Saints Add 10 UDFAs
The Saints left the draft with eight rookies, and they’ve added 10 more players to their class. The team announced the signing of the following undrafted free agents:
- CJ Donaldson, RB (Ohio State)
- Cody Hardy, TE (North Carolina State)
- Alan Herron, OT (Maryland)
- Michael Heldman, DE (Central Michigan)
- DaShawn Jones, CB (Alabama)
- Jeremiah McClendon, CB (Southern Illinois)
- KeeShawn Silver, NT (USC)
- Mason Shipley, K (Texas)
- Jay’Viar Suggs, DT (Wisconsin)
- Alex Wollschlaeger, OT (Kentucky)
Alan Herron was among the UDFAs to earn a chunk of money from the Saints. According to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, the Maryland offensive tackle got a $25K signing bonus and a total guarantee of $272.5K. After spending two years at Division II Shorter University, Herron joined Maryland ahead of the 2024 campaign. He struggled during his first season at the school but he improved his performance in 2025, earning him an All-Big Ten honorable mention.
After finishing his Texas State tenure as the school’s all-time leader in field goal percentage (88.6), Mason Shipley left for Texas in 2025. He finished this past year converting 20 of his 24 field goal attempts, with a season-long of 53 yards. Charlie Smyth didn’t run with the opportunity in 2025, as the rookie kicker made 12 of his 16 FG attempts for the Saints. Shipley should provide some competition at the kicker position, and the rookie could end up earning a roster spot with a strong summer showing.
Steelers Sign 6 Undrafted Free Agents
The Steelers entered the 2026 NFL Draft with 73 players under contract and a league-high 12 picks. As a result, they did not need to sign many undrafted free agents to fill out their roster. Here is Pittsburgh’s six-player UDFA class (via a team announcement):
- Devan Boykin, CB (Indiana)
- Daylan Carnell, LB (Missouri)
- Kevin Jobity Jr., DL (Syracuse)
- Laith Marjan, K (Kansas)
- Lake McRee, TE (USC)
- Chamon Metayer, TE (Arizona State)
Boykin, 24, played at North Carolina State from 2020 to 2023, but missed the 2024 season due to a torn ACL. He transferred to Indiana last year and served as the primary slot corner on their national championship squad. In coverage, he allowed just 5.6 yards per target and made two interceptions, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), with a 93.9 run defense grade and a 3.6% missed tackle rate. Boykin will join a deep Steelers cornerback room with the goal of proving himself as a depth nickel and on special teams, where he also excelled at Indiana.
Marjan comes to the NFL as a relatively inexperienced kicker, having attempted just 34 field goals in his college career. He made 30 of them to go along with a 97.6% conversion rate on his 84 extra points, suggesting that he has an accurate leg with limited power. It seems unlikely that he is a real threat to longtime Steelers kicker Chris Boswell, though he is entering the final year of his contract after somewhat of a down performance in 2025. Perhaps the door is open for Marjan to push Boswell under a new regime, but another extension for the veteran feels far more likely.
McRee started for the better part of the last three years at USC with 50 catches for 507 yards (but just one touchdown) in 2023 and 2024. He took a clear step forward in 2025 with 30 catches for 450 yards and three touchdowns. He will compete with 2025 UDFA J.J. Galbreath for a potential TE4 spot on the Steelers’ roster.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/28/26
Today’s minor moves:
New England Patriots
- Released: RB Elijah Mitchell
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: TE Jaheim Bell
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released: QB/WR John Rhys Plumlee
Vikings Sign 19 UDFAs
The Vikings had six UDFAs make at least 10 appearances in 2025 (WR Myles Price, LB Tyler Batty, LB Chaz Chambliss, OL Joe Huber, TE Ben Yurosek, LB Austin Keys). The team will be hoping for similar success in 2026, as Minnesota has added 19 undrafted free agents to their squad. The list includes:
- Marcus Allen, CB (North Carolina)
- Da’Veawn Armstead, CB (North Texas)
- Dillon Bell, WR (Georgia)
- Jordan Botelho, OLB (Notre Dame)
- Tyreek Chappell, CB (Texas A&M)
- Monkell Goodwine, DL (South Carolina)
- Shaleak Knotts, WR (Maryland)
- Keli Lawson, LB (UCF)
- Tristan Leigh, OL (Clemson)
- Delby Lemieux, OL (Dartmouth)
- Kejon Owens, RB (Florida International)
- Tomas Rimac, OL (Virginia Tech)
- Marcus Sanders Jr., WR (Georgia Southern)
- Cam’Ron Stewart, OLB (Temple)
- Jacob Thomas, S (James Madison)
- Brett Thorson, P (Georgia)
- Arden Walker, OLB (Colorado)
- Scooby Williams, LB (Texas A&M)
- Luke Wysong, WR (Arizona)
Of the 19 Vikings signings, four of them came at the wide receiver position. Georgia Southern’s Marcus Sanders Jr. is coming off the most productive 2025 campaign of the bunch, as the wideout hauled in 50 catches for 797 yards and five touchdowns. He entered the season having tallied only 35 catches through his first three collegiate seasons.
