Cardinals
- The Cardinals have re-signed C Evan Brown to a two-year, $11.44 million contract, which includes $6 million in guarantees and a $3 million signing bonus. His salaries are $13.195 million in the first year ($3 million guaranteed) and $4.195 million in the second year. The deal also features a $15,000 per-game active roster bonus each season and a $500,000 roster bonus payable on the fifth day of the 2026 league year. (Aaron Wilson)
- The Cardinals have signed LB Akeem Davis-Gaither to a two-year deal worth $10 million, with $5 million guaranteed. The deal includes a $3 million signing bonus, and his salaries are $2 million in the first year (fully guaranteed) and $4.39 million in the second year. Davis-Gaither can earn $15,000 per game in active roster bonuses each season, a $50,000 annual workout bonus, and up to $500,000 in playtime incentives annually. (Wilson)
- Per Aaron Wilson, the Cardinals signed DL L.J. Collier to a one-year, $3 million contract with $1.5 million guaranteed, including a $750k signing bonus and $750k of his $1.945 million base salary.
- Wilson adds that the deal has $15k in per-game active roster bonuses and up to $1 million in incentives.
- Cardinals LB Mykal Walker signed a one-year, $1.79 million deal that includes a $200,000 signing bonus, a $1.28 million base salary of which $300,000 is guaranteed, and up to $255,000 in per-game active roster bonuses. (Aaron Wilson)
- Georgia Tech DL Zeek Biggers met extensively with the Cardinals at his pro day. (Tony Pauline)
Seahawks
Seahawks QB Sam Darnold provided an excerpt that has proven his maturation process from the time he was drafted to the Jets eventually flared out and declared a bust, to the time that he signed a lucrative contract with Seattle.
“We ran a four-verts concept. They bailed out into Tampa 2,” Darnold said, via SI’s Albert Breer. “On my first hitch in my drop, I ended up getting it down to Aaron Jones for a checkdown and he went for like 13 yards. That’s a play I feel like I maybe would’ve tried to force a bender in there to T.J. or a hole shot to J.J. down the sideline [in the past]. We got a first down and we’re going fast. These guys are panic-dropping out of there—so let me just get it to my halfback and let’s see what Aaron can do with it. Sure enough, he gets a first down and we keep the drive going. It’s just little things like that, that you learn as you keep playing this game.”
Former Patriots QB Tom Brady noticed Darnold’s decision-making process and was complimentary with how quickly he made the right read.
“K.B. [Kevin Burkhardt], that play, it reminds me, you said earlier in the game, Sam getting to a read that’s normally later really quickly, that was one,” Brady said. “They tried to take a shot down the field. [The Packers] were playing a structure that wasn’t going to allow a big play. The ball came out of his hand so quickly there to Jones, it looked like it was his first read. But it wasn’t his first read. It was his last read.”
Seahawks
- Seahawks GM John Schneider was asked if he was surprised by WR D.K. Metcalf‘s trade request before they sent him to Pittsburgh: “A surprise? There was discussions that DK and I were having, a lot of personal discussions. I thought we could fix it, handle it, whatever it was. At the end of the day, it was a no and he wanted to be traded.” (Brady Henderson)
- Schneider continued on the Metcalf resolution: “So we pivoted and moved forward. We want guys that want to be here … We want guys that believe in what we’re doing. You’d have to ask him, for one reason or another. We just wanted to move on and get a fresh start.” (Henderson)
- Regarding former QB Geno Smith, Schneider said they offered him an extension that included $40 million in year one and resembled Rams QB Matthew Stafford‘s new deal: “It became apparent that we weren’t going to be able to get a deal done.” (Henderson)
- Schneider thought their offer to Smith was competitive and wanted him to be their quarterback. Per Schneider, there was no counteroffer from Smith or negotiations to keep him in Seattle. (Michael-Shawn Dugar)
- He was asked if Raiders HC Pete Carroll was calling for his new team to add Smith when they spoke on the plane to the combine: “Not at that point. I think they thought they were getting Matthew Stafford at that point.” (Bob Condotta)
- The offensive line has become the biggest area of attention for the Seahawks now, and Schneider said they were in on a big-time option: “We were in on a big-time guy that we wanted to bring in and get a physical on when you spend that kind of spend that kind of money on a player, you know, we wanted a visit, another team didn’t want a visit, and they just went ahead and did the deal.” (Curtis Crabtree)
- Schneider knows they have to improve the offensive line to achieve their goals in 2025: “Yeah, offensive line, definitely. We need to… look, I get it. Dave tells me all the time what’s going on out there, ok? Everybody sees it.” (Crabtree)
- In a radio interview with Puck Sports, NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo reports that QB Geno Smith‘s camp did indeed counter Seattle’s initial offer of $35 million per year with a response of $45 million per year. Whether or not Smith made a counteroffer has been the subject of some dispute, but the Seahawks felt pessimistic enough about closing the gap that they pivoted to the trade.
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