Baltimore now has Maxx Crosby’s replacement roughly 12 hours after his trade fell through. Hendrickson had been holding out for a better deal to start free agency and the Crosby debacle created an opening for him. At just $28 million per year, Hendrickson isn’t quite paid like the top-tier EDGE-rushers, but he should still crack the top-10. He was injured for much of 2025 and totaled just four sacks, but his 2024 and 2023 seasons were enough to get him paid. Hendrickson tallied 17.5 sacks in both of those seasons. That was enough to lead the league two years ago. He will now be the centerpiece of first-year head coach Jesse Minter’s defense.

The Ravens “believed the risk was too high given the compensation it was giving up” and therefore backed out of a deal that would have sent Crosby from the Raiders to Baltimore. ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Tuesday night that “several” teams have already reached out to the Raiders about Crosby, one of the league’s premiere pass rushers, who has 32 sacks over the past three seasons in Vegas. Crosby has said he would refuse to suit up for the Raiders, meaning this saga is likely to drag on for weeks, if not months, ahead of the 2026 regular season. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said the Raiders are not “going to trade Crosby on a discount” this offseason.

The move lowers Goff’s 2026 salary cap hit from $55 million to just $15 million and adds a void year in 2030. It allows the team to get under the salary cap before today’s deadline. In 2024 Goff, 32, signed a four year extension that included $170 million in guaranteed money — one of the richest contracts in the history of the NFL. Since the start of the 2024 season, Goff ranks fifth among all QBs in EPA per drop back and sixth in completion rate over expected. He has at least 30 touchdown passes in each of this past three seasons in the Lions’ efficient offensive system.

A two-year extension for Jones, per Rapoport, could be done as soon as Wednesday. The team used the transition tag on Jones, who late last season tore his Achilles tendon. Though Jones reportedly wants around $50 million per year in a new deal, it seems unlikely he’ll get that much considering the nature of last year’s injury and his poor play over his final five games. Even if Jones is able to suit up for Week 1, he probably won’t be back to 100 percent health until later this season or sometime into 2027.

Speaking on the Rich Eisen Show on ESPN, Albert Breer reported that the hope in Kansas City is that Patrick Mahomes is “close to being himself” by Week 1 of the coming season. Well, that doesn’t sound promising. Mahomes didn’t have surgery on his torn ACL until the middle of December, with most athletes in the league today requiring a 9-12-month recovery timeline. The absolute front end of that window puts him back to football activities in the middle of September, while the back end means Mahomes would be looking at the Physically Unable to Perform list to start the 2026 season. We wouldn’t put it past Mahomes to hit the earlier end of his recovery timetable, but we also wound’t be counting on him for Week 1. Much yet to come out of Kansas City regarding their star quarterback.

The offseason Hendrickson saga continues to surge on through the first two days of legal tampering, with one of the top free agents on the market yet to sign - we now know why. Russini reports that he has offers on the table and will make a formal decision on Wednesday. It is not uncommon for teams to require a bit of salary cap magic prior to signing a player of Hendrickson’s magnitude, something that appears to be in the works behind the scenes as multiple franchises lobby for his services. Stay tuned.

The veteran linebacker notched 44 starts across 65 appearances for the Chiefs while on his rookie contract, a stretch that also included two Super Bowl wins. Chenal averaged 57 tackles and 1.8 sacks per season those four years and earns a significant raise with his new franchise. It is unclear where he is likeliest to play considering the team already has Frankie Luvu and Bobby Wagner, but the kind of money invested hints at significant playing time.

The Giants were reportedly the frontrunners to land Woolen’s services in free agency, with Howie Roseman scooping the veteran cornerback off the market for what appears to be a team-friendly deal. Woolen had been a consistent performer for the Seahawks during his four years with the franchise, although it is fair to say he never fully broke out as the team had planned. Perhaps there is further upside to be added to his resume under the aggression of Philadelphia defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

The Patriots secured the first new weapon for Drake Maye in Doubs, who will profile as the team’s No. 1 wideout after spending four seasons in Green Bay vying for targets. Doubs has been a stead producer throughout his career, totaling 202 receptions for 2,424 yards and 21 touchdowns in 59 career games while posting a respectable 0.202 targets per route run, per TruMedia. The former fourth-round pick posted a career-high 724 yards last season while averaging 13.2 YPR, and profiles primarily as an outside receiver with 82.9 percent of his snaps coming from out wide. His ability to stretch the field and haul in contested catches (48.2 percent contested catch rate) should pair well with Maye, who tied for the ninth-most deep ball attempts (62) last season and finished second on deep ball completion rate (54.8 percent). Doubs makes for an interesting WR2/WR3 candidate in fantasy leagues, but could have upside for more if he becomes the featured receiver in New England.

Smith agreed to a restructured contract with the Raiders before the trade, complicating the salary implications, but the Raiders are reportedly picking up most of this year’s salary. To say that Smith’s year in the desert didn’t go well is an insult to the phrase “didn’t go well” as he led the league in interceptions and saw his adjusted yards per attempt fall from 7.5 to 6.8. He’s entering his age-36 season and is a last-chance gasp to keep the Jets from starting someone completely new. That said, if the Jets have something going right for their offense, it is their offensive line, and Smith probably looked worse than he was behind Vegas’ league-worst line. There’s the possibility of a dead cat bounce QB2 superflex season here. The Raiders have to be thrilled to save any money in a trade and the idea of getting a sixth-round pick on top of that can only help them as they move on to (what we all assume will be) the Fernando Mendoza Era.