Football season is still five months away, but the NFL is intercepting headlines with a busy week of transactions.
As the new NFL year officially kicked off on March 8, teams began overturning their rosters in the hopes of making a Super Bowl run in 2026. With players signed, traded and released, here are some of the biggest moves that have already occurred early in the offseason.
Bengals re-sign Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to four-year deals
The Cincinnati Bengals have solidified their offence for the next four seasons, with mammoth extensions awarded to each of their two top receivers.
After coming off one of the greatest seasons in NFL history where he led the league in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708) and touchdowns (17) — becoming only the third ‘Triple Crown’ winner of the century — Ja’Marr Chase was rewarded with a four-year, $161 million contract extension which makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Chase, who was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons in the league and selected to the All-Pro team for the first time in 2024, led to the Bengals’ offence dominating the NFL in numerous offensive categories including receiving yards (4,640) and touchdown receptions (43).
His wide receiver partner Tee Higgins also had a lot to do with Cincinnati’s success on the offensive side of the ball as Higgins secured a four-year, $115 million deal after a stellar 2024.
The 26-year-old was tied for sixth in the league with 10 touchdown catches and added 73 receptions and 911 receiving yards to his tally, hitting the 900-yard plateau for the fourth time in his five seasons.
Paired with quarterback Joe Burrow, who was an MVP finalist and winner of the AP Comeback Player of the Year award last season, Cincinnati is in a prominent position to compete in the AFC in the years ahead with hopes of advancing to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2021.
MVP Josh Allen remains in Buffalo on a massive extension
After signing a lucrative six-year, $330 million contract with $250 million guaranteed, Josh Allen and the Bills are poised to run the AFC East — a division they’ve dominated with five straight titles — for the better part of the next decade, as he’ll be in Buffalo through the 2030 season.
The timing is perfect for Allen, who’s coming off his first MVP season where he led the league in rushing touchdowns amongst quarterbacks (12) and recorded the fourth-most total touchdown with 41.
With Allen under centre, Buffalo has enjoyed repeated regular season success, having reached the AFC Divisional Round in each of the last five seasons, but hasn’t seemed to find an answer for the Mahomes-led Chiefs in the postseason.
With another six years (at least) in Western New York, Allen and the Bills are surely destined for the promise land as Buffalo craves their first Super Bowl appearance since the agony of losing four straight championship games from 1991 to 1994.
Myles Garrett inks record-breaking deal with Browns
Myles Garrett became the highest-paid defensive player after reaching a four-year, $160 million contract extension with the Cleveland Browns that’ll pay him $40 million per year with $123.5 million guaranteed.
Since being drafted by the Browns with the first overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Garrett has been one of the league’s most prestigious defensive players. He became the first player to reach the 100-sack plateau before the age of 29 in 2024 and currently sits with 102.5 career sacks, which is the second most from the 2017 draft class. Garrett was also named the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and followed that with another 14-sack performance last season.
The only thing still unknown surrounding this deal is what Cleveland will do to build around their franchise player. In Garrett’s eight seasons in Ohio, the Browns have only qualified for the playoffs twice and won one postseason game.
With the Browns holding the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after a disappointing 3-14 season, all eyes will be on what General Manager Andrew Berry does to surround Garrett with quality talent moving forward.
Sam Darnold joins Seahawks after Geno Smith trade
When the Seahawks traded their starting quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders, it raised a lot of eyebrows as it left Seattle with a void at the quarterback position — but it was all part of their plan in signing free agent Sam Darnold to a three-year deal.
Darnold is coming off his best season of his career in Minnesota, where he led the Vikings to a 14-3 record while recording career highs in completion percentage (66.2 per cent), passing yards (4,319), touchdowns (35) and passer rating (102.5) to finish as a finalist for the AP Comeback Player of the Year award.
While Darnold’s career trajectory seems to be trending upwards, the Seahawks are still taking a ton of risk in trading Smith, who’s been a solid quarterback during his tenure in Seattle, and throwing $110.5 million to Darnold, who, quite frankly, has only had one good season in his career.
His lows have hit rock bottom, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons when he played for the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, respectively.
Only time will tell if this was the right move by Seattle, and it’ll be interesting to see which version of Sam Darnold will be on display in the Pacific Northwest.
D.K. Metcalf traded to Pittsburgh and signs five-year contract
Another former Seahawk will don a new jersey in 2025, but in Metcalf’s case, it was his choice.
After requesting a trade out of Seattle, Metcalf got his wish and was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, with whom he immediately signed a five-year, $150 million contract.
For Metcalf, the change of scenery makes sense as he’s coming off a career-low five touchdown receptions as well as 992 receiving yards, which was his lowest since his rookie season.
From the Steelers’ perspective, Pittsburgh now has a franchise play-maker — something they’ve lacked since the departure of Antonio Brown in 2019. Paired with young, developing star George Pickens, the Steelers could field one of the best wide receiver duos in the AFC this season.
However, putting a caveat on that possibility is the quarterback position. The Steelers only have Mason Rudolph signed for next season, who has only started 18 games in his career, and are likely hoping to sign a veteran passer who can elevate the Pittsburgh offence to compete with the behemoths of the AFC North.
Cooper Kupp added to new Seattle offence following cut from Rams
The Seahawks’ offensive overhaul continued as they signed Cooper Kupp, who was released from the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the week, to a three-year, $45 million contract to shape their new-look offence.
Kupp has been one of the best receivers in the game since his debut in 2017, making his release rather shocking to many in the football community.
The 31-year-old was a key component in Los Angeles’ Super Bowl LVI victory, where he was named Super Bowl MVP following a historical regular season when he led the league with 1,947 yards, 16 receiving touchdowns and 145 catches — making him the first player to lead the NFL in all three categories since Steve Smith Jr. in 2005.
It’s important to note, however, that Kupp has dealt with injuries over the last three seasons and hasn’t played a full 17-game schedule since the 2021 campaign.
If there’s a theme of the Seahawks’ offseason, it’s risk, as Kupp and Darnold fit the bill of potentially being two of the greatest free agent signings of all-time, or conversely, two of the worst.
Davante Adams signs with Rams after New York release
Continuing the wide receiver carousel, Davante Adams has signed a two-year, $46 million deal with the Rams, seemingly filling the slot left from Kupp’s departure.
Adams had an interesting 2024 season, suiting up for three games with the Las Vegas Raiders before being shipped to New York to join friend and former teammate Aaron Rodgers on the Jets. Despite the happy reunion, the team lacked success, causing New York to move in a different direction and release the six-time all-star in the offseason.
Even during the circus that was 2024, Adams still recorded his sixth 1,000-plus yard season in only 14 games played and should excel with a veteran quarterback in Matthew Stafford and the stability in Los Angeles’ system.
Coupled with the explosive Puka Nacua, the Rams duo is set to become the best pass-catching pair in the NFC and possibly the NFL. With this very high ceiling, there aren’t many downsides to the move as L.A. pushes for their fifth postseason appearance in the last six years.
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With plenty of moves happening early in the offseason and many more deals expected over the coming weeks and months, the NFL may not be on our televisions yet, but it is certainly dominating our timelines.
For all the updates as transactions happen, visit nfl.com.