Minor NFL Transactions: 9/6/25
With our first slate of Sunday games tomorrow, we’ll see our first slew of standard gameday practice squad elevations. Here are today’s minor transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
- Elevated: WR David Sills, RB Carlos Washington Jr.
Baltimore Ravens
- Elevated: TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden
Buffalo Bills
- Elevated: G Kendrick Green, K Matt Prater
Carolina Panthers
- Signed from practice squad: DT Jaden Crumedy
- Placed on IR: CB Damarri Mathis (story)
Cincinnati Bengals
- Elevated: DT Mike Pennel
Denver Broncos
- Elevated: FB Adam Prentice, LB Levelle Bailey
Detroit Lions
- Signed from practice squad: RB Jacob Saylors
- Elevated: LB Anthony Pittman
- Placed on IR: T Jamarco Jones
Green Bay Packers
- Elevated: CB Micah Robinson
Houston Texans
- Elevated: FB Jakob Johnson
Indianapolis Colts
- Elevated: LB Austin Ajiake, RB Ulysses Bentley IV
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Elevated: T Ricky Lee
Las Vegas Raiders
- Elevated: WR Alex Bachman, S Terrell Edmunds
Los Angeles Rams
- Elevated: RB Cody Schrader
Miami Dolphins
- Elevated: K Riley Patterson, RB Jeff Wilson
New England Patriots
- Signed from practice squad: DT Cory Durden
- Elevated: CB Corey Ballentine, LB Mark Robinson
- Released: DT Jeremiah Pharms
New Orleans Saints
- Signed from practice squad: DE Fadil Diggs
- Elevated: TE Jack Stoll, DE Jonah Williams
- Waived: QB Jake Haener
New York Giants
- Elevated: DT Elijah Garcia
New York Jets
- Elevated: WR Tyler Johnson
- Placed on IR: G Alijah Vera-Tucker (story)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Elevated: CB James Pierre
San Francisco 49ers
- Elevated: WR Russell Gage, LB Curtis Robinson
Seattle Seahawks
- Elevated: CB Shaquill Griffin, DT Quinton Bohanna
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Elevated: DT Adam Gotsis, G Michael Jordan
Tennessee Titans
- Elevated: C Corey Levin, DT Carlos Watkins
Washington Commanders
- Elevated: C Michael Deiter, WR Chris Moore
Each NFL team is granted up to two standard gameday practice squad elevations each game, allowing them to call up two members of their practice squad who are able to play in that weekend’s game. After the game is played, the elevated players revert back to the practice squad with no transaction required. This differs from the situation with somebody like Crumedy in Carolina. With Mathis’ placement on injured reserve opening a spot on the 53-man roster, Crumedy has been promoted from the practice squad to the active roster, where he will remain until he is cut or his contract expires.
Practice squad players can be called up a maximum of three times under a single practice squad contract. If a team wants to call up a player who’s been called up three times already, the team will usually sign the player to their active roster for a game, cut them after, and then sign them to a new practice squad contract. Under the new contract, the player would be eligible to be elevated for three more games.
As the Dolphins await Jason Sanders‘ return from IR, Patterson was named the winner of a kicking audition with three other veteran kickers. Miami will be able to elevate him three times but will have to promote him to the active roster for any games between that and Sanders’ activation. Similarly, Prater will likely be on the same plan in Buffalo.
Haener’s stint on the Saints’ active roster was short-lived as the team decides to move forward with only two quarterbacks. Spencer Rattler will handle starting duties to begin the campaign with second-round rookie Tyler Shough serving as his backup.
NFC South Notes: Pitts, Otton, Saints, Young
The Falcons rebuffed Kyle Pitts trade interest, though with the former top-five pick set to begin a contract year, it is possible the franchise could revisit this topic. Pitts was mentioned as “relatively available” this offseason, with the price of a Day 2 pick floated. No Pitts extension is planned, but a franchise tag would not be out of the question if the tight end puts together a good contract year. Still, teams indeed viewed the Florida alum as available in the past, per The Athletic’s Josh Kendall. The Falcons stumbling out of the blocks this season could reignite the prospect of Pitts being traded during his fifth-year option season.
How Pitts’ salary would be divvied up in a trade would be a key component in negotiations, as he is tied to a $10.88MM option salary. The later in the season he is dealt, the less money an acquiring team would be responsible for. The Falcons having Pitts would give Michael Penix Jr. a fairly talented weapon, but if the team intends to make the 6-foot-6 pass catcher a one-contract player, it would make sense to listen to offers before the November deadline.
