Broncos To Release DT Tyler Lancaster, Waive TE Albert Okwuegbunam
Although Broncos defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike was among the players to be suspended for gambling this year, the team will part ways with one of its veterans at the position.
The Broncos are releasing Tyler Lancaster, the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson tweets. A former Packers regular, Lancaster had signed with the Broncos this offseason. The Broncos are also cutting fourth-year tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, 9News’ Mike Klis tweets.
Denver recently moved Mike Purcell off its active/NFI list, putting the veteran nose tackle in play to return in Week 1. The Broncos also have 2022 sixth-round pick Matt Henningsen in place, along with veteran Jonathan Harris, who has quietly served as a depth piece for the team since Vic Fangio’s first HC season (2019). D.J. Jones and free agent pickup Zach Allen lead the way on the Broncos’ defensive front.
Lancaster started 21 games for the Packers from 2018-21. After signing with the Raiders in 2022, Lancaster suffered an injury during training camp and landed on Las Vegas’ IR list. An injury settlement moved the 28-year-old defender back into free agency, but he did not end up playing last season.
Uwazurike received an indefinite suspension for betting on NFL games, including Broncos contests. It would not surprise if Denver looked into D-line help before setting its Week 1 roster, but for now, the Henningsen-Harris-Purcell contingent represents the role players in this position group.
Okwuegbunam came up in trade rumors ahead of the 2022 deadline. The former fourth-round pick had fallen out of favor with Nathaniel Hackett’s staff. Although Okwuegbunam totaled 109 receiving yards in the Broncos’ final preseason game, they are moving him to the waiver wire.
One of Sean Payton’s former Saints charges, Adam Trautman, is now the Broncos’ starting tight end. The team acquired him in a draft-weekend trade. The team used a third-round pick on Greg Dulcich last year, and Chris Manhertz is onboard as a blocking piece at the position. Okwuegbunam blazed to a sub-4.5-second 40-yard dash at the 2020 Combine but has been unable to put it together as a pro. The Mizzou product totaled 330 receiving yards in 2021, bouncing back from a rookie-year ACL tear. Playing in a third offensive system in four seasons, Okwuegbunam could not make a good enough case for Denver’s roster. It should be expected the athletic tight end will generate waiver interest before Wednesday’s deadline.
Bills To Trade DE Boogie Basham To Giants
9:53am: This move will indeed lead to Ximines being released. The Giants had re-signed the Old Dominion alum midway through this offseason, but ESPN’s Jordan Raanan notes he will be cut. Ximines played four seasons with the Giants, arriving as a Dave Gettleman-era draft choice. While he recorded 4.5 sacks as a rookie, the former third-rounder only managed two in the ensuing three years.
9:20am: Coworkers for several years in Buffalo, Joe Schoen and Brandon Beane have a trade in place. The Giants are set to acquire edge rusher Boogie Basham from the Bills, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports.
Schoen was in place as the Bills’ assistant GM when they drafted Basham in the 2021 second round. While Basham has not taken off in Buffalo, the Giants will give him an opportunity. The Giants had been among the most active teams in the market for edge help, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Beane and his former top lieutenant agreed to a pick-swap deal for Basham, with Pelissero adding the Bills and Giants will exchange 2025 late-round picks. Two years remain on Basham’s rookie contract.
The Bills’ Leonard Floyd addition made Basham a logical trade candidate, with the Bills also rostering 2020 second-rounder A.J. Epenesa and 2021 first-rounder Gregory Rousseau. Von Miller remains this position group’s anchor, but the future Hall of Famer is not certain to begin the season on time. The Bills have until 3pm CT today to move Miller from the active/PUP list to the reserve/PUP list, a designation that would shelve him for at least four games. The team could also go week to week with the high-priced D-end, but Shaq Lawson having re-signed this year also complicated Basham’s Bills place.
