Minor NFL Transactions: 5/27/26
Wednesday’s minor NFL transactions:
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Jackson Sirmon
- Waived: CB Jeremiah McClendon
New York Jets
- Signed: T Courtland Ford
- Waived: LB Kendrick Blackshire
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Brandon Hayes
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: WR Trayvon Rudolph
It’s a family reunion in New Orleans, where Sirmon will join the position room coached by his father, Saints linebackers coach Peter Sirmon. The two worked together in a similar manner when Peter served as inside linebackers coach and defensive coordinator at Cal. Jackson spent the first two years of his career on the Jets’ practice squad as an undrafted free agent and will now head to New Orleans for Year 3.
After trading for wide receiver/special teamer Irv Charles earlier today, the Seahawks have waived Rudolph, an undrafted rookie, to make room on the roster.
Bolts, Derwin James Agree To Extension
MAY 27: Of James’ $57.5MM guarantee, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes $44MM is guaranteed at signing. That covers the deal’s first two years. James received early protection on 2028, however, with Florio adding $13.5MM of James’ $24.6MM salary is guaranteed for injury at signing. That will shift to a full guarantee in March 2027.
The early guarantee date virtually ensures James will remain with the Chargers through at least the 2028 season. His 2029 salary ($21.5MM) is nonguaranteed, but a 90-man roster bonus of $3MM will be due that year.
MAY 26: Derwin James has once again reset the safeties market. The Chargers star defender has agreed to an extension that will make him the highest-paid player at his position, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
James is getting a three-year, $75.6MM deal, per Rapoport. The contract includes $57.5MM in guaranteed money, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton set the positional market last offseason when he inked a deal worth $25.1MM per season. James just topped that mark, with his new deal coming in at a $25.2MM AAV. James was set to enter the final season of the four-year, $76.5MM extension he signed with the Chargers back in 2022, and he was scheduled to earn $17.5MM for 2026 with a cap hit of $24.61MM. That previous contract once made James the highest-paid safety in NFL history. The veteran has once again set a new benchmark at the position.
The 17th-overall pick in the 2018 draft, James has emerged as one of the best defenders in Chargers history. He’s earned five All-Pro nods through his first eight seasons. That includes a 2025 campaign where he earned a second-team spot after finishing with 94 tackles, two sacks, seven passes defended, and three interceptions. For his efforts, Pro Football Focus ranked James ninth among 91 qualifying safeties.
We heard just yesterday that the Chargers were prioritizing an extension for their defensive cornerstone, with general manager Joe Hortiz making it clear that they wanted James in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future. The 29-year-old also drew praise from his head coach, with Jim Harbaugh describing James as “the best safety I’ve ever seen in the history of the National Football League” (per Schefter).
The extension for Jim Harbaugh’s top DB comes several months after John Harbaugh‘s then-charge (Kyle Hamilton) raised the bar for the safety market. The Ravens gave Hamilton a four-year, $100.4MM extension in August. Prior to that point, no safety had ever seen an AAV north of $21.5MM. Hamilton’s windfall set the table for James, who will benefit from the latest NFL cap spike. Hortiz was in the Ravens’ front office when Hamilton was drafted, making it not especially surprising to see his new team prioritize the safety position to this degree.
James’ deal towers over the rest of the Bolts’ secondary contracts. No other Charger DB is tied to a contract worth $7MM per year, with its longtime anchor now tied to an accord worth more than quadruple per annum than any of his secondary mates. The Chargers also carried more than $43MM in cap space entering Tuesday, opening a window for James’ second extension.
James is now several years removed from his injury issues, having played 16 games in each of the past three seasons. The Chargers will bet on the Florida State alum, whose standout play certainly boosted now-Ravens HC Jesse Minter‘s stock over the past two years, going into his 30s.
With James now locked in for the next few seasons, the Chargers can turn their attention to other extension-eligible players. That includes edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu, who Hortiz also mentioned as a candidate for a new deal.
Bills Sign LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
A part-time starter for the Giants and 49ers over the past two seasons, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles found a new home Wednesday. The Bills signed the veteran linebacker to a one-year deal.
The former San Francisco UDFA joins a Buffalo team that has not re-signed Matt Milano or Shaq Thompson. To make room on their 90-man offseason roster, the Bills waived wide receiver Max Tomczak. The nephew of former NFL QB Mike Tomczak, Max joined the Bills as a UDFA this month.
