Falcons, Drake London Agree To Extension
The Falcons have locked in their top receiver for the foreseeable future. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the team has signed Drake London to a four-year extension.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter has the numbers. London’s four-year deal is worth $141MM and could reach $150MM via incentives. London will also earn $100MM in guaranteed money. That $35.25MM average annual salary is the highest in Falcons franchise history.
From a positional standpoint, London’s AAV will rank third behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba ($42.15MM) and Ja’Marr Chase ($40.25MM) and just ahead of Justin Jefferson ($35MM). The $141MM in total value also trails JSN and Chase and barely tops Jefferson’s $140MM. The $100MM in guaranteed money will rank behind all three of those aforementioned WRs and ties CeeDee Lamb for fourth at the position.
The eighth-overall pick in the 2022 draft, it took London a bit to emerge as a top-tier WR. Through his first two seasons, he averaged 70 catches for 885 yards and three touchdowns per season. However, he took his play to another level while receiving passes from Kirk Cousins in 2024. London finished that campaign with 100 catches for 1,271 yards and nine touchdowns. Despite that standout campaign, he didn’t agree to an extension with the Falcons last offseason, even as his fellow 2022 draftee Garrett Wilson received a lucrative new contract from the Jets.
London increase his yards-per-game mark to a career-high 76.6 in 2025. Since he was limited to only 12 games, his counting stats suffered as a result, with the 24-year-old finishing with 68 catches for 919 yards and seven touchdowns. Pro Football Focus still graded London as the league’s fifth-best WR.
This extension means the Falcons can count on some offensive continuity in the coming seasons. The team is currently navigating a QB competition between Michael Penix and Tua Tagovailoa, and that duo will be throwing to a revamped WR depth chart that includes new addition Jahan Dotson and old friend Olamide Zaccheaus. This extension assures London will be present throughout crucial offseason practices.
The Falcons will now turn their attention their other offensive star, as running back Bijan Robinson is also eligible for an extension. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo notes that it was a goal of the front office to extend their two main offensive weapons, and all focus will now turn to the first-team RB. The team could also look to extend tight end Kyle Pitts, who is currently attached to the franchise tag for the 2026 season.
49ers Sign S Ashtyn Davis
The 49ers have added some veteran depth to their secondary. The team announced that they’ve signed safety Ashtyn Davis to a one-year deal. To make room on the roster, the team has waived running back Jermar Jefferson.
The 2020 third-round pick out of California spent the first five seasons of his career with the Jets, where he alternated between full-time starter and part-time backup. Davis started 16 games between his first two professional campaigns, including a 2021 season where he tallied 62 tackles, three passes defended, three forced fumbles, and a pair of interceptions.
Between 2022 and 2024, Davis was limited to only six starts, and he spent that 2022 campaign completely out of the defensive rotation (13 defensive snaps in 14 games). He still managed to contribute on special teams, and his 957 ST snaps over that span outpaced his 491 defensive reps.
Davis joined the Dolphins via a one-year, $3MM deal last offseason, and he had one of the most productive seasons of his career. He started 12 of his 15 appearances, finishing with a career-high 65 tackles to go along with four passes defended and an interception. Despite the uptick in snaps, Pro Football Focus wasn’t fond of his performance, ranking him 82nd among 91 qualifying safeties.
The 49ers return much of their safety depth from last season, including Ji’Ayir Brown, Malik Mustapha, and Marques Sigle. Jason Pinnock left via free agency, so Davis could soak up some of those leftover snaps. He’ll be competing with the likes of Derrick Canteen, Patrick McMorris, and Jalen Stroman.
Jefferson caught on with the 49ers just last week. The 26-year-old has seen time in 11 career games, collecting 129 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns on 26 touches.
Broncos Give Patrick Surtain $5MM Raise
In September 2024, Broncos superstar Patrick Surtain inked a four-year, $96MM extension and became the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback by average annual value. That deal will not kick in until this year, but the Broncos are already giving Surtain a pay bump.
Denver will hand Surtain a $5MM raise for 2026, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. He will have a chance to earn another $5MM with a Pro Bowl or All-Pro selection. Surtain will have to make the Pro Bowl on the original ballot, not as an alternate, according to Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette.
