Category: NFL News

PHILADELPHIA — The real-life Rocky Balboa played in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform for 15 years. 

Brandon Graham was doubted. He was known for being the player the Eagles didn’t take over the ones they should have. He wasn’t Earl Thomas or Jason Pierre-Paul, the two players selected after him that had immediate success in the league. 

Instead, Graham was a player not living up to expectations. He was underperforming, often injured, and couldn’t get an opportunity to prove himself on the field. The 2010 first-round draft pick was lost, confused, and simply failed to earn playing time to be a consistent regular. 

The bust label was already written for Graham, who had just 8.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in three seasons. His performance was simply not good enough for a player selected in the first round.

Most teams would have moved on. Not the Eagles, who gave a player most teams would have moved on from another chance to succeed. 

Like Rocky, Graham didn’t deserve that chance. It took one coach to make sure he kept having one — Andy Reid. 

“You were the first to bring me here,” an emotional Graham said in his retirement speech. “The first to look me in my eye and tell me I belong. That moment changed everything for me. I will always be grateful for that.”

Even though the Eagles moved on from Reid, the belief was still there Graham could make it in the NFL. He even underwent a position change to linebacker in a defense that didn’t fit his game to stick around, playing out of position but doing everything he was asked to do just to remain in Philadelphia. 

Brandon Graham retires: Here’s what sealed his decision to walk away after 15 seasons with Eagles

Jeff Kerr

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The Lions re-signed a couple of their free agents on Tuesday.

The team announced that they have agreed to new deals with running back Craig Reynolds and defensive lineman Pat O’Connor.

Reynolds spent time with Washington, Jacksonville, and Atlanta before landing with the Lions in 2021. He played in 14 games in 2021 and 2022, but has played in every game over the last two seasons.

Reynolds has 150 carries for 650 yards and a touchdown to go with 24 catches for 255 yards during his time in Detroit. He has also been a regular on special teams.

O’Connor had 18 tackles and a sack in 12 games for the Lions last season. He appeared in 68 games for the Buccaneers over his first six seasons.

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The Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles continue to reward their own this offseason. They had already re-signed running back Saquon Barkley and linebacker Zack Baun, and on Monday, they re-upped with their six-time Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson. 

Johnson, who earned both a Pro Bowl selection and second-team All-Pro nod at the age of 34 in 2024, redid his contract with Philadelphia to tack on an extra $8 million across 2025 and 2026 as well as an extra $30 million in guarantees, per ESPN. Johnson now stands to receive $48 million across 2025 and 2026, $40 million of which is guaranteed. He also added another season to the pact for $25 million in 2027.

The Eagles redid Johnson’s deal because he was slated to have $10 million in guaranteed salary for 2025 and none for 2026, the previous final year of his contract. 

Johnson played high-level football in 2024, not allowing a sack in addition to just giving up one quarterback hit and six quarterback pressures. Even more impressive about those numbers was his 75% island rate, which led the NFL. Island rate is the amount of snaps a lineman is left one-on-one with a defensive lineman when their quarterback drops back to pass, so for Johnson to receive the fewest blocking help in the league and still put up those numbers is significant. 

Blocking for the 2024 NFL rushing champion and Offensive Player of the Year in Barkley also certainly helped Johnson’s contract negotiations. 

2025 NFL free agency: Eagles signing former Giants pass rusher Azeez Ojulari

Bryan DeArdo

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SYRACUSE — It’s been 15 months since Kyle McCord transferred from Ohio State, and in that time he’s gone from afterthought in Columbus to the most important player in Syracuse’s 10-win season under first-year head coach Fran Brown.

On Monday, the Orange held its pro day and McCord, who set the ACC passing record with 4,779 yards last season (to go along with 34 touchdowns), picked up right where he left off in the fall. His throws were crisp, accurate, and often thrown with anticipation. And while every quarterback drafted can make “every NFL throw,” McCord shines on intermediate routes, when he can fit the ball into a small window, and also has the touch to consistently layer balls over second-level defenders.

It’s always dangerous to put too much stock into a pro-day performance; we saw that back in 2014 with Johnny Manziel, and more recently with Zach Wilson. But McCord just reconfirmed what we all saw in 2024 — that sometimes, players need a change of scenery to get the most out of their abilities. And for McCord, that was leaving Columbus for Syracuse, where he was the unquestioned No. 1 from Day 1, and he consistently reconfirmed his place atop the depth chart each week.

That said, there were some bumps in the road. Obviously, his 2023 season didn’t go as he had planned, and it prompted his decision to transfer. There was also that game last fall, the five-interception performance on the road against Pittsburgh. Not surprisingly, McCord was asked about it by some NFL teams at the NFL Scouting Combine.

“I had a meeting and I walked in and right away I saw a clip from the Pitt game,” McCord told CBS Sports at the combine. “I already knew the direction that meeting was going, but honestly, teams like to talk about it and looking back on it, obviously it wasn’t a fun game, but I’m glad I went through it.

“You’re going to have bad games and how do you respond? I feel like…

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The Dolphins are adding a former first-round pick.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Miami has agreed to a one-year deal with cornerback Artie Burns.

Burns, 29, spent the last three seasons with the Seahawks. He appeared in just four games last season, playing 51 defensive snaps and 55 special teams snaps. In 2023, he played 14 contests, playing 23 percent of defensive snaps and 46 percent of special teams snaps in games played.

The Steelers selected Burns at No. 25 overall in the 2016 draft. He’s played 90 games with 39 starts over his career, recording 38 passes defensed and four interceptions.

A South Florida native, Burns also played his college ball at Miami.

