NFL Player News

Hooker did not practice at all this week before going on injured reserve, indicating he left Week 15 with the issue. With the Titans eliminated from the playoff hunt, Hooker’s season is over. He totaled seven pass breakups and one interception across 13 games.

The idea of Mac Jones starting somewhere in 2026 had a lot of gas in late January and February, but it has crashed in March as teams have been reluctant to meet San Francisco’s asking price. We’re not entirely sure why the 49ers would rather keep Jones as a backup than have, say, a third-round pick. Especially when they manufactured Jones’ value all on their own this past year after he was not exactly a first-wave free-agent signing in 2025. They could simply do that again with a different quarterback. But they seem to be anchored on keeping Jones.

The Patriots secured the first new weapon for Drake Maye in Doubs, who will profile as the team’s No. 1 wideout after spending four seasons in Green Bay vying for targets. Doubs has been a stead producer throughout his career, totaling 202 receptions for 2,424 yards and 21 touchdowns in 59 career games while posting a respectable 0.202 targets per route run, per TruMedia. The former fourth-round pick posted a career-high 724 yards last season while averaging 13.2 YPR, and profiles primarily as an outside receiver with 82.9 percent of his snaps coming from out wide. His ability to stretch the field and haul in contested catches (48.2 percent contested catch rate) should pair well with Maye, who tied for the ninth-most deep ball attempts (62) last season and finished second on deep ball completion rate (54.8 percent). Doubs makes for an interesting WR2/WR3 candidate in fantasy leagues, but could have upside for more if he becomes the featured receiver in New England.

To say that Smith’s year in the desert didn’t go well is an insult to the phrase “didn’t go well” as he led the league in interceptions and saw his adjusted yards per attempt fall from 7.5 to 6.8. He’s entering his age-36 season and is a last-chance gasp to keep the Jets from starting someone completely new. That said, if the Jets have something going right for their offense, it is their offensive line, and Smith probably looked worse than he was behind Vegas’ league-worst line. There’s the possibility of a dead cat bounce QB2 superflex season here. The Raiders have to be thrilled to save any money in a trade and the idea of getting a sixth-round pick on top of that can only help them as they move on to (what we all assume will be) the Fernando Mendoza Era.

It’s not a true tampering window until Nick Caserio finds a new special teams binky. Hummel has played nearly 1200 special teams snaps over the past four seasons and will try to crack Houston’s roster through that avenue.

While the Steelers again wait on a decision from Rodgers, the team is making sure they have a “contingency plan” in place, per Garafolo. With multiple veteran QBs available (or expected to become available — Kirk Cousins), Pittsburgh will have it’s share of options as Rodgers again mulls retirement. Rodgers threw for 3,322-24-7 in his lone season with the Steelers and helped lead them to a playoff berth that was followed by an exit in the Wild Card round. Ideally, the Steelers would find a better option than the 42-year-old signal caller for next season, but given how thin the QB market is and the underwhelming draft class that’s coming in, there isn’t a clear option for an upgrade at this time.

Smith would seem to push Trent Brown into a swing tackle role next year while giving the Texans a three-deep at tackle of Smith, Aireontae Ersery, and Brown. Smith, who turns 30 later in March, is coming off the two worst seasons of his career in Indianapolis but still managed a respectable 65.3 PFF blocking grade in 2025. It’s not an exciting move, but could lead to competency on the much-beleaguered Texans offensive line.

Robinson’s release frees up $10.5 million and was regarded as a foregone conclusion most of the offseason with Derrick Brown now healthy and Tershawn Wharton also ahead of Robinson on the DT depth chart, The soon-to-be 31-year-old should be a nice run-stop piece on the defensive line in 2026 for some other team.

He is, per Wolfe, the No. 1 priority. But the asking price is “still very high” and so there’s not much common ground on a deal. In other words, nothing has changed. The Patriots have continually leaked interest in other receivers and have been linked to Romeo Doubs, but to nobody’s surprise, Mike Vrabel would rather have Brown as his No. 1 target and that has taken priority.

Leonard played in eight games last season and has totaled 13 tackles and three pass breakups since 2024 while playing almost exclusively on special teams. His return provides valuable depth for the Chargers and their special teams unit.