Jonathan Taylor Wants To Be ‘Colt For Life’
Thanks to the four-year, $64MM extension he signed last month, the Dolphins’ De’Von Achane leads all running backs in contract value. With fellow stars Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs and Jonathan Taylor also looking for extensions this summer, Achane might not sit atop the mountain for long.
Speaking about his future on Wednesday, Taylor told reporters he wants to re-up with the Colts before the season. The three-time Pro Bowler has informed management of that (via Mike Chappell of FOX 59).
“I’d love to be a Colt for life,” said Taylor, who has thrived in Indianapolis since the former Wisconsin standout entered the NFL as a second-round pick in 2020.
In 2023, the last time Taylor angled for new contract, negotiations between him and the team became so contentious that he requested a trade that July. Nothing materialized before the season, and Taylor wound up beginning the year on the PUP list as a result of an ankle injury. After the Colts did not receive any offers firm offers for Taylor while he was on the shelf, the two sides finally hammered out a three-year, $42MM extension in early October.
At the time of signing, Taylor placed third among RBs in average annual value and fourth in fully guaranteed money ($26.5MM). He’s now seventh in AAV and ninth in guarantees. With the 27-year-old Taylor still among the league’s elite backs, he is in line for another raise.
Taylor dealt with injuries in each year from 2022-24 and missed the equivalent of a full season (17 games), but his health bounced back during a full campaign in 2025. The 5-foot-10, 226-pound workhorse led the league in carries (323), finished third in yards (1,585; his fourth 1,000-yard season) and scored nine touchdowns on the ground. Taylor also found the end zone twice as a pass catcher and logged career highs in receptions (46) and yards (378).
The Colts got a couple of important tasks done earlier in the offseason when they made pricey commitments to quarterback Daniel Jones (two years, $88MM) and wide receiver Alec Pierce (four years, $114MM). Taylor still stands out as the best offensive weapon Indianapolis has, which should increase his chances of landing his own multiyear deal sometime soon.
Bills’ Michael Hoecht Uncertain For Camp
Seven months since he tore his Achilles last November, Bills outside linebacker Michael Hoecht participated in individual drills at minicamp Tuesday (via Sal Capaccio of WGR 550). That’s a good sign for Hoecht as training camp approaches, though it is uncertain if he will be ready by then.
“[The athletic trainers and medical staff] really don’t want me to put timelines on it, but I’m going to put as much effort, I can’t put a timeline onto it, but I can put as much effort as possible into it,” Hoecht said last week (via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN).
Hoecht indicated the ultimate goal is to be on the field when Buffalo’s season kicks off in Houston on Sept. 13. Heading into the second season of a three-year, $24MM contract, the former Ram should play a notable role in the Bills’ defense if he is healthy. Hoecht’s first year in Buffalo went down as a disappointment, and his injury wasn’t the lone culprit.
Just four days after Hoecht signed with the Bills in March 2025, the NFL hit him with a six-game suspension for violating its policy on performance-enhancing substances. The ban prevented the 28-year-old from debuting until Week 8, but he made an immediate impact in a 40-9 blowout victory in Carolina. After forcing a fumble and registering 1.5 sacks against the Panthers, he chipped in another half-sack in a 28-21 win over the Chiefs in Week 9. However, Hoecht suffered his injury that afternoon, limiting him to just two games in 2025.
As the Bills transition to a 3-4 base defense under new coordinator Jim Leonhard, Hoecht is a key figure on their pass-rushing depth chart. Barring setbacks in his recovery, Hoecht and second-round rookie T.J. Parker will slot in behind starting OLBs Greg Rousseau and Bradley Chubb. The Bills brought in ex-Chief Mike Danna in free agency to add more depth, while Javon Solomon and Andre Jones will also compete for reserve spots. Joey Bosa and A.J. Epenesa – members of last year’s team – are among remaining free agent possibilities, but the Bills have not shown public interest in re-signing either player.
Elsewhere in the Bills’ LB corps, Dorian Williams is dealing with an undisclosed injury, but head coach Joe Brady is hopeful he will be good to go for camp (via Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News). Like Hoecht, a healthy Williams could carve out an important role, especially considering the Bills have not re-signed Shaq Thompson or Matt Milano in free agency.
While Williams has come off the bench in 28 of 50 career games, the fourth-year pro may start alongside Terrel Bernard in the middle of the Bills’ defense in 2026. As things stand, their only other choices are fourth-round rookie Kaleb Elarms-Orr, Joe Andreessen (primarily a special teamer), Keonta Jenkins, free agent pickup Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, 2024 undrafted free agent Jimmy Ciarlo and 2026 UDFA Theron Gaines.
