Vikings To Name Andrew Healy, Trent Kirchner Assistant GMs
The Vikings announced a number of front office updates yesterday as new general manager Nolan Teasley began to shape the group around him. In some of those updates, Minnesota parted ways with quite a few personnel staffers, chief among them being former assistant general manager Demitrius Washington. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the team is expected to name his replacement(s) soon.
Per Pelissero, Andrew Healy and Trent Kirchner are expected to be named assistant general managers sometime over the next few days. Pelissero’s NFL Network colleague Ian Rapoport added that Healy “will serve as the team’s secondary football executive,” and Kirchner, who “is widely regarded as one of the NFL’s top talent evaluators,” will be another “top lieutenant” for Teasley. Additionally, Ryan Grigson — who also served as an assistant GM next to Washington under former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah — will be retained in Minnesota but will serve in a new capacity.
Healy’s entire NFL career has come in Cleveland, where he started as a senior strategist, player personnel in 2016 before getting promoted to vice president, strategy three years later. Before finding his way to the NFL, Healy spent quite a bit of time in academia. After earning Bachelors in Applied Mathematics and Political Science at Yale, Healy spent six years earning his PhD in Economics at MIT. Following his time as a student, Healy worked six years as an Assistant Professor of Economics at Loyola Marymount University and held an Associate Professor of Economics position for four more years before being named Professor of Economics. He held that role for a year before joining the Browns.
Kirchner is following Teasley in the move from Seattle to Minneapolis. Kirchner started his tenure with the Seahawks before Teasley did. A Minnesota-native, Kirchner first found his way to the NFL as an intern for the Seahawks in 2000. After a season as college scouting coordinator for Washington, Kirchner spent eight seasons as a pro scout for the Panthers before returning to Seattle in 2010 as assistant director of player personnel. He earned a series of promotions in his time with the Seahawks, starting with an elevation to pro personnel director in 2013. He was named co-director of player personnel in 2015 then vice president of player personnel in 2019. After last year, Kirchner has now helped build two Super Bowl-winning rosters after winning his first ring in Carolina.
After a short playing career as an offensive tackle, Grigson tried his hand at coaching before turning to scouting in 1998. His first NFL role came the next year as a national scout with the Rams. Grigson joined the Eagles in 2004 and worked his way up the ladder in Philadelphia until being named general manager of the Colts in 2012. In between his final year as GM in 2016 and his first year with the Vikings in 2022, Grigson worked in the same front office as Healy in Cleveland in 2017 then again from 2020-21, working the two vacant years between Browns stints as a senior football consultant in Seattle with Teasley and Kirchner. Grigson won’t retain his title, but with experience working with staffers across the top of the personnel department, he should fair well under new leadership.
NFL Staff Updates: Bills, Cowboys, Chiefs
The Bills announced four promotions in their scouting department last week. Alonzo Dotson was elevated from college scout to assistant director of college scouting, Tyler Pratt was promoted from southeast area scout to national scout, former scouting assistant Kellyn Gerenstein was named the team’s new BLESTO scout, and Gardner Temkin filled Gerenstein’s vacated scouting assistant role.
Dotson joined the team in 2022 as a college scout and worked his way up after four years. Pratt arrived in Buffalo in 2016, working internships with broadcasting and player personnel/football operations before being named player personnel coordinator in 2018. He was promoted to west coast scout after three years and worked the southeast area for the past four years. After recruiting roles at Ohio State and Boston College and a scouting internship with the 49ers, Gerenstein landed in Buffalo as a scouting assistant in 2024. Temkin has been working a scouting internship over the past year.
Here are a few other staff updates from around the NFL:
- The Cowboys have announced a few promotions in their analytics department over the last couple weeks. ESPN’s Seth Walder pointed out today that, in an flyer advertising the Black Sports Business Symposium, Cowboys director of strategic football operations John Park revealed that his new title with the team is Vice President, Football Strategy & Operations. Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com reports that Piper Hampsch has been elevated from senior strategic football fellow to strategic football analyst, and Walder followed that report up a few days later to report that fellow strategic football fellow Shane Hauck had been promoted to data scientist.
- In coaching, a little over a month after it was announced that Chiefs cornerbacks coach David Merritt‘s domestic battery case had been dismissed, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports that Merritt will face no punishment from the league. The NFL concluded its investigation, per Garafolo, and “found insufficient evidence of a violation of the personal conduct policy.”
