Raiders To Sign LB Quay Walker
The Raiders are making a major addition to the middle of their defense. They have agreed to a deal with linebacker Quay Walker, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network report. Walker will sign a four-year, $40.5MM contract with $28MM in guarantees, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The Cowboys were among the teams in the mix for Walker before he reached an agreement with the Raiders, Todd Archer of ESPN relays. Walker had a Zoom meeting with the Cowboys on Monday, but they could not fend off the Raiders for the 25-year-old.
Walker, the 22nd pick in the 2022 draft, served as a full-time starter in Green Bay throughout his four-year run there. The former Georgia Bulldog opened his career with three straight 100-tackle seasons, during which he combined for 6.5 sacks. The Packers still declined Walker’s fifth-year option for 2026 last spring, though it did not come as a surprise. The league controversially groups middle and outside LBs together for valuation purposes. Teams typically turn down the option for middle linebackers, as the Jaguars (Devin Lloyd) also did last year.
Playing what proved to be his last Packers season in 2025, Walker collected a career-high 128 tackles in 14 games. He added eight TFL, a personal-best seven QB hits, five passes defensed and 2.5 sacks. Despite quality production, Pro Football Focus took a harsh view of Walker’s 2025 in ranking his performance 76th among 88 qualifiers at his position.
In heading to Las Vegas, Walker will reunite with former Georgia teammate Nakobe Dean. After spending his first four seasons in Philadelphia, Dean agreed to a three-year, $36MM pact with the Raiders on Monday. Walker and Dean starred in college as part of Georgia’s linebacker corps, especially during a national title-winning campaign in 2021. They will reunite in a remade Raiders LB group. Devin White, Elandon Roberts and Jamal Adams were Las Vegas’ top LBs last year, but all three are now unsigned.
While the Raiders traded superstar pass rusher Maxx Crosby to the Ravens last week, they have since made several noteworthy investments to improve a roster that finished last in 2025. Before bringing in Walker and Dean, the Raiders acquired nickel cornerback Taron Johnson from the Bills, re-signed corner Eric Stokes, and reached free agent agreements with center Tyler Linderbaum, defensive end Kwity Paye and receiver Jalen Nailor.
Commanders, Odafe Oweh Agree To Deal
Another one of the major pass rush dominoes around the NFL has fallen. Odafe Oweh will neither return to the Ravens nor remain in place with the Chargers.
Instead, he will head to the nation’s capital. A four-year deal has been agreed to with the Commanders, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This will be a $100MM pact including $68MM guaranteed, Schefter adds.
This represents a big-ticket payday for another of this market’s edge rushers. Jaelan Phillips secured a four-year, $120MM Panthers deal earlier today, and Oweh will do very well for another team in need of pass-rushing support. The Commanders largely ignored their EDGE need in 2025, settling for an aging Von Miller just before training camp. While Miller was productive (team-high nine sacks), the team set out to do better this offseason. Oweh checks a key box.
Recording 17.5 sacks over the past two seasons, Oweh joined Phillips and Trey Hendrickson as this market’s top edge rushers. The four-year commitment will help inflate Oweh’s guarantee, and $68MM tops where the Chiefs went for George Karlaftis on his 2025 extension. The cap climbing past $301MM this offseason is benefiting players today. Oweh, 27, is the NFL’s 13th-highest-paid edge rusher as a result of this agreement. That checks in just south of the Broncos’ Nik Bonitto pact.
Oweh joined Phillips and Kwity Paye as edge rushers to play out their fifth-year option seasons. Like Phillips, Oweh was traded during his. The five-year veteran’s Chargers stay helped ignite his free agent market. After a sackless five games in Baltimore, Oweh recorded 7.5 QB drops during his Chargers run. That turned out to be a rental period.
Although the Chargers expressed interest in re-signing Oweh, they agreed to terms with Khalil Mack and have a Tuli Tuipulotu extension to negotiate this offseason. Oweh almost definitely, based on where the Tuipulotu payday will land, priced himself out of L.A.’s comfort zone.
No Oweh six-sack seasons transpired from 2021-23, but the Ravens still picked up his fifth-year option. Baltimore saw Oweh register 10 sacks in 2024, and he closed out his rookie contract by combining for 41 QB hits from 2024-25. The Commanders still have Dorance Armstrong tied to his three-year, $30MM contract, but after regarding him as a de facto A-side rusher, Washington looks set to have Oweh in that role moving forward.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Bengals To Sign DE Boye Mafe
The Bengals are adding former Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe, agent Mike McCartney announced. Mafe will sign a three-year, $60MM contract, insider Jordan Schultz relays.
