Minor NFL Transactions: 2/23/26
Here is Monday’s lone minor NFL transaction…
Buffalo Bills
- Re-signed: DT Phidarian Mathis
Mathis came into the NFL in 2022 as a Commanders second-round pick, but he has not lived up to his draft stock. The former Alabama lineman missed all but one game as a rookie as a result of a calf injury. Mathis went on to combine for 22 appearances from 2022-23, though he came off the bench in all of those games and totaled just 25 tackles. The Commanders waived Mathis in December 2024. The Jets claimed the 312-pounder, but he was unable to crack their roster last summer.
Around three weeks after the Jets cut him, Mathis caught on with the Bills’ practice squad in early September. The 27-year-old went on to play in six games and pick up 13 tackles on 120 defensive snaps. Mathis will remain in Buffalo on a one-year pact.
Rams Add Kliff Kingsbury, Robert Woods To Staff; Aubrey Pleasant Not Returning
Kliff Kingsbury agreed to join the Rams’ coaching staff on Feb. 6, but his specific role was not publicized for over two weeks. The Rams announced Monday that Kingsbury will work as an assistant head coach.
Kingsbury is officially returning to Southern California three years after serving as an offensive analyst at USC. After coaching star quarterback Caleb Williams that year, the former Cardinals head coach returned to the NFL as the Commanders’ offensive coordinator in 2024.
The Bears chose Williams first overall in the 2024 draft. Kingsbury wound up helping the No. 2 pick, Jayden Daniels, to an otherworldly rookie campaign. Not only did the dual-threat signal-caller earn Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, but he guided the Commanders to the NFC title game. Philadelphia steamrolled Washington that day, 55-23, and the Commanders did not bounce back last season.
With Daniels and No. 1 wide receiver Terry McLaurin battling injuries that cost them a combined 17 games, the Commanders’ offense plummeted from fifth in scoring to 22nd in the matter of a year. The team reversed its record from 12-5 to 5-12, and Kingsbury reportedly clashed with Commanders general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn along the way.
Kingsbury and the Commanders went their separate ways Jan. 6, but he drew plenty of interest in the month before he agreed to partner up with McVay. The 46-year-old interviewed for head coaching vacancies in Baltimore and Tennessee. He also talked to those two teams and the Giants about their offensive coordinator openings.
Brian Johnson, Kingsbury’s colleague in Washington, will rejoin him on Los Angeles’ staff. After two years as the Commanders’ assistant head coach/offensive pass-game coordinator, he’ll serve as a senior offensive assistant.
The Rams’ offensive staff will also include one of their former wide receivers, Robert Woods. A highly successful Ram from 2017-21, Woods retired from playing on Feb. 17. The 33-year-old will now reunite with McVay, who’s bringing Woods aboard as an assistant WRs coach.
McVay also hired former Rams offensive lineman Brian Allen, one of Woods’ old teammates, as an assistant OL coach. The 30-year-old Allen played his entire career as a member of the Rams, with whom he started in 32 of 50 games from 2018-23. He was the Rams’ No. 1 center on their Super Bowl-winning 2021 team.
In other adjustments to his offensive staff, McVay promoted WRs coach Eric Yarber to senior offensive assistant/WRs and upgraded Rob Calabrese from offensive assistant to WRs coach. Jimmy Lake will move from senior defensive assistant to pass-game coordinator/defensive backs coach, while Michael Hunter will come in as an assistant DBs coach. Hunter held that job at Ohio State over the past two seasons.
Lake’s promotion suggests the Rams will not retain Aubrey Pleasant, who is no longer listed among their coaches. It’s unclear why the sides appear to have parted ways.
Pleasant first worked for McVay as the Rams’ cornerbacks coach from 2017-20. After dividing the next two seasons between Detroit and Green Bay, he returned to the Rams as their pass-game coordinator/DBs coach in 2023. He continued to handle the PGC role from 2024-25, but McVay also bumped him to assistant head coach.
