17 February 2026
Bitonio, who has been contemplating retirement openly, asked the Browns for a few more weeks to do so. The club agreed. If Bitonio plays in 2026, he’ll be entering his age-35 season. Bitonio last carried a PFF grade above 80 in the 2022 season, though he’s remained solid and reliable for the Browns over the last three seasons.17 February 2026
It was sort of assumed that Evans would just run it back in Tampa as a career Buccaneer, but perhaps he’s actually interested in seeing what is out there for him. That’s about how it played out the last time Evans hit free agency, when he wound up with a two-year, $41 million contract with $29 million in guarantees. The Buccaneers have a much better wideout room now than they did in 2024, at least on paper, with Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin, and Jalen McMillan under contract. Evans is also ent ...17 February 2026
Fields would incur a $22 million dead cap hit and save the Jets only $1 million against the cap if released, and yet Rosenblatt still believes that is a likely scenario because the Jets are not lacking for cap space. Fields would likely find backup work somewhere if released, but the Jets runout appears likely to have been his final chance to cut it as a starter in the NFL. Rosenblatt also notes that it’s unlikely any team would trade for Fields at this point.17 February 2026
Allgeier will probably be one of the highest-regarded backs on the market, and Kendall notes that the Falcons can’t afford to give him starting running back money behind Bijan Robinson. Allgeier could wind up in a terrific fantasy situation this year — the Chiefs and Texans (our speculation) are two rooms he could step into as the lead back easily with real upside — and could find himself in the RB2 tier in the right landing spot.
17 February 2026
Linderbaum is expected to have a strong market, in other words. The two natural landing spots will be a return to Baltimore and a reunion with coach John Harbaugh in New York, though neither are exactly flush with cap space. Linderbaum has posted PFF grades above 74.6 in all four of his seasons and is a strong run blocker despite being undersized. He’ll turn 26 in April.17 February 2026
When the Ravens surprisingly re-upped Mark Andrews in-season, it seemed to point to the idea that Likely could leave in free agency. This report only accentuates that. Turning 26 in April, Likely would seem to be one of the few free agent tight ends (perhaps alongside Chig Okonkwo) with any real starter upside. Zrebiec believes “he should do quite well” in free agency.17 February 2026
The Bengals have left open the option to trade Hendrickson through the franchise tag, but that seems like a really unrealistic scenario on paper. Hendrickson would, after being tagged back-to-back years, be guaranteed a $30.2 million salary in 2026. He could simply sign the tag and likely do better for himself than he would on the free market. This feels a lot like the Vikings trying to drum up a market for Sam Darnold in a tag-and-trade last year — if a team can’t afford to tag the player a ...17 February 2026
Schwartz, who resigned from the Browns defensive coordinator job in early February after Todd Monken was named head coach, is set to take the year off with all defensive coordinator chairs filled. Vic Fangio appears to be very “year to year” with the Eagles at this point and contemplated stepping down this offseason. Schwartz’s deal with the Browns has a club option for 2027 that may require compensation in return, but Breer believes he will be the “belle of the defensive coaches’ ball ...17 February 2026
Yes, we are again banging the drum that the 49ers may get an offer they can’t refuse for Jones, who has only $1 million in guaranteed salary in 2026 and could be a major upgrade for the Vikings over J.J. McCarthy. Lewis believes the 49ers will “drive a hard bargain” for Jones. As has been rumored for a bit, it would likely take a Day 2 pick for the 49ers to move on from Jones, and perhaps a second-rounder rather than a third-rounder.17 February 2026
The depths of the McCarthy struggles last year were obvious, but the fact that the Vikings didn’t even trust him to do some fairly remedial work adds another layer to just how fractured this offense was. It’s almost impossible to imagine McCarthy winning a starting job against whoever the Vikings bring in this offseason. In fact, with Kwesi Adofo-Mensah fired, it’s probably not far-fetched to suggest that McCarthy could be available in a trade if another team still believes in him. If he s ...17 February 2026
