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NFC North Notes: Watson, Lions, Vikings

April 4th, 2025 at 4:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

An ill-timed ACL tear could prove costly for Christian Watson. Not only is the Packers wide receiver entering a contract year, his injury occurring in January has been expected to keep him off the field into next season. A tentative timetable has emerged, with The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman pointing to a likelihood of at least a half-season absence taking place. Brian Gutekunst offered support for a potential return earlier but did not provide specifics, and the Packers are generally cautious with injury returns. Gutekunst had already confirmed Watson would miss time in 2025, which represents a key window for the injury-prone North Dakota State alum to impress ahead of a potential free agency run. His history of hamstring injuries preceding this ACL tear could well lead to a “prove it” deal taking place come 2026.

Here is the latest from the NFC North:

  • The Lions lost Kevin Zeitler to the Titans, and GM Brad Holmes said (via Detroit Football’s Justin Rogers) a veteran guard addition and/or a rookie move is still in play. Graham Glasgow is set as a starter, while 2024 sixth-round pick Christian Mahogany appears the top internal option — barring a veteran addition or early-round draft choice. Holmes called Mahogany’s 2024 work (75 offensive snaps, one start) encourating.
  • The Eagles stood down on Isaiah Rodgers, after aiming to re-sign their post-suspension flier, after the Vikings made him a two-year, $11.1MM deal that came with $7.99MM guaranteed. Rodgers will play a regular role defensively, as Kevin O’Connell referred to the 2024 Philly rotational CB as a player ticketed for an every-down role. This would point to Rodgers having a clear runway to earn the starting job opposite re-signed CB Byron Murphy. When Murphy shifts into the slot, Jeff Okudah would be set to come off the bench and man a perimeter post, O’Connell added (via the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling).
  • Minnesota lost Camryn Bynum to Indianapolis but reached an agreement to retain Harrison Smith for a 14th season, after the latter had considered retirement. Smith (192 career games) can move into third place for Vikings defender longevity with nine more games played; he is back on a one-year, $10.25MM deal that (per Goessling) comes with $8MM fully guaranteed. There are $750K in playing-time incentives, per Goessling, who adds Smith can collect additional $500K bonuses by reaching the four-INT and three-sack benchmarks. A $1MM bump would come if Smith lands a first-team All-Pro nod; that number drops to $500K for a second-team accolade. Smith, 36, last earned All-Pro honors in 2018. The Vikings are again using void years, meaning a Smith departure in 2026 would bring a $12MM dead money hit.
  • Jonathan Allen‘s three-year, $51MM Minnesota deal includes snap- and sack-based incentives. The longtime Washington DT can earn $3MM if he plays 70% of Minnesota’s defensive snaps; that tiered structure begins with a $500K payout by reaching 50% usage. Allen played between 68-82% of Washington’s snaps from 2018-23 but came in at 59% during an injury-altered 2024. The soon-to-be 30-year-old lineman can earn $500K with five sacks, another $1MM with seven and another $1.5MM with 10, Goessling tweets.
  • While Allen, Will Fries (tibia fracture) and Javon Hargrave (triceps tear) are expected to be ready for Vikes camp, O’Connell stopped short of guaranteeing Rondale Moore will be. Moore suffered an unspecified knee injury during Falcons camp last year, and O’Connell said he wants to see how the $2MM investment looks in his first weeks with the team before making a determination on camp.
  • Jordan Addison‘s DUI case continues. The Vikings wideout took part in a pretrial hearing last month, and ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert indicates a pretrial conference is set for April 10. This matter, stemming from an August 2024 arrest, puts the former first-round pick in play to serve a 2025 suspension.
  • Lastly, the Vikes are hiring former QB Charlie Frye as a defensive assistant. This interesting role, for a 23-start QB, comes after a two-year run as Florida Atlantic’s OC. Frye, 43, was also the Dolphins’ QBs coach in 2021 under current Vikings DC Brian Flores. That represents the ex-Browns starter’s only previous NFL coaching work.

