NFC Contract Details: Cards, Falcons, Panthers, Bears, Lions, Pack, Rams, Saints, Eagles, Hawks, Commanders
Here are the details on a boatload of contracts that NFC teams have given out in recent weeks. Unless specified otherwise, all information is courtesy of Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2:
Arizona Cardinals
- Jack Gibbens, LB (two years, $7.5MM): Gibbens joined the Cardinals for a guaranteed $4.5MM, per Mike Reiss of ESPN. His deal includes cap charges of $3.73MM and $4.03MM.
- Andrew Billings, DT (one year, $2.4MM): Billings received a $1.55MM salary, $700K in guarantees and a $350K signing bonus.
- Oli Udoh, OL (one year, $1.4MM): Udoh will make $1.22MM in salary, $350K in guarantees and a $50K signing bonus, according to Howard Balzer of Cardinals Wire.
Atlanta Falcons
- Da’Shawn Hand, DT (one year, $3MM): The Falcons gave Hand a matching $1.5MM salary and signing bonus.
- Chris Williams, DL (one year, $2MM): Williams landed a $1.5MM salary and a $500K signing bonus.
- Azeez Ojulari, OLB (one year, $1.4MM): Ojulari’s pact comes with a $1.22MM salary, $387,500 in guarantees and a signing bonus of $187,500.
Carolina Panthers
- Sam Martin, P (two years, $3.75MM): Martin’s contract includes $2MM in guarantees, salaries of $1.3MM and $1.55MM, and a $750K signing bonus.
- Nick Scott, S (one year, $2MM): Scott re-upped with the Panthers for a deal worth up to $3.25MM. It comes with a $1.3MM salary, $1.1MM in guarantees and a $505K signing bonus.
Chicago Bears
- Elijah Hicks, S (one year, $2.6MM): Hicks pulled in a $2.41MM salary, $1.69MM in guarantees and a $187,500 signing bonus.
Detroit Lions
- D.J. Wonnum, DE (one year, $3MM): Wonnum received $2.27MM in guarantees, a $1.37MM salary and a $900K signing bonus.
- Rock Ya-Sin, CB (one year, $3.2MM): Ya-Sin is staying in Detroit for $2.64MM in guarantees, a $1.64MM salary and a $1MM signing bonus.
Green Bay Packers
- Skyy Moore, WR (one year, $2.5MM): Moore, who reeled in a $1MM signing bonus, will earn a $1.22MM salary.
- Nick Niemann, LB (one year, $2.25MM): The Packers handed Niemann a $500K signing bonus, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The contract has $750K in incentives, a max of $235K in per game roster bonuses and a $200K workout bonus.
Los Angeles Rams
- Grant Stuard, LB (two years, $4.45MM): The max value of Stuard’s deal checks in at $5.05MM. It carries $3.5MM in guarantees, including $1.8MM in full guarantees, salaries of $1.5MM and $2MM, and a $300K signing bonus.
New Orleans Saints
- Ryan Wright, P (four years, $14MM): Wright’s base salaries in 2026 ($1.25MM) and ’27 ($3.25MM) are fully guaranteed, Katherine Terrell of ESPN relays. He’s due to collect a $3.5MM base salary in both 2028 and ’29; $1MM of that is guaranteed for injury in ’28. The Saints gave Wright $7MM in full guarantees and a $2.5MM signing bonus.
- John Ridgeway, DT (two years, $6.2MM): Ridgeway earned a matching $1.65MM signing bonus and guaranteed money total, per Terrell.
- Chris Rumph, DE (one year, $2MM): Rumph re-upped for a $1.22MM base salary and a $785K signing bonus, both of which are guaranteed (via Terrell).
Philadelphia Eagles
- Arnold Ebiketie, OLB (one year, $4.3MM): Ebiketie went from the Falcons to the Eagles for a $3MM signing bonus and a $1.3MM salary. General manager Howie Roseman tacked four void years on the contract.
- Jonathan Jones, CB (one year, $2MM): This deal also includes four void years. Jones received $2MM in guarantees, a $1.3MM salary and $500K at signing.
- Dameon Pierce, RB (one year, $1.29MM): As part of a veteran salary benefit agreement, Pierce will earn a $1.22MM salary and count $1.15MM against the cap. The Eagles gave him $250K in full guarantees.
Seattle Seahawks
- Brady Russell, FB (two years, $4.8MM): Russell’s agreement features $2.15MM in total guarantees, salaries of $1.5MM and $1.79MM, and a $1MM signing bonus.
