Chargers Bring Back WR Keenan Allen
After only a year away from Los Angeles, veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen has indeed returned to the Chargers. After much speculation in the past few days, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero broke the news of Allen’s new one-year, $8.52MM deal. 
After finishing his lone season in Chicago, in which he had a modest yet still impressive 70 receptions for 744 yards and seven touchdowns, Allen expressed interest in playing in only one of two cities in 2025: Chicago or Los Angeles. In the weeks leading up to free agency, though, the Bears seemed all but willing to let Allen walk in free agency. The Chargers, on the other hand, expressed some openness to a reunion with their long-time leading receiver.
Los Angeles had already reunited with Allen’s long-time teammate Mike Williams in March, and the idea of getting the band back together after only a one-year hiatus was looking like a decent possibility. Unfortunately for that possibility, Williams opted to announce his retirement just two and half weeks ago, perhaps opening the door for another veteran leader to take his slot on the roster.
Four days ago, the 33-year-old pass catcher visited the team that drafted him in the third round all those years ago out of Cal, and a day after head coach Jim Harbaugh finally expressed some interest in bringing Allen back to the locker room, the deal gets done.
Allen joins a young group of receivers in Los Angeles for the 2025 season. The Chargers’ top talent at the position is a second-year Ladd McConkey, a third-year Quentin Johnston, a rookie second-round Tre Harris, and a third-year Derius Davis. The TCU alums, Johnston and Davis, are familiar to Allen from his last season with the team, but the SEC pair are new faces in Allen’s return to the room.
With McConkey expected to be a mainstay in the slot after a phenomenal rookie season (82 catches, 1,149 yards, seven touchdowns), Allen can’t easily slip into that inside role, despite the tendency for players of his age to transition from an outside role. Johnston and Harris have plenty of size to work on the outsides, while Davis works as the primary return man.
Roles seem to be pretty clearly defined, so Allen could end up as the first man off the bench at any position or he may still be able to work effectively as an outside starter over either Johnston or Harris. Whatever role he plays, he shouldn’t have to work hard to reestablish the existing chemistry with quarterback Justin Herbert. We’ll see how he fits in with the new group in the weeks to come, but in the end his most valuable asset may be the leadership jersey No. 13 provides to the room in Year 13.
Dolphins Extend DT Zach Sieler
AUGUST 4: Sieler’s deal is now official, per a team announcement. Full terms have not yet emerged, but agent Drew Rosenhaus said during his weekly appearance on Sports XTRA (video link) this new pact will pay out $34MM across the 2025 and ’26 campaigns. With an upgraded cashflow and long-term security, Seiler will look to remain one of Miami’s top players for years to come.
AUGUST 3: The Dolphins are getting ahead on some future contract situations by giving defensive tackle Zach Sieler the new deal he requested despite him having two years remaining on his original deal. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the two sides have agreed on a three-year, $67.75MM extension with $44MM guaranteed. With the new deal, he becomes the highest-paid player on Miami’s defense. 
Sieler’s come a long way since his humble beginnings. Unranked as a high school recruit, Sieler travelled about two hours north to attend college at Ferris State University, where he made the decision to walk on to the football team. After a redshirt year, Sieler helped the Bulldogs win their conference two years in a row in 2014 and 2015. In the latter year, he won the conference’s Defensive Lineman of the Year and National Defensive Player of the Year honors. He repeated those honors in 2016 but opted to sit out the 2017 season, after having earned his degree, to prepare for the 2018 NFL Draft.
Though obviously talented, Sieler was considered a bit of a wildcard after having spent a year away from football. Regardless, he was chosen by the Ravens with the 238th pick of the draft in the seventh round — Ozzie Newsome‘s final pick as the team’s general manager. In an emotional draft day phone call, Newsome informed him of that fact and Sieler told the legendary GM, “I’ll make you proud.”
That pride may not have come right away for Newsome. After appearing in only two games as a rookie, Sieler failed to make Baltimore’s initial 53-man roster in 2019 and ended up on the practice squad. He got signed back to the active roster in October, but the team waived him again two months later.