Here is the latest from the NFC South:
- Buccaneers extensions for Luke Goedeke and Zyon McCollum have surfaced this week, but the team appears through with its preseason paydays. No Cade Otton deal is expected, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes. Otton would join Pitts as promising TE options in 2026, barring any franchise tags. The former fourth-round pick is interested in a Bucs extension, and Tampa Bay is rather good at retaining its own. Next year’s tight end market would stand to include, barring extensions or tags, big names. Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Dallas Goedert, David Njoku and Isaiah Likely‘s contracts expire after this season. Otton, Pitts and Likely would be of particular interest as second-contract-seeking players. Otton, 26, is looking to build on a career-best 600 yards and four touchdown catches last season.
- Pro Football Focus rated Alontae Taylor as the NFL’s worst full-time cornerback last season, ranking him 116th. The former second-round pick’s perception within the league appears different, as Fowler notes the Saints CB is on the extension radar. New Orleans jettisoned Marshon Lattimore at last year’s deadline and lost Paulson Adebo — a player the team hoped to re-sign — in free agency. Although the Saints drafted Kool-Aid McKinstry in Round 2 last year, they appear interested in a second Taylor contract. He has started 37 career games entering his platform year.
- Chase Young is again dealing with injury trouble. The recently re-signed defensive end, who bounced back from neck surgery to play 17 games last season, will miss the Saints’ opener with a calf injury. Young joins Trevor Penning, who has been battling turf toe, in being ruled out.
- The Falcons have not ruled out Darnell Mooney for Week 1, but the team has been coy regarding the deep threat’s status after a late-July shoulder injury. In other Mooney matters, the team restructured his contract. Atlanta created $6MM in cap space by restructuring Mooney’s deal, ESPN’s Field Yates tweets. Mooney is tied to a three-year, $39MM contract — a deal that includes three void years. The sixth-year receiver’s restructure ballooned his 2026 cap hit to $18.05MM.
- Last September, Bryce Young‘s January 2026 extension-eligible date did not appear to mean much. The Panthers were moving toward a 2025 separation with a QB they benched. Young’s second-half turnaround last season, though, has the prospect of a 2026 payday back in play, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano. The Panthers believe the undersized passer has turned a corner in terms of confidence and competitiveness, and Carolina believes the improvement he showed late last year will carry over. While it would be perhaps more newsworthy if the Panthers didn’t believe Young would sustain this form, the prospect of an extension for the 5-foot-10 QB is still notable considering the separation rumors that engulfed him less than a year ago.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/4/25
Just one practice squad move to pass along:
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DE Garrett Nelson
- Released: QB Hunter Dekkers
As Chase Young deals with a calf injury, the Saints have added some depth on the edge, signing Garrett Nelson to their practice squad. A Nebraska product, Nelson has spent time with the Dolphins, Bengals, and Broncos but has yet to get into an NFL game. To make room on the roster, the Saints moved on from QB Hunter Dekkers, who joined the team as a UDFA this offseason.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/2/25
Here are today’s minor moves as we inch a day closer to the start of the regular season:
Carolina Panthers
- Waived (with injury settlement): G Ja’Tyre Carter
Chicago Bears
- Waived (with injury settlement): G Bill Murray, RB Ian Wheeler
Cleveland Browns
- Waived (with injury settlement): RB Pierre Strong
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: QB Jake Haener
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed from practice squad: WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
- Released: WR Russell Gage
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived (with injury settlement): CB JayVian Farr, CB Roman Parodie
The 49ers are doing a bit of shuffling in their receiving corps, calling up Valdes-Scantling from the practice squad and cutting Gage. According to multiple sources, it’s believed that Gage will be immediately signed back to the team’s practice squad to remain with the team.
Haener was brought back to the active roster in New Orleans after being waived at the roster cut deadline. The Saints had three quarterbacks, with Iowa Western rookie practice squad passer Hunter Dekkers, but adding Haener gives the team a bit more experienced depth, if only barely, in what may be the league’s youngest quarterbacks room.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/2/25
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Jared Bartlett, DT Denzel Daxon
- Released: T Roy Mbaeteka
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DT Simeon Barrow Jr., OLB Ronnie Perkins
- Released: T Brandon Parker
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Thayer Thomas
- Released: CB Quinton Newsome
New England Patriots
- Released: DT Jahvaree Ritzie
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Eku Leota
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released: WR Robert Woods
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Anthony Campbell, DE Jalan Gaines, G Sataoa Laumea
- Released: CB Shemar Jean-Charles, T Amari Kight, RB Damien Martinez
Washington Commanders
- Signed: G Darrian Dalcourt
The 12-year veteran wide receiver, Woods, had been signed to the Steelers’ practice squad after failing to make the 53-man roster. Per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, Woods requested to be released from his practice squad contract but told Pittsburgh that he would be open to returning if a spot on the active roster opened up for him. The team granted his request.