Cincinnati’s pass rush took a hit when defensive end Joseph Ossai agreed to sign with the Jets on Monday. The Bengals are also expected to lose their best D-end, Trey Hendrickson, to free agency. At least one outside pass-rushing addition became a necessity for the Bengals, whose defense was among the NFL’s worst in 2025. The unit ranked 26th in sacks, 30th in scoring and 31st in total defense.
Mafe has not posted Hendrickson-like production (few have), but he should at least serve as a credible Ossai replacement. The four-year veteran has 20 career sacks over 65 games (34 starts). In 2023, Mafe’s most productive year, he worked as a full-time starter and tallied 52 tackles, 16 QB hits, nine sacks, nine TFL and six passes defensed in 16 contests.
Mafe notched another 12 QB hits and six sacks during a 15-game, 11-start 2024, but the 27-year-old took on a lesser role for the Super Bowl champions last season. The former second-rounder from Minnesota came off the bench in 13 of 17 games and logged a 50% defensive snap share. Mafe could only muster four QB hits and a pair of sacks, but he nonetheless entered free agency with plenty of earning potential. He will indeed rake in a substantial raise in moving from Seattle to Cincinnati.
Mafe’s exit is the latest blow to the Seahawks’ roster on the first day of the league’s free agent negotiating period. They previously lost running back/Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III to the Chiefs and safety Coby Bryant to the Bears.
Titans To Sign CB Alontae Taylor
The Titans’ spending spree continues. Alontae Taylor is the latest free agent to line up a deal with Tennessee as the team’s overhaul is in full force.
The parties have agreed to a deal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This pact will be worth $60MM over three years, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network adds. Taylor will cash in following his rookie contract stint in New Orleans, with Rapoport adding he will collect $42MM in full guarantees.
Experienced as both a slot and perimeter corner, Taylor may command the top CB salary on this year’s market. Ranked 12th overall in PFR’s top 50 (first among corners), Taylor has a skillset that will allow Saleh options in coverage. The former second-round pick has more than 1,500 snaps inside and outside.
Taylor becomes the NFL’s 10th $20MM-per-year cornerback. The Titans still have L’Jarius Sneed tied to a $19.1MM-per-year contract. While other former Chiefs starters have justified their second-contract costs — the Rams are betting big on this having added Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson — Sneed has struggled to stay healthy and was embroiled in a legal situation during his time in Nashville. The Titans are likely to cut the underwhelming trade acquisition, veteran reporter Paul Kuharsky notes.
As Nikhil Mehta’s Titans Offseason Outlook detailed, Sneed will see $7.5MM of his 2026 salary shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 5 of the 2026 league year. That March 16 date will be tied to a physical, per Kuharsky, who notes Sneed being cleared would allow the Titans to cut him without that injury guarantee kicking in. The Titans would save $13.43MM if Sneed’s injury issue is resolved and he is released.
The Saints attempted to extend Taylor, but it became clear this week he would depart in free agency. New Orleans sought a Day 2 pick for Taylor in a trade, and the Bears and Colts pursued. Indianapolis then came in with a two-first-rounder offer for Sauce Gardner. Taylor, 27, finished out his contract year with the Saints — unlike Rashid Shaheed, who was moved at the deadline — and will be positioned as the Titans’ No. 1 corner. Barring a pay cut, Sneed will be out of the picture. Tennessee will still have work to do here.
New Orleans has now lost two homegrown options — Taylor and Paulson Adebo — to big-ticket contracts in back-to-back free agencies. The Giants gave Adebo a three-year, $54MM deal. A few corners landed those terms in 2025, but with the cap rising past $300MM this year, Taylor will outdo that lot and reside between the top tier and the cadre of ’25 market beneficiaries.
Titans To Sign DL John Franklin-Myers
Robert Saleh is reforming his Jets band. After Jermaine Johnson arrived via trade, John Franklin-Myers is coming over in free agency. The high-level FA agreed to a three-year, $63MM Titans deal, per insider Jordan Schultz.
