Klint Kubiak Intends To Become Raiders’ Head Coach
A recent report pegged Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak as the favorite for the Raiders’ head coaching vacancy. While no agreement was immediately struck upon the completion of Kubiak’s second interview with Las Vegas brass — nothing can be finalized until after Super Bowl LX — the club is “zeroing in” on Kubiak, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. Pelissero’s NFL Network colleague, Ian Rapoport, says the Raiders believe they have their guy. 
More importantly, Kubiak himself intends to work out a deal with Las Vegas, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Kubiak, who also took a second interview for the Cardinals’ HC post on Saturday, was one of the most popular candidates in this year’s cycle. In all, he interviewed with seven of the 10 clubs in need of a head coach.
Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero was among the candidates who interviewed twice with the Raiders. According to The Athletic’s Joe Person, Evero was still in contention to be hired during the time when Kubiak was weighing his options.
Las Vegas’ opening was not seen as particularly desirable. The club just finished a 3-14 season, does not have a particularly inspiring roster outside of a couple of high-end players, and plays in a difficult AFC West. However, the Raiders do have two things going for them: the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, and the second-most projected cap space in the league (just shy of $90MM, per OverTheCap.com).
With that No. 1 overall pick, the expectation is that the Raiders will select reigning Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, who quarterbacked Indiana to a 16-0 season and a CFP National Championship in 2025. Mendoza is easily the best passer in his class, and Las Vegas was said to be seeking an offensive-minded HC to pair with their presumptive top draft choice.
With Kubiak, the team has exactly that. The 38-year-old’s stock has risen sharply in recent years, including three different offensive coordinator stints. Each of Kubiak’s tenures with the Vikings, Saints and Seahawks have proven to be just one year in length, but they have elevated his status as one of the league’s most highly regarded offensive minds. Kubiak’s NFL resume also includes pass-game coordinator duties with the Broncos (2022) and 49ers (2023).
A coach in various capacities dating back to 2010, Kubiak has never led a college or pro staff before. He represents an unknown as a result, but that is also true of many other first-time head coaches hired during the 2026 cycle. The Raiders will aim for stability on the sidelines with this hire, something which has been sorely lacking during the franchise’s Vegas period. Changes on the coaching staff and in the front office have been commonplace in recent years.
A housecleaning took place last offseason with head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco each being dismissed after only one full season in their respective roles. The Raiders brought in John Spytek as GM, making him part of a front office influenced in large part by minority owner Tom Brady. Together, they played a key role in hiring Pete Carroll as head coach.
Expectations were high for at least modest success in 2025, with Carroll and a reunion with quarterback Geno Smith seeming to provide a strong floor for the Raiders. Not much (if anything) went according to plan, however, with Carroll firing two of his coordinators in the middle of the campaign. No observers were surprised when Carroll himself was dismissed one day after the season ended. That began a lengthy search, one which has now landed on Kubiak. Brady and Kubiak “hit it off” during the interview process, Schefter’s colleague Jeremy Fowler adds.
The Seahawks thrived with Kubiak and new quarterback Sam Darnold in place for 2025. Seattle earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC before winning two straight home games to reach next week’s Super Bowl. A strong defense has contributed greatly to their shared success over the course of the season, but Darnold was highly productive in the NFC title game (321 yards, three touchdowns, no giveaways). It will be interesting to see how the Seahawks fare next season with another new OC in place, the third since Mike Macdonald took over as head coach.
Provided the Kubiak agreement will become finalized after the Super Bowl, the Cardinals loom as the only NFL team with a head coaching vacancy. Kubiak’s decision to join the Raiders will thin Arizona’s list of final candidates even further.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Cardinals Hire Mike LaFleur As HC
Once the news broke about Klint Kubiak’s agreement to join the Raiders after the Super Bowl, one head coaching vacancy remained. That has not proven to be the case for very long. 
The Cardinals are working to hire Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur as their new head coach, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. No deal has been finalized at this point, Schefter adds. The sides are nevertheless working toward a five-year agreement. A team announcement has since been made confirming the news.
