Texans S C.J. Gardner-Johnson Addresses Eagles Departure
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.
Lingering Knee Injury Drove LT Terron Armstead’s Retirement
Retirement was known to be a distinct possibility in Terron Armstead‘s case this offseason well before it became official he will no longer play in the NFL. The 12-year veteran addressed his injury issues and their role in his playing days coming to an end. 
Armstead was consistently one of the league’s top blindside protectors when healthy during his time with the Saints (2013-21) and Dolphins (2022-24). Remaining available proved to be a problem on both teams, however, as he played 10 or fewer games six times in his career. In particular, a knee ailment suffered in 2015 led to lingering problems through the remainder of Armstead’s tenure.
“I’ve been dealing with a knee since my third year in the league,” the 33-year-old said during an appearance on The Nightcap Show (video link). “I didn’t see a practice field at all, and not because I didn’t want to or the Dolphins just wanted me to rest. It’s like I literally couldn’t walk. After a game on Sunday, I wouldn’t be able to walk on my own, under my own power, until Wednesday, Thursday.
“So I was only able to play under the pain meds. I couldn’t put any pressure on my knee, so it was like, I can’t keep doing that to myself.”
Considering Armstead managed to collect five Pro Bowl nods between 2018 and 2023, he was certainly able to maintain a high level of play well after suffering the initial injury. His inability to recover in full makes his decision to hang up his cleats an understandable one, however. The former third-rounder amassed over $115MM in earnings during his NFL tenure.
The Saints’ decision to allow Armstead to depart in free agency in 2022 created a notable vacancy at the left tackle spot. First-round picks have since been used on Trevor Penning (who will shift to guard in 2025) and Taliese Fuaga (who will move to right tackle after operating on the blindside last season). No. 9 pick Kelvin Banks is in position to start at left tackle as a rookie with New Orleans still attempting to find a long-term Armstead replacement.
The Dolphins, meanwhile, will rely on Patrick Paul to handle blindside duties in 2025. Selected in the second round of last year’s draft, Paul made three starts during his rookie season. A strong showing this year would set him up to provide Miami with a left tackle starter for years to come.
Armstead’s plans for his post-playing future are unclear at this point. Needless to say, though, he will aim to move past the issues related to his knee which proved to be prevalent through much of his career.
Giants’ Paulson Adebo Signing Stemmed From Optimistic Recovery Outlook
The most lucrative free agent addition for the Giants this offseason was their deal for cornerback Paulson Adebo. The former Saints starter will be counted on to operate as a key member of his new team’s secondary, having inked a three-year, $54MM pact on the open market. 
The broken leg Adebo suffered midway through the 2024 campaign threatened to hurt his market. Instead, the 25-year-old landed $34.75MM guaranteed at signing by joining the Giants. A large factor in Adebo’s decision to head to New York was the team’s belief in his ability to heal faster than other suitors.
“The Giants were ahead of other teams in that regard,” agent Ryan Tollner told Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com. “They were confident from the get-go.”
Shortly after signing, Adebo said he hoped to be able to return to action in time for OTAs. Other suitors believed an absence closer to one year in length would be in store, but as Novozinsky notes he has indeed been a participant in practices this spring. Provided the former third-rounder can remain healthy through the summer, he will face high expectations for his debut Giants campaign.
Adebo was a full-time starter during each of his four seasons in New Orleans. He totaled 10 interceptions and 43 pass deflections over that span, reaching double-digits in the latter category for each of the past two years. The Stanford product will handle first-team duties on a Giants secondary which also added safety Jevon Holland this spring as the team looks to duplicate its top-10 finish in passing yards allowed from last season.
Given Tollner’s remarks, it is safe to assume a much less lucrative contract would have been in play in this case if not for the Giants’ confidence that Adebo would be fully recovered in time for Week 1. It will be interesting to see if the team’s investment pays off as hoped.
49ers Announce Three Staff Promotions
Earlier this week, the 49ers announced the promotion of three members of their staff, according to Jonthan Jones of CBS Sports. In the personnel department, Tariq Ahmad and R.J. Gillen have both been promoted in the shared role of vice president of player personnel, and in analytics, Matt Ploenzke was elevated into the position of vice president of football research and development.