This time, when he hit the waiver wire, the Dolphins kept him from returning to the Ravens’ practice squad, claiming Sieler the next day. In just three games (including his first career start) to close out the season with Miami, Sieler played more snaps than his entire first year and a half in Baltimore. The Dolphins signed him on for another year and Sieler appeared in every game, starting eight, while tallying 3.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
The disruptive lineman was doing so well that season that he earned himself a two-year, $7.63MM extension partway through the season. In those next two years, Sieler would start 24 of 34 game appearances, notching 5.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, and 132 tackles as he blossomed into am eventual full-time starter. In that 2021 season, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded him as the third-best interior defender in the NFL.
In 2023, the Dolphins quickly extended Sieler for another three years at $30.75MM. With a year still remaining on his prior deal, this new extension would keep him under contract through the 2026 season. After that contract came through, Sieler really turned it on. Starting every game for the first time in his career, Sieler tallied career highs in sacks (10.0) and tackles for loss (22) while adding 63 tackles, four pass deflections, an interception, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.
Last year, he kept it going. Despite missing two games with injury, Sieler matched his sack total from the prior year while totaling 19 tackles for loss, 55 tackles, two pass deflections, and another interception, forced fumble, and fumble recovery. His 2024 performance had him graded as the 11th-best interior defender in the league, per PFF.
Having totaled double-digit sacks in each of the past two seasons, Sieler made it known that he was interested in a new deal, despite his remaining years. A day after seeing Zach Allen get a four-year, $102MM extension, the Dolphins have followed suit, perhaps realizing that Sieler may just make himself even more expensive with another double-digit sack performance.
It’s safe to say, at this point, that Newsome is probably proud, even if Sieler isn’t on his team anymore. In fact, Schefter points out that Newsome’s final rookie class — including (in draft order) tight end Hayden Hurst, quarterback Lamar Jackson, offensive tackle Orlando Brown, tight end Mark Andrews, cornerback Anthony Averett, safety DeShon Elliott, center Bradley Bozeman, Sieler, undrafted cornerback Darious Williams, and undrafted running back Gus Edwards — has now generated more money in future contracts than any draft class in NFL history.
While Newsome gets to be proud, Sieler deserves every bit of credit for where he ended up. From walking on to a Division II football team to sneaking into the last 19 picks of the NFL draft to making a name for himself with double-digit-sack seasons in Miami, Sieler continues to surpass expectations at every step of his career.
Broncos Extend DL Zach Allen
10:31pm: Per OvertheCap.com, $44.25MM of Allen’s new extension is fully guaranteed at signing, including a $24MM signing bonus, his base salaries in 2025 ($2.49MM) and 2026 ($16.49MM), and per game roster bonuses in those seasons that will total $510K and $765K, respectively. $15.75MM will become fully guaranteed in March 2026, and the rest will guarantee in March of the following year.
9:31am: The Broncos have agreed to terms with defensive lineman Zach Allen on a four-year, $102MM extension, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The team has since announced the extension.
It was reported back in March that Allen was seeking an extension in the range of $25MM per year. His new contract meets that goal at a $25.5MM APY that ranks third among the NFL’s interior defensive lineman, per OverTheCap.
Allen’s deal also includes $69.5MM in guaranteed money, per Schefter, which would also rank third at the position in terms of total guarantees. If that number represents fully guaranteed money, it would set a new record for interior defensive linemen.
The 27-year-old may not be a household name, but his payday is appropriate after an excellent 2024 season. Allen recorded 8.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss as a key anchor for a Broncos defense that finished third in points allowed and seventh in yards allowed. He also recorded 75 quarterback pressures, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), a mark that led all interior defensive lineman and trailed only four edge rushers.
Allen earned a second-team All-Pro selection for his efforts last season, the first such recognition of his career. That gave him the leverage to seek an extension as he entered the final year of the three-year, $45.75MM deal that brought him to Denver in 2023 in the first place. Allen’s new deal represents a raise of more than $10MM per year and will keep him under contract through the 2028 season.
