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2026 NFL offseason: Free agents, draft notes, predictions
What is their top offseason priority?
Hire a defensive coordinator. Coach Dan Quinn took over playcalling duties from Joe Whitt Jr. for the final seven games, but his preference in the past has been to have someone else run the defense. Whitt, hired in 2024, did not have prior playcalling experience, so it’s possible Washington will want someone who has done so in the past.What is one secondary priority to watch? Add impact players on defense. Washington desperately needs them, otherwise simply
changing coordinators won’t have a strong enough yield. The Commanders need more speed and youth in their front seven, as well as a starting corner and safety. — John Keim
Early draft outlook: As mentioned above, improving the defensive front seven will be a core need for Washington, especially with linebacker Bobby Wagner set to hit free agency at 36. Ohio State’s Arvell Reese would solve a lot of problems in the middle of the defense, but some scouts think he can be an edge rusher in the NFL. That’s another priority for Quinn’s unit. — Miller
Hogs Haven
5 under-the-radar Free Agents for the Commanders to sign
TE Adam Trautman
With Ertz nearing retirement the Commanders could use another depth piece at tight end. Bates and Sinnott have proven to be productive in certain situations but whether they can make the leap to top options remains to be seen. Adam Trautman has been a versatile, productive tight end for his entire career and he seems to never get his flowers. He is a willing blocker and helped the Broncos offense tremendously in that department and he had incredible efficiency as a receiver in 2025. On 23 targets he had 20 receptions for 195 yards and a score giving him a catch percentage and yards per target rate well above the league average. The Commanders have some decent tight ends in place but bringing in a productive player like Trautman couldn’t hurt.
Riggo’s Rag
Commanders may not get the chance to speak with Jeff Ulbrich for their defensive coordinator vacancy
Stefanski has also done his homework on Jeff Ulbrich with a view to keeping him on as defensive coordinator, according to ESPN‘s Jeremy Fowler. The Falcons would like to keep him around, which represents a blow to the Commanders if this scenario becomes reality.
“[Kevin] Stefanski has done research on potentially working with Falcons DC Jeff Ulbrich in Atlanta, per sources. Owner Arthur Blank would like to keep Ulbrich, who would be a top coordinator candidate on the market if available.”Jeremy Fowler
Most beat writers believe Ulbrich is high on Quinn’s shortlist. He hasn’t had the chance to speak with him yet, due to the previous uncertainty in Atlanta. And if the Falcons opt to retain his services, the Commanders have to look elsewhere.
Riggo’s Rag
Commanders insider believes Marshon Lattimore could be cut after disastrous season
Nicki Jhabvala from The Athletic thought releasing cornerback Marshon Lattimore with one year remaining on his deal seemed feasible. His unreliable performance levels, current injury timeline, and recent offseason arrest dictate nothing less, especially given the savings attached and the absence of dead-cap ramifications.
“[Marshon] Lattimore has lacked the explosiveness he had in his prime, and at times got handsy to compensate. He had seven defensive penalties for 89 yards in only nine games this season. If there’s a move Washington ends up regretting over the last two seasons, it’s probably this trade. Cutting him will save $18.5 million against the cap.”Nick Jhabvala, The Athletic
Jhabvala is right. This bombshell trade to acquire the four-time Pro Bowler from the New Orleans Saints comes with regret attached. Peters was right to be aggressive in pursuit of the Commanders getting over the hump, but Lattimore was never able to reach the heights that saw him become one of the league’s most feared shutdown corners once upon a time.
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Big Blue View
NY Giants news: Cleveland Browns might wreck plan to hire Todd Monken as OC
Monken will interview in-person on Tuesday for the Browns vacant head-coaching job, according to ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler. Monken has already has a virtual interview with the Browns, who fired Kevin Stefanski at the end of the season.
Monken, 59, was head coach at Southern Miss from 2013-2015, but has never been an NFL head coach.
If Monken gets the Cleveland job, Harbaugh will have to go to Plan B. BBV’s Chris Pflum recently listed Mike Kafka, former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, Denver Broncos’ quarterbacks coach Davis Webb, and Los Angeles Rams’ passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhasse as other possibilities.
Blogging the Boys
The Cowboys are interviewing defensive coaches who gave Dak Prescott fits this season
So far, they have completed interviews for six coaches already.
- Jim Leonhard, defensive pass game coordinator, Broncos
- Daronte Jones, defensive pass game coordinator, Vikings
- Jonathan Gannon, head coach, Cardinals
- Zach Orr, defensive coordinator, Ravens
- Ephraim Banda, safeties coach, Browns
- Aaron Whitecotten, defensive line coach, Cowboys
And they have interviews scheduled for three more…
- Charlie Bullen, interim defensive coordinator, Giants
- Demarcus Covington, defensive line coach/run game coordinator, Packers
- Christian Parker, defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator, Eagles
One interesting aspect of this group is that two-thirds of these nine candidates faced off against the Cowboys this past season, and most of them caused problems for the Cowboys’ offense.
