With the dust settled on the NFL draft, we’re now in the quieter part of the year, but you still managed to fill up the mailbag. So, let’s get to all your questions …
Detroit Lions
From Hiram Maximus Polk IV (@realhirampolk): With the additions of Blake Miller and Cade Mays, along with the hire of Drew Petzing, do you think the Lions offense (particularly the OL) will return to elite form?
Hiram, I actually like where the Lions are right now. The skill-player group is fantastic, with Jared Goff playing point guard for Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs—and the potential you could get more out of talented second-year man Isaac TeSlaa in 2026. So, as you referenced, this comes back to Detroit returning to form along the offensive line and with its offensive play-caller.
As it stands now, the line would be (left to right): Penei Sewell, Christian Mahogany, Mays, Tate Ratledge and Miller, which, by the end of 2026, should be an improvement on what the Lions had in a year of transition for the group in 2025. Whether it is, and how quickly that comes together, is the question, and probably what’ll determine the offense’s ceiling.
And I would say Petzing is an upgrade. It will be tough to hold him to the standard that Ben Johnson set, but I think he will get closer to that bar than where the Lions were last year.
Spencer Fano
From Pats1245 (@pats124561130): Why no media/fan frenzy over Spencer Fano’s arm length like Will Campbell last year, when he has shorter arms than Campbell, and Cleveland confirmed they will play him at LT.
Pats, this feels like a whatabout question, but I’ll answer it anyway.
There were plenty of teams projecting Fano and Campbell to move to guard. The arm length thing is why, and it wasn’t a problem for Campbell last year, until the playoffs (Campbell was also coming back from a significant MCL sprain). And I think that’s the rub in these situations. You make up for a little less arm length with a little more athleticism and technique, and then maybe players like Will Anderson Jr. are so good that they expose deficiency.
I will say, the Patriots and Browns felt comfortable taking these players within the top 10 because they checked so many other boxes the way that Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater did in 2021. That worked out, of course, for Los Angeles, in a way that Cleveland and New England are certainly hoping it does for them.
Devon Witherspoon
From axelMTG (@axelMTG): When will a Devon Witherspoon extension get done? Are there any other players the Seahawks are considering extending this offseason, or are they too cash-strapped?
Axel, I’d say Witherspoon’s extension gets done between now and the start of camp. But the corner negotiations across the NFL are complicated by what we’ve seen at the other nonquarterback premium positions.
Consider:
• March 9, 2025: Browns DE Myles Garrett signs a four-year, $160 million extension.
• March 16, 2025: Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase signs a four-year, $161 million extension.
• July 17, 2025: Steelers sign OLB T.J. Watt to a three-year, $123 million extension.
• Aug. 28, 2025: Packers sign OLB Micah Parsons to a four-year, $184 million extension after being traded to Green Bay by the Cowboys.
• Oct. 29, 2025: Lions sign DE Aidan Hutchinson to a four-year, $180 million extension.
• March 23, 2026: Seahawks sign WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba to a four-year, $168.6 million extension.
• April 17, 2026: Texans sign Will Anderson Jr. to a three-year, $150 million extension.
So that’s now seven nonquarterbacks making over $40 million per year, where there were none, and the high-water mark was $35 million per year, only 14 months ago. The $50 million APY for this class of player has now been cracked. Meanwhile, two other premium positions—offensive tackle and corner—have lagged. The top of the corner market, for your questions, is $31 million per year, which Trent McDuffie received after being traded to the Rams from the Chiefs.
If I were Witherspoon, I’d probably tell the Seahawks, You don’t have to get me to where Will Anderson Jr. is, but I have to be a lot closer than Trent McDuffie, Sauce Gardner and Derek Stingley Jr. In an interesting twist, Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez have the same agent, creating a potential game of chicken, where one team knows that if the other goes first, that contract will become the floor for the contract they do.
Anyway, I think it’s fair to expect the next set of big corner deals to exceed $35 million per year, given how rapidly the numbers are rising, with the potential for a similar dramatic hike happening at tackle soon (Chargers OT Joe Alt will be eligible for a new deal in 2027).
Christian Wilkins
From PatrickCarew (@PatrickTCarew1): How toxic is Christian Wilkins, really?
Patrick, my understanding is that there were questions about whether Wilkins really wanted to keep playing football swirling around the Raiders’ building. So that’s definitely part of the equation here, an equation that already has a lot of complications. To review, he sustained a Jones fracture in his foot in October 2024, had surgery, and then he incurred a second injury in his foot during his rehab. Wilkins refused a second surgery; there was a dispute over that, and Wilkins wound up being released.