Ahmad joined the team in 2014 as a scouting assistant, after a collegiate career that saw him serve as an offensive graduate assistant coach at his alma mater, Ithaca College, and as director of football recruiting operations at Rutgers, where he earned his master’s degree. A year later, he was promoted to area scout, holding the role for five seasons before earning another promotion to assistant director of college scouting in 2020. Ahmad would only spend a year in that role, as well, before being named director and serving in that role for three years.
Where Ahmad’s experience is solidly in scouting, Gillen has experience in scouting, law, and technology. Following time as a walk-on athlete at LSU, where he was a part of the 2007 BCS National Championship team, Gillen earned his law degree from Marquette; he’s still a member of the bar in Texas and Wisconsin. His uniquely diverse background helps him in regard to personnel evaluation, roster management, and contract negotiation. Gillen even interned at the Shapiro Negotiations Institute where he assisted in consulting and coaching for NBA, NFL, and MLB front offices. He followed that with a front office internship with the San Antonio Spurs before joining the 49ers in 2015.
In San Francisco, Gillen started as a scouting assistant before getting promoted to pro personnel scout. After five years in that role, he was named director of pro personnel, while Ahmad served in the equal role for college scouting. The two shared the title of director of player personnel for a year last season before earning this joint promotion.
Ploenzke holds two bachelor’s degrees in statistics and economics from the University of Minnestoa, Duluth, and a Ph.D. in biostatistics from Harvard. He logged experience working for the Office of Institutional Research at Minnesota, Duluth, and as a head research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York before turning to football.
After being a part of the winning team in the NFL’s 2020 Big Data Bowl, per Michael Lopez of the NFL’s data & analytics department, Ploenzke joined the 49ers as a football data scientist. He was elevated to manager of football research and development in 2022 and director in 2023. Like Ahmad and Gillen, he, too, now sports the vice president designation for his department.
Former NFL CB Kelvin Joseph Arrested In Fatal Motorcycle Crash
It’s fair to say that former NFL cornerback Kelvin Joseph‘s career did not pan out quite as planned. Unfortunately, the downward trend continued this morning when he was involved in a collision with a motorcycle that resulted in the death of the 27-year-old rider, Cody Morris, per Paul Livengood of WFAA. 
The collision occurred before 5am this morning. When Richardson police arrived, they pronounced the female motorcyclist dead at the scene, believing that no other vehicles were involved in the fatal accident. Around 5:39am, though, the Plano Police Department reported that Joseph called them to inform them that he’d been involved in a crash. Richardson police reached out to Joseph and were able to determine that it was he who had been involved in the accident.
Officers reportedly observed signs of intoxication when speaking with Joseph, and they made the decision to arrest him and charge him with DWI and collision involving personal injury or death. According to NFL Insider Josina Anderson, Joseph will remain in Richardson jail until he faces a judge tomorrow to hear his charges, enter a plea, and set bail.
Joseph’s future once looked much brighter as a second-round pick out of Kentucky. After playing a year at LSU, Joseph’s freshman year ended under suspension after violating team rules. He made the decision to transfer to Kentucky, and after sitting out for a year (as required by the NCAA at the time), Joseph started nine games, logging four interceptions and a pass defensed for the Wildcats. Two years of tape were enough for the Cowboys, who made Joseph their second draft selection in 2021, sandwiching him between Micah Parsons and Osa Odighizuwa as he dropped to the second round because of character concerns.
A mixture of COVID-19 and a groin injury kept him off the field for a good portion of his rookie season, which he spent most of on special teams before starting two of the final three contests of the year. His sophomore campaign was healthier, but he remained a special teamer, only seeing one start and significant time on defense in only four games.
With the emergence of DaRon Bland in 2023, Dallas traded Joseph to Miami in exchange for another struggling, highly drafted cornerback, Noah Igbinoghene. Joseph played a backup role in only four contests before getting waived by the Dolphins. This would start a string of short-term partnerships in which he would sign to and be released from the Seahawks’ practice squad, sign a reserve/futures deal with the Chiefs but get waived, sign to and get released from the Colts’ practice squad twice, and sign to and get released from the Vikings’ practice squad before ultimately signing a deal with the DC Defenders of the United Football League this February. He’d played in nine of the Defenders’ 10 games this season, and the team is preparing to play in the XFL Conference championship tomorrow in St. Louis.
