HEADLINES

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/22/25

August 22nd, 2025 at 7:43pm CST by Ely Allen

As teams begin to whittle their rosters down to the eventual 53 players, here are a few transactions aside from mass cuts:

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

An important note for cuts moving forward: different from the usual 24-hour waiver period, any players waived between now and the roster cut deadline will remain on the waiver wire, available to be claimed, until Wednesday.

Ravens To Carry 4 RBs On 53-Man Roster

August 22nd, 2025 at 6:57pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Ravens have already made some preliminary roster decisions ahead of Tuesday’s cutdown deadline.

Head coach John Harbaugh said (via Giana Han of the Baltimore Banner) that the team is planning to carry four running backs on their 53-man roster. That would seem to cement Rasheen Ali‘s spot on the team behind Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, and Keaton Mitchell.

Ali, a 2024 fifth-round pick, made the 53-man roster as a rookie but landed on injured reserve before Week 1. He went on to appear in six games, but only logged 10 carries for 31 yards with Henry and Hill handling virtually all of the team’s backfield work.

The 24-year-old seemed to be on the roster bubble entering training camp amid reports of Mitchell finally returning to full strength (and speed) after his 2023 ACL tear. Ali then put up a strong performance in the Ravens’ preseason opener against the Colts; he virtually created a scoring drive on his own with a 69-yard kickoff return, a 19-yard run into the red zone, and a two-yard touchdown.

That seemed to give Ali’s roster chances a significant boost, and despite a less inspiring performance in Dallas last Saturday, Harbaugh’s postgame comments indicated that the second-year running back will make the team. Baltimore’s other running backs, veterans D’Ernest Johnson and Myles Gaskin, are unlikely to challenge Ali for a roster spot.

Ali is unlikely to see any offensive touches outside of garbage time, but he may partner with Mitchell on kickoff returns, which are expected to play a bigger role in 2025 with the touchback moved up to the 35-yard line.

Harbaugh also confirmed that rookie Tyler Loop would be the team’s starting kicker, per The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. The sixth-round pick appeared to win the job when the Ravens waived UDFA John Hoyland at the beginning of August, though that move was also ascribed to other roster needs at running back and tight end. The Ravens never brought Hoyland back to challenge Loop, who went 6-for-8 on field goals and 5-for-5 on extra points during the preseason.

Steelers Release 2 Players, Waive 9 Others

August 22nd, 2025 at 6:18pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Steelers began the process of trimming their roster down to 53 players on Friday with the following 11 cuts (via a team announcement):

Released

Waived

McQuaide, a 14-year veteran, was unable to pry the Steelers’ long snapping job away from Christian Kuntz. The 37-year-old spent the first decade of his career with the Rams with back-t0-back Pro Bowl nods in 2016 and 2017. McQuaide then signed with the Cowboys in 2021, his last season as a full-time starter. He was used as a spot starter by the Cowboys, Lions, Vikings, and Dolphins over the last three years.

Woodside, 30, never seemed to have a chance at a 53-man roster spot with four quarterbacks ahead of him on the Steelers’ depth chart. He will likely try to land a practice squad spot next week with a team that wants to carry an extra quarterback.

McQuaide and Woodside are free to join any team’s active roster, but the other nine players will be on the waiver wire until Wednesday. Any who pass through waivers, along with the two veterans, can sign to any team’s practice squad on Wednesday as well.

Tanner McKee Likely To Generate Trade Interest; Eagles Not Planning To Move QB

August 22nd, 2025 at 6:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles did not see much from Kenny Pickett last year, and the team traded the ex-Steelers first-rounder after one season. Tanner McKee served as a central reason for Pickett’s Philadelphia one-and-done.

In the Pickett deal, however, Dorian Thompson-Robinson came back. The defending Super Bowl champions then used a sixth-round pick on Syracuse’s Kyle McCord. Teams almost never — the Browns’ current situation notwithstanding — carry four quarterbacks on their active roster. Many do not carry three, leaving teams likely to look at the Eagles for potential assistance as they set rosters ahead of Week 1.

McKee is on track to be Philly’s top Jalen Hurts backup, but SI.com’s Albert Breer anticipates the team receiving trade interest here. While the Eagles are one of the NFL’s busiest teams on the trade front, Breer notes it would take plenty for them to part with McKee.

Hurts has missed time due to injury in three of his four starter seasons, and he played hurt during much of the 2023 season. Philly carrying a player with three years of experience in Nick Sirianni‘s system — even if the Eagles are on a fourth play-caller in four years — will be important as they arrange their depth chart.

