Cornerback Nahshon Wright’s play with the Bears during the 2025 season landed him a contract with the Jets and it earned him the most performance-based pay in the league for last year as well.
The NFL announced that Wright earned more than $1.44 million in performance-based pay. The bonus more than doubles Wright’s base salary for the season.
Wright signed with the Bears after being released by the Vikings last April. He was named to the Pro Bowl after recording 80 tackles, five interceptions, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries during the regular season.
The performance-based pay fund is part of the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement to compensate all players based on a formula encompassing their playing time and salary. It paid out more than $542 million for the 2025 season.
Browns safety Ronnie Hickman earned over $1.293 million for second place and tackle Elijah Wilkinson earned over $1.272 million for his work with the Falcons. Wilkinson has since signed with the Cardinals.
Panthers safety Nick Scott, former Commanders guard Chris Paul, Ravens guard Andrew Vorhees, Vikings defensive end Jalen Redmond, Steelers guard Mason McCormick, Chiefs defensive back Chamarri Conner, and Patriots safety Craig Woodson make up the rest of the top 10 recipients of performance-based pay for 2025.
Chiefs Clips
The Chiefs needed a veteran quarterback with starting experience. The Jets had one too many.
And while it’s not exactly an accidental collision between peanut butter and chocolate, the trade that will send Justin Fields to the Chiefs for a 2027 sixth-round pick is a win-win-win for the two teams and the player.
In Kansas City, starter Patrick Mahomes is recovering from a torn ACL. He’s determined to return as soon as possible. The Chiefs need someone who can handle the reps until the team is comfortable clearing him to practice.
In New York, it was clear they wanted to move on from Fields. They were facing the possibility of cutting him and eating his $10 million in fully-guaranteed salary, less whatever he’d make elsewhere (most likely, the $1.215 million minimum for his level of experience).
And while the Chiefs could have waited for Fields to be released, the Jets could have dragged their feet. Since the Jets would have owed Fields nothing beyond the guaranteed $10 million until Week 1, they could have kept him from going to Kansas City and getting to work.
So the Chiefs will pay $3 million ($1.785 million more than they would have paid if/when he’d been cut) and give up a 2027 sixth-round pick to get him immediately. And the Jets will gain the draft pick and pay less than they would have owed if they’d cut him.
On that point, Fields was due to make $20 million total in 2026. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Fields’s total 2026 salary has dropped to $11 million. As we understand it, the Jets will pay $8 million total and the Chiefs will pay $3 million.
To summarize, the Jets save $785,000 and get a pick, the Chiefs get a veteran quarterback now, and Fields receives $11 million and a potentially perfect destination for his sixth NFL season. He’ll learn from coach Andy Reid, from offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and Mahomes.
And maybe Fields will get some playing time, if Mahomes isn’t ready — or if the Chiefs aren’t comfortable with the idea of rushing him back.
With Patrick Mahomes on the mend from a torn ACL suffered in December, there’s a chance he may not be ready to return for the start of the regular season.
With that in mind, Kansas City has now made a move to solidify its backup quarterback position.
The Chiefs are finalizing a trade to acquire Justin Fields from the Jets, according to multiple reports.
Kansas City will send a 2027 sixth-round pick to New York to complete the deal.
Via Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, the Chiefs will pay $3 million of the $10 million Fields was guaranteed in 2026, with the Jets paying the rest to facilitate the trade.
Fields, 27, signed a two-year deal with the Jets last March. He started nine games for New York in 2025, with the club going 2-7 in those games. Fields completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 1,259 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception. He rushed for 383 yards with four TDs.
The No. 11 overall pick of the 2021 draft, Fields has appeared in 59 games with 53 starts for the Bears, Steelers, and Jets. He rushed for 1,143 yards with eight touchdowns in 2022, though he also took a league-high 55 sacks that year. Fields played well with the Steelers in 2024, piloting the club to a 4-2 record in the games he started. But Pittsburgh elected to roll with Russell Wilson at QB once he recovered from a calf injury.
Fields will now be in position to take the bulk of the offseason reps as Mahomes recovers.
Garnder Minshew, Kansas City’s backup in 2025, recently signed with the Cardinals. The Jets traded for Geno Smith last week, putting him in position to start for New York in 2026.
Offensive lineman Mike Caliendo will be sticking around Kansas City for a fifth season.
Caliendo’s agent Nate Richman told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN that Caliendo has agreed to re-sign with the Chiefs. He’ll return on a one-year deal.
Caliendo signed with the Chiefs after going undrafted in 2022 and spent his rookie season on the team’s practice squad. He played 12 games in 2023 and has appeared in every game the last two seasons.
