North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton is viewed as one of the top ball carriers in the 2025 NFL Draft class, and ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. projects him to be selected in the first round in his latest mock draft. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty has been a projected first-round pick all offseason by most outlets, but Hampton also going in Round 1 could shake up fantasy football rookie drafts. Kiper has Hampton being selected by the Dallas Cowboys with the No. 12 overall pick. "I've talked to people in the NFL who have Jeanty and Hampton neck and neck for RB1, and there are even some who prefer Hampton," Kiper said. Hampton rushed 281 times for 1,660 yards and 15 touchdowns in his final season with the Tar Heels. He added 38 receptions for 373 yards and two scores in the passing game.

From RotoBaller

The Pittsburgh Steelers are aiming to reach a new deal with Justin Fields or Russell Wilson before the start of free agency, according to general manager Omar Khan. Both signal callers spent the 2024 season with Pittsburgh but are scheduled to be free agents when free agency begins on March 12. The Steelers have engaged in talks with both quarterbacks, and they believe both Fields and Wilson are interested in returning. Wilson threw for 2,482 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions in 10 games, while Fields threw for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception in 11 game appearances. Neither QB is likely viewed as the long-term answer in Pittsburgh, but having at least one of them on the roster in 2025 appears to be in the plans for Pittsburgh.

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The Atlanta Falcons are comfortable with keeping quarterback Kirk Cousins as a backup in 2025, according to general manager Terry Fontenot. If Atlanta keeps him on the roster to back up Michael Penix Jr., they will pay Cousins $27.5 million in 2025 while triggering $10 million in fully guaranteed money for 2026. Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million deal last March but was benched for Penix after throwing for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions in 14 games. As the offseason continues to unfold, whether or not Fontenot is serious about keeping Cousins on the roster will be uncovered.

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As Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens enters the final year of his rookie deal, general manager Omar Khan hinted at wanting to keep Pickens in the organization long term. "[Pickens] has a desire to be great here," Khan said. "We have a desire for him to be great and to be great here." The 2022 second-round pick out of Georgia has hauled in 174 of his 293 targets for 2,841 yards and 12 touchdowns in 48 career games. Pickens flashed with 1,140 receiving yards in 2023 before posting 900 yards in 14 games last year. The Steelers' wide receiver room is lacking high-end talent, and he's the clear No. 1 option in the passing game as the roster stands.

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The Washington Commanders have permitted defensive lineman Jonathan Allen to seek a trade, according to NFL insider Ari Meirov. The two-time Pro Bowler is entering the final season of his deal with Washington and has no guaranteed money left on his contract. Allen has spent his entire career with Washington since being selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. The Commanders have Daron Payne on the roster and invested a first-round pick in defensive tackle Johnny Newton last year, so Allen could be on his way out. Allen has compiled 42 sacks in 109 career games and remains one of the better defensive linemen in the NFL. There should be a significant group of interested suitors.

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The Athletic's Dianna Russini says that the Los Angeles Rams are comfortable with Jimmy Garoppolo as their starting quarterback. Current QB Matthew Stafford is looking for over $50 million per year on a possible two-year deal worth up to $110 million. Stafford and his agent are currently reaching out to other teams that might be interested in trading for him to see if they'd pay him what he's seeking. If no other NFL team wants to give him $50 million a year, then he might come back to the Rams and take less to stay in LA for another year or two. The 37-year-old has two years left on his deal with the Rams, and the team is currently debating whether they want to move forward with the aging signal-caller. Garoppolo would definitely be a downgrade under center. He started one game in 2024 and threw for 33 yards, two touchdowns and a pick in Week 18 against the Seahawks.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers made All-Pro pass-rusher T.J. Watt the highest-paid defensive player in the league before the 2021 season at around $28 million per year, and ESPN's Dan Graziano suggests the best way for the Steelers to knock down Watt's team-high $30.4 million salary cap number in 2025 is to give him an extension as he heads into the final year of his previous extension. A new extension could be much trickier to navigate, though, and could drag well into the offseason. Watt is 30 years old now and will be in a market in which both Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons will be looking to set the edge-rusher market. Even though Watt had 11.5 sacks (down from 19 in 2023), he was still plenty disruptive with 61 tackles (40 solo), 19 tackles for loss, 27 QB hits, four pass breakups and a league-high six forced fumbles in 17 regular-season starts. He's injury-prone, but you know you're getting a beast in IDP leagues when he's healthy.

