Transactions News & Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/24/25

Today’s minor moves:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

A pair of former Patriots were claimed off waivers today. Lecitus Smith started one of his eight appearances for New England in 2024, although his offensive showing was limited to only five offensive snaps. He spent the 2023 season in Arizona, where he started two of his 10 appearances.

Curtis Jacobs got into nine games (two starts) as a UDFA with the Patriots in 2024, compiling four tackles while spending the majority of his time on special teams. A Penn State product, Jacobs spent last preseason with the Chiefs.

Seahawks To Sign TE Eric Saubert

Eric Saubert is sticking in the NFC West. After spending the 2024 season with the 49ers, the veteran tight end is joining the Seahawks, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Saubert is firmly at journeyman status at this point of his career, as the Seahawks will represent his 11th NFL team. Still, the former fifth-round pick has managed to get consistent work, appearing in 101 games across his eight NFL seasons.

Traditionally deployed as a blocking tight end or special teamer, Saubert has seen some work in the receiving game throughout his career. His best offensive showing came with the Broncos in 2022, when he finished with 15 catches for 148 yards.

The 30-year-old got into all 17 games (three starts) for the 49ers last season, hauling in 11 catches while splitting his nearly 700 total snaps between offense and special teams. Saubert was entrenched as the team’s TE2 in 2024, and he earned his handful of starts when George Kittle was out of the lineup.

Saubert could have a tougher path to playing time in Seattle. The Seahawks return their top-two tight ends from 2024 in Noah Fant and AJ Barner, and the team is also still rostering recent UDFA Brady Russell. Saubert’s best path to a roster spot will likely come via special teams, but he’ll need to show some offensive value if he doesn’t want to land on the practice squad.

Eagles To Sign OL Kendall Lamm

Kendall Lamm is continuing his career with the defending champs. Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager reports that the veteran lineman is signing with the Eagles. It will be a one-year deal for Lamm.

[RELATED: Dolphins T Kendall Lamm May Continue Playing]

The long-time backup spent the past three seasons with the Dolphins. After starting only five total games between 2019 and 2022, Lamm started 15 of his 32 appearances over the past two years. This includes a 2024 campaign where he got into 51 percent of his team’s offensive snaps while ranking 32nd among 81 qualifying OTs, per Pro Football Focus. His season ended in December due to a back injury that ultimately required surgery.

After contemplating retirement during the 2023 campaign, Lamm stated his intention to hang up his cleats following the 2024 season. The lineman later walked back this remarks, noting that if he feels good, “we’ll keep it going.”

The 32-year-old will apparently keep it going in Philly. The Eagles are set atop the depth chart with Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata, but Lamm could be in line for snaps as a swing OT. The team’s current backup options include Laekin Vakalahi and Darian Kinnard, who have a combined three games of experience (all via Kinnard). Lamm brings 119 games of experience across 10 NFL seasons and will likely be the favorite for the role heading into the preseason.

Saints Sign OL Dillon Radunz

The Saints have signed offensive lineman Dillon Radunz, per a team announcement.

The 2021 second-round pick is a four-year veteran who started 26 games for the Titans over the last two years. All 15 of his starts in 2024 came at right guard, but he saw snaps at every position except center in 2023. He will compete for a starting role along the interior of the Saints’ offensive line in 2025, likely at left guard after the departure of Lucas Patrick to the Bengals.

Radunz primarily played left tackle at North Dakota State, but he quickly developed more versatility in the NFL with snaps at both guard positions (and one start at left tackle) as a rookie. All four of his 2022 starts came at guard before a torn ACL ended his season in December. He continued to move around in 2023, starting six games at left guard, right tackle, and left tackle across the first 11 weeks of the season. Radunz settled in at right tackle, where he closed out the season with seven straight starts.

Radunz won a starting job as the Titans’ right guard entering the 2024 season. He missed two games due to minor injuries and allowed six sacks and 23 pressures, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Radunz’s primary competition for a starting job in New Orleans will be Nick Saldivieri, who started six games at left guard before landing on injured reserve for the rest of the season.

Saints Re-Sign DB Ugo Amadi

The Saints have re-signed defensive back Ugo Amadi to a one-year deal, per a team announcement.

