The news cycle for the NFL has become year-round. To get an edge on your fantasy football leaguemates, let's take a look at the biggest NFL news stories from the past week.
News about AFC Teams
Buffalo Bills News
The Bills signed WR Curtis Samuel (Washington) to a three-year, $24 million deal.
Why It Matters: Samuel had the best year of his career in 2020 with Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady when they were together in Carolina, including over 1000 total yards and five total touchdowns (two rushing). He's not a replacement for Gabe Davis outside - that's earlier free agent signing Mack Hollins - but Samuel's deal means that they have a significant role in mind for him. The offense has the personnel to run two tight end or three wide receiver sets, so Samuel won't be a full-time player, and he might not have consistent fantasy relevance, but this should keep him on the best ball radar and help Josh Allen.
The Bills signed CB Taron Johnson to a three-year, $31 million extension and signed S Mike Edwards (Kansas City).
Why It Matters: Johnson is now the highest-paid slot corner in the league, getting more than Kenny Moore just got in his new deal with Indianapolis. He's now the rock of a secondary that is full of new faces compared to the group that has been holding down the back of the defense during the resurgence of the franchise. The Bills could get into more high-scoring games if they don't find answers at safety and corner other than Johnson. The signing of Edwards helps address the turnover at safety. Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford, Taylor Rapp, and Cam Lewis were set to start after the first week of free agency, but Edwards could end up with the first team.
Cincinnati Bengals News
The Bengals signed OT Trent Brown (New England) to a one-year contract.
Why It Matters: Brown is a great pass blocker and will create a strong tackle duo with Orlando Brown Jr. for as long as the former Patriot, Raider, and 49er can stay on the field. He only played in 11 games last year, but 17 the year before… and 9 and 5 the two years before that. If they can get 13-14 games out of Brown this year, this will be a big win for the Bengals and Joe Burrow.
Cleveland Browns News
The Browns signed RB D'Onta Foreman (Chicago).
Why It Matters: Now the Browns don't have to rush Nick Chubb back from his catastrophic knee injury. Foreman can be an early down grinder paired with Jerome Ford, who definitively showed that he belongs as at least a committee back in the NFL. Chubb is going in the late seventh round in early best ball drafts. It might not be a bad idea to pair Foreman with him in deeper drafts since Foreman is basically free.
Houston Texans News
The Texans traded pick #23 and pick #232 to Minnesota for pick #42, pick #188, and a 2025 second-round pick.
Why It Matters: Texans GM Nick Caserio has a background with the Patriots, and it's likely that he has calculated that the players available at #42 won't be that far below the players at #23 on the Houston big board. The second-round pick they are getting from the Vikings next year should be in the top half of the round since Minnesota is likely going into Week 1 with Sam Darnold as their starting quarterback.
The Texans signed RB Joe Mixon to a three-year, $27 million extension.
Why It Matters: In an offseason filled with moves that should generate excitement for the Texans fanbase, this one has left us scratching our heads. Mixon hasn't been in steep decline the last two seasons, but he is clearly past his peak with 1854 career touches heading into his age 28 season. It's still good news for Mixon's dynasty value, as the $13 million guaranteed almost ensures that he'll be a big part of the Texans backfield in 2025.
Jacksonville Jaguars News
The Jaguars signed DL Arik Armstead (San Francisco) to a three-year, $51 million deal.
Why It Matters: Armstead reunites with Jaguars GM Trent Baalke, who selected him in the 2015 first round when he was the general manager of the 49ers. There was a report that the Texans tried to trade for Armstead before he was released (which would have reunited Armstead with head coach Demeco Ryans, who was his defensive coordinator in San Francisco), but the Texans didn't want to pay him $17 million in 2024. The Jaguars defense will have a new coordinator (Ryan Nielsen, who was successful in Atlanta and New Orleans most recently), and at least three new starters (Ronald Darby and Darnell Savage projected to be the others).
Kansas City Chiefs News
The Chiefs signed WR Marquise Brown (Arizona) to a one-year, $7 million deal.
Why It Matters: With the exception of Calvin Ridley's deal, the free agency market for wide receivers wasn't very strong, so Brown had to wait until the second wave to get signed. He landed in about as good a spot as he could to rehabilitate his value. He'll turn 27 this summer and should still be able to get another big contract if he gives Patrick Mahomes II a more consistent deep threat than Marquez Valdes-Scantling was the last two years. Brown's ADP moved up from the 10th to the 6th/7th in early best ball drafts. He might end up being worth that in lineup-setting leagues if his down weeks are overshadowed by more than a handful of long scores that make riding out the rollercoaster worth it as your WR3/Flex.
