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Commanders, WR Terry McLaurin Agree To Extension

August 27th, 2025 at 8:30am CST by Adam La Rose

AUGUST 27: The deal’s base value has emerged; as expected, McLaurin did not score a top-five wide receiver rate. This is a three-year, $87MM extension, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. It includes $44.65MM guaranteed at signing — $30MM of that figure comes via a signing bonus — according to SI.com’s Albert Breer. While just $2.9MM of McLaurin’s $12.9MM 2026 base salary is guaranteed at signing, Breer adds a $10MM 2026 roster bonus is fully guaranteed. McLaurin’s 2027 and ’28 base salaries are nonguaranteed.

Rumors emerged this summer indicating the Commanders were leery of a $30MM-per-year payday for a wideout set to turn 30, and they have McLaurin at $29MM AAV. This value checks in 10th among receivers, settling between the $30MM-AAV club and Tee Higgins‘ $28.75MM-per-year deal. In terms of full guarantees, McLaurin matches Chris Godwin for ninth at the position.

AUGUST 25: Terry McLaurin‘s contract saga has come to an end. The Pro Bowl wideout finalized an extension with the Commanders on Monday, as first reported by NFL insider Jordan Schultz. The news is now official, per a team announcement.

This is a three-year accord, per Schultz. He adds McLaurin’s new deal is worth over $96MM. One year remained on his pact prior to today’s news. As a result, McLaurin is now on the books through 2028. This pact contains a $30MM signing bonus, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network adds.

Multiple reports indicate $96MM actually represents the maximum value of this accord. In any event, today’s agreement ends the questions related to McLaurin’s future in Washington. A trade request was issued in response to extension talks failing to progress as hoped. At no point did it appear likely a swap would take place, however, with the Commanders intending to move forward without entertaining trade offers.

McLaurin was briefly absent from training camp, but he later reported and was moved to the active/PUP list. Upon being activated, the 29-year-old was not a full practice participant. Uncertainty loomed in this case as the countdown to Week 1 continued without much in the way of progress being made. After a spell without the parties speaking to one another, though, the expected outcome in this case has arrived.

Exact figures on McLaurin’s initial asking price did not emerge, but over the course of the offseason it became clear the Commanders were taken aback by it. Concerns related to the Ohio State product’s age were a sticking point in negotiations, but today’s pact means McLaurin will remain in the nation’s capital through the foreseeable future (and across the remainder of quarterback Jayden Daniels‘ rookie contract). This marks the second time in his career McLaurin has taken a three-year extension (whereas four-year pacts are common for high-profile receivers).

As the wait for precise details on this extension continues, it is clear McLaurin has secured a major raise. He was owed a base salary of $15.5MM for 2025 with a cap charge of $25.5MM; both figures will change once the deal is finalized. An average annual value of $32MM would put him in a tie for sixth amongst receivers and fall just short of D.K. Metcalf‘s Steelers accord. The Metcalf deal has long been viewed as a comparable one for McLaurin, although he did not deem it necessary to match it entirely.

Receiver depth was an issue for the Commanders last year, and general manager Adam Peters swung a trade with his former team to acquire Deebo Samuel. The former All-Pro will add a unique element to Washington’s offense in 2025, but he is a pending free agent. Especially against the backdrop of a potential Samuel departure next spring, hammering out a long-term McLaurin pact was critical for the team. The top of Washington’s WR depth chart is now set to remain intact for years to come.

McLaurin has topped 1,000 yards in each of the past five seasons, and in 2024 he comfortably set a new career high with 13 touchdowns. A strong connection with Daniels could help the Commanders in their effort to duplicate last year’s run to the NFC title game. McLaurin has been available for a full campaign every year since 2021, so durability should not be a concern as he plays out his third NFL pact.

Expectations will be high for McLaurin in the wake of this news, something which will pave the way for a return to practice. He will spend the coming days ramping up in advance of Week 1, and another productive season would set the Commanders up for successful campaign while also proving their investment to be worthwhile.

Bills To Reunite With S Jordan Poyer

August 27th, 2025 at 8:13am CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Bills are reuniting with veteran safety Jordan Poyer, according to FOX Sports Jordan Schultz.

Poyer, 34, played in Buffalo from 2017 to 2023, starting 107 games with only eight games missed due to injury. He also earned recognition as a first-team All Pro (2021) ands Pro Bowler (2022).

Poyer was released last March as part of the Bills’ 2024 cap moves that set up their flurry of offseason extensions this year. The 12-year veteran then signed with the division rival Dolphins for $2MM and outplayed that value with 16 starts and 98 tackles. The latter ranked second on a Miami defense that quietly finished as a top-10 unit last season.

Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp led the Bills’ safety room in 2024, with Cole Bishop and Cam Lewis both adding versatile depth. Bishop, a 2024 second-round pick, started four games as a rookie and was expected to take over a full-time role next to Rapp.

Poyer’s return to Buffalo may interfere with those plans. He’ll start on the practice squad, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic, but he could retake his starting role in a familiar Sean McDermott defense. Despite his age, Poyer still played 96% of the available snaps in Miami last year. The Bills can elevate him from the practice squad three times; to play him beyond that, they must sign him to the active roster.

Originally drafted by the Eagles as a cornerback in 2013, Poyer appeared in three of the team’s first four games as a rookie. The former seventh-round pick quickly fell out of Philadelphia’s plans and was waived in October. He landed in Cleveland and converted to safety, carving out a core special teams role before rotational defensive snaps in 2015 and his first starting job in 2016. His tenure as a starter ended early due to a season-ending blindside block, and he was targeted by the Bills the following offseason to pair with fellow free agent signing Micah Hyde.

That partnership flourished over the next seven seasons, but both were cap casualties last year. Hyde returned to Buffalo in 2024 via the practice squad and retired as a Bill at the end of the season. Poyer has taken the first steps towards the same potential outcome, though he will be hoping to help the franchise finally bring home their first Super Bowl this season.

Saints Name Spencer Rattler Starting QB

August 26th, 2025 at 11:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints used a first- or second-round pick on a quarterback for the first time in 54 years, but despite Derek Carr‘s retirement, Tyler Shough will begin his rookie season as a backup.

New Orleans has named Spencer Rattler as its Week 1 starter, the team announced Tuesday. The 2024 fifth-round pick battled Shough during a monthslong competition, this year’s last QB battle to wrap. This will now mean nearly a fourth of the league (seven teams) will be starting a 2024 draftee at quarterback to open the season. Rattler joins Michael Penix Jr., Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy in being set to start in Week 1 for the first time.

Rattler finished the preseason 30 of 43 for 295 yards with a touchdown and an interception; Shough was 36 of 54 for 333 yards — also adding one TD and one INT. The Saints cut their third-stringer, Jake Haener, earlier today. Haener had initially been part of the competition, but it became a Rattler-Shough matchup as the process wore on.

This decision is unlikely to inspire too much confidence among Saints fans, especially with a highly drafted rookie not doing enough to unseat a player who did not impress as Carr’s primary fill-in last season. Rattler lost each of his six starts, with the Saints losing five of those games by double digits. Rattler completed 57% of his passes for 1,317 yards as a rookie, closing the part-time starter year with a 4:5 TD-INT ratio. That said, Rattler was working with a cast of backup wide receivers — due to the season-ending injuries sustained by Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed — during most of his time replacing Carr.

Olave and Shaheed are back at work ahead of Rattler’s first Week 1 opportunity, and the Saints reunited with Brandin Cooks this offseason. They also brought in Devaughn Vele via trade, sending fourth- and seventh-round picks to the Broncos for a 6-foot-5 pass catcher who saw the second-most snaps among Denver wide receivers last season. This gives the Saints a solid top four a year after they were trotting out backup-level cogs for much of the season.

Kellen Moore gave Rattler the first preseason start, and that proved telling. Still, the ex-Oklahoma and South Carolina starter’s grip on the job might be tenuous. It stands to reason the Saints will want to see what they have in Shough, so a quick hook would not be surprising. The Saints are not projected to be a playoff contender, even with a host of proven veterans still rostered, and the team will be connected to what looks like a better QB class (compared to 2025, at least) ahead of next year’s draft. With the prospect of a first-round investment in a passer looming in 2026, Shough’s place on the team is a bit more interesting after today’s news.

Connected to a few arms in April, the Saints were among the QB-needy teams to pass on Shedeur Sanders twice. They fortified their O-line with Kelvin Banks Jr. at No. 9 and then added Shough at 40. Shough gained steam during the pre-draft process, impressing despite spending seven years in college — Shough is a year older than Rattler — and carrying a notable injury history into the NFL. But the former Louisville, Texas Tech and Oregon option will begin the season as a backup. This will stall the Saints’ evaluation of a soon-to-be 26-year-old rookie.

Three years remain on Rattler’s rookie contract. The Saints have not drafted a first-round QB since Archie Manning in 1971; it will be interesting to see if anything Rattler or Shough do this season could prevent the Saints from a higher-profile QB investment next year. For now, Rattler has the keys and will work behind an O-line housing four first-round picks (and standout center Erik McCoy, a former second-rounder).