[RELATED: Bills Sign DE Mike Danna]
Flannigan-Fowles joined the Giants on a one-year, $1.34MM deal. Wednesday’s signing will reunite Flannigan-Fowles with 2025 position coach John Egorugwu, who returned to Buffalo this offseason after four seasons on New York’s staff. The Giants used Flannigan-Fowles as a three-game starter last year, and he played 36% of the team’s defensive snaps. That represented a career-high usage rate on defense for the Arizona alum.
Making 33 tackles (three for loss) and registering a sack last season, Flannigan-Fowles is still probably better remembered for his lengthy Bay Area stay. The 49ers used Flannigan-Fowles as a Week 1 starter in 2024, with Dre Greenlaw on the mend from his Super Bowl LVIII Achilles tear, and he made seven starts for the team from 2020-24.
Flannigan-Fowles, 29, has been a regular on special teams throughout his career. He saw action on at least 63% of the 49ers’ ST plays from 2020-23. That may be his Bills role, as the AFC playoff bastion returns regulars Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams. The team also rosters Buffalo native Joe Andreessen as a backup option while also bringing in fourth-round pick Kaleb Elarms-Orr out of TCU.
Chargers Expect Rashawn Slater, Joe Alt To Be Ready For Training Camp
Last season provided the Chargers with another round of high-profile injury trouble, with the tackle position seeing the most significant setbacks. Rashawn Slater missed the full season, while Joe Alt played only six games. Their absences could certainly be felt in a season-ending loss to the Patriots.
But the team is trending toward having both its starting tackles available by training camp. Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday (via The Athletic’s Daniel Popper) it is looking like both players will be ready for the start of camp. Both participated in OTAs today as well, according to ESPN.com’s Kris Rhim. This came weeks after GM Joe Hortiz proclaimed the tandem ahead of schedule.
Slater suffered a patellar tendon tear days after signing a record-setting tackle extension (four years, $114MM), representing important timing for the Pro Bowl blocker on the contract front. Alt slid to left tackle, his primary college position, but ran into health trouble early in the season. missing time with a high ankle sprain. Although Alt returned to action, he aggravated the issue and ended up undergoing season-ending surgery to address it.
The Chargers traded for two tackles between August and the November deadline, acquiring Austin Deculus and Trevor Penning. The latter, a former Saints first-round pick, re-signed with the team on a one-year deal worth $3.5MM. Penning is expected to be part of the Bolts’ left guard competition, though he could also provide important tackle depth.
Slater is entering his sixth NFL season and has dealt with two significant injuries. He missed 14 games in 2022 because of a biceps tendon tear. The Northwestern product still has two Pro Bowls on his resume, including a 2024 invite, and is one of the NFL’s top tackles. Chosen fifth overall and immediately moved to right tackle, Alt missed one game as a rookie and 11 last year. The Chargers still have Trey Pipkins rostered and used a fourth-round pick on Travis Burke at the position.
As the team hopes to give Justin Herbert premier protection on the edges, Tyler Biadasz and Cole Strange are set to respectively line up at center and right guard. Second-round pick Jake Slaughter, a three-year center for the Gators, is vying for the team’s left guard job. Slaughter rotated in at OTAs today, per Rhim, but free agency addition Kayode Awosika received the first reps. Awosika, who is tied to a one-year deal worth $2MM ($300K guaranteed), started 11 games for the Lions over the past four seasons.
The Chargers are set to trot out five new O-line starters compared to their configuration in the wild-card round, with a Slater-Slaughter-Biadasz-Strange-Alt quintet presumably where the team wants to be by Week 1. Pipkins, Penning and Awosika present experienced depth options as well.
Slater’s injury history is a concern at this point, but the Chargers are hoping the 27-year-old blocker can stay on the field and form a high-end tackle combo with Alt. The latter will become extension-eligible in 2027.
Jets To Sign K Younghoe Koo
The Jets are adding another option to their kicking competition. Younghoe Koo will stay in New York and join the city’s AFC team, according to SNY’s Connor Hughes.
A longtime Falcons option, Koo spent part of last season with the Giants after his Atlanta release. Koo joins Cade York and Lenny Krieg, the latter having been in a kicking competition with Koo in Atlanta during the 2025 offseason, on the Jets’ 90-man roster.