This wasn’t Joseph’s first run-in with the law. Back in 2022, Joseph was questioned as a person of interest in a murder investigation from a shooting that had occurred in March of that year. As it turned out, Joseph was a passenger in the vehicle from which the fatal gunshots were fired, but he was not the shooter. Joseph was never charged or arrested in connection with that incident, but two men from his hometown were.
While Joseph did the right thing in reporting his involvement in the accident, perhaps saving him from charges of fleeing the scene of an accident, his intoxication and the result of the accident could result in jailtime.
We at Pro Football Rumors extend our thoughts and condolences to Cody Morris and the family and friends who survive her.
NFL Contract Notes: Fatukasi, Jackson, Diggs
A month ago, we saw the Texans re-sign defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi to keep him in Houston for the second straight season. After watching the Jaguars terminate his three-year, $30MM deal a year early, Houston added him to the roster last year for only $5.13MM on a one-year contract.
In his second year with the team, Fatukasi has taken a discount to remain a Texan. In 2025, he’ll play on a reduced one-year, $3MM contract, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Wilson adds that the deal includes $1.5MM in guarantees comprised of a $1MM signing bonus and $500K of his base salary (worth $1.5MM in 2025). Fatukaski will represent a $2.82MM hit to Houston’s salary cap. He’ll also have the opportunity to earn an additional $500K over the course of the deal with $29,411 per game active roster bonuses.
Here are a few other interesting contract notes from around the AFC:
- For the second straight offseason, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been absent from team activities in Baltimore. Mike Florio of NBC Sports notes that the absence will reduce Jackson’s 2025 compensation $750K from $43.5MM to $42.75MM. The reduction is a result of Jackson not fulfilling a clause to participate in 27 of 32 team workouts. Obviously, over the course of a five-year, $260MM deal, one would hardly notice a $1.5MM drop over two years, but he may not be without it for long. As rumors begin to form focusing on a new extension to keep Jackson in line with the constantly inflating market, the $1.5MM bonuses would be an easy throw-in somewhere within the likely $60+MM per year deal.
- Jackson isn’t alone losing out on money this offseason. Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs and Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs each decided to surrender their bonuses in order to work out together in Miami this summer, per Ben Volin of The Boston Globe. Dallas will avoid paying Diggs $500K due to the absence. Volin posits that New England likely didn’t expect to see Diggs in workouts this summer, noting that, if they had wanted to see him there, they could have offered him more than the $200K he’s now missing out on. Following a bit of controversy in Miami, he’s now present in New England and should be at mandatory minicamp this week.
Xavier Worthy Could Take Over As Chiefs’ PR
2024 first-rounder Xavier Worthy established himself as a dynamic offensive playmaker as a rookie, and the Chiefs are hoping he can translate that into success on special teams this season.
“He’s the best punt returner nobody knows about right now in the league,” said special teams coordinator Dave Toub (via Ed Easton Jr. of Chiefs Wire).
Kansas City originally planned for Worthy to be their primary punt returner last season before Rashee Rice‘s injury pressed the rookie into a full-time role on offense. Worthy dazzled with 742 yards and nine touchdowns on 79 touches during the regular season before pacing the league in the playoffs with 19 receptions for 287 yards and three touchdowns. He finished the year without a single snap on special teams, though he had experience returning punts in college. The former Texas Longhorn led the SEC with 22 returns, 371 yards, and 16.9 yards per return in 2023.
Toub is expecting a “great battle” for the Chiefs’ punt returning job this summer. Other contenders include 2024 UDFA wide receiver Nikko Remigio, who took over the role after Mecole Hardman landed on injured reserve in December, and rookie running back Brashard Smith, who only returned five punts in college but has a strong history as a kick returner.
“Remigio continues to get better, and he will be a hard guy to beat out,” said Toub, who praised the second-year wideout’s “ball reads” and “catching ability.” Remigio returned 14 punts for 161 yards as a rookie across the Chiefs’ final eight games of the year (including the postseason).
Toub also mentioned Smith’s “top-end speed” as a reason for his candidacy. The 22-year old ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the Combine after racked up 1,295 kick return yards in his four college seasons, including an ACC-high 579 yards and 29.0 YPR while at Miami in 2023.
WR Chris Conley Announces Retirement
After a decade in the NFL, wide receiver Chris Conley is retiring to pursue a post-playing career as a filmmaker, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“When I was a kid I wrote down a set of goals,” wrote Conley on Instagram (via KRPC2’s Aaron Wilson). “On that list was ‘Play 10 years in the NFL.’ Now that this goal has been accomplished it’s time to set sights on something new.”
