HEADLINES

Texans Looking Into RB Nick Chubb

June 8th, 2025 at 4:14pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Texans have been “looking at [the] running back market” and could pursue former Browns RB Nick Chubb, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Chubb, a seven-year veteran, hit free agency this offseason for the first time in his career after playing just 10 games in the last two years due to injury. A torn ACL robbed him of most of the 2023 season; he worked his way back to the field for eight games in 2024 before going down once more with a broken foot. Chubb expressed a desire to stay in Cleveland, but the Browns declined to re-sign him and instead pursued younger options for their backfield.

Houston signed ex-Bengals running back Joe Mixon last offseason and could look to add another former AFC North ballcarrier in Chubb. Both Mixon and his backup, Dameon Pierce, missed at least three games last year with minimal production from Cam Akers and Dare Ogunbowale further down the depth chart.

Chubb’s 41.5 yards per game and 3.3 yards per carry in 2024 were well below his career standards, but he was one of the most efficient running backs in the league before his 2023 injury. This late in the offseason, he will likely have to sign a one-year deal close to the veteran minimum to prove his health, which could offer significant upside for the Texans.

Fowler said on SportsCenter (via Bleacher Report’s Andrew Peters) that a return to Cleveland is “not totally off the table” but remains unlikely after the Browns selected two running back in April’s draft. That aligns with Fowler’s previous report on ESPN Cleveland that Chubb is not expected to re-sign with his longtime “barring some sort of surprise or injury.”

Fowler also mentioned the Commanders and the Bears as potential suitors at the end of May. The Commanders are returning their 2024 backfield, making Washington a less likely destination than Chicago. The Bears missed out on their preferred running backs in the draft and do not have a clear No. 2 behind D’Andre Swift.

Chiefs Wanted To Re-Sign DT Tershawn Wharton

June 8th, 2025 at 12:25pm CST by Rory Parks

After Milton Williams spurned the Panthers’ advances in March, Carolina pivoted to another notable defensive tackle in this year’s free agent class, Tershawn Wharton. The former undrafted find of the Chiefs may have been something of a consolation prize for the Panthers, but his original club wanted to keep him in the fold.

Per David Newton of ESPN.com, Kansas City simply could not match the contract that Carolina authorized for Wharton (three years and $45.1MM, including $30.25MM in full guarantees and an additional $9MM available in incentives). That stands to reason given that the defending AFC champions entered the offseason with little financial flexibility and made the surprising decision to use the franchise tag – worth a fully-guaranteed $23.4MM – on guard Trey Smith.

Kansas City’s decision on Smith precipitated the trade of its other starting guard, Joe Thuney. With a glaring left tackle need, the club’s biggest FA outlay was earmarked for former 49ers swing tackle Jaylon Moore, who landed a two-year, $30MM contract (the Chiefs doubled down on the position by selecting Ohio State OT Josh Simmons in the first round of April’s draft).

The Chiefs’ salary cap picture prevented them from spending big on a Wharton replacement, but second-round draftee Omarr Norman-Lott will have the opportunity to fill Wharton’s shoes. KC did add Jerry Tillery to the defensive front while re-signing Charles Omenihu and Mike Pennel.

Newton seems to suggest that Wharton – a Missouri native who became the first player from Division II Missouri University of Science and Technology to make a modern-era NFL roster – preferred to remain with his hometown team. The ESPN scribe writes, “[i]n a perfect world, Wharton would have remained in Kansas City, where he won two Super Bowls and went to four.”

That said, the soon-to-be 27-year-old also believes there are new opportunities in Charlotte to go along with his new salary. As Jeff Hawkins of the Charlotte Post notes, Wharton believes he was miscast when Kansas City deployed him as a pass-rushing nose tackle in its 4-3 alignment, and he expects to build on his breakout 2024 showing as a member of Panthers DC Ejiro Evero’s 3-4 scheme.