There’s been very little discussion around Wilkins since. His return to football, at this point, probably comes down to his will to play, which is tied to his willingness to get his body right, and his willingness to play for a lot less than the $27 million per year he got to sign in Vegas where Antonio Pierce was the coach and Tom Telesco was the GM.
It’s tough for me to judge exactly where he is from that standpoint.
Chicago Bears
From LookingCoolZedman (@LookingCoolZed): Are the Bears interested in any free agent edge rushers like Cam Jordan or Clowney?
Looking Cool, I’d say it’s worth keeping that on your radar. Last year, like this year, the Bears didn’t spend a single draft pick on an edge player, despite their lengthy search for a better bookend to Montez Sweat. The hope in 2025 was that a combination of Dayo Odeyingbo, who can play on the edge on early downs but is better suited inside in passing situations, and Austin Booker would be enough. Odenyingbo got hurt. Booker battled injury, too. Which led some, myself included, to believe they’d bolster the position in the draft.
Now that they haven’t, I think the two names you mentioned would be in play as we get closer to the start of training camp. Cameron Jordan, of course, was with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in New Orleans, and might make sense as a short-term fix (he’ll be 37 in July). Similarly, Jadeveon Clowney fits the big, long, rugged type of edge player Allen favors. Seeing Odeyingbo and Booker in the spring should help inform decision-making on all of this.
Kansas City Chiefs
From kcchiefsjunky (@kcchiefsjunky): What are the chances Tyreek comes back to KC with their lack of weapons added in the draft?
KC Chiefs, I think they probably feel a little better about what they have on hand than you do. However, I agree that the Chiefs are putting a lot of faith in Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy, both of whom still have a lot more talent than NFL production on the ledger.
I also think banking on Tyreek Hill is tough, given the gravity of his knee injury and his age. Hill’s 32, and he has 10 years of NFL mileage on his legs. So if the Chiefs get him when he’s a little healthier, it’d definitely be an intriguing addition. But expectations would have to be tempered by the fact that the last time he was the Hill that Chiefs fans remember was in 2023.
Las Vegas Raiders
From Shane G. (@knotta_bot): Will the Raiders ever have home-field advantage again? (outside of playing in L.A.)
Shane, that’s an interesting question. As is the case for the Dolphins, the Raiders have the problem that every fan who follows their home team to a road game or two a year has Las Vegas circled as a destination. It takes a really passionate fan base—the Saints, when they’re good, have one—to cut through and not allow a stadium to be overrun. So that, to me, is how it changes in Vegas.
There is a passionate Raiders fan base, but it’s more national than specific to Vegas. So the Raiders need to get good enough that Vegas rallies around them, and the out-of-town fans have a reason to travel in, and a real home-field advantage emerges.
Brendan Sorsby
From Michael (@micon0224): Sorsby a QB with gambling addiction even having an NFL career seems like a reach. How can the league office let alone an NFL team possibly manage the scrutiny on the results of every single snap he takes? Fumble INT ETC … 2026 version of Art Schlichter.
Michael, the simplest way to answer this (and I’d encourage you to read my Tuesday notes, which dive into the situation) is that the NFL is essentially a trade association, and the teams are the companies that comprise its membership. A trade association, generally, can’t keep someone from pursuing a career. It’s left up to the individual companies to make that decision. So, in this case, though Brendan Sorsby’s violation is a sports scarlet letter, legally, the NFL likely has to leave his fate up to the teams.
Now, that doesn’t mean that they can’t pursue a suspension to start his career, since the violations, were they to happen in the NFL, would compromise the integrity of the sport. I just don’t know that the league can deny him employment.
San Francisco 49ers
From MD Damage (@BadBradDamage): With the added cap space they’ve made recently, do you expect the 49ers to make a serious play for Joey Bosa?
Bad Brad, yeah, I think Bosa might make sense as a summer signing for the 49ers. For now, though, they may want to take a look at the younger players on the roster, like third-round pick Romello Height, and give them the reps. You may also want to let Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams’s rehab from ACL injuries play out a little longer, so you’re informed on the role the older Bosa might have in the defense. But I don’t mind the idea. Joey Bosa was good for Buffalo in 2025.
Arizona Cardinals
From Lukeyy (@Lukeyy157): Obviously, with the Cardinals taking Carson Beck in the third this year, do you envision a situation where the Cardinals could take their true franchise QB in next year’s stacked QB class? Thank you for everything this past draft season as well.