Surtain entered the day fourth at his position in guarantees, fifth in average annual value and sixth in total money. Fellow cornerbacks Trent McDuffie, Sauce Gardner,Jaycee Horn and Derek Stingley Jr. have all signed massive extensions over the past year-plus, leading to Surtain’s drop in the financial pecking order. Recognizing his importance to their team, the Broncos are upping Surtain’s pay in an act of good faith. His base salary will climb from $7.632MM to $12.632, per Tomasson.
Surtain entered the NFL in 2021 as the ninth overall pick, one selection after the Panthers made Horn the highest-drafted corner in the class. While Horn has enjoyed a successful career, Surtain has turned into one of the game’s elite players. The 6-foot-2, 202-pounder has made the Pro Bowl four times and earned three All-Pro selections (two first-team nods and a second-teamer). In his most impressive accomplishment, Surtain took home Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2024, during which he tied a career high with four interceptions and allowed a measly 58.9 passer rating on 62 targets.
Surtain missed three games with a pectoral tear and saw his INT total drop to one last year, but he held passers to an awful 54.1 completion percentage and 66.6 rating on 61 targets. It went down as yet another Pro Bowl/All-Pro season for Surtain, whose history suggests he will earn the extra $5MM in incentives that are now available to him in 2026.
Steelers To Extend OLB Nick Herbig
The Steelers have agreed to an extension with outside linebacker Nick Herbig, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. It’s a four-year, $100MM deal with $42MM in guaranteed money. He is now under contract through 2030.
Herbig, who joined the Steelers as a fourth-round pick in 2023, had been in position to reach free agency next year. While Herbig came up as a potential trade candidate before April’s draft, general manager Omar Khan made it known he wanted to extend the former Wisconsin Badger. Several weeks later, Khan has achieved his goal.
Herbig is now the third expensive edge defender in Pittsburgh, which also has T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith on pricey deals. The Steelers are spending $84MM along the edge, which ranks second behind the Texans’ $96MM, Mike Ginnitti of Spotrac notes. Watt, who is signed through 2028, is owed a guaranteed $32MM this year. Meanwhile, Highsmith is due a nonguaranteed $14.5MM this season. He could become a free agent after 2027.
With Watt and Highsmith playing prominent roles throughout Herbig’s career, the 24-year-old has only started in 11 of 45 games in the pros. To Herbig’s credit, though, he has put up impressive production when on the field. Having totaled 16 sacks and nine forced fumbles, Herbig is expected to receive more playing time under new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham in 2026.
Herbig played just 17% of defensive snaps as a rookie, but his snap share jumped under the former head coach-coordinator duo of Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin from 2024-25. He was on the field for 50% of plays in 2024 and 60% last season, a year in which the Steelers went without Watt for three games as a result of a collapsed lung.
Herbig took advantage of an increase in usage for the AFC North champions, leading all edge defenders in pass rush win rate and piling up a career-high 7.5 sacks in 15 games (six starts). He also tallied three forced fumbles and set career bests in tackles (30), QB hits (18), pass deflections (three) and interceptions (one). Pro Football Focus ranked Herbig’s performance a stellar sixth among 119 qualified edge defenders (Highsmith and Watt were 12th and 31st, respectively). Superstars Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, Will Anderson, Aidan Hutchinson and Trey Hendrickson were the only players at the position who earned higher pass-rushing grades than Herbig.
With Herbig becoming the 10th current edge defender on a $100MM-plus contract, the 2027 free agent market has lost a big fish well in advance. Tuli Tuipulotu, Byron Young, Kayvon Thibodeaux, YaYa Diaby, Jermaine Johnson and Myles Murphy are still on track to become free agents in a year, but at least a few of those players will likely join Herbig in signing an extension this summer.
Now that Khan settled Herbig’s long-term future, his focus could turn to pending free agent cornerback Joey Porter Jr. Locking up the three-year starter is a priority for the Steelers, whose defense is currently the most expensive in the league.
Dolphins Sign WR Jalen Reagor
Wide receiver Jalen Reagor‘s career has not gone according to plan, but another team will give the former first-round pick a chance. The Dolphins announced they have signed Reagor to an undisclosed deal and waived safety/linebacker Jordan Colbert with a failed physical designation.