The former Cardinals third-round pick effectively replaced Dre’Mont Jones in Denver, as the two relocated (Jones to Seattle) on Day 1 of the 2023 legal tampering period. Allen has been a lifer in DC Vance Joseph‘s scheme, arriving in Arizona during Joseph’s first offseason running the Cards’ defense. Weeks after Joseph returned to Denver, Allen followed. After a woeful start to the 2023 season, the Broncos’ defense took big steps forward in 2024.
Helping the Broncos to a third-place finish in scoring defense, Allen’s 40 QB hits led the NFL and represented a top-10 mark for any season in the 2020s. That surge solidified a midcareer breakout, placing Allen in prime position to capitalize. The Broncos will go through with another reward, locking up two extension candidates this week.
The Broncos, who got veteran wideout Courtland Sutton‘s extension done on Monday, will likely now turn their attention to negotiations with fourth-year edge rusher Nik Bonitto. Allen’s primary partner in the trenches, John Franklin-Myers, has also been pursuing a new contract after a career-high 7.0 sacks last year, but the Broncos have not engaged in contract talks to date. After signing one defensive lineman to a nine-figure deal, Denver seems unlikely to give Franklin-Myers a market-level extension.
Micah Parsons Requests Trade From Cowboys
Cowboys All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons has requested a trade, according to a lengthy social media post that details his protracted negotiations with the team.
Dallas has no intention of trading Parsons, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic, but teams are still expected to reach out to the Cowboys to inquire about his availability.
Despite the trade request, Parsons is not planning to leave training camp, according to WFAA’s Ed Werder, which would subject him to a daily fine of $40K. This certainly has the makings of an awkward situation, but teams have received trade requests from hold-ins in the past.
“I did everything I could to show that I wanted to be a Cowboy. … Unfortunately, I no longer want to be here,” Parsons said. “I no longer want to be held to close door (sic) negotiations without my agent present. I no longer want shots taken at me for getting injured while laying it on the line for the organization, our fans and my teammates.
“I no longer want negatives created and spread to the media about me. I purposely stayed quiet in hopes of something getting done, but there is confusion out there. Let me clear some things up.”
Parsons’ statement references Jerry Jones mentioning his 2024 injury, a high ankle sprain, in reference to the negotiations. The fifth-year defender said he had his agent (David Mulugheta) reach out to the Cowboys about a 2024 deal, and his statement indicates the team did not want to begin talks last year. Parsons said Mulugheta told him to wait until other deals were completed, thus seeing his price rise, but Parsons wanted to start the process before that happened. The DE’s camp alerted the Cowboys at the Combine about a readiness to launch talks, acknowledging how that route would leave money on the table. The aforementioned Parsons-Jones dialogue that set up parameters of a deal did not, per Parsons, constitute formal negotiations.
Mulugheta then contacting Cowboys negotiator Adam Prasifka led to a team stance, per Parsons, that the deal was already done. Parsons then said Mulugheta reaching out to COO Stephen Jones did not lead to negotiations. After Parsons’ camp put the ball in the Cowboys’ court following that attempt, the player indicates the team has not contacted Mulugheta regarding an effort to resume negotiations. That brings us to today’s trade request.
Last year, Brandon Aiyuk requested a trade and was allowed to shop around while holding in with the 49ers. That process led to the parties regrouping on an extension. The 49ers had developed a reputation for waiting too long on paydays, but the Cowboys are on another tier — based on the developments in 2024 and with Parsons this year — regarding contract timing. Many other instances of trade requests leading to no change have transpired in recent years as well.
This is a long time coming for Parsons, who had expressed confusion as to why the Cowboys were waiting this long — as the edge rusher market continued to be updated with market-setting extensions — to pay him. Parsons is almost definitely the Cowboys’ best player, and even as the team paid Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb ahead of contract years in 2024, a 2025 extension always loomed for the All-Pro edge rusher. But a report earlier this week pointed to progress stopping between the parties, leading to a rumor earlier today Parsons was considering a trade ask.
