NFL Mailbag: Chiefs, Sorsby, Vikings, Bengals
This week's edition of the PFR mailbag answers questions related to the Chiefs' receiver situation, the potential for 2026 including a high-profile supplemental draft prospect, the Vikings' busy offseason and the Bengals' outlook for the coming season.
Joey asks:
Who do you think the Chiefs sign to help out at WR after this Rashee Rice news? Do you think he still has a chance to stay long term or are there just too many red flags?
The list of veteran receivers still available is fairly long. Kansas City can’t afford much at the position (or any other, for that matter) but there will be options to choose from.
Seahawks Not Close To Devon Witherspoon Extension
The Seahawks are not close to signing star cornerback Devon Witherspoon to an extension, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson.
Seattle had no issue signing fellow 2023 first-rounder Jaxon Smith-Njigba to a long-term contract this offseason. The reigning Offensive Player of the Year is now the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL with a $42.25MM AAV in a deal that came together quickly this offseason.
Agreeing to terms with Witherspoon will take more time. The cornerback market increased by $5MM from 2024 to 2025, but Trent McDuffie only secured a $900k bump to $31MM on his deal with the Rams. That is somewhat discouraging considering McDuffie’s additional leverage since Los Angeles traded a first-round pick to acquire him.
Witherspoon, who is coming off his third straight Pro Bowl and a second-team All-Pro selection despite playing in just 12 games, could be angling for a bigger raise. He was a crucial part of Seattle’s league-leading defense in 2025 and all cornerbacks with 90.1 overall grade, a 90.1 run defense grade, and 13 quarterback pressures, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Another element is Witherspoon’s shared representation with Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez. New England is working on an extension with their 2023 first-round pick, but WIN Sports Group could be playing their offer against Seattle’s to secure the best deals possible for both players.
The Seahawks typically finalize their extensions by the start of training camp, Henderson notes, giving them some time window to finalize an agreement with Witherspoon. The former No. 5 pick was among the veterans present at OTAs this week, suggesting that he is not frustrated by contract talks thus far and offering optimism on reaching a deal within the next two months.
Giants WR Malik Nabers Uncertain For Week 1?
Malik Nabers‘ recent cleanup surgery raised some doubt about his availability for Week 1. Giants head coach John Harbaugh has since indicated that his Pro Bowl wide receiver’s status is indeed up in the air for New York’s season opener against the Cowboys.
“Just impossible to predict,” Harbaugh said at OTAs this week (via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan). “The goal is to start the season and get out there sometime in training camp. That’d be the goal, and we’ll see what happens.”
Nabers, 22, tore his ACL and meniscus at the end of September and underwent his first surgery in October. The Giants initially expected him to be ready for training camp, but Harbaugh walked that back in April. Now, it seems that the team is bracing for his potential absence to start the season.
“We’ll be ready to go either way,” Harbaugh said, adding that Nabers’ injury was not “simple.”
This could be a worrying update for Giants fans (and Nabers’ fantasy owners), but Harbaugh was notoriously coy about injuries in Baltimore, especially complicated situations like Ronnie Stanley and Nnamdi Madubuike. During the season, he typically defers to the injury report, but that is less of an option in the offseason, where players’ presence at practice is closely watched and noticed. Nabers seems unlikely to take the field until the end of training camp, at best, and his ramp-up period could extend into the season. He could even open the year on the physically unable to perform list, though that would prevent him from practicing until Week 5 and delay his return even longer.
The Giants are also taking a cautious path with star left tackle Andrew Thomas, who is He missed the start of the 2025 season as he recovered from a 2024 foot injury and finished the year on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury. Thomas said (via The Athletic’s Dan Duggan) that he is currently going through a “ramp up” process due to a lingering shoulder injury as well as long-term management of his 2024 Lisfranc injury.
While Thomas is sidelined, 2025 fifth-rounder Marcus Mbow is taking first-team left tackle reps, per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. The Purdue product was the Giants’ swing tackle as a rookie two starts and 261 snaps at left tackle and one start and 58 snaps at right tackle, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Cardinals Sign G Chase Bisontis To Fully Guaranteed Rookie Contract
Chase Bisontis is officially on the books. The second-round guard recently signed his rookie contract, per a Cardinals announcement.
[RELATED: Cardinals, Jacoby Brissett Not Close To Contract Resolution]
Selected 34th overall, Bisontis saw a number of other round two players (including those taken later than him) land fully guaranteed deals prior to his own being finalized. To no surprise, then, he too has secured full guarantees across all four years of his pact. As detailed by CardsWire’s Howard Balzer, the contract is worth of total of $13.26MM. That figure includes a $6.1MM signing bonus.