If a defensive coach has given Brian Schottenheimer fits this past season, he remembers. And those coaches appear to be at the top of the list in the Cowboys’ coaching search.
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A few coaching updates
Divisional Round Playoffs
ESPN
Caleb Williams makes crucial mistake in OT that ends the Bears season
Williams threw a jaw-dropping touchdown pass on fourth down with 18 seconds remaining to force overtime, but an interception in the extra period proved costly as Chicago’s 20-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams ended its miraculous run through a season marked by routine come-from-behind victories.
Williams became the first quarterback in franchise history to lead seven fourth-quarter comebacks in a season. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw three touchdowns in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter in a postseason.
[But he couldn’t pull] off an eighth fourth-quarter comeback win, which would have tied the most in NFL history.
The Bears trailed the Rams by seven points late in the game when Williams backpedaled to avoid multiple defenders, then threw a high-arcing 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet in the corner of the end zone on fourth-and-4 to force overtime.
According to Next Gen Stats, Kmet’s touchdown catch had a completion probability of 17.8%. Williams has three touchdowns on throws with a completion probability under 20% since he entered the league in 2024, tied with Justin Herbert and Jayden Daniels for most over that span.
[H]is second-half struggles were apparent in the loss. Williams was 10-of-23 passing after halftime with two interceptions, including the one in overtime. The Rams won it with a field goal on the ensuing possession.
Pro Football Talk
Ben Johnson: Thought about going for two, liked our chances in OT better
Bears head coach Ben Johnson opted to kick an extra point to tie the Rams with 18 seconds left in regulation on Sunday night and he was asked about that decision in his postgame press conference.
“Thought about it,” Johnson said in his postgame press conference. “Probably what played a little bit of a factor was our goal-to-go situations hadn’t gone very clean. Our inside the five plan hadn’t worked out quite like we’d hoped. I just felt better about taking our chances there in overtime.”
The Bears failed to score after picking up a first down at the Rams’ 5-yard line with just over five minutes to play in the game. They ran D’Andre Swift three times before Williams had a pass broken up by Rams linebacker Omar Speights on fourth down. The Bears also failed to convert two other fourth downs in the first half and their inability to convert in those moments impacted the game multiple times.
NFL.com
Patriots force 5 turnovers to beat the Texans
Patriots win sloppy affair. The weather fit (or perhaps caused) the style of play Sunday in Foxborough: frigid, wet and disruptive. New England and Houston committed a combined eight turnovers, defining a day in which neither team seemed capable of maintaining possession for very long. Drake Maye was responsible for all three of the Patriots’ giveaways, limiting their ability to capitalize on the five takeaways recorded by their defense. But by the end of the game, however, it was clear which team was more complete: Mike Vrabel’s Patriots. This is a team that has thrived off the renewed energy inside Gillette Stadium, flocks to the football defensively with a sense of aggression and determination that fits their coach, and proudly rallies around its NFL MVP candidate under center. Like every team remaining in these playoffs, the Patriots have their own flaws but have overcome them in resounding fashion through two playoff games by turning up the intensity defensively and riding the wave of excitement at home. They’re now one game from returning to the Super Bowl — Sunday’s AFC Championship Game at the Bo Nix-less Denver Broncos — a reality that seemed absurd just one year ago.
C.J. Stroud melts down. Houston’s win over Pittsburgh on Wild Card Weekend featured an incredible defensive performance and a highly concerning showing from the Texans’ franchise quarterback. A week later, those worries proved to be legitimate. C.J. Stroud appeared just as skittish in the pocket as he did in Pittsburgh, struggled with accuracy, continued to refuse to give up on doomed plays and gave away possession, and never looked anything like the quarterback who’d taken the NFL by storm as a rookie two seasons ago. Unlike in their win last week in Pittsburgh, Stroud also failed to produce big completions with downfield precision, traditionally his greatest strength, and was reduced to a checkdown-reliant passer who never seriously threatened New England’s safeties. His accuracy was an issue all afternoon, as were many of the decisions he made under fire, leading to his four interceptions. Even his most important throw of the day — a 10-yard touchdown pass to Christian Kirk — saw Stroud put the ball on the wrong shoulder, requiring Kirk to adjust and make a contested grab. Stroud made a similar error later that led to Carlton Davis’ second interception, which followed the veteran’s earlier takeaway that was only made possible by Stroud missing his intended target by a significant margin. It was a nightmarish game that prompted many to wonder whether Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans might bench Stroud for backup Davis Mills at halftime and caps a two-week stretch of mediocrity that will inspire plenty of debate regarding the former No. 2 overall pick’s future in Houston in the offseason.