Epenesa has also drawn trade interest, per Fowler. One year remains on Epenesa’s rookie deal, but with Miller returning from his second ACL tear as a pro, it would make sense if the Bills held onto the Iowa alum for depth purposes. Epenesa finished with a career-high 6.5 sacks last season, breaking through after not producing more than 1.5 in either of his first two NFL slates. Basham, however, has not taken off. The Wake Forest product has 4.5 sacks and eight QB hits in 23 NFL games.
Chosen 61st overall, Basham has yet to make a start as a pro. Rousseau, Epenesa and then Miller have blocked Basham lineup avenues, and the Giants do not present an immediate starter opportunity. Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari are in place as Big Blue’s starting edge rushers, but Schoen will take a flier on Basham as a depth piece. The Giants still have Jihad Ward and Oshane Ximines behind their starters. The latter, a former third-round pick, is not a lock to make the roster, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan notes (subscription required). With Basham now en route, Ximines may soon be released.
This move comes after the Giants sent the Cardinals a seventh-round pick for Isaiah Simmons. The team had been rumored to be eyeing another low-risk trade, per Duggan, and given Schoen’s Bills past, they are always a logical candidate to do business with the Giants. Beane and Schoen had first-round trade parameters in place this year, but no deal ended up happening.
Dolphins To Release RB Myles Gaskin
The Dolphins have been connected to a number of running back additions this offseason, but they are beginning the deadline for roster cutdowns with a subtraction at the position. Myles Gaskin is being released, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 
Miami has been pegged as a landing spot for a number of high-profile backs in recent months, but the team retained its backfield options during free agency. That process included re-signing Gaskin on a veteran minimum deal in March. The pact included no guaranteed money, so his roster security was a talking point through training camp and the preseason. The Dolphins will save just over $975K in cap space with this move.
Gaskin joined the Dolphins as a seventh-round pick in 2019. He saw limited action as a rookie, but took on a much larger role the following year with 183 total touches. His production in the passing game (388 receiving yards) led to increased expectations for future seasons, but that has not materialized as hoped. The 26-year-old averaged just 3.5 yards per carry while working as the starter for much of 2021, and that figure fell to 2.6 in limited action last year.
If Gaskin has made the Dolphins’ 53-man roster, he thus would have done so in a depth capacity behind the likes of Jeff Wilson, Raheem Mostert and third-round rookie Devon Achane. Salvon Ahmed, like Gaskin, has frequently been mentioned as a trade or cut candidate during the offseason. Today’s news could help his chances of remaining with the team, although it would be somewhat surprising if the Dolphins elected to keep four running backs on the active roster to start the season.
The Dolphins did not work out a trade or free agent deal for Dalvin Cook, but they are the suitor most frequently mentioned as a destination for Jonathan Taylor if the Colts elect to trade the former rushing champion. Nothing is imminent on that front as talks continue, but for now Miami’s backfield situation is a bit clearer.
Panthers To Cut LBs Deion Jones, Brandon Smith
9:21am: The Jones release has not, in fact, helped win Smith a spot on the 53-man roster. The former Matt Rhule draftee has been waived, per ESPN’s David Newton. Smith’s draft stock was boosted by his athletic traits, but they have yet to translate to production at the NFL level. The Panthers will be able to retain him via the practice squad if he goes unclaimed.
8:10am: Deion Jones did not end up with a team until the first week of training camp, and the former Falcons standout will not be part of the Panthers’ 53-man roster. Carolina is releasing the veteran linebacker, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
This move will put Jones’ career at a crossroads of sorts, as he was unable to carve out a regular role as a Browns starter following an in-season trade. Previously attached to a top-market off-ball linebacker contract with Atlanta, Jones will pass straight into free agency as a vested veteran.
Jones, 28, started 83 games for the Falcons from 2016-21 and earned a four-year, $57MM extension from the team back in 2019. The Thomas Dimitroff regime authorized that deal. GM Terry Fontenot cut bait in his second year running the Falcons, incurring substantial dead money to do so. Jones still counts on the Falcons’ payroll this year, but the Panthers did not guarantee the former second-round pick anything.