Many viewed the offensive line as an area the Cardinals would address with their top selection. Indications increasingly pointed toward running back Jeremiyah Love leading up to the draft, though, and that wound up being the route Arizona took. Trade interest was shown in the No. 34 pick, but the Cards elected to stay in place. That allowed for Bisontis to hear his name called.
The Texas A&M product established himself as a high-end guard prospect across his three years with the Aggies. Bisontis will be a candidate to take on a starting role immediately upon entering the NFL. The right guard spot in particular could be the subject of a training camp competition. Isaiah Adams logged 11 starts in that capacity last season, and two years remain on his rookie contract. A change to backup duties could be in store depending on how Bisontis fares this summer, however.
As a result of this signing, five of the Cards’ seven draftees are on the books. Only third-round quarterback Carson Beck and fourth-round defensive tackle Kaleb Proctor are still unsigned at this point. With neither of them in position to secure a fully guaranteed pact, a dispute over terms should not be expected.
Bears Expect Training Camp Return For DE Dayo Odeyingbo
Dayo Odeyingbo‘s debut season with the Bears did not go according to plan. An Achilles tear limited him to just eight games, but a return for practices this summer is expected.
Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said (via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin) Odeyingbo will “definitely be in the mix” during training camp. He specified the sixth-year veteran will be used at defensive end, but the fact a clean bill of health in time for July is anticipated represents positive news.
Last spring, the Bears added Odeyingbo on a three-year, $48MM deal. The former Colt flashed potential in terms of sack production while playing out his rookie contract. In 2025, however, Odeyingbo managed only one sack, six pressures and four quarterback hits prior to his injury. A lengthy rehab process has ensued, but the opportunity to compete for a starting role will again present itself this summer provided a full recovery is made by that point.
Improving in the pass rush department is a major Bears priority heading into 2026. No major additions from outside the organization have been made to date, so the performances of Chicago’s incumbent options this summer will be worth watching closely. Odeyingbo, 26, is joined by Austin Booker and Shemar Turner as a candidate to operate as the team’s edge rushing complement to Montez Sweat. Another strong season from Sweat, coupled with an improved showing from the supporting cast, would be key in helping the Bears’ front seven take a step forward.
Allen has a lengthy history with free agent Cameron Jordan based on their history in New Orleans. A reunion between the two is unlikely, though. Several other veteran pass rushers remain unsigned at this time, but the Bears’ approach will include an evaluation period for those already in place. Odeyingbo in particular will be worth watching closely as he returns from a long-term injury. He is owed $16MM in 2026, much of which is already guaranteed.
NFL Eyeing Japan As Next International Market
Earlier this week, NFL owners voted to expand the slate of international contests in 2027. As many as 11 games will be played outside of the United States next season as a result.
The league has made continued expansion into new markets a long-running priority, and that remains the case presently. Exploration of other countries which could serve as the host for regular-season games could soon lead to the list of markets growing once again. Hints on that front emerged during the recent owners’ meeting.
When asked by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer about where the league could turn next, NFL executive vice president Peter O’Reilly specifically mentioned Japan. It will be interesting to see if efforts pick up in the near future to set up a game there over the coming years. One team (the Rams) currently holds marketing rights in Japan.
In 1936, Japan’s football federation was created. The organization is therefore one of the oldest outside of the United States and Canada. Japan also won each of the first two editions of the IFAF World Championship for tackle football before hosting the event in 2007.
It would thus comes as little surprise if Japan were to become a regular host country for NFL action relatively soon. The matter of travel distance is among the logistical issues which will be raised, although 2026 will see the Rams and 49ers play each other in Melbourne, Australia. The league already intends to return there before seeing how this fall’s debut contest plays out, so games staged well beyond Mexico, Brazil and Europe could increase in regularity down the road.
Breer writes Italy should also be considered a strong candidate to host NFL games soon. Further expansion throughout Europe can certainly be anticipated, but attempting to break through in Asian markets could begin with a presence in Japan.
Early Lead For Danny Pinter In Ravens’ C Battle?
As Baltimore prepared to take on the contracts of both Maxx Crosby and Trey Hendrickson before ultimately reneging on Crosby’s trade agreement, the Ravens were forced to let several starters walk in free agency. The biggest surprise came when Tyler Linderbaum — the team’s starting center who made the Pro Bowl three times over his four-year rookie deal — signed a record contract sending him to Las Vegas. Linderbaum’s successor has not officially been named, but free agent addition Danny Pinter appears to getting the first-team reps early on, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic..
There’s a decent chance that the Ravens wouldn’t have been able to retain Linderbaum even if the Crosby situation hadn’t been a distraction. Linderbaum’s new deal raised the ceiling for center contracts by 50 percent, topping Creed Humphrey‘s $18MM annual average by $9MM. Absent their starting center of the past four seasons, Baltimore has been tasked with finding a replacement. In the days after Linderbaum’s departure, the team brought in Pinter and Jovaughn Gwyn on free agent deals.
