NFL Contract Details: Anderson, Al-Shaair, Greenard, Williams, Reed
Will Anderson‘s eye-popping three-year, $150MM extension turned heads around the NFL last month. The details of the contract have since come out (via OverTheCap) and, as usual, they puts the terms in a very different light.
Crucially, Anderson already had two years and $27MM remaining on his rookie deal, making his new contract a five-year deal worth around $177MM, or $35.4MM per year. That actually comes in below Micah Parsons‘ overall AAV on his contract with the Packers, just under $42MM, but still beats Aidan Hutchinson at $34.2MM. Parsons had substantially more leverage in Green Bay given their trade with the Cowboys, while Anderson and Hutchinson both signed with the teams that drafted them.
For Anderson, the benefit is clear. He will receive just over $55MM over the next two years, almost double what he would have earned on his rookie contract, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. He will then get paid $122MM from 2028 to 2030.
Another element is the guaranteed money, originally reported at $134MM. Anderson’s 2026 salary and 2027 fifth-year option were already guaranteed, so his extension actually includes $107MM in new guarantees. That is made up of a $32MM signing bonus and fully guaranteed salaries from 2026 to 2028, worth a total of $73MM that is guaranteed at signing. Another $34MM of his 2029 salary will become fully guaranteed if he is on the roster on the fifth day of the 2028 league year. The deal also includes $500k in per game roster bonuses in the last three years.
Interestingly, the Texans declined to use option bonuses or void years in Anderson’s deal. Both are widely used across the NFL to maintain financial flexibility by deferring cap hits into the future. Instead, after $13.2MM and $28.3MM cap hits in 2026 and 2027, Anderson’s cap charge jumps to $46.4MM in 2028 and 2029 and $48.4MM in 2030. Of course, Houston can restructure his deal, though adding void years often requires player consent, which could give Anderson leverage to negotiate another top-of-the-market extension.
Here are the details of some other deals that were signed this offseason:
- The Texans’ other recent extension was for linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. His $38.75MM in at-signing guarantees is comprised of a $14MM signing bonus and $24.75MM in salary across the next three years, per OverTheCap. Another $7MM of his 2028 salary will become fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2028 league year. The deal also $500k in per game roster bonuses in 2026 and $750k in 2027, 2028, and 2029, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, as well as one void year.
- Jonathan Greenard‘s four-year, $100MM deal with the Eagles includes $50MM in fully guaranteed money, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. That is comprised of a $23.5MM signing bonus, a total of $2.56MM in salary in 2026 and 2027, and a $22.9MM option bonus in 2027. As with all of Philadelphia’s contracts, Greenard is set to receive option bonuses in each year of his deal, due at the beginning of the regular season, and he can earn an additional $1.5MM with first-team All-Pro selections in 2026, 2027, and 2028. Florio additionally notes that the deal is effectively a $12MM raise across the next two years over his previous deal with the Vikings, which seems like something Minnesota could have accommodated. Instead, they sent Greenard to Philly, where he gets his desired payday.
- The 49ers replaced Trent Williams‘ existing deal with a two-year, $50MM contract with four void years and $48.5MM in guaranteed money, of which $37MM is fully guaranteed at signing, per OverTheCap. He received a $22.2MM signing bonus and a total of $14.8MM in salary and bonuses in 2026 and 2027. After his cap figure rose by $7.5MM when the team declined his 2026 option bonus, Williams’ cap hit has dropped from $46.34MM to $20MM as a result of the new deal, per NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco. The deal has some unique aspects, including a $11.5MM roster bonus due in 2028 that is fully guaranteed unless Williams holds out or otherwise misses time in the offseason. The 49ers can also convert the 2027 roster bonus into a prorated option bonus. The contract is designed to be terminated in 2028 – when Williams turns 40 –with a post-June 1 designation. If that is not done by the 10th day of the league year, he will be owed a guaranteed $50.175MM roster bonus in 2029. The expectation in San Francisco seems to be that the three-time All-Pro will retire after the 2027 season.
- Jayden Reed‘s new deal with the Packers includes $20MM in guaranteed money, comprised of a $16.5MM signing bonus and a $3.5MM roster bonus. That is a below-market figure, but in line with Green Bay’s contract precedent – the team rarely metes out guarantees beyond the first year of the deal. Reed will receive $1.3MM, $9.05MM, and $10.05MM in salary from 2027 to 2029, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, with $500k in workout bonuses in each year. He is also due roster bonuses worth $2MM in 2027 and $1MM in 2028. Of particular note is the inclusion of $5.85MM in per game roster bonuses from 2027 to 2029, the highest of any Packer, which mitigates some injury risk for the team.
