HEADLINES

Dolphins S Minkah Fitzpatrick Hires New Agent

July 26th, 2025 at 6:43pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is hiring a new agent shortly after his trade back to Miami, a potential indicator that he will be seeking a new contract from the Dolphins.

Fitzpatrick hired Drew Rosenhaus, according to the Miami Herald’s Omar Kelly, who represents several high-profile NFL players including two of Fitzpatrick’s new teammates: Tyreek Hill and Zach Sieler. The Dolphins seem to have quelled the dissatisfaction Hill expressed at the end of last season, while Sieler is seeking a raise after posting his second double-digit sack season in a row. Fitzpatrick was previously represented by Joe Segal of WME Sports.

The seven-year veteran had two years and a non-guaranteed $33.1MM remaining on his contract when he was traded to the Dolphins for Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith, per OverTheCap. After seeing the Steelers sign Ramsey and Smith to new contracts after the deal went through, Fitzpatrick may be expecting the same treatment from the team that drafted him in the first round in 2018.

While he can be confident that he will earn his $15.5MM salary this year after Miami moved to acquire him at the end of June, Fitzpatrick would prefer to add guarantees to his $17.5MM salary in 2026, per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. He may also be looking to take advantage of a safety market that eclipsed $21MM per year since he signed for a $18.25MM AAV in 2022. The 28-year-old will likely see the next two years as his last chance to sign a multi-year deal for a premium price.

Contract talks may not take place right away as the Dolphins will want to ensure that Fitzpatrick can fit back into their defense. Fitzpatrick’s play also appeared to take a step back in 2023 and 2024 compared to his three All-Pro seasons between 2019 and 2022, so his performance this year will be crucial to setting his market.

However, Miami is just as thin at safety as they are at cornerback. Their other projected starter is former Jet Ashtyn Davis, who has never started more than 10 games in a season with just six starts over the last two years. Behind Fitzpatrick and Davis are recent Day 3 draftees Patrick McMorris and Dante Trader, as well as a few undrafted free agents. Given the Dolphins’ lack of safety talent and use of resources to acquire Fitzpatrick this offseason, it’s hard to imagine that they don’t see him as a multi-year investment and will likely have to engage in negotiations as a result.

Texans RB Joe Mixon Expected To Miss Multiple Weeks Of Camp

July 26th, 2025 at 5:58pm CST by Ely Allen

Three days ago, the Texans placed running back Joe Mixon on the active/non-football injury list. At the time, reports claimed that the “medical outlook” was positive for Mixon and that the team would likely ease him into training camp, gradually increasing his activity before shutting him down for his eventual regular season debut. According to a report this afternoon from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, though, Mixon is expected to be out for “an extended period of time with a frustrating foot injury.”

Early last season, Mixon missed three games with a foot/ankle injury. He hadn’t participated in most of the preseason because of a quadriceps issue, yet he still took off for 159 yards and a touchdown in the team’s season opener. After the Week 2 injury derailed him a bit, he still came back from injury and rattled off four straight 100-yard rushing performances en route to a Pro Bowl bid. His effectiveness took a dip near the end of the season, but he was right back at it in the postseason, putting up 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns in two postseason matchups.

Jane Slater of 105.3 The FAN posted that Mixon reportedly “injured his right foot/ankle twice last year” and that today’s report comes after a third injury to it. KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson clarifies that the third injury occurred in the offseason when Mixon was working out on his own — hence the NFI placement — and that there have been no setbacks. He reports that Mixon has made progress since the injury, regained mobility, and that his medical outlook and goal to be ready for a Week 1 contest with the Rams remain unchanged.

Based on his 2024 season, the injury appears to be nagging and consistent but something he can potentially play through. If Wilson’s report is accurate, Houston will likely be careful with its lead back, easing him into drills and practices before potentially holding him out of another preseason. Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports adds that, despite Mixon’s absence from practice, the Texans are being similarly “judicious” with the usage of free agent addition Nick Chubb.

Seahawks Fear ACL Tear For RB Kenny McIntosh

July 26th, 2025 at 5:27pm CST by Ely Allen

The Seahawks continue to be plagued with injuries to its running backs room in 2025. After watching injuries limit Kenneth Walker last year and mar the careers of players like Rashaad Penny, Chris Carson, and others in prior years, the team now must deal with third-year back Kenny McIntosh, who reportedly may have torn his ACL today, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

As a rookie out of Georgia, McIntosh came into the NFL attempting to make the roster behind Walker, Zach Charbonnet, and DeeJay Dallas, but a sprained knee in the preseason forced him to start his rookie campaign on injured reserve. He was activated from IR by Week 12 of the season but only saw special teams snaps his rookie year.

