Broncos Begin Extension Talks With CB Ja’Quan McMillian
The Broncos have fielded one of the NFL’s best defenses in the last two years, especially against the pass. Denver allowed just 5.6 yards per attempt in 2024, the second-lowest mark in the league, which dropped to a league-best 4.8 in 2025.
Starting slot cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian has been a key cog of the Broncos’ secondary since he took over the job midway through the 2023 season. Originally a 2022 UDFA out of East Carolina, he spent his rookie year on the practice squad but was elevated to start and play every snap in Week 18. After a rough start from Essang Bassey in 2023, McMillian stepped in as the team’s nickel for the rest of the season and allowed 6.1 yards per target, the 18th-fewest among qualified cornerbacks.
McMillian saw a substantial jump in targets in 2024, but still allowed just 6.8 yards per target with fewer touchdowns than the year before. Last season, he staved off first-round pick Jahdae Barron to keep his job and allowed career-lows of 5.9 yards per target and a 74.3 passer rating when targeted. He finished the season with the fourth-highest overall and seventh-highest coverage grade of any cornerback (min. 100 snaps), per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
That performance would seem to position McMillian as one of the league’s top nickels, a market that is currently topped by Kyler Gordon at $13.3MM per year. He should be able to eclipse the $12MM AAV currently held by Marcus Jones, but he is unlikely to break into starting outside cornerback money at $15MM per year or more.
The Broncos have Patrick Surtain locked in as their long-term CB1. Riley Moss has been the starter on the opposite boundary for the last two seasons and allowed a roughly league-average 7.4 yards per target both times. He is in the final year of his rookie contract and could earn more on his next deal than McMillian since he lines up on the outside.
McMillian’s contract situation then becomes somewhat of a question about how Denver sees Barron. He played nickel for his first two years as a starter at Texas before putting up an elite performance as a full-time boundary corner in 2024. He filled a hybrid role as a rookie with 153 snaps in the slot, 93 outside, 99 in the box. If the Broncos see him as a long-term replacement for Moss, they will be more inclined to pay McMillian. But if defensive coordinator Vance Joseph wants to use Barron’s skillset in the slot, McMillian will likely be playing for a new team next year.
The Broncos are not expected to hand out any extensions until much closer to the season, Tomasson notes, giving them time to evaluate their cornerback room. They used the No. 20 pick on Barron last year and are unlikely to keep such a highly-drafted player on the sidelines for a second year in a row. The team may want to see how Barron fits into their secondary moving forward before making a decision on their veteran cornerbacks who are entering contract years.
DE Za’Darius Smith Released From Eagles’ Reserve/Retired List
Last year, veteran pass rusher Za’Darius Smith signed with the Eagles a day after the team’s season opener but only lasted five weeks in Philadelphia before announcing his midseason retirement. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, the Eagles have reportedly terminated Smith from their reserve/retired list, opening the door for the 33-year-old to make a return to the league, should he find the right situation.
Yes, Smith will be 34 years old by the start of the regular season, but he is only two seasons removed from a nine-sack 2024 season split between the Browns and Lions. At his prime, though, Smith was routinely putting up sack totals in the double-digits. After exhausting his rookie contract in Baltimore with 18.5 sacks in four years, Smith joined the Packers and delivered two Pro Bowl campaigns in three years.
In his first season with the Packers, Smith put up career highs in sacks (13.5), tackles for loss (17), and quarterback hits (37). He didn’t quite match those numbers in his second Pro Bowl season, but his 12.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and 23 quarterback hits were enough to land him second-team All-Pro honors. A back injury that had bothered him all through training camp in his third year in Green Bay limited him to only one game and led to his release, but Smith rebounded in 2022 with the Vikings, giving Minnesota 10.0 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and 24 quarterback hits en route to his third Pro Bowl season.
The Vikings traded Smith to Cleveland the next year, and after a disappointing 2023 campaign, the Browns sold high on him, trading him to Detroit before the trade deadline the next season. Smith went unsigned for the entire offseason following his half-season with the Lions, and his announcement shortly after arriving in Philadelphia came as a shock to the league.
