Besides brief offseason stints with the Raiders and Patriots, Waitman spent the majority of his first two NFL seasons in Pittsburgh, getting into a pair of games during the 2021 campaign. He got a full-time gig with the Broncos in 2022, appearing in all 17 games while pacing the NFL with 96 punts. He earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors in Week 3 of that season after placing six of his 10 punts inside the 20.
Since leaving Denver, he’s had a second stint with the Patriots and a short gig with the Bears. Now, he’ll be joining a Steelers squad that needs some reinforcement after losing their starter for the entire season. Per veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer, Waitman was one of six punters who auditioned for Pittsburgh today, with the Steelers also taking a look at Jack Browning, Trenton Gill, Matt Haack, Austin McNamara, and Porter Wilson.
The Steelers weren’t done with reunions today, as the team also signed safety Terrell Edmunds off the Jaguars practice squad, per Pelissero. The former first-round pick started 75 of his 79 appearances in Pittsburgh to begin his career, but the 2023 campaign proved to be a tumultuous campaign for the veteran.
After joining the Eagles last offseason, Edmunds started three of his seven appearances for his new squad before getting shipped to Tennessee. He started one of his nine appearances for the Titans down the stretch. He caught on with the Jaguars this past offseason and was among the team’s final cuts, but he landed on the practice squad to start the season. He was promoted to the active roster for Week 1, getting into six defensive snaps.
Rookie Ryan Watts is out for the entire season with a neck injury, so the team is likely adding Edmunds after getting a look at some of their in-house replacements. Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott will still soak up the majority of the snaps at the position, but Edmunds will now provide the team will additional backup options beyond Damontae Kazee and Miles Killebrew.
With regular kicker Matt Gay listed as questionable for the season opener after hernia surgery, the Colts will call up Shrader from the practice squad as an emergency option. The 25-year-old has not made a regular season appearance in his career, but that could very well change tomorrow.
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.
The Jaguars have unveiled their list of cuts and other roster moves which will bring the team to the 53-man limit ahead of today’s deadline. Here is the full breakdown: 25
Beathard’s inclusion in Jacksonville’s cuts comes after he suffered a groin injury in the team’s second preseason contest. He was unable to suit up for the Jaguars’ exhibition finale, and today’s move clears the way for Mac Jones to take on backup duties. The former Patriots first-rounder was dealt to his hometown team this offseason, but a competition had been ongoing between he and Beathard. Now, Jones will move forward as QB2 behind Trevor Lawrence.
Beathard will be free to sign with a new team, although he is of course unlikely to find a suitor until he returns to full health. Other veterans like Amos and Edmunds joined Jacksonville this offseason, but they too will now have to search for a new opportunity. Several of the players waived will likely find themselves on the practice squad shortly, but Perry not doing so could leave the Jags in need of QB depth especially if Beathard were to land with a new team.
In 2024, teams are allowed to designate two players to return from injured reserve without naming them to the initial 53-man roster. That is the case for both Robinson and Wingard. The former was selected in the fifth round of this year’s draft and will provide backfield depth when healthy, while the latter is recovering from a knee injury. Both Robinson and Wingard will miss at least the first four weeks of the campaign, and their activations will count toward Jacksonville’s limit of eight for the season.
Two veteran DBs will make mid-offseason arrivals in Jacksonville. The team reached agreements with safety Terrell Edmunds and cornerback Tre Flowers on Thursday, adding some secondary depth.
Flowers, 27, is following new Jags DC Ryan Nielsen from Atlanta. The veteran corner caught on with the Falcons, in what turned out to be Nielsen’s only Atlanta season, last May and worked as a part-time starter. Included in the October trade that sentKevin Byard to Philadelphia, Edmunds also made a handful of starts in 2023.
This will mark a third straight year in which Flowers has signed a one-year contract. The former Seahawks draftee, who commandeered a starting spot from the jump despite being a fifth-round pick, signed a Bengals deal in 2022 and played in all 17 Falcons games last year. The Jags will give the 44-game starter a shot to vie for a role among a cornerback group that has seen some updates this offseason.
Edmunds, 27, has logged more starts as a pro. The former Steelers first-round pick worked as a regular starter from 2018-22 in Pittsburgh; last season’s four starts upped his career total to 79. The Eagles used Edmunds as a three-game starter, as they cut costs at safety by letting C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps walk in free agency, but included him in the pre-deadline trade that brought Byard over from the Titans. Edmunds made one start in Tennessee but played in nine games with his third NFL employer.
Operating as Minkah Fitzpatrick‘s sidekick from 2019-22, Edmunds graded as a top-40 safety (per Pro Football Focus) in 2022 and landed in the top 25 two seasons prior. Edmunds stands to have a clearer path to playing time, as the Jaguars moved on from three-year safety starter Rayshawn Jenkins and did not replace him this offseason. The team still rosters starter Andre Cisco and role player Andrew Wingard (26 career starts), but one of the team’s offseason questions involves who will start opposite Cisco.