In Year 2, with Dallas having departed for Arizona, McIntosh became the clear RB3 behind Walker and Charbonnet. Even with Walker missing a few games early in the season, McIntosh was mainly seen as a special teamer, with Charbonnet handling bell-cow duties in Walker’s absence. It wasn’t until late in the year, when Walker missed a few more games, that McIntosh started getting some significant carries. He finished the season with 31 carries for 172 yards.

Coming into 2025, McIntosh was looking to retain his RB3 spot, holding off rookie seventh-round Miami rusher Damien Martinez. If today’s fears are realized, though, and McIntosh is forced to miss the season, it will give Martinez more opportunities to solidify himself as RB3 before McIntosh can come back for the final year of his rookie contract. Martinez’s only competition for snaps behind Walker and Charbonnet now are undrafted running backs George Holani (signed in 2024) and rookie Jacardia Wright.

Martinez will spend the next few weeks trying to secure a spot on the 53-man roster as the third running back on the depth chart. Meanwhile, McIntosh will be undergoing more testing in the hopes that his chance to defend his RB3 role won’t have to wait until 2026.

Bengals Sign First-Round DE Shemar Stewart

July 26th, 2025 at 4:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

JULY 26: Stewart officially put pen to paper today, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Inking the deal on an off day for the team, Stewart will officially rejoin his teammates on the field tomorrow.

JULY 25: The Bengals have cut their contract issues with defensive ends from two to one. At long last, the AFC North team has its first-round pick under contract.

Shemar Stewart agreed to terms on his four-year rookie deal Friday, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. The sides had been engaged in a dispute about default language, and the impasse kept Stewart from working out during OTAs or minicamp. After the stalemate continued into training camp, it is now over. The Bengals bent on language to finally sign Stewart, as Pelissero adds an adjustment was made.

Cincinnati attempted to build new language into its rookie contracts that would void all guarantees in future years if a player does something to void guarantees in any year of the contract, as opposed to only voiding the guarantees in the year that something occurred. Stewart voiced displeasure in being the guinea pig here and refused to sign, becoming the last first-rounder to put pen to paper this year. After this deal’s completion, only Browns second-round running back Quinshon Judkins — due to a domestic violence arrest — is unsigned.

The above-referenced adjustment, however, does not constitute a win for the Stewart camp on the core issue. Rather, the Bengals agreed to adjust Stewart’s signing bonus payment schedule, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports. That evidently convinced Stewart being the guinea pig for the Bengals’ default language quest was acceptable. Second-rounder Demetrius Knight also objected to the Bengals’ void language, but he ended up accepting it in exchange for receiving 75% of his signing bonus upfront.

More specifically, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports $500K in Stewart’s bonus will be paid upfront rather than in December. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway, the team also greenlit a $550K bump to bring Stewart into camp. That would be the more notable development, as it would stand to bring a true raise for the disgruntled player in exchange for his agreement on the much-discussed default matter.

Unsigned draftees generally participate in OTAs and minicamps by signing waivers, but Stewart expressed issues with the Bengals on that front as well. He has yet to practice since the team chose him 17th overall. The Texas A&M product and the Bengals had been at odds for months on this matter, and while Cincinnati’s concession is not yet known, the team will have its top draft choice in uniform moving forward.

This closes one of the strangest negotiating chapters in the rookie-scale contract era (2011-present). First-rounders had been in the fully guaranteed contract bracket for a few years now; at No. 17, Stewart was locked into a fully guaranteed $18.97MM contract when the Bengals drafted him. The team’s crusade over minor default language, which prompted VP of player personnel Duke Tobin to criticize Stewart’s agent this week, brought scrutiny — especially as the Bengals navigate their Trey Hendrickson impasse. As a result, the team has not had its two highest-profile D-ends at work throughout the offseason.

Stewart had been training at his alma mater ahead of training camp — no, an actual Aggies return (with an aim at a 2026 draft reentrance) was not a thing — but will be tasked with developing quickly in Al Golden‘s defense. The Bengals have Hendrickson engaged in a holdout, already stripping away their top defender. Having Stewart out of action for this long compounded the issue, but the team at least has two first-rounders — Stewart and 2023 draftee Myles Murphy — at work.

