Bucs, Kenneth Gainwell Agree To Terms
Kenneth Gainwell enjoyed a strong season in 2025. It has landed him a new deal which will send him out of Pittsburgh, though.
The veteran running back has agreed to terms with the Buccaneers, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz. This will be a two-year pact worth $14MM. Gainwell will collect $10MM guaranteed.
As Gainwell has moved to the Bucs, the Steelers wound up replacing him with Rico Dowdle for similar money. Though, Dowdle landed a two-year, $12.25MM pact. Gainwell did a little better, and a strong 2025 season in Pittsburgh paved the way.
Earning Steelers team MVP honors, Gainwell outplayed his one-year, $1.79MM deal in 2025. The four-year Eagles backup amassed 1,023 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns last season, playing a key role for a Steelers team that again lacked wide receiver depth. Gainwell only has 394 career carries, helping his cause ahead of an age-27 season.
Tampa Bay has a locked-in starting running back, as Bucky Irving displayed star potential as a rookie. A two-injury 2025 season slowed the former fourth-round pick, forcing the Bucs to turn to the demoted Rachaad White. Irving’s older complementary option is not expected to return, and the team did not tender Sean Tucker as an RFA. While Tucker would be brought back at a lower rate, Gainwell is in place as the clear insurance option — a player whose contract suggests a 1-B role could be in the cards — alongside Irving.
Gainwell only logged 280 carries in four Eagles seasons, playing behind a revolving door of higher-caliber RBs. Gainwell backed up Miles Sanders, D’Andre Swift and Saquon Barkley. The Eagles kept trusting the former fifth-round pick as their No. 2 option, and after the Steelers season, Gainwell will see a big pay raise. His two-year deal complements Irving’s rookie accord, with the Bucs now set for an interesting setup in which their backup RB will earn roughly six times the starter’s salary. Irving cannot be extended until 2027.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Falcons, TE Austin Hooper Agree To Deal
Austin Hooper will return to his original NFL team in 2026. The veteran tight end has agreed to terms with the Falcons on a one-year, $3.25MM deal, Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report.
The former third-round pick played out his rookie contract in Atlanta, where he got into 59 games. He had his most productive NFL seasons during his time with the Falcons, including a 2019 campaign where he hauled in 75 catches for 787 yards and six scores.
That performance earned him a four-year contract from the Browns, but he failed to repeat those numbers. He ended up lasting only two seasons in Cleveland, averaging 390 yards per year. He bounced around the league over the next two years, spending time with the Titans and Raiders before catching on with the Patriots ahead of the 2024 campaign.
He ended up inking a pair of one-year deals with New England. He only missed a single game through his two seasons with the organization, tallying 66 catches while mostly serving as a backup to Hunter Henry. Hooper’s lack of blocking skills ultimately made him expendable with the Patriots, and he’ll now land in a familiar spot in Atlanta.
The team’s TE outlook has obviously changed since the last time Hooper played for the Falcons, with Kyle Pitts now leading the depth chart. The Falcons ended up slapping Pitts with the franchise tag, and he’ll continue to garner most of the snaps at the position in 2026. Still, Hooper’s familiarity with Kevin Stefanski should afford him some extra reps in his latest stop.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Jets To Add OLB Kingsley Enagbare
The Packers will be without Rashan Gary moving forward, and he is not the only edge rusher set to depart Green Bay. Kingsley Enagbare is set to leave during his first trip to free agency.
Enagbare has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Jets, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. This will be a $10MM contract, he adds. Enagbare and Joseph Ossai will represent new arrivals for the Jets in 2026, with the team moving quickly at the start of the negotiating window to line up deals in both cases.
Aaron Glenn added two familiar faces in aging ex-Saints Demario Davis and David Onyemata, while Ossai and Enagbare will be new charges for the second-year New York leader. Enagbare was never asked to be a regular Packer starter, but he did make 21 first-string appearances during his four-year Wisconsin run.
Totaling 25 tackles for loss during that four-year stay, the former fifth-round pick was used between 41% and 47% of Green Bay’s defensive snaps during those years. Working primarily as an edge defender, Enagbare totaled 15 QB pressures and two sacks last season. Despite Lukas Van Ness‘ presence, the Pack turned to Enagbare as their Micah Parsons injury replacement over their season’s final four games.
Green Bay will have a new-look EDGE corps, with Gary moving to Dallas and Enagbare Big Apple-bound. Van Ness has one season left on his rookie contract. Parsons could conceivably return by Week 1, but the Packers are traditionally cautious with injury recoveries. A stay on the PUP list would not surprise. The Packers will need some help at OLB soon.
The Jets are remodeling their EDGE cadre themselves, trading Jermaine Johnson. They are expected to pick up Will McDonald‘s fifth-year option, but with Johnson gone and Micheal Clemons unsigned, Glenn and GM Darren Mougey are bringing in their own hires to rush the passer next season.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
Titans To Sign QB Mitch Trubisky
Mitch Trubisky is reuniting with Brian Daboll. The former Bills allies will link up once again, with Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reporting Titans are giving the veteran quarterback a two-year deal.
