New England Patriots

Running back Antonio Gibson’s time is up in New England.

The Patriots announced Gibson’s release on Monday afternoon. Gibson appeared in five games for the team in 2025 before missing the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

Gibson’s release clears over $3 million in cap space for the Patriots. He will still account for $1 million in dead money.

Gibson ran 25 times for 106 yards and a touchdown while also returning a kickoff for a touchdown in his five appearances during the regular season. He had 120 carries for 538 yards and a touchdown during the 2024 season.

Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson remain the top two backs for New England.

The Patriots have added a new coach to Mike Vrabel’s staff.

Pete Thamel of ESPN.com reported that B.J. Edmonds would leave his post as the Southern Miss running backs coach to join the Patriots. Thamel’s colleague Mike Reiss reports that the Patriots are listing Edmonds as a defensive assistant.

Edmonds worked as a coaching intern for the Patriots last summer and had only been in his role at Southern Miss for a short time before opting to make the move to the NFL.

Edmonds worked as a defensive analyst at Duke for the last two seasons and he was an assistant at Utah State for three years before joining the Blue Devils.

Patriots receiver Mack Hollins was having a solid 2025 season when he suffered a lacerated spleen in December, causing him to miss the last two regular-season games.

When he went out, Hollins had registered 46 receptions. He needed four more to secure a $400,000 incentive in his two-year contract.

With Hollins returning in the postseason to help propel the Patriots to Super Bowl LX, the franchise has now made a gesture to get Hollins that extra $400,000.

Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, New England added a $400,000 signing bonus to Hollins’ contract to honor that incentive.

In his first year with the Patriots, Hollins reached 550 yards with two touchdowns in 15 games with 13 starts. He then caught six passes for 129 yards with a TD in his two postseason games — returning for the AFC Championship Game before playing in Super Bowl LX.

Hollins is under contract with New England for 2026.

The dip in the ratings for Super Bowl LX wasn’t as big as initially believed.

Nielsen has revised the final viewership for the Patriots-Seahawks championship game across NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, NBC Sports Digital, and NFL+ from 124.9 million to 125.6 million. It’s an increase of 700,000 viewers.

“This update is due to the fact that a Big Data provider did not properly collect data from its devices on February 8, which impacted the Big Data + Panel count,” Nielsen said in a press release.

Super Bowl LIX averaged 127.7 million. That number didn’t include Nielsen’s new metric for measuring out-of-home viewership.

It’s still the second-biggest audience in U.S. TV history. The top 12 are Super Bowls; the final episode of M*A*S*H is the only top-20 show of all time that isn’t a Super Bowl.

The Patriots did the expected, promoting Zak Kuhr to full-time defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports.

Kuhr served as the inside linebackers coach and interim defensive coordinator last season, which ended with a loss to the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.

Kuhr broke into the NFL as a quality control assistant under Mike Vrabel with the Titans in 2020. He coached Tennessee’s inside linebackers from 2021-23.

He was a Giants’ defensive assistant in 2024.

The Patriots are expected to promote Vinny DePalma to his previous role as inside linebackers coach, Mike Reiss of ESPN reports.

Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe was the only player fined for on-field infractions during Super Bowl LX and Jobe picked up a pair of them for unnecessary roughness on one play in the fourth quarter of the game.

Jobe decked Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs out of bounds at the end of a play with 13:24 left in the game and received a fine for that late hit. The other fine came for his response when Diggs came back at him in the wake of that shot.

Diggs and Jobe squared off briefly with Diggs grabbing Jobe’s facemask and the cornerback throwing a punch at the wideout’s head. Jobe was fined for that as well.

The NFL announced that both fines were for $9,222.

The Dolphins are in a full blown Two Days After St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

The latest to go is receiver Tyreek Hill. And it’s the least surprising.

Even without the significant knee injury he suffered on September 29, this was coming. Even without the firing of G.M. Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel, this was coming.

Hill was due to make $35 million in 2026, the final year of his contract. He had a $5 million roster bonus that was due on the third day of the new league year.

