Latest On Bengals’ Standoffs With Trey Hendrickson, Shemar Stewart
JUNE 15: The Bengals have reopened contract talks with Hendrickson, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. While that is no guarantee that a deal will get done, Hendrickson has criticized the team for the lack of communication in the past, so this would appear to be a positive step in negotiations.
JUNE 14: There is no end in sight to the Bengals’ dual contract standoffs. First-round pick Shemar Stewart left Cincinnati on the last day of mandatory minicamp, while All-Pro Trey Hendrickson remains away from the team as he fights for a new deal.
Hendrickson is “very much dug in on his position” and will not sign a one-year extension, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via the Rich Eisen Show). The veteran edge rusher is not seeking to eclipse Myles Garrett‘s $40MM APY, but wants something just above $35MM per year in the range of Maxx Crosby and Danielle Hunter. Hendrickson is also looking for a stronger commitment from the Bengals in terms of length and guaranteed money.
Stewart, meanwhile, remains steadfast in his opposition to a specific clause that would void the remaining guarantees in his contract if he were to default in one year. That language is different than the contracts offered to the Bengals’ last two first-round picks, but it is the same as the majority of first-round picks around the league, including the players drafted right before and after Stewart, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. At least one person inside the organization believes that the language used with Amarius Mims and Myles Murphy would have the desired voiding effect in case of a default, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
The Bengals have options to end both disputes. They could obviously change the terms of Stewart’s deal to match those of Mims and Murphy, or they could offer him something elsewhere in the contract. Given that first-round picks all have fully-guaranteed deals with preset slot values, Cincinnati’s options in that regard are slightly limited. They could give Stewart more of his money up front via an accelerated payment schedule for his signing bonus or bigger training camp roster bonuses.
For Hendrickson, the Bengals will have to meet his demands in some form or fashion. He is currently set to earn $16MM in non-guaranteed money this year, which will not be enough to get him on the field. A two-year extension worth $71.5MM would slightly outpace Crosby and Hunter, and guaranteeing his 2025 and 2026 compensation should get him upwards of $50MM in guaranteed money.
It’s unclear if that would get a deal done, but Pelissero said that the Bengals have “talked about a variety of options over the past several weeks.” He still expects the two sides to reach an agreement on multi-year extension, but there’s no timeline to getting a deal done.
Packers Announce Scouting Promotions
Earlier this week, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst announced four promotions and a new hire to the team’s scouting department. Mike Owen was promoted from college scout to national scout, Daric Whipple and Sam Fleming were both promoted from scouting assistant to pro scout, Connor Koch has been promoted from scouting intern to northeast area scout, and Dan Zegers has been hired as scouting coordinator.
Owen is the longest-tenured of the staffers receiving new titles. He first joined the team in 2012 as a college scout, holding the role for all of the past 13 years. Throughout his time in Green Bay, he’s covered different areas, but the last 10 seasons were spent covering the northeast region and parts of the mid-Atlantic region. Koch will now cover the northeast area vacated by Owen. He earns the role after just one season as a scouting intern.
Whipple joined the team as a scouting assistant in 2023. He came to scouting straight after concluding his collegiate career as a wide receiver at Iowa State and Northern Iowa. Fleming, also a collegiate wide receiver at Samford, first worked as a player personnel assistant for the Bulldogs when his playing career concluded. He was elevated to director of football operations the following year. From 2021 to 2024, Fleming also earned experience as a scouting assistant for the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. After a successful 2023 training camp scouting internship in Green Bay, Fleming was brought back as a scouting assistant alongside Whipple. The two will continue to share a title in 2025 as pro scouts.
Zegers is actually reuniting with the Packers. He originally worked with the team as a 14-year-old equipment assistant in 2004. At 17 years old, Zegers began helping out in the team’s scouting department, as well. He left in 2013 to get experience as a personnel assistant for the Chiefs, holding the role for four years before earning a promotion to college scouting coordinator. In 2018, Zegers joined the Browns as their personnel coordinator, getting promoted to area scout in 2020. He most recently worked as the midwest area scout in Cleveland, but he’ll return to Green Bay in 2025 after being away from the team for 12 years.