QB Jacoby Brissett Likely Trade Candidate With Carson Beck In Arizona?
After going 1-11 in 12 starts for the Cardinals in 2025, quarterback Jacoby Brissett has been staying away from team activities as he attempts to land a starter-level extension. According to NFL insider Jason La Canfora, though, Brissett will more likely end up being a trade candidate.
With Brissett in line for Year 2 and a backup passer with starting experience in Gardner Minshew, many thought Arizona would spend the first year of new head coach Mike LaFleur tanking its way to as high a draft pick as possible in 2027 in an attempt to land the best of a better crop of quarterbacks than what was available this year. It was presumed that the Cardinals would utilize this year’s draft to bring in a number of strong supporting pieces to prop up their future rookie starter.
Instead, the team took an interestingly different route. When they reportedly were unable to find an offer they deemed worthy of trading out of the No. 3 overall pick for, they opted to select RB1 Jeremiyah Love. They did get around to landing a plug-and-play starting guard at the top of the second round in Chase Bisontis, but with the first pick of the third round, the Cardinals shocked a number of analysts by drafting Miami quarterback Carson Beck, the third passer to come off the board in the 2026 draft class.
Though he heard his name called two rounds after first overall pick Fernando Mendoza, who beat him head-to-head in the College Football Playoff national championship game four months ago, Beck’s six years in college had some evaluators believing he was the most pro-ready passer in the class. Once Beck was wearing a red hat, an NFL general manager reportedly told La Canfora that Arizona would “move Brissett by the (trade) deadline.”
Even if Brissett isn’t traded away immediately, the theory seems clear. If this GM is correct, at some point, Beck would take over as the starter. As a third-round, pro-ready prospect with the top rookie running back and an improved offensive line, there’s a chance Beck could find success and show potential as the team’s future at the position. If such a hypothetical ends up being too far out of reach to become reality and Beck’s starting run leads them to a poor record and a high draft pick, then the Cardinals would be perfectly in line to draft a first-round quarterback in 2027.
Fueling that idea a bit further, recent whispers that veteran free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers may be considering Arizona as a future home appear to be nothing more than rumors. ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss reached out to a source recently to gauge the reality of this possibility, and his source claimed it was “not at all” real. If Rodgers stays away and Brissett gets shipped out, Beck may end up starting as a rookie as the Cardinals make moves to find their QB for the future.
Titans OL Far From Set
The Titans offensive line is most likely set on the outside with right tackle JC Latham and left tackle Dan Moore Jr. returning from last year’s starting lineup, and they’ll be joined by left guard Peter Skoronski, who had a breakout 2025 campaign. After releasing center Lloyd Cushenberry III and allowing veteran guard Kevin Zeitler‘s contract to expire, though, the other inside spots are far less secure at this point.
According to ESPN’s Turron Davenport, former Bengals starter Cordell Volson and last year’s fifth-round pick Jackson Slater will battle for the starting right guard job. Volson presumably has the inside track on the job after spending nearly three years as a starter on the left side in Cincinnati. He shouldn’t have any issue switching sides since he started games at left tackle, right tackle, and right guard in his college years at North Dakota State.
Slater’s collegiate experience at Sacramento State came all on the left side, as did his only snaps on offense for the Titans in his rookie year, which all came in a meaningless Week 18 matchup. Davenport believes that Day 3 additions from this year’s draft — fifth-round Arkansas guard Fernando Carmona and sixth-round Indiana center Pat Coogan — could also factor into the competition of this battle. Carmona started three years at left tackle in Fayetteville before making the move to left guard for the Razorbacks, and Coogan started a year at left guard for Notre Dame two years before transferring to the Hoosiers.
Tennessee also signed interior swingman Austin Schlottmann back in early March, but he appears to be the favorite to win the starting center job, though he has never held a role in the NFL as a full-time starter. Over his eight years in the league, Schlottmann has only started 18 of 85 game appearances. He started six games at right guard and one at center over three years in Denver, seven games at center over the next two in Minnesota, and four games at center for the Giants last year after only appearing in one game in 2024.
Schlottmann’s competition for the job is currently former Bengal Trey Hill and Coogan. Hill, originally a sixth-round pick himself, hasn’t started an NFL game since his rookie year in 2021 and has only appeared in one game in the past three seasons — a three-snap special teams appearance in 2024. Coogan is joining his third team in as many years after transferring from Notre Dame to Indiana for a championship run last year. Following his season at left guard, Coogan started a season at center for the Fighting Irish before snapping the ball for a year to the Heisman-winning No. 1 overall pick, Fernando Mendoza.
