NFL Player News

The meeting reportedly took place on Tuesday but impressively remained under wraps until Friday evening, perhaps a sign of things to come with new no-nonsense head coach Mike Vrabel at the helm. Brown worked for the Panthers in 2023 and the Bears in 2024, receiving three in-season promotions of sorts during that span. Brown was given play-calling duties for three games in the Panthers’ failed 2-15 season as team leadership searched for answers. Brown then began the 2024 season as the Bears’ passing game coordinator before rising to offensive coordinator and eventually the interim head coaching position. Studying under Vrabel for a season or two could give Brown the mentoring he needs to officially make the leap into the NFL’s head coaching ranks once and for all.

Once you get past the fact that the ideal spot for Tagovailoa was the 2023 Dolphins, this isn’t a bad fit. Kevin Stefanski has made a habit of getting more out of less at quarterback and the Falcons need someone to bridge the gap to Michael Penix being healthy after his ACL tear. The fact that Tagovailoa will play on the league minimum with offsets is also a great help with the Falcons since they are struggling with cap space after their disastrous Kirk Cousins contract.

This only came into question last night based on Kelce talking to numerous teams per the reporting of Dianna Russini. But there was never really a doubt that Kelce would leave being a lifelong Chief behind while entering his age-37 season — there’s not an objectively better ring-chasing slot even if he’d wanted to leave. We’re sure that Kelce’s latest contract will be filed with the Chiefs in the near future.

Less than an hour away from being able to test free agency for the first time in his career, Evans, who will be 33 at the start of next season, could officially be on the move. The veteran receiver is coming off the worst season of his career (30-368-3), which saw him miss nine games due to a collarbone injury. Evans will likely be looking to join a team that he believes can contend for a Super Bowl title over his final few years in the league, and should have multiple high-end suitors once the legal tampering period begins. While a return to the Buccaneers remains on the table, it wouldn’t be surprising if they opted to lean into their younger receivers, along with Chris Godwin, next season.

Pelissero says that Walker “still is in touch with the Seahawks” about a return, but highlights the Chiefs as the team that could swoop in and land the Super Bowl MVP. Walker rushed for 221-1027-5 last regular season and ran for another 65-313-4 in the postseason while helping the Seahawks win their second title in franchise history. Walker has been linked to multiple teams ahead leading up to his free agency, although it was reported that the Giants have already been “priced out” of his market.

One of the better run-defending linebackers in the NFL, Tavai was only able to play 290 snaps last year due to a long-term calf injury and New England bringing in new talent ahead of him. Entering his age-30 season, he’ll have a chance to land elsewhere as a run-stuffer.

The contract contains $12 million in guarantees per Mike Garafolo, likely tabbing it as a significant raise for Rankins after he signed a one-year prove-it deal in 2025. Rankins has done his best work with the Texans over the past few years and finished with a 70.8 PFF defensive grade in 2025.

Schefter reports that a source familiar with the situation told him “frustration is mounting” between the NFL and the owners. According to Schefter, while the league is “focused on changes that it believes will improve the performance of the on-field officials,” the union would prefer to “roll back” some of the access the league currently has to officials. With the current deal set to expire in May, the league will need to get a new deal in place before the start of the season or we could once again be looking at replacement refs to start the season.

In theory, the 2023 UDFA is now set to make at least $3.54 million in 2026, though RFA tenders can for some reason be rescinded. Pace can also still sign an offer sheet elsewhere. The Vikings would receive no compensation were he to sign a sheet with someone else and the Vikes declined to match. Pace’s playing time declined in 2025, though he still sees time on defense in addition to featuring on special teams.

It’s “based on the leverage a franchise tag would have given him,” but for a quarterback with Jones’ career line to ask for this much money while rehabbing a torn Achilles is ... bold. The Colts and Jones obviously seem to want each other, but that was such a big gap in negotiations that Indy simply transition tagged him. Breer believes the team and Jones are still negotiating, and perhaps the transition tag will motivate them to get something more reasonable done. Since Alec Pierce’s negotiations appear to depend on being certain Jones will be back, it would certainly behoove the Colts to put forth good faith offers in a hurry.

After the Instagram hacked saga came to an end, the Packers were able to find a taker for Gary before they (likely) would have released him. The trade will help lower Gary’s cap hit for the Packers and send him to Dallas on a contract that’s perhaps a little higher than he would have received on the open market. In other words: It’s a win-win. Gary isn’t an impressive No. 1 edge rusher for the Cowboys, but they may not be done cooking yet.