2026 NFL season

Free agency

Free agency began on March 11. Notable players to change teams include:^[2]

• Quarterbacks Kirk Cousins (Atlanta to Las Vegas), Gardner Minshew (Kansas City to Arizona), Kyler Murray (Arizona to Minnesota), Tua Tagovailoa (Miami to Atlanta), and Malik Willis (Green Bay to Miami)
• Running backs Rico Dowdle (Carolina to Pittsburgh), Travis Etienne (Jacksonville to New Orleans), Kenneth Gainwell (Pittsburgh to Tampa Bay), Isiah Pacheco (Kansas City to Detroit), Patrick Ricard (Baltimore to New York Giants), Kenneth Walker III (Seattle to Kansas City), and Rachaad White (Tampa Bay to Washington)
• Wide receivers Romeo Doubs (Green Bay to New England), Mike Evans (Tampa Bay to San Francisco), Jauan Jennings (San Francisco to Minnesota), Darnell Mooney (Atlanta to New York Giants), Kalif Raymond (Detroit to Chicago), and Wan'Dale Robinson (New York Giants to Tennessee)
• Tight ends Isaiah Likely (Baltimore to New York Giants) and David Njoku (Cleveland to Los Angeles Chargers).
• Offensive linemen David Edwards (Buffalo to New Orleans), Zion Johnson (Los Angeles Chargers to Cleveland), Tyler Linderbaum (Baltimore to Las Vegas), Dylan Parham (Las Vegas to New York Jets), Wyatt Teller (Cleveland to Houston), Alijah Vera-Tucker (New York Jets to New England), Lucas Patrick (Cincinnati to New York Giants), Elgton Jenkins (Green Bay to Cleveland),and Rasheed Walker (Green Bay to Carolina)
• Defensive linemen Jonathan Allen (Minnesota to Cincinnati), John Franklin-Myers (Denver to Tennessee), Trey Hendrickson (Cincinnati to Baltimore), Dre'Mont Jones (Baltimore to New England), Kwity Paye (Indianapolis to Las Vegas), Joseph Ossai (Cincinnati to New York Jets), and Odafe Oweh (Los Angeles Chargers to Washington).
• Linebackers Alex Anzalone (Detroit to Tampa Bay), Bradley Chubb (Miami to Buffalo), Demario Davis (New Orleans to New York Jets), Tremaine Edmunds (Chicago to New York Giants), Kaden Elliss (Atlanta to New Orleans), Devin Lloyd (Jacksonville to Carolina), Boye Mafe (Seattle to Cincinnati), Jaelan Phillips (Philadelphia to Carolina), Quay Walker (Green Bay to Las Vegas), and Quincy Williams (New York Jets to Cleveland).
• Defensive backs Coby Bryant (Seattle to Chicago), Kevin Byard (Chicago to New England), Bryan Cook (Kansas City to Cincinnati), Nick Cross (Indianapolis to Washington), Jamel Dean (Tampa Bay to Pittsburgh), Kyle Dugger (Pittsburgh to Cincinnati) Cobie Durant (Los Angeles Rams to Dallas), C. J. Gardner-Johnson (Chicago to Buffalo), Alontae Taylor (New Orleans to Tennessee), Jalen Thompson (Arizona to Dallas), Jaylen Watson (Kansas City to Los Angeles Rams),L'Jarius Sneed (Tennessee to Kansas City), Cam Taylor Britt (Cincinnati to Indianapolis), and Tariq Woolen (Seattle to Philadelphia).
• Kickers Nick Folk (New York Jets to Atlanta), Zane Gonzalez (Atlanta to Miami), and Jason Sanders (Miami to New York Jets)
• Punters Jake Bailey (Miami to Atlanta), Johnny Hekker (Tennessee to Minnesota), Jordan Stout (Baltimore to New York Giants), Tommy Townsend (Houston to Tennessee), and Ryan Wright (Minnesota to New Orleans)

Trades

The following notable trades were made during the 2026 league year:

