Packers To Sign DL Javon Hargrave
Another offseason, another eight-figure-per-year Javon Hargrave contract. Released today by the Vikings, Hargrave will set up shop with one of Minnesota’s rivals.
The Packers will bring in the veteran interior defensive lineman, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Hargrave agreed to a two-year deal worth $23MM. This marks the third time in four offseasons the well-traveled D-lineman has inked a deal averaging more than $10MM per year. That is rather impressive considering Hargrave has now been cut twice in two years. This will reunite Hargrave and Jonathan Gannon, the Eagles’ defensive coordinator from 2021-22.
Hargrave, 33, may have been a 49ers and Vikings cap casualty but still carries respect around the league (as evidenced by this quick agreement). The Packers traded Kenny Clark to the Cowboys in the Micah Parsons blockbuster last year; they will now add another 30-something veteran to complement Devonte Wyatt up front.
After helping the Eagles make a run at the 1984 Bears’ single-season sack record, Hargrave commanded a four-year, $84MM 49ers deal as a 2023 free agent. Starting for San Francisco’s Super Bowl LVIII team, the former third-round pick suffered a pectoral injury early in the 2024 season. The 49ers cut him soon after, leading to a two-year Vikings pact worth $30MM. Hargrave started 15 games last season but joined fellow Minnesota 2025 FA addition Jonathan Allen in being released today.
Enjoying a strong sack stretch from 2021-23, Hargrave peaked with 11 in 2022 to help the Eagles to Super Bowl LVII. Playing in Super Bowls in back-to-back years, Hargrave also produced 7.5 sacks and a career-high 18 QB hits under Gannon in 2021. The Steelers draftee earned a Pro Bowl nod as a 49er in 2023. The interior rusher has toggled between 3-4 and 4-3 schemes during his career, as such differences have mattered less and less thanks to the proliferation of nickel and dime packages.
One season remains on Wyatt’s rookie contract; the Packers picked up his fifth-year option and declined Quay Walker‘s last year (Walker is now a Raider). Trading Clark just before the season, the team used Karl Brooks as a seven-game starter in 2025. As Gannon puts his stamp on Green Bay’s defense, the ex-Cardinals HC will turn to one of his former charges to help do so.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Dolphins Sign CBs Darrell Baker, A.J. Green, Alex Austin
The Dolphins continue to make additions on defense. Cornerback Darrell Baker has agreed to terms on a one-year deal, per his agents (via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network).
[RELATED: Dolphins To Sign DB Lonnie Johnson Jr.]
In addition, the team has announced the signing of fellow corner A.J. Green. Those two will join a new-look secondary in 2026. Miami agreed to terms with Lonnie Johnson Jr. earlier today. And to top it all off, the Dolphins have agreed to a one-year deal with cornerback Alex Austin, per Jordan Schultz.
Baker is coming off a two-year stint with the Titans, where he emerged as a part-time starter. He started 19 of his 34 appearances between 2024 and 2025, collecting 95 tackles and 12 passes defended. He primarily played as an outside cornerback during his stint in Tennessee, although he also made same cameos at safety, at slot corner, and in the box.
The former UDFA out of Georgia Southern started his career with the Cardinals before catching on with the Colts practice squad. After making only three appearances with Indy as a rookie, he got into 14 games (six starts) in 2023. He inked a one-year extension with the organization during the 2024 offseason, but he was waived by the Colts at the end of that year’s preseason.
Green had a four-year stint with the Bengals to begin his professional career. He’s since bounced around a bit, spending time with the Vikings, Rams, and Dolphins. He split the 2025 campaign between Miami and Los Angeles, where he mostly appeared on special teams.
Austin spent the majority of his three-year career in New England, where he got into 26 games. He started six games during his Patriots tenure (including two in 2025), but he mostly earned his worth on special teams. Austin got into 220 ST snaps during his time in New England, including 120 this past year.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.