LaFleur has long loomed as a strong candidate for this position. He was among the staffers who conducted an in-person interview with Arizona, a team which saw several others withdraw from consideration. Upon learning of Kubiak’s decision, the Cardinals were left with a trio of finalists. According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, LaFleur, along with Raheem Morris and Anthony Weaver, were left waiting to hear from the team as of Sunday afternoon. The Cards have clearly gotten in touch with LaFleur in short order.
“We had the opportunity to speak with an outstanding group of candidates during this very thorough process and gathered tremendous insight from each of them,” a statement from owner Michael Bidwill reads. “At the end of that process, it was clear that Mike LaFleur possesses all the traits necessary to lead this team to success as its head coach. He is highly intelligent with an exceptionally sharp, creative football mind. Mike is also a dynamic and innovative leader and exactly the type of person we were looking for to guide our team as its head coach.”
This will be LaFleur’s first opportunity to be a head coach at the college or NFL levels. He has thus become the latest member of the Sean McVay coaching tree to take charge of an NFL staff. The Cardinals had a HC with a defensive background for the past three years in the form of Jonathan Gannon. As Arizona hoped, his replacement will arrive with a track record of work on the offensive side of the ball.
LaFleur has spent the past three years as an offensive coordinator with the Rams. He did not call plays during that stretch, but he was the Jets’ playcaller in 2021 and ’22. The 38-year-old has also been an OC in college and a pass-game coordinator with the 49ers before. This hire will see him work for a third NFC West franchise. Coming off a year where the Cardinals were the division’s only team to fall short of the postseason, quick improvement on a number of fronts will be sought out.
Arizona won four games during Gannon’s first year in place alongside fellow 2023 hire Monti Ossenfort. That HC-GM combo oversaw an improvement to eight wins last year, something which suggested another step forward could be possible in 2025. Instead, an injury-riddled Cardinals team finished the campaign on a nine-game losing streak. That led to Gannon’s ‘Black Monday’ firing, with Ossenfort remaining in place.
The Cardinals have a number of staffing vacancies at the moment, and former offensive coordinator Drew Petzing is among the staffers who now need to be replaced. It will be interesting to see if LaFleur will call plays on offense upon taking over head coaching duties for the first time. In any event, his attention will turn toward building a staff.
For the Rams, meanwhile, the search for a new offensive coordinator will begin once again. McVay has tapped external candidates for the gig in previous years, but an obvious in-house candidate looms for 2026. Pass-game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase was among the most popular staffers who did not receive a head coaching opportunity, and his stock has risen quickly in short order. It would come as little surprise if, after a search which satisfies the Rooney Rule, Scheelhaase wound up being promoted to OC.
The Cardinals’ QB situation is unsettled at the moment, with Kyler Murray uncertain to be retained. Sorting out his situation will be a top priority for LaFleur and Co as the offseason unfolds. Regardless of how the team proceeds on that front, Arizona will look for needed improvement on offense and a stronger showing defensively, something which could be sparked in large part by better injury luck.
LaFleur is now joined by his older brother Mike as an NFL head coach, although the two will not meet head-to-head during the 2026 regular season. With this hire now official, all 10 HC vacancies around the league have been filled.
NFL-ESPN Deal Approved By Government Regulators
Back in August, it was announced that the NFL had come to an agreement with ESPN to sell them NFL Network and other media assets (including RedZone and NFL Fantasy) in exchange for a 10-percent equity stake in ESPN. Today, according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, government regulators approved the “billion-dollar” acquisition, and the two sides were able to close the deal late last night. 
The NFL had been looking to take advantage of the streaming capabilities ESPN has boasted for years now with apps such as ESPN Watch, ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+ — all owned by the Disney company. ESPN also had been looking to expand past the streaming and cable bundles by providing customers with a direct-to-consumer platform that began selling in the fall for $29.99 per month, allowing viewers access to ESPN without needing to purchase a separate streaming or cable subscription. With the new deal, NFL Network will now be incorporated into the direct-to-consumer product by the start of the 2026 NFL season.
By gaining linear rights to the RedZone Channel and the RedZone brand, ESPN reportedly hopes to expand that format of broadcasting to other sports. This does pose challenges with some sports. While most NHL games are broadcast through ESPN, several are exclusive to NHL Network and TNT/HBO Max. The same is true for most NBA games, while college sports also see different conferences and teams having individual deals apart from ESPN. Additionally, aside from college football and baseball, other sports don’t dedicate single days of the week to games, making a RedZone-type service much more useful some days than others.