With the Eagles releasing him from the contractual rights they retained following his retirement, Smith will now be able to seek out new opportunities and find a team that best fits his situation. A few of his former teams all oddly appear to be in need of some pass rush depth, so a reunion may be on the table.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/10/26
Here are today’s midweek minor moves from around the NFL:
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: WR Brandon Johnson
- Placed on IR: WR Corey Rucker
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: RB Sincere McCormick
- Waived: RB Jordan Mims
Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes Sign Extension Through 2033
6:21pm: Hours after the announcement hit the waves, Mahomes has officially put pen to paper on his new deal. With the record-setting deal finalized, the three-time Super Bowl MVP is now under Chiefs control for eight more seasons.
3:34pm: Six summers ago, the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes agreed on an unrivaled extension that ran into the 2030s. The superstar’s lengthy contract benefited the Chiefs, and other passers’ salaries began to dwarf his.
The Chiefs agreed to a reworked deal in fall 2023 but did not remove any years from the mammoth pact. The parties have now agreed to add more time on this deal, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Kansas City will now have Mahomes signed through the 2033 season at $504.75MM. That is the total value of the new deal, which will add two seasons to Mahomes’ term.
That whopping number covers eight seasons in total, representing a seismic adjustment to the NFL’s longest-term contract. In terms of new money, Mahomes will receive $239.1MM, per Schefter and Rapoport. The first four years of the three-time Super Bowl MVP’s deal are guaranteed at signing, representing tremendous confidence the quarterback will return to his stratospheric heights after suffering ACL and LCL tears last December.
This does not mean the Chiefs are adding $239.1MM over the 2032 and ’33 seasons, as Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio points out, but the team will give the all-time great a significant raise over the existing years of his deal. In exchange, Mahomes will give the Chiefs two more years of control.
The 2033 season would be Mahomes’ age-38 campaign. That $239MM number will mark a raise throughout the eight-year contract’s life, and it represents a record-setting AAV bump for the current game’s most accomplished quarterback.
The new guarantees probably represent the most notable component of this agreement. Aside from first- or early-second-round rookie contracts and the outlier Deshaun Watson deal, teams do not authorize four years of fully guaranteed money. The Chiefs are doing so, with Schefter and Rapoport adding guarantee mechanisms — which were used in the team’s initial Mahomes extension — are present to cover the 2030s part of this accord.
While plenty of details are yet to emerge, the eight-year package worth $504.75MM comes out to more than $63MM per year. We will wait to see how this is structured, but that blows past Dak Prescott‘s previous high-water mark — set in September 2024. The Cowboys have Prescott signed to a four-year, $240MM extension, one the QB secured thanks to historic leverage. Mahomes opted for a team-friendlier deal in 2020, and it helped the Chiefs retain Chris Jones on multiple extensions — to go with other roster-building advantages. The organization is rewarding the 10th-year quarterback, and it will be interesting to see how this contract breaks down in terms of cap hits.
When Mahomes agreed to his 10-year Kansas City extension (worth $450MM) in July 2020, Russell Wilson‘s $35MM-per-year Seahawks pact had resided atop the quarterback market. Mahomes’ accord raised the ceiling, but it did not take too long for the field to catch up with him. Watson topped the deal on a much more player-friendly package — the most player-friendly agreement in NFL history — while Aaron Rodgers became the first $50MM-AAV player days earlier in March 2022.
A host of QBs are now in the $50MM-per-year club, leading to the Chiefs infusing Mahomes’ contract with guarantees in September 2023, with Prescott hitting $60MM AAV. The $60MM-per-year club now houses two passers, and Lamar Jackson‘s camp will assuredly take note of Mahomes’ latest update.
Jackson carries favorable leverage compared to Mahomes, whose previous through-2031 arrangement gave the Chiefs flexibility — which they have continually used via restructures. The Chiefs have restructured Mahomes’ contract five times since its authorization; the latest change (in February) dropped his cap number to $34.65MM for 2026. That gave the Chiefs some breathing room, as they entered the offseason well over the cap.
The contract maxes out at $522.25MM, according to Schefter and Rapoport, with incentives and escalators present. This agreement comes more than a year after the Bills gave Josh Allen a monster adjustment by adding two more years to his lengthy contract. The only QB to remotely venture into Mahomes’ contractual territory — term length-wise — Allen signed a six-year Bills extension in 2021. After Allen’s 2024 MVP season, the team rewarded him with a six-year, $330MM contract that added two years to his previous pact. This Mahomes offering looks similar, but with four fully guaranteed years, the Kansas City icon fared better on that front.