Shaq Thompson Unlikely To Start For Bills
New Bills linebacker Shaq Thompson has been a full-time starter for most of his career. A veteran of 10 years, Thompson started double-digit games in each of his first eight seasons and entered each of his last two seasons as the starter, as well. For the first time in his career, though, it’s considered likely that Thompson will consistently be coming off the bench throughout the 2025 NFL season, per Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic. 
This week saw Thompson reunited with his former defensive coordinator in Carolina — now Bills head coach — Sean McDermott and a man who helped in drafting him to Carolina, Bills general manager Brandon Beane. That familiarity with McDermott’s system will almost certainly help the 31-year-old defender earn a role on the defense, but Buscaglia posits that Thompson’s ceiling could be as LB4 on the depth chart.
In 2025, Buffalo hopes it will see the return of three healthy starters in Matt Milano and Dorian Williams on the outside and Terrel Bernard in the middle, and per Buscaglia, the three “all seem relatively entrenched in their spots.” To be fair to Thompson’s chances, though, none of them had very good individual performances in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). PFF graded Williams as the best of the three, ranking him at 61st out of 84 players graded at the position. Milano came in at 73rd, while Bernard slotted in at 80th.
To be fair to Williams, Milano, and Bernard, though, the three only got four games together in the regular season. Once they got to the playoffs, the three worked extremely well together in slowing down a potent Ravens offense to advance to an AFC Championship matchup with the Chiefs.
If Thompson can get back to his pre-injury level of play, though, there’s certainly a chance he can earn some starting time, should any of the current first-team stumble. That’s a big if, though. With his 2023 season ending due to a fibula fracture and his 2024 campaign cut short due to a torn Achilles tendon, it’s been nearly two years since we’ve seen Thompson at his best. Primarily an outside linebacker during his time in Carolina, Thompson could push the weak link in the rankings, Bernard, by shifting inside for some potential playing time, as well.
Ultimately, Thompson will need to show he’s healthy, and he’ll need to show that he still is capable of running in McDermott’s defense, but Thompson has every chance at making the roster and earning a strong role. Turning that strong role into a starting one may be a tougher task for Thompson to tackle.
AFC Workouts: Snead, Texans, Mims
Willie Snead hasn’t seen much success in the NFL since his departure from Baltimore following the 2020 season. The 32-year-old veteran receiver bounced around over the next two years, splitting his 2021 campaign between the Raiders and Panthers before spending two seasons in San Francisco. After an injury placed him on the Dolphins’ injured reserve in last year’s preseason, resulting in him getting cut and sitting out the entire season, Snead is attempting a comeback with a recent tryout with the Chargers.
Los Angeles attempted to improve their receiving corps this offseason through the draft with additions like Ole Miss’ Tre Harris in the second round and Auburn’s KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the fifth. Their top returning wideouts from last year include Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, and Derius Davis, and an aging Mike Williams has returned after a year away. The team hosted Snead for a veteran tryout earlier this week, per ESPN’s Kris Rhim.
Adding Snead would provide some veteran depth to the group. Though he had some resurgent seasons catching balls from Lamar Jackson in Baltimore, he was never able to reach the heights of his surprising first two campaigns in New Orleans. Since leaving the Ravens, his production has been minimal, so it will likely take a stellar tryout to convince the next team to sign him.
Here are a few more workout updates from around the AFC:
- The Texans continue to work out cornerbacks as the offseason carries on. After the team hosted former Raiders first-round pick Damon Arnette on Monday, Houston welcomed Duke Shelley and Keenan Isaac in the days after, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Shelley, a six-year veteran, has 11 starts in his career over time with the Bears and Vikings. The last two years, though, have seen him relegated to specials teams with the Rams and the practice squad of the Giants. Isaac, a former undrafted signee for Tampa Bay in 2023, spent this past United Football League season with Arnette on the Houston Roughnecks.
- Lastly, the Browns worked out former Saints running back Jordan Mims, per Wilson. With a deep, young group of rushers already on the roster, Mims potential signing would add some camp depth with the possibility of him contributing on special teams as a returner.
Bucs’ Jacob Parrish Could Start At Nickel
Buccaneers cornerback Jacob Parrish took first-team reps in the slot during spring practices, per FOX Sports’ Greg Auman, giving the third-round pick a chance at a starting role as a rookie.
