Vikings Sign 19 UDFAs
The Vikings had six UDFAs make at least 10 appearances in 2025 (WR Myles Price, LB Tyler Batty, LB Chaz Chambliss, OL Joe Huber, TE Ben Yurosek, LB Austin Keys). The team will be hoping for similar success in 2026, as Minnesota has added 19 undrafted free agents to their squad. The list includes:
- Marcus Allen, CB (North Carolina)
- Da’Veawn Armstead, CB (North Texas)
- Dillon Bell, WR (Georgia)
- Jordan Botelho, OLB (Notre Dame)
- Tyreek Chappell, CB (Texas A&M)
- Monkell Goodwine, DL (South Carolina)
- Shaleak Knotts, WR (Maryland)
- Keli Lawson, LB (UCF)
- Tristan Leigh, OL (Clemson)
- Delby Lemieux, OL (Dartmouth)
- Kejon Owens, RB (Florida International)
- Tomas Rimac, OL (Virginia Tech)
- Marcus Sanders Jr., WR (Georgia Southern)
- Cam’Ron Stewart, OLB (Temple)
- Jacob Thomas, S (James Madison)
- Brett Thorson, P (Georgia)
- Arden Walker, OLB (Colorado)
- Scooby Williams, LB (Texas A&M)
- Luke Wysong, WR (Arizona)
Of the 19 Vikings signings, four of them came at the wide receiver position. Georgia Southern’s Marcus Sanders Jr. is coming off the most productive 2025 campaign of the bunch, as the wideout hauled in 50 catches for 797 yards and five touchdowns. He entered the season having tallied only 35 catches through his first three collegiate seasons.
Luke Wysong is another intriguing addition. The receiver had a standout campaign at New Mexico in 2024, finishing with 840 receiving yards. However, his counting stats took a step back after he transferred to Arizona for the 2025 campaign, when he finished with only 278 receiving yards. Any of the UDFAs could push for a roster spot in a WRs room that lacks convincing depth behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
Interestingly, the Vikings added one of college football’s top punters in Brett Thorson. The Georgia product is coming off a 2025 campaign where he earned the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation’s top player at the position. Thorson finished the campaign placing 23 punts inside the 20 while averaging 4.38 seconds of hang time. He’ll be joining a depth chart that’s currently led by Johnny Hekker. The veteran signed with the Vikings last month following a 2025 campaign in Tennessee that saw him average 40.3 net yards per punt.
Rams Add 18 UDFAs
The Rams only selected five players during this past weekend’s draft, but they’re not being shy about adding undrafted free agents to their squad. The team announced the signing of 18 UDFAs:
- Nick Andersen, S (Wake Forest)
- Wesley Bailey, OLB (Louisville)
- Austin Blaske, OL (North Carolina)
- Matthew Caldwell, QB (Texas)
- Dean Connors, RB (Houston)
- Nyzier Fourqurean, CB (Wisconsin)
- Al’zillion Hamilton, CB (Fresno State)
- Bryce Henderson, OL (Vanderbilt)
- Nikhai Hill-Green, ILB (Alabama)
- Rohan Jones, TE (Arkansas)
- Chad Lindberg, OL (North Carolina)
- Jalen Logan-Redding, DL (Minnesota)
- Jaxson Moi, DL (Tennessee)
- Drey Norwood, CB (Missouri)
- Darryl Peterson III, OLB (Wisconsin)
- Dan Villari, TE (Syracuse)
- Eddie Walls III, OLB (Houston)
- Peyton Zdroik, DL (Air Force)
The Rams had one of the most notable selections of the draft when they selected Alabama QB Ty Simpson, but the team wasn’t done adding players at the position, as the organization has brought in Texas signal caller Matthew Caldwell. The quarterback bounced around during his collegiate career, taking snaps at Jacksonville State, Gardner-Webb, Troy, and Texas. He got his most extended look while playing for the Trojans, as he finished that 2024 campaign completing 63.2 percent of his passes for 1,608 yards, 13 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He only had 11 pass attempts during his lone season with the Longhorns.
Houston’s Dean Connors could compete for a roster spot behind Kyren Williams and Blake Corum on the RBs depth chart. Connors scored 21 touchdowns at Rice between 2023 and 2024 before transferring to Houston in 2025. He finished this past season with a career-high 977 rushing yards to go along with 254 receiving yards. He ultimately found the end zone nine times. He’ll be competing with the likes of Ronnie Rivers and Jarquez Hunter for a roster spot.