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Wasn’t that long ago Maxx Crosby reset the market for players who aren’t quarterbacks. Since Crosby signed an extension earlier this month that put him at a $35.5 million average annual salary, two players have since surpassed that mark over the next two weeks.

Of course, both of those record-setting extensions fell on a Sunday. Myles Garrett previously owned that title as the Cleveland Browns gave him a $40 million extension with a historic $122.8 million guaranteed. Just a week later, Ja’Marr Chase reset the market as the Cincinnati Bengals gave him a four-year, $161 million deal that pays him an average of $40.25 million a season. 

With Chase joining Garrett in the $40 million non-quarterback club, Chase’s deal will certainly impact other non-quarterbacks whose agents are popping bottles while negotiating extensions for their superstar clients. Micah Parsons, Aidan Hutchinson and Trey Hendrickson are awaiting new contracts and stand to benefit the most from Garrett and Chase’s new deals. 

This list will certainly change over the course of the offseason, but here are the 10 highest-paid non-quarterbacks in the NFL at this very moment.

Highest-paid non-quarterbacks in average annual salary

Ja’Marr ChaseCincinnati BengalsWR$40,250,000Myles GarrettCleveland BrownsDE$40,000,000  

Maxx Crosby

Las Vegas Raiders

DE

$35,500,000

Justin Jefferson

Minnesota Vikings

WR

$35,000,000

CeeDee Lamb

Dallas Cowboys

WR

$34,000,000

Nick Bosa

San Francisco 49ers

DE

$34,000,000

A.J. Brown

Philadelphia Eagles

WR

$32,000,000

Chris JonesKansas City ChiefsDT$31,750,000

Amon-Ra St. Brown

Detroit Lions

WR

$30,002,500

DK MetcalfPittsburgh SteelersWR$30,000,000

Tyreek Hill

Miami Dolphins

WR

$30,000,000

Brandon Aiyuk

San Francisco 49ers

WR

$30,000,000

Wide receivers still dominate the highest-paid non-quarterbacks list based on average per year salary, as eight of them are in the top-12 with Hill, Metcalf and Aiyuk tied for 10th. Pass…

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In some respects, the posting of an item on PFT operates like a bat signal.

Stymied in our effort through usual channels to get a full breakdown of quarterback Sam Darnold’s three-year, $100.5 million deal with Seattle, we posted a little while ago that the numbers aren’t available.

And, within 20 minutes, the numbers arrived.

Per a source with knowledge of the terms, here’s the rough breakdown:

1. 2025 compensation: $37.5 million, fully guaranteed.

2. 2026 compensation: $27.5 million, $17.5 million of which is guaranteed for injury and becomes fully guaranteed in the week after Super Bowl LX.

3. 2027 compensation: $35.5 million, non-guaranteed.

The deal also includes $2 million per year for individual performance, $2.5 million per year for postseason performance, and $500,000 per year for team performance.

The structure allows the Seahawks to escape the contract after one year and $37.5 million. While it’s generally frowned upon for teams to scrap contracts when the guarantee flips from injury-only to full in the early days of the waiver period, that’s what the Raiders did with Derek Carr in 2023. (The good news for the player is that it gives him a head start on free agency, by more than a month.)

If the Seahawks pick up the second year of the Darnold contract at $27.5 million, it’s a two-year, $65 million deal. That’s an average of $32.5 million per year.

The upside of $5 million per year could push the total value of the contract from $33.5 million per year to $38.5 million per year. Unlocking those payments would entail the kind of player/team performance that would make the Seahawks more than happy to pay every penny.

Bottom line? If Darnold regresses in 2025, he could be released after only one season. And the Seahawks will be out only $37.5 million. With Geno Smith apparently looking for much more than $37.5 million per year on a new deal in Seattle, the strategic decision to pivot from Smith to…

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USATSI

The full picture of the 2025 NFL Draft is coming into view. Once the Super Bowl had been resolved, the first-round order was known. When the compensatory selections were announced Wednesday, the draft order for all seven rounds fell into place. 

NFL teams are moving toward draft day as well. Free agency is largely complete and attention will turn to the next phase in the talent acquisition portion of the offseason. With the completion of the NFL Scouting Combine, teams will continue to gather information on draft prospects through pro days and 30 visits to ensure they are prepared on opening night (April 24) of the 2025 NFL Draft.

The full draft order for all seven rounds can be found below. 

Round 1

#Team Name1Tennessee Titans2Cleveland Browns3New York Giants4New England Patriots5Jacksonville Jaguars6Las Vegas Raiders7New York Jets8Carolina Panthers9New Orleans Saints10Chicago Bears11San Francisco 49ers12Dallas Cowboys13Miami Dolphins14Indianapolis Colts15Atlanta Falcons16Arizona Cardinals17Cincinnati Bengals18Seattle Seahawks19Tampa Bay Buccaneers20Denver Broncos21Pittsburgh Steelers22Los Angeles Chargers23Green Bay Packers24Minnesota Vikings25Houston Texans26Los Angeles Rams27Baltimore Ravens28Detroit Lions29Washington Commanders30Buffalo Bills31Kansas City Chiefs32Philadelphia Eagles

Round 2

#Team Name33Cleveland Browns34New York Giants35Tennessee Titans36Jacksonville Jaguars37Las Vegas Raiders38New England Patriots39Chicago Bears (from Carolina)40New Orleans Saints41Chicago Bears42New York Jets43San Francisco 49ers44Dallas Cowboys45Indianapolis Colts46Atlanta Falcons47Arizona Cardinals48Miami Dolphins49Cincinnati Bengals50Seattle Seahawks51Denver Broncos52Pittsburgh Steelers53Tampa Bay Buccaneers54Green Bay…..

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