Washington Commanders DE Jonathan Allen has been granted permission to seek a trade.

From TheHuddle

ESPN's Dan Graziano suggests that the Tennessee Titans, who hold the first overall pick in this year's NFL draft, could draft a quarterback and also sign a bridge QB in free agency, similar to what the Atlanta Falcons did in 2024 when they signed Kirk Cousins and drafted Michael Penix Jr. in the first round. The best bridge-QB options this offseason figure to be Sam Darnold, Cousins, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers. The salary cap number for a rookie QB selected first overall won't be much more than $7 million in 2025, and none of the free-agent QB options are likely to command $100 million in guaranteed money that Cousins received from the Falcons last offseason. One thing is pretty much guaranteed: the Titans will add at least one QB after a very disappointing 2024 campaign from Will Levis in which he was benched in favor of Mason Rudolph.

From RotoBaller

If the Cleveland Browns soften their stance and decide to trade All-Pro pass-rusher Myles Garrett this offseason, they would have to wait until after June 1 to make it work from a salary cap perspective. Trading Garrett before June 1 would result in a dead-money hit of more than $36 million, which is way higher than the roughly $19.7 million that he'd count against the 2025 cap if he was on their roster. The problem with having to wait to trade Garrett until after June 1 is that the Browns couldn't get draft picks for this year in return for him. It's probably why the Browns held firm on their stance of not wanting to trade Garrett, even after he publicly requested a trade in the week before the Super Bowl in early February. If the Browns look to trade the disgruntled star pass-rusher after June 1, it's possible they could receive two first-round selections for the 2026 draft.

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LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell has been the player most linked to the New England Patriots heading into this year's NFL draft, writes The Athletic's Chad Graff. If Colorado two-way player Travis Hunter is off the board by the time the Patriots pick at No. 4 overall, Graff says that it would come down to Campbell or Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham for him. Graham could be rated higher, but Campbell fills more of an immediate need to New England on their offensive line. The final decision could come down to how the Pats address their O-line in free agency. Another factor could come down to Campbell's less-than-ideal arm length, which could mean he's destined to play guard at the next level and mean he'd be more of a reach at fourth overall. The biggest knock against Graham is that this year's defensive tackle class is very deep.

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The Athletic's Chad Graff is guessing that the New England Patriots will aggressively pursue a trade for a wide receiver this offseason. The Cincinnati Bengals are expected to use the franchise tag on Tee Higgins, who would have been the top free-agent wideout available. Graff also guesses that New England would prefer to use the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL draft to select an offensive or defensive lineman. With the Bengals trying to keep Higgins, the top names at the WR position will be Chris Godwin, Amari Cooper and Stefon Diggs (knee). In terms of a potential trade, the Patriots could target the New Orleans Saints' Chris Olave, the Seattle Seahawks' DK Metcalf or the Los Angeles Rams' Cooper Kupp. Graff thinks the Patriots could trade for Kupp, sign Godwin and draft a rookie receiver in the third round to add to a WR room that includes DeMario Douglas, Ja'Lynn Polk and Kayson Boutte.

From RotoBaller

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter (shoulder), who could be the No. 1 overall pick in his year's draft, will not work out at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis this week because he isn't fully recovered from the shoulder injury that he suffered against Boise State, according to his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey. The young pass-rusher played through his shoulder injury in the semifinal game against Notre Dame and was only recently cleared to resume training. Carter will do physical exams and interviews at the combine but won't do on-field workouts until his Pro Day at Penn State on March 28. While Carter could be in play for the No. 1 overall pick, it's still more likely that either Miami quarterback Cam Ward or Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders go No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans in April.

