HEADLINES

Extension For Seahawks LT Charles Cross Not Happening This Year

August 27th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Ely Allen

The Seahawks only really got their roster set to start the 2025 NFL season today, but general manager John Schneider already found himself fielding questions about extensions for players set to become free agents next year. Those questions mostly pertain to members of Seattle’s 2022 draft class, but the top pick from that class, left tackle Charles Cross, will not be signing an extension this year, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson.

Cross has started all but three games at left tackle since the Seahawks made him the ninth overall pick in 2022, and Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded him as the ninth-best offensive tackle in the NFL last year, so it seems safe to say that Seattle will want to extend Cross. The reason he won’t be considered for a deal this year is because the Seahawks “don’t extend deals with more than a year left,” and with the team exercising Cross’ fifth-year option, the 24-year-old has two years left on his rookie contract.

When considering Cross’ 2022 draft classmates, Schneider offered a different perspective (per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic), saying, “We love our guys, and we’ll keep working with them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. And if it doesn’t, you just have to move on to the next guy. We won’t ever stop trying to do that.”

Unfortunately for Cross, that doesn’t seem to apply to him until next year. Multiple times this summer, Cross has expressed his desire to remain in Seattle long-term just to be shut down due to the timing. At some point, the Seahawks will come to the table Cross continues to wait at with an offer. They’ll just have to hope that waiting to get a deal done doesn’t raise the price tag to an unattainable number.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC East

August 27th, 2025 at 9:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

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 Cowboys, Commanders, Giants and Eagles moves are noted below.

Dallas Cowboys

Signed:

Claimed:

  • DB Twikweze Bridges (from Chargers), DB Reddy Steward (from Vikings)

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

New York Giants

Claimed:

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Philadelphia Eagles

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Washington Commanders

Signed to practice squad:

Edge Rusher Za’Darius Smith Top Name On Market

August 27th, 2025 at 8:31pm CST by Ely Allen

Now that all 32 NFL teams have thinned out their active roster to 53 players, placed players on injured lists, and started to settle their practice squads, teams have a much better idea of the strengths and holes on their rosters. Teams who weren’t sure if they needed to (or could afford to) go after a veteran free agent can now address such decisions.

One such free agent who may be at the top of the list is pass rusher Za’Darius Smith. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Smith has multiple teams checking in on him to contend for his signature. A free agent since his release from the Lions in March, Smith has reportedly been training as he waits for the right situation to come along.

At 32 years old, Smith has remained a high-quality defender throughout his 10 years of play. Stuck behind Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil, and Matt Judon throughout his time in Baltimore, Smith didn’t have a chance to breakout until the final year of his rookie deal, when he led the team with 8.5 sacks.

That performance helped him land a four-year, $66MM contract in Green Bay, where he racked up 26.0 sacks in his first two years as a Packer. A back injury in 2021 kept Smith out for almost the entire season as he appeared in only 18 snaps of the season opener and 19 snaps of a Divisional Round playoff exit that year. The Packers released him for cap reasons, and Smith quickly moved on with a three-year, $42MM deal with the Vikings.

A year after Smith put up a 10.0-sack performance in Minnesota, the Browns sent two fifth-round picks to the Vikings in exchange for Smith, a sixth-, and a seventh-round pick. He finished with 5.5 sacks in 2023 for Cleveland, and after a litany of injuries to the Lions defense led Detroit to send the Browns a fifth- and sixth-round pick in exchange for Smith and a seventh-rounder, Smith ended his 2024 campaign with nine sacks — five in Cleveland and four in Detroit.

Now looking to enter his 11th season of NFL play, Smith is a top target for teams needing to improve their pass rush. Many believe the Lions are a likely team to land Smith’s signature, considering last year’s injury troubles and Smith’s eagerness to return. Detroit has kept in contact with the veteran, but with star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson coming back from injury, they feel fairly good about their situation.

There’s still a chance that he lands back in Detroit, but as Fowler points out, several teams are likely to reach out. The three-time Pro Bowler seems to be enjoying the luxury of choice, at the moment, but once the right deal comes around, a top free agent option should find his way to a roster before the start of the year.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC South

August 27th, 2025 at 7:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

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 Colts, Jaguars, Texans and Titans moves are noted below.

Houston Texans

Signed to practice squad:

Indianapolis Colts

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Jacksonville Jaguars

Signed to practice squad:

Tennessee Titans

Claimed:

Waived:

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Free Agent S John Johnson Suspended

August 27th, 2025 at 7:34pm CST by Ely Allen

Rashee Rice isn’t the only one receiving suspension news today. Though he’s not currently signed to an NFL roster, former Rams safety John Johnson was levied a three-week suspension to start the 2025 NFL season, according to Tom Pelissero.

A former third-round pick out of Boston College, Johnson began his career with the Rams in 2017. Over the course of his rookie contract, Johnson started 48 of 54 game appearances, intercepting eight passes, including four as a full-time starter in his sophomore campaign. He earned a three-year, $33.75MM contract in Cleveland as a free agent but was released from the team after two years for cap reasons.

He landed back with the team that drafted him in 2023, coming off the bench for most of the year before starting the final seven games of the season. On a second one-year contract with Los Angeles last year, Johnson appeared in only two games before suffering a hairline fracture to his scapula and missing the remainder of the year.

The report from Pelissero is a succinct one and doesn’t give any context for the suspension. Considering the fact that he’s not currently on a team, there aren’t many sources who could know the reason for the punishment. Regardless, if Johnson lands with a team before the start of the season, he won’t be able to play for the first three contests to open the year.

