Bears To Sign WR Kalif Raymond
Wide receiver/return man Kalif Raymond is moving from Detroit to NFC North rival Chicago. The Bears are signing Raymond, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. It’s a one-year, $5.1MM pact, per Rapaport and colleague Mike Garafolo.
This deal will reunite Raymond with Bears head coach Ben Johnson, who was on the Lions’ staff during the wideout’s first four years in the Motor City. Johnson worked as the Lions’ offensive coordinator from 2022-24.
Raymond recorded a career-high 616 receiving yards in Johnson’s first season calling plays. He also accrued his second-most catches (47) that year, though his impact in Detroit’s offense diminished after that. Raymond amassed 35 catches for 489 yards and a touchdown in 2023, his second straight 17-game campaign. He dipped to 17-215-2 over 12 contests in Johnson’s last season with the Lions.
With Johnson moving to Chicago for a promotion in 2025, Raymond experienced a slight uptick in production under the play-calling duo of now-former O-coordinator John Morton and head coach Dan Campbell. In 15 games, Raymond caught 24 of 30 targets for 289 yards and a score.
As a receiver, Raymond wrapped up his five-year Detroit tenure with 171 catches, 2,185 yards (12.8 YPC) and eight scores. He also made an impact as a return man, earning second-team All-Pro honors in 2022 and 2024. He took back three punts for touchdowns as a Lion and led the league in return yards in ’24.
More to come…
Bills, TE Dawson Knox Agree To New Deal
Seven-year veteran tight end Dawson Knox will continue his career in Buffalo. The parties have agreed to a new three-year deal, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports. Knox agreed to a restructured contract to remain with the Bills, per Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network.
Until now, Knox’s future in Buffalo had been in question as a result of a bloated cap number on his previous pact. Before this restructuring came together, the 29-year-old was in line to count $17.87MM against the Bills’ cap next season.
With Knox due a $1.5MM roster bonus on Day 5 of the league year, the Bills had to address his contract quickly. They will now keep the 2019 third-rounder in the fold as an important cog in their offense.
Knox combined for 52 catches over his first two seasons, but he found another gear from 2021-22. The 6-foot-4, 254-pounder averaged 48 catches, 552 yards and just under eight touchdowns during that two-year stretch.
Knox earned his lone Pro Bowl nod in 2022, but the Bills’ reliance on him temporarily diminished after they spent a 2023 first-rounder on fellow TE Dalton Kincaid. While Kincaid hauled in 73 passes and recorded a 60.05% snap share as a rookie, Knox caught just 22 and played 41.8% of offensive snaps. With Kincaid battling knee issues in 2024, Knox easily finished with more snaps (618 to 471), though he only managed 22 receptions for the second straight season.
Last year was a resurgent pass-catching campaign for Knox, who racked up 36 grabs, 417 yards and four scores. Playing the first 17-game season of his career, Knox led Bills tight ends in snap share (57.69%) as knee and oblique injuries held Kincaid to 12 contests. The Bills were also heavily reliant on blocking specialist Jackson Hawes, who was in on 43% of offensive snaps as a rookie.
Although Hawes caught a meager 16 passes in 17 games last season, Pro Football Focus ranked the fifth-rounder as the league’s fourth-best tight end among 69 qualifiers. Kincaid checked in at No. 2, while Knox finished 24th. With Knox sticking around, the Bills will keep a strong TE group intact heading into former offensive coordinator Joe Brady‘s first season as their head coach.
Packers To Release CB Nate Hobbs
Nate Hobbs‘ Green Bay future was a question mark leading up to free agency. The veteran corner will indeed be on the move after just one year with the team. 
Hobbs is being cut, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. This will be designated a post-June 1 release, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky adds. Green Bay will create $8.84MM in cap savings as a result while generating a dead money charge of $4MM.
No restructure was worked out in this case as the new league year approached, leading to questions about a separation. Hobbs inked a four-year, $48MM contract in free agency last spring upon playing out his rookie contract with the Raiders. As usual, the Packers did not include any full guarantees beyond the first season of the deal, with Hobbs being owed a $6.25MM roster bonus on Friday. In advance of that date, Green Bay has elected to move on.
Hobbs joined the Packers with injury concerns, and that proved to be a problem in 2025. A meniscus issue in training camp marked the first of three knee ailments the former fifth-rounder dealt with in Green Bay. The last was a season-ending MCL injury. Hobbs had found himself out of the starting lineup by the time that took place, pointing further to a cut in this case.
