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.
Colts To Re-Sign TE Mo Alie-Cox
Mo Alie-Cox will remain in place with the Colts in 2026. The veteran tight end agreed to yet another Indianapolis deal on Saturday, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports. 
To no surprise, Schultz notes this will be a one-year pact. Alie-Cox has played 128 combined regular and postseason games since entering the NFL in 2018. All of them have come as a member of the Colts. Team and player will continue this long-running relationship through 2026.
Alie-Cox spent much of his Colts tenure on a string of low-cost contracts while establishing himself as a key blocking presence on offense. The former UDFA’s most notable pact was signed in 2022; he inked a three-year, $17.55MM contract at that point. After playing out that deal, a one-year agreement was reached last offseason. The same has now taken place this spring.
On only two occasions in his career has Alie-Cox recorded more that 20 receptions in a season. His snap share checked in at 39% in 2025, so an uptick in offensive production should not be expected moving forward. As 2025 first-rounder Tyler Warren continues to develop, though, Alie-Cox will no doubt remain an important contributor as a run blocker.
Much of the Colts’ offense will remain intact from 2025 thanks to the new contracts worked out with quarterback Daniel Jones and receiver Alec Pierce in recent days. Alie-Cox, 32, will be another familiar face for head coach Shane Steichen and Co. as the team looks to bounce back from its late-season collapse. This latest pact will no doubt be another low-cost deal, so the Colts – who entered Saturday with roughly $42MM in cap space – will still have plenty of financial flexibility as free agency continues.
49ers Signing P Corliss Waitman
It appears the 49ers will not be returning their entire special teams battery. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports that former Steelers punter Corliss Waitman will sign to be the new punter in San Francisco in 2026. 
Thomas Morstead operated as the team’s punter this past season. The 17-year-veteran remains unsigned, and today’s news certainly suggests he will need to look elsewhere for a new opportunity if his NFL career is to continue. Waitman is coming off a pair of campaigns with the Steelers.
An injury one game into the 2024 season left Cameron Johnston unavailable for Pittsburgh. Waitman stepped in for the rest of the year and remained the Steelers’ punter in 2025. During his second straight Pittsburgh campaign, Waitman outperformed Morstead in a number of key categories (h/t ESPN’s Nick Wagoner). The 49ers will hope the younger of the two will serve as an upgrade in 2026.
Johnston agreed to terms with the Steelers earlier this week, leaving Waitman’s future in doubt. The 30-year-old has quickly pivoted, and the 49ers will be his next NFL team. Waitman has seen time in five different organizations to date, but his only game action has come with Pittsburgh (across two separate stints) and Denver (2022). In all, he has made 52 appearances during the regular season.
Long snapper Jon Weeks signed a new San Francisco deal in February, ensuring his Bay Area stint will continue in 2026. The same is also true for kicker Eddy Pineiro, who re-signed with the 49ers one week ago. The presence of those two will give the team plenty of third phase stability. However, Morstead has confirmed he will not be returning next year. It will be Waitman looking to offer an upgrade at the punter position and in doing so earn himself an extended look with the 49ers.
Ely Allen contributed to this post.
Texans Land G Evan Brown
After getting released by the Cardinals two days ago, veteran offensive guard Evan Brown has rebounded quickly. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Brown has landed with the Texans on a one-year, $3.5MM deal. 
In Houston, Brown will continue what has become an impressive career for the undrafted journeyman. After falling out of the 2018 NFL Draft, the SMU product signed with the Giants. He didn’t see the field all year as a rookie stuck sitting on the practice squad, but Brown would make up for it by seeing game time with four NFL teams over the next two years. After stashing him for his first year of his career, New York only brought him up for one game, giving him his NFL debut in Week 10 of the 2019 season. The Dolphins made the move to sign him off the Giants’ taxi squad four weeks later, and Brown appeared in the final three games of the season for his new team.
After getting released by Miami in the offseason, Brown rebounded quickly, signing with the Browns within a week of getting cut. Extremely limited usage led Cleveland to waive him to move him to its practice squad, where he remained for several weeks until the Lions signed him off the taxi squad to play in the final two games of the 2020 season for them. In Detroit the next year, Brown was named the backup center behind starter Frank Ragnow, and when Ragnow suffered a season-ending toe injury, Brown found himself in a starting role for the first time in his career, logging 12 starts in 16 games played. In his second season in Detroit, an injury to right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai allowed Brown another starting opportunity. He started 12 more games that year at right guard.
Those two seasons of filling in as an injury replacement established Brown as a starting-caliber lineman. When he signed in 2023 as a free agent with the Seahawks, Brown won the starting center job and started 16 games for Seattle. Continuing to build on his journeyman status, Brown signed with Arizona in 2024 and won the starting left guard job. After starting all 17 games of a season for the first time in his career, Brown was re-signed to stay in Arizona on a two-year, $11.5MM deal. Following a down 2025 campaign in which he missed six games due to injury, though, Brown was cut by the Cardinals and back on the free agent market.
