NFL 2026

NFL News & Analysis

Page 5 of 9

Analysis June 8, 2026

How June 1 became the NFL's wildest trade day in years: Garrett, Brown, and the cap quirk behind it

Two franchise-altering trades landed within a day of each other, and they weren't a coincidence. The June 1 dead-money rule turned an ordinary offseason date into a blockbuster window.

Team June 8, 2026

Tony Pollard and Derrick Henry are the only backs with four straight 1,000-yard seasons. Robert Saleh wants a fifth.

Pollard ran for a career-best 1,082 yards in 2025. His new head coach saw it up close as an opposing coordinator and came away a believer. The Titans' run game is the steady piece around Cam Ward's development.

Team June 7, 2026

The Broncos chased Jaylen Waddle for months. Now they have their separation weapon.

Denver traded for the Dolphins receiver after losing the AFC Championship Game to New England. At OTAs, the early reviews center on the one thing the Broncos' offense lacked: a receiver who makes every route look the same.

Team June 6, 2026

Baker Mayfield says extension talks with the Bucs are 'not anywhere close'

Mayfield resurrected his career in Tampa Bay and is now two years from free agency. The two sides aren't near a deal, and the receiver market exploding around him only raises his number.

Around the League June 6, 2026

The Bears' board voted to advance a Hammond, Indiana stadium. Illinois is now playing catch-up.

For the first time, Chicago's board voted on a specific site, and it wasn't in Illinois. Indiana's $1 billion in incentives and a passed stadium-authority law have pushed the move from threat to front-runner.

Around the League June 6, 2026

Broncos edge Jonathon Cooper arrested on a domestic-violence-enhanced charge

Cooper was booked in Douglas County early Friday on a criminal mischief charge with a domestic violence enhancer, then released on personal recognizance. He's coming off an eight-sack season on a record-setting Denver defense.

Analysis June 5, 2026

Worst to first, ranked: the Lions are the clear bet, and it's not close

Eight teams finished last in their division in 2025. Detroit has a 38 percent shot at flipping to first. After that, the odds fall off a cliff.

Team June 5, 2026

Two rookie pass rushers have the Chiefs' defensive line dreaming big

Kansas City drafted Peter Woods and R Mason Thomas to refresh its front. At OTAs, the early flashes have the veterans talking about a defensive line ceiling the Chiefs haven't had in years.

Team June 5, 2026

Kyle Pitts reads the franchise tag as a vote of confidence: 'They trust you'

After the Drake London extension, the Falcons tagged Pitts for $15 million rather than letting him walk. Coming off a career year, Pitts frames it as a sixth-year option, not a snub.

Team June 5, 2026

While Micah Parsons rehabs, Zaire Franklin and Javon Hargrave have to hold the Packers' defense together

Green Bay added a tackle-machine linebacker and a veteran interior rusher this offseason. With Parsons out until at least mid-October, the two newcomers carry more weight than the headlines suggested.

Around the League June 4, 2026

The Rams bumped Myles Garrett's 2026 pay to at least $37 million in a reworked deal

Garrett's compensation for the coming season jumped about $5.5 million after the trade. The total value is unchanged, and one quirk in the deal protects the Browns if Garrett ever lands in the AFC North.

Around the League June 4, 2026

How the rest of the league feels about the Rams landing Myles Garrett: nervous

A contender adding the best pass rusher in football reshapes the NFC. Around the league, the reaction to the Garrett trade is a mix of respect for the Browns' haul and worry about what Los Angeles just became.

Team June 4, 2026

Christian Watson cashed in his post-ACL surge: 4 years, $110.5 million from Green Bay

Watson led the NFL in yards per catch over the back half of 2025 after returning from a torn ACL. The Packers made him their highest-paid receiver as the room reshuffles around him.

Team June 4, 2026

The Vikings' QB competition has cooled into something 'very professional'

After the OTA gap that favored Murray, the framing around Minnesota's quarterback room has settled. Both players, and the staff, are calling it businesslike. The decision still waits for training camp.

Team June 3, 2026

The Bears traded DJ Moore to Buffalo. Rome Odunze says he's '100 percent' ready to be WR1.

Moore texted Odunze before the news broke. Now the third-year receiver inherits the No. 1 role in Ben Johnson's offense, coming off a season a foot stress fracture nearly wiped out.

Around the League June 3, 2026

A warrant for Brandon Aiyuk over a speeding video caps a brutal stretch with the 49ers

Santa Clara County charged Aiyuk with exhibition of speeding for a YouTube clip near Levi's Stadium. It lands amid a knee injury, voided guarantees, and a team that says he's played his last snap there.

Team June 3, 2026

Jared Verse on replacing Myles Garrett in Cleveland: 'Myles is already taken'

The trade upset him at first. Then former Rams teammates talked him through it and the Browns made clear they wanted him specifically. Now the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year is set on being himself.

Team June 3, 2026

Micah Parsons won't be back until mid-October, and the Packers are fine with that

Parsons tore his ACL in December. Green Bay is following a strict nine-month rule, which means PUP to start the season and a target built around January, not September.

Around the League June 3, 2026

A.J. Brown on landing with the Patriots: 'Walking up the hill in the uniform, I was like, this is real'

Brown wanted New England to draft him in 2019. Seven years later he's there. Back in Philadelphia, the reaction to his exit was more complicated.

Team June 3, 2026

Marvin Harrison Jr. on a brutal 2025: 'Couldn't really catch a break. But that's life.'

Appendicitis, a concussion, two heel injuries: the Cardinals receiver lost five games to a cascade of ailments. He says the recovery is ongoing but won't linger into 2026.

Team June 3, 2026

Drake London is now the NFL's third-highest-paid receiver: 4 years, $141 million from Atlanta

The Falcons' new front office made its first big move, locking up London through 2030 at $35.25 million a year. Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts are next.

Around the League June 3, 2026

Josh Jacobs is back at Packers practice while prosecutors weigh charges

The Brown County DA hasn't decided whether to file charges and has asked for more investigation. Jacobs took first-team reps Tuesday. Matt LaFleur called it 'business as usual.'

Team June 3, 2026

McVay compares landing Myles Garrett to the Stafford trade, and won't rule out an Aaron Donald return

The Rams coach said acquiring Garrett felt like the Stafford deal that won a Super Bowl. Then he opened a door no one expected: 'If Aaron decides he wants to dust them off, I bet you he could still do it.'

Around the League June 3, 2026

Myles Garrett wanted a ring, so he waived his no-trade clause and picked the Rams

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year chose a contender over a rebuild. 'Looking forward to bringing a championship to the Rams,' he said. McVay says it feels like the Stafford trade.