Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/25
Amongst a busy day of roster moves, here are some minor transactions outside of final roster cuts:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from active/PUP list: G Will Hernandez
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: S Sam Franklin
- Activated from active/PUP list: C Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
Green Bay Packers
- Extended: LS Matt Orzech
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Activated from active/PUP list: WR Chris Godwin, T Tristan Wirfs
Arizona, Buffalo, and Tampa Bay all made decisions to pull players off the active/physically unable to perform list in order to avoid them missing the first four games of the season. They may not be quite ready to start in Week 1, but their teams at least have confidence that they won’t be out for a month.
Franklin wasn’t a free agent for long. The former Panthers safety just finished out camp in Denver and was told that he didn’t make the Broncos’ initial 53-man roster. Hours later, he apparently came to an agreement with Buffalo and will head there to start his 2025 campaign.
Orzech has been the Packers long snapper for the past two years after similarly short stints with the Rams and Jaguars. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Green Bay gave him his first long-term deal. The 30-year-old will be under a three-year, $4.8MM deal that will make him the third highest-paid long snapper in the league.
Bills Set 53-Man Roster
The Bills have set their initial 53-man roster after moving on from 25 players today. The team announced the following moves:
Released:
- WR Deon Cain
- OL Dan Feeney
- S Darrick Forrest
- OL Kendrick Green
- CB Dane Jackson
- DT Jordan Phillips
- WR Laviska Shenault
Waived:
- OL Jacob Bayer
- LB Jimmy Ciarlo
- OL Travis Clayton
- TE Zach Davidson
- OL Mike Edwards
- RB Frank Gore Jr.
- WR Stephen Gosnell
- OL Richard Gouraige
- WR K.J. Hamler
- CB Daequan Hardy
- DT Marcus Harris
- LB Keonta Jenkins
- TE Keleki Latu
- DT Zion Logue
- DT Casey Rogers
- DE Paris Shand
- LB Edefuan Ulofoshio
- WR Kristian Wilkerson
Placed on IR (designated for return):
- CB Maxwell Hairston
- OL Tylan Grable
Placed on reserve/suspended:
- DE Michael Hoeht
- DT Larry Ogunjobi
We learned yesterday that quarterbacks Mike White and Shane Buechele also weren’t going to make the squad.
The Bills moved on from a handful of veterans as they set their first 53-man roster of the season. Among the cuts were offensive lineman Dan Feeney, who has 120 games of experience, and cornerback Dane Jackson, who got into 52 games for the Bills to begin his career. Jackson spent the 2024 campaign in Carolina, where he started three of his nine appearances.
A handful of these cut players have already been connected to Buffalo’s practice squad, assuming they pass through waivers unclaimed. This grouping includes Stephen Gosnell (per Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News), Travis Clayton (per Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN), Keleki Latu (per Ryan Talbot of Syracuse.com), and Kendrick Green (per Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic).
Bills Place CB Maxwell Hairston On IR
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.
Bills To Release QB Mike White
After spending the past year in the Bills organization, Mike White will look to continue his career elsewhere. The Bills are set to release the veteran quarterback, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
White was cut by the Dolphins at the end of the 2024 preseason and quickly caught on with Buffalo’s practice squad. He was intended to provide some extra insurance behind injured QB2 Mitchell Trubisky, and White ended up only seeing the field for a single game with the Bills. In that Week 17 cameo, White completed 3 of his 11 pass attempts for 28 yards.
After a brief stint on the Cowboys to begin his career, the former fifth-round pick has spent the rest of his career in the AFC East. He started seven of his eight appearances for the Jets between 2021 and 2022, completing 62.2 percent of his passes for 2,145 yards, eight touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The Jets went 2-5 in those seven starts.