The team drafted Stewart weeks after Sam Hubbard‘s retirement. He arrived for a team coming off a woeful defensive season, a campaign that prompted the Bengals to fire six-year DC Lou Anarumo and hire Golden. Stewart also checks in as a potential Hendrickson successor, in the event the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up and the Bengals cannot agree on an extension, or insurance against Murphy failing to make strides after two unremarkable years.

The Bengals are going on projection with Stewart, who totaled 1.5 sacks in each of his three college seasons. In correctly tabbing Stewart as the Bengals’ pick in his PFR mock draft, Ely Allen indicated scouts were enamored with the project pass rusher’s build, balance and bend. Cincinnati will finally have a chance to see their prized investment’s skills firsthand.

Titans WR Treylon Burks Suffers Fractured Collarbone

July 26th, 2025 at 1:47pm CST by Ely Allen

Heading into perhaps his most meaningful season, former-first round wide receiver Treylon Burks experienced a significant setback today. The 25-year-old, coming off a season in which he missed the final 12 games with an ACL injury, fractured his collarbone today on a diving catch, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. A recovery timeline will come after he undergoes further testing, but he’ll certainly miss the start of the final year on his rookie contract.

2025 is set to be a contract year for Burks after Tennessee opted to decline his fifth-year option. His rookie year showed some promise through a bit of adversity. Catching passes in one of Ryan Tannehill‘s last two years in a Derrick Henry-heavy offense, Burks was the second-leading wide receiver on the team with 444 yards and a touchdown off of 33 receptions. His rookie year had potential to be more, but a turf toe injury in Week 4 of the season led to an inconsistent, 11-game campaign. Year 2 was more of the same as a preseason LCL sprain hampered him coming into the year. Missing two separate three-game blocks, Burks’ inconsistency continued to the tune of only 16 receptions for 221 yards in 11 games.

After letting injury derail his first two seasons before they really had a chance to get going, Burks was in a tough spot. New head coach Brian Callahan told reporters before the season that Burks would need to contribute on special teams in order to justify his roster spot. Burks was healthy heading into Year 3, but his usage and targets began to dwindle. In the week following a nine-snap offensive performance in a home loss to the Colts, Burks suffered a knee injury in practice that would be reported weeks later as a “loose ACL” that, ultimately, required season-ending surgery.

With injuries having defined his career thus far, it’s extremely unfortunate for Burks to suffer this injury today. Rapoport claims that Burks showed up to training camp “in great shape,” and we saw reports back in June that he looked ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation. The collarbone is, at the very least, a setback, as he’ll need to get back up to full speed in the midst of the regular season.

Burks already faced the challenge of trying to gel with a new passer in rookie quarterback Cam Ward. Burks was set to be the clear WR2 to Calvin Ridley after the team neglected to re-sign free agents Tyler Boyd and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. The Titans, though, imported a ton of competition in the offseason, signing veteran free agents Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson, drafting two fourth-round rookies in Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor, and even signing Ward’s favorite target in college, Xavier Restrepo, as an undrafted free agent.

With the influx of new talent and only $2.66MM in cash owed to him this year, there was a non-zero chance that Burks could fail to make the initial 53-man roster. Honestly, if he wasn’t going to end up making it on the team, this injury may have helped him stay on the roster with an injury designation.

The Titans will make their decisions on how to handle all of that business in the days and weeks to come, but in the meantime, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that former Raiders wide receiver Ramel Keyton is signing with Tennessee to fill in the spot vacated by Burks. Keyton made the Raiders’ initial 53-man roster last year, despite going undrafted out of Tennessee, with a stellar preseason. After failing to appear in the team’s first three games, Keyton was waived and put on the practice squad. He was signed back to the active roster again in Week 9, playing significant snaps on the offense that week, but spent the rest of the season mostly as a special teamer.

At 6-foot-3, Keyton brings size to the room as he heads back to the state of his alma mater. With the Titans off tomorrow, Keyton will join the team on Monday. Burks, on the other hand, will conclude medical testing and begin determining his path back onto the field. He has one more year to show Tennessee he can play up to his draft stock when healthy, he’ll just be doing so with a late start to his 2025 campaign.

Bears CB Jaylon Johnson To Miss Several Weeks

July 26th, 2025 at 12:29pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson is expected to miss most of training camp due to a leg injury, per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin.