A two-year Broncos starter, Franklin-Myers was a key piece under Saleh with the Jets. With D-line coach Aaron Whitecotton coming to Nashville as well, the Titans appeared to be the most logical suitor for Franklin-Myers (as Nikhil Mehta’s Offseason Outlook detailed). Franklin-Myers, 29, will see $42MM guaranteed on this deal — a massive raise from his Denver terms.
Widely expected to leave the Broncos, who had not made an extension offer during a period where several other front-seven cogs were paid, Franklin-Myers hit free agency at an ideal time. Despite heading into an age-30 season, the high-end role player looked to be by far this market’s top interior D-line option. PFR ranked Franklin-Myers sixth in this year’s FA class — largely because of its lack of DT options and a draft not teeming with them, either — and the $21MM-per-year number nearly triples his Broncos AAV.
The Bengals, Colts and 49ers also pursued Franklin-Myers, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. Traded to the Broncos as a salary-dump move in the 2024 draft, Franklin-Myers agreed to a two-year, $15MM deal — a better offer than the Jets made as they aimed for a sizable pay cut. Franklin-Myers had been tied to a four-year, $55MM Jets extension, but as Haason Reddick arrived via trade, Joe Douglas sent him to Denver. That became a boon for the Broncos’ defense, and it turned into a mutually beneficial relationship.
Two top-three Broncos defenses deployed Franklin-Myers as a 3-4 defensive end starter. He racked up 14.5 sacks during his two-season Broncos stay. But Denver had agreed to extensions with Zach Allen, Malcom Roach, Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper during Franklin-Myers’ tenure. The team also re-signed DT D.J. Jones just before last year’s free agency. Franklin-Myers did not expect an extension, and he will benefit from hitting the market in a down year for the position.
Initially claimed off waivers from the Rams during Adam Gase’s HC tenure, Franklin-Myers displayed inside-outside versatility under Saleh. He recorded 11 sacks from 2021-22, teaming with Quinnen Williams up front New York. Saleh’s second Jets defense improved from 32nd to fourth, and Franklin-Myers’ 2022 showing was a key reason for that leap. Two years after the draft-weekend trade, Franklin-Myers will join his former coaches on a monster fourth contract.
Saints To Sign RB Travis Etienne
Running back Travis Etienne is coming off the free agent market. The ex-Jaguar will sign with the Saints, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Etienne will ink a four-year, $52MM pact, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Former Seahawk Kenneth Walker III agreed to a three-year, $43.05MM deal with the Chiefs around 25 minutes after the negotiating window opened Monday. That briefly left Etienne as the No. 1 runner available. The five-year veteran will now return to his native Louisiana for a sizable raise.
Etienne’s new accord places him first among all running backs in total money, surpassing the Packers’ Josh Jacobs ($48MM). At $13MM per year, Etienne checks in at sixth in average annual value.
After a stellar career at Clemson, Etienne entered the league as a first-rounder (No. 25 overall) in 2021. A foot injury wiped out Etienne’s entire rookie year, but he showed no ill effects during his debut the next season. Etienne has logged three 17-game seasons and a 15-gamer since then. He is a three-time 1,000-yard rusher who has averaged around 43 catches and eight total touchdowns per season.
Etienne endured an uncharacteristically poor year in 2024, after which the Jaguars drafted fellow RBs Bhayshul Tuten (fourth round) and LeQuint Allen (seventh). It appeared Etienne’s touches would decrease then, but that did not end up being the case.
Etienne got off to a hot enough start in Week 1 last year that the Jaguars quickly traded another of their backs, Tank Bigsby, to the Eagles. In what went down as a rebound campaign for Etienne, he ran for 1,107 yards and seven touchdowns on a career-high 260 carries (4.3 YPC). The 5-foot-10, 215-pounder added 36 catches for 292 yards and another six scores.
With the 27-year-old Etienne heading to New Orleans, it is fair to wonder what the team will do with incumbent starting back Alvin Kamara. The five-time Pro Bowler still has another season left on his two-year, $24.5MM contract. However, the 31-year-old Kamara is coming off a disappointing 2025 in which an MCL sprain limited him to 11 games.
The Saints restructured Kamara’s deal this past weekend. Doing so could make it easier to trade or release the nine-year veteran, though it is unclear if he would be willing to continue with another team. Leading up to last November’s trade deadline, Kamara was adamant that he did not want to play anywhere else.
