{"id":788864,"date":"2026-03-03T11:13:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T11:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/788864\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T11:13:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T11:13:20","slug":"nfc-free-agency-rumors-mike-evans-jacoby-brissett-rico-dowdle-buccaneers-falcons-panthers-saints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/788864\/","title":{"rendered":"NFC Free Agency Rumors: Mike Evans, Jacoby Brissett, Rico Dowdle, Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers, Saints"},"content":{"rendered":"

ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler<\/a> reports that Buccaneers WR Mike Evans<\/a> plans to be picky about which teams he\u2019ll consider, with a list of criteria that includes\u00a0a quarterback he believes in, a chance at a Super Bowl, a top-shelf offensive coordinator and the promise of high-volume touches.\u00a0
\nTampa Bay checks a lot of those boxes and Fowler says the Bucs will make a hard run at keeping Evans. They met with his agent this past Thursday.\u00a0
\nIn his Combine rumors notebook, NBC Sports\u2019 Matthew Berry<\/a> notes he got the sense at the Combine that the Buccaneers were bracing for Evans to leave.\u00a0
\nESPN\u2019s Dan Graziano<\/a> says the Buccaneers will work hard to upgrade at edge rusher this offseason and see it as a big priority.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano<\/a> expect Falcons LB Kaden Elliss<\/a> to be among the three highest-paid linebackers in free agency. They also add RB Tyler Allgeier<\/a> will be targeted by teams looking for running back help that don\u2019t want to spend at the top of the market or get edged out.\u00a0
\nBen Volin<\/a> of the Boston Globe reports the Falcons checked in with the Cardinals about trading for QB Jacoby Brissett<\/a>.
\nIn his Combine rumors notebook, NBC Sports\u2019 Matthew Berry<\/a> heard the Falcons could be in play for Cardinals QB Kyler Murray<\/a> as well. He\u2019s heard Atlanta connected to Bengals QB Joe Flacco<\/a> in a reunion with HC Kevin Stefanski, too.<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Dan Graziano<\/a> does not expect the Panthers to rush to sign a running back if they don\u2019t re-sign RB Rico Dowdle<\/a>, pointing out there\u2019s some optimism about a backfield that includes Chuba Hubbard<\/a>, Trevor Etienne<\/a> and Jonathon Brooks<\/a>, the latter of whom ran 21 miles per hour on the treadmill in a recent workout.\u00a0
\nESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler<\/a> says not to be surprised if the Panthers are active on defense for the second straight year in free agency, noting edge rusher, linebacker and slot corner are needs Carolina wants to address. He mentions Jaguars LB Devin Lloyd<\/a> as a potential big splash option.\u00a0
\nPanthers C Cade Mays<\/a> is a buzzy name heading into free agency and could reach $8 million per year on his next contract, per Fowler and Graziano.
\nPer Joseph Person of The Athletic<\/a>, Panthers GM Dan Morgan<\/a> was clear about their intent to improve the LB position this offseason: \u201cIn terms of free agency and the draft, that\u2019s a position that we\u2019ll try to attack. We\u2019re looking for guys who are leaders, who are playmakers, who are culture-fits for us. So we\u2019re excited about attacking that and putting the work in.\u201d
\nPerson says several people around the league think Carolina will be in \u201cattack mode\u201d to improve their entire front seven, not just the LB room. Person mentions some have predicted the Panthers will sign a \u201cprominent linebacker\u201d in free agency.
\nHe mentioned the Panthers have given DT A\u2019Shawn Robinson<\/a> permission to seek a trade and the expectation is Robinson will be released if a trade partner doesn\u2019t emerge.\u00a0
\nWith the Panthers expected to move on from backup QB Andy Dalton<\/a>, Person names guys like Tyler Huntley<\/a>, Trey Lance<\/a>, Zach Wilson<\/a> and Kenny Pickett<\/a> as younger options to work behind Bryce Young<\/a>.\u00a0
\nPerson believes Carolina will spend a lot of time on the offensive line this offseason, specifically at tackle. He thinks they will draft their first OL since Morgan took over, but it will be best player available in round one.\u00a0
\nRegarding the center position, Person says Austin Corbett<\/a> is not expected back, while Mays is going to be allowed to test the market. Person believes Carolina wants to retain Mays, but other teams might be willing to drive the price tag too high.\u00a0
\nPerson says \u201cthe only way\u201d Dowdle returns to the Panthers is if his market crashes, as it\u2019s likely someone else will pay him more than Carolina.\u00a0
\nWith HC Dave Canales giving playcalling to OC Brad Idzik, a veteran coach told Person the move adds job security for Canales if the season doesn\u2019t trend in the right direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his Combine rumors notebook, NBC Sports\u2019 Matthew Berry<\/a> heard that the Saints expect to be able to trade QB Derek Carr<\/a> to the Jets at some point in the coming months.\u00a0
\nJaguars RB Travis Etienne<\/a> was connected to the Saints by someone at the Combine as well, per Berry.<\/p>\n

Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?<\/p>\n

Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors<\/a> on X.com<\/a>\u00a0and FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler reports that Buccaneers WR Mike Evans plans to be picky about which teams he\u2019ll consider,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":788865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2077],"tags":[27672,10122,22657,23681,211,10418,3838,496,5412,7,7523,562,8811,11415,570,700,6,7152,704,250,2597,2596,2721,11410,1762,1733],"class_list":{"0":"post-788864","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","8":"tag-ashawn-robinson","9":"tag-andy-dalton","10":"tag-austin-corbett","11":"tag-brad-idzik","12":"tag-buccaneers","13":"tag-cade-mays","14":"tag-dave-canales","15":"tag-derek-carr","16":"tag-devin-lloyd","17":"tag-football","18":"tag-jacoby-brissett","19":"tag-joe-flacco","20":"tag-jonathon-brooks","21":"tag-kaden-elliss","22":"tag-kenny-pickett","23":"tag-mike-evans","24":"tag-nfl","25":"tag-rico-dowdle","26":"tag-tampa-bay","27":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","28":"tag-tampabay","29":"tag-tampabaybuccaneers","30":"tag-trey-lance","31":"tag-tyler-allgeier","32":"tag-tyler-huntley","33":"tag-zach-wilson"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116164952446362220","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/788865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}