Minor NFL Transactions: 3/19/25
Today’s minor moves:
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: DE Al-Quadin Muhammad
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed: DT Marlon Tuipulotu
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DT Esezi Otomewo
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Shemar Jean-Charles
Tennessee Titans
- Re-signed: RB Julius Chestnut
Al-Quadin Muhammad is inking a one-year deal to return to Detroit, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The defensive lineman got into nine games (two starts) for the Lions last season, collecting 11 tackles and three sacks while appearing in about 40 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.
Muhammad didn’t get into a game during the 2023 campaign. He spent the first part of the season on the Colts practice squad, and he was later suspended for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancing drugs. Prior to his lost 2023 season, the lineman got into games with the Saints, Colts, and Bears, collecting 12 sacks across six NFL seasons.
Broncos, Seahawks Pursued TE Juwan Johnson; Latest On Evan Engram’s Free Agency Call
In what may be the least surprising free agency what-if in this year’s cycle, the Broncos were one of the teams in on Juwan Johnson. The veteran tight end confirmed (via ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell) a Sean Payton reunion was on the table.
The Broncos already employ two former Saints tight ends, in Adam Trautman and Lucas Krull, and their roster and coaching staff includes other ex-Saints. Denver, though, looked to serve as the lead driver of a market that ended with a three-year, $30.75MM deal for one of Payton’s more successful UDFAs.
New Orleans carved out enough cap room, primarily using Derek Carr‘s contract as a tool, to re-sign Johnson and Chase Young and add Justin Reid. Johnson will stay with the team with which he has spent his entire career, remaining paired up with Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill. Johnson, 28, will be the lead target among this trio thanks to this contract.
The Seahawks also pursued Johnson, which represents a less predictable push due to the team having re-signed Noah Fant during last year’s legal tampering period. Fant is on a two-year, $21.5MM deal, but Johnson carries a season of experience with Klint Kubiak, who did not overlap with Fant in Denver. The former first-round pick does not have any guaranteed salary on the books for 2026, though he is a year younger than Johnson.
Prior to agreeing to return in a new Saints offense, Johnson said (via NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill) he met with new HC Kellen Moore. Johnson called the new Saints HC the night before he signed to go over his vision for himself in the offense. Evidently, this conversation went well, as Johnson will be a key piece of Moore’s first Saints operation.
Although we included Johnson as the only tight end in the PFR Top 50, the list emerged before the Jaguars cut Evan Engram. A more accomplished player, Engram also looks to have benefited from where the Saints went for Johnson. A day after the Johnson pact, the Broncos gave Engram a two-year, $23MM accord. That narrowly topped Johnson’s AAV number, as Engram has two Pro Bowls on a resume that includes five 575-plus-yard seasons (to Johnson’s zero).
Engram, though, is two years older than Johnson. The 30-year-old TE also received an offer from the Chargers, 9News’ Mike Klis adds, noting the Bolts’ proposal checked in around where the Broncos’ offer came in. Engram visited both teams, meeting with the Broncos before Johnson recommitted to the Saints. The Broncos may have passed on beating the Saints’ offer to reunite Payton and Johnson, but they received news of Engram’s commitment barely a day later. This stands to help a team that saw Trautman’s 188 yards lead its TE contingent last season.
Of Engram’s $16MM guarantee at signing, $5MM comes as part of his 2026 base salary ($10.99MM), KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes. Though he gave the Saints a three-year commitment, Johnson did better at signing; New Orleans gave its TE find $21.25MM fully guaranteed.
Although they have signed half of last year’s AFC West starting centers (Bradley Bozeman, Andre James), the Chargers have thus far stood down at tight end. Their offer to Engram, of course, shows an interest in upgrading. Hayden Hurst hit free agency last week, while the team lost Stone Smartt to the Jets. Will Dissly, last season’s Bolts TE yardage leader, remains under contract.
