Fifth-year options: Browns pass on commitment to Kenny Pickett

Deadline day for teams to exercise the fifth-year option clause in contracts of 2022 first-round picks provided clarity Thursday for multiple players who've changed teams since they turned pro.

Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett, set to play for his third team in 13 months, will not have his fifth-year option worth $22.117 million for the 2026 season picked up by Cleveland. Barring a new contract, Pickett would become a free agent in March 2026.

He's owed $2.62 million in 2025 as part of an overcrowded depth chart. The Browns have added veteran free agent Joe Flacco and drafted Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders since acquiring Pickett from the Philadelphia Eagles. An injured Deshaun Watson also remains on the roster.

Pickett was the 20th overall pick in 2022 and spent the first two seasons of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

--Jaguars exercise option on No. 1 pick Travon Walker, decline LB Devin Lloyd's

The first pick in the 2022 draft, defensive end Travon Walker, won't be a free agent after the season. The Jaguars exercised his option for 2026 worth $14.4 million.0

Walker doesn't turn 25 until December and was 12th in the NFL with 10.5 sacks in 2024. He has 24 sacks in 49 career games.

The Jaguars did not pick up the 2026 option year in linebacker Devin Lloyd's contract. The 27th overall pick led the team with 113 tackles in 2024 and has 355 total tackles in three NFL seasons.

Both players were drafted under a different regime headed by personnel decision-maker Trent Baalke. James Gladstone, 34, was named Jacksonville's general manager in February. He announced the team would pick up Walker's option on April 7.

Jacksonville traded up from the No. 1 pick in the second round in 2022 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to select Lloyd with the 27th pick.

Walker, 24, signed a four-year deal worth $37.4 million in 2022. The fully guaranteed pact included a bonus of $24.4 million.

--Titans want to see more from WR Treylon Burks

Recovering from a season-ending ACL injury in October, wide receiver Treylon Burks is entering a prove-it year in more ways than one.

While hoping to be on the field for the start of the regular season, Burks, 25, will be in the final year of his four-year rookie contract in 2025. His fifth-year option for 2026 was declined by the Titans on Thursday.

In three seasons in the NFL, Burks has 53 receptions for 699 yards and one touchdown in 27 games. He has yet to play more than 11 games in a season and posted a career-best 33 receptions as a rookie in 2022. He has 20 receptions in 16 games since then.

The Titans are set to pair Burks with another quarterback, No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, after using Ryan Tannehill, Will Levis and Mason Rudolph the past two seasons.

The final first-round selection under former GM Jon Robinson, Burks was drafted with the first-round pick (18th overall) the Titans received from the Eagles for wide receiver A.J. Brown.

--Eagles not exercising options on WR Jahan Dotson, OG Kenyon Green

The Philadelphia Eagles are not picking up the options for wide receiver Jahan Doston and guard Kenyon Green.

Both players were acquired via trade.

Green, the 15th pick in the 2022 draft by the Texans, was acquired from Houston on March 11 with the Eagles sending safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson in return.

Dotson, the No. 16 selection by the Washington Commanders, was acquired during training camp last summer in a trade involving draft picks. He was seventh on the team with 19 receptions in 2024.

The Eagles did not have to make a decision on picking up the option year in Lewis Cine's contract. The 32nd pick of the Vikings was released by Minnesota before the start of the 2024 season and joined the Eagles.

--Packers exercise option for DT Devonte Wyatt, decline LB Quay Walker's

The Green Bay Packers are picking up defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt's fifth-year option but not linebacker Quay Walker's, multiple outlets reported.

Wyatt, the 28th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, will earn a guaranteed $13.922 million in 2026. Walker, picked 22nd, would have been owed $14.751 million.

Wyatt, 27, has recorded 12.0 sacks, 74 tackles and three fumble recoveries in 47 games (five starts).

Walker, who turns 25 next week, has collected 341 tackles, 6.5 sacks and one interception in 44 games (43 starts).

General manager Brian Gutekunst has said he hopes to reach a contract extension with Walker to keep him on the roster in 2026 and beyond.

--Patriots pass on option for OL Cole Strange

The New England Patriots are not picking up their 2026 option for offensive lineman Cole Strange, multiple outlets reported.

The fifth-year option would have paid him a guaranteed $16.8 million in 2026.

Strange, 26, has appeared in 30 games (29 starts) since the Patriots selected him with the 29th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Strange missed the end of the 2023 season and the first three months of the 2024 campaign with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee.

--Field Level Media