NFL Player News

The release of Thomas might be a sign that the Giants’ banged-up defensive front is on the mend. Chris Canty (knee), Shaun Rogers (leg) and Marvin Austin (back) are all in doubt for Week 1. Broha has been asked to join the practice squad.

The speculation comes from “a few league sources.” When John Harbaugh accepted the Giants’ head coaching role, he got it in writing that he would report to owner John Mara, not Schoen. After signing on the dotted line, Harbaugh hired NFL chief football administrative officer Dawn Aponte as the Giants’ new senior vice president of football operations and strategy. Per Leonard, “while Schoen is still running the scouting staff and working some phones, the bulk of the Giants’ operation otherwise reports to Aponte.” Schoen is in the final year of his contract and reportedly has a good relationship with some in the Giants’ ownership group, but his polling among players is not good. They reportedly gave his performance in March a D+ grade, which he refused to “give validity.” Perhaps he dazzles on Thursday, and this all becomes moot. For now, we suspect his seat is at least mildly warm, though.

In a video report from earlier today, Venerable outlined a potential trade in which the Saints acquire the No. 3 overall pick from the Cardinals in exchange for the Nos. 8, 42 and 73 overall picks. He notes “no 2027 draft capital is exchanged with New Orleans,” and told viewers, “I think that’s the preference for these teams — in fact, I know it.” Per Venerable, the Cardinals “are looking to do their damage” in the draft this year, rather than next year. It sounds like Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort needs to leave the draft with meaningful personnel upgrades. Venerable notes that the Cardinals recently hosted Miami OT Francis Mauigoa (back) for a top-30 visit. He would be in play for them in this scenario. Yesterday, Venerable reported that the Cardinals have discussed a potential trade back with the Chiefs as well. He believes both the Saints and Chiefs are targeting either Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey or Ohio State LB Arvell Reese.

We now have five reported top-30 visits for Bailey. He previously met with the Cowboys (Nos. 12 and 20), Chiefs (No. 9 and 29) and Cardinals (No. 3). Bailey was scheduled to meet with the Jets (No. 2) as well, but the team cancelled the visit because they had “all the information they already needed.” The Titans pick at No. 4 overall, and the Commanders pick at No. 7. A top-four pick may be required to snag Bailey.

Delp has been very busy lately. He also took top-30 visits with the Buccaneers, Chargers, Vikings, Patriots, and Ravens. Delp was a three-year starter at Georgia, playing sidekick to current Raiders TE Brock Bowers in 2022 and 2023. Unfortunately, Delp never became a featured receiving option after Bowers was drafted. Delp possesses good size and athleticism. He has the potential to develop at the pro level.

The Chiefs would be targeting the top available pass rusher in a trade up, while the Cardinals will again look to accumulate more picks for their rebuild in a trade down. Several teams have been rumored to be looking to trade down, so it’s possible the return is more underwhelming than it would normally be. The Cardinals would be able to slide to the back end of the main tier of prospects in a trade down, and given that they feel like they have the murkiest roster in the NFL at the moment, trading down makes a lot of sense if they don’t have true conviction in any of these players becoming a star.

This probably isn’t going to lower his draft stock much — Branch is a likely Day 2 pick — but it’s not nothing as we near the start of the event next week. Branch was booked at 1:26 AM on Sunday and released at 3:44 AM. The Georgia wideout ran a 4.35-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine and figures to be a YAC-focused receiver in the pros.

Lawrence, dealt to the Bengals last night, officially passed his physical and signed the contract extension. It’s unclear exactly how much money this adds to his guaranteed tally — that’s probably the real question on how good of a deal it is — but the extension is a bit lower than his reported $30 million per season ask. Lawrence is now under contract for the next three seasons with the Bengals.

“I wouldn’t say the room is complete,” he added. The Athletic’s Daniel Popper also mentioned Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel, and Tyreek Hill as “unsigned veteran receivers with scheme familiarity” for new OC Mike McDaniel. Fantasy managers reliant on Ladd McConkey will want the Chargers to avoid a reunion with Allen, as they both tend to win in the same areas of the field. McConkey, of course, watched his fantasy stock suffer last year with Allen in the fold.

DeFabo notes that Steelers HC Mike McCarthy dropped a few clues when he said he likes quarterbacks with “big hands and long arms” and sometimes gets more excited about the floor than the ceiling. Beck and Penn State QB Drew Allar seem to be firmly on the radar for Pittsburgh, with Allar as the high-ceiling option to Beck’s safer floor. Beck could be targeted in the middle rounds.

Kyle Shanahan and Green were captured yelling at each other on the sidelines several times this year. GM John Lynch said that the team wasn’t looking to trade Green. The 2024 second-rounder was a disappointment in 2025 with a 53.5 PFF coverage grade. It wouldn’t be totally surprising if someone traded for Green near the draft, but this report seems more like a public message to Green than anything.