NFL Player News

It’s a significant loss for the upstart Houston offense, as Brown has functioned as the team’s big play wideout over the past couple weeks, including in Week 10 against the Bengals when he caught seven balls for 172 yards. His absence could mean more targets for Dalton Schultz in the slot, and should be good for Tank Dell and Nico Collins.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reports that Rodgers told Rooney and Steelers general manager Omar Khan that his decision-making process “wasn’t going to take as long this year as [it] did last year.” That said, Rooney concedes that he is “not 100.0 percent sure what that means, but I expect something before the draft.” Dulac notes that Rodgers has not been tied to any other teams this offseason. The stage appears to be set for Rodgers to either run it back in Pittsburgh or call it a career.

The Browns were set to finalize a one-year, $5 million contract with Epenesa, pending a physical. Evidently, that deal will not go through. Epenesa played through a “minor” pec injury suffered in late September, missed one game with a concussion, played through a foot injury in early December and a neck injury in the Divisional Round. Hopefully, he can rehab whatever is currently ailing him. Epenesa, 27, notched 28 quarterback pressures and three sacks last year.

The Bears acquired Tryon-Shoyinka and a seventh-round pick from the Browns in exchange for a sixth-round pick in November 2025. He had signed with the Browns last offseason after spending the first four years of his career with the Buccaneers. He totaled just eight quarterback pressures and zero sacks last season, and is best-suited to a backup role. This is a nice landing spot for the former first-round pick.

Gano appeared in just five games last season. A groin injury landed him on injured reserve from Weeks 4-7. He was able to play in Weeks 8 and 9, but was sidelined thereafter by a herniated disc that was reportedly pressing against his spinal cord. He converted 9-of-10 field goal attempts and 9-of-9 extra point attempts. The veteran kicker turns 39 years old next month. It is unclear whether he will be able to play in 2026.

Lynch made clear he wanted to avoid saying a new deal is “right there” because things can change quickly, but he believes the two sides “are on the precipice of something good happening.” Lynch complimented Williams’ consistent play quality, saying the 37-year-old blocker is one of the great players to ever play the game while acknowledging that Williams’ age is a big factor from the team’s perspective. The 49ers chose not to exercise Williams’ $10 million option bonus earlier this month, which would have allowed them to move money around via future void years. The decision was a positive indicator that they believe a new deal can be agreed upon. Things are seemingly still headed in the right direction. Williams is scheduled to enter free agency in 2027.

Berry maintained that Judkins should be able to fully participate in training camp, which typically starts in late July. We had not yet heard whether he would participate in organized team activities (OTAs) and/or mandatory minicamp, but given Berry’s comments, we could see him doing drills with teammates in May. Teams can host up to 10 non-contact workouts between OTAs and mandatory minicamp. Last year, OTAs ran from May 27-29 and June 3-5. Mandatory minicamp ran from June 10-12. At worst, it sounds like Judkins should retake the field with his teammates for workouts in June.

Joey’s brother, Nick Bosa, has played for the 49ers since they drafted him with the second overall pick in 2019. Their mother has been campaigning for the 49ers to sign Joey via social media and, last week, The Athletic’s Matt Barrows said he believes “there’s a good argument” for the 49ers to bring Joey aboard as well. Joey, 30, played for the Bills on a one-year, $12.6 million contract last year, totaling 47 quarterback pressures and five sacks. He suffered a calf injury over the summer, played through a wrist injury and missed two games due to hamstring injuries. Over The Cap lists the 49ers with the ninth-most salary cap space, at just over $31 million. Signing Joey to a one-year deal seems doable if all parties are interested, but you never know, from the outside looking in.

The Browns modified Garrett’s contract language last week, in a manner that lowers Garrett’s dead money in the event of a trade, while also granting Cleveland extra time to work through bonus payouts for the next three seasons. Understandably, reporters, fans and NFL teams wondered if a trade was imminent. Evidently, the Browns have no desire to trade their star defender. Berry adds that he does not want to “waste a ton more breath on the topic.” Theoretically, this should put this story to rest.

Roughly two months ago, 49ers general manager John Lynch told reporters that both players were expected to return sometime “around” training camp, so today’s report confirms that they generally remain on track. We do not yet know when they are expected to be full-go, though, so things are still a little fluid. Bosa, 28, suffered a torn ACL on September 21st. Williams, 21, reportedly hyperextended his knee on August 7th and later tore his ACL as well on November 2nd.

As the Jets rotated through various starting quarterbacks last season, Glenn delayed naming the starting quarterback publicly until the end of the week on multiple occasions. Naming the starting quarterback months in advance seemingly represents a tactical change of sorts for the second-year head coach. It is important to remember that we are entering smokescreen season, with the 2026 NFL Draft coming up next month. Smith is coming off a rough year with the Raiders, but perhaps the Jets’ coaching staff really believes they can help him bounce back. On Friday, ESPN’s Rich Cimini said he “would be a little surprised” if the Jets draft Alabama QB Ty Simpson with the No. 16 overall pick “because they have so many other needs” and possess three first-round picks in 2027. If the Jets load up on pass catchers via this year’s draft, we suppose Smith could work his way into QB2 consideration.