Kicking in five Giants games last season, Koo is certainly better remembered for his Falcons stay. The South Korea native played parts of seven seasons with Atlanta and opened last year as the team’s kicker. The Falcons cut Koo after he struggled in Week 1, however, and he did not see regular-season action again until November. Koo, 31, finished 6-for-9 on field goal tries as a Giant last season. He missed both his attempts from 50-plus yards.
The Giants waived Koo after he missed two 50-plus-yarders in a December loss to the Commanders. Koo tried out for the Saints earlier this month but was not signed. A Jets team that lost Nick Folk to the Falcons in free agency will give Koo a shot after adding both York and Krieg this offseason. Krieg joined the Jets on a futures deal in January, while York signed a one-year deal in March. No guarantees are present on York’s contract, opening up this competition. The Jets waived kicker Will Ferrin earlier this month.
Despite York arriving nearly three months before Koo, the latter certainly has a better NFL track record. Koo earned Pro Bowl recognition in 2020 and signed a five-year, $24.25MM extension in 2022. Koo made more than 93% of his field goal attempts in 2020 and ’21, leading the Falcons to their long-term investment, and nailed 86.5% of his tries in 2022 and ’23. In 2024, however, Koo hit just 73.5% of his tries. This came for a team primarily playing indoors.
Struggling over the past two years — which included a viral moment when a Monday-night FG attempt featured the veteran missing the ball entirely — Koo will have a rebound opportunity in a competition without another experienced option.
Cowboys Move WR Parris Campbell To Reserve/Retired List
Parris Campbell agreed to terms on a reserve/futures deal to stay in Dallas in January. Four-plus months later, the former second-round pick looks to be leaving the sport.
The Cowboys moved Campbell to the reserve/retired list Wednesday, The Athletic’s Jon Machota tweets. The former Colts draftee spent the past three seasons in the NFC East — 2023 with the Giants, 2024 with the Eagles and 2025 with the Cowboys — but had been unable to make an impact. The Ohio State product will walk away after seven NFL seasons.
Signing a rookie deal worth just more than $4.7MM, Campbell nearly matched that with a one-year Giants contract in 2023. But a steady role eluded him in New York. The former Indianapolis slot receiver was on Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LIX-winning roster, playing in three Eagles playoff games (including the Super Bowl rout of the Chiefs), but was attached to veteran-minimum deals (or close to it) over his last two seasons.
Although Campbell did not catch a pass in Super Bowl LIX, he saw action on 16 offensive plays. The Eagles did not re-sign him following that conquest, and he made his way to Dallas soon after. The Cowboys signed Campbell to a one-year, $1.34MM deal in March 2025 but released him from IR with an injury settlement in August. Campbell, however, returned to the team in September and played one final game.
Campbell’s career will be best remember for a four-year Indianapolis stay. The Colts added him with the No. 59 overall pick in 2019, but injuries interrupted attempts to become a complementary piece around T.Y. Hilton (and then Michael Pittman Jr.). A knee injury preceded Campbell breaking his hand and foot as a rookie. A PCL injury then occurred in September 2020, ending Campbell’s second season. Campbell underwent foot surgery in October 2021; over his first three seasons, the slot player missed 34 games.
The 2022 season proved pivotal for Campbell. He returned to action and did not miss a game. While the Colts flatlined during their Matt Ryan–Jeff Saturday season, Campbell finished with 63 catches for 623 yards and three touchdowns. Those contributions prompted a one-year, $4.7MM Giants offer. The 6-foot pass catcher did not pan out in New York, ending his lone Giants season as a healthy scratch, that season provided a notable bump in career earnings.
The Akron, Ohio, native totaled 1,063 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior with the Buckeyes, outpacing teammate Terry McLaurin that season. Campbell, 28, will retire with 123 NFL receptions for 1,117 yards and six scores. He earned just more than $10MM in seven seasons.
Giants Sign Round 1 OL Francis Mauigoa
Making two top-10 picks for the second time in five drafts, the Giants ended up with Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa. Reese has not yet signed his rookie contract, but Mauigoa put pen to paper Wednesday.
The former Miami tackle will be tied to a fully guaranteed four-year deal (worth $30.96MM) as the No. 10 overall pick. All first-round deals since 2011 have included a fifth-year option. The Giants are planning to begin Mauigoa’s career at guard, having re-signed right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor to go with All-Pro Andrew Thomas. Reese is now the Giants’ only unsigned draftee.
