Los Angeles

Rams

McDuffie, who has three interceptions over 56 NFL games, was a first-round pick of Kansas City in 2022 and was set to play on his fifth-year rookie option before being dealt to the Rams, who last season allowed the sixth lowest drop back EPA in the NFL. McDuffie, 25, finished the season on IR with a knee injury. He’ll likely sign a long term deal with the Rams. Shipping McDuffie to LA could suggest the Chiefs are finally ready to build via the draft, including, perhaps, improving the receiving room for Patrick Mahomes as he returns from a 2025 knee injury.

Per Jackson, the Dolphins are interested in adding a veteran quarterback who will “be a good sport about being No. 2" behind Quinn Ewers if that’s how it plays out. He also lays out that they are interested in Malik Willis at “a certain unknown price point.” It sounds like the Dolphins are going to have a brutal year of taking their medicine on the Tua Tagovailoa contract. An Ewers/Garoppolo quarterback competition would be a tough scene.

The Rams, as Athletic beat Nate Atkins notes, sound like a team “ready to be aggressive to maximize Matthew Stafford’s window.” Snead does have an extra first-round pick in his pocket due to last year’s James Pearce trade with the Falcons. While it’s been bandied about often that they could use the pick to select Stafford’s successor at quarterback, they could also simply trade it for someone to help them soar above the Seahawks right now. Stay tuned.

A non-update update. It isn’t the deal that it was last year, where thoughts of a Stafford trade became one of the focal points of the combine, but Stafford probably does deserve a contract adjustment after winning the MVP. The Rams would face no constraints to give him a raise, as they enter the offseason with $40 million in cap space before they even make any adjustments. More importantly, there’s been zero talk of him leaving the Rams this offseason.

Higbee is still deciding on his future. The 33-year-old lifelong Ram was lost in the 3TE set shuffle last year and wouldn’t figure to be an interesting fantasy tight end if he re-signed in Los Angeles.

Simpson would be a developmental project for Rams head coach Sean McVay if LA spent a draft pick on the Alabama product this spring. Howe said Simpson is considered “a high-level processor who wins before the snap, and his intangibles are through the roof. His ceiling might be as a Purdy type, though Purdy has a thicker frame and Simpson’s durability and shortage of starting experience are concerns.” Simpson, who had 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns, and five interceptions over 15 games in 2025, is not widely considered a Week 1 starter for 2026.

The team will maintain control of three players that surprised in 2025, including “thiccer kicker” Harrison Mevis. The tendering of exclusive rights free agents ties the three to the franchise through the 2026 season considering they are unable to negotiate with other teams. At least for now, it appears as if the Rams will continue forward with Mevis as their place kicker.

It’s a break from any speculation that the Raiders would wait until the draft to trade Crosby, but as Breer points out, there’s “going to have to be some needle threading” to get a deal done. The Raiders are reportedly hoping to fetch a “Micah Parsons” type package for their star pass-rusher, which is unlikely to come give the age difference between Crosby and Parsons. That said, there are plenty of teams who will be willing to give up a nice haul for a premier pass-rusher. If Crosby is dealt, Breer highlights the Cowboys, Bears, Ravens, Bills, Patriots, Eagles, and Rams as teams who are “keeping tabs on his availability.”

New head coach Mike LaFleur is apparently close enough to Garoppolo to get a “that’s his guy” from a league source. We’re not sure that a 35-year-old who has started one game in the last two seasons and was picked off nine times in 169 dropbacks in 2023 is the right addition for the state of the Cardinals quarterback room. But, on the other hand, it’s LaFleur’s guy, and he did just defend hiring Nathaniel Hackett.

Matthew Stafford, 38, is entrenched as the 2026 starter. Bonsignore writes that “the Rams are already planning for that inevitable transition” that will occur whenever Stafford chooses to retire. Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza is unlikely to be available when the Rams are on the clock with the 13th and 29th first-round picks. Bonsignore singles out Alabama QB Ty Simpson as an option for the Rams, while noting that they will likely take a look at Penn State QB Drew Allar, Miami QB Carson Beck, Arkansas QB Taylen Green, Georgia Tech QB Haynes King, Clemson QB Cade Klubnik and LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier at the upcoming NFL Scouting Combine.