What We Learned During a Crazy NFL Week With Trades, Extensions and a Retirement

Who says the NFL news cycle is slow in June?

On the first day of the month, a pair of trades involving superstars went down. One expected, the other out of nowhere.

In the case of A.J. Brown, the Eagles sending him to the Patriots had been heavily rumored for weeks (if not months). Brown is heading to New England for 2027 fifth- and ’28 first-round picks, giving All-Pro quarterback Drake Maye a 226-pound weapon on the outside with free-agent signing Romeo Doubs as a secondary threat. Brown, coming off four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, is the best perimeter threat the Patriots have had since the halcyon days of Randy Moss.

Then there’s Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Garrett was dealt to the Rams, already the Super Bowl favorites in every sportsbook, for 2027 first-, ’28 second- and ’29 third-round picks, along with defensive end Jared Verse. One of the league’s top young edge rushers, Verse totaled 7.5 sacks and 27 quarterback hits last year, one season after taking home Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. Garrett set a single-season record in ’25 with 23 sacks in Cleveland, showing that at 30 years old, there’s no slowing down.

Speaking of Garrett, he wasn’t the only all-time pass rusher making news in the Rams world.

Aaron Donald returning to play with Garrett?

Upon news of the Garrett acquisition, Donald made headlines by not ruling out a potential comeback. Speaking to former NFL punter and ESPN personality Pat McAfee, Donald said it has him thinking about a potential comeback after retiring two seasons ago.

At 35, coming back after missing two years would be rare, but not unheard of. As Albert Breer pointed out, the Rams have seen a similar scenario play out before. In 2021, needing help at safety, Eric Weddle came out of retirement after missing all of ’20 and ’21 before suiting up in the postseason, helping the franchise win its second Super Bowl.

If Donald were to return, he would join the league’s best defensive line that features Kobie Turner inside, along with Byron Young and Garrett on the outside. In 2025, that trio totaled 42 sacks and 82 quarterback hits. For context, the former number would have ranked 12th for entire teams last season. Now imagine adding Donald into the mix as the ultimate wild card.

For the Rams, it would fit what’s one of the biggest all-in pushes of recent memory. After this season, Los Angeles will see a slew of talent hit unrestricted free agency, including receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, tight ends Davis Allen and Colby Parkinson, offensive linemen Kevin Dotson and Steve Avila, and Turner and Young. The Rams will keep some, but certainly not all.

If not now, when? That’s true for Los Angeles. It might also be true of Donald.

Micah Parsons won’t be back anytime soon, so who will step up?

The Packers have two knees to watch closely. One belongs to tight end Tucker Kraft, while the other belongs to Micah Parsons. Unfortunately for Green Bay, it seems one will take well into the season before it returns to action.

This week, Parsons spoke to local media and said he won’t be back until October at the earliest as he continues recovering from a torn ACL sustained on Dec. 13 in Denver. Parsons, who had 12.5 sacks over 14 games during his first year with the Packers, stated his goal is to be there for the playoffs and then make a championship push.

For that to be a realistic goal, new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon must find a way to supplement his pass rush until Parsons’s return. After trading edge rusher Rashan Gary to the Cowboys this offseason, Green Bay is left with underwhelming options, including Barryn Sorrell, 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness and rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton. Last year, Sorrell and Van Ness combined for three sacks.

To this end, the Packers should consider adding a veteran. Jadeveon Clowney and Cameron Jordan are two edge rushers still on the market. Clowney ranked 31st in the NFL with 38 pressures in 2025 for Dallas, while Jordan is potentially closing a Hall of Fame–worthy career after 10.5 sacks for the Saints a year ago. Then there’s the option to swing a trade for Cardinals defensive end Josh Sweat, who had 12 sacks and 17 quarterback hits for Gannon last season.

If the Packers want to survive being without Parsons, the answer likely lies outside the building.

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy — Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy already has made his presence known during OTAs this offseason. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Eric Bieniemy is making his presence known in Kansas City

If you went to Chiefs training camp during their first two Super Bowl runs of the Patrick Mahomes era, you knew two things would happen: The humidity was going to be 100%, and you were going to hear offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy screaming at someone. Usually closer to everyone.

Before the 2023 season, Bieniemy left for the same post in Washington, hoping to prove he could succeed as the primary play-caller. The result was a three-year odyssey that saw the former NFL running backs coach for the Commanders go to UCLA and then ultimately to the Bears, where last year he served as the running backs coach for Ben Johnson.

After Kansas City finished 6–11 last year and the offense ranked 25th in yards per play (5.1) while creating a league-worst three explosive runs (20-plus yards), the Chiefs didn’t renew the contract of offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. Inside the building, Nagy is respected and well-liked, but many believed a change was needed. Accountability was the buzzword. And the Chiefs knew whom they coveted, as evidenced by having Bieniemy on the phone within 24 hours of Chicago’s loss to the Rams in the NFC divisional round.