Carolina is set at the top of the LB depth chart with Shaq Thompson and Frankie Luvu each on the books for at least one more year. The team also added Kamu Grugier-Hill in free agency, and 2022 fourth-rounder Brandon Smith resides on the roster as well. The latter has faced questions about his roster security this summer, but the decision to move on from Jones certainly helps his chances of remaining with the team moving forward.
As teams sort out their 53-man rosters and practice squads in the coming days, Jones will seek out a new fit which could offer a clearer path to playing time than what he faced in Carolina. The chances of that could be slim, however, and he may be resigned to taking another one-year, low-cost deal with an interested team in the hopes or rehabbing some of his free agent value. It will be interesting to see how much of a market he generates ahead of Week 1, and his ability to carve out a role on his next team.
Bills To Release T David Quessenberry, G Ike Boettger
The Bills look to be making a change at their swing tackle spot. They are releasing David Quessenberry, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports.
This marks more change for Buffalo’s second-string tackle situation. Brandon Shell slid to the reserve/retired list during training camp, while Tommy Doyle suffered a season-ending injury. Quessenberry, who held the Bills’ swing job last season, will now be bumped off the roster.
Buffalo may well be prepared to give its swing job to Ryan Van Demark, a rookie UDFA. Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown remain in place as the team’s starters. While the Bills are fairly deep at guard, rostering David Edwards and Ryan Bates behind likely starters Connor McGovern and O’Cyrus Torrence, the defending AFC East champs may look around to upgrade at tackle.
Regarding that interior depth, the Bills are also cutting veteran guard Ike Boettger, per the Buffalo News’ Jay Skurski. Although Boettger re-signed with the team this offseason, the Bills’ investments in Torrence, Edwards and new left guard starter Connor McGovern made him a cut candidate.
Boettger, 28, rehabbed a severe injury last season, coming off the Bills’ PUP list late in the year. Boettger had started 17 games for Buffalo between the 2020 and ’21 seasons, and while it is possible the Bills circle back to him after making PUP- or IR-related moves, he is no longer with the team.
Quessenberry, 32, worked as the Titans’ primary right tackle starter in 2021, helping the team compensate for some issues staffing the position post-Jack Conklin. The Bills picked up the veteran blocker in 2022, and he made three starts for the team. Considering teams’ interest in acquiring O-line depth, Quessenberry figures to generate interest on the open market.
Bengals To Release QB Trevor Siemian
As Joe Burrow works his way back from the calf strain he suffered early in training camp, the Bengals are moving their more experienced QB2 option off their roster. Trevor Siemian will be cut, per ProFootballNetwork.com’s Jay Morrison.
The well-traveled backup, whom Cincinnati signed midway through the offseason, lost the job to Jake Browning. Both the Bears and Bengals have cut Siemian, 31, this year. While the Bengals could conceivably circle back once they set their roster or reunite with Siemian on a practice squad agreement, the defending AFC North champions are rolling with a Burrow-Browning depth chart for the time being.
When Burrow went down, Zac Taylor said the superstar QB would be out “several weeks.” The former No. 1 overall pick has rehabbed to the point it is considered likely he will be back in time to start the season. This is a similar role for the ex-LSU record-setting passer, who missed the preseason in 2021 due to ACL rehab and 2022 because of an appendectomy. Burrow has piloted the Bengals to the past two AFC championship games and has not missed regular-season time due to injury since his rookie-year knee setback in 2020.
The Bengals, however, let their primary Burrow backup — Brandon Allen — sign with the 49ers this offseason. They added Siemian on that May day. Allen does not look like he will be moved off the 49ers’ 53-man roster, with San Francisco dealing Trey Lance to Dallas. With Allen unlikely to come back to the Bengals — a rumored scenario prior to the Lance trade — the team may be on the hunt for a better backup. Browning has never taken a regular-season snap.
Siemian becoming a surprise starter for a defending Super Bowl champion back in 2016 made him a household name of sorts early in his career. The former seventh-round pick has bounced around since his two-year run as Peyton Manning‘s Broncos successor. Siemian has since been with the Vikings, Jets, Titans, Saints and Bears. The Northwestern alum could catch on with an eighth team soon.