- Jack Stoll, LS (two years, $2.91MM): Stoll picked up $1.2MM in fully guaranteed money and a $500K signing bonus, per Brady Henderson of ESPN.
- Noah Igbinoghene, CB (one year, $1.81MM): Along with a $1.22MM salary, Igbinoghene will collect $750K in full guarantees, including a $250K signing bonus.
Washington Commanders
- Jeremy Reaves, S (one year, $6.45MM): The Commanders added a 2028 void year to Reaves’ extension, which includes $4.15MM in guarantees, salaries of $1.3MM and $2.10MM, and a $1.65MM signing bonus.
- Dyami Brown, WR (one year, $1.75MM): Returning to Washington for a second stint, Brown signed for a $1.22MM salary and a $250K bonus.
- Jake Moody, K (one year, $1.5MM): Moody raked in $125K at signing. He will collect a $1.25MM salary.
- Jeremy McNichols, RB (one year, $1.49MM): McNichols will earn a $1.3MM salary ($1.262MM cap hit), $562,500 in total guarantees and a $162,500 signing bonus.
- Jerome Ford, RB (one year, $1.4MM): Washington gave Ford a $1.22MM salary ($1.262MM hit), $437,500 in total guarantees and a $137,500 signing bonus.
Panthers, S Nick Scott Agree To Deal
Nick Scott will remain in place with the Panthers for a third season. The veteran safety is re-signing with Carolina, per his agents (h/t Joe Person of The Athletic). The team has since announced the deal. 
This will be a one-year deal. Scott can earn up to $3.25MM in 2026, which would be a notable raise compared to his previous Carolina contracts (both of which were also one year in length). His guarantee figure will be worth watching for, but in any case Scott is in position to remain a full-time defensive starter.
After playing out his rookie contract with the Rams, Scott inked a three-year Bengals deal. The former seventh-rounder was released after just one season with Cincinnati, however. That set up his debut Panthers campaign in 2024, which included a regular role on special teams along with a part-time defensive workload. Scott became a staple in the secondary in 2025, handling a career-high 1,035 snaps on defense.
The Penn State product totaled 111 tackles this past season, comfortably the most in his career. Scott added one interception, three pass deflections and one fumble recovery along the way. Coverage proved to be an issue, with three touchdowns and a passer rating of 117 allowed as the nearest defender. Scott and the Panthers will look for stronger play in that regard moving forward. Carolina ranked 15th against the pass in 2025 under defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who will return next year.
Improved play in general will be the expectation for the Panthers on defense given their free agent investments. Big-ticket deals with edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and linebacker Devin Lloyd were worked out shortly after the negotiating window opened. Stronger showings in the front seven could of course help Carolina’s secondary and Scott’s individual performance in 2026. That could boost the 30-year-old’s market next spring.
The Panthers entered Saturday with nearly $25MM in cap space. As a result, plenty of room will remain for other outside additions even with Scott on the books once more.
Panthers Re-Sign S Nick Scott
After reports earlier today that free agent safety Nick Scott was considering offers from his former team and a mystery bidder, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tells us that the Panthers will be re-signing the veteran safety. Scott will be back in Carolina on a one-year deal. 
A former seventh-round pick in 2019, Scott saw the most defensive responsibility during his four years in Los Angeles. This culminated in a 2022 season in which he started all 16 of his game appearances while compiling career highs in total tackles (86) and interceptions (2). This big performance in a contract year led to Scott inking a three-year, $12MM deal with the Bengals in 2023, but he only started 10 of his 17 appearances in his first season in Cincinnati before getting cut.
He quickly caught on with the Panthers on a one-year, $1.29MM contract. In Carolina, he was intended to play a backup role to Xavier Woods and Jordan Fuller. Scott saw an increased role, though, when Fuller went down with an injury, including a four-week stretch in which he didn’t miss a defensive snap. Unfortunately for Scott, a hamstring injury resulted in a nearly two-month stay on injured reserve, and Scott exclusively saw special teams work following his late-season return from IR.
With Woods signing a two-year, $10MM deal with the Titans and Fuller departing in free agency for Atlanta, Scott should be able to slide into a starting role again. Carolina also signed former Raiders safety Tre’von Moehrig to a three-year, $51MM deal which suggests that he’ll occupy the other starting spot.
