▪ Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson: He’s only 30 and led the NFL with 17½ sacks, but he has been squabbling for two years about his contract, to the point that executive vice president Katie Blackburn basically told Hendrickson to zip it and appreciate what he has. Then the Bengals drafted pass rusher Shemar Stewart with the 17th pick. Hendrickson has been a trade candidate all offseason and will remain so.

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▪ Titans WRs Calvin Ridley and Treylon Burks: The Titans brought in a lot of new receivers, signing Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson and drafting Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike in the fourth round. Burks, drafted in 2022 to replace A.J. Brown but unable to stay healthy, seems like a lock to be released or traded, with his $2.66 million guaranteed salary barely a road block. Ridley’s $22.49 million guaranteed salary probably would make him safe in most situations, but don’t be surprised if the rebuilding Titans try to move on from an expensive, 30-year-old receiver.

▪ Packers WR Christian Watson: His roster spot is probably safe as he returns from a torn ACL suffered in Week 18. And Watson has been productive when healthy, averaging 16.9 yards per catch over three seasons, with 14 touchdowns. But health has been a consistent issue, and as he enters the final year of his rookie contract, the Packers drafted receiver Matthew Golden in the first round and Savion Williams in the third.

▪ Giants QB Jameis Winston: He got a $2 million signing bonus and has $1.95 million in guaranteed salary. But if first-round pick Jaxon Dart has a good enough training camp to be the No. 2 right away, then Russell Wilson will be the Week 1 starter, Dart will take over when Wilson struggles, Tommy DeVito will be the scout team QB, and there will be no need to keep Winston.

▪ Jaguars LB Devin Lloyd: The Jaguars traded up ahead of the Patriots in 2022 to draft Lloyd, resulting in guard Cole Strange coming to Foxborough. Lloyd has racked up 355 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 2 sacks in his career, but the Jaguars recently declined his fifth-year option, then drafted linebackers in the fourth and sixth rounds.

▪ Commanders CB Marshon Lattimore: He is expensive ($16 million) and injury prone, and the Commanders drafted cornerback Trey Amos in the second round. The Commanders probably will keep Lattimore to start the season after giving up three mid-round draft picks for him in a trade last fall. But if he can’t stay healthy or establish himself as a No. 1 corner, he might not make it the entire season.

▪ Raiders LT Kolton Miller: He’s entering the final year of his contract and has been skipping voluntary offseason workouts as he seeks a pay raise. The Raiders subsequently drafted left tackle Charles Grant in the third round. Grant hasn’t played a lot of football and probably isn’t ready to start on Day 1, but the Raiders are sending a clear signal to Miller about their long-term plans.

▪ Eagles LB Nakobe Dean: After a slow rookie season and an injury-shortened sophomore year, Dean became a big part of the Eagles’ defense last year, with 128 tackles, 3 sacks, and 1 pick. But he’s entering the final year of his rookie contract, is coming off a torn patellar tendon suffered in the playoffs, and the Eagles drafted linebacker Jihaad Campbell in the first round. Dean likely will miss the first part of the 2025 season, and maybe its entirety as he heads into free agency.

▪ Texans WR John Metchie: A second-round pick in 2022, Metchie was dealt a curveball shortly after the draft when he was diagnosed with leukemia. Metchie beat cancer and returned to the Texans in 2023, but he has struggled to make an impact, with 40 catches for 412 yards and one touchdown in two seasons. Now entering the final year of his rookie deal, Metchie’s days may be numbered as the Texans acquired Christian Kirk and drafted Jayden Higgins, Aireontae Ersery, and Jaylin Noel in the second and third rounds.

▪ Jaguars RB Travis Etienne: The 25th pick in 2022, Etienne had 2,925 total yards and 17 touchdowns in his first two seasons. But he lost the lead role to Tank Bigsby last season, finished with just 812 total yards and two touchdowns, and now the Jaguars have drafted Bhayshul Tuten in the fourth round.

▪ Browns QB Dillon Gabriel: It’s not often that a third-round pick gets put on notice by his team before he buckles his chin strap for the first time. But that’s what happened to Gabriel when the Browns drafted Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round. Although Kenny Pickett seems the odd man out, Gabriel now has to fend off a talented and popular fellow rookie for a spot on the depth chart. With Gabriel and Sanders, only one can be the QB of the future.