A Stanford alum, McKee is a former sixth-round pick signed through the 2026 season. He saw action in Weeks 17 and 18 last year, sitting behind Pickett for much of the season (but on Philly’s active roster) and receiving the start in Week 18. Facing a Giants team that had starters on the field, McKee took a mostly second-stringer-laden Eagles offense to a 20-13 win. McKee threw two touchdown passes in a 27-for-41, 269-yard showing.

While Thompson-Robinson has impressed at points during training camp and in preseasons, the UCLA alum has been woeful when the games have counted. The Browns have given the ex-fifth-rounder five starts, and he has seen action in 15 games. Thompson-Robinson has posted an alarming 1:10 TD-INT ratio. Considering McCord is a sixth-round rookie, it stands to reason the Eagles will protect McKee ahead of this season.

That said, an exec indicated (via Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz) the Eagles probably are not done on the trade front before Week 1. The Eagles have made some notable trades in recent years, including late-summer moves to add C.J. Gardner-Johnson (2022) and Jahan Dotson (2024). The team also has 10 draft choices in 2026, collecting an additional third-rounder in the Haason Reddick swap and adding either a fourth- or fifth-rounder (due to a conditional pick being exchanged) in the Bryce Huff deal.

The Eagles already swung a summer trade Sunday, acquiring wideout John Metchie from the Texans in a deal that included a Day 3 pick swap and tight end Harrison Bryant going to Houston. Metchie, who said (via AllPHLY.com’s Zach Berman) joins ex-Alabama WR teammate DeVonta Smith. The former second-round Texans draftee is in a contract year. He joins an Eagles team that just lost second-year wideout Johnny Wilson for the season.

Steelers’ Derrick Harmon To Miss Time; IR Move Not Expected

August 22nd, 2025 at 5:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

5:54pm: It looks like the Steelers will carry Harmon on their 53-man roster to open the season. Because Harmon is expected to be healthy at some point during the season’s first four weeks, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac notes the team is unlikely to use an IR-return spot here.

3:23pm: The knee injury Derrick Harmon sustained Thursday night will force him to miss regular-season time. The Steelers’ first-round pick suffered an MCL sprain, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports.

This injury can produce varying timetables, but Rapoport notes the expectation is the Steelers rookie misses around a month. That would make him a candidate for one of Pittsburgh’s two IR-return spots next week; such a move would mandate a four-game absence from the No. 21 overall pick.

Mike Tomlin said last night (via Bleacher Report’s James Palmer) Harmon suffered a “knee sprain of some description,” foreshadowing this diagnosis. This certainly could have been worse for the Steelers, as Harmon was carted off the field during the team’s preseason finale. But the Steelers will not have the Oregon product in Week 1 and most likely for longer than that.

If the Steelers stash Harmon on IR, they would save a roster spot next week. Harmon being placed on IR early would have him immediately count as one of Pittsburgh’s eight regular-season injury activations. The Steelers could also go week to week here, keeping Harmon on the active roster in the event Harmon is ready to return before Week 5, but that would mean carrying an injured player for multiple weeks to open the season.

It would make sense for the Steelers to proceed with a Harmon IR placement Tuesday since he will be healthy enough to play early in the season. The team would understandably want to make sure the interior D-lineman is healthy before debuting, and this would add a healthy player in his place during that recovery.

This offseason brought more Cameron Heyward contract drama, as the likely Hall of Fame-bound defensive tackle pushed for a raise via a short-lived hold-in. Despite being willing to miss games to make his point, Heyward returned to practice ahead of Pittsburgh’s preseason game. No Harmon early would mean the Steelers will be forced to count on Heyward once again, which could be interesting regarding his pursuit of a raise. Harmon is in place as a Heyward heir apparent of sorts, but this season will feature the two lining up together on Pittsburgh’s D-line. The team will need to wait a bit for that happens.

Giants Make First Wave Of Roster Cuts

August 22nd, 2025 at 5:39pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Over the next few days, NFL teams will trim their roster down to 53 players. The Giants began their first wave of cuts on Friday with the following eight players (via a team announcement):

Every player listed was waived except for Pascal, a vested veteran with seven accrued seasons. The other seven will be subject to waivers until Wednesday’s claiming deadline, per Howard Balzer of CardsWire. None are expected to stay in New York on the Giants’ practice squad, according to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan.

Pascal is now able to sign with any team, though his lack of meaningful offensive production since 2021 may force him to take a spot on a practice squad. He recorded back-to-back 600-yard seasons for the Colts in 2019 and 2020, but his output has waned since. The 30-year-old wideout has grown into a special teams contributor as his offensive snaps decreased, which helped him earn a veteran minimum contract in New York this offseason. Pascal’s contract only included $90k in guarantees, per OverTheCap, which will remain as dead money on the Giants’ 2025 salary cap.