S Nick Emmanwori Lines Up Pre-Draft Visits
The 2025 draft is not viewed as being deep at the safety spot, but two standouts are firmly in contention to be selected in the first round. One of them is Nick Emmanwori, who has lined up several pre-draft visits. 
The South Carolina product will meet with the Falcons in the near future, he announced on Tuesday (h/t Josh Kendall of The Athletic). Atlanta still has 2023 free agent addition Jessie Bates on the books, but Justin Simmons is a free agent. The latter (who did not match his previous level of play with the Broncos during his debut Falcons season) hopes to re-sign, but as expected he has reached the open market.
In the event Simmons departs, adding a starting-caliber safety would become a draft priority. The Falcons (who are set to select 15th overall) are far from the only team line up an Emmanwori visit, though. As Kendall notes, he is also set to meet with the Panthers, Seahawks, Bengals and Dolphins.
Carolina made several splashy additions on defense last week, including a three-year deal for Tre’von Moehrig. The former Raider will look to replace Xavier Woods, who joined the Titans in free agency. Jordan Fuller and Nick Scott are unsigned at this point, and losing both could leave the Panthers in the market for a draft addition at the position (although doing so at No. 8 would come as a surprise).
Cincinnati and Seattle are slated to pick 17th and 18th, respectively. Both teams could stand to improve in the secondary in 2025, and the Bengals in particular will need to emphasize defensive additions via the draft with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins attached to lucrative new deals. Adding Emmanwori in that range could very well be on the table; the latest mock draft from ESPN’s Mel Kiper has Seattle selecting him at No. 18.
Miami has frequently been linked to drafting a safety this spring with Jevon Holland departing on the open market and Jordan Poyer unlikely to be re-signed. Many have pointed to Georgia’s Malaki Starks (the other Day 1 safety prospect in the class) as a logical target as a result. Indeed, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah mocks Starks to the Dolphins at No. 13 with Emmanwori going 24th.
The latter spent three years with the Gamecocks, operating as a full-time starter during that spell. Emmanwori earned all-conference honors in 2024 along with a first-team All-American nod after posting 88 tackles and four interceptions (two of which were returned for touchdowns). He will face high expectations upon arrival in the NFL, and the coming weeks will no doubt include visits with other interested teams.
Sam Darnold’s Contract Details Reveal Year-To-Year Structure
The Seahawks used a year-to-year structure on Geno Smith‘s last contract, and they appear to have done the same with Sam Darnold.
Darnold’s new deal with Seattle contains $37.5MM in fully-guaranteed money, which will comprise his 2025 compensation, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. He will then be owed $27.5MM for 2026 and $35.5MM in 2027.
$17.5MM of Darnold’s 2026 salary is guaranteed for injury at signing and can vest to a full guarantee after Super Bowl LX. None of his 2027 money is tied to any guarantees, so the Seahawks could release him immediately after the 2025 season having paid just $37.5MM for one season.
A February release to avoid a vesting guarantee is not common practice in the NFL, but the Raiders did it with Derek Carr in 2023, per Florio. Such a move may draw criticism for being player-unfriendly, but Darnold and his representation must have recognized a one-year out as a possibility before signing the deal. He would still have to perform in 2026, as his 2027 salary is not guaranteed, offering the Seahawks another exit ramp after two years.
Darnold’s contract also includes $5MM per year in incentives, split between “individual performance” ($2MM), “postseason performance” ($2.5MM), and “team performance” ($500k).
Teams typically design their incentives as ‘Not Likely To Be Earned’ (NLTBE), meaning that the player did not meet the milestone in the previous season. After an impressive statistical showing in the 2024 regular season led to a Pro Bowl selection, Darnold’s incentives will likely be tied to things he didn’t do last year. That could include an All-Pro selection, winning a major award, winning the division, or advancing in the playoffs.
The structure of Darnold’s deal offers a wide range of outcomes in Seattle. If he fails to replicate last year’s success, the Seahawks could part ways with him after one year. However, a fruitful partnership could upgrade his APY from $33.5MM to $38.5MM per year and set him up for another big-money extension. In short, despite proving himself as a viable starter in 2024, Darnold still has plenty on the line in 2025 with his new team.
