Titans Ink DE Keldric Faulk, Complete Rookie Class Signings
After making the surprising decision to select Ohio State’s Carnell Tate at the top of the 2026 NFL Draft, Tennessee traded back into the end of the first round to select Auburn defensive end Keldric Faulk. The Titans secured Faulk’s signature today, completing the process of signing their eight-man rookie draft class.
Arriving at Auburn as a highly rated, in-state recruit, Faulk found an immediate role on the Tigers defense. By Week 7 of his true freshman season, Faulk was in the starting lineup, and he didn’t relinquish his first-team role the remainder of his time at Auburn. As one of the draft’s youngest players (turning 22 just before the start of his rookie year), Faulk has room to grow and develop in Tennessee. He flashed some serious play-making ability in college, but struggled to finish with impact plays.
A seven-sack, 11-tackle for loss campaign in his sophomore year had expectations high for Faulk’s 2025 season. Outside of that impressive production in 2024, though, Faulk only totaled three sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss in his first and third years combined. He carries an imposing frame, looking all of 6-foot-5, 275 pounds and has an effective arsenal of pass rush moves, but his technique and planning could certainly improve. Mentally, Faulk has good field vision and play recognition, and his leadership at Auburn shined despite his youth.
In Nashville, Faulk is joining a new-look edge rushing group that currently looks like it will be led by a pair of former Jets in Jermaine Johnson and John Franklin-Myers. The Titans’ pass rush in 2025 was buoyed by star interior lineman Jeffery Simmons, as no other defender eclipsed five sacks. Johnson, Franklin-Myers, and Faulk don’t have reputations as double-digit sack getters, but the trio is an improvement on last year’s group for Tennessee, and with Simmons drawing the attention of the offense, all three could see improvements in production in 2026.
With Faulk now locked into his four-year rookie deal (with a fifth-year option), here’s a final look at the Titans completed draft class:
- Round 1, No. 4: Carnell Tate (WR, Ohio State) (signed)
- Round 1, No. 31 (from Patriots via Bills): Keldric Faulk (DE, Auburn) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 60 (from Bills via Titans): Anthony Hill Jr. (LB, Texas) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 142 (from Jets via Ravens): Fernando Carmona (G, Arkansas) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 165 (from Bears via Bills): Nicholas Singleton (RB, Penn State) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 184: Jackie Marshall (DT, Baylor) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 194 (from Ravens via Jets): Pat Coogan, C (Indiana) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 225 (from Chiefs via Cowboys): Jaren Kanak (TE, Oklahoma) (signed)
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/27/26
Wednesday’s minor NFL transactions:
Buffalo Bills
- Waived: TE Max Tomczak
Cleveland Browns
- Reverted to IR: CB DeCarlos Nicholson
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Jackson Sirmon
- Waived: CB Jeremiah McClendon
New York Giants
- Waived: G Reid Holskey
New York Jets
- Signed: T Courtland Ford
- Waived: LB Kendrick Blackshire
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Brandon Hayes
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: WR Trayvon Rudolph
It’s a family reunion in New Orleans, where Sirmon will join the position room coached by his father, Saints linebackers coach Peter Sirmon. The two worked together in a similar manner when Peter served as inside linebackers coach and defensive coordinator at Cal. Jackson spent the first two years of his career on the Jets’ practice squad as an undrafted free agent and will now head to New Orleans for Year 3.
After trading for wide receiver/special teamer Irv Charles earlier today, the Seahawks have waived Rudolph, an undrafted rookie, to make room on the roster.
Bolts, Derwin James Agree To Extension
MAY 27: Of James’ $57.5MM guarantee, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes $44MM is guaranteed at signing. That covers the deal’s first two years. James received early protection on 2028, however, with Florio adding $13.5MM of James’ $24.6MM salary is guaranteed for injury at signing. That will shift to a full guarantee in March 2027.
The early guarantee date virtually ensures James will remain with the Chargers through at least the 2028 season. His 2029 salary ($21.5MM) is nonguaranteed, but a 90-man roster bonus of $3MM will be due that year.