Dolphins Bring Back Kendall Lamm; Austin Jackson Returns To Practice

August 27th, 2025 at 7:06pm CST by Ely Allen

The Dolphins will see a familiar face return to the roster as they are signing offensive lineman Kendall Lamm, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The move comes a day after Lamm was released by the Eagles in final roster cuts.

A 10-year veteran of the NFL, Lamm has paved his way to a lengthy career with a reputation as a reliable swing tackle. Though, the 33-year-old has started games in every season of his career, only once has he started double-digit games in a season. Lamm has spent his career coming in as an extra blocker and filling in on the line when there are injuries. He’s played in 119 games in his career, starting 44.

Following a year in which Lamm started seven games for Miami, the Eagles opted to bring Lamm to Philadelphia in an attempt to replace their departing swing tackle, Fred Johnson. All-in-all the team considered four other players alongside Lamm to replace Johnson. In the end, Philly sent a 2026 seventh-round pick to Jacksonville in exchange for Johnson, and Lamm got cut, as a result.

Like Johnson, though, Lamm returns to a familiar situation, but he may just be coming in as insurance. When healthy, the Dolphins will be starting Patrick Paul and Austin Jackson as the bookend tackles of the offensive line. Jackson, though, is coming of season-ending knee surgery from November.

The team has long maintained that Jackson would be good to go for the start of the season, but the sixth-year tackle didn’t return to practice until today, per C. Isaiah Smalls II of the Miami Herald. He had been expected to return much earlier than this, but Jackson experienced a setback in his recovery when got “stepped on.” According to Barry Jackson, also of the Herald, the 26-year-old told reporters that he will “no doubt” be ready for Week 1.

Jackson is clearly eager to return to the field, but the team might be a bit more cautious with his return. Either way, with Lamm back in the fold, the Dolphins will have a strong replacement option should Jackson not be able to play.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC West

August 27th, 2025 at 6:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

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 49ers, Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks moves are noted below.

Arizona Cardinals

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Rams

Signed to practice squad:

San Francisco 49ers

Signed: 

Claimed:

Released from IR (via settlement):

Signed to practice squad:

Seattle Seahawks

Signed:

Claimed:

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Raiders Place QB Aidan O’Connell On IR

August 27th, 2025 at 6:27pm CST by Ely Allen

The Raiders have announced the placement of injured quarterback Aidan O’Connell on injured reserve today. The transaction comes a day after many thought it would.

Each NFL team is allotted two players that it can place on injured reserve before the roster cut deadline with a designation to return, allowing them to be activated to the 53-man roster four weeks after the start of the regular season. Any other players placed on IR before the deadline will remain on IR for the entire year.

When news came out two days before the deadline that O’Connell was expected to miss six to eight weeks with a fractured wrist, it was expected that he would be one of the two for Las Vegas. It came as a bit of a shock when the team only placed one player — safety Lonnie Johnson — on IR with a designation to return, keeping an injured O’Connell on the 53-man roster and giving the team one less spot with which they could have held on to a borderline player.

Instead, it appears they wanted to reserve a spot on the 53-man roster for a player outside the building. None of the players they waived appear to have been claimed elsewhere, so all are available if the team wanted to bring them back. The team chose, instead, to claim linebacker Brennan Jackson, who was waived yesterday by the Rams; the team also did an add-drop of two linemen. Still, the Raiders knew O’Connell was headed to IR, so when they claimed a new player, it was an easy transaction to bring them on and move O’Connell off.

Colts Will Not Trade QB Anthony Richardson

August 27th, 2025 at 6:12pm CST by Adam La Rose

Anthony Richardson lost out to Daniel Jones in the Colts’ quarterback competition this summer, but he is still in the team’s plans for at least the time being. General manager Chris Ballard made it clear on Wednesday no Richardson trade is being considered at this time.

“I know the negativity and it’s easy to say, okay, he’s done,” Ballard said of the 2023 No. 4 pick (via the team’s website). “And I don’t agree — I’ve said this numerous times — I do not agree with that. I’m proud of Anthony, of where he’s at, how far he’s come. He’s come miles… And there’s a lot of value in sitting behind a guy that’s a professional and watching and learning and growing and working on the things you need to work on without the same pressure of being the starter.”

Richardson played just four games as a rookie before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. The 23-year-old struggled when healthy last year, and at times he was benched in favor of backup Joe Flacco. Indianapolis prioritized adding a veteran signal-caller this offseason, and Jones departed Minnesota knowing a starting gig would be on offer. The former Giant (added on a one-year pact including over $13MM guaranteed) will look to offer stability under center in contrast to Richardson’s inconsistent showings – which, to date, have not been enough to end his Indianapolis tenure.

“There’s examples of guys that have had rough starts to their careers and have absolutely bounced back and had good careers,” Ballard added. “And there’s examples of guys who’ve been benched who come back and play.”

After Richardson completed just 47.7% of his passes and threw more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (eight), any trade undertaken at this point would contain little in the way of value coming back to the Colts. The Florida product has demonstrated his rushing upside when on the field, but that alone would not entice much in the way of attractive offers from suitors.

After this season, a decision will need to be made on Richardson’s 2027 fifth-year option. It is on track to be declined at this point, something which would point further to an Indianapolis departure being likely. For now, though, the Colts are in position to keep him in the fold.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC North

August 27th, 2025 at 5:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

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 Bengals, Browns, Ravens and Steelers moves are noted below.

Baltimore Ravens

Signed to practice squad:

Cincinnati Bengals

Signed to practice squad:

Reverted to IR:

Cleveland Browns

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Signed to practice squad:

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