NFL Player News
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Ty Johnson RB | BUF
Bills' Ty Johnson: Staying in Buffalo
Johnson and the Bills agreed to a two-year, $5 million contract Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Johnson finished the 2024 regular season with 497 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns on 59 touches across 17 games, and his 289 offensive snaps were his most since the 2021 campaign with the Jets. Johnson figures to reprise his role as a kick-return specialist and backup running back behind James Cook for the 2025 campaign.
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Darrynton Evans RB | BUF
Bills' Darrynton Evans: Lands opportunity in Buffalo
Evans is slated to sign with the Bills, per his representation at Priority Sports.
Evans appeared in five games with Chicago last season while also spending time on the team's practice squad. Across those five appearances, he rushed three times for three yards and played on special teams. Now, the 2020 third-round pick will get a chance to compete for a reserve role in Buffalo.
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Miles Sanders RB | DAL
Miles Sanders: Released by Carolina
The Panthers released Sanders on Tuesday, Jonathan Jones of CBSSports.com reports.
Sanders made it through two seasons of a four-year, $25.4 million contract, mostly backing up Chuba Hubbard during that time. The deal ended up being a disaster for Carolina, with Sanders arguably the most overpaid running back in the league. He'll turn 28 in May and seems unlikely to be handed a prominent spot in another backfield.
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Jordan Mason RB | MIN
49ers' Jordan Mason: Gets second-round tender
The 49ers are giving Mason (ankle) a second-round restricted free agent tender, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
It's a bit surprising to see Mason get a tender for over $5 million after his hot start to 2024 tailed off. The 49ers were in a tough spot, as an original-round tender would've cost about $2 million less but wouldn't have provided any draft compensation if they declined to match an offer sheet from another team, as the running back was undrafted originally. In any case, the 49ers don't necessarily have to keep Mason on the tender; they can use it as a bridge to a multi-year contract or a trade. If he does stay in San Francisco, he'll likely be the No. 2 running back behind Christian McCaffrey, although Isaac Guerendo is capable of pushing for the role. Mason missed the final five weeks of the 2024 season with a high-ankle sprain, but there hasn't been any report of surgery or a prolonged recovery/rehab process.
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Najee Harris RB | LAC
Chargers' Najee Harris: Finds new home with Chargers
The Chargers are slated to sign Harris to a one-year contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
It's worth up to $9.25 million. With J.K. Dobbins' contract expired and Gus Edwards recently released, the Chargers were in dire need of a running back. They've found one in Harris, who Chargers OC Greg Roman knows well from their time together in the AFC North. Since being selected with the 24th overall pick in the 2021 Draft, Harris has started all 68 regular-season games, a rarity for running backs in this day and age. While Harris lacks big-play ability and efficiency and doesn't do much in the pass game, he makes up for it with toughness and availability. Harris averaged a subpar 3.9 yards per carry on 1,097 rushing attempts in four seasons with the Steelers and rushed for over 1,000 yards on each occasion. Look for Harris to be coach Jim Harbaugh's new lead back in Los Angeles.
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Javonte Williams RB | DAL
Cowboys' Javonte Williams: Moving on to Dallas
Williams is in line to sign a one-year contract with the Cowboys, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
The deal has a base salary of $3 million with the potential to earn $3.5 million overall via incentives. This move appears to be the first step in moving on from Rico Dowdle, Dallas' starting running back last year, as Deuce Vaughn and Malik Davis are the other players at the position under contract in 2025. There's still time for the Cowboys to add via free agency and especially the draft, but as the backfield stands, Williams is the clear No. 1 option at the moment. In four campaigns with the Broncos, the 2021 second-round pick averaged 4.0 yards per carry and 62.2 yards from scrimmage per game while scoring 16 total touchdowns in 54 regular-season contests.
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Patrick Taylor RB | SF
49ers' Patrick Taylor: Staying in San Francisco
The 49ers re-signed Taylor to a one-year deal Monday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
The 26-year-old running back will remain with the 49ers after spending most of last season on the team's active roster. He saw increased offensive action in 2024 due to injuries to Christian McCaffrey (knee), Jordan Mason (ankle) and Isaac Guerendo (knee), appearing in 13 games and taking 39 carries for 183 yards and one touchdown. Additionally, Taylor hauled in three of his 11 targets for 25 yards and accumulated 104 kick-return yards. Expect Taylor to serve as one of San Francisco's top reserve backs again in 2025.
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Samaje Perine RB | CIN
Bengals' Samaje Perine: Reunion with Cincinnati on tap
The Bengals are slated to sign Perine to a two-year contract worth up to $3.8 million, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
Perine gets a chance to return to Cincinnati, where he played from 2020-22. The veteran pass-catching specialist figures to operate primarily as a change-of-pace option with the Bengals, with Chase Brown (ankle) standing atop the depth chart after a breakout 2024 campaign, and Zack Moss (neck) under contract for one more season. Across 17 regular-season games with the Chiefs in 2024, Perine rushed 20 times for 92 yards and a touchdown, while also securing 28 catches of 35 targets for 322 yards and a touchdown.
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Elijah Mitchell RB | KC
Chiefs' Elijah Mitchell: Finds new home in Kansas City
The Chiefs are in line to sign Mitchell (hamstring) to a one-year contract worth up to $3.5 million, Tommy Call III of USA Today reports.
Mitchell missed his entire 2024 campaign with San Francisco after undergoing hamstring surgery last August, but he projects to be ready for the start of offseason activities with his new club. Across four years with the 49ers, the oft-injured Mitchell managed to suit up for only 27 of a possible 68 regular-season games, but he now finds an intriguing landing spot with a solid potential ceiling, should he manage to stay healthy and put his trademark speed to use. Kareem Hunt is a pending unrestricted free agent for the Chiefs, but Isiah Pacheco has one year remaining on his rookie deal, leaving Mitchell in likely position to handle a depth role.
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Jaylen Warren RB | PIT
Steelers' Jaylen Warren: Receives second-round RFA tender
The Steelers placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Warren on Monday, Alan Saunders of SteelersNow.com reports.
The Steelers make Warren's second-round RFA tender official, a move that GM Omar Khan foreshadowed in late February. Pittsburgh had the option to place an original-round tender on Warren, which would have given him a $3.19 million salary for 2025 but made it more feasible for teams to offer him a competitive contract. By issuing Warren a second-round tender, the Steelers effectively guarantee he'll remain with the team this season at the cost of a $5.2 million salary, as any team he signed with would have to surrender second-round draft compensation. Najee Harris is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, and his departure would thrust Warren into the No. 1 backfield spot for at least the time being.