Player News

The Seahawks exercised Smith-Njigba's fifth-year option for 2027 on Friday.

An obvious no-brainer for Seattle after Smith-Njigba was named Offensive Player of the Year in 2025 after securing 119 of 163 targets for an NFL-high 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns across 17 regular-season appearances. JSN then added another 17 catches for 199 yards and two touchdowns on 26 targets across three playoff contests. Through three seasons, Smith-Njigba is a two-time Pro Bowl selection and was a first-team All-Pro last season. With the optioned picked up, Smith-Njigba is set to earn $23.8 million in 2027.

The Panthers signed Franks on Friday, NFL reporter Jordan Schultz reports.

It's a homecoming for Franks after he spent the 2024 season with Carolina before spending the 2025 campaign with the Falcons. A special-teams stalwart, Franks appeared in all 17 regular-season contests last season, recording 11 tackles (eight solo) on 299 snaps in kick coverage.

Burton visited the Browns on Friday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Burton spent the 2025 season on injured reserve and is now 34 years old. With new coach Todd Monken likely implementing a fullback into his offense with the Browns, Burton could be a candidate for a job at some point.

Chark announced his retirement from the NFL after seven seasons Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

A second-round pick by the Jaguars in 2018, Chark had the best season of his career in 2019, catching 73 of 118 targets for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns. All were career highs for Chark, who was a Pro Bowl selection that season. After four seasons with the Jaguars, Chark bounced around the NFL the following four years, spending time with the Lions, Panthers, Chargers and Falcons. Chark failed to make the Atlanta roster out of training camp last summer and never latched on elsewhere. He finishes his career with 216 catches for 3,100 yards and 24 touchdowns.

The Jaguars signed Bobo to an offer sheet Friday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

The terms of the offer sheet aren't yet known, but the Seahawks will have five days to match the offer or let Bobo walk as a restricted free agent. The 27-year-old Bobo has logged just 740 offensive snaps across 45 regular-season appearances over the last three seasons but has produced a 34-323-3 receiving line on 44 career targets. He also caught a 17-yard touchdown in the NFC Championship Game against the Rams in January. Bobo would seem to be no higher than the WR4 or WR5 in Jacksonville behind Brian Thomas, Jakobi Meyers, Parker Washington and perhaps Travis Hunter, who is expected to play more cornerback in 2026. Thomas has also been the subject of heavy trade speculation this offseason, though there's been no indication the Jaguars are serious about trading the third-year receiver.

The Eagles have signed Pierce to a one-year deal.

Pierce, who logged a combined 14 carries for 36 yards in five regular-season contests (four with the Texans and one with the Chiefs) in 2025, has seen his workload decrease in each of his last three seasons following his rookie campaign with Houston in 2022, during which recorded 220 carries in 13 games. With the Eagles, he'll compete with Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley for complementary backfield touches behind top back Saquon Barkley.

Smartt is slated to sign a one-year deal with the Eagles, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Smartt, who spent the first three years of his NFL career with the Chargers, recorded seven catches (on nine targets) for 52 yards in 15 games during his lone campaign with the Jets in 2025. This coming season, the 6-foot-4, 226-pounder will provide added depth to a Philadelphia TE corps that continues to be led by Dallas Goedert, with Grant Calcaterra and Johnny Mundt currently next up in the pecking order.

Elliott agreed Thursday to rework his contract with the Eagles, accepting a $1 million pay cut while receiving $5 million guaranteed for 2026, Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

The Eagles will save $243,000 in cap space with the maneuver, while the guaranteed money virtually assures that Elliott will remain the team's kicker in 2026 following a rough 2025 campaign. After converting 20 of 27 field-goal attempts for a career-worst 74.1 percent rate during the Eagles' 17 regular-season games, Elliott then had a costly missed extra point in Philadelphia's narrow loss to San Francisco in the wild-card round. The 31-year-old still remains under contract through 2028, but the Eagles would likely have more flexibility to move on from him next offseason if he's unable to bounce back in 2026.

Wentz (shoulder) signed a contract with Minnesota on Thursday, Rob Kleifield of the Vikings' official site reports.

Wentz will return to Minnesota for a second season, adding depth to a quarterback room that already includes the recently-signed Kyler Murray as well as holdovers J.J. McCarthy (hand) and Max Brosmer. Murray and McCarthy will likely be competing for the starting job throughout training camp and the preseason, but if the Vikings were to trade McCarthy prior to Week 1, Wentz could open the 2026 campaign in the No. 2 spot on the depth chart. Before undergoing season-ending surgery on his left shoulder in late October, Wentz made five starts in place of an injured McCarthy during the 2025 season, completing 110 of 169 pass attempts (65.1 percent) for 1,216 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions while adding 57 yards on 11 carries. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network relays that Wentz has since recovered from surgery, so the 33-year-old should be a full participant for the Vikings' offseason program.

The Browns signed Wallace to a contract Wednesday, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN reports.

Wallace is headed to Cleveland after catching just 22 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns across his five seasons in Baltimore. While the 26-year-old saw limited action on offense with the Ravens, he was a regular contributor on special teams and even managed to return a punt for touchdown during the 2023 campaign.