Caliendo started 10 of those games, including a 2024 run at left guard after the Chiefs moved Joe Thuney out to left tackle. Caliendo projects to remain in a reserve role in his return to Kansas City.
The Titans are moving on from one of their veteran defensive backs.
Tennessee is releasing cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Sneed, 29, was a high-profile addition when the Titans traded for him in 2024. At that point, Sneed was coming off winning back-to-back Super Bowls with the Chiefs and was an integral part of their 2023 championship run.
But due to multiple injuries, Sneed played just 12 games over the last two years for Tennessee. In 2025, Sneed was available for seven games, recording 26 total tackles with three passes defensed.
By releasing him, the Titans will save $11.4 million against the cap in 2026 with an $8.1 million dead cap charge. The club will save $16.4 million against the cap in 2027 with a $4.1 million dead cap charge.
A fourth-round pick in 2020, Sneed has registered 43 passes defensed with 10 interceptions in 69 career games.
For their first four pro seasons, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson were teammates on the Chiefs.
Now they’ll continue to be teammates on the West Coast, as the Rams traded for McDuffie and signed Watson in free agency as the club looks to reshape and improve its secondary in 2026.
In his introductory press conference with Los Angeles media on Thursday, McDuffie said he’s glad to continue playing alongside Watson.
“I was stoked,” McDuffie said of hearing the news Watson would be joining him in L.A. “I was calling him two days before they even signed him like, ‘Bro, you never know. We might get you. We might get you. Keep an open mind.’ Literally, it dropped, and I called him again like Puka [Nacua] screaming at the top of my lungs like, ‘Look at this! Can you believe it?’
“He’s one of those guys that I love to tell his story. He is a seventh-round pick. Not a lot of people believed in him. He worked hard day in day out. Again, he’s one of those guys that was able to live out his dreams as a Kansas City Chief. The relationship and the respect I have for ‘J-Wat’ knowing what he’s going to bring to this team, the hard work, the grit, the attitude and the overall swag of being a football player. I think it would be really helpful having both of us in here adding to the culture.”
As for Watson, he called it “the best feeling ever” to continue playing with McDuffie.
“You don’t come in feeling like you don’t know anyone,” Watson said. “It’s not only just any teammate. It’s one of my closest teammates from my previous team. I was super excited. I’m super happy to share the field with him and hopefully we can do some great things here.
“When you play with a corner that good, it raises your level of play,” Watson added. “Whether you are watching him in a game, you are just stealing the little things from him. Watching him in practice reps, it makes you want to play to a higher level.”
Kenneth Walker isn’t the only running back the Chiefs are signing.
They agreed to terms with running back Emari Demercado on a one-year deal on Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.
The Chiefs needed help at the position with Isiah Pacheco leaving in free agency and Kareem Hunt still a free agent. Brashard Smith and ShunDerrick Powell are the other running backs on the roster.
Demercado, 27, totaled 176 touches for 1,143 yards and four touchdowns in his three seasons with the Cardinals.
In 13 games in 2025, Demercado rushed for 312 yards on 44 carries and caught 13 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.
The Chiefs parted ways with a pair of cornerbacks this week when they traded Trent McDuffie to the Rams and Jaylen Watson followed him to the NFC West club as a free agent, but Thursday found them starting to replenish the depth chart.
Agents David Canter and Ness Mugrabi told Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN that their client Kader Kohou has agreed to terms with the Chiefs.
Kohou missed the entire 2025 season after tearing his ACL during Dolphins training camp. He started 38 games over his first three seasons in Miami and had 180 tackles, three interceptions, a sack, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Kristian Fulton, Nohl Williams and Chris Roland-Wallace are also part of a cornerback group that should see more additions over the course of the offseason.
Free agent defensive end Charles Omenihu agreed to a one-year, $4 million deal with the Commanders on Wednesday, according to multiple reports. The deal includes $3 million in incentives.
Omenihu, 28, has spent the past three seasons with the Chiefs.
In 2025, he played all 17 games and tied his career-high with 28 tackles. Omenihu also contributed 3.5 sacks and 13 quarterback hits.
He has only 12 starts in seven seasons and last started a game in 2024 but could start opponent Tim Settle with the Commanders.
Omenihu entered the league as a fifth-round pick of the Texans in 2019 and also has spent time with the 49ers as well as the Chiefs.
In his career, Omenihu has totaled 129 tackles and 23 sacks.
The Chiefs are re-signing wide receiver Nikko Remigio, his representation, Equity Sports, posted on social media.
Remigio, 26, was a pending exclusive rights free agent.
He signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2023, and he played games for the team the past two seasons. Remigio has seen action on 70 offensive snaps and 147 on special teams in 19 games, with one start.
He has totaled four touches for 80 yards and 40 kickoff returns for a 25.9-yard average.
Remigio played 14 games last season.