“This guy has a purpose in everything that he does,” Evero said of Wharton. “And it’s really, really impressive to watch. … So it’s great to add guys like that who can bring that experience, that mentality and that work ethic.”

Wharton played 20 games (12 starts) in 2024, including playoffs. He tallied 37 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and a forced fumble as an integral member of Steve Spagnuolo’s stout unit that finished in the top-10 in total defense and in the top-five in scoring defense.

Jalen Ramsey To Skip Dolphins’ Mandatory Minicamp

June 8th, 2025 at 11:53am CST by Nikhil Mehta

As Jalen Ramsey and the Dolphins continue to prepare for a parting of the ways, the seven-time Pro Bowler will skip Miami’s three-day mandatory minicamp, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. Minicamp begins on Tuesday, June 10.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said last week (via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques) that “nothing has changed” regarding Ramsey. The team has insisted that the decision to seek a trade for the veteran cornerback is mutual, but Ramsey has been pushing for an exit, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. He likely lost his $100k workout bonus by skipping OTAs and will incur another $105k in fines for skipping minicamp.

The veteran cornerback has generated “more interest…than people realize,” according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Jackson), but his contract remains a sticking point. An acquiring team would have to pick up at least $2.02MM in 2025 (Ramsey’s salary and per game roster bonus) with $65.7MM of non-guaranteed money due over the following three years. However, the Dolphins already paid Ramsey’s $4MM roster bonus in March and would prefer to shed the remaining $20.235MM in guaranteed money on his deal, which includes an $18.98MM option bonus due on August 31, per OverTheCap.

If Ramsey’s new team doesn’t want to absorb all of Ramsey’s option bonus, the Dolphins could handle his contract in a manner similar to the Eagles-49ers Bryce Huff trade. Philadelphia declined Huff’s fully-guaranteed option bonus, which turned into a guaranteed salary for the same amount. The Eagles then restructured a portion of that salary into a signing bonus to absorb some of Huff’s remaining money and spread the dead cap charges across two years; the 49ers took on the rest of Huff’s 2025 salary.

A completed trade would leave $10.7MM in dead money on the Dolphins’ 2025 cap, along with any additional money they absorb in the deal. Another $18.4MM would hit the books in 2026, which could increase if Miami eats 2025 salary and converts it into a signing bonus as described above.

Despite interest from around the league, a trade is no guarantee. ESPN’s Dan Graziano believes that Ramsey is more likely to be released than traded. In that case, the Dolphins would likely exercise his option bonus early, resulting in $11.8MM in dead cap charges in 2025 and a whopping $40.4MM in 2026.

Jets’ Byron Cowart, Jay Tufele Competing For Starting DT Job

June 8th, 2025 at 10:17am CST by Rory Parks

When the Jets signed Derrick Nnadi this offseason, it appeared as if he, along with fellow additions Byron Cowart and Jay Tufele, would serve as depth options along the defensive line. However, New York did not select an interior DL in the draft, leaving those three veterans – all of whom signed modest one-year deals – as the leading candidates to replace Javon Kinlaw as the starting defensive tackle alongside three-time Pro Bowler Quinnen Williams.

Per Brian Costello of the New York Post, Cowart and Tufele appear to be the frontrunners to fill the void left by Kinlaw’s departure. In Costello’s estimation, the defensive line got weaker this offseason, and it is probably safe to assume that neither player, nor Nnadi, will replicate Kinlaw’s performance (which he parlayed into a three-year, $45MM deal with the Commanders in free agency). 

Cowart, 29, entered the league as a fifth-round choice of the Patriots in 2019 and started a career-high 14 contests in 2020. He was not particularly effective against either the run or pass, and he spent the entirety of the following campaign on the PUP list. The Colts claimed him off waivers in July 2022, and though he appeared in all 17 games that year in a rotational role, his performance was generally underwhelming.