The Illinois product struggled in coverage with the Packers, surrendering a passer rating of 111.1 as the nearest defender in 2025. Between that and his injuries, Hobbs will be hard-pressed to secure a long-term contract like he did last spring. Still, at the age of 26, he could be seen as a bounce-back candidate by teams seeking depth in the secondary.
The cornerback position was a sore spot for Green Bay down the stretch, as illustrated by the Trevon Diggs experiment to close out the campaign. He is no longer in the fold, and Hobbs will also be on the move in free agency. Early on Tuesday, though, the Packers lined up a CB addition by agreeing to terms with Benjamin St-Juste.
Vikings To Re-Sign LS Andrew DePaola
The Vikings are re-signing three-time Pro Bowl long snapper Andrew DePaola, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. The sides have agreed to a one-year, fully guaranteed deal worth $1.725MM.
DePaola, who went undrafted out of Rutgers in 2012, worked as a bartender before catching on with the Buccaneers two years later. He then went on to log four straight 16-game seasons – three with the Bucs and another with the Bears. The Raiders gave DePaola a four-year deal in 2018, but a torn ACL limited him to one game that season.
After the Raiders released DePaola in the ensuing offseason, he was unable to secure a roster spot anywhere in 2019. Since resurfacing on the Vikings’ practice squad in 2020, DePaola has turned into a fixture on their special teams unit. He has put up four 17-game seasons, including last year, and earned a total of four All-Pro selections. The soon-to-be 39-year-old is now in line to remain in Minnesota for at least another season.
With DePaola’s help, kicker Will Reichard nailed 33 of 35 field goals (94.3%) and all 31 extra points en route to first-team All-Pro honors in 2025. DePaola will continue snapping to Reichard in 2026, but he will work with a different punter after Ryan Wright left for New Orleans on Monday.
Giants To Sign CB Greg Newsome
The Giants’ roster overhaul is ongoing, and it will continue into Tuesday. Shortly after learning Cor’Dale Flott will depart, a cornerback addition has been arranged.
New York is expected to sign Greg Newsome, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports. This will be a one-year deal, he adds. Newsome is headed to the NFC after playing out his rookie contract in Cleveland and Jacksonville. He will collect up to $8MM in 2026 with $3MM in guarantees, per Connor Hughes of SNY.
The Browns spent the 26th pick in the 2021 draft on Newsome, a former Northwestern standout. Over his first three seasons, Newsome started in 39 of 41 games and combined for 29 pass deflections. Newsome’s only two interceptions during that span came in 2023, after which the Browns exercised his $13.37MM fifth-year option for 2025.
Newsome added another pick in 2024, but the Browns demoted him to a slot role in sub-packages during a 13-game, three-start season. With Martin Emerson taking his starting job on the outside, Newsome recorded a career-low 53.04% snap share. Pro Football Focus ranked Newsome’s play an unsightly 106th out of 117 qualifying corners.
While trade rumors swirled over Newsome at last year’s draft and in the summer, he stayed put to begin the season. The Browns reinstalled Newsome as a starter for their first five games, but they finally pulled the trigger on a trade in early October. The team shipped Newsome to the Jaguars in a corner-for-corner swap that delivered Tyson Campbell to Cleveland.
Newsome started in 11 of 12 games during his short stay in Jacksonville, which let him walk and re-signed Montaric Brown instead. Between the Browns and Jags, Newsome totaled 52 tackles, nine pass deflections and an INT in the first 17-game season of his career. PFF had a more favorable outlook on Newsome’s performance in 2025, though he still ranked a subpar 89th among 112 CBs.
The Giants thought they had a deal with Flott before Titans head coach Robert Saleh talked him into moving to Tennessee on Monday. A day later, the Giants have the 25-year-old Newsome in the fold as a potential starter opposite Paulson Adebo.
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.
Bills, K Tyler Bass Agree To Restructure
Tyler Bass will remain in place with the Bills for 2026. Coming off a missed season, though, his pact has been adjusted.
Team and player worked out a revision on Tuesday, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Bass has accepted a $1.5MM pay cut for the coming campaign in exchange for a $1MM guarantee in 2026. The veteran kicker can earn another $1MM via incentives, and his cap figure now sits at $3.05MM.