He was always going to be released. He was always going to be available on the open market.

Now, for the first time, he’ll be free and clear to sign with anyone.

The question is whether Hill will be signed before he’s fully and completely healthy and, if so, whether his contract will include protections based on Hill eventually passing a physical. Sometimes, a player has enough leverage (like receiver Chris Godwin a year ago) to avoid such limitations on his pay.

Hill turns 32 on March 1. The best of his best days are likely behind him. If healthy, however, he’s still pretty damn good.

The most obvious potential destination is Kansas City. Last year at the Super Bowl, Hill expressed some regret for leaving in the first place. With Eric Bieniemy back as the offensive coordinator, the Chiefs could decide to bring Hill back, too. Which may have the added benefit of getting tight end Travis Kelce to return for another season.

The Chargers could become a potential destination, given McDaniel’s arrival there as offensive coordinator. They desperately need effective weapons for quarterback Justin Herbert — and a 32-year-old Hill would instantly be better than anything else they currently have.

Other teams with needs at the position should give Hill a look, including (to name a few) the Bills, Ravens, Steelers, Packers, Jets (who tried to trade for him four years ago), Patriots, and Seahawks (who need a strong, consistent complement to Jaxon Smith-Njigba).

Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez is hoping to sign a long-term contract extension with New England this offseason. One indication that the Patriots are also eager to get that done is that head coach Mike Vrabel is increasingly positioning Gonzalez as a team leader.

Gonzalez was chosen to be one of the Patriots’ game captains for Super Bowl LX, and afterward he said Vrabel has been working with him on taking a bigger leadership role on the team.

“Been trying to find my voice, my leadership,” Gonzalez said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “Everyone knows I’m not much of a gather the team up and give them a speech [type of leader]. Vrabes has been helping me with that, talking with me about it. Trying to grow.”

Gonzalez is only 23 years old, so he’s not exactly a seasoned veteran just yet, but he has now played three years of the rookie contract he signed as a 2023 first-round draft pick, which means he’s eligible for his second contract. Given how well Gonzalez has played, it’s safe to say that second contract will be a big one.

In his first season as Patriots head coach, Mike Vrabel took over a team that had gone 4-13 two years in a row and took them to the Super Bowl. He’s undoubtably off to a good start.

But after a disappointing performance in Super Bowl LX, Vrabel said his team still has work to do.

“I like the foundation of it, and we’ll try to improve on it,” Vrabel said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.

Vrabel noted that every team makes changes, and sometimes those changes mean moving on from players who contributed to them making the Super Bowl.

“There’ll be some difficult decisions that we’ll have to make, and we’ll try to do them with the team’s best interest in mind. As always, that’ll never change,” Vrabel said.

Those changes will likely revolve around older, more expensive players.

“As I was taught, we talk about the business of the NFL, we’re looking for the better, younger, cheaper player every day, and the players that we have are trying to not let that happen,” Vrabel said. “And that’s the dynamic. That’s the business of the National Football League.”

The Patriots are in good salary cap shape, but that doesn’t mean they’ll pay a player more than they think he’ll be worth in 2026 just because they appreciate the contributions he made in 2025. If they think they can improve the roster by moving on from some of the players who helped them get to the Super Bowl, they’ll do so.

The NFL filed a grievance over the NFL Players Association’s annual report cards in order to keep the NFLPA from publicizing criticisms of teams and owners. The NFL won a ruling preventing the NFLPA from doing so.

Still, the 26-page ruling from arbitrator Scott E. Buchheit, a copy of which PFT has obtained, makes it clear that the next wave of report cards may be disseminated to all players.

The opinion also includes a full list of the criticisms about which the NFL complained from the 2025 report cards.

Here’s the full content of relevant portions of Buchheit’s written decision.