Pleasant landed D-coordinator interviews with the Cardinals, Browns, Raiders and Chargers earlier this winter. Those teams hired different candidates instead, but perhaps he’ll take an assistant position with one of them or some other club.
NFL Not Expected To Make Big Changes To Kickoff Setup
With the NFL’s onside kick setup failing to provide enough drama, executive vice president Troy Vincent suggested last October that changes could be in store in 2026. Replacing the onside kick with a fourth-and-15 or fourth-and-20 play was at least a possibility then.
Current rules dictate that the onside kicking team has to announce its intentions in advance. It was already difficult for the kicking team to recover an onside try before the league introduced that change in 2024. Unsurprisingly, it has been even more of a challenge since then. A meager five of 52 onside attempts were successful last season.
Multiple sources told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that introducing a fourth-and-13 play as an onside kick replacement would be addressed this offseason. However, the competition committee did not have discussions regarding a fourth-and-long alternative during Sunday’s meeting at the scouting combine, according to Vincent (via Kevin Seifert of ESPN). Any tweaks to the onside kick would require 24 votes to pass. There does not appear to be much support across the league for such a radical change, though, per veteran reporter Mark Maske.
“When it was first proposed, it picked up a couple of votes,” Vincent said Monday. “And then it just kind of stalemated. I don’t think there was … much appetite.”
Then the Buccaneers’ head coach, Greg Schiano first floated the fourth-and-long idea to commissioner Roger Goodell over 13 years ago, according to a 2012 Time Magazine piece. Schiano’s suggestion came a couple of years after one of his former Rutgers players, Eric LeGrand, was paralyzed from the neck down while making a tackle on a kickoff in 2010. The NFL has since made other significant adjustments to the kickoff in the interest of player safety.
When discussing the kickoff with the competition committee on Sunday, special teams coaches voiced concerns over returners and tacklers suffering concussions (via Maske). However, there will not be any “major changes” to the 2-year-old dynamic kickoff format this offseason, Maske reports. Jeff Miller, the league’s executive vice president, said “the competition committee, the health and safety side agree that we’re definitely on the right track.”
The league moved the touchback spot from the 30-yard line to the 35 in 2025, leading to a massive increase in action. Returners took the ball back on 74.5% of kickoffs last season. The number checked in at 32.8% in 2024.
Chargers C Bradley Bozeman Announces Retirement
After eight seasons in the NFL, Chargers center Bradley Bozeman is hanging up his cleats. The 31-year-old announced his retirement on Instagram on Monday (via Adam Schefter of ESPN).
The Chargers were the third team for Bozeman, an Alabama product who entered the league as a sixth-round pick of the Ravens in 2018. With Matt Skura then serving as the Ravens’ center, Bozeman’s lone start during a 14-game rookie season came at left guard. Bozeman became a full-time starter at left guard in 2019, his first of three straight 16-game seasons.
After Skura left the Ravens to sign with the Dolphins in 2021, Bozeman switched back to center. It turned out to be the last season in Baltimore for Bozeman, who accepted Carolina’s one-year offer in 2022.
Although Bozeman only started in 11 of 17 games in his first season in Carolina, he was impressive enough for the Panthers to bring him back on a three-year, $18MM contract. The 325-pounder notched a 17-start season in the first year of the deal, but the Panthers released him in March 2024.
A week after his Carolina tenure ended, Bozeman moved to the West Coast on a one-year agreement with the Chargers. Bozeman made just over $1.1MM during another 17-start season, leading the Chargers to award him a raise on a two-year, $6.5MM accord last March.
While Bozeman was again a full-time starter over 16 games in 2025, Pro Football Focus ranked his performance last among 37 qualifying centers. His struggles were among a handful of problems up front for the Chargers, who went without injured left tackle Rashawn Slater for the season and didn’t have right tackle Joe Alt for most of it. As a result of the Chargers’ O-line woes, quarterback Justin Herbert took the league’s second-most sacks (54).
