NFL Player News

Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said Wednesday that Pickens will play out 2026 under the franchise tag, with no negotiations toward a long-term deal, Jonathan Jones of CBSSports.com reports.

It's unusual for a team to make this kind of announcement, especially with nearly three months remaining before the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players to negotiate contracts. Pickens hasn't signed his tag and thus can't be fined for missing team activities. The tag is worth $27.3 million, which means he'll miss out on around $1.52 million per week if he declines to sign before the start of the regular season. Pickens hasn't made public comments on the situation, but it's probably safe to say he isn't thrilled.

Judkins (ankle) was spotted in uniform and rehabbing at the start of Cleveland's voluntary minicamp Tuesday, Dylan Feltovich of USA Today reports.

Judkins' exact participation level is difficult to determine, with Camryn Justice of News 5 Cleveland reporting that the 2025 second-round pick participated in on-field activities in some capacity, while Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports that he monitored practice from a side field. In any case, Judkins' activity level during spring figures to be largely limited to rehab work as he recovers from surgery undergone in late December to address a dislocated right ankle. Ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, Judkins projects as the leader of a backfield that also houses Dylan Sampson, Raheim Sanders and Ahmani Marshall, all of whom are second-year pros.

Sanders started Cleveland's first 11-on-11 team period at voluntary minicamp Tuesday, though he rotated reps with fellow QBs Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel, Kelsey Russo of the Browns' official site reports.

Sanders is firmly in the mix in Cleveland's quarterback competition, though there isn't necessarily much information to glean from the chronology of team drills at this stage in the offseason. That said, new head coach Todd Monken did note that "[t]he plan was to have [Sanders] have a few more reps, but to let Deshaun [Watson] and [Sanders] both have reps with the ones." Monken's comments essentially confirm assumptions that Sanders is entering spring workouts as the favorite for No. 1 QB reps over Watson, while Gabriel ranks closer to No. 3 on the depth chart, though things stand to be fluid given the ongoing nature of this positional competition. Across eight regular-season appearances (seven starts) as a rookie, Sanders completed 57 percent of his pass attempts for 1,400 yards, seven TDs and 10 INTs.

The Vikings waived Hutchings (undisclosed) with a non-football injury designation Tuesday.

Hutchings went undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2024 and has yet to appear in a regular-season NFL contest.

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst confirmed Tuesday that Tom (knee) underwent surgery this offseason to repair a partially torn patellar tendon, Dominique Yates of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Tom popped up on the injury report with a knee injury in December and ended up missing the Packers' final four contests of the 2025 season, including their wild-card loss to the Bears. The right tackle has started all 46 games in which he's appeared over the last three regular seasons.

Edwards (lower leg) said Tuesday that he's progressing in his rehab from a fractured fibula and is aiming to be ready for Week 1, Chris Emma of 670TheScore.com reports.

Edwards suffered the injury in Chicago's wild-card win over the Packers back in January. "I will push as hard as I can to move it as quickly as possible, but I also want to be smart about it, too," Edwards said. "I'll be ready when it's time to go." After starting all 17 regular-season games in each of the previous three seasons, Edwards dealt with injuries in 2025 and made just 10 regular-season starts before his postseason injury.

Westover signed his exclusive-rights free-agent tender with the Patriots on Tuesday.

It was merely a formality for the 26-year-old fullback. Westover has touched the ball just one time in 20 career regular-season games while logging 246 offensive snaps in that span.

Colts coach Shane Steichen noted Tuesday that Jones is already handling dropbacks at this stage of his recovery from a torn right Achilles, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

Jones suffered his Achilles tear on Dec. 7 last year, so the QB still has a way to go in his recovery, and the Colts have not yet offered a timeline on when Jones might be fully cleared. Steichen did note that the signal caller is having a "phenomenal rehab," adding that he's confident Jones is doing everything he can to be ready sooner rather than later. With Jones still on the mend, Riley Leonard will handle first-team reps during OTAs, as Anthony Richardson (eye) -- who has requested a trade -- wasn't present at all for the start of Indy's voluntary workout sessions.

Fannin (groin) participated in Tuesday's voluntary veteran minicamp practice, Kelsey Russo of the Browns' official site reports.

Fannin sat out the Browns' 2025 season finale against the Bengals due to a groin injury, but he's moved past the issue. The second-year tight end sits firmly atop a depth chart which no longer includes David Njoku, who remains a free agent, and as a rookie last year Fannin recorded a team-high 72 catches on 107 targets for 731 yards and six TDs in 16 regular-season contests. With Njoku no longer in the mix, Fannin should have an opportunity to improve on those numbers given the unproven options behind him at the position for Cleveland.

The Giants hosted Jones (back) for a visit on Tuesday, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Jones logged four regular-season appearances in 2025 before being placed on IR due to a back injury, tallying 15 total tackles and one pass defensed while handling 260 defensive snaps. The 28-year-old appears back to full health, and he could shore up New York's interior defensive line after the team traded Dexter Lawrence to Cincinnati.