C Frank Ragnow Staying Retired After Failed Comeback
A little over a year ago, Lions center Frank Ragnow made one of the hardest decisions an NFL player can make, opting to hang up his cleats before the age of 30 for the sake of his health. When a rash of injuries spread across Detroit’s offensive line midway through the season, the then-29-year-old tried — and failed — to make a comeback. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, another comeback attempt isn’t likely to occur.
Following an injury that had led to Ragnow missing all but four games in 2021, the Arkansas-product rebounded to play at least 15 games in each of the next three seasons, which delivered his second, third, and fourth Pro Bowl nods and his second and third second-team All-American campaigns.Still, in his final season with the Lions, Ragnow played through a pectoral injury that underlined the health struggles that he had been dealing with.
After missing last year’s Organized Team Activities as he mulled over the decision of his future, Ragnow announced that he was “officially retiring,” claiming that, even though he tried to convince himself that he felt good and still had something left in the tank, he just didn’t. When his successor, Graham Glasgow, became the latest of several starters on the team’s offensive line last year to go down with an injury, Ragnow proved just how hard his retirement decision had been as he attempted to unretire to help his team.
In the end, a Grade 3 hamstring sprain found in Ragnow’s physical prevented him from returning. As the season was coming to an end, Lions quarterback Jared Goff was asked about his former center’s chances of taking another stab at coming back. Goff told the media that he didn’t think it was “in the cards” as Ragnow’s “interest level” just wasn’t there anymore. Per Birkett, Ragnow claimed to feel guilty about his decision to retire, but after the failed comeback, he has “closed the door on a possible return.”
“To shoot it to you straight,” he began to reporters, “I was trying to will myself to play. I was. And my body was telling me otherwise, and I was just in, like, paralysis, if you will. I did not plan on retiring in the middle of the summer, believe it or not. It was like I was trying to get like, ‘You can do it for the guys, for the fans, it’s who you are,’ but it’s just, like, I was uncomfortable.”
Ragnow’s guilt stemmed partially from the fact that he tried to “avoid games” early into his retirement as he tried to distract himself. When the Lions got off to a rough start for the year and injuries and inconsistency along the offensive line led to Goff getting sacked a career-high number of times, he blamed himself and the butterfly effects from his absence.
“I felt guilt,” Ragnow said. “Like Jared’s getting hit. That’s my guy. Those are my guys, and they’re struggling. And then I made a bonehead decision and tried to get ready to play and got hurt and it’s just, like, that was tough. That was really tough. But, you know, it all — everything happens for a reason, and I am where I am now, and I’m in a great place.”
Early Guarantee Dates, Record-Setting Four-Year Payout Highlight Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs Extension
Patrick Mahomes is rehabbing ACL and LCL tears, but Week 1 remains the superstar quarterback’s goal. The NFL schedule — which features Chiefs primetime games in Weeks 1, 2 and 6 — certainly points to an expectation Kansas City will have its top player available to open the season. For the long term, the Chiefs are expressing tremendous confidence in Mahomes as well.
Already having the all-time great signed through 2031 — via the 10-year extension reached in 2020 — the Chiefs added two seasons to the deal and signed off on a record AAV. Mahomes agreed to an eight-year, $504.75MM extension Wednesday, tying him to the Chiefs through 2033. This is the NFL’s first $500MM player contract, and this one looks better for the quarterback than his $450MM pact from 2020 did.
With Mahomes’ previous deal expiring after the 2031 season, it may not be a coincidence the Chiefs tacked on the additional two years months after agreeing to move across the Kansas state line beginning in 2031. But the key points of this agreement will come in the 2020s, even if the team now has a selling point to prospective season-ticket holders well into the 2030s now.
Although initial reports indicated the deal included four fully guaranteed years, a deeper look into the contract reveals that to be a slight exaggeration. The deal does include two fully guaranteed years and a sizable chunk of Year 3 guaranteed at signing, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, who adds the $63.1MM-AAV contract will bring a record $237.25MM over four years (Dak Prescott‘s $175.56MM three-year cash total bests Mahomes’ updated number — $174.75MM — according to Spotrac).
That entire four-year sum is guaranteed for injury. The $237.25MM brings an NFL record in total guarantees, surpassing Prescott’s $231MM number from 2024. Mahomes agreeing to add years to his historically long Chiefs deal will also help the AFC West franchise, which restructured his previous contract to create cap space on five occasions. It would not surprise to see that trend continue on the new through-2033 accord.
