Ravens Restructure Lamar Jackson’s Deal
As the Ravens make a controversial pivot from a Maxx Crosby trade to a Trey Hendrickson free agency addition, a similar cost is on tap. Either way, the team needed to make a move with Lamar Jackson‘s contract to reduce an untenable 2026 cap number.
Baltimore has done so, but no extension has been reached. The Ravens are restructuring Jackson’s deal, CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala reports. Jackson’s restructure is expected to open up around $40MM in cap space, ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes.
This will come from a $49.56MM base-to-bonus conversion, per Spotrac, as $39.96MM in additional funds will be available now. Jackson’s new cap number checks in at $34.54MM, according to ESPN’s Jameson Hensley, but the Ravens will need to address this contract again by next year. The final season of the deal is due to produce, after this restructure, an $84.49MM cap hit.
This move will drop Jackson’s cap hit from $74.5MM, where it had been sitting as a payroll anchor. Jackson will still be expected to work toward an extension this offseason, and it is worth wondering why the two-time MVP did not attempt to maximize his value by leveraging his high cap hit — as the Ravens needed to lower it to make room for Hendrickson and John Simpson — by pushing for a monster re-up now. But Jackson has not been a conventional negotiator during his NFL years, as his lengthy path to his second contract showed.
The Ravens had not gone to the Jackson restructure well previously. He carried a $43.5MM cap number last year. That figure falling in 2026 will give Baltimore more space to operate, but it will still cost — in all likelihood — more than $60MM per year to extend Jackson a second time. Dak Prescott‘s four-year, $260MM Cowboys deal has topped the league since September 2024. Jackson, 29, has a clear case to eclipse that — especially as the cap has climbed by nearly $50MM (to $301.2MM) since that Dallas deal was finalized.
Rumblings about a Jackson extension last year emerged, but nothing came of it. The Ravens had hoped to extend Tyler Linderbaum as well, but they ended up losing him (to the Raiders) this week. Baltimore did complete a record-setting Kyle Hamilton re-up. Although not much action occurred on the QB market last year, with Prescott’s deal not being approached, the cap climb will still put Jackson in good position. Two years remain on his contract, and this restructure will hike the dead money on the deal in the highly unlikely event the Ravens do not extend him by March 2028.
Titans To Re-Sign K Joey Slye
Joey Slye has bounced around the league in recent years, but he will stick the same team in 2026. The Titans are keeping the veteran kicker around, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reporting the sides agreed to a one-year deal.
Playing for the Commanders in 2023 and Patriots in 2024, Slye caught on with the Titans last year. Tennessee hired a new coaching staff this offseason but retained ST coordinator John Fassel. That undoubtedly affected Slye’s 2026 status.
He of two 60-plus-yard field goals — with the Commanders and Pats — Slye connected on a 58-yard try with the Titans last season. The former Panthers kicker went 28-for-35 on FGs in 2025. Slye, 30 next month, has not been among the most accurate kickers in the league in recent years. He has not made more than 84% of his kicks since the 2021 season. He came in south of 80% in 2023 and ’24, but the strong-legged specialist will receive another opportunity under Fassel, Robert Saleh and GM Mike Borgonzi.
A former Giants UDFA, Slye succeeded Graham Gano in Carolina in 2019 but did not complete his rookie contract with the team. The Panthers waived Slye in 2021, and he spent that season with the 49ers and Texans. Slye did not initially sign with the Patriots in 2024, first committing to the Jaguars. But Jacksonville moved on after training camp, leading Slye to New England.
The Titans are team No. 8 for Slye, though he never kicked with their the Giants or Jaguars. The Titans have seen Nick Folk become the NFL’s most accurate kicker over the past three seasons; Tennessee moved on from the aging vet in 2025, turning to Slye. Folk has since left the Jets for the Falcons.
Commanders To Add DE K’Lavon Chaisson
K’Lavon Chaisson completed a midcareer breakout last season, impressing on a one-year deal with the Patriots. While a multiyear pact will not come together for the Super Bowl regular, he will receive a notable raise after boosting his stock.