As such, Indianapolis elected not to re-sign him. He hooked on with the Chiefs in March 2023 but was released shortly thereafter, and he subsequently agreed to a one-year pact with the Texans. He did not crack Houston’s 53-man roster at the end of the summer, so he joined the Dolphins on a taxi squad deal. While the Maryland product did not log any regular season work in 2023, he finally made his way back to a starting lineup last year, when he appeared in 15 games (seven starts) for the Bears.

His 335 Chicago snaps yielded a career-best 2.5 sacks, but he received mediocre grades across the board from Pro Football Focus. The advanced metrics site assigned him an overall grade of 58.9, which made him the 56th-best interior defender out of 118 qualified players.

Still, PFF thought more highly of Cowart’s 2024 offering than that of Tufele, who earned a poor 44.4 overall grade that would have placed him near the bottom of the league’s interior D-linemen if he had enough snaps to qualify. Tufele, a former fourth-round pick of the Jaguars, did appear in 13 games for the Bengals last season and started three of them, both of which represented career-high marks (it should be noted, though, that Cincinnati’s defense was one of the worst in the league in 2024). Tufele’s work yielded 15 total tackles and a half-sack.

Getting Williams to return to form after something of a down season will be near the top of the agenda for new head coach Aaron Glenn and new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. If the duo can coax solid play out of whatever combination of linemen who serve as Williams’ running mates, that will go a long way towards helping the defense as a whole live up to its considerable potential.

As Costello observes, another potential trouble spot is the Jets’ depth along the edges of its defense. Defensive end Jermaine Johnson, whose 2024 season was cut short due to an Achilles tendon tear, has still not been cleared to practice, and fellow DEs Will McDonald and Micheal Clemons have already missed OTA time. Given New York’s minimal investments in the defensive front in free agency and the draft, it is fair to wonder if the club has left itself a bit thin in the pass rush department.

Raiders’ Jackson Powers-Johnson Working Exclusively At Center

June 8th, 2025 at 9:32am CST by Rory Parks

Despite winning the 2023 Rimington Trophy, given to the best center in college football, Raiders offensive lineman and 2024 second-round pick Jackson Powers-Johnson played more left guard than center in his rookie season. And new GM John Spytek said back in April that free agent acquisition Alex Cappa would compete for one of the guard spots while Powers-Johnson, Dylan Parham, and Jordan Meredith would vie for the other starting guard slot and the starting center gig.

As our Sam Robinson noted at the time, it would be a surprise if Powers-Johnson failed to earn a first-string role in light of his draft pedigree. Considering his collegiate success as a pivot – to say nothing of his promising performance in his first professional season – it makes sense for him to take over as the full-time center.

Per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Powers-Johnson is working exclusively as a snapper this offseason, which is in keeping with previous reports on the matter. JPJ’s ability to focus on one position, coupled with an improvement in his medical status – he missed most of training camp and the first two games of the regular season due to injury in 2024 – has created optimism that he will help spark a considerable improvement on the league’s worst rushing attack (Las Vegas averaged just 79.8 rushing yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry last season).

“I never really had a real offseason at center. I was always playing five or six different positions,” Powers-Johnson said. “So being able to really hone in on one has been awesome.”

Given the presence of veteran center Andre James on last year’s roster, it made sense for the Raiders’ prior regime to cross-train Powers-Johnson. The Oregon product started five games at left guard and then moved to center for six contests when James went down with an injury. Upon James’ return, Powers-Johnson moved back to LG for the final three games of the season.

Las Vegas released James in March, clearing the way for JPJ to assume the starting center job. Although he struggled with penalties as a rookie – according to Pro Football Focus, Powers-Johnson tallied 14 infractions in his 14 starts – PFF did assign him strong grades for his work in pass protection (68.3) and in run-blocking (70.4).

New offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s blocking scheme requires a high level of athleticism from its O-linemen, so Powers-Johnson has lost 15 pounds to facilitate the transition to that system. At present, it would seem that the Raiders’ starting offensive front, from left to right, will be Kolton Miller, Parham, Powers-Johnson, Cappa, and Delmar Glaze. That group will be blocking for promising rookie RB Ashton Jeanty, whom the Raiders selected with this year’s No. 6 overall pick.