Owners of the 21st selection in the 2020 draft, the Eagles chose Reagor and left fellow receiver Justin Jefferson on the board. It quickly became apparent general manager Howie Roseman made a mistake. Jefferson, who went 22nd overall to the Vikings, has been one of the premier wideouts in the league throughout his career. Reagor, on the other hand, has never put it together in stints with the Eagles (2020-21), Vikings (2022, when he was teammates with Jefferson), Patriots (2023) and Chargers (2024). He has totaled just 86 catches and four touchdowns in 64 regular-season games.
After an eight-game, seven-catch 2024, the Chargers brought Reagor back for a second year last season. However, the 5-foot-11, 197-pounder ended up among the Chargers’ final cuts in late August. While they re-signed Reagor to their practice squad, they released him for good in October. He didn’t get into any games in 2025.
Last season’s Chargers had a more talented receiving corps than the Dolphins’ current group, which could give the 27-year-old Reagor a better chance to earn a roster spot. The rebuilding Dolphins traded No. 1 option Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos for three draft picks, including a 2026 first-rounder (which became cornerback Chris Johnson), leaving them with no proven starters. Along with Reagor, they have given short-term free agent contracts to Tutu Atwell, Jalen Tolbert and Terrace Marshall. Holdover Malik Washington, third-rounders Caleb Douglas and Chris Bell, and fifth-rounder Kevin Coleman Jr. are also among the pass catchers in the mix.
Reagor’s pact with the Dolphins will reunite him with pass game coordinator Kevin Patullo, who held the same position in Philadelphia in the receiver’s last year with the team (2021). While Reagor set career highs in catches (33) and touchdowns (two) then, he has not approached those modest numbers in any season since.
Retired DT Aaron Donald Mulling Return?
The Rams added an all-time great defender when they acquired pass rusher extraordinaire Myles Garrett from the Browns on Monday. Garrett may not be the last future Hall of Famer to join the Rams’ defense before the upcoming season. On the heels of the Garrett trade, it appears retired Ram Aaron Donald is mulling a comeback.
When ESPN’s Pat McAfee contacted Donald via text about a potential return in the wake of the Garrett blockbuster, the 35-year-old admitted, “It for sure got me thinking.” Donald added that he’s “gotta see if that fire can light back up” after two full years out of the NFL.
With the Rams still based in St. Louis at the time, they spent the 13th overall pick in the 2014 draft on Donald. It quickly became one of the wisest decisions in franchise history, as Donald turned into one of the most dominant defensive tackles in the history of the sport. He earned Pro Bowl honors in all 10 of his seasons, picked up eight first-team All-Pro selections (tied with Reggie White and Bruce Smith for most among D-linemen) and won the Defensive Player of the Year three times. Donald was also a major contributor on the Rams’ most recent Super Bowl-winning team in 2021.
The Rams were already atop the list of Super Bowl favorites for the upcoming campaign before they took a home run swing on Garrett. Although the trade cost them standout edge defender Jared Verse and three picks, including a 2027 first-rounder, they landed a player who set the single-season sack record (23) and won DPOY for the second time in 2025. Their odds of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy next February would only seem to improve with Donald, a well-known workout warrior who has stayed in shape in his post-playing days. With 111 sacks on his resume, he would join the likes of Garrett, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske and Poona Ford to form a terrifying group up front.
When Donald walked away from the game in March 2024, there was one season left on the three-year, $95MM extension he signed in 2022. His retirement forced the Rams to spread $33MM in dead money over the previous two seasons ($24MM in 2024 and $9MM in ’25). Donald is off the team’s books now, but that will change if he makes the bombshell decision to return. The Rams have approximately $16.34MM in spending room, according to OverTheCap.
Colts Sign Fourth-Rounders Jalen Farmer, Bryce Boettcher; Draft Class Under Wraps
The Colts signed their two fourth-round picks, guard Jalen Farmer and linebacker Bryce Boettcher, to their four-year rookie deals on Tuesday. General manager Chris Ballard now has all eight members of the team’s 2026 draft class under contract.
Farmer, the 113th overall selection, began his college career at Florida in 2022 but transferred to Kentucky two years later. After seeing little playing time with the Gators, the 6-foot-5, 318-pounder became a two-year starter at right guard as a member of the Wildcats. Farmer possesses bulldozing skills as a run blocker and could eventually turn into an NFL starter, according to Dane Brugler of The Athletic.