A 2020 sixth-rounder out of Georgia Southern, Bass missed just one game over his first five seasons. The career-long Bill converted a solid 84.5% of field goals (131 of 155) and 96% of extra points (264 of 274) during that span.
Bass was in line to remain the Bills’ kicker last year, but he wound up missing the entire season as a result of a hip/groin issue. The Bills placed Bass on injured reserve leading up to Week 1 and brought in 41-year-old Matt Prater as a last-minute replacement. Prater went on to hit 18 of 20 FGs (90%) and 46 of 49 PATs (94%) over 15 regular-season games. The two-time Pro Bowler was perfect during the postseason, in which he made five field goals and six extra points in two games.
Bass underwent surgery in late November, but it appears Buffalo is confident he will return to full strength next season. The only other kicker in the building is the untested Maddux Trujillo, who is on a reserve/futures deal. Meanwhile, if Prater wants to play a 20th season in 2026, he will likely have to look elsewhere in free agency.
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.
Packers To Sign CB Benjamin St-Juste
Cornerback was known to be an area of need for the Packers entering the 2026 offseason. An addition has been lined up early in free agency.
Green Bay has agreed to a deal with Benjamin St-Juste, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. This will be a two-year, $10MM deal, he adds. Incentives could push the maximum value to $10.5MM.
The 28-year-old St-Juste will step in for Nate Hobbs, whom the Packers released Tuesday. St-Juste spent last season as a member of the Chargers, with whom he performed effectively as a rotational boundary corner and a regular special teamer. While logging a 34.97% defensive snap share over 16 games, St-Juste totaled 37 tackles, seven pass deflections and an interceptions.
Despite St-Juste’s limited role, Pro Football Focus ranked the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder 11th out of 112 qualifying corners in 2025. As PFF’s Mason Cameron notes, St-Juste led the league with a 90.1 grade in zone coverage.
Before his short but impressive stint with the Chargers, St-Juste was a Commander for the first four years of his career. Washington used a 2021 third-rounder (74th overall) on the the Montreal native and former Minnesota Golden Gopher. St-Juste lined up on the boundary and in the slot in Washington, where he started in 45 of 54 games.
In 2023, his best year as a Commander, St-Juste racked up 17 pass deflections in 16 starts. However, PFF ranked St-Juste as a bottom-five corner in 2024. A couple of months after the Commanders benched him late in the season, they allowed St-Juste to walk in free agency. He enjoyed a resurgence in Los Angeles under defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Green Bay is expecting that to transfer to new D-coordinator Jonathan Gannon‘s system.
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.
Dolphins To Sign QB Malik Willis
11:13pm: Willis will see both his 2026 and 2027 base salaries fully guaranteed, SI.com’s Albert Breer reports. A $2MM roster bonus is due in March 2028. Year 3 will have a nonguaranteed salary. Still, the Dolphins will be paying the Tagovailoa dead money and Willis’ fully guaranteed compensation over the next two years.
11:51am: Despite taking on a record-setting dead money sum from the impending Tua Tagovailoa release, the Dolphins will be the team that signs off on Malik Willis‘ second contract.
Willis is reuniting with Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley in Miami, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who reports the sides agreed on a three-year deal worth $67.5MM. Willis will receive $45MM guaranteed at signing.
While not a $30MM-per-year contract like recent rumors indicated, Willis will still cash in via that nice guarantee number. This figures to provide at least a two-year runway for Willis in Miami, which will spread the Tagovailoa dead cap hit through 2027. Still, a $99.2MM dead cap hit over that span and a $20MM-plus QB salary will be an interesting route to take. A bit of a smokescreen effort may have taken place on the Dolphins’ part, as Sullivan pointed to the team’s cap situation making it difficult to win the Willis sweepstakes.
In terms of AAV, Willis is set to hover in unoccupied territory. This number comes in south of the Baker Mayfield–Sam Darnold tier but well north of backup money. The full guarantee likely became a strong sweetener for the Jordan Love backup, who drew interest from a few teams — the Browns, Cardinals and Steelers among them. Presenting a strange free agency profile with six career starts, Willis ranked seventh on PFR’s top 50 free agents list. He will do much better than Justin Fields in terms of fully guaranteed money; the Jets gave their 2025 starter at $30MM guarantee.