• March 11: Las Vegas traded QB Geno Smith and a 2026 seventh-round selection to the New York Jets in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round selection.^[4]
• March 11: Detroit traded RB David Montgomery to Houston in exchange for C Juice Scruggs, 2026 fourth-round and 2027 seventh-round selections.^[5]
• March 11: Chicago traded WR D. J. Moore and a 2026 fifth-round selection to Buffalo in exchange for a 2026 second-round selection.^[6]
• March 11: Kansas City traded CB Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for their 2026 first- (No. 29), fifth-, and sixth-round selections and a 2027 third-round selection.^[7]
• March 11: Miami traded S Minkah Fitzpatrick to the New York Jets in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round selection.^[8]
• March 11: Green Bay traded DT Colby Wooden to Indianapolis in exchange for LB Zaire Franklin.^[9]
• March 11: Green Bay traded DE Rashan Gary to Dallas in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round selection.^[10]
• March 11: Tennessee traded DT T'Vondre Sweat to the New York Jets in exchange for DE Jermaine Johnson II.^[11]
• March 11: Dallas traded DT Osa Odighizuwa to San Francisco in exchange for a 2026 third-round selection.^[12]
• March 11: Buffalo traded CB Taron Johnson and a 2026 seventh-round selection to Las Vegas in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round selection.^[13]
• March 18: Miami traded WR Jaylen Waddle and a 2026 fourth-round selection to Denver in exchange for a 2026 first- (No. 30), third-, and fourth-round selections.^[14]
• March 20: Philadelphia traded S Sydney Brown and 2026 fourth- and sixth-round selections to Atlanta in exchange for 2026 fourth- and sixth-round selections.^[15]
• March 24: Carolina traded QB Andy Dalton to Philadelphia in exchange for a 2027 seventh-round selection.^[16]
• April 17: Atlanta traded DT Ruke Orhorhoro to Jacksonville in exchange for DT Maason Smith.^[17]
• April 19: The New York Giants traded DT Dexter Lawrence to Cincinnati in exchange for a 2026 first-round selection (No. 10).^[18]
• April 24: Minnesota traded LB Jonathan Greenard to Philadelphia in exchange for a 2026 third-round selection and a 2027 third-round selection.^[19]
• June 1: Cleveland traded DE Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for DE Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round selection, a 2028 second-round selection and a 2029 third-round selection.^[20]
• June 1: Philadelphia traded WR A. J. Brown to New England in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round selection and a 2028 first-round selection.^[21]

Retirements

Notable retirements

• G Joel Bitonio – Seven-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro (two first-team, three second-team). Played for Cleveland during his entire 12-year career.^[22]
• LB Lavonte David – One-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro (one first-team, two second-team), and Super Bowl LV champion. Played for Tampa Bay during his entire 14-year career.^[23]
• CB Stephon Gilmore – Five-time Pro Bowler, two-time first-team All-Pro, Super Bowl LIII champion, and 2019 Defensive Player of the Year. Played for Buffalo, New England, Carolina, Indianapolis, Dallas and Minnesota during his 13-year career.^[24]
• WR T. Y. Hilton – Four-time Pro Bowler. Played for Indianapolis and Dallas during his 11-year career.^[25]
• CB Xavien Howard – Four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro (one first-team, one second-team). Played for Miami and Indianapolis during his nine-year career.^[26]
• C Ryan Kelly – Four-time Pro Bowler and one-time second-team All-Pro. Played for Indianapolis and Minnesota during his 10-year career.^[27]
• QB Philip Rivers – Eight-time Pro Bowler and 2013 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Played for the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis during his 18-year career.^[28]
• S Justin Simmons – Two-time Pro Bowler and four-time second-team All-Pro. Player for Denver and Atlanta during his nine-year career.^[29]
• CB Darius Slay – Six-time Pro Bowler, one-time first-team All-Pro, and Super Bowl LIX champion. Played for Detroit, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh during his 13-year career.^[30]
• QB Russell Wilson – Ten-time Pro Bowler, one-time second-team All-Pro, Super Bowl XLVIII champion, and 2020 Walter Payton Man of the Year. Played for Seattle, Denver, Pittsburgh and the New York Giants during his 14-year career.^[31]