Contract Details: Horn, Pats, Pack, Vikings

March 12th, 2025 at 11:26am CST by Sam Robinson

It’s that time of year. It is time to begin sorting through the contracts agreed to early in free agency. We will start with some of the biggest deals to emerge this week.

  • Jaycee Horn, CB (Panthers). Four years, $100MM. Horn’s Carolina extension covers $72MM in total guarantees (second among CBs) and $46.7MM at signing (first). Horn’s 2025 and ’26 base salaries are fully guaranteed; his $15.74MM 2027 base salary will shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 3 of the 2026 league year, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Additionally, $7.1MM of Horn’s $21.7MM 2028 base is already guaranteed for injury, per Wilson. That amount will shift to a full guarantee on Day 3 of the 2028 league year.
  • Milton Williams, DT (Patriots): Four years, $104MM. Williams will see $63MM in total guarantees and $51MM at signing, per OverTheCap. Williams’ 2027 base salary ($27MM) is guaranteed for injury; it will shift to a full guarantee if he remains on New England’s roster on Day 3 of the 2027 league year, Wilson tweets.
  • Aaron Banks, G (Packers). Four years, $77MM. Only a $27MM signing bonus is guaranteed, via OverTheCap, as the Packers do not usually include guaranteed salary beyond Year 1. Banks is due a $9.5MM roster bonus on Day 3 of the 2026 league year, Wilson notes. The same structure is in place for 2027, with another $9.5MM bonus due. These represent future guarantee dates on this year-$20MM-AAV accord, though the Pack — as they do with Josh Jacobs — will have a natural out after Year 2 of the deal.
  • Byron Murphy, CB (Vikings): Three years, $54MM. This is significantly lower than initially reported (via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo), as Murphy can only reach the $22MM-AAV number through incentives. Murphy’s first two base salaries are fully guaranteed, per Wilson. Rather than being the NFL’s fourth-highest-paid CB, Murphy is tied for 13th after the true AAV emerged.
  • Charvarius Ward, CB (Colts): Three years, $54MM. This one had the correct value from the start, as Murphy’s subsequent Vikings deal matched these terms. Ward will see $27MM at signing. To reach the $34.98MM total guarantee, he must remain on Indianapolis’ roster past Day 5 of the 2026 league year. As $5MM of Ward’s $12.98MM 2026 base salary is guaranteed at signing, the rest locks in on that March 2026 date, Wilson tweets.
  • Jonathan Allen, DL (Vikings): Three years, $51MM. This also checks in lower (via Garafolo) than initially reported, which is not uncommon. Half of Allen’s $16MM 2026 base salary is guaranteed at signing, with the other half (via Wilson) locking in if the D-lineman is on Minnesota’s roster come Day 3 of the 2026 league year.
  • Jamien Sherwood, LB (Jets). Three years, $45MM. The Jets are guaranteeing $30MM, as ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini notes this is the second-biggest LB guarantee the team has authorized (after C.J. Mosley‘s then-record FA deal in 2019). The Jets included a $7.5MM option bonus due at any point before Week 1 of the 2026 season, Wilson notes. This, along with three void years, will reduce Sherwood’s cap hits; he will not carry a figure north of $11.5MM until 2027.
  • Drew Dalman, C (Bears): Three years, $42MM. $26.5MM of Dalman’s $28MM guarantee comes at signing, giving the ex-Falcons center the second-biggest center guarantee (passing Lloyd Cushenberry‘s 2024 Titans FA deal). $9.5MM of Dalman’s $11MM 2026 base salary is fully guaranteed at signing, per Wilson. The other $1.5MM vests if/once he is on Chicago’s roster on Day 3 of the ’26 league year. Dalman’s 2027 salary is nonguaranteed.