The Cardinals are able to add two players while only releasing one because Daxon is part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program, having been born in the Bahamas. Teams can have one more than the 16-player limit for their practice squad, as long as the 17th players is in the IPPP.
Per Brady Henderson of ESPN, it’s believed that the Seahawks have made this transaction as a courtesy to Campbell, Gaines, and Laumea, who’ve all spent most of the offseason in Seattle with the team. This week on the practice squad will potentially get each player a minimum check for $13K, but the Seahawks are expected to bring Martinez and Jean-Charles back to the p-squad. The same has yet to be confirmed for Kight.
Saints Hire Thomas Dimitroff
Thomas Dimitroff is set to return to the NFL in 2025. The former general manager has a consultant position lined up with the Saints, as first reported by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. The news is now official, per a team announcement. 
Dimitroff’s tenure as the Falcons’ GM (which began in 2008) came to an end in 2020. Two years later, he helped found SumerSports, a football analytics company. Interest about a return to the NFL in a front office capacity proved to be mutual, as Dimitroff interviewed with the Jets in December for their general manager vacancy. He was then among the candidates for the Titans’ GM gig.
Dimitroff did not land either of those positions, but the longtime scout is now set to work in New Orleans’ front office. As Breer notes, the 59-year-old has spent considerable time with the Saints this offseason. Now that he is officially on board, Dimitroff will assist general manager Mickey Loomis in a number of capacities.
This move is essentially a duplicate of last year’s Dave Ziegler hire. The former Raiders GM spent one season working alongside Loomis in New Orleans before being hired as an assistant general manager with the Titans this winter. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes Dimitroff can be expected to fill the vacancy created by Ziegler’s departure.
Loomis is the longest-tenured pure GM in the NFL. His stint with the Saints is not expected to end any time soon, but he will be joined by a notable name for the 2025 campaign. It will be interesting to see if Dimitroff’s stock benefits from his work in New Orleans and if he continues to seek out a new general manager gig during next year’s hiring cycle.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/1/25
Here are the latest practice squad transactions from around the NFL:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB Cale Jones Jr.
- Released: LB Power Echols
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Anthony Walker
- Released: DT Josh Tupou
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: QB Jeff Driskel, LB Brian Asamoah II
- Released: LB Matt Jones, S Trey Taylor
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: CB Isaiah Johnson
- Released: CB BJ Adams
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: QB/WR Tommy Mellott, DT Coziah Izzard
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Mykal Walker, RB Lawrance Toafili
- Released: LB Aaron Smith
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: S D’Anthony Bell
- Released: G Sataoa Laumea
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE Drake Dabney
- Released: DB Kendell Brooks
With backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell starting the season on injured reserve, the Raiders – who already traded for Kenny Pickett – added some more veteran depth by signing Driskel. The 32-year-old has spent the last seven years in the NFL but only took one snap for the Commanders last season. Now, Driskel will join rookie QB Cam Miller on the practice squad in Las Vegas.
Saints Release S J.T. Gray
J.T. Gray has operated as a core special teams presence throughout his Saint tenure, but his time with the team could be coming to an end. The eighth-year safety is being released, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports. Head coach Kellen Moore has since confirmed the news. 
[RELATED: Recapping Saints’ Offseason]
Gray survived roster cuts last week, something which appeared to set him up for another campaign serving as a central figure on special teams in 2025. The former UDFA has played 98 NFL games, all of which have been with the Saints. Barring a practice squad return, though, he will now test the open market.
One year remained on Gray’s contract, and he was owed $3.1MM this season. Today’s move will generate $2.6MM in cap savings since that was his scheduled base salary. The 29-year-old has already been paid a roster bonus in March, and that will contribute to the $980K in dead money charges incurred by this release.