Restructures are almost certainly set to occur beginning next year. Mahomes is now tied to a $34.65MM cap number in 2026, according to OverTheCap, but will see his 2027 figure check in at $90.35MM. That number will be adjusted via a restructure, as it is an untenable cap hit at this point in time.
Mahomes’ 2028 and ’29 cap figures are beyond $82MM, and his 2030 number checks in above $74MM. While more manageable — especially as the cap will keep rising — cap hits are in place from 2031-33 ($65.8MM, $68MM, $70MM), Mahomes returning to his previous form will likely lead to another revised agreement by that point.
Mahomes will see $35.5MM of his 2028 compensation lock in next week, per Breer, who adds the remaining $24.75MM will vest in 2028. March 2028 also brings a key date, as Mahomes will see his 2029 roster bonus ($30MM) vest a year early. The Chiefs used a rolling guarantee structure in lieu of a monster at-signing guarantee in 2020, and they triggered a new batch of guarantees in September 2023 — after a host of less accomplished QBs passed the two-time MVP on the market.
The remainder of the three-time Super Bowl MVP’s 2029 compensation ($32.5MM) will shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in March of that year, Breer notes. Mahomes will see a $30MM 2030 roster bonus vest in March 2029 as well, with the remaining $33.75MM of his Year 5 compensation vesting in March 2030. The same rolling bonus structure is in place for 2031 and 2032, per Breer, with $30MM bonuses for those years respectively due in March 2030 and March 2031.
No year-out guarantee exists for the final year of the contract, which carries $70MM in cash — the most of any year in this accord — though all $70MM does become guaranteed in March 2033. Mahomes will be 37 then, and it would be presumptuous to assume he will still be attached to this contract by then. Things certainly change in the NFL, and with the Chiefs redoing the QB’s 10-year extension twice by 2026, it would stand to reason they will be prepared to make more adjustments to it as other passers — on much shorter contracts — bring market updates.
Although the term length favors the Chiefs, this contract is much more player-friendly than Mahomes’ July 2020 extension. Mahomes was riding more momentum when he inked that deal, as the Chiefs had won Super Bowl LIV in comeback fashion and were powered by an explosive offense. The team’s firepower has waned over the past three seasons, with Travis Kelce‘s decline and failures in the run game and at wide receiver limiting Mahomes, who has not closely approached the heights he reached over his first five seasons as a starter.
The Chiefs have ranked 15th, 15th and 21st in scoring offense over the past three seasons. They were 6-8 in games Mahomes started last year, seeing the close-game mojo that powered them over the previous three seasons fade. That adds intrigue to this Chiefs commitment, as the franchise is understandably placing full faith in the 30-year-old passer recovering from his knee setback and returning to top form.
It will be interesting to see when or if Mahomes regains his elusiveness, as his historic improvisational skills depend on that component of his game. Superior pocket passers exist in the NFL, and the Chiefs have not done well — especially with Rashee Rice proving unreliable — in equipping Mahomes with consistent skill-position talent. Kansas City’s left tackle position has also been in flux since Orlando Brown Jr.‘s 2023 departure. Josh Simmons is in place to potentially fix that, and the Chiefs have two interior O-linemen — Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith — signed long term as well.
The Chiefs did not have to adjust Mahomes’ deal now, making it rather interesting — especially as the quarterback ceiling had not moved since Prescott’s September 2024 extension. No one else had topped $60MM per year between that Cowboys megadeal and Mahomes’ new Chiefs pact.
Kansas City, which built a dynasty after trading up for Mahomes in 2017, will bet on its mobile passer aging well. And, as the market has spiked in the 2020s, it took a more player-friendly guarantee structure to complete the latest agreement.
Broncos Give Patrick Surtain $5MM Raise
JUNE 12: Surtain’s raise will come with a restructure. The Broncos will create cap space in the short term by converting all of Surtain’s remaining base salaries to option bonuses, according to OverTheCap. Denver created $4.1MM in cap space in 2026, $9.3MM in 2027, $8MM in 2028 and $9.59MM in 2029 via this restructure. As a result of the 2026 adjustment, OverTheCap lists the Broncos as having $29.79MM in cap space.