NFL Network will still be available in participating cable bundles; it will just now be grouped in the cadre of other ESPN offshoot networks, including ESPN2, the SEC Network, and the ACC Network. This does mean that more NFL games will be appearing on ESPN in 2026, as well. ESPN will continue to broadcast the Monday Night Football games, though they will reportedly “do away with the…doubleheaders” on Monday nights, and they will take on seven more games from NFL Network — three games that the NFL Network was already allotted then four more that were expected to be sold out to the other streamers. ESPN will also broadcast the Super Bowl for the first time next year, bringing the event back to ABC, as well, for the first time since 2006.
As was mentioned in August, this does pose a concern for the other streamers in the market for NFL games for the future. The NFL is already in 11-year deals worth over $110BB with its network and streaming partners, though Marchand notes that it has a potential opt-out clause in its contracts at the end of the decade. YouTube TV owns the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, while ABC/ESPN/Disney/NFL Network, FOX, CBS/Paramount/Nickelodeon, NBC/Peacock, Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube all have individual rights to air certain games throughout the season.
The league seems eager, though, not to wait for the end of the decade, hoping to begin renegotiating those deals starting this year. It will be interesting to see what renegotiations have to offer for the other networks, as it seems fairly obvious that the NFL will be incentivized to give more content to the network of which it now owns 10 percent. One has only to look at how the league handled those four games that were expected to be sold out for next season.
Additional controversy could stem from the reporting arm of ESPN. Per Marchand, starting in April, NFL employees will officially become a part of ESPN, meaning reporters like ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, usually competing to break stories, will now essentially be working for the same outlet. And when scandal strikes in the NFL, as it frequently does, it will be interesting to see just how critical ESPN reporters opt to be when covering the league that now owns 10 percent of their employer.
Without the NFL Network, the league will continue to own and operate its retained media businesses such as NFL Films, NFL+, NFL.com, the NFL Podcast Network, the NFL FAST Channel, and the official websites for all 32 teams. The NFL Fantasy Football application will merge with ESPN’s, and ESPN will maintain the service. Some changes may not be happening as soon as April, when the league emp0loyees will begin to get processed over to ESPN, but most are expected to be in place by the start of the next regular season.
Broncos Expected To Promote Davis Webb To OC
10:59pm: Webb has now conducted a formal interview for the OC spot, Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette reports. That makes him the third candidate to speak with Denver about the position and paves the way for a promotion to officially take place.
8:00am: One of this year’s popular coaching candidates appears to be staying put. Multiple sources tell Mike Klis of 9News.com that Broncos quarterbacks coach Davis Webb will remain in Denver and will become the club’s new offensive coordinator following Joe Lombardi’s dismissal.
The Broncos narrowly missed advancing to this year’s Super Bowl despite being forced to start Jarrett Stidham under center in the AFC Championship Game due to QB1 Bo Nix’s fractured ankle. Nix has been the team’s starting passer in each of the last two years, and although Denver booked two playoff berths during that time and secured the AFC’s No. 1 seed in 2025, head coach Sean Payton felt an OC change was necessary.
There could be another fundamental shift on the horizon. As Troy Renck of the Denver Post writes, Webb has developed a reputation as an “offensive wizard, and quarterback whisperer,” and recent reports suggested Payton may have to cede his play-calling duties to Webb in order to keep his young protege on his staff. Payton has called the offensive plays since arriving in Denver in 2023 and held the same responsibility as the Saints’ HC for many years before that.
Payton sounded amenable to such a change several weeks ago.
“As you get older, you think about all the ramifications. It was said as you get older, maybe you don’t drive in the rain at night. You begin to… I can’t let that happen as a play caller,” Payton said (via Renck). “That’s something that I have to mentally make sure it’s quick.”
Teams around the league are intrigued by Webb’s upside as an offensive guru. The Giants and Eagles were interested in him as a play-calling OC in this year’s coaching carousel, and though he just turned 31, he took head coaching interviews with the Bills, Raiders, and Ravens. He was even considered a finalist for the Las Vegas gig before he withdrew from consideration.