Bears To Sign S Coby Bryant
Safety Coby Bryant is leaving the Super Bowl champion Seahawks for the Bears, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. Chicago is handing Bryant a three-year, $40MM contract, per veteran insider Jordan Schultz.
The NFC North-winning Bears deployed Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard as their top safeties last season, but both are free agents after playing almost every defensive snap in 2025. Effective in-season acquisition C.J. Gardner-Johnson is also without a deal. The uncertainty surrounding those three left safety as an obvious area to address for general manager Ryan Poles. He has done it in adding PFR’s 28th-ranked free agent.
During their resurgent 2025, the Bears led the NFL in both takeaways (33) and interceptions (23). The 32-year-old Byard picked off seven passes en route to first-team All-Pro honors. Bryant’s numbers were not as gaudy, but the 26-year-old had a big season in his own right. Across 15 games (all starts), the former slot corner logged 66 tackles, seven passes defensed, four TFL and a career-best four INTs. He chipped in another 10 tackles and two PDs during the Seahawks’ three victories in the playoffs.
Bryant, who has combined for seven picks since 2024, ranked 27th among Pro Football Focus’ 91 qualifying safeties last season. He graded among the top 30 safeties in both coverage and run defense. Despite a penchant for taking the ball away, the Bears ranked 22nd against the pass and 27th versus the run. Bryant helped the Seahawks to third and 10th in those respective categories.
Although Bryant is a noteworthy loss for Seattle, the team is still in good shape at safety. Julian Love, Ty Okada and Nick Emmanwori are all more than capable of handling the position. However, Bryant may not be the first major defensive back the club loses. Cornerbacks Josh Jobe and Riq Woolen remain unsigned two hours after the negotiating window opened.
Panthers, Jaelan Phillips Agree To Deal
As expected, the Panthers have made a big splash early with respect to a pass rush addition. Jaelan Phillips is heading to Carolina.
Team and player have agreed to terms, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This will be a four-year, $120MM pact, he adds. Phillips has secured $80MM in guarantees on his second NFL contract.
Despite Phillips’ extensive injury history, the Panthers are betting big. Suffering Achilles and ACL tears in Miami, Phillips bounced back with a solid 2025 season split between the Dolphins and Eagles. Philadelphia could land a third-round compensatory pick, depending on its FA activity this year, thanks to this monster accord. The Eagles were believed to be closing in on a deal to retain Phillips, but they will stand down and let the 2025 trade pickup head to Charlotte.
Carolina missed on Milton Williams last year, being deep in talks before New England’s big offer won out for the impact free agent. The Panthers also lost Brian Burns in 2024, trading the Pro Bowl EDGE to wrap a lengthy saga. Although the Panthers drafted two edge rushers in 2025 (Nic Scourton, Princely Umanmielen), they will give Ejiro Evero a new lead sack artist.
PFR’s No. 3 overall free agent, Phillips only registered five sacks between his Dolphins and Eagles games last season. But he ranked 12th in pressures and submitted a strong (18.8% pressure rate that hovered far north of Trey Hendrickson or Odafe Oweh’s 2025 numbers). That keyed a huge market, with the $80MM in total guarantees representing the ninth-largest amount among edge defenders.
Phillips and Derrick Brown will be poised to provide an outside-inside tandem, as the Panthers did not feature a player eclipse five sacks in 2025. Carolina made the playoffs anyway, despite a 27th-ranked offense, but has struggled in the sack department since sending Burns to the Giants.
Going into an age-27 season, Phillips has shown better sack work in the past. He notched 6.5 in eight 2023 games, before suffering the Achilles tear on Black Friday. The 6-foot-5 EDGE also combined for 15.5 sacks over his first two seasons. Injuries have been a constant for Phillips, who briefly retired from the sport while at UCLA. Transferring to Miami, Phillips became a first-round pick. His Philly stint cemented one of the better FA cases in recent history, and the Panthers will expect an immediate pass-rushing boost as a result of this commitment.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Commanders To Give LT Laremy Tunsil Record-Setting Extension
The Commanders have their extension agreement with Laremy Tunsil in place. Long rumored as a player Washington wanted to pay, Tunsil has secured a third career extension.