NFC South Notes: Bucs, Tuttle, Falcons

August 22nd, 2025 at 4:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jason Licht managed to stick around to make the Tom Brady signing despite the Buccaneers missing six straight playoff brackets to start his GM tenure. Licht said (via The Athletic’s Dan Pompei) he feared he would be fired after starting 27-53 during his first five years. But the Bucs gave him a five-year extension in summer 2019. In his sixth draft as Bucs GM, Licht chose Devin White fifth overall. The high-end linebacker prospect flashed early and earned an All-Pro nod, but a penchant for freelancing led the Bucs to bench him — after a trade request amid a pursuit of a top-five ILB contract. Licht now admits White would have been “off my board” had he received a do-over, indicating the off-ball LB’s Tampa Bay stay was “too much about him.”

Licht also missed on first-rounders Vernon Hargreaves, O.J. Howard and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka from 2016-21, but the Bucs’ drafts during the late 2010s through the 2020 virtual event helped form their Super Bowl LV core. As for White, he washed out of Philly after signing a one-year deal worth $4MM. He did not play a down for the Super Bowl LIX champions last season; after a stop in Houston, White rejoined Brady in Las Vegas (on a one-year, $1.17MM deal with no guarantees) this offseason.

Here is the latest from the NFC South:

  • Shy Tuttle started 32 Panthers games from 2023-24, but the team both added reinforcements via free agency and has seen Derrick Brown return from a season-altering injury. The Panthers signed Tershawn Wharton and Bobby Brown to play up front alongside Derrick Brown, leaving Tuttle without a defined role. Tuttle is on Carolina’s roster bubble, per The Athletic’s Joe Person, who has Cam Jackson and A’Shawn Robinson — one of many ex-Rams on Ejiro Evero‘s third Panthers defense — making the team as backups over Tuttle. The Panthers would take on $6.56MM (spread over two years) by releasing Tuttle, who has made 65 career starts.
  • The Panthers should also be monitored for potential late-summer adds at inside linebacker and cornerback, Person notes. Carolina cut Josey Jewell after one season and has not found a home yet. Ex-Ram Christian Rozeboom is in place to start alongside 2024 third-rounder Trevin Wallace. At corner, the Panthers have Michael Jackson and Chau Smith-Wade set to play regular roles alongside Jaycee Horn. The Panthers used their No. 1 waiver priority to claim three CBs last August; even with a lesser priority spot, more moves to bolster their defense could be coming Wednesday.
  • Falcons swing tackle Storm Norton is expected to miss at least six weeks after undergoing ankle surgery this week, ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes. Norton re-signed on a two-year, $3MM deal this offseason. More significantly, the Falcons are without starting RT Kaleb McGary due to a leg injury. McGary will miss time, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, but the nature of the injury (and the recently extended player’s expected absence length) are not yet known. McGary signed a two-year, $30MM extension ($28.48MM fully guaranteed) during training camp. Elijah Wilkinson has seen more time at guard in recent years, but the ex-Broncos swing tackle took over at RT after McGary was carted off, per Falcons.com’s Tori McElhaney. An outside addition should probably not be ruled out, but McGary’s timetable will be key on that end.
  • The Saints hired former center LeCharles Bentley as a personnel and performance consultant. Bentley, who made the Pro Bowl at two positions (center, guard) during his Saints rookie-contract stay in the early 2000s, has been training O-linemen during offseasons for many years. The four-year Saints starter who suffered a career-ending injury shortly after signing with the Browns in 2006, Bentley has assisted with film study, at practice and in the weight room thus far, according to Saints.com’s John DeShazier. The 45-year-old staffer’s four Saints seasons doubled as Mickey Loomis‘ first four as GM.

Patriots Begin Roster Cuts

August 22nd, 2025 at 1:50pm CST by Adam La Rose

The deadline for final roster cuts looms, and teams often get a head start on such moves with players known to be on the wrong side of the bubble. In the case of the Patriots, that has resulted in 14 players being let go early.

Head coach Mike Vrabel announced on Friday (h/t Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald) that the following players have been cut:

Each player listed will be eligible to join New England’s practice squad next week, although anyone cut at this time should not be considered a priority (for the Patriots or any other team) in that regard. Wooldridge being let go means that, for the time being, New England only has two quarterbacks on the roster. Drake Maye will of course handle starting duties, but veteran backup Josh Dobbs may not be a roster lock. Especially in the wake of today’s moves, the QB position will be one to watch closely.