After losing out on the Trey Hendrickson sweepstakes, the Commanders are adding Chaisson, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. It is a one-year deal worth $12MM, with Chaisson joining fellow free agent Odafe Oweh to refuel Washington’s defensive end corps.
This represents an appreciable increase over the one-year, $5MM pact Chaisson signed with the Patriots last March. While Chaisson was coming off a personal-best five-sack season with the Raiders then, his career had nonetheless been a disappointment. The Jaguars thought enough of the former LSU standout to use the 20th pick on him in 2020, but Chaisson managed just five sacks over four years in their uniform.
Last season was another step forward for Chaisson, who registered a new career high with 7.5 sacks in 16 games (10 starts) for the AFC-winning Patriots. He added 18 QB hits, twice as many as his previous high of nine, as well as 10 TFL and two forced fumbles. Chaisson continued to produce in the postseason, a four-game run in which he added three more sacks and a forced fumble.
Aside from taking what proved to be a successful one-year gamble on Von Miller, the Commanders did little to address their pass rush last offseason. It has been a clear point of emphasis this year, however, with Oweh and Chaisson coming aboard to join Dorance Armstrong as Washington’s top edge rushers. Miller, who led last year’s team with nine sacks despite playing just under 37% of snaps, is now a free agent.
During a bitterly disappointing 5-12 showing in 2025, the Commanders’ defense ranked 27th in the NFL in scoring and dead last in yards allowed. Head coach Dan Quinn subsequently replaced coordinator Joe Whitt with Daronte Jones in January. General manager Adam Peters has since upgraded the unit’s personnel in adding Oweh, Chaisson, linebacker Leo Chenal, tackle Tim Settle and cornerback Amik Robertson early in free agency.
Raiders Trade QB Geno Smith To Jets
Geno Smith is heading back to where his career began. The Raiders have worked out a trade which will send the veteran quarterback to the Jets, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal is now official.
Vegas will send Smith and a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft to New York for a sixth-round selection this year, Schefter adds. The Raiders, meanwhile, are retaining most of Smith’s base salary for 2026, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The Jets will pay him near the league minimum as a result, with Schefter adding a restructure was agreed to prior to the trade.
Per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Vegas will be on the hook for $16.5MM with New York taking on $3.3MM. Smith will thus receive a $1MM raise compared to the guaranteed figure he was owed prior to this swap as a result.
Smith’s Raiders tenure was known to be ending after just one season with the team preparing to draft Fernando Mendoza first overall in April. Vegas was willing to release the 35-year-old in the event no trade suitors could be found. Instead of Smith becoming a free agent tomorrow, he will begin a second stint with the Jets.
The former second-rounder is at the Jets’ facility, Dianna Russini of The Athletic notes Smith has already conducted a physical, paving the way for this swap to be made official. One major move at the quarterback position has now been taken care of for New York, although more changes will be coming. One year remains on Justin Fields‘ contract, but he is not expected to be back with the team in 2026. Tyrod Taylor is a pending free agent.
Smith began his career as a Jets draftee, and he spent four seasons with the team. That included a two-year run (2013-14) as New York’s starter, a stint which did not go as planned to say the least. A lengthy spell without another QB1 opportunity came to an end when Smith took over starting duties for Seattle following the Russell Wilson trade.
Smith spent three years atop the Seahawks’ depth chart, earning Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2022. That season included a league-leading 69.8 completion percentage and a career-high 30 touchdown passes. Smith secured a second straight Pro Bowl nod the following year, but the arrival of new head coach Mike Macdonald in 2024 did not result in a long-term Seattle deal being worked out. Instead, the Seahawks targeted Sam Darnold last offseason and traded Smith to Vegas, allowing him to reunite with Pete Carroll.