Conley’s “something new” is film school at his alma mater, the University of Georgia, where he was a student filmmaker in addition to his pursuit of a journalism degree and his football career, per his LinkedIn profile. His YouTube page features multiple short films, including a “Star Wars” fan film entitled “Retribution.” Conley also worked as a stuntman during his time in the NFL, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The 32-year-old played for five different teams in his career, most recently the 49ers in 2023 and 2024. Originally a 2015 third-round pick out of Georgia, Conley started 34 games for the Chiefs on his rookie contract before signing with the Jaguars in 2019. He posted career-highs of 47 catches and 775 yards during his first year in Jacksonville, but took a clear step back in 2020.
Conley signed with the Texans in 2021 and posted 22 catches for 232 yards in 16 appearances (10 starts). In the three years since, he’s only made 13 catches for 191 yards across 32 games for the Texans, Titans, and 49ers. He retires with 226 receptions for 2,998 yards and 15 touchdowns across 132 games played and 65 starts. Conley’s career earnings fell just shy of $16MM across his 10 years as a pro.
“The past 10 years have been a dream,” continued Conley’s retirement announcement. “Getting the opportunity to play in the league was an honor and whether it was catching touchdowns or blocking for them I truly gave it my all.”
Bengals Yet To Offer $35MM Per Year To Trey Hendrickson
Well into the 2025 offseason, the Trey Hendrickson situation remains far from resolved. A trade sending the reigning NFL sack leader away from the Bengals is not expected by those around the league, but it remains to be seen if an extension agreement will be worked out. 
Hendrickson’s efforts to land a lucrative new pact last spring were unsuccessful, and his trade request did not result in talks with interested teams taking place. This time around, the situation changed with the Bengals allowing the All-Pro to seek a trade. Cincinnati set a high asking price, and multiple offers were turned down as an illustration of the team’s desire to keep him in place for at least one more year.
Talks on a long-term pact have not gone according to plan, and both team and player have gone public with their remarks on the state of negotiations. A holdout is a possibility at this point (as is usually the case in at least a few situations around the league this time of year), and Hendrickson himself said last month talks are on hold. Finances will of course be critical in determining how this situation unfolds.
The top of the edge rush market now sits at $40MM annually. While Hendrickson would be hard-pressed to match the value of Myles Garrett‘s new deal, he could aim for one closer to the $35MM-per-season mark. The likes of Danielle Hunter, Maxx Crosby and Nick Bosa are each near that figure, and Hendrickson could look to join them. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated writes, however, that the Bengals have yet to offer a deal with an AAV at or around $35MM.
As things stand, Hendrickson is due to collect $16MM in 2025 as a result of the short-term arrangement previously made with the team. The 30-year-old faced the opportunity of playing his way into a much more valuable pact last season, and he certainty did so by posting 17.5 sacks for the second straight season. That total helped earn him a fourth straight Pro Bowl nod and brought his Bengals total to 57 in 63 games. A notable raise is in store, but it remains to be seen how far into a new pact the team will be willing to go with respect to guaranteed compensation.
Quarterback Joe Burrow has maintained his support for a Hendrickson extension this offseason, and Breer predicts a deal will ultimately be worked out. Plenty of work remains in this case, though, and it will be interesting to see if the Bengals up their offer when negotiations pick up and if doing so helps to facilitate an agreement.
Poll: Which WR Trade Will Prove Most Beneficial?
The 2025 offseason has seen a number of high-profile receivers change teams via free agency. The likes of Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp and DeAndre Hopkins have undertaken a change of scenery so far. The same will also soon be true of Keenan Allen and Amari Cooper. 
This spring has also provided notable moves at the position via trade, however. A total of four swaps including wideouts have taken place in 2025; in three of those cases, the player included in the deal changed teams for the first time in their career. For all squads involved, the outcome of the trades will be key in determining their success this season and beyond.
March began with the 49ers sending Deebo Samuel to the Commanders. That deal – which yielded a fifth-round pick in return – came when team and player mutually agreed a parting ways was in order. Samuel had previously requested a trade, but his 2022 extension allowed him to remain in San Francisco. The 29-year-old has been unable to duplicate the production from his All-Pro campaign in 2021 when he showcased his receiving and rushing abilities.
