The 2026 NFL Scouting Combine has arrived. While the main purpose of the event is to scout the top prospects in this year’s draft, we’ll get plenty of news on what might go down across the league this offseason.
Will star players like Maxx Crosby get traded? Will any standout players set to become free agents receive the franchise tag? May we get news on potential rule changes for the 2026 season?
We’ll likely find out the answers to those questions and many more hot topics around the NFL. So, here’s all the latest news from Indianapolis.
Edge rushers Rueben Bain Jr. and Cashius Howell’s arms shorter than expected
Prior to working out on Thursday, Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami), Cashius Howell (Texas A&M) and many of the other top edge rushers’ bodies were put to the test as each prospect at the position was measured. Bain and Howell didn’t receive good news during their measurements, with each player’s arms measuring shorter than 31 inches long. Bain’s arms were measured at 30 7/8 inches, while Howell’s arms were measured at 30 1/4 inches.
Obviously, we won’t know if their draft stock will take a hit because of those measurements. However, it isn’t an ideal arm length for an edge rusher. For reference, Abdul Carter’s arms were measured at 33 inches last year, before the Giants made him the first edge rusher taken in the 2025 NFL Draft. James Pearce Jr. had the shortest arm measurement of the edge rushers selected in the first round last year, with his arm length coming in at 32 3/4 inches.
Looking around the league, Browns star edge rusher Myles Garrett has 35 1/4-inch arms. Of the six edge rushers to be named an All-Pro last season, only one had an arm length shorter than 32 inches. That was Packers’ star Micah Parsons, who has 31.5-inch arms.
Entering the combine, Bain and Howell were widely viewed as first-round picks, with the former potentially being a top-five selection. FOX Sports’ Henry McKenna had the Jets selecting Bain at No. 2 in his most recent mock draft, while he had the Bears taking Howell with the 25th pick.
Sean Payton, Dave Canales no longer calling plays for their respective teams
Sean Payton said giving up playcalling duties is about “how do we win more games?”
Considered one of the best offensive playcallers in the league for decades, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton confirmed he had given up playcalling duties to up-and-coming assistant coach Davis Webb, who was promoted from quarterbacks coach and offensive passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator this offseason.
Webb had interviewed with other teams for vacant head coaching and offensive coordinator positions but ultimately chose to stay with the Broncos when Payton fired longtime offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, who had worked with him in New Orleans and with the Broncos.
Part of the motivation for Payton giving up play-calling duties was making sure he kept the talented, 31-year-old head coach on his staff. But Payton, 62, also said it was time.
“I would only do that if I felt that it would help our team,” Payton said. “I’ll still be involved with what we do offensively, just like I’m involved with what we do defensively. But I do think he has a gift. He’s real sharp. I’m glad he’s on our staff. Typically, any decision we make like that is to benefit our team.”
Payton was asked if it was a hard decision.
“No, listen I’ll still have opinions on plays,” Payton said. “Mine will be the bad ones, and his will be the good ones (laughs). But I’m going to support him in that. I can recall being in that situation. Even in Dallas, two or three years there, I don’t know if anyone knew who was calling the plays, either it was Bill [Parcells] or myself. But I think that stepping back and looking at it, he’ll do a fantastic job.”
Currently, 16 head coaches will serve as the primary play callers on offense in the NFL for 2026. Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales will be one of them, either. He announced on Tuesday that third-year offensive coordinator Brad Idzik will assume those duties for 2026.
— Eric D. Williams
The Miami Dolphins aren’t ruling anything out with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa this offseason. Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan told reporters at the combine that “everything’s on the table.”
“It could go in a lot of different ways,” Sullivan said. “A trade is a possibility, but Tua is aware, his representation is aware. We’ve had really positive conversations, and, like I said, it’s kind of all on the table when it comes to Tua at this moment.
“[Tagovailoa’s reps] have expressed that he wants to play and that they still think he can play at a high level. The conversations have been productive, but they have not in particular said that they want to be traded.”
Tagovailoa was benched for the final three games of the 2025 season after struggling for much of the year. But he’s due $54 million in guaranteed money in 2026, and if the Dolphins release him, they would take on a $99.2 million dead cap hit.
Raiders expect Maxx Crosby to remain with team in 2026
Raiders star edge rusher Maxx Crosby might be the top trade candidate in the NFL this offseason, but Las Vegas might make it difficult for another team to acquire him. Raiders general manager John Spytek told reporters that he expects Crosby to remain with the team for the 2026 season, adding that the edge rusher is an “elite” player.
“We’re in the business of having really good players on the team, and we need a lot more of them,” Spytek said.
Trade rumors involving Crosby emerged late in the 2025 season after the team decided to shut him down for the final two games of the year. That decision upset Crosby, causing him to storm out of the team’s facilities, FOX Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer first reported. Earlier in February, Glazer reported that Crosby’s time with the Raiders was likely finished.
The Ravens made a big change at head coach this offseason, but they want to keep some other key figures in the franchise in place moving forward. Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta told reporters at the combine that the team is confident an extension will get done with quarterback Lamar Jackson. Prior to the end of the 2025 season, there had been rumors that Jackson might want out of Baltimore, but he dismissed that chatter.
Jackson has two years remaining on his five-year, $260 million contract.
The Ravens are also looking to keep center Tyler Linderbaum, who was ranked fifth in FOX Sports’ top 100 NFL free agents list. DeCosta said the team has made a “market-setting” offer to keep Linderbaum in Baltimore. Linderbaum, 25, has been named a Pro Bowler in each of the last three seasons, while Creed Humphrey of the Chiefs is the highest-paid center in the league on a four-year, $72 million deal.
