Seifert says that this doesn’t mean that Minnesota has ruled out placing the franchise tag on Darnold, and that they also haven’t ruled out signing him to a multi-year deal. The Vikings could pull off a tag-and-trade with Darnold if a potential destination he’s interested in wants to jump the market. This will be a situation to monitor over the coming weeks, as it sounds like the Vikings will try to gather as much intelligence as they can before making the decision on the March 4 franchise tag deadline.

Boyd said Jones would make sense as a signing who could push Anthony Richardson in training camp and fill in for him should Richardson have yet another injury-marred season in 2025. Jones’ “abilities on the ground mean the offense won’t have to change much should Richardson miss more time due to injury,” Boyd said, adding Justin Fields could be another option for a Colts team hedging their bets on Richardson. Richardson is reportedly working with a biometrics coach to hone his throwing motion ahead of the 2025 season. Without a major leap in intermediate accuracy, Richardson could lose out to Jones after being benched for Joe Flacco in 2024.

Harbaugh made the comments as several NFL teams vied for Deshaun Watson after he had been accused by dozens of women of sexual misconduct. Harbaugh’s comments have resurfaced in light of Ravens K Justin Tucker being accused of misconduct by 16 massage therapists from eight different spas in the Baltimore area. We’ll see if Harbaugh and the Ravens stick by the zero tolerance policy as legal proceedings unfold. The team would absorb a $7.5 million dead money hit if they were to release Tucker — the most accurate kicker in NFL history — before June 1. A post-June 1 release would create $4.2 million of cap savings and spread out the dead money over the next two years. Tucker, coming off the worst season of his career, has three years remaining on his current deal with Baltimore.

Ward appears unlikely to participate in the Combine, like other recent highly touted prospects primed to go in the first couple picks of the draft. Ward did, however, offer a warning to NFL teams who might pass on him because he sat out the second half of his final collegiate game. “You’re either going to draft me or you’re not,” Ward told the Associated Press Monday. “If you don’t draft me, that’s your fault. You’ve got to remember you’re the same team that’s got to play me for the rest of my career, and I’ll remember that.” Ward threw for 39 touchdowns and 4,313 yards for the Hurricanes last year, adding 204 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. The QB-needy Titans, who have the first overall pick in the 2025 draft, seem like a likely landing spot for Ward.

According to Florio, this news comes from a source with “direct knowledge of the situation.” Reports of the Steelers reaching out to the Jaguars surfaced last Thursday, but little news has materialized on the topic since. Days after the Jaguars said any notion of trading Lawrence was “ridiculous,” Florio’s report eliminates any possibility that a call was ever made. The Jaguars seem intent on staying with Lawrence, which makes sense from an organizational team point and a financial one, as a trade of Lawrence would result in a $100 million dead cap hit while also costing them $83 million against the cap. It’s probably safe to assume this is the last we hear of this story.

Good luck, folks. Garrett has made it clear that winning has become a top priority late in his career and said earlier that he’s willing to do “whatever it takes” to facilitate a trade. While a hefty new contract could persuade him to stay, it wouldn’t change the fact that Garrett would be heading into his ninth season with a team that’s in near rebuild mode after going 3-14 last season. A trade still sounds like his best bet if he hopes to play for a contender. To date, the team has expressed no interest in trading him. This standoff will be a major NFL offseason story.

Rapien reports that “Higgins’ camp expects to get tagged at this point,” which would keep the fifth-year receiver from hitting the free-agent market. He also adds that this time, the decision to tag Higgins “feels different,” while adding “the Bengals plan to sign the star receiver to a long-term deal” per his sources. While we don’t know when a deal could come, it sounds like Joe Burrow’s offseason lobbying has been heard by the Bengals’ front office, who have several big-name players to work out deals with. In addition to Higgins, the Bengals need to get Ja’Marr Chase’s contract figured out this offseason, and Burrow has also lobbied for the team to bring back tight end Mike Gesicki. Teams can tag players starting on February 18th at 4 p.m. EST. It’s possible we’ll know more on this decision in the next 24 hours.

Rodrigue characterized the situation as “fluid,” noting that the sides met before the Super Bowl and that there wasn’t much progress after their opening conversations. The sides are expected to talk again in “coming weeks.” Rodrigue also notes that if there is a difference between the Rams and Stafford, it would “likely” be that the Rams “don’t want to make a significant financial commitment to a veteran quarterback whose long-term future or durability they can’t be certain about.” Stafford remains the most talented quarterback that is theoretically available this offseason. It sure sounds like the Rams want to continue to give the 37-year-old band-aid contract upgrades rather than having a huge deal on the books to work through in the near future. Rodrigue also notes that “trade speculation has only increased as the offseason has continued.”

Given the fact that offset language is in Cousins’ contract, he will almost certainly become a free agent in the same way that Russell Wilson did last year: He won’t make more than the $27.5 million he’s already due, so he will be able to sign a minimum contract anywhere he wants. The possibility of playing with his former Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland should be intriguing to Cousins. Mix that together with the idea that the Browns are wildly over the salary cap and could really use a value starting quarterback for a year, and it is easy to see why these two sides are being connected ahead of free agency. Cousins is currently still with the Falcons, but per Breer “most expect” the Falcons to release him.

These things, of course, can change. Rodgers brings a lot of baggage with him into free agency — The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt reported it was “likely” Rodgers would be a post-June 1 release when things were officially finalized. It is hard to argue that Rodgers isn’t one of the 32 most talented quarterbacks in the world right now, even with his mobility reduced after the Achilles tear that ended his 2023 season. We’re sure we’ll be posting a lot about Rodgers over the next few months, but it might be hard for him to find a team that wants to start him in 2025.