NFL Interest In Marcus Freeman To Continue
For two years now, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has been a major name of interest for NFL teams looking to hire a new head coach. He saw early NFL interest two years ago but, ultimately, signed an extension to stay with the Fighting Irish. According to Jason La Canfora on SportsBoom, Freeman has not slammed the door shut on an NFL future.
Freeman rose quickly through the collegiate coaching ranks, starting as a graduate assistant at his alma mater a year after getting drafted out of Ohio State in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He landed his first position coaching job the next year as the Kent State linebackers coach and found his way to the Power 5 level two years later in the same position at Purdue. In his fourth season with the Boilermakers, Freeman was promoted to co-defensive coordinator, and a year later, he got his first full defensive coordinator role at Cincinnati.
Freeman spent four years with the Bearcats, completely transforming the team’s defense and finishing the 2020 season as a Broyles Award finalist as one of the NCAA’s best assistant coaches. In 2021, he left Cincinnati for Notre Dame and was named head coach when Brian Kelly left the school to assume the same position at LSU. After losing the team’s bowl game in his first head coaching appearance, Freeman saw the team’s record improve each year under his leadership going 9-4 in 2022, 10-3 in 2023, 14-2 with a loss in the College Football Playoff National Championship game in 2024, and 10-2 as they just missed out on the CFP last year.
Even before nearly winning a national championship in only his third full year in any sort of head coaching role, Freeman had already become an immediate name to watch in NFL circles. He was named a dark horse candidate for the Bears job that ultimately went to Ben Johnson after Freeman signed was is believed to have been a four-year extension to stay at Notre Dame. In 2025, he was a popularly rumored name with the Giants, Titans, and Steelers, but once again, he announced his intentions to remain with the Fighting Irish.
According to La Canfora, Freeman claimed to have “gained some valuable experience” from his most recent cycle of NFL inquiries, and though he didn’t offer any kind of timeline, Freeman didn’t seem to shut the door on eventually taking that next step to the NFL. As a young, fast-rising, defensive-minded coach, Freeman is expected to receive no shortage of NFL interest in the coming years. When head coaching vacancies inevitably appear near the end of the 2026 season, look for Freeman’s name to come up, once again.
Patrick Mahomes Participated In Chiefs OTAs Practice
MAY 29: Mahomes continues to progress in early offseason activities. According to ESPN’s Nate Taylor, the star passer saw time on the field doing competitive 7-on-7 drills on his third day of practice in a row, “displaying excellent accuracy.” Mahomes was not scheduled to participate in full 11-on-11 team periods, though, a precautionary decision made by Reid at the start of the week.
Per Pete Sweeney of The Kansas City Star, Mahomes is “driving to be able to fully participate” by training camp, though it’s still unclear if that will be possible. The team is conducting medical checkpoints every one to two weeks, and his current goals are running, cutting, and proving that he can protect himself.
MAY 26: After tearing his ACL last December, Patrick Mahomes is already back on the practice field. The Chiefs quarterback participated in his team’s first OTA practice today, per ESPN’s Nate Taylor.
Since the session was closed to reporters, it’s unclear how much Mahomes participated in the practice. But as Taylor notes, the team’s social media accounts posted clips of the QB throwing on the practice field. In the video, Mahomes was spotted wearing a knee brace. Reporters will get a better idea of the 30-year-old’s recovery when practice is open on Thursday.
While Andy Reid previously cautioned that this portion of the offseason program features “no contact and there’s no offense versus defense,” it’s still notable that Mahomes was even on the field. The quarterback has continually made it his goal to be active for Week 1, and Taylor notes that the franchise is increasingly confident in the player’s ability to complete that mission. GM Brett Veach also recently admitted that Mahomes was “way ahead of schedule” in his recovery.
Of course, we wouldn’t expect the organization to say otherwise at this point. We’ll truly get clarity on Mahomes’ timeline when contact practices commence during July’s training camp. During the current OTAs and upcoming mandatory minicamp, Mahomes will be participating in low-risk drills. The QB has been a mainstay in the Chiefs’ facility throughout his rehab, where he’s often worked with trainer Julie Frymyer, who helped him recover from previous injuries (per Taylor).
While the recovery timeline from a torn ACL has been shortened in recent years, it will still be a feat for Mahomes to return to the field in only nine months. The Chiefs have the luxury of rostering a capable backup in case Mahomes does have to miss any time, as the front office added Justin Fields in a trade with the Jets earlier this offseason.