Demani Richardson, an undrafted rookie last season out of Texas A&M, should push for a big role, as well. Richardson was pushed into his first two career starts when Scott was placed on IR last season, and in the three games that saw Scott relegated to only special teams snaps, Richardson was tabbed as the starter and played nearly every defensive snap in the three contests. The former UDFA could end up competing with Scott for a significant role in the secondary.
The familiarity of both Richardson and Scott will be crucial for a team that is replacing two starters. Combined with Moehrig, the Panthers will hope to see some improvement to the secondary in 2025.
S Nick Scott Considering Offer From Panthers, Mystery Team
The Panthers have already made one notable move to shore up their secondary, as the team inked Tre’von Moehrig to a lucrative contract. Despite the addition, the team is still considering a reunion with a key 2024 contributor.
According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, safety Nick Scott is considering an offer to return to the Panthers. Joe Person of The Athletic backs this report, noting that the Panthers “are interested” in bringing the veteran back to Carolina.
Wilson notes that Scott is also considering an unnamed team in a move that would reunite the player with a “former coach.” While Wilson is playing coy with this report, there are two obvious candidates. The Falcons would offer Scott a chance to reunite with current head coach Raheem Morris, who was the defensive coordinator when the safety was on the Rams. The Colts could also be an option after the team added former Bengals DC Lou Anarumo for the same role.
A former seventh-round pick, Scott saw more defensive responsibility during his four years in Los Angeles. This culminated in a 2022 season where he started all 16 of his appearances while compiling 86 tackles and two interceptions. He inked a three-year deal with the Bengals in 2023 and started 10 of his 17 appearances that season before getting cut.
He quickly caught on with the Panthers, where he was intended to play a backup role to Xavier Woods and Jordan Fuller. Scott saw an increased role when Fuller went down with an injury, including a four-week stretch where he didn’t miss a defensive snap. A hamstring injury resulted in a nearly two-month stay on IR, and Scott exclusively saw special teams work following his late-season return.
Woods and Fuller are now out the door, although Moehrig’s three-year, $51MM deal suggests he’ll soak up a lot of those lost snaps. Demani Richardson got an extended look at the position in 2025, and the former UDFA could end up competing with Scott for a significant role in the secondary.
Panthers Activate Nick Scott From IR
The Panthers have swapped safeties on their roster, activating Nick Scott from injured reserve and waiving Jammie Robinson in a corresponding move, according to a team announcement.
Scott signed a one-year, $1.15MM contract with the Panthers in March and began the season playing primarily special teams. He took over as a starting safety after Jordan Fuller went down in Week 3 and played 100% of the team’s defensive snaps for the next four games. A hamstring injury in Week 7 forced Scott onto injured reserve, with undrafted rookie Demani Richardson filling in for two games before Fuller was activated from IR.
With Fuller back in the secondary alongside season-long starter Xavier Woods, Scott will likely return to a special teams-focused role with occasional appearances on defense as a third safety.
Robinson, meanwhile, will be available on waivers less than two years after being drafted by the Panthers in the fifth-round of the 2023 draft. He started two games at safety as a rookie, but played just 64 defensive snaps all season. His main duties were on special teams, a pattern that continued into 2024 with 97 special teams snaps and 11 on defense. Carolina will absorb dead cap hits of $82k in 2024 and $265k in 2025, per OverTheCap.
If a team claims Robinson off of waivers, they will owe him just over $200k for the rest of the season along with $2.175MM in non-guaranteed salary across 2025 and 2026. A team looking for special teams depth that sees Robinson as a potential multi-year contributor could put in a claim for his inexpensive contract.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/24
Wednesday’s minor transactions, including some standard gameday practice squad elevations for the Thanksgiving Day slate:
Buffalo Bills
- Designated to return from IR: DT DeWayne Carter, T Tylan Grable
Carolina Panthers
- Designated to return from IR: S Nick Scott
Chicago Bears
- Elevated: S Adrian Colbert
Cleveland Browns
- Designated to return from IR: CB Myles Harden
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed to active roster: TE Princeton Fant
- Elevated: CB Andrew Booth, CB Kemon Hall
Denver Broncos
- Signed to active roster: LB Zach Cunningham
Detroit Lions
- Signed to active roster: WR Maurice Alexander, LB David Long
- Elevated: T Jamarco Jones
- Placed on IR: WR Kalif Raymond (story)
Houston Texans
- Signed to active roster: DT Tommy Togiai
Los Angeles Rams
- Designated to return from reserve/PUP: TE Tyler Higbee (story)
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed to active roster: LS Jake McQuaide
- Waived: OLB Gabriel Murphy
New York Giants
- Signed to active roster: LB Tomon Fox
- Elevated: T Joshua Miles, CB Greg Stroman
- Placed on IR: DT Armon Watts
New York Jets
- Designated to return from IR: OL Xavier Newman-Johnson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Designated to return from IR: DT Montravius Adams
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed to active roster: LB Patrick O’Connell
- Designated to return from IR: OLB Uchenna Nwosu (story)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Designated to return from IR: OLB Markees Watts
The Vikings’ release of Murphy is disappointing one for the organization for sure. The rookie pass rusher out of UCLA was not healthy enough to be on the active roster to start the season, but Minnesota liked him enough to dedicate one of their eight IR activations on him in August. He was activated yesterday but hit waivers today. If he clears the waivers, he’ll be available to sign to the team’s practice squad.
