QB Sam Howell To Sign With Cowboys
Sam Howell is set to join his fifth team since the 2023 campaign. The quarterback is signing a one-year deal with the Cowboys, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
A 2022 fifth-round pick by the Commanders, Howell made his first career NFL start against the Cowboys during the regular season finale of his rookie campaign. That next season, the North Carolina ended up being a full-time starter for Washington. He went 4-13 in his 17 starts, completing 63.4 percent of his passes for 3,946 yards, 21 touchdowns, and a league-leading 21 interceptions. He also showed some talent running the ball, compiling 263 yards and five touchdowns on 48 touches.
With the Commanders snagging Jayden Daniels with the second-overall pick of the 2024 draft, the team moved on from Howell, sending him to the Seahawks for mid-round pick swaps. He served as Geno Smith‘s primary backup during that 2024 campaign, getting into two total games. With Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, and rookie Jalen Milroe joining the squad last offseason, the Seahawks dealt him to the Vikings.
He didn’t make it to the regular season with his next squad, as Minnesota dealt Howell to the Eagles towards the end of the 2025 preseason. Tanner McKee was Jalen Hurts‘ primary backup last year, with Howell failing to get into a game.
Now, he’ll be joining another deep QB grouping in Dallas. He’ll be competing with Joe Milton and Will Grier to be Dak Prescott‘s primary backup in 2026.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/10/26
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Re-signed: WR Dayton Wade
Carolina Panthers
- Re-signed: WR David Moore, DE LaBryan Ray
- Waived: DT Popo Aumavae
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: OL Darian Kinnard
Houston Texans
- Signed: LB Jake Hummel
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released: TE Johnny Mundt
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed: WR Nikko Remigio
Los Angeles Chargers
- Re-signed: CB Deane Leonard
New York Giants
- Re-signed: CB Art Green
- Signed: LB Caleb Murphy
- Waived: S Anthony Johnson
San Francisco 49ers
- Re-signed: LB Garret Wallow
Titans To Sign P Tommy Townsend
Tommy Townsend is heading to Tennessee. The free agent punter has agreed to a deal with the Titans, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
It’s a two-year deal for the punter worth up to $6MM, per Schefter. Townsend sticks in the AFC after spending the start of his career with the Chiefs and Texans.
Townsend joined the Chiefs as a UDFA in 2020 and proceeded to spend the next four seasons as their punter. He led the NFL in playoff punts and punt yards during each of Kansas City’s most-recent Super Bowl wins, and he earned a first-team All-Pro nod with the organization in 2022.
He inked a two-year deal with the Texans ahead of the 2024 campaign and ended up playing out his entire contract. He downed close to 50 percent of his punts inside the 20 during his time in Houston, and he tallied the longest punts in both the 2024 and 2025 playoffs.
The Titans moved on from three-year punter Ryan Stonehouse ahead of the 2025 campaign, turning to Johnny Hekker in his place. The veteran averaged 46.8 yards on his punts this past season while landing 28.2 percent of them inside the 20. He’s currently a free agent after inking a one-year, $1.42MM deal with the organization last offseason.
Texans To Sign DE Logan Hall
Following a standout collegiate career with the Cougars, Logan Hall is heading back to Houston. The free agent defensive end is joining the Texans, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
It’s a two-year deal for Hall, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The defensive lineman will earn around $7MM per season.
The Houston product earned first-team All-AAC honors in 2021 after finishing with six sacks and 13 tackles for loss, leading to him being selected by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 2022 draft. The defensive lineman ended up starting 39 of his 66 appearances in Tampa Bay, although he never got into more than 60 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in any of his four seasons.
Following a 5.5-sack showing in 2024, Hall was limited to 1.5 sacks in 2025 despite starting a career-high 16 games. Pro Football Focus has generally graded him as a middle-of-the-road interior defender, although they ranked him 40th among 127 qualifiers this past year.
Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson will continue to command snaps at defensive end, but Hall should be a more-than-serviceable option behind that duo. Derek Barnett is currently unsigned after garnering 388 snaps at the position in 2025. The Texans previously added some DE depth in Dominique Robinson.
LB Lavonte David Will Either Re-Sign With Buccaneers Or Retire
If Lavonte David plays in 2026, it will only be for the Buccaneers. The veteran linebacker will either re-sign with Tampa Bay or retire this offseason, agent Ron Butler said during an appearance on WDAE (via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times).