Drake Maye delivers in key spots. An ugly weather day never bodes well for a passer’s chances of success, especially in the playoffs, and that was largely true for Maye on Sunday. What’s important in these settings, however, is how a quarterback maximizes the chances he’s given, and Maye did plenty of that. It began with a courageous fourth-down conversion attempt early in the first quarter, in which Maye calmly received the snap and fired a dart just beyond the palm of Texans safety Calen Bullock to Demario Douglas for a 28-yard touchdown, and continued with Maye’s consecutive tight-window bullets to Kayshon Boutte and Stefon Diggs for a gain of 18 and a 7-yard touchdown completion. Maye made his share of mistakes, sure, including three strip-sack fumbles (one was recovered by Houston) and another fumble lost on a QB keeper. But Maye managed to strike frequently enough to put the Patriots in a comfortable position in the fourth quarter, capping a triumphant day with a strike to Boutte, who made a spectacular one-handed grab for the game’s decisive touchdown. Sunday’s showing marked two straight outings in which Maye didn’t carry the Patriots to victory by launching an aerial assault on an opponent, but did exactly what was needed to help the Patriots prevail in two straight defensive contests.
Houston’s defense meets unfair ending. It must be plainly stated that the Texans owned a Super Bowl caliber defense, a unit capable of finishing among the likes of the 2000 Ravens, 2002 Buccaneers, 2013 Seahawks, 2015 Broncos, etc. in this century’s football history. They were that good, helping Houston bury Pittsburgh with two defensive touchdowns and doing everything possible to keep the Texans in a game that should have been out of hand by halftime on Sunday. Their efforts were wasted by an offense that never truly found a consistent rhythm in 2025 and was both outrageously ineffective and also a self-sabotaging operation on Sunday. It was telling that when trailing by 12 with 4:03 left to play, Ryans opted to punt because he essentially believed his defense had a better chance of forcing a turnover (and potentially scoring) than his offense did of moving the ball into scoring position. The fact nobody disagreed with this logic in the moment underscores how good this defense was, and how woefully inept the Texans’ offense proved itself to be. Houston’s defense deserved a better fate.
Next Gen Stats insight from Texans-Patriots (via NFL Pro): C.J. Stroud completed -15.9% of his passes below expected, his second-lowest mark in a game of his career. Stroud is now 0-6 in games when he has a CPOE worse than -7.0%. Stroud threw into a tight window on a career-high 29.8% of his attempts, completing just two of those 14 passes. Out of his four interceptions, three were on play action, three were on dropbacks over 2.5 seconds and three were under 10 air yards (all targeting Xavier Hutchinson).
The Athletic (paywall)
Green Day to do Super Bowl LX pregame performance: ‘Right in our backyard!’
Rock band Green Day will perform during the pregame show for Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., the NFL announced Sunday.
“We are super hyped to open Super Bowl 60 right in our backyard!” lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong said in a league news release. “We are honored to welcome the MVPs who’ve shaped the game and open the night for fans all over the world. Let’s have fun! Let’s get loud!”
Green Day, which formed in Berkeley, Calif., in 1986 — not far from Levi’s Stadium — has sold 75 million records worldwide and has 20 billion cumulative streams. The group has won five Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
After Green Day performs, several other acts will take the stage, including Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile and Coco Jones.
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Front Office Sports
Conference championship games will feature 3 new faces at QB position
Matthew Stafford is the only quarterback remaining who has won a Super Bowl
Stafford, who is in his seventh postseason, is the only QB who has won a Super Bowl. Darnold, 28, is the only other one who made the playoffs before this year, but his lone playoff appearance came last season when he went one-and-done with the Vikings.
Maye, 23, is in his first postseason after being drafted No. 3 in the 2024 draft. Nix was also drafted last year (No. 12), while the 29-year-old Stidham has started just four games in his career, and none in the playoffs.
The youth and lack of playoff experience of the three remaining quarterbacks make this a relatively underpaid final four. The six highest-paid quarterbacks who qualified for this postseason have already been eliminated.
Stafford, who makes $40 million a year, was seventh among postseason QBs and 16th overall. Darnold’s $33.5 million per year is 18th among all NFL QBs.
The four quarterbacks’ average annual salary is $22.2 million, about 60% of the AAV of last year’s final four ($37.1 million average for Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, and Jayden Daniels). Maye and Stidham make less than $10 million a year, and little would change in this scenario if Nix were the Denver starter as he actually makes less annually than Stidham ($4.7 million).