Amadi spent the last two seasons in New Orleans, primarily playing special teams in 2023 before emerging as a starting slot corner midway through the 2024 season. He finished the year with five starts and 527 snaps on defense, both his most since 2021. His 65 tackles, 2.0 sacks, and six tackles for loss all represented career-highs.

The seven-year veteran will enter the 2025 season in pole position to continue as the Saints’ starting nickel. He took over the role in Week 8 when Alontae Taylor moved outside to replace an injured Paulson Adebo. Now that Adebo has signed with the Giants, Taylor is a candidate to continue starting on the boundary with Amadi staying in the slot.

The Saints did sign veteran corner Isaac Yiadom to a three-year deal, so he could compete for a starting job on the outside and potentially push Taylor back into the slot. In that case, Amadi would likely provide depth across the Saints’ secondary as a backup nickel and rotational safety, his listed position on the team website.

Amadi was originally drafted by the Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He appeared in 47 games with 12 starts across his first three years in Seattle before being traded to the Eagles during training camp in 2022. He was then dealt to the Titans less than two weeks later and played in two regular season games before being waived. He spent the rest of the season on the Chiefs’ practice squad and finished with a Super Bowl victory.

Bears Sign CB Nick McCloud

Nick McCloud has lined up his next NFL opportunity. The veteran corner has signed with the Bears, his agency announced on Monday.

McCloud made a pair of appearances with the Bengals during his rookie season, but most of his 48 career games have come with the Giants. The former UDFA was in New York from 2022 to the midway point of this past campaign, one in which he was waived. McCloud made five starts in 2024, but it was clear the Giants were interested in moving on after a request to take a pay cut to the veteran minimum was turned down.

No teams put in a claim, but it did not take McCloud long to find a new home. He signed with the 49ers to close out the season, one in which the team fell short of expectations and missed the playoffs. During his eight San Francisco contests, the 26-year-old played sparingly on defense and made more of an impact on special teams. That could prove to be the case in Chicago.

The Bears have Jaylon Johnson attached to a lucrative long-term deal, while Kyler Gordon has proven to be an effective slot corner. He too could soon have an extension in place soon, creating the need for inexpensive options elsewhere on the depth chart. Chicago has Tyrique Stevenson attached to his rookie deal for two more years, and after starting 14 games last season he can be expected to handle a heavy workload moving forward.

As a result, McCloud’s path to earning a roster spot during training camp will likely consist of carving out a backup role on defense in addition to his third phase contributions. The Notre Dame product has posted only one interception and 10 pass deflections in his career, but he has logged nearly 1,200 special teams snaps to date. He will look to use that experience with the Bears in 2025.

Chiefs Re-Sign DT Mike Pennel

Last March, Mike Pennel re-signed with the Chiefs on a one-year pact. The veteran defensive tackle will remain in Kansas City for 2025 as well.

[RELATED: Chiefs Re-Sign Charles Omenihu]

Pennel has a new Chiefs deal in place, the team announced on Monday. The 31-year-old’s first stint in Kansas City took place from 2019-20, and he returned in 2023. Pennel was limited to only three games during his first season back with the team, but the decision to keep him in place last spring proved to be a fruitful one.

Logging a full 20-game slate (between the regular season and playoffs), the former UDFA logged a 30% snap share on defense in 2024. In spite of that usage rate, Pennell set a new career high in sacks with three; he added 25 tackles and a forced fumble. Given that level of production, it comes as little surprise Kansas City has again elected to keep him in the fold.

Tershawn Wharton was among the top free agents along the defensive line this spring, and he took a deal with the Panthers on the open market. The Chiefs lost a five-year D-line contributor in the process, one who made 10 starts and handled a career-high 62% snap share last season. Pennel could be in line to help fill the void generated by Wharton’s departure as a low cost Chris Jones partner.

Kansas City ranked eighth against the run last season, and expectations will be high to repeat that success next year. Pennel does not offer the same pass-rushing upside that Wharton does, though, so next month’s draft could be used for the Chiefs to add in that regard along the defensive line.

Titans Sign K Joey Slye

With Nick Folk unsigned, the Titans are bringing in a veteran kicker. Joey Slye has agreed to a Tennessee deal, per his agent (via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network).

Slye has seen regular season game action with five teams during his career. He finished the 2021 campaign as the Commanders’ kicker, and his success in that brief stretch allowed him to continue in the role for another two seasons. Slye departed in free agency last offseason, joining the Patriots in May shortly after his Jaguars release.