After a disastrous season together, Carroll and Smith are now out of the fold. The latter will look to rebuild his value in a familiar setting, although he does not have experience playing under Jets head coach Aaron Glenn or offensive coordinator Frank Reich. A quick acclimation period would of course be welcomed by all involved, with Glenn no doubt under pressure to guide New York to more success in Year 2 than the team had during his debut on the sidelines. The Vikings were mentioned as a potential Smith suitor, and NFL insider Jordan Schultz confirms there was “real interest” on the part of Minnesota. The team’s list of free agent targets has now been thinned out, however.
Reich has a history with Carson Wentz, and a reunion between those two has been mentioned as something to watch for. In general, it will be interesting to see if the Jets add another veteran passer in free agency with Smith now in the fold. Meanwhile, the Raiders could be in the market for an experienced option as insurance for Mendoza’s rookie campaign.
Improved play on offense will be key in 2026 for the Jets, a team which made a number of defensive splashes yesterday. It will be interesting to see how Smith fares in his New York return and what kind of QB room he will be in by the time the season begins.
Steelers Extend DT Cameron Heyward
Cameron Heyward is once again re-upping with the Steelers. The long-time defensive tackle is inking a new two-year deal with Pittsburgh, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Heyward still had a year remaining on his deal, but this new agreement effectively rips up that previous contract. The new two-year contract is worth $32.25MM, per Dulac. The deal includes $16.25MM in guaranteed money, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Notably, Heyward’s annual earnings now represent the most lucrative deal for an NFL defensive player in NFL history who’s 36 years or older, per Rapoport. The move will also free up about $5.5MM in cap space for the organization.
A 2011 first-round pick, Heyward has spent his entire career in Pittsburgh. The defensive lineman is second in franchise history in games played (behind Ben Roethlisberger), and he paces the franchise leaderboard in tackles for loss (142). He’s earned six All-Pro nods and seven Pro Bowl appearances during his 15-year career. He’s also served as a team captain for 11-straight seasons.
The 2019 campaign was Heyward’s age-30 season, and he’s somehow only missed seven games since then (six of which came during the 2023 campaign). He averaged close to nine sacks per season between 2017 and 2022, and he rebounded from a two-sack campaign in 2023 with eight sacks in 2024. His numbers took a bit of a step back in 2025, as he finished the year with 78 tackles and 3.5 sacks despite getting into all 17 games. Still, Pro Football Focus ranked him first among all interior defenders, the sixth time in the past seven years that he’s ranked inside the top-six.
Heyward was still attached to a three-year, $45MM deal he signed with the franchise in 2024. He played hardball last year as he looked to adjust that pact, as the veteran staged a hold-in in pursuit of a raise. The two sides ultimately agreed to a last-minute resolution, with the Steelers adding more than $3MM in incentives to the player’s deal.
Now, the franchise is once again showing their faith in the defensive lineman, and with Mike Tomlin no longer in Pittsburgh, the Steelers may be even more dependent on Heyward’s leadership. The team did use a 2023 second-round pick on Yahya Black and a 2025 fifth-round pick on Keeanu Benton, but the team doesn’t have a true contingency plan behind their franchise icon. In other words, Heyward will continue to play a big role for the Steelers over the next few years.
Steelers To Sign S Darnell Savage
The Steelers entered the offseason with multiple veteran safeties hitting free agency. They have now restocked their depth with Darnell Savage, who has agreed to a one-year deal, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
The deal is worth just under $1.5MM, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, with a veteran-minimum salary and $188K signing bonus.
Savage, 28, played for three different teams in 2025. He was entering the second year of a three-year deal with the Jaguars, but was released just two games into the year. The Commanders picked him up shortly after, and he appeared in eight games as their third safety. Washington then waived Savage in December, and he finished the season in Buffalo, which included a Week 18 start with the Bills’ playoff seeding to secure and a special teams nod against the Broncos in the divisional round.