“As to the individual comments contained within the Report Cards that lead to the letter grades, the NFLMC has richly detailed that they do contain numerous criticisms. These include, but are not limited to, the following examples from the 2025 Report Card that are contained in its brief:

“New York Jets: The Union said Players complained that ‘management responded to feedback [from prior Team Report Cards] by making conditions worse,’ including cutting the food budget and not retaining a long-time dietician after poor food grades the prior year. The Union also graded owner Woody Johnson an F — the lowest owner rating in the league, 5.58 out of 10 — which, according to Players, resulted from his perceived unwillingness to invest in facilities. . . . Players cited ‘perceived top leadership issues, with some describing issues as “top-down problems”'—reflecting ownership concerns.

“Cincinnati Bengals: The Union again criticized treatment of families, stating that Players called it a ‘major concern’ and saying there is ‘little to no effort’ to support families. ‘One player describes the treatment of families as “‘almost disrespectful,”’ resulting in a grade of F-minus.

“Buffalo Bills: The Union dropped the Club in the overall rankings from prior years because ‘issues . . . previously raised [by Players] . . . have not been addressed and thus have become greater concerns[.]’ The Union claimed Players were concerned that ‘current [training] staffing is inadequate to help them recover,’ and ‘travel continues to be the worst part of their experience’ because they ‘do not have a comfortable amount of space when traveling and the travel schedule itself is a source of significant dissatisfaction.’

“Arizona Cardinals: The Union ranked the Club last overall based on Player feedback, criticizing the treatment of families (lack of family events, limits on pregame sideline access, poor in-game family accommodations), and a so-called deficient locker room, training facilities, and weight room. The Union stated that Players also faulted owner Michael Bidwill, saying he ‘slightly contributes to a positive team culture’ and is only ‘somewhat committed to building a competitive team[.]’

“Philadelphia Eagles: The Union highlighted that Players ‘are frustrated that mealtimes overlap with the organization’s business staff, leading to crowding and limited seats,’ and ‘feel they should get first class seats on team flights instead of the coaching staff.’

“Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Union published that Players criticized the locker room, lodging ‘several complaints about cleanliness, including poor ventilation and a persistent bad smell.’

“Jacksonville Jaguars: The Union gave the Club an F for treatment of families; ‘Players believe that many changes need to be made,’ including more access to sideline passes, a family room during the game, and upgrades to the post-game family area.

“Kansas City Chiefs: The Union said Players ‘continue to express the need for renovation and upgrades to the locker room’ and criticized the home game hotel as the ‘lowest in the league,’ remarking that it is ‘outdated,’ the beds are ‘uncomfortable,’ and the floors are ‘dirty and sticky.’

“Carolina Panthers: The Union continued to cite Player criticisms of owner David Tepper for using ‘turf instead of grass, perhaps because it is cheaper to maintain,’ and complained about travel due to the ‘new coaching staff moving players from first class last season and placing them in smaller, coach seats.’

“New England Patriots: The Union gave the Club a failing travel grade and singled out the ‘team plane’ —'Players specifically responded that “our plane is the worst thing – size, space, [and] safety,”’ and ‘it is not conducive to preparedness for athletic performance,’ because, among other things, ‘it lacks Wi-Fi and still has ashtrays in the seats.’ One player also referred to the carpeting in the locker room as ‘dingy with pieces missing.’

“Indianapolis Colts: The Union stated that Players complained of travel arrangements, noting that they ‘don’t feel like they have enough personal space on flights. They want more access to first-class seating.’

Those are the full complaints from the 2025 report cards that were included in Buchheit’s decision. Eleven teams in all were mentioned, with three owners identified by name — Woody Johnson, Michael Bidwill, and David Tepper.

The complaints listed in the 26-page ruling come from not from the to-be-released report cards but from the report cards prepared and published in 2025. It’s inevitable, however, that one of the many NFLPA members who’ll receive the 2026 report card will disclose them, to someone. Once they’re leaked (to PFT or to another outlet), we’ll post them here in full.

UPDATE 11:46 p.m. ET: An earlier version of this article mistakenly characterized the complaints listed above as coming from the survey conducted in 2025, not from the report cards released in 2025. The 2025 surveys were not included in Buccheit’s opinion. They’ll eventually be released to the players but not published by the NFLPA. In past years, the report cards were released during the Scouting Combine.