As the Jets revamped their depth chart ahead of the 2023 campaign, White wasn’t in the team’s plans, leading to him joining the Dolphins on a two-year deal. He spent that season as Tua Tagovailoa‘s primary backup, with White tossing a touchdown and an interception in six games. After being passed on the depth chart by Skylar Thompson last preseason, White was cut.
Trubisky will now continue as Josh Allen‘s primary backup in Buffalo for the 2025 campaign. The Bills are also waiving former UDFA Shane Buechele, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, leaving the organization with only two QBs at the moment.
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.
Bills To Reunite With DT Jordan Phillips
Jordan Phillips is set to once again find himself in Buffalo. The veteran defensive tackle visited the Bills today, and a deal is expected. 
[RELATED: Reviewing Bills’ Offseason]
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports Phillips is set to sign with Buffalo later this week. That will presumably mean a practice squad agreement, in which case this deal will not be official until at least Wednesday. In any event, a fourth Bills stint is on tap in this case.
Phillips has spent all or part of the 2018, ’19, ’22, ’23 and ’24 campaigns in Buffalo. The 32-year-old is also a veteran of time with the Dolphins, Cardinals and Cowboys, but his most common playing situation has been as a member of the Bills. Phillips has made 129 regular season appearances in the NFL; nearly half of those have come with Buffalo.
In recent years, the former second-rounder has seen a notable drop in playing time. A notable uptick in workload should of course not be expected considering his time spent in free agency this offseason. Nevertheless, Phillips will give the Bills a familiar and highly experienced depth option along the defensive line. That unit saw draft additions in the second (T.J. Sanders) and fourth (Deone Walker) rounds, and Sanders in particular has drawn strong reviews for his work in training camp.
In part as a result of that development, veteran Larry Ogunjobi has emerged as a cut candidate. The free agent signing is facing a six-game PED suspension to begin the campaign, something which – coupled with an underwhelming showing this summer – could leave him on the outside looking in. It will be interesting to see if the Phillips reunion has an impact on Ogunjobi’s status.
The Bills entered Sunday with a league-low $1.87MM in cap space. That figure will change considerably in the coming days, but regardless of where it lands after roster cuts Phillips will not require a notable investment to return to Buffalo.
Bills Begin Roster Cuts
The Bills have begun trimming their roster in advance of Tuesday’s deadline for final cuts. The following seven players have been let go:
Waived:
- DB Zy Alexander
- DE Nelson Ceaser
- CB Garnett Hollis Jr.
- OL Rush Reimer
- TE Matt Sokol
- RB Elijah Young
Waived-injured:
- WR Grant DuBose
Given the highly inexperienced nature of each player listed, none of these moves comes as a surprise. The first six will hit the wire, and interested teams will have until Wednesday – when practice squads are first constructed – to put in a claim. Failing that, free agency will be in store.
DuBose signed with Buffalo on Tuesday, but his tenure in the organization has proven to be rather short-lived. The 24-year-old will revert to injured reserve once his clears waivers. In situations such as this, the next step is usually a release from IR by means of an injury settlement.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/23/25
Saturday’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Placed on IR: OL Jake Hanson
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: CB Garnett Hollis Jr.
- Waived-injured: S Wande Owens
- Released from IR: RB Jarveon Howard
Added earlier this month, Hanson suffered an undisclosed injury during Atlanta’s preseason finale yesterday. The 28-year-old being moved to IR now – and thus before using the designated for return option introduced in 2024 becomes a possibility – means he will miss the entire season. Hanson was not a lock to make the Falcons’ roster, of course, but his absence will add further to the team’s absences up front with starting right tackle Kaleb McGary set to miss time.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/22/25
As teams begin to whittle their rosters down to the eventual 53 players, here are a few transactions aside from mass cuts:
Buffalo Bills
- Waived (with injury settlement): WR Jalen Virgil
Denver Broncos
- Waived (with injury settlement): CB Gregory Junior
Detroit Lions
- Released (with injury settlement): OL Keaton Sutherland
Houston Texans
- Released (with injury settlement): TE Dalton Keene
- Waived (with injury settlement): WR Xavier Johnson
New York Jets
- Reverted to IR: CB Ryan Cooper Jr.
