NFL Player News

Huntley agreed to a contract with the Browns on Sunday, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Huntley will stick in the AFC North after serving as one of the primary backup quarterbacks behind Lamar Jackson in Baltimore over the past four seasons. The 26-year-old is set to join Cleveland on a veteran minimum deal, according to Tom Withers of the Associated Press. With four accrued seasons under Huntley's belt, this veteran minimum deal should carry a base value of one-year, $1.13 million. He'll likely compete with Jameis Winston and Dorian Thompson-Robinson (hip) for the primary backup role behind starting quarterback Deshaun Watson (shoulder).

Fields, whom the Steelers acquired from the Bears on Saturday in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick, isn't expected to compete for Pittsburgh's starting quarterback job and is line to serve as a backup to Russell Wilson during the 2024 season, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

Though Fields is due a larger salary in the final year of his rookie deal in 2024 than Wilson will earn on his one-year, $1.21 million contract, the Steelers are inclined to have Fields learn from Wilson rather than looking for the 25-year-old to directly challenge the nine-time Pro Bowler for the top spot on the depth chart. While Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that the Steelers are expected to decline Fields' pricey $25.66 million player option for 2025 prior to the May 2 deadline to do so, such a move wouldn't necessarily preclude Pittsburgh from re-signing the signal-caller next offseason if they're satisfied with his work in practices or in any action he might see in place of Wilson during his first season in the organization. Given that the 2025 sixth-round pick the Steelers gave up to acquire Fields would turn into a fourth-round pick if he plays more than 51 percent of the team's snaps this season, Pittsburgh has some extra incentive to stay committed to Wilson, at least for the early part of the campaign. Fields' fantasy outlook could brighten in 2025 if the Steelers commit to him as a starter or if he lands a more favorable opportunity elsewhere in free agency next spring, but at least for the upcoming season, he doesn't look as though he'll be anything more than a luxury stash in most redraft leagues.

Wilson is expected to serve as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback in 2024, even after the Steelers acquired Justin Fields from the Bears on Saturday in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round draft pick, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

The Steelers acquired Fields one day after officially inking Wilson to a one-year contract, but the addition of Fields doesn't look as though it'll affect Wilson's standing as the team's projected starting quarterback during the upcoming season. As such, the 25-year-old Fields is slated to serve in a backup role to the 35-year-old Wilson, who is coming off a pair of underwhelming campaigns with Denver. The acquisition of Fields could still influence Pittsburgh's quarterback plans beyond 2024, and at a minimum, the Steelers would have a talented and experienced signal-caller waiting in the wings should Wilson suffer an injury or struggle early on in the season to ignite the team's passing game.

The Steelers acquired Fields from the Bears on Saturday in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round draft pick, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

According to Schefter, the 2025 pick can become a fourth-round pick if Fields reaches an unspecified playing-time threshold with the Steelers in 2024. The trade sets up an interesting quarterback situation for the Steelers, who signed Russell Wilson to a low-cost one-year deal in free agency after he was waived by the Broncos earlier in the week. The Bears, meanwhile, have cleared the deck to draft a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which in all likelihood will be USC's Caleb Williams.

The Rams and Garoppolo (suspension) agreed to a one-year contract Friday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

Garoppolo didn't exactly uphold the three-year contract he signed with the Raiders last March, appearing in just seven games due to injury and an eventual benching for rookie QB Aidan O'Connell after Week 8. Overall, Garoppolo completed 110 of 169 passes (65.1 percent) for 1,205 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions in his stint with the silver and black. The current offseason has included a two-game suspension because of a violation of the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances, but Garoppolo figures to serve as Matthew Stafford's backup Week 3 and beyond in the coming campaign once the former completes the ban.

Tampa Bay signed Wolford (illness) to a one-year deal Friday, Buccaneers' general manager Jason Licht reports.

After spending the end of last season on the Buccaneers' practice squad, Wolford has agreed to return to Tampa Bay in 2024. The 28-year-old quarterback has appeared in seven games (four starts) throughout his three-year NFL career, completing 61 of his 104 passes for 626 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions. It seems as if Wolford is past the illness he was dealing with towards the end of last year, and he'll likely have the opportunity to compete for Tampa Bay's backup quarterback role with Kyle Trask this offseason.

Wilson is temporarily left as the only quarterback on Pittsburgh's roster after the Steelers traded Kenny Pickett to the Eagles on Friday, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

The Pickett trade was made just hours after Wilson finalized a one-year contract with the Steelers. Pickett reportedly expressed displeasure with the organization's decision to sign Wilson, likely assuming that he would be a long shot to beat out the 35-year-old for a starting job. Wilson was a strong favorite for the Week 1 start even with Pickett on the team, and none of the available free agents would seem to pose any threat to Wilson's standing atop the depth chart if Pittsburgh opts to sign them. The only potential hurdles at this point are a trade for Justin Fields or an early draft pick coming in at the position. Even in those scenarios, Wilson would still have a good chance to make the Week 1 start.

The Chargers re-signed Stick on Friday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

The North Dakota State product is now in line to remain in Los Angeles after agreeing to a new deal with the Chargers. Stick appeared in five games (four starts) for the Chargers in 2023, throwing for 1,129 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He's expected to remain a serviceable backup quarterback option if Justin Herbert were to go down in 2024.

The Steelers are trading Pickett to the Eagles for a draft pick swap, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

As recently as 10 days ago, multiple Pittsburgh beat reporters said the team preferred to keep Pickett and Mason Rudolph and then let them compete for the starting job. Both are now gone and will be backups for other teams, while the Steelers have Russell Wilson as the lone QB on their offseason roster. The move to Philadelphia might help Pickett's development but also means he'll have no opportunity to compete for the top spot, instead serving as a clear backup to Jalen Hurts. Pickett, a 2022 first-round pick, has two seasons remaining on his rookie contract, plus a fifth-year option for 2026 that's unlikely to be picked up.

Lock said Friday that he's been told Daniel Jones (knee) is the Giants' starting quarterback, Charlotte Carroll of The Athletic reports.

The question likely was asked in response to Seahawks GM John Schneider saying Thursday that he wanted to re-sign Lock but lost out to the Giants because they offered the opportunity to compete for a starting job. Lock seems to be suggesting otherwise, though Jones' recovery from an ACL tear suffered Nov. 5 could make things interesting. Jones' contract is another factor, with a $23 million injury guarantee for 2025 potentially creating a mid/late-season situation like the one we saw in Denver with Russell Wilson in 2023 (Wilson was benched to ensure he'd stay healthy and reduce the dead-cap charge for releasing him in the offseason).