting point from which they can build out. The base defense is key in determining what types of defenders you bring in, as well. For instance, you might not want to bring in a standup outside linebacker if you run a base 4-3, in which he’ll be required to put his hand in the dirt, which could affect his pass rush arsenal.

Well, according to Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune, the Saints are officially switching to a base 3-4 defense under new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley. Staley learned the scheme from Vic Fangio during their time together in Chicago and Denver, while Fangio was a student of it all the way back during his first NFL gig as the Saints linebackers coach in the 1980s, when the imposing “Dome Patrol” quartet gained notoriety in New Orleans. But the 3-4 went away from the Superdome when then-head coach Jim Mora resigned in the late 1990s, and the defense has been mostly run out of a base 4-3 since then.

For the most part, the responsibilities of the secondary will remain unchanged in the new formation. The base defense will still include two safeties and two cornerbacks with extra defensive backs coming in for special formations. The responsibilities of the middle linebackers will also remain mostly the same, barring the fact that their new base defense allows for two strictly off-ball linebackers.

The differences come with the outside linebackers and the defensive line. When running a base 4-3, defensive ends are the main pass rushers. Outside linebackers can blitz on occasion, but for the most part, they act more as off-ball linebackers than edge rushers. The defensive tackles, in 4-3, are stout and strong, but they also usually to have a bit of a pass rush arsenal. In base 3-4, the outside linebackers become the main pass rushers, though they should also have the versatility to function off ball. The defensive ends now are more akin to defensive tackles in size and pass rush ability. The nose tackles become more important in the 3-4 as an over-the-center, usually heavier, run stuffer.

In New Orleans, determinations are being made as to which defenders will have what roles. Formerly defensive ends, Carl Granderson, Chase Young, Cameron Jordan, and Isaiah Foskey are now outside linebackers. They’ll have to adjust to working out of standup position, as opposed to the three-point stance they have been used to. In order to adjust to this new starting position, Young and Granderson have reportedly shed some weight.

The new defensive ends group is composed of Bryan Bresee, Jonah Williams, and Vernon Broughton, while the nose tackles will be former defensive tackles Davon Godchaux, Nathan Shepherd, and Khalen Saunders. Their responsibilities won’t really change too much, aside from their new three-man lineup being surrounded by pass rushers from the linebacking corps.

Obviously, Staley and company will constantly be changing up looks and rotations throughout the course of games and the season based on different situations and different offenses they will face. But this change in the team’s base defense alters the role of several key, veteran players and will likely affect the prospective players New Orleans looks for in the future.

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/20/25

June 20th, 2025 at 6:44pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves as we head into the weekend:

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

New Orleans Saints

Addington’s placement on the waiver wire comes as a corresponding move to cornerback Damon Arnette‘s signing. Addington was presumed to be Houston’s starting long snapper after they allowed Jon Weeks to depart in free agency. That presumed role will now be assigned to Austin Brinkman. With Weeks and Addington gone, the undrafted rookie out of West Virginia is the only long snapper left on the roster.

Kansas City and New Orleans each announced corresponding moves to recently announced signings, as well.

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