Vikings, Jonathan Allen Agree To Deal

March 11th, 2025 at 8:08am CST by Adam La Rose

Jonathan Allen‘s Monday visit with the Vikings has produced a deal in short order. The Pro Bowl defensive lineman has agreed to terms on a three-year, $60MM contract, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

Allen spent the first eight seasons of his career in Washington, but he emerged as a potential cap casualty this offseason. The Commanders looked to work out a trade, but nothing materialized on that front. His release allowed the 30-year-old to explore a deal prior to the start of the negotiating period, and that slight head start has now produced a pact. The deal is official, per a team announcement.

The Vikings have placed a heavy emphasis on adding at the line of scrimmage this week, including deals for center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries. The team also plans to sign defensive tackle Javon Hargrave once his 49ers release is processed. Allen will join the latter in forming an experienced tandem along the defensive interior next season.

Allen was limited to five games as a rookie, but after that the former first-rounder enjoyed a lengthy run of durability. That stretch ended in 2024 due to a triceps tear, one which he was able to recover from in time for the Commanders’ run to the NFC title game. Injury concerns are clearly not an issue for the Vikings, as they have authorized a $20MM-per-year deal. 16 other players at the position are attached to a contract averaging at least that much on an annual basis, a sign of the DT market’s upward movement in recent years.

Minnesota ranked second against the run in 2024, and expectations will be high for the team to duplicate that success with a new-look defensive front next season. Allen (who has averaged 63 tackles and roughly 6.5 sacks per season in his career) will play a large role up front as he looks to find success during the second chapter of his NFL tenure.

Vikings To Host Jonathan Allen

March 10th, 2025 at 5:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Having been released, Jonathan Allen is free to visit interested teams prior to the start of the new league year. The Pro Bowl defensive tackle will do just that on Monday.

Allen has a visit lined up with the Vikings, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. Minnesota was recently floated as a potential landing spot, so this latest update comes as little surprise. The Vikings entered Monday with over $61MM in cap space.

Being tied to the 49ers as well, Allen should command a solid third contract. After Grady Jarrett spent only hours as a cap casualty before joining the Bears on a three-year, $43.5MM deal, Allen figures to set a high floor. Going into an age-30 season, Allen is nearly two years younger than Jarrett.

Although Allen is coming off a season-altering injury — a partial pectoral tear — he made it back in time to help the Commanders make one of the most surprising trips to the conference championship game in NFL history. Allen also has two Pro Bowls on his resume, helping Washington while Chase Young missed over a year due to a severe knee injury. Allen combined for 16.5 sacks and 26 tackles for loss during his Pro Bowl 2021 and ’22 seasons, but the Commanders decided to cut bait on his $18MM-per-year deal before its final year.

Minnesota has not yet made a notable addition on its defensive line. The team, however, has regulars Jonathan Bullard and Jerry Tillery in free agency. Harrison Phillips returns, but an Allen addition would certainly provide a boost to the Vikes’ interior pass rush. It will be interesting to see if suitors beyond Minnesota and San Francisco emerge, as Allen will enter Tuesday as one of the top players available.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.

49ers Interested In Jonathan Allen; Vikings In Play For DT?

March 7th, 2025 at 12:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jonathan Allen came up during the 49ers’ talks with the Commanders on Deebo Samuel. While the All-Pro wide receiver was eventually traded to Washington, the sides could not agree on an Allen inclusion. Now free from his second-tier defensive tackle contract, Allen will be available to the 49ers.

As they are with Joey Bosa, the 49ers are expected to show interest, per the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch. Allen, 30, will likely hear from a few teams. The Vikings may be ready to explore an addition as well, NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay adds.

The Commanders had given Allen permission to seek a trade, during a Combine week in which many teams did the same. These moves regularly lead to releases, and Allen is now off his four-year, $72MM contract. He was set to earn a $17MM base salary next season, which impacted a minimal trade market. The proven interior pass rusher was entering a contract year; he can now explore the market after multiple waves of DT deals dropped his Washington extension in the pecking order.