OT Jedrick Wills To Sign 1-Year Deal With Bears
Jedrick Wills is indeed returning to the NFL. The former first-round pick missed all of the 2025 season due to a knee injury suffered the year before and is now set to sign a one-year deal with the Bears, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The five-year veteran previously visit the Patriots and the Lions as he explored his options, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
Willis, 26, arrived in Cleveland as the No. 10 selection in the 2020 draft. He took over as the team’s starting left tackle and was named to the All-Rookie team in what remains the best pass-blocking performance of his career, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Willis missed four games in 2021, but returned for a full season in 2022. The injuries began to crop up after that with only 13 appearances across 2023 and 2024, the latter of which featured a season-ending MCL tear in Week 9.
Wills looked into playing in 2025, but opted to sit the season out to solidify his recovery. He will be another left tackle option for the Bears, who used four different players at the position last year. Second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo held down the starting job in the second half of the season but is expected to miss most of 2026 with a knee injury suffered in the playoffs. Wills will compete for Trapilo’s spot with Braxton Jones, who was retained on a one-year contract, and second-year UDFA Theo Benedet. Both started multiple games last season, with Jones opening the year as the starter as he did for the previous three and Benedet supplanting him in Week 4.
That could be a tough battle for Wills. His pass blocking efficiency and grades from PFF have steadily trended downward since his rookie year with injuries impacting his availability and level of play. Ideally, the extended time away from the field will have allowed him to not only fully recover from his last injury, but improve his durability to prevent more.
Panthers To Sign WR John Metchie
After playing out his rookie contract with three different teams, John Metchie has lined up another new arrangement. The wideout has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Panthers, per his agent (h/t ESPN’s Adam Schefter).
The former second-round pick is coming off a 2025 campaign that he split between the Jets and Eagles. Now, he’ll be joining a Panthers offense that’s led by Bryce Young, who was Metchie’s QB when the two were at Alabama.
It was Metchie’s performance with the Crimson Tide that convinced the Texans to use the 44th-overall pick on the WR in the 2022 draft. Unfortunately, the receiver failed to click in Houston. He sat out his rookie campaign after being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia, but he returned in time for the 2023 season. In two healthy years with the organization, Metchie was limited to a combined 40 catches for 412 yards and one touchdown.
He was dealt to the Eagles last August for a late-round pick swap and got into seven games with his new squad, hauling in four catches for 18 yards. He was included in the Michael Carter swap in October and proceeded to appear in nine games (seven starts) for the Jets, where he finished with 29 catches for 256 yards and two scores.
Now, he’ll be reuniting with Young in Carolina. He’ll have an opportunity to carve out a minor role with his new team, although it’s worth noting that the Panthers are set to return all of their top-four WRs (in terms of snap count) from 2025: Tetairoa McMillan, Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, and Brycen Tremayne.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.
OLB Bradley Chubb To Join Bills
Designated a post-June 1 cut by the Dolphins, Bradley Chubb intends to join one of their rivals. The Bills are bringing in the former top-five pick, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Chubb is signing a three-year, $43.5MM contract with Buffalo. Of that total, $29MM is guaranteed. The deal can max out at $52.5MM. This signing could point Joey Bosa out of Buffalo, but with a new defensive system being implemented, the Bills are making changes to that unit early in free agency.
Miami officially designated Chubb a post-June 1 release, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. This long-rumored cut will create $20.23MM in cap space for a Dolphins team that made history with its other post-June 1 designation today. Tua Tagovailoa‘s release will tag Miami with an NFL-record $99.2MM in dead cap. That money will be spread over two years, but it still smashes the record Russell Wilson‘s Broncos release set in 2024.
Long deploying a 4-3 defense, the Bills are switching to a 3-4 scheme under new DC Jim Leonhard. Chubb is a career-long 3-4 outside linebacker, beginning in that role with the Broncos and moving to the Dolphins via a blockbuster 2022 trade. The former Denver Von Miller sidekick has battled major injuries — two ACL tears — during his time as a pro, but he bounced back with a healthy 2025 season. Still, the Dolphins’ new regime moved on.
Drafted two spots before Josh Allen in the 2018 first round, Chubb pursued the rookie-year sack record and reached 12 alongside Miller that year in Denver. He missed most of the 2019 season with an ACL tear and battled more injury trouble in 2021, seeing Denver unload him at the ’22 deadline. Chubb signed a Dolphins extension in 2022 but suffered a second ACL tear late in the ’23 season and missed all of 2024. This led to a reworked deal in 2025.