Ravens DL Calais Campbell Expects To Retire After 2026
Four years after his first Ravens stint ended, defensive lineman Calais Campbell reunited with the team in free agency earlier this spring. Campbell expects the one-year, $5.5MM contract he signed to go down as his last in the NFL.
Discussing his future on Tuesday, the soon-to-be 40-year-old said (via Jamison Hensley of ESPN): “I always tell myself — and this year I feel it as strongly as ever — that this is probably going to be my last year. I know I said that last year and the year before, but I genuinely meant it at the time. I always tell myself to play well enough to be able to get a job again if I want to. If I go out there and perform to the level I want to play, I’m probably going to have to turn somebody down next year. That’s the ideal scenario. As of right now, I’m playing this year as if it’s my last year.”
As Campbell noted, he will likely field offers in 2027 if he continues to stand out this year. Then a member of the Cardinals, Campbell indicated last August that 2025 would be his final season. However, things changed after the potential Hall of Famer showed no serious signs of slowing down in the 18th year of his career. He completed his third straight 17-start season and notched 43 tackles (nine TFL), 16 quarterback hits, 6.5 sacks and two pass deflections. Campbell’s performance impressed Pro Football Focus, which ranked him 23rd among 127 qualifying interior D-linemen.
Also a former Jaguar, Falcon and Dolphin, Campbell revealed the presence of Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver influenced his decision to return to Baltimore.
“Weave has been my favorite coach,” the six-time Pro Bowler said. “He’s probably the main reason why I came back here.”
Weaver, who spent the previous two seasons as the Dolphins’ D-coordinator, is beginning his third stint with the Ravens. He played for them from 2002-05 and then held multiple roles on former head coach John Harbaugh‘s staff from 2021-23. Weaver was the assistant defensive line coach for all three of those years, and Campbell was in the fold for two of them.
As Campbell enters what he expects to be his last season, the 2010s All-Decade Team member will have a chance to continue climbing up a couple of all-time lists. Campbell has played 278 games, leaving him five away from passing Jim Marshall for most ever by a defensive lineman. He also has 125 sacks, which ranks 34th in league history. Recording at least six sacks in 2026 would vault him into the top 30.
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert ‘Had Other Opportunities’ In Free Agency
A few days after free agency opened in March, tight end Dallas Goedert re-signed with the Eagles on a one-year, $7MM guarantee. Goedert is now poised to play a ninth straight season in Philadelphia, but the career-long Eagle heard from other teams during his brief trip to the open market.
“I was able to test free agency a little bit,” he said Tuesday (h/t: Josh Alper of PFT). “Had opportunities to go elsewhere. Nothing was a better opportunity than I thought I could have here. Being able to play in the same place for nine years is special. It would’ve had to be something really drastic to have me try to sign somewhere else.”
Just as Goedert wanted to stay in Philadelphia, it was in the team’s best interest to re-sign him. Not only did Goedert remain a key part of the Eagles’ offense in 2025, but losing him would have negatively affected their cap situation. The Eagles would have taken on $20.49MM in dead money had they failed to re-sign Goedert. Hoping to prevent that, the Eagles and Goedert agreed to push back the void date on his contract on multiple occasions. Doing so bought them enough time to hammer out a new deal.
An Eagle since they chose him in the second round of the 2018 draft, Goedert now ranks fifth in franchise history in catches (409), tied for ninth in touchdowns (35) and 14th in receiving yards (4,676). He has accumulated those numbers despite missing time in every season since 2019. The 31-year-old played 15 of 17 games in 2025 and piled up 60 catches for 591 yards and a team-leading 11 scores, which set a single-season franchise record for his position.
The Eagles are likely to lean on Goedert as an important cog in their passing attack again this year, especially after trading receiver A.J. Brown to the Patriots. They also drafted a potential heir apparent in second-rounder Eli Stowers, giving new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion and quarterback Jalen Hurts a pair of gifted pass catchers at the position. That wasn’t the case last year, as backup tight ends Grant Calcaterra and Kylen Granson combined for just 16 receptions. Calcaterra has since joined Goedert in re-signing with the Eagles, who also added blocking specialist Johnny Mundt in free agency, while Granson left for Tennessee.
Todd Monken: Browns’ QB Competition To Continue Into Training Camp
The Browns have split first-team reps at the quarterback position this spring, with new head coach Todd Monken preferring to have a clearly-defined starter in place by the end of June’s minicamp. Instead, the competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders is set to continue.
“I’m not going to name a No. 1,” Monken said on Tuesday (via Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot) when speaking about the timeline for a decision. “I shouldn’t say that. Chances are I will not. Now, once we get to the fall, we’ll have to dissect the reps how we see fit. I just don’t see it after the way Shedeur’s played and the way Deshaun’s played. They both played well enough to earn out the right to compete to start.”