Parsons had long aimed for a deal to be done by training camp, having observed how extended negotiations can affect a player’s upcoming season. Zack Martin admitted his holdout affected his 2023 season. The Cowboys have not displayed expediency here, despite Parsons becoming extension-eligible in January 2024. The team’s reputation for prolonged negotiating sessions reached a boiling point last year, when Lamb held out into late August before being paid and Prescott’s deal was not done until hours before their season opener in Cleveland.
Parsons follows Terry McLaurin in requesting a trade. Unlike McLaurin, Parsons did not begin training camp as a holdout. But the two are using a similar playbook during slow negotiations. Each is not practicing due to injury, though as the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins pointed out this week, Parsons is not receiving on-field treatment for his reported back issue. This amounts to a de facto hold-in, which is understandable given Parsons’ frustration with the team.
Lamb did not request a trade, and Prescott practiced while his deal was being negotiated. Those proceedings unfolding as they did and then the Cowboys taking this path with Parsons has led to torrents of criticism, especially with the EDGE market exploding this offseason. Maxx Crosby topped Nick Bosa‘s $34MM AAV to set a new standard in March, and Myles Garrett topped it with a whopping $40MM-per-year deal. Danielle Hunter then eclipsed Crosby’s number, albeit on a one-year add-on, and T.J. Watt set a new standard — at $41MM AAV.
That market explosion sets up Parsons with a clear chance to enter the season as the NFL’s highest-paid edge rusher, seeing as he is 26 — nearly four years younger than Garrett and five years younger than Watt. The Cowboys could see the price rise higher if the Lions pay Aidan Hutchinson before the season, but Jerry Jones has let it be known that is not exactly a chief concern.
The owner’s deep pockets notwithstanding, the Cowboys will still see an inflated Parsons rate affect their ability to build rosters long term, especially as Prescott is tied to a record-smashing extension (no player is within $5MM AAV of Dallas’ QB) and Lamb being on the league’s third-most lucrative WR deal.
Although multiple trade rumors cropped up between last season and the early offseason, the Cowboys should not be expected to budge here. They have a track record, cost notwithstanding, of completing big-ticket deals. Dallas also showed a willingness to bend on its preferred five- and six-year term-length preference — an outdated model as the cap continues to spike — by giving Prescott and Lamb four-year deals. We heard earlier this offseason term length could be an issue here, and while it is odd neither Jerry or Stephen Jones has negotiated directly with Parsons’ agent, the team almost always finishes these agreements.
Dallas also has not been shy about unholstering the franchise tag. That would be an obvious option with Parsons if the Cowboys cannot move past the finish line before Week 1. They went to that well with Prescott in 2020, after spending much of the 2019 offseason negotiating with Prescott. The sides did not wrap that negotiation until March 2021, as Prescott’s price steadily climbed — to the point the Cowboys executed a wildly player-friendly deal. That preceded Prescott scoring historically player-friendly terms on his $60MM-per-year extension. The Cowboys waiting with Parsons will only increase the price, barring a major injury.
The Cowboys could waive fines if Parsons did shift to a holdout, with the CBA granting them that choice due to the decorated EDGE being on a rookie deal. Even if the Cowboys (h/t ESPN’s Adam Schefter) have not traded a player coming off a Pro Bowl season since dealing Super Bowl-years safety Thomas Everett in 1994, they would run into considerable trouble if Parsons threatened to miss games. When Parsons has been on the field from 2021-24, Dallas has ranked as the NFL’s best defense (per EPA); they have, according to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, ranked as the second-worst during this span when Parsons is off the field.
Parsons has not technically made the threat to hold out, though his trade request does move him down that road. A true holdout would mean sacrificing $1.41MM each week. This situation has gotten ugly, a scenario that certainly could have been prevented with an earlier extension.
Nikhil Mehta contributed to this post.
Commanders’ Terry McLaurin Requests Trade
The staredown between the Commanders and Terry McLaurin has resulted in a trade request. According to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, the star wide receiver has requested a trade out of Washington. ESPN’s Adam Schefter has confirmed the report.
