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Author: Sam Robinson

Giants Move Down To 53

By | at August 26, 2025 5:59 pm

Following the Tommy DeVito cut, here are the moves the Giants made to trim their roster to 53:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

Placed on IR (return designation):

Two years after winning a starting job as a rookie (and forcing Adoree’ Jackson into a brief slot CB sojourn), Hawkins is off the Giants’ roster. He joins Dulcich as notable players waived today. Dulcich came over via waivers from the Broncos midway through last season. The Giants have been light at tight end since Darren Waller‘s retirement, but they now have starter Theo Johnson back after a season-ending injury. Daniel Bellinger, Chris Manhertz and seventh-round rookie Thomas Fidone made the team over Dulcich.

Forsythe came over from the Seahawks on a one-year, $1.34MM deal, doing so after having started 13 games between the 2023 and ’24 seasons. The Giants gave more money (two years, $12MM) to James Hudson to be their swing tackle, while fifth-round rookie Marcus Mbow has been working at tackle as well. Evan Neal is also an option at tackle, though the demoted RT has been working at guard for months.

Ezeudu will count toward the Giants’ in-season injury activation total, reducing that number from eight to seven. The former third-round pick has been out for a few weeks after being carted off the practice field early in camp. The Giants view Ezeudu as likely to return, however. This is the North Carolina product’s contract year.

Teams can officially begin setting their 16-man practice squads starting at 11am CT Wednesday. The Giants have a few candidates from this bunch to stay, with a decent percentage of the above contingent under consideration to stay. Kabas is one, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, who adds Miller is another. Paige is viewed as a candidate for New York’s P-squad as well, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. Ward is a vested veteran and can determine his future earlier, but Wilson adds the reserve RB is a taxi squad candidate.

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Bills Place CB Maxwell Hairston On IR

By | at August 26, 2025 5:06 pm

The LCL injury Maxwell Hairston suffered early in training camp will indeed cost him at least four games. The Bills set their initial 53-man roster today, and Hairston is heading to IR.

Buffalo stashed the first-round cornerback on IR, with a return designation covering the rookie and offensive lineman Tylan Grable. That duo can return to practice in Week 5, but both players are on the shelf until at least October.

While the Bills breathed a sigh of relief when it was revealed Hairston’s knee injury was not an ACL tear, the LCL sprain he did suffer will cover a chunk of his rookie year. Hairston will lose developmental time because of this injury, as he cannot be designated for return until after the Bills’ Week 4 game. But the team is understandably saving one of its injury activations for a prized prospect.

Hairston and Grable count against Buffalo’s regular-season activation total. The 2024 IR rule change allowed teams to stash two players on IR upon setting their initial 53-man rosters in August, but those players — whether they are activated or not — count against the team’s total. Teams have eight activations each regular season; the Bills are now down to six.

Buffalo used both its allotted August IR moves last year, stashing Matt Milano and Darrynton Evans on the injured list upon setting their roster. Milano returned, while the Bills cut Evans. The running back still counted against the Bills’ activation total, even though he did not play for the Bills in 2024.

The Bills have clear plans for Hairston, but his route to complementing Christian Benford as a boundary CB starter is on hold. For the time being, it will be Tre’Davious White on track to be Buffalo’s No. 2 corner. White had been the team’s top coverage presence for most of his seven-year stint with the team, but ACL (2021) and Achilles (’23) tears sidetracked the former All-Pro. Ahead of an age-30 season, White has a redemption chance. This is a risk, as White struggled last season after being a cap casualty, but the 2024 Rams and Ravens corner will return to a familiar locale and attempt to give starter-level form to the Bills again.

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Titans To Sign DL Shy Tuttle

By | at August 26, 2025 4:49 pm

Vested veterans have an advantage over players exposed to waivers today, and Shy Tuttle will be an early beneficiary. The recently cut Panthers defensive lineman has already found a new home.

Tuttle is set to join the Titans, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Tennessee will bring the two-year Carolina starter in on a one-year deal, adding an experienced player to a position group that stood as ray of light during a rough 2024 slate.

