Rams To Release Cooper Kupp; Latest On WR’s Market
No Cooper Kupp trade partner has emerged. The Rams are moving on via release, NFL.com’s Tom Pelisseso reports. Releasing Kupp after the start of the 2025 league year (3pm CT today) will allow for a post-June 1 designation.
This will make Kupp a first-time free agent, and although no trade materialized, Kupp will generate FA interest, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo adds. At least three teams have known interest, Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager notes. The Packers should be a team to watch here, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets, mentioning the Seahawks and Titans as potential fits as well. The Raiders would also be interested, per The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, though they do not appear willing to make this move without a notable discount.
Kupp will join a host of accomplished early-30-something WRs in free agency. Stefon Diggs, Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper and Tyler Lockett are also available. None put together a season quite like what Kupp did in 2021, though his injuries since will limit his market. Kupp’s availability also stands to affect the above-referenced wideouts’ markets, as it is becoming crowded at receiver in free agency. Diontae Johnson joins this cast, but the veteran starter’s complicated 2024 has tanked his stock.
The Rams will be on the hook for a $5MM Kupp salary guarantee this year and prorated signing bonus money in 2025 and ’26. They will, however, avoid a $7.5MM roster bonus by moving on now. Kupp was due a $12.5MM base salary in 2025. The Rams can split the $22.26MM dead money bill over two offseasons with a post-June 1 designation. That expected move will create $15MM in 2025 cap savings.
Kupp, 31, said Sean McVay told him he would be traded shortly after the season. The former triple-crown winner made the Rams’ intentions public, indicating he was out after eight seasons. Although the Rams were willing to eat salary in a trade, teams waited them out and will determine FA proposals. Les Snead said Kupp’s $7.5MM bonus, which was due in a few days, served as the deadline for a decision and never made it sound like a ninth season together was in the cards.
Between the time the Rams informed Kupp he would be out of the picture soon and the actual release transpiring, the team signed Davante Adams. The three-time All-Pro will step in alongside Puka Nacua. The Rams’ Adams contract only brings 2025 guarantees, as a 2026 cut with a bit of dead money attached would be in play if that does not prove a it. Adams, however, has stayed much healthier than Kupp and has shown more consistency as a high-end receiver — even if Kupp has produced this decade’s best WR season.
The former third-round pick out of Division I-FCS Eastern Washington, Kupp made the closest push to Calvin Johnson‘s single-season receiving record. He paired 145 receptions and 16 touchdowns with the 1,947 passing yards. Kupp also trails only 2008 Larry Fitzgerald for yards in a single playoffs, having totaled 478 and six TDs — including a Super Bowl LVI game-winner — to help the Rams to a title. Significant injury trouble intervened in the years that followed, as ankle and hamstring maladies kept him off the field for 18 games over the past three seasons.
The Rams had given Kupp two extensions, with the second coming less than two years after the first. Kupp agreed to a three-year, $47.25MM extension in 2020 — after he had bounced back from a 2018 ACL tear with a 1,000-yard 2019 — and he inked a three-year, $80.1MM deal months after Super Bowl LVI.
Kupp ultimately could not deliver on the second payday, though he still showed he has starter-level form in his tank. He posted 710 receiving yards and six TDs in 12 games last season, though the team did not turn to him much down the stretch. We will soon find out how other clubs value him, especially on a crowded market.
Browns, Giants To Meet With Russell Wilson
Although Russell Wilson may be behind Aaron Rodgers in the free agent QB pecking order, another team is showing interest. The Browns are preparing to meet with the 13-year veteran.
Wilson will travel to Cleveland tonight for a Thursday meeting, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who adds the passer’s second Giants meeting in two years is set for Friday. The Giants have been linked to Wilson for a while, but they join the Steelers in waiting for a Rodgers answer.
When the Browns traded for Kenny Pickett, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot indicated the ex-Steelers first-rounder would not automatically be the veteran that steers the ship while Deshaun Watson is out and before it is known a rookie QB is Cleveland-bound. The Browns are still believed to be looking into vets, and Wilson will qualify. Given teams’ preference of Rodgers over him, Wilson will also not stand to be a particularly pricey option at this stage of his career.
The Browns have been more closely connected to Kirk Cousins than Wilson, but as the 2025 league year begins and a $10MM Cousins payment is due, Falcons GM Terry Fontenot is sticking to his guns on cuffing the QB as a high-priced backup. Teams were split on if that Atlanta strategy will continue, but Cousins is not coming up in trades and is not yet a free agent. Despite Kevin Stefanski’s past with Cousins, the 2012 fourth-round pick’s status may well be leading the Browns to look into a 2012 third-rounder.
