NFL Player News

The 2022 first-round pick has appeared in just three games this season, allowing 135 yards on 10 receptions before being placed on the IR with a torn ligament in his foot. Despite many labeling Elam as a bust, it was revealed that Elam suffered the ankle injury in the preseason and was trying to play through it at the start of the year. Now fully healthy, Elam will work in as a back-up cornerback behind Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford, and Dane Jackson. Perhaps a strong finish to the season can help him shake the “bust” label. Interestingly, this move completes Buffalo’s 53-man roster which means they’ll need to make another roster move if they want to activate DT DaQuan Jones.

Bates visited with the Giants Monday, per the league’s transactions wire. He would seem to be a good fit for a team looking to bolster its offensive interior, with Bates bringing significant experience playing both guard and center during his seven-year NFL career.

Both signings offer depth at positions of need. Gibbens handled 45% of the defensive snaps for the Patriots in 2025 while Billings was in on 48% of the defensive snaps for the Bears. Of particular intrigue is the addition of Gibbens considering the relative lack of depth inside on the second level currently, meaning he could carve out a substantial role for the Cardinals in 2026.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports Martin’s deal is up to $5 million. Martin joined the Panthers last season on a one-year deal and wound up booting 56 punts for an average of 47.2 yards per punt. Martin is a 13-year vet of the league who has spent time with four different franchises. He landed a career-best 48.2 percent of his kicks inside his opponent’s 20-yard line last season.

Kirk spent last season in a backup role with the Texans, finishing the year with 28 receptions for 239 yards and one touchdown on 52 targets. The veteran receiver has seen 99 targets in 21 games over the last two seasons while playing over 75 percent of his snaps from the slot. In 2025, current free agent Jauan Jennings led the 49ers with 142 slot snaps, but he’s unlikely to return to the team. Depending on how the rest of the offseason goes, Kirk could earn a decent role in San Francisco, but it’s hard to imagine him having too much fantasy viability outside of deep leagues.

Feeney joined the Bucs on a one-year contract last offseason. The veteran lineman wound up starting 10 games at right guard for them, earning a PFF blocking grade of 54.2 while allowing 21 pressures and four sacks. Feeney has 75 games of starting experience on his resumé and can fill in at either guard spot if needed next season.

Concepcion is a potential first-round draft pick in next month’s draft and did not work out at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine. The 21-year-old receiver’s surgery was reportedly “routine and preventative” and shouldn’t affect his readiness for the upcoming season. Concepcion totaled 61 receptions for 919 yards and nine touchdowns in his first and only season at Texas A&M while averaging 15.1 YPR.

Slay spent the first seven years of his career (2013-2019) with the Lions before joining the Eagles in 2020. The six-time Pro Bowler and 2017 First-team All-Pro was a part of the Eagles’ 2024 championship team and led the league in both interceptions (8) and pass breakups (26) during the 2017 season. Slay walks away from the game with 28 career interceptions, five defensive touchdowns, and as the active leader in career pass breakups (163). He spent his final season with the Steelers before being claimed off waivers by the Bills in December.

Wingard started all 16 games he appeared in for the Jaguars last season, finishing second on the team in tackles (84) while also breaking up a career-high nine passes and picking off one pass. The veteran safety has started 10 or more games twice in his career, and could serve as a reliable starter in the Cardinals’ secondary for first-year head coach Mike LaFleur.

Heck is a six-year veteran of the league who has 29 games of starting experience under his belt. In his lone season with the Buccaneers, Heck started six of the 17 games he appeared in, with all of his starts coming at right tackle. He earned a PFF grade of 45.2 last season while allowing 32 pressures and three sacks.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, other teams had interest in Fields, but his preference was to go to the Chiefs. It’s an interesting landing spot for the former No. 11 overall pick, who is now slated to join his third team in three seasons. With Patrick Mahomes (knee) still recovering from a torn ACL, Fields will be the presumed QB1 for the Chiefs throughout much of the offseason, and could draw the start in Week 1 if Mahomes is unable to start. Fields struggled during his lone season with the Jets, throwing for 1,259-7-1 in nine games while adding another 71-383-4 on the ground. One of the worst sack avoiders in the NFL, Fields was also sacked on 11.7 percent of his dropbacks and had an abysmal 23.3 percent pressure-to-sack rate. Going from one of the best sack avoiders in the league to one of the worst could present an interesting challenge for Andy Reid and the offense in the early portion of the season. That said, Fields’ rushing ability will also add another element to the offense that can be exploited in Mahomes’ offense. While he would be a risky short-term bit in 1QB leagues, Fields will have some later-round value in 2QB/Superflex leagues if Mahomes misses time. Jets beat writer Zack Rosenblatt reports the Jets are paying “all but $3 million of Fields’ $10 million guaranteed salary,” which saves them more money than what it would have cost to release him.