Bills CB Taron Johnson Underwent Offseason Shoulder Surgery; TE Dalton Kincaid Played Through Injuries To Both Knees In 2024

June 8th, 2025 at 7:43am CST by Rory Parks

Bills nickel corner Taron Johnson recently revealed that he underwent shoulder surgery this offseason. Per Katherine Fitzgerald of the Buffalo News, Johnson suffered a torn labrum in Buffalo’s divisional-round win against the Ravens in January, and while he appeared in 94% of the club’s defensive snaps in an AFC Championship Game loss to the Chiefs, he required surgery to repair the damage.

Fortunately, Johnson indicated he will be fully healthy when training camp gets underway next month.

“Feels good, pretty much feels close to normal,” Johnson said. “So, that’s all I can really ask for, being healthy before training camp, so I can fully train and get ready for the season.”

Following a Second Team All-Pro nod in 2023, which begat a three-year, $31MM extension – a then-record for nickelbacks – Johnson took a step back in some respects last year. Thanks to a Week 1 arm injury, Johnson played in only 12 regular season contests in 2024 after enjoying perfect attendance the year prior, and he finished as Pro Football Focus’ 84th-best corner out of 116 qualified players (after grading out as the 18th-best CB out of 127 qualifiers in ‘23).

On the other hand, Pro Football Reference credited him with a modest 80.3 quarterback rating on passes thrown in his direction last season – albeit on a career-worst 70.4% completion percentage – and he tallied two picks for the first time in his career. Irrespective of his surface-level statistics or advanced metrics, Buffalo will once again be relying on the soon-to-be 29-year-old to serve as a key cog in its secondary. He is the second-longest-tenured member of the Bills’ defense, behind only linebacker Matt Milano.

Tight end Dalton Kincaid has also had to focus on his health this offseason. Kincaid, a 2023 first-round pick, enjoyed a strong rookie campaign, posting 73 catches for 673 yards and two scores. He regressed in Year 2, appearing in three fewer games and catching 44 balls for 448 yards and two TDs.

Kincaid, 25, told Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News that he played through injuries to both of his knees last season. Unlike Johnson, he did not need to go under the knife, though he conceded the recovery process took longer than expected.

The Utah product said he dealt with a PCL injury to his left knee and a Morel-Lavallee lesion, which manifested in bursitis, in his right knee. Both head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane told Kincaid he would need to improve his strength this offseason, and Kincaid said he has made a concerted effort to do just that (including increased work with strength and conditioning coach Will Greenberg).

The Bills continue to roster fellow TE Dawson Knox and selected Jackson Hawes in the fifth round of this year’s draft, but Kincaid is expected to lead the way as Josh Allen’s top receiving threat at the tight end position. He will be extension-eligible for the first time after the 2025 season, so he has the opportunity to set himself up nicely for a lucrative second contract.

Latest On Aaron Rodgers’ Steelers Deal

June 7th, 2025 at 10:31pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

10:31pm: Rodgers passed his physical and officially signed his contract with the Steelers on Saturday, according to Rapoport. It’s a one-year deal with a base value of $13.65MM and $10MM in guaranteed money, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Playtime and team performance incentives could boost Rodgers’ earnings to a maximum of $19.5MM.

With the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed, Rodgers is now set to participate in Pittsburgh’s mandatory minicamp next week.

12:01pm: The Steelers’ monthslong pursuit of Aaron Rodgers is all but over. The four-time MVP just has to pass a physical before formally signing in Pittsburgh to take over as the team’s starting quarterback for the 2025 season.

Rodgers’ physical should happen in the coming days, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, likely by the time the Steelers’ minicamp starts on Tuesday. Rodgers will have three days to familiarize himself with his new teammates, coaches, and playbook before the team breaks for the summer until training camp kicks off in July. According to Rapoport, the Steelers and others familiar with the veteran quarterback’s thinking were expecting this timeline all along.

