The Baltimore Ravens landed their star pass rusher in Trey Hendrickson, Maxx Crosby is back in Las Vegas for now and Daniel Jones is staying in Indianapolis as part of a busy start to the new league year.
The biggest move Wednesday came when the Ravens agreed to a four-year, $112 million contract with four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson a day after backing out of a deal with the Raiders for Crosby over a failed physical, a person with knowledge
of the deal told The Associated Press.
Hendrickson was an All-Pro for Cincinnati in 2024 when he led the NFL with 17 1/2 sacks. He played in only seven games because of injuries last season and had four sacks but has reached double digits in sacks four times in the previous five seasons.
It was a quick pivot for the Ravens after the surprising development Tuesday night when Baltimore pulled out of the trade that was supposed to send two first-round picks to Las Vegas.
A person with knowledge of Baltimore’s decision told the AP that Crosby failed his physical. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because those results are private.
Crosby had surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He missed the final two games of the season because of the injury despite wanting to play through it at the time.
The Raiders, who have been among the biggest spenders in the opening days of free agency, now must figure out what to do with Crosby. Las Vegas still has plenty of cap room to keep the five-time Pro Bowler on the roster with his $30 million salary if the team can't find another trade. Crosby was back in the team facility in Nevada on Wednesday, a person with knowledge of his whereabouts said on condition of anonymity.
Jones and the Colts agreed on a two-year contract that is worth up to $100 million, a person with knowledge of the contract told the AP. The person requested anonymity because the deal had not yet been announced.
Jones will receive $88 million over the next two seasons with $50 million guaranteed instead of playing on the $37.8 million transition tag. He can make an additional $12 million through incentives.
Jones led the Colts offense to a productive 10-game start. But following the bye week, Jones played through a hairline fracture in his left leg and then wound up suffering a season-ending torn right Achilles tendon in early December.
Jones set career highs in passer rating (100.2) and completion rate (68%) as Indianapolis ranked fifth in the NFL in scoring at 28.9 points per game before he went down for the season.
All the people who confirmed new deals with players on Wednesday spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because teams hadn't announced the moves or other developments.
Buffalo reached a three-year agreement with pass rusher Bradley Chubb, a person familiar with the deal said. Chubb agreed to terms with the Bills shortly after the Miami Dolphins announced his release.
The 29-year-old Chubb has eight seasons of NFL experience. He spent the past three-plus years in Miami, including missing the entire 2024 season because of a torn knee ligament. He had 8 1/2 sacks last season.
All-Pro safety Kevin Byard left Chicago to reunite with his former coach Mike Vrabel, agreeing to a one-year, $9 million deal with New England, a person familiar with the contract said. Byard led the NFL with seven interceptions last season. Byard played under Vrabel for five-plus seasons in Tennessee.
Washington agreed to terms with edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson on a one-year contract worth $12 million with $10.3 million guaranteed, according to Athletes First, the agency that represents him. Coming off ranking last in the NFL on defense, the Commanders also reached deals with linebacker Leo Chenal, safety Nick Cross, cornerback Amik Robertson and tight end Chig Okonkwo.
New Orleans announced a multiyear contract with veteran tight end Noah Fant and a two-year extension for reserve defensive tackle John Ridgeway III. Fant spent last season with Cincinnati, where he caught 34 passes for 288 yards and three TDs. He spent his previous three seasons with Seattle and his first three with Denver, and has 334 career receptions for 3,593 yards and 18 TDs.
Jacksonville agreed to a two-year deal with former Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr., giving the Jaguars another option in the backfield after losing Travis Etienne in free agency. Rodriguez rushed for 500 yards and six TDs last season for Washington.
Several other players hit the open market after being released by their former teams at the start of the league year, with many of these moves having already been telegraphed.
Among those are Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray, Atlanta QB Kirk Cousins, Minnesota defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen, and Detroit edge rusher Josh Paschal.
Hargarve immediately agreed to a new deal, getting a two-year, $23 million contract with $10.5 million guaranteed from Green Bay, according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. The deal will pay Hargrave $13 million in his first year as he joins his fourth team in five seasons. He has 49 sacks in 10 seasons.
In other news, the Ravens and Bills restructured the contracts of star quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, respectively.
Baltimore had been hoping to sign Jackson to an extension before the start of the new league year. But that hasn’t happened. Instead, the Ravens restructured Jackson’s contract to salary create cap space, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
Jackson has two years remaining on the five-year, $260 million contract the Ravens gave him in 2023.
Buffalo's move with Allen frees up approximately $12 million in cap space, a person familiar with the discussions said.
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AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi and AP Sports Writers Brett Martel, John Wawrow and Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.
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