The Chargers may have been in the market for a center this offseason had Bozeman kept playing in 2026. They definitely will be now that Bozeman is walking away after 129 games and 110 starts in the league. His exit will clear the way for yet another new starting pivot for the Chargers. The Bolts have not used the same primary starting center for three straight years since longtime staple Nick Hardwick retired in 2014.
Commanders Re-Sign OL Andrew Wylie
Andrew Wylie was on course for free agency. Instead, he will be remaining in the nation’s capital for at least the next two years. 
Wylie and the Commanders have agreed to a two-year contract, as first reported by Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team. The deal has been confirmed by ESPN’s John Keim, who notes Wylie preferred to re-sign with Washington rather than testing the open market. That will indeed be the case.
According to Meirov, this deal has a base value of $7.5MM. It can reach a maximum of $10.5MM, making this a notable raise compared to Wylie’s most recent contract. In 2025, he took a one-year, $4MM pact to stay in place with the Commanders. The 31-year-old will now be in line to continue serving a notable role along Washington’s offensive line. Wylie will collect a $1.5MM signing bonus, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 adds.
A former undrafted free agent, Wylie found an opportunity for playing time with the Chiefs and established himself as a regular with them. Over the course of five seasons in Kanas City, he totaled 59 starts. That stretch was followed by a three-year, $24MM deal in free agency which sent Wylie to Washington. It allowed the Eastern Michigan product to operate as the Commanders’ starting right tackle.
Things changed last year when Washington drafted Josh Conerly in the first round. Conerly took on right tackle duties during his rookie campaign, and he is in line to continue in that role for 2026. The Oregon alum could be seen as a potential left tackle in the future, but Washington is interested in extending Laremy Tunsil. As long as Tunsil and Conerly are in the fold, Wylie – who drew trade interest in the fall – will be tasked with handling a backup tackle gig; he could also see time at guard, as was the case in 2025.
The Commanders still have a long list of pending free agents whose futures need to be decided on over the coming days. That includes several offensive linemen, but given today’s news Wylie will offer familiarity and a veteran depth presence up front.
Patriots Release Antonio Gibson
After spending his first three NFL seasons in Washington, where he was a 1,000-yard rusher in 2021, running back Antonio Gibson joined the Patriots in March 2024. Gibson inked a three-year, $11.25MM contract to move to New England, but he will not see the deal through. The Patriots announced that they have released Gibson.
Gibson totaled at least 149 carries and 546 rushing yards in each of his first three seasons. He also combined for 21 rushing touchdowns, including a career-high 11 as a rookie, and 124 catches during that span. Gibson added another 48 receptions over 16 games in 2023, but his role on the ground diminished during a 65-carry campaign. He left for the Patriots after that.
Serving as the primary backup to Rhamondre Stevenson last year, Gibson’s rushing attempts nearly doubled from his last season in Washington. He amassed 120 carries for 538 yards, good for a solid 4.5 per tote, and a touchdown. Gibson made less of an impact as a pass catcher, though, notching career lows in receptions (23) and yards (206).
Stevenson and Gibson were still in place last offseason, but the Patriots invested a second-round pick in running back TreVeyon Henderson. The former Ohio State Buckeye went on to lead the AFC champions in carries (180), yards (911) and rushing touchdowns (nine) during a 17-game season. Stevenson put up 130 carries, 603 yards and seven TDs in 14 contests.
Meanwhile, Gibson’s greatest contribution came during a Week 2 victory in Miami. After returning six kicks for 171 yards, including a 90-yard touchdown, Gibson earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. As a runner, Gibson combined for 25 carries, 106 yards and a TD in the Patriots’ first five games. His season ended when he suffered a torn ACL in a win over Buffalo on Oct. 5.
With Stevenson and Henderson sticking around in 2026, it does not come as a surprise that the Patriots are moving on from Gibson as he recovers from a serious injury. Releasing the 27-year-old will save the Patriots $3.14MM in cap space at the cost of $1MM in dead money.