It is debatable as to whether Allen has passed Mahomes in the QB pecking order exiting the 2025 season, and the Bills superstar is a year younger. But no debate exists as to the league’s most accomplished active QB.
The Chiefs had experienced a 50-year Super Bowl drought after their Super Bowl IV victory, which closed the sport’s AFL chapter, as the likes of Joe Montana, Trent Green and Alex Smith — among others in a QB carousel that formed a San Francisco-to-Kansas City pipeline — were unable to lift the franchise back to the game’s ultimate stage. Mahomes did, and he has played in five Super Bowls and seven AFC championship games through eight seasons as a starter.
Mahomes delivered his best statistical season in 2018, throwing 50 touchdown passes and reaching 5,097 passing yards in his first year succeeding Smith. A porous Chiefs defense could not stop Tom Brady and Co. in the AFC championship game, but Kansas City’s seminal Steve Spagnuolo hire soon after allowed Mahomes to have near-Brady-like defensive protection en route to forming the NFL’s only post-Patriots dynasty. The Chiefs won Super Bowls LIV, LVII and LVIII over the next five seasons, with Mahomes earning MVP honors in each game. Also receiving regular-season MVP acclaim in 2022, Mahomes created distance between himself and the field by that point.
Since then, the Chiefs have not rivaled their early Mahomes years on offense. The team ranked 15th in scoring in 2023 and ’24, with the Tyreek Hill trade — and a few misses at wide receiver — limiting the once-explosive attack. Travis Kelce moving into his mid-30s did not help matters, and Spagnuolo’s defense — a top-10 unit in six of the decorated DC’s seven seasons in K.C. — became an underrated component of this dynasty.
The Chiefs lost Mahomes to a season-ending knee injury in Week 15 last year, but the team was on the verge of elimination with the future first-ballot Hall of Famer at the wheel. Mahomes went 6-8 as a starter last season, as the Chiefs’ close-game mojo faded. The team ranked 21st in scoring offense, with the post-Mahomes period contributing to that placement. Wednesday’s commitment certainly shows no signs the franchise is concerned about its passer’s long-term viability.
Andy Reid, the Chiefs dynasty’s other pillar, has continually fended off retirement rumors. The NFL’s fourth-winningest all-time coach is heading into his 14th season in charge of the AFC West team. The Broncos toppled Reid’s bunch last season, going 14-3, while the Chargers swept the Chiefs with Mahomes starting both games. Reid, 68, will attempt to become the oldest HC to win a Super Bowl; Bruce Arians, 66 when his Buccaneers thrashed the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, currently holds that record.
Mahomes, who had missed only two games due to injury prior to his knee setback, did some work at Chiefs OTAs and is targeting a Week 1 return. The Chiefs acquired Justin Fields via trade, bringing in some insurance in the event the longtime starter is not ready. Mahomes has beat rumored injury recovery timetables in the past, most notably playing on a high ankle sprain in the 2022 playoffs, and comparable recoveries from ACL tears have commenced.
Seeing favorable AFC West draws in the years after Peyton Manning‘s retirement, the Chiefs now enter a season — for the first time in ages — in which they are not the surefire favorites to win the division. Kelce is entering an age-37 season, while Chris Jones is now 32. The team’s questions at wide receiver persist, with No. 1 target Rashee Rice currently in jail — while rehabbing from knee surgery — due to violating his probation. The Chiefs added Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker in free agency and made three top-40 picks in this year’s draft, using a 6-11 2025 record to their advantage.
The team will hope its cornerstone player will be back in Week 1. But for the long haul — which will feature the Chiefs moving across the Kansas state line into a new stadium in 2031 — no doubt exists about internal confidence in Mahomes, who remains the NFL’s only player signed beyond the 2030 season.
Latest On Rams, DT Aaron Donald
The Rams reached a blockbuster agreement to acquire Myles Garrett last week. Aaron Donald then dropped breadcrumbs about a potential unretirement. Understandably, the Rams are intrigued by this prospect.