If he is going to emerge as an immediate starter in the pros, Farmer will have to beat out Matt Goncalves. As a third-round rookie in 2024, all of Goncalves’ snaps came at the tackle spots during a 17-game, eight-start season. It was a different story last year, as he lined up at right guard in 15 of his 16 starts. Pro Football Focus ranked Goncalves’ performance a solid 31st among 79 qualified guards. He could conceivably shift back to right tackle, where the Colts lost longtime starter Braden Smith to the Texans in free agency. Jalen Travis, a fourth-rounder in 2025, is the current favorite to take over for Smith.
The Colts were without a first-rounder thanks to last November’s Sauce Gardner blockbuster, leaving No. 54 overall as their top choice. They used that pick on former Georgia linebacker C.J. Allen, but that didn’t stop them from adding another LB, Boettcher, at No. 135.
The athletic Boettcher could have played professional baseball as an outfielder with the Houston Astros, who drafted him in the 13th round in 2024, but decided to stick with football. The former defensive back will enter the NFL off a pair of second-team All-Big Ten years at Oregon, where he was particularly effective last season. Over 15 games, Boettcher tallied a conference-high 136 tackles (5.5 for loss), two forced fumbles, a sack and an interception en route to first-team All-America honors.
Zaire Franklin and Germaine Pratt, the Colts’ starting linebackers from last season, are no longer on the roster. While Allen and free agent addition Akeem Davis-Gaither are the front-runners to replace them, Boettcher could at least contribute in a depth/special teams role in 2026.
Now that they have all of their picks under wraps, here is a look at the Colts’ group of rookies:
- Round 2, No. 53 (from Steelers): C.J. Allen (LB, Georgia) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 78: A.J. Haulcy (S, LSU) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 113: Jalen Farmer (G, Kentucky) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 135 (from Steelers)*: Bryce Boettcher (LB, Oregon) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 156: George Gumbs (EDGE, Florida) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 214 (from Steelers)*: Caden Curry (EDGE, Ohio State) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 237 (from Steelers): Seth McGowan (RB, Kentucky) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 254*: Deion Burks (WR, Oklahoma) (signed)
Illinois Efforts To Allow Publicly-Owned Bears Stadium In Chicago Falls Short
JUNE 2: Late on Sunday, the Illinois state legislature adjourned for the spring with a last-minute attempt at passing a new ‘megaprojects’ bill falling short, as detailed by ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. As a result, Arlington Heights and Hammond remain the two potential Bears destinations at this point. Cronin points to this latest development as the next in a long line of indications that the franchise’s next home will end up being built across state lines in Indiana.
MAY 31: The state of Illinois is not letting the Bears leave Chicago without a fight.
Earlier in May, the Bears released a statement explaining that they no longer saw a path to staying in the city and naming Chicago suburb Arlington Heights and Hammond, Indiana as the two finalists for the team’s new home. But the Illinois legislature is launching a last-gasp effort that would give municipalities in Cook County – which includes Chicago and Arlington Heights – to create a stadium authority to finance and lease a new arena to the Bears. The team would foot the bill for construction, but not property tax, as the stadium and the land it sits on would be owned by the municipality.
“They would essentially pay for the stadium, enter an agreement with the municipality — could be any municipality — and the municipality would open the building,” said state Sen. Bill Cunningham (via Mitchell Armentrout of the Chicago Sun-Times), who represents part of the South Side neighborhood of Chicago. He has led negotiations with the Bears and introduced this latest bill for a publicly-owned stadium in what he sees as a “common model” around the NFL.
Legislators are still working on hammering out the language of the bill, and time is of the essence. As in the NFL, June 1 is a key date in the Illinois Capital. Bills voted on after June 1 must be supported by 60% of the legislature if they take effect within a year. The Bears are looking to finalize their decision in the coming months, so the state must act quickly to approve this bill and give the team an alternate path to staying in Chicago.
This might be Chicago’s last chance to keep the Bears in the city. Arlington Heights will remain in play either way, but it is 30 miles northeast of Soldier Field, which is roughly the same distance from the proposed Hammond site in Indiana. If this bill can get approved by the legislature and signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker, Chicago would still to go through the prescribed process of creating a stadium authority and working out a deal for the Bears to build and occupy – but not own – a new stadium in the city.