Browns To Release WR Diontae Johnson

August 26th, 2025 at 11:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Diontae Johnson‘s efforts to find a stable NFL home will likely not include time with the Browns. The veteran wideout is being released today, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero report.

The wide receiver’s tumultuous 2024 included a bevy of transactions and multiple aims to be traded during that transaction whirlwind — one that crushed his free agency value. Johnson was traded twice and cut twice last year, leading to a veteran-minimum Browns deal. Failing to make Cleveland’s 53-man roster represents another blow to a player who entered last season as a career-long starter.

No other team made Johnson an offer this offseason; the Browns will not take on any dead money from this release as a result of the vet-minimum deal including no guarantees. The team did not add any other veteran receivers of note, but it will still move on from a former 1,000-yard player who had excelled for the Steelers over an extended stretch.

The Steelers and Panthers traded Johnson last year; he had grown unhappy with both situations. But Johnson then drew a team-imposed suspension in Baltimore, having refused to reenter a late-season game with the Ravens — who did not give the effective route runner a regular role. Johnson then grew unhappy with his Texans role, following a subsequent waiver claim. The Ravens then claimed him again for procedural purposes, wrapping a transaction-crazed (but largely inconsequential, production-wise) year for the six-year veteran.

Cleveland has Cedric Tillman positioned as Jerry Jeudy‘s top complementary option, with 2024 fifth-rounder Jamari Thrash in the mix as well. The Browns also changed their receiver situation this month, signing Texas product Isaiah Bond after the rookie was not indicted on sexual assault charges. Johnson, 29, will pass straight to free agency as a vested veteran.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.

Dolphins, CB Rasul Douglas Agree To Deal

August 26th, 2025 at 11:07pm CST by Adam La Rose

Frequent communication between Rasul Douglas and the Dolphins has produced a deal. The veteran cornerback is headed to Miami on a one-year contract, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

This pact is worth $3MM, Rapoport adds. A notable role in the secondary should await Douglas upon arrival despite the timing of this agreement. Cornerback has been an area of need all offseason, and the Dolphins somewhat surprisingly cut Mike Hilton yesterday.

Hilton expected to wind up in Miami this offseason, but after arriving he did not spend much time practicing with the starting defense. His release came about after Kendall Fuller was cut in the spring, a move which was eventually followed by the Jalen Ramsey trade. Kader Kohou and Artie Burns have since suffered season-ending injuries, leading to increased concern about the secondary for 2025. Douglas will aim to provide Miami with a veteran starting presence over the coming campaign.

The soon-to-be 30-year-old has been on the Dolphins’ radar for much of the offseason, so this agreement comes as little surprise. Douglas was dealt from the Packers to the Bills midway through the 2023 campaign, and he handled starting duties with Buffalo. No new Bills accord was worked out, however, and Douglas made it known earlier this offseason he did not foresee a return to Green Bay. Those factors pointed further to a Miami accord being worked out at some point, and with training camp and the preseason now finished that has proven to be the case.

Douglas has 80 starts and 120 appearances to his name, and he totaled 14 interceptions from 2021-23. He was held without a pick last season, but a return to form from the former third-rounder would be welcomed from the Dolphins. A strong campaign would help Miami’s defense for 2025 while also preventing a free agent stay deep into August next offseason.

Texans Announce Final Roster Moves To Get To 53

August 26th, 2025 at 11:06pm CST by Ely Allen

The Texans cut some big names on their way down to an initial 53-man roster. Here’s a look at all the moves they made:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR (designated for return):

Placed on IR:

Placed on reserve/NFI:

Placed on reserve/PUP:

Placed on commissioner exempt/reserve/PUP:

The Texans took some flyers on some discarded veterans this offseason and, ultimately, decided to throw a lot of them right back in the pond. We’ve already gone into detail on Brown, Maulet, and Niemann, but it’s a bit shocking to the trade return for John Metchie get released after a little over a week. Houston even attached a fifth-round pick to Metchie to make the deal happen and received Bryant and a sixth-rounder in exchange. Now, all they have from that deal is a sixth-round pick.

Mills, like Brown, saw his 2024 season ruined by injuries, something not uncommon in Mills’ career. The Texans took a good look at him this offseason, but even with Ward’s ongoing issues, Mills will not debut for his fourth NFL team. Meanwhile, Cephus and Arnette continue to struggle on their way back to playing in an NFL game, while on the injury front, Smith joins fellow tight end Brevin Jordan on season-ending injured reserve.

Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 identifies both the rookie tight end Lachey (seventh round) and the undrafted rookie linebacker Ossai as players that the team will make a priority to bring back on the practice squad.

NFL Minor Transactions: 8/26/25

August 26th, 2025 at 10:36pm CST by Ely Allen

Amongst a busy day of roster moves, here are some minor transactions outside of final roster cuts:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Green Bay Packers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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.

Buccaneers Make Roster Cuts

August 26th, 2025 at 10:27pm CST by Rory Parks

Here is how the Buccaneers trimmed their roster to the 53-man limit Tuesday:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Waived/Non-Football Illness:

Sanders, the son of NFL legend and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, signed with Tampa Bay in May after he went undrafted. Shilo, who had been competing for a spot at the back of the Bucs’ safety depth chart, was ejected from the club’s preseason finale on Saturday for throwing a punch following heavy pushing and shoving with Bills TE Zach Davidson. He was also flagged for pass interference in the game.

Agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Sanders was headed to the waiver wire, and they hope their client will get claimed on waivers. A fresh start would likely be welcomed by all parties, although it will be interesting to see if any outside suitors put in a claim given the manner in which his Tampa tenure came to an end.

Jarrett, who joined the Bucs as an undrafted free agent in 2023, has recorded 13 catches for 184 yards in his brief time with the team. He will now hit the waiver wire. Provided no claim is made, a spot on the practice squad could be in store given Jarrett’s familiarity with the organization. The Bucs will hold P-squad spots for Jackson and Bazelak, per ESPN’s Jenna Laine and Fox Sports’ Greg Auman. Bazelak staying on would provide finality for Kyle Trask, whom the Bucs released earlier this week. Teddy Bridgewater will be Tampa Bay’s backup, and it looks like Bazelak — a rookie UDFA from Bowling Green — will be the third-stringer.

Weight issues stalled Watson’s practice work, and the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud indicates he ballooned to 470 pounds entering the offseason program. Weight trouble hindered Watson, who did not see any preseason action due to the issue. The Bucs opted to cut Watson, who would have been the heaviest player in NFL history had he played in a regular-season game, rather than stash him on the reserve/Non-Football Illness list. They will not hold a practice squad spot for him, Stroud adds.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

Jaguars Work Roster Down To 53

August 26th, 2025 at 10:16pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the transactions that set the initial 53-man roster for the Jaguars’ new rookie head coach/general manager duo in 2025:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR (designated for return):

Placed on IR:

The placement of Ransaw on injured reserve is definitely a shock. The third-round rookie out of Tulane switched from cornerback to safety in Jacksonville and was in a crowded group of defenders vying for a roster spot. Even though Ransaw was working through a lower-body injury throughout training camp, he was still expected to make the 53-man roster. Instead, his rookie season is over before it got a chance to begin. His placement on IR also didn’t end up helping Thomas or Silmon-Craig, who were both in that group pushing for the active roster.

Sixth-round pick McLeod also found his way to an injured list, but unlike Ransaw, McLeod will be able to return at some point into the season, after missing at least four games. He’s also dealing with a nondescript lower-body injury.

This cut day was a rough one for the 2024 NFL Draft class in Jacksonville. Cole, Foster, Jefferson, and Prince were all taken in last year’s class and have been waived before their sophomore campaigns. Muma and Lacy are other recent draft picks that new general manager James Gladstone didn’t keep around.

Raiders Make Final Moves Down To 53 Players

August 26th, 2025 at 10:04pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

After making 18 cuts on Monday, the Raiders the following 22 moves to trim their roster down to 53-players, per a team announcement:

Waived

Released

Placed on IR (designated for return)

Backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell is projected to be out for six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery for a fractured wrist, but curiously, he will not land on injured reserve with a return designation. The Raiders may be waiting to make that move in case they need to open up a roster spot for a waiver claim, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review Journal. Las Vegas also kept offensive tackle Thayer Munford, who was a risk to get claimed on waivers, according to Bonsignore.

Despite a pre-draft endorsement from Tom Brady and O’Connell’s injury, Miller was unable to hang on the 53-man roster as a third-string quarterback. The Raiders will need a backup quarterback to start the year, and Miller is an obvious candidate to return to the practice squad for early-season elevations as O’Connell heals. They could also scour the waiver wire and then transfer O’Connell to the IR.

Johnson suffered a broken fibula in early August, but it was not expected to end his season. His designation to return confirms that projection, but he will still be sidelined for a minimum of four games to start the year.

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