Certainly not one to cool down drama, Rodgers is taking his time on a potential Pittsburgh-or-New York decision. That has affected Wilson, who is not believed to be a Titans target. The Vikings are also in the mix for a veteran stopgap, but a Browns fit would be quite interesting given the makeup of the team’s QB room. The Browns are needing to keep costs low because of their 2022 decision to give Watson a fully guaranteed $230MM. That trade came barely a week after the Broncos sent two first-rounders, two seconds and other assets to the Seahawks for Wilson. The Browns are considering carrying both players on the same roster.
Wilson, 36, is certainly more than a failed trade piece. He is a nine-time Pro Bowler who sits third all time in QB rushing yards. Mike Tomlin, against the wishes of some in the Steelers organization, installed Wilson as his starter for 11 games last season. Wilson threw 16 touchdown passes and five interceptions. Wilson finished 23rd in QBR, two spots ahead of Rodgers, and posted a better yards-per-attempt number (7.4) than the older great (6.7) as well. Never in Rodgers’ league as a pure passer, Wilson being five years younger may not matter too much right now for teams, either. But the Browns will consider Wilson ahead of a season when Watson figures to land on the reserve/PUP list.
The Giants met with Wilson before his Broncos release last year. The quick visit pertained to a QB who could push Daniel Jones, but Wilson became intrigued by a clearer shot to start in Pittsburgh. The Giants admitted defeat on Jones midway through last season and now need at least two QBs, as Tommy DeVito is the only one contracted. Despite Rodgers underwhelming as a Jet, the Giants are fairly desperate. If Rodgers chooses the Steelers or retires, the Giants may need to give Wilson strong consideration while they determine a draft path.
Broncos To Sign TE Evan Engram
The AFC West duel that formed for Evan Engram has broken the Broncos’ way. After meeting with the Broncos and Chargers, Engram is heading to Denver.
The two-time Pro Bowl tight end is committing to the Broncos on a two-year deal, according to his agency (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). It is unclear if the Bolts submitted an offer, but they scheduled a visit with the eight-year veteran. Engram will join a Broncos team that featured a greater need for a receiving tight end.
Engram’s deal comes after another former Payton-era Saint, Juwan Johnson, signed a three-year, $30.75MM deal to stay in New Orleans. It would stand to reason the Broncos pursued Johnson, who is going into his age-29 season. They will land a player who has proven more as a receiver, but one going into an age-31 season. The Broncos are giving Engram $23MM over two seasons, with NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo reporting $16.5MM will be fully guaranteed. This is a nice haul for a player the Jaguars cut last week.
Fetching more than Johnson and Mike Gesicki on a per-year basis, Engram also has done well for guarantees. This certainly points to the Broncos fending off competition for a player who has two Pro Bowls on his resume. The Jags bailed on Engram’s three-year, $41.25MM extension with one year left, and the Broncos will hope the former first-round pick can address a yearslong issue.
Including Noah Fant in their 2022 Russell Wilson trade, the Broncos have not come especially close to replacing the middling TE’s production. Injuries significantly limited Greg Dulcich in Denver, and the former third-round pick did not prove a fit in Sean Payton’s offense. While the Broncos re-signed ex-Saints draftee Adam Trautman last year, he posted just 188 receiving yards; that led Denver tight ends in 2024. The Chargers may have possessed a need as well, but 2024 addition Will Dissly nearly reached 500 yards last season.
Not profiling as a prolific red zone threat (25 touchdowns in eight seasons), Engram still helped the Jaguars during most of his stay. Given a one-year deal in 2021, Engram broke Jacksonville’s single-season TE receiving yardage record — with 766. That led to a franchise tag and an extension, as Engram added seven catches for 93 yards and a touchdown in the Jags’ wild-card comeback win over the Bolts that year. Engram’s 963-yard season in 2023 came on 114 catches — second-most in Jaguars history. A hamstring issue and a labrum tear slowed Engram in 2024, limiting him to nine games.
Surpassing 650 yards twice as a Giant, Engram was inconsistent during Eli Manning‘s final seasons and Daniel Jones‘ early years. A more refined version of the playmaker should have a chance to make noise in Denver, which did not boast much receiving consistency outside of Courtland Sutton last season. Engram will join Sutton and younger receivers for Payton, who appeared to have placed the Broncos’ TE and RB needs over perceived desire to add a starter-level WR.