That move set up a competition between the Virginia Tech product and Chad Ryland for training camp and the preseason. Slye won out, and as a result he served as New England’s kicker for the campaign. He connected on 26 of 33 field goal attempts, yielding a success rate under 80% for the second year in a row. For his career, the 28-year-old has converted 81.7% of his field goal tries and connected on 89.6% of his extra point attempts.

Folk’s seven-year New England run came to an end in the 2023 offseason when the Patriots (having drafted Ryland) traded him to the Titans. That move gave Tennessee a strong option in the kicking game, as Folk missed only one field goal during his debut campaign with the team. The 40-year-old re-signed last March, and he led the NFL in field goal percentage once again in 2024 with a 95.5% conversion rate. Folk is still a free agent; he intends to continue playing next season and would welcome another Titans contract.

In addition to Slye, though, Tennessee also has Brayden Narveson in the fold at the kicker position. The latter was waived by the Titans and began the 2024 campaign in Green Bay, but he was quickly let go once again. That led Narveson back to Tennessee on a practice squad deal, and he made one regular season appearance before signing a new deal in December. Today’s move means Slye and Narveson will be in place to compete during the offseason while it remains to be seen where Folk will play in 2025.

Panthers Re-Sign S Nick Scott

After reports earlier today that free agent safety Nick Scott was considering offers from his former team and a mystery bidder, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tells us that the Panthers will be re-signing the veteran safety. Scott will be back in Carolina on a one-year deal.

A former seventh-round pick in 2019, Scott saw the most defensive responsibility during his four years in Los Angeles. This culminated in a 2022 season in which he started all 16 of his game appearances while compiling career highs in total tackles (86) and interceptions (2). This big performance in a contract year led to Scott inking a three-year, $12MM deal with the Bengals in 2023, but he only started 10 of his 17 appearances in his first season in Cincinnati before getting cut.

He quickly caught on with the Panthers on a one-year, $1.29MM contract. In Carolina, he was intended to play a backup role to Xavier Woods and Jordan Fuller. Scott saw an increased role, though, when Fuller went down with an injury, including a four-week stretch in which he didn’t miss a defensive snap. Unfortunately for Scott, a hamstring injury resulted in a nearly two-month stay on injured reserve, and Scott exclusively saw special teams work following his late-season return from IR.

With Woods signing a two-year, $10MM deal with the Titans and Fuller departing in free agency for Atlanta, Scott should be able to slide into a starting role again. Carolina also signed former Raiders safety Tre’von Moehrig to a three-year, $51MM deal which suggests that he’ll occupy the other starting spot.

Demani Richardson, an undrafted rookie last season out of Texas A&M, should push for a big role, as well. Richardson was pushed into his first two career starts when Scott was placed on IR last season, and in the three games that saw Scott relegated to only special teams snaps, Richardson was tabbed as the starter and played nearly every defensive snap in the three contests. The former UDFA could end up competing with Scott for a significant role in the secondary.

The familiarity of both Richardson and Scott will be crucial for a team that is replacing two starters. Combined with Moehrig, the Panthers will hope to see some improvement to the secondary in 2025.

Giants To Sign WR Zach Pascal

Zach Pascal is continuing his career in New York. The veteran wide receiver is signing with the Giants, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. It’s a one-year deal for Pascal, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. The move is pending a physical.

[RELATED: Giants Sign WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey]

A former UDFA, Pascal made a name for himself in Indy, where he ended up spending four seasons. He was especially productive between the 2019 and 2020 campaigns, hauling in 85 catches for 1,236 yards and 10 touchdowns in 32 appearances with the Colts.

Following a one-year stop with the Eagles, Pascal spent the past two seasons with the Cardinals. He’s mostly transitioned to a special teams role, with the veteran garnering 480 ST snaps vs. 27o offensive snaps during his stint with the team. He hauled in four catches for the Cardinals in 2023.

Pascal will likely be competing for a special teams role with the Giants. The team already added Lil’Jordan Humphrey to a receivers room of Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Jalin Hyatt. Dan Duggan of The Athletic believes Pascal could be competing with Bryce Ford-Wheaton, who beat out Miles Boykin for a similar spot last year.