Barring a surprise turnaround in the next day or two, Cleveland’s minicamp – and thus all spring offseason work – will wrap up without any clarity at the QB spot. Sanders took over first-team duties late in his rookie season, but Watson has managed to recover from the pair of Achilles tears which kept him sidelined through the 2025 campaign. Both passers face the possibility of a high draft investment next April, but for now attention will be focused on their performances in camp.
Watson is on the books for one more season as things stand, with his most recent restructure setting up a widely expected post-June 1 release in 2027. However, the much-maligned trade acquisition is open to staying in Cleveland beyond this season. Watson, who will turn 31 early in the coming campaign, has totaled just 19 appearances over the course of his Browns tenure.
Sanders was initially seen as the favorite with respect to the Browns’ QB1 gig in 2027. Watson has, however, more recently pulled into the lead. Questions about the involvement of ownership on this front have dated back to the blockbuster swap (and fully guaranteed extension) that brought Watson into the fold, and they will no doubt continue if the ex-Houston Pro Bowler finds himself atop the depth chart in Week 1.
Sanders fell to the fifth round of last year’s draft and did not take any first-team reps during training camp as Cleveland sorted through a logjam of passers. The trades sending Kenny Pickett, and then Joe Flacco, out of the organization led to a brief starting stint for fellow 2025 draftee Dillon Gabriel. That was followed by Sanders closing out the season with seven starts. The 24-year-old has drawn praise from Monken and Co. so far, and his rookie contract runs through 2028.
Last week’s Myles Garrett trade added further to Cleveland’s draft capital in 2027 and beyond. Whether or not a Day 1 QB selection is pursued next April will surely be influenced in large part by the play of Watson and Sanders, but the pecking order between those two will not be settled until the summer.
G Joel Bitonio Retires
Joel Bitonio‘s future remained uncertain throughout the 2026 offseason. Another Browns contract remained something the team was open to, but the decorated guard has elected to hang up his cleats at the age of 34.
“Truthfully, as time passed and my career kept going, there was never a point where I could envision myself in a different uniform,” Bitonio said in a statement on Tuesday. “Wearing that orange helmet and being part of this franchise – from getting drafted to signing three contracts – I felt a loyalty to the Browns, and it gave me a sense of pride to represent a fan base who is consistently loyal to us. I started the job here, and once I got to a certain point, I knew I wanted to finish the job in Cleveland.
“Now that job is finished. After 12 seasons of wearing No. 75 in brown and orange, I have officially decided to retire.”
For multiple years, retirement has been a talking point in Bitonio’s case. The seven-time Pro Bowler managed to play out the entirety of his three-year extension signed in 2021, and he agreed to delay the void date on his expiring pact in February. Remaining on the open market well into the spring, Bitonio could have easily explored his options with respect to other teams. To no surprise, though, he has chosen to end his playing career after playing exclusively in Cleveland.
A second-round pick in 2014, Bitonio immediately took on a starting role during his rookie season. He remained a fixture at the left guard spot through this past season, performing as one of the league’s best interior blockers along the way. The Nevada product was a Pro Bowler every year from 2018-24, and he earned an All-Pro nod (second-team on three occasions, first-team twice) during the first five seasons of that stretch.
Partnering with Wyatt Teller over a seven-year period, Bitonio was a key figure on one of the league’s top interior offensive lines for much of his career. Teller departed in free agency, adding him to the long list of blockers from 2025 who are no longer in place for Cleveland. The team kept the door open to a new Bitonio deal, but his retirement will leave a challenging vacancy to fill moving forward as the Browns proceed with a completely revamped O-line.
In all, Bitonio totaled 180 combined regular and postseason appearances, starting every one of them. His NFL tenure will come to an end after he amassed just over $107MM in career earnings.
Rams LT Alaric Jackson Arrested On Domestic Battery Charge
Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson was arrested Monday night on a felony domestic battery charge, as first reported by Dennis Broad of NBC4 Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Police Department has since confirmed news of the arrest to ESPN’s Sarah Barshop. Jail records show Jackson was booked at 4:24am local time and released at 7:20am. A $50K bond was paid in this case. No dates have been set for a hearing or court date at this point, and neither Jackson nor the Rams have issued a statement.
Police were called to Jackson’s home late on Monday night. Upon arrival, they learned of an argument between Jackson and a woman; the report indicates Jackson believed the woman was filming him on her phone and attempted to take it out of her hand. The alleged victim had scratch marks on her arms, according to investigators.
In 2024, Jackson began the season by serving a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Few details on the incident resulting in the ban were known at the time, but it has since been learned Jackson allegedly recorded a woman during sex without her consent, then refused to delete the video. A civil suit was filed this past November.