Commanders To Sign DT Eddie Goldman
Eddie Goldman has unretired twice, having sat out the 2022 and ’23 seasons. The former Bears mainstay, however, made a return stick last season and did enough to secure a signing early in free agency.
The Commanders are bringing in the veteran nose tackle, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. Once the recipient of a big-ticket Chicago extension, Goldman managed to earn an extended chance from Atlanta despite entering the 2024 season having missed three of the previous four years. That certainly makes this Washington agreement noteworthy.
Despite entering the league in 2015, Goldman is still just 31. That undoubtedly helped keep teams interested, but Goldman is coming off a 10-start season. The Falcons had signed him in 2022, only to see him retire. They allowed Goldman to come off the reserve/retired list in 2023; he re-retired. Last year, though, Goldman played in all 17 Falcons games and stuck around even as a new coaching staff arrived.
Although a new coaching staff came in, the GM that had both drafted and extended Goldman in Chicago (Ryan Pace) remained in Terry Fontenot‘s front office. Goldman and Pace will separate now, with the split coming after the resurgent D-tackle played 331 snaps. That nearly matched his total from his final Bears season. The Bears cut Goldman early in Ryan Poles‘ GM tenure, but after Pace helped bring him to Atlanta, he will move on and join a Commanders team that has seen changes at this position.
Washington released Jonathan Allen after eight seasons; that move came months after the team cut Phidarian Mathis. A door seemingly swung open for Johnny Newton, but the Commanders gave ex-49ers first-rounder Javon Kinlaw a three-year, $45MM deal. Newton may join Goldman as a second-stringer next season, should Goldman make the Commanders’ 53-man roster. An 83-game starter, the former second-round pick will attempt to play an eighth NFL season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/12/25
Here are the minor moves from the first day of the 2025 league year:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: CB Mike Ford, OL Kyle Hinton, DL Ta’Quon Graham, OL Elijah Wilkinson, LB Josh Woods
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: LB Jake Hummel, WR Tylan Wallace
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Dan Chisena
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: DE Cameron Sample
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: LB Jack Sanborn
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Craig Reynolds, LB Grant Stuard
Houston Texans
- Signed: DE Casey Toohill
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DT Neville Gallimore, OL Danny Pinter
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DB Tavierre Thomas
New England Patriots
- Signed: S Jaylinn Hawkins
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette
New York Jets
- Signed: DE Rashad Weaver
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB Ben VanSumeren
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Tre Brown
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: QB Kyle Trask
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: OL Blake Hance
Washington Commanders
- Signed: CB Kevon Seymour
Yes, a few of these players have graduated from our minor-moves sector, but today’s signing blitz being what it was, they land here. Ford highlights the batch contractually, agreeing (per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter) to a two-year, $4MM deal. Ford played on more than 70% of Cleveland’s special teams snaps over the past two seasons.
Trask will reprise his role as Baker Mayfield‘s backup, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicating the former second-round pick is staying on a one-year, $2.79MM contract. Trask and Mayfield competed for the job in 2023, but as was the case with the Drew Lock–Geno Smith battle a year prior, the winner never looked back. Trask will be in place for a fifth Bucs season, having moved from third-stringer during the Tom Brady era to QB2 in the Mayfield years.
Hawkins will stay with the Patriots on a two-year deal worth up to $2.2MM, according to the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed. A 2022 full-time Falcons starter, Hawkins saw Jessie Bates replace him in 2023. The Falcons later waived Hawkins, who ended up on the Chargers in 2023. The Pats used him as a seven-game starter in 2024, when he made 48 tackles (three for loss).
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/12/25
As the 2025 league year begins, here are the Wednesday tender decisions involving restricted and exclusive rights free agents:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Cardinals: WR Greg Dortch
- Chiefs: LB Jack Cochrane, DB Nazeeh Johnson
- Falcons: OL Ryan Neuzil
- Ravens: S Ar’Darius Washington
Nontendered:
- Cardinals: S Andre Chachere, LB Jesse Luketa, T Carter O’Donnell
- Eagles: WR Britain Covey
- Packers: TE John FitzPatrick
- Seahawks: WR Jaelon Darden
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Buccaneers: DL C.J. Brewer
- Cardinals: TE Travis Vokolek
- Giants: LB Dyontae Johnson
Nontendered:
- Seahawks: LB Josh Onujiogu, LB Josh Ross, WR Cody White
The Ravens have discussed an extension with Washington, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. For now, the safety is on Baltimore’s cap sheet at $3.26MM. A second-round tender would have cost the Ravens $5.35MM and brought back a second-round pick if the team did not match an offer sheet elsewhere. An unmatched Washington offer sheet now would not bring the Ravens any compensation. Washington started 10 games for the Ravens last season.