Nick Andersen is coming off back-to-back standout seasons at Wake Forest. The safety finished the 2024 campaign with 122 tackles, and he followed that up with 106 stops in 2025. Notably, he took his pass-rush and run-stopping ability to another level this past year, finishing with 6.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also finished with seven passes defended. Andersen will likely have to show some special teams prowess to make the initial 53, but he could get some run on defense should any veterans suffer injuries.
Former DL Josh Mauro Passes Away
Former NFL defensive lineman Josh Mauro has passed away at the age of 35, his family announced.
The English-born and Texas-raised Mauro enjoyed a solid college career at Stanford, where he totaled 21.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks over 47 games. He was at his best in his last season with the Cardinal, 2013, during which he recorded personal highs in tackles (51), TFL (12) and interceptions (one). He also chipped in four sacks.
Mauro signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2014, but they cut him before the season. He quickly caught on with the Cardinals and wound up spending his first few years in their uniform. In 2016, his most productive season, Mauro made a career-high 13 starts in 15 games and notched 32 tackles.
Mauro spent three of his first four years in Arizona playing for defensive coordinator James Bettcher, who took the same job with the Giants in 2018. He followed Bettcher to New York on a one-year deal in free agency. After Mauro served a four-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs to open the season, the run-stopping lineman returned to log 28 tackles and a sack over 12 games and four starts.
Mauro left the Giants for what proved to be a one-year stint with the Raiders in 2019. He reunited with defensive line coach Brentson Buckner, who held the same position in Arizona during Mauro’s first three seasons. Playing for the Raiders in their final season in Oakland, Mauro tallied 19 tackles over 13 games and seven starts.
Mauro began the 2020 campaign in the Jaguars organization, but he reunited with the Cardinals when they plucked him off the Jags’ practice squad in October. He played in three of Arizona’s games that year and five more in 2021. While Mauro worked out for the Bears ahead of the 2022 season, he never signed another contract. Mauro finished his eight-year career with 130 tackles and five sacks over 80 games and 40 starts.
Cardinals Sign Seven UDFAs
The Cardinals had a relatively standard draft, as the organization left the weekend with seven rookies. The team has now doubled that rookie class by agreeing to deals with seven undrafted free agents. That grouping includes:
- Elijah Culp, CB (James Madison)
- Ka’ena De Cambra, OL (Arizona)
- Jameson Geers, TE (Minnesota)
- Cameron Robertson, OLB (SMU)
- Harrison Wallace III, WR (Mississippi)
- Damonic Williams, DL (Oklahoma)
- Wydett Williams Jr., S (Mississippi)
Harrison Wallace III got a significant chunk of money to join Arizona. Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, the Ole Miss wideout got a $40K signing bonus and $247.5K in salary for a total of $287.5K in guaranteed money. Following a breakout campaign with Penn State in 2024, Wallace took his production to another level during his lone season with the Rebels. The receiver hauled in 57 catches for 894 yards and four touchdowns. He’ll be competing for a spot on a depth chart that includes free agent acquisition Kendrick Bourne and rookie fifth-round pick Reggie Virgil.
Wilson also passed along financials on Ka’ena De Cambra‘s deal with the Cardinals, noting that the offensive lineman earned a $5K signing bonus along with having $50K of his base salary guaranteed. After starting his collegiate career at Hawaii, De Cambra spent the 2025 campaign at Arizona, where he appeared in 12 games. The Cardinals only used one pick on the offensive line this past weekend, selecting Mississippi’s Jayden Williams in the seventh round.
Wydett Williams Jr. may have the best shot of the UDFA class to make the 53-man roster. Budda Baker is fully entrenched atop the depth chart at strong safety, but former UDFA Kitan Crawford represents the only depth behind him. Williams is coming off a standout season at Ole Miss where he compiled 73 stops, three interceptions, and 10 passes defended.
Lions To Exercise Jahmyr Gibbs’ Fifth-Year Option, Decline Jack Campbell’s
The Lions picked twice in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, meaning they have a pair of fifth-year option decisions to make by May 1. The team plans to exercise running back Jahmyr Gibbs‘ option, but it will decline linebacker Jack Campbell‘s, Dan Miller of Fox2 Detroit reports.