Chiefs Release DE Mike Danna
Mike Danna‘s run with the Chiefs has ended. The veteran pass rusher was released on Monday, per a team announcement. 
One year remained on Danna’s contract, but none of his scheduled base salary for 2026 was guaranteed. As a result, this move will free up $8.94MM in cap space. Kansas City will take on a dead money charge of just $2.17MM with this release.
The Chiefs entered Monday as one of the teams projected to be over the cap, and Danna was recently named as a cut candidate. Today’s move thus comes as little surprise. The latest Patrick Mahomes restructure helped free up much-needed space, but there is still more work to be done on this front. In any case, Danna will now get a head start on free agency.
The two-time Super Bowl champion worked as a rotational defender early in his Chiefs career before becoming a regular first-team presence. In all, Danna totaled 49 starts during the regular season, with most coming in the past three seasons. During that span, he saw his production steadily head in the wrong direction. Part of Kansas City’s savings from this release could very well be spent on a perceived upgrade along the edge.
George Karlaftis signed a big-ticket extension in 2025, and he will be counted on as an anchor along the defensive front for years to come. Kansas City has former first-rounder Felix Anudike-Uzomah in the fold as well, but he managed just three sacks across his first two NFL campaigns before missing the entire 2025 season. Without Danna in the fold, the Chiefs will likely find themselves in the market for a veteran pass rush addition next month before targeting at least one rookie via the draft.
Danna, 28, is now one of several experienced edge rushers who will be available in free agency. His most productive season came in 2023 (6.5 sacks, 21 pressures). That led to a three-year, $24MM pact being worked out, but it did not yield the expected results. Team and player will now part ways early as the lead-in to the new league year continues.
Saints’ Cameron Jordan Addresses Pending Free Agency
Cameron Jordan‘s contract is set to void just before the start of free agency. It remains to be seen if his career will continue into a 16th Saints season as a result. 
2025 saw Jordan regain his previous form from a production standpoint. The 2010s All-Decade Team member posted 10.5 sacks, reaching double-digits for the first time in that department since 2021. Seen around the league as a potential trade target leading up to the deadline, the franchise icon remained in place through the end of the campaign.
Now, Jordan is in position to once again negotiate a new Saints deal. Entering his age-37 season, a long-term pact or one near the top of the market should certainly not be expected. Jordan is well aware of that, something he recently made clear when speaking about his future.
“If you get a 10-sack season, if I was 26, I’d be asking for top dollar,” the eight-time Pro Bowler said (via NFL.com). “Things I’ve never asked for is top dollar. All I’ve ever asked for is to be valued.”
In 2023, Jordan inked a two-year, $26.5MM pact which helped set him up to retire as a member of the Saints. A restructure took place in March, but another new contract will now need to be agreed to in order to avoid a departure. Jordan would be seen as an impactful addition on any number of teams, especially considering his strong 2025 showing. The Saints are currently over the cap for 2026, but to much less of an extent than previous years.
New Orleans has Carl Granderson on the books through 2027 thanks to his most recent deal. Chase Young, meanwhile, landed a major raise when re-signing with the Saints last year. Those two figure to play considerable roles along the edge in 2026 regardless of how things play out on this front. Nevertheless, efforts between Jordan and the Saints to work out another short-term arrangement would come as no surprise.
T Rasheed Walker Expected To Draw Interest From Chiefs, Patriots?
Teams are often hard-pressed to find offensive tackles in free agency who are capable of handling starting duties at a high level. When blockers on the blindside in particular become available, there is naturally a strong level of interest.
That will be the case for Rasheed Walker in the event he departs the Packers. Green Bay has long been expected to move on in this case, with 2024 first-rounder Jordan Morgan a strong candidate to be promoted to the role of starting left tackle. That should leave no shortage of suitors for Walker. 
