Buying or Selling Latest Buzz, Rumors From 2024 NFL Offseason Workouts

The gap between OTAs and camps is often one of the biggest dead periods for actual player movement, but that doesn't stop the rumor mill from churning.

It's a perfect time for teams to iron out contract extensions, figure out their priorities and put final plans in place for the roster ahead of camp. It also gives us an early taste of who could be holding out once camp starts.

All of those storylines can be found across the media landscape right now. Some of it is real and some of it is more fodder to fill the time.

Here, we'll take a look at some of the buzz surrounding the biggest names in the league and try to parse through what's fact and what can be written off as fiction.

The Dallas Cowboys have been criticized for a conservative offseason so far, but a lot of that is due to the fact that they have three huge contracts up for renewal. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb are in the final year of their respective contracts while Micah Parsons only has the fifth-year option for 2025.

With all three of them likely seeking deals that will put them at the top of their respective positions, Jerry Jones and the front office have a lot of work to do.

According to the latest from Todd Archer of ESPN, Lamb should be the first one up. The reporter noted that, "the talks with Lamb could begin in earnest soon, with an eye on getting finalized in training camp."

Verdict: Buy

Archer also noted that Jones had said that he wanted to see "more leaves fall" before signing Lamb to his deal. New contracts for Amon-Ra St. Brown and A.J. Brown have since laid a nice foundation for a Lamb extension.

Amon-Ra's new deal pays $30 million in annual average value while A.J.'s sits at $32 million.

In some ways, the Cowboys have allowed the Lions and Eagles to do their work for them. The downside to that plan is that they've also dragged things along to the point that a Justin Jefferson contract could get done before they sign Lamb.

That would be bad news as Jefferson could be in store for the biggest non-quarterback contract in the league. At minimum, that could drive Lamb to seek something in the same ballpark.

The Cowboys don't have the same pressure with Prescott or Parsons.

With the top-end receiver market exploding across the league, many teams have worked hard to get ahead of things and ink their pass-catchers to extension. The Dolphins were the latest, signing Jaylen Waddle to a three-year extension.

The signing frenzy makes it all the more notable when it comes out that a team and player haven't even sat down to negotiate a contract.

That's exactly where Jenna Laine of ESPN reported the Buccaneers are with Chris Godwin. He's in the final year of an extension that paid $60 million over three years, but they have not begun negotiations on a new deal yet.

Verdict: Buy

It wouldn't be the most shocking development for Godwin to be a highly sought-after free agent next season. The 28-year-old still had 1,000 yards in 2023, but he put up only two touchdowns.

Teams around the league are playing out the debate around paying two high-performing wide receivers right now. Some are willing to do it, but there are others who might opt to replace at least one option with several cheaper options.

The Bucs will see if Godwin can get back to his peak production as a primary slot player with Liam Coen as the offensive coordinator. But the wait-and-see approach isn't all that surprising. They already gave Mike Evans a two-year contract extension and drafted Jalen McMillan, who has a similar skill set.

If Trey Palmer can take a step forward and McMillan has a strong rookie season, Godwin could be getting paid elsewhere in 2025.

Dak Prescott might not play for money, but he's due to earn a whole lot more of it soon. He is in the final year of his four-year, $160 million contract, which he signed in 2021.

Most teams around the league prefer to be proactive about keeping their franchise quarterback under contract. Few players who have put up the kind of numbers that Prescott has actually enter the final year on their deal without a contract.

If the latest rumors are to be believed, Prescott is headed that direction. Todd Archer of ESPN reported there haven't been "meaningful talks" between the club and the quarterback. He also noted that if he goes into the season without a contract, it's likely that Prescott could be playing for another team in 2025.

Verdict: Sell

The wording for this one is interesting. What qualifies as "meaningful"? It's hard to believe that Prescott's agent and the team haven't at least thrown around some early parameters for a contract.

The Cowboys did wait to give Prescott his extension back in 2021. He was re-signed to play on the tag before finally securing the bag.

Prescott gets a lot of flak for the Cowboys' lack of postseason success. Some of that is warranted, but they've also won 12 games in each of the last three seasons and remain relevant throughout the year.

Is Jones really willing to give that up after an offseason of sticking to status quo?

It would be surprising that Jones would be willing to make the massive gamble of going away from Prescott when there's a high floor with him at quarterback. A massive deal like his doesn't get done before the season if they haven't even started talking in May.

Brandon Aiyuk has been at the center of trade speculation and rumors since the offseason got started. It's a natural storyline as he seeks a new contract on a team that is already paying Deebo Samuel a significant amount. It's been accelerated by some of Aiyuk's social media posts.