Johnson was placed on the non-football injury list when veterans reported to Chicago for camp. He suffered the injury during offseason training, according to Bears general manager Ryan Poles.

Johnson is coming off his second consecutive Pro Bowl and is headed into the second year of a four-year, $76 million deal signed last year. He has dealt with a number of injuries over his career, playing no more than 15 games in a season over the first four years of his career. In 2024, he played a full season for the first time, starting all 17 games with a career-high 1,032 snaps.

An extended absence into the regular season would force Chicago to find another starting cornerback among their veteran depth, but Poles said that the team is not “overly concerned” about a long-term injury.

“We’ve got a lot of faith that he’s going to put in the time to rehab and be his full self when he comes back,” said Poles on Tuesday.

2023 fifth-rounder Terell Smith will likely step into a first-team role in Johnson’s absence. Chicago largely relied on a cornerback trio of Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, and Kyler Gordon last year; Smith is the only remaining defensive back on the roster who played at least 150 snaps on the boundary for the Bears in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus (subscripton required).

Offseason signings Nick McCloud and Tre Flowers may also see a bump in reps over the coming weeks as Johnson rehabs his leg with his eyes on returning for the Bears’ Week 1 opener against the Vikings.

Steelers, S Chuck Clark Agree To Deal

July 26th, 2025 at 11:05am CST by Adam La Rose

July 26: Interestingly, the Steelers brought in another ex-Ravens safety for a workout, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson: Marcus Williams. The 28-year old started alongside Clark for much of the 2022 season and left Baltimore this offseason after losing his starting job in 2024.

July 25: In the wake of the blockbuster Dolphins-Steelers trade which sent Minkah Fitzpatrick back to Miami, Pittsburgh was seen as a team to watch regarding a safety acquisition. The team has lined up its preferred addition.

Chuck Clark has agreed to a Steelers deal, ESPN’s Brooke Pryor notes. Pittsburgh already has DeShon Elliott and Juan Thornhill in place at the safety spot. Clark – who returned to action last year after an ACL tear cost him the 2023 campaign – will now join them as Pittsburgh’s secondary gets sorted out.

A sixth-round pick of the Ravens in 2017, Clark developed from a special teams mainstay into a full-time defensive starter. During each of his final three Baltimore campaigns, he was on the field for every defensive snap. A trade to the Jets did not go according to plan, however, with the ACL tear leaving him sidelined in 2023. Upon returning to full health, Clark did manage 12 games and a full-time starting role in New York.

The Virginia Tech product was charged with a 118 passer rating and two touchdowns allowed in coverage as the nearest defender in 2024. That helps explain why Clark remained on the open market deep into the offseason, but he will now look to use training camp to carve out a regular spot in Pittsburgh’s secondary. He will reunite with Elliott after the two previously played together in Baltimore.

Fitzpatrick drew criticism over the past two years as he playmaking dried up, and he was traded to the Dolphins with two years left on his deal in exchange for cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith. Ramsey is a candidate for a hybrid role with his newest team since the Steelers have returnee Joey Porter Jr. and free agent addition Darius Slay in place at the cornerback spots. If Ramsey sees considerable time at safety, it will impact the Elliott-Thornhill-Clark trio’s workload and rotation.

Today’s move comes shortly after the Saints responded to Tyrann Mathieu‘s retirement by signing Julian Blackmon. With Clark now off the market as well, Justin Simmons remains a name to watch. The two-time Pro Bowler saw his eight-year Broncos run come to an end last offseason and he does not anticipate remaining with the Falcons after he spent 2024 in Atlanta. Pittsburgh represented a logical landing spot in Simmons’ case, but that is no longer feasible given Clark’s signing.

Falcons WR Darnell Mooney To Miss Time

July 26th, 2025 at 10:08am CST by Nikhil Mehta

A shoulder injury is expected to sideline Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney for a few weeks, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

The injury occurred when Mooney dove for a deep ball during full-team work on Thursday and left the field with a trainer, according to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi. The sixth-year wideout could be sidelined for most of training camp, per WSB’s Zach Klein.

DJ Chark‘s workout was already scheduled before Mooney went down, but his injury seems to explain why the Falcons completed the signing yesterday. The team announced the one-year deal this morning.