The Texans are now keeping Brown’s journeyman persona alive as they look for more consistency on the interior offensive line. The Texans had four consistent starters on the offensive line last year and were set to return all of them before trading Tytus Howard to Cleveland. In 2025, though, Houston failed to find a consistent starter at the left guard spot, forcing them to shuffle through multiple lineups throughout the season. Brown could compete to solidify that left guard role on the line as the team signed Braden Smith to, presumably, replace Howard.
Chargers To Re-Sign QB Trey Lance
The Chargers are re-signing backup QB Trey Lance, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. It’s a one-year deal worth up to $6.75MM.
Lance signed a similar contract last spring, when the Chargers added him on an agreement worth up to $6.2MM. The former 49er and Cowboy went on to appear in four games with the playoff-bound Bolts last season. His lone start came in a low-stakes Week 18 game against the Broncos. With Justin Herbert getting a breather, Lance completed 20 of 44 passes for 136 yards and an interception in a 19-3 loss. While his passing numbers were unimpressive, Lance rushed for 69 yards on nine attempts.
Lance connected on just 27 of 57 throws for 226 yards and an INT in 2025, continuing a disappointing career for the former third overall pick. The 49ers took a massive gamble on the North Dakota State product in the 2021 draft. A month after trading the No. 12 pick, a third-rounder, and first-rounders in 2022 and ’23 to the Dolphins for No. 3, they grabbed Lance. He ended up among a handful of underwhelming 2021 first-round QBs beyond No. 1 choice Trevor Lawrence. Lance, Zach Wilson (No. 2), Justin Fields (No. 11) and Mac Jones (No. 15) have all fallen short of expectations. Lawrence is the only member of the group who is still with the team that selected him.
Lance started just four games in San Francisco, which somewhat made up for the gaffe in drafting him when it used the last pick in 2022 on Brock Purdy. After Purdy emerged as the 49ers’ answer late in his rookie year, they shipped Lance to the Cowboys for a 2024 fourth-rounder. He started one game in Dallas (in 2024) before leaving for the Chargers. Lance, Herbert and DJ Uiagalelei are the only QBs in the organization as of now.
Over 16 NFL appearances and six starts, Lance has completed 54% of passes, averaged 6.4 yards per attempt, and tossed five TDs and INTs apiece. He owns a 71.9 passer rating.
Chiefs Re-Sign G Mike Caliendo
After opting not to tender him as a restricted free agent, the Chiefs reached an agreement today to re-sign offensive guard Mike Caliendo. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Caliendo’s agent relayed this afternoon that, despite holding “numerous offers elsewhere,” Caliendo wanted to return to Kansas City, and he will be doing so on a new one-year deal. 
Caliendo signed in 2022 with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan, where he spent six years, four as a full-time starter. Taking over the left guard job for the Broncos during his redshirt freshman season, he started every game for the team at that position for the next three years, including the COVID-shortened 2020 season that granted him a sixth year of eligibility. A first-team All-Mac and Academic All-American athlete, Caliendo turned down chances at both the NFL and medical school to return with his sixth year of eligibility and demonstrated some versatility with a position shift to center in his final season in Kalamazoo.
Caliendo won a ring in his rookie year as a member of the practice squad, failing to see the field in his first season of NFL play. He signed a reserve/futures deal to remain in Kansas City, though, and in Year 2, he made the 53-man roster and appeared in 12 games, mostly on special teams, including the four-game playoff run to his second Super Bowl ring. In 2024, he held a similar role until Week 14, when he made three spot starts at left guard as regular guard Joe Thuney kicked out to cover the blindside tackle spot for a benched Wanya Morris. When Thuney got hurt before the playoffs, Caliendo started the team’s three playoff games at left guard, including their Super Bowl loss to the Eagles. Caliendo got four more spot starts at right guard this year, covering for an injured Trey Smith.
Thanks to Caliendo’s desire to remain a Chief, even after a down year for the franchise, Kansas City returns a reliable, versatile backup on the offensive interior line, one they often utilize on special teams and heavy formations, as well. After releasing right tackle Jawaan Taylor last week, the Chiefs will likely see some change along their offensive front. Locking in a strong depth piece like Caliendo should provide the team with a bit of solace as they look to fill the hole left by Taylor’s departure.
Bengals Sign QB Josh Johnson
Nomadic quarterback Josh Johnson is rejoining the Bengals for a third stint in their uniform. The team announced that it has added Johnson on a one-year deal.
A fifth-round pick of the Buccaneers in 2008, the 39-year-old Johnson has spent time with a record 14 NFL teams and seen regular-season action with seven. Johnson has also played in the UFL, the AAF and the second version of the XFL. His previous runs with the Bengals came in 2013 and ’15, though he has never attempted a pass with the team.
The Bengals considered trading for Johnson, then with the Commanders, last October. Starter Joe Burrow was on the shelf with a foot injury at the time, and backup Jake Browning struggled mightily filling in for him. Cincinnati ultimately replaced Browning with Joe Flacco, whom it acquired from Cleveland.