Other retirements

Draft

The 2026 NFL draft took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from April 23–25, with events held at Acrisure Stadium, Point State Park, and other venues throughout the city.^[78] Las Vegas, by virtue of having the worst record in 2025, held the first overall selection and selected Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.^[79]

The amount of time allotted for each team to make a selection in the first round was reduced from ten to eight minutes beginning with the 2026 draft.^[80]

Pro Football Hall of Fame members

Raymond Berry

Berry played 13 seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver for the Baltimore Colts, and spent over three decades as a coach, including six seasons as the head coach of the New England Patriots. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973. He was a six-time All-Pro (three first-team, three second-team), six-time Pro Bowler, and two-time NFL champion in 1958 and 1959. He died May 25, age 93.^[81]

Sonny Jurgensen

Jurgensen played 18 seasons in the NFL as a quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983. He was a four-time All-Pro (two first-team, two second-team), five-time Pro Bowler, and won the 1960 NFL Championship with the Eagles. He died February 6, age 91.^[82]

Active personnel

Rondale Moore

Moore was a wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings for five seasons. He died on February 21, age 25.^[83]

Flexible scheduling rules

This will be the fourth season of the league's flexible scheduling system that includes Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, and cross-flexing (switching) of Sunday afternoon games between CBS and Fox.^{[106][107][108]}

Flexible scheduling for TNF games remain the same as the previous season: only two games can be flexed between weeks 13 and 17,^[109][110] teams are not required to flex into TNF more than once, teams are not allowed to play more than two Thursday games on short rest during the season, and teams cannot play multiple away TNF games during the season without their approval, and the league has a deadline of 21 days to flex any eligible game into TNF.^[109]

The other flexible scheduling rules remained the same as in 2025. Any Monday Night Football game will be allowed to be flexed between weeks 12 and 17; the league is required to announce its rescheduling no later than 12 days before the contests. For Sunday Night Football, no more than two games can be flexed between weeks 5 and 10, while any game between weeks 11 to 17 could be flexed; the league will be required to give weeks 5 to 13 SNF games a 12-day notice, and weeks 14 to 17 a 6-day notice. All Week 18 games will be initially listed as "TBD", with the league announcing its schedule after Week 17 games are completed.^[110]

Additionally, CBS and Fox will have the ability to protect games from being moved (except for Week 18 contests), either from a change to another network or a change of the time slot. When the initial season schedule was created, the two networks selected a limited number of games involving a specific number of teams from their respective conference. Otherwise, every game can be initially scheduled on any network regardless of conference.^[111] After the season starts, each network is allowed to protect one game each week from being flexed.^[112]

Scheduling changes

• Week 16: Four games have been set aside to potentially be moved into a doubleheader on Saturday, December 26: Tampa Bay–Atlanta, Cincinnati–Indianapolis, Washington–Minnesota, and Carolina–Pittsburgh. Two of those games will be moved to Saturday at 4:30 and 8:00 p.m. ET, both on NFL Network/NFL+. The remaining two games will be played on Sunday, December 27 (subject to additional flexing).^[113]
• Week 17: Four games have been set aside to potentially be moved into a doubleheader on Saturday, January 2: Washington–Jacksonville, Kansas City–Los Angeles Chargers, Denver–New England, and Los Angeles Rams–Tampa Bay. Two of those games will be moved to Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC and 8:00 p.m. ET on Peacock. The remaining two games will be played on Sunday, January 3 (subject to additional flexing).^[114]
• Week 18: All Week 18 games are initially listed with a kickoff time of "TBD". Three games with playoff implications are planned to be moved to Saturday, January 9 at 1:00 p.m. ET on Netflix, and 4:30 and 8:00  p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN. Another game with playoff implications will be selected as the final Sunday Night Football game at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC. All remaining games will then be scheduled on Sunday afternoon at either 1:00 or 4:25 p.m. ET on either CBS or Fox.^[115]

