The NFL offseason hasn’t officially arrived yet, but 30 teams are already looking ahead to 2026.
As teams continue to fill out their coaching staffs, some teams are already making plans on what to do with their rosters ahead of the start of the new league year in March.
Who’ll get cut? Who’ll get traded? Who’ll get extended? Who’ll get the franchise tag?
Here’s the latest look at some of the most notable rumors around the NFL.
Njoku, who spent the first nine seasons of his NFL career with the Browns (2017-25) and is set to becomea free agent, announced on Instagram that “the time for [him] to find a new home has come.” Last season, Njoku totaled 33 receptions for 293 yards and four touchdowns across 12 games; he missed five games due to a knee injury.
Njoku, whom Cleveland selected with the No. 29 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Miami, was a Pro Bowler in 2023 in a season that saw him total a career-high in receptions (81), receiving yards (882) and receiving touchdowns (six). He’s third in Browns history with 384 receptions, sixth with 34 touchdowns and 12th with 4,062 receiving yards.
While no decision is final, buzz is growing around the Kansas City Chiefs star tight end returning for a 14th season, according to The Athletic. Last season, the 36-year-old totaled 76 receptions for 851 yards and five touchdowns in a 6-11 season for Kansas City that saw it miss the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Kelce, a four-time All-Pro and 11-time Pro Bowler, has won three Super Bowls with the Chiefs (2019, 2022 and 2023).
Rams extend HC Sean McVay, GM Les Snead
McVay and Snead have agreed to multiyear contract extensions to stay with the Rams, the team announced on Feb. 2.
The pair have led the Rams through one of the longest stretches of success in franchise history. The Rams are 92–57 in the regular season and 10-6 in the playoffs since Snead and owner Stan Kroenke hired a then-30-year-old McVay in 2017, one year after the franchise returned home from St. Louis. The Rams immediately ended a 12-year playoff absence and reached the Super Bowl one year later before winning the franchise’s second Super Bowl title in February 2022. Los Angeles has had eight winning seasons, seven playoff berths and four NFC West titles in nine years under McVay, the youngest coach to reach the Super Bowl and to win it. The Rams went 12-5 this season before winning two road playoff games to reach the NFC championship game, where they lost to the Seahawks.
McVay said the Rams are optimistic that quarterback Matthew Stafford will return for an 18th NFL season, but the team will wait for the quarterback to make his own announcement. McVay said the Rams would love to stick with Stafford if he wants to come back after his MVP-caliber season in 2025.
McVay also confirmed he has hired Bubba Ventrone as his new special teams coordinator. He hasn’t decided who will become his offensive coordinator after Mike LaFleur left to become the Cardinals’ head coach.
Packers add former HC as DC
Ex-Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon is joining the Packers’ staff as defensive coordinator, the team announced on Feb. 2. Gannon will take over for Jeff Hafley, who left after two seasons when the Dolphins hired him to be their next head coach.
“He possesses tremendous experience as an NFL coordinator and head coach,” Matt LaFleur said in a statement. “I am confident that he will be an outstanding addition to our organization, as well as a strong leader of our defense.”
The Cardinals fired Gannon the day after their season ended with a ninth consecutive loss. Gannon went 15-36 in three years, including a 3-14 record this past season. Gannon had been the Eagles’ defensive coordinator for two seasons before Arizona hired him. In his second season in Philadelphia, the Eagles ranked second in the NFL in total defense and won the NFC championship before losing 38-35 to the Chiefs in Super Bowl 57. The Eagles had a franchise-record 70.0 sacks — 15 more than any other NFL team — in 2022. They also had 27 takeaways that season to rank fourth in the league.
Gannon takes over a defense that ranked 12th in yards allowed per game (311.8), ninth in yards allowed per play (5.0) and 11th in points allowed per game (21.2) this past season. Green Bay’s defense ranked higher earlier in the season but struggled after season-ending injuries to All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons and defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt.
Eagles DC Vic Fangio considered retirement
The Eagles nearly had to make two coordinator changes this offseason. Fangio informed the team shortly after their season ended that he planned to retire before the Eagles convinced him to return, PhillyVoice reported. If Fangio had held firm in his decision to retire, the Eagles were planning to contact former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon and Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, according to PhillyVoice. Gannon was the Eagles’ defensive coordinator for two seasons (2021-22) before leaving for Arizona in 2023.
Fangio has been widely regarded as one of the top defensive minds in the NFL for several years. The Eagles’ defense has also been one of the game’s top defensive units since Fangio joined the team in 2024, ranking in the top five in scoring in each of the last two years. The Eagles hired Packers quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion to be their next offensive coordinator after parting ways with Kevin Patullo.
Packers extend coach, multiple executives
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball have joined coach Matt LaFleur in signing multi-year contract extensions. Packers president/CEO Ed Policy announced the extensions for all three on Friday.
The extensions come after the Packers went 9-8-1 and made their third straight playoff appearance, and sixth in the last seven years. A 31-27 loss at Chicago in the NFC wild-card playoff round capped a five-game skid that ended Green Bay’s season, though one of those defeats came when the Packers rested their starters in their regular-season finale.
“We are excited to extend our commitment to Brian, Matt and Russ as the leaders of our football operations,” Policy said in a statement. “Their steadfast dedication, passion and collaboration have remained constant in our drive to compete at the highest level. While we are all disappointed with the way this season ended, we remain aligned in purpose and have spent considerable time over the past weeks collaborating on a path forward.
“I am exceedingly confident we have the right people to achieve our goal. The entire Packers organization looks forward to supporting every effort to bring our community and fans another championship that they very much deserve.”
LaFleur owns a 76-40-1 regular-season record and has led Green Bay to the playoffs in all but one of his seven years on the job. That includes NFC championship game appearances in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Green Bay has been the NFC’s seventh and final playoff seed each of the last three seasons.
Falcons plan to release QB Kirk Cousins, but could bring him back
Cousins’ time in Atlanta seems to be nearing its end, as the Falcons are planning to cut the veteran signal-caller, The Athletic reported. The Falcons would be interested in re-signing Cousins on a cheaper contract, per the report.
Cousins, 37, signed a four-year, $180 million deal to join the Falcons in the 2024 offseason, just months after he tore his Achilles. His tenure in Atlanta began with some promise before getting benched late in the 2024 season in favor of Michael Penix Jr., who the Falcons selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Penix was the Falcons’ starting quarterback to open the 2025 season. However, Cousins wound up starting eight games as Penix suffered a season-ending ACL tear in November.
Cousins put up a respectable statline in 2025, completing 61.7% of his passes for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions with an 84.8 passer rating. The Falcons went 5-3 in Cousins’ eight starts as well. That wasn’t good enough for Cousins to guarantee his spot in the Falcons’ new regime, however, with Matt Ryan running football operations and Kevin Stefanski entering his first season as Atlanta’s head coach.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
