Aiden Williams

Panthers Open Practice Window For DT LaBryan Ray

A slew of transactions came out of Carolina today, including the opening of defensive tackle LaBryan Ray‘s 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve. The team announced Ray’s return to practice today among several other roster announcements.

Once a five-star recruit who came out of Alabama undrafted, Ray will look to join an improved defensive line rotation for the Panthers. Ray earned nine starts last year filling in for an injured Derrick Brown. He’ll now have 21 days to return from an injury of his own before being reverted to season-ending IR if he can’t be activated.

Carolina had three open spots on their active roster after some injured reserve placements, and taking those spots on the 53-man roster will be practice squad running back DeeJay Dallas and practice squad safety Trevian Thomas. Dallas signed to Carolina’s taxi squad after being cut by the Cardinals one year into a three-year deal. While he adds depth the running backs room as Chuba Hubbard continues to be limited at practice with calf issue, his real value in the NFL has come a return man, where he can add depth after the loss of David Moore.

To fill the open slots on the practice squad, the Panthers signed offensive lineman Saahdiq Charles, running Anthony Tyus III, and offensive lineman Aiden Williams.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/3/25

Today’s practice squad moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: CB Eli Ricks
  • Released: OL Hollin Pierce

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

  • Released: DL Isaiah Raikes

The Ravens added a notable special teamer to their taxi squad today, agreeing to a deal with veteran J.T. Gray. The 29-year-old spent his entire professional career with the Saints before getting cut by the team last week. The majority of Gray’s playing time has come on special teams, where he’s earned three All-Pro nods for his efforts. As Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic notes, the veteran will likely see a role in Baltimore, as the team is still looking to fill holes left by a handful of departed core special teamers this past offseason.

To accommodate the addition of old friend Gabe Davis to the practice squad, the Bills had to get a bit creative. Temporarily, the team has released veteran safety Jordan Poyer, but the former Buffalo starter shouldn’t be gone for long. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, Poyer is expected to rejoin the Bills practice squad once Davis is placed on the taxi squad injured list.

The Lions landed on a third-string quarterback after holding an audition earlier today. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports that the team has signed C.J. Beathard to the practice squad. Beathard worked out for the team earlier today alongside Nathan Peterman. Beathard has only started one game since garnering 12 starts for the 49ers between 2017 and 2020. He split last season with the Jaguars and Dolphins without getting into a game. In Detroit, he’ll serve as a third-stringer behind Jared Goff and Kyle Allen.

Steelers Cut P Cameron Johnston, 12 Others

The Steelers started moving on from some players late last week, and they continued the process this afternoon. The team announced the following transactions:

Released:

Waived:

Cameron Johnston inked a three-year deal with the Steelers last offseason and was expected to lead the depth chart for the foreseeable future. However, the veteran suffered a knee injury in Week 1 that knocked him out for the rest of the season, allowing Corliss Waitman to secure the punting gig. It appears that Waitman won the competition between the two this preseason, and Johnston will now look to revive his career elsewhere. The team also moved on from kicker Ben Sauls, who always seemed destined to be cut considering Chris Boswell is still kicking around.

Among the team’s other notable cuts are Max Hurleman, who caught a touchdown in Pittsburgh’s preseason opener and was a standout during training camp, and linebackerMark Robinson, who was believed to be competing for a spot on the Steelers defense.

Steelers Announce 7 UDFA Signings

After drafting seven rookies this weekend, the Steelers double their rookie class with their undrafted free agent signings. Here are the seven additions to the team’s rookie class:

A two-year starter for the Tigers, Taylor had a productive last two seasons, catching 135 balls for 2,053 yards and six touchdowns, but he had a bit of an issue with nine drops over that period.

Williams spent six seasons in Duluth, not making an appearance until his third year after redshirting and sitting out the COVID-19 2020 season. In 2022, he took over the starting left tackle position for the Bulldogs, starting 32 games over the next three seasons and earning second-team All-NSIC honors in 2022 and 2023 and first-team honors in 2024.

Castro had some Day 3 buzz, likely due to a stellar 2023 campaign in which he had 11 passes defensed, three interceptions, and eight tackles for loss. His 2024 season was pretty disappointing, though, as his passes defensed dropped to two and his interceptions dropped to one while he allowed five touchdowns in coverage.

Lastly, Sauls gets to stay in his home stadium, after going 52-64 on field goal attempts in the last three years with the Panthers. The left-footed kicker had a long this season of 58 yards. With Chris Boswell under contract for another two years, though, and having just led the NFL with 41 converted field goals (only missing three attempts — as many as he had in 2023, as well), Sauls will likely spend the preseason auditioning for other teams who may need a kicker in 2024.