Agent’s Take: Brock Purdy, Micah Parsons among high-profile players dealing with unfinished NFL business

The signing of 2025 draft picks is beginning to take center stage as NFL teams are holding rookie minicamps last weekend (May 2 through May 4 or May 3 through 5) and this upcoming weekend (May 9 through May 11). There are still several major contractual and roster-related moves that could take place either before training camps open in late July or by the start of the 2026 regular season in early September.

Here’s a look at some major unfinished business with high-profile veteran players.

The biggest piece of San Francisco 49ers‘ offseason puzzle is trying to get quarterback Brock Purdy signed to a contract extension. Purdy is scheduled to make $5.346 million in the final year of his four-year rookie contact.

49ers general manager John Lynch just indicated on Chris Simms’ “Unbuttoned” podcast that there have been “really good, positive discussions” with Purdy’s camp. Lynch didn’t put a timetable on when a new deal would be done. Purdy participating in San Francisco’s offseason workouts, which started a couple of weeks ago, is a step in the right direction.

Should Purdy and the 49ers reach an agreement, he will surely join the 10 quarterbacks with deals averaging $50 million per year. These contracts range from Jalen Hurts‘ $51 million per year with the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles to Dak Prescott’s $60 million per year from the Dallas Cowboys.

One thing the 49ers are going to have a hard getting Purdy’s camp to understand is why Purdy should be treated worse than Jimmy Garoppolo. An inexperienced Garoppolo briefly became the league’s highest-paid player in 2018 after just a handful of good starts following his midseason trade from the New England Patriots several months earlier. Purdy has done a lot more than Garoppolo ever did when he signed his contract.

Good things come to those who wait will seemingly apply to Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones appears to be following the same blueprint as last year when Dallas dragged its feet on signing wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and Prescott to new contracts. Lamb didn’t get his four-year, $136 million contract extension until August during the latter part of the preseason. Prescott’s four-year, $240 million extension to become the NFL’s first and only $60 million-per-year player didn’t come until September, hours before Dallas’ regular-season opener.

It would be a shock if he played the 2025 season under his fully guaranteed $24.007 million fifth-year option. The expectation is Parsons will become the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback when he eventually signs his new deal. That distinction currently belongs to Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who received a four-year, $161 million extension averaging $40.25 million per year in March. If Chase is replaced at the top of non-quarterback salary hierarchy before Parsons signs, that deal will surely become Parsons’ salary floor.

Rodgers hasn’t committed to playing a 21st NFL season. He recently indicated on the “Pat McAfee Show” that he was dealing with some personal matters and didn’t have a timeline for a making a decision, which has the Pittsburgh Steelers in a holding pattern. He also stated that he is willing to play for $10 million, which is a major bargain. Rodgers made a little more than $38 million last season with the New York Jets.

The Steelers are bending over backward for Rodgers.  A quarterback wasn’t selected early in the 2025 NFL Draft despite a glaring need. Ohio State’s Will Howard wasn’t taken until the sixth round.

Ideally, Rodgers will make a decision by May 27 when Pittsburgh begins Phase Three of offseason workouts. That’s when the 10 days of organized team activities can start being held where 11-on-11 drills are permitted.

The Steelers arguably have the league’s worst quarterback room with Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson and Howard. The best available quarterback options if Rodgers decides to retire include Teddy Bridgewater, Tyler Huntley and Carson Wentz.

Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow campaigned through the media for the Bengals to do whatever was necessary for Chase, tight end Mike Gesicki, edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and wide receiver Tee Higgins to remain in Cincinnati long term. Hendrickson’s situation is the only one that needs to be resolved as Burrow has gotten his wish with everyone else.

Hendrickson gave the Bengals a pay me or trade me ultimatum earlier this offseason. The Bengals were rumored to be looking for more than a first-round pick in return for Hendrickson. The 2024 NFL sack leader is scheduled to make $16 million in 2025, which is his contract year. Hendrickson has been skipping Cincinnati’s offseason workouts.

Based on production, Hendrickson should be one of the NFL’s highest-paid edge rushers. In addition to a league-high 17.5 sacks, Hendrickson tied for the NFL lead with 83 quarterback pressures in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus. He is the fourth player in NFL history to ever have consecutive seasons with 17.5 or more sacks. The others are Mark Gastineau, Reggie White and JJ Watt. Hendrickson isn’t showing any signs of slowing down despite turning 30 in December.

It must be frustrating for Hendrickson to see how the Houston Texans are treating a relative newcomer, edge rusher Danielle Hunter. The Texans didn’t hesitate to extend the two-year, $49 million contract (worth up to $51 million through incentives) Hunter, who turns 31 in October, signed during 2024 free agency by one year in March for $35.6 million to keep him in the fold through the 2026 season.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris’ claims of being comfortable with Cousins as a backup to 2024’s eighth overall pick Michael Penix Jr. were initially taken with a grain of salt. That’s because Cousins will be the most expensive backup quarterback in league history after signing a four-year, $180 million contract averaging $45 million per year with $100 million in guarantees, of which $90 million was fully guaranteed, to join the Falcons during 2024 free agency. Conventional wisdom suggested the Falcons would release Cousins with a post-June 1 designation before his injury guaranteed $10 million fifth day of the 2026 league year roster bonus became fully guaranteed March 16 on the fifth day of the 2025 league year.

