Record-Setting Extension Still Expected For WR Puka Nacua
As a rookie fifth-rounder out of BYU, Puka Nacua exploded onto the scene in what seemed to be the debut of one the NFL’s next great receivers. Injuries in his sophomore season and a few off-the-field concerns have put a speed bump in Nacua’s path toward a second contract, but according to SportsBoom’s Jason La Canfora, a record-setting extension for the Rams wide receiver is seen as a foregone conclusion.
The argument for such an agreement is a simple one. Despite being the 20th wide receiver taken in the 2023 NFL Draft as the last pick of the fifth round, Nacua was the only one to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie, blowing past that mark with 1,486, the fourth-highest total in the league that year. Though Houston’s C.J. Stroud walked away with Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, Nacua was named a second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler in his first year of NFL play.
Though a five-game absence early into Year 2 limited him to only 11 games, Nacua’s per game averages had him on track for career highs in receptions and receiving yards. Even with one missed game last year, Nacua delivered on that momentum, setting new career highs with 129 receptions (most in the NFL), 1,715 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns. With a league-leading average of 107.2 yards per game, the only thing that prevented him from leading in catches and yards was that one missed game.
Now a first-team All-Pro, Nacua’s outrageous, consistent production should guarantee that he will follow in the steps of the only receiver to out-gain him last year after Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba signed a four-year, $168.6MM extension that made him the highest-paid wide receiver in the league in March. Sometimes, an inability to stay on the field can hurt a player’s chances to land a big contract, but Nacua’s return to excellence after coming back from injury and his continued improvement after the fact have dispelled any notion that injury would factor largely into any contract discussions.
What has been seemingly harming Nacua’s progress towards a new deal is a series of questionable off-field decisions. During the season, Nacua violated team policy by live-streaming in the team’s locker room following a win, prompting some teammates to confront him. A few weeks later, Nacua appeared on a livestream and drew scrutiny for seemingly performing an antisemitic gesture — though he claimed to have no knowledge of its offensive nature — and criticizing league officials, an action that caused the NFL to fine him $25K.
Then, early into the offseason, Nacua was the subject of a civil lawsuit stemming from a claim that he made numerous unprovoked antisemitic statements to a woman before allegedly biting her repeatedly on the shoulder. Nacua denied the allegations but checked himself into a luxury rehabilitation center in Malibu shortly after. Nacua has since returned to normal team activities as a “full participant,” but his off-field decision-making could factor into the terms of his potential future extension.
As Nacua was putting a bow on his 2025 campaign, reports indicated that extending the fourth-year receiver would be a priority for Los Angeles. In the aftermath of the news of his civil lawsuit, though, the team’s focus seemed to shift from extensions to additions. The Rams may decide there’s something they need to see from Nacua before they can feel comfortable signing him long-term, but however long that takes, La Canfora seems certain it will get done, even if it might require the team to use some contract language that will protect the franchise in the event of any further off-field issues.
The Rams appear to have a generational talent in the building with an opportunity to keep him in LA for a long time. It’s become apparent that that future may come with a certain level of risk outside of the building, but it doesn’t appear that risk will be enough to deter a record-setting deal from occurring.
Raiders DE Maxx Crosby Close To Practicing
Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby is nearing a return from offseason surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
“I’m at the point where I’m almost there, but I forget that I need to relax a little bit, so that’s kind of been the biggest battle right now,” Crosby said at last week’s OTAs (via ESPN’s Ryan McFadden).
The seven-year veteran has been present at spring practices, but he is only participating in calisthenics with his teammates before continuing his rehab with team trainers. He declined to set a clear timeline on his return, but indicated his recovery process has been better than last year, when he was coming back from arthroscopic surgery to repair a severely sprained ankle.
Crosby, 28, is considered somewhat of an iron man in the NFL, a rare defensive lineman who almost never leaves the field. He commanded a snap share of at least 94% over the last four years for a total of 3,869 snaps across 61 games, or 63.4 snaps per game. After two major injuries in back-to-back years, the amount of tread on his tires has become a concern – and may have been a factor in the Ravens’ controversial decision to back out of a trade for the five-time Pro Bowler. Crosby declined to comment on that situation, calling it “water under the bridge,” but admitted that he has carefully managed his workload during his rehab.
“This has forced me to have to take a step back in certain areas and not run 8,000 yards on the field every single day,” Crosby added.