There has also been some legit reporting that Aiyuk and the Niners have not come close in negotiations.

The latest comes from ESPN's Nick Wagoner, who wrote on May 29 that "a deal doesn't appear to be imminent, but the 49ers remain confident something will get done to keep Aiyuk for the long haul."

Verdict: Buy

Wagoner also reminds readers that the 49ers waited until late in the summer to sign some of their biggest stars to extensions. George Kittle, Fred Warner, Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa all signed their latest extensions in the summer.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler also reported that Aiyuk is not trying to be the highest-paid receiver in the league, but is trying to at least match the four-year, $120 million extension that Amon-Ra St. Brown received from the Detroit Lions.

So there's a precedent for the contract that Aiyuk wants and a clear pattern for how the team handles its contract situations.

There's also the fact that the 49ers have an option if they really want to choose Aiyuk over Deebo Samuel. Aiyuk has clearly become the team's true No. 1 wide receiver, and Samuel can be traded after June 1 to create $22 million in cap this season.

There's sacrifice in that route, but it doesn't seem like San Francisco would choose to pay Samuel over Aiyuk in the long run.

Anyone hoping Tee Higgins is a long-term member of the Cincinnati Bengals did not receive good news from the latest round of rumors.

The franchise-tagged receiver has not been at OTAs, and Ben Baby of ESPN reported that multiple sources have said the team and the receiver have not negotiated in over a year.

The Bengals used the franchise tag on Higgins this spring, and no negotiations would be required for them to offer that tender. Higgins has not signed the tag and maintains that he would like to remain in Cincinnati.

Baby also noted that the Bengals have used the franchise tag on three different players over the last decade, and none have returned to the team after their season on the tag.

Verdict: Sell (in a literal sense)

If this were just a rumor that the Bengals and Higgins are far apart in contract talks or that the Bengals are leaning toward moving on, that would be one thing. But it's hard to buy that they haven't even talked about an extension in over a year.

Ultimately, selling this rumor might be a case of semantics. But things still don't look good for Higgins and the Bengals to work something out beyond 2024 before the season.

There are a lot of changes in store for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, but trotting out one of their quarterbacks to return kicks is not one of them.

Running back Jaylen Warren turned a lot of heads earlier in the offseason when he commented on Cameron Heyward's podcast that Pittsburgh Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith said during a team meeting that Justin Fields might try his hand at returning kicks this season.

As it turns out, some things might have been lost in translation.

Fields clarified what his coach meant to reporters on Tuesday.

"I think everybody kind of interpreted it wrong," he said. "Coach Danny was basically just trying to send a message that no matter who you are, you could be on special teams. He just used that as an example."

Verdict: Sell

It's hard to deny that this rumor is dead in the water with Fields commenting directly on it.

With the NFL's new kickoff rules creating some intrigue around special teams play, some new wrinkles and innovations are to be expected. The idea of having a quarterback with Fields' running ability back there isn't far-fetched.

However, Fields doesn't seem interested in that, adding that he's "not here to do that."

So there's that.

As fun as Fields would be on kickoff returns, it doesn't make much sense for him. His whole goal on his one-year contract with the Steelers should be proving that he can still be a starting quarterback in the league. Risking injury and becoming a kick returner doesn't help with that.

Pre-draft rumors are always rampant. The rare post-draft rumor can be wild.

That was certainly the case when Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press dropped this nugget toward the end of a recent article:

"There was buzz at draft time that the Vikings wanted to move from No. 11 to No. 5, not to pick a quarterback but to get LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, who was picked No. 6 by the Giants. Had that trade occurred, Jefferson would have been traded and Nabers would have been the No. 1 receiver."

The Vikings have yet to extend Justin Jefferson, and the 24-year-old could set a new record for a non-quarterback contract. There's likely to be some trade speculation and rumors surrounding him until he signs on the dotted line.

Verdict: Sell

It's fun to cook up some trade packages for the star receiver, but it doesn't seem likely that Jefferson is going anywhere.

This rumor, in particular, is easy to doubt. The Vikings might have liked Malik Nabers a lot in the pre-draft process, but it's hard to believe they would pass on a quarterback to draft Nabers as their replacement for Jefferson.

As is, the Vikings have one of the best receivers in the league to help rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy figure things out in the NFL. Jefferson is going to cost a lot of money, but the Vikings also don't have anyone else on the roster making more than $19 million per year.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated projected that Jefferson's new contract could have $100 million in guarantees, which would be unprecedented for a non-quarterback. It could take a while for the Vikings and Jefferson to get things ironed out, but we aren't in trade territory yet.