Offseason programs will start getting underway around the NFL next week.
The ten teams that hired new coaches this offseason will be eligible to start working with their players on Monday, April 6. The Ravens are the only team that has set that as their first day of work while the Cardinals, Falcons, Bills, Browns, Raiders, Dolphins, Giants, Steelers and Titans have set Tuesday as their opening day.
All of those teams will also be able to hold a voluntary minicamp later in the spring. Every team is also scheduled to hold a rookie minicamp and a mandatory minicamp over the course of the next few months.
The first two weeks of work for all teams is limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only. The three-week second phase allows for on-field work, but no full-speed team drills while the third OTA phase allows for team drills, but there is no live contact allowed at any point in the offseason.
Most of the 22 teams with returning coaches will be opening their offseason programs on April 20 or 21. The Broncos have set May 4 as their first day.
Free agent cornerback Stephon Gilmore announced his retirement on Thursday.
He posted the news on social media.
Gilmore, 35, has not played since 2024 and did not sign with a team last season.
The Bills made him the 10th overall pick in 2012, and he played five seasons with Buffalo, four with New England and one each with Carolina, Indianapolis, Dallas and Minnesota.
He was Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 with the Patriots when he led the league with six interceptions and 20 pass breakups.
In his career, the five-time Pro Bowler totaled 617 tackles, 32 interceptions, 149 pass breakups, eight forced fumbles and a sack.
The Bengals are adding to their secondary.
Cincinnati has reached a one-year agreement with safety Kyle Dugger, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Dugger, 30, spent the second half of last season with the Steelers, starting nine games after being traded from the Patriots. He tallied 42 total tackles with five passes defensed and two interceptions.
A second-round pick in 2020, Dugger spent his first five-plus seasons with New England. He’s appeared in 90 career games with 78 starts, recording 11 interceptions with 29 passes defensed.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye dealt with a right shoulder injury in the postseason, but he doesn’t expect it to be an issue for him heading into the 2026 campaign.
Maye did not miss any playing time, but was on the team’s injury report heading into Super Bowl LX and he said after the loss to the Seahawks that he took a painkilling injection ahead of the game. Maye was 27-of-43 for 295 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions while also losing a fumble in Santa Clara.
While at a charity event on Tuesday, Maye said the shoulder “shouldn’t be an issue” when he gets back on the field.
“Shoulder is feeling good. Feeling great. You know, I think just having some time off and being able to get back into throwing and lifting,” Maye said, via Christopher Price of the Boston Globe.
Maye was sacked six times in the 29-13 loss to Seattle and keeping him from getting hit quite so often will be a good way to ensure he remains in good health in the future.
The Patriots will exercise the fifth-year option on Christian Gonzalez’s contract, according to coach Mike Vrabel, but the team is negotiating a long-term extension for the cornerback.
Gonzalez would make $18.1 million for the 2027 season on the fifth-year option.
“Yes,” Vrabel said about picking up Gonzalez’s option, via Mark Daniels of masslive.com. “If we haven’t picked it up, we should pick it up.”
Exercising the fifth-year option was a foregone conclusion, but the Patriots want Gonzalez signed beyond 2027.
“We want to make sure that we draft extremely well, and then we identify the guys that we want to keep with us and that have earned long-term extensions with us,” Vrabel said. “And Christian, Gonzo is certainly one of those players, but I can’t comment on the negotiations.”
Gonzalez, the 17th overall pick in 2023, made second-team All-Pro in 2024 and the Pro Bowl in 2025. He has totaled 145 tackles, two interceptions, 24 pass breakups and a sack in three seasons.