The Falcons have rightly calculated that Cousins is going to be the consummate professional about the situation although he wants a change of scenery in order to have an opportunity to be a starting quarterback this season. Cousins has been unwilling to make waves publicly or became a distraction. He even showed up for the start of offseason workouts last month.

Potential destinations have become more limited after the 2025 NFL Draft. The Cleveland Browns no longer seem like a viable option with Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders being drafted in the third and fifth rounds. The Minnesota Vikings traded for Sam Howell on the final day of the Draft. Howell has been given jersey No. 8, which Cousins wore during his six seasons (2018 through 2023) in Minnesota. The Steelers could come into play if Rodgers retires.

Logistically, Cousins will have to waive his no-trade clause to be dealt. The acquiring team will also want the Falcons to eat some of the remaining $37.5 million in salary guarantees remaining in Cousins’ contract, which consist of his $27.5 million 2025 base salary and the 2026 roster bonus.

Barring an injury to a starting quarterback during offseason workouts, the preseason or early in the regular season, the Falcons and Cousins could be stuck with each other until 2026. One situation to watch is with the New Orleans Saints, an NFC South rival, because of starting quarterback Derek Carr’s injured right shoulder.

Steelers All-Pro edge rusher T.J. Watt raised eyebrows last month with a cryptic Instagram post of him just making a peace sign. This prompted speculation that the post was contract related.

Watt is in the final year of the four-year, $112.011 million extension averaging $28,002,750 per year he signed in 2021 two days before the team’s first regular-season game. The deal put Watt at the top of the NFL’s non-quarterback salary hierarchy.

Watt is making $21.05 million on a $30,418,695 cap number in 2025. The Steelers designating Watt as a franchise player in 2026 isn’t feasible. By NFL collective bargaining agreement rules, the cost will be the greater of 120% of Watt’s 2025 salary, which is based on his cap number for these purposes, or the linebacker number derived from formula in the franchise tag calculations. A 2026 franchise tag for Watt will be $36,502,434 under the 120% salary increase provisions.

Watt, who turns 31 in October, would be justified in wanting to be the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback again. His 73.5 sacks are the NFL’s most over the last five seasons (2020 through 2024). Watt has a 1.5-sack lead over Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett, who signed a four-year, $160 million extension averaging $40 million per year in March, despite playing six fewer games. He was also a finalist for 2024’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, finishing fourth in the balloting.

2022 first-round pick extensions

Six players selected during the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft received contract extensions last year after playing just three NFL seasons, which tied for the most with the 2017 first-round class. The Houston Texans got the ball rolling in March with 2022 third overall pick Derek Stingley Jr. He massively reset the cornerback market, which was long overdue, on a three-year, $90 million extension averaging $30 million per year with a defensive back record $89,026,026 in guarantees.

The best bets to get new deals without playing another season under a rookie contract are Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson, Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton and Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum, who were drafted second, fourth, 10th, 14th and 25th overall, respectively.

The Lions have a history of being proactive with All-Pro-caliber first-round picks. Any Hutchinson deal will put him at or near the top of the non-quarterback market. Hutchinson was the leading candidate to be the 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year when he suffered a season-ending broken fibula and tibia in his left leg during a Week 6 contest against the Cowboys. At the time, Hutchinson had a league-leading 7.5 sacks and 45 quarterback pressures in only five games.

The Ravens declined Linderbaum’s fifth-year option for 2026. The decision was related to cost, not performance. The $23.402 million price tag because Linderbaum has been named to the Pro Bowl on the original ballot in each of the last two seasons (2023 and 2024) didn’t reflect the center market. There aren’t specific option-year salaries for centers, guard and tackle. The cost is the same regardless of position, which means left tackles primarily determine the number.

The NFL’s highest-paid center is Creed Humphrey with the four-year, $72 million extension averaging $18 million per year he received from the Kansas City Chiefs last preseason. Keeping Linderbaum long term should require resetting the center market. Linderbaum becoming the NFL’s first $20 million-per-year center isn’t out of the question.

Crowning the king

Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta didn’t rule out extending Derrick Henry’s contract during the season-ending press conference in late January following a 27-25 AFC divisional-round playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills because his debut season with the Ravens went so well. Henry had the best NFL season ever for a 30-year-old running back in 2024. He was second in the NFL with 1,921 rushing yards, led the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns, tied for the second-most total touchdowns with 18 and posted a career-high 5.9 yards per carry, which was tops among running backs.

Henry is entering the final year of a two-year, $16 million contract worth up to $20 million through incentives. He is scheduled to make $7 million on a $12.895 million salary cap number in 2025. None of this money is guaranteed.

Henry isn’t among the NFL’s 10 highest-paid running backs by average yearly salary. He is tied for 12th with D’Andre Swift (Chicago Bears).

Nothing has come to fruition so far although other teams have rewarded players who signed two-year deals in 2024 free agency. In addition to Hunter with the Texans, the Vikings just gave edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel a one-year extension worth $23 million.

Complicating matters is the Philadelphia Eagles making Saquon Barkley the league’s first $20 million-per-year running back in March despite having two years remaining on the three-year, $37.75 million contract averaging $12,583,333 per year (worth as much as $46.75 million through incentives and salary escalators) Barkley received in 2024 free agency. Barkley signed a two-year, $41.2 million extension averaging $20.6 million per year with $36 million fully guaranteed.