Jones adds that he wants Pickens to be a Cowboy for “a long time.” We have no doubt this is true, but the Cowboys’ recent contract negotiations with their star players have been volatile, to say the least. In 2024, the front office signed CeeDee Lamb to an extension on August 27th, and waited until mere hours before the Cowboys’ Week 1 game against the Browns to sign Dak Prescott to an extension. Contract talks with Micah Parsons soured to the point that he ended up being traded. A report from NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk notes that the Cowboys will likely use the franchise tag on Pickens, an impending free agent, “which will buy the sides time to negotiate a long-term deal.”

NFL insider Jordan Schultz broke the news, saying Kingsbury “wants to continue growing as a coach and learn more about what it takes to be a head coach in the NFL again.” This is a smart move. McVay has successfully balanced head-coaching duties while running the Rams’ offense since 2017. He won NFL Coach of the Year in his first season on the job and Super Bowl LVI in 2021. Kingsbury also ran the offense while serving as the Cardinals’ head coach from 2019-2022, though he did so less successfully.

According to NFL Network’s The Insiders, Schwartz submitted a letter of resignation to the Browns’ front office on Thursday and is now expected to sit out the 2026 season. The long-time defensive coordinator became frustrated with the organization when they passed on him for the head coaching role in favor of Todd Monken, but the team still opted to retain him as defensive coordinator rather than release him from his current deal. Schwartz’s only stint as a head coach came with the Lions from 2009 to 2013, where his team went 29-51 while finishing with a winning record once and one postseason berth. Since then, Schwartz has led several top defensive units. In his three years with the Browns they twice finished in the top five in yards allowed and were top-15 in points allowed in those same season. The Browns, and apparently the league, will be without one of the top defensive minds for at least this season. Schwartz also has a team option in his contract for the 2027 season, meaning the Browns could opt to retain him for next year, which could make for another issue for Schwartz and the team to navigate.

This is great news. A report from this afternoon indicated that Darnold would again participate in a limited capacity, as he has done since injuring his oblique during the Seahawks’ final Divisional Round practice. Darnold is ready to go for Super Bowl LX against the Patriots. Seahawks LT Charles Cross (foot) remains limited.

Speaking with Yahoo Sports, Glazer speculated that the Raiders could get more in return for Crosby than the Cowboys did when they traded Micah Parsons. For reference, Dallas netted defensive tackle Kenny Clark and a pair of first-round picks. Glazer also noted that the two sides are at a crossroads as a result of Crosby’s desire to not see another rebuild. It’s possible that the new regime, likely led by Klint Kubaik, can sell him on this not being a lengthy rebuild. However, it’s safe to say Crosby has also heard that pitch before. Crosby has 44.5 sacks over the past four seasons and won’t turn 29 until the end of training camp. He is under contract for three more seasons.

Angelichio served as the tight ends coach under Mike McCarthy in Green Bay for three years. He has been in the NFL for nearly two decades and has held the role of tight ends coach for almost his entire pro coaching career, spanning six teams. He also coached college football at Pitt, making this a homecoming of sorts. He now returns to Pittsburgh for the first offensive coordinator gig of his career. It’s safe to assume that McCarthy will serve as the team’s play-caller.

Brissett checks the boxes of “has worked for Frank Reich before” and “is a functional NFL quarterback.” The real question is: Why would the Cardinals give him up? He averaged 240.4 yards per start and threw 23 touchdowns in just 12 starts. Arizona has reportedly been more interested in moving on from Murray than Brissett, who GM Monti Ossenfort drafted in New England and made a priority to sign last offseason. We’d be surprised if the Jets could do this without getting fleeced by Arizona.

Berman ominously writes “it might be difficult to put toothpaste back in this tube, and there’s too much smoke here for me to answer this question differently,” though he admits that this remains just a guess. Brown figures to be one of the major turning points of the offseason for both the Eagles and the entirety of the NFL. None of the smoke that has come out about the relationship between the Eagles and Brown has looked encouraging for him staying in Philadelphia, and GM Howie Roseman would only resort to vague hypotheticals about how hard it is to find great players when asked about a potential Brown trade after the Eagles were eliminated from the playoffs.

Reich was Stanford’s interim head coach last year in what felt almost like a favor to former quarterback Andrew Luck. Now he finds himself in a different unenviable position with the Jets. Breece Hall is a free agent. There is no real hope of grabbing a franchise quarterback in the draft or finding one in free agency, and the only quarterbacks the team have under contract for 2026 that started games are Justin Fields and Brady Cook. Reich will have to rise well above his station to get this offense to any semblance of “average” in 2026.

Monken brought former Ravens run game coordinator Travis Switzer on board as his OC. Switzer has never called plays at any level, so this news shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Calling plays in Baltimore over the past three seasons, the Ravens finished fourth, third, and 11th in points per game. Monken has a proven trackrecord of success with an MVP-caliber quarterback. How he fares with the Browns’ messy quarterback situation will determine his fate in Cleveland.