Patriots Actively Shopping S Kyle Dugger
Patriots safety Kyle Dugger lived up to his second-round draft status very early in his New England career. As a result, the team signed him to a four-year, $58MM extension in 2024. Despite that commitment, the Patriots are actively shopping the safety out for a trade, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. We knew the team was open to trading him, but actively shopping him is an escalation. 
Coming out of Division II Lenoir-Rhyne, it said a lot that the Patriots were willing to make Dugger the second safety selected in the 2020 NFL Draft as the fifth pick of the second round. With Duron Harmon getting traded in the offseason and Patrick Chung opting out of the season due to COVID-19, Dugger was named the primary backup to starting safeties Adrian Phillips and Devin McCourty as a rookie.
By Year 2, Dugger was a full-time starter, breaking onto the scene with four interceptions and 100 return yards. He followed that up with a career year in which he nabbed three interceptions, returning two for touchdowns in 2022. That year, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded him as the 11th-best safety in the NFL.
PFF fell out of love with him after that season, though. In 2023, he had another productive season, intercepting two more passes and racking up 109 tackles, including a team-leading 71 solo tackles. That year, PFF graded him as the 68th-best safety in the NFL out of 95 players graded at the position. 2024 saw a year of decline for Dugger. Missing four games and seeing decreased production, Dugger graded as PFF’s 95th-best safety out of 98 players graded last year.
Per Rapoport, the new staff views Dugger much differently than the staff that extended him last April. As a result, Dugger has been seen playing deep into preseason games — when most starters and veterans have been safely removed from play — and had been taking second-team reps in training camp. The work with the second-team defense was due in part to his recovery from a tightrope surgery done to repair a high ankle sprain, but Dugger is reportedly fully healthy yet still, seemingly, on his way out.
When news broke that the Patriots were gauging trade interest for Dugger and outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings, the replies seemed to indicate that Jennings was drawing interest while Dugger’s new contract served as an obstacle for moving him, per Jeff Howe of The Athletic. It’s no wonder, considering how much impact the contract has on his ability to be cut.
If the Patriots were able to trade Dugger, they would be left with only $4.5MM in dead money and open up $10.76MM in cap space. If they can’t find a trade partner, though, it will be interesting to see if they cut him instead. Cutting Dugger would result in $14.25MM of dead money while only opening up $1.01MM of cap space. It’s hard to picture the team releasing the veteran in a move that would financially hamstring them that much.
So, it appears, they’ll continue to shop him out. They may have to find ways to make the trade more enticing by including draft picks or paying some bonuses to Dugger before the trade so that the receiving team is only responsible for base salary. Regardless, it feels as if Dugger may not have a place in New England as the staff actively works to shop him out.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/25
Here are today’s minor transactions that may have slipped through the cracks with a day full of mass cuts:
Buffalo Bills
- Released: CB Tre Herndon
Denver Broncos
- Released: OLB Andrew Farmer
- Waived: CB Micah Abraham, WR Joaquin Davis, G Clay Webb
- Waived (with injury settlement): CB Joshua Pickett
Detroit Lions
- Released (with injury settlement): CB Dicaprio Bootle
New England Patriots
- Waived (with injury designation): G Layden Robinson
New York Giants
- Placed on IR: CB TJ Moore
- Released: S K’Von Wallace
Philadelphia Eagles
- Reverted to IR: S Lewis Cine
- Waived: QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: WR Malik Knowles
Thompson-Robinson continues to struggle to find his place in the NFL. A fifth-round pick for the Browns out of UCLA, Thompson-Robinson was asked to make a number of spot starts in Cleveland. In five starts, he went 1-4, averaging about 150 passing yards per game. Over those two seasons, he scored only one touchdown while throwing 10 interceptions. He was sent to Philadelphia along with a 2025 fifth-round pick in exchange for Kenny Pickett, but the Eagles seemingly do not have a place for him.
Moore was hospitalized with a leg injury suffered in the Giants’ final preseason game but has been discharged following a successful surgery. Barring an injury settlement, he’ll spend the 2025 season on New York’s injured reserve.
Webb received a large signing bonus to sign with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent. While other teams will get their chance to claim him, the Broncos will hope to be able to bring him back to their practice squad.
Eagles Reunite With T Fred Johnson Via Trade With Jaguars
The Eagles continue to be active in the trade market in the leadup to the regular season. Following earlier trades to acquire wide receiver John Metchie from Houston and quarterback Sam Howell from Minnesota, Philadelphia is bringing offensive tackle Fred Johnson back from Jacksonville in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The swap is now official.
Johnson came into the league as an undrafted free agent out of Florida in 2019, initially signing with the Steelers and making the 53-man roster but getting waived in October without playing a game and being claimed by the Bengals. He spent three years in Cincinnati as a backup lineman. In those three seasons, he appeared in 23 games, making starts in eight of them. The team placed a restricted free agent tender on him in 2022, and though he signed it, he was cut.
Johnson quickly rebounded, landing with the Buccaneers, but after five game appearances, Tampa Bay waived him, as well. After clearing waivers, he signed to the Eagles’ practice squad and watched from the practice squad as they lost in the Super Bowl to Kansas City.
After signing a reserve/futures contract with the team, Johnson earned a swing tackle role behind starters Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson. The team gave him a two-year contract for the role, in which he appeared in all 17 games of the 2023 season. His presence was felt even more in 2024. In addition to appearing in every game of the season, Johnson made six spot starts — one at right tackle and five on the blind side.
The Eagles allowed Johnson to walk in free agency, and the 28-year-old signed with the Jaguars. Interestingly, Jacksonville had already signed Chuma Edoga as a potential swing tackle behind Walker Little and Anton Harrison. The team had also added former Ravens lineman Patrick Mekari, who notably started games at all five positions on Baltimore’s line during his tenure there. Sure enough, it seems all that versatility made Johnson superfluous, and Jacksonville was willing to part with him for a mere seventh-rounder.
In Philadelphia, Johnson will be welcomed home with open arms. Per Zach Berman of The Athletic, swing tackle had become a position of concern for the defending champions. The Eagles had hopes that Matt Pryor or Kendall Lamm might step up and claim the role, but bringing Johnson right back into the role he played last year is all too simple a solution. On top of that, Johnson’s $1MM base salary will hardly register on the team’s salary cap, as Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com points out.
Ultimately, it was only a short time away from The City of Brotherly Love, so Johnson should be able to find his way around quite easily despite the quick approach of the team’s season opener. The Eagles will hope not to see him on the field too often, but they’ll surely sleep better knowing he’s back in the building.
Vikings Announce 10 Cuts To Open Roster Trimming
It’s been a busy day for the Minnesota front office. Amidst the chaos, the team announced the release of one veteran and waived 9 other players:
Released:
- OLB Cam Gill
Waived:
- OL Zack Bailey
- DT Travis Bell
- WR Silas Bolden
- T Logan Brown
- CB Keenan Garber
- WR Robert Lewis
- S Mishael Powell
- CB Reddy Steward
- RB Tre Stewart
Most of the focus in Minnesota will be on the quarterback shuffling that took place earlier in the day that saw Sam Howell and Brett Rypien depart the building as Carson Wentz was signed to back up a debuting J.J. McCarthy with undrafted standout Max Brosmer stepping into the QB3 role.
Aside from all of that action, there’s not much surprise in the announced cuts above. While Gill has earned extended looks with a couple teams, Bailey, Bell, and Steward have played minimal roles during their short NFL tenures. The remaining six players waived were all members of the Vikings’ 19-man undrafted free agent class. Several others from that class can be expected to join these six on the waiver wire before Tuesday.
Jets Release LB Jamin Davis, Waive Six Others
The Jets are also cracking the seal on roster cuts today. New York released one veteran and waived six other players:
Released:
- LB Jamin Davis
Waived:
- DE Michael Fletcher
- T Liam Fornadel
- TE Zack Kuntz
- QB Adrian Martinez
- S Tanner McCalister
- RB Lawrance Toafili
Davis, the 2021 first-round pick for the Commanders out of Kentucky, looked for a second like he may live up to his draft stock with a 104-tackle sophomore campaign as a full-time starter in Washington. After the team declined his fifth-year option last year, though, they attempted to move him to defensive end and eventually cut him. He bounced around a bit in the NFC North, playing four games for the Vikings, before landing with the Jets on New Year’s Eve. After an offseason with New York, it looks like Davis will be back out on the free agent market.
With Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor in place as QB1 & QB2, respectively, Martinez found himself in a battle with undrafted rookie Brady Cook for the QB3 job. Martinez getting cut isn’t much of a surprise, as it was rumored to happen all the way back in May. Oddly enough, the person who made that prediction also believed Cook would fail to make the initial 53-man roster, asserting that the Jets would carry only two quarterbacks on the active roster and that Martinez and Cook were battling for a practice squad slot.
Martinez also spent 2024 as the team’s practice squad quarterback, so the Jets have plenty of experience with him in that role. Waiving him could indicate that Cook has won the QB3 role and will remain on the active roster, but Cook could still be cut, at which point a decision would still need to be made on which young passer would be retained on the practice squad.
Bears Place CB Terell Smith On IR, Waive Six Others
As roster cuts continue the Bears get started with a placement on injured reserve and six waivings:
Waived:
- LB Swayze Bozeman
- G Chris Glaser
- TE Thomas Gordon
- S Mark Perry
- WR Samori Toure
- CB Jeremiah Walker
Placed on IR:
- CB Terell Smith (story)
The Bears lost Smith, a third-year rotation cornerback after the former fifth-rounder suffered a torn patellar tendon in the team’s second preseason game. With his placement on IR before the roster cut deadline and no designation to return, he will officially miss the entire 2025 NFL season.
Some of the players waived, like Glaser and Toure have some NFL experience here and there with other teams, but they didn’t end up sticking it out in Chicago. The Bears have a lot more work ahead of them to get the roster down to 53.
Rams Start Roster Trimming With 11 Players
The Rams got started on working down their roster to the eventual 53 players they’ll open up the season with today. In doing so, they released one veteran and waived 10 other players:
Released:
Waived:
- TE McCallan Castles
- S Malik Dixon-Williams
- OL Ben Dooley
- DT Decarius Hawthorne
- G John Leglue
- C Mike McAllister
- OLB Josh Pearcy
- DL Da’Jon Terry
- T Trey Wedig
- QB Dresser Winn
Fields fell in an out of favor over the course of his rookie contract in Cleveland, starting 10 games between his second and third year with the team before getting waived after an ankle injury in Week 1 of last year. He signed a practice squad deal with Los Angeles with hopes of making an impact once healthy. Unfortunately, his opportunity with the Rams won’t be on the 53-man roster, though he may agree to sign back on to the team’s practice squad, since he doesn’t have to go through waivers.
This was Winn’s third stint in Los Angeles, with short stays in the CFL and UFL bridging the other two stints. He has enough familiarity with the team that he may be a name they bring back to the practice squad. No other names here draw much surprise as five of those waived were undrafted rookies.
Saints’ OL Depth Hurting
After a year in which two offensive line positions were essentially revolving doors for starters, the Saints entered their offseason program with a strong plan. Unfortunately, their emergency plan may have required an emergency plan of its own as New Orleans has watched injuries ravage their offensive line depth.
The Saints have a preliminary starting five that sees Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz return to their roles last year at center and right guard, respectively. Trevor Penning, last year’s starting right tackle, has bumped in to the left guard spot, allowing last year’s left tackle, Taliese Fuaga, to return to the position he played in college after starting his rookie year at left tackle. Finally, filling the vacated left tackle spot will likely be rookie first-round pick Kelvin Banks Jr.
However, as mentioned above, the Saints have been bitten before, so they made sure to stock up on depth for their offensive line. Those pieces included free agent addition Dillon Radunz, centers Will Clapp and Shane Lemieux, guard Nick Saldiveri, tackle Landon Young, and a few others. Despite the team’s efforts, a number of those players have already gotten injured in the preseason, leaving New Orleans extremely thin along their offensive line with just over two weeks until their regular season opener.
Clapp and Saldiveri are already done for the season, and Radunz has stepped in for Penning as he deals with turf toe, per Matthew Paras of The Times-Picayune. To make matters worse, Young was carted off the field during Saturday’s preseason game with an ankle injury, according to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. Lemieux appeared to be making a push for the Saints’ backup center job until he, too, left Saturday’s game with an ankle injury (via Paras). That could give bolster the roster chances of depth interior linemen Torricelli Simpkins and Luke Fortner, the latter of whom was acquired in a trade last week.
New Orleans’ OL woes could have them scouring the waiver wire over the coming days to shore up their depth in the trenches. A quicker recovery from Penning would also allow Radunz to serve as a versatile backup after playing every position except center in Tennessee.
Nikhil Mehta contributed to this post.
Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet Earned Bigger Role For 2024
The running back situation in Seattle has been frustrating for years as young, talented rushers continuously seem to experience bad luck with injuries. At the moment, Kenneth Walker‘s injury issues from last year are frustrating as he has practiced sparsely so far this summer, but the real frustration may be with fans of last year’s RB2 Zach Charbonnet, who has more than shown he can carry the torch in Walker’s absence. 
According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson, regardless of how healthy Walker is in 2025, the Seahawks expect to utilize Charbonnet in a much bigger role this year. This doesn’t quite indicate that either running back has secured the RB1 role or that the RB1 role is up for grabs at all, but it’s becoming clear in Seattle that they need to get Charbonnet more opportunities, whether Walker is healthy or not.
Walker was an immediate hit as a second-round rookie out of Michigan State in 2022, rushing for over 1,000 yards and notching nine scores in 11 starts after initial starter Rashaad Penny went down with injury. In 2023, the team added Charbonnet, another second-round running back, and the UCLA back proved to be an immediate improvement behind Walker over Seattle’s Miami (FL) duo of DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer had been in 2022.
Though Walker started all but two contests in 2023, Charbonnet (108 carries) cut quite a bit into Walker’s 219 carries. While Walker got first touches and goal line responsibilities, Charbonnet did more with his carries as a rookie, averaging slightly more yards per carry than Walker. Both backs played equal roles as receivers.
Last year, the picture changed significantly. Injuries forced Walker to miss three different two-game stretches. In those six games, Charbonnet proved to be perfectly capable as a replacement starter, totaling 433 yards and six touchdowns on 91 carries in those games, alone. Once again, Charbonnet outpaced Walker in yards per carry, but this time it was by a significant margin. Despite having 18 fewer carries than Walker, Charbonnet was only four yards short of him on the season and finished with one more touchdown than Walker.
This year, George Holani, an undrafted rookie on last year’s team, and seventh-round rookie (a third Hurricanes back) Damien Martinez don’t stand much of a chance at poaching carries, so it will be the Walker-Charbonnet show, though with what ratio, we don’t yet know. Walker is clearly a talented rusher, but injuries killed his third season in the league, and he has not been on the field much as the team implements a new offense.
Charbonnet, on the other hand, has shown maturity and patience as he waits for his name to be called. He’s been impressive in his spot starts, and perhaps more importantly, he’s only been inactive for a single game through his first two seasons in the NFL.
Keep in mind, also, that Walker will be playing on the final year of his rookie contract, and front offices tend to think running backs age like lettuce. If Walker doesn’t prove to be as effective as he was in his first two years of play, the Seahawks may just decide to see if Charbonnet can handle a full-time RB1 role moving forward and start looking towards future options at the position with no plans of extending or re-signing Walker.
Either way, it’s expected that we’ll see plenty of both backs in 2025. As long as he’s healthy enough, Walker should start the year as RB1. Charbonnet will likely rotate in off the bench as the team works on ways to get him more snaps throughout the games, or perhaps, they’ll alternate possessions. It’s all speculation at this moment, but Charbonnet has shown enough on the field to leave very little room for error for Walker in a contract year.
Giants Will Look For Safeties On Waivers
For one reason or another, the Giants had only two safeties active in their final preseason game Thursday night. Because of this, the team will reportedly be looking to add some quality safety depth on waivers, according to Ryan Dunleavy of New York Post Sports. 
While presumed starters Jevon Holland and Tyler Nubin, and likely third safety Dane Belton, were probably unavailable due to their importance to the Week 1 roster, Raheem Layne and Anthony Johnson Jr. were unavailable, presumably, for health reasons. This left Makari Paige and K’Von Wallace to play the entire game as the only two active safeties, leading them to the waiver wire.
NFL Players with fewer than four accrued seasons under their belt (and some injured players) are subject to the waiver wire, while vested veterans immediately become free agents that can sign a new contract at their own whim. This is a unique time of year to utilize the waiver wire, though.
Usually, waivers claims are processed at the end of a 24-hour period, claimed players are awarded to new teams, and teams with successful waivers are sent to the back of the priority list. What makes this time of year unique is that, from the final week of preseason games to the day after the roster cut deadline, any waived players will remain on the waiver wire, potentially for days, available to be claimed.
This gives the New York brass ample time to examine the young safeties available to be claimed. With the waiver order on Wednesday being based on 2024 records, the Giants should boast the third-highest waiver priority when claims begin processing.
The Giants should be pretty secure in their group of three safeties at the top of the depth chart. Holland came in this offseason from Miami on a sizeable three-year, $45.3MM deal. He had alternating seasons of outstanding and average play in Miami, which, if the pattern stays true, means the New York should expect the best from Holland in 2025. He should be the easy answer to slide in next to Nubin, the returning starter from last year, replacing Jason Pinnock, who now resides in the Bay Area. Belton has been a frequently used third safety in New York, rotating in often, and starting as an injury replacement as needed in his first three years with the team.
Of the safeties currently in the building, Wallace probably stands the best chance at staying as a fourth safety. After three seasons as a rotation safety in Philadelphia, Wallace started 12 games in a 2023 season that he spent with both the Cardinals (seven games) and Titans (10 games). Unfortunately, neither opportunity led to further contracts, and in 2024, he had a regressive year as an injured depth piece in Seattle.
Layne and Johnson have been depth pieces so far in their short time in New York, and Paige is an undrafted rookie out of Michigan. If the Giants decide that they don’t believe any combination of the four can effectively fill out their 53-man roster, they will have the next four days to evaluate the litany of players who end up on waivers.