Packers To Release QB Desmond Ridder
On Monday, the Packers identified their new backup quarterback in the form of Tyrod Taylor. With a deal being worked out on that front, a corresponding move will see an incumbent Green Bay signal-caller let go.
The Packers are releasing Desmond Ridder, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports. As a result, the team is set to move forward with a trio of passers on the books. Jordan Love is still positioned to operate as Green Bay’s starter, while Taylor will serve as the backup. Kyle McCord remains in place as a low-cost QB3.
Ridder has bounced around the league since being drafted by the Falcons in 2022. A four-game run to close out his rookie season set up an extended look atop the depth chart for the following year. Ridder was unable to develop as hoped, though, and he was traded to the Cardinals in 2024. His time in Arizona was short-lived, with his only regular-season game time that year coming as a member of the Raiders.
In 2025, Ridder saw time with the Bengals and Vikings before joining Green Bay late in the year as injury insurance. The 26-year-old was due $1.22MM in salary for the coming campaign, but none of it was guaranteed. As a result, the Packers will save that amount with this release without taking on any dead money charges. The funds saved from cutting Ridder will of course help offset the cost of Taylor’s deal.
With much of free agency and now the draft in the books, many teams around the NFL have sorted out their QB depth charts. That will make it challenging for Ridder to line up his next gig, and he may remain on the open market for an extended period. In any case, he will look to find a new home no later than the start of training camp during the summer.
Ravens To Sign QB Skylar Thompson
The Ravens are expected to add a fifth quarterback to their offseason roster. Skylar Thompson is expected to be added among Lamar Jackson‘s backups, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.
Thompson, who spent last season on the Steelers’ practice squad injured list, will join a crowded Ravens QB room. The team re-signed Tyler Huntley — Thompson’s former Dolphins teammate — and has since added Diego Pavia and Joe Fagnano as UDFAs.
Teams do not regularly carry five QBs, pointing to one potentially being jettisoned before training camp, but Thompson has found another gig nearly 18 months after being given a Steelers reserve/futures contract. Thompson, 28, has made four NFL starts (counting a 2022 wild-card game in Buffalo) and appeared in 10 contests.
Miami drafted Thompson in the 2022 seventh round. While the Kansas State product entered that season as the Dolphins’ third-stringer, injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater forced him into action. Thompson took over for an injured Bridgewater — after a concussion sidelined Tagovailoa — in October 2022 and then needed to play again late in the season. Thompson, who started the Dolphins’ Week 6 game that season, returned for a Week 18 start after another Bridgewater injury. He then struggled in a 34-31 loss to the No. 2-seeded Bills in the wild-card round.
The Dolphins did not need any Thompson starts in 2023, but he did beat out Mike White for Miami’s QB2 job in 2024. However, the Dolphins brought in Huntley after Thompson struggled in relief of Tagovailoa early that season. Thompson then made his way to Pittsburgh in January 2025, but an injury intervened months later.
Huntley’s QB2 job appears safe; the Ravens gave their multi-stint backup a $3.5MM guarantee. Pavia is set to compete with Fagnano — who played at Maine and UConn — for the third-string position, Eric DeCosta said during a WBAL appearance (h/t ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley). The Ravens held their rookie minicamp over the weekend, and it is worth wondering if Thompson insurance came up after the duo’s early work. It would stand to reason Thompson will be vying for the QB3 gig with Pavia and Fagnano. Pavia received no guaranteed money, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
Pavia finished as last season’s Heisman runner-up, dazzling at Vanderbilt. He has also become somewhat of a polarizing prospect, standing 5-foot-9 and not exactly come off as a mature presence on social media. The Thompson signing likely shortens Pavia’s leash with the Ravens.
Packers To Sign QB Tyrod Taylor
Since Malik Willis departed in free agency, the backup quarterback spot has been a question mark for the Packers. A veteran QB2 has been identified by the team, though.
Tyrod Taylor has agreed to a deal with Green Bay, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports. He is now in position to handle backup duties behind Jordan Love for 2026. Taylor spent the past four years in New York, splitting that time between the Giants and the Jets.
Willis impressed during his limited starting action in Green Bay, which led to a notable free agent pact with the Dolphins. His departure left the Packers with Desmond Ridder and Kyle McCord in place to compete for the backup gig over the course of the offseason. Those two are still on the roster for now, but Taylor’s arrival will bring considerable experience to the fold for 2026.