Luke Wysong is another intriguing addition. The receiver had a standout campaign at New Mexico in 2024, finishing with 840 receiving yards. However, his counting stats took a step back after he transferred to Arizona for the 2025 campaign, when he finished with only 278 receiving yards. Any of the UDFAs could push for a roster spot in a WRs room that lacks convincing depth behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
Interestingly, the Vikings added one of college football’s top punters in Brett Thorson. The Georgia product is coming off a 2025 campaign where he earned the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation’s top player at the position. Thorson finished the campaign placing 23 punts inside the 20 while averaging 4.38 seconds of hang time. He’ll be joining a depth chart that’s currently led by Johnny Hekker. The veteran signed with the Vikings last month following a 2025 campaign in Tennessee that saw him average 40.3 net yards per punt.
Rams Add 18 UDFAs
The Rams only selected five players during this past weekend’s draft, but they’re not being shy about adding undrafted free agents to their squad. The team announced the signing of 18 UDFAs:
- Nick Andersen, S (Wake Forest)
- Wesley Bailey, OLB (Louisville)
- Austin Blaske, OL (North Carolina)
- Matthew Caldwell, QB (Texas)
- Dean Connors, RB (Houston)
- Nyzier Fourqurean, CB (Wisconsin)
- Al’zillion Hamilton, CB (Fresno State)
- Bryce Henderson, OL (Vanderbilt)
- Nikhai Hill-Green, ILB (Alabama)
- Rohan Jones, TE (Arkansas)
- Chad Lindberg, OL (North Carolina)
- Jalen Logan-Redding, DL (Minnesota)
- Jaxson Moi, DL (Tennessee)
- Drey Norwood, CB (Missouri)
- Darryl Peterson III, OLB (Wisconsin)
- Dan Villari, TE (Syracuse)
- Eddie Walls III, OLB (Houston)
- Peyton Zdroik, DL (Air Force)
The Rams had one of the most notable selections of the draft when they selected Alabama QB Ty Simpson, but the team wasn’t done adding players at the position, as the organization has brought in Texas signal caller Matthew Caldwell. The quarterback bounced around during his collegiate career, taking snaps at Jacksonville State, Gardner-Webb, Troy, and Texas. He got his most extended look while playing for the Trojans, as he finished that 2024 campaign completing 63.2 percent of his passes for 1,608 yards, 13 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He only had 11 pass attempts during his lone season with the Longhorns.
Houston’s Dean Connors could compete for a roster spot behind Kyren Williams and Blake Corum on the RBs depth chart. Connors scored 21 touchdowns at Rice between 2023 and 2024 before transferring to Houston in 2025. He finished this past season with a career-high 977 rushing yards to go along with 254 receiving yards. He ultimately found the end zone nine times. He’ll be competing with the likes of Ronnie Rivers and Jarquez Hunter for a roster spot.
Nick Andersen is coming off back-to-back standout seasons at Wake Forest. The safety finished the 2024 campaign with 122 tackles, and he followed that up with 106 stops in 2025. Notably, he took his pass-rush and run-stopping ability to another level this past year, finishing with 6.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also finished with seven passes defended. Andersen will likely have to show some special teams prowess to make the initial 53, but he could get some run on defense should any veterans suffer injuries.
Cardinals Sign Seven UDFAs
The Cardinals had a relatively standard draft, as the organization left the weekend with seven rookies. The team has now doubled that rookie class by agreeing to deals with seven undrafted free agents. That grouping includes:
- Elijah Culp, CB (James Madison)
- Ka’ena De Cambra, OL (Arizona)
- Jameson Geers, TE (Minnesota)
- Cameron Robertson, OLB (SMU)
- Harrison Wallace III, WR (Mississippi)
- Damonic Williams, DL (Oklahoma)
- Wydett Williams Jr., S (Mississippi)
Harrison Wallace III got a significant chunk of money to join Arizona. Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, the Ole Miss wideout got a $40K signing bonus and $247.5K in salary for a total of $287.5K in guaranteed money. Following a breakout campaign with Penn State in 2024, Wallace took his production to another level during his lone season with the Rebels. The receiver hauled in 57 catches for 894 yards and four touchdowns. He’ll be competing for a spot on a depth chart that includes free agent acquisition Kendrick Bourne and rookie fifth-round pick Reggie Virgil.
