HEADLINES

Extension Candidate: Quentin Lake

September 7th, 2025 at 10:12pm CST by Ely Allen

While it didn’t get done in the rush before the start of the regular season, an extension for Rams defensive back Quentin Lake should absolutely be on the table. Playing in the versatile ‘star’ position for Los Angeles in 2024, Lake has made himself an indispensable part of the team’s secondary.

Playing mostly on special teams as a sixth-round rookie in 2022, Lake found a bigger role on defense as his sophomore campaign progressed. A safety during his time at UCLA, Lake began seeing more reps on the Rams defense as a slot corner, splitting time in the role with cornerback Cobie Durant. His role got bigger as the season went on, with Lake getting some starts and increased playing time in the back half of the year.

In 2024, he was named a full-time starter for the Rams. He began the year starting at safety and coming down into the slot for sub packages with an extra defensive back while John Johnson covered his safety spot. When Johnson went on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, third-round rookie Kamren Kinchens became the first safety off the bench. Kinchens struggled early on, and Lake was depended on to hold down the safety position. The Rams slowly gained confidence in Kinchens and began to give him more run at safety, allowing Lake to exercise a more versatile role once again.

Lake appeared all over the field in 2024. Out of 1,207 snaps played on defense, Lake played 511 (42%) in the slot, 398 (33%) at safety, and 244 (20%) in the box. Part of his effectiveness in roaming around the field is due, in part, to his superior run defense, which graded second only to Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse on the Rams defense last year, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). For all his work around the field, Lake finished his 2024 campaign second on the team with 111 total tackles.

The types of players Lake most resembles are the versatile safeties like Budda Baker and Derwin James. He’s not quite on the level of those All-Pros, so he probably won’t garner anything near the $18MM-$19.13MM those two are averaging on their current deals. If Los Angeles wants to lock Lake down long-term, knowing how important a role he played in 2024, Lake could even encroach a double-digit average.

There’s currently a gap between Jaguars safety Darnell Savage (three-year, $21.75MM) and Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (three-year, $27MM), and anywhere in that gap would make a lot of sense to me. With the season underway, any deal might have to wait for the offseason, but if the Rams want to give Lake peace of mind as he plays out the season on a contract year, finding time to extend him well before free agency might be a good idea.

18-Game Season ‘Not Inevitable’

September 7th, 2025 at 8:43pm CST by Ely Allen

After taking position as the interim executive director of the NFL Players Association just over a month ago, David White gave his first interview earlier this week, per Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press. Among other topics, White addressed the concept of an 18-game season, something the league has tried to advertise in recent years as an inevitability.

Although the NFLPA shut down the idea of an 18-game schedule when negotiating the current CBA, the NFL has continued to push for it. The conversations tend to be carried out at owners meetings, where the concept is held in high regard for its profit potential. The players, though, have often expressed that there is no appetite for the change in their eyes. Regardless, the Association’s former executive director, Lloyd Howell, would routinely suggest an openness to the concept.

That’s part of the reason White was appointed as the union’s new leader. So far, White seems more than capable of voicing the players’ desires on the matter.

“The league has the right to bring any issue they want to the table and, presumably, to propose what they’re willing to give to receive what they want in negotiation, but we’ll see what happens,” White told the AP. “We haven’t talked about it yet, and it certainly is not inevitable and should not be presented as such.”

While the economic benefits of an extra game are obvious to the players, player safety concerns require further discussion into factors such as additional bye weeks, limits on international travel, restrictions on roster size, and much more. It may even be a chore to get to any such concessions, considering many players in the league were opposed to the change that brought a 17th game.

Not to mention, adding another game to the NFL schedule would require a change to the current CBA, since the agreement doesn’t expire until March 2031. Any such changes would require negotiation with the NFLPA, in which the league owners would likely need to offer some sort of incentive to edit the agreement at all.

White told the AP that, in his first month, he had attended a productive meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in New York. He called the meeting “a very good start” to their relationship and ensured an agreement that both sides would have an “open and respectful” line of communication.

S Harrison Smith Not Traveling With Vikings

September 7th, 2025 at 7:05pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

SEPTEMBER 7: Unfortunately, what was suspected a little over a week ago has been confirmed today. The Vikings relayed the news that Smith has been downgraded to out for tomorrow’s Monday night matchup with the Bears. In fact, the 36-year-old safety will not even be traveling to Chicago with his teammates.

The veteran defender returned to practice this past Friday for the first time since August 11 but only participated in a limited capacity. Head coach Kevin O’Connell seemed to imply the Smith needed a bit more time for a “physical ramp up ” when addressing the media yesterday, perhaps hinting that Smith is working himself back into playing condition still after being away from the field for so long.