[RELATED: Analyzing Giants’ Position Decisions For First-Rounders]
New York acquired the No. 10 overall pick from Cincinnati in the pre-draft Dexter Lawrence blockbuster. While the Giants were connected to a handful of players with their two first-rounders, few expected the Reese-Mauigoa duo to materialize. Tied to Caleb Downs — a player who would have given John Harbaugh a potential impact safety along the lines of Kyle Hamilton — the Giants instead bolstered their O-line at No. 10 despite having re-signed Eluemunor to a three-year, $39MM deal in March. Downs went to the Cowboys one pick later.
Although the Browns considered Mauigoa at No. 9, they chose Utah’s Spencer Fano. That left the Miami product for the Giants, who have chosen a Miami O-lineman in the first round for the second time since 2015. New York did not see former No. 9 overall pick Ereck Flowers pan out, though he had some success as a guard later in his career. Mauigoa worked primarily as the Hurricanes’ right tackle, and while he certainly could become the team’s post-Eluemunor starter there, a guard transition is on tap first. Mauigoa is expected to line up at right guard, where veteran Greg Van Roten played over the past two seasons.
Mauigoa did not miss a snap at Miami, but some teams viewed him as a medical risk due to a back issue. Some clubs believed Mauigoa would need back surgery at some point, but the Giants will move forward with the high-profile prospect. Ely Allen’s PFR mock draft sent Mauigoa to the Giants at No. 5 — before the Lawrence trade was agreed to — and post-draft reporting indicated the team would have pulled the trigger there had Reese been off the board.
Earning first-team All-ACC honors in 2025, Mauigoa helped Miami make a surprise run to the CFP championship game last season. The acclaimed RT garnered second-team All-ACC honors in 2024 and freshman All-America accolades in 2023. The Giants have struggled to find long-term guard answers for more than a decade now, and while Mauigoa may be moved to RT at some point during his rookie contract, he will be asked to fill a void at RG for the time being.
Giants Sign DT Josh Tupou
The Giants worked out free agent Eddie Goldman on Tuesday, but they are now signing a different defensive tackle. The team has agreed to a deal with Josh Tupou, Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com reports. The move will reunite the ex-Raven with head coach John Harbaugh.
The 6-foot-3, 350-pound Tupou spent most of the past two years on the Ravens’ practice squad. He appeared in six regular-season games in that span and recorded eight tackles and a sack.
Since Tupou entered the NFL undrafted in 2017, the majority of his experience has come with one of the Ravens’ AFC North rivals, the Bengals. As a member of the organization through 2023, the Colorado product was teammates with defensive tackle D.J. Reader for four years. The Giants signed Reader earlier this month.
Tupou played just seven games in his first two seasons, but he took on a much bigger role in the Bengals’ defense beginning in 2019. He started seven of 16 games that year and notched a career-high 27 tackles. While Tupou opted out of 2020 over COVID concerns, he returned to play a full 17-game slate the next year and pick up nine starts during an AFC title-winning season for Cincinnati. He played just 11 games in 2022, but Tupou registered 19 tackles and the first two sacks of his career then. In total, he has 94 tackles and three sacks in his 71-game, 23-start career.
For the Giants, the Tupou signing comes less than a week after Roy Robertson-Harris tore his Achilles in practice. Robertson-Harris’ season is already over, adding another question mark along the Giants’ interior line. He was a full-time starter last year, as was Dexter Lawrence, but the Giants traded the latter to the Bengals for the 10th overall pick in April’s draft. They will expect Reader and fellow established free agent signing Shelby Harris to help pick up the slack. Tupou, 2025 third-rounder Darius Alexander, Zacch Pickens, Leki Fotu, Sam Roberts and rookie sixth-rounder Bobby Jamison-Travis represent several of their other options.
Packers’ Micah Parsons Likely To Begin Camp On PUP; Latest On Tucker Kraft
With the goal of pushing for a Super Bowl championship in 2025, the Packers pulled off a blockbuster Micah Parsons trade with the Cowboys last August. After giving up two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark for Parsons, the Packers immediately handed the superstar outside linebacker a four-year, $188MM contract extension.