Were Donald to unretire, he would again be the most accomplished player on the Rams’ roster. Garrett would be the only one close to the former all-world defensive lineman, who would be delaying his Hall of Fame induction by returning. While it is possible this situation drags on past training camp, teams may well need to prepare for a Rams D-line housing Garrett and Donald.
Rams DC Chris Shula said (via The Athletic’s Nate Atkins) he would welcome Donald back “with open arms”; the three-time Defensive Player of the Year retired months before Shula’s first season as Los Angeles’ defensive play-caller. Adding fuel to the fire here, ESPN’s Adam Schefter predicts Donald will return to the Rams after two years away.
While Schefter cautions no reporting is present on a Donald comeback being set just yet, but the veteran insider views it as “more likely than not” the 35-year-old D-line dynamo will be back. In surveying some other teams on the prospect of Donald returning to the Rams, Schefter indicates outside expectations are the NFC West power will find a way to bring Donald back.
Donald said last fall he did not have an itch to return to football, noting he had merely missed the camaraderie rather than the game itself. Several months later, he has openly teased a return. It would stand to reason the Rams would be prepared to use the legendary DT less than they previously did, as the 10-year Pro Bowler carried at least an 81% snap share on defense from 2017-23. In that span, Donald won three Defensive Player of the Year awards and helped the Rams to two Super Bowls and one title.
Since Donald’s retirement, the Rams have seen Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske become mainstays. Turner played 67% of the Rams’ defensive snaps last season, while Fiske logged a 48% number. Also rostering Poona Ford at nose tackle, the Rams would need to reduce two rising D-line talents’ playing time to accommodate a Donald return.
This would qualify as a champagne problem for a franchise that would have the makings of a D-line that potentially surpasses the 1960s-’70s Fearsome Foursome in terms of talent. The Rams teamed all-time greats Merlin Olsen and Deacon Jones together, to go with an evolving set of quality supporting-casters, more than 50 years ago to form a historic inside-outside D-line pair. Fiske, Ford and Turner’s presences accompanying a Donald-Garrett duo would stand to present tremendous blocking difficulties for opponents as the Rams attempt to “host” a Super Bowl for the second time.
Donald was attached to a three-year, $95MM deal — a raise provided after he threatened retirement post-Super Bowl LVI — and one season remains on that contract. The Rams have found money to bring in Garrett and Trent McDuffie this offseason. McDuffie signed a cornerback-record extension, while Garrett remains on his $40MM-AAV Browns contract — one the Rams restructured post-trade. L.A. also has Turner, Byron Young, Puka Nacua, Steve Avila, Warren McClendon. The team included Jared Verse in the Garrett trade but has decisions to make on several other young players. But if Donald truly wants to come back, the Rams will surely accommodate him.
Dolphins To Extend C Aaron Brewer
The Dolphins had signed Aaron Brewer to a mid-tier center contract in 2024, but after his breakthrough 2025 season, a new deal is in place. Brewer is now the NFL’s third-highest-paid center.
Miami’s new regime is giving Brewer a three-year, $52.5MM extension, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The deal will provide the veteran interior blocker with $37MM guaranteed. At $17.5MM per year, Brewer trails only Tyler Linderbaum and Creed Humphrey among center salaries. Brewer is now signed through 2029.
Plenty of rumblings about a Brewer payday emerged this offseason. Although new regimes regularly use their early months to evaluate holdover players — and this Dolphins power structure has made sweeping changes — Brewer joins De’Von Achane as extension recipients during the team’s offseason program. Achane signed a four-year, $64MM extension in May.
The Chris Grier-Mike McDaniel power duo had added Brewer on a three-year, $21MM deal in 2024. That represented a mid-market deal, though the pact being finalized months before Humphrey’s extension raised the center ceiling made Brewer’s terms reasonably player-friendly. But Linderbaum has since smashed through both the center and guard roofs, using unrestricted free agency to create a new sector on the center market.
Linderbaum’s AAV outpaces Humphrey’s by a staggering $9MM, but Brewer and Cam Jurgens join Humphrey on the market’s new second tier. Jurgens did see more in total guarantees ($43MM) compared to Brewer, and it will be interesting to see where the latter’s new deal lands in terms of fully guaranteed money.