It’s an interesting assertion because James rarely played this year, starting the season with a wrist injury and eventually playing only three offensive snaps in three active regular season games. However, James did close out the Divisional Round loss to the Seahawks with six carries for 28 yards and it appears he could seize the No. 2 role behind Christian McCaffrey if Brian Robinson walks in free agency. Isaac Guerendo, per Tafur, “seems like an easy cut” if Robinson returns.17 February 2026
“I would be surprised if Gary is on the team next season. I’ll put it like that,” Schneidman notes. Releasing Gary, who disappointed in much better circumstances (next to Micah Parsons) in 2025 to the tune of just 7.5 sacks, would free up $11 million in cap space for the Packers per Schneidman. The career Packer will enter his age-29 season in 2025 with 46.5 career sacks but hasn’t been quite the same caliber of player since a 2022 ACL tear.17 February 2026
The long-time snapper of snaps longer than the average snap will enter his age-40 season with the Panthers in 2026. Jansen has played in every single game of Panthers football since signing with the club as a UDFA in 2009. He has recovered one fumble and made one Pro Bowl. He also has snapped many, many balls a moderate distance away from his person in an attempt to set up some good punts and kicks.17 February 2026
This is not a usual source for NFL news, but the long-time Phoenix-based reporter has a strong track record in other sports. Bagent threw six interceptions and three touchdowns in a four-start trial in 2023, but is entering his age-26 season and has two years left on his contract after signing a two-year extension last offseason. In a quarterback landscape this barren for teams looking for solutions, it’s not a surprise that younger backups could be of interest around the league.17 February 2026
Of course, he also says that he’s “not putting him above Christian Watson or Jayden Reed just yet,” as there’s space to grow from what Golden did as a rookie and still not hit any fantasy-intriguing upside scenarios. He probably deserves to be approached cautiously in offseason best ball formats, though it was nice to see him pop off for 4/84/1 in the playoffs before the Packers collectively turtled on a lost fourth-quarter lead to the Bears.17 February 2026
Doubs profiles as one of the better available receivers after we clear away George Pickens (expected to be tagged) and Alec Pierce (could be tagged), and enters his age-26 season as a likely No. 2 or No. 3 target somewhere. We’d be surprised if his fantasy role grew much, but perhaps he’ll find the exact right spot (Miami?) to be a strong No. 2 target and snag a WR3 ranking in 2026 drafts.17 February 2026
It’s another Seahawks assistant taking the plane to Vegas to join Klint Kubiak. Dennison has been on Kubiak staffs since the dawn of the internet, so this is no real surprise. The 67-year-old will look to help revitalize Ashton Jeanty’s fantasy stock after a rough rookie season behind a bad offensive line.17 February 2026
The complicating factor of a tag for Jones, as Battista writes, is that Alec Pierce is also a worthy franchise tag candidate for the Colts. Time flows like a river, and Daniel Jones finds himself in an enviable bargaining position once again. The Colts were expected to open extension talks with Jones “soon” at the Super Bowl and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Colts and Jones started hammering some terms out at the NFL Combine.17 February 2026
Riley Leonard’s work over the back half of the season has “warmed” the Colts on the idea that he can ascend to their No. 2 job. Richardson is a) probably not going to require much compensation in a trade and b) probably not guaranteed to do more than compete for a starting job wherever he lands. Still, fantasy upside resides in those legs, so we’ll be watching and hoping he lands somewhere where he has a chance to win a job.17 February 2026
Likely, an unrestricted free agent, could see interest from multiple teams this spring, including the Commanders, who are likely to move on from veteran TE Zach Ertz after his catastrophic knee injury in 2025. “Likely would bring more upside with his catch-and-run ability. A move player in the formation, Likely would also be schemed to create underneath one-on-ones,” Bowen said. In his four seasons with the Ravens, Likely popped off a few times in a run-heavy offense, usually when Mark Andre ...