[RELATED: Commanders WR Terry McLaurin Reports To Camp]
McLaurin seemed to quiet the ongoing trade chatter after he reported to training camp earlier this week, ending his brief holdout. After showing up to the Commanders facility, the wideout was placed on the active/PUP list as he nursed a lingering ankle injury. Of course, there’s been plenty of speculation that McLaurin simply showed up to avoid fines, and his phantom injury was simply part of his hold-in strategy.
It sounds like the two sides made some effort to return to the negotiating table. However, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport notes that talks have “stalled,” leading to today’s sudden trade request. James Palmer of Bleacher Report notes that the Commanders don’t appear to be “moving” from their existing offer, while Albert Breer of TheMMQB says there hasn’t been any progress in talks for a month.
McLaurin has one year remaining on a three-year, $71MM deal he signed with the Commanders back in 2022. The $23.3MM average annual value now ranks 17th among wide receivers, and the former All-Pro is naturally seeking a new deal that would put him towards the top of the positional market. While McLaurin hasn’t explicitly stated what kind of money he’s seeking in his new deal, there’s been a belief that he’s pushing for a contract that would pay him around $32MM to $33MM per year. That would put him just outside the top-three AAVs among wide receivers (behind Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and CeeDee Lamb).
The Commanders, meanwhile, have been hesitant about offering a contract that exceeds a $30MM AAV. While 2019 Day 2 classmates D.K. Metcalf and A.J. Brown both earned contracts that place them in the top-six of their position, the Commanders have been wary of offering a similar pact to the older McLaurin. The 2025 campaign will represent McLaurin’s age-30 season, and it sounds like the front office is using that factor against their star wideout.
On the flip side, it’s stunning that the Commanders have let the stalemate get to this point. The organization is coming off their most successful season in decades, with 2024 second-overall pick Jayden Daniels quickly establishing himself as a franchise quarterback. While the team brought in the likes of Deebo Samuel and Michael Gallup this offseason, McLaurin is still far and away their most dynamic playmaker, and the team’s immediate outlook would take a significant hit if the wideout is playing elsewhere in 2025.
While it was publicly known that a gap existed between the Commanders and McLaurin, the front office has resisted trade inquiries so far. According to Schefter, rival teams have considered making a run at the wideout, and it remains to be seen if today’s development will change the organization’s approach.
It’s not surprising that suitors would be lining up for McLaurin’s services. The former third-round pick has been one of the most consistent players at his position since entering the league in 2019. McLaurin has topped 1,000 receiving in each of the past five seasons, and he’s coming off one of the most productive campaigns of his career. The 29-year-old finished 2024 with 82 catches for 1,096 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Still, the most likely outcome sees the Commanders ultimately relenting to McLaurin’s demands. From Samuel to Tee Higginsto Brandon Aiyuk, we’ve seen plenty of wideouts request trades that didn’t (immediately) come to fruition. Considering how much the Commanders have to lose in this situation, that appears to be the likeliest outcome here, although this will obviously be a situation to watch over the next month.
Raiders, LT Kolton Miller Agree On Extension
Four Raiders remain from the Oakland days of the franchise. The longest-tenured of those four players is now set to stick around in Las Vegas for a few more years, at least. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Raiders are extending left tackle Kolton Miller on a three-year, $66MM agreement. The new deal includes $42.5MM of guaranteed money. 
It’s no surprise that Miller is getting a new deal. We knew back in April that he was seeking a new deal as he skipped the team’s voluntary offseason program. Miller was entering the 2025 NFL season on the final year of the three-year, $54MM extension he had signed in 2021 to move on from his rookie deal. This time around, he’s received a $4MM-per-year raise.
There were thoughts that the Raiders might be looking to draft his replacement with options like Armand Membou and Kelvin Banks Jr. in range at No. 6 overall, but the team opted instead for a pair of third-round, developmental lineman in Texas Tech’s Caleb Rogers and William & Mary’s Charles Grant. Following the draft, Miller returned to team activities as the Raiders seemingly started to play ball. Miller had made it clear that he wanted to retire a Raider, it was just unclear whether or not the team was going to meet him there.