When Mahomes does inevitably take a regular season snap, he won’t only be looking to prove that the knee isn’t impacting his play. He’ll also be looking to avenge an underwhelming on-field performance in 2025. The Chiefs went 6-8 in Mahomes’ 14 starts, with the former MVP tossing only 22 touchdowns (a career-low other than his one-game showing as a rookie).
Texas Tech, QB Brendan Sorsby Appeal NCAA Decision
As expected, following the NCAA’s denial of Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby‘s reinstatement for the 2026 college football season, Sorsby’s team has filed an appeal. The team’s argument (via Ross Dellenger fo Yahoo Sports) leaned heavily on the framing of Sorbsy’s gambling problem as an issue of mental health and asked that, in lieu of the revocation of his remaining eligibility, the NCAA consider a two-game suspension.
In it’s denial, the NCAA stated that it “did not find any circumstances that warranted reinstating (Sorsby’s) eligibility.” By citing the specifics of Sorsby’s diagnosis and transgressions, the appeal attempts to paint the situation as one without precedent. In doing so, the team argues that the NCAA wouldn’t be following the precedent set by past players who have gambled and been caught; instead, it would be setting a new precedent for punishing a player who admitted to and sought treatment for his mental health disorder.
The team’s appeal obviously argues that Sorsby struggles from a gambling addiction, the mental health challenge that perpetuated his continuous activity, but the first instances of betting could not have been a result of a developed addiction, so they’ve framed that, too, within the scope of mental health. As a report today from ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and David Purdum detailed at least 2,900 bets at Indiana, alone, totaling more than $30K in wagers, including at least 40 bets on the Indiana football team and its players, Sorsby’s physician asserted that the quarterback’s first bets were the result of “an adjustment disorder with anxiety that caused him to place those bets to feel part of the team.”
That assertion seems to be coming from pretty far out of left field, but if they can successfully establish the ordeal as a result of Sorsby’s struggles with mental health, it will be difficult for the NCAA to continue denying his reinstatement. The team’s appeal cites the NCAA’s own mission statement, grabbing snippets such as “fostering (student-athletes’) lifelong well-being” and promoting “a culture of care.”
The appeal attempts to shift the focus of the punishment away from Sorsby’s transgressions and towards his ultimate decision to seek treatment. The appeal states that “imposing a career-ending sanction on Sorsby will send the message to current and future athletes hiding in the shadows of the stigma of mental health challenges and addiction that they need to stay silent and never seek help or treatment because the NCAA will take a punitive approach by automatically applying the maximum sanction.” By instead imposing only a two-game suspension, the appeal argues that the NCAA would “be sending an important signal to current and future student-athletes that seeking treatment for an addiction does not have to mean ruining your future.”
The release of the appeal and the documents detailing just how far Sorsby’s gambling went on the same day set up a battle of perception. The 40 bets he placed on his own team only totaled around $850, ranging from $1 to $114, but that represents only a microcosm of his habits. Utilizing “accounts registered in his name, a family member’s name, and friends’ names, Sorsby placed at least $90K in impermissible wagers” through four separate betting sites. He reportedly had to transfer up to $60K to friends in order “to cover bets made on his behalf.”
If Sorsby’s team is successful in convincing the NCAA to view the entirety of Sorsby’s gambling history as actions stemming from struggles with mental health, he stands a strong chance of getting to play out his tenure with the Red Raiders. To this point, though, the NCAA has been adamant that it will not negotiate a settlement to reinstate Sorsby. It will be interesting to see if the team’s mental health appeals successfully scare the NCAA away from its current conviction. Will it see a maximum sanction as disincentivizing future student-athletes from gambling or disincentivizing future student-athletes “from seeking the help they desperately need?”
Rams Sign Second-Round TE Max Klare
The Rams have kept progress on the signing of their rookie draft class slow and steady so far. Today, per Howard Balzer of CardsWire, they signed just the third of five rookie draft picks in their class, inking Ohio State tight end Max Klare. Klare was one of many tight ends who benefitted from a huge elevation in draft stock due to a wild Day 2 run of tight ends; Klare was the fourth of eight to be selected in Rounds 2 and 3.
Klare started his collegiate experience committing to Purdue as a three-star recruit. After redshirting his true freshman year, Klare started making an impact as a redshirt freshman. His first year of extensive play time was abbreviated to only five games due to an ankle injury, but in those games, Klare recorded four starts and 22 receptions for 196 yards. In 2024, he started all 12 games for the Boilermakers, leading the team in catches (51), receiving yards (685), and receiving touchdowns (4).