Of course, this will mean issues down the road. A $41.1MM void years bill now sits on the contract in 2031. The Broncos, however, can move to delay that with another extension. Should Surtain stay on a Hall of Fame trajectory, and see more corners surpass him on the market, it is not hard to see the Broncos coming in with a true extension. This pay raise would seemingly be a prelude to that.
JUNE 2: In September 2024, Broncos superstar Patrick Surtain inked a four-year, $96MM extension and became the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback by average annual value. That deal will not kick in until this year, but the Broncos are already giving Surtain a pay bump.
Denver will hand Surtain a $5MM raise for 2026, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. He will have a chance to earn another $5MM with a Pro Bowl or All-Pro selection. Surtain will have to make the Pro Bowl on the original ballot, not as an alternate, according to Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette.
Surtain entered the day fourth at his position in guarantees, fifth in average annual value and sixth in total money. Fellow cornerbacks Trent McDuffie, Sauce Gardner,Jaycee Horn and Derek Stingley Jr. have all signed massive extensions over the past year-plus, leading to Surtain’s drop in the financial pecking order. Recognizing his importance to their team, the Broncos are upping Surtain’s pay in an act of good faith. His base salary will climb from $7.632MM to $12.632, per Tomasson.
Surtain entered the NFL in 2021 as the ninth overall pick, one selection after the Panthers made Horn the highest-drafted corner in the class. While Horn has enjoyed a successful career, Surtain has turned into one of the game’s elite players. The 6-foot-2, 202-pounder has made the Pro Bowl four times and earned three All-Pro selections (two first-team nods and a second-teamer). In his most impressive accomplishment, Surtain took home Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2024, during which he tied a career high with four interceptions and allowed a measly 58.9 passer rating on 62 targets.
Surtain missed three games with a pectoral tear and saw his INT total drop to one last year, but he held passers to an awful 54.1 completion percentage and 66.6 rating on 61 targets. It went down as yet another Pro Bowl/All-Pro season for Surtain, whose history suggests he will earn the extra $5MM in incentives that are now available to him in 2026.
Broncos See G Alex Palczewski As Future Starter; Vance Joseph Addresses Team’s LB Plan
Barring an unexpected trade, this year’s Broncos are on track for an unusual setup in which all five starting offensive linemen are tied to eight-figure-per-year contracts. The team ensured this by retaining contract-year left guard Ben Powers after extending center Luke Wattenberg.
The Russell Wilson contract is off the Broncos’ payroll (after topping the past two Denver cap sheets), and Bo Nix cannot be extended until 2027. This sweet spot of sorts will help the team go with five O-linemen on contracts worth at least $12MM per year. That setup is likely to be a one-off, however, and another offseason move looks to have telegraphed the franchise’s 2027 plans.
[RELATED: Broncos Extend HC Sean Payton]
Denver re-signed Alex Palczewski to a two-year, $9.5MM contract before free agency. The team engaged in talks with the RFA-to-be for around a week before that deal was finalized in early March, the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel notes. The Broncos proceeded to re-sign a number of free agents in their retention-heavy (feat. Jaylen Waddle) offseason, but Palczewski’s deal being finalized before free agency was notable regarding future plans.
Essentially, the former UDFA looks like a starter-in-waiting. Three of the Broncos’ five O-line starters — Powers, Garett Bolles, Mike McGlinchey — will be 30 or older by season’s end (Bolles is 35, McGlinchey turns 32 in August, Powers turns 30 in October). The team is understandably wary of seeing the group’s age become a concern, Gabriel adds, pointing to Palczewski (27 in August) having a shot to start next year.
The most logical Palczewski lineup path would come via a Powers free agency exit and Palczewski — who started 10 games at LG during the starter’s IR stay last season — taking over. The team guaranteed $1.5MM of his $4.49MM 2027 base salary. Palczewski also subbed in for McGlinchey at right tackle during the starter’s IR stint in 2024. McGlinchey is owed a nonguaranteed $16.99MM in 2027, the final year of his contract.
Pro Football Focus ranked Palczewski, who spent his 2023 rookie year on IR, outside the top 60 among guard regulars last year. But ESPN’s run block win rate metric slotted him ninth among all interior O-linemen, representing a notable evaluation chasm. The Broncos figure to have him slotted as the first option off the bench in the event of an injury, and the team’s two-year deal allows for more developmental time ahead of a future in which either Powers or McGlinchey is off the 2027 roster (as Nix moves toward an extension).