Should the $17.5MM AAV be the contract’s base value, Brewer will surpass Jurgens’ salary ($17MM per annum). GM Jon-Eric Sullivan is launching a rebuild, as the Tua Tagovailoa release and trades of Jaylen Waddle and Minkah Fitzpatrick illustrate, but will ensure Brewer is around to block for free agent signing Malik Willis and perhaps a long-term successor.
Playing both guard and center with the Titans, Brewer worked his way up from the UDFA level into surefire starter. An injury-battered Titans O-line could count on the Texas State alum in 2022, when Brewer started 17 games at guard. Tennessee then placed a second-round RFA tender on him in Mike Vrabel‘s final offseason in charge. Moving to center in 2023, Brewer started 17 more games that season and created a nice market for himself. That led to the Dolphins paying him to begin snapping to Tagovailoa. The signing surely went better than the team anticipated.
Brewer landed a second-team All-Pro honor despite the Dolphins struggling in McDaniel’s final season. Pro Football Focus graded Brewer as its second-best center — behind Humphrey — while ESPN’s pass block win rate metric slotted the 28-year-old blocker ninth among all interior O-linemen. Although Miami did not see Tagovailoa rebound from a concerning 2024, Brewer’s work helped Achane to a career-best season. New HC Jeff Hafley will count on that duo moving forward.
The Dolphins have questions to answer up front as Hafley’s tenure starts. Austin Jackson accepted a pay cut after another injury-plagued season, and the veteran right tackle is in a contract year. The team has Patrick Paul entering a second season as its starting left tackle. The Dolphins are stationing first-round pick Kadyn Proctor — a tackle at Alabama — at left guard while putting 2025 second-rounder Jonah Savaiinaea in a competition to keep a starting job. Savaiinaea, who started at LG last season, is vying for the RG post with Jamaree Salyer and rookie D.J. Campbell.
Brewer represents some certainty for Miami’s new staff. Sullivan’s staff has now taken care of he and Achane, and it will be interesting to see if a Jordyn Brooks extension — one the former first-round linebacker has lobbied for — will come next in this transition period.
Eagles Sign A.J. Epenesa, Michael Jordan
Several weeks after A.J. Epenesa‘s Browns deal fell through, the veteran edge rusher has found a new home. The Eagles signed the former second-round pick, per a team announcement.
Philadelphia has signed Epenesa and guard Michael Jordan. The team waived linebackers Chandler Martin and Isiah King to clear roster space. Epenesa will head to Philly after six years in Buffalo.
Epenesa, 27, had committed to the Browns in March but saw the team express concerns about his physical and back out of the agreement. The Iowa product then visited the Dolphins and Bears but will vie to become an auxiliary rush option for an Eagles team that has again seen some turnover at its edge-rushing spots.
The team lost Jaelan Phillips in free agency but belatedly replaced him by trading for Jonathan Greenard during the draft. Philadelphia has also taken fliers on Arnold Ebiketie and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. The team released the unretired Brandon Graham, but that move may be procedural that and precede the franchise’s longest-tenured player returning. The Epenesa signing crowds Philly’s EDGE corps, with Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt in place as well. The Epenesa signing could also provide some insurance for the Eagles in case Graham does not re-sign.
Graham, 38, retired not long after Super Bowl LIX but agreed to come back in-season. The Eagles had just lost Za’Darius Smith to an in-season retirement. Graham then expressed interest at playing a 17th season. Already the only Eagle to play 16 years with the team, the 2010 first-round pick would seemingly factor into the organization’s supplementary EDGE situation, which would leave Ebiketie, Tryon-Shoyinka and Epenesa vying for limited playing time.
Playing well as an auxiliary Bills rusher from 2022-24, Epenesa only recorded 2.5 sacks last season. Buffalo consistently used Epenesa as a rotational cog, with Von Miller and then Gregory Rousseau anchoring the team’s pass rush. Epenesa tallied 6.5 sacks in 2022 and ’23, combining for 14 tackles for loss in those seasons. He then delivered a six-sack, eight-TFL 2024 to go with his only career safety. Epenesa does not have a sack in 14 career playoff games, and the Bills added Bradley Chubb in free agency before drafting Clemson edge rusher T.J. Parker in the second round.