The Bengals are also waiving quarterback Reid Sinnett, per The Score’s Jordan Schultz, though they are interested in circling back on a practice squad deal. Sinnett could become Cincinnati’s emergency gameday quarterback, but the team would need to elevate him to its active roster to greenlight that prospect.
Giants To Activate WR Wan’Dale Robinson From PUP List, Release WR Jamison Crowder
Short on wide receivers last season, the Giants made several modest investments at the position this year. Those moves came as Wan’Dale Robinson rehabbed a torn ACL. Robinson’s return, however, will end up bumping one of those vets off the roster.
The Giants are releasing Jamison Crowder, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com report. As Crowder comes off the Giants’ roster, Robinson will return. Stashed on the active/PUP list throughout training camp and the preseason, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan notes the 2022 second-round pick will not stay on the list to start the season.
One of several slot receivers on Brian Daboll’s second Giants roster, Robinson went down midway through last season. Had the Giants left Robinson on the PUP list, he would have been required to miss four regular-season games. The Giants will instead go week to week with the Kentucky alum, who played in only six games as a rookie.
During an offseason in which Big Blue hoarded slot receivers, Crowder arrived on a one-year, $1.32MM deal that included only $28K guaranteed. The latter figure made Crowder far from certain to land on the Giants’ 53-man roster. The Giants also added Parris Campbell and Cole Beasley, bringing back Sterling Shepard on a low-cost deal as well. Darius Slayton also re-signed with the team, while waiver claim-turned-regular Isaiah Hodgins remains as well. The Giants also drafted Jalin Hyatt in Round 3.
Crowder, 30, has five 600-plus-yard receiving seasons on his resume. The former Washington slot receiver caught on with the Jets in 2019, becoming a regular target during Sam Darnold’s early seasons. The diminutive target was not making a major transition, system-wise, as he spent last year with the Bills. But a fractured ankle led to Crowder’s season ending early. He will again look for a new team.
Chiefs To Trade WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette To Panthers
The Chiefs will end up collecting an asset for one of their wide receivers. The defending Super Bowl champions are sending Ihmir Smith-Marsette to the Panthers in a trade Tuesday morning, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Carolina and Kansas City will swap conditional seventh-round picks in this low-level exchange. A third-year veteran, Smith-Marsette caught on with the Chiefs after the Bears cut him last year.
Smith-Marsette accumulated 195 yards during the preseason with the Chiefs. That total ranks second during this year’s August slate. The 24-year-old Iowa alum will have a chance to stick as a backup with a Panthers team that has overhauled its first-string receiving corps under Frank Reich.
A Smith-Marsette fumble impacted the Bears in a midseason loss to the Vikings last year, leading to an in-season departure. He ended up with the Chiefs on a practice squad deal. While Smith-Marsette played in two games with Kansas City last season, he did not catch a pass. He caught five for 116 yards as a rookie in Minnesota.
The Chiefs let JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman walk in free agency, injecting questions into their receiver situation. Kadarius Toney has not practiced since suffering an injury minutes into training camp. But the Chiefs have several young players set to form an intriguing mix around Travis Kelce and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Second-rounders Skyy Moore and Rashee Rice join the likes of Justin Watson and Justyn Ross as pieces in Patrick Mahomes‘ sixth NFL offense.
The Panthers, meanwhile, have added Adam Thielen, DJ Chark and second-round pick Jonathan Mingo to their mix around No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young. Former second-round pick Terrace Marshall remains on Carolina’s roster as well, as does ex-Jaguars Round 2 choice Laviska Shenault. Smith-Marsette may have a hard time finding regular playing time, but Carolina will take a flier on the preseason standout.
