Month: June 2025

NFL Minor Transactions: 6/18/25

Here are today’s midweek minor transactions from across the NFL:

Denver Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs

New Orleans Saints

For the second year in a row, Denver is signing a player from the UFL. Last year, Dondrea Tillman contributed five sacks to the Broncos defense a couple months after finishing play with the Birmingham Stallions. Now the team dips back into Birmingham for Goodrich, who resorted to the UFL after spending the 2024 season away from the NFL. The Saints also dipped into the UFL today, taking Green off of the Arlington Renegades and Wesley off the Stallions.

After finally debuting in the NFL last year, despite getting drafted in 2022, Araiza was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate and played in the Super Bowl. Kansas City essentially assured that he would be around in 2025 when they tender him as an exclusive rights free agent, but with Araiza’s signature today, the transaction in complete.

Cowboys To Sign CB Robert Rochell, DT Perrion Winfrey

The Cowboys are adding two potential depth pieces to their defense this week. Cornerback Robert Rochell and defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey are Dallas-bound, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. To clear roster space, Dallas waived cornerback Luq Barcoo and defensive tackle Justin Rogers.

A former Rams and Packers corner, Rochell is a fifth-year veteran who started five games for Los Angeles’ Super Bowl LVI-winning team. A former Browns fourth-round pick, Winfrey saw action in two seasons but has not made much of an impact. The Chiefs released Rochell earlier this month; he worked out for the Cowboys recently, per Wilson.

Rochell is the more notable name here, as he has four years’ worth of experience and made some contributions on a Super Bowl winner. While the Rams did not use the former fourth-round pick in the playoffs in 2021, Rochell logged three postseason appearances with the Packers — the first an upset win over the Cowboys — over the past two seasons.

The five rookie-year starts notwithstanding, Rochell’s best chance to make the Cowboys’ 53-man roster would be as a special-teamer. He has played just 27 defensive snaps since 2022 but was on the field for more than 70% of the Rams’ special snaps in 2022 and over 50% of the Packers’ ST plays in ’23.

This marks Winfrey’s first chance since the Jets placed him on IR in December 2023. No reserve/futures deal commenced following that move, and Winfrey was out of the NFL in 2024. The Browns chose Winfrey 108th overall in 2022, after he earned Senior Bowl MVP honors, but quickly saw him run into trouble. He was arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge in Texas involving his girlfriend at the time (the case was dismissed in 2023). Cleveland did not see much from the Oklahoma alum on the field, using him as a backup as a rookie before waiving him in July 2023.

Dallas will enter training camp with health issues at corner, having drafted Shavon Revel after an ACL tear and having seen All-Pro Trevon Diggs run into more knee trouble. Revel will not be ready for the start of camp, while Diggs is a candidate to start the season on the reserve/PUP list. This leaves uncertainty around DaRon Bland — who missed much of the 2024 season due to injury — at the position. The team added former first-rounder Kaiir Elam in a trade and rosters backup-level options in Kemon Hall and Troy Pride. At D-tackle, Dallas signed Solomon Thomas and drafted seventh-rounders (Tommy Akingbesote, Jay Toia) as potential options behind Osa Odighizuwa and Mazi Smith.

Giants Expect Malik Nabers To Be Ready For Training Camp

While not rehabbing an injury on the level of Andrew ThomasLisfranc issue, Malik Nabers joined the All-Pro tackle in being a non-participant in the offseason program.

Nabers did not participate in spring practices due to a lingering toe injury, per SNY’s Connor Hughes. Brian Daboll said (via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan) that he is not concerned about Nabers’ status and expects him to be ready for training camp.

Nabers’ injury dates back to his time at LSU, but it has not caused him to miss a game in college or the NFL. He also participated in the Pro Bowl Games in February and is not expected to need surgery to address the lingering matter. Instead, the Giants are moving forward with a rehab plan with the goal of getting Nabers back on the practice field when the team gathers for training camp in July.

The 2024 No. 6 pick flashed immediate difference-making potential as a rookie, tallying 109 receptions for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns despite inconsistent quarterback play. While the Giants have almost definitely upgraded at quarterback this offseason, the new arrivals have been unable to begin work with the team’s top weapon. That will be tabled to training camp.

Nabers been unable to develop chemistry with the Giants’ new trio of passers – Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and Jaxson Dart – this spring, making training camp all the more important for getting on the same page. After all, Nabers participated in last year’s spring workouts and displayed the talent that had prompted the Giants — after their Drake Maye trade push failed — to pass on Michael Penix, J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix at No. 6.

An embattled Giants regime has plenty riding on Nabers panning out, as the team circled back to its need for a Daniel Jones QB upgrade (via Dart at No. 25) after going wide receiver in last year’s first round. That lofty investment makes this toe injury something to monitor. Extensive rest stands to help the former Jayden Daniels college target, but it will be interesting to see if this issue recurs in Year 2.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

Steelers, T.J. Watt Want Extension Done By Training Camp

The Steelers have been working on a T.J. Watt extension this offseason, and both sides are hoping to get a deal done by training camp, according to ESPN’s Peter Schrager.

“I know both sides are really motivated to get something done here,” said Schrager during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “They don’t want to go into training camp and have this thing drag on.”

Players are set to report to Pittsburgh’s training camp on July 23, giving the Steelers a month to reach an agreement with Watt. If the two sides cannot come to terms, Watt could stage a hold-in by refusing to participate in practices until he gets an extension. He already skipped OTAs and mandatory minicamp, incurring more than $100k in fines for the latter.

Both sides will be closely monitoring other edge rusher negotiations around the league. Micah Parsons is expected to become the highest-paid defender in the NFL, while Trey Hendrickson has resumed extension talks with the Bengals. Watt is unlikely to surpass Parsons’ deal, but his age and recent production are similar to Hendrickson’s. As a result, the Steelers may want to their top edge rusher signed before the Bengals do the same.

Schrager believes that will be the case, but noted that players like Myles Garrett have financially benefitted by waiting for their positional market to develop. If Watt is looking to squeeze every dollar out of what could be his last multi-year extension, he may draw out his negotiations with the Steelers to ensure that he beats Hendrickson’s price tag.

Jets To Sign K Harrison Mevis

JUNE 18: The Jets officially signed Mevis on Wednesday and waived Carlson in a corresponding move, per a team announcement. That sets up Mevis and Davis to compete for New York’s starting kicker job this summer. Removing Carlson from this competition creates the rare kicker matchup consisting of two UDFAs without any regular-season experience. This marks the second time a team has waived Carlson in 10 months, as the Packers moved on just before last season.

JUNE 17: Moving on from Greg Zuerlein after three seasons, the Jets are set to hold a competition between far less experienced players. One of them is coming in from the UFL.

The spring/summer league finished its season Saturday, leaving players free to explore NFL opportunities. The Jets will look into one such performer. Birmingham Stallions kicker Harrison Mevis is signing with the Jets, according to NFL Draft Diamonds. ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini confirmed the signing, which will give Mevis another chance after he failed to make a roster in 2024.

Mevis made 20 of 21 field goals with the Stallions this season. He did not capture attention with 60-plus-yard makes like Jake Bates did last year, with the Birmingham kicker’s longest make being 54 yards. But the Lions seeing Bates make a considerable difference in his debut likely helped Mevis, who joined former NFL kickers Rodrigo Blankenship, Lucas Havrisik and Tristan Vizcaino in being UFL regulars this season.

Known as the “Thiccer Kicker” at Missouri, Mevis received an opportunity as a Panthers UDFA last year. That chance ended midway through training camp, however, as Carolina moved on and went with Eddy Pineiro, who played out his contract. Although Pineiro is a historically accurate option, he remains a free agent. The Jets are going younger post-Zuerlein.

New York has former Green Bay draftee Anders Carlson and rookie UDFA Caden Davis on its 90-man offseason roster. Carlson worked as a five-game Zuerlein fill-in for the Jets last season, after failing to keep his job as the Packers’ kicker during the preseason.

While Mevis did not produce Bates-like makes in the UFL, he has a strong leg that broke a near-40-year-old SEC record. He made a 61-yard field goal to lift Mizzou past former Big 12 rival Kansas State in 2023. Mevis’ best college season came in 2021, when he made 26 of 28 field goal tries for the Tigers. He is Mizzou’s all-time record holder with 86 career makes, and he earned second-team All-SEC acclaim as a senior in 2023.

Ravens Expected To Adopt Bills’ Approach To Lamar Jackson Extension

The Ravens could adopt the Bills’ approach to Josh Allen‘s extension when pursuing a similar deal with Lamar Jackson this year.

“The sense here around the league is that Baltimore could follow the blueprint that Buffalo put together back in March when they extended Josh Allen, even though he had multiple years left on his contract,” said ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler during a recent SportsCenter appearance (via Bleacher Report’s Joseph Zucker). “The feeling is, get ahead of that huge quarterback market money in three or four years from now, just pay your guy now when he’s got multiple years left on his current deal.” 

Earlier this offseason, Allen signed a six-year, $330MM contract that replaced his 2021 extension, which had four years remaining. The deal brought him back to the highest tier of the quarterback market after a dozen quarterbacks surpassed his $43MM APY in the last four years; it also provided Buffalo with financial flexibility for the rest of the decade.

Jackson and the Ravens are in a similar situation. He was the league’s highest-paid quarterback when he signed his first extension in 2023; now, he ranks 10th. The two-time MVP is only set to earn $122.75MM in base salary over the next three years ($40.9MM per year), per OverTheCap, but his cap hits will total $192.5MM in the same period, including a whopping $74.5MM in both 2026 and 2027. An early extension would offer Jackson more money in the immediate future while giving the Ravens plenty of room to manage the salary cap for the foreseeable future.

Fowler’s comments suggest that the Ravens will adopt the Bills’ approach when it comes to to Jackson’s contract, but it is unclear if that means ripping up his first extension and replacing it with a brand-new deal like Allen. An extension could create $15.8MM of cap space in 2025, which Baltimore could use for summer signing and in-season contingencies. More importantly, a new deal for Jackson will lower his cap hits in 2026 and 2027, which will help the Ravens retain key talent approaching the end of their contracts.

Jackson was asked about his contract status at mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, but maintained his past approach of staying mum on the topic. He only offered a “sounds good” when asked about John Harbaugh‘s expectation that Jackson will once again be the highest-paid player in the league whenever he signes a new deal.

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Packers Not Expected To Extend Matt LaFleur, Brian Gutekunst In 2025

It’s unlikely that extensions are coming for Packers leadership. Incoming Packers president/CEO Ed Policy said he won’t be signing head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst to extensions in 2025, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.

Both LaFleur and Gutekunst still have two years remaining on their contracts, and since they’re not in lame-duck status, Policy refuses to give the duo new deals. The same goes for executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball, and Demovsky notes that all three decision makers will report directly to their new team president.

“All three of them [are] under multi-year contracts,” Policy said (via Demovsky). “None of them are up at the end of this year. We won’t be doing anything going into this season.”

With Mark Murphy retiring, Policy will officially take over as the franchise’s boss in the middle of July. The timing of the move has nothing to do with the president’s refusal to hand out extensions; in fact, Policy has worked with the Packers for more than a decade and was involved in the interviews with both LaFleur and Gutekunst. Rather, Policy’s decision appears to come down to personal preference.

However, the executive did admit that he doesn’t like having head coaches or GMs operating as impending free agents.

“I’m generally opposed — I’d never say never — [but] I’m generally opposed to a coach or GM going into the last year of their contract,” Policy said. “That creates a lot of issues. I think normally you have a pretty good idea of where that relationship is going when you have two years left — not always, but normally.

“So I think generally speaking I would avoid lame-duck status. It’s oftentimes difficult on everybody involved. But there are certain situations that probably call for it, so I would not say never.”

As Demovsky notes, that sentiment would make the 2025 campaign especially important for the head coach/GM duo. The Packers would seemingly have to be a major disappointment next season for the team to not extend LaFleur and Gutekunst. The head coach won 13 games in each of his first three seasons at the helm (Gutekunst was hired as GM a year before LaFleur caught on), and the Packers have made the playoffs in five of the past six seasons.

While speaking with the media, Policy revealed a handful of ways he may operate differently than his predecessor. The executive noted that he’ll “increase the amount and the time of formal meetings with football leadership” in an attempt to remove any silos between his top decision makers. However, Policy was quick to clarify that he’ll let his top leaders do their jobs.

“I’d stay out of their business,” Policy said. “I would not meddle in what they do. I would communicate very frequently and openly and directly with them on all things, but certainly no team needs two head coaches or two GMs. Not a lot of change in the way Mark had done that.”

James Gladstone: Jaguars Undecided On Travis Hunter’s Gameday Workload

Travis Hunter made no secret about his intentions of playing both ways in the NFL after doing so during his decorated college career. The Heisman winner remains on track to do just that during his rookie campaign with the Jaguars.

Shortly after Jacksonville moved up to No. 2 to select Hunter, general manager James Gladstone said the majority of his work during the spring would come at the receiver position. Over time, though, the acclimation period included time and on-field work with both the offense and defense. During OTAs and minicamp, Hunter began taking reps as a corner in addition to his WR work.

During his most recent comments on the matter – an interview with Andrew Siciliano on SiriusXM radio – Gladstone clarified that Hunter was more comfortable at corner upon entry into the league, something which informed the team’s decision to focus on the receiver position at first. As the 22-year-old becomes more at ease in both capacities, though, training camp will see him continue to his expand his workload. With respect to gameday usage during the season, Gladstone confirmed a notable workload on offense and defense can be expected.

“He does not tire,” the rookie general manager said of Hunter (audio link). “He’s got a spark, he’s got the energy, the capacity from a physical standpoint to be able to be able to do it is certainly there. Certain game plans might dictate usage differently. Putting a number on [a snap count] at this stage is premature.”

Indeed, plenty of time remains for the Jaguars to finalize their depth chart at receiver and in the secondary. That process will be key in determining how much Hunter is relied upon during his rookie season. Jacksonville’s receiver room has undergone several changes this offseason and he could occupy a key role in tandem with Brian Thomas Jr. for years to come. On the other hand, Montaric BrownTyson Campbell and Jarrian Jones are all in place after leading the team in cornerback snaps last season. Hunter could be comparatively eased into playing time on defense as a result.

In any case, the way Jacksonville uses him will make for one of the team’s most interesting storylines over the course of the campaign. Hunter’s workload could shift from one week to the next, and his success in balancing two-way duties will no doubt be a key factor in the team’s performance.

Cordarrelle Patterson Unlikely To Make Steelers’ Roster?

The first season of Cordarrelle Patterson‘s two-year deal with the Steelers didn’t necessarily go as planned. The veteran offensive weapon still remains on Pittsburgh’s roster, but it’s seeming increasingly likely that he won’t be sticking around for Week 1.

Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly writes that there’s “no place where [Patterson] can slot in” into the roster, and the reporter expresses skepticism that the veteran will be on the roster for the start of the 2025 season. Kaboly also wonders if the team may be holding out for a potential trade suitor.

Kaboly notes that Patterson barely had a role during OTAs. The former All-Pro was spotted “mingling in the locker room,” but that ultimately proved to be “the extent of his participation.”

With Najee Harris no longer around, the Steelers would appear to have some leftover reps at the RB position. Jaylen Warren is preparing for a starter’s workload, but Patterson could compete for backup reps with rookie third-round pick Kaleb Johnson and veteran acquisitions like Kenneth Gainwell, Trey Sermon, and Evan Hull. Considering Patterson’s versatility, the Steelers could also look to keep him around for WR reps and special teams contributions, although it sounds like the team may just prefer to roll with a younger option in those spots.

Patterson’s Swiss Army Knife profile will always make him an alluring option for teams, but it’s uncertain how many more chances the 34-year-old will get. He finished last season with only 215 yards from scrimmage, which was his worst showing since the 2015 campaign. He also pitched in a team-leading 11 kickoff returns, although it only resulted in 240 yards.

Patterson has managed to contribute in a variety of roles throughout his career. He earned All-Pro nods for his special teams ability, and he’s the NFL’s all-time leader in kickoff return touchdowns (nine). While he mostly served as a backup offensive option for the first nine seasons of his career, he showed his ability while with the Falcons in 2021, finishing with 1,166 yards from scrimmage and 11 scores. He had another 800-plus yards and eight touchdowns in 2022, but he’s been limited to only 434 yards across the past two years.