The Titans ranked second in total defense but 30th in scoring, owing part of the latter total to a poor quarterback situation. They return Jeffery Simmons, Sebastian Joseph-Day and T’Vondre Sweat up front. Tuttle figures to supply depth, doing so after spending the past four seasons as an NFC South starter. The Titans only kept five D-linemen on their initial 53-man roster; Tuttle will move that to a more logical number to open the season.

A Saints UDFA during Sean Payton‘s time at the helm, Tuttle worked as a backup in 2019 and ’20 before shifting to a starter the following year. Tuttle started 29 games with the Saints from 2021-22, creating a solid free agency market ahead of a three-year, $19MM Panthers deal — a contract Carolina later reduced (in 2025) ahead of today’s release.

Carolina used Tuttle as a full-time starter over the past two seasons, and he saw time at multiple D-tackle spots — including nose. Sweat has that spot locked down in the Titans’ starting lineup, but Tuttle could spell the mammoth interior presence. Tuttle played 56% of Carolina’s defensive snaps — as the Panthers sank to last place defensively in points and yardage — but ranked outside the top 100 (in Pro Football Focus’ view) among D-tackles. The Titans will provide the soon-to-be 30-year-old DT another chance.

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Lions Shift Alim McNeill, Malcolm Rodriguez To Reserve/PUP List; Team Sets Initial Roster

By | at August 26, 2025 4:41 pm

In stashing two injured starters on the reserve/PUP list, the Lions also made a host of cuts to move down to 53. Here are the moves the two-time reigning NFC North champions made at today’s cutdown deadline:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Waived (injury settlement):

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

Placed on reserve/NFI list:

McNeill is believed to be ahead of schedule, but the standout interior D-lineman will still be stashed on the PUP list — requiring a four-game absence. The Lions lost McNeill to an ACL tear — in their bloodbath of a season on defense — to a Week 15 ACL tear. This came weeks after the Lions and the four-year veteran hammered out an extension. McNeill, who has been pegged as most likely to return around midseason, is signed through 2028.

Rodriguez went down with an ACL tear during the Lions’ Thanksgiving win over the Bears. It was reported previously the young linebacker would be expected to miss regular-season time, and that will come to pass.

The Lions became the extraordinarily rare team to drop down to 50 players on roster-cutdown day, as opposed to the required 53. That will keep options open. The team can bring vested veterans back without the waiver process being involved, and teams occasionally wait until after the vested-veteran guarantee deadline passes in early September to re-sign vested performers to avoid fully guaranteeing salaries.

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Cardinals Move DL Walter Nolen To Reserve/PUP List

By | at August 26, 2025 3:51 pm

It will be a while before the Cardinals can see Walter Nolen in action. The calf injury that has kept the first-round pick on Arizona’s active/PUP list will now sideline him for at least four games.

Upon setting their 53-man roster, the Cardinals are transferring Nolen to the reserve/PUP list. Nolen’s injury occurred while training at the team facility, making the rookie eligible for the PUP list — as opposed to the NFI list, which is important for salary purposes. Nolen will be locked into his fully guaranteed salary on the PUP list.

The Cardinals effectively punted on their D-line in 2023, after J.J. Watt retired and Zach Allen joined the Broncos in free agency, but the team has steadily retooled there. After drafting Darius Robinson in the 2024 first round, the Cardinals signed Browns cap casualty Dalvin Tomlinson. Arizona then used the No. 16 overall pick on Nolen this year. A post-draft Calais Campbell reunion then commenced, forming an intriguing group up front. The Tomlinson and Campbell additions loom larger now, with Nolen set to be out until at least October.

Nolen racked up 6.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and three pass deflections at Ole Miss. Those totals helped earn him first-team All-SEC and All-American honors and cement his status as one of the top options in a deep defensive line class. While questions were raised early in the pre-draft process about his range, it was clear just before the opening round Nolen would likely not need to wait long to hear his name called. But he now will need to wait a bit before debuting.

The Cardinals, who also added Josh Sweat in free agency, have overhauled their pass rush in the past two offseasons. They will have a more formidable front seven, thanks to the bevy of additions this year, but the full group working together — in what is likely Campbell’s final season — is on hold.