Giants, Seahawks Pursued G Will Fries; Giants Surprised To Land S Jevon Holland
In an effort to improve their offensive front for their rushing attack and for whomever happens to line up at quarterback in 2025, the Giants “went hard for” former Colts right guard Will Fries, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. Ultimately, Fries signed a five-year pact worth over $17MM per year with the Vikings.
According to Raanan, Fries’ final decision came down to Minnesota and New York, and it is unclear if his call was purely based on finances or if he also considered the respective competitive situations of the two clubs. In any event, the Giants quickly pivoted to their primary 2024 RG and re-signed Greg Van Roten.
Van Roten’s deal is unlikely to be a particularly lucrative one, so it should not preclude Big Blue from continuing to explore upgrades. That said, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post indicates the asking price for alternatives like Teven Jenkins is presently too high for the Giants. The same was true of Mekhi Becton, who recently signed a two-year, $20MM contract with the Chargers.
Jenkins is due to meet with the Seahawks tomorrow, and Seattle was also in on Fries, per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic (subscription required). Given the value of the contract Fries was seeking, GM John Schneider & Co. wanted to bring him in for a physical, as he underwent surgery in October to repair a tibia fracture. The physical could not take place until the new league year started on Wednesday, and since the Vikings did not require one – it is uncertain whether the Giants did – the ‘Hawks lost out. Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times echoes Dugar’s report and adds it was the physical issue, and not contract length or value, that eliminated the Seahawks from the race.
As evidenced by their upcoming Jenkins summit, Seattle remains in the hunt for offensive line help, as the unit was one of the club’s weakest spots in 2024. Left tackle Charles Cross was an exception to that rule, as he started all 17 games and generated an excellent 82.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus (which placed him ninth among 81 qualified OTs). Cross, a 2022 first-rounder, is extension-eligible for the first time, and in anticipation of contract talks taking place at some point, the formerly self-represented player has signed with Klutch Sports Agency (as relayed by Dugar in another subscribers-only piece).
The Giants may have been priced out of the Becton market and are currently unwilling to meet Jenkins’ ask, but they were luckier with respect to safety Jevon Holland. Per Dunleavy, New York did not expect Holland – who was linked to a $20MM/year deal before free agency opened – to be available at its preferred price point. When it became clear the Giants could land Holland for less, they acted quickly and acquired the No. 6 FA on PFR’s Top-50 list for a three-year, $45MM commitment.
With CB Paulson Adebo and D-linemen Chauncey Golston and Roy Robertson-Harris also in the fold, the club has undergone a significant defensive overhaul over the past week.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/15/25
Saturday’s minor moves:
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: WR Velus Jones
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Shemar Jean-Charles
Jones’ Bears tenure ended midway through the 2024 campaign when he was waived. The former third-rounder saw time on the Jaguars’ practice squad before making a pair of appearances with the Panthers at the end of the year. Jones, entering his age-28 season, will look to compete for a roster spot in New Orleans.
Jean-Charles is signing a one-year deal, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. The 26-year-old has made 37 appearances across his time with the Packers, 49ers and Saints so far in his career. He has primarily worked on special team to date, and that will likely continue to be the case in Seattle.
Seahawks To Sign WR Cooper Kupp
Cooper Kupp‘s homecoming is a go. The Washington native is set to sign with the Seahawks, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports.
Joining the Broncos, Cowboys, Patriots and Saints in pursuit of Kupp, the Seahawks are adding him on a contract expected to be worth at least $15MM, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. An Eastern Washington alum, Kupp had been in contact with Seahawks brass Friday. He will pass on the non-NFC West interest and will be set to, health permitting, face his former team twice this season.
The Seahawks needed to go big here, as The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports they are giving Kupp a three-year, $45MM deal. While some teams were reported as hesitant at $12MM per year, the market grew. The Seahawks were in front the start, per Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager. Guarantees will tell the full tale, but the Seahawks are bringing back the local product. This will be Kupp’s ninth NFL season, and he will join a team that has seen its receiver situation change dramatically in recent days.