MAY 26: Derwin James has once again reset the safeties market. The Chargers star defender has agreed to an extension that will make him the highest-paid player at his position, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
James is getting a three-year, $75.6MM deal, per Rapoport. The contract includes $57.5MM in guaranteed money, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton set the positional market last offseason when he inked a deal worth $25.1MM per season. James just topped that mark, with his new deal coming in at a $25.2MM AAV. James was set to enter the final season of the four-year, $76.5MM extension he signed with the Chargers back in 2022, and he was scheduled to earn $17.5MM for 2026 with a cap hit of $24.61MM. That previous contract once made James the highest-paid safety in NFL history. The veteran has once again set a new benchmark at the position.
The 17th-overall pick in the 2018 draft, James has emerged as one of the best defenders in Chargers history. He’s earned five All-Pro nods through his first eight seasons. That includes a 2025 campaign where he earned a second-team spot after finishing with 94 tackles, two sacks, seven passes defended, and three interceptions. For his efforts, Pro Football Focus ranked James ninth among 91 qualifying safeties.
We heard just yesterday that the Chargers were prioritizing an extension for their defensive cornerstone, with general manager Joe Hortiz making it clear that they wanted James in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future. The 29-year-old also drew praise from his head coach, with Jim Harbaugh describing James as “the best safety I’ve ever seen in the history of the National Football League” (per Schefter).
The extension for Jim Harbaugh’s top DB comes several months after John Harbaugh‘s then-charge (Kyle Hamilton) raised the bar for the safety market. The Ravens gave Hamilton a four-year, $100.4MM extension in August. Prior to that point, no safety had ever seen an AAV north of $21.5MM. Hamilton’s windfall set the table for James, who will benefit from the latest NFL cap spike. Hortiz was in the Ravens’ front office when Hamilton was drafted, making it not especially surprising to see his new team prioritize the safety position to this degree.
James’ deal towers over the rest of the Bolts’ secondary contracts. No other Charger DB is tied to a contract worth $7MM per year, with its longtime anchor now tied to an accord worth more than quadruple per annum than any of his secondary mates. The Chargers also carried more than $43MM in cap space entering Tuesday, opening a window for James’ second extension.
James is now several years removed from his injury issues, having played 16 games in each of the past three seasons. The Chargers will bet on the Florida State alum, whose standout play certainly boosted now-Ravens HC Jesse Minter‘s stock over the past two years, going into his 30s.
With James now locked in for the next few seasons, the Chargers can turn their attention to other extension-eligible players. That includes edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu, who Hortiz also mentioned as a candidate for a new deal.
Bills Sign LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
A part-time starter for the Giants and 49ers over the past two seasons, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles found a new home Wednesday. The Bills signed the veteran linebacker to a one-year deal.
The former San Francisco UDFA joins a Buffalo team that has not re-signed Matt Milano or Shaq Thompson. To make room on their 90-man offseason roster, the Bills waived wide receiver Max Tomczak. The nephew of former NFL QB Mike Tomczak, Max joined the Bills as a UDFA this month.
[RELATED: Bills Sign DE Mike Danna]
Flannigan-Fowles joined the Giants on a one-year, $1.34MM deal. Wednesday’s signing will reunite Flannigan-Fowles with 2025 position coach John Egorugwu, who returned to Buffalo this offseason after four seasons on New York’s staff. The Giants used Flannigan-Fowles as a three-game starter last year, and he played 36% of the team’s defensive snaps. That represented a career-high usage rate on defense for the Arizona alum.
Making 33 tackles (three for loss) and registering a sack last season, Flannigan-Fowles is still probably better remembered for his lengthy Bay Area stay. The 49ers used Flannigan-Fowles as a Week 1 starter in 2024, with Dre Greenlaw on the mend from his Super Bowl LVIII Achilles tear, and he made seven starts for the team from 2020-24.
Flannigan-Fowles, 29, has been a regular on special teams throughout his career. He saw action on at least 63% of the 49ers’ ST plays from 2020-23. That may be his Bills role, as the AFC playoff bastion returns regulars Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams. The team also rosters Buffalo native Joe Andreessen as a backup option while also bringing in fourth-round pick Kaleb Elarms-Orr out of TCU.
Jets To Sign K Younghoe Koo
The Jets are adding another option to their kicking competition. Younghoe Koo will stay in New York and join the city’s AFC team, according to SNY’s Connor Hughes.
A longtime Falcons option, Koo spent part of last season with the Giants after his Atlanta release. Koo joins Cade York and Lenny Krieg, the latter having been in a kicking competition with Koo in Atlanta during the 2025 offseason, on the Jets’ 90-man roster.