AUGUST 29: By far the longest-tenured player on the Vikings’ roster, Harrison Smith re-signed with the team this offseason. The Minnesota standout is entering his 14th season with the team, but he may not be ready for Week 1.

A recent illness introduced a hiccup for the decorated defender. Smith missed the last two weeks of training camp but is expected to make a full recovery, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. Smith last practiced on August 11 but has been dealing with a health issue since.

The Vikings did not transfer Smith to a reserve list – either the IR with a return designation or the non-football illness list – indicating their optimism that he will return to the field within four weeks. However, Seifert reports that an exact return timeline for Smith remains uncertain. The 36-year-old defender did not attend the Vikings’ final two preseason games, Seifert adds.

Depending on the exact nature of the illness, Smith may need some time to ramp up in practice before getting back on the field in the regular season. He likely would need to return to practice in the coming days to be available for Week 1.

The 2012 first-round pick has started 191 career games; that ranks fourth in Vikings history. With 11 starts this season, Smith can pass Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller for third on the team’s all-time list. Based on the Vikes’ decision to keep Smith on the roster, they expect him to be able (barring injury) to do so this season.

Smith was set to start alongside Josh Metellus for the third year in a row. The safety duo used to be a trio with former Viking Camryn Bynum, who signed with the Colts this offseason. Theo Jackson will be positioned to replace Smith in the starting lineup if necessary, per Seifert. Jackson has been a Vikings backup since 2022 but has never started a game.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

Bills LT Dion Dawkins Looking For New Deal Next Year

September 7th, 2025 at 6:14pm CST by Ely Allen

Just last offseason, the Bills extended their blindside blocker Dion Dawkins through the 2027 NFL season. In an interview this summer, though, Dawkins expressed an expectation for a new deal after the 2025 season, per Michael Silver of The Athletic.

“I should get another deal after this year,” he reasoned to his interviewer. “I’m getting better every year.”

To be fair, this is likely something he’s discussed with the Bills front office. The 31-year-old left tackle has always been a team player. That much was evident this week, when Dawkins agreed to a restructured deal in order to free up some cap space, per ESPN’s Field Yates. Buffalo converted $9.79MM of Dawkins’ original $11.05MM salary for the 2025 season into a signing bonus. Doing so created $7.83MM of cap space this season.

While a $9.79MM signing bonus is certainly incentive enough, it’s easy to imagine the Bills agreeing to discuss another extension next season in order to get the reworked deal across the finish line. At the end of the season, Dawkins will still have two years remaining on his contract. Getting an extension with that much time on a deal is often a challenge, but it wouldn’t be unheard of or unwarranted.

Since coming to Buffalo as a second-round pick, Dawkins been a stalwart at left tackle for the Bills. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has always graded him favorably as one of the better and more consistent tackles in the NFL, but he just recently started earning acclaim as a Pro Bowler in each of the past four seasons.

He may not, technically, be getting better every year, but his consistency has been a crucial contributor to the team’s success in recent years. His current contract’s annual average value of $20.02MM ranks 18th among NFL linemen, and if he delivers another strong season, it would make sense to reward him with a deal that pushes him a bit further up that board.

Raiders Could Pursue WR Tyler Boyd?

September 7th, 2025 at 4:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

Tyler Boyd remains unsigned with Week 1 kicking off around the NFL. The veteran wideout could be the target of at least one suitor, however.

The Raiders lost a receiving option days before the start of the season when Amari Cooper retired. The five-time Pro Bowler had recently signed with Vegas, but his return to the franchise proved to be very short-lived. In the wake of Cooper’s retirement, questions were raised about a veteran addition taking place.

The Raiders promoted Justin Shorter from the practice squad to the active roster on Friday. Further moves could be coming, and if an outside acquisition is to be made, a potential target has emerged. Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes Boyd is a name to watch.

Boyd’s eight-year run with the Bengals came to an end last offseason, and he remained on the open market past the draft. The 30-year-old then signed a deal with the Titans, and he made 39 scoreless catches while playing on a one-year pact. Boyd’s 2025 free agency has lasted through all of training camp and into September without a deal appearing imminent at any point.

The Pennsylvania native and Pitt alum made it known he would welcome a contract with his hometown Steelers, and that feeling was mutual. No agreement was reached, however, with Pittsburgh preferring to look in-house for complementary receiving options. Boyd has not been linked to any teams since his Steelers interest emerged, but the Raiders could present him with an opportunity as an experienced depth piece.

Vegas was, to no surprise, led in the passing game by wideout Jakobi Meyers and tight end Brock Bowers on Sunday. The Raiders also have Tre Tucker along with rookies Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton and Shorter in place at the receiver spot. With roughly $25MM in cap space, the team could certainly afford a low-cost Boyd investment. It will be interesting to see if team and player explore a signing.