The Falcons have a number of receivers who can step up in Mooney’s place during his absence, including KhaDarel Hodge, who played with the first team on Saturday, according to Josh Kendall of The Athletic. Veteran Jamal Agnew, who arrived in Atlanta this offseason on a one-year, $2.5MM deal, could also be in line for more reps. The same goes for Chark as he learns Atlanta’s offense.

Mooney’s injury doesn’t appear to threaten his Week 1 availability. He signed a three-year, $39MM deal with the Falcons last offseason and immediately turned in a strong debut season in Atlanta. He finished second on the team to Drake London in virtually every receiving category with 64 receptions on 106 targets for 992 yards and five touchdowns. Those were Mooney’s best numbers since 2021, and the team’s lack of investment in their receiver room this offseason shows that they believe in a repeat performance this year.

NFL Fining 100+ Players, Several Team Employees For Profiting Off Super Bowl Tickets

July 25th, 2025 at 10:09pm CST by Ely Allen

The offseason of NFL administrative drama continues as the league is fining over 100 players and two dozen club employees, according to Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press. The fines are a result of violations of a league policy prohibiting players and employees in the NFL from personally profiting off of their league benefits at the expense of the fans.

The league benefit in question in this particular case is one that allows players on all 32 teams to purchase two tickets for the Super Bowl. It’s a perk outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but that same CBA prohibits league or team employees, including players, “from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket’s face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket.”

According to a league investigation, which is still in progress, “club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of ‘bundlers’ who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value.” Club employees who resold their tickets will be forced to pay a fine of twice the face value of the tickets they purchase. Some of the club employees involved in the violation were reportedly coaches.

Players who resold their tickers will have to pay a fine of 1.5 times the face value they paid for the ticket. The players involved also will not be allowed to utilize their two-ticket allotment for the next two Super Bowls, unless they are playing in the game. ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Tisha Thompson add that players who decline to pay the fines could face a suspension from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, adding that several have already accepted the fines in order to avoid missing game time.

The league also warns that the ‘bundlers,’ anyone who directly sold their ticket for a profit, or anyone who “otherwise had a greater role” will face heavier penalties. In the announcement, no players’ or employees’ names were revealed. Ultimately, the league will enhance mandatory compliance training before Super Bowl LX to emphasize the rules and “the broader principle that no one should profit personally from their NFL affiliation at the expense of (the) fans.”

Jason Licht: Buccaneers Eyeing Baker Mayfield Partnership Beyond Current Deal

July 25th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

Baker Mayfield‘s 2023 ‘prove-it’ deal went better than he or the Buccaneers could have envisioned. As a result, team and player worked out a three-year, $100M pact last spring.

In his first campaign after inking that pact, Mayfield delivered the best statistical output of his career. The former No. 1 pick ranked third in the NFL in passing yards (4,500) and tied for second in touchdowns (41). While Mayfield’s 16 interceptions put him in a tie with Kirk Cousins for the most in the NFL, expectations are high for 2025 and beyond.

Especially if the former Brown, Panther and Ram manages to post strong numbers early in the coming season, the matter of an extension will increasingly become a talking point. Working out a raise now would be somewhat surprising given the term left on Mayfield’s deal, and Jeff Howe of The Athletic writes there are currently no plans to arrange a bump in compensation (subscription required). Nevertheless, general manager Jason Licht is hopeful Mayfield will remain in place beyond the 2026 season.

“I love Baker. I love everything he’s done for us,” Licht said. “The goal for us is for Baker to continue to be the player that he is, and at some point, we reach an extension when the time is right and he continues to be our quarterback for a long time. That’s the goal.”

After restructuring his pact this spring, Mayfield is set to carry a cap charge of $26.48MM. When compared to a number of other big-ticket quarterback deals, that figure (along with his AAV) can be considered team-friendly. A raise could be in store if the 30-year-old carries on from where he left off during the 2025 season with next spring representing a logical period for an extension to be worked out. It will be interesting to see if Tampa Bay would be on board with an arrangement bringing Mayfield closer to the top of the position’s pecking order than where he currently finds himself (19th in terms of average annual value).

Keeping with what has been an annual tradition in Mayfield’s case, 2025 will see him work with a new offensive coordinator. Liam Coen‘s decision to take the Jaguars’ head coaching gig means Josh Grizzard will handle OC duties after being promoted from receivers coach this offseason. A familiar face should help Mayfield adjust to the new system, and another encouraging performance could result in an extended stay with the Buccaneers.

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