Despite Coogan’s success on paper, he was a Day 3 pick for a reason. With his general size and strength, he looks the part of an NFL center, but he projects as a backup early on, until he can be a bit more disciplined with his pad-level. Hill has been relegated to a practice squad role in recent years, and it’s hard to picture him making Week 1 his first start in five years. The job appears to be Schlottmann’s at the moment.
The inside tracks for Volson and Schlottmann could be altered if the roster continues to change, and it doesn’t sound like the team is done making adjustments. Following the draft, Titans assistant general manager Dave Ziegler told the press (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk), “There’s a level of competition that’s still going to be taking place there…we’ll continue to look to improve. Free agency is over and the draft is over, but there’s still an element of different areas of the team we will continue to add competition to. Offensive line will be one of those positions.”
Having seen so little of a new group that has such limited experience, head coach Brian Daboll is far from making any decisions. While he claims to like what he’s seeing from the guys that have come in and gotten to work so far, he knows they’re far away from playing meaningful football in pads, and they’ll learn more when those days come along. For now, they’ll continue to develop and compete, but concerning the starting five, “all that will play itself out come training camp,” as Daboll puts it.
Bucs’ Jacob Parrish To Compete For Outside CB Job
After cornerback Jacob Parrish showed off his inside-outside versatility at Kansas State, the Buccaneers added him in the third round of the 2025 draft. The 84th overall pick wound up spending most of his rookie season in the slot, but he could take on new responsibilities in Year 2. Parrish will compete for a starting job on the outside, according to Jenna Laine of ESPN.com.
The Buccaneers’ secondary has undergone a couple of notable changes this offseason, which could lead to a different role for the 5-foot-10, 198-pound Parrish. They lost starting corner Jamel Dean to the Steelers in free agency and did not pick up any real replacement(s) on the open market. The Dean-less Buccaneers entered the draft with Zyon McCollum and Benjamin Morrison on the outside and Parrish in the slot, but they went on to grab Keionte Scott in the fourth round. Scott logged a large amount of snaps as a nickel corner during a four-year college career divided between Auburn and Miami.
The addition of Scott could lead to more work on the outside for Parrish, who played 127 snaps on the boundary last year and amassed 496 in the slot. During a 17-game, five-start campaign, Parrish finished second among Tampa Bay’s corners in defensive snap share (71.46%), Only McCollum was on the field more than Parrish, who racked up 76 tackles, seven passes defensed, two interceptions and a pair of sacks. He ended the year as Pro Football Focus’ 31st-ranked corner among 112 qualifiers, handily beating out McCollum (51st) and Morrison (108th), and earned a place on the All-Rookie Team.
McCollum, who started in all 30 appearances from 2024-25, inked a three-year, $48MM extension last September. That came several months after the Bucs drafted Parrish and Morrison. They used a second-rounder on Morrison, the 53rd overall choice, but a hip injury limited him to 10 games and three starts. If Morrison has a healthier second season, the club figures to bank on him, Parrish, McCollum and Scott for plenty of snaps.
With their offseason heavy lifting likely done, the Buccaneers will expect their current group of corners to help lead an improved pass defense in 2026. The Bucs were a lowly 27th against the pass last season, which helps explain their 8-9 finish and their failure to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2019.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/5/26
Today’s mid- to late-round rookie signings from the 2026 NFL Draft:
Denver Broncos
- LB Red Murdock (seventh round, Buffalo)
Kansas City Chiefs
- RB Emmett Johnson (fifth round, Nebraska)
The Broncos have secured the signature of Mr. Irrelevant who received a $122K signing bonus, per Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post. Johnson joins a crowded backfield in Kansas City, where he’ll work for reps behind free agent addition — and Super Bowl LX MVP — Kenneth Walker, all the time competing against another free agent signing in Emari Demercado and last year’s draft pick, Brashard Smith.
Kenneth Walker Knew He Would Leave Seahawks In Free Agency
Although running back Kenneth Walker posted his second 1,000-yard regular season and then took home Super Bowl LX MVP honors, the Seahawks did not re-sign the four-year veteran in free agency. Walker ended up joining the Chiefs on a three-year, $43.05MM deal when the negotiating period opened March 9. Leaving Seattle did not come as a surprise to Walker, who told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that he saw it coming months ago.
“I would say probably, if I’m being honest, probably like sometime during the season,” Walker said. “You know, things ain’t working out how I was expecting to, and that’s all right. It worked out for the team. So sometime during the season and then we get to free agency, pretty much knowing like you weren’t gonna be there no more.”