Yes, Luke, of course. The Panthers took Jimmy Clausen in the second round in 2010, then Cam Newton first overall in ’11. The Browns took DeShone Kizer in the second round in ’17, then Baker Mayfield first in ’18. Heck, the Cardinals took Josh Rosen 10th in ’18, then Kyler Murray first in ’19—though a coaching change was a big part of that happening.
So, yes, that could happen, for sure.
Cleveland Browns
From BrownsOr (0-0) (@DawgInYouu): What are the chances the Browns sign or trade for another WR?
BrownsOr, sorry, had to edit your handle there.
I’d say at this point, they’re probably going to give the crew of Jerry Jeudy, Isaiah Bond, Cedric Tillman, and rookies KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston the spring. Those are important reps, and a good chance for young players to grow in what’s a new offense for everyone under Todd Monken.
Whether they add after the spring will depend on how those five perform through OTAs and the mandatory veteran minicamp.
Gambling
From Adam Rowsey (@adamrowsey): With the Brendan Sorsby news, will there be any reckoning with media personalities about their relationships with gambling sites? The way these companies market to young men is analogous to how tobacco companies marketed to young people.
Adam, I appreciate the question, and I think it’s a fair one. All of this is new territory. The gambling sites are pouring a ton of money into the sports world at a lot of different levels, and these sorts of complications were bound to come up.
This isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last.
2027 NFL draft
From Tom Markett (@falcons2124): How do they not have a date for next year’s draft, yet they have a location? Do you know when they plan to announce it?
I don’t know, Tom. But I’d say it’s probably a good bet that it will be held on the National Mall from April 22 to 24 or April 29 to May 1.
Dexter Lawrence II and Osa Odighizuwa
From Bernie Bahrmasel (@BernieBahrmasel): Dallas only got a third-rounder for Osa Odighizuwa from SF, NYG got #10 overall for Dexter Lawrence from Cincy—is there that much difference between the players the last two years, or is timing, need, etc., more so the reason? Great work on the draft, thanks very much.
Bernie, the difference is that Dexter Lawrence II is the sort of force on the interior that offenses have to game-plan for, whereas Osa Odighizuwa is a really good player but not quite to that level. That said, I think the Niners were able to take advantage of the spot Dallas is in, and did well to land the disruptive 3-technique.
Los Angeles Chargers
From Charlie (@cmsinclair): How are you feeling about the state of the Chargers’ offensive line and offense? Is Mike McDaniel the piece that finally takes them over the top? What can we expect from Chris O’Leary on defense?
Charlie, I think one of the advantages Mike McDaniel’s offense brings is that the scheme has generally been able to win with a little less invested in the linemen, and it tends to maximize everyone up front. So I have high hopes for what the Chargers can do with Alt and a returning Rashawn Slater at tackle, how they can give center Tyler Biadasz’s career new life, and how they make it work with second-round pick Jake Slaughter and reclamation project Cole Strange (who was with McDaniel in Miami) at guard.
As for bringing in Chris O’Leary, I think this is Jim Harbaugh finding the next guy in line, the same way he dug Mike Macdonald out of his brother’s Ravens staff at Michigan, then had Jesse Minter ready to roll as Macdonald’s replacement, and then brought Minter with him when he went back to the pros. Harbaugh’s generally been awesome at ID’ing coaches. He’s earned your trust there, and O’Leary’s well-regarded.
Referees
From Barroom | Aldo Gandia (@BarroomNetwork): Regarding the labor dispute between the NFL and officials, where do you think the real gap in negotiations is, and what's the likelihood we will see replacement officials in camps this summer?
Barroom, yes, there’s a gap. And I think deadlines are what push people closer to the middle, and we don’t have many of those ahead of us. There’s the May 31 expiration of the CBA, which I’m not sure will change much. Then, there’s the start of OTAs, which will kick off before the CBA expires, when replacement officials will start popping up on practice fields (and teams can start complaining about it).
The real deadline is the start of the season.
What’s so interesting about this is that, with the players, they’re messing with their livelihood with the threat of a lockout; that’s not really the case with the officials. Most are successful in other fields. They can withstand a work stoppage. We’ll see where it goes.
More NFL from Sports Illustrated
- The Five Most Likely 2026 NFL Draft Busts in the AFC
- The Five Most Likely 2026 NFL Draft Busts in the NFC
- Biggest Remaining Roster Holes for All 32 NFL Teams
- Drake Maye Makes First Comments on Mike Vrabel, Dianna Russini Scandal
- Deshaun Watson Reportedly Has Edge Over Shedeur Sanders In Bleak Browns' QB Competition
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Albert Breer’s Mailbag: Why the Lions’ Offense Is Poised for a Revival.
