Patriots receiver Mack Hollins was having a solid 2025 season when he suffered a lacerated spleen in December, causing him to miss the last two regular-season games.
When he went out, Hollins had registered 46 receptions. He needed four more to secure a $400,000 incentive in his two-year contract.
With Hollins returning in the postseason to help propel the Patriots to Super Bowl LX, the franchise has now made a gesture to get Hollins that extra $400,000.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, New England added a $400,000 signing bonus to Hollins’ contract to honor that incentive.
In his first year with the Patriots, Hollins reached 550 yards with two touchdowns in 15 games with 13 starts. He then caught six passes for 129 yards with a TD in his two postseason games — returning for the AFC Championship Game before playing in Super Bowl LX.
Hollins is under contract with New England for 2026.
The dip in the ratings for Super Bowl LX wasn’t as big as initially believed.
Nielsen has revised the final viewership for the Patriots-Seahawks championship game across NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, NBC Sports Digital, and NFL+ from 124.9 million to 125.6 million. It’s an increase of 700,000 viewers.
“This update is due to the fact that a Big Data provider did not properly collect data from its devices on February 8, which impacted the Big Data + Panel count,” Nielsen said in a press release.
Super Bowl LIX averaged 127.7 million. That number didn’t include Nielsen’s new metric for measuring out-of-home viewership.
It’s still the second-biggest audience in U.S. TV history. The top 12 are Super Bowls; the final episode of M*A*S*H is the only top-20 show of all time that isn’t a Super Bowl.
The Patriots did the expected, promoting Zak Kuhr to full-time defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports.
Kuhr served as the inside linebackers coach and interim defensive coordinator last season, which ended with a loss to the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
Kuhr broke into the NFL as a quality control assistant under Mike Vrabel with the Titans in 2020. He coached Tennessee’s inside linebackers from 2021-23.
He was a Giants’ defensive assistant in 2024.
The Patriots are expected to promote Vinny DePalma to his previous role as inside linebackers coach, Mike Reiss of ESPN reports.
Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe was the only player fined for on-field infractions during Super Bowl LX and Jobe picked up a pair of them for unnecessary roughness on one play in the fourth quarter of the game.
Jobe decked Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs out of bounds at the end of a play with 13:24 left in the game and received a fine for that late hit. The other fine came for his response when Diggs came back at him in the wake of that shot.
Diggs and Jobe squared off briefly with Diggs grabbing Jobe’s facemask and the cornerback throwing a punch at the wideout’s head. Jobe was fined for that as well.
The NFL announced that both fines were for $9,222.
The Dolphins are in a full blown Two Days After St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
The latest to go is receiver Tyreek Hill. And it’s the least surprising.
Even without the significant knee injury he suffered on September 29, this was coming. Even without the firing of G.M. Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel, this was coming.
Hill was due to make $35 million in 2026, the final year of his contract. He had a $5 million roster bonus that was due on the third day of the new league year.
He was always going to be released. He was always going to be available on the open market.
Now, for the first time, he’ll be free and clear to sign with anyone.
The question is whether Hill will be signed before he’s fully and completely healthy and, if so, whether his contract will include protections based on Hill eventually passing a physical. Sometimes, a player has enough leverage (like receiver Chris Godwin a year ago) to avoid such limitations on his pay.
Hill turns 32 on March 1. The best of his best days are likely behind him. If healthy, however, he’s still pretty damn good.
The most obvious potential destination is Kansas City. Last year at the Super Bowl, Hill expressed some regret for leaving in the first place. With Eric Bieniemy back as the offensive coordinator, the Chiefs could decide to bring Hill back, too. Which may have the added benefit of getting tight end Travis Kelce to return for another season.
The Chargers could become a potential destination, given McDaniel’s arrival there as offensive coordinator. They desperately need effective weapons for quarterback Justin Herbert — and a 32-year-old Hill would instantly be better than anything else they currently have.
Other teams with needs at the position should give Hill a look, including (to name a few) the Bills, Ravens, Steelers, Packers, Jets (who tried to trade for him four years ago), Patriots, and Seahawks (who need a strong, consistent complement to Jaxon Smith-Njigba).