Parrish played the vast majority of his college snaps at Kansas State on the boundary, but his 5-foot-10 height led some draft experts to predict a move to the slot in the pros. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles pushed back on those projections during rookie minicamp, saying (via Auman) that Parrish is “an outside corner first and then a nickel second.”
But as the team’s secondary has taken shape this spring, Parrish has emerged as a potential starting nickelback. Tampa Bay largely used safeties in the slot last season, led by 2024 third-rounder Tykee Smith with 2023 UDFA Christian Izien and veteran Jordan Whitehead in rotational roles. Smith is expected to play a more traditional safety role this season, and the Buccaneers allowed Whitehead to hit free agency in March.
That leaves Izien as the primary candidate to compete with Parrish to start in the slot, a job he won out of training camp as an undrafted rookie in 2023. Izien played a more versatile role last year, but struggled in his 205 snaps at nickel, allowing 1.75 yards per coverage snap, the fourth-highest among all defenders with at least 100 snaps in the slot, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
The Buccaneers are returning both of their starting outside cornerbacks from last season, so Parrish will not be needed on the boundary (barring an injury). With the slot open, Tampa Bay could get him on the field as a rookie and keep Izien as a multi-positional backup at safety and nickel.
Colts LB Jaylon Carlies Expected To Start
The Colts are expecting second-year linebacker Jaylon Carlies to take over a starting role under new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
The team let veteran E.J. Speed walk this offseason and could not find a replacement in free agency or the draft, according to Joel Erickson of The Indianapolis Star.
Instead, Colts general manager Chris Ballard said (via Erickson) that Carlies “can really ascend” in 2025 after completing a transition from college safety to NFL linebacker as a rookie. The 2024 fifth-round pick started six games and appeared in four more, playing a total of 353 snaps across defense and special teams. Carlies did not stuff the stat sheet, but he was reliable in the open field with just two missed tackles all year.
The 23-year-old’s health will be a key factor in his push for a starting job. Carlies missed seven games last year with a leg injury, and shoulder surgery earlier this offseason sidelined him for spring practices, delaying his acclimation to the team’s new defensive scheme. However, as Erickson notes, Carlies’ history as a defensive back at Missouri could make him an excellent fit for Anarumo’s matchup-driven system.
“If the offense puts out a certain personnel group, you want to be able to match it with what they’re doing. Especially on third down,” explained Anarumo (via Erickson), adding, “putting linebackers on tight ends is not ideal for the defense.”
Anarumo’s philosophy could lead to a three-down role for Carlies in 2025. He may be listed as a linebacker, but he has the length and speed of a safety, which could help him cover NFL tight ends. More than 60% of his rookie snaps on defense came against the run, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), though he earned a team-high 83.1 grade on his 86 coverage snaps, indicating he has more to contribute to the Colts’ pass defense.
Carlies is expected to be ready for training camp, where he will likely take first-team reps alongside Zaire Franklin with minimal competition from a thin Colts linebacker room.
Iowa Hires Scott Pioli As Consultant
Scott Pioli, thrice recognized as a PFWA Executive of the Year for his NFL work, is now part of a growing trend that has seen college programs hire former NFLers. Per Scott Dochterman of The Athletic (subscription required), Iowa is hiring Pioli to serve as a consultant.
Pioli, 60, began his executive career as a pro personnel assistant with the iteration of the Browns that eventually moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens. In 2000 – the year that Tom Brady was drafted and Bill Belichick was hired – Pioli joined the Patriots as New England’s assistant director of player personnel. Of course, the eventual Belichick/Brady dynasty created a rising tide that lifted the boats of many execs and coaches, and Pioli was no exception.
From 2002-08, Pioli served as the Pats’ vice president of player personnel, a stretch in which the club advanced to four Super Bowls and won three of them. That success earned him two of the above-referenced Executive of the Year awards and a job as the Chiefs’ general manager in 2009.
Pioli’s tenure atop Kansas City’s front office did not go particularly well. Shortly after he was hired, he swung a trade for former Brady backup Matt Cassel, who had played well in relief of Brady in 2008 (the trade also sent former Patriots linebacker and current New England head coach Mike Vrabel to Missouri). Pioli then authorized a lucrative extension for Cassel before he ever played a snap for KC, but the USC product was mostly unable to replicate his Foxborough success as a member of the Chiefs.
