HEADLINES

Month: August 2025

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/25

August 28th, 2025 at 7:45pm CST by Adam La Rose

As rosters continue to be sorted out, here are Thursday’s minor moves around the NFL:

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Waived: DT Eric Gregory

Dallas Cowboys

Las Vegas Raiders

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Bears Place DE Austin Booker On IR

August 28th, 2025 at 6:59pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Austin Booker was available to the Bears for all 17 games during his rookie season. That will not be the case in 2025, however.

Booker, 22, was placed on injured reserve Thursday, per a team announcement. A knee injury will sideline him for a minimum of four games to start the season, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. With a Bears’ bye in Week 5, Booker won’t play until at least Week 6.

The 2024 fifth-rounder was set to backup starting defensive ends Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo after a relatively quiet rookie season. Booker’s 2025 expectations surged after a league-high 4.0 sacks in just two preseason games, but a potential second-year leap will have to wait for a while.

Booker was able to overpower the generally-lower level of competition in the preseason, but translating that success to the regular season is no guarantee. His injury could make things more difficult, though the IR stint will help him get back to full health instead of rushing a return.

In the meantime, the Bears will turn to 2022 fifth-rounder Dominique Robinson and offseason signing Tanoh Kpassagnon to rotate in behind Sweat and Odeyingbo.

Robinson recorded 1.5 sacks in his first game as a Bear and 0.5 in 33 games since, while Kpassagnon, an eight-year veteran, missed the entire 2024 season due to an Achilles tear. He followed Dennis Allen from New Orleans to Chicago this offseason but has never produced like an impact edge rusher. Booker arguably has more upside than both, so the Bears will be anxious to get him back on the field as a rotational pass rusher.

Third-stringer and 2022 seventh-round pick Daniel Hardy has primarily played special teams in his first two years but could see some defensive snaps with Booker out.

Buccaneers’ Chris Godwin Likely To Miss First Month Of Season; Tristan Wirfs Could Return In September

August 28th, 2025 at 6:38pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Buccaneers will be without wideout Chris Godwin and left tackle Tristan Wirfs to start the season. Both were moved to the active roster on Tuesday, though, meaning a return prior to Week 5 is a possibility in each case.

Shifting to the reserve/PUP list would have ensured either player missed the first four weeks of the season. That could still prove to be the case, but Tampa’s decision means Godwin and Wirfs could at least resume practicing in September. General manager Jason Licht provided an update on both players Thursday.

Appearing on 95.3 WDAE radio (audio link), Licht said Godwin may not be back until October. The Pro Bowler continues to rehab the fractured ankle which ended his 2024 season, and Week 2 was named earlier this month as the point at which he could return to practice. A cautious approach should be expected, of course, but missing Godwin for all of September would deal a blow to Tampa Bay’s passing game. Jalen McMillan is set to miss considerable time this year as well, so Mike Evans and first-round rookie Emeka Egbuka will be leaned on early in 2025.

Licht noted Wirfs is more of a candidate to see game action in September. The All-Pro underwent arthroscopic knee surgery early last month, setting up a rehab timeline including missed games in the regular season. The Bucs’ offensive line will receive a major boost whenever Wifrs is back in the fold, something which could take place relatively soon if his recovery does not encounter any setbacks.

Licht praised both players for their work so far in the rehab process, noting Godwin and Wirfs are considered week-to-week at this point. The status of each will be worth monitoring, but at least a few missed games are in store even if things go according to plan.

Cardinals Place DL Justin Jones On IR

August 28th, 2025 at 3:53pm CST by Adam La Rose

Justin Jones was limited to just three games during his debut Cardinals campaign. The veteran defensive lineman will miss time once again in 2025.

Jones was placed on injured reserve Thursday, per a team announcement. The 29-year-old has been dealing with a knee injury since July. As a result of today’s move, Jones will be sidelined until at least Week 5.

After four seasons with the Chargers and two with the Bears, Jones established himself as a full-time starter. The former third-rounder was largely durable during that period, playing a full 17-game slate in both of his Chicago seasons. Things have not gone according to plan in Arizona, however. Jones suffered a triceps tear in Week 3 last year, ending his campaign early.

Now, the NC State product is set to miss the first month of the campaign. Jones is under contract for the next two years, but none of his scheduled base salary for 2026 ($7.5MM) is guaranteed. Whether or not he remains in the Cardinals’ plans next season will depend in large part on when he is able to return to the field and his performance once healthy. In the meantime, Arizona will move forward with a defensive line group which will also be without first-round rookie Walter Nolen in September.

If/when Jones is brought back into the fold, he will account for one of the Cardinals’ eight IR activations. Two were used during the team’s Tuesday roster moves. In a corresponding transaction, long snapper Aaron Brewer was re-signed to the active roster. Brewer was released as part of the team’s roster maneuvers, but Jones moving to IR opened up a spot for him to return as expected.

Cowboys Willing To Listen To Micah Parsons Trade Offers?

August 28th, 2025 at 2:51pm CST by Adam La Rose

Since Micah Parsons issued his trade request, it has not appeared likely that a deal sending him away from Dallas will take place. The team’s stance on this front could be changing.

The Cowboys now “appear willing to at least listen” to Parsons trade offers, ESPN’s Todd Archer, Adam Schefter and Dan Graziano report. Calls have come in over recent weeks amidst the ongoing lack of progress regarding extension talks. As of last week, however, general managers around the league did not view a Parsons trade as being feasible.

Owner Jerry Jones has publicly stated Dallas will not trade the two-time All-Pro. Indeed, the ESPN report notes nothing is considered imminent at this time. It comes as no surprise a market exists for Parsons, but it would still come as a major shock if any move sending him out of Dallas were to take place (especially at this point in the offseason). Per the report, the Cowboys are aiming for a resolution of some kind before their season opener next week.

A number of outcomes remain possible, including a long-term pact being worked out just before Week 1. Jones reportedly offered an extension which would have made Parsons the league’s highest-paid edge rusher when speaking with the 26-year-old this spring. The ESPN trio adds further context on that point, noting the Cowboys’ offer was five years in length and averaged $40.5MM per season. Dialogue since then has been sparse, with both sides exchanging public remarks and agent David Mulugheta’s involvement in negotiations proving to be a major sticking point.

Crucially, the ESPN piece notes (and All City DLLS’ Clarence Hill Jr. confirms) Mulugheta has yet to receive permission from the Cowboys to discuss an extension with any potential acquiring team. No trade would take place, of course, without an agreement in hand on a multi-year accord for the four-time Pro Bowler. No firm links have been made yet to interested teams in terms of the details of any trade offer, but a Wednesday report indicated the Packers are among the potential destinations if a swap is to take place.

Parsons is on the books for one more season, and the Cowboys could retain him via the franchise tag for 2026 and ’27. The value of his fifth-year option is a matter of dispute, based on the position he is classified as. For now, the former Defensive Rookie of the Year is slated to collect $21.32MM as a defensive end; a switch to outside linebacker would increase his option valuation to $24.01MM. A grievance has been filed, so the matter will remain unresolved pending a conclusion to the case or a compromise being agreed to.

So far in his career, Parsons has racked up 52.5 sacks in 63 regular season games. The Penn State product would be an attractive trade target for any number of teams, but the list of suitors will be dictated by the number of teams with sufficient draft capital to swing a deal along with the cap space to accommodate a massive Parsons extension. The presence of one more teams meeting those criteria could create a bidding war, but only if Jones and the Cowboys truly open the door to dealing him away. Dallas’ willingness to do so will certainly be worth watching over the coming days.

Bengals Sign G Dalton Risner

August 28th, 2025 at 2:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

AUGUST 28: The deal is now official. When speaking to the media on Thursday, head coach Zac Taylor declined to say which guard spot Risner will spend time at. As ESPN’s Ben Baby notes, though, there is optimism he will be available to Cincinnati in time for Week 1.

AUGUST 27: Dalton Risner has secured another opportunity late in free agency. Making a habit of signing well after the market opens, the veteran guard is joining the Bengals, veteran reporter Jordan Schultz tweets.

The former Broncos and Vikings guard had visited the Bengals recently. He will look to fill a void as a starter on an O-line that has four other locked-in first-stringers.

Both the Seahawks and Steelers showed interest in Risner, whose market once again did not form after he spent a season as a primary starter. Underperforming in free agency has perhaps defined Risner’s career, but the former second-round pick has continued to bounce back from those disappointments to extend his run as an NFL starter. The Bengals are adding a guard with 81 starts on his resume.

Back in April, the Bengals were on the Risner radar. They will add him after an underwhelming guard audition. Cody Ford and Lucas Patrick joined Cordell Volson in competing for the team’s right guard job. Third-round pick Dylan Fairchild is set to take over at left guard, and the Bengals have yet another veteran option for the other spot. Ford joined Risner in the 2019 second round, while Patrick arrived as a 2017 UDFA.

Risner started 19 games for the Vikings over the past two seasons. He waited until September 2023 to sign with Minnesota but re-signed in June 2024. Pro Football Focus graded Risner as the No. 22 overall guard last season. Risner replaced Ed Ingram in the Vikes’ starting lineup midway through last season. The team dropped Ingram via trade (to the Texans) this offseason and once again let Risner linger in free agency. The Vikes overhauled their interior O-line — via the signings of Ryan Kelly and Will Fries and first-round investment in Donovan Jackson — and Risner will spend his age-30 season in Cincinnati.

The Bengals retained Patrick and Ford on their active roster but waived Volson — a three-year starter who was benched late last season — with an injury designation. Volson reverted to IR today. Risner has experience replacing starters in-season, having done so in 2023 (after the Ezra Cleveland trade) and 2024. The Bengals may need him earlier, however.

Panthers Hope To Re-Sign Hunter Renfrow; WR Drawing Interest

August 28th, 2025 at 1:31pm CST by Adam La Rose

Hunter Renfrow was among the Panthers’ roster cuts on Tuesday. The veteran wideout is thus a free agent, and it remains to be seen where he will land in the coming days.

Renfrow spent the 2025 offseason attempting an NFL comeback. A case of ulcerative colitis kept him out of the NFL last season, but the South Carolina product landed an opportunity with the Panthers this spring. The team is open to a reunion via the practice squad, but it is unclear if Renfrow will be amenable to it.

“We’ve been in constant communication with Hunter,” head coach Dave Canales said (via ESPN’s David Newton). “We have a couple of things on the table for him, and we’re just going to keep talking. I just want to be able to count on Hunter the whole time. I saw some peaks, and I also saw some dips with his performance.”

Indeed, Renfrow’s showings in training camp and the preseason were insufficient to land him on Carolina’s 53-man roster. Several younger wideouts – a group headlined by 2024 and ’25 first-round picks Xavier Legette and Tetairoa McMillan – are now in position to handle the bulk of work in the passing game. That is especially true since Adam Thielen was traded to the Vikings yesterday.

Renfrow could absorb some of Thielen’s vacated targets from the slot, but the door is also open to a fresh start elsewhere. The Clemson product is drawing interest from other teams, Newton reports. Renfrow is currently weighing a number of options, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network adds. An agreement of some kind will presumably be in place before Week 1.

Renfrow earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2021, but after that his Raiders tenure fell well short of expectations. The 29-year-old will not be seen as a full-time starting option for Carolina or any other suitor, but he could offer veteran depth to a receiving corps. His free agency will be worth watching closely as roster moves and practice squad deals continue in the build-up to the start of the campaign.

Falcons Place Bralen Trice On IR; Xavier Watts, Billy Bowman In Line For Starting Roles

August 28th, 2025 at 12:49pm CST by Adam La Rose

Bralen Trice missed his entire rookie season due to an ACL tear, and he will not be available at the start of the coming campaign. The 2024 third-rounder was placed on injured reserve Thursday, per a team announcement.

Head coach Raheem Morris said Trice aggravated the same knee affected by last year’s ACL tear. It is not known if surgery will be required at this point, but a procedure could be deemed necessary. Landing on IR at this time ensures Trice will miss at least the first four games of the campaign.

Morris also said the best-case scenario for Trice would be a return after Atlanta’s bye week. That happens to fall on Week 5, the earliest point at which the 24-year-old could have his practice window opened anyway. Activating Trice at any point will use up one of the Falcons’ eight IR activations on the season. The team already spent two when designating Ta’Quon Graham and Storm Norton for return during roster cutdowns.

Today’s move marks another injury setback for Trice, who was drafted as a candidate to handle a notable workload off the edge early in his career. Pass rush production has been hard to come by for Atlanta in recent years, something the team aimed at addressing through free agency (by signing Leonard Floyd) and the draft (by selecting Jalon Walker and James Pearce in the first round) this offseason. The team’s new options will be relied on without Trice in place at least early in the season.

In other news regarding the Falcons’ defense, Morris also announced rookies Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman will have starting roles. Watts, added in the third round, will operate as a first-team safety alongside Jessie Bates, while Bowman – taken one round later – will handle slot corner duties. Earlier this week, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted how Bowman (who was drafted as a safety) impressed upon transitioning to a slot corner during camp, surpassing incumbent Dee Alford on the depth chart.

Morris’ announcement thus comes as no surprise, and it confirms Watts, Bowman and Bates will be joined by AJ Terrell and Mike Hughes in the starting secondary. That unit will work in tandem with a heavily renovated edge rush group, one which will be shorthanded in the fall.

Patriots To Release WR Kendrick Bourne; 49ers Interested In Reunion

August 28th, 2025 at 9:40am CST by Sam Robinson

AUGUST 28: John Lynch confirmed during a KNBR interview (via the San Jose Mercury News’ Cam Inman) the 49ers are indeed discussing the prospect of reuniting with Bourne. The team is factoring in Bourne’s recent injury absence into this effort, but the eight-year veteran — the first four coming in San Francisco — is on the radar to return.

AUGUST 27: Kendrick Bourne‘s up-and-down Patriots stint is over. Despite being carried through to New England’s 53-man roster, the veteran wide receiver is being released, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports.

This will wrap a four-plus-year tenure for Bourne, who has been a trade-rumor mainstay. He will now seek a fresh start elsewhere. The Vikings had shown interest in Bourne before acquiring Adam Thielen, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who adds other teams expressed interest as well. Bourne should be able to find a new home fairly soon.

Unsurprisingly, the 49ers are interested in bringing Bourne back, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reports. Bourne played four 49ers seasons before joining the Patriots, and the teams discussed a trade during last summer’s Brandon Aiyuk saga. Bourne asked for his Pats release, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe adds. We mentioned Bourne as a release candidate earlier this summer.

The Patriots had kept eight receivers on their initial 53-man roster. Some teams keep five, six or even seven; eight is an unrealistic number for a team to devote to this position. And New England, which has made many changes in Mike Vrabel‘s first offseason, is cutting the cord. Bourne had re-signed with the Pats on a three-year, $19.5MM deal last March. No guaranteed money remained on the contract, and the Pats will escape it with just a $2.8MM dead money hit.

Although the 49ers discussed Bourne with the Pats last summer, he was not eyeing a move back to San Francisco at the deadline. Interest still came in for Bourne, who was no longer a centerpiece part in the Pats’ WR equation this year. The team added Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins in free agency. Bourne posted an 800-yard season in Josh McDaniels‘ previous Pats season (2021) but has not eclipsed 500 yards in a single campaign since. Still, he is entering an age-30 season and viewed as a solid auxiliary performer.

The 49ers have added Skyy Moore and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. This comes after Aiyuk moved to the reserve/PUP list and Demarcus Robinson shifted to the reserve/suspended list. The 49ers had not seen Jauan Jennings practice in several weeks due to a calf injury (and contract matter), while Jacob Cowing is also hurt. Bourne, a UDFA who posted 667 yards in his 2020 San Francisco finale, would make sense as an option now that he’s available.

Colts To Meet With LBs Anthony Walker, Kyzir White

August 28th, 2025 at 9:38am CST by Sam Robinson

The Colts’ expected Zaire Franklin sidekick, Jaylon Carlies landed on IR on Tuesday. While Carlies is on short-term IR, he will miss at least four games due to the transaction. This creates a need in Indianapolis.

At least two linebackers will meet with the Colts about a job Thursday. Kyzir White and Anthony Walker are stopping by, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Fox Sports’ Greg Auman. White played out a two-year Cardinals contract and has not signed anywhere this year, while Walker — a former Colt — did not make the Buccaneers’ 53-man roster.

Walker spent Bucs training camp on the active/NFI list, and the team released the veteran defender rather than transfer him to the reserve/NFI list this week. Walker signed a one-year, $1.42MM deal with the Bucs in March. He is certainly better remembered for a Colts tenure that lasted four seasons. Indianapolis drafted Walker in the 2017 fifth round and used him as a three-year starter alongside Shaquille Leonard.

Walker (now 30) started 48 games with the Colts and played at least 60% of the team’s defensive snaps each year from 2018-20. Arriving in Chris Ballard‘s first draft as GM, Walker (81 career starts) joined the Browns as a free agent in 2021. That cleared the runway for Bobby Okereke to see a workload increase. At that point, Franklin was not a full-timer. That changed since, with the former special-teamer becoming a lead performer on Indy’s defense. The Colts now have a question alongside their ace tackler, with Carlies down with an ankle injury, per the Indianapolis Star’s Joel Erickson.

White, 29, met with the Lions earlier this summer. The Cardinals did not re-sign the former Super Bowl LVII starter after his two-year, $10MM contract expired. White started 28 games for the Cards from 2023-24, including all 17 last season. In 2024, White made 137 tackles (nine for loss) and added 2.5 sacks and three pass breakups. Due largely to coverage issues, Pro Football Focus ranked White as one of the NFL’s worst LB regulars last season. The former Chargers and Eagles defender has 73 starts on his resume.

The Colts kept Cameron McGrone — a three-year Indy contributor with zero career starts — at linebacker to go with Franklin, special-teamer Joe Bachie (two starts in five NFL seasons) and Segun Olubi (two starts in three Colts seasons). Although Indianapolis claimed ex-Jacksonville LB Chad Muma on Wednesday, it would stand to reason the team would be interested in adding more help for the time being.

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