NFL Eyeing 2026 Game In Rio de Janeiro

September 7th, 2025 at 3:18pm CST by Adam La Rose

The second game of the 2025 regular season took place in São Paulo, with the Chiefs-Chargers contest marking the second straight year in which an NFL game was played in Brazil. The league intends to continue that trend in 2026, but another city is being targeted.

The NFL is expected to play a game in Rio de Janeiro next year, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports. Each of the league’s first two Brazil contests took place at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo, a venue which has a capacity of under 50,000. Playing at the legendary Maracanã Stadium in Rio would represent a notable contrast.

The Maracanã has a capacity above 70,000, and it has hosted a pair of FIFA World Cup finals along with the 2016 Summer Olympics. Jones notes the NFL has long shown interest in staging games in Rio, so it would come as no surprise if that were to take place next fall. A mutual interest is known to exist for a long-term arrangement in Brazil, and discussions have taken place about multiple games per year taking place in the country.

Brazil has long been one of the NFL’s largest international markets. As such, expanding the league’s presence there would be logical given the major investment made in global outreach over recent years. The CBA allows for as many as eight international regular season games per year, and seven will take place over the course of the 2025 season.

Next year, Melbourne will host a game with the Rams operating as the designated home team for the NFL’s first contest in Australia. The 2026 season is also likely to include at least one Brazil game, and it could very well take place in Rio.

Packers Extend P Daniel Whelan

September 7th, 2025 at 2:33pm CST by Ben Levine

SEPTEMBER 7: Providing details on the pact, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports Whelan’s extension is two years in length and has a total value of $6.2MM. Whelan is now on the books through 2027, and he received a $2.2MM signing bonus.

SEPTMEBER 4: After extending their long snapper last week, the Packers have now locked in their punter for the foreseeable future. The team announced that they’ve signed Daniel Whelan to an extension. Terms of the deal have yet to be reported.

Undrafted out of UC Davis in 2022, Whelan had a brief stint with the Saints before having to settle for a job with the XFL’s DC Defenders. After impressing in that gig, the special teamer earned a preseason contract from the Packers ahead of the 2024 campaign.

He ended up beating out Pat O’Donnell for the job, making him the first Irish-born NFL player since Neil O’Donoghue in the 1980s. Whelan has spent the past two years as Green Bay’s full-time punter, appearing in all 34 regular season games and all three of their postseason contests.

Whelan has been consistent over that span, with his yards per punt (46.2 in 2023, 46.1 in 2024) and net yards per punt (39.4 in 2023, 39.6 in 2024) generally staying the same across both campaigns. This past season, he became the first punter in Packers history to average 46-plus yards per punt and 40-plus net yards per punt in a single season. He also sits atop the franchise all-time leaderboard in punting average and net punting average (among players with at least 100 punts).

With long snapper Matt Orzech inking an extension in late August, the Packers have now committed to all of their special teams leaders for the next few years. To kick off the offseason, the team signed kicker Brandon McManus to a three-year, $15.3MM extension.

Buccaneers Move Graham Barton To LT

September 7th, 2025 at 1:49pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Buccaneers are without left tackle Tristan Wirfs to begin the season. It has long been known their All-Pro blindside protector will miss time in September, with veteran Charlie Heck viewed as the top option to replace him on a temporary basis.

For at least Week 1, however, that is not the case. General manager Jason Licht revealed shortly before Sunday’s game (via team reporter Scott Smith) that Heck would not be used as a starter. Instead, center Graham Barton was shifted to left tackle for Sunday’s contest. Ben Bredeson moved from guard to center as a result, with Michael Jordan taking on guard duties.

Barton primarily played as a left tackle in college, but the Duke product was viewed as an interior blocker upon entering the NFL. Indeed, Barton handled center responsibilities during his rookie season, finding immediate success in that role. The 2024 first-rounder will no doubt return to the middle of the O-line when Wirfs recovers from meniscus surgery.

That could take place at some point in September, although there is no firm timeline in place. If Barton manages to provide Tampa Bay with adequate play on the blindside, he could help stabilize the offensive line until Wirfs is back in the fold. The play of that unit will depend as well on Bredeson successfully moving to center. The sixth-year veteran has spent the majority of his career as a guard, including exclusively working there with Tampa Bay last season. Bredeson has spent limited time at center in the NFL, though.

Jordan, meanwhile, was among the Buccaneers’ roster cuts but was quickly retained on their practice squad after clearing waivers. The 27-year-old was elevated to the gameday roster for Week 1, and he will serve not as depth up front but rather as a starting presence. Based on how the first few games play out, Jordan could find himself on the active roster by the time Wirfs is healthy and Tampa Bay’s preferred offensive line setup comes into focus.