For most of last season, betting big on Parsons worked out for Green Bay. The all-world edge rusher racked up 12.5 sacks through 14 games, giving him at least a dozen in all five of his NFL seasons, but a Week 15 torn ACL brought a devastating end to his year. The Packers, who fell to the Broncos that day and dropped to 9-4-1, never recovered. They lost out in Parsons’ absence, limped into the playoffs at 9-7-1 and then squandered a 21-3 lead against the Bears in a 31-27 wild-card round loss.
The Packers could avoid a similar fate in 2026 if Parsons returns to full strength, though there is a good chance he will miss some portion of the season. The perennial Pro Bowler and All-Pro is a candidate to begin the year on the reserve/PUP list, which would require him to sit out at least four games. Parsons will only be eligible for reserve/PUP if he spends all of training camp and the preseason on active/PUP. Head coach Matt LaFleur said Wednesday that he does indeed expect Parsons to open camp on active/PUP, Ryan Wood of USA Today reports.
Leaving Parsons on active/PUP for the summer would enable the Packers to avoid placing him on injured reserve. Teams are only allowed eight IR activations during the season. Players who are activated from reserve/PUP don’t count toward that total. As PFR’s Sam Robinson previously noted, the Packers took that route with injured wide receiver Christian Watson last year. It seems likely they will do the same with Parsons, who said back in January he does not expect to go on IR. If he does miss four games on reserve/PUP, Parsons would sit out matchups against Minnesota, the Jets, Atlanta and Tampa Bay. The Vikings, Falcons and Buccaneers may push for playoff spots, but that is hardly a murderer’s row of opponents. Aside from the Bucs (Baker Mayfield), all of those teams have shaky quarterback situations.
Losing Parsons wasn’t the only crushing injury blow to the Packers in 2025. They also saw standout tight end Tucker Kraft go down with a torn ACL in a Week 9 loss to the Panthers. Having suffered his knee injury six weeks before Parsons, Kraft is naturally ahead in his recovery. LaFleur said he is hopeful Kraft will be ready for camp, though no decision has been made yet.
With 32 catches, 489 yards and six touchdowns in eight games, Kraft was easily on pace for a career year before it ended prematurely. He is set to play the final season of his four-year rookie contract in 2026, but general manager Brian Gutekunst has publicly identified Kraft as an extension candidate. If the Packers are confident in Kraft’s health, a lucrative agreement could come together in the next few months.
Packers RB Josh Jacobs Arrested
MAY 27: Jacobs will be released from jail on Wednesday, Schneidman reports. No formal charges have been filed yet, but that could change. In its official statement, the Brown County District Attorney’s Office announced: “After reviewing the available evidence in this case, the Brown County District Attorney’s Office is not yet prepared to make a formal charging decision. Our office has requested additional investigation, as there is reason to believe that additional evidence may exist that would impact whether criminal charges are appropriate, and what charges would be issued.”
MAY 26: Packers running back Josh Jacobs was arrested today and booked on five charges, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic.
The charges include battery/domestic abuse, criminal damage to property/domestic abuse, disorderly conduct/domestic abuse, strangulation and suffocation, and intimidation of a victim. The strangulation charge is a felony, with the other four charges being misdemeanors. Jacobs has denied the allegations.
According to the release from the Hobart/Lawrence, Wisconsin police department (via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport), the arrest stems from a “disturbance complaint” involving Jacobs that took place on Saturday. Jacobs turned himself in today.
“Josh vehemently denies the allegations, and this matter is in the early stages of investigation with important evidence that has not yet been made public,” the player’s attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, said in a statement (via Rapoport). “We ask for fairness and restraint while the judicial process takes its course.”
The Packers also released a statement (via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero):
“We are aware of the matter involving Josh Jacobs. As it is an ongoing legal situation, we will withhold further comment.”
The NFL released a similar statement (via Pelissero):
“We are aware of the report and have been in contact with the club.”
Following a five-year stint with the Raiders to begin his career, Jacobs inked a four-year, $48MM contract with the Packers ahead of the 2024 season. Through his first two years in Green Bay, the veteran has compiled 2,882 yards from scrimmage and 30 total touchdowns.
From a football standpoint, Jacobs will be subject to the league’s personal conduct policy. After losing Emanuel Wilson in free agency, the team’s depth behind their RB1 currently consists of Chris Brooks, MarShawn Lloyd, Pierre Strong, Damien Martinez, and UDFA Jaden Nixon.