Fields’ $20MM-per-year deal is the only QB contract in this neighborhood, but the Jets are about to terminate that deal. Soon, Willis’ $22.5MM AAV number will be the only QB pact in between Cam Ward‘s rookie salary ($12.21MM) and Mayfield’s current $33.3MM AAV.
Mike Vrabel deemed Willis unplayable late in the 2022 season, after the third-round rookie looked erratic in his short time at the helm. The Titans drafted Will Levis in 2023 and parked Willis behind he and Ryan Tannehill. A new Titans coaching staff signed off on trading the Jon Robinson-era draftee to the Packers for a low-end return in summer 2024. Willis became needed immediately, with Love going down with an injury in Week 1 of that season.
Matt LaFleur customized the offense to suit Willis’ skillset, and the effort created a market. Willis ran his start count from three to six in Green Bay, putting up eye-popping (and unsustainable) numbers. He compiled a 6:0 TD-INT ratio in Green Bay, having completed 70 of 89 attempts at a college-y 12.1 yards per pass. Willis also averaged 6.2 yards per rush (29/261/3). Willis will now work under Bobby Slowik, who will run a LaFleur-type scheme. Both are Kyle Shanahan disciples.
With Willis committing to Miami within an hour of the legal tampering period’s outset, other QB-needy teams will not need to authorize higher-end guarantees — most likely, at least. But some of those teams will be left scrambling, as a host of needs exist on this year’s market. That helped inflate Willis’ value despite the six career starts.
The Dolphins gave Tagovailoa six years but erred by giving him a $53.1MM-per-year extension in 2024. The Mike McDaniel passer showed tremendous promise as an accurate thrower, but concussions gave way to inconsistency for the left-hander. Miami benched Tagovailoa late in McDaniel’s tenure and was never seriously linked to retaining him — despite what would have been a easier route contractually — this offseason. Sullivan will take a risk with Willis due to his limited sample size, but he and Hafley certainly have plenty of information on him from the sides’ two-year overlap in Wisconsin.
Raiders, Tyler Linderbaum Reach Record-Setting C Contract
11:12pm: As expected, it is a player-friendly deal. Linderbaum will receive a $20MM signing bonus to go with fully guaranteed salaries in 2026 and ’27, according to ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano. This could become a fully guaranteed deal by March 2027. Linderbaum’s $21MM 2028 base salary shifts from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 3 of the 2027 league year. Barring a Christian Wilkins-like exit ramp forming before that point, this is a fully guaranteed $81MM contract.
12:49pm: The top center sweepstakes in free agency history is over. Linked to several teams, Tyler Linderbaum is choosing Las Vegas. The Raiders are adding the Pro Bowl blocker, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
It will take a three-year, $81MM deal to bring Linderbaum to the desert. The Commanders, Titans and Giants joined the Ravens in being in on PFR’s No. 1-ranked free agent. Rather than a four-year commitment, Linderbaum agreed to a shorter-term deal that includes $60MM guaranteed.
In terms of market obliteration, this is among the greatest achievements in NFL history. Linderbaum hitting free agency allowed him to land a deal $9MM north (AAV-wise) of any center pact before him. This contract also checks in clear of every guard salary, with Linderbaum’s $27MM-per-year number topping Tyler Smith‘s $24MM AAV. This is a staggering commitment, but the Raiders led the NFL in cap space. After sending Maxx Crosby to Baltimore, Las Vegas will pilfer the Ravens’ O-line centerpiece.
Patrick Mahomes held the quarterback AAV record for less than two years, but it is safe to expect Linderbaum’s grip on the center market to last longer. It took Mahomes giving the Chiefs 10 years of control for them to hike the QB market by $10MM per year in 2020. Linderbaum managed to smash Creed Humphrey‘s center-record number ($18MM) without any such concessions. The power of the open market persists, as the salary cap has now climbed to $301.2MM.
Coming into today, the NFL only had two center pacts — after Drew Dalman‘s retirement — north of $13MM per year. Those went to Humphrey and the Eagles’ Cam Jurgens ($17MM). Linderbaum has signed an outlier accord and will join a Raiders O-line that is otherwise light on expenses beyond Kolton Miller‘s 2025 extension. Miller and Linderbaum will lead the way in protecting expected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, whose rookie contract will align with Linderbaum’s three-year deal.