Following the breakout campaign in West Lafayette, Klare opted to enter the transfer portal and committed to the Buckeyes. In Columbus, Klare became one half of Ohio State’s main tight end duo with Will Kacmarek, a blocking tight end who went nearly a round after Klare to the Dolphins. Though most of the Buckeyes’ passing attack was dominated by No. 4 overall pick Carnell Tate and underclassman Jeremiah Smith, Klare finished third on the team in receptions (43) and receiving yards (448) while reeling in two touchdowns.
With seven drops and three fumbles in his final two seasons of collegiate play, ball security will be a big focus for Klare early, and he isn’t known for breaking a lot of tackles. Past that, though, there’s a lot of promise in Klare’s game. He’s got speed and athleticism, and he should be a quick study when it comes to blocking at the NFL level.
The Rams have a diverse group of returning tight ends on the roster in Colby Parkinson, Tyler Higbee, Terrance Ferguson, and Davis Allen. Parkinson and Allen are entering contract years, so space could be clearing up soon, but Klare stands a chance at making an impact in the receiving game considering Higbee, Ferguson, and Allen all finished with 281 receiving yards or fewer last year. He’ll compete with Parkinson, who led the room in 2025 with 43 catches for 408 yards and eight touchdowns, and could be the future if Parkinson isn’t given a new contract.
Here’s how the rest of the Rams’ 2026 NFL Draft class is looking to date:
- Round 1, No. 13 (from Falcons): Ty Simpson (QB, Alabama)
- Round 2, No. 61: Max Klare (TE, Ohio State) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 93: Keagen Trost (T, Missouri) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 197 (from Falcons via Eagles): CJ Daniels (WR, Miami) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 232 (from Ravens): Tim Keenan III (DT, Alabama)
Dolphins Have Not Shown Interest In Re-Signing CB Rasul Douglas
Cornerback Rasul Douglas was a 13-game starter for the Dolphins last year, but it appears he will have to look elsewhere if he plans to continue his career in 2026. Since Douglas reached free agency over two months ago, the Dolphins have not shown any interest in re-signing him, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.
This is the second straight drawn-out stay on the open market for the well-traveled Douglas. The former Eagle, Panther, Packer and Bill took until late August last year to join the Dolphins on a $3MM deal. The team needed a capable option after losing Kader Kohou and Artie Burns to season-ending injuries, trading Jalen Ramsey, and cutting Mike Hilton and Kendall Fuller. The Dolphins were unaware at the time that they would barely get anything from Storm Duck, who missed 15 games with ankle and knee injuries.
Douglas stayed healthy for most of 2025, sitting out just two games, and joined Jack Jones to form Miami’s top cornerback duo. He played 79.46% of defensive snaps (851 total) and notched 62 tackles, 13 pass deflections and a pair of interceptions. He also gave up a paltry 73.0 passer rating on 77 targets, essentially turning opposing quarterbacks into the 2025 version of J.J. McCarthy. Douglas earned high marks from Pro Football Focus, which ranked his performance 24th among 112 qualified corners.
Despite Douglas’ strong showing in Miami, it appears the rebuilding club will move on and turn to in-house defenders. With Jones also gone (to the 49ers), Duck, 27th overall pick Chris Johnson, Marco Wilson, JuJu Brents and Darrell Baker are among the Dolphins’ options at the position. Duck, however, is still not at full strength. Head coach Jeff Hafley announced this week that Duck is rehabbing from an offseason cleanup procedure on his knee, per Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald. Hafley did not provide a timeline for Duck’s return.
As the summer approaches, Douglas, Marshon Lattimore, Trevon Diggs, Tre’Davious White, Kenny Moore and Adoree’ Jackson represent several established corners who are still unsigned. Douglas has racked up 93 starts, 92 passes defensed and 21 picks in his nine-year, 135-game career. While another Dolphins deal looks unlikely, it will be a surprise if someone doesn’t sign him before next season.
Seahawks To Sign First-Round RB Jadarian Price, Wrap Draft Class Deals
The Seahawks have agreed to a deal with first-round running back Jadarian Price, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. Price went 32nd overall, which carries a total value of approximately $16.78MM over four years. He is expected to sign his fully guaranteed contract today, per Pelissero.