Adams has seen his biggest NFL roles during his time in Pittsburgh. Though he hasn’t gotten the same number of starts as he had in 2022 and 2023, he’s continued the same level of production. After missing the last four games, he’ll be looking to return to the field soon.
Panthers Place S Nick Scott On IR
Injuries continue to mar the Panthers’ 2024 campaign, particularly on defense. The latest hamstringing of the collective unit comes as Carolina places safety Nick Scott on injured reserve for an actual hamstring injury, per team writer Darin Gantt.
Scott had been starting at safety for the Panthers since Week 4 after taking over for an injured Jordan Fuller, whom he now joins on IR. Scott was a big free agent signing for the Bengals defense two offseasons ago after playing his first full season as a starter in the final year of his rookie contract with the Rams. Unfortunately, after 10 starts in Cincinnati to start the year, Scott found himself coming off the bench for the remainder of the season.
This offseason, Scott found another opportunity, signing with a Panthers defense that finished 29th in yards allowed last year despite allowing the third-fewest passing yards and tying for the fourth-fewest passing touchdowns allowed. With Vonn Bell leaving for Cincinnati in the offseason, Scott found himself competing with his former Los Angeles teammate, Fuller, for the starting job. Fuller won the job to open the season, before ceding it to Scott due to injury.
Scott joins seven others on IR, including veteran defenders Fuller, Anthony Brown, Derrick Brown, and Shaq Thompson. Three other players remain on the non-football injury and physically unable to perform lists, as well. This also doesn’t include the 16 other players on Carolina’s injury report not currently on an injured list.
Scott’s placement on IR left two open spots on the active roster. To fill those slots, the Panthers activated safety Sam Franklin from IR and signed practice squad safety Russ Yeast to a 53-man roster contract. Franklin, a special teams captain for Carolina, has yet to make his 2024 debut due to a broken foot that he suffered in training camp. He’ll get that opportunity this weekend. Yeast, yet another former Rams safety, will come up to help fill the role left empty by his former Los Angeles teammates.
Additionally, the Panthers announced that cornerback Caleb Farley and quarterback Jack Plummer will be called up as standard gameday practice squad elevations for this weekend.
Panthers Sign S Nick Scott
Nick Scott was one of several veteran safeties who were released at the start of free agency, but he has not needed to wait long to find a new deal. Scott is joining the Panthers, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. This will be a one-year deal, ESPN’s David Newton adds. The move has now been made official by a team announcement.
The 28-year-old spent his first four seasons with the Rams, working alongside Ejiro Evero during that span. The latter is in place as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator, so this Carolina pact represents a reunion in that respect for Scott. He will join a safety room which recently added another ex-Ram in the form of Jordan Fuller.
Scott took on full-time starting duties during his final season in Los Angeles, something which helped his free agent stock. He inked a three-year, $12MM deal with the Bengals last offseason, but his debut campaign in Cincinnati did not go as planned. Scott was replaced in the starting lineup by Jordan Battle midway through the season, and as a result it came as little surprise the former was released last week.
The Bengals moved quickly in free agency by adding Geno Stone, a move which further pointed to Scott being let go. Cincinnati has also brought back a familiar face (Vonn Bell) at the safety spot, signing him not long after his Panthers release. The latter’s departure, coupled with that of Jeremy Chinn, left Carolina in need of multiple additions in the secondary.