Johnson wound up playing all of last season in Washington, where he made two starts while Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota dealt with injuries. Over a total of five appearances, Johnson completed 34 of 54 passes (63%) with 372 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Fifty games and 11 starts into his career, Johnson has connected on 58.7% of throws, tossed 14 TDs against 18 picks, and recorded a 71.1 rating.
Flacco is now a free agent, but he has interest in re-signing in Cincinnati to back up Burrow. For now, Johnson and Sean Clifford are the team’s reserve options.
Texans, RB David Montgomery Agree To Upgraded Deal
The Texans have agreed to a new contract with running back David Montgomery, who arrived via trade from the Lions at the beginning of the month, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson.
Montgomery’s last deal with the Lions – signed in October 2024 – had two years and $15MM remaining with $6MM due in 2026 and no guaranteed money (via OverTheCap). The new agreement is worth $16.5MM with $10MM in guarantees, according to details obtained by Wilson.
In 2026, Montgomery will receive a $6.5MM signing bonus, a guaranteed $1.5MM salary, and up to $500k in per-game roster bonuses, an increase from his previously-set compensation of $6MM. $2MM of his $7.5MM 2027 salary is guaranteed, and he will receive another $500k in per game bonuses as well.
Montgomery’s previous contract from Detroit paid him $9.125MM per year, the 13th-highest AAV at his position. He has now dropped to 15th at $8.725MM per year, still a strong figure for a running back heding into his age-29 season.
Financially, Montgomery qualifies as Houston’s RB1, though he will likely split time with 2025 fourth-rounder Woody Marks. Marks put up 703 yards on 196 carries as a rookie and will be looking to improve on his 3.6-yard per carry mark in his sophomore campaign. Montgomery has bested those numbers in each of his seven NFL seasons and only dropped below 800 rushing yards in the last two seasons due to the arrival of Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit. He also has 59 career rushing touchdowns, while Marks recorded just two as a rookie – though he found the end zone through the air three times.
Jets To Re-Sign RB/KR Kene Nwangwu
The Jets are re-signing return specialist Kene Nwangwu, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports. It’s a one-year, $2MM deal that includes $1MM in guaranteed money. The pact could be worth up to $3MM.
Nwangwu has totaled just 40 carries in his five-year career, but he has made a significant impact on special teams since the Vikings used a 2021 fourth-round pick on him. Despite playing only 11 games as a rookie, the Iowa State product returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. Nwangwu also averaged 32.2 yards per return on 18 tries, which would have led the league had he recorded enough attempts to qualify. While Nwangwu’s average dropped to 26.3 on a league-high 35 returns in 2022, he added another score and earned second-team All-Pro honors.
After starting 2023 on injured reserve, Nwangwu made just nine appearances on the season. The Vikings cut Nwangwu in August 2024. The Saints scooped Nwangwu up via waivers, but they quickly cut him with a failed physical designation.
Nwangwu has since impressed in New York, which added him to its practice squad a couple weeks after the Saints parted with him. Making his Jets debut in a Week 13 loss to the Seahawks in 2024, Nwangwu took back his first kickoff for a 99-yard touchdown. The Jets promoted Nwangwu to their active roster the next day, but a broken hand ended his season a week and a half later.
Exactly one year ago today, the Jets kept Nwangwu around on a one-year, $2.5MM agreement. He continued to produce over 12 games in 2025. Nwangwu’s 33.6 yards per return on 18 attempts was No. 1 in the league, and he chipped in another 99-yard TD in a special teams-driven win over the Browns in Week 10. The 28-year-old earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his efforts.
Commanders To Sign RB Jerome Ford
The Commanders are signing former Browns running back Jerome Ford to a one-year deal, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Ford, 26, is the second running back to join Washington’s backfield this week. Rachaad White signed his own one-year deal on Thursday; he, Ford, and 2025 seventh-round pick Jacory Croskey-Merritt will look to follow up the Commanders’ top-five rushing effort last season.
Ford was drafted by the Browns in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. He served as the team’s primary kickoff returner as a rookie and stepped into a starting role after Nick Chubb‘s season-ending knee injury. Ford led Cleveland’s backfield with 813 yards on 204 carries and chipped in 44 catches for 319 receiving yards, the fourth-most on the offense. He also tied with Kareem Hunt for the team lead with nine total touchdowns.
In 2024, Ford maintained a strong role in the backfield as Chubb finished his rehab, though he was not as much of a lead back as the year before. He again paced the team in rushing and was the fifth-leading receiver, though he only found the end zone three times. Though Chubb left in free agency the following offseason, the Browns did not give Ford a featured role in 2025. Instead, they drafted two rookie running backs – Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson – who dominated the backfield and made Ford an afterthought in Cleveland.
In Washington, Ford gives the Commanders another experienced option in their backfield behind Croskey-Merritt and White. Croskey-Merritt barely factored into the receiving game as a rookie, so White will likely take on a third-down role in 2026. Ford profiles as more of an all-purpose RB3 who can eat carries and step in on passing downs as needed.