Cardinals Release QB Colt McCoy; Kyler Murray To Begin Season On PUP List
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Cardinals QB Kyler Murray will begin 2023 on the reserve/PUP list, which will require him to miss at least the first four games of the season. The bigger surprise is that Colt McCoy, who spent the past two seasons as Murray’s backup in Arizona, has been released, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Murray, of course, is the club’s franchise passer, and he signed a massive contract extension last July. But he suffered an ACL tear and a torn meniscus late in the 2022 season, and while there was some initial optimism that he would be cleared for Week 1 of the upcoming campaign, it had become increasingly apparent that would not be the case. As Arizona is clearly in rebuild mode — and perhaps in line for the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 draft — it simply does not make sense for the team to rush Murray back onto the field.
Even after the recent trade that brought Josh Dobbs to the desert, the expectation was that McCoy would open the season as the Cardinals’ starting signal-caller, with Dobbs serving as his backup and fifth-round rookie Clayton Tune as the third-stringer. On the other hand, new Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing worked as the Browns’ quarterbacks coach in 2022, when Dobbs was on the Cleveland roster, so there is some familiarity there. Additionally, McCoy’s 2022 season was cut short due to a concussion, and he spent time on IR with a calf injury prior to that. An elbow problem sidelined McCoy at the outset of this year’s offseason program.
The McCoy release creates $1.5MM of cap space for the Cardinals while leaving the club with a dead money charge of $3.5MM, as Mike Jurecki of Arizona Football Daily observes. As such, it seems clear that the move was not financially motivated and was instead designed to give younger players who might have longer futures with the team more of an opportunity.
McCoy, who will turn 37 next month, contemplated retirement this offseason. It is now fair to wonder if he will hang up the cleats or search for another opportunity to extend his playing career. The Texas product has started 36 games in the NFL, and though his 11-25 record as a starter is obviously uninspiring, he has had stretches of quality play. In 2021, for instance, he started three games in relief of an injured Murray and went 2-1 while completing 74.7% of his passes for three TDs against one interception.
Dolphins To Trade OL Dan Feeney To Bears
Dan Feeney is on the move again. The former third-round pick, who signed with the Dolphins this offseason, will not be part of their 53-man roster. Instead, the Bears will acquire him via trade.
The Dolphins and Bears agreed on the deal Monday night, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Dolphins Wire’s Jason Sarney initially reported Biggs was Windy City-bound. This will be Feeney’s fourth NFL team. He played out his rookie deal with the Chargers and spent the past two seasons with the Jets.
Despite the Dolphins guaranteeing Feeney $3.13MM this offseason, they will use him to acquire an asset. Miami will pick up a sixth-rounder from Chicago in this swap, Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Miami has Robert Hunt, Liam Eichenberg and Isaiah Wynn stationed at guard and Connor Williams at center. Although the team lost Michael Deiter in free agency and dealt with rampant injury trouble along its O-line last season, Feeney will still be shipped out. Feeney had not made a serious push for a starting job, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson tweets.
In Chicago, Feeney will have a better opportunity for playing time. Left guard Teven Jenkins is set to miss early-season time due to a leg injury. At full strength, the Bears have Jenkins set to team with Cody Whitehair and Nate Davis. Whitehair is moving back to center this season, with the Bears having signed Davis. While Lucas Patrick looms as a possible Jenkins replacement, Lieser notes the Bears have slid Whitehair back to guard to fill in for Jenkins. Feeney, 29, brings considerable experience at guard as well, and Patrick and Davis have each missed some time recently due to injury.
The Chargers used Feeney as a guard starter for most of his Los Angeles run. The Indiana alum displayed durability with the Bolts, starting 16 games in each season from 2018-20. The Chargers moved on in 2021, signing Matt Feiler. The Jets did not use Feeney as a regular starter. While Feeney continued his run of good health in New York, missing only one game, he only started seven. Still, Feeney will bring plenty of experience to a Bears team that has seen its revamped O-line take an early hit.
This will be a homecoming for Feeney, who is a Chicago-area native. The Bears came into Monday night with just more than $12MM in cap space. After showing potential as a guard last season, Jenkins will not be able to mount an immediate follow-up. The injury he sustained could sideline him for around six weeks. Chicago cut Alex Leatherwood, after claiming him just after cutdown day last year, but still rosters 2022 seventh-round pick Ja’Tyre Carter as a backup option inside.