Gibbs and Campbell have turned into stars at their respective positions since entering the league. However, saying yes to Gibbs’ option was much more of a slam-dunk choice for Detroit. The former 12th overall pick will lock in a 2027 salary of $14.29MM salary, which is reasonable for an elite back who has already earned three Pro Bowl nods.
The dual-threat Gibbs has found the end zone a whopping 49 times (39 rushing, 10 receiving) in as many games. A two-time 1,200-yard rusher, Gibbs has averaged a robust 5.3 YPC on 675 attempts. Gibbs is also fresh off a 77-catch season, easily surpassing the respectable 52 he totaled in each of his first two years.
Campbell came off the board 18th overall, six picks after Gibbs, and has evolved into a high-level off-linebacker. Unfortunately for Campbell, though, the NFL continues to group off-ball LBs and pass-rushing LBs together for valuation purposes. Teams do not value them equally, evidenced by the fact that no club has picked up an off-ball LB’s option since the Buccaneers did it for Devin White in 2022. The Lions will not snap the four-year streak despite Campbell’s successful development.
A former Iowa standout, Campbell has not missed a game in three seasons. Campbell thrived in a career year in 2025, during which he set personal bests in tackles (176), TFL (nine), sacks (five) and forced fumbles (three) en route to his first Pro Bowl selection and All-Pro honors. The original-ballot Pro Bowl bid upped the value of his option to $21.93MM, which the Lions deemed too rich. The 49ers’ Fred Warner and the Ravens’ Roquan Smith are the only off-LBs making at least $20MM per year.
While the Lions are not yet guaranteed to keep Campbell around beyond next season, there is optimism a long-term agreement will come together. He is “absolutely” in the Lions’ plans, per Miller. For now, Campbell, tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch are among Lions core players who are due to reach free agency next year.
The Lions will keep Gibbs around for a minimum of two more seasons, but they could still try to hammer out an extension after picking up his option. A new Gibbs pact would “easily” check in at over $15MM per year, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. Only three backs – the Eagles’ Saquon Barkley ($20.6MM), the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey ($19MM) and the Ravens’ Derrick Henry ($15MM) – are averaging that much money per annum. The 24-year-old Gibbs may join them soon.
Chargers To Pick Up Quentin Johnston’s Fifth-Year Option
With the May 1 deadline for fifth-year option decisions looming, the Chargers have made their choice on wide receiver Quentin Johnston. They are picking up his option, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports. Johnston is now in line to earn $18.1MM in 2027.
[RELATED: Fifth-Year Option Tracker]
Johnston entered the offseason as a potential trade candidate, but general manager Joe Hortiz revealed in mid-April that he had neither received nor made calls on the 6-foot-2, 208-pounder. Hortiz and head coach Jim Harbaugh were not in place when the Chargers selected Johnston 21st overall in 2023, but they have seen enough positives to keep the TCU product around through his fifth season.
Johnston’s career got off to a disappointing start in 2023, a 38-catch, 431-yard, two-touchdown effort in which he struggled with drops. The Chargers fired head coach Brandon Staley during what wound up as a 5-12 campaign. They brought in their current regime in the ensuing offseason, and Johnston has offered much better production since then.
Although Johnston missed two games in his second year, he still easily eclipsed the numbers he put up during a full rookie season. He hauled in 55 passes for 711 yards and eight touchdowns, giving quarterback Justin Herbert a quality complement to then-rookie sensation Ladd McConkey. Despite logging three more absences in 2025, Johnston managed his second straight eight-TD season. He racked up 51 receptions for a career-high 735 yards along the way.
Johnston finished closely behind McConkey and Keenan Allen in yards last season. Allen is still unsigned almost two months into free agency, and it is unclear whether the Chargers will bring back the franchise icon. Even if Allen goes elsewhere or retires, the Chargers appear to have a strong group of receivers entering Mike McDaniel‘s first season as their offensive coordinator. Along with Johnston and McConkey, the Bolts count 2025 second-rounder Tre Harris, 2025 fifth-rounder KeAndre Lambert-Smith and 2026 fourth-rounder Brenen Thompson among their options. All of those players are under team control for at least two more seasons.
Saints To Sign CB Martin Emerson
2:01pm: Emerson’s visit evidently went well. He is signing a one-year deal with the Saints, The Exhibit’s Josina Anderson reports. Emerson, 25, intercepted four passes with the Browns in 2023, helping Cleveland rank first in pass defense during that playoff campaign, and broke up 29 passes between the 2022 and ’23 seasons.
