Running back J.K. Dobbins wanted to stay in Denver for a second season. He is.
He almost wasn’t.
Luca Evans of the Denver Post reports that, before Dobbins worked out a new two-year contract with the Broncos, he had a deal that was essentially “done” with the Jaguars.
Dobbins, who had 772 yards through 10 games before suffering a season-ending foot injury, hopes to build on what he did in 2025.
“What I’m going to show is that last year wasn’t a fluke,” Dobbins said. “Like, instead of being No. 3 in the NFL, I’ll be No. 1 this year. And there won’t be any injuries.”
No running back can credibly make that vow. It’s even harder for Dobbins to do it, given the number of injuries he has suffered during an NFL career that has gone very well, when he’s able to play. He has a career average of 5.2 yards per carry.
Still only 27, Dobbins has plenty of gas in the tank. And, if he can stay healthy all year, he should finish with his first 1,000-yard season.
Broncos running back RJ Harvey underwent offseason shoulder surgery after tearing his labrum, Luca Evans of The Denver Post reports.
Harvey injured his shoulder in the AFC Championship Game.
Harvey did practice during organized team activities, but he did not do much team work as he works his way back, per Evans.
As a rookie, the 2025 second-round pick totaled 193 touches for 896 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns.
He will play behind J.K. Dobbins and will compete with rookie Jonah Coleman for the backup job.
Wideout Hakeem Butler, the UFL Offensive Player of the Year, is not the only spring league player the Broncos are signing. Zac Stevens of DNVR reports that the Broncos also have agreed to terms with cornerback/returner Sean Fresch Jr.
Fresch, like Butler, played for the St. Louis Battlehawks.
He spent the past two years in the UFL after graduating from Rice in 2024.
In 10 games this spring, Fresch returned 32 punts for 333 yards and three kickoffs for 85 yards, earning him all-league honors. He also contributed on defense, where he tallied 29 tackles, four pass breakups and a pair of sacks.
The Texans worked out Fresch last week.
UFL offensive player of the year Hakeem Butler is getting another shot at the NFL.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the Broncos are signing Butler ahead of their mandatory minicamp this week. The wideout won the UFL award while playing with the St. Louis Battlehawks this spring.
Butler also won the offensive player of the year award while playing for St. Louis in 2024 and he’s spent the last three seasons with the team. He had 29 catches for 641 yards and three touchdowns during the 2026 season.
Butler was a 2019 fourth-round pick of the Cardinals and spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve. He played in two games for the Eagles in 2020 and has also spent time with the Panthers, Steelers and Bengals over the course of his career.
The new Patrick Mahomes contract covers eight seasons and averages, from signing, a payout of $63.093 million per year. That pushes the market to unprecedented heights. And it brings into focus the next wave of quarterback deals.
So let’s take a look at the quarterbacks who’ll use the Mahomes contract as a key data point for ongoing or upcoming negotiations.
Lamar Jackson, Ravens.
Jackson has wanted a new deal for more than a year. His current contract averaged $52.5 million per year from signing. At the time it was finalized, he was the highest paid player in the league. He has now slid down to the bottom of the top 10. Mahomes getting to $63.09 million, especially while still recovering from a torn ACL, will only strengthen Lamar’s resolve.
Jackson currently has $104 million remaining on his current contract, over the next two years. With a no-tag clause, he can kick the can through the next two seasons and become an unrestricted free agent. It gives him significant leverage, and Mahomes’s contract likely nudges Lamar’s reasonable expectations from at least $60.1 million per year (based on Dak Prescott’s latest deal) to at least $63.1 million annually.
Joe Burrow, Bengals.
In 2023, after his first three NFL seasons, Burrow agreed to a seven-year deal with an average from signing of $44.28 million per year and a new-money average of $55 million. He has four years left with a total payout of $163.539 million, an average of $40.88 million.
His recent restructuring was a cap-creation device, with no new money. The Bengals, who are extremely careful with money, may not be inclined to tear up the current deal and replace it with a new contract.