Jameis Winston, who played for the Browns last season, might be the odd quarterback out with the Giants.Greg Fiume/Getty

Changing their tone

League now standing with Trump

The NFL spent most of the 2017 and ’18 seasons defending itself from President Trump’s attack on players who kneeled during the national anthem. And this February during Super Bowl week, Roger Goodell said the league would be sticking by its DEI efforts, despite Trump launching a war against DEI.

But the NFL’s relationship with Trump has gotten pretty chummy. Like Columbia University and the law firm Paul, Weiss, the NFL’s new strategy appears to be to do whatever it takes to stay on Trump’s good side.

Trump’s deal with Paul Weiss, in which the prominent law firm agreed to abandon DEI efforts and provide $40 million of pro bono legal work for the White House, only happened because of the NFL. The person who reportedly brought the law firm and White House together was Patriots owner Robert Kraft, whose league employs the law firm and who is close enough to Trump that his wife was named to the board of trustees at the Kennedy Center.

The Eagles, meanwhile, have toned down their resistance to Trump. In 2018 they declined an invitation to the White House and had several players who were outspoken critics of Trump. This year the team said it was “honored” to accept (though attendance wasn’t robust), and Saquon Barkley played golf with the president.

Then there was last Monday’s announcement that the 2027 NFL Draft will be held in Washington, D.C. For reasons that remain unclear, the NFL allowed Trump to make the announcement from the White House, with Goodell, Commanders owner Josh Harris, and D.C.’s mayor Muriel Bowser on hand.

The White House probably was barely involved (if at all) in bringing the the draft, which is brokered among the league, franchises, and local governments to D.C. An NFL spokesman did not respond when asked why Trump was involved in the announcement.

Harris was particularly deferential of Trump, presenting him with a Commanders jersey with Trump and No. 47 on the back, and a personalized football honoring Donald J. Trump for “bringing the 2027 NFL Draft to the nation’s capital.”

“We wouldn’t be here without you,” Harris told Trump. “You are the ultimate commander.”

It’s a little strange seeing the NFL cozy up to Trump, who spent his entire first term bashing the NFL like a piñata. The NFL apparently has decided that kissing up is the best path to prosperity.

Commanders owner Josh Harris was particularly deferential to President Trump with the draft coming to Washington.-/For The Washington Post

Evaluation unclear

Brady stammers on Sanders

In December, Raiders owner Mark Davis said new minority owner Tom Brady was going to have a big role in the organization.

“I want Tom to have a huge voice, no question about it,” Davis said. “Obviously [finding a quarterback is] something that he’s going to be able to help us with. He might not be able to play for us, but he’ll certainly be able to help us in that.”

When the Raiders drafted North Dakota State QB Cam Miller in the sixth round (sound familiar?), it came with Brady’s stamp of approval.

“He liked the way he threw it, his technique, throwing from the ground up and his motion,” Raiders GM John Spytek told The Athletic. “And he thought he had the potential to improve.”

But when it comes to Shedeur Sanders, Brady suddenly turns to Sgt. Schultz — he sees nothing.

Appearing last week on the “Impaulsive” podcast, Brady stammered when asked why Sanders dropped to the fifth round. The Raiders signed Geno Smith this offseason, then passed on Sanders six times in the draft.

“It’s a good question,” Brady said. “I wasn’t a part of any evaluation process or to see that.”

Brady quickly changed the topic to highlight that he offered support to Sanders after his drop.

“I actually texted Shedeur because I know him very well,” Brady said. “And I said, ‘Dude, like, whatever happens, wherever you go, like, that’s your first day. Day 2 matters more than the draft. I was 199. Yeah. So, who could speak on it better than me, like, what that really means? Use it as motivation. You’re going to get your chances. Go take advantage of it.‘ ”

Raiders owner Mark Davis (left) said Tom Brady will be crucial in finding the team’s next quarterback, but Brady didn’t have much to say about Sheuder Sanders.Ethan Miller/Getty

Tucker got the boot

Ravens needed to cover themselves

In one of the least surprising moves of the offseason, the Ravens released 13-year kicker Justin Tucker this past week. Tucker, a five-time first team All-Pro and the NFL’s all-time leader in field goal percentage (89.1), is under investigation by the league after 16 massage therapists accused him of inappropriate conduct. The Ravens drafted kicker Tyler Loop in the sixth round, foretelling Tucker’s release.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh and GM Eric DeCosta, though, both made a point to say releasing Tucker was a “football decision.” Indeed, this move is easy to justify in football terms. Tucker, 35, had a sharp decline in 2024, ranking 28th among kickers with a 73.3 field goal percentage (22 of 30). In 2023, Tucker ranked only 15th (86.5).