Similar succession plans have formed on Denver’s defense. Jahdae Barron, a 2025 first-round pick, is set to play more outside cornerback in the leadup to his second season. That could be aimed at giving him a runway to replace Riley Moss in the event the latter leaves as a 2027 UFA. With the team negotiating an extension with slot CB Ja’Quan McMillian, it would surprise if Moss was re-signed by a team rostering a pricey Patrick Surtain deal. The team also executed a starter-in-waiting strategy at linebacker, though the situation differs a bit.
Denver added Dre Greenlaw to start alongside Alex Singleton last year but saw the former Super Bowl starter’s injury trouble persist, leading to a release. The Broncos cut Greenlaw (via a post-June 1 designation) before a $2MM guarantee vested in March.
Greenlaw already saw Justin Strnad‘s emergence keep him from full-time status, and the Broncos gave the latter a substantial raise on a three-year, $18MM pact. Strnad played for less than $3MM in 2025 but fared well by registering 4.5 sacks as an off-ball ‘backer while adding an interception and five tackles for loss.
Fourth-year DC Vance Joseph said (via the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson) Strnad’s improved play led the Broncos to cut ties with Greenlaw, who was on a three-year, $31MM deal that was essentially a pay-as-you-go pact. Greenlaw has since rejoined the 49ers — on a one-year, $6MM accord — and Strnad is on track to team with Singleton as Denver’s ILB starters this season. The Broncos did not draft a linebacker until Round 7, and Jonah Elliss — rumored to be set for an extended ILB look — is staying on the edge. Strnad will have a clear route to a full-time role in his age-30 season.
NFL Will Not Suspend WR Stefon Diggs
Recently found not guilty on assault and strangulation charges stemming from an alleged incident late last year, Stefon Diggs remains a free agent. A Friday development, however, figures to accelerate the Pro Bowl wide receiver’s market.
The NFL will not take action against Diggs under the personal conduct policy, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, due to “insufficient evidence.” This provides some clarity for the 32-year-old pass catcher, whom the Patriots released ahead of a salary guarantee in early March.
Despite leading the AFC champion Patriots in receiving last season, Diggs completed what looks like a second one-and-done stint with a team. After four successful seasons in Buffalo, Diggs ended up in Houston via trade. An ACL tear, after the Texans curiously removed three years from the WR’s Bills-built extension, led to a short stay in Texas.
The Patriots signed Diggs in 2025, and he worked as an important veteran presence to help Drake Maye to MVP runner-up status. But the Pats ended up with Romeo Doubs and A.J. Brown this offseason; they are not expected to circle back to Diggs.
Not long after the much-rumored Brown trade was finalized, Mike Vrabel said the team is not presently exploring a Diggs reunion — after that door seemed open for a bit. Brown being acquired — in a trade centered around a 2028 first-round pick — gives the Patriots a new No. 1 receiver, and Doubs’ skillset should allow him to operate in a Diggs-like capacity this season. Doubs, of course, has not shown what Diggs has; but he is entering an age-26 season. Diggs will turn 33 in November.
Diggs was tried on multiple charges in connection with an alleged 2025 encounter with a woman who had served as his personal chef. Mila Adams accused the Pro Bowl receiver of assaulting her and testified in a jury trial last month. Diggs was facing a charge of felony strangulation or suffocation as well as a charge of misdemeanor assault and battery.
In a police report, Adams alleged Diggs entered her unlocked bedroom and, as the dispute continued in-person, “smacked her across the face.” Adams then claimed Diggs “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck” and that she feared she may pass out as a result. Diggs denied Adams’ claims, pleading not guilty in February, and prevailed in court. An NFL investigation unfolded, however, and player suspensions regularly occur without guilty verdicts. The NFL not proceeding with a ban will obviously help Diggs, who is coming off a 1,013-yard, four-touchdown season.
With Rashee Rice still serving a 30-day prison sentence for violating his probation — doing so shortly after he underwent knee surgery — the Chiefs have been connected to Diggs. Kansas City had been linked to pursuing wide receiver help before the news of Rice’s jail stint surfaced. Rice is expected to be ready for training camp despite the strange circumstance in which he is attempting to rehab from surgery in prison, but the Chiefs have been unable to count on him. They also lost Marquise Brown in free agency and did not draft a wideout until Round 6 (Cyrus Allen). They make sense as a Diggs suitor, though other veteran wideouts remain available.