Returning to play his age-29 season last year, Chubb started in all 17 of the Dolphins’ games and recorded quality counting stats. Chubb finished the campaign with 47 tackles (eight TFL), 20 QB hits and 8.5 sacks. On the other hand, Pro Football Focus was unimpressed with the two-time Pro Bowler, whom it ranked 103rd among 119 qualifying edge rushers.
With Bosa and A.J. Epenesa among their free agents, it was obvious the Bills would need to add at least one established edge rusher this offseason. Those two combined for 1,000 defensive snaps and 7.5 sacks in 2025. Bosa led the league with five forced fumbles, though his impact dropped off to a noticeable degree as the season progressed.
The Bills were involved in the free agency sweepstakes for Trey Hendrickson, but he agreed to a four-year, $112MM deal with the Ravens on Wednesday. They also factored into the initial round of trade talks for Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby. While Crosby could become available again after the Ravens backed out of a trade with the Raiders, the Chubb signing may take the Bills out of the running.
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.
Eagles Discussing Trade, Extension For Vikings OLB Jonathan Greenard
Jonathan Greenard remains one of the top edge rushers who could be on the move soon. To little surprise, the Vikings Pro Bowler is still on the radar of the Eagles.
Philadelphia continues to make trade calls on Greenard, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. Crucially, she adds conversations are ongoing with Greenard’s agent about a potential extension. Minnesota is open to a trade in this case with a raise being sought out.
The Eagles pursued Trey Hendrickson and Maxx Crosby but came up short on both high-profile edge rushers. Greenard’s push for a new contract, after a 2025 season that was not as good as his 2024 slate, emerged recently. But it sounds like the Eagles are open to accommodating the former Texans draftee here.
Philly tried multiple in-season fixes last year, bringing Brandon Graham out of retirement and trading for Jaelan Phillips. This came after Za’Darius Smith‘s in-season retirement. Philly, which also saw Nolan Smith spend time on IR in 2025, was viewed as close to re-signing Phillips. But the Panthers came in with a four-year, $120MM deal. It would surprise if Greenard fetches that, especially with the Eagles not deeming Phillips worth that price. But a lower-cost alternative looks to be available — and GM Howie Roseman is an aggressive trader.
Prior to the Greenard talks heating up, Russini reported the Eagles were eyeing EDGE help. The team still rosters Smith but has not quite seen him justify his first-round cost. Jalyx Hunt led the Eagles with 6.5 sacks, but the first-year starter registered a promising 24 QB hits. Philly lost auxiliary rushers Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari today in free agency.
Greenard, 29 in May, became an attractive free agency piece in 2024 after a 12.5-sack season in his Houston contract year. The former third-round pick followed that up with a 12-sack Minnesota debut; both Greenard and teammate Andrew Van Ginkel earned original-ballot Pro Bowl acclaim that year, as the Vikings went 14-3. Greenard only notched three sacks in 12 games last season, however, making this contract crusade curious.
He is tied to a four-year, $76MM deal. That contract runs through the 2027 season, but the Vikings have been seeking a Day 2 pick to move on. (The Eagles traded a third-rounder for Phillips and, after letting Milton Williams and Josh Sweat walk in 2025, received four compensatory picks — one of them a third-rounder — in this year’s draft.) Minnesota has Van Ginkel and 2024 first-round pick Dallas Turner rostered at the position. As it stands, Turner is blocked from a starting role thanks to the veterans’ presences. But Turner broke through for eight sacks and 15 QB hits in 2025, providing Minnesota optimism in the event it can collect a notable asset for Greenard.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Lions Release DE Josh Paschal
After missing the 2025 season through injury, Josh Paschal will not return to the Lions. The fifth-year defensive end has been released, per a team announcement.
Paschal, 26, was a second-round pick in 2022. He missed at least three games in each of his first three season and did not play at all in 2025 due to offseason back surgery. He spent the year on the non-football injury list and his contract tolled as a result, which would have allowed the Lions to keep him in 2026 for the final year of his rookie deal.