Kansas City posted losing records in three of Pioli’s four seasons at the helm (with the one exception being a 10-6 2010 campaign in which Cassel posted a career-high 93.0 QB rating and led the team to a playoff berth). After a disastrous 2012 slate that culminated in a 2-14 record, Pioli was fired.
He did not have to wait long for his next opportunity, landing a job as the Falcons’ assistant GM in 2014. He held that role through the 2019 NFL draft and resigned in May 2019.
Atlanta advanced to Super Bowl LI during Pioli’s time with the club, famously losing that matchup with the Patriots despite leading 28-3 at one point. The Falcons made it back to the playoffs the following year before stumbling to a 7-9 record in 2018, leading to reports that owner Arthur Blank had become frustrated with the direction of his franchise. Pioli described his 2019 resignation as a voluntary one, though Blank’s reported concerns and the fact that Pioli did not have another opportunity lined up following his resignation created plenty of skepticism in that regard.
Pioli was floated as a GM candidate for several openings in the years following his Falcons departure and even interviewed for the Lions’ post that ultimately went to Brad Holmes in 2021. He has not been on the interview circuit since then, however.
With his professional opportunities seemingly exhausted, it stands to reason that Pioli would turn his attention to the college ranks. And, given the landmark House v. NCAA settlement that has completely transformed the collegiate landscape, it is likewise logical for college programs to seek executives who are familiar with a finance-driven approach to roster construction.
The House settlement allows colleges up to $20.5MM to pay their student athletes across all sports. Football will command the bulk of such payments, and according to Dochterman, Iowa plans to use its full $20.5MM “cap,” roughly 75% of which will go to football players.
Pioli has a close relationship with Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz that dates back to the duo’s time together in Cleveland/Baltimore from 1992-96. He joins former NFL mainstays like Andrew Luck, Ron Rivera, Michael Lombardi, Pat Stewart, and Nick Polk, who have all transitioned to the college level.
Chiefs’ Rookie Josh Simmons To Start At LT If Healthy?
JUNE 15: Apparently, Simmons is the Chiefs’ preferred left tackle for 2025, provided he can return to full health. ESPN’s Adam Teicher says if the rookie is a full participant in this week’s minicamp, that will bode well for his chances of opening the season as Patrick Mahomes‘ Week 1 blindside blocker. Teicher says Moore will only step in at LT if Simmons is unable to play.
JUNE 8: After falling just short of a Super Bowl three-peat, the Chiefs were forced to reckon with how much the team that did win the Super Bowl dominated them in the trenches. As a result, Kansas City’s first three picks in the draft and its biggest free agent signing all addressed the offensive and defensive lines. Their top overall draft pick, though, is likely not expected to be a main contributor to start the 2025 season, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. 
The Chiefs traded back a spot and utilized the final pick of the first round on Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons. Simmons started his collegiate career at San Diego State, starting every game of his redshirt freshman season at right tackle before transferring to Columbus. He immediately stepped in as the Buckeyes starting left tackle in 2023, and even though he missed 10 games last year, he still earned All-Big Ten honorable mention.
Part of the reason Simmons is not expected to start in Week 1 is because of what caused him to miss 10 games last year. Projected to be in contention for the honor of top lineman in the draft, Simmons draft stock took a hit when he suffered a ruptured patellar tendon only six games into the season. Apart from how challenging it can be for a rookie to adjust to the NFL game, Breer notes that that kind of knee injury can be harder for big men to come back from than a torn ACL.
Add in the fact that the Chief’s biggest free agent signing this offseason was former 49ers backup offensive tackle Jaylon Moore, and the team’s plans start to become clear. Moore came to Kansas City on a two-year, $30MM deal after four years in San Francisco, where he served as a swing tackle who started games in place of Trent Williams and others. Over the course of his rookie contract, Moore played in 55 games but started only 12 of them.
The beauty of signing Moore to a two-year deal is that it will likely serve two purposes. In 2025, Moore is expected to man the starting left tackle spot across from Jawaan Taylor. This will allow Simmons to take his time to recover to full health and catch up to the speed of the NFL game with no pressure. The second purpose was hinted at over a month ago, when head coach Andy Reid expressed the team’s view that Moore could play multiple positions on the offensive line. Considering he’s never played at snap at guard in the NFL, the presumption, then, is that Reid means he can play both left and right tackle.
