Continuing to shine in Zach Charbonnet’s (ACL) injury absence, Walker was the offensive star of the show in a game where points were at a premium. His box score would have been even bigger had a late long touchdown run not been called back by a dubious holding call. He was named Super Bowl MVP for his efforts. One of the most hotly-debated backs in all of fantasy football, Walker finally stayed healthy for an entire season but could never shake Charbonnet as his co-starting back. It was Charbonnet who featured in the red zone, rendering Walker something of a between-the-20s specialist even as he out-caught Charbonnet 31-20. Charbonnet held up better in pass protection and never put the ball on the ground. For his part, KWIII fumbled just once. Walker is an explosive back, but one who frustrates coaching staffs with his circuitous run paths. Now headed to free agency, it’s unclear if Walker will be back in Seattle considering Mike Macdonald’s lack of faith in the game’s highest-leverage spots. Of course, KWIII’s strong playoffs will undoubtedly complicate that calculus. Walker turns 26 in October.

Facing his fourth defensive onslaught in as many playoff appearances, Maye fully wilted, losing 43 yards on six sacks and coughing up a fumble-six. Although the Chargers, Texans and Broncos were all tough matchups, the Seahawks proved to be something else entirely, routinely getting home with just four pass rushers. Maye did not play well, but he also never had a chance. Things were much different during the regular season. After a stunning Week 1 dud against a Raiders squad that would go on to claim the No. 1 overall pick, both Maye and his Patriots started on a Super Bowl warpath and never let up. Despite a curious lack of 300-yard performances, Maye was shockingly consistent, finishing below 200 yards only two times all season. He lapped the field in NextGenStats’ completion rate over expected, and finished top five in average intended air yards. Despite running less often than he did as a rookie, Maye was a big-play machine, and it helped carry a Pats offense running low on standalone playmakers. It was all about Maye, an extremely bullish sign for a 23-year-old second-year pro. If this is what Maye can accomplish with a skeleton crew skill corps, we would love to see what he’s capable of with a more fleshed-out unit. Expect that to arrive for 2026, keeping Maye in the MVP mix after this year’s top-two finish.

It wasn’t always the prettiest performance, but Darnold stood tall in the face of pressure — both defensive and otherwise — and avoided turnovers while taking only one sack. He could never hit on one of his patented deep completions, but did more than enough as the Seahawks’ defense absolutely smothered the Patriots’ offense to claim the second Super Bowl title in franchise history. As for the regular season, Darnold completed his multi-season comeback story, shaking off his “big game” collapse from 2024-25 to set a new career high in completion percentage (67.7) while keeping his touchdown percentage above 5.0. He finished top five in completion rate over expected, and was amongst the league leaders in average depth of target. That’s the long way of saying he paired efficiency with explosive plays, the latter of which were nearly all directed Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s way. Still on the right side of 30 and signed for the next two seasons in Seattle, Darnold should remain a priority streamer in fantasy. Despite his career revival and sterling “real life” play, Darnold’s volume is limited just enough to keep him outside the top 12 in offseason ranks.

Pearce is reportedly being held in Miami-Dade County on a $20,500 bond. The case “was assigned to the felony domestic crimes intake unit,” and Pearce was “given a pre-trial conditional stay-away order” regarding WNBA player Rickea Jackson. We expect more updates in the coming days. Given the reporting so far, it would not be surprising if Pearce’s availability for the 2026 season were in question at this point.

“I do expect teams to call the Cincinnati Bengals,” Rapoport said. There was a brief groundswell of the idea of a Burrow trade towards the end of the season when he let loose on how bad he was feeling at a press conference, but even if he had wanted out, the Bengals have always played hardball with their players that they want to keep. The Bengals, per Rapoport, will instead channel Burrow’s belief that things need to change into spending and getting better on defense. We’ll believe that when we see it.

He’d be entering his age-37 season, but most of the smoke since the end of the season has pointed in this direction. The Chiefs are currently significantly over the cap and would probably need to shuffle some salaries around to get Kelce — an impending free agent — under contract. Kelce himself has reportedly been in touch with the Chiefs about a return, and Dianna Russini reported yesterday that many close to Kelce believe he will return. Rapoport says we should expect clarity “sooner, rather than later” on Kelce’s 2026 status.

“It would not be a surprise if Rodgers is back in Pittsburgh,” Pelissero says. Look for us to repeat some version of this blurb 20 times over the next five months, and after that perhaps we’ll get an actual resolution. Hiring Mike McCarthy — who Pelissero notes has spoken to Rodgers several times — surely put this in motion. Rodgers and the Steelers would also need to work out a contract for him to return.

Pearce is alleged to have been fleeing a domestic dispute. Not good, to put it mildly. It somehow gets worse when you factor in the charges Pearce is facing following the chase and subsequent crash, including two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated stalking. That’s in addition to “fleeing or eluding police with lights or siren.” Social media footage shows what appears to be Pearce in a struggle with police following the chase. The 22-year-old had a sensational rookie season following the Falcons’ aggressive move up to get him late in the first round, but this has him in danger of a massive suspension, perhaps missing all of 2026. There’s also the very real possibility of a jail sentence. Stay tuned.

This has been our lean for a while, too, but it’s interesting Schefter’s sources are already confirming so at this early stage of the offseason. The tag window opens Feb. 17 and closes March 3. The sides would then have until mid-July to negotiate a long-term deal. The tag would guarantee Pickens roughly $28 million. Although the 25-year-old (next month) surely won’t mind the monster one-year payday, he will undoubtedly view this as his best chance at a mega long-term deal. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has claimed he desires the same outcome, but Dallas has become as bad as any team at negotiating long-term deals. A mercurial player like Pickens playing on a one-year pact would have the potential to end poorly for both parties. It’s definitely one of the offseason’s top early storylines.

The expected move will allow the veteran quarterback options as he decides on his next move. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert adds that Cousins is also weighing the opportunity to turn his attentions to broadcasting after dipping his toes in the discipline earlier this year. According to Seifert, Cousins “will be fully open to finding the right opportunity with another NFL team in need of quarterback help.”