Finishing out his second Bills stint, Trubisky’s first came in Daboll’s final Buffalo season (2021). Tennessee will bring in the ex-Daboll pupil to work as Cam Ward‘s backup.
Fending off Mike White for Buffalo’s backup job last season, Trubisky has mostly been a No. 2 option since his Bears rookie deal expired after the 2020 season. While the former No. 2 overall pick did open the 2022 season as a Steelers bridge, that was short-lived. He stayed in Pittsburgh in 2023 but returned to Buffalo in ’24, as Mason Rudolph had overtaken him to replace Kenny Pickett. Daboll, however, initially coached Trubisky following his shaky Chicago tenure.
Trubisky, 31, is best remembered for his erratic Bears tenure — which featured a contract-year benching — but he did take part in two Bears playoff games as a starter. After his Steelers tenure, the North Carolina alum has not been looked at for starting work. It looks likely he will replace Brandon Allen as Ward’s backup, though Will Levis is technically still on the roster.
Levis has come up as a trade candidate on a few occasions, though that paused in 2025 as the second-round pick missed all of last season. Trubisky is likely coming in to be the backup, and Levis was drafted two coaching staffs ago (plenty has changed about the Titans’ front office since that time too). Before Saleh and Daboll’s arrival, Titans brass said Levis will be expected to be on the 2026 roster. But with Trubisky set to push him to the third-string level — in all likelihood — there may no longer be a place for him.
Buccaneers To Sign LB Alex Anzalone
Middle linebacker Alex Anzalone is going from Detroit to Tampa Bay. Anzalone has agreed to a two-year, $17MM contract with the Buccaneers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
This move sends Anzalone back to Florida, where he played college football with the Gators. The former Saints third-round pick will also return to the NFC South after opening his career there from 2017-20.
While Anzalone was primarily a backup in New Orleans, he was a full-time starter during his five-year tenure in Detroit. There was a belief he would reunite with former Lions defensive coordinator and current Jets head coach Aaron Glenn in free agency. Instead, Anzalone will join a Tampa Bay team that has a better chance to compete for a playoff spot in the near term.
During his last year in Detroit, Anzalone started in all 16 games and finished with 95 tackles, nine passes defensed, 2.5 sacks and an interception. The 31-year-old played 90.86% of defensive snaps, good for third on the Lions, and placed a respectable 33rd among 88 qualifying linebackers at Pro Football Focus.
The Buccaneers’ addition of Anzalone further calls fellow veteran middle linebacker Lavonte David‘s future into question. A full-time starter since the Buccaneers drafted him in 2012, David has become an icon in Tampa Bay. But David is now a 36-year-old pending free agent who is mulling retirement. The Anzalone signing could signal the end of David’s prolific 14-year run with the Bucs.
Saints, DT John Ridgeway Agree To Terms
John Ridgeway will not be departing on the open market. The defensive tackle has agreed to a new Saints deal, Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network report. This will be a two-year, $6.2MM contract.
Ridgeway has spent the past two seasons in New Orleans. He got into 28 percent of his team’s defensive snaps during his first year with the organization, finishing with 15 stops. He seemed prime for a larger role in 2025, but injuries got in the way. A pectoral injury delayed the start of his campaign, and an illness kept him sidelined later in the year. He ultimately started two of his four appearances.
The former fifth-round pick spent the first two seasons of his career with the Commanders. He got into 32 games (six starts) during his stint in Washington, compiling a total of 55 tackles.
Nathan Shepherd and Davon Godchaux are both set to return in 2026, but there could be some leftover reps at DT depending on the status of free agent Jonah Williams. Vernon Broughton could represent Ridgeway’s biggest competition for any backup snaps at the position.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.
Jets To Sign OLB Joseph Ossai
Joseph Ossai will not return to the Bengals in 2026. The pass rusher’s first trip to free agency will instead send him to New York.
Ossai and the Jets have agreed to terms, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports. This will be a three-year pact worth $36MM, Schultz adds. Ossai will receive $22.5MM fully guaranteed, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Expectations will be high for notable production off the edge in this case for 2026 and beyond as a result.
A third-round pick in 2021, Ossai spent his entire four-year career in Cincinnati. He had a part-time role through his first two years in the NFL but took on more responsibility in 2024. He finished that campaign with 46 tackles and five sacks while getting into about 50 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.
He started a career-high nine games this past year, finishing with 43 stops and five sacks. Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked him 70th among 119 qualifying edge defenders, with the site being most bullish on his run-stopping ability.