After the 2025 season, Taylor’s contract contains a potential out that reduces his dead cap money from $34.78MM if cut in 2025 to $7.39MM if cut in the next league year. One could imagine, Breer posits, that Kansas City would be able to free up $20MM of cap space, move Moore from left to right tackle, and let Simmons take over at left tackle in 2026.
So, sure, Simmons isn’t expected to start Week 1 in 2025, but that also doesn’t exactly mean that he’ll be redshirting his rookie year. Once he’s fully healthy, the Chiefs will likely try to work Simmons into the line somehow. Maybe they’ll start him out on the interior, or they could shift Moore inside, if Reid really meant what he said about multiple positions, and allow Simmons to get accustomed to the starting spot on the blind side. Either way, the plan for Simmons is likely focused much further out than Week 1 of the upcoming season.
49ers Notes: Farrell, Pinnock, Huff, Lenoir
While the 49ers managed to work out new deals for QB Brock Purdy, LB Fred Warner, and TE George Kittle well in advance of training camp, the club was forced to part with a number of other talented players over the past several months due to its cap constraints (exacerbated by the impending extension for Purdy). Similarly, San Francisco was unable to make any major splashes in free agency, and its biggest offseason commitment to external talent is the three-year, $15.75MM deal it authorized for blocking tight end Luke Farrell.
Farrell, a 2021 fifth-rounder who just played out his rookie contract with the Jaguars, has never recorded more than 155 receiving yards in a season. Still, Niners HC Kyle Shanahan’s offense asks its tight ends to do a great deal of blocking, so it is not terribly surprising that the team ponied up a notable pact for a player like Farrell.
Farrell suggests the Niners were easily the most generous of his prospective suitors.
“The Niners wanted to work fast,” Farrell said (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). “And they were far and away the best opportunity as far as what they were offering. So it was, at the end of the day, kind of a no-brainer.”
Farrell’s role may not be as extensive as it appeared when he signed his deal, as the 49ers reunited with fullback Kyle Juszczyk shortly after bringing Farrell aboard. Nonetheless, the former Jaguar should see considerable playing time, and the hope is that his presence will allow Kittle to spend less time blocking and more time running routes.
On the defensive side of the ball, rising second-year safety Malik Mustapha is unlikely to be on the field for the beginning of the 2025 campaign since he suffered a torn ACL in the Niner’s regular season finale in 2024. As such, free agent addition Jason Pinnock is a frontrunner to start at safety (perhaps alongside Ji’Ayir Brown), per Matt Barrows of The Athletic (subscription required).
Barrows describes Pinnock as the most physically impressive safety San Francisco has rostered in some time, and the former Jets draftee is familiar with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s system since Saleh was New York’s head coach when Pinnock entered the league in 2021. Pinnock was waived in advance of the 2022 season, but Saleh said that was not a reflection of the player’s abilities. Pinnock — who was claimed by the Giants after being waived and then spent the next three seasons with Big Blue — had just converted to safety from corner, and he was simply unable to beat out the Jets’ other safeties at the time.
“But I’ve always been a fan of his athleticism, his length, his football IQ,” Saleh said. “He’s a really good football player, and just being with him over the course of the first couple of months, he’s grown significantly from a maturity standpoint, and he’s attacked the heck out of it. He’s going for it.”
Another former Jet, Bryce Huff, recently came to the Bay Area by way of a trade with the Eagles. Though Huff did not live up to expectations after signing a lucrative contract with Philadelphia last March, the Niners will not be taking him out of his comfort zone.
While Eagles DC Vic Fangio’s scheme requires a fair amount of versatility from its edge defenders, Huff thrived as a rotational pass rusher as part of Saleh’s Jets defense in 2023. Despite appearing in just 42% of the team’s snaps that year, Huff posted 10 sacks and 21 quarterback hits, which helped create his robust free agent market last offseason. According to Barrows, San Francisco will deploy Huff as a dedicated third-down pass rush specialist, which is how the team utilized Dee Ford in his first season with the 49ers in 2019.