Deebo Samuel, Keenan Allen, DeAndre Hopkins, Tyler Lockett and Tyreek Hill are unsigned 30-somethings at the position. This could reduce Diggs’ asking price, though he is coming off the best season (by far) among this group. Non-Chiefs suitors figure to emerge in the wake of the NFL ruling, and the former Vikings, Bills, Texans and Patriots target will be gunning for an eighth career 1,000-yard season. If/when Diggs signs elsewhere, it will be Year 12 for the former fifth-round pick in the NFL.
Falcons, Drake London Agree To Extension
JUNE 12: London’s deal is now official, and it includes $83.2MM in new guarantees (h/t Over the Cap). Of that figure, $52.87MM is fully locked in at signing. London will collect a signing bonus of $33.65MM, and his salaries for this season and next are guaranteed in full.
If London remains on Atlanta’s roster for the fourth day of the 2027 league year, his 2028 salary ($36MM) will vest. That rolling guarantee applies to the following year as well. This deal contains multiple option bonuses as well as escalators totaling the $9MM difference between its base and maximum value. London will collect a $2MM roster bonus if he is still in the fold by the third day of the 2030 league year.
JUNE 2: The Falcons have locked in their top receiver for the foreseeable future. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the team has signed Drake London to a four-year extension.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter has the numbers. London’s four-year deal is worth $141MM and could reach $150MM via incentives. London will also earn $100MM in guaranteed money. That $35.25MM average annual salary is the highest in Falcons franchise history.
From a positional standpoint, London’s AAV will rank third behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba ($42.15MM) and Ja’Marr Chase ($40.25MM) and just ahead of Justin Jefferson ($35MM). The $141MM in total value also trails JSN and Chase and barely tops Jefferson’s $140MM. The $100MM in guaranteed money will rank behind all three of those aforementioned WRs and ties CeeDee Lamb for fourth at the position.
The eighth-overall pick in the 2022 draft, it took London a bit to emerge as a top-tier WR. Through his first two seasons, he averaged 70 catches for 885 yards and three touchdowns per season. However, he took his play to another level while receiving passes from Kirk Cousins in 2024. London finished that campaign with 100 catches for 1,271 yards and nine touchdowns. Despite that standout campaign, he didn’t agree to an extension with the Falcons last offseason, even as his fellow 2022 draftee Garrett Wilson received a lucrative new contract from the Jets.
London increase his yards-per-game mark to a career-high 76.6 in 2025. Since he was limited to only 12 games, his counting stats suffered as a result, with the 24-year-old finishing with 68 catches for 919 yards and seven touchdowns. Pro Football Focus still graded London as the league’s fifth-best WR.
This extension means the Falcons can count on some offensive continuity in the coming seasons. The team is currently navigating a QB competition between Michael Penix and Tua Tagovailoa, and that duo will be throwing to a revamped WR depth chart that includes new addition Jahan Dotson and old friend Olamide Zaccheaus. This extension assures London will be present throughout crucial offseason practices.
The Falcons will now turn their attention their other offensive star, as running back Bijan Robinson is also eligible for an extension. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo notes that it was a goal of the front office to extend their two main offensive weapons, and all focus will now turn to the first-team RB. The team could also look to extend tight end Kyle Pitts, who is currently attached to the franchise tag for the 2026 season.
Bills Sign T Jude Bowry, Complete Draft Class Deals
Jude Bowry signed his rookie contract with the Bills on Friday, per a team announcement. As a result, every member of Buffalo’s 2026 draft class is now on the books.
Bowry spent his entire four-year NCAA career at Boston College. That span included 23 starts across 31 games. He spent most of his time on the left side of the offensive line but saw work at both left and right tackle along the way. A role as Buffalo’s swing tackle could be in store upon entry into the NFL for the fourth-rounder.
Longtime blindside blocker Dion Dawkins remains under contract with the Bills for the next two seasons. Right tackle Spencer Brown, meanwhile, has three years remaining on his current deal. A path to a starting role may not open in Bowry’s case for the foreseeable future barring a move to the inside as a result. In any case, he will aim to offer low-cost depth along the offensive line over the course of his four-year rookie pact.