Kicking in five Giants games last season, Koo is certainly better remembered for his Falcons stay. The South Korea native played parts of seven seasons with Atlanta and opened last year as the team’s kicker. The Falcons cut Koo after he struggled in Week 1, however, and he did not see regular-season action again until November. Koo, 31, finished 6-for-9 on field goal tries as a Giant last season. He missed both his attempts from 50-plus yards.
The Giants waived Koo after he missed two 50-plus-yarders in a December loss to the Commanders. Koo tried out for the Saints earlier this month but was not signed. A Jets team that lost Nick Folk to the Falcons in free agency will give Koo a shot after adding both York and Krieg this offseason. Krieg joined the Jets on a futures deal in January, while York signed a one-year deal in March. No guarantees are present on York’s contract, opening up this competition. The Jets waived kicker Will Ferrin earlier this month.
Despite York arriving nearly three months before Koo, the latter certainly has a better NFL track record. Koo earned Pro Bowl recognition in 2020 and signed a five-year, $24.25MM extension in 2022. Koo made more than 93% of his field goal attempts in 2020 and ’21, leading the Falcons to their long-term investment, and nailed 86.5% of his tries in 2022 and ’23. In 2024, however, Koo hit just 73.5% of his tries. This came for a team primarily playing indoors.
Struggling over the past two years — which included a viral moment when a Monday-night FG attempt featured the veteran missing the ball entirely — Koo will have a rebound opportunity in a competition without another experienced option.
Cowboys Move WR Parris Campbell To Reserve/Retired List
Parris Campbell agreed to terms on a reserve/futures deal to stay in Dallas in January. Four-plus months later, the former second-round pick looks to be leaving the sport.
The Cowboys moved Campbell to the reserve/retired list Wednesday, The Athletic’s Jon Machota tweets. The former Colts draftee spent the past three seasons in the NFC East — 2023 with the Giants, 2024 with the Eagles and 2025 with the Cowboys — but had been unable to make an impact. The Ohio State product will walk away after seven NFL seasons.
Signing a rookie deal worth just more than $4.7MM, Campbell nearly matched that with a one-year Giants contract in 2023. But a steady role eluded him in New York. The former Indianapolis slot receiver was on Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LIX-winning roster, playing in three Eagles playoff games (including the Super Bowl rout of the Chiefs), but was attached to veteran-minimum deals (or close to it) over his last two seasons.
Although Campbell did not catch a pass in Super Bowl LIX, he saw action on 16 offensive plays. The Eagles did not re-sign him following that conquest, and he made his way to Dallas soon after. The Cowboys signed Campbell to a one-year, $1.34MM deal in March 2025 but released him from IR with an injury settlement in August. Campbell, however, returned to the team in September and played one final game.
Campbell’s career will be best remember for a four-year Indianapolis stay. The Colts added him with the No. 59 overall pick in 2019, but injuries interrupted attempts to become a complementary piece around T.Y. Hilton (and then Michael Pittman Jr.). A knee injury preceded Campbell breaking his hand and foot as a rookie. A PCL injury then occurred in September 2020, ending Campbell’s second season. Campbell underwent foot surgery in October 2021; over his first three seasons, the slot player missed 34 games.
The 2022 season proved pivotal for Campbell. He returned to action and did not miss a game. While the Colts flatlined during their Matt Ryan–Jeff Saturday season, Campbell finished with 63 catches for 623 yards and three touchdowns. Those contributions prompted a one-year, $4.7MM Giants offer. The 6-foot pass catcher did not pan out in New York, ending his lone Giants season as a healthy scratch, that season provided a notable bump in career earnings.
The Akron, Ohio, native totaled 1,063 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior with the Buckeyes, outpacing teammate Terry McLaurin that season. Campbell, 28, will retire with 123 NFL receptions for 1,117 yards and six scores. He earned just more than $10MM in seven seasons.
Giants Sign Round 1 OL Francis Mauigoa
Making two top-10 picks for the second time in five drafts, the Giants ended up with Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa. Reese has not yet signed his rookie contract, but Mauigoa put pen to paper Wednesday.
The former Miami tackle will be tied to a fully guaranteed four-year deal (worth $30.96MM) as the No. 10 overall pick. All first-round deals since 2011 have included a fifth-year option. The Giants are planning to begin Mauigoa’s career at guard, having re-signed right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor to go with All-Pro Andrew Thomas. Reese is now the Giants’ only unsigned draftee.