That usage will mean less snaps for rookie Mykel Williams. However, Barrows believes Williams can make up for that loss of reps with more looks as an interior pass rusher.
Like Purdy, Warner, and Kittle, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir is a recent recipient of a healthy new contract, having landed a five-year, $92MM extension in November. The 2021 fifth-rounder (taken 27 picks after Farrell) has split time between boundary corner and nickel corner over the past two seasons, but he could be permitted to focus his efforts on the boundaries in 2025.
As Jerry McDonald of the Santa Cruz Sentinel writes, Lenoir primarily lined up outside the numbers during the practice reps that were open to the media this spring. If third-round rookie Upton Stout proves capable of manning the slot, Lenoir could continue to operate as an outside corner opposite 2024 second-rounder Renardo Green.
Broncos, RB J.K. Dobbins Were In Contact Since March
The Broncos recently signed running back J.K. Dobbins to a one-year contract worth $2.75MM, with an additional $2.5MM incentive package. Although the two sides just came to terms several days ago, there was mutual interest since free agency opened in March.
Per Luca Evans of the Denver Post, the Broncos made contact with Dobbins’ camp at the outset of free agency and stayed in touch over the next several months. Similarly, Dobbins – who played against defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s unit as a member of the Chargers last year and who lauded his new club’s O-line and quarterback Bo Nix – said joining Denver was a “no-brainer.”
Though he is only 26, Dobbins is now far and away the most seasoned player in Denver’s RB room, which also features second-round rookie R.J. Harvey, 2024 fifth-rounder Audric Estime, and 2023 UDFA Jaleel McLaughlin. The overall underperformance of the club’s running backs in 2024, along with the free agency departure of Javonte Williams, led many to believe the Broncos would target the position on Day 1 of April’s draft.
UNC back Omarion Hampton was frequently mocked to Denver and its No. 20 overall pick. Instead, the Broncos chose a defensive player in Texas corner Jahdae Barron, and while they reportedly would have targeted Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson in a trade-down maneuver from the No. 20 spot, they clearly did not receive an offer tempting enough to relinquish the opportunity to select Barron.
In theory, the club could have moved up from its No. 51 slot to nab Henderson – who eventually went to the Patriots with the No. 38 pick – but Troy Renck of the Denver Post believes the Broncos eschewed that route largely because they knew they had Dobbins “in their back pocket.” Ultimately, Denver traded down twice from their No. 51 position to land Harvey at No. 60 overall.
Dobbins appears to have wanted to sign with Denver all along, and he was merely waiting for them (or, presumably, a different team with a clear RB opening) to hit his price point. Nick Chubb’s one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Texans helped crystallize Dobbins’ market, and he put pen to paper on his Broncos deal shortly after Chubb officially joined his new team.
Dobbins admitted there was some urgency to the deal as a result of the Chargers’ decision to hit him with the UFA tender. If Dobbins had not signed a contract with a different club by July 22, the Bolts would have regained exclusive negotiating rights with him, and he theoretically could have been forced to play out the 2025 campaign on the $1.1MM tender (though Los Angeles did make him what was described as a “pretty decent” offer before he elected to join the Broncos).
While the Chargers added Najee Harris in free agency and selected Hampton in the first round of the 2025 draft (just two picks after Barron came off the board), keeping Dobbins in the fold would not have broken the bank and would have given the team a deep and intriguing collection of RB talent. But from Dobbins’ perspective, Denver clearly presents a better opportunity.
Renck believes Dobbins will be ticketed for a starting role from the jump, as he says Harvey will “ideally” begin sharing early-down snaps with his new teammate by the middle of October. That said, Harvey was not a consensus second-round talent, so if Dobbins can stay healthy – which has been difficult for him since he suffered a torn ACL in a preseason game in 2021, his second year in the league – he could see the lion’s share of carries throughout the 2025 season.
Dobbins missed four games due to a MCL strain in 2024, his first and only season with the Chargers. Still, he tallied 905 yards and nine TDs on a strong 4.6 yards-per-carry average, and his 27 runs of 10+ yards was the 11th-highest total in the league. After playing in just one game the year prior, Dobbins finished second in Comeback Player of the Year voting in 2024 (behind Bengals QB Joe Burrow).