HEADLINES

Bears DE Austin Booker Primed For Breakout Season

July 9th, 2025 at 8:26pm CST by Ely Allen

Chicago’s biggest free agent signings this offseason were on their defensive and offensive fronts. Defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, and center Drew Dalman all earned three-year contracts with values north of $40MM. Odeyingbo will now line up across from Montez Sweat on the ends of the defensive line, which will force a promising second-year player to come off the bench in his sophomore campaign.

According to Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic, Austin Booker is primed for a breakout season in 2025. A fifth-round rookie last year, Booker didn’t get any starts in his first season, but he became an important member of the defensive line rotation early and often throughout the year. In the first half of the season, he frequently was on the field for a third of the team’s defensive snaps, twice seeing the field for nearly half of the defense’s snaps. In his limited time, he tallied 1.5 sacks, four quarterback hits, and three tackles for loss.

Booker benefits most from a lack of depth at the position. Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and second-round rookie Shemar Turner both have the flexibility to kick outside in bigger formations, but behind Sweat and Odeyingbo, Booker is competing with Dominique Robinson, Xavier Carlton, Daniel Hardy, and Jamree Kromah. Robinson has more experience than Booker, but in three years, he’s struggled to stay on the field and struggled to make an impact whenever he is available. Carlton is impressive but has much to prove as an undrafted free agent rookie, Hardy was a special teamer for most of last year, and Kromah was an undrafted rookie last year who failed to ever see the field.

While Booker didn’t jump off the stat sheet as a rookie, he showed lots of promise. With a lack of serious competition behind him, Booker is primed to enter the training camp as the first defensive end off the bench. If he can hold that position going into the regular season, the 22-year-old should have plenty of opportunities to get on the field in Year 2.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/9/25

July 9th, 2025 at 6:39pm CST by Ely Allen

It’s been a while, but we have a minor NFL transaction today:

Miami Dolphins

At the beginning of the month, we saw news that the Dolphins intended to trade for the retired Giants tight end, with the official transaction going through on Monday. Waller pushes the Dolphins’ roster to 91 players, so a corresponding move should come through by tomorrow. Howard Balzer of CardsWire notes that Waller is officially on the books with a base salary of $10.53MM, though the team will have an opportunity to restructure his pay.

NFLPA To Appeal Collusion Ruling

July 9th, 2025 at 6:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

In January, arbitrator Christopher Droney issued a ruling on the NFLPA’s collusion case filed against the NFL. Details of that decision were revealed two weeks ago after both parties agreed to suppress the findings.

The league and union struck a confidentiality agreement in an attempt to keep Droney’s ruling secret, ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Kayln Kahler report. Things changed when an investigation from Pablo Torre Finds Out published a 61-page document detailing a portion of Droney’s findings. In the wake of the collusion case’s outcome becoming public knowledge, some players have expressed surprise at the union’s role in agreeing to bury it.

This situation has now taken another interesting turn. NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell decided last night to appeal the ruling – which stated the NFL did not engage in collusion but also that teams were “urged” to restrict guarantees in player contracts – per the ESPN report. The CBA dictates appeals be made within 10 days of a ruling such as this being made, but one of the terms of the confidentiality agreement was that the Players Association would be able to file an appeal well after that period.

“The appeal is a reflection of our obligation to enforce the CBA and our commitment to protecting our players’ interests,” a senior NFLPA source told ESPN about the appeal decision. “We’ll do what’s best for players and we’ll exhaust our options in doing so.”

In the aftermath of the Droney ruling being published, it was reported players would consider their legal options. It was unclear if that would include civil suits being filed against the league based on the details of the case or against the union for its decision to keep the findings away from its members. As the ESPN report notes, DeMaurice Smith‘s tenure as NFLPA executive director regularly included the sharing of key information with the union’s executive committee and its 32 player representatives.

Howell conducted a conference call with the executive committee (which includes 10 members along with president Jalen Reeves-Maybin) shortly after the ruling was made, per the ESPN report. He passed along the outcome of the case but did not mention specifics or distribute copies of the findings from Droney, who was aware of the confidentiality agreement. Per the CBA, executive committee members and player reps have the right to obtain copies of all arbitration findings, but this unusual set of circumstances resulted in that not taking place in this case.

The grounds on which the pending appeal will be made are unclear at this point. The case – which began during Smith’s tenure and which Howell lamented for its usage of union resources once it ended – was founded on the fact Deshaun Watson‘s fully guaranteed Browns pact did not serve as a new precedent for QB deals. Specifically, Russell Wilson (Broncos), Kyler Murray (Cardinals) and Lamar Jackson (Ravens) were cited as examples of other NFL teams agreeing to avoid guaranteeing mega-extensions in full. Wilson and Jackson are known to have sought deals featuring fully locked in salaries, while Murray was the subject of communication between the Cardinals and Chargers’ owners before Justin Herbert inked his own extension.