[RELATED: Analyzing Giants’ Position Decisions For First-Rounders]
New York acquired the No. 10 overall pick from Cincinnati in the pre-draft Dexter Lawrence blockbuster. While the Giants were connected to a handful of players with their two first-rounders, few expected the Reese-Mauigoa duo to materialize. Tied to Caleb Downs — a player who would have given John Harbaugh a potential impact safety along the lines of Kyle Hamilton — the Giants instead bolstered their O-line at No. 10 despite having re-signed Eluemunor to a three-year, $39MM deal in March. Downs went to the Cowboys one pick later.
Although the Browns considered Mauigoa at No. 9, they chose Utah’s Spencer Fano. That left the Miami product for the Giants, who have chosen a Miami O-lineman in the first round for the second time since 2015. New York did not see former No. 9 overall pick Ereck Flowers pan out, though he had some success as a guard later in his career. Mauigoa worked primarily as the Hurricanes’ right tackle, and while he certainly could become the team’s post-Eluemunor starter there, a guard transition is on tap first. Mauigoa is expected to line up at right guard, where veteran Greg Van Roten played over the past two seasons.
Mauigoa did not miss a snap at Miami, but some teams viewed him as a medical risk due to a back issue. Some clubs believed Mauigoa would need back surgery at some point, but the Giants will move forward with the high-profile prospect. Ely Allen’s PFR mock draft sent Mauigoa to the Giants at No. 5 — before the Lawrence trade was agreed to — and post-draft reporting indicated the team would have pulled the trigger there had Reese been off the board.
Earning first-team All-ACC honors in 2025, Mauigoa helped Miami make a surprise run to the CFP championship game last season. The acclaimed RT garnered second-team All-ACC honors in 2024 and freshman All-America accolades in 2023. The Giants have struggled to find long-term guard answers for more than a decade now, and while Mauigoa may be moved to RT at some point during his rookie contract, he will be asked to fill a void at RG for the time being.
Giants Sign DT Josh Tupou
The Giants worked out free agent Eddie Goldman on Tuesday, but they are now signing a different defensive tackle. The team has agreed to a deal with Josh Tupou, Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com reports. The move will reunite the ex-Raven with head coach John Harbaugh.
The 6-foot-3, 350-pound Tupou spent most of the past two years on the Ravens’ practice squad. He appeared in six regular-season games in that span and recorded eight tackles and a sack.
Since Tupou entered the NFL undrafted in 2017, the majority of his experience has come with one of the Ravens’ AFC North rivals, the Bengals. As a member of the organization through 2023, the Colorado product was teammates with defensive tackle D.J. Reader for four years. The Giants signed Reader earlier this month.
Tupou played just seven games in his first two seasons, but he took on a much bigger role in the Bengals’ defense beginning in 2019. He started seven of 16 games that year and notched a career-high 27 tackles. While Tupou opted out of 2020 over COVID concerns, he returned to play a full 17-game slate the next year and pick up nine starts during an AFC title-winning season for Cincinnati. He played just 11 games in 2022, but Tupou registered 19 tackles and the first two sacks of his career then. In total, he has 94 tackles and three sacks in his 71-game, 23-start career.
For the Giants, the Tupou signing comes less than a week after Roy Robertson-Harris tore his Achilles in practice. Robertson-Harris’ season is already over, adding another question mark along the Giants’ interior line. He was a full-time starter last year, as was Dexter Lawrence, but the Giants traded the latter to the Bengals for the 10th overall pick in April’s draft. They will expect Reader and fellow established free agent signing Shelby Harris to help pick up the slack. Tupou, 2025 third-rounder Darius Alexander, Zacch Pickens, Leki Fotu, Sam Roberts and rookie sixth-rounder Bobby Jamison-Travis represent several of their other options.
Seahawks To Acquire WR Irvin Charles From Jets
The Seahawks and Jets have agreed to a minor trade. New York is sending wide receiver Irvin Charles to Seattle for a conditional seventh-round selection, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reports. It’s a 2028 pick, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.
The 6-foot-4, 219-pound Charles had been a member of the Jets since he signed with them as an undrafted free agent from Division II IUP in 2022. He debuted a year later, got into 13 games and carved out a role on special teams. Almost all of his snaps (236 of 279) came in the third phase of the game. That remained the case during a 13-game 2024 for Charles, who played 214 special teams snaps to just 10 on offense.
