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Source: Injured U-M DB Johnson to miss pro day

  • Jeff LegwoldMar 7, 2025, 03:30 PM ET

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      Jeff Legwold covers the Denver Broncos at ESPN. He has covered the Broncos for more than 20 years and also assists with NFL draft coverage, joining ESPN in 2013. He has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1999, too. Jeff previously covered the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills and Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans at previous stops prior to ESPN.

Michigan cornerback Will Johnson, who missed the second half of the Wolverines’ season with a turf toe injury, has suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out of the school’s pro day later this month.

Sources told ESPN’s Jordan Reid that the injury isn’t considered serious but that Johnson will not participate in the school’s on-campus pro day March 21. Johnson is now scheduled to have a private workout April 14.

Johnson played in six games this past season — he has not played in a game since October — and finished the year with 14 tackles. He returned both of his interceptions for touchdowns in 2024, and his 128 yards on interception returns still led the Big Ten.

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Johnson, who also did not work out at the combine last week, is the No. 11 player overall in Reid’s latest mock draft and is the No. 9 player overall on ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest Big Board.

Johnson said of his injury at the combine that it “sounds like just a toe, but I had tore some ligaments in my toe, so I couldn’t run, couldn’t plant, couldn’t do anything … for a while, really until mid-January.”

Johnson also added at the combine that, up until he went to Indianapolis, he had not suffered any setbacks in his training. This latest injury happened after the combine ended.

Johnson was named the Defensive MVP of the 2023 College Football Playoff title game when the Wolverines closed out the 2023 season with the national championship. Michigan was 8-5 this past season.

Johnson is the second-rated cornerback on ESPN’s consensus draft board, behind only Colorado’s Travis Hunter, but Johnson said in Indianapolis that he believes “I’m the best corner in the draft.”

NFL

Bosa released after 9-year run with Chargers

  • Kris RhimMar 5, 2025, 10:09 PM ET

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      Kris Rhim is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Kris covers the Los Angeles Chargers, including coach Jim Harbaugh’s franchise-altering first season ( In Kris’ free time, he lives his NBA dreams at men’s leagues across Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES — The Chargers released outside linebacker Joey Bosa on Wednesday night, cutting ties with their longest-tenured player and one of the best in franchise history.

The move saves them $25.36 million in cap space.

Bosa, 29, was selected by the Chargers with the No. 3 pick in the 2016 draft. His 72 career sacks rank second in franchise history behind Leslie O’Neal (105.5).

Bosa was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2016 after posting 10.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss. He quickly emerged as one of the league’s best edge rushers, making four Pro Bowls in his first six seasons. He set an NFL record with 19 sacks in his first 20 games.

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The Chargers rewarded Bosa with a five-year, $135 million contract extension in 2020, a deal that at the time was the richest for a defensive player in NFL history. But injuries have plagued him since; he has played in just 28 games over the past three seasons.

Still, Bosa was selected to his fifth Pro Bowl in 2024, albeit as an alternate, and his 14 games played were his most since 2021. When healthy, he has remained an effective pass rusher; in the Chargers’ playoff loss to the Houston Texans in January, he had a team-high six pressures and one sack.

Bosa made it clear throughout the season that he wanted to be a Charger for life, and he took a pay cut last offseason to stay with the team. Still, he was projected to have a $36.4 million cap hit in 2025, which always seemed untenable for the Chargers, who with his release now have $90.6 million in cap space.

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Now, Bosa will navigate free agency for the first time in his career. Earlier in the offseason, he discussed the potential of playing with his younger brother

NFL

Source: Jags plan to release veteran WR Kirk

  • Michael DiRoccoMar 5, 2025, 01:06 PM ET

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      Michael DiRocco is an NFL Nation reporter at ESPN and covers the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously covered the University of Florida for over a decade for ESPN and the Florida Times-Union. DiRocco graduated from Jacksonville University and is a multiple APSE award winner.

The Jacksonville Jaguars plan to release veteran wide receiver Christian Kirk, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The move will save the Jaguars $10.732 million against the salary cap. Kirk, who was entering the final year of his four-year contract, was scheduled to have the Jaguars’ highest cap number in 2025 at $24.4 million and be paid a $15.5 million salary.

It marks the first significant roster move made by new Jaguars general manager James Gladstone, who was hired on Feb. 21, and new head coach Liam Coen.

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Kirk signed the four-year, $72 million deal in 2022 and immediately set career highs in catches (84), receiving yards (1,108) and touchdown receptions (eight) that season.

But he missed 14 games over the past two seasons because of an abdominal injury and broken collarbone, finishing with a combined 84 catches for 1,166 yards and four TDs in 20 games over that stretch.

With Kirk gone, the Jaguars enter free agency next week with 2023 sixth-round draft pick Parker Washington as their top slot receiver. Washington has 48 catches for 522 yards and five touchdowns in his two seasons.

Kirk, 28, spent the first four seasons of his career with the Arizona Cardinals, catching 236 passes for 2,902 yards and 17 touchdowns.

NFL

The NFL's highest-paid players at every position: Here's who makes the most money, from QB to punter

Who are the NFL’s highest-paid players at every position?

We tracked the best-paid players at 16 different positions — including long-snapper — and will keep the numbers updated as more records get broken. To get the full picture on the top earners in this league, we sorted positions by two categories, which in a few cases have the same player at No. 1:

  • Three-year average (APY)

  • Total guaranteed money

Salary information courtesy of Roster Management System.