PFF has never viewed Flowers as an upper-echelon corner, helping explain his April and May contract agreements. Both players have proven durable. Between the 2018 draftees’ 12 NFL seasons, only Flowers’ 2020 campaign (in which he missed four games) involved more than two missed games. Flowers also has changed teams in-season, being waived by the Seahawks before catching on with the Bengals — during their Super Bowl LVI-qualifying slate — and operating as a key backup.
To make room on their 90-man offseason roster, the Jaguars waived linebacker Dequan Jackson and waived wide receiver Wayne Ruby with an injury designation.
A week removed from this year’s trade deadline, every team will soon have its acquired talent in uniform. The 49ers, Lions and Jaguars made trades while in bye weeks; Chase Young, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Ezra Cleveland will suit up for their new teams soon.
On this note, it is time to gauge the position every notable buyer and seller landed in following the deals. This year’s deadline featured two second-round picks being moved, though the teams that made those moves (Chicago, Seattle) have different timelines in place.
We have to start with the Commanders, who scrapped their yearslong Young-Montez Sweatpartnership by making the surprise decision to move both defensive ends hours before the deadline. Although the team was listening to offers on both, it was widely assumed they would only part with one, thus saving a contract offer or a 2024 franchise tag for the other alongside well-paid D-tackles Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen. New owner Josh Harris looks to have made his bigger-picture plan clear, however, pressing upon the Commanders’ football-ops department to explore moving both.
Washington collected a second-rounder that likely will land in the 30s in exchange for Sweat, who was in a contract year at the time. It only obtained a compensatory third for Young, who drew interest from other teams (including the Ravens). For the first time in the common draft era, Washington holds five picks in the first three rounds. It cannot be assumed Ron Rivera and GM Martin Mayhew will be making those picks, but Harris has effectively forced his hot-seat staffers to make do this season without Young and Sweat, who have combined for 11.5 sacks this year.
The initial team to pounce on the Commanders’ sale made a buyer’s move despite being in a seller’s position for the second straight year. After trading what became the No. 32 overall pick for Chase Claypool, GM Ryan Poles signed off on the Sweat pickup. The Bears have struggled to rush the passer under Matt Eberflus, having traded Khalil Mack in March 2022 and Robert Quinn last October. While acquiring a veteran in a contract year injects risk into the equation, Poles had the franchise tag at his disposal. But the Bears made good use of their newfound negotiating rights with Sweat, extending him on a four-year, $98MM pact. Despite no Pro Bowls or double-digit sack seasons, Sweat is now the NFL’s fifth-highest-paid edge rusher. Though, the Bears’ long-term edge outlook appears rosier compared to its pre-Halloween view.
Mayhew, Robert Saleh and Mike McDaniel have provided third-round compensatory picks for the 49ers, who have been the NFL’s chief beneficiary of the Rooney Rule tweak that awards third-round picks to teams who see minority coaches or execs become HCs or GMs. The team has more picks coming after the Ran Carthon and DeMeco Ryans hires. Using one to acquire Young seems like a low-risk move, given the former Defensive Rookie of the Year’s talent. Young has made strides toward recapturing the form he showed before his severe 2021 knee injury, and he is on pace for a career high in sacks.
The 49ers, who won last year’s trade deadline by landingChristian McCaffrey, will deploy Young alongside ex-college teammate Nick Bosa and the rest of their high-priced D-line contingent. The team will have a decision to make on Young soon; the free agent-to-be is not eyeing in-season extension talks, either. San Francisco could at least be in position to nab a midround compensatory pick, should Young leave in 2024.
The Young move came a day after the Seahawks obtained Leonard Williams from the Giants. That move cost Seattle second- and fifth-round picks. Williams is also in a contract year, but with the Giants picking up most of the tab, Seattle has the veteran D-tackle on its cap sheet at $647K. The former Jets top-10 pick has shown consistent ability to provide inside pressure, and the USC alum’s best work came in his previous contract year (2020). Gunning for another big payday, Williams joins Dre’Mont Jones in what is probably the best interior D-line duo of the Seahawks’ Pete Carroll era.
Seattle still surrendered a second-round pick for a player who could be a rental. Williams cannot realistically be franchise-tagged in 2024, with the Giants tagging him in 2020 and ’21, and he is not yet on Seattle’s extension radar. The Giants have already paid Dexter Lawrence and were planning on letting Williams walk. They passed on a comp pick for the trade haul, effectively buying a second-round pick in the way the Broncos did in the 2021 Von Miller trade. The Giants, who suddenly could be in the market for a 2024 QB addition, now have an additional second-rounder at their disposal.