Butler made it clear that “those are the two options” while noting that David will make a decision soon. The 36-year-old is currently a free agent.
After signing a one-year, $9MM to stick in Tampa Bay last offseason, David proceeded to compile 114 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 17 games. According to Stroud, the linebacker suffered a knee injury in 2025 that needed to be drained weekly. The veteran ended up undergoing arthroscopic surgery after the season.
The 2012 second-round pick has spent his entire career in Tampa Bay. He was a key member of the Super Bowl LV-winning squad, and he’s earned three All-Pro nods throughout his 14 years in the NFL. He’s continued to ink one-year deals with the Buccaneers since the 2023 campaign, and he’s been considering retirement for the past few years. Back in February, David admitted that he was still undecided on his decision.
“I’m genuinely undecided, like I don’t know,” David said at the time. “I don’t know. I still got a lot of football left in me. I know that for sure. I still love the game. I know that for sure. The other side is I want to spend more time with my daughter. She’s in school, so [I’ve been] taking her to school and it’s a good feeling.”
David has still been plenty productive throughout his 30s. Over the past four years, he’s averaged more than 120 tackles and four sacks per season. However, after topping out as Pro Football Focus’ third-best linebacker in 2022, David has seen his positional grade continually drop, leading to a 66th-place finish (among 88 qualifying linebackers) in 2025.
The Buccaneers have added Alex Anzalone to their linebackers corps this offseason, but the team otherwise hasn’t really invested in the position recently. The organization would surely welcome back David for another season in 2026, especially as the team navigates Mike Evans‘ noteworthy departure.
Giants To Sign FB Patrick Ricard
John Harbaugh is bringing another Raven to New York. Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard is joining the Giants on a two-year deal, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
The deal is worth $7.63MM with a maximum value of $8.5MM, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, making Ricard the highest-paid fullback in the NFL. His resume – including six Pro Bowls in the last seven years – certainly supports that status. The nine-year veteran also received a first-team All-Pro nod in 2024 and second-team recognition in the years immediately before and after.
Ricard, 31, arrived in Baltimore as an undrafted defensive tackle out of Maine. He converted to fullback as a rookie but still maintained a role on the other side of the ball until 2020, when his offensive snap share jumped to 41%. It grew even more, all the way up to 64% in 2022, the Ravens’ last year with offensive coordinator Greg Roman. His successor, Todd Monken, decreased Ricard’s role, though he still played at least 39% of the Ravens’ offensive snaps from 2023 to 2025. That resulted in a pay cut on Ricard’s last contract in Baltimore, and like the rest of the team’s offense, he had somewhat of a down season after missing the start of the year due to injury.
The price point of today’s deal is a clear sign that Ricard will have a major role in New York’s offense. However, new Giants OC Matt Nagy has not historically featured a pure blocking fullback in his scheme, so he will need to find a way to integrate Ricard on the field.
The Ravens are unlikely to seek a one-for-one replacement for Ricard with new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle bringing in his own scheme. However, with tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar also departing in free agency, Baltimore will need to shore up that position group this offseason.
Titans To Sign DT Jordan Elliott
More Robert Saleh connections are forming on the veteran coach’s first Titans roster. After the ex-Jets HC reunited with Jermaine Johnson and John Franklin-Myers from his Jets days, Saleh’s D-line will also include a recent 49ers charge.
Jordan Elliott will follow Saleh from San Francisco to Tennessee, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. The veteran defensive tackle agreed to a two-year, $8MM deal that can max out at $8.5MM. Elliott spent the past two years in San Francisco, the second spent under Saleh’s tutelage.
Deployed as a near-full-time starter with the 49ers under Nick Sorensen in 2024, Elliott started every game under Saleh last season. Overall, the former Browns draftee started 29 games with the 49ers. He joins a Titans team that is reshaping its front around Jeffery Simmons. With Sebastian Joseph-Day a free agent, Tennessee traded two-year nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat to the Jets for Johnson.
Elliott figures to slide in as a second-string option behind Simmons and Franklin-Myers, with the latter two tied to $45MM per year combined. While Elliott has been a starter for the past four seasons, Franklin-Myers is certainly not on a three-year, $63MM deal to be a rotational option.