However, unlike his move to New York, Rodgers doesn’t have an established rapport with his new coaches and teammates. The Jets hired former Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett and signed longtime Rodgers teammate Allen Lazard in anticipation of the veteran quarterback’s arrival in 2023, but Pittsburgh made no such moves this offseason. Rodgers did practice with D.K. Metcalf this offseason, but he has no playing history with Steelers OC Arthur Smith or any of the team’s offensive weapons.

Details of Rodgers’ deal with the Steelers remain unknown. The base salary is expected to be in the $10MM range floated by Rodgers back in April, per Rapoport, with incentives that could reach $20MM at most.

That would be the lowest APY of Rodgers’ career outside of his rookie contract. Rapoport suggested that Rodgers was willing to take an inexpensive deal to help the Steelers bolster their roster around him, but it’s unlikely he could have earned more elsewhere after receiving little interest from other teams this offseason.

The end to the Steelers-Rodgers saga also has implications for other teams, according to Mark Maske of The Washington Post. The Vikings briefly flirted with signing Rodgers earlier in the offseason but appeared to close the door on the idea soon after. That door is now locked, solidifying J.J. McCarthy as Minnesota’s unquestioned starter this season. The Steelers were also the last potential trade destination for Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, likely keeping him in Atlanta for another year as Michael Penix‘s backup.

Ravens Gave Rashod Bateman Permission To Seek Trade; Packers, Patriots Showed Interest

June 7th, 2025 at 10:19pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

When the Cowboys traded for George Pickens in May, it was revealed that they also looked into a deal for Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman.

Apparently, Dallas wasn’t Bateman’s only suitor this offseason; according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, he drew interest from multiple teams before agreeing to terms earlier this week to stay in Baltimore through the 2029 season.

After a breakout 2024 with career-highs in yards (756) and touchdowns (nine) that both ranked second on the Ravens, Bateman wanted a raise on the inexpensive extension he signed last offseason. With two years and $10.25MM remaining on that deal, the Ravens had all the leverage and refused to meet Bateman’s initial asking price. But, as they have done in the past, the team allowed Bateman explore the trade market to assess his value.

In addition to the Cowboys, the Packers and the Patriots expressed interest, which likely helped to clarify Bateman’s market and bring the Ravens back to the negotiating table. Rather than pursue a trade, they opted to pay Bateman themselves, adding three years and $36.75MM to his current contract for an average of $9.5MM over the next five years.

Green Bay’s interest is certainly notable given the number of affordable regulars on its roster at the receiver position. The Packers later turned to the draft to address the position, using first- and third-round picks to load up. Aggressively searching for wideout help over the past two offseasons, the Patriots ended up with Stefon Diggs this year. Diggs, however, will turn 32 before season’s end. Bateman, 26 in November, would have provided a much younger weapon on the rise. Despite Bateman’s inconsistency — to the point his belated emergence brought a No. 2 wideout role — the former first-rounder clearly still has admirers around the league. The Cowboys later turned to Pickens, who has outproduced Bateman to this point in their respective careers.

At barely $12MM per year, it’s easy to see why the Ravens preferred to keep Bateman rather than move him for draft capital. Baltimore has struggled to draft and develop wide receivers in the Lamar Jackson era – something Bateman alluded to during a Thursday press conference – so it wouldn’t make sense to move on after finally finding some success at the position.

Bateman’s willingness to ask for a raise just one year into a new contract should signal to the Ravens that this situation could repeat itself in future offseasons if his production continues to trend upwards. However, he is now under contract for the next five seasons, which will make it hard to get back to the negotiating table anytime soon.

Aaron Rodgers’ ‘$10MM’ Offer Exclusive To Rams?