Let’s start the highest-paid quarterbacks:

Jump to a position:
QB | RB | WR | TE
OT | OG | OC | EDGE
DT | LB | CB | S
K | LS | P

Quarterback

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: September 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Joe Burrow (CIN), $61.3 million
3. Jordan Love (GB), $58.3 million
4. Trevor Lawrence (JAX), $56.9 million
5. Jared Goff (DET), $55.4 million
6. Tua Tagovailoa (MIA), $54.3 million
7. Justin Herbert (LAC), $53.3 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: March 2022 (contract ends in 2027)

2.

Running back

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: March 2025 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Christian McCaffrey (SF), $19 million
3. Jonathan Taylor (IND), $14 million
4. Alvin Kamara (NO), $12.2 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: March 2025 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Jonathan Taylor (IND), $26.5 million
3. Christian McCaffrey (SF), $24 million
4. Alvin Kamara (NO), $34.3 million

Wide receiver

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: June 2024 (contract ends in 2029)

2. CeeDee Lamb (DAL), $34 million
3. A.J. Brown (PHI), $32 million
4. Brandon Aiyuk (SF), $30 million
5. DJ Moore (CHI), $28.5 million
6. Jaylen Waddle (MIA), $28.3 million
7. Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET), $28 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: June 2024 (contract ends in 2029)

2. CeeDee Lamb (DAL), $100 million
3. A.J. Brown (PHI), $84 million
4. DJ Moore (CHI), $81.5 million
5. Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET), $77 million
6. Brandon Aiyuk (SF), $76 million

Tight end

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: April 2024 (contract ends in 2025)

2. T.J. Hockenson (MIN), $16 million
3. George Kittle (SF), $15.3 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: August 2023 (contract ends in 2027)

2. George Kittle (SF), $40 million
3. Mark Andrews (BAL), $37.6 million

Offensive tackle

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: April 2024 (contract ends in 2029)

2. Tristan Wirfs (TB), $28.6 million
3. Trent Williams (SF), $27.6 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: August 2024 (contract ends in 2029)

2. Christian Darrisaw (MIN), $74.5 million
3. Penei Sewell (DET), $70 million
4. Andrew Thomas (NYG), $61.9 million

Guard

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: March 2023 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Robert Hunt (CAR), $21 million
3. Quenton Nelson (IND), $20.9 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: March 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Chris Lindstrom (ATL), $62.7 million
3. Quenton Nelson (IND), $60 million

Center

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: August 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Frank Ragnow (DET), $14 million
3. Lloyd Cushenberry (TEN), $12.6 million
4. Erik McCoy (NO), $12.5 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: August 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Frank Ragnow (DET), $42 million
3. Ryan Kelly (IND), $34 million
4. Erik McCoy (NO), $33 million

Cornerback

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: September 2024 (contract ends in 2029)

2. Pat Surtain II (DEN), $24 million
3. Jaire Alexander (GB), $21.8 million
4. A.J. Terrell (ATL), $20.6 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: September 2024 (contract ends in 2030)

2. Denzel Ward (CLE), $71.25 million
3. Marshon Lattimore (NO), $68.3 million

Safety

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: May 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Derwin James Jr. (LAC), $19.6 million
3. Minkah Fitzpatrick (PIT), $18.6 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: May 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Derwin James Jr. (LAC), $42 million
T3. Minkah Fitzpatrick (PIT), $36 million
T3. Jessie Bates III (ATL), $36 million

Edge rusher

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: September 2023 (contract ends in 2029)

2. Josh Hines-Allen (JAX), $31 million
3. T.J. Watt (PIT), $30.5 million
4. Brian Burns (NYG), $30 million
5. Myles Garrett (CLE), $26.7 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Nick Bosa, $119.9 million

Signed: September 2023 (contract ends in 2029)

2. Myles Garrett (CLE), $100 million
3. Josh Hines-Allen (JAX), $88 million
4. Brian Burns (NYG), $87.5 million

Defensive tackle

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: March 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Christian Wilkins (LV), $28 million
3. Alim McNeill (DET), $24 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: March 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Christian Wilkins (LV), $82.7 million
3. Quinnen Williams (NYJ), $66 million

Off-ball linebacker

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: January 2023 (contract ends 2027)

2. Fred Warner (SF), $19.5 million
3. Tremaine Edmunds (CHI), $19 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: January 2023 (contract ends 2027)

2. Tremaine Edmunds (CHI), $45 million
3. Fred Warner (SF), $40.5 million

Kicker

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: August 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Justin Tucker (BAL), $6.2 million
3. Jake Elliott (PHI), $6 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: August 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Justin Tucker (BAL), $17.5 million
3. Jake Elliott (PHI), $14.1 million

Long-snapper

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: September 2023 (contract ends 2027)

2. Joe Cardona (NE), $1.63 million
3. Zach Wood (NO), $1.62 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: March 2024 (contract ends 2026)

2. Thomas Hennessy (NYJ), $2.62 million
3. Joe Cardona (NE), $2.6 million

Punter

Highest three-year APY:

Signed: June 2021 (contract ends in 2025)

2. Jack Fox (DET), $3.6 million
3. Tress Way (WSH), $3.3 million

Total guaranteed money:

Signed: June 2021 (contract ends in 2025)

2. Jack Fox (DET), $7.5 million
3. Tress Way (WSH), $6.4 million

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