Between a downturn in output and the massive extension which was (eventually) worked out with Brandon Aiyuk last offseason, many expected 2024 would be Samuel’s final year in the Bay Area. Shortly after the season ended, it became clear the Commanders were among the teams pursuing the former Pro Bowler. For at least one year (since he is a pending 2026 free agent), Samuel will offer the Commanders a veteran secondary WR option to complement perennial 1,000-yard performer Terry McLaurin.
Samuel saw his base salary for this year guaranteed via a restructure upon arrival in Washington. $3MM in incentives are present as well, adding to his earning potential on a Commanders team looking to replicate its surprising offensive success from 2024. The 49ers, meanwhile, will move forward with Aiyuk. Jauan Jennings and a number of younger options capable of handling at least a depth receiver role.
Christian Kirk initially appeared to be a cap casualty for the Jaguars this offseason. Instead of cutting the former Cardinal, however, the team’s new regime traded him inside the division to the Texans. A seventh-round pick in next year’s draft prevented Houston from having to win a bidding war for his services. Just like Samuel, Kirk restructured his contract shortly after being acquired.
The 28-year-old is also a pending free agent, so he too could prove to be a rental. Nico Collins will remain WR1 for the Texans in 2025, but the loss of Stefon Diggs and the likelihood of Tank Dell missing considerable time while recovering from multiple knee surgeries will give Kirk a notable role on his new team. Mentioned as a Steelers trade deadline target last fall, the former second-rounder saw his production decline over each of his three Jaguars seasons. Kirk should nevertheless be able to operate as a useful deep threat as the Texans transition to new offensive coordinator Nick Caley.
The skill positions have undergone many changes in Jacksonville this offseason. Kirk’s trade was accompanied by the decision to cut wideout/returner Devin Duvernay, along with Gabe Davis. With Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram also no longer in the picture, first-year head coach Liam Coen will have a number of new pass catchers in place for 2025. The success of that new group will be a key talking point.
Even before March, D.K. Metcalf’s Seahawks future was uncertain. A desire to land a second extension (putting him near the top of the position’s market) paved the way for a trade request. General manager John Schneider later said finances were not at the heart of the decision to pull off a trade, noting the two-time Pro Bowler’s strong desire to move on. Seattle’s asking price originally included a first-round pick, but that was soon lowered. 
In the end, a second-round selection (in addition to a swap of Day 3 selections) proved to be sufficient for the Steelers to acquire Metcalf. The trade was immediately followed by a four-year, $132MM extension agreement. As a result of that pact, Metcalf, 27, met his known goal of joining the list of receivers earning at least $30MM per season on average. His AAV of $33MM ranks fourth at the position.
As Seattle moves forward with a receiver group centered on Kupp (who was added on a homecoming deal following his Rams release) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Pittsburgh will rely heavily on Metcalf for 2025 and beyond. Questions loom about Pittsburgh’s 2025 quarterback starter and his upside, but expectations will be high for in Metcalf’s case as a player who has posted no fewer than 900 yards in each of his six NFL seasons.
At first, the Metcalf addition seemed to put the Steelers in place to pair him with George Pickens for at least one campaign. The latter found himself on the move one month ago, however. Pickens was dealt to the Cowboys in exchange for a third-round pick in next year’s draft (with late-round selections in the 2027 event being exchanged as well).
Pickens – who did not request to be moved – has one year remaining on his rookie contract. The 24-year-old is not aiming to sign a Cowboys extension at this point, so much will depend on his performance with his new team. Of course, this situation will also contain plenty of scrutiny in terms of maturity and locker room fit in Dallas. Issues on those fronts led to an ambivalence among many Steelers with respect to Pickens’ departure.
The Cowboys did not draft a first-round receiver as many thought they would, but adding Pickens will provide the team with a high-potential CeeDee Lamb counterpart. A strong showing from that tandem will help Pickens’ market value on a re-signing or a long-term arrangement with a third team. For Pittsburgh, meanwhile, Metcalf’s supporting cast faces questions (although another pass-catching addition is being explored). The Steelers’ decision to make one lucrative investment at any given time in a receiver is common enough, but the impact of replacing Pickens with Metcalf will be felt in 2025 as well as future years.
Keeping in mind the prices paid in these trades and the other receiver-related moves made by the teams who parted ways with those involved in the swaps, which do you think will work out the best? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and have your say in the comments section below.