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Patriots Waive G Cole Strange

By | at August 26, 2025 3:49 pm

Three-plus years after using a first-round pick on Cole Strange, the Patriots are cutting him. New England waived the former starter, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports.

Exiting the offseason program, Strange was believed to be leading the Pats’ left guard battle. That changed during training camp, and he is among the holdovers to have fallen out of favor with the Mike Vrabel-led coaching staff. Mentioned as a potential surprise cut, Strange will exit and leave the Pats with $3.9MM in dead money.

Used at both guard and center during his Patriots tenure, Strange never justified Bill Belichick‘s investment. Chosen 29th overall three years ago, Strange — viewed as a reach at the time — ran into a severe knee injury in Year 2 and never ultimately got back on track. The Pats declined his fifth-year option in April.

Strange suffered a torn patellar tendon in 2023, and the injury sidelined him for most of the 2024 season. When the Patriots brought Strange off their PUP list last year, he worked primarily at center. Vrabel’s staff transitioned him back to guard this offseason, but New England saw third-round pick Jared Wilson made a charge for the LG gig. Wilson appears set to form an all-rookie left side with first-round pick Will Campbell.

The Pats’ initial 53-man roster includes Ben Brown and swingman Caedan Wallace — part of the team’s 2024 left tackle merry-go-round — as interior backups behind Wilson and RG Michael Onwenu. Strange is not yet a vested veteran, so he will be available to claim by 11am CT Wednesday.

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Falcons Place RT Kaleb McGary On IR

By | at August 26, 2025 3:29 pm

Teams have had the option of stashing two players on IR with return designations over the past two Augusts. While that was the expectation for Kaleb McGary, the Falcons’ roster revealed a significant setback for the team’s O-line.

Atlanta did not stash McGary on IR with a return designation, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo clarifies. That will sideline the recently extended blocker for the season. That deals a blow to a Falcons team that also is without swing tackle Storm Norton, who suffered a knee injury recently.

The Falcons did place Norton on their IR-return list, which also includes defensive lineman Ta’Quon Graham. Norton is expected to miss between six to eight weeks. McGary injury specifics are not yet known, but him being done for the year deals a blow to a Falcons team employing one of the NFL’s two left-handed starting QBs (in Michael Penix Jr.).

Raheem Morris did say last week that McGary would miss significant time, and it now represents good timing on his part to secure a second Falcons extension. Atlanta gave McGary a two-year, $30MM deal that brings $17.99MM guaranteed, per Spotrac. McGary will have plenty of time to rehab, but locking in that guarantee when he did probably spared him a value loss in free agency.

McGary, 30, was tied to a three-year deal that expired after the 2025 season. He joined Jawaan Taylor and Mike McGlinchey on a strong RT market in 2023. While the former first-round pick did not match the eventual Chiefs and Broncos RTs’ contracts, he did well and delivered two more years as a Falcons starter. The seventh-year veteran has started 92 career games, never missing more than three in a season.

Norton will be an option to replace McGary once he comes off IR, but for now, the Falcons are in a bind. They did trade for second-year blocker Michael Jerrell, whose 245 rookie-year snaps all came at right tackle, earlier today. Jerrell joins veteran swingman Elijah Wilkinson as immediate options. Wilkinson, a former Broncos swing tackle who had shifted inside in recent years, became McGary’s immediate replacement in practice. The Falcons are already replacing Drew Dalman, their three-year center starter who signed a high-priced Bears deal; they will now see more O-line turnover to start the season.

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Texans Trade OL Austin Deculus To Chargers

By | at August 26, 2025 3:15 pm

The Texans’ offensive line reshuffle continues; they are trading fourth-year blocker Austin Deculus. The 2022 Houston draftee will be dealt to the Chargers, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports.

In exchange, the Texans will add a conditional 2027 seventh-round pick. Deculus will join a Bolts team dealt a tough injury blow weeks ago upon losing left tackle Rashawn Slater for the season.