That withdrawal suggested Webb would stay with the Broncos for at least the 2026 season, and signs are pointing in that direction. Whether he will have the opportunity to begin building his play-calling resume remains to be seen. Thus far, as Renck observes, Webb has called plays just once: during a preseason game in August.
In 2025, the Broncos finished 10th in total offense and 14th in scoring. As our coordinator tracker shows, they have also interviewed Bills quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry and Commanders pass-game coordinator Brian Johnson for the OC post.
49ers To Hire Raheem Morris As DC
Raheem Morris was a finalist for the Cardinals’ head coaching position. With that gig going to Mike LaFleur, the ex-Falcons HC found himself in need of a new opportunity. 
In the wake of the LaFleur news, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported Morris was a strong candidate to join the 49ers. Indeed, he will make a return to the NFC West for 2026. San Francisco is hiring Morris for the defensive coordinator position, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The 49ers brought back Robert Saleh as their DC for the 2025 season. His success in that role resulted in another head coaching opportunity, with a Titans hire recently being worked out. That created the need for head coach Kyle Shanahan to find a Saleh replacement once again in San Francisco. In Morris, he has tapped a very familiar staffer for the gig.
Shanahan and Morris worked alongside each other in Tampa Bay (2004-05), Washington (2012-13) and again in Atlanta (2015-16). This latest reunion will see Morris return to coordinator duties. He has previously worked as a DC with the Rams and with the Falcons during his first Atlanta tenure. Morris returned to the Falcons as their head coach in 2024, but his second stint with the team did not meet expectations.
Coming off a second straight 8-9 season, Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot were dismissed immediately after the campaign ended. A number of interviews for head coaching openings followed, but only the Cardinals emerged as a serious suitor. With that opportunity coming and going, Morris will look to once again deliver a strong coordinator showing.
For the 49ers, stability at the D-coordinator position would be welcomed. Morris represents the fifth different hire in as many years Shanahan has made. Remaining in place could prove to be key for San Francisco, a team which dealt with a number of major injuries on defense in 2025. Missing the likes of Nick Bosa and Fred Warner for most of the season proved detrimental, although Saleh still guided his unit to a 13th-place finish in total defense. The 49ers will have Bosa and Warner healthy next year, and Morris will face high expectations in his latest coordinator gig.
Via PFR’s OC/DC Tracker, here is a final look at San Francisco’s DC search:
- Gus Bradley, assistant head coach (49ers): Interviewed
- Raheem Morris, former head coach (Falcons): Hired
- Jim Schwartz, defensive coordinator (Browns): Rumored candidate
- Joe Woods, defensive backs coach (Raiders): Interviewed
AFC North Coaching Updates: Browns, Koetter, Ravens
New Browns head coach Todd Monken continues to build his first NFL staff, and he continues to do so by rounding up his former coworkers. Today, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that UMass offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian would be reuniting with Monken to serve as Cleveland’s new quarterbacks coach.
Bajakian worked with Monken during their tenures with the Buccaneers. Since then, Bajakian has roamed the collegiate coaching circuit working as OC/QB coach at different points with Boston College, Northwestern, Utah (interim), and the Minutemen. That litany of experience working with young, college athletes should prepare him well for the challenge he faces in developing a Browns quarterbacks room that features two rising sophomores (and, potentially, a new rookie this year).
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, former Jets tight ends coach Jeff Blasko is expected to be making his way to Cleveland to accept the same job under Monken. He will be reuniting with both the team and the new head coach after working as the Browns assistant offensive line coach in 2019, when Monken was the team’s offensive coordinator. Additionally, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Monken is bringing over yet another Baltimore migrant, adding former Ravens offensive assistant Ian Kolste to his staff in Cleveland in an as of yet unknown role. Kolste was considered to be a rising, young mind in the Ravens building.
Lastly, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Browns are interviewing former Ravens assistant quarterbacks coach/director of football strategy Daniel Stern for the role of associate head coach. All three hires and Stern fit the criteria of having worked with Monken in the past.
Here are a couple other coaching updates from around the AFC North:
- Pelissero also brought a report out of Cincinnati that Davis Koetter, the son of former Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter, has been hired as the Bengals‘ new assistant wide receivers coach. The younger Koetter was an analyst at South Carolina last year and had worked for two years at Texas before that.