Multiple obstacles stood to impede Kupp on the market. He will turn 32 this summer and has missed 16 games due to injury since his dominant 2021 season. But a host of teams joined this push. The Packers were also among them, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz tweets. A Seahawks team that presented a homecoming opportunity — and one that suddenly brings a receiver need due to jettisoning Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf in the same week — won out and will pair Kupp with emerging top receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
While making a significant size downgrade (though, more offseason time obviously remains for the team to add more help) in going from Metcalf to Kupp, the Seahawks do have the player who authored this decade’s most impactful wide receiver season under contract.
Kupp’s 1,947-yard 2021 slate marked the best threat to Calvin Johnson‘s single-season record, and he completed a triple-crown effort with 145 catches and 16 touchdowns. Kupp then passed Hakeem Nicks for the second-most receiving yards in one playoff run, totaling 478 and six TDs that postseason. Only Larry Fitzgerald‘s 2008 performance has that yardage number beat, though Kupp tacked on a Super Bowl MVP award after scoring a game-winning TD.
Forming an immediate connection with Matthew Stafford, Kupp elevated from his years with Jared Goff and powered the Rams — along with obvious contributions from Stafford and Aaron Donald — to a Super Bowl title. The Rams then gave that game’s MVP a three-year, $80MM deal — despite two years remaining on Kupp’s previous pact — during an offseason in which they paid Stafford and Donald. Kupp, however, ran into steady injury trouble on his third contract. And the Rams ripped that deal up Wednesday, taking on some dead money to do so. The Rams will see their former third-round find again soon.
A high ankle sprain ended Kupp’s 2022 season, costing him eight games during a disastrous Rams title defense. He also began the 2023 season late, starting it on IR because of hamstring trouble. Kupp sustained another right high ankle sprain in September 2024, going down soon after Puka Nacua did. That led the Rams into a 1-4 hole, and they looked into a Kupp trade at that point. Ultimately deciding to stand down, the Rams saw both Nacua and Kupp come back to drive a playoff push. Though, Nacua moved into the lead role while Kupp was a capable sidekick.
Missing 10 games over the past two years (though, two were not due to injury), Kupp still combined for 1,447 yards and 11 touchdowns in that span. Kupp’s work when healthy drove a competitive market, but the Seahawks held a location advantage. Kupp was open to leaving the West Coast, but he preferred not to. The Seahawks disbanded a six-year Lockett-Metcalf partnership and will hope Kupp can stay on the field alongside Smith-Njigba to justify this investment.
Kupp, who also suffered an ACL tear midway through the Rams’ Super Bowl LIII-bound 2018 season, has two 1,000-yard years on his resume. That checks in as one fewer than Metcalf, who is now on a $33MM-per-year Steelers extension. This is certainly a risk for the Seahawks, in John Schneider‘s second season at the wheel post-Pete Carroll, but Kupp did contribute three 100-yard games for the Rams last year. His hometown team will bet on Kupp joining Smith-Njigba and Noah Fant in providing key support for free agency addition Sam Darnold.
Geno Smith Trade Resulted From Failed Extension Talks
One of the bigger pieces of information that we didn’t expect to come out during this free agency craziness was the trade of quarterback Geno Smith from Seattle to Las Vegas. The deal seemed to come out of nowhere, as many reports indicated that negotiations on an extension were underway. 
After seeing a resurgent past three seasons in Seattle that included two Pro Bowl berths, Smith was hoping for the team to give him some commitment moving forward, though the team was expected to explore their options. After head coach Mike Macdonald delivered his endorsement of a new deal for Smith and new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak cited Smith as a “huge draw” for the job, it began to seem that things were trending in the right direction for an extension to keep Smith in Seattle.