Patriots Notes: Peppers, Woods, Wilson, Belichick

September 7th, 2025 at 1:03pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Patriots overhauled their approach to the safety position this year by cutting Jabrill Peppers and benching Kyle Dugger, their starting duo for the past few seasons.

The two veterans are better at playing downhill than covering the deep areas of field, the latter of which is what new head coach Mike Vrabel looks for in his safeties. Those roles will now be filled by former Falcon and Charger Jaylinn Hawkins and fourth-round rookie Craig Woodson.

New England put Dugger on the trade block before roster cut-downs, but his $9.75MM guaranteed salary was likely a significant obstacle to a deal. The Patriots also looked into moving Peppers, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss, but similarly received little interest despite a more tradable contract with only $4.3MM in guaranteed salary remaining.

Pepper has yet to catch on with another team, though he will have a better chance at signing after Week 1 when veteran salaries are non-guaranteed. Dugger, meanwhile, seems headed out of New England within the next year. The Patriots could try to re-bait the hook at the trade deadline if there are safety injuries around the league; if no club bites, he’ll likely be a cap casualty next offseason.

  • New England was the only team to claim Rams cornerback Charles Woods off waivers, according to Reiss. He worked closely with new Patriots vice president of football operations and strategy John Streicher on Los Angeles’ special teams unit in 2024. The Patriots also claimed Colts cornerback Jaylon Jones with priority over the Bears, but they rescinded their claim after securing Woods.
  • The Patriots were also the only team to claim quarterback Tommy DeVito, per Reiss, despite reports that he would receive more interest on the waiver wire.
  • New England is entering the 2025 season with almost $47MM of cap space and won’t come close to hitting the ceiling this year. However, they will be able to roll over this year’s space to set up more spending next offseason, per Doug Kyed of the Boston Hearld.
  • Head coach Mike Vrabel named rookie Jared Wilson as the Week 1 starter at left guard. The third-round pick out of Georgia will line up between fellow rookie Will Campbell and veteran Garrett Bradbury.
  • Bill Belichick addressed his decision to ban the Patriots from North Carolina’s facilities during a recent press conference, saying (via The Athletic’s David Ubben), “It’s clear I’m not welcome there at their facility. So they’re not welcome at ours.” His dispute with his former team has continued over perceived slights on both sides, per Ubben’s colleague Dianna Russini, including a charge that a Patriots staffer was told not to wear UNC gear in the team facility.

49ers Want To Retain RT Colton McKivitz, Have Initiated Extension Talks

September 7th, 2025 at 12:10pm CST by Rory Parks

49ers right tackle Colton McKivitz signed a one-year extension last March, so he is entering a platform campaign. As opposed to many impending free agents who publicly downplay the appeal of a massive payday, McKivitz is a bit more upfront.

“It is a big deal. You see what guys are getting (paid) now so it’s hard to not be thinking about it, right?” McKivitz said (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). “It is a lot of money. You’re in the NFL for, obviously, winning and being good. But money is a hard thing to not think about.”

McKivitz, 29, was selected by the Niners in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. He played sparingly over his first three years in the league but was anointed the starting RT in 2023 after Mike McGlinchey defected to the Broncos in free agency.

Just before McGlinchey signed with Denver in March 2023, McKivitz inked a two-year, $4.65MM re-up, and he then agreed to the aforementioned one-year add-on in March 2024.

As such, he has earned “just” $10.27MM in his career to date, and he is due to make $3.19MM in base salary this year. So it stands to reason that he is hungrily eyeing the booming OT market.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said the club would like to retain McKivitz, and Branch indicates San Francisco thinks more highly of him than former starting guard Aaron Banks, who was allowed to depart via free agency this offseason. McKivitz, who presently ranks 25th among the league’s right tackles in terms of average annual salary, said the Niners have contacted his agent to discuss an extension, but “nothing crazy is going on at the moment.”

Branch believes the team is likely offering McKivitz far less than what he would stand to earn on the open market. And after accepting several modest deals, McKivitz may have a bigger goal in mind.

In terms of Pro Football Focus’ evaluations, McKivitz improved across the board from 2023 to 2024. His uptick in play was particularly noticeable in his pass-blocking efforts, as he surrendered nine sacks and 59 pressures in 17 games in 2023 but just two sacks and 36 pressures in the same number of games last year. His 72.2 overall PFF grade placed him 37th among 140 offensive tackles.

Further improvement, or even a reprisal of his 2024 performance, should allow McKivitiz to rocket up the RT pay scale.

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