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Rich Cimini
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Continuing to rebuild their wide receiving corps, the New York Jets signed well-traveled veteran Josh Reynolds to a one-year contract Thursday.
Reynolds, 30, will receive $2.75 million in guarantees, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. He’s another experienced target for presumptive quarterback Justin Fields, but the Jets aren’t done yet at receiver. They need another playmaker to complement Garrett Wilson and likely will draft a wideout.
Wilson and Allen Lazard are the only holdovers with more than 27 career receptions, and there’s a good chance Lazard will be jettisoned as a post-June 1 release that would create $11 million in cap savings. They’ve already cut one key component from the group — Davante Adams, who was released before free agency in a cap-related move and later signed with the Los Angeles Rams.
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Reynolds is like Lazard, 29, in that he’s a big receiver (6-foot-3), and their career numbers are almost identical — 233 receptions and 3,127 yards for Reynolds, 229 receptions and 3,077 yards for Lazard. The Jets recently gave Lazard permission to seek a trade — a sign they’re prepared to move on from him.
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Jake Trotter
AS A FRESHMAN at Servite High School in Anaheim, California, Mason Graham lived too far away to go home between the end of class and the start of evening basketball practice. So Servite football coach Troy Thomas convinced Graham to utilize that free time by joining the wrestling team, which practiced in the afternoons.
That decision put Graham on a path to make history next month in a different sport, when he’s likely to become the first Michigan defensive tackle ever to go in the top 10 of the NFL draft.
Graham might not have the traditional physical profile of an elite defensive tackle. At the NFL combine, his arm length measured just 32 inches — placing him in the 12th percentile among defensive tackle prospects this century.
NFL teams don’t seem worried about the length of his arms, though. They’re focused on what he does with them.
“Short arms are worth noting, but realistically only concerning if it shows up on tape,” an AFC scout told ESPN. “If a player with short arms is constantly allowing their chest to be attacked or is frequently stuck on blocks, then short arms are a huge concern. That’s not the case here. Graham’s a highly disruptive player.”
That goes back to the Servite wrestling room, where Graham developed into a ferocious, two-time conference champion heavyweight grappler, honing the skills that would define him in the trenches: leverage, technique, toughness, focus and pure will.
“You see that now in his game,” Thomas said. “The way he moves and tackles — you can see all of that when he’s playing.”
Despite his short arms, Graham emerged as the most physically dominant defensive tackle in college football last season, earning unanimous All-American honors. According to ESPN Research, Michigan surrendered 4.6 yards per play when Graham was on the field last year and 5.4 when he was off the field. The numbers were even more pronounced in the run game, where the Wolverines allowed 2.6 yards per rush with Graham and 3.9 without.
In his final college game, Graham wrecked the high-powered offense of the eventual national champions. While plugging the middle, Graham led the charge in shutting down Ohio State’s vaunted rushing attack. He also logged a career-high seven tackles as Michigan, a three-touchdown underdog, stunned the Buckeyes 13-10 for its fourth straight win in the rivalry.
“He just physically [controlled] that entire offensive line,” said Wolverines defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, who coached almost two decades in the NFL before joining the Wolverines last year. “You can definitely tell his wrestling background with the way he plays because of his balance. He knows how to use his hands better than a lot of players in the league right now.”
Graham is now primed to become a defensive cornerstone for whichever NFL team drafts him. Other NFL defensive tackles with similar arm measurements have still thrived. Former WHEN GRAHAM WASN’T wrestling during football offseasons, he worked up to four times a week with Servite defensive line coach Kelly Talavou, a former What to know for the 2025 NFL draft
“Everybody that would listen, we were telling them,” said Les Fifita. “He was just unblockable.” Boise State offered, and Graham initially committed. But then-Michigan general manager Courtney Morgan and then-defensive line coach Shaun Nua kept tabs. Just a couple of games into his senior year, they convinced him to flip. Graham enrolled early at Michigan and skipped his final semester of high school. Many at Servite believed that had he stayed, he could’ve been one of the top heavyweight wrestlers in the state. At the time, Graham wasn’t sure how wrestling would help his football career. Now? It taught him “how to beat the other person” one-on-one, he said. Arguably nobody in this draft does that better — regardless of arm length. “I feel like I affect every snap, run or pass,” Graham said. “I feel like I’m a dominant player, one of the most dominant players in this class.” ESPN NFL reporter Mike Reiss contributed to this story
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Brooke Pryor
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers are between A. Rodgers and a hard place.
The 2025 league year is two weeks old, and the Steelers have two quarterbacks on their roster as they await a decision from four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers, though, doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to make up his mind about the next step in his career. The first-time free agent took a visit to Pittsburgh last week, spending six hours in the practice facility meeting with coach Mike Tomlin, general manager Omar Khan, team owner and president Art Rooney II and several coaches, including offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
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Despite the car wash of conversations, Rodgers left Pittsburgh without agreeing to a deal. The former Jet and Packer is seemingly operating without a deadline even as his options narrow. The Giants, a onetime Rodgers suitor, signed Signing another veteran to pair with Rudolph would signal the Steelers are firmly in the hunt to draft a 2026 quarterback. None of the available options project to be more than bridge quarterbacks to a stronger draft class, and a veteran from this group could compete with Rudolph for the starting job through training camp. With Winston and Wilson bound for the Best of NFL Nation
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Jordan Raanan
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Free agent quarterback Jameis Winston announced Friday that he has agreed to sign with the New York Giants.
The deal is for two years and $8 million, sources told ESPN, confirming a report by Fox Sports.
“Start spreading the neWs,” Winston posted on his X account Friday, confirming his excitement over his new football home with an apple emoji.
Start spreading the neWs ?
— Jameis Winston (@Jaboowins) March 21, 2025
The signing comes after weeks of the Giants flirting with Aaron Rodgers and missing out on Matthew Stafford, who remained with the Los Angeles Rams on a new contract. Rodgers visited with the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier Friday, hours before New York pivoted to Winston.
It was starting to seem in recent days as if the Giants were a long shot for Rodgers, the four-time MVP. Winston gives them a quarterback capable of starting who can also serve as a mentor to a young quarterback from the draft.
New York is still expected to add to its quarterback room again this offseason. The team still needs a young quarterback, who is most likely to come in the draft. The Giants currently hold the No. 3 pick.
Co-owner John Mara said earlier this year that finding the team’s quarterback of the future was the No. 1 priority this offseason. Winston and Tommy DeVito are the only two quarterbacks currently on the Giants’ roster.
Winston, 31, visited with the Giants earlier in the week. This came on the heels of Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson coming to New Jersey the previous week.
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