Whether or not that will translate to the season remains to be seen. He has expressed renewed motivation following the scuttled move to Baltimore, and that will only increase if the Raiders’ heavy offseason investments – headlined by new head coach Klint Kubiak and No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza – can turn the team around right away. If Crosby is suddenly playing for a playoff contender for the first time in five years, it will be difficult to get him off the field as long as he can play.
Steelers Move Focus To Joey Porter Extension
The Steelers signed tight end Darnell Washington and outside linebacker Nick Herbig to long-term extensions last week. Now, they have moved their focus to another member of their 2023 draft class: Joey Porter Jr.
The 25-year-old cornerback skipped voluntary OTAs and staged a ‘hold-in’ at mandatory minicamp with minimal participation in practice. Herbig took the same approach before reaching his four-year, $100MM agreement on Tuesday.
“I want to be out there,” Porter said (via Mike DeFabo of The Athletic). “Everybody knows I want to be out there. So I’m just doing everything I can and taking it day by day.”
Projections for a Porter extension range from $22MM to $30MM per season, according to DeFabo and Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show, a wide range encompassing the top two tiers of the cornerback market. Trent McDuffie, Sauce Gardner, and Derek Stingley Jr. sit at or above a $30MM AAV, with Jaycee Horn at $25MM and DaRon Bland at $22.5MM, per OverTheCap. The Broncos bumped Patrick Surtain‘s pay by $5MM this year with another $5MM available next year as a slight raise on his $24MM AAV deal. Porter’s teammate, Jalen Ramsey, earns $24.1MM per year, though he is not a direct comparison due to his converted safety status.
Porter took a significant step forward last season after an up-and-down, penalty-riddled first two seasons. Among qualified cornerbacks, he ranked fourth in passer rating allowed when targeted (57.2) and seventh in yards per target (5.0), in the company of veterans like Surtain and Stingley as well as Eagles All-Pro and 2024 first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell. Those numbers were career-highs for Porter, as were his 14 passes defended; he also cut his penalty count to nine after 29 in his first two years. He did all of this while often being tasked with shadowing the opposing team’s top wide receiver.
The arrow is firmly pointing up for the legacy Steeler, and an extension seems like a matter of when, not if, Kaboly adds. Porter’s father, Pro Bowl linebacker Joey Porter Sr., signed a second contract to stay in Pittsburgh for the first eight years of his career, and his son seemed poised to do the same.
QB Brendan Sorsby Preparing For Supplemental Draft
JUNE 6: The NCAA has denied Texas Tech’s appeal to reinstate Sorsby’s eligibility, per ESPN, an expected development considering the nature and extent of his gambling infractions. Receiving an injunction in his pending lawsuit against the NCAA is now Sorsby’s only path to playing college football this year.
JUNE 3: Brendan Sorsby has not given up on playing college football for Texas Tech this year, but barring an unlikely injunction to preserve his NCAA eligibility, the 22-year-old quarterback seems headed for the NFL’s supplemental draft.
If Sorsby elects to go pro this year, he will have to first apply for the supplemental draft by June 22. The NFL will review his situation – extensive sports betting during his college career and subsequent treatment for a gambling addiction – and decide if he can enter.
The league has rarely rejected players in this process, though the extent of Sorsby’s infractions will draw close scrutiny given heightened attention around sports leagues’ connection to gambling. He has admitted to placing more than 9,000 bets worth over $90K in total, per Justin Williams of The Athletic, including at least 40 bets on the Indiana football team while he was a member.
Sorsby could be forced to accept a suspension as a condition of his entrance into the draft, as was the case with Terrelle Pryor in 2011. That is unlikely to scare off interested teams; a late-July supplemental draft would have him joining his new team in training camp and minimize any expectations for his rookie year.
Teams will be doing their homework on Sorsby on and off the field. He will have a shortened pre-draft process between July 5 and July 12, a span that will include a pro day in Dallas and likely some private workouts with specific clubs, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. Assessments of Sorsby vary, but evaluators inside the NFL are already impressed by his arm with one executive rating him higher than Rams No. 13 pick Ty Simpson. Some area scouts even have him graded higher than Texas’ Arch Manning, per Tony Pauline of EssentiallySports.
That has created some lofty projections for Sorsby’s potential supplemental draft slot. The supplemental draft uses a complicated lottery and bidding system, but essentially, the team that selects Sorsby will give up a corresponding pick in the same round of next year’s draft. Already seen as a likely 2027 first-rounder, a strong 2026 campaign at Texas Tech could have vaulted him into top-10 status.
