Ravens, G John Simpson Agree To Deal
In need of improvements at the guard spot, the Ravens are turning to a familiar face. John Simpson is on his way back to Baltimore.
An agreement has been reached on a three-year, $30MM deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. Simpson served as a starter with the Ravens in 2023 before doing the same as a member of the Jets for the past two years. He will be counted on to again operate as a first-team staple during his second Baltimore stint.
More to come…
Steelers To Acquire, Extend Michael Pittman Jr.
The Colts retained wide receiver Alec Pierce with a mega-deal on Monday, but they will say goodbye to another key pass catcher. The team has agreed to trade Michael Pittman Jr. to the Steelers, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. The deal will be a late-round pick swap, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
The Steelers are awarding Pittman a three-year, $59MM extension, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The 28-year-old otherwise would have played out the last season of his contract in 2026.
Days after the Colts placed the $37.83MM transition tag on quarterback Daniel Jones, Pierce stayed in place on a four-year, $116MM agreement. That left the Colts in need of cap space. By saying goodbye to Pittman, they will save $24MM at the cost of $5MM in dead money.
A consistently strong contributor since the Colts grabbed him in Round 2 of the 2020 draft, Pittman has reached 80 catches in four of his six seasons. He has also exceeded 1,000 yards twice.
More to come…
Dolphins To Sign QB Malik Willis
Despite taking on a record-setting dead money sum from the impending Tua Tagovailoa release, the Dolphins will be the team that signs off on Malik Willis‘ second contract.
Willis is reuniting with Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley in Miami, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who reports the sides agreed on a three-year deal worth $67.5MM. Willis will receive $45MM guaranteed at signing.
While not a $30MM-per-year contract like recent rumors indicated, Willis will still cash in via that nice guarantee number. This figures to provide at least a two-year runway for Willis in Miami, which will spread the Tagovailoa dead cap hit through 2027. Still, a $99.2MM dead cap hit over that span and a $20MM-plus QB salary will be an interesting route to take. A bit of a smokescreen effort may have taken place on the Dolphins’ part, as Sullivan pointed to the team’s cap situation making it difficult to win the Willis sweepstakes.
In terms of AAV, Willis is set to hover in unoccupied territory. This number comes in south of the Baker Mayfield–Sam Darnold tier but well north of backup money. The full guarantee likely became a strong sweetener for the Jordan Love backup, who drew interest from a few teams — the Browns, Cardinals and Steelers among them. Presenting a strange free agency profile with six career starts, Willis ranked seventh on PFR’s top 50 free agents list. He will do much better than Justin Fields in terms of fully guaranteed money; the Jets gave their 2025 starter at $30MM guarantee.
More to come.
Panthers, Jaelan Phillips Agree To Deal
As expected, the Panthers have made a big splash early with respect to a pass rush addition. Jaelan Phillips is heading to Carolina.
Team and player have agreed to terms, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This will be a four-year, $120MM pact, he adds. Phillips has secured $80MM in guarantees on his second NFL contract.
More to come…
Commanders To Give LT Laremy Tunsil Record-Setting Extension
The Commanders have their extension agreement with Laremy Tunsil in place. Long rumored as a player Washington wanted to pay, Tunsil has secured a third career extension.
Tunsil agreed to a two-year, $60.2MM extension, insider Jordan Schultz reports. He is the NFL’s first $30MM offensive lineman. For the third time in his career, Tunsil has secured a market-setting extension.
GM Adam Peters said a Tunsil deal was a priority. Considering the four-pick haul the Commanders sent the Texans for the Pro Bowl blocker, that made sense. Tunsil’s deal aligns with Jayden Daniels‘ rookie contract, and Washington entered Monday among the league’s leaders in cap space. Tunsil managing to score another market-topping deal ahead of his age-32 season burnishes his credentials as one of this era’s savviest negotiators.
Rumblings about an extension push emerged in December. The Texans paid the former first-rounder in 2020 and 2023. Tunsil played the 2025 season tied to a three-year, $75MM deal. That pact was set to expire after the 2026 season. The Texans not prioritizing a Tunsil deal in 2024 led them to move on, and after the Commanders saw Tunsil primarily protect Marcus Mariota last season, they will secure his rights beyond 2026 to block for Daniels. Tunsil’s deal now runs through 2028.
More to come.
Rams To Sign CB Jaylen Watson
After acquiring Trent McDuffie from Kansas City last week, the Rams have now taken another of the Chiefs’ top cornerbacks. The Rams have agreed to a contract with Jaylen Watson, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. It’s a three-year, $51MM deal with $34MM in guarantees, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
This is another bold strike by the Rams, who have poured significant resources into their secondary over the past couple months. Before adding McDuffie in a blockbuster trade and agreeing to terms with Watson, they re-signed safeties Quentin Lake and Kamren Curl to extensions worth a combined worth up to $81MM combined.
More to come…
Bucs To Re-Sign TE Cade Otton
Instead of testing the market during his first trip to free agency, Cade Otton will choose to remain in place. A new Buccaneers pact is being finalized with the fifth-year tight end, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
More to come…
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Chiefs To Sign RB Kenneth Walker
The Chiefs are changing course at running back. After many years with low-cost solutions, Kansas City will bring in this year’s top free agent prize at the position.
Kenneth Walker and the Chiefs are in agreement on a deal, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. Rumored as potentially not being ready to pay up for Walker, Kansas City is doing just that after its recent run games have underwhelmed. It is a three-year, $43.05MM deal, insider Jordan Schultz tweets. The Chiefs are authorizing $28.7MM guaranteed, per Schultz, who adds the contract can max out at $45MM.
This guarantee trails only Saquon Barkley‘s $36MM number among running backs, even if it represents the total guarantee figure rather than what is guaranteed at signing. This is a massive number for Walker, who split time with Zach Charbonnet last season as the Seahawks did not view their starter as a plus in the passing game. Pass pro is certainly not Walker’s strength, but he is coming off a Super Bowl where he finished with 161 scrimmage yards and became the first running back Super Bowl MVP since Terrell Davis 28 years ago.
Kansas City was believed to be set to come away with a running back during this year’s free agency, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, who also linked the team to Travis Etienne. Ranked higher on PFR’s free agent top 50, Walker represents the bigger prize due to being two years younger (25).
The Seahawks were in touch with Walker leading up to the legal tampering period, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, but recent rumors had pointed to the defending champs standing down if this market escalated beyond their comfort zone. Pelissero mentioned the Chiefs as a suitor today, and the team will deviate from its low-cost RB plans — which have been in place since Jamaal Charles‘ release nearly 10 years ago.
Following the Charles era, the Chiefs identified Kareem Hunt as a starter and saw him with the rushing title as a rookie. Hunt’s ugly assault on a woman at a Cleveland hotel being captured on video led the Chiefs to cut him during the 2018 season. After the team used Damien Williams as its RB1 in the wake of that separation, the team missed on a first-round pick (Clyde Edwards-Helaire). Isiah Pacheco bailed the Chiefs out on that whiff, but a 2024 leg fracture slowed the seventh-round pick. Both Pacheco and Hunt, who returned to Missouri in 2024, are unsigned.
More to come.
Steelers To Re-Sign LB Cole Holcomb
Cole Holcomb will be remaining in place with Pittsburgh next season. The veteran linebacker has agreed to a new Steelers pact.
A two-year, $5MM pact has been agreed to, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. Earlier today, Ari Meriov of the 33rd Team reported a deal was expected on this front. Holcomb bounced back from in 2025 after missing the previous season, and he will remain a key figure in Pittsburgh’s defense moving forward.
More to come…