Referee collective bargaining agreement

The collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) expires on May 31, 2026. If no agreement is reached by that date, the league will lockout its regular game officials and then use replacement referees for the first time since the 2012 NFL referee lockout. One issue under dispute is that the referees' union wants an annual salary increase of 10 percent per year for the next six years, while the league has offered just 6.45 percent. The league also wants additional performance standards such as increasing the probationary period for new officials from three to five years, and award more playoff games based on performance instead of seniority.^[117] On May 8, 2026, the NFL and the NFLRA ratified a new 7–year CBA, which runs until the 2032 season.^[118]

Head coaches

General managers

Rivalries series

AFC South and NFC North teams are scheduled to unveil their "rivalries" uniforms in 2026. They will be worn at one home divisional game per season.^[151]

Uniform changes

• Atlanta unveiled new uniforms on April 2.^[152]
• Baltimore unveiled new uniforms on April 16.^[153]
• The Los Angeles Rams unveiled new primary uniforms on April 16 under the marketing slogan "Threaded with Greatness".^[154] The redesigned jerseys use design cues from the team's existing Rivalries jersey, incorporating the latter's shoulder horns while omitting the Rams wordmark from the front and changing the home jersey's gradient numbers to solid yellow numbers. White pants were also reintroduced to the team's uniform. The primary and secondary logos were updated, with the primary "LA" logo changing from the original gradient used since to a solid yellow logo with blue outlines. The secondary ram head logo received slight changes as well, with the head being tilted further forward and given yellow eyes. The team also teased two new alternate uniforms to be unveiled in the summer of 2026.
• Tennessee unveiled new uniforms on March 12. In addition to the uniforms, the team also redesigned their logo, eliminating the flames from the previous logo. The colors of the uniforms and logo were also changed to reflect the original colors of the Houston Oilers.^[155]
• Washington unveiled new uniforms on April 15 templated after the white "Super Bowl Era" alternate uniforms introduced in the previous season, with a corresponding burgundy uniform being released. The uniforms are based on the set introduced by the franchise in 1979 and used in various forms until their rebrand as the "Commanders" in 2022. White and gold pants were also released. An alternate all-black uniform, nicknamed the "Hail Raiser", was also unveiled using the same template.^[156]

Alternate helmets

• Washington's alternate "Hail Raiser" uniform includes a black helmet featuring a new "Spear W" decal and burgundy-gold-burgundy striping pattern.

Patches

• Houston will wear a patch to commemorate the 25th season of the franchise.^[157]
• New Orleans will wear a patch to commemorate the 60th season of the franchise.^[158]
• San Francisco will wear a patch commemorating its 80th anniversary (from the founding of its first league, the All-America Football Conference).^[159]

National

Under an agreement that was first announced on August 5, 2025, and approved by government regulators on January 31, 2026, ESPN acquired NFL Network, television distribution rights to NFL RedZone and the RedZone brand. In exchange, the league received a 10 percent equity stake in ESPN. The NFL's existing deal with ESPN remained unaffected.^{[160][161][162][163]}

Netflix signed a four-year extension to its original three-year deal that was previously set to expire after the 2026 season, expanding its schedule of games.^[164]

This will also be the fourth year of the existing 11-year U.S. media deals with CBS Sports, Fox Sports, and NBC Sports; the fifth year of a 12-year deal with Amazon Prime Video;^[165][166] and the fourth year under a seven-year deal with YouTube.^[167]

International

• ESPN will air its slate of games in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, and the Netherlands; and through Disney+ in select markets in Asia and Europe.^[191]
• In the UK and Ireland:
  • This will the second year of a three-year deal that Sky Sports will broadcast select games on either their dedicated Sky Sports NFL Channel or through their Sky Sports+ channels.^[202]
  • This will the second year of a multi-year deal that the free-to-air Channel 5 will broadcast games through their main channel as well as 5Action.^[203]
• This will be the fourth year of a ten-year deal that DAZN will distribute NFL Game Pass International.^[204]
• This will be the fifth year of a multi-year deal with Bell Media to continue to distribute all NFL games in Canada (including RedZone) to TSN, CTV channels in English and on RDS in French.^[205]