Giants To Re-Sign G Greg Van Roten
It appears veteran offensive guard Greg Van Roten is returning for another year of NFL play at 35 years old. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Van Roten has agreed to a deal that will keep him with the Giants for another year.
This is a bit surprising, as the Giants signed Van Roten during training camp last year. As Evan Neal‘s timetable kept being pushed back, the Giants changed course and installed Van Roten next to former Raiders teammate Jermaine Eluemunor. Effectively important right side of the Las Vegas line, New York may have designs on running that back.
Van Roten played for $2MM last season and immediately took over as a starter at RG. Pro Football Focus graded Van Roten as a mid-pack guard, which was about the best Giants could have hoped for under the circumstances; the advanced metrics site slotted him 42nd in 2024. While the Giants no longer opted to count on Neal, Van Roten made 17 starts for a second straight season. He will enter 2025 as one of the NFL’s oldest linemen — on either side of the ball.
Vacillating between backup and starter, Van Roten has made an interesting mid-30s resurgence. A part-time starter with the 2021 Jets and a pure backup with the ’22 Bills, Van Roten earned a starting gig as a mid-offseason Raiders replacement and did the same with the Giants. The former UDFA out of Penn has made 88 career starts.
Van Roten returning gives the Giants all five of their 2024 O-line first-stringers under contract. A “for better or worse” caveat may be needed there, as it was not a particularly great line (largely sans Andrew Thomas), but continuity up front is generally a positive for teams.
While Kevin Zeitler has certainly enjoyed a better career, Van Roten matches the former first-round pick in longevity. Hours after the historically durable guard landed another gig (with the Titans), Van Roten is set to play a 14th season as well. The Giants have spent their money on defense in free agency, adding Paulson Adebo, Jevon Holland and Chauncey Golston. While they want to sign Aaron Rodgers as a high-profile bridge QB, that is still on hold. Van Roten will either be blocking for Rodgers or another bridge option in 2025, with the Giants also firmly in play to draft a quarterback at No. 3 overall (or via a trade-up).
Ely Allen contributed to this post
WR Mike Williams Returning To Chargers
The Chargers are bringing in some help at wide receiver while bringing back a familiar face in veteran wide receiver Mike Williams, per Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports.
After one year away from the team, Williams will return to where he’s spent seven years of his NFL career. Williams’ deal is reportedly for one year and worth up to $6MM. The Bolts are reuniting with a player they cut amid a cap crunch last year, but Williams’ value has trended downward since.
Dangling Williams, Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack and Keenan Allen in trades, the Chargers regrouped with Mack and Bosa — via pay cuts — and traded Allen. Williams ended up with the Jets after his release but did not prove a fit in New York. Seeing two-time Aaron Rodgers teammate Allen Lazard hold a bigger role in the Jets’ offense, Williams languished and only put up 166 yards on 12 catches. A slip that led to a late-game Rodgers interception during a narrow Monday-night loss to the Bills — after which the QB was critical of the WR — appeared to seal Williams’ fate, and the Jets dealt him to the Steelers at the deadline.
Williams, 30, did not impress in Pittsburgh, either. He caught just nine passes in nine games. Other than a game-winning TD grab against Washington, Williams did not move the needle for the then-WR-needy Steelers. They have since traded for D.K. Metcalf, making it clear Williams would move on. The Chargers, however, were loosely connected to showing interest at last year’s deadline. While they did not acquire a receiver then, their outlook has changed since Josh Palmer‘s Buffalo defection.
Palmer, whose role diminished a bit as last year’s Bolts committed more to the run, signed a $12MM-per-year Bills deal to give the Bolts a clear need alongside Ladd McConkey. The Chargers will hope Williams can provide some production on the boundary to complement their new No. 1 target, who does his best work as an inside threat. Williams may not check off every box for the L.A. passing game, but he has a history of production with the team.