A number of relatively recent draft picks are included in the list of players likely moving on. Sow and Bolden were respectively selected in the fourth and seventh rounds in 2023, with Sow handling a first-team role as a rookie. He made only one start last season, however, and was not positioned to serve as a key member of the Patriots’ renovated O-line under Vrabel and his new regime.

Bell joined New England as a seventh-round pick last year. He hardly saw the field on offense but chipped in on special teams. Rice – who logged a 56% third phase snap share during his three Patriots games in 2024 – represents another core special teams presence who will need to be retained via the taxi squad or replaced in the coming days.

Lions’ Alim McNeill Ahead Of Schedule; Josh Paschal Likely To Start Season On NFI List?

August 22nd, 2025 at 11:20am CST by Adam La Rose

One of many impactful injuries the Lions suffered on defense in 2024 was Alim McNeill‘s ACL tear. The fifth-year defensive tackle continues to recover, and his latest update on his status is a positive one.

“The way we’re trending now, yeah, we’re definitely ahead of schedule,” McNeill said when addressing his rehab process (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “I don’t know timeline-wise, I have no clue. Like a date-wise, I would never say. But I’m feeling really good.”

Earlier this summer, late October or early November was floated as a rough point for McNiell to be back in the fold. The 25-year-old’s injury occurred in December, leading to surgery (which he noted also included a meniscal repair). No setbacks have taken place, though, leading to an encouraging adjustment to the projected return date in this case. General manager Brad Holmes said earlier this summer McNiell could be available earlier than first expected.

If that proves to be the case, Detroit’s defensive line will receive a major boost sometime in the fall. Levi Onwuzurike re-signed on a one-year pact but his ACL tear from last month will sideline him for the entire season. That will leave the Lions without a key presence at the defensive tackle spot and presumably lead to a heavy early workload for first-round rookie Tyleik Williams. D.J. Reader remains in place, but getting McNeill (who is on the books through 2028 thanks to his lucrative extension signed last offseason) back relatively quickly will be welcomed.

In other Lions injury news, defensive end Josh Paschal is not on the verge of returning to game action. Head coach Dan Campbell said (via Justin Rogers of the Detroit Football Network) Paschal is unlikely to be activated from the non-football injury list in the near future. With roster cuts looming, decisions on injured players and their return designations will need to be made soon. If Paschal remains on the NFI list to begin the campaign, he will be forced to miss at least Detroit’s first four games.

The 25-year-old is entering the final season of his rookie contract, an after handling a snap share of 61% in 2024 Paschal will be expected to remain a key figure on the D-line when healthy. He has only five sacks to his name but a strong showing this year could result in a notable free agent market. For now, though, attention will remain focused on the recovery process.

Colts’ Xavien Howard Turned Aside 2024 Offers; CB On Track For Starting Role?

August 22nd, 2025 at 9:50am CST by Adam La Rose

Xavien Howard‘s time outside the NFL came to an end this week when he joined the Colts. The 2024 campaign came and went without a deal in his case, but that was not due to a lack of interest.

“I did have opportunities, I just feel like it wasn’t the right situation for me,” the former All-Pro corner said when reflecting on how last year played out (via the team’s website). “So I gave it a shot, I’m like OK, I just can wait [until] next year and hopefully something will happen, and something ended up happening.”

Howard, 32, was released by the Dolphins last spring, ending his eight-year Miami tenure. Few suitors emerged during his free agent tenure, although a midseason visit with the Bengals took place. No deal was worked out, but the visit allowed Howard and then-defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo to reconnect. Anarumo is now in charge of the Colts’ defense, so it came as little surprise when Indianapolis became Howard’s eventual 2025 destination.

The four-time Pro Bowler has twice led the league in interceptions during a season, and he has amassed 29 over the course of his career. Howard’s playmaking dried up toward the end of his Dolphins tenure with just one pick in each of the 2022 and ’23 campaigns, although he totaled 24 pass deflections over that span. A return to form after a lengthy absence would be welcomed in Howard’s case since it would help his free agent prospects next spring; it may also wind up being necessary from the team’s perspective.

The Colts’ depth chart for their final preseason contest lists Howard as a starter at the cornerback position. Free agent signing Charvarius Ward is locked into one first-team spot on the perimeter, while returnee Kenny Moore will again be counted on as a key figure in the slot. Indianapolis has already been hit hard by injuries in the secondary, however, leaving the door open to Howard earning a starting gig in short order. Veterans added in August rarely take on more than a depth role with their new teams, but an exception could be in store in this case.

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