The Bills entered Friday with $9.81MM in cap space. This Bowry signing will not make a considerable impact on that figure, however. As a result, further roster moves – such as the ones worked out yesterday – will still be possible during the period leading up to training camp.
Here is the full breakdown of Buffalo’s 2026 draft class:
- Round 2, No. 35 (from Titans): T.J. Parker (EDGE, Clemson) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 62: Davison Igbinosun (CB, Ohio State) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 102 (from Raiders): Jude Bowry (T, Boston College) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 125 (from Bears via Chiefs and Patriots): Skyler Bell (WR, UConn) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 126: Kaleb Elarms-Orr (LB, TCU) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 167 (from Texans): Jalon Kilgore (S, South Carolina) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 181 (from Lions)*: Zane Durant (DT, Penn State) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 220 (from Jets): Toriano Pride Jr. (CB, Missouri) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 239 (from Eagles via Jaguars, Browns and Bears): Tommy Doman (P, Florida) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 241 (from Bears): Ar’maj Reed-Adams (G, Texas A&M) (signed)
Broncos Extend HC Sean Payton
The Broncos have locked up their brain trust for the long haul. After signing general manager George Paton to a five-year extension last month, the team has agreed to a new contract with head coach Sean Payton. He will join Paton in landing a five-year deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Paton and Payton are under wraps through 2030.
“Sean Payton has led an impressive turnaround over the past three seasons, instilling a winning culture with high expectations,” Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner said in a statement announcing the agreement. “I appreciate the close partnership he shares with George Paton along with the alignment and stability across our football operations.”
The offensive-minded Payton has been one of the NFL’s most successful head coaches since he got his first opportunity with the Saints in 2006. Payton held the post in New Orleans for 15 years, during which the Saints went 152-89 in the regular season and earned nine playoff berths. In the greatest achievement of his career, Payton led the Saints to a Super Bowl XLIV victory over the Colts to cap off the 2009 season.
Three years after he hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, Payton served a season-long suspension in 2012 for the Saints’ Bounty scandal. That marred his tenure in New Orleans, but he stuck around for nine more years and guided the team to four seasons of double-digit wins along the way.
Payton stepped away after the Saints went 9-8 and missed the playoffs in 2021, though it was a short-lived exit from the sidelines. The Dolphins pursued a Payton-quarterback Tom Brady package in the subsequent offseason, but Brian Flores’ racial discrimination lawsuit (which is still ongoing) foiled their plans. A year later, Payton interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Broncos, Cardinals, Panthers and Texans. With the Saints still holding his rights, hiring Payton would have meant giving up compensation for his services. Denver ultimately ponied up for Payton, whom it acquired from New Orleans for a first- and second-round pick.
The Broncos were stuck in a seven-year playoff drought when they brought in Payton, who was unable to lead them to an immediate turnaround. Payton did not form a connection with former star quarterback Russell Wilson during an 8-9 showing in 2023. The Broncos were so down on Wilson that they released him in March 2024 at the cost of a whopping $85MM in dead money, which they spread over two seasons.
With Wilson out of the picture, the Broncos experienced a revival under rookie quarterback Bo Nix in 2024. Taken 12th overall in the draft, Nix teamed with a ferocious defense to help the Broncos go 10-7 and reach the playoffs for the first time 2015. The Bills knocked the Broncos out of the wild-card round, but Payton, Nix and the defense went on to make even more progress last season.
Not only did the Broncos end the Chiefs’ nine-year run atop the AFC West in 2025, but they earned the top seed in the conference on the strength of a 14-3 record. After a first-round bye, the Broncos got revenge on the Bills in a 33-30 overtime win in the divisional round. However, it was a Pyrrhic victory for the Broncos, who lost Nix to a season-ending ankle injury on the second-last play of the game. They hosted the AFC championship game a week later, but with backup QB Jarrett Stidham at the helm, their offense struggled on a snowy afternoon in a 10-7 loss to the Patriots.
Although last season did not end on a high note, the Broncos will enter 2026 on the shortlist of Super Bowl contenders. For the first time, though, Payton will not serve as his team’s primary offensive play caller. The 62-year-old handed off those duties to offensive coordinator Davis Webb, who is considered one of the league’s top up-and-coming assistants. With Webb’s help, Payton will continue to climb the all-time wins list this season. He will head into 2026 with 184, which ranks 13th. Payton will eventually become the ninth head coach to reach 200.