As the Seahawks were preparing to face the Patriots in the Super Bowl, general manager John Schneider said he “would love” to keep Walker. The 25-year-old went on to further boost his stock with a 135-yard performance against the Pats, helping the Seahawks to a 29-13 romp.
Walker made it known after the Super Bowl that he hoped to stay in Seattle, but it is unclear if the reigning champions even made him an offer. Without a long-term deal, the Seahawks still could have attempted to retain Walker for another year via the $14.29MM franchise tag (as the Jets did with Breece Hall) or the $11.32MM transition tag. They deemed those prices too rich, though, and allowed their former second-round pick to walk away for a significant raise.
Walker now sits fourth among RBs in total value, average salary ($14.35MM) and guarantees ($28.7MM). The Chiefs expect him to boost a running game that ranked a lackluster 25th in the league last year. Meanwhile, several weeks after Walker left, the Seahawks spent a first-rounder on his replacement, Jadarian Price. As the 32nd pick in the draft, Price’s fully guaranteed rookie deal will check in at approximately $16.73MM over four years.
With the regular season still four months away, Price, free agent addition Emanuel Wilson, George Holani and Kenny McIntosh are among the Seahawks’ healthy backfield options. They also have Zach Charbonnet, who shared snaps with Walker over the previous three years, but his status for the start of 2026 is uncertain after he tore his ACL in the divisional round.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/5/26
Here are Tuesday’s NFL minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: T Trevonte Sylvester
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived: G Sidney Fugar
Miami Dolphins
- Received international exemption: TE Seydou Traore
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: OLB Isiah King
- Reverted to IR: S Tucker Large
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Reverted to IR: S Daequan Hardy
The Ravens and Cowboys opted to cut two linemen from their recently signed undrafted free agent classes, while the Steelers and Eagles both made moves to waive their safeties with an injury designation then revert them to injured reserve. For as long as they are on IR during the offseason, they will not count against the team’s 90-man roster limit.
Traore will also not count against Miami’s 90-man limit; the team’s fifth-round pick out of Mississippi State was born in France but raised in London before moving to Florida in an attempt to play college ball. He earned a scholarship offer from Arkansas State, where he played for two years before transferring to the Bulldogs.
Replacing the UDFA they reverted to IR, the Eagles have added King, a versatile linebacker, after he went undrafted out of Idaho. A two-year starter for the Vandals, King split his time fairly evenly last year between the box, the slot, and the edge.
Chargers’ Jake Slaughter To Vie For LG Job
The guard position stood out as one of the Chargers’ few glaring needs entering the draft. Despite that, they did not use one of their early picks on a traditional guard. Rather, the Bolts are counting on second-round center Jake Slaughter to successfully transition to left guard as a rookie. They expect Slaughter to compete for the starting job, according to general manager Joe Hortiz (via Kris Rhim of ESPN).
Zion Johnson, the 17th overall pick in the 2022 draft, was the Chargers’ starting left guard in three of his first four seasons (he was their right guard as a rookie). Although Johnson was remarkably durable in Los Angeles, where he missed just two games and started in 65 of 66, he has not turned into a great lineman at the NFL level. The Chargers let him walk in free agency as a result.
After Johnson accepted the Browns’ three-year, $49.5MM offer in free agency, the Bolts responded by re-signing Trevor Penning to a one-year, $4.5MM pact and adding Kayode Awosika on a modest deal. Both players are likely better off as depth, which could clear the way for Slaughter to step in as a Day 1 starter. There may be growing pains, however, considering Slaughter did not play a single snap at guard in college.
A former Florida Gator, Slaughter was one of the nation’s best centers over the past couple of years. Slaughter earned first-team All-SEC honors in each of the previous two seasons. He was also a first-team All-American in 2024. The Chargers scooped him up at pick 63. They later selected guards Logan Jones and Alex Harkey in the sixth round, but they will likely vie for backup roles as rookies.
While Slaughter may eventually move back to center for the Chargers, the position is spoken for as of now. Earlier this offseason, the Chargers replaced the retired Bradley Bozeman with Tyler Biadasz, whom they brought in on a three-year, $30MM accord. Biadasz will man the pivot, free agent pickup Cole Strange will take over at right guard for the released Mekhi Becton, and the excellent Rashawn Slater–Joe Alt duo will handle the tackle spots. Slater missed all of last season with a torn patellar tendon, and ankle issues held Alt to six games, but both blockers are ahead of schedule in their recoveries.
If Slater and Alt return to full strength, left guard will be the biggest question on the Chargers’ line heading into next season. In a best-case scenario for them, Slaughter will quickly adapt to a new position and help make life easier on franchise quarterback Justin Herbert. Thanks to a combination of injuries and subpar blocking, Herbert suffered the third-most sacks in the league last year (54). While the Chargers still managed 11 wins and a playoff berth, they were unable to get out of the wild-card round. The Patriots sacked Herbert six times in a lifeless offensive showing for the Chargers, who fell 16-3.
