For those of you who follow this space closely (and thank you for that), this news isn’t news. Regardless, the NFL has announced something you already knew.
The proposals to be considered by owners at the NFL’s annual meetings coming later this month in Phoenix include two made by individual teams.
The league posted on Twitter the proposals from the Steelers and Browns. Pittsburgh wants to make permanent the one-year change that gave teams the ability to speak directly to up to five unrestricted free agents during the negotiating window, and to make travel arrangements during the pre-free agency period. Cleveland wants to expand the range of draft picks that may be traded from three years to five.
Both proposals will require 24 votes to pass.
The league also said that the 2026 proposals from the Competition Committee will be revealed next week.
Not mentioned were the Rams’ proposals arising from the nutty two-point play in their Week 16 overtime loss at Seattle. We’re currently checking to see whether those proposals remain on the table, or whether they were withdrawn.
Steelers Clips
The bulk of free agency is over, and the Steelers didn’t add a veteran quarterback. They’re apparently willing to wait, again, for Aaron Rodgers.
Hall of Fame defensive back Rod Woodson, a 1987 first-round pick of the Steelers who spent a decade in Pittsburgh, recently chimed in on his former team’s willingness to leave a light on for the 42-year-old quarterback.
“What is it with these ex-Green Bay Packer quarterbacks that they have to be talked about all the time?” Woodson told Rich Eisen. “Because Brett Favre was that way for years. . . . is [Rodgers] gonna play? Listen, I get kind of tired of it. Like, listen, if he’s gonna play, say he’s gonna play, he’s gonna come back. . . . And the team shouldn’t wait for Aaron Rodgers. They need to move forward.”
Woodson believes the Steelers should have drafted Jaxson Dart in 2025. But if former coach Mike Tomlin was leaning toward making 2025 his final season with the Steelers last year at this time, there was no reason to roll the dice on a rookie starter.
This year, it’s different. New coach. New vibe. And some believe they’ll be tempted to take Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, if he slips through the cracks of the top 20. But they’d potentially prefer to let Simpson sit for a season behind Rodgers.
Regardless, the Steelers need something more than a one-year Band-Aid with a veteran whose name didn’t come up once last week. The Vikings and Falcons opted for Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa, respectively. The Dolphins signed the latest ex-Packer quarterback, Malik Willis. And the Jets were far more interested in a reunion with Geno Smith than Aaron Rodgers 2.0.
At this point, it’s the Cardinals or the Steelers or a mid-season Philip Rivers arrival if/when a contender loses its starter. For the Steelers, Kirk Cousins is the most sensible alternative to Rodgers.
Recently, Rodgers said there have been no “progressive conversations” with the Steelers about a contract for 2026. Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of his day trip to Pittsburgh, which laid the foundation for his eventual one-year deal. Could another Steel City summit be coming?
This time around, maybe a Steelers contingent led by coach Mike McCarthy will go to Rodgers for the discussions that will, or won’t, result in an understanding for 2026.
Whenever and wherever the get-together happens, it needs to happen soon — if things are going to unfold the same way they did last year.
Which is exactly what seems to be happening.
The Steelers have only two quarterbacks on their roster — Mason Rudolph and Will Howard. Aaron Rodgers remains a free agent with the Steelers as his only clear suitor.
Will their starter be Rodgers, Howard or someone not yet on the roster?
The Steelers are doing their homework on University of Miami quarterback Carson Beck.
Brooke Pryor of ESPN reports that Beck is in Pittsburgh today for a top-30 visit at the team facility. The Steelers also met with Beck at the Scouting Combine.
Beck, 23, completed 72.4 percent of his passes for 3,813 yards last season, setting career-highs in pass completions (368), pass attempts (467) and touchdowns (30). He also tied his career-high in interceptions (12).
He led the Hurricanes to the national championship game with victories over Texas A&M, Ohio State and Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff.
The Steelers also brought in San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson for a visit on Tuesday, according to Pryor.
On Monday morning, before the Chiefs traded for former Jets quarterback Justin Fields, someone was throwing spaghetti on the question of whether Kansas City was eyeing Russell Wilson as Patrick Mahomes insurance.
With the Chiefs off the board, what’s next for Wilson?
His days as a starting quarterback have ended. The only teams with a current vacancy at the top of the depth chart are the Cardinals and the Steelers. A Pittsburgh reunion is highly unlikely, even if Aaron Rodgers doesn’t return.
The Raiders possibly, maybe would be interested in a short-term bridge, if they aren’t comfortable with putting Fernando Mendoza on the field right away. Wilson may not be inclined to once again be the three-game starter before getting the tap.
