NFL 2026: Season Discussion Thread NFL

[Steve]

The Browns are planning to sign linebacker Quincy Williams to a two-year contract, a league source confirmed.

Williams, 29, reunites with new Browns defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg in Cleveland after Rutenberg served as Williams' position coach for four seasons with the Jets. Williams was a first-team All-Pro pick in 2023 but was benched around midseason last year. He ended up making 12 starts.

With the Browns, Williams figures to step into a full-time role after the Browns lost Devin Bush to the Chicago Bears via free agency on Monday. Bush, who had played the last two seasons in Cleveland on separate one-year deals, had his best season in 2025 and cashed in with a new three-year contract in Chicago.

Bush thrived in the attack system implemented by former Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Rutenberg has almost all of the regular contributors from that defense back as he takes over for Schwartz under new Browns coach Todd Monken. The Browns mostly will be focused on upgrading the offense over the next two months and trying to better complement what's been a top-tier defense, but the Williams signing became a priority when Bush agreed to terms with the Bears.

 

[Steve]

The Steelers are signing former Panthers running back Rico Dowdle, per sources.

After losing Kenneth Gainwell to Tampa Bay earlier today, Pittsburgh adds Dowdle to its backfield.

 

[Steve]

The Bills are signing QB Kyle Allen to a two-year, $10 million deal, per sources.

He spent 2023 backing up Josh Allen and now returns to Buffalo, who lost Mitchell Trubisky to Tennessee earlier today.

 

[Steve]

Free Agency Day 2

Former Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco has agreed to a one-year deal with the Detroit Lions, a league source confirmed on Tuesday after NFL Network first reported the news.

A seventh-round pick by the Chiefs in 2022, Pacheco quickly emerged as the team's starter. He was K.C.'s top rusher for a pair of Super Bowl-winning teams in 2022 (830 yards) and 2023 (935) before injuries hampered him the last two seasons.

 

[Steve]

The Giants had a hole at cornerback going into today and they filled that hole by signing Greg Newsome to a one-year deal worth up to $10 million.

Newsome is a face that new Giants coach John Harbaugh knows well. Newsome spent the first 4.5 seasons of his career in Cleveland before being traded to Jacksonville last season, so he faced Harbaugh's Ravens' multiple times. As a matter of fact, Newsome only has one pick-six in his career and it actually came against Harbaugh's Ravens.

 

[Steve]

After the first day of tampering, there were only five teams that didn't agree to terms with at least one external free agent and the Packers were one of them.

Someone must have reminded the Packers that free agency has started, because they did make a move early Tuesday morning by agreeing to terms with CB Benjamin St-Juste on a two-year, $10 million deal.

St-Juste spent the 2025 season in Los Angeles where he played in 16 games with the Chargers, including two starts. This is some much-needed depth at corner for a team that just released CB Nate Hobbs.

Hobbs signed a four-year, $48 million deal last March, but he never really panned out with the team. The Packers will designate Hobbs as a post-June 1 release, so they'll be able to spread out his dead cap hit over two seasons (it will be $4 million in 2026 and $8 million in 2027).

 

[Steve]

The Jets have been stockpiling defensive players over the past 24 hours and they added another one today in the form of Dane Belton, who has agreed to terms on a one-year, $4 million contract.

Belton was drafted by the Giants in 2022 and spent the past four seasons with them, so he'll get to play his home games in the same stadium this year. Belton was a solid safety for the Giants during a 2025 season where he saw action in all 17 games with nine starts.

Belton is the sixth defensive player that the Jets have added since Monday morning, joining: S Minkah Fitzpatrick, DL Joseph Ossai, DL Kingsley Enagbare, DL David Onyemata and LB Demario Davis.

 

[Steve]

Dawson Knox has spent his entire career in Buffalo and it looks like he's going to be sticking around for at least three more season. The 29-year-old has agreed to terms on a new three-year deal with the Bills.

Knox's contract was set to expire at the end of the 2026 season and he had a $17.1 million cap hit, so it certainly made a lot of sense for the Bills to give him a new deal now so that they could reduce the cap hit.

Since being drafted by the Bills in 2019, Knox has consistently produced in Buffalo's offense. Last season, he caught 36 passes for 417 yards and finished second on the team in touchdown catches with four.

 

[Steve]

Harrison Butker is no longer the highest paid kicker in the NFL. Ka'imi Fairbairn took. over that title on Tuesday after the Texans signed him a two-year, $13 million extension.

The new deal will pay Fairbairn an average of $6.5 million per year, which puts him just ahead of Butker, who is making $6.4 million per year with the Chiefs.

It's a much deserved raise for Fairbairn, who has been one of the NFL's best kickers over the past few years. In 2025, he hit 91.7% of his field goal attempts, which ranked sixth in the NFL for any player with more than 15 attempts. He also hit a total of 44 field goals during the regular season, which was the most in the league.

Fairbairn didn't miss a single kick from inside 50 yards last season, going a perfect 37 of 37. There were 17 kickers in the NFL who attempted at least 25 field goals from inside 50 yards and Fairbairn was one of just two who hit 100% of his kicks.

Fairbairn also hit nine field goals from outside 50 yards, which was tied for the fourth-most in the NFL. Although Fairbairn is the highest paid kicker now, that title might not last for long. If Brandon Aubrey signs an extension with the Cowboys or signs a deal with a new team, there's a good chance that he'll top Fairbairn's number.

 

[Steve]

The Jets are trading for Raiders QB Geno Smith, league sources confirmed.

This marks the second time in 12 months that Smith has been traded. He was shipped from Seattle to Las Vegas last March, and now, he's headed back to New York. Smith started his career with the Jets after they made him the 39th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. He started 29 games during his first two seasons with the team, but was eventually benched and he ended up only starting one game over his final two years with the Jets.

This trade likely means that you can pencil in Smith as the Jets starting QB in 2026.

First, let's get to the compensation of the trade:

• Jets get: Geno Smith, 2026 7th-round pick (228th overall)
• Raiders get: 2026 6th-round pick (208th overall)

Geno Smith, who was scheduled to make $26.5 million in 2026, agreed to restructure his contract to make the trade happen. Smith will now make $19.5 million with the Raiders paying $16.2 million of that salary and the Jets paying $3.3 million. The Jets get a starting QB at a cheap price and the Raiders will create about $10.3 million in cap space, so it becomes a win-win for both teams.