Browns Considered Trading Into First Round For WR Denzel Boston
Reloading at wide receiver, the Browns did not stop after choosing KC Concepcion 24th overall. Cleveland made another big move at the position during the draft, tabbing Denzel Boston at No. 39.
The Browns entered this draft with two first-round picks, obtaining the No. 24 overall selection via the Jaguars’ 2025 Travis Hunter trade-up. The Jags’ dramatic improvement from 2024 to ’25 made that pick less valuable, but the Browns came out of Round 1 with a tackle and a receiver — their long-rumored preference.
Cleveland, however, considered joining the Jets in making it a three-first-rounder haul. The Browns pondered trading back into Round 1 to secure Boston, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, who notes the team viewed the Seahawks (No. 32) as a potential option. Seattle GM John Schneider confirmed the team was looking to trade down, which the veteran exec has done many times in Round 1 during his lengthy tenure; the defending champs entered the draft with only four picks.
Schneider confirmed potential trade-down opportunities arose, but the Seahawks stayed put and drafted Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price. It should be viewed as a safe bet the Browns represented one of those trade-down chances for the Seahawks, but the team viewed the 49ers as a threat to draft Price. San Francisco, after trading down twice in Round 1, held the No. 33 overall pick to start Round 2.
After the Browns stood down on a first-round trade-up — and what would have been their first three-first-rounder haul since 2017 (when the team added Myles Garrett, David Njoku and Jabrill Peppers) — Fowler adds discussions took place regarding a move up the board early in Round 2. We heard before the 49ers’ No. 33 pick the Browns were among the teams interested in climbing, but no Cleveland trade commenced.
Andrew Berry and Co. bet on a defense-heavy start to the second round and was mostly proven right. After the 49ers chose a receiver (De’Zhaun Stribling) and the Cardinals a guard (Chase Bisontis) to start the draft’s second night, four defensive players (EDGE T.J. Parker, DT Kayden McDonald, CB Colton Hood, S Treydan Stukes) respectively went to the Bills, Texans, Giants and Raiders. That left Boston on the board for longer than expected, and the Browns pounced at No. 39.
Boston was widely mocked as a first-round pick, with pre-draft rumors relaying the Washington product was viewed as a top-three receiver in this class by some teams. Those may not have been entirely accurate, though it is worth wondering if teams merely stood down and addressed other positions while still viewing Boston highly. The Browns conducted a “30” visit with Boston in mid-March and will plug him in alongside Concepcion and Jerry Jeudy. The team has no plans to trade Jeudy despite an underwhelming second season in Cleveland.
The Browns had not used a first- or second-round pick on a receiver under Berry or predecessor John Dorsey. Granted, Cleveland went three drafts without a first-round pick (due to the Deshaun Watson trade/fiasco), but the team has underinvested, draft-wise, at this premier position for a long time. After missing on Corey Coleman in the 2016 first round — when Berry worked under then-front office boss Sashi Brown — Cleveland opted to make other moves at receiver, like trading for Jeudy and Amari Cooper.
Giants Claim DT Zacch Pickens
The Giants made one of Tuesday’s most noteworthy moves in agreeing to sign defensive tackle D.J. Reader to a two-year, $12.5MM deal. Not content to stop adding at the position, the Giants have claimed Zacch Pickens off waivers from the Chiefs.
Pickens is quickly landing on his feet after the Chiefs cut him Monday. The 6-foot-4, 303-pounder spent all of last season in the Kansas City organization, mostly as a member of its practice squad. Pickens got into three games and played 59 defensive snaps.
Before arriving in KC, Pickens spent the first two years of his career in Chicago. The Bears invested a third-round pick (No. 64 overall) in the South Carolina product in 2023, but the move did not work out as hoped. Pickens logged his lone 17-game season as a rookie, though he did not make any starts. He finished with a 24.65% defensive snap share, 20 tackles and a half-sack. While Pickens made the first three starts of his career in 2024, he totaled just nine appearances, 19 tackles and a sack on the season. Led by then-rookie head coach Ben Johnson, the Bears waived Pickens last August.
For the Giants, the Pickens claim continues an active couple of weeks along their interior defensive line. The first domino to fall was the mid-April trade of nose tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals for the 10th overall pick. The Giants have since brought in Reader, Pickens, Leki Fotu and sixth-rounder Bobby Jamison-Travis to join Darius Alexander, Sam Roberts and Marlon Tuipulotu