Las Vegas Raiders News
The Raiders signed RB Alexander Mattison (Minnesota) to a one-year deal.
Why It Matters: Zamir White is safe as the Raiders lead back if this is all the team is going to do at running back this offseason (along with re-signing Ameer Abdullah). White's early best ball ADP has responded, moving up about 20 spots from the 11th round to the ninth round over at Underdog. The Raiders shouldn't change their approach on offense and will feed White the way they did in the last four weeks of the season after the new Green Bay Packer, Josh Jacobs, went down. White had at least 20 touches in all four games and was a top 10 PPR running back during the fantasy playoffs.
Los Angeles Chargers News
The Chargers traded WR Keenan Allen to Chicago for a fourth-round pick.
Why It Matters: Justin Herbert will have two new starting wide receivers next year. Right now, that is slated to be Joshua Palmer and Quentin Johnston, but the team could select a wideout at #5 or after trading down from #5. The run-heavy approach that Jim Harbaugh will implement could demand a pick of an instant starter at right tackle instead. Herbert's ADP has dropped out of the top 100 in early best ball drafts and probably isn't done sliding yet.
The Chargers signed LB Denzel Perryman (Houston) to a one-year, $3 million deal.
Why It Matters: Perryman returns to the franchise that drafted him in the second round back in 2015. With Eric Kendricks gone to Dallas, Perryman projects as a starting inside linebacker. 2023 third-round pick Daiyan Henley and 2021 sixth-round pick (and starter of three games last season) Nick Niemann are battling for the other spot under new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Minter followed Jim Harbaugh from Michigan when Harbaugh accepted the head coach job for the Chargers.
Miami Dolphins News
The Dolphins signed CB Kendall Fuller (Washington) to a two-year, $16.5 million deal.
Why It Matters: Fuller will replace Xavien Howard at outside corner opposite Jalen Ramsey. He should benefit from the improvement in personnel around him after a down year in Washington surrounded by a defense in a down year and then some. The Dolphins will have at least four new starters on defense, including Fuller, but they hope that he, Jordyn Brooks, and Jordan Poyer won't be dropoffs from the players they are replacing. Miami signed a host of defensive tackles to help ease the loss of Christian Wilkins in free agency, but they know they can't replace that kind of talent.
New England Patriots News
The Patriots signed WR K.J. Osborn (Minnesota) to a one-year, $4 million deal.
Why It Matters: On the surface, it won't matter much except delaying Demario Douglas's arrival in dynasty leagues, as Osborn is best suited to play in the slot, where Douglas is also most comfortable. If you're into draft conspiracy theories, the signing of Osborn probably means that the Vikings will get third-round compensatory picks for losing Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter in free agency, which could then free the Vikings up to send a third-round pick to the Patriots as part of a deal to move up to #3 to take a quarterback after there was wide speculation that the Vikings acquiring pick #23 from Houston was a precursor to a big move up the board for a quarterback.
New York Jets News
The Jets signed OT Tyron Smith (Dallas) to a one-year deal worth up to $20 million.
Why It Matters: Smith's deal will count about $12 million against the cap, and he'll get that if he plays as much as he did last year, but only $6.5 million is fully guaranteed. Their other starting tackle, Morgan Moses, who was just acquired from Baltimore, revealed that he was playing through a torn pectoral muscle last year and had the injury surgically repaired. There's hope that this duo holds up for most of 2024, but that shouldn't preclude the Jets from taking a tackle early in next month's draft.
The Jets signed WR Mike Williams (Los Angeles Chargers) to a one-year deal worth up to $15 million.
Why It Matters: Williams said he'll be ready for Week 1 after tearing an ACL in Week 3 last year. If he, Aaron Rodgers, and the aging offensive line can stay healthy, Williams can easily outproduce his 10th-round ADP. He should move up in drafts and may remain a viable boom/bust pick after going in the fifth or sixth round last year.
Pittsburgh Steelers News
The Steelers traded QB Kenny Pickett to Philadelphia for a mid-round pick swap and two seventh-round picks and acquired QB Justin Fields from Chicago for a conditional third-day pick.