The Browns – who could have an entirely new offensive line in 2026 – were recently named as a potential landing spot for Walker. Cleveland certainly fits the bill as a team in need of stability on the blindside, and a big-money offer in that case would come as no surprise. Winning a bidding war may be needed to secure Walker’s services, though. One salary cap guru who spoke with SportsBoom’s Jason La Canfora predicted a deal averaging $25MM per year will be worked out in this case.
There are currently nine offensive tackles attached to an AAV of $25MM or more. The most recent addition to that list was Charles Cross, who landed a four-year, $104.4MM Seahawks extension in January. Walker could command a similar pact if a sufficient number of suitors emerge. The former seventh-round pick has operated as a full-time starter for the past three years, remaining durable during that time and earning consistent PFF evaluations. Walker has never graded higher than 41st among qualifying tackles, but blockers in their prime often land substantial paydays in free agency.
Entering his age-26 season, Walker is certainly in line to outpace the value of his rookie pact by an enormous amount. La Canfora spoke with multiple general managers who named the Chiefs as a logical suitor in this case. Kansas City’s Kingsley Suamataia draft selection in 2024 did not provide the team with a left tackle, although he settled in at left guard in 2025. The Chiefs’ most recent Day 1 pick was spent on Josh Simmons, who was limited to eight games as a rookie. Simmons may develop into a long-term left tackle solution, but the expected release of Jawaan Taylor will at least create an opening at the right tackle position.
Evaluators also pointed to the Patriots as a team to watch on the Walker front. New England drafted Will Campbell fourth overall in 2025, although New England’s playoff run was marred by poor play up front. Campbell in particular struggled upon returning from a late-season stint on injured reserve, but he received a public endorsement from head coach Mike Vrabel. Keeping Campbell on the blindside is something New England will certainly consider, although with over $40MM in projected cap space the team could certainly afford a high-priced offensive line acquisition in March.
The Chiefs, by contrast, are among the teams currently over the projected 2026 cap. Kansas City will need to shed costs over the coming weeks as a result, but making further additions up front could still be seen as a priority this spring. It will be interesting to see how Walker’s market shakes out with teams vying for a splashy signing on the blindside.
Mutual Interest Between Bucs, Mike Evans; WR To Explore Free Agent Options
Mike Evans will play in 2026, meaning his decorated NFL career is set to include a 13th season. It remains to be seen if a new Buccaneers pact will be worked out or if a first ever free agent departure is in store. 
To no surprise, SportsBoom’s Jason La Canfora reports a mutual interest exists between Evans and Tampa Bay. The sides worked out a two-year, $41MM pact in 2024 just in time to prevent the franchise icon from testing the market. It appears that will not be the case this spring.
Evans’ agents have already conveyed his desire to seek out other options in free agency. La Canfora confirms the six-time Pro Bowler is assessing other teams based on the strength of their offenses and his potential fit. Playing on a Super Bowl contender is obviously a priority for Evans, who earned a ring in 2020 with Tampa Bay.
The Bucs have Chris Godwin under contract for two more years, and the team has made a pair of recent draft investments at the receiver spot (third-rounder Jalen McMillan in 2024, first-rounder Emeka Egbuka in 2025). Moving on without Evans would leave those three in place as the core of Tampa Bay’s passing attack, and there should be no shortage of other suitors lining up outside Evans offers. The Texas A&M product contemplated joining the Chiefs and Texans prior to signing his latest Buccaneers deal.
Injuries limited Evans to just eight games in 2025 and prevented him from registering a 12th consecutive 1,000-yard showing. He will be 33 by the start of next season, so a short-term offer from the Bucs or any other teams should be expected. As La Canfora notes, though, Evans is aiming to remain a full-time starting presence with Tampa Bay or a different suitor; he is still seen as an impact wideout by evaluators around the league. This situation will be worth watching closely as a result.
The likes of George Pickens and Alec Pierce are strong candidates to be retained via the franchise tag shortly. That could leave Evans as one of the top wideouts available on the market once free agency begins in mid-March. Another Tampa Bay re-up remains a possibility at this point, but it may very well take longer than last time for Evans’ future to be settled.