Teams who are unlikely to pick that high – Breer mentions the Steelers and the Colts – might take a discounted shot on a high-level arm talent. Others who were planning to add a franchise quarterback in next year’s draft could opt for a more immediate option, especially if they were already interested in Sorsby after his two standout years at Cincinnati. The result would likely be a late first- or early second-round pick, both Breer and Pauline note.
Sorsby’s off-field situation remains fluid and the biggest X-factor in his future. Teams will need to be convinced that he has put his sports gambling issues behind him as he enters a league that will not hesitate to punish him for a recurrence of the same infractions. Some clubs may be scared off entirely, but time and time again, the NFL has proven that talent, especially at the quarterback position, typically gets the benefit of the doubt – and then some.
Holdout From Bucs QB Baker Mayfield Unlikely
Baker Mayfield has set a training camp deadline for a contract extension with the Buccaneers, but the two sides are far apart heading into June.
Despite the gap in asking and offering price, negotiations have not been “ugly,” per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, though they are “relatively fresh and new.”
“It’s not like they have been talking for months and hit an impasse,” Fowler adds. “They just have to make some progress based on the initial talks.”
Both sides have repeatedly expressed interest in coming to an agreement. The Buccaneers have been thoroughly rewarded for taking a shot on the former No. 1 overall pick back in 2023. He emerged as a high-end starter before playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in 2024. Injuries – to himself and several of his best teammates – hampered him last season, so there is reason to believe he can bounce back this year.
From Mayfield’s perspective, the Buccaneers resurrected his career after the Browns let him go in favor of Deshaun Watson. He then received a $100MM contract and a guaranteed starting job into his 30s, all while playing with the best skill position players (and arguably offensive line) of his career.
Mayfield is not likely to stage a holdout from mandatory minicamp, which starts on June 16, and his stated timeline indicates that the same is true for training camp.
But despite the 31-year-old quarterback’s interest in getting a deal done within the next six weeks, he and his camp have not sent a counter to the Bucs’ original offer, according to Rich Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. As always, it takes two to tango, but mutual interest in extending this partnership should get both sides to the negotiating table soon.
Lions Have Chance To Capitalize On Depressed Markets
An inability to build around the likes of Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford shortened these greats' tenures in Detroit. Stafford asking for a trade in 2021 brought another rebuild, one that now stands as a signature overhaul in the 21st-century NFL.
Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell ignited a moribund franchise. As former Lions peers in the NFL basement go through more structural turnover, we are now in Year 6 of the Holmes-Campbell regime. Although Sanders lifted reasonably talented rosters in the 1990s -- albeit without consistent quarterback play -- it is safe to call the current Lions setup the most well-run operation in the Motor City since the AFL-NFL merger 56 years ago.
The team is now in a third offseason where extensions are due for homegrown talent. The 2024 offseason brought timely paydays for Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell and Jared Goff. The Lions later circled back to extending Taylor Decker and Alim McNeill as well. Last year brought re-ups for Kerby Joseph and Jameson Williams. This offseason does not supply decisions at cornerstone positions, giving it less flash but arguably more intrigue.
The Lions' batch of extension candidates entering the offseason play positions featuring three depressed markets, with the fourth candidate -- safety Brian Branch -- coming off an ACL tear. Detroit already paid Jack Campbell, who is now the NFL's second-highest-paid off-ball linebacker, and must decide on Jahmyr Gibbs' value and whether to let Sam LaPorta play out a contract year or reach an agreement now. The positions these young talents play present an interesting opportunity, though having so many candidates for top-market deals at low- or medium-priority areas will require a critical macro evaluation from the Holmes-led front office.
Bucs, QB Baker Mayfield ‘Not Anywhere Close’ To Extension
The clock is ticking on a contract extension for Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. Entering the last year of his deal, Mayfield told reporters on Friday that he and the team are “not anywhere close” to an agreement (via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times). Mayfield added that he has set a negotiating deadline for the start of training camp in late July.
“Would love to be here long term but as of right now that’s not exactly the case,” Mayfield said. “But I’m under contract for 2026. The guys in that locker room, the staff know that I’m still gonna be me. I’m still going to do everything I can to help this team win a Super Bowl. To me that’s the priority. Everything else will take care of itself. “
Mayfield entered the NFL in 2018 with the Browns, who drafted the Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winner first overall in a class that included four other first-round signal-callers: Sam Darnold (No. 3, Jets), Josh Allen (No. 7, Bills), Josh Rosen (No. 10, Cardinals) and Lamar Jackson (No. 32, Ravens). After an up-and-down four years with the Browns, Mayfield’s stock dropped further in a half-season in Carolina in 2022. The Panthers had both Mayfield and Darnold on their roster that year, but neither panned out for them. They waived Mayfield in late December, and he went on to finish the season with the Rams after they claimed him.