Scott was held without an interception or pass deflection during his time with the Bengals, and he allowed a passer rating of 99.6 in coverage. Those struggles no doubt hurt his value and contributed to this short-term flier being available only one offseason after he secured a multi-year accord. Scott will compete for a starting spot this summer, but at a minimum he will provide Evero with an experienced and familiar depth option.
Bengals Release S Nick Scott
Having made a notable addition on the backend by agreeing to a deal with Geno Stone, the Bengals will remove a recent arrival from the equation. Cincinnati plans to release safety Nick Scott, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The move is now official, per a team announcement.
Scott spent the course of his rookie contract with the Rams, a tenure which concluded with the team’s Super Bowl win over the Bengals. That landed him a three-year, $12MM agreement with Cincinnati last offseason. After just one year in the Queen City, however, the 28-year-old will once again hit the open market.
Scott is due $3.3MM in 2024, with a cap hit $1MM higher. Cutting him immediately would result in $2.3MM in cap savings against a dead money charge of $2MM. Designating him a post-June 1 release would shift $1MM from dead money to cap space, but the Bengals would not see the savings until June 2. In any event, Stone’s arrival suggested Scott could be on the way out this offseason.
The latter started 10 games in 2023, but by November he had lost his first-team spot to Jordan Battle. Scott racked up 57 tackles and a fumble recovery, but he surrendered a passer rating of 99.6 in coverage. Breakdowns in the secondary were a common issue for Cincinnati last year, something which influenced the decision to bring in Stone at the outset of the negotiating window. The former Ravens draftee secured $15MM on a two-year deal.
Battle is still on his rookie contract for three more seasons, and he and Stone could serve as full-time starters in 2024. Former first-rounder Dax Hill is also in the fold, although questions have been raised about where he best fits in the secondary. Cincinnati will have decisions to make in the latter’s case moving forward, while Scott will become a late entrant to a crowded free agent safety class.
AFC North Rumors: Bengals, Battle, Watson, Steelers
The Bengals have already announced that starting quarterback Joe Burrow‘s season is over after he suffered a thumb ligament tear. The only information left to report on Burrow’s situation is that he is set to undergo wrist surgery tomorrow, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The expectation is that Burrow will be able to make a full recovery in time for the 2024 season.
On the administrative side of things, Rapoport also reports that the league is “investigating if Cincinnati should have listed Burrow on its injury report prior to” the game in which he seemingly suffered the season-ending injury. The night before the team’s matchup in Baltimore, Burrow was shown on a team social media post with an apparatus on his right wrist before the post was taken down. That same wrist is the one receiving surgery tomorrow. Rapoport says that the Bengals have “turned in hours of footage to the NFL showing that Burrow was healthy prior to the game.” The team’s doctors claim that the injury was acute and not one that happened over time.
The team opted to run Burrow’s offense and playbook in Jake Browning‘s first career start. The Bengals coaches had full confidence in Browning running the offense but still planned to run the ball a bit more than usual to take some pressure off his shoulders. Browning and the Bengals would lose to Pittsburgh, but Browning would complete 19 of 26 pass attempts for 227 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. The plan to run the ball a bit more fell through as limited possession time and offensive success led to only 11 carries.
Here are a few other rumors from around the AFC North, staying in Cincinnati for a beat:
- Another position for the Bengals experienced a change in starter as defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo announced rookie third-round pick Jordan Battle as the team’s starting strong safety over Nick Scott earlier this week, per Kelsey Conway of USA Today. Scott still had a role in today’s game but played a clear second fiddle to Battle. Asked what about Battle made him the choice at starter, Anarumo claimed it was his tackling ability.
- Another AFC North starting quarterback underwent surgery for their season-ending injury as the Browns‘ Deshaun Watson had a procedure done on his shoulder earlier this week, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Watson is expected to be healed in time to start the 2024 season.
- A big story in the struggles of the Steelers’ offense this year has been the frustration of wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Those frustrations reportedly boiled over after last week’s loss to the Browns, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, leading to a heated argument with star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick that needed to be broken up by teammates Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt. Johnson only had two catches on the day and was visibly upset on the sideline as he engaged in an animated conversation with head coach Mike Tomlin. Johnson’s annoyance would continue as he was later seen “chirping” at the coaches all the way to the locker room after the game before being confronted by Fitzpatrick. Perhaps the firing of former offensive coordinator Matt Canada helped to cool Johnson down, as Johnson received eight targets today.