Miller has been a full-time starting blindside blocker for the Raiders since they selected him 15th overall in 2018 out of UCLA. Out of a possible 116 games, Miller has been on the field for all but seven of them. It took a couple years for his massive 6-foot-8, 325-pound frame to find his mojo in the NFL, but he improved year after year. Vegas opted to extend him before they even needed to make a decision on his fifth-year option, giving him an impressive — though not boundary-pushing — deal that would make him the fifth-highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL at the time.
Miller rewarded their faith in him with the best season of his career, in which Pro Football Focus (subscription required) would grade him as the fifth-best offensive tackle in the league out of 83 players graded at the position, commensurate with his salary. Though he hasn’t graded that high in the three years since, rankings of sixth in 2022, 11th in 2023, and 13th last year show that, time and again, Miller is up there with the best bookends in the NFL.
Miller’s new deal is, once again, impressive while not encroaching on the league’s highest-paid tackles, who are creeping up slowly on $30MM per year. His $22MM-per-year average ties him as the 11th-highest-paid tackles with Jordan Mailata and Zach Tom. The three-year term of the deal is short of those we’ve seen for young stars like Rashawn Slater (four years) and Tristan Wirfs (five years), but the contract length is well in line with players closer to his 29 years of age. Laremy Tunsil (28), Dion Dawkins (29), Ronnie Stanley (30), and Taylor Decker (30) all signed three-year deals of their own in the last two years.
While kicker Daniel Carlson shared a rookie year in Oakland with Miller, he didn’t join the team until Week 3 after the team that drafted him (Vikings) waived him two weeks into the season. Having worn a Raiders jersey longer than any other player in the locker room, as a result, Miller’s tenure has been extended through the 2028 season. It’s still to be determined whether or not he’ll spend his entire career in silver and black, as he desires, but today’s deal goes a long way in helping him towards that goal.
Seahawks To Extend GM John Schneider
The Seahawks moved John Schneider to the top of their personnel pyramid in 2024, firing Pete Carroll and giving their GM final say. A year later, the team is extending its longtime front office boss.
Schneider and the Seahawks have agreed on a four-year extension, according to FOX’s Jay Glazer. The new deal will push Schneider’s contract through 2030. Schneider has been in place as Seattle GM since 2010. Were he to finish out this contract, the Super Bowl-winning decision-maker would become one of the longest-tenured GMs in NFL history. Among pure GMs in the league today, Schneider already sits second (behind only the Saints’ Mickey Loomis) in terms of longevity.
This is Schneider’s first extension since the blockbuster Russell Wilson trade. Credited with drafting the franchise QB in the 2012 third round and building a loaded roster around him in the early 2010s, Schneider cashed out at the right time by unloading the 10-year Seattle starter for an eight-asset bounty. The Broncos gave the Seahawks two first-round picks and two seconds to headline the package, one that also included Noah Fant, Drew Lock and Shelby Harris. This armed the Seahawks in the 2022 and ’23 drafts, and key starters emerged from the haul.
While Schneider’s trade gave the Seahawks prime draft resources, the team has not turned a corner since that March 2022 swap. Wilson indeed tumbled off the star tier, to the point the Broncos needed to designate him a post-June 1 cut in 2024 and take on a record-setting dead money total to do so, but the Seahawks have not reached the heights of even the QB’s late prime. They booked a playoff berth in 2022, at 9-8, but missed the following two brackets. A 9-8 2023 season led ownership to ditch Carroll and retain Schneider, who then hired Mike Macdonald. The duo signed off on significant offseason changes this year.
After reviving Geno Smith‘s career, the Seahawks traded their three-year starter to the Raiders for a middling return (a 2025 third-rounder). D.K. Metcalf had requested a trade, and Seattle parted with the Pro Bowl wide receiver days later. The team collected a second for the six-year veteran and will retool around free agency additions Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp. This swap injects considerable risk into the equation, given Darnold’s uneven history and Kupp’s injury trouble. Both Smith and Metcalf signed extensions elsewhere this offseason.