It seems unthinkable that the Bears could be headquartered anywhere but Chicago. But the city has refused to offer public funds for a stadium, and a bill that would have offered substantial tax breaks passed the general assembly but not the state senate. Cunningham’s legislation offers a middle route in which the Bears pay for the stadium but face no tax bill since it will be publicly-owned.
Seahawks, Derick Hall Agree To Extension
The Seahawks have managed to take care of another extension priority well before training camp. Edge rusher Derick Hall has a new deal in place.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports team and player have finalized a three-year extension. The pact has a base value of $42MM and can reach a maximum of $46.5MM. Hall is set to collect $21MM guaranteed. Instead of spending the coming season as a pending free agent, he will now be under team control through 2029.
The Super Bowl champions expectedly saw Boye Mafe depart in free agency this spring. Hall would have been in danger of doing the same one year later, but he will remain in Seattle for the foreseeable future. The Auburn product saw a drop in defensive usage in 2025, although a return to a starting gig may now be in store.
The No. 37 pick of the 2023 draft was part of the package sent by Denver to Seattle as part of the Russell Wilson blockbuster in 2022. The Seahawks found a number of key contributors to build around via that swap, and Hall – taken with that selection – was one of them. He managed limited production as a rookie while handling backup duties before taking a notable step forward in both playing time and output in 2024.
That year, Hall notched eight sacks, 29 pressures and a pair of forced fumbles. A long-term run near the top of Seattle’s EDGE depth chart seemed to be in store, but the signing of DeMarcus Lawrence gave the team even more options in the pass rush department. Lawrence wound up working as a full-time starter during his debut Seahawks campaign, with Uchenna Nwosu also serving as a regular on defense. Hall, like Mafe, was relegated to part-time defensive duties during the regular season (although he posted two sacks and a forced fumble in Super Bowl LX).
Lawrence and Nwosu are still under contract for Seattle. The team also added Dante Fowler last month on a one-year pact. No draft investments were made along the edge, so those three, along with Hall, will be counted on to play key roles on the Seahawks’ vaunted defense. Considering the terms of this commitment, Hall can be expected to handle a notable workload during his age-25 season and beyond.
With an average annual value of $14MM, this extension is the most lucrative one for Seattle pass rushers as things stand. That figure falls well short of the upper echelon of a market which reached $50MM annually earlier this offseason, though. As the Seahawks aim to repeat as Super Bowl champions, the team will hope to gain value on an extension which could prove to be quite team-friendly over time.
Seattle already worked out a monster extension with receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba this spring, while another lucrative pact for cornerback Devon Witherspoon looms. There is still plenty of work to be done in the latter’s case, but another long-term agreement has nevertheless been reached with a different member of the team’s defense with plenty of time to spare.
Giants Release K Jason Sanders
The list of Giants kickers has shrunk from three to two. The team announced on Tuesday that veteran Jason Sanders has been released.
New York’s efforts to find a Graham Gano replacement have included a number of moves. One was the signing of Sanders in March. The former Dolphin missed all of 2025, something which hindered his market value. Sanders collected $300K guaranteed from the Giants on his one-year deal, so that amount will now represent a dead cap charge.
As a result of today’s move, the Giants’ kicking competition will consist of Ben Sauls and Dominic Zvada. Sauls made three appearances as part of New York’s rotation at the position last year, connecting on each of his eight field goal attempts and all seven of his extra point tries. Zvada signed with the Giants this spring as an undrafted free agent, and he and Sauls represent an inexperienced duo vying for the full-time gig. New York has similarly opted for youth at the long snapper position with Ben Mann the only current option on the roster following Zach Triner‘s Monday release.
Sanders enjoyed a strong seven-year run in Miami. The former seventh-rounder reached or surpassed a 90% success rate on field goals three times during his Dolphins tenure. Overall, Sanders has converted 84.6% of his field goals and all but nine of his 268 extra point attempts over the course of his career. It will be interesting to see if the 30-year-old manages to line up a new gig in time for training camp or if he remains unsigned well into the summer.
Today’s release represents the corresponding move to make JuJu Smith-Schuster‘s signing official. The veteran wideout was one of three additions at that position which were lined up yesterday in the wake of a successful workout. Smith-Schuster will spend the summer competing for a roster spot, while Sanders will now attempt to find a new home elsewhere in the NFL.