Instead, they will let him hit the open market, where he will likely need to take a one-year, ‘prove-it’ deal to rebuild his stock after so many injuries. The 275-pound defensive end is a decent run-stopper but has not made a consistent contribution in the pass rush. He recorded five tackles for loss in 2023 and 2024 but just five sacks in his career. His pass rush win rate, which started at a solid 8.6% as a rookie, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), fell below 6.0% in each of the next two years.
The Lions will need to add some depth off the edge with Marcus Davenport and Al-Quadin Muhammad also hitting free agency. The team currently lacks a clear starter opposite Aidan Hutchinson, but the ranks of available defensive ends has thinned in the last two days.
Cardinals Release Kyler Murray; Vikings Frontrunners To Add QB
The 2026 league year has started — precisely one minute ago. The Cardinals did not waste any time; the team announced its Kyler Murray release.
This concludes a seven-year chapter, one that ended as most expected it to. The Cardinals now have Gardner Minshew on the roster, accompanying Jacoby Brissett. This will be a post-June 1 cut, which will help Arizona cap-wise. Teams cannot announce post-June 1 cuts until this afternoon, explaining the delay on the long-expected Murray release.
With $36.8MM guaranteed to a quarterback coming off a five-game season and trending downward, the Cardinals were never viewed as having a realistic chance to reach their goal of trading Murray. Connected frequently to the Vikings, Murray may well be headed north as a free agent soon.
Minnesota is viewed as the favorite to land the former No. 1 overall pick, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report. This is not especially surprising, as Murray has been connected to Minnesota for months. A recent report suggested the 28-year-old passer is eyeing in the Vikings, who have been tied to interest here — as Murray will likely be available for the veteran minimum thanks to the nature of his Arizona exit.
The Cardinals, Jets (Geno Smith) and Dolphins (Malik Willis) have made starter-level quarterback additions, the Vikings have refrained. Murray looks likely to be Minnesota’s J.J. McCarthy competition, though the two-time Pro Bowler is a more talented player and would be favored to start in 2026. The Vikes are walking a tightrope here, as our Adam La Rose discussed in his most recent mailbag. They are still tethered to McCarthy’s development while understandably wanting a potentially better option after concerning 2025 play from the top-10 pick. Murray will be looking to bounce back after a lost 2025.
Minnesota used the No. 10 overall pick on McCarthy but lost him to a season-nullifying injury last year. A high ankle sprain shelved McCarthy for a chunk of the season last year, and given the Michigan alum’s early-season struggles, rumblings the Vikings were giving him time to reset emerged. When McCarthy replaced Carson Wentz around midseason, he was wildly inconsistent. The team saw 2024 starter Sam Darnold pilot the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win, and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has since been fired. Quarterback issues undoubtedly played a key role in the four-year GM’s ouster.
Murray played under Drew Petzing, an ex-Kevin Stefanski assistant. Stefanski’s past under Gary Kubiak ties Kevin O’Connell — a Sean McVay disciple — to the same sturdy Mike Shanahan coaching tree. This would stand to make a Murray-Minnesota transition easier, but the diminutive QB’s best work came under Kliff Kingsbury earlier in his career.
O’Connell rehabilitated Darnold’s career in 2024, overseeing a Pro Bowl nod after coaxing quality play from Kirk Cousins before his October 2023 Achilles tear. Murray, who booked original-ballot Pro Bowl invites in 2020 and ’21, has displayed quality work as a passer and runner but has been inconsistent. He was not playing especially well before a December 2022 ACL tear, which came after he signed a five-year, $230.5MM Cardinals extension. The Cards held off on redeploying Murray until midway through the 2023 season, and while Murray ranked ninth in QBR in 2024 — a 17-game season — more injury trouble intervened as the QB was struggling yet again.
Averaging just 6.0 yards per attempt through five games under Petzing in 2025, Murray went down with a foot injury and never returned. The Cardinals looked ready to move Murray back into the starting lineup later in the season, but an about-face led to a shutdown.
The Cardinals’ previous regime had authorized the five-year extension, and the deal brought an advanced guarantee for 2026. Murray remaining on Arizona’s roster by mid-March of 2025 guaranteed his ’26 salary, leading to this post-June 1 designation.