- Finally, in Baltimore, new head coach Jesse Minter is filling out an expected vacancy in his staff. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Ravens expect Stern to be leaving for the job he’s set to interview for in Cleveland, and the team is hiring former Colts game manager Charlie Gelman to fill his place. Gelman is expected to be coming in as Baltimore’s new game management coordinator/defensive assistant.
Latest On Steelers’ Staff Changes
There have been several changes to the Steelers’ coaching staff since their season ended in the first round of the playoffs, none bigger, of course, than former head coach Mike Tomlin‘s decision to walk away from the team. Following Pittsburgh’s ninth straight season failing to advance past the first round of the NFL playoffs, players on the team anticipated changes to the coaching staff, according to Mike DeFabo of the Athletic, but the departure of Tomlin was not what they expected. 
Per a joint report from ESPN’s Brooke Pryor and Jeremy Fowler, when making the decision to step away, Tomlin told his players that they “deserve better,” telling them that, “right now, (he couldn’t) deliver.” He also informed the players directly that he had no intentions of coaching elsewhere in 2026. His comments seemed to dispel any rumors that he felt unappreciated in Pittsburgh as he felt he was the one who was falling short, that “someone else has to move the franchise forward.”
Now, new head coach Mike McCarthy has been brought in to move the franchise forward, and with the majority of Pittsburgh’s coaching staff not under contract past the 2025 NFL season, he’s gotten to work building his own staff with which to move forward. The latest addition to that staff, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, is former Saints All-Pro offensive guard Jahri Evans. Following the end of his playing career, Evans made the transition into coaching, starting as a preseason coaching intern for his old team in 2022. He earned promotions to offensive assistant in 2023 and assistant offensive line coach last year, and he’ll now make a lateral move to join the Steelers as their new assistant OL coach.
Also out of the AFC South, per Wilson, the Steelers are bringing in former Falcons chief of staff of coaching operations Steve Scarnecchia. The son of respected, longtime offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, Pittsburgh’s new staffer hasn’t had his specific role announced, but he also had a chief of staff role with the Jets, previously, so he will likely be doing similar work with the Steelers in 2026.
Lastly, in the front office, Wilson was the first to report that Pittsburgh has added Commanders director of college scouting Tim Gribble to their scouting department. This is actually a return to Pittsburgh for the former Duquesne athlete. After graduating and coaching at his alma mater, Gribble was hired as an assistant in the Steelers’ scouting department in 2000. After two years, he made his way to Washington, and he’s been with the franchise ever since. After a long 24 years, he’ll make his way back to Pittsburgh for 2026.
Falcons Announce Latest Staffing Decisions
With new head coach Kevin Stefanski and new general manager Ian Cunningham finding their place in Atlanta, the duo has slowly gone about, making decisions for how to fill out the staff. The two haven’t chosen to clean house, announcing a mixture of new hires and staffers to be retained, and that didn’t stop with the latest announcements.
First, the Falcons announced that Tokunbo Abanikanda, who served as Atlanta’s director of college scouting for the past two years, will remain in Atlanta for 2026. In fact, he’ll do so with a promotion to the title of director of scouting. Abanikanda was hired by the Falcons in 2012, four years into former general manager Thomas Dimitroff‘s 13-year tenure in Atlanta. He was retained on the staff of Dimitroff’s successor, Terry Fontenot, and has now survived the turnover to a third general manager in Cunningham.
A new hire in the front office was also announced over a week ago, when Jacqueline Roberts was named the new manager of coaching operations for the Falcons. Roberts got her start with Cleveland two years ago as an intern working with team logistics. Last year, she was promoted to coordinator of coaching logistics for the Browns, and she’ll now follow Stefanski to Atlanta for a similar role.
On the coaching side, the Falcons also saw one staffer retained and one brought from Cleveland. Senior defensive assistant Dave Huxtable was the staffer to be retained in his role on retained defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich‘s unit. A collegiate coach of 40 years, including stints as a defensive coordinator at North Carolina, UCF, Pittsburgh, and NC State, Huxtable joined the Falcons back in 2023, under then-defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. He was retained under Nielsen’s successor, Jimmy Lake, and under Ulbrich, as well. Huxtable works with the defensive line, namely the pass rushers, and saw rookies James Pearce and Jalon Walker combine for 16.0 sacks in 2025.