Price was never the lead dog in his three years at Notre Dame, where he played behind Audric Estime in 2023 and Jeremiyah Love over the past two seasons. To his credit, though, Price excelled when given the ball. Over 41 games and 280 carries with the Fighting Irish, he averaged 6.0 yards per attempt and found the end zone 21 times. Price chipped in three more touchdowns as a receiver, but he caught just 15 passes in college.
Despite serving as a backup at Notre Dame, Price entered this year’s draft as the consensus second-best RB available. Love, the No. 1 option by miles, went third overall to the Cardinals. It was far from a slam dunk Price would come off the board in the first round, but the Seahawks elected to grab their replacement for Kenneth Walker with the final pick of Day 1. General manager John Schneider chose Price after an attempt to trade down fell through, and adding the 5-foot-11, 209-pounder prevented the NFC West rival 49ers from potentially doing so at No. 33. The 49ers wound up using the 33rd pick on receiver De’Zhaun Stribling and addressing running back in the third round, where they spent the 90th overall selection on Kaelon Black.
Walker, who was the Seahawks’ lead back for four seasons, won Super Bowl LX MVP honors in February and then left for the Chiefs’ three-year, $43.05MM offer in free agency. The Seahawks will largely count on Price to fill Walker’s void, especially after No. 2 back Zach Charbonnet tore his ACL in a divisional round win over the 49ers in January. Charbonnet will return sometime in 2026, but he is unlikely to be ready for the start of the season. As he continues in his recovery, Price, free agent pickup Emanuel Wilson and George Holani are among the Seahawks’ healthy options at the position.
When Price officially puts pen to paper, it will complete this year’s draft signings for the reigning champions. Here is Seattle’s full 2026 class:
- Round 1, No. 32: Jadarian Price (RB, Notre Dame)
- Round 2, No. 64: Bud Clark (S, TCU) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 99 (from Steelers)*: Julian Neal (CB, Arkansas) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 148 (from Chiefs via Browns): Beau Stephens (G, Iowa) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 199 (from Lions via Browns, Bengals and Jets): Emmanuel Henderson (WR, Kansas) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 236 (from Packers)*: Andre Fuller (CB, Toledo) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 242 (from Bills via Browns and Jets): Deven Eastern (DT, Minnesota) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 255 (from Packers)*: Michael Dansby (CB, Arizona) (signed)
Giants Ink No. 5 Overall Pick Arvell Reese, Complete Draft Signings
The Giants announced that they have signed first-round linebacker Arvell Reese to his rookie contract. As the fifth overall pick, Reese’s fully guaranteed four-year deal is worth around $47.83MM.
Reese played three years at Ohio State, where he capped off a 43-tackle 2024 campaign with a national championship and then experienced a massive uptick in production last season. While recording 356 snaps at outside linebacker and 238 snaps as an off-ball LB, the 6-foot-4, 243-pounder tallied 69 tackles (10 for loss) and 6.5 sacks over 14 games. He earned Big Ten Linebacker of the Year honors and was named a consensus All-American.
Reese’s versatility helped make him one of the premier prospects in this year’s class. Just a few weeks before the draft, Reese was considered the favorite to go second overall to the Jets. They wound up taking former Texas Tech edge defender David Bailey with that selection. Two picks later, the Titans were down to Reese and one of his former college teammates, wide receiver Carnell Tate. They went with Tate at No. 4, leaving an easy decision for a Giants team that saw coveted ex-Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love join the Cardinals third overall. The Giants reportedly gave equal grades to Love and Reese.
While Reese could turn into a high-end outside rusher for the Giants, they already have three-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns, 2025 third overall pick Abdul Carter and 2022 fifth overall choice Kayvon Thibodeaux along the edge. Although Thibodeaux has been popular in trade rumors, it appears the Giants will keep the four-year veteran in hopes he rebounds from a 10-game, 2.5-sack showing from 2025. With Thibodeaux sticking around, the plan is for Reese to primarily play off-ball LB at the outset of his career. He will line up on the weak side and team with free agent acquisition Tremaine Edmunds as the Giants’ starting duo.
Reese was the first of seven picks in the 2026 draft for the Giants, who now have their entire class under contract. Here is the list:
- Round 1, No. 5: Arvell Reese (EDGE/LB, Ohio State) (signed)
- Round 1, No. 10 (from Bengals): Francis Mauigoa (T, Miami) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 37: Colton Hood (CB, Tennessee) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 74 (from Chiefs via Browns): Malachi Fields (WR, Notre Dame) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 186: Bobby Jamison-Travis (DT, Auburn) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 192 (from Dolphins): JC Davis (T, Illinois) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 193 (from Cowboys): Jack Kelly (LB, BYU) (signed)
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Steelers Restructure TE Pat Freiermuth’s Contract
Even after the Jonnu Smith release and Connor Heyward Raiders defection, Mike McCarthy‘s first Steelers roster is fairly deep at tight end. The team returns Darnell Washington to go with fifth-round rookie Riley Nowakowski. Pat Freiermuth remains the veteran presence among this group.