Schneider’s previous extension had run through the 2027 draft; ownership is showing confidence the GM can steer another turnaround following the offseason shakeup. This belief undoubtedly comes from Schneider being in place when he and Carroll built one of the best NFL nuclei this century, having stacked their defense during Wilson’s rookie-contract years. This produced a dominant Super Bowl win and, despite injuries piling up a year later, another run to the game’s top stage. The Seahawks have not been back to an NFC championship game since the fateful Malcolm Butler interception, and Wilson was asked to do much more during the second half of his tenure. That still brought a host of playoff berths, but the Seahawks are attempting to elevate their operation to the Legion of Boom-era level more than a decade after the Patriots loss.
The Seahawks have booked 10 playoff trips during Schneider’s tenure, forging a successful partnership in pairing Carroll with a veteran Packers exec. They are 147-96-1 under Schneider, whose draft record slipped a bit between the Legion of Boom period and the Wilson trade. The Seahawks had not picked up a fifth-year option on a player Schneider drafted until this offseason, exercising Charles Cross‘ 2026 option. Ownership is counting on the pieces from the Wilson trade changing the equation, and Schneider has security as a new-look roster tangles with the Rams and 49ers in the NFC West.
Trey Hendrickson To Report To Bengals Training Camp
Trey Hendrickson‘s showdown with the Bengals took another turn this evening, as the star pass rusher is transforming his holdout into a hold-in. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Hendrickson is planning to report to Bengals training camp tomorrow. However, the two sides are not any closer to a deal. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport notes that the player is currently en route to Cincinnati.
[RELATED: Trey Hendrickson Rejects Bengals’ Latest Offers]
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero adds that it’s unlikely Hendrickson will actually practice with his team until he inks a new contract. However, today’s development is clearly a positive step forward for the two sides, and having the edge rusher in the building should only help build momentum towards an eventual resolution. Indeed, Dianna Russini of The Athletic says the player and the Bengals intend to continue working on a deal after negotiations recently broke down.
We heard last week that the player had retreated to Florida after rejecting a pair of offers from the Bengals, and Hendrickson seemed prime to engage in his long-threatened holdout. That absence ended up lasting less than a week, with the pass rusher incurring daily fines of $50K for being a no-show.
Hendrickson’s brief trip to Florida threw cold water on the building optimism in Cincinnati. Owner Mike Brown and de facto general manager Duke Tobin both expressed recent optimism that the two sides would soon come to an agreement. However, later reports indicated that there was still a sizable gap in negotiations. While Hendrickson and the Bengals were reportedly in agreement on the average annual value of an extension, the team was still unwilling to meet the player’s core demands of length and guarantees.
Specifically, Hendrickson has reportedly been seeking locked-in money for the first three years of his extension. The Bengals, who have only recently backed down from their refusal to hand out future guarantees to veterans, were only willing to include guaranteed money in the first year of their offer. This stalemate ultimately led to Hendrickson departing Cincinnati for Florida.
It remains to be seen if the two sides can bridge that gap, although it seems unlikely that the stare down ends in a trade. Hendrickson recently made it clear that he wants to stick in Cincinnati, and he said that sentiment is shared by the organization. Today’s development is a good sign as the two sides look to repair their relationship, although Hendrickson’s impending hold-in will likely cause new distractions for the organization.
Hendrickson represented the last player to engage in a training camp holdout. Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin reported to camp the other day without a deal, and Hendrickson will now follow suit. Courtland Sutton engaged in his own pseudo-hold-in and was rewarded with a lucrative contract extension yesterday.
Titans Waive WR Treylon Burks
JULY 29: Burks cleared waivers and heads to the Titans’ IR list, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets. An injury settlement, removing Burks from IR, will be the likely next course of action. That would lead him to free agency.
JULY 28: Treylon Burks‘ tenure in Tennessee is on track to come to an end. In the wake of his latest injury, the former first-rounder has been waived. 
This move has come with an injury designation, which comes as no surprise given the broken collarbone Burks recently suffered in training camp. Injuries have plagued the 25-year-old throughout his brief NFL tenure, which began when Tennessee selected him with the No. 18 pick in the 2022 draft. That selection was acquired by dealing A.J. Brown to the Eagles.