The former Jim Schwartz piece can boost his 2027 free agency stock with a solid Saints season. Emerson will join a Saints team that waited until Day 3 to draft a corner despite losing Adebo and Taylor in free agency over the past two years. The Saints, who also traded Marshon Lattimore at the 2024 deadline, may need Emerson to commandeer a starting job. And it looks like the team is confident the former third-round pick will be recovered from his July Achilles tear.
12:46pm: Mickey Loomis said the Saints were interested in adding a cornerback early in the draft. The Chiefs certainly thought this was the case, trading in front of the NFC South club to make sure they landed LSU’s Mansoor Delane.
New Orleans did use fifth- and seventh-round picks on corners, but after losing Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor in consecutive offseasons, the team could use more help. Martin Emerson is now on the Saints’ radar, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport noting the sides will meet today. Emerson was a regular starter in Cleveland before a summer 2025 Achilles tear.
Emerson, a two-year boundary CB starter with the Browns, met with the Texans earlier this month. He is not expected to return to Cleveland, and the Achilles tear represented a bad contract-year break. A one-year “prove it” deal — something most of the remaining FAs will need to settle for — may well be in the cards now.
Loomis said (via ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell) the Saints did have plans to grab a corner earlier; those not materializing leaves New Orleans vulnerable for the time being at the position. Taylor showed impressive versatility as a Saint, logging more than 1,500 snaps inside and outside during his four-year stay. While the Saints did see rookie Quincy Riley play 54% of their defensive snaps in a five-start 2025, they have not filled Taylor’s nickel post yet. Two years remain on Kool-Aid McKinstry‘s rookie contract. The Titans gave Taylor a three-year, $58MM deal with $42MM guaranteed at signing.
Emerson had usurped Greg Newsome as the Browns’ No. 2 corner, outsnapping the older cover man in 2023 and ’24. The 6-foot-2 defender has played almost exclusively on the boundary as a pro, making him ill-suited for a nickel role. Pro Football Focus graded Emerson as a top-30 corner as a rookie but slotted him outside the top 60 the following year and then placed him 113th out of 117 qualified options in 2024. The Browns, who eventually traded Newsome for Tyson Campbell before last year’s deadline, were still planning on using Emerson as a 2025 regular before his injury.
It appears we are moving closer to seeing Emerson catch on somewhere. Unless the experienced corner (33 career starts) needs more time to recover, landing with a team before its OTA sessions start makes sense.
Vikings To Meet With WR Jauan Jennings
Another wave of free agency is set up to commence. Teams’ signings of unrestricted FAs no longer count toward the 2027 compensatory formula, a transition that annually reignites the market. One high-profile free agent is seeing interest reemerge as a result.
Jauan Jennings‘ price point was believed to be misaligned with his value, but the recent 49ers wide receiver contributor entered free agency as one of the top pass catchers available. Nearly two months after hitting the market, Jennings will make a visit. The Vikings are set to meet with him over the next two days, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.
PFR’s No. 18-ranked free agent, Jennings is the only member of our top 45 FAs unsigned (Joey Bosa — No. 46 — is the other top-50 player yet to join a team). The 49ers were interested in re-signing Jennings, but he is no longer in play for the team. San Francisco has since added Mike Evans, Christian Kirk and second-rounder De’Zhaun Stribling to its receiver room, one that still includes 2024 first-round pick Ricky Pearsall.
With Pearsall battling injuries again in 2025 and Brandon Aiyuk missing the full season due to his 2024 ACL tear (and dispute with the team), Jennings became a key 49ers playmaker over the past two seasons.
He filled in well for Aiyuk in 2024, accumulating 975 receiving yards. Last year, Jennings added 643 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns. These numbers were out of step with his two-year, $11.89MM deal. The former seventh-round pick pursued a raise during the 2025 offseason but settled for a late-summer incentive package.
A quality blocker who has moonlighted as a gadget quarterback (two postseason TD passes), Jennings is running out of time to cash in on his recent 49ers contributions. The Tennessee alum will turn 29 this summer, making this an important offseason on the contract front. But it is clear teams did not view the Kyle Shanahan charge as an impact free agent; potential offers have not satisfied Jennings. It is possible the 212-pound receiver will need to accept a one-year “prove it” deal. That will come with risk considering the 2027 offseason will bring Jennings’ 30th birthday.