ESPN’s pass block win rate metric ranked Linderbaum fourth among all interior O-lineman last season; he ranked 13th in 2024. Pro Football Focus, conversely, has graded Linderbaum as a far superior run blocker. The agile lineman has certainly made a considerable difference for a run-reliant offense, and the Raiders are certainly paying him to help unleash Ashton Jeanty, who spent much of his rookie season bottled up behind an O-line PFF ranked 32nd.
The Raiders used a combination of Alex Cappa and Jordan Meredith at center last season. It should be expected Las Vegas, which entered today needing to spend to reach the three-year salary-floor mandate, will be in the guard market as well. Right tackle also served as a need for the struggling franchise, but this market’s biggest O-line fish — one of the biggest O-line prizes in free agency’s 34 years — will be teaming with (almost certainly) last year’s Heisman winner.
As for the Ravens, they will need a fallback option. The 2022 first-round pick had helped an O-line that lost guard starters in free agency along with RT Morgan Moses. While Baltimore has Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten in place at tackle, the team has needs at guard (where Daniel Faalele is unsigned) and now a massive void at center. The Ravens had aimed to pay Linderbaum, but they did not pick up his fifth-year option in 2025. The CBA groups all O-linemen together, making centers difficult to tag; no center has been tagged since Ryan Kalil (Panthers) 15 years ago.
Those factors helped lead Linderbaum out of Maryland, completing one of the more memorable chapters in O-line free agency history.
Falcons To Sign QB Tua Tagovailoa
The Dolphins are planning to release Tua Tagovailoa, and just a few hours later, he has found a new team. The 28-year-old quarterback will be moving one state north to join the Falcons, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
As expected, Tagovailoa will receive a one-year, veteran-minimum deal in Atlanta, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, as Miami is still paying him $54MM this season. He will join fellow lefty Michael Penix Jr. in a Falcons quarterback room that will likely soon lose Kirk Cousins.
In fact, Tagovailoa projects as the team’s bridge starter as Penix works his way back from knee surgery, filling a role that could have kept Cousins in Atlanta. Instead, the veteran should now get the opportunity to pick a new team that he did not receive last offseason.
Considering Tagovailoa’s drastic fall since his 2023 Pro Bowl nod, Atlanta is a fine landing spot for the former first-round pick. The Falcons have been non-committal on Penix’s status as their franchise QB, and his injury will give Tagovailoa an opportunity to rebuild his stock surrounded by a strong supporting cast.
The Falcons have a solid offensive line and exciting young skill position players like Drake London, Bijan Robinson, and Kyle Pitts. But Tagovailoa’s struggles over the past two seasons will still give him an uphill battle in convincing Atlanta’s new leadership that he, not Penix, is the quarterback to steward the team’s offense into the future.
Finding no trade takers, the Dolphins will designate Tagovailoa as a post-June 1 cut Wednesday. That comes as little surprise, as it will allow Miami to spread out the record-breaking $99.2MM dead money charge in this case over two years. Thanks to Tagovailoa’s guarantees on his contract, he could account for $67MM a dead cap charges in 2026 as the Dolphins move forward with their full-scale roster reset.
Benched before Week 16 last season, Tagovailoa would welcome a fresh start. His four-year, $212.4MM extension — which included a $54MM 2026 option bonus that shifted from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in March 2025 — backfired quickly. Still, Tagovailoa played well for much of the 2022 and ’23 campaigns.
Tua, 28 in May, led the league in yards per attempt and passer rating in 2022, passing yards in 2023 and completion percentage in 2024. Concussion concerns resurfaced in 2024, and Tagovailoa missed six games that year. His 2025 season continued a downward trajectory. But at the veteran minimum, the Falcons will take a flier.
If Tagovailoa were to make that a serious consideration later this year, it would create a fascinating dynamic in Atlanta. The Falcons surprised many by selecting Penix with the No. 8 pick in the 2024 draft weeks after signing Cousins to a four-year, $160MM deal with $90MM guaranteed. Cousins started the regular season strong, but struggled with turnovers down the stretch and was replaced by Penix. He went into 2025 as the unquestioned starter with Cousins trying to force his way out of Atlanta. But Penix did not inspire much confidence himself before partially tearing his ACL, leaving the Falcons in a tricky spot this offseason.
Normally, a quarterback’s third season (second as a starter) is a good litmus test for their long-term capabilities. But Penix will not get that type of opportunity, as he is expected to miss offseason practices as the team transitions to Kevin Stefanski‘s coaching staff. Instead, Tagovailoa will have the first opportunity to impress the new regime on the field.