Given the link between the two wideouts created by the trade, Burks’ evaluations have always been measured against Brown’s Philadelphia success. During each of his three seasons with the Eagles so far, Brown has earned a Pro Bowl nod and second-team All-Pro acclaim; the 28-year-old was also a key figure in the team’s Super Bowl success in 2025. Burks, by contrast, entered this summer on Tennessee’s roster bubble.
The Arkansas product managed a career-best 444 yards as a rookie while being limited to 11 games. Optimism was high that, with better luck on the health front, he could round out his game and develop into a regular on offense with the Titans. Staying on the field has proven to be an issue, however – Burks missed six games again in 2023 and an ACL tear limited him to five contests last season – and when available he has not managed to meet expectations. The collarbone injury accelerated the timing for what could have been a decision to move on from the Titans closer to the start of the regular season.
Tennessee’s receiver depth chart will once again be headlined by Calvin Ridley this season. Veteran Tyler Lockett was added in free agency, as was Van Jefferson. The Titans used the draft to add a pair of Day 3 prospects at the position (Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor), and they will look to handle backup roles during their rookie seasons. Tennessee entered Monday with nearly $30MM in cap space, so finances will not be an issue if one of the veterans still on the market is targeted in the wake of this move.
Burks is now headed to waivers, with all teams free to claim him. Provided he goes unclaimed, he will revert to injured reserve. Situations such as these often result in a release being worked out along with an injury settlement. If that proves to be the case for Burks, his Titans stint will end on an unwanted but unsurprising note.
Broncos Extend WR Courtland Sutton
As expected, a deal is indeed in place between Courtland Sutton and the Broncos. The sides agreed to an extension on Monday, as first reported by Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
This will be a four-year pact, per the report. Sutton’s new deal is worth $92MM. It ensures a free agent departure will not be possible next spring and keeps him under contract through the 2029 campaign. The contract contains $41MM in total guarantees, per 9News’ Mike Klis, including $27MM in new locked in compensation. The team has since announced the extension.
Having reported to training camp – but participated on a limited basis – Sutton remained a figure to watch regarding a deal being struck in time for Week 1. Earlier today, reports indicated progress had been made toward a deal. Head coach Sean Payton confirmed the news of an agreement was coming soon, and that has now taken place.
Prior to today, Sutton was due to collect $14MM in 2025. The 29-year-old has now secured a raise, albeit one which does not move him particularly close to the top of the receiver market. With an average annual value of $23MM, this extension will move Sutton into a tie with Calvin Ridley for 18th in terms of yearly compensation at the position.
Team and player agreed to a one-year compromise last summer, with 2025 emerging as the time for a long-term arrangement to be made. Nevertheless, the likes of Nik Bonitto and Zach Allen appeared to enter training camp as higher priorities for Denver with respect to working out an extension. In the end, though, it is Sutton who is the first member of that trio to secure a raise. It will be interesting to see if today’s move is followed by other big-ticket agreements for the Broncos.
Sutton has spent his entire seven-year career in the Mile High City, operating as a full-time starter along the way but not always managing to produce at an elite level. The former second-rounder notched 1,000 yards for the first time in his career in 2019, but he did not duplicate that feat until this past campaign. Enjoying a strong year with rookie quarterback Bo Nix, Sutton set a new career high with 81 catches and managed eight touchdowns.
Denver has repeatedly drafted complementary wideouts dating back to before the Payton era began in 2023. As a result, the likes of Marvin Mims, Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant will be counted on as contributors for Nix’s second NFL season. Out of Denver’s receivers, though, Sutton will of course again be relied on to lead the way. If he can duplicate the success of 2024, the team’s offense could improve from last year’s impressive showing.
This offseason has seen a number of changes made in Denver’s backfield as the team seeks a more consistent run game. It will be interesting to see how the new faces at the running back spot fare, but in any event Sutton will continue as a mainstay and a focal point for Nix to target. That will also be the case well beyond the 2025 campaign.