The Cardinals will take a $47.1MM dead money hit in 2026 as a result of the Murray release, though OverTheCap lists the signal-caller’s 2027 dead cap number at $7.2MM. Should that split hold true, Arizona’s new coaching staff will feel some pain this season before seeing considerable relief in Year 2. The Cardinals do not have an inspiring QB setup presently, with Minshew and Brissett bridge types (at best). But they are getting out of the big-ticket QB-contract business after nearly four years.
Atlanta already took advantage of a post-June 1 designation by scooping up Tua Tagovailoa on what is expected to be a veteran-minimum deal. Murray is expected to be available, as Wilson was in 2024 with Pittsburgh, for the vet minimum. That could bring value for the Vikings, though the former Heisman winner is expected to be patient before committing, as this bounce-back opportunity will help determine if his career has a positive second act.
Falcons Release QB Kirk Cousins
New Falcons GM Ian Cunningham recently confirmed Kirk Cousins would be released at the start of the new league year. With that checkpoint having been reached this afternoon, Cousins is indeed a free agent. 
The Pro Bowl quarterback has been cut, ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirms. Cousins’ Atlanta run ends halfway through the four-year, $160MM pact he signed in free agency. A much less lucrative deal will await this time around. This is coming through a post-June 1 designation, per a team announcement. $2.1MM in cap savings will be generated with the Falcons taking on $22.5MM in dead money charges which can be spread out over the next two years.
Atlanta is set to move forward with Michael Penix Jr. at the quarterback spot. The team has also lined up a deal with Tua Tagovailoa, and the ex-Dolphin will operate as a highly inexpensive option under center. It has long been clear Cousins, 37, would be moving on from the Falcons this offseason. His attention will now turn to free agency, although a number of QB spots have already been filled at this point.
Cousins has been mentioned as a candidate to return to Minnesota. Over six years with the Vikings, he largely delivered strong play up to the Achilles tear which ended his 2023 campaign. Kyler Murray has also been released today, however, and Minnesota is widely regarded as the top landing spot in that case.
As a result, Cousins may soon be joining a fourth career team. The former fourth-round pick is likely to line up yet another short-term deal during the latter stages of his career. Pittsburgh was recently named as a potential suitor in this case. That would make sense in the event Aaron Rodgers – whose intentions are not yet known – decides not to play in 2026. The Steelers would be left as one of the few teams without a veteran starter in that instance.
Another team to watch in this case could be the Raiders. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports Vegas can be expected to pursue a Cousins agreement. Geno Smith has been traded to the Jets, leaving the Raiders without an experienced passer. Fernando Mendoza remains on track to be selected first overall in April’s draft. If Vegas prefers to have him sit at the start of his career, adding someone like Cousins could prove to be a prudent move.
Cousins struggled when atop the Falcons’ depth chart in 2024. He was benched in favor of Penix late that season. Cousins then won five of his eight starts during this past campaign, throwing 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. He will likely be counted on as a bridge starter once more, depending on the QB situation he enters with his next deal.
Jets To Sign G Dylan Parham
The Jets are signing former Raiders guard Dylan Parham, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. He will secure a a two-year deal worth up to $20MM.
The Jets have been heavily active this week, but this is their first offensive line addition. With guards John Simpson and Alijah Vera-Tucker set to reach free agency, it was known the Jets would have to make at least one move up front.
Simpson (Ravens) and Vera-Tucker (Patriots) left, paving the way for Parham to join the Jets’ line. He will reunite with reacquired Jets quarterback Geno Smith, who was the Raiders’ signal-caller last season.
A third-round pick in 2022, Parham was a starter for the Raiders for his entire four-year rookie contract. The 332-pound Memphis product was durable in Las Vegas. He played 17 games in each of his first two years before putting together back-to-back 15-game campaigns from 2024-25.
Parham logged significant action at both guard positions during his tenure in Las Vegas. He took all 843 of his snaps at left guard last season. Pro Football Focus ranked the 26-year-old’s play a solid 37th among 79 qualifying guards. Parham is expected to remain on the left side in New York, per Connor Hughes of SNY.
With Parham joining the fold, the Jets may already have next season’s starting line in place. They at least have a capable Parham-Joe Tippmann guard tandem and two cornerstone tackles in Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou. There may be room to upgrade on center Josh Myers, though the Jets inked him to a two-year, $11MM extension in December.