The former No. 7 overall Chargers draftee has two 1,000-yard seasons on his resume (2019, 2021). He led the league with 20.4 yards per catch in ’19 and was used more as a midrange weapon in ’21. Helping Justin Herbert grow into a high-end QB, Williams teamed with Allen for seven seasons and fetched a three-year, $60MM Chargers deal just before the WR boom in 2022 transformed that market. Williams’ 2023 ACL tear damaged his stock, and it came after a back injury — sustained in a meaningless Week 18 loss to the Broncos — occurred to close out his previous season.
This coming campaign may be his last chance to bounce back. Soon to be two years removed from the September 2023 tear, Williams will now be a McConkey sidekick to help Herbert in the QB’s sixth season at the controls.
Ely Allen contributed to this post
Eagles To Sign RB AJ Dillon
The Eagles are signing former Packers running back AJ Dillon, per FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz. Dillon will come over after five Packers seasons, though 2024 did not involve any playing time. It is a one-year deal, ESPN.com’s Tim McManus tweets.
A four-year Aaron Jones complementary back, Dillon held a regular role in Green Bay as a power threat inside. Although no doubt existed about Jones’ status as the Packers’ 1-A option, Dillon did not go away — much to some fantasy GMs’ chagrin — as a between-the-tackles grinder and frequent red zone option. He will now join an Eagles team with a potential RB2 opening.
Philly lost longtime backup Kenneth Gainwell to a Pittsburgh deal Tuesday. The team’s backfield obviously still revolves around Saquon Barkley, a recent extension recipient, but Gainwell worked as the primary backup to he and D’Andre Swift over the past two seasons. Will Shipley could be in store for a bigger role, though the Clemson alum does not exactly share a skillset with Dillon.
Dillon, 27 in May, produced three 600-plus-yard seasons in Green Bay. Not efficient on Jones’ level, but Dillon still delivered similarly productive seasons in 2021 and 2022, totaling 803 yards in ’22 and 770 in ’23. The former second-round pick combined for 12 touchdowns in that span, helping the Packers transition to a younger receiving corps in that period. After a slightly less productive 2023, the Boston College alum suffered an injury that kept him off the field throughout 2024.
The Packers re-signed Dillon last year but did on the seldom-used four-year qualifying offer. Dillon was tied to a $2.74MM deal last season, but he resided on IR all year. This contract may not even match that, but the Eagles obviously present a great opportunity for running backs. Barkley stayed healthy last year, but the ex-Giant has certainly dealt with a host of injuries during his career. Barkley also led the NFL with 378 touches last season, potentially sounding some alarm bells. Dillon will attempt to earn a backup role, which may be quite important for the 2025 Eagles.
Chargers To Add CB Benjamin St-Juste
At the same time the Commanders were adding Jonathan Jones, they will say farewell to a four-year cornerback contributor. Benjamin St-Juste is heading elsewhere.
The Chargers are signing the former Washington Day 2 draftee, according to his agent. The Bolts lost 2024 starter Kristian Fulton to the Chiefs this week, while Asante Samuel Jr. is unsigned. After St-Juste made his way south from Montreal in 2021, he will head west to a retooling Chargers corner corps.
St-Juste saw more time on the perimeter than inside last season, marking a change for a player who logged 332 slot snaps in 2023. The 6-foot-3 defender has a frame more suited for the outside, also going 200 pounds, and Washington’s new staff used him almost exclusively on the boundary in 2024. The results were not great, however.
While Pro Football Focus graded St-Juste as a bottom-five cornerback last season, Pro-Football-Reference’s coverage metrics charged him with four touchdowns allowed as the closest defender and having regressed in completion percentage and passer rating allowed. The Commanders benched St-Juste in Week 16 and only used him on 24 total playoff snaps. In 2022 and ’23, however, St-Juste allowed 87.1 and 87.3 passer ratings as the closest defender. In 2022, he impressed by yielding a paltry 47.7% completion rate. The Commanders boasted a top-10 defense that year but cratered in the Ron Rivera-Jack Del Rio finale a year later.
The Commanders have in-season trade pickup Marshon Lattimore signed, and the team used a second-round pick to nab Mike Sainristil last year. Although Noah Igbinoghene is a free agent, Jones has extensive experience playing inside and outside. He is leaving the Patriots after 10 seasons.
Jesse Minter transformed a defense that ranked outside the top 20 throughout Brandon Staley’s tenure into one that led the league in yards allowed. The Bolts have now added St-Juste and Donte Jackson; the veteran duo will join promising rookie Tarheeb Still among L.A. CBs.