But it would be naive to accept that Tucker’s off-field conduct had nothing to do with the release. Most likely, the Ravens are protecting themselves from liability — releasing Tucker for non-football reasons potentially could be a violation of the collective bargaining agreement. There is no way to prove that Tucker’s release wasn’t strictly about football.

Justin Tucker is under investigation by the NFL after 16 massage therapists accused him of inappropriate conduct.Kyusung Gong/Associated Press

Ram tough

Stafford wanted to stay in LA

Matthew Stafford dominated the early part of the offseason when he flirted with trade suitors, most notably the Raiders, before agreeing on a revised contract with the Rams. But Stafford apparently wasn’t too serious about leaving Los Angeles, because he didn’t get much from the Rams.

Stafford did get a raise from $27 million to $44 million for 2025, and from $31 million to $40 million for 2026. But his salary next season doesn’t become guaranteed until the fifth day of the 2026 league year (next March). So the Rams still control Stafford’s fate, and if Stafford wants to keep playing, the sides will do the same dance all over again.

Stafford, 37, apparently is fine going year to year with the Rams, even if it means giving up some control to the team.

Rams quarterbacks Matthew Stafford dominated the early part of the offseason when he flirted with trade suitors.Eric Thayer/Associated Press

Schedule release

It will come out in drips

The drip-drip-drip of the NFL schedule release begins Monday morning when NBC, Fox, and Amazon will announce select games that will air on its networks. ESPN will announce its marquee games Tuesday morning, and CBS and Netflix will reveal its top games Wednesday morning, before the entire schedule is released Wednesday evening.

The NFL also will announce this year’s slate of international games Tuesday morning on NFL Network. The home teams for the six international games are: Jets (London), Browns (London), Jaguars (London), Dolphins (Madrid), Steelers (Dublin), Chargers (Sao Paolo). The Patriots only are candidates to play the Jets or Dolphins, and neither seems likely.

A message for high school players and parents: Don’t stop chasing your dreams if the college recruiting process doesn’t go as hoped. In this year’s NFL Draft, 21 players were selected who were rated as “no-star” recruits coming out of high school, per The Athletic’s draft guide by Dane Brugler. That includes Seahawks first-round center Grey Zabel, Browns second-round linebacker Carson Schwesinger, Packers second-round offensive tackle Anthony Belton, Lions third-round receiver Isaac TeSlaa, and Giants fourth-round running back Cam Skattebo … The Giants should have been the ones to tell first-round pick Abdul Carter to get his own jersey number instead of letting him ask Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms if he could wear Nos. 56 or 11, which are retired. It’s not fair to put it on Taylor and Simms to be the bad guys and tell Carter no. … Patriots second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson and third-round pick Kyle Williams have been invited to Los Angeles next week for the NFL Players Association’s Rookie Premiere, but first-round pick Will Campbell was not. That’s because the NFLPA primarily invites offensive skill players to the “business immersion” event where they will engage with brands such as Fanatics, EA Sports, New Era, and Panini America. Of the 42 invitees, the only non-offensive skill players are pass rushers Carter and Mykel Williams … Tom Brady drafted a Julian Edelman clone in Montana State’s Tommy Mellott, the 213th pick in the sixth round. Mellott, who measured a tick under 6 feet at his Pro Day, was a dual-threat quarterback in college, but will be transitioning to wide receiver, punt returner, kick coverage, and maybe even defense. “I wouldn’t pigeonhole him right now,” Raiders college scouting director Brandon Yeargan said, via the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We’re looking [at him] really as an athlete/receiver, but he’s a unique guy.” … Saquon Barkley defended the Tush Push again, telling ESPN last week, “If you don’t like it, get better at stopping it.” Except the NFL is on the verge of banning the Tush Push, and all pushing plays, when the NFL owners convene for their next meetings May 20-21 … Retired pass rusher Carl Nassib, who in 2021 with the Raiders became the first active NFL player to come out as gay, shared a funny anecdote last week on The Pivot podcast. Playing the Browns in 2020, before he came out, Nassib got playfully mad at his former teammates for calling three straight bootlegs to the opposite side of the field. “I said, ‘Stop the gay [expletive] bootlegs!’” Nassib said. “The entire Browns O-line turned around and said, ‘You can’t say that!’ And I was like, ‘Oh man, the league is ready for this. They are ready for me. We got some allies here.’ ”

Eagles running back Saqupon Barkley defended the tush push, saying opponents should get better at stopping it rather than eliminate it.Chris Szagola/Associated Press

Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.