The ESPN report adds that Howell’s leadership is currently under scrutiny. A special committee of players and an attorney hired last month are in the process of reviewing Howell’s tenure at the helm of the union. Executive committee member Cameron Heyward declined to comment on the appeal news but described the current NFLPA situation as “dicey.”

No timeline is in place at this point regarding when an appeal will be heard. In any case, further updates to this situation can be expected as the fallout from not only the ruling but the efforts to keep it hidden from players continues.

Eli Manning Backs Out Of Giants Ownership Bid

July 9th, 2025 at 4:35pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Giants are among the NFL teams looking into the sale of a minority ownership stake. Eli Manning showed early interest in a bid, but he has since backed out of that endeavor.

During an interview with CNBC Sport (video link), the two-time Super Bowl winner said he is no longer pursuing an ownership stake. Costs were cited as a key reason, to no surprise. Manning also noted the potential conflict of interest concerns which would have been raised had he joined the Giants’ ownership group while remaining a broadcaster with ESPN (among his other post-playing pursuits).

“Basically, it’s too expensive for me,” Manning said. “These numbers are getting very big… A one percent stake of something valued at $10 billion — it turns into a very big number.”

Forbes valued the Giants at $7.3 billion last August, but recent ownership sales have demonstrated the upward movement in the market since then. The Eagles were valued at over $8 billion when they moved forward with the sale of a non-controlling stake, and figures on that front – even as it pertains to shares no larger than 10% in many cases – are set to continue rising in years to come.

The approval of Tom Brady‘s Raiders ownership stake came at a cost tied to a deflated franchise valuation (along with similar conflict of interest concerns, of course). While his bid was ultimately approved following a lengthy review process by the league’s controlling owners, Manning will not wind up in the same situation with the Giants.

Rams Not Prepared To Offer Market-Topping Deal To RB Kyren Williams

July 9th, 2025 at 3:03pm CST by Adam La Rose

Kyren Williams and the Rams have discussed an extension this offseason, and plenty of time remains for a deal to be struck before Week 1. If/when a second contract is in hand for the fourth-year running back, though, it should not be expected to move him to the top of the market.

Los Angeles’ regime led by general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay authorized a big-ticket RB deal in the case of Todd Gurley in 2018. That 57.5MM pact proved to be a mistake given the injury issues and decline in play which resulted in Gurley’s release two years later and eventual retirement after a brief NFL career. A similar investment in Williams is unlikely.

As Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic writes (subscription required), the Rams will not reset the market on a running back contract. Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry are attached to deals averaging $15MM or more entering 2025. Reaching that price point should not be necessary to keep Williams in place beyond the coming season – something the 24-year-old anticipates – but a notable raise will nevertheless be in store.

Both sides have expressed optimism that an agreement will be reached at some point this offseason. McVay said in May that progress had been made since extension talks began, and Wyatt Miller of the team’s website notes Williams was a full participant during spring practices. That is an encouraging sign team and player will manage to avoid a 2026 free agent departure. It would come as little surprise if a deal were to be struck during or just before training camp, which begins later this month.

Williams earned a Pro Bowl nod and a spot on the second All-Pro team in 2023 after leading the NFL with over 95 rushing yards per game on average. The former fifth-rounder saw a notable uptick in usage last season (from 228 to 316 carries), and he managed a career-best 1,299 rushing yards and 16 total touchdowns. A drop in efficiency – along with fumbles – will no doubt hurt Williams’ value on a new deal, but he could still find himself joining the seven running backs currently averaging eight figures annually on their respective deals. It will be interesting to see if ongoing negotiations produce an agreement in time for training camp.

Browns Could Try To Trade CB Greg Newsome

July 9th, 2025 at 2:15pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Browns are not expected to compete in 2025 and will likely look to trade players on expiring contracts as they load up on 2026 draft picks.

One of the team’s most prominent trade candidates is veteran cornerback Greg Newsome, according to The Athletic’s Zac Jackson, a 2020 first-round pick entering the final year of his rookie contract. The Browns picked up his fifth-year option last offseason, but he has been trending downwards since then and could find himself on the trade block for the second year in a row.

Newsome was a full-time starter when healthy across his first three years, but lost his job to Martin Emerson early in the 2024 season. He continued to see plenty of snaps in the slot until a hamstring injury in December landed him on injured reserve to close the year. 2024 was Newsome’s worst season by far, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). His 52.2 overall grade and 54.0 coverage grade were well below the standard he set between 2021 and 2023.

In February, Newsome expressed frustration with his rotational role and will likely be pushing to regain his starting job in training camp. If he is unsuccessful, he could request a trade before the regular season in the hopes of carving out a higher snap share elsewhere.

Even if Newsome does start for the Browns to open the season, he’ll still be a trade candidate closer to the November trade deadline. The Browns reportedly shopped him twice in the last year, and combined with their precarious cap situation, he seems destined to play elsewhere next year one way or another. Cleveland would likely prefer to recoup 2026 draft capital in a trade rather than hoping that Newsome can qualify for a 2027 compensatory pick in free agency next offseason.

Interested teams will be looking for Newsome to avoid the minor injuries that have limited him to just 13.5 games per season in his career. A bigger factor will be his fully guaranteed $13.4MM salary. The cap hit for an acquiring team will go down as the season progresses, but Newsome will still be owed $6.7MM for the second half of the year. That could be too much for another team to absorb, so Browns may have to eat some money to facilitate a deal.

Packers Expected To Extend RT Zach Tom

July 9th, 2025 at 1:14pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Packers are expected to sign right tackle Zach Tom to a long-term contract extension before the start of the regular season, according to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman.

Tom, a 2022 fourth-round pick, is entering the final year of his rookie deal. He served as a versatile backup in his first season with snaps at both tackle spots and left guard before emerging as Green Bay’s starting right tackle in 2023. Tom took his game to another level in 2024 and earned the third-most All-Pro votes at his position behind Penei Sewell and Lane Johnson, per Schneidman. Tom’s 85.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked sixth among right tackles last year.

As a result, the 26-year-old should be in line for a contract with an APY well over $20MM. The top of the right tackle market has been just as strong as the blind side with Sewell and Johnson both clearing $25MM per year on their last contracts.

Tom’s negotiations with the Packers will likely be centered around guaranteed money. Green Bay has historically resisted offering guarantees outside of the signing bonus; only star quarterback Jordan Love was able to break that precedent. Since he plays a critical position, Tom could push for some guaranteed salary in his contract, but that could draw out negotiations with a front office that prefers to provide players with job security via roster bonuses due early in the offseason.

Tom was a full participant in the Packers’ offseason program, which is unlikely to change in training camp even if contract talks take longer than expected.

“Being here with the guys, I think that’s worth a lot more,” said Tom (via Schneidman).

Giants’ RG Battle Takes Shape Ahead Of Training Camp

July 9th, 2025 at 12:37pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Giants are returning all five of their starting offensive linemen from last season, but they are still expected to hold a competition for the right guard job during training camp, according to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan.

10-year veteran Greg Van Roten played every snap at right guard in 2024, the only Giant to do so on either side of the ball. He was re-signed to a one-year, $3MM contract this offseason and should enter training camp as the favorite to start once again this year.

However, the 35-year-old Van Roten will likely see some competition for first-team reps with the team’s younger guards. Former No. 7 pick Evan Neal transitioned to guard this offseason as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. He struggled at tackle across his first three seasons, but the Giants are hoping that a switch to the interior will help cover up his deficiencies in space. Neal is due just over $4MM in guaranteed money this year, but the Giants will pay a $2.95MM roster bonus on the third day of training camp, per OverTheCap. That will leave just $1.1MM in guaranteed salary for the season, an affordable price for a backup in New York or elsewhere if Neal doesn’t win the starting right guard job.

Second-year UDFA Jake Kubas made the Giants’ 53-man roster as a rookie and started the last three games of the season at both guard spots, per Duggan. He could also factor into the right guard competition, especially with two inexpensive years remaining on his contract with the potential for a restricted free agent tag in 2027.

Van Roten’s durability and consistency last year will put him in pole position to start in 2025, but the Giants must know that retirement isn’t far off for one of the oldest offensive linemen in the league. If Neal or Kubas emerges as a more long-term option, the team could elect to install him as the starter with Van Roten serving as an ultra-reliable backup.

Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs Will Miss Start Of 2025 Season

July 9th, 2025 at 10:12am CST by Nikhil Mehta

Buccaneers All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs is expected to be sidelined for the start of the 2025 regular season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this week, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

Wirfs sprained the MCL in his right knee last November, per FOX Sports’ Greg Auman, but only missed one game before returning to the field. The soreness from that injury lingered into the offseason, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, sidelining Wirfs for parts of spring practices, during which he wore a brace on his knee. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said last month (via Auman) that Wirfs’ limited participation was “precautionary,” adding that “he’ll be fine in training camp.”

However, the team determined that surgery was best for Wirf’s long-term health. The knee scope revealed more damage than expected, and the 2020 first-rounder will be placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list during training camp, per Stroud. His stay on the PUP list will likely extend into the regular season.

All eyes in Tampa Bay will now turn to the team’s tackle depth. Wirfs is not expected to miss more than a few games, so the Buccaneers are unlikely to flip right tackle Luke Goedeke to the blind side. The team swapped out veteran swing tackles this offseason, letting Justin Skule depart in free agency and signing Charlie Heck. Heck started two games at left tackle for the 49ers last season and will likely be the Buccaneers’ Week 1 starter.

Wirfs will now begin the recovery process from the recent surgery with the goal of missing as few games as possible. Of greater importance to both him and the Buccaneers will be a full and complete recovery from his MCL injury with five years remaining on his extension signed in 2024.

Extension Candidate: Lamar Jackson

July 8th, 2025 at 10:36pm CST by Ely Allen

The Ravens return 19 of 22 starters from the team they fielded in Buffalo six months ago. This is mostly good luck, as the team avoided too many expiring contracts to impact players, but that luck shifts pretty hard in the other direction in 2025 with Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Tyler Linderbaum, Odafe Oweh, Travis Jones, Ar’Darius Washington, and many others heading into contract years.

All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton will be expecting a new deal sometime soon, as well. While the Ravens will surely be working towards extension offers for many of them, there’s one player they’ve already claimed is at the forefront of their priorities for an extension.

So many quarterbacks have gotten new deals in the last two years that Lamar Jackson‘s once-record-setting five-year, $260MM extension from 2023 feels like a distant memory. Thanks to recent new deals for Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love, Dak Prescott, Jared Goff, Tua Tagovailoa, Brock Purdy, and Josh Allen, Jackson’s formerly league-leading $52MM annual average salary has sunk all the way down to 10th-highest in the NFL. Head coach John Harbaugh indicated at league meetings that Jackson could be back on top soon.

While it may seem counterintuitive to prioritize a Jackson extension when he still has three years remaining on his contract and the Ravens have so many players on contracts that expire sooner, getting Jackson on a new deal could serve a crucial role in helping to team to secure some of his talented teammates long-term. After this season, the final two years of Jackson’s contract have him sporting an untenable cap hit of $74.5MM. In order to help keep some of his teammates in Baltimore, Jackson and the Ravens could pursue an extension in the fashion of the man who beat him out for MVP last year.

Allen signed a six-year, $330MM extension in March despite the fact that his prior deal still had four years remaining. Instead of simply tacking on new years with more money to grant Allen his extension, the Bills essentially scrapped the terms of his original contract, giving their MVP a raise while keeping some flexibility in the team’s salary cap for years to come.

Allen and Buffalo may have paved the way for Jackson and many quarterbacks expecting raises in the future. The Ravens could create $15.8MM of cap space in 2025 with an extension, and scrapping the terms of the original deal could help significantly lower Jackson’s cap hit in 2026 and 2027, as well. The Ravens supposedly always planned to return to the negotiation table before reaching Jackson’s obscene cap hits, and the Bills may have provided them with the perfect solution.

One key point of difference could come in the cash and guarantee structures. Allen and the Bills chose an extremely straightforward method in which Allen’s cash receipts vary relatively little from year to year, ranging from $52.5MM to $58MM. In contrast, Jackson’s current contract saw him receive $80MM in Year 1 and $31.79MM in Year 2. In Allen’s deal, his full guarantees come from a modest signing bonus ($56.75MM), his first- and second-year base salaries, and $34.5MM of his third-year base salary. Jackson pushed hard for a fully guaranteed deal in 2023 but ended up settling for a signing bonus of $72.5MM, his first- and second-year base salaries, and some bonuses in Years 2 and 3.

It’s hard to know just how much the Ravens could follow in Buffalo’s footsteps with a Jackson deal or just how much Jackson is willing to follow in Allen’s. The team may love the structure, but Jackson may want more money up front, like with his last deal. Jackson may also see the value in spreading out his cash flow in order to ensure that the Ravens can continue to surround him with talented players.

The time is right for Baltimore to try to make something happen, before training camp and the preseason take Jackson away from the table. Regardless, they’ll need to get something done in the next nine months if they want to avoid getting stuck with one player taking up a projected 24.26 percent of the team’s salary cap space in 2026.

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