Pinter has been a backup interior offensive lineman in Indianapolis since 2020, when the Colts drafted him in the fifth round out of Ball State. Over five seasons with the team — he missed the entire 2023 season on injured reserve — he appeared in 77 games, serving mostly on special teams. He did get some action as an injury replacement, making 10 starts over that period — seven at center and three at right guard. In the opportunities provided to him, Pinter has generally shown strong run blocking abilities but struggles in pass pro.
Gwyn is a former seventh-round guard out of South Carolina that was drafted by the Falcons in 2023. He only appeared in two games over his first two years in the league and didn’t appear on offense until this past season, seeing at least one snap at guard in five games. He didn’t play center in college, but he’s been identified as a candidate for the job in Baltimore.
There was an expectation the Ravens would address the position in the 2026 NFL Draft as a number of prospects at the position were expected to go on Day 2. Ultimately, even when several of those top prospects at the position fell to Day 3, Baltimore never seemed to find enough value to draft one when its picks came around. There’s been speculation that the team could still pursue a veteran free agent at the position with options like Ethan Pocic, Sam Mustipher, and Andre James available, but nothing has moved on that front lately. The Ravens also roster Corey Bullock, who made their roster as an undrafted rookie last year and appears to be in consideration, as well.
Per Zrebiec, new head coach Jesse Minter claims that “Pinter has done a great job” but that they still “might rotate first-team center reps in Organized Team Activities. Unless the team does, in fact, make an outside addition soon, it appears Pinter has an inside track to his first full-time starting job in Year 7 of his career, though he’ll be challenged by the seventh-rounder, Gwyn, and the undrafted Bullock.
Raiders QB Kirk Cousins Not Certain To Start Week 1
The general consensus in Las Vegas has been that veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins will open the season as the team’s QB1. According to ESPN’s Ryan McFadden, new head coach Klint Kubiak claims he hasn’t made a decision on a starter yet and “that the answer will reveal itself during training camp.”
When the Raiders utilized their No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, it was with the intention that he would eventually become the organization’s next franchise quarterback. Knowing that it can be harmful to a prospect’s development if they are thrown into NFL competition too soon, the team brought Cousins in as an experienced, veteran option.
While Cousins’ experience and accomplishments provide a decent case for him to start on their own, his familiarity with Kubiak theoretically solidifies his status as the man to beat for the starting job on opening day. Cousins played for the Vikings from 2018-23, and in three of those seasons, he had Kubiak as a quarterbacks coach (2019-20) or offensive coordinator (2021), so the two have worked together before. As the Raiders implement Kubiak’s offense, Cousins’ knowledge can help make the transition smooth, in comparison to the rookie Heisman-winner who will be coming in with a blank slate.
But the season doesn’t start tomorrow, and there’s a lot that can happen between now and Week 1. Players and coaches alike have been very impressed with Mendoza in the early days. Left tackle Kolton Miller called the young passer “wired” and “a sponge, soaking in information and taking notes during team meetings.” Kubiak doubled down on that notion, saying, “Anything you put in front of him, he’s going to attack it. Anything new, he spends extra time on. You can tell he fixes things from one day to the next.”
At the moment, Cousins is the first quarterback on the field, former starter Aidan O’Connell is second, and Mendoza is third, but Kubiak hasn’t provided a timeline for when he’ll name the Week 1 starter, counting instead on the answer revealing itself in training camp. And, while Kubiak has a history with Cousins, he won’t be making the decision alone as Kubiak claims “he wants his players to decide who should be the starter.”
Packers Announce Promotions In Player Personnel Department
In the player personnel department of the Packers front office, the departure of former vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan for the general manager job in Miami left GM Brian Gutekunst without his No. 2. Addressing that concern, Green Bay announced a series of internal promotions throughout its player personnel department this week.
Filling the vice president of player personnel role left vacant by Sullivan will be Milt Hendrickson. Starting his NFL career as a training camp intern for the Packers in 2004, Hendrickson’s first full-time opportunity came in Baltimore, where he spent 14 years going from player personnel assistant to midwest area scout to mid-regional scout to national scout before finally making his way to Green Bay. He’s been with the Packers for the past eight years, working the last seven as director – football operations.
Formerly the co-director of player personnel, John Wojciechowski has been promoted into Hendrickson’s old role of director – football operations. Wojciechowski is in his 14th year with the Packers and his 31st in the NFL. He started as a player personnel assistant for the Steelers in 1996 and worked as a college scout in Jacksonville for five years and Dallas for nine more before ultimately landing in the same role for the Packers in 2012. He was promoted to director of pro personnel in 2017 before landing in his most recent role, which he held for the past eight years.