Then again, Wilson may not have many choices. Which raises the question of whether he’s willing to take whatever he can get, making him one of the very rare former franchise quarterbacks who’ll accept being No. 2 or No. 3 on a depth chart.
Joe Flacco, who was twice the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL, is and has been willing to do that. Most of the guys who were once at or among the top of the market won’t accept anything other than a gift-wrapped starting job.
It can’t be easy for a guy who has spent so much time as “the guy” to accept becoming “just another guy.” But it happens to any pro football player who stays beyond the shelf life of his high-end skills.
In preparation for his current shot at free agency, Wilson parted ways with his longtime agent, Mark Rodgers, and hired David Mulugheta of Athletes First. During Wilson’s best years, it helped him to have an agent who had one and only one NFL client; the negotiations on Wilson’s contracts were never compromised by the agent’s broader business interests as to other players he represented.
Now, Wilson needs the help of someone who may have the league-wide goodwill to get Wilson a roster spot in exchange for keeping the agent happy as to the looming negotiations with a higher-profile client.
The mere fact that Wilson made the change represents an acknowledgement, conscious or not, that things have changed for him. He still has a high degree of confidence in his skills. Which isn’t surprising. For all NFL players, confidence that borders on delusion is a must.
At some point, however, the basis for the confidence evaporates. By the end of last season, Wilson had slipped behind Jameis Winston on the Giants’ depth chart.
Wilson’s third foray into free agency continues. Two years ago, he took the minimum from the Steelers because the Broncos owed him $39 million. This time around, the minimum salary of $1.3 million may be Wilson’s only option.
And the overriding question will be whether, after earning more than $315 million in his career, he’s willing to commit seven or more months for the smallest payday since signing his slotted four-year, $2.996 million deal as a third-round pick, 14 years ago.
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.
Cornerback Darius Slay said recently that no team other than the Eagles should call him about playing in 2026, but now it seems that even the Eagles shouldn’t bother reaching out to him.
In a post to X.com on Monday, Slay announced that he is retiring from the NFL. Slay wrote that he has reached the time for a “new chapter” and that he’s “ready to turn the page” on an NFL career that began as a Lions second-round pick in 2013.
Slay remained with the Lions through the 2019 season and made an All-Pro team before moving on to the Eagles in a trade in 2020. He helped the Eagles to an NFC title after the 2022 season and won a Super Bowl in his final game with the team.
Slay signed a one-year deal with the Steelers in 2025, but was waived by a mutual agreement in December. He was claimed off of waivers by the Bills and declined to report amid speculation that he hoped to return to the Eagles.
Slay had 655 tackles, 28 interceptions, two forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and six touchdowns over the course of his career.
Wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.'s first quarterback with the Colts was Philip Rivers and he wound up playing with Rivers again to close out his six-year run with the team in 2025.
Those were Rivers’ first games since the end of Pittman’s rookie season in 2020 and his improbable return to action came after Daniel Jones tore his Achilles in the team’s 13th game of the season, but Pittman was no stranger to quarterback changes before that twist. The Colts ran through Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Sam Ehlinger, Nick Foles, Anthony Richardson, Gardner Minshew, and Joe Flacco before getting to Jones, Rivers and Riley Leonard last season.
Living through all of those changes may explain why Pittman is sanguine about the Steelers’ quarterback uncertainty after being traded to the team last week. Aaron Rodgers has not shared his plans for the 2026 season, which leaves Mason Rudolph and Will Howard as the in-house options in Pittsburgh. Pittman said he feels confident about moving forward with either player if that’s how things play out.
“Whenever you have a chance to play with a Hall of Fame quarterback, you always take that,” Pittman said, via Chris Harlan of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We also have two really good quarterbacks here in Mason and Will, so whatever ends up turning out, I think we’ll have a good plan offensively and we’ll make the most of it.”
If Rodgers opts to do something other than lead the Steelers offense, there may be other options on the table in Pittsburgh but it seems unlikely that Pittman will find himself catching passes from Rivers again in 2026.
With the Vikings signing quarterback Kyler Murray, there’s a vague sense that the starting job in Minnesota is his to lose. Which, if that happens, will mean that J.J. McCarthy has lost his starting job.
Lost in the arrival of Murray is the question of McCarthy’s potential reaction to it. The best response will be to welcome the challenge, embrace the competition, and keep working on getting better.
Still, McCarthy may believe he can’t win the competition. That Murray will be given the job. That McCarthy’s third season in the NFL will be spent on the bench, waiting for Murray to either face-plant or get injured or leave in free agency in 2027, thrusting McCarthy back into the role.
McCarthy eventually will speak to someone, somewhere. And there could be a disconnect between what he says publicly and thinks privately.