Houston has already made three trades involving O-linemen this offseason. They dealt Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders, sent Kenyon Green to the Eagles and acquired Ed Ingram from the Vikings. No. 4 involves a much lower-profile player in Deculus, who has played in 13 career games with one start.

For a team that lost a Pro Bowl left tackle, the Bolts are in fairly decent shape. They kicked Joe Alt over from right tackle and are set to plug Trey Pipkins — he of considerable starting experience — at RT, marking a return after an unsuccessful guard transition. The Chargers also roster ex-Slater LT fill-in Jamaree Salyer up front.

All but one of Deculus’ NFL snaps on offense have come at left tackle. The trade gives the Bolts a second backup option alongside Salyer, who has a year of guard starter experience under his belt as well.

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Chargers To Activate RB Najee Harris

By | at August 26, 2025 3:13 pm

Najee Harris‘ recovery has progressed to the point he will be moved off the active/NFI list. Rather than stashing the free agency addition on the reserve/PUP list — which would require a four-game absence — the Chargers are moving him to their 53-man roster, veteran reporter Jordan Schultz tweets.

Sustaining injuries in a fireworks accident July 4, Harris has not practiced fully. This activation does not guarantee Harris will be ready for Week 1, but the Chargers’ decision points to an early-season debut.

While a rumor last week indicated Harris could begin the season on the reserve/NFI list, GM Joe Hortiz did not rule out Week 1. Teams do not have to release injury reports until Week 1, though the Chargers’ season-opening Brazil tilt — against the Chiefs next Friday — will provide earlier clarity on the running back’s status.

Harris has ramped up his side workouts at Bolts practice, though concern has naturally emerged about the state of his injured eye. The four-year Steelers starter was an ironman on his rookie contract, not missing any time while racking up four straight 1,000-yard seasons. The fireworks injury will threaten to end the former first-rounder’s streak. Next week’s practice reports will be telling.

The Bolts added some protection in Omarion Hampton, who is poised to be the team’s Week 1 starter and long-term option behind/alongside Justin Herbert. The Chargers minimized Harris’ place on the team when they used the No. 22 overall pick on Hampton, who can be kept on his rookie contract through 2029 via the fifth-year option. Harris is tied to a one-year, $5.25MM deal. And the July setback clouds his role with his new team and his chances of upping his free agency stock for a 2026 bid.

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Saints Release Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Isaiah Foskey, Move Down To 53

By | at August 26, 2025 3:05 pm

The Saints have moved down to 53 players ahead of the 3pm CT deadline. Moving multiple players to the IR-return list, New Orleans also cut 19 players in addition to today’s Jake Haener move. Here is how the Saints trimmed their roster to 53:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR (designated for return):

Placed on IR:

Moved to reserve/PUP list:

Ridgeway and Wesley will count toward the Saints’ in-season injury-activation total, leaving six regular-season activations for the team to use. Kellen Moore confirmed those two received return designations while Young will head to season-ending IR due to ankle surgery, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets. Ridgeway, acquired via trade last year, will miss time due to a pectoral injury. It is not viewed as serious, Garafolo adds, noting the D-lineman should be back early in the season. Ridgeway and Wesley, a 2023 UDFA who has not seen any game action yet, must miss at least four games.

The same holds true for Hill and Moreau, who will be shifted from the active/PUP list to the reserve/PUP list. Hill suffered an ACL tear in Week 13 last season, while Moreau went down with a knee malady in Week 18.

Foskey could not hold onto a regular role under Moore, who will drop the 2023 second-round pick after his third NFL training camp. The Saints have used Foskey in 27 games, giving him no starts. In that time, the edge rusher has not recorded a sack. If Foskey goes unclaimed, the Saints will be hit with $3.16MM in dead money — spread over two years.

Edwards-Helaire follows Cam Akers off New Orleans’ roster. Both are vested veterans and do not need to clear waivers before joining another team’s active roster or practice squad. Teams cannot begin setting P-squads until waivers process at 11am CT Wednesday, but clubs are informing players they want to retain on their taxi squads already. Beanum is among the players the Saints want to retain on their P-squad, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets.

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