After going undrafted in 2021, Jackson signed with the Rams. He has remained in the organization ever since, racking up 51 starts and 57 appearances on the blindside. The 27-year-old is in position to remain Los Angeles’ left tackle starter in 2026 in what would be his fourth straight season atop the depth chart. Jackson is owed just under $20MM for the coming campaign, and his contract runs through 2027.
Christian Izien To Fill Kerby Joseph’s Role In Lions’ Defense
Lions safety Kerby Joseph may not be ready for Week 1 of the 2026 regular season as he wrestles with a degenerative knee condition that sidelined him for much of last year.
Head coach Dan Campbell said last week that the team would not know more about Joseph’s prognosis until they were well into training camp. In the meantime, according to Justin Rogers of the Detroit Football Network, the Lions have tapped free agent signing Christian Izien to step into Joseph’s free safety role over the top of their defense.
Izien emerged as the Buccaneers’ primary nickel defender as an undrafted rookie in 2023 before stepping into a more varied role in 2024 with 308 snaps at free safety, 205 in the slot, and 135 in the box, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). But last year, the 26-year-old was pushed to the periphery by Tampa Bay’s offseason additions to their secondary and played just 166 defensive snaps in total. It initially seemed like he might have to fight for a rotational role to re-establish himself with a new team, but Joseph’s ongoing knee troubles have opened a door to a potential starting job.
Joseph has played a majority of his career snaps at free safety with 24.7% in the box and 14.5% in the slot (via PFF). But in 2025, Detroit’s first year under defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, he saw more time in the first two roles and a significant drop in the final in his six games before going down. Izien’s experience would seem to be a better fit for the diverse usage from Joseph’s first three seasons, but the expected return of Brian Branch and the signing of Chuck Clark give Detroit other options for slot and box duties.
Izien did primarily play free safety for two of his years at Rutgers, but his junior and senior seasons featured more involvement closer to the line of scrimmage. He is back at his former spot, now in the Lions defense, and can focus purely on that role rather than lining up all over the secondary. The team is still holding out hope that Joseph can play sooner rather than later, but until and unless that happens, Izien seems poised for a key role in Detroit’s defense.
Chiefs, OT Wanya Morris “Agreed To Explore Trades”
Wanya Morris is looking to play elsewhere in 2026, and the Chiefs are willing to oblige. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Chiefs and the offensive lineman have “agreed to explore trade options.” Morris is looking for an opportunity where he can play more, per Fowler.
The 2023 third-round pick has spent his entire career in Kansas City, where he’s started 16 of his 43 appearances. He had his most significant role in 2024, when he spent several months in the starting lineup in place of Kingsley Suamataia. The acquisition and subsequent injury of D.J. Humphries forced the Chiefs to move Joe Thuney to LT, and Morris had a minor role throughout the subsequent playoffs.
This past season, the 25-year-old only got a single start in his 12 games. He landed on injured reserve in December with a knee injury.
Prior to the 2025 season, the Chiefs added free agent Jaylon Moore and first-round pick Josh Simmons, which locked Morris into a bench gig for the foreseeable future. Jawaan Taylor was cut by the Chiefs in March, meaning Morris could have been in contention for the top backup OT gig. If the team does find a home for the lineman, then that role would likely go to the likes of Esa Pole, Ethan Driskell, Chukwuebuka Godrick, or Matt Waletzko.
Browns Complete Draft Class Signings With 1st-Round WR KC Concepcion
The Browns have now signed their full 2026 draft class to rookie deal. First-round receiver KC Concepcion has put pen to paper on his first professional contract, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Concepcion, 21, was the No. 24 pick in April’s draft. He is set to earn just over $20MM in fully guaranteed money across the next four years, including a signing bonus worth roughly $11MM, per OverTheCap.
All first-rounders have fully guaranteed contracts with values that are set by the CBA’s rookie pay scale. That leaves less to be negotiated between player and team, though payment schedules have become a common battleground. The Browns came to terms with Spencer Fano, their other first-round pick, and the rest of their draft class far quicker than with Concepcion, indicating there were a few sticking points in his deal.
Now, all 10 of the Browns’ 2026 draft picks are under contract for the next four years, including Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston, who went in the second round, 15 picks after Concepcion Boston was viewed as a potential first-round talent by some, as was Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, who Cleveland traded up to snag at No. 58 overall.
That core quartet represents a second strong draft in a row for Browns general Andrew Berry. Last year’s No. 5 pick, Mason Graham, did not flash as a rookie but still profiles as a long-term anchor for the defensive line. Second-round linebacker Carson Schwesinger was named Defensive Rookie of the Year, and fellow Day 2 picks Quinshon Judkins and Harold Fannin both carved out clear roles in the offense moving forward. If either Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders can evolve into a competent starter – or the team finally lands their long-awaited franchise QB in the 2027 draft – the Browns would seem to have all the pieces to finally move back into playoff contention in the next few years.