Tunsil agreed to a two-year, $60.2MM extension, insider Jordan Schultz reports. He is the NFL’s first $30MM offensive lineman. For the third time in his career, Tunsil has secured a market-setting extension. Tunsil will receive a $32.5MM signing bonus and a $61.5MM guarantee on a contract that now runs through 2028.
GM Adam Peters said a Tunsil deal was a priority. Considering the four-pick haul the Commanders sent the Texans for the Pro Bowl blocker, that made sense. Tunsil’s deal aligns with Jayden Daniels‘ rookie contract, and Washington entered Monday among the league’s leaders in cap space. Tunsil managing to score another market-topping deal ahead of his age-32 season burnishes his credentials as one of this era’s savviest negotiators.
Rumblings about an extension push emerged in December. The Texans paid the former first-rounder in 2020 and 2023. Tunsil played the 2025 season tied to a three-year, $75MM deal. That pact was set to expire after the 2026 season. The Texans not prioritizing a Tunsil deal in 2024 led them to move on, and after the Commanders saw Tunsil primarily protect Marcus Mariota last season, they will secure his rights beyond 2026 to block for Daniels.
Pro Football Focus ranked Tunsil seventh among qualified tackles in 2025, ranking him as the NFL’s second-best pass blocker. While a Pro Bowl nod did not follow this time, Tunsil secured five of those prior to his Washington arrival. He shrewdly leveraged his 2019 trade price — which included two first-round picks — in 2020 Texans negotiations, scoring a $22MM-per-year deal. After the tackle market did not move much between 2020 and ’23, Tunsil signed that 3/75 Houston extension — one that included $50MM at signing. He continues to do well on this front; the Commanders will need the decorated blocker to keep at his current pace to justify the latest windfall.
Washington released Tyler Biadasz last week, and while they were linked to Tyler Linderbaum, the team already has a higher-end guard salary (Sam Cosmi‘s). It will be interesting to see if Linderbaum joins a line that already has a tackle-record deal as of Monday morning.
Rams To Sign CB Jaylen Watson
After acquiring Trent McDuffie from Kansas City last week, the Rams have now taken another of the Chiefs’ top cornerbacks. The Rams have agreed to a contract with Jaylen Watson, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. It’s a three-year, $51MM deal with $34MM in guarantees, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
This is another bold strike by the Rams, who have poured significant resources into their secondary over the past couple months. Before adding McDuffie in a blockbuster trade and agreeing to terms with Watson, they re-signed safeties Quentin Lake and Kamren Curl to extensions worth up to $81MM combined.
Los Angeles went 12-5 and won two playoff games in 2025, but its defensive backfield was in clear need of improvement entering the offseason. The Rams ranked a below-average 19th in pass defense in the regular season, and an inability to stop the Seahawks’ aerial attack torpedoed them in the NFC title game. Quarterback Sam Darnold went 25 of 36 for 346 yards for three touchdowns, while No. 1 wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 10 passes for 153 yards and a score.
Corners Cobie Durant, Ahkello Witherspoon and Roger McCreary are among the Rams’ free agents, while Darious Williams retired over the weekend. Durant started in 15 of 17 games and led Rams corners in snap share (72.99%) in 2025, but the Rams look to have added a pair of upgrades in two-time Super Bowl champions McDuffie and Watson.
A seventh-round pick in 2022, Watson spent most of his first two seasons as a reserve. After winning Super Bowl LVII to cap off the 2023 season, the Chiefs traded starting cornerback L’Jarius Sneed to Tennessee. Sneed’s exit opened up a full-time spot for Watson, who went on to start in his final 21 games with the Chiefs.
A broken leg suffered in October 2024 limited Watson to six regular-season games, but he made it back during the Chiefs’ latest run to the Super Bowl. He played in two postseason games, including a Super Bowl LIX loss to the Eagles. Watson went on to enjoy a career year in 2025. Over 15 games (all starts), the 27-year-old tallied 64 tackles, six passes defensed and two interceptions. Pro Football Focus graded Watson 17th among 112 qualifying corners.
Watson, who ranked as PFR’s No. 13 free agent, is now the latest high-profile corner to leave Kansas City in the past several years. Along with McDuffie, Watson and Sneed, Steven Nelson, Marcus Peters, Kendall Fuller and Charvarius Ward all exited during the Andy Reid era. The Chiefs have seldom missed a beat, but now coming off a six-win season, they are down two major contributors at the back end of their defense.