Mayfield’s performance improved in Los Angeles, where he made four starts filling in for an injured Matthew Stafford. However, with Stafford entrenched as the Rams’ top QB, it was obvious Mayfield would have to look elsewhere if he wanted a chance to start in 2023. That led him to Tampa Bay on a one-year, $8.5MM pact, which turned out to be a steal for general manager Jason Licht.
Mayfield beat out Kyle Trask for QB1 duties and went on to set career highs in completion percentage (64.3), yards (4,044) and touchdowns (28, against 10 interceptions) over 17 starts. He earned Pro Bowl honors for the first time and led the Buccaneers to a 9-8 record and an NFC South title. They crushed the Eagles in the wild-card round, 32-9, but bowed out the next week in a 31-23 loss to Detroit in the divisional round.
Convinced Mayfield was their answer under center, the Buccaneers prevented him from leaving in free agency with a three-year, $100MM extension in March 2024. Once again, he exceeded expectations in the first season of the accord. Although Mayfield tossed too many picks (16), he made up for it by establishing new career highs in completion rate (71.4), yards (4,500), TDs (41) and passer rating (106.8). Mayfield made his second straight Pro Bowl, and the Buccaneers went 10-7 on their way to another division title. However, they could not get past the Jayden Daniels-led Commanders in a 23-20 wild-card round loss at home.
The Buccaneers were the clear favorites to win the NFC South entering 2025, and it looked as if they would coast to the crown during a 6-2 start. Mayfield was drawing MVP hype then, but a slew of injuries took their toll on the team in the second half of the season. The Buccaneers lost seven of their last nine and finished 8-9, which tied the Panthers and the Falcons for the best record in a bad division. But the Bucs lost the tiebreaker to the Panthers, who represented the NFC South in the playoffs.
After Mayfield completed 63.2% of passes for 3,693 yards, 26 TDs and 11 picks during his third straight 17-start year in 2025, he will work with yet another new O-coordinator this season. The Buccaneers fired Josh Grizzard and replaced him with former Falcons OC Zac Robinson. He will be Mayfield’s fourth play caller in as many years in Tampa Bay, which had Dave Canales in place during the signal-caller’s first season there.
Licht made it known last summer that the Buccaneers wanted to extend Mayfield. While that still hasn’t happened, it remains a top priority for the team. Last July, the Buccaneers guaranteed $30MM of Mayfield’s $40MM salary for 2026. A new deal should come at a higher price, especially with the salary cap continuing to skyrocket. Eleven quarterbacks are averaging over $50MM per year. The leader, the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, is earning a league-high $60MM per annum.
Prescott was 31 years old when he signed his extension, a four-year, $240MM pact with $231MM in guarantees. Mayfield is the same age now as Prescott was when he re-upped with Dallas in September 2024. That doesn’t mean Mayfield will do as well on his next contract, but as someone who ranks just 16th at his position in AAV, a raise is clearly in order. Thanks to Mayfield’s self-imposed deadline, the Buccaneers are running out of time to make it happen.
NFL Mailbag: Browns, Garrett, Rams, Donald, Brown, Steelers
This week's PFR mailbag touches on some of the most impactful developments from a busy week around the NFL. The Myles Garrett and A.J. Brown trades, the possibility of an Aaron Donald return and the Steelers' pass rush outlook are addressed.
Stephen asks:
Did the Rams give up too much for Myles Garrett? Do you like this move for the Browns?
I wasn’t surprised that it wound up being the Rams who landed Garrett (although I also wasn’t expecting him to get traded on Monday, to be fair). The price hurts from Los Angeles’ perspective, but that was always going to be the case when acquiring a future Hall of Famer.
Bears Moving Toward Indiana Relocation
The Bears have called the state of Illinois home since they began play in 1920, but they now have one foot out the door. Their board of directors voted to advance stadium development at a to-be-determined site in Hammond, Ind., chairman George McCaskey and president and CEO Kevin Warren announced in a joint statement.
“We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city,” McCaskey and Warren said. “It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”
The Bears, who will soon leave the 102-year-old Soldier Field for a new stadium, identified Hammond and Arlington Heights, Ill., as potential sites for a domed facility earlier in this process. In an announcement on May 21, they claimed the city of Chicago does not have a “viable site.” Their chances of at least staying in Illinois would have improved had the Senate voted to approve a proposal to give tax breaks for megaprojects of $100MM or more. However, that bid fell short before the Senate adjourned on May 31.
