The on-field workouts in Indianapolis are winding down, but the backroom conversations that shape the NFL offseason are hitting an all-time high. The vast majority of NFL teams have left Indianapolis, as it’s the final day of the 2026 NFL Combine, and just a skeleton crew of coaches and staff have stayed behind. Yet there is still plenty of news as free agency is next on tap.

Pickens tag and trade?

I reported from the Senior Bowl that the Dallas Cowboys would place the franchise tag on receiver George Pickens if they could not agree on a contract extension before free agency opens. That report was later confirmed by other outlets just before the combine.

New reports from the combine suggest that the Cowboys could put the franchise tag on Pickens, then trade him. Pickens was officially franchise-tagged on Friday afternoon, and the team will pay him $27.3 million for the 2026 season. However, his long-term future with the team still remains undecided, and a trade possibility still exists before the team hits the July 15 deadline.

This was used in the not-too-distant past on star receivers, as the Green Bay Packers did the same with Davante Adams in 2022 and ultimately traded the wideout to Las Vegas.

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For now, I was not informed of any teams targeting Pickens for a trade.

More offseason news from the NY Jets

There have been rumors that the New York Jets could shop defensive end Will McDonald, the 15th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. That’s not going to happen, as the team wants to find ways for McDonald to be successful, and the bigger question is: Will they exercise the fifth-year option on their pass rusher?

Sources also say that the Jets are targeting linebacker Demario Davis, whom the team drafted in the third round of the 2012 draft. The 14-year veteran played for the Jets on two separate occasions and has spent the last eight years with the New Orleans Saints. Though he’s 37 years old, Davis registered a career-best 143 tackles last season.

The Jets will also look to come out of free agency with an offensive guard, as the team expects to lose 2021 first-round pick Alijah Vera-Tucker and John Simpson once the market opens.

Simpson to go earlier than anticipated?

Even before his terrific combine workout Sunday, I was told that quarterback Ty Simpson will be drafted earlier than most presently predict. Some believe he could end up in the top-12 selections.

It was reported by other outlets before the combine that the Cleveland Browns have an interest in the former Alabama quarterback, and I am told they are doing extensive work on Simpson.

Changes coming to the combine

In the past, there have been persistent rumors about changes to the combine, including a relocation of the event and even the workouts being broken up into different cities by position. Obviously, those never happened. But the league is looking at changes as soon as next year that could make things a little spicier, including:

• Pushing the combine back a week or two and allowing it to end two days before the start of free agency – This would allow agents and teams to officially ink deals during the combine.
• Have players run a day or two after they arrive in Indianapolis for the combine rather than at the end of the week – Players, agents, and teams have complained for the longest time that the schedule of the combine is backwards. Rather than have the athletic testing at the end of combine week when players are physically drained from medical exams, interviews, psychological tests, and more, testing should take place at the start of the week when players are fresh.
• All player activities must be completed by 8 p.m. – As we’ve seen this week, many of the workouts have stretched past 8 p.m. What you haven’t seen is that players are participating in interviews as the clock closes in on 11 p.m. Shutting everything down earlier would benefit everyone involved.

The combine is slated to stay in Indianapolis through 2028, which is good news. A member of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce stated that a two-year extension was struck to keep the event here in the Circle City.