Colts Release S Nasir Adderley
Slot cornerback Kenny Moore was not the only defender the Colts parted with on Thursday. The team also announced that it released safety Nasir Adderley and waived linebacker John Bullock.
This ends a short stay in Indianapolis for Adderley, who came out of a three-year retirement to sign with the club on April 14. The move briefly reunited the former Charger with Colts head coach Shane Steichen, who was on Los Angeles’ staff during Adderley’s first two seasons.
After a standout career at Delaware, Adderley joined the Chargers as a second-round pick (60th overall) in 2019. He played in just four games during an injury-shortened rookie year, but Adderley emerged as a full-time starter in his second season.
From 2020-22, Adderley amassed 44 starts in 46 games and totaled three interceptions. He paired with star safety Derwin James for two of those seasons. After picking off a personal-best two passes and ranking as Pro Football Focus’ 36th-best safety in ’22, Adderley unexpectedly hung up his cleats in lieu of pursuing a contract in free agency.
Now that the Colts have gone in another direction, it is unclear if Adderley will continue his comeback attempt. For the Colts’ part, Adderley’s release should not have much of an effect on their safety depth, as they added third-rounder A.J. Haulcy in the draft. He may start next to Cam Bynum as a rookie and replace Nick Cross, who signed with the Commanders in free agency. Indianapolis also counts Hunter Wohler and free agent pickups Juanyeh Thomas and Jonathan Owens among its safety options.
Bullock, 25, joined the Colts as a waiver claim from the Buccaneers in the first week of January. Despite going undrafted last year, the Nebraska product played in 15 of the Buccaneers’ games as a rookie. Bullock was on the field for just five defensive plays, but he ranked fourth on the Bucs in special teams snap share (56.98%).
Panthers Sign First-Round OT Monroe Freeling
With the Panthers set to begin rookie minicamp tomorrow, the team has signed a handful of their draft picks. The team announced the signing of six rookies today, including first-round offensive tackle Monroe Freeling.
The Panthers reportedly entered the first round with a “tackle or bust” mentality, and they landed one of the draft’s top positional prospects in Freeling. The Georgia product exclusively played left tackle during his collegiate career, including a 2025 campaign where he earned second-team All-SEC honors. Freeling possesses the length and athleticism that teams seek from their LTs, although scouts did note that he needs to add some weight to compete in the NFL.
The Freeling selection could also lead to some interesting roster decisions for the franchise. The team is returning longtime RT Taylor Moton and is still rostering LT Ikem Ekwonu on a fifth-year option. Ekwonu is set to miss the beginning of the 2026 season, but the team seemingly filled that temporary hole by signing Rasheed Walker to a one-year deal worth just $4MM. Depth is never a bad thing, but it will be interesting to see how the OL ultimately shakes out, and the team’s surplus of OTs could potentially lead to some moves.
The team’s other signings today included:
- Round 3, No. 83: Chris Brazzell II (WR, Tennessee)
- Round 4, No. 129 (from Bears): Will Lee III (CB, Texas A&M)
- Round 5, No. 144 (from Titans via Panthers): Sam Hecht (C, Kansas State)
- Round 5, No. 151 (from Dolphins): Zakee Wheatley (S, Penn State)
- Round 7, No. 227 (from Dolphins): Jackson Kuwatch (LB, Miami (OH))
This leaves the Panthers with only one unsigned draft pick: second-round DT Lee Hunter. While it’s notable that the Texas Tech product wasn’t included among the team’s other signings, there’s a chance he quickly inks his deal to be in attendance for tomorrow’s minicamp.
Buccaneers Sign Round 1 EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.
Rueben Bain Jr. was not viewed as likely to be available at No. 15. The Buccaneers were believed to have given the Miami defensive end a top-five grade on their board. Tampa Bay entered the draft in need of EDGE help, and the team exited Round 1 with one of the top prospects at the position.
The Bucs have made quick work of signing Bain to his rookie contract. The sides agreed to terms on Bain’s first-round slot deal Thursday, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud. Bain’s deal comes fully guaranteed — worth $22.79MM — and will include a fifth-year option for the 2030 season.
[RELATED: Bucs Exercise DL Calijah Kancey’s Fifth-Year Option]
Tampa Bay was in the Trey Hendrickson market, something GM Jason Licht confirmed this week, and pursued Jonathan Greenard via trade. but ended up with a lower-cost option (Al-Quadin Muhammad — at one year and $4MM) in free agency. As Muhammad profiled as a stopgap alongside contract-year rusher YaYa Diaby, the Bucs now have Bain in place as a high-end developmental option behind the veterans. Diaby is an extension candidate, and Bain’s rookie deal would complement a second contract for the team’s top incumbent edge rusher nicely.