The Steelers gave Freiermuth a four-year, $48.4MM extension before the 2024 season, and they are using this contract to create some mid-offseason cap space. The team restructured Freiermuth’s deal this week, according to Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti.
Pittsburgh’s recent move will free up $4.25MM in cap space. The team was just shy of the NFL’s salary ceiling prior to this restructure, though more work will need to be done to carve out room to complete rookie signings. The Steelers are more than $1MM in the red in terms of effective cap space, per OverTheCap. The Steelers have not signed third-round quarterback Drew Allar yet.
This conversion reduces Freiermuth’s 2026 base salary to the veteran minimum and trims his cap number to $6.9MM. No void years are being added here, so future Freiermuth cap numbers are going up. He will count for $14.2MM against the Steelers’ 2027 cap and $12.6MM on the team’s 2028 payroll. The ’27 and ’28 figures are each increasing by $2.13MM, per OverTheCap.
Seeing Washington become a more prominent pass-game component and using Heyward regularly, the Steelers reduced Freiermuth’s snap share by a significant amount last season. He closed the campaign with a career-low eight starts and played 51% of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps. The former second-round pick, who had logged a 69% snap rate in 2024, had never played fewer than 62% of the team’s offensive snaps.
Teams expressed trade interest in Freiermuth in early March; this report came before Pittsburgh released Smith, who remains a free agent. Washington, who played 57% of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps last season, is viewed as an extension candidate. No guaranteed money remains on Freiermuth’s deal beyond 2026. This restructure would make a 2027 separation a bit more costly; a trade next year would tag the team with nearly $9MM in dead money.
The Steelers also added two high-profile receiving pieces this offseason, trading for Michael Pittman Jr. — and giving the possession receiver a two-year, $35MM extension — and using a second-round pick on slot target Germie Bernard. Smith and Heyward’s exits point to Freiermuth seeing a usage uptick under McCarthy, but how the team proceeds with Washington will be worth monitoring regarding Freiermuth’s future ahead of his age-28 season.
Giants Fear WR Gunner Olszewski Tore Achilles
Spending two seasons as the Giants’ primary punt returner, Gunner Olszewski re-signed with the new-look team this offseason. But another season-altering injury looks to have occurred.
Olszewski, who missed all of the 2024 season, went down with a noncontact injury at Giants OTAs today. The team fears the veteran special teams presence suffered an Achilles tear, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. The former first-team All-Pro returner is undergoing testing to confirm this.
[RELATED: Giants DL Roy Robertson-Harris Tears Achilles]
Re-signing with the Giants on a one-year, $1.4MM deal that included $300K guaranteed, Olszewski has been with the team since 2023. The Giants added him that year after a Steelers stint. Olszewski, 30, began his career with the Patriots in 2019. This could be his second season-nullifying injury in three years.
The Giants used Olszewski as their top punt returner in 2023, signing him in November of that year after the Steelers cut him in-season. Olszewski, who earned his All-Pro slot with the Patriots in 2020, returned a punt for a score in his first season with the Giants. He re-signed in 2024 but landed on IR that September and was never activated. A groin injury sidelined the veteran special-teamer two years ago, but the Giants brought him back in July 2025.
He played in 16 games for the team last season, seeing more time on offense for a team that lost Malik Nabers to an ACL tear and played without Darius Slayton for a chunk of the campaign. In addition to his punt-return duties, Olszewski caught a career-high 10 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. As kick returns became a notable NFL sequence thanks to a pivotal offseason rule tweak, Olszewski also worked as New York’s top kick-return option in 2025.
Big Blue made three key receiver additions this offseason, signing Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin before trading up for Notre Dame’s Malachi Fields in the third round. Austin will be an option in the punt-return game, having played extensively in that role with the Steelers from 2023-25. His presence did not make Olszewski a roster lock in Harbaugh’s first year, with the Giants — who lost Wan’Dale Robinson in free agency — still rostering Slayton. Nabers is not a lock to return from injury in Week 1, but it is too early to call him a reserve/PUP list candidate.