June 7th, 2025 at 10:09pm CST by Ely Allen

Back in April, when veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers was still mulling his options with several teams, we saw a number of reports quoting that Rodgers had said he’d be willing to play for $10MM on a one-year contract in 2025. While the Steelers are still getting a pretty good bargain on the reported numbers we saw this afternoon (one-year, $13.5MM with $10MM guaranteed and $6MM in incentives), it’s still more than the $10MM number that was so often quoted.

An easy way to reconcile this could simply be to say that Pittsburgh wanted to honor his commitment to play on a lower-end, try-out deal while adding a little incentive to ensure he found his way to the Steel City. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has a different theory.

In a post on X, shortly following the announcement of details on Rodgers’ new contract, Breer wrote, “For what it’s worth, I’d heard the $10 million number, at the time, was sort of exclusive to the Rams. As in, an example of how badly he wanted to go there in March.”

As the Rams were allowing their Super Bowl-winning passer Matthew Stafford to talk to other teams and gauge his market, a link seemingly emerged between the team and Rodgers. A northern California native and Cal alumnus, Rodgers has always been drawn to the potential of returning to his home state. A report in late February delivered rumors that Rodgers had the Rams in his cross hairs, and that he intended to, once again, take long-time teammate Davante Adams with him.

This rumor held a lot of weight at the time, considering that the wide receiver had already expressed interest in returning to the west coast earlier that month, specifically calling out the Rams and Chargers in the process. Ultimately, Adams did end up signing with the Rams, but at that point, the team had already agreed to secure Stafford for another season.

So, according to Breer, Rodgers’ quote may have been taken a bit out of context. While it may have just been a way to express how badly he would’ve loved to play alongside Adams in their home state, Rodgers still accepted a frugal, team-friendly deal in Pittsburgh on similar terms.

Texans S C.J. Gardner-Johnson Addresses Eagles Departure

June 7th, 2025 at 9:40pm CST by Adam La Rose

2025 will mark the fourth different team C.J. Gardner-Johnson plays for in his seventh NFL season. The journeyman safety delivered another productive campaign during his second Eagles stint, one which would up lasting only one year.

Despite posting six interceptions and 12 pass deflections en route to helping Philadelphia win the Super Bowl, Gardner-Johnson was traded in March. The Texans acquired him in a deal which saw guard Kenyon Green head the other way with a swap of Day 3 picks also taking place. Finances have been cited on multiple occasions as the key reason why Philadelphia moved forward with the trade.

General manager Howie Roseman noted how several players set to return from the 2024 team are attached to big-ticket contracts. The likes of running back Saquon Barkley and linebacker Zack Baun landed raises this offseason, and their new financial situations will obviously have salary cap implications. Roseman added that creating room for looming extensions which will keep recent draft picks in place was a factor in the decision to move on from Gardner-Johnson.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, meanwhile, recently noted the trade was a “salary cap thing” which he supported. Gardner-Johnson took to social media to offer a rebuke in that case. The 27-year-old has also taken issue with Roseman’s comments on the subject.

“It wasn’t about money,” Gardner-Johnson said (via KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson). “If it was about money, everybody would have been gone. How can I say this? Saquon deserved it. Zack deserved it, but the reasons behind it, the fans don’t deserve the reason. It’s deeper than that.”

Gardner-Johnson is owed $8.5MM in 2025 and another $10.5MM the following year; especially considering his scheduled cap hit for the coming season ($4.91MM), keeping the former fourth-rounder in place for at least one more year would likely not have been challenging for the Eagles. Reed Blankenship will remain a safety starter in 2025, with Sydney Brown and second-round rookie Andrew Mukuba set to compete for a first-team role alongside him during training camp.

In Houston, Gardner-Johnson will be counted on to remain productive against the pass. His 18 career interceptions put him in a tie for eighth in the league since he entered the NFL. Expectations will be high once again for the Texans’ and Eagles’ defenses in 2025, and it will be interesting to see how Gardner-Johnson performs on his latest team and how Philadelphia fares in replacing him.

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