Charles had 39 receptions and 12 touchdowns in his last college season, but he did not catch a pass with the Jets. He did, however, record 14 tackles.
The 2024 campaign ended for Charles when he suffered a torn ACL in a Week 14 loss to the Dolphins. The Jets kept Charles around last year as an exclusive rights free agent, but the recovery process sidelined him for the entire season. With 11 other receivers on their roster, including first-rounder Omar Cooper Jr. and recent free agent pickup Tim Patrick, the Jets are moving on from Charles for a small return.
Charles, who turned 29 last month, is now in position to vie for a roster spot with the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks. He will add a 14th receiver to an already crowded group of wideouts in Seattle. As was the case in New York, though, earning a role on special teams will be his best path to playing time. It may be an uphill battle, as most of the Seahawks’ 2025 core special teamers – including snaps leaders Brady Russell, Mike Morris, Nehemiah Pritchett and D’Anthony Bell, among others – are still in the mix. If Charles cracks the Seahawks’ roster, he will play for a minimum salary of $1.075MM.
Texans, WR Nico Collins Agree On Reworked Deal
The Texans shot down Nico Collins trade rumors during the draft, and they are now taking care of their top wide receiver. Collins and the team agreed on a reworked deal Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Collins will receive raises in 2026 and ’27 as a part of this agreement, per Schefter, who notes the sixth-year veteran will see a $9MM cash influx in 2026 and an $8MM bump in 2027. Both Collins’ 2026 and ’27 salaries are now guaranteed.
[RELATED: Texans Give Azeez Al-Shaiir Top-Five ILB Deal]
Houston’s May 2024 extension agreement with Collins has aged extraordinarily well. He is tied to a three-year, $72.75MM deal. Even at the time, that contract looked team-friendly, as A.J. Brown had moved the receiver market to $32MM per year weeks earlier. Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase and now Jaxon Smith-Njigba have taken the market onto new tiers since the Collins contract was finalized. The Texans’ top skill-position talent, in terms of AAV, had been tied to a salary nearly $20MM south of Smith-Njigba’s market-setting pact ($42.15MM per year).
No new years are being added to Collins’ deal, but the raises here are substantial — as are the guarantee bumps. Collins was due $20MM in guaranteed compensation this year but had no guarantees in place for 2027. Collins was tied to a nonguaranteed $21.25MM salary next year. That number will rise considerably, and it continues a pattern of Texans proactivity on the contract front.
Texans GM Nick Caserio gave Derek Stingley Jr. a market-resetting extension in March 2025 and did the same for Will Anderson Jr. this offseason. The team also has shown a willingness to guarantee cornerstone players’ money in future years. The Texans have extended Danielle Hunter twice on one-year bumps and reupped Dalton Schultz for an additional year in March. Collins will loom as a 2027 extension candidate in Houston, but Caserio has again rewarded a productive player with a significant guarantee increase.
The pay hikes agreed to Tuesday will move Collins near $30MM in compensation this year and next. That still puts him outside of the top five at his position, with the NFL’s $30MM-AAV receiver club now consisting of nine players (though, a 49ers Brandon Aiyuk release would trim it to eight). Collins is entering an age-27 season and is coming off three straight 1,000-yard campaigns. Although C.J. Stroud has not made big strides since his rookie-year breakthrough, the Texans have found a gem in Collins — a 2021 third-round pick.
Collins finished with 1,117 receiving yards in 2025 and cleared 1,000 yards (1,006) in just 12 games in 2024. The Michigan product broke out in 2023, tallying 1,297 yards after previously failing to eclipse 500 in each of his first two seasons.
The Texans added Stefon Diggs via trade in 2024 but saw him suffer an ACL tear midway through his only season with the team. Tank Dell missed all of last season because of a severe knee injury sustained late in the 2024 slate. The Texans have since made moves to complement Collins with young players, adding Iowa State’s Jayden HIggins and Jaylin Noel on Day 2 of last year’s draft.
Dell is tracking to return this season, which will give the Texans interesting depth around Collins and the ex-Cyclones. But the team’s top playmaker is not in question entering 2026. Collins wants to stay with the Texans long term, and the team certainly showed appreciation for his work today. It is notable no extension has been reached, but the raise looks to settle this matter for 2026.