San Francisco’s Allen interest also comes as the team is releasing Javon Hargrave. The 2023 free agency addition — given a $21MM-per-year deal — will be a post-June 1 cut. Teams cannot officially move on from post-June 1 players until Wednesday, but Hargrave is no longer in the team’s plans. With Hargrave set to follow Arik Armstead out the door, the 49ers have some work to do at D-tackle. The 49ers also have Kevin Givens set for free agency.

Jordan Elliott and fellow 2024 acquisition Maliek Collins remain on the 49ers’ roster at DT, but Allen is much more accomplished. The eight-year Washington cog has 42 career sacks, having teams with Alabama teammate Daron Payne for seven seasons in the nation’s capital. Payne is all that remains from Washington’s four-first-rounder D-line stable, as the team traded Montez Sweat and Chase Young in 2023. Allen has more Pro Bowls than any of those players, having made two (in 2021 and ’22). After posting 19 QB hits in 2023, Allen suffered a partially torn pec and missed nine games last season.

The Vikings still have Harrison Phillips up front, but starters Jonathan Bullard and Jerry Tillery are on track for free agency. Minnesota, which has most of its starting secondary uncertain to return in 2025, saved some money by not franchise-tagging Sam Darnold. Although the team is interested in retaining the QB at a lower rate, it has work to do on defense.

Commanders To Release Jonathan Allen

March 7th, 2025 at 10:48am CST by Adam La Rose

Efforts to trade Jonathan Allen came up short. As a result, the veteran defensive tackle is now set to become a free agent.

The Commanders have informed Allen he will be released, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This move will give him a small window of opportunity to test his market before the start of the new league year next week. After eight years in Washington, a change of scenery will now take place.

Allen recently emerged as a cut candidate given the fact one year remained on his contract. None of his base salary ($15.5MM) was guaranteed, and the two-time Pro Bowler was set to carry a cap hit of $22.47MM. This release will free up $16.47MM for the Commanders while generating a dead money charge of $6MM. Washington will have roughly $80MM in available funds once the move is processed.

The Commanders granted Allen permission to seek a trade during last week’s Combine, a clear indication that a parting of ways would be coming in the near future. The 30-year-old was discussed in the negotiations between Washington and San Francisco on the Deebo Samuel trade, but he was ultimately not included. Now, Allen will get a head start on free agency while Washington moves forward with a DT group which still features Daron Payne on one of the position’s most lucrative contracts.

Washington supplemented the Payne-Allen tandem by drafting Johnny Newton in the second round last year. The Illinois product wound up making 11 starts during his rookie season (thanks to the pectoral tear which sidelined Allen for a notable stretch), registering 44 tackles and a pair of sacks. Newton will be counted on to handle a first-team role moving forward now that Allen is out of the picture.

Selected in the first round in 2017, Allen has started all but one of his 113 career games. The Alabama product has reached 5.5 sacks or more on five occasions, with his personal best in that regard coming in 2021 with nine. Expectations on his next team will not include a repeat of that feat, but he can still be counted on to provide starting-caliber play during the next phase of his career. It will be interesting to see how strong of a market Allen can generate before free agency officially opens.

Deebo Samuel Notes: Draft Compensation, Jonathan Allen, Broncos, Texans

March 2nd, 2025 at 9:46am CST by Rory Parks

The 49ers made good on their promise to honor WR Deebo Samuel’s trade request, shipping him to the Commanders in exchange for a fifth-round pick. Given Samuel’s disappointing 2024 season, San Francisco knew it would be selling low on the 2021 First Team All-Pro, and a Day 3 selection was seen as the likely return. That said, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini says Niners GM John Lynch was seeking a fourth-rounder before agreeing to take back the fifth from former subordinate and current Washington GM Adam Peters.