Richmond Williams will follow the same path as his predecessor, moving from his most recent role of director of pro personnel to director of player personnel. Williams is entering Year 19 in Green Bay. After serving as the team’s NFS scout covering the southwest region, Williams was named a college scout in 2012 and a pro scout in 2017, holding the latter role for only two years before reaching his most recent role before the promotion.
The chain of successive promotion broke up just a bit after that. According to the Packers, senior personnel executive Lee Gissendaner will add the title of director of pro scouting to his title. Matt Malaspina will also assume the title of senior player personnel executive after getting promoted from director of college scouting, and former assistant director of college scouting Pat Moore has been promoted to succeed Malaspina in the full director role.
Gissendaner has spent 25 non-consecutive years with the Packers, starting with the team in 1998 and taking a three-year sabbatical as a national scout with the Jets from 2015-17. He worked 14 years as an area scout before leaving for New York and was named a player personnel executive upon his return.
Malaspina has been with the team for nine years but is entering his 28th season of NFL experience. Starting with NFS in 1998, Malaspina worked with the Panthers for a year, Seahawks for five years, and 49ers for 12 years before landing in Green Bay and getting promoted to director of college scouting following a year as a college scout with the team. Moore held a series of collegiate coaching roles before turning to scouting with the Browns in 2013. He arrived as a college scout in Green Bay in 2018 before getting promoted to his most recent role in 2021.
Lastly, a trio of scouts earned promotions. Mike Owen, a former national scout in his 15th year with the team, was named assistant director of pro scouting, Sam Seale, in his 32nd season with the team, was promoted from national scout to senior national scout, and former college scout Luke Benuska was promoted to national scout in his 11th year in Green Bay.
Owen arrived in Green Bay in 2012 and held a role as a college scout for 13 years before getting promoted to national scout last year. Seale started as a college scout in 1995, became a west regional scout in 2012, and was named a national scout in 2018. Lastly, Benuska originally joined the Packers as a scouting intern in 2016, following recruiting work at his alma mater, TCU. He became a pro scout in 2017 before working the past eight seasons in the college scouting role.
Roger Goodell Claims ‘Tremendous Interest’ In Seattle Franchise
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is pushing back against the recent narrative of a “soft” market for the league’s most recent franchise for sale. After recent reports claimed that there has been less interest in the purchase opportunity for the Seahawks, Goodell has refuted that notion, telling the media that “there has been ‘tremendous interest‘ among prospective buyers,” per NFL insider Mark Maske.
Days before Seattle was set to play in — and ultimately win — Super Bowl LX, rumors emerged that, about four years after the death of former Seahawks owner and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, his sister, Jody Allen, was finally ready to sell the franchise. With the ownership shares kept in the late-Allen’s trust, his sister was tasked as the executor of his estate. After initially refusing to grant any veracity to the rumors as they focused on the big game ahead, the Estate announced the commencement of a formal sale process 10 days after the team won its second championship.
Early speculation on the sale focused on projected valuations that some tried to push even into 11-digit figures. With the Broncos selling for $4.65 billion in 2022 and the Commanders selling for $6.05 billion in 2023, consistent appreciation on par with that increase — ignoring any additional factors — would put the franchise’s potential value around $10.25 billion, well in range of the $9-11 billion initially speculated. The Browns also recently sold a three-percent ownership share in their franchise, and according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the transaction was established on a $9 billion valuation, far higher than projected valuations, which put Cleveland closer to $6-7 billion.
In order to reach the record dollar values the NFL is hoping Seattle can reach, there will likely need to be “tremendous interest” to spark a competitive market. Per Jones, though, only one bidder, former Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, has emerged as a potential buyer., though 49ers investor Vinod Khosia is reportedly on track to prepare a bid, as well. Early into the process, Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was also reported to be a name to look out for as a potential buyer. The longtime Microsoft CEO owns property in Seattle and a network of approximately $120 billion, but there were concerns that Ballmer was “really a hoops guy” that ultimately wouldn’t be interested in adding a football team to his portfolio.
At this point, it’s not expected that an individual buyer will emerge. More likely, it’s believed that the sale could function in a similar manner as did the sale in Washington. Commanders majority owner Josh Harris put together several limited partners to subsidize his bid. Jones adds that Harris’ purchase of the Commanders wasn’t even really for $6.05 billion, it was for up to $6.05 billion in a complex agreement that “included deferred payments vis ‘earnouts.'” The “earnouts” could end up holding about $200MM of value, which means that the ultimate sale value could end up truly being $5.85 billion, if the “earnouts” aren’t earned.
Goodell could be providing some new information, breaking an update on the changed nature of the sale, or he could just be trying to create the illusion of a crowded market where there is none. Regardless, as the NFL continues its efforts for record valuations and sales, the deal in Washington shows how creative bids can get in an effort to push the apparent value of a bid as high as the league may want it to go.