The first- and second-most-famous Michael Jordans are unapproachable for the veteran O-lineman, but the enduring guard has continued to work as a starter at various stops. Brought in as a depth option by the Buccaneers last year, Jordan ended up starting nine of the 11 games he played. This came after he started 11 of 12 Patriots contests in 2024. Jordan was a 10-game Panthers starter in both 2020 and ’21, before serving as a 2022 Carolina backup and missing the 2023 season.
Jordan spent the 2023 season on the Packers’ practice squad and did not make the Pats or Bucs’ rosters out of training camp in the ensuing years. But the former Bengals fourth-rounder managed to move back onto each team’s roster for extended starter duty each year.
Pro Football Focus has never graded Jordan as a top-60 guard, but teams have continued to view him as a valuable backup. The Eagles return starters Landon Dickerson and Tyler Steen, though Dickerson considered retirement this offseason and missed time in 2025. Philly also drafted a guard in Round 6 (Micah Morris).
Meniscus Injury To Sideline Cardinals DT Kaleb Proctor; Latest On CB Garrett Williams
As the Cardinals transition to Mike LaFleur as head coach, they retained defensive coordinator Nick Rallis from the Jonathan Gannon period. Rallis’ unit has notable question marks along the defensive line, as the jury is still out on recent first-rounders Walter Nolen and Darius Robinson.
Arizona, which lost Calais Campbell in free agency, made another investment in the position early in the fourth round by selecting Southeastern Louisiana’s Kaleb Proctor. The No. 104 overall pick, though, may not be healthy when the the Cardinals open their season. LaFleur said (via Cards Wire’s Howard Balzer) Proctor suffered a torn meniscus during OTAs.
LaFleur did not rule out this being a season-ending injury. Proctor, among a handful of players from this draft class to not yet sign a rookie contract, was a consensus Division I-FCS All-American in 2025. He finished with nine sacks to become the Southland Conference’s Player of the Year. He was the first FCS player drafted this year.
The Cardinals saw Nolen run into multiple injuries derailing his rookie season. A calf injury suffered during offseason workouts sidelined the 2025 first-rounder until Week 8, and he suffered a season-ending knee injury two months later.
Nolen, who underwent surgery late last season, played just six games as a rookie. Robinson, meanwhile, finished his second season as Pro Football Focus’ lowest-graded interior D-lineman (among 127 regulars). Campbell rejoined the Ravens in free agency, though the Cardinals did bring back Roy Lopez after his Lions season. The team also signed Andrew Billings and Jonah Williams (not the two-year Arizona RT), but Proctor was the only D-lineman the team drafted this year.
Elsewhere on the Cardinals’ defense, Garrett Williams is rehabbing an Achilles tear suffered in Week 16. Arizona’s primary slot cornerback over the past three seasons, Williams played 10 games in 2025. He underwent surgery late in the season and is on track to return by Week 1, LaFleur added (via AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban).
Williams is expected to be back during training camp, per LaFleur, who places Week 1 as a realistic goal. This would be a welcome development for all parties, as Williams — a 2023 third-rounder — has logged at least a 75% snap share on defense over the past two seasons. The Syracuse product, who ranked as PFF’s No. 3 overall corner in 2024, is entering a contract year. The Cards do not much in the way of known commodities at corner, so having Williams back to open the season would be a nice bonus as Rallis attempts to revive a defense that ranked 31st last season.
Giants Optimistic Malik Nabers Will Be Ready For Week 1
Giants No. 1 receiver Malik Nabers remains in recovery from the torn ACL and meniscus he suffered last September. It has been a difficult rehab for Nabers, who required a second surgery – a cleanup procedure – in mid-April. While Nabers is still sidelined, Giants bigwigs are optimistic he will be ready when they open their season against the Cowboys on Sept. 13.
“I still think he’ll be fine Week 1,” general manager Joe Schoen told Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports on Monday. “So we’ll see. He’s trending in the right direction. Again, these things take time, so it’s not instant. Every patient is different.”
Head coach John Harbaugh took a similarly positive tone Wednesday, saying (via Dan Duggan of The Athletic) that Nabers is making “really good progress.” Harbaugh added he is “very hopeful that he’ll be back soon.” In Harbaugh’s estimation, Nabers is 70 to 80 percent through his rehab.