Albert Breer of SI.com says that selection will be a 2025 pick (No. 148 overall), which means Washington’s first pick on the third day of April’s draft will not be until the sixth round (the team dealt a third- and fourth-rounder to the Saints as part of the November trade that brought CB Marshon Lattimore into the fold, and the pick going to San Francisco is the same one Washington acquired in the Lattimore trade). As such, Breer believes the club could seek trade-down opportunities to backfill the holes that the Lattimore and Samuel deals created.

In light of Lattimore’s recent injury woes and Samuel’s inability to recapture his 2021 form, those acquisitions come with some risk. However, the potential reward is also quite high. When looking at the net impact on the Commanders’ cache of draft picks, the high-profile transactions allowed Washington to address areas of obvious need with Pro Bowl-caliber players in exchange for a 2025 third-rounder, fourth-rounder, and sixth-rounder (h/t ESPN’s Field Yates). The Niners, meanwhile, now have 11 selections in April’s draft (h/t/ Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle), which could be critical for a club that may put a high-end QB contract on its books in the near future.

One of the ways Peters could acquire additional draft capital is by dealing longtime DT Jonathan Allen, who has been given permission to seek a trade. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Allen’s name did come up when the Commanders and 49ers were discussing Samuel, but the 30-year-old defender remains on Washington’s roster for the time being. Although Allen could have been a replacement for presumptive cap casualty Javon Hargrave, Allen’s salary – he is due $15.5MM in base pay in 2025 – was perhaps an insurmountable hurdle.

Regardless of whether they retain or jettison Allen, the cap-flush Commanders have the financial wherewithal to take a risk on a player with Samuel’s upside (as noted previously, the team is absorbing the entirety of Samuel’s $17.55MM salary for 2025, the last year of his current deal). As we also discussed earlier this month, the South Carolina product is technically due a $15.4MM option bonus on March 22, and Washington could utilize the option to spread out the $17.55MM cap charge and incur just $5.21MM against the cap this year. However, that would push additional money into void years, and since the Commanders are expected to have over $80MM in cap room, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com believes the team will simply take on the entire $17.55MM hit in 2025. Of course, Samuel and his new team could explore an extension, a possibility that Fitzgerald and others have acknowledged.

The Texans joined the Commanders as teams that had serious interest in Samuel, and the dynamic “wide back” would have been interested in joining Houston, per Russini (subscription required). He also would have been intrigued by the possibility of landing with the Broncos. There have been conflicting reports about whether Denver was actually interested in Samuel, but Russini indicates that neither the Broncos nor the Texans actually made an offer.

Commanders Grant Jonathan Allen Permission To Seek Trade

February 25th, 2025 at 8:10am CST by Adam La Rose

Jonathan Allen‘s future in the nation’s capital is increasingly uncertain. The Pro Bowl defensive tackle has been granted permission to seek a trade by the Commanders, as first reported by CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.

Allen has spent his entire eight-year career with Washington, serving as a mainstay along the defensive front during that span. The 30-year-old has only one year remaining on his contract, however, and none of his base salary ($15.5MM) is guaranteed. Set to carry a 2025 cap charge of $21.44MM as things stand, Allen is a candidate to be released in the near future.

As a result, it comes as little surprise he and his camp have received permission to find a trade partner. As Jones notes, teams have contacted the Commanders in recent days about Allen. Talks on that front will no doubt intensify at the Combine. Cutting or trading the former first-rounder would yield $16.47MM in savings for the team while generating a dead money charge of $6MM.

Allen was limited to five games during his rookie season, but after that he had a run of durability which ended in 2024. The Alabama product suffered a pectoral tear which appeared at first to be season-ending. Allen managed to return in time for the end of the campaign as well as all three of Washington’s playoff games, but the team is set to move on at this point. Daron Payne remains attached to the four-year, $90MM extension he signed upon receiving the franchise tag in 2023, while 2024 second-round pick Johnny Newton is in place as a candidate to replace Allen (a 108-game starter with 42 sacks to his name) in the starting lineup.