While they made their move a week before the deadline, the Eagles landed the most accomplished player of this year’s in-season trade crop. Kevin Byard is a two-time first-team All-Pro safety, and although he is in his age-30 season, the former third-round pick is signed through 2024. The Eagles sent the Titans fifth- and sixth-round picks (and Terrell Edmunds) for Byard, a Philadelphia native, marking the team’s second splash trade for a safety in two years. Philly’s C.J. Gardner-Johnson swap turned out well, and Byard not being a pure rental could make this a better move.
Rather than turning to a fifth-round rookie, the Vikings acquired Josh Dobbs in a pick swap involving sixth- and/or seventh-rounders and saw the move translate to a surprising Week 9 win. Dobbs following in Baker Mayfield‘s footsteps as a trade acquisition-turned-immediate starter also made him the rare QB to see extensive action for two teams in two weeks; Mayfield was inactive in his final game as a Panther. The well-traveled Dobbs could give the Vikings a better chance to stay afloat in the NFC playoff race.
The Lions (Peoples-Jones), Jaguars (Cleveland) and Bills (Rasul Douglas) also made buyer’s moves at the deadline. The Bills gave the Packers a third-round pick, collecting a fifth in the pick-swap deal, for Douglas. They will hope the Green Bay starter can help stabilize their cornerback corps after Tre’Davious White‘s second major injury.
Who ended up faring the best at this year’s deadline? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts on this year’s moves in the comments section.
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports that fellow safety Terrell Edmunds, along with 2024 fifth- and sixth-round picks will be headed back to Tennessee. The Eagles have long been named as a candidate to make an addition in the secondary – particularly at the safety spot – and now that has taken place. The move marks an end to Byard’s seven-plus year run in Nashville.
With that said, this move will represent a homecoming for the Philadelphia native. Byard’s time with the Titans appeared to be on shaky ground in the offseason, with new general manager Ran Carthon approaching him (unsuccessfully) about agreeing to a pay cut. In spite of that, the 30-year-old made it clear he was not looking to be moved out of Tennessee. He ultimately agreed to a restructured contract, a move which lowered his base salary to $4MM this season.
Given the ease which which his 2023 earnings could be absorbed – along with the fact no guaranteed money is in place in 2024, the final year of his deal – Byard represented an attractive trade chip. He was recently reported to be the subject of interest from teams, but doubts remained regarding the compensation Tennessee could fetch in return. Instead of seeing Byard potentially become a cap casualty in the offseason, the Titans will now receive a pair of Day 3 picks along with a short-term replacement in Edmunds, who signed a one-year deal this offseason.
The picks exchanged here will be the Eagles’ highest pick in the 2024 fifth and sixth rounds, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones tweets. Both are conditional selections, per GOPHNX.com’s Howard Balzer. It is unknown at this point what conditions are included here, but this will bring an end to an eight-season partnership between Byard and the Titans.
Byard earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro acclaim in 2017 and ’21, and he has remained productive across his time in Nashville. He has recorded multiple interceptions every full year since his rookie campaign, and eclipsed 100 tackles twice. His ball production and coverage marks have taken a step back this year, but he will be joining a more talented defense upon arrival with the Eagles, a team which has lost a number of key members of its secondary since their Super Bowl appearance.
That included the free agent departure of both Marcus Epps and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Philadelphia has been in search of a true replacement for the latter’s playmaking in particular early in the season. Byard will have the chance to take on a starting role alongside Reed Blankenship (when healthy) in the team’s new-look safety arrangement. Their performances when paired together will go a long way in determining the secondary’s success, especially given the season-ending injury suffered by slot corner Avonte Maddox.
The Eagles entered today with roughly $4.3MM in cap space, so this move will likely be the most notable one the reigning NFC champions can afford. Still, it proves the team’s all-in approach as they look to go one step further than they did last year. From Tennessee’s perspective, meanwhile, this move will invite questions about Carthon and Co. being willing to part with other veterans. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill and running back Derrick Henryare not believed to be on the block, but at 2-4 it would not come as no surprise if the Titans were to act as sellers in other moves ahead of the October 31 deadline.
The Eagles both signed five-year starter Terrell Edmunds and used a third-round pick on Sydney Brown. Both safeties factor into the team’s plans, but they are not outflanking Reed Blankenship thus far through training camp. Blankenship has been a first-team mainstay, per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, who adds Edmunds and Brown have rotated at the other safety spot. Indeed, The Athletic’s Zach Berman notes Blankenship — a 2022 UDFA out of Middle Tennessee State — has been the Eagles’ top safety in camp (subscription required).