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DE Jereme Robinson
- Placed on IR: WR Johnny Wilson (story)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: CB Tre Avery
- Waived (with injury designation): WR Jaden Smith
An important note for cuts moving forward: different from the usual 24-hour waiver period, any players waived between now and the roster cut deadline will remain on the waiver wire, available to be claimed, until Wednesday.
Curtis Samuel On Bills’ Roster Bubble; Mitch Trubisky Leading QB2 Battle
A host of experienced players accompany Keon Coleman in the Bills’ wide receiver room. Joshua Palmer is a roster lock, and Elijah Moore — who has seen plenty of work in place of an injured Khalil Shakir this month — has been viewed as fairly safe. One other veteran does not appear to be on steady ground.
Once Shakir recovers from the high ankle sprain he suffered earlier this month, the recently extended receiver will reprise his role as Buffalo’s top slot option. Coleman and Palmer will join him as regulars, leaving questions about how the Bills round out their room. One player needing to make a late push appears to be Curtis Samuel, who has two seasons remaining on a three-year, $24MM deal. Further complicating the situation: Samuel’s 2025 base salary ($6.91MM) is guaranteed.
[RELATED: Assessing Bills’ Extension-Filled Offseason]
But the Bills are not certain to keep the former second-round pick, The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia notes. Samuel battled back from a hamstring injury to log a full practice for the first time this week, per Buscaglia, who adds the eighth-year veteran’s lack of involvement on special teams complicates his path to a second Bills roster.
Buffalo has Laviska Shenault in place as a return option, with third-year UDFA Tyrell Shavers and low-cost free agency addition Kristian Wilkerson also in the mix for back-end roster spots. Shavers (three career games played) is among those who impressed in Samuel’s absence, Buscaglia adds.
Samuel, 29, did not impress much in his first Bills season; he caught 31 passes for 253 yards and one touchdown before adding two more TDs in the playoffs. Ex-Panthers old enough to have been in Charlotte under Brandon Beane and/or Sean McDermott have been popular commodities in Buffalo, as the Shaq Thompson addition reinforces, but Samuel’s guarantee is not locking him into another Bills plan just yet (the Panthers drafted Samuel during Beane’s final draft with the team; Samuel also overlapped with OC Joe Brady in Carolina).
If Buffalo were to cut Samuel, a lofty dead money hit ($8.64MM) would await this year. Another $3MM-plus would be part of Buffalo’s 2026 payroll, per OverTheCap, due to the post-June 1 timing of a release. Samuel also looms as a potential trade candidate, Buscaglia adds.
Considering the ex-Panthers and Commanders slot weapon’s inconsistency, the Bills would undoubtedly need to pay some of his base salary to facilitate a swap. Teams are looking, however, as the Jets and Vikings — and perhaps still the 49ers, even after their Skyy Moore acquisition — are among those on the hunt at receiver.
Shifting to the battle to back up Josh Allen, Buscaglia notes Mitch Trubisky holds a lead on Mike White. Outplaying White in the joint practice with the Bears, Trubisky winning the job would merely mean holding off a player who spent last season on Buffalo’s practice squad. But the Bills did extend White via his reserve/futures deal, giving the ex-Jets starter a chance to vie for the QB2 gig.
Neither Trubisky nor White impressed much in the Bears’ 38-0 win over the Bills last week, and determining a backup has not been a Bills issue — due to an Allen games-played streak that stretches back to his rookie year — in a while. But the former No. 2 overall pick, who is heading into his age-31 season, may be moving closer to hanging onto the job he held in 2024 (and before that in 2021). Trubisky has a $1MM salary guarantee and is tied to a $3.25MM cap number; White is at just $1.2MM on Buffalo’s cap.