On the surface, the Vikings do not look like the best option for Jennings to generate 2027 FA attention. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison reside as the team’s locked-in top receiving tandem, and Minnesota used a 2025 third-round pick on Tai Felton. The team did not draft a receiver this year, however, and lost WR3 Jalen Nailor to a three-year, $35MM Raiders contract.
Coming from the Shanahan offense would stand to help Jennings acclimate to Kevin O’Connell‘s Minnesota attack, but it would not surprise to see the seventh-year veteran take more visits to determine the best fit. If a “prove it” deal is in the cards, Jennings will need to choose carefully since next year might be the point of no return with regards to the possibility of a lucrative free agency deal happening for him.
Steelers Expected To Re-Sign DT Dean Lowry
APRIL 28: Lowy will not be re-signing at this time, per Rapoport. More time will be taken for him to return to playing shape. Lowry has received medical clearance, but he did not take a physical upon agreeing to a new Pittsburgh pact. Once that changes, his next Steelers deal should be finalized.
APRIL 26: The Steelers are re-signing veteran defensive tackle Dean Lowry, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Lowry, 31, spent the last two years in Pittsburgh, but did not play in 2025 due to a torn ACL suffered in training camp. That was one of several injuries to the Steelers’ defensive line last year; Derrick Harmon, Isaiahh Loudermilk, and Daniel Ekuale all missed multiple games as well.
Originally a Packers fourth-round pick in 2016, Lowry emerged as a starter in his second NFL season. After his third, he received a three-year, $20.3MM contract extension that carried him through the rest of his time in Green Bay. He hit free agency in 2023 and signed a two-year, $8.5MM deal with the Vikings. He went down with a pectoral injury after just nine games and spent the rest of the season on injured reserve.
Lowry then signed a two-year, $5MM contract with the Steelers, but could not carve out more than a rotational role in their defense. He appeared in 12 games in 2024 with a 21% snap share with just five total tackles (none for loss) and one sack.
The Steelers bolstered their defensive line this offseason by signing Sebastian Joseph-Day to a two-year, $11MM deal while allowing Loudermilk and Ekuale to hit free agency. Retaining Lowry ensures some more veteran continuity – and indicates his recovery process has gone smoothly. Eight months removed his injury, he has a chance to participate in spring practices and should be ready for training camp.
Mutual Extension Interest Between Lions, LB Jack Campbell
The deadline for fifth-year option decisions is approaching, and the Lions are among the teams with an interesting call still to be made. Linebacker Jack Campbell‘s short-term future is unclear leading up to May 1.
Campbell is coming off a first-team All-Pro season, and he will be expected to remain a foundational presence for Detroit well into the future provided a long-term deal can be arranged. All linebackers are grouped together for the purposes of fifth-year options and franchise/transition tags, however, which make them highly expensive for situations such as this one. Picking up Campbell’s option would tie him to a 2027 salary of $21.93MM. Only two middle linebackers are currently attached to an AAV of $20MM or more.
A lucrative commitment to Campbell would be inevitable in the event of a long-term deal, but his option salary would be fully guaranteed and match his cap charge for 2027. That, in turn, would complicate the Lions’ efforts to keep the rest of their highly-productive 2023 draftees in the fold. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs, safety Brian Branch and tight end Sam LaPorta are each in line for big-money deals from Detroit or another team in the near future.
Picking up Campbell’s option is an expected move on the part of the Lions. The alternative, of course, is an extension agreement being finalized prior to Friday’s deadline. On that note, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports (video link) both team and player would be “happy” with a long-term deal being worked out in the coming days. It will be interesting to see how general manager Brad Holmes and Co. proceed in the immediate future with an important decision looming.
The Lions already have a highly-paid core of (primarily) homegrown players, many of whom are on the offensive side of the ball. Campbell has established himself as an integral figure as well, though, playing in every game to date during his career and filling the statsheet along the way. The Iowa product set new career highs in tackles (176), sacks (five) and forced fumbles (three) in 2025. Campbell will be 26 by the start of next season, and expectations will remain high in his case for years to come.
Detroit allowed Alex Anzalone to depart in free agency this spring. Derrick Barnes is in place on an $8MM-per-year deal which runs through 2027, while Malcolm Rodriguez and Damone Clark offer inexpensive depth at the linebacker spot. Campbell will be counted on to lead the way at that position for at least one more season, and short-term stability through his option being exercised would come as little surprise. Nonetheless, a long-term pact will be something to watch for over the coming days.