Originally a Packers first-round pick in 2019, Savage started 69 games for the Packers on his rookie contract, which included his fifth-year option in 2023. He only started 10 games that year and left Green Bay in free agency. He signed a three-year, $21.75MM with the Jaguars to take over as their starting safety, but struggled again with injuries and made only 13 starts in 2024.
Savage will be looking to rebuild his value after a few disappointing seasons. Staying healthy will be crucial in that quest, as will carving out a role under new Steelers defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. Jalen Ramsey will take up one safety spot, and DeShon Elliott is likely slated for the second. However, he is coming off a season-ending injury and may have to re-earn his starting job. That could be an opportunity for Savage, but more likely, he will serve as the team’s No. 3 safety.
Chargers Re-Signing OL Trey Pipkins
The Chargers have been working to reshape their offensive line this offseason, but they are retaining a key piece of depth in Trey Pipkins. He is expected to sign a two-year, $10MM deal to stay in Los Angeles, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. An additional $2MM is available via playtime incentives.
Pipkins, 29, was a third-round pick in 2019 and served as the Chargers’ swing tackle for the first three years of his career. He made 10 starts in that span and earned the full-time right tackle job in the last year of his rookie contract. He made 14 starts and earned a three-year, $21.75MM deal to stay in Los Angeles during the 2023 offseason.
The 6-foot-6 lineman retained his starting gig in 2023, but poor performance saw him kicked into guard under Jim Harbaugh the following year. He then started at multiple spots amide the Chargers’ O-line injuries in 2025 and will be vital insurance as Pro Bowl tackle duo Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt recover from season-ending surgeries.
If both are healthy, Pipkins could also compete for a starting guard job. One will likely go to former Patriots first-round pick Cole Strange, who signed in Los Angeles on Monday. The Chargers also retained Trevor Penning, who has experience at tackle but primarily lined up on the interior in 2025. He and Pipkins could compete for the other guard job, provided they are not needed at tackle.
Cardinals To Sign OL Matt Pryor
After returning to Philly for the 2025 campaign, Matt Pryor will be playing elsewhere in 2026. The veteran offensive lineman is signing with the Cardinals, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Pryor is inking a one-year deal with his new squad, per Garafolo. The lineman has inked one-year pacts in each of the past five offseasons.
The TCU product started his career in Philly back in 2018. The sixth-round pick emerged as a key backup during his sophomore season, starting 10 games while filling in at both guard spots and right tackle. The Eagles were quick to bail, however, sending him to the Colts for a late-round swap in 2021.
He ended up spending two seasons in Indy, starting 14 of his 33 games. He’s now set to join his fourth squad in four years after stints with the 49ers (2023), Bears (2024), and Eagles (2025). He got into 17 games during his return to Philly, although he was limited to only 122 offensive snaps.
Pryor has spent most of his career at the guard spots, but he probably would only serve as a reserve behind Isaac Seumalo and Evan Brown in Arizona. He could be a candidate for a starting OT spot with Kelvin Beachum hitting free agency and Jonah Williams struggling during his Cardinals tenure.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/10/26
Panthers To Sign OL Stone Forsythe
Stone Forsythe is heading to Carolina. The free agent offensive lineman has agreed to a deal with the Panthers, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. It’s a one-year deal for Forsythe, according to Joe Person of The Athletic.
The former sixth-round pick out of Florida ended up playing out his rookie contract in Seattle. He eventually emerged as a key depth piece on the Seahawks offensive line, starting half of his 26 appearances between 2023 and 2024.
He joined the Giants during last year’s free agency but didn’t make it to the regular season with his new squad, as he was among the team’s final preseason cuts. He quickly caught on with the Raiders and played a significant role in Las Vegas, starting a career-high 13 games. Unfortunately, Pro Football Focus wasn’t all that bullish on his performance, ranking him 72nd among 84 qualifying offensive tackles.
He’ll likely revert to a depth piece in Carolina behind Ikem Ekwonu and Taylor Moton. Brady Christensen and Yosh Nijman are both free agents, so Forsythe will be penciled for the swing tackle role heading into the 2026 campaign.