The Cleveland import on the coaching staff is Michael Bearden, who was the recipient of the Browns’ Bill Willis Coaching Fellowship in 2025. Bearden spent two years as assistant wide receivers coach at Notre Dame before landing his first fellowship with the Bears in 2024. He’s now followed Stefanski to Atlanta to serve as a Falcons’ coaching fellow/offensive assistant.
Steelers Interview Matthew Smiley For ST Coordinator
After watching special teams coordinator Danny Smith depart for warmer climates in Tampa Bay, the Steelers are now searching for a special teams coach to fill the role. To that end, the team interviewed former Bills special teams coach Matthew Smiley for the position, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. 
Smiley began his coaching career at Dartmouth, where he initially served as assistant quarterbacks/specialists coach in 2005 before being named special teams coordinator after his first year. He then went to Division III Eureka, where he spent a year as offensive coordinator and the next at defensive coordinator until he was named interim head coach. Following that, he worked three years at Eastern Illinois as running backs coach/special teams coordinator and a year at Charleston Southern with the same title.
Smiley landed in the NFL in 2013 as assistant special teams coordinator for the Jaguars. After four years in Duval, he made his way to Buffalo, where he served as assistant special teams coordinator for five more seasons. After nine years as an assistant and five years in Buffalo, Smiley was finally promoted to special teams coordinator in 2022, when Heath Farwell opened the spot with a move for the same role with Jacksonville.
In Smiley’s three years as special teams coordinator, he worked with kicker Tyler Bass and punter Sam Martin. The return game under Smiley saw early success with two kickoff returns for touchdowns in his first year and a punt return for a touchdown in his second. After the 2024 season, though, Smiley parted ways with the Bills and didn’t coach in the 2025 season.
Additionally, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Steelers are interviewing Texas Tech outside linebackers coach C.J. Ah You this Tuesday for the same role in Pittsburgh. Per Pelissero, Ah You also interviewed Friday with the Cowboys. The Steelers’ interest in hiring for that role likely indicates that 2025’s outside linebackers coach, Denzel Martin, will not be back in 2026.
Broncos Notes: Nix, Free Agency, Dobbins, Strnad, Von
The latest reporting on Broncos quarterback Bo Nix indicated he will be medically cleared by the time OTAs open in May. However, Denver head coach Sean Payton’s comments on Nix’s fractured ankle led to some consternation among the team’s fanbase.
“What was found was a condition that was predisposed where they always find a little bit more when they go in and it wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when,” Payton said. “When you look at the play, the surgeon said this was going to happen sooner than later.”
Payton’s use of the word “predisposed” created the belief that Nix may be more susceptible than most to this type of injury, particularly since the soon-to-be 26-year-old has undergone two prior surgeries on the same ankle. Nix himself subsequently refuted that notion.
According to Nix, there is “nothing predisposed” in his ankle, and he said there is no concern that the ankle will impact him in the future (via Luca Evans of the Denver Post). He went on to say that Payton’s statement may have been misinterpreted, and that he does not have a longstanding or chronic issue. Rather, a source tells Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post that in this case, the “predisposition” simply meant that a fracture had already started to develop in Nix’s ankle before it reached the breaking point in the waning stages of the Broncos’ divisional-round victory over the Bills.
Nix also pointed out that, counting his last two seasons in college, he had played in roughly 60 straight games before he was forced to miss last week’s AFC Championship Game. That supports his belief that his durability will not be an issue going forward.
Only time will tell, but in the meantime, the Broncos have now turned their attention to the offseason and readying themselves for another playoff run. At present, Denver is currently in the middle of the pack in terms of projected 2026 cap room ($28.5MM, per OverTheCap.com). As Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette relays, CEO Greg Penner said his club will be “opportunistically aggressive” in free agency, and while Penner did not offer specifics, it is fair to expect a team with a rookie-contract quarterback under center to be an active buyer.