Nabers’ absence is the most glaring in the Giants’ receiving corps, but he isn’t their only wideout on the shelf. Darius Slayton is on the mend from core-muscle surgery, and the team saw Gunner Olszewski go down with a season-ending Achilles tear during practice on May 29. Scrambling for healthy bodies, the Giants reunited with Odell Beckham Jr. and also brought in JuJu Smith-Schuster and Braxton Berrios during a June 1 shopping spree. Those modest signings came a few months after the Giants added Calvin Austin and Darnell Mooney on the open market. They also traded up 31 picks to draft Malachi Fields in the third round (No. 74 overall).
Schoen admitted to Epstein that the Giants’ new-look WR group does not have a “true No. 1 alpha” with Nabers out, but he believes “there’s enough to go.” It is clear, however, that Nabers is the best player of the bunch. After going sixth overall in the 2024 draft, Nabers dazzled during a Pro Bowl rookie year in which he caught 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns. Last season’s injury, which he incurred in quarterback Jaxson Dart‘s first career start, limited him to four games. Nabers will be a little under a year removed from it when Week 1 arrives, and the Giants are hopeful he will be on the field for the first meaningful game of the Harbaugh era.
Pats Not ‘Exploring’ Stefon Diggs Reunion; TE Addition Possible
Although the Patriots released wide receiver Stefon Diggs in March, the four-time Pro Bowler was reportedly open to a new deal with the team as of mid-May. As expected, though, the Patriots went on to acquire wideout A.J. Brown from the Eagles a couple of weeks later. With Brown now the leader of a crowded receiving corps, Diggs will probably have to look elsewhere.
When head coach Mike Vrabel met with reporters Wednesday, he downplayed the chances of the Patriots re-signing Diggs, saying (via Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald), “Right now, I don’t think that that’s something that I think we’re exploring, but I would never say no.”
Diggs gave the Patriots strong production in what ended up as the only season of his three-year, $63.3MM contract with the team. In his return from the torn ACL he suffered in 2024 with the Texans, Diggs stayed healthy and led the Patriots in receptions (85), targets (121) and yards (1,013). He also caught four touchdowns, helping the Pats to a remarkable one-year turnaround in which they went from 4-13 to 14-3.
New England advanced all the way to Super Bowl LX, but the team couldn’t overcome Seattle in a 29-13 loss. The Patriots gave Diggs the ax a few weeks later and opened up $16.8MM in cap space at the cost of $9.7MM in dead money. At the time, Diggs was facing strangulation and assault charges for an alleged incident with his former personal chef. He was found not guilty in early May, though the league has continued to review the matter. It is unclear if he will face any discipline.
While the 32-year-old Diggs may be the best receiver left in free agency, Vrabel noted the Patriots are “happy” with the options they have. Beyond Brown, the club has expensive free agent pickup Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins,2025 third-round pick Kyle Williams, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas and Efton Chism in its top seven. Hollins and Williams are “near-locks” for roster spots, according to Kyed. On the other hand, Boutte has come up as a trade candidate. He is reportedly open to a change of scenery, but the fourth-year man claims he is still content in New England.
“I wouldn’t mind being here,” Boutte said this week (via Chad Graff of The Athletic): “I do want to be here.”
With Brown and Doubs playing on big-money deals, Boutte is not in good position to sign an extension as he heads into a contract year, Graff notes. At the same time, Graff does not believe the Patriots are so well off at the position that they would give Boutte away for a late-round pick. Meanwhile, Douglas is reportedly on the roster bubble and might lose his spot to Chism, who could be the Patriots’ kick returner.
Although another agreement with Diggs appears unlikely, the Patriots may be in the market for tight end help after losing Julian Hill to an undisclosed injury. They brought in the former Dolphin on a three-year, $15MM pact in free agency, but he abruptly went on season-ending IR on June 1.
Asked about a potential tight end addition, Vrabel said (via Kyed), “I think that’s somewhere where we’d have to address.”
The Patriots have a clear-cut No. 1 tight end in Hunter Henry. They also drafted Eli Raridon in the third round this year. CJ Dippre, Jack Westover and undrafted rookie Tanner Arkin round out the group, but they could have company soon.