NFL Player News

Leonard reportedly had another visit lined up with the Eagles prior to heading to Dallas, so this isn’t a surprise. It’s still possible that the veteran could reach an agreement with the Cowboys, but he appears to be in no rush to sign on the dotted lined. While the 28-year-old linebacker still appears to be working his way back from injury, he played on 70 percent of the Colts’ defensive snaps this season and totaled 65 tackles and two TFLs, so he will be a solid addition for whoever signs him.

Dalton briefly started for the Panthers in 2024, finishing with a 989/7/6 passing line in five starts before a car accident left him out long enough for Bryce Young to take the reins again. Young shockingly re-established himself as a starting option going forward down the stretch, leaving Dalton to the backup duties. Over his last five seasons as a backup, Dalton has thrown for 7,906 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 32 interceptions in 35 starts. He’ll turn 38 in October. He is probably a mid-level backup quarterback at this point in his career, but Dalton is now at an age where a potential regression is firmly in play each season. This is a fine contract for that level of player.

Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak is getting the gang back together, as Dennison worked with his father in Houston before joining Klint’s staff in New Orleans last offseason. Dennison will try to help the Seahawks offensive line gel better than they had in 2024 as the new staff has vowed to try to establish the run.

“And the Rams could probably get him for a lower cost than it would be for Matthew Stafford,” Schefter added, noting that the Rams would then be able to trade Stafford for draft picks. Notably missing from this report is any idea of why the Rams would want to go through the Aaron Rodgers experience, but let’s leave that aside. The Rams and Stafford look to be in a contract standoff and this is the first major leaked idea from the scoops crew on what the Rams would do if they couldn’t come to terms with Stafford. It sure seems like keeping Stafford remains Los Angeles’ first choice. If Rodgers is the best alternative, they should probably just bump up their offer.

We’re hearing the boys could be back in town. Kosmider describes Johnson as the “target who may make the most sense” for the Broncos and says Johnson could give the Broncos a “down-the-field element from the tight end position they haven’t had during Payton’s tenure.” Hill is listed more as another “player to watch,” but that seems to mostly be because we’re not sure if and when he’ll play in 2025 following a December ACL tear. Hill turns 35 in August and, though he’s under contract with the Saints, they’d save $10 million in cap space by making him a post-June 1 release. If you thought Payton was trying to prove a point with his earlier usage of Taysom, just wait until you see what happens next December.

Ebukam didn’t play in 2024 after suffering a torn Achilles in training camp. His release would clear up $7.5 million in cap space for the Colts, and Ebukam turns 30 in May. Ebukam had 9.5 sacks in 2023 and would be an intriguing veteran addition for some team’s defensive line room as long as his rehabilitation goes well.

It’s a bit of a complex situation because Thielen will turn 35 before the season and has also debated retirement, so the Panthers can’t exactly sign him to a long-term contract. Person speculates that the Panthers could convert Thielen’s per-game bonuses into guaranteed money as a sign of good faith. Thielen has been hinting that he wants a new contract and he certainly showed great chemistry with Bryce Young in Thielen’s 10 appearances last year.

“Not living up to my own personal expectations” is how Mitchell summed his rookie campaign with the Indianapolis Colts. The second-round draft pick caught 23 passes for 312 yards with zero touchdowns in the 2024 season. “Like any young player, there’s going to be a maturation process with him. And he definitely had some really strong moments, but we need more consistent moments from him,” added Colts general manager Chris Ballard. “This position is all about confidence,” Mitchell says. “Ain’t nobody taking that away from me no time soon. (2025 will) be a lot different from this year.”

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.

Smith is expected to be one of the prizes of free agency after finishing with a 75.1 PFF blocking rating at right guard, the fourth year in a row that the 25-year-old has been above-average in their metrics. His only real demerit is the staggering amount of penalties he’s called for — 39 in four seasons. The projected transition tag for 2025 would assign a salary of $22,745,000 to Smith — a savings of about $3 million from the franchise tag — and would give the Chiefs the right to match any offer Smith receives.

“Whether Cincinnati can pull it off remains uncertain, but the team’s messaging behind the scenes is that it’s certainly going to try,” Fowler writes. The latest is that the Bengals will franchise tag Higgins in order to have time to get a deal done. Fowler adds that Chase is expected to be “looking to be the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL -- possibly by a wide margin.” Hendrickson finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting and was named first-team All-Pro for the first time in 2024 after leading the league with 17.5 sacks. The star Bengals edge player was disgruntled with his contract last offseason, and we imagine the gruntles have only grown as it was mostly left unresolved. The Bengals have a lot of room to work with and can generate more by pushing Joe Burrow’s cap hits into the future. It would absolutely be the best-case scenario for both the league and fantasy managers if Burrow, Chase, and Higgins all stayed in Cincinnati.