Why It Matters: This escalated quickly. Pickett apparently wanted out after the team signed Russell Wilson and didn't dispel that notion in his introductory Eagles press conference. The Steelers got more for their failed first-round pick than the Bears got for theirs (and the Bears gave up an extra first - that ended up being the #7 overall pick - to move up for Fields), but both are sad stories for the franchises who are hoping to change the tune at quarterback this year. Fields will be Russell Wilson's backup, but he should have an easier time winning over the locker room. He could hit the 51% playing time term that would escalate the draft pick compensation to a fourth-round pick. Even if Fields doesn't take over for Wilson as the starter, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith should have some package plays installed for him. As former scout Matt Williamson said on The Audible on Wednesday, Fields should "get his jersey dirty" every week. Fields' dynasty value has plummeted in the last two months, but he could bounce back if he gets a chance to start and shows he has cut down on fumbles and sacks.
News about NFC Teams
Chicago Bears News
The Bears traded a fourth-round pick to the Los Angeles Chargers for WR Keenan Allen.
Why It Matters: The Bears are "building a nest for Caleb Williams," as former NFL scout Matt Williamson told Footballguys earlier this week. Allen will be a reliable target on short and intermediate routes, with D.J. Moore taking the top off the defense. Moore is falling to the second half of the second round now and Allen into the mid-fourth round in early best ball drafts. While the trade is going to hurt the value of both wideouts, Williams' value is going up, now on the verge of getting into the ninth round.
The Bears traded QB Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional 2025 third-day pick.
Why It Matters: The pick will be a sixth-rounder unless Fields plays 51% of the snaps, which would escalate it to a fourth-round pick. All reports have Russell Wilson as the Week 1 starter, but Fields will be waiting in the wings if Wilson's play continues to erode. This has been a disastrous offseason for Fields' NFL and dynasty fantasy value. There were reports that the Bears turned down better offers because Fields wanted to go to Pittsburgh, but it couldn't have been that much more than what they got. It's clear the league doesn't see Fields as a future starter, but he still has time to change that. Throw out a lowball offer in your superflex dynasty league if you're a Fields believer.
Dallas Cowboys News
The Cowboys released WR Michael Gallup.
Why It Matters: The Cowboys got very little back on the $27 million guaranteed that they gave Gallup an extension in 2022 despite him tearing an ACL late in the 2021 season. 2022 third-round pick Jalen Tolbert should get more playing time as the #3. He was coming on in the second half of the season and could be a riser this season.
The Cowboys re-signed RB Rico Dowdle.
Why It Matters: Going into free agency, no team needed a running back more than the Cowboys, and no team that needed a back did less than the Cowboys. Well, they've finally done something now. Dowdle is functional and could have surprising value if he is the 1A with a rookie. The one-year, $1.25 million contract only had $200,000 guaranteed, so he's not a sure thing to make the roster, but given the lack of options left in free agency, Dowdle should be a part of the backfield this season and be worth a late round speculative value pick.
Detroit Lions News
The Lions signed DT DJ Reader (Cincinnati) to a two-year, $27.5 million deal and OG Kevin Zeitler (Baltimore) to a one-year deal.
Why It Matters: The Lions have shored up holes in the run defense and offensive line and now can feel free to go best player available at #29. Both Reader and Zeitler are battle-tested and reasonably priced. Zeitler was arguably better last year than the player he is replacing - Jonah Jackson, who signed a three-year, $51 million deal with the Rams in free agency.
Green Bay Packers News
The Packers re-signed RB AJ Dillon
Why It Matters: So much for 2023 UDFA Emanuel Wilson getting a shot to back up Josh Jacobs. It's not clear what part of the Dillon experience the Packers liked enough to bring him back after squandering a second-round pick on him in 2020. Dillon is now gaining some traction in the late rounds of early best ball drafts as a Jacobs injury upside backup.
Los Angeles Rams News
DT Aaron Donald announced his retirement.
Why It Matters: Very few like Donald come this way. He has established a new archetype at defensive tackle. Aspiring undersized players at Donald's position will draw comparisons to him for a long time, but it's hard to think of anyone before Donald who dominated the trenches in the particular way that he did during his 10 years, which included a Super Bowl-clinching play. The Rams don't rebuild; they just reload, as last year's third-round pick at defensive tackle, Kobie Turner already looks like a budding star.
The Rams signed QB Jimmy Garoppolo (Las Vegas) to a one-year deal.