After showcasing his potential on his rookie contract, Allen landed an extension averaging $18MM per year in 2021. His Pro Bowl nods came in back-to-back campaigns upon signing that deal, something which pointed to a long-term run in Washington. Now, his time with the franchise is nearing an end. With the option of signing Allen after a release still a distinct possibility, it will be interesting to see if any of the interested parties are willing to part with draft capital to work out a trade agreement.

Commanders Could Release Jonathan Allen?

February 23rd, 2025 at 6:27pm CST by Adam La Rose

Beginning in 2017, the Commanders used a first-round pick on a defensive lineman for four consecutive years. The first player in that stretch – Jonathan Allen – has remained in Washington throughout his career.

The veteran has been a mainstay along the defensive front since a rookie campaign which saw him limited to only five games. A pectoral tear led to a major absence in 2024, and even though Allen managed to return to the lineup when he was feared to be sidelined for the rest of the campaign, he now faces an uncertain future. The 30-year-old could find himself as a cap casualty.

Ben Standig of The Athletic writes it appears to be unlikely the Commanders and Allen will work out a restructure or extension which would lower his scheduled 2025 cap hit of $22.47MM (subscription required). One year remains on his pact, and none of his $15.5MM base salary for the coming campaign is guaranteed. An alteration could of course be on the table, considering Washington is near the top of the NFL in terms of cap space as free agency approaches. Failing that, however, the team could move on via a release.

Allen has produced at least six sacks in a season four times to date, and he earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2021 and ’22. His impact against the passer remained notable this past campaign (three sacks in eight games), but Washington already has Daron Payne under contract on a lucrative deal (which includes guarantees for 2025) for the next two years. The team also selected a potential Allen successor in the form of Johnny Newton last April.

The second-rounder battled an ankle injury which required multiple surgeries during his rookie campaign, but after logging a 51% snap share across 16 games he could take a step forward in usage and production in 2025. Moving on from Allen would set up a Payne-Newton tandem on the interior as the Commanders look to improve against the run this offseason. Of course, the regime led by general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn is not the one which was in place when Allen was drafted or extended in 2021.

Peters said last March he was not looking to trade the Alabama product, although the Newton selection led to renewed interest from teams shortly thereafter. Allen’s injury will hurt his market in the event he is cut, but his track record would no doubt allow for him to find a suitor relatively soon. The Commanders would generate $16.47MM in cap savings while incurring a dead money charge of $6MM by moving forward with a release.

Commanders Activate Jonathan Allen Off IR

December 28th, 2024 at 4:48pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Commanders have activated defensive tackle Jonathan Allen from injured reserve, per a team announcement.

Allen landed on IR in October after a pectoral injury that was originally thought to be season-ending. Optimism grew after doctors discovered during surgery that his pectoral was only partially torn. He was able to return to practice on December 18, giving him enough time to ramp up and return to the field before the end of the season.

The two-time Pro Bowler was off to a slightly slower start than previous years, notching just 15 tackles and 2.0 sacks in his first six games. Washington’s run defense still suffered without him; the Commanders have surrendered 2,061 rushing yards so far this season, the fifth-most in the NFL.

Washington has relied on two recent second-round picks – Phidarian Mathis and Jer’Zhan Newton – to fill the void left by Allen’s absence. The Commanders waived Mathis earlier on Saturday, signaling that Allen would soon be headed back to the active roster. He will rejoin fellow Pro Bowler Daron Payne on the interior of Washington’s defensive line. Payne has started all 15 games, though his 68% snap share is a career-low.

Allen and Payne will hope to anchor the Commanders defense against the Falcons on Sunday night. A win would clinch Washington’s first playoff appearance since 2020, an impressive outcome after an organizational overhaul resulted in a new owner, head coach, and rookie quarterback.

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