Although the Broncos finished second in the NFL with 37 drops in 2025, both Payton and GM George Paton indicated they are happy with their collection of wide receivers (via Evans). That group is fronted by veteran stalwart Courtland Sutton and otherwise includes promising but largely unproven talent like Pat Bryant, Troy Franklin, and Marvin Mims. Franklin was unable to play in the AFCCG because of a hamstring injury, and Bryant left the game early due to a hamstring malady of his own. That left backup signal-caller Jarrett Stidham with midseason pickups Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Elijah Moore as his top WRs behind Sutton, and the receiving corps dropped three passes in the contest.
That said, Payton believes the issue is one of technique, not talent, and he thinks an increased emphasis on the proper way to catch a football will make a meaningful difference. Paton likewise suggests the proper pass-catching personnel is in place, and he does not believe the receivers who were available at the 2025 trade deadline would have moved the needle a great deal.
However, it does appear the running back depth chart could get some attention. No stranger to injured reserve, J.K. Dobbins was enjoying a strong first year in Denver until a Lisfranc injury cut his campaign short after 10 games. He had posted a 5.0-YPC average and four touchdowns on 153 carries prior to the injury, but rookie RJ Harvey averaged just 3.3 yards per carry after taking over RB1 duties. The club did not rush for more than 80 yards in either of its two postseason contests and did not average four or more yards per carry in six of its final nine games of the year.
Evans suggests the team could opt to bring back Dobbins – who has expressed a desire to return – or look to the draft for RB reinforcements. One way or another, Payton acknowledged that improvement in the running game will be a top agenda item.
Denver will also have to sort out its inside linebacker situation, as both Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad are eligible for free agency. Strnad played exclusively on special teams over the 2022-23 seasons but participated in over half of the Broncos’ defensive snaps in each of the last two years due to injuries to other players in the LB room. He played well in 2025, with Pro Football Focus ranking him 25th out of 88 qualified ‘backers. He believes he has proven his worth as a starter and is therefore seeking a multiyear contract that would give him a starting opportunity (via Tomasson).
Strnad, 29, says he would like to remain in Denver, but he acknowledges he may have to seek a new employer if the team elects to retain Singleton, who recently turned 32. Dre Greenlaw, who signed a three-year deal with the Broncos last offseason, will occupy one of the starting ILB spots.
If he has it his way, Von Miller will return to the Broncos to perhaps put a bow on his Hall of Fame career. Now 36 (37 in March), Miller was selected by Denver with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2011 draft and remained with the club until the trade deadline of the 2021 season, when he was dealt to the Rams. During his Mile High tenure, he racked up 110.5 sacks, three First Team All-Pro nods, eight Pro Bowl bids, and a Super Bowl ring (he was also named MVP of Super Bowl 50). While he is far removed from his prime, he quietly recorded nine sacks in a rotational role for the Commanders in 2025, thus proving he still has something to offer to a team’s pass-rushing contingent.
Miller reached out to Paton last year to discuss a possible reunion, though he knew the presence of fellow pass rushers Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto would make a Denver contract unlikely. Paton confirmed as much, and while Cooper and Bonitto are still on the roster and attached to big-money deals, Miller is making another plea.
In a recent episode of his Free Range podcast, Miller said, “[a]fter the season, y’all make room for me over there with the Denver Broncos. I would love to be a Denver Bronco next season. … Let’s just rock out, man. Me, Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonitto. Like bro, why not? I had nine sacks… I led probably 20 teams in the NFL in sacks this season” (via Will Petersen of DenverSports.com).
Given the contract statuses of Cooper and Bonitto, Paton may be no more willing to bring Miller back into the fold than he was last year. Miller nonetheless should get an opportunity somewhere, and he will have a chance to leapfrog several more players on the all-time official sacks list. His 138.5 career sacks currently put him in ninth place in the regard, behind Terrell Suggs (139.0), Jason Taylor (139.5), and Michael Strahan (141.5).
The Broncos’ offseason business also included a reshaping of their coaching staff. In addition to the dismissal of offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, WRs coach Keary Colbert received his walking papers, as ESPN’s Jeff Legwold reported (which is perhaps no surprise in light of Payton’s comments on the need for his wideouts to improve their technique). The team also fired CBs coach Addison Lynch.
Denver also lost senior offensive assistant Pete Carmichael Jr. and defensive pass-game coordinator Jim Leonhard to the Bills, with whom they will serve as offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, respectively. Broncos quarterbacks coach Davis Webb is in line for a promotion to OC to replace Lombardi.