A Ravens draftee in 2011, Taylor handled backup duties over the course of his rookie contract. Since then, the former sixth-rounder has put together a journeyman career featuring stints with the Bills, Browns, Chargers and Texans prior to his four-year spell in New York. Taylor was open to remaining with the Jets on a new deal this offseason, but noting materialized on that front. Indeed, ESPN’s Rich Cimini notes it became “increasingly clear” recently there would not be a re-signing in this case.
Taylor totaled five starts in 2023 and another four this past season. In all, the 36-year-old has amassed 62 starts and 100 appearances during the regular season. A full-time starting opportunity has not been available for quite some time now, and that will of course remain true barring a Love injury in 2026. Nevertheless, Taylor should provide the Packers with a higher floor than what Ridder or McCoy would have.
Ridder joined Green Bay’s practice squad late last season with Love and Willis managing injuries. The former Falcon and Raider is owed $1.22MM in 2026, but none of that figure is guaranteed. Similarly, none of McCord’s $885K in scheduled compensation is locked in. The Packers moving on from at least one of the two at some point this offseason will be something to watch for now that Taylor is place.
Green Bay entered Monday with over $20MM in cap space. This Taylor contract will no doubt be a low-cost deal covering the 2026 campaign, so it should not alter the team’s other plans as the spring continues.
Chiefs Waive QB Jake Haener, Two Others
With rookie minicamps and tryouts taking place, many teams around the league will see roster turnover across the coming days. The Chiefs have made a number of moves.
Kansas City added three players to the roster on Monday, per a team announcement. Three more were waived in corresponding moves. Quarterback Jake Haener, along with defensive tackle Zacch Pickens and undrafted rookie Ethan Hurkett have been let go.
Haener entered the league as a fourth-round pick of the Saints in 2024. He made eight appearances and one start as a rookie but did not see any regular-season action in 2025. In January, Haener was offered a futures deal from New Orleans but joined the Chiefs instead. Kansas City has since traded for Justin Fields, though, adding to the team’s QB depth while Patrick Mahomes continues to recover from ACL and MCL tears.
Pickens was taken in the third round of the 2023 draft by the Bears. He spent two seasons in Chicago but failed to survive roster cuts this past summer. That resulted in a practice squad deal with Kansas City, and Pickens made three appearances for the Chiefs in 2025. Hurkett went undrafted last month, and he was among the 20 players Kansas City signed shortly after the draft concluded.
With the roster spots created by those three departures, the Chiefs have signed receiver Xavier Loyd, defensive back Marlen Sewell and offensive tackle Kahlil Benson. Those rookies will join the others still in place for Kansas City in competing for a role during spring practices.
Raiders Release DE Charles Snowden
In a flurry of moves following their second day of rookie minicamp, the Raiders released veteran defensive end Charles Snowden. Along with Snowden, the team waived offensive guards McClendon Curtis and Layden Robinson and recently signed undrafted free agent tight end Matt Lauter out of Boise State. It appears the four players were moved to make room for four undrafted players at the rookie minicamp for a tryout, Cincinnati tight end Patrick Gurd, Queens (CAN) offensive tackle Niklas Henning, UTSA offensive tackle Kamar Missouri, and Utah Tech safety Devyn Perkins.
Snowden started off as an undrafted free agent himself. In a COVID-shortened 2020 season, Snowden’s senior year was cut even shorter when he suffered a broken ankle in a cupcake game against Abilene Christian. Through only eight games, he had already recorded a career-high six sacks and 10 tackles for loss. In a normal season, his performance would’ve been on track for a breakout year, but ultimately, aside from second-team All-ACC honors, the end of his collegiate career ended up hurting his prospects for the NFL.
After going undrafted, Snowden signed with the Bears as an UDFA, landing on the practice squad after he failed to make the initial 53-man roster. He did get called up for two games but mostly played special teams with minimal snaps on defense. Over the next two years, Snowden spent offseasons with the Bears, Buccaneers, and Raiders without appearing in a single regular season game. Once landing in Vegas, though, he stopped moving around and was able to establish himself on the roster.
In 2024, Snowden made nine starts while playing in 16 contests. He didn’t prove too effective as a pass rusher but showed promise defending against the run. Given similar opportunities this past season (nine starts in 15 games), he was a bit more disruptive of a pass rusher, factoring solidly into the team’s rotation on the edge. Snowden had been playing on one-year deals for Vegas each season, so it was fairly easy to let him go from his current deal.
Robinson was a near full-time starter for the Patriots just two years ago, logging 11 starts in 13 games played with the team. After starting last year on injured reserve in New England, Robinson was waived in mid-October and signed to the Raiders practice squad after clearing waivers. He didn’t appear in any games but signed a reserve/futures deal to stay. After starting as an UDFA signing for the Raiders in 2023, Curtis spent two years in Seattle as a depth piece on the offensive line. He bounced around to taxi squads with the Cardinals and Giants before landing back with the Raiders just before Robinson.
It’s not a common move to see a team make during rookie minicamps, especially when three of the players cut are not in attendance, but clearly the Raiders felt the need to see more from Gurd, Henning, Missouri, and Perkins than they were going to be able to in just three days. Vegas may have made handshake agreements to pick up any of the other four in the near future, or their time with the team may be over. Snowden is available to sign anywhere at anytime, but the other three will have to clear waivers before getting that same free will.
Browns T Dawand Jones Agrees To Take Pay Cut
Coming into the final year of his rookie contract, Browns offensive tackle Dawand Jones has agreed to a pay cut in a restructured deal proposed by the team. Jones was originally due to receive $3.67MM in 2026, though none of it was guaranteed. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, he is now set to play for $1.5MM this year with $1.15MM guaranteed. The Browns get some cap relief, and Jones gets some guaranteed money.
As a rookie fourth-round pick in 2023, Jones was forced into a starting role very early when starting right tackle Jack Conklin went down with a season-ending injury in Week 1. As he grew more comfortable in the role, Jones showed some inspired play as a rookie starter, giving hope that Cleveland had found a diamond in the Day 3 rough, but his season ended after 13 weeks when he, too, suffered an injury that would hold him out for the remainder of the year.
Jones opened up his sophomore campaign as the starting right tackle but didn’t hold the position down nearly as well as he had in Year 1. He also fell short of full season for the second time in two years, undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a fractured ankle from the team’s Week 11 contest that year. He also underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his knee for an issue he had reportedly been playing through in 2024. Regardless, Jones opened up the 2025 season as the Browns starting left tackle, but for the third year in a row, his season ended with surgery, this time to address a knee injury suffered just three weeks into the season.
The Browns made a similar cost-cutting move with running back Jerome Ford in 2025. Ford had carried a big role in prior seasons, but the use of high draft picks on rookie rushers Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson meant that Ford’s hold on a continued significant role was in jeopardy; similarly this year, the team used a first- and third-round pick on Jones’ position. Getting Ford onto a restructured deal allowed the team to reduce his cap impact while giving him some guaranteed money that he otherwise might have missed out on if cut.
ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi pointed out that Cleveland has played this card before with multiple fourth-year players who received Proven Performance Escalators, bonuses awarded to non-first-round picks to compensate them for contributions beyond the expectations assumed based on their draft status. He also notes that wide receiver Cedric Tillman and defensive end Isaiah McGuire classified for Level One PPE and will be due $3.6MM non-guaranteed salaries in 2026, as well. With the Browns utilizing first- and second-round picks on Tillman’s position, he could be the next target for such a restructured deal.
Seahawks Announce Seven UDFA Signings
After coming away from Super Bowl LX with a victory, the Seahawks were set to go into the 2026 NFL Draft with a league-low four draft picks. Ultimately, with some crafty movement back in key places, the team left the draft with eight new rookie draft picks. Seattle announced yesterday that their full rookie class had reached 15 players with the signing of these seven undrafted free agents:
- Michael Briscoe, WR (Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo)
- Devean Deal, OLB (TCU)
- Aidan Hubbard, OLB (Northwestern)
- Marvin Jones Jr., OLB (Oklahoma)
- Lance Mason, TE (Wisconsin)
- Uso Seumalo, NT (Kansas State)
- Levi Wentz, WR (Kansas)
The Seahawks were certainly very focused with what they were looking to add in the hours after the draft. One area of focus was the edge group, from which the Seahawks saw Boye Mafe depart in free agency and to which the team failed to address in the draft or free agency. Hubbard was expected to hear his name sometime late on Day 3 after accumulating 19.5 sacks over his last three years in Evanston. Short arms and a left knee injury that hampered him throughout the pre-draft process may have kept him from coming off the board in April.
Jones is a former five-star recruit out of South Florida and will complete the rest of his cross-country trip after stops at Georgia, Florida State, and OU. His father was a top five pick for the Seminoles in 1993, and the linebacker enjoyed an 11-year career for the Jets. Though, Jones has the pedigree of an NFL veteran, along with the untapped potential that his body type and natural ability displayed to earn him a five-star rating in high school, he has yet to put it all together with consistency and production.
The other group the Seahawks focused on was the pass catchers, the most promising of which might be Mason, who transferred to Madison hoping play in the FBS would provide him a runway to the NFL after three years at Missouri State. He isn’t the most imposing athlete on the field, but Mason tends to overdeliver on expectations and can impact the game as a pass catcher, blocker, and special teamer.
Cowboys Sign 11-Man UDFA Class
Though many of the Cowboys’ draft picks in recent years have been shipped off to other franchises in a series of ground-shaking trades, the team still ended up with seven picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. To their benefit, six of them came in the first four rounds, and all but one of them addressed the defensive side of the ball. By signing these 11 undrafted free agents, Dallas evened things out a bit while continuing to explore big bodies for the defensive line:
- Camden Brown, WR (Georgia Southern)
- Tommy Dunn, DT (Kansas)
- Sidney Fugar, T (Baylor)
- Kelvin Gilliam, DT (Virginia Tech)
- Jordan Hudson, WR (SMU)
- Langston Patterson, LB (Vanderbilt)
- Shiyazh Pete, T (Kentucky)
- Dominic Richardson, RB (Tulsa)
- D.J. Rogers, TE (TCU)
- Michael Trigg, TE (Baylor)
- D.J. Withers, DT (Kansas)
Tight end was a position the Cowboys had intended to address during the draft, but when the early run started on Day 2, they had bigger priorities to take care of. Still, they walk away here with two high-ceiling prospects without having to commit full drafted rookie contracts to either. Trigg was the top prospect on many “Best Available” lists at the conclusion of Day 3. One of only six FBS tight ends to eclipse 50 receptions in 2025, he was very productive and ranked highly within his position group, but major questions on his maturity and accountability were apparently enough to keep him off draft boards.
Rogers needs quite a bit of seasoning to develop into a weapon at the next level, but strong physical traits were enough to make him a coveted UDFA. Both tight ends UDFA contracts came with $200K of guaranteed money, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. Hudson was another prospect that many expected to come off the board on Day 3. In three years at SMU (after transferring from TCU), he never quite jumped off the page, but he showed consistent production averaging just around six touchdowns in each year with the Mustangs. A lot of his potential in the NFL will be dependent on the coaches and system around him, so being in a room that currently rosters weapons like CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens is a good sign.
Eagles Announce 8 UDFA Signings
During last week’s draft, the Eagles made eight selections and three trades, starting with a trade up to the 20th pick to steal USC wide recever Makai Lemon out from under the in-state rival Steelers. They also acquired Jonathan Greenard from the Vikings as well as a few extra late-round picks, one of which they used on one of the most intriguing developmental prospects in recent years: Nigerian-born Uar Bernard.
Philly has since added eight undrafted free agents, per a team announcement, including another player out of the International Player Pathway program and a new long snapper. Here’s the full list:
- Kapena Gushiken, DB (Mississippi)
- Tucker Large, DB (Washington State)
- Deontae Lawson, LB (Alabama)
- Maximus Pulley, DB (Wofford)
- Jaeden Roberts, G (Alabama)
- Rocco Underwood, LS (Florida)
- Joshua Weru, DE (Kenya)
- Dae’Quan Wright, TE (Mississippi)
Gushiken is an elite athlete who ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at his pro day with a 1.49-second 10-yard split. He began his college career at Saddleback Community College in California before transferring to Washington State in 2023 and Ole Miss in 2025. He has some playmaking skills – 4 interceptions and 20 passes defended over the last three years – but his 5-foot-9, 189-pound frame could be limiting in the NFL.
Lawson started for most of the last four years at Alabama, including multiple years wearing the green dot. Injuries hindered him throughout his college carer, but when healthy, he was a consistent presence in the middle of the Crimson Tides defense. If he can stay on the field, his advanced football I.Q. will give him a chance at carving out a role in Philly sooner rather than later.
Underwood won the Patrick Mannelly Award in 2024 as the best long snapper in college football. After 49 games at Florida, he will likely take up the same role in Philadelphia after the team parted ways with Charley Hughlett.
Weru played rugby for Kenya’s national team and is the latest international player from the sport to convert to football. While not as explosive as Bernard, Weru is still an elite athlete. Like his fellow IPP product, he has much to learn in Philadelphia and will likely spend at least a few years to develop into a game-ready player.
Wright was a somewhat surprising player to go undrafted after ascending production in his college career. After two solid years at Virginia Tech (47 catches for 574 yards), he transferred to Ole Miss and leveled up. After 27 catches, 394 yards, and his first four college touchdowns in 2024, he made 39 catches for 635 yards and another five scores last year. The Eagles have a crowded tight end room, even more so after adding Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers in the second round, so Wright still has an uphill battle to the 53-man roster.
Chiefs Add 20 UDFA Rookies
In the 2026 NFL Draft, the Chiefs found themselves drafting in the top 10 for the first time since they selected Patrick Mahomes out of Texas Tech at No. 10 overall in 2017. They took advantage with their three selections in the first 40 picks, adding heavily to the defense before shifting focus to the other side of the ball on Day 3. After only ending up with seven rookie additions from the draft, Kansas City let loose with contract offers, adding these 20 undrafted free agent rookies:
- Vincent Anthony Jr., DE (Duke)
- Wesley Bissainthe, LB (Miami)
- Cole Brevard, DT (Texas)
- Jeff Caldwell, WR (Cincinnati)
- Jacob De Jesus, WR (California)
- Anthony Dunn, DE (Toledo)
- Omari Evans, WR (Washington)
- John Michael Gyllenborg, TE (Wyoming)
- Ethan Hurkett, DE (Iowa)
- Amari McNeill, DT (Colorado)
- Xavier Nwankpa, S (Iowa)
- Pete Nygra, C (Louisville)
- Jaydn Ott, RB (California)
- Damon Payne, DT (Michigan)
- D’Arco Perkins-McAllister, CB (Louisiana-Monroe)
- Bryce Phillips, CB (San Diego State)
- DeShon Singleton, S (Nebraska)
- EJ Smith, RB (Texas A&M)
- Josh Thompson, G (LSU)
- Zelmar Vedder, CB (Houston)
After adding a few on offense at the end of the draft, Kansas City continued to add some weapons in undrafted free agency. Ott showed a ton of potential as a sophomore two years ago, when he attended the same school De Jesus transferred to for 2025. He led the Golden Bears with 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground in 2023, but his production and efficiency hit a nosedive the next year. Despite starting 10 games, his production fell to 385 rushing yards and four touchdowns. After transferring to Norman, his production continued to freefall as his usage dwindled nearly down to nothing. There are questions about his toughness and ability to play through minor injuries, but the height of his production showed a dynamic, one-cut rusher with NFL potential.
Caldwell is raw and didn’t dominate at the same level after transferring from Lindenwood to Cincinnati, but a 6-foot-5 frame with a 4.31-second 40-yard dash put him on the map for the NFL with projections that he could have been a fifth- or sixth-rounder. The Chiefs get the developmental project post-draft, though, and could come away much better because of it. It’s probably not a great sign that Gyllenborg didn’t produce much in five years at Wyoming, but scouts see some extremely promising physical tools that boast plenty of potential to work in the league.
On the defensive front, Anthony comes to Kansas City after notching 12.5 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss in his last two years starting for the Blue Devils. He has a decent set of moves to disrupt the offenses he faces but will need to add weight and clean up his game to stick at the next level. Bissainthe’s level of play rose with each of his four years at Miami — three as a starter — as he developed his game all over the field. He hasn’t proven to be especially strong in any one area, but he’s a hard hitter who has shown a knack for improvement in the face of each challenge.
In the secondary, the Chiefs landed two promising safeties who had strong chances of getting drafted; Singleton was even projected to go in the fifth or sixth round. Showing up all over the stat sheet, Singleton could establish a role as a nickelback if the depth chart stacks up just right. Nwankpa had a really strong senior year with the Hawkeyes, but his future may be as a standout special teamer. At cornerback, Phillips was a player Kansas City coveted. In order to secure his signature, the Chiefs gave Phillips an undrafted free agent contract with $247,500 in guaranteed money, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.