Wilson also passed along financials on Ka’ena De Cambra‘s deal with the Cardinals, noting that the offensive lineman earned a $5K signing bonus along with having $50K of his base salary guaranteed. After starting his collegiate career at Hawaii, De Cambra spent the 2025 campaign at Arizona, where he appeared in 12 games. The Cardinals only used one pick on the offensive line this past weekend, selecting Mississippi’s Jayden Williams in the seventh round.
Wydett Williams Jr. may have the best shot of the UDFA class to make the 53-man roster. Budda Baker is fully entrenched atop the depth chart at strong safety, but former UDFA Kitan Crawford represents the only depth behind him. Williams is coming off a standout season at Ole Miss where he compiled 73 stops, three interceptions, and 10 passes defended.
Lions To Exercise Jahmyr Gibbs’ Fifth-Year Option, Decline Jack Campbell’s
The Lions picked twice in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, meaning they have a pair of fifth-year option decisions to make by May 1. The team plans to exercise running back Jahmyr Gibbs‘ option, but it will decline linebacker Jack Campbell‘s, Dan Miller of Fox2 Detroit reports.
Gibbs and Campbell have turned into stars at their respective positions since entering the league. However, saying yes to Gibbs’ option was much more of a slam-dunk choice for Detroit. The former 12th overall pick will lock in a 2027 salary of $14.29MM salary, which is reasonable for an elite back who has already earned three Pro Bowl nods.
The dual-threat Gibbs has found the end zone a whopping 49 times (39 rushing, 10 receiving) in as many games. A two-time 1,200-yard rusher, Gibbs has averaged a robust 5.3 YPC on 675 attempts. Gibbs is also fresh off a 77-catch season, easily surpassing the respectable 52 he totaled in each of his first two years.
Campbell came off the board 18th overall, six picks after Gibbs, and has evolved into a high-level off-linebacker. Unfortunately for Campbell, though, the NFL continues to group off-ball LBs and pass-rushing LBs together for valuation purposes. Teams do not value them equally, evidenced by the fact that no club has picked up an off-ball LB’s option since the Buccaneers did it for Devin White in 2022. The Lions will not snap the four-year streak despite Campbell’s successful development.
A former Iowa standout, Campbell has not missed a game in three seasons. Campbell thrived in a career year in 2025, during which he set personal bests in tackles (176), TFL (nine), sacks (five) and forced fumbles (three) en route to his first Pro Bowl selection and All-Pro honors. The original-ballot Pro Bowl bid upped the value of his option to $21.93MM, which the Lions deemed too rich. The 49ers’ Fred Warner and the Ravens’ Roquan Smith are the only off-LBs making at least $20MM per year.
While the Lions are not yet guaranteed to keep Campbell around beyond next season, there is optimism a long-term agreement will come together. He is “absolutely” in the Lions’ plans, per Miller. For now, Campbell, tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch are among Lions core players who are due to reach free agency next year.
The Lions will keep Gibbs around for a minimum of two more seasons, but they could still try to hammer out an extension after picking up his option. A new Gibbs pact would “easily” check in at over $15MM per year, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. Only three backs – the Eagles’ Saquon Barkley ($20.6MM), the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey ($19MM) and the Ravens’ Derrick Henry ($15MM) – are averaging that much money per annum. The 24-year-old Gibbs may join them soon.
Chargers To Pick Up Quentin Johnston’s Fifth-Year Option
With the May 1 deadline for fifth-year option decisions looming, the Chargers have made their choice on wide receiver Quentin Johnston. They are picking up his option, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports. Johnston is now in line to earn $18.1MM in 2027.
[RELATED: Fifth-Year Option Tracker]
Johnston entered the offseason as a potential trade candidate, but general manager Joe Hortiz revealed in mid-April that he had neither received nor made calls on the 6-foot-2, 208-pounder. Hortiz and head coach Jim Harbaugh were not in place when the Chargers selected Johnston 21st overall in 2023, but they have seen enough positives to keep the TCU product around through his fifth season.
Johnston’s career got off to a disappointing start in 2023, a 38-catch, 431-yard, two-touchdown effort in which he struggled with drops. The Chargers fired head coach Brandon Staley during what wound up as a 5-12 campaign. They brought in their current regime in the ensuing offseason, and Johnston has offered much better production since then.