With Bieniemy back, so is the on-field volume. As relayed by beat writer Matt Derrick, Bieniemy wasted no time making his presence known, yanking the first-team offense off the field after it botched a play three consecutive times. It’s a little thing, but it’s also something informative. It’s also one of the reasons why Mahomes is a huge fan of the rehire.

Over the past three seasons under Nagy, the film showed consistent problems, including poor spacing of routes in the passing game, and right tackle Jawaan Taylor lining up incorrectly, which contributed to his league-high 40 penalties over that stretch. A lack of explosiveness as outlined above in the run game. All of it led to an offensive overhaul, headlined by Nagy and including running backs coach Todd Pinkston (who was an NFL wideout) and receiver coach Connor Embree.

Still, the biggest change will be the urgency of a group that appeared to lose its edge in recent seasons. With Bieniemy’s voice booming across the field, urgency won’t be in short supply.

Pittsburgh is paying out big bucks

Ask anybody around the league, and they’ll say the Steelers have a well-earned reputation. They take care of their own, preferring to invest in and develop homegrown talent over making a splash in free agency.

While Pittsburgh spent on a few second-tier deals this offseason—receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (two years, $35 million) and corner Jamel Dean (three years, $36.75 million)—they saved their big financial push for this past week. On Tuesday evening, the Steelers gave edge rusher Nick Herbig a four-year $100 million extension, including $42 million guaranteed before inking tight end Darnell Washington to a four-year, $42 million extension.

In both cases, Pittsburgh is betting on continued maturation. Herbig is 24 and has only 16 sacks. However, he’s one of the more disruptive pass rushers in football per snap, getting 45 pressures to rank tied for 37th in the league. That figure is one better than teammate T.J. Watt and tied with Alex Highsmith, despite playing 60% of the snaps in 2025, while Highsmith and Watt played 72% and 82%, respectively.

Herbig’s underlying numbers tell the story of a team that got a bargain compared to other contracts we saw this offseason. The Commanders gave Odafe Oweh the same terms, and Oweh had the same number of sacks (7.5) and five fewer quarterback hits than Herbig despite being three years older.

In Carolina, Jaelan Phillips cashed in with $120 million over four years, and he had 2.5 fewer sacks and four fewer quarterback hits while playing 209 more snaps than Herbig last season. Phillips is also 27 and missed 22 games between 2023 and ’24 with a torn Achilles and a torn ACL.

As for Washington, he’s an elite blocker who posted career-highs with 31 catches and 364 yards last season. The 311-pounder is a nice complement to Pat Freiermuth, who is in the midst of a four-year, $48 million extension that runs through 2028.

Washington has earned increased playing time each of his first three seasons, topping out at 57% of snaps in 2025. If he can continue developing as a pass catcher while finding more red zone success (he has only two career touchdowns), the contract could prove to be excellent. But even if he remains a tight end who functions primarily as a sixth offensive lineman with a little juice in the passing game—a player that’s becoming increasingly coveted around the league—he still provides enough value to justify the contract.

Russell Wilson says goodbye; is he worthy of Canton?

It’s over for Russell Wilson. After bouncing around between the Broncos, Steelers and Giants over the past three seasons after spending his first decade with the Seahawks, Wilson announced his retirement on Wednesday.

Wilson, 37, leaves behind one of the more complicated Hall of Fame cases in recent memory. From a top-line standpoint, the argument for Wilson’s enshrinement is led by two Super Bowl appearances, one title, 10 Pro Bowls, a second-team All-Pro honor, 52,534 total yards and 384 touchdowns.

But is that enough? One could argue the Super Bowl in which he lost is the biggest reason to omit him, losing to the Patriots from the 1-yard line on an unfathomable call and equally unfathomable interception to Malcolm Butler. If Marshawn Lynch had run the ball in, or Wilson had completed the pass, there’d be no debate of whether he’d eventually earn a bust.

Then there’s contextualizing his career. In the modern age, Pro Bowls mean far less. Last year, Shedeur Sanders threw seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions and made the Pro Bowl. Wilson reached the Pro Bowl with the Steelers despite throwing for 2,482 yards and 16 touchdowns. The 10 Pro Bowl appearances are largely legitimate and impressive, but they won’t be a deciding factor in the voting process.

As for accolades, Seattle was led to a Super Bowl by Lynch’s legs and its Legion of Boom defense. The season the Seahawks won it all in 2013, Wilson never attempted more than 25 passes in a postseason game and topped out at 215 passing yards. None of that is to say Wilson wasn’t a key cog, but unlike most title-winning quarterbacks, he wasn’t the driving force.

In the end, Wilson will be hotly debated for years. What’s not up for debate is that coming into the league as a third-round pick at 5'11" and 204 pounds, he had an incredible career beyond anybody’s expectations.

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