While it appears the Bears will end up in Hammond, which is approximately 35 minutes from Chicago, it isn’t a fait accompli, Courtney Cronin of ESPN reports. “Illinois can still get back in the race,” a source told Cronin. Meanwhile, a source informed ESPN’s Adam Schefter, “There is more work to do but barring anything very strange, it’s a done deal.”
For his part, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun is already spiking the ball. In a celebratory statement, Braun announced (via WSBT CBS 22): “Hoosiers, help me welcome the Chicago Bears to our great state! We look forward to building a partnership as strong as the ’85 Bears defense, creating opportunities and economic growth that will benefit our state and the Bears organization for decades to come. An NFL franchise in Northwest Indiana will be an economic boost to the entire region like we haven’t seen before.”
If the Bears leave for Indiana, they would join the Colts as the state’s second NFL franchise. The Colts would welcome them with open arms.
“We’re happy for the Bears and wish them the best in their stadium initiative,” the Colts stated Friday (via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star). “We also hope this will mean great things for community and economic development for our fellow Hoosiers in northwest Indiana.”
Hammond is within 75 miles of Chicago, which means the Bears already have the marketing rights there.
Myles Garrett Trade Fallout: Rams, Eagles, Carter, Browns, Verse, McCoy
The trade that sent longtime Browns defensive end Myles Garrett to the Super Bowl-hopeful Rams was a long time in the making — two months and four days, to be exact. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, that’s how long it took for negotiations between Rams general manager Les Snead and his Browns counterpart, Andrew Berry, to conclude.
This wasn’t the first time the Rams had sent an offer to Cleveland; it wasn’t even the second. Los Angeles went shopping for pass rushers around the trade deadline in 2022 and, among offers to several other teams, offered two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder for Garrett, though Berry has no interest in trading him at the time. Then, following this past season, Snead called the Browns in late March and upped the offer.
The offer purely comprising of draft capital was not going to be enough, as Cleveland made clear following the draft that Rams defensive end Jared Verse would have to be a part of any trade, but it demonstrated how serious Los Angeles was about getting a deal done.
Over the long course of these negotiations, Berry made sure to keep Garrett in the loop. Per Breer, Garrett wasn’t the only one hearing from Berry. The seventh-year GM reportedly reached out to three well-known personnel executives in other sports. St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti, and Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas were trusted for advice and expertise, especially given Bloom and Presti’s trade experience in their respective sports. The trio’s input led to the team’s insistence on getting a player — not just draft picks — in the return-side of the trade.
Before ultimately agreeing to the final terms, Jimmy Haslam and his family hosted Berry and Garrett for one last meeting to reminisce and make sure Garrett was good with how things were concluding. Garrett’s contract included a no-trade clause, so his go-ahead was a crucial part of the deal, and according to ESPN’s Sarah Barshop, it was a decision Garrett needed to “sleep on” before finally waiving the no-trade clause.
In the immediate fallout of the trade, some rumors emerged that the Eagles had been a team that expressed interest in trading for Garrett and that defensive tackle Jalen Carter was a potential trade target for Cleveland. Negating that notion, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported this week that Philadelphia “never made a play” for Garrett and that “there’s zero chance they would’ve wanted (Carter) in return.”
The player the Browns did want, Verse, also had some negative feelings about being traded, not towards his new team but in regard to leaving his home of the past two seasons. After the Rams drafted Verse at No. 19 overall in 2024, Verse rewarded them with two Pro Bowl campaigns to go along with his own Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
In his introductory news conference in Cleveland (via Andy Backstrom of Yahoo Sports), Verse told the media, “I loved LA. I loved the coaches, the organization, my teammates, everybody a part of it, the fans — I loved the whole vibe of LA, the Los Angeles Rams, and it was upsetting. I was upset for a good little bit of time.”
The last tidbit of information relayed by Breer pertains to a different trade the team performed in the offseason. Los Angeles traded its second first-round pick in this past year’s draft, the 29th overall pick, to Kansas City in a package of picks that landed them Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie in return. Per Breer, the Rams had interest in Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy at the end of the first round, but when his draft stock plummeted for medical reasons, the team pivoted and made the move for McDuffie. McDuffie and Garrett now stand as two gigantic additions to a team looking to make the most of veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford‘s last few good years.