He’ll have a chance at a three-down role in New York. The Jets needed to add some pass-rush help following the Jermaine Johnson trade. At the very least, Ossai will contribute on third-down, but the Jets lack of defensive depth (and the team’s financial commitment) means he should see a full-time role for his new squad.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Jets To Bring Back LB Demario Davis
Celebrating his 37th birthday earlier this year, Demario Davis has still managed to score a nice payday. The longtime Saints standout is returning to where his career began.
The Jets are reuniting with Davis, with NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reporting the All-Pro linebacker agreed on a two-year deal worth $22MM on Monday. Davis will receive $15MM fully guaranteed. In addition to bringing Davis back to the Big Apple, the 15th-year linebacker will reunite with Aaron Glenn — a former Saints assistant.
Davis drew a Jets connection before free agency, as did ex-Glenn Saints charge Alex Anzalone. The latter has committed to the Buccaneers, so the Jets will inject considerable experience into their linebacking corps with Davis. The team has steadily chipped away at Joe Douglas’ LB corps, moving on from C.J. Mosley and not extending Quincy Williams (who hit free agency today). Davis will complement $15MM-per-year ‘backer Jamien Sherwood next season.
Spending eight seasons with the Saints, Davis has been one of the most reliable players at any position. The off-ball linebacker is a blitzing dynamo (45 career sacks; 31.5 in New Orleans) who almost never misses time. Davis, who soared to five All-Pro teams during his Saints run, has not played in fewer than 16 games in a season. He has missed just two games in 14 years, giving the Jets hope he can sustain his late-career form.
The Jets drafted Davis in the 2012 third round, selecting him during Rex Ryan‘s time as HC. Davis played out his rookie deal but returned to New York in 2017, being traded from the Browns back to the Jets. The Saints swooped in on the 2018 FA market and found a steal. A franchise known for linebacker icons found another in Davis, who played at least 97% of New Orleans’ defensive snaps in every 2020s season.
Pro Football Focus has ranked Davis as a top-10 off-ball linebacker in six of the past seven seasons, slotting him fifth even at age 36. By starting games in an age-37 season, Demario Davis will become the NFL’s oldest off-ball LB starter since London Fletcher worked as a 38-year-old starter in 2013. As Glenn aims to avoid being a two-and-done HC, the former Saints assistant will bring in a player he trusts to help the cause.
Bears, DT Neville Gallimore Agree To Deal
Neville Gallimore‘s next NFL gig has been lined up. The veteran defensive tackle has agreed to terms with the Bears on a two-year, $12MM deal, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.
The former third-round pick spent the first four seasons of his career in Dallas, where he served as a depth piece on the defensive line. He had four sacks across his four years with the Cowboys, and he wasn’t retained following the conclusion of his rookie pact.
He spent most the 2024 season with the Rams, where he tallied 19 tackles in 14 games (four starts). He had a standout showing in the playoffs that year, collecting 2.5 sacks in two games.
He caught on with the Colts last offseason and had one of the most productive seasons of his career, finishing with career-highs in tackles (38) and sacks (3.5). Despite the numbers, Pro Football Focus only ranked him 75th among 127 qualifying interior defenders, although the site did appreciate his pass-rush ability.
Gallimore will look to carry over his production to Chicago. He’ll be joining a depth chart that currently features Grady Jarrett and former second-round pick Gervon Dexter. This signing could signal that the team’s set to move on from free agent DT Andrew Billings.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Giants To Sign TE Isaiah Likely
One of the Giants’ first moves of free agency will be the addition of a familiar face. To little surprise, tight end Isaiah Likely will be heading to New York once his new contract is officially in place.
Likely has agreed to a three-year Giants deal, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports. The pact has a base value of $40MM and can max out at $47.5MM. Likely will reunite with head coach John Harbaugh after the two worked together in Baltimore for four seasons.
The 25-year-old was considered one of the top tight ends in this year’s class, although his career numbers didn’t necessarily reflect that ranking. Likely mostly played behind Mark Andrews during his time in Baltimore, but he still showed plenty of offensive flashes. He started 17 of his 33 appearances between 2023 and 2024, averaging 36 catches for 444 yards and 5.5 touchdowns per season.
However, thanks in part to Lamar Jackson‘s injury and subsequent late-season struggles, Likely failed to take the step forward that many expected in 2025. The fourth-year player ultimately finished the campaign with career-lows in receptions (27), receiving yards (307), and touchdowns (one).
Now, he’ll be joining his former coach in New York for a potential full-time starting role. Theo Johnson led Giants TEs in snaps last season and will surely be back in 2026 after finishing this past year with 45 catches for 528 yards and five touchdowns. Chris Manhertz is also still around after not missing a game for the Giants over the past two years.
Likely seemed intent to find a starting gig as a free agent, and he was presumably given some assurances about playing time in New York. The Giants also paid him like a starter, with Likely’s new AAV ranking sixth at the position. Still, there’s a scenario where Likely finds himself once again splitting reps at the position.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.