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The Las Vegas Raiders re-signed safety Isaiah Pola-Mao to a two-year contract extension worth up to $8.45 million on Monday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Pola-Mao was a restricted free agent and the nephew of Hall of Fame defensive back Troy Polamalu. The 25-year-old former undrafted free agent out of USC eventually latched on with the Raiders and made his NFL debut back in 2022. He started the final 1 games for the Raiders in 2024 and was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week in Week 16. In 17 total games played (14 starts), Pola-Mao broke out to the tune of 89 tackles (57 solo), one sack, five pass breakups and two forced fumbles. Pola-Mao will now stick around in Vegas for another two seasons and should play a key role again in their secondary in 2025. He had only 40 combined tackles and two sacks in 27 games (no starts) in his first two seasons with the Raiders.

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Dallas Cowboys impending free-agent quarterback Trey Lance is expected to move on in free agency this offseason, as chief executive officer Stephen Jones said that Lance is "probably going to be looking for something different." The Cowboys acquired Lance from the San Francisco 49ers before the start of the 2023 season, but he didn't play at all that year and appeared in just four games (one start) in 2024 as the third-stringer, throwing for 266 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Backup Cooper Rush is also headed toward free agency, but the Cowboys would probably prefer to draft a new QB to groom as Dak Prescott's (hamstring) backup than re-sign Lance. The 24-year-old former third overall pick by the Niners in 2021 was injured in his rookie season and hasn't really ever gotten the chance to live up to his high expectations. He'll be looking for backup work on the open market in March.

From RotoBaller

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports that the Cleveland Browns are releasing veteran safety Juan Thornhill, according to sources. After meeting in recent days, both sides agreed that the best decision was to release Thornhill so that he'll have a few weeks of a head start on free agency this offseason. The 29-year-old had one year and $7 million left on his deal with Cleveland. He will be designated as a post-June 1 cut and will save the Browns $3.2 million on the 2025 salary cap. It's not a surprising move, as Thornhill only played in 11 games in each of his two seasons after signing a three-year, $21 million deal before the 2023 campaign. He had become a rotational player late last season and accumulated 103 tackles (72 solo), no interceptions and four pass breakups in 22 starts for the Browns in his two seasons. Thornhill spent his first four years with the Chiefs after they took him in the second round in 2019.

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Carolina Panthers impending free-agent WR David Moore and TE Tommy Tremble could remain with the Panthers on short-term contracts, in the opinion of The Athletic's Joe Person.

From TheHuddle

The Athletic's Mike DeFabo thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers might want to consider trading safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who hasn't played at a Pro Bowl level in two years. Even if the Steelers were to trade the big-money star, they'd still have the NFL's most expensive defense. Pittsburgh is set to have the most expensive defense in the league in 2025 for the fourth straight season with $163.8 million in salary cap hits, according to Over The Cap. That number is $27 million more than the second-highest spender on defense, the Tennessee Titans. If Fitzpatrick were traded, the Steelers would save $15.5 million of his $24.4 million salary cap hit this year, which would help them address an undermanned offense. The former 11th overall pick bounced back in 2024 and made the Pro Bowl for the fifth time in his career by recording 96 tackles (62 solo), one interception and a forced fumble in 17 regular-season starts.

From RotoBaller

Dallas Cowboys impending free-agent CB Jourdan Lewis is a player the Cowboys are want to re-sign this offseason, according to chief operating officer Stephen Jones.

From TheHuddle

The Athltic's Mike DeFabo writes that Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens, who is heading into the final deal of his rookie contract in 2025, could "hold in" at training camp this summer to force the Steelers to either trade him or give him guaranteed money early. DeFabo thinks that it's unlikely the Steelers will give Pickens a contract extension this summer after head coach Mike Tomlin said the 23-year-old wideout needed to "grow up" after a win over the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals. Pickens showed up late on Christmas Day against the Kansas City Chiefs and got into a shouting match with a fan in the regular-season finale. Pickens has shown plenty of talent as a pass-catcher, but his immaturity could get him run out of town. His 2025 fantasy value will depend largely on who the Steelers choose to be their starting quarterback.

From RotoBaller