NFL Player News

“It would not be a surprise if Rodgers is back in Pittsburgh,” Pelissero says. Look for us to repeat some version of this blurb 20 times over the next five months, and after that perhaps we’ll get an actual resolution. Hiring Mike McCarthy — who Pelissero notes has spoken to Rodgers several times — surely put this in motion. Rodgers and the Steelers would also need to work out a contract for him to return.

In an interview with Westwood One, Goodell discussed the NFL’s expansion into international markets, with games scheduled to take place in Mexico, France, Brazil, Spain and Australia next season. Goodell was, of course, noncommittal, but took the time to note that there are currently “cities out there that could support an NFL team.”

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo paraphrased Gilmore’s messaging by saying Evans “has more football in him.” Evans, 32, is coming off his 12th NFL season. It is the first time in which Evans finished with fewer than 1,000 receiving yards, though he missed time with a hamstring strain, a broken collarbone and a concussion. He is scheduled to enter free agency this offseason. After this segment, we expect Evans to touch base with his agent soon, if he hasn’t already.

Pearce is reportedly being held in Miami-Dade County on a $20,500 bond. The case “was assigned to the felony domestic crimes intake unit,” and Pearce was “given a pre-trial conditional stay-away order” regarding WNBA player Rickea Jackson. We expect more updates in the coming days.

Does this mean that Hendrickson will be on the Bengals’ roster in 2026? Garafolo answered that question by saying, “maybe, maybe not,” noting that a tag-and-trade scenario may be the goal. The two sides slapped a band-aid on Hendrickson’s offseason trade request last year by agreeing to a one-year deal that gave Hendrickson a $14 million raise for the 2025 season. Unfortunately, a core muscle injury, apparently suffered in Week 6, limited him to just seven games played. Hopefully, things will be resolved quickly.

Patriots LB Harold Landry (knee) is also expected to play. Both players were listed as questionable on Friday. ESPN’s Mike Reiss notes that both players might be unable to handle their typical workload. Spillane’s backup, LB Jack Gibbens, could be asked to “step up” if Spillane needs a few breaks. Spillane missed Weeks 15-18 with the same ankle injury, which he aggravated in the AFC Championship Game. Gibbens notably led the team with 20 tackles during Spillane’s late-season absence. Gibbens’ two pass breakups during that span also impressively tied for a team-high.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports Slowik will coach the safety group while The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt reports Slowik will serve as the Jets’ defensive pass game coordinator. We suspect he is accepting both roles. Slowik spent the past four seasons rapidly rising through the Dolphins’ coaching ranks, serving as a senior defensive assistant (2022), outside linebackers coach (2023) and defensive backs coach and pass game specialist (2024-2025). Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rapoport reports that “other NFL teams have looked at Slowik as a future defensive coordinator.”

Rapoport is following up on one of his own recent reports, where he indicated that Crosby could be traded “at the 2026 NFL Draft or prior to the season.” Only Rapoport knows why he chose to create a wider range of possible outcomes, but perhaps he was told that one or more teams are already interested in acquiring the veteran pass rusher. Regardless, Crosby told reporters late last week that he is roughly one month into his recovery from a meniscus repair. Rapoport believes Crosby’s recovery could progress faster than the typical meniscus repair timeline, which takes 3-4 months.

It was no surprise to hear this as both Jones and the Colts had mutual interest in a re-signing after their regular season ended, and Jones’ Achilles tear had a lot to do with them tumbling out of the playoffs. We’re extremely curious who is compromising on value here as Jones has been an almost-Kirk Cousinsesque money maker over his early career, and it would seem that his mobility being compromised would make him tough to trust in 2026 as a starter since a real chunk of his value is tied to that. The Colts, of course, don’t have any better options after dealing their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks away for Sauce Gardner. It wouldn’t be surprising if this got to the stage of franchise or transition tags.

Banda was requested for the Jets and Cowboys defensive coordinator vacancies, so he at least has some outside buzz as a real candidate. This is the first interview we can record for Tarver. The other name remaining for the Browns appears to be Texans assistant Cory Undlin. It’s an underwhelming group in the wake of Jim Schwartz’s resignation.

New Jets OC Frank Reich “has a close relationship with Eagles coach Nick Sirianni” and McKee “fits the physical mold of a Reich QB” per Rosenblatt. Rosenblatt also links the Jets to Geno Smith (if released), Jacoby Brissett and Kirk Cousins. McKee would be an interesting trade target after a couple of spot starts in Week 18 the past few years. He’s entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2026 and would probably cost the Jets at least a Day 2 pick, but it would undoubtedly be a higher-upside play than relying on Smith or Cousins.