Also rejoining former 49ers defensive assistant Gus Bradley, Elliott is a former third-round pick with 64 career starts on his resume. Pro Football Focus has never been a big fan of Elliott’s game, but teams disagree on this point. PFF graded Elliott 97th among interior D-linemen in 2024 and 110th last season, though this will be the 303-pound player’s second veteran contract since his Browns rookie deal expired.
Eagles To Sign TEs Johnny Mundt, Grant Calcaterra
Johnny Mundt was released by the Jaguars on Monday, but the blocking tight end did not stay on the market for long. He has agreed to a one-year deal with the Eagles, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Philadelphia will also be re-signing their own veteran tight end, Grant Calcaterra, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The duo will try to fill the hold left by Dallas Goedert, who has yet to sign with another team but now, does not seem likely to return to the Eagles.
Mundt, 31, signed with the Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He appeared in two games as a rookie and made the 53-man roster in his second year with a core role on special teams. He took on a bigger role as a blocker in 2019 and 2020 and was trending towards a career-high in offensive snaps before a torn ACL in 2021.
Mundt still ended the year with a Super Bowl ring, but he left Los Angeles in the offseason to join the Vikings. There, he took up a No. 2 tight end role with career-high playing time and the first significant receiving role of his career. He totaled 55 catches for 454 yards across his three years in Minnesota and moved to Jacksonville to take up a similar job in 2025.
Calcaterra, who just turned 27, was a 2022 sixth-round pick who played behind Goedert in 2022 and 2023 before stepping up as his injury replacement in 2024. Calcaterra started 13 gaems with 24 catches for 298 receiving yards on a 66% snap share. Those numbers ticked back down in 2025 after Goedert returned to the field.
The two will be competing for a role in the Eagles offense this summer, potentially even for the starting tight end job. General manager Howie Roseman is likely to add some competition, and after making multiple veteran signings, he may now look to bolster the position via April’s draft.
Bears To Sign DB Cam Lewis, DE Kentavius Street
The Bears are adding some meaningful depth to their defense. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the team is signing defensive back Cam Lewis to a two-year deal. Meanwhile, Jordan Schultz reports that the Bears have also agreed to a deal with defensive end Kentavius Street.
While he never had a major role with the Bills, Lewis was a popular player in Buffalo. After going undrafted out of State University of New York at Buffalo, he caught on with the Bills in 2019. He proceeded to spend the next seven seasons with the organization, working his way up from practice squad player to part-time starter.
Lewis saw his most responsibility over the past two years, when he got into a combined 968 defensive snaps. He started 10 of his 34 appearances over that stretch, tallying 111 tackles, eight passes defended, and a pair of forced fumbles. He notably played all over the defense, spending time at safety, outside and slot cornerback, and even defensive line. He’ll likely serve a versatile role in Chicago, although the Bears secondary remains in flux with a number of players hitting free agency.
Street spent the past two-plus years in Atlanta, where he tallied four sacks in 25 games. He was cut by the team at the end of the 2025 preseason, but after catching on with their practice squad, he rejoined the active roster in November. He proceeded to make seven appearances for the Falcons down the stretch, finishing with 21 stops and two sacks. He’ll likely serve as a depth piece on Chicago’s defensive line in 2026.
Panthers To Sign C Luke Fortner
The Panthers may have found their replacement for Cade Mays. The team is set to sign veteran center Luke Fortner, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
It’s a one-year deal for Fortner, per Pelissero. The contract will pay the lineman up to $4.75MM.
The 2022 third-round pick spent the first three seasons of his career in Jacksonville. He was a full-time starter through his first two years, but he was limited to only 13 offensive snaps in 17 games in 2024. Predictably, the Jaguars moved on from him following that campaign, trading him to the Saints for defensive tackle Khalen Saunders.
Fortner returned to the starting lineup during his lone season in New Orleans, starting 10 of his 17 appearances. Pro Football Focus believed this was the best showing of the lineman’s career, ranking him 17th among 37 qualifying centers. The site ultimately credited him with three sacks allowed and 11 pressures allowed.
Mays joined the Lions yesterday on a three-year deal, and with center/guard Austin Corbett also unsigned, the Panthers had a major hole on their offensive line. Fortner will surely be penciled in for the starting gig entering training camp, but he could face some competition from special teamer Nick Samac or any other offseason acquisition.