NFL Player News

Ravens GM Eric DeCosta said Tuesday that Baltimore has made a market-setting offer to impending free agent Linderbaum, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

DeCosta added that the Ravens will not be using the franchise or transition tag on Linderbaum. While Baltimore is working hard to retain its starting center, there's a chance he'll opt to test free agency and see what else is out there in two weeks. Linderbaum has missed just two starts since he was taken with the 25th overall pick in the 2022 Draft by the Ravens.

Panthers GM Dan Morgan said Tuesday that Jones (back) has been fully cleared after undergoing surgery during the season, Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer reports.

Signed to a two-year, $15 million deal last offseason following a breakout 2024 campaign with the Vikings, Jones appeared in just four regular-season games during his first season with Carolina. The outside linebacker will look to return to form in 2026 after he racked up a career-high 7.0 sacks across 15 regular-season games with Minnesota two seasons ago.

Wiggins (undisclosed) underwent offseason surgery, Jonas Shaffer of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.

The nature of Wiggins' surgery is unclear, as new coach Jesse Minter offered no details when speaking with the media at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday. Wiggins, however, did deal with a foot injury in December, though he didn't miss any game action. He finished the 2025 season with 76 tackles (57 solo) and 14 pass breakups, including three interceptions. Wiggins is expected to be a big part of Minter's defense in Baltimore.

Bears GM Ryan Poles said Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine that teams have called about the availability of Bagent via trade this offseason, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Bagent was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent out of Shepherd in 2023 and started four games as a rookie, completing 94 of 143 passes for 859 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions across five total appearances. He's attempted just six regular-season passes over the last two campaigns but has looked good during the preseason when on the field. Bagent has two years remaining on his contract at $4 million each season, so he's very affordable and could be a stop-gap option for a rebuilding team.

Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday, new Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan said everything is on the table with Fitzpatrick (calf), and Miami is listening to trade offers for the safety, Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com reports.

Fitzpatrick has one year remaining on his contract and carries a base salary of $15.6 million to go with an $18.849 million cap number. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense for a rebuilding Dolphins team. The 29-year-old safety started all 14 regular-season games in which he appeared last season, recording 82 tackles (59 solo) including his first career sack, six pass breakups with just one interception, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. That qualified as a down season for Fitzpatrick, who made three consecutive Pro Bowls from 2022-24 with the Steelers.

Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday, Colts GM Chris Ballard said he's hoping the team can re-sign Pierce before he becomes a free agent next month, JJ Stankevitz of the team's official site reports.

"We've had great discussions about both of them," Ballard said of Pierce and fellow impending free agent Daniel Jones (Achilles). "We'll continue to work this week and see if we can get something done. It's been very positive. When both sides are driven to get it done, it usually works out in the right way." Pierce had a career year during the 2025 campaign, posting career highs in targets (84), catches (47) and receiving yards (1,003), while producing six touchdowns. He's led the entire NFL in yards per reception in back-to-back years as one of the game's most dangerous downfield weapons. Pierce would be one of the top free agents available in March if the Colts are unable to hammer out a deal with him.

On Tuesday, GM Monti Ossenfort said that "all options are on the table" regarding Murray's future with the Cardinals and the team's plans at quarterback, Jayna Bardahl of The Athletic reports.

Per Ossenfort, "as it pertains to that position -- as it pertains to every position on our team -- we're going to look at every avenue to improve, and we're going to continue to go through our process with that." For now, the Cardinals have Murray, Jacoby Brissett and Kedon Slovis under contract, but the status of the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft -- who played just five games last season after suffering a foot injury in Week 5 -- remains unclear. A decision could come by mid-March, given that if Murray is on Arizona's active roster on the fifth day of the upcoming league year, he'd be due a guaranteed roster bonus for 2027 of $19.5 million.

The Texans have no plans to trade Stroud, DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN reports.

Per Bien-Aime, the QB's name surfaced online in trade speculation in the wake of a playoff run that included seven turnovers. However, GM Nick Caserio firmly denied such a possibility Tuesday, while noting of Stroud, "we are not trading the guy. He's our quarterback. He's going to be playing quarterback for the Houston Texans in 2026." Stroud, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, is coming off a 2025 regular season in which he threw for 3,041 yards, with 19 TDs and eight interceptions in 14 games. Looking ahead, WR Christian Kirk is the team's most notable pass catcher in line to become a free agent next month, but otherwise Houston's top wideouts and tight ends are on track to be available options for Stroud this coming season.

The Falcons officially placed their franchise tag on Pitts on Tuesday, Tori McElhaney of the team's official site reports.

The expected move prevents Pitts from reaching the open market in free agency, while he and the Falcons have until July 15 to negotiate a potential multi-year extension. Per McElhaney, the projected franchise tag value for tight ends in 2026 will be approximately $16 million. The 2021 first-rounder is coming off a 2025 regular season in which he recorded 88 catches for 928 yards and five touchdowns (on 118 targets) in 17 games.

According to Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle, the signs point to a potential break between Mixon, who is recovering from a foot injury that sidelined him this past season, and the Texans.

That's a notion echoed by Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston, who indicates that the Texans are expected to ultimately part ways with the running back -- who recently underwent surgery to address his foot issue -- via a failed physical. For his part, GM Nick Caserio describes Mixon's status with the team as "a moving target," while adding "we'll kind of see what the availability is going to be, what the prognosis is for the season and then ultimately try to figure out what makes sense for everybody involved." Per Wilson, releasing Mixon from his contract would save the Texans $8.5 million.