Last year, when the Vikings were trying to figure out what to do about their quarterback depth chart, there was a concern that McCarthy would possibly ask to be traded, if Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones returned, or if Aaron Rodgers had been signed. And while McCarthy’s body of work in his first season as QB1 (10 starts, 1,632 yards, 11 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions, passer rating of 72.6) hardly guarantees him anything, he could still be miffed about his situation.
There’s been no discussion of a possible McCarthy trade. There’s been no indication that he wants one, that the Vikings are interested in trading him, or that another team would do a deal. His only chance to be a starter, based on their current depth charts, would be in Arizona or Pittsburgh.
He could, in theory, serve as the bridge quarterback for Fernando Mendoza in Las Vegas, if the Raiders prefer not to throw the presumed No. 1 overall pick into the fray right away. McCarthy’s salary for 2026 is a very affordable $2.78 million.
Murray has been the recent focus in Minnesota. Presumably, it’ll be a fair and open competition between him and McCarthy. If, however, McCarthy believes it’s a formality that Murray will be the Week 1 starter, things could get awkward.
Nothing will happen unless someone wants to trade for McCarthy. Maybe, if/when it’s clear McCarthy won’t be the starter in Minnesota, someone will consider trying to trade for him to be the backup. And McCarthy may decide that he wants a fresh start after two lackluster seasons with the Vikings.
The first big wave of free agency has ended. The second wave has, too.
As the dollars settle on last week’s spending spree, plenty of big names are still on the board.
Receiver Stefon Diggs had a very good year in his first season back from a torn ACL, notching his seventh 1,000-yard season. The Patriots opted not to continue his contract, which added him to the group of available players. He remains on the market.
So does receiver Jauan Jennings, who landed at No. 23 on the PFT Top 100 list of free agents. He failed to parlay an unexpectedly productive 2024 into an extension with the 49ers. The fact that he didn’t sign quickly after free agency opened suggests that he wanted more than the market will bear.
Receiver Deebo Samuel, No. 29 on the PFT list, also waits for his next team. There was no land rush for a player whose lone Pro Bowl and All-Pro season is now five years in the rear-view mirror. He hit free agency for the first time. He remains available.
Other receivers who are free and clear include Tyreek Hill (who’s recovering from a serious knee injury), Christian Kirk, DeAndre Hopkins, and Keenan Allen.
As running backs go, the best options are gone. Veterans who are available include Joe Mixon, Nick Chubb, Brian Robinson, A.J. Dillon, Raheem Mostert, Najee Harris, and Austin Ekeler.
Edge rusher Joey Bosa, who’s No. 35, was essentially replaced in Buffalo by Bradley Chubb. Bosa is waiting for his next stop; his mother apparently envisions the Bosa brothers teaming up in San Francisco.
Other big-name defenders remain. Future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner is unsigned. As is edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, the first overall pick in the 2014 draft. Veteran defensive end Cameron Jordan is a free agent. Linebacker Lavonte David, a fixture in Tampa Bay since 2012, is unsigned, too.
Then there are the quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson, Jimmy Garoppolo, Joe Flacco, and Tyrod Taylor are the headliners. Currently, only the Cardinals and Steelers are presumably in the market for a QB1.
More signings will surely happen. But, for the most part, the big-money pipeline has sealed shut. The budgets have been busted. Quickly, the spending spree ends and the pre-draft process resumes.
Last month, retired quarterback Derek Carr said he’d return to football for a chance to play with a Super Bowl contender.
As of Scouting Combine week, the Saints hadn’t heard from any team regarding a potential trade for Carr’s contract rights. Through the first week of free agency, we’re told, the Saints still haven’t gotten any inquiries.
In the interim, plenty of teams with needs at the quarterback position have filled them, from the Dolphins (Malik Willis) to the Jets (Geno Smith) to the Vikings (Kyler Murray) to the Falcons (Tua Tagovailoa).
With the Raiders presumably waiting to make Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, only two teams currently have a hole in the QB1 spot: the Steelers and the Cardinals.
The Cardinals, with all due respect, aren’t a Super Bowl contender. The Steelers arguably aren’t, either. In a wide-open AFC, they could be.
Carr becomes a potential option in Pittsburgh if Aaron Rodgers decides not to play for the Steelers again in 2026, and if they don’t land Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson in the first round of the draft. (Some in league circles think the Steelers will take him if he’s on the board when Pittsburgh makes the 21st overall pick.)
For now, there are no takers for Carr, if he were to unretire. Injuries could change that; if a starter on a contender suffers a serious injury before the trade deadline, Carr becomes a potential alternative to the next man up on the depth chart.