Linked to trading down from No. 15, the Bucs were “over the moon” to come away with Bain in that spot. Bain was mentioned as a candidate to go in the top 10, but potential EDGE-seeking teams Kansas City and New Orleans went in different directions.
An arm-length issue, albeit one that may not have been as clear-cut as it seemed, impacted Bain’s draft stock. He was also involved in a car accident in which one of the passengers in the vehicle he was driving died. The latter issue did not bring charges, only a careless driving citation, and it was not believed to have much effect on the ex-Hurricane’s perception among teams entering the draft; teams had known about the incident for longer than the public.
Diaby hit as a third-round pick for the Bucs, but the team has not seen a player eclipse eight sacks in a season since Shaquil Barrett‘s 2021 campaign. The team whiffed on first-rounder Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, and its 2025 Haason Reddick free agency addition did not work out. Diaby’s seven sacks paced the Bucs last season; no one else reached the five-sack mark. That has been a theme for Tampa Bay in recent years, even as Vita Vea has been one of the NFL’s best defensive tackles in this span.
Bain, 21, registered 7.5 sacks as a freshman in 2023 and tallied 9.5 to help Miami reach the CFP championship game. Bain racked up 15.5 tackles for loss last season, earning All-America acclaim. While an edge rusher by trade, Bain worked as an inside disruptor at points for the Hurricanes as well. That would give Tampa Bay some options.
The Chiefs were believed to view Bain as their backup plan to Mansoor Delane, but Kansas City left Bain on the board when Cleveland greenlit a trade that sent the draft’s top cornerback prospect to Missouri. Staying in Florida, Bain will attempt to give the Bucs a dependable edge-rushing presence after falling to 15.
Bears, C Garrett Bradbury Agree To Restructure
In the aftermath of Drew Dalman‘s retirement, the Bears found themselves in need of a veteran center. Chicago was among the teams which showed free agent interest in Tyler Linderbaum, but the trade route wound up being taken.
The Bears swung a deal with the Patriots for Garrett Bradbury in March. That acquisition gave Chicago a new starter for 2026, the final year of Bradbury’s contract. The ex-Vikings veteran’s deal has been revised recently.
A restructure has been worked out between team and player in this case, as detailed by Spotrac. Bradbury has seen $1MM in incentives converted into a guarantee. As a result, he is now owed $3.7MM in locked-in base salary. Bradbury can collect an additional $1MM through workout and per-game roster bonuses. He will carry a cap charge of $4.7MM in 2026.
Chicago still has 2025 trade acquisitions Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson in place at the guard positions. Right tackle Darnell Wright remains under team control for another two seasons with 2027 marking his fifth-year option campaign. The left tackle spot, by contrast, is much less certain. It remains to be seen if Ozzy Trapilo will able to play in 2026, so Braxton Jones or recent addition Jedrick Wills could see notable time on the blindside next season.
Regardless of how things play out on that front, Bradbury will spend the summer aiming to cement his first-team status. The Bears drafted Logan Jones in the second round, making him the team’s planned long-term option at the center spot. For now, though, Bradbury is in place. His Bears deal now includes a bump in guarantees, pointing further to his importance for 2026.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/5/26
Only one NFL team finalized a 2026 draft pick signing on Wednesday:
Denver Broncos
- TE Dallen Bentley (seventh round, Utah)
Bentley was the second-to-last pick in the draft, leaving him one spot away from the Mr. Irrelevant title that went to new teammate Red Murdock instead. His four-year rookie contract is worth just over $4.5MM, per OverTheCap, though the only guaranteed portion is a roughly $123k signing bonus.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/5/26
Today’s mid- to late-round rookie signings from the 2026 NFL Draft:
Denver Broncos
- LB Red Murdock (seventh round, Buffalo)
Kansas City Chiefs
- RB Emmett Johnson (fifth round, Nebraska)
The Broncos have secured the signature of Mr. Irrelevant who received a $122K signing bonus, per Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post. Johnson joins a crowded backfield in Kansas City, where he’ll work for reps behind free agent addition — and Super Bowl LX MVP — Kenneth Walker, all the time competing against another free agent signing in Emari Demercado and last year’s draft pick, Brashard Smith.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/5/26
Here are Tuesday’s NFL minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: T Trevonte Sylvester
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived: G Sidney Fugar
Miami Dolphins
- Received international exemption: TE Seydou Traore
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: OLB Isiah King
- Reverted to IR: S Tucker Large
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Reverted to IR: S Daequan Hardy
The Ravens and Cowboys opted to cut two linemen from their recently signed undrafted free agent classes, while the Steelers and Eagles both made moves to waive their safeties with an injury designation then revert them to injured reserve. For as long as they are on IR during the offseason, they will not count against the team’s 90-man roster limit.