This reminds of Marcus Epps‘ rise last year. Despite the Eagles re-signing Anthony Harris and adding Jaquiski Tartt in 2022, Epps earned a starting job — one that eventually led to a two-year, $12MM Raiders payday. The Eagles brought in C.J. Gardner-Johnson via trade just before last season. That transaction could signal none of Philly’s safeties should be too comfortable, but Blankenship — Gardner-Johnson’s injury sub last year who played 291 defensive snaps — looks like the best bet to start among the in-house group.
Here is the latest from the NFC East:
Staying on the subject of safeties in this division, the Giants may be moving toward giving Jason Pinnock the starting job alongside Xavier McKinney. A Jets fifth-round pick in 2021, Pinnock started five games for the Giants last year, operating as McKinney’s injury fill-in. He has received consistent first-team work in camp, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan notes. Pinnock has distanced himself from Dane Belton and veteran Bobby McCain, having been Big Blue’s first-teamer since the fourth training camp practice. The Giants, who lost Julian Love in free agency, claimed Pinnock shortly after the Jets waived the converted cornerback on cutdown day last year. Two seasons remain on Pinnock’s rookie contract.
Malik Hooker‘s 2023 Cowboys cap hit climbed from $4.32MM to $4.57MM as a result of his recent extension, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets. The incentives in the three-year, $21MM contract include $500K bumps involving playing time and INT production. Five picks and the Cowboys making the playoffs would result in a $500K increase, Archer adds, noting the other incentive requires Hooker to play 85% of Dallas’ defensive snaps and the team to make the postseason (Twitter link).
The Cowboys, who turned Micah Parsons from an off-ball linebacker to a fearsome edge rusher, are giving Leighton Vander Esch some reps on the edge, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News notes. While the sixth-year linebacker received sparse edge work in games last season, Gehlken adds this is the first time he has received extensive instruction in a defensive end role. Rostering Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler and Sam Williams, the Cowboys are much deeper on the edge than at linebacker. It would stand to reason LVE’s role will likely remain mostly as an off-ball defender.
The Giants recently added longtime safety Mike Adams to their coaching staff, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan tweets. A 16-year veteran, Adams will replace Anthony Blevins as the Giants’ assistant defensive backs coach, the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard adds (on Twitter). Adams, 42, hung up his cleats after the 2019 season. Blevins left the Giants during the summer to accept an XFL HC position.
While Devon Allendid not see any game action for the Eagles last season, Berman writes the two-time Olympian hurdler is in play to make the team as a backup this year. Allen, 28, has not played in a game since working as an Oregon slot receiver in 2016. Shifting to track full-time proved beneficial for Allen, who is one of the best 110-meter hurdlers in U.S. history. But he opted to give football another try last year. He suffered an injury at the U.S. Championships last month, exiting the 110 hurdles competition before the finals in order to preserve his body for his second Eagles camp. The Eagles activated Allen from the PUP list Tuesday.
Given a reserve/futures deal along with Allen in February, Matt Leo landed on the Eagles’ reserve/retired list last month. The team hired the former practice squad defensive end a defensive and football operations assistant.
Once again positioned as a Super Bowl frontrunner, the Eagles did lose both their starting safeties (Marcus Epps, C.J. Gardner-Johnson) and three-down linebackers (T.J. Edwards, Kyzir White) in free agency. The team has retooled at those spots, placing outside additions (Terrell Edmunds, Nicholas Morrow, third-rounder Sydney Brown) and holdovers (Reed Blankenship, Nakobe Dean) in the starter picture. Dean, a former Georgia standout who unexpectedly dropped into the 2022 third round, will be expected to start, Tim McManus of ESPN.com notes, adding Edmunds and Blankenship are the early expected starters at safety. But more help will probably be on the way. The spring additions aside, McManus expects the defending NFC champions to add both at safety and linebacker before the season. The Howie Roseman-era Eagles have a history of late-offseason supplementation on defense, having acquired Gardner-Johnson barely a week before last season and having traded for Ronald Darby in August 2017.
Here is the latest from the NFC East:
The Cardinals’ tampering violation involving Jonathan Gannon may have impacted Vic Fangio‘s decision-making this offseason. Fangio likely would have become the Eagles’ defensive coordinator had the Cardinals and Gannon been upfront about the process that led to the two-year Eagles DC leaving for Arizona, Adam Schefter of ESPN said during a recent appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic’s John Kincade Show. Cards GM Monti Ossenfort confessed to inappropriate contact with Gannon after the NFC championship game. The Cardinals officially requested a Gannon HC interview on Super Bowl Sunday, but discussions occurred before that point. The Eagles had previously eyed Fangio, who had served as a consultant for the team last season, as a Gannon replacement. Ex-Fangio lieutenant Sean Desai is now running Philly’s defense, and the team would have needed to pay up to keep Fangio, who is earning upwards of $4MM per year with the Dolphins.
Lane Johnson played in all three Eagles playoff games, coming back in limited form after suffering a late-season adductor injