Patriots LB Anfernee Jennings On Roster Bubble; S Kyle Dugger A Release/Trade Candidate?
Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings started 16 games last season and enjoyed a 79% snap share, both career-high marks. However, he may not be with the team in 2025.
As ESPN’s Mike Reiss observes, Jennings was playing late in the fourth quarter of New England’s first preseason game on Friday, which is not the typical milieu for an established player. In Reiss’ estimation, that is reflective of Jennings’ precarious spot on the roster.
Now entering the second year of the three-year, $12MM contract he signed in March 2024, Jennings has failed to make much of an impact as a pass rusher but has proven himself to be a stout defender against the run. He earned a stellar 85.9 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus in 2023, and though his grade slipped to 73.0 in 2024, he still turned in a solid showing.
While former head coaches Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo valued Jennings’ contributions as an edge-setter, new HC Mike Vrabel favors a more aggressive, penetrating style of play. Reiss says Jennings is firmly behind new acquisitions Harold Landry and K’Lavon Chaisson on the depth chart, and the sixth-year pro is competing with younger talents like Truman Jones, Bradyn Swinson, and Elijah Ponder.
New England would have to eat $3.35MM in dead money if it were to move on from Jennings and would realize cap savings of just under $2MM. Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal agrees with Reiss’ assessment of the situation and points out that Jennings has been “looking up at the depth chart” since spring practices began. Giardi suggests the Pats will indeed part ways with their 2020 third-rounder at some point.
Another 2020 draftee and stalwart on the Patriots’ defense, Kyle Dugger, could also be a release/trade candidate, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. While Dugger’s status in that regard could be more speculation than anything else at this point, Volin does say the 29-year-old has had a quiet camp and may only be on the roster because of his fully-guaranteed 2025 salary of $9.75MM (part of the four-year, $58MM deal he signed last April).
That said, if another team is willing to absorb some money, Volin believes Dugger could be traded. But no other club produced an offer sheet after the Patriots put the transition tag on Dugger last year — though he did attract some interest at the trade deadline — and the Lenoir-Rhyne product’s frequent struggles in coverage continued in 2024. He allowed a massive 137.4 QB rating as the nearest defender, and PFF placed him near the very bottom of the league in terms of coverage grades.
In Sunday’s training camp practice, Dugger was running with the second-stringers, while rookie Craig Woodson took his place on the first-team unit (via Volin).
Ben Bartch Favorite For 49ers’ Starting LG Job
It appears the 49ers’ left guard position is settled. Per Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area, the job likely belongs to Ben Bartch, who re-signed with San Francisco in February.
Bartch, 27, entered the league as a fourth-round pick of the Jaguars in 2020. He got into 41 games across three-plus seasons in Jacksonville and landed with the 49ers midway through the 2023 campaign. He has been with the organization ever since.
He started just two games for the Niners last year and saw a grand total of 65 offensive snaps in relief of an injured Aaron Banks, but he played well in his limited action before succumbing to an injury of his own. Banks was one of the many players who departed San Francisco this offseason as a result of the club’s cap constraints, which left a full-time LG spot up for grabs.
The battle for that gig came down to Bartch and 2022 sixth-rounder Nick Zakelj, who has just two career starts to his name (compared to Bartch’s 22). While Bartch opened training camp on the active/PUP list, he was activated at the end of July, and Zakelj did not seize his opportunity.
“It’s Bartch’s job to lose, really,” offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Foerster said of the LG post. “Nick had a chance when Ben was hurt early, but Ben came back quick enough that if Nick would have really asserted himself, [he could have] taken the role, but he didn’t. He was good, but we still feel Ben gives us the best shot.”
One of the Niners’ few bright spots in 2024 was the performance of rookie right guard Dominick Puni, who played all but one offensive snap and who finished the year as Pro Football Focus’ sixth-highest-rated guard among 77 qualified players. As the team seeks a return to the postseason and a return to form from newly-extended quarterback Brock Purdy, they will be hoping that Bartch — who is earning scarcely more than the league minimum — can serve as an effective complement to his younger counterpart.
Texans Sign DB Jalen Mills
The Texans have signed veteran defensive back Jalen Mills, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Houston brought Mills in for a workout last week, and with some uncertainty surrounding several members of its safety depth chart, the club has found an experienced reinforcement.
Mills, 31, entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick of the Eagles in 2016, and he spent most of his first few seasons in the league at cornerback. In 2020, however, Philadelphia moved him all over the secondary, and he turned in one of the best seasons of his career (74 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one interception, 68.9 Pro Football Focus grade). That performance earned him a four-year, $24MM deal from the Patriots in 2021.
New England deployed him primarily as a cornerback over his first two years in Foxborough, but after the team cut and re-signed him in 2023, he was utilized more as a safety. As of last offseason, he was no longer in the club’s plans, and when a Giants contract failed to produce a roster spot in 2024, he caught on with the Jets’ taxi squad. He ultimately appeared in nine games (eight starts) for Gang Green, spending most of his time at safety and recording 44 tackles and a pick.
Veteran C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was acquired via trade with the Eagles in March, recently suffered a knee injury in practice. He did not tear his ACL, as was initially feared, but it is unclear when he will return to the field. Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required) said the injury was not a season-ender, and both ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via ESPN colleague DJ Bien-Aime) and Aaron Wilson of KPRC2.com indicated CJGJ could be available for Week 1 (with Wilson adding rest and rehab, or perhaps a PRP injection, could do the trick).
Fellow safety Jimmie Ward – who remains on the PUP list due to offseason foot surgery – is facing a felony domestic violence charge. His next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday. And as Wilson observes in a separate piece, rookie safety Jaylen Reed is dealing with an ankle injury and is expected to miss about three weeks.
The Texans were clearly in need of some cover at the safety position, and Mills, a Super Bowl champion and veteran of 115 NFL appearances (including 91 starts), will at least help the club get through the rest of camp and the preseason schedule. The Dallas native’s spot on the roster is hardly assured, but it would not be surprising to see him stick around as tested and versatile depth.
Bills RB James Cook Holding In?
5:00pm: NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero notes (video link) Cook’s camp and the Bills have remained in consistent contact regarding extension talks, adding that the parties are not believed to be far apart. That makes today’s move somewhat surprising, and it remains to be seen whether the nature of negotiations will shift in the near future and whether missed regular season action becomes a real possibility.
12:43pm: Bills running back James Cook is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is seeking a lucrative extension. However, he fully participated in Buffalo’s first training camp practice, and reports at the time indicated he would continue to do so and would not ‘hold in.’ 
That appears to have changed. Cook did not practice on Sunday, and when asked why, he simply replied, “business” (via ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg). When asked if he would practice Monday, he answered, “business.” Per Getzenberg, he kept repeating the word “business” in response to follow-up questions. The team, meanwhile, indicated it has no comment on the matter, per Getzenberg.
Prior reports suggested the Bills and Cook were still discussing a new deal, although we had also heard there was little traction in negotiations since Cook’s asking price of $15MM per year became public. That AAV would place Cook in a third-place tie with Derrick Henry in the league’s running back hierarchy, and while Cook (26 in September) is over five years younger than Henry with considerably less mileage on his odometer, he does not have nearly the same track record as a game-changing talent.
Still, since taking over as the Bills’ RB1 in 2023, Cook has earned two Pro Bowl nods and has averaged an impressive 4.8 yards per carry across 444 totes. He has also demonstrated a nose for the end zone, recording a league-high 16 rushing touchdowns last season as part of a Buffalo offense that finished 10th in yards and second in scoring. He is therefore justified in making a big ask, and it is unclear whether his apparent new stance reflects some sort of regression in contract talks.
The Bills have busy on the extension front this offseason. The likes of Khalil Shakir, Gregory Rousseau, Christian Benford, and Terrel Bernard have each received lucrative second contracts keeping them in Buffalo for the foreseeable future. General manager Brandon Beane has previously suggested Cook would need to replicate his previous production from the 2024 campaign before the team makes a similar commitment to him, however. Today’s development is another sign that could be the case.
In addition to Cook, Buffalo has veteran Ty Johnson and 2024 fourth-rounder Ray Davis set to return in the backfield. The presence of those two as depth options could once again prevent Cook from handling a true three-down role this season, something which would in turn hinder his market value on a second Bills pact or one sending him to a new team.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Falcons Owner Arthur Blank Endorses GM Terry Fontenot, HC Raheem Morris
In early April, a few weeks prior to this year’s draft, Falcons owner Arthur Blank addressed the status of general manager Terry Fontenot. At the time, Blank did not offer a public vote of confidence, though he did stop short of describing the 2025 season as a make-or-break year for the front office boss.
After his club’s second training camp practice last week, Blank expressly endorsed both Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris, who is entering his second season as Atlanta’s full-time HC.
“I definitely think we have the right people,” Blank said (via ESPN’s Marc Raimondi). “I think they continue to demonstrate that, I think, during this offseason, and how they built during free agency and particularly decisions … in the draft. And I think continuing to reflect on the coaching staff, making some changes on the coaching staff. And if the emperor has no clothes, you’ve got to say the emperor has no clothes. And I think our leadership team has done that, and I think that’ll make us better.”
Blank said in April that the Falcons needed to focus on the defensive side of the ball in the draft, and his most recent comments suggest he is pleased with Fontenot’s decision to select edge rusher Jalon Walker with the No. 15 overall pick and then aggressively trade back into the first round to land another EDGE, James Pearce Jr. Atlanta’s attempts to bolster its pass rush in recent years have not yielded consistent results, and Blank appreciates the concerted effort to address the team’s biggest weakness (which also included adding Leonard Floyd and Morgan Fox in free agency).
The 82-year-old owner also seems to respect the difficult decision Morris had to make in cutting ties with former defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake and replacing him with Jeff Ulbrich.
“My feeling … is that we’re in a better place now, teamwise, coachingwise, totally across the board than we’ve been in a number of years,” Blank said. “And so, I look forward to the season and a different set of results at the end of the season.”
Blank has long touted the importance of front office and coaching continuity, so it is not surprising that, despite having failed to deliver a postseason berth since assuming the GM post in 2021, Fontenot is still in the fold. But in second-year passer Michael Penix Jr., the team finally has the player it realistically hopes will be the long-term successor to Matt Ryan. If Penix should struggle, and if the Falcons miss the playoff bracket again, it would be fair to wonder about the job security of Fontenot and Morris, regardless of Blank’s feelings on continuity.
For now, however, Blank is striking an optimistic tone while openly backing his top power brokers.
Broncos WR Courtland Sutton Took Less Money To Help Denver Retain Other Players
Last week, Broncos WR Courtland Sutton finally secured a long-awaited third contract with the team. Although the extension represents a sizable raise over what Sutton was due to earn and locks in a new wave of guaranteed cash, the $23MM average annual value of the deal makes him the league’s 18th-highest-paid wideout in terms of yearly compensation.
Per Sean Keeler of the Denver Post, Sutton understands he may have left some money on the table – Spotrac considers his market value to be roughly $26.5MM per year – in exchange for additional security. He also knows the team has a number of other mouths to feed, and he wanted to help ensure the Broncos could lock in other key players.
“[There’s] talent in that locker room, guys that are coming up, that are trying to get their second contract,” Sutton said. “I was blessed to be able to get my third. They put the work in just the same way as I have. And some of those guys have more accolades than I have when it comes to the NFL side of things … and to be able to sign the deal that we did, it gives us a chance to keep those guys around.”
A June report suggested defensive standouts Nik Bonitto and Zach Allen may have jumped Sutton as extension priorities for Denver, and other key members of what is expected to again be a stout defense in 2025 – John Franklin-Myers, P.J. Locke, Malcolm Roach, and Alex Singleton among them – are also on expiring deals.
When asked if he was conscious of that reality when signing his own extension, Sutton replied, “1,000%. 1,000%. The deal that we wound up signing is a great deal, and it was very beneficial to myself. And it gives us a chance to be able to keep a lot of really good players around on this team and for years to come.”
Not long after the ink dried on Sutton’s deal, the Broncos agreed to terms with Allen on a monster four-year, $102MM pact. It would not surprise if Bonitto also landed a healthy new contract in short order.
Sutton, a team captain, has done his part to facilitate Denver’s ability to keep the band together. The club is also benefitting from having its starting quarterback, Bo Nix, on his rookie deal, and Sutton will again lead Nix’s collection of offensive weaponry.
Now 29 (30 in October), Sutton cracked the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in his career during Nix’s rookie campaign in 2024. Continued development from the second-year passer, coupled with the addition of tight end Evan Engram and reinforcements in the running game, could allow the Broncos – who cracked the playoff field last season – to take another step forward in 2025.
Lions To Start Graham Glasgow At C, Tate Ratledge At RG
In the wake of Frank Ragnow’s retirement, it appeared second-round rookie Tate Ratledge would take over as the Lions’ starting center, despite working as a guard in college. Graham Glasgow’s past experience as an NFL pivot notwithstanding, the veteran blocker initially told reporters, including Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, he did not expect to be working at the center position.
Per Birkett, the first iteration of the Ratledge-at-center experiment lasted all of three training camp practices. Glasgow, who operated as the Lions’ primary left guard last year, had opened camp as the starting right guard, but he and Ratledge have swapped roles. Glasgow is now the snapper, while Ratledge is the first-team RG (2024 draftee Christian Mahogany is penciled in as the starting left guard).
According to team reporter Dannie Rogers, the switch had more to do with Glasgow’s rapport with quarterback Jared Goff than underperformance on Ratledge’s part.
Offensive coordinator John Morton said of Ratledge, “I love how smart he is. And he’s just going to continue to grow. I mean, I thought he did an exceptional job when he was at center. I mean, that’s a lot mentally. Different snap counts and audibles. It was a lot and I thought he did a pretty good job. I’m really happy where he’s at.”
Head coach Dan Campbell said Ratledge will still take reps at center throughout the rest of the summer, but it makes sense that a team with championship aspirations would opt for a more experienced player at the position. In the meantime, Ratledge will get his first professional experience at the right guard post, where he thrived as a collegian.
The starting RG for Georgia’s championship outfit in 2022, Ratledge went on to earn All-SEC and All-American nods in each of his final two seasons with the Bulldogs. He will slot in between Glasgow and Penei Sewell on a Detroit front that may again be among the league’s best but that could struggle to adequately replace Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler, who signed with the Titans this offseason.
Glasgow, 33, is under contract through the 2026 season, but a release after the upcoming campaign would net the Lions roughly $2.7MM in cap savings. If Ratledge impresses at right guard and with whatever center reps he earns, the team theoretically could shift him to center next year and part ways with Glasgow (who was probably the weakest link on Detroit’s 2024 O-line).
In related news, the team has activated left tackle Taylor Decker off the active/PUP list, per Birkett.
Patriots WRs Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker Facing Uphill Battle To Make Roster
2024 draftees Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker failed to make much of an impact in their first professional season. The Patriots’ second-year wideouts are now working under a brand new coaching staff, and they could be facing an uphill battle to make the club’s 53-man roster (indeed, it was reported back in June that Polk could be on the bubble).
ESPN’s Mike Reiss expects New England to carry six wideouts on the opening day roster, and after the first few days of training camp, Reiss noted that Stefon Diggs, Kayshon Boutte, and DeMario Douglas were running with the starters. Meanwhile, Kyle Williams, Kendrick Bourne – himself a potential cut candidate – and UDFA rookie Efton Chism III were taking second-team reps. Polk and Baker, on the other hand, were “not on the current radar” and had essentially “faded from view.”
At the time, free agent addition Mack Hollins was still on the active/PUP list. Since then, the Pats have activated Hollins, and in an updated look at the club’s WR situation, Reiss describes Diggs, Boutte, Douglas, and Hollins as the top four players on the depth chart, with Williams – who has flashed in recent days after something of a “dry spell” – slotting in behind them.
Williams is a third-round rookie, so his place on the team is almost certainly secure despite natural growing pains. Diggs, New England’s marquee free agent acquisition, was always expected to lead the way, and 2023 draftees Douglas and Boutte have shown promise as complementary options. Hollins offers a big-bodied target for QB Drake Maye, and his two-year, $8.4MM contract indicated his roster spot was never in doubt either.
It is telling that, prior to Hollins’ return, an undrafted rookie was seeing more reps than Polk and Baker. Per Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, Chism’s spring momentum has not carried over into training camp, and Reiss made note of a Chism drop in a recent practice. Still, given the sheer volume of players in the wide receiver room, it may take an injury and/or the release of a player like Bourne for Polk and Baker to remain in Foxborough.
Further complicating the issue for Polk was a hamstring injury that caused him to miss practice time. He is back on the field, and head coach Mike Vrabel said the second-year pro is “a player that worked extremely hard to get back and ready to go … there’s been some positive things that he’s done since he’s been back” (via Mike Kadlick of CLNS Media). Vrabel went on to say that Polk has not made any mental errors despite his absence.
Polk, a second-round selection last year, may be more likely than Baker, a fourth-rounder, to make the team based on upside alone. According to Kyed, Polk may also have an in as a slot receiver, since the Pats’ depth in the slot is thinner than it is outside the numbers.
Dolphins Sign OL Germain Ifedi
The Dolphins have signed veteran offensive lineman Germain Ifedi, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Starting right tackle Austin Jackson is expected to miss a few weeks of camp after suffering an injury in practice on Saturday, so Ifedi will at least provide experienced depth in Jackson’s absence (though the team does believe Jackson will be in the Week 1 starting lineup).
Ifedi, 31, has 117 apperances and 90 starts to his name. While most of that time has come at right tackle, he has also seen his fair share of snaps at right guard. In 2024, he started seven games at left tackle for the Browns’ injury-depleted offensive line.
That was the most action he saw since his seven-start 2021 campaign with the Bears, and there is a reason why he was still on the open market in early August. The former first-round pick of the Seahawks played every snap for Seattle during his first four years in the league from 2016-19, but he never developed as the team hoped, and his fifth-year option was declined as a result.
That led him to Chicago, where he spent the 2020-21 seasons. He operated as a full-time starter during that stint, excepting the games he missed due to injury. His Pro Football Focus evaluations were much better as a Bear than they had been as a Seahawk, but they were still roughly average, and he was unable to carve out a meaningful role for himself with the Falcons in 2022. He then spent all of the 2023 slate riding the Bills’ bench and did not see a single snap.
His time as an emergency LT with Cleveland did not go well, with PFF considering him the seventh-worst tackle in the league out of 81 qualified players. In fairness, he was miscast as a blindside blocker, and his work with the Bears suggested he can be a competent starter and a solid pass-blocker on the right side of the line. It may or may not be enough to land him a spot on the 53-man roster, but the Dolphins could certainly have done worse in their search for camp reinforcements.
That search also included players like Zack Bailey, Yodny Cajuste, Chris Hubbard, and David Sharpe, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, who indicated that quartet worked out for the team along with Ifedi. Obviously, Ifedi impressed the most.
In a corresponding move, Miami waived fourth-string quarterback Brett Gabbert (via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques). And, in a rare piece of good news for the club’s secondary, the ‘Fins activated free agent addition Ifeatu Melifonwu from the active/NFI list (via Louis-Jacques). Melifonwu could start at safety alongside trade acquisition Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Incident With Raiders Teammate May Have Triggered Christian Wilkins’ Release; DT Generating FA Interest
JULY 28: ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted during a Monday appearance on the Pat McAfee Show (video link) that Wilkins “playfully went to kiss a teammate on the top of his head,” citing multiple members of the organization. The teammate took issue with the act, which is presumably the one previously reported on. As Wilkins sorts out his free agent options, this incident will no doubt be a point of interest amongst potential suitors.
JULY 27: The reporting on the Raiders’ surprising decision to release defensive tackle Christian Wilkins has centered around the disagreement between the two sides as to Wilkins’ approach to his recovery from the foot injury that prematurely ended his 2024 season. However, that may not be the only factor.
Per Josina Anderson of The Exhibit, an unspecified incident with a teammate may have triggered the release. The team has not confirmed any such incident or complaint, though a league source confirmed to Anderson there was a situation in which Wilkins was “playing around.”
The source presumably offered no further details, and without more, it is impossible to even speculate as to what the alleged incident could have been. It is also natural to think that the Raiders, who are staring down the barrel of a historic dead money charge stemming from Wilkins’ release, may be attempting to bolster their chances of circumventing those salary cap ramifications.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who suggests that is the case, also discusses in a separate piece the difficulties Las Vegas could face if its argument that it properly voided Wilkins’ remaining guarantees is limited to the injury issue. Citing Article 39, Section 6 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Florio says Wilkins has the absolute right to a second opinion in medical matters. So, if the Raiders’ medical team wanted Wilkins to undergo a second operation on his foot, and if Wilkins’ decision to eschew surgery in favor of continued rehab was supported by a different doctor, then Vegas may not have a leg to stand on. Indeed, a league source told Anderson that Wilkins never received a documented write-up for behavioral matters.
Nonetheless, Anderson believes there may be some merit to the rumors regarding the incident with the teammate, because it otherwise does not make sense to cut a quality player at a seismic financial cost simply because of a disagreement over the best course of injury treatment (which is not necessarily an uncommon occurrence). It is also worth noting that, although Wilkins was placed on the active/PUP list on July 18, his release did not come with a failed physical designation (via veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer).
That is not to mention the comment head coach Pete Carroll made in May affirming Wilkins had been doing everything he needed to do in order to get back on the field, which Anderson posits is further support for the notion that there is something else at play other than Wilkins’ health. On the other hand, even at the time he made that statement, Carroll acknowledged Wilkins was in the midst of a “long, challenging process,” and as of late June, the 29-year-old was still in a walking boot (though a report from earlier this month indicated Wilkins was making progress).
The upshot here is that a pending contentious battle over finances has become more muddled. But Wilkins, just one year removed from being one of the biggest free agent prizes in the sport, has already attracted the interest of several teams, per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (video link). Rapoport does not identify the teams, and he says it is still uncertain when Wilkins will be medically cleared.