Traore will also not count against Miami’s 90-man limit; the team’s fifth-round pick out of Mississippi State was born in France but raised in London before moving to Florida in an attempt to play college ball. He earned a scholarship offer from Arkansas State, where he played for two years before transferring to the Bulldogs.
Replacing the UDFA they reverted to IR, the Eagles have added King, a versatile linebacker, after he went undrafted out of Idaho. A two-year starter for the Vandals, King split his time fairly evenly last year between the box, the slot, and the edge.
Giants Claim DT Zacch Pickens
The Giants made one of Tuesday’s most noteworthy moves in agreeing to sign defensive tackle D.J. Reader to a two-year, $12.5MM deal. Not content to stop adding at the position, the Giants have claimed Zacch Pickens off waivers from the Chiefs.
Pickens is quickly landing on his feet after the Chiefs cut him Monday. The 6-foot-4, 303-pounder spent all of last season in the Kansas City organization, mostly as a member of its practice squad. Pickens got into three games and played 59 defensive snaps.
Before arriving in KC, Pickens spent the first two years of his career in Chicago. The Bears invested a third-round pick (No. 64 overall) in the South Carolina product in 2023, but the move did not work out as hoped. Pickens logged his lone 17-game season as a rookie, though he did not make any starts. He finished with a 24.65% defensive snap share, 20 tackles and a half-sack. While Pickens made the first three starts of his career in 2024, he totaled just nine appearances, 19 tackles and a sack on the season. Led by then-rookie head coach Ben Johnson, the Bears waived Pickens last August.
For the Giants, the Pickens claim continues an active couple of weeks along their interior defensive line. The first domino to fall was the mid-April trade of nose tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals for the 10th overall pick. The Giants have since brought in Reader, Pickens, Leki Fotu and sixth-rounder Bobby Jamison-Travis to join Darius Alexander, Sam Roberts and Marlon Tuipulotu
Packers To Sign QB Tyrod Taylor
Since Malik Willis departed in free agency, the backup quarterback spot has been a question mark for the Packers. A veteran QB2 has been identified by the team, though.
Tyrod Taylor has agreed to a deal with Green Bay, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports. He is now in position to handle backup duties behind Jordan Love for 2026. Taylor spent the past four years in New York, splitting that time between the Giants and the Jets.
Willis impressed during his limited starting action in Green Bay, which led to a notable free agent pact with the Dolphins. His departure left the Packers with Desmond Ridder and Kyle McCord in place to compete for the backup gig over the course of the offseason. Those two are still on the roster for now, but Taylor’s arrival will bring considerable experience to the fold for 2026.
A Ravens draftee in 2011, Taylor handled backup duties over the course of his rookie contract. Since then, the former sixth-rounder has put together a journeyman career featuring stints with the Bills, Browns, Chargers and Texans prior to his four-year spell in New York. Taylor was open to remaining with the Jets on a new deal this offseason, but noting materialized on that front. Indeed, ESPN’s Rich Cimini notes it became “increasingly clear” recently there would not be a re-signing in this case.
Taylor totaled five starts in 2023 and another four this past season. In all, the 36-year-old has amassed 62 starts and 100 appearances during the regular season. A full-time starting opportunity has not been available for quite some time now, and that will of course remain true barring a Love injury in 2026. Nevertheless, Taylor should provide the Packers with a higher floor than what Ridder or McCoy would have.
Ridder joined Green Bay’s practice squad late last season with Love and Willis managing injuries. The former Falcon and Raider is owed $1.22MM in 2026, but none of that figure is guaranteed. Similarly, none of McCord’s $885K in scheduled compensation is locked in. The Packers moving on from at least one of the two at some point this offseason will be something to watch for now that Taylor is place.
Green Bay entered Monday with over $20MM in cap space. This Taylor contract will no doubt be a low-cost deal covering the 2026 campaign, so it should not alter the team’s other plans as the spring continues.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/4/26
Today’s minor moves:
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: OL DJ Wingfield
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: WR Jonathan Brady
- Placed on IR: WR Justin Shorter
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: TE Jaheim Bell
The Raiders placed WR Justin Shorter on IR today with an undisclosed injury. The 26-year-old has spent the past two seasons in Las Vegas, appearing in 17 games while spending the majority of his time on special teams. He stuck with the organization via a reserve/futures contract following the 2025 campaign.
He’ll be replaced by UDFA Jonathan Brady, who is coming off a 2025 season when he hauled in 14 catches for Indiana. The Raiders have been busy surrounding first-overall pick Fernando Mendoza with familiar faces, as Brady will join Hoosiers running back Roman Hemby and wide receiver E.J. Williams on the offseason roster.