Why It Matters: Garoppolo smartly has chosen an organization that can rehabilitate his value with a good offensive environment. The Rams smartly upgraded at backup quarterback after Brett Rypien lost in a 20-3 debacle last year when Matthew Stafford had to miss a game. If Stafford gets hurt again this year, the values of the offensive skill players won't take nearly as big a hit.
Minnesota Vikings News
The Vikings traded pick #42, pick #188, and a 2025 second-round pick to Houston for pick #23 and pick #232.
Why It Matters: Almost all speculation has the Vikings using this extra first-round pick (and maybe next year's first) to move up for a quarterback. The Cardinals just made it widely known that #4 is on the block, and there's some belief that the Patriots would move down from #3. Whether the Patriots' decision would come down to which quarterback of LSU's Jayden Daniels and North Carolina's Drake Maye is there is unknown. Maybe the Patriots would prefer Michigan's J.J. McCarthy, who is most commonly linked to the Vikings. Chances are the Vikings would be able to get McCarthy at #4, but the Giants are also reportedly interested and could be in a better position only having to move up from #6, which would mean the team they deal with would be guaranteed one of the marquee wide receiver prospects - Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. and LSU's Malik Nabers. There are a lot more questions than answers right now, but it's a safe bet that the Vikings want to make a choice in the early first.
New Orleans Saints News
The Saints signed EDGE Chase Young (San Francisco) to a one-year deal.
Why It Matters: It was revealed that Young will have to have neck surgery for a condition he played with for all of last season, but the hope is that he'll be ready for Week 1. The deal is basically about $5 million guaranteed with a hefty $470,000 per game played bonus. Young hasn't been fully healthy since 2021. While he might not get back to 100% this season coming back so soon after neck surgery, he had similar pressure numbers last year to his Defensive Rookie of the Year campaign in 2020, and he was playing hurt. It's likely we haven't seen the best of Young yet, but it might not come in 2024.
New York Giants News
The Giants signed QB Drew Lock (Seattle).
There are differing reports on whether Lock will get a chance to beat out Daniel Jones to start for the Giants. The Seahawks GM John Schneider said the Giants sold Lock on the chance to start, but Lock himself said Jones is the starter. Either way, Lock should be on our radar in superflex leagues for now. The Giants could also be in on J.J. McCarthy, so this depth chart picture isn't set in stone.
Philadelphia Eagles News
The Eagles signed LB Devin White (Tampa Bay) to a one-year deal.
Why It Matters: White signed for only $4 million guaranteed, a far cry from what he was expecting on his second contract. He should start next to Nakobe Dean and have a chance to rehabilitate his fantasy IDP and NFL free agency value in an Eagles defense that is looking to bounce back from a down year under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
San Francisco 49ers News
The 49ers signed LB De'Vondre Campbell (Green Bay) to a one-year deal.
Why It Matters: Dre Greenlaw went down with an Achilles tear during the Super Bowl, so Campbell could be an everydown linebacker to open the season if Greenlaw isn't ready to go. Campbell said Green Bay misused him, so hopefully, the 49ers find a more suitable role for him even though he wasn't their first choice - that was Eric Kendricks, who instead reunited with Mike Zimmer in Dallas.
The 49ers signed QB Joshua Dobbs (Minnesota) to a one-year deal.
Why It Matters: Dobbs was a fantasy darling for a few weeks in Minnesota last year, and he has probably already memorized Kyle Shanahan's playbook. If Brock Purdy goes down, Dobbs could preserve a good part of the value of the 49ers offense while having fantasy value of his own… until it all unravels like it did in Minnesota after three solid-to-good games last year.
Seattle Seahawks News
The Seahawks acquired QB Sam Howell from Washington for two mid-round pick swaps.
Why It Matters: Seattle moved quickly to replace Drew Lock after he left to join the Giants in free agency. The pick bumps (102 to 78 and 179 to 152) aren't trivial and amount to more draft capital than the 144th pick the Commanders used to draft Howell. Taking him ended up being a win for the franchise, even though Howell eventually cratered as the starter last season. Howell will back up Geno Smith, who missed two games last year. Marcus Mariota will back up whoever the Commanders take at #2 in the draft.
The Seahawks signed LB Jerome Baker (Miami) to a one-year, $7 million deal.
Why It Matters: Baker will join Tyrel Dodson at inside linebacker in new head coach Mike MacDonald's defense. He was a cap casualty in Miami and ended up being replaced by former Seahawk first-round pick Jordyn Brooks.