For his part, Burrow may not be inclined to extend his commitment to the team. His discontent after three straight non-playoff seasons has become more obvious. As he enters his seventh season in Cincinnati, Burrow could be thinking about reaching the same conclusion Carson Palmer did after his eighth.
Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers.
He has said talks on a deal that would extend his $33.3 million per year contract are nowhere close to where he thought they’d be. The Buccaneers could tag him in 2027, or they could let him hit the open market.
Some think the Bucs wouldn’t use the franchise tag; with a 2026 cap number of $39.975 million, Mayfield’s 2027 franchise tender would be at least $47.97 million. There’s a sense in some circles that the Bucs believe they’ll ultimately offer him more than anyone would in free agency, if a new deal isn’t done before Mayfield’s self-imposed deadline of the start of training camp.
C.J. Stroud.
The Texans repeatedly have proclaimed that he’s their guy. But they have yet to do for him what they’d done for cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and defensive end Will Anderson — sign the first-round pick to a new deal before his fourth season.
The challenge at this point comes from putting a number on his second contract. There’s a broad range when it comes to veteran quarterback pay. Where would Stroud fit?
Currently, the number would be lower than it could be for Stroud, if he has a strong fourth season. Since the Texans realize that, at this point, they’d be only bidding against themselves, there’s no reason to rush the process.
Caleb Williams, Bears.
The first overall pick in the 2024 draft becomes eligible for a new deal after the 2026 regular season. And Williams has been very focused on the business realities of the NFL, from even before he was drafted.
When the time comes for Williams to get a new deal, the Mahomes number will drive the discussion. Especially if Williams continues to be on a trajectory that could put him among the top four or five quarterbacks in football.
We’ve already heard talk of Williams having expectations that would be more than eye-popping. And we also expect that Williams will make it known that he wants his contract not after the 2026 postseason ends, but promptly upon the opening of the window for a new deal after the Bears face the Vikings in Week 18.
Why carry the injury risk into the 2026 postseason? No quarterback on his rookie deal has tried to do that, even though the CBA wrinkle has been hiding in plain sight since 2011.
Jayden Daniels, Commanders.
Like Williams, Daniels becomes eligible for a new deal after the 2026 regular season. His main goal should be to reestablish himself after a disappointing and injury-plagued second season, during which he played only seven of 17 games.
If Daniels returns to his rookie form, he’ll be joining Williams as a quarterback looking for a second contract.
Drake Maye, Patriots.
The player who finished second in the MVP voting to cap his second season also has his window open after the 2026 regular season. And the Patriots will be hoping that, like Tom Brady before him, Maye will be less inclined to break the bank and more inclined to ensure that there will be cap space to have a quality team around him.
Brady, who entered the league as the 199th overall pick, had naturally lower expectations early in his career. Maye, the third overall pick who was denied the commensurate reward due to the rookie wage scale, may not be as charitable as Brady was.
Bo Nix, Broncos.
Nix’s window likewise opens after the 2026 regular season. He’ll need to show he has fully recovered from the foot injury suffered late in the AFC playoff win over the Bills. And he’ll need to do even more in Sean Payton’s offense to unlock a major deal.
Regardless, there’s a new high bar — and his contemporaries from the 2024 draft could add more data points.
That raises another question, as to Williams, Daniels, Maye, and Nix. Who goes first? There will be a competition among the agents to emerge with the best deal. This could prompt some of them to wait until the others jump in the pool first.
Sam Darnold, Seahawks.
Darnold’s three-year, $100.5 million contract from 2025 was structured to give the Seahawks an escape hatch after one year. It wasn’t structured to force the team back to the table if Darnold leads the team to a Super Bowl win.
With $27.5 million in base pay and up to $5 million in available incentives, Darnold would be justified to seek a new deal. The Seahawks may want to wait until 2027.
Regardless, Mahomes’s new contract will be a factor, whenever it’s time to sit down and work out a new contract.