A little over a week after negotiations opened, though, the trade was announced. According to a couple of sources, the trade was a direct result of the Seahawks and Smith failing to come to agreeable terms on the extension. Per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic, general manager John Schneider claimed that it had become “apparent” that the two sides were not going to be able to meet in the middle.
The 34-year-old quarterback still had one year left on his current deal, but he had been public about his desire for a new contract that reflected his status as a “top-tier” passer. Dugar’s report from Schneider says that when Seattle submitted what they thought was a fair offer, it quickly became clear that “there was no back and forth coming.” Schneider said that “it wasn’t a very long negotiation” before it became “pretty evident” that Smith would need to be traded.
Despite the hardball-negotiation-nature that that implies, Schneider told The Athletic that Smith did not ask for a trade. Likewise, the Seahawks did not shop Smith out. The Raiders simply reached out with interest at the right time, and after not getting a counteroffer from the extension they offered to Smith, Seattle felt it was making the right move for all parties involved.
The other report on this situation comes from Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports. While Schultz’s rendition aligns with Dugar on much of the developments of the extension discussions, Schultz disagrees with Dugar on two major points. Schultz claims that, after four days of unsuccessful contract negotiations — which doesn’t seem to agree with Schneider’s description of quick negotiations — Smith requested a trade last Thursday night.
Whether or not it was Smith that requested the trade, the Seahawks that shopped Smith out, or the Raiders who intervened on Smith’s behalf ultimately may not end up mattering that much. Seattle was never going to get up to the number Smith desired, and with a “major sign-off from Tom Brady,” new head coach Pete Carroll was able to bring over his former quarterback to the Raiders. Now, we’re seeing reports that Las Vegas is nearing an extension agreement with Smith, indicating that the Raiders may be more willing to reach that number that Smith desired.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/14/25
Friday’s minor NFL moves after a busy week of transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Simi Fehoko
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: CB Keith Taylor
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: G Kendrick Green
Detroit Lions
- Signed: TE Kenny Yeboah
Houston Texans
- Re-signed: S M.J. Stewart, T Zachary Thomas
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: CB Corey Ballentine
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB Del’Shawn Phillips
Los Angeles Rams
- Re-signed: DT Larrell Murchison
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed: WR Dee Eskridge
New York Giants
- Signed: DT Jeremiah Ledbetter
New York Jets
- Signed: P Austin McNamara
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Kylen Granson, LS Charley Hughlett, LB Patrick Johnson, RB Avery Williams
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-signed: WR Cody White
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: P Jack Browning
Tennessee Titans
- Re-signed: C Corey Levin
Washington Commanders
- Signed ERFA tender: RB Chris Rodriguez Jr.
Cowboys Never Made An Offer To DeMarcus Lawrence?
The Cowboys did not offer a contract to retain defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence before he signed with the Seahawks, per WFAA’s Ed Werder.
Lawrence signed a three-year, $32.5MM contract with Seattle that includes $18MM guaranteed and a maximum value of $42MM. In one of his first interviews after signing his new deal, he took a clear shot at his former team by saying he would never win a Super Bowl in Dallas.
Lawrence’s comments, according to Werder, “were directed at Jerry and Stephen [Jones] as they declined to offer him a contract and he was forced to find another team to finish his career and achieve his goals.”
Micah Parsons responded to Lawrence on X, saying he was driven by “rejection and envy.” Lawrence responded, doubling down on his claim and exposing simmering tensions between the former teammates. According to Werder, the two “disagreed on personality or approach” while together in Dallas.
Lawrence was already a two-time Pro Bowler by the time Parsons was drafted by the Cowboys in 2021. Lawrence played in only seven games that year, but he earned back-to-back Pro Bowl nods with Parsons in 2022 and 2023. A foot injury ended Lawrence’s 2024 season after just four games, and the Cowboys opted to get cheaper and younger at the position.
In the past week, Dallas signed Payton Turner and Dante Fowler for less money combined than Lawrence received from the Seahawks. They will join Parsons, Marshawn Kneeland, and Sam Williams in a deep, talented edge rusher room.