During his New Orleans tenure, Gray has totaled only 153 snaps on defense. His impact in the third phase has been substantial, however; Gray has amassed 2,065 snaps on special teams, logging a workload of 83% or higher in three of the past four seasons. In 2021, the Mississippi State product received a Pro Bowl invitation along with a first-team All-Pro nod for his special teams work. Gray has also landed on the second All-Pro team twice, including last year.
Moore deemed (via team reporter Erin Summers) the decision to cut Gray the most challenging to date of his tenure. That suggests a return by means of the taxi squad is not immediately forthcoming. With plenty of roster moves still likely to be made before Week 1, however, it will be interesting to see if the team attempts to keep him in the fold at some point.
For now, the Saints will move forward with a safety room which lost Tyrann Mathieu to retirement this offseason. Free agent signing Justin Reid will be counted on to help replace him, while later addition Julian Blackmon and third-round rookie Jonas Sanker will be tasked with contributing defensively as well. New Orleans’ depth in the secondary will be thinner based on the Gray release, and special teams could suffer a notable loss with him no longer in the fold.
Eagles, Saints, Dolphins Also Placed Claims On Jalyn Armour-Davis
One of the Ravens’ more surprising 53-man roster cuts was the release of 2022 fourth-round pick Jalyn Armour-Davis.
The fourth-year cornerback was quickly claimed off waivers by the Titans, who had the No. 1 priority. They weren’t the only team with interest; the Saints, Dolphins, and Eagles all placed claims as well, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Armour-Davis ended each of his first three seasons on the IR with two stints in 2024. The Ravens were still excited about his potential as a versatile backup in 2025 with defensive coordinator Zach Orr saying that Armour-Davis was the team’s smartest defensive back on multiple occasions.
It seemed that the injury bug may have struck again when Armour-Davis missed a few practices at training camp, but his MRI was clean and he returned to start all three preseason games. He played sparingly in the second, but in the other two, he allowed an 8.8 passer rating when targeted with two pass break-ups and an interception, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
The Saints could stand to add some cornerback depth after the departures of Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo in the last year. Behind a starting trio of Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alontae Taylor, and Isaac Yiadom, New Orleans only has veteran Ugo Amadi and fourth-round rookie Quincy Riley as backups.
Armour-Davis’ arrival in Tennessee is a reunion with former Ravens DBs coach and current Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson. A successful claim by Miami would have similarly reconnected him with Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver, who coached the Ravens’ defensive line during Armour-Davis’ time in Baltimore. Miami’s need at cornerback has been well-documented this offseason, and the soon-to-be 26 year old could have provided immediate depth. The Dolphins were successful in claiming former Colts second-round pick Julius Brents after he was waived.
The Eagles have several young cornerbacks on the 53-man roster – five of their six are 25 years or younger – and sought to add another in Armour-Davis. Philadelphia spent the offseason evaluating their options at the position behind star 2024 draft picks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. They brought in veteran Adoree’ Jackson to compete with former SEC starters Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks. None emerged as a clear third starter, so the Eagles traded for Jakorian Bennett. That would appear to be enough depth, but Howie Roseman, the Eagles’ ever-active general manager, tried to add Armour-Davis for even more competition.
In Tennessee, Armour-Davis will once again play under Wilson in a cornerback room made thin by the absence of L’Jarius Sneed.
Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC South
Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints moves are noted below.
Atlanta Falcons
Signed to practice squad:
- WR Chris Blair, CB Cobee Bryant, WR Dylan Drummond, OL Joshua Gray, S Ronnie Harrison, CB C.J. Henderson, OLB Khalid Kareem, K Lenny Krieg, WR Nick Nash, T Brandon Parker, TE Joshua Simon, QB Easton Stick, DL Kentavius Street, T Carter Warren, RB Carlos Washington
Carolina Panthers
Claimed:
- CB Damarri Mathis (from Broncos), WR Dalevon Campbell (from Chargers)
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
- LB Krys Barnes, CB Shemar Bartholomew, OLB Boogie Basham, DE Jared Harrison-Hunte, OL Jarrett Kingston, LB Maz Mwansa, TE Bryce Pierre, WR Ja’seem Reed, CB Mike Reid, DT Sam Roberts, WR/PR Ainias Smith, T Mike Tarquin, S Trevian Thomas, OL Brandon Walton
New Orleans Saints
Claimed:
- WR Trey Palmer (from Buccaneers), G Xavier Truss (from Broncos)
Signed to practice squad:
- WR Kevin Austin, DL Jonah Williams
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Signed to practice squad:
- DL Adam Gotsis