NFL Player News

The Athletic’s Nate Atkins said Higbee is unlikely to be active for Thursday night’s game against the Seahawks, however. Higbee has bee on IR since mid-November following a serious ankle injury against Seattle. His absence has opened up routes and targets for Colby Parkinson, who should be treated as a legit streaming option in Week 16. Parkinson and TE Terrance Ferguson led the Rams in pass routes last week against the Lions in an LA offense that uses two and three tight end sets at the NFL’s highest rate.

“A resolution has not been easy and Williams is frustrated with the process. He’s due $32M in salary with a $38M+ cap number,” writes Rapoport. The 49ers are actually in fine cap shape at the moment and will clear a little more with a Brandon Aiyuk release. So they could absolutely carry Williams as is. But if they do receive an offer they can’t refuse, trading Williams would free up about $5 million in cap space for them. Entering his age-38 season, Williams remains one of the best tackles in the NFL.

Once you get past the fact that the ideal spot for Tagovailoa was the 2023 Dolphins, this isn’t a bad fit. Kevin Stefanski has made a habit of getting more out of less at quarterback and the Falcons need someone to bridge the gap to Michael Penix being healthy after his ACL tear. The fact that Tagovailoa will play on the league minimum with offsets is also a great help with the Falcons since they are struggling with cap space after their disastrous Kirk Cousins contract.

This only came into question last night based on Kelce talking to numerous teams per the reporting of Dianna Russini. But there was never really a doubt that Kelce would leave being a lifelong Chief behind while entering his age-37 season — there’s not an objectively better ring-chasing slot even if he’d wanted to leave. We’re sure that Kelce’s latest contract will be filed with the Chiefs in the near future.

Less than an hour away from being able to test free agency for the first time in his career, Evans, who will be 33 at the start of next season, could officially be on the move. The veteran receiver is coming off the worst season of his career (30-368-3), which saw him miss nine games due to a collarbone injury. Evans will likely be looking to join a team that he believes can contend for a Super Bowl title over his final few years in the league, and should have multiple high-end suitors once the legal tampering period begins. While a return to the Buccaneers remains on the table, it wouldn’t be surprising if they opted to lean into their younger receivers, along with Chris Godwin, next season.

Pelissero says that Walker “still is in touch with the Seahawks” about a return, but highlights the Chiefs as the team that could swoop in and land the Super Bowl MVP. Walker rushed for 221-1027-5 last regular season and ran for another 65-313-4 in the postseason while helping the Seahawks win their second title in franchise history. Walker has been linked to multiple teams ahead leading up to his free agency, although it was reported that the Giants have already been “priced out” of his market.

One of the better run-defending linebackers in the NFL, Tavai was only able to play 290 snaps last year due to a long-term calf injury and New England bringing in new talent ahead of him. Entering his age-30 season, he’ll have a chance to land elsewhere as a run-stuffer.

The contract contains $12 million in guarantees per Mike Garafolo, likely tabbing it as a significant raise for Rankins after he signed a one-year prove-it deal in 2025. Rankins has done his best work with the Texans over the past few years and finished with a 70.8 PFF defensive grade in 2025.

Schefter reports that a source familiar with the situation told him “frustration is mounting” between the NFL and the owners. According to Schefter, while the league is “focused on changes that it believes will improve the performance of the on-field officials,” the union would prefer to “roll back” some of the access the league currently has to officials. With the current deal set to expire in May, the league will need to get a new deal in place before the start of the season or we could once again be looking at replacement refs to start the season.

In theory, the 2023 UDFA is now set to make at least $3.54 million in 2026, though RFA tenders can for some reason be rescinded. Pace can also still sign an offer sheet elsewhere. The Vikings would receive no compensation were he to sign a sheet with someone else and the Vikes declined to match. Pace’s playing time declined in 2025, though he still sees time on defense in addition to featuring on special teams.

It’s “based on the leverage a franchise tag would have given him,” but for a quarterback with Jones’ career line to ask for this much money while rehabbing a torn Achilles is ... bold. The Colts and Jones obviously seem to want each other, but that was such a big gap in negotiations that Indy simply transition tagged him. Breer believes the team and Jones are still negotiating, and perhaps the transition tag will motivate them to get something more reasonable done. Since Alec Pierce’s negotiations appear to depend on being certain Jones will be back, it would certainly behoove the Colts to put forth good faith offers in a hurry.