Although Johnston missed two games in his second year, he still easily eclipsed the numbers he put up during a full rookie season. He hauled in 55 passes for 711 yards and eight touchdowns, giving quarterback Justin Herbert a quality complement to then-rookie sensation Ladd McConkey. Despite logging three more absences in 2025, Johnston managed his second straight eight-TD season. He racked up 51 receptions for a career-high 735 yards along the way.
Johnston finished closely behind McConkey and Keenan Allen in yards last season. Allen is still unsigned almost two months into free agency, and it is unclear whether the Chargers will bring back the franchise icon. Even if Allen goes elsewhere or retires, the Chargers appear to have a strong group of receivers entering Mike McDaniel‘s first season as their offensive coordinator. Along with Johnston and McConkey, the Bolts count 2025 second-rounder Tre Harris, 2025 fifth-rounder KeAndre Lambert-Smith and 2026 fourth-rounder Brenen Thompson among their options. All of those players are under team control for at least two more seasons.
Ravens To Sign QB Diego Pavia
Initially set to take part in a Ravens tryout at their weekend rookie minicamp, Diego Pavia has secured a UDFA deal ahead of that point. Baltimore is signing the undrafted quarterback Tuesday, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets.
This will be a standard three-year UDFA contract. Pavia follows Jalon Daniels (Buccaneers) and Haynes King (Panthers) as QBs to find homes post-draft. The Vanderbilt quarterback finished second in the 2025 Heisman voting, completing a four-year career spent with the Commodores and at New Mexico State.
The SEC Offensive Player of the Year led the conference with a 70.6% completion rate, 29 touchdown passes, and 9.4 yards per attempt in 2025. He finished second to No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza in Heisman voting, but as our Nikhil Mehta noted during the pre-draft process, size is a major concern about his potential in the NFL. Listed as 6 feet tall in college, Pavia measured in at 5-foot-9 at the Combine.
Transferring from New Mexico State in 2024, Pavia completed 59.4% of his passes in his first Vanderbilt season. That year did include a 20:4 TD-INT ratio while also featuring 801 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. The run game served as a key component for the undersized QB in college, as he gained 923 yards at New Mexico State in 2023 and 862 (to go with 10 TDs) in his Heisman runner-up season. Pavia’s rushing ability certainly should appeal to a Ravens team that deploys the league’s most dynamic quarterback as its starter.
Baltimore has used Tyler Huntley as its backup for a chunk of Lamar Jackson‘s career, reacquiring him last year and re-signing him this offseason. Jackson and Huntley entered Tuesday as the only QBs on the Ravens’ roster (Baltimore gave Huntley a two-year, $5MM deal coming with $3.5MM at signing). That opens the door to a potential developmental backup, and it will be interesting to see if Pavia can make a case to land on Baltimore’s 53-man roster or practice squad by summer’s end.
Steelers Expected To Re-Sign DT Dean Lowry
APRIL 28: Lowy will not be re-signing at this time, per Rapoport. More time will be taken for him to return to playing shape. Lowry has received medical clearance, but he did not take a physical upon agreeing to a new Pittsburgh pact. Once that changes, his next Steelers deal should be finalized.
APRIL 26: The Steelers are re-signing veteran defensive tackle Dean Lowry, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Lowry, 31, spent the last two years in Pittsburgh, but did not play in 2025 due to a torn ACL suffered in training camp. That was one of several injuries to the Steelers’ defensive line last year; Derrick Harmon, Isaiahh Loudermilk, and Daniel Ekuale all missed multiple games as well.
Originally a Packers fourth-round pick in 2016, Lowry emerged as a starter in his second NFL season. After his third, he received a three-year, $20.3MM contract extension that carried him through the rest of his time in Green Bay. He hit free agency in 2023 and signed a two-year, $8.5MM deal with the Vikings. He went down with a pectoral injury after just nine games and spent the rest of the season on injured reserve.
Lowry then signed a two-year, $5MM contract with the Steelers, but could not carve out more than a rotational role in their defense. He appeared in 12 games in 2024 with a 21% snap share with just five total tackles (none for loss) and one sack.
The Steelers bolstered their defensive line this offseason by signing Sebastian Joseph-Day to a two-year, $11MM deal while allowing Loudermilk and Ekuale to hit free agency. Retaining Lowry ensures some more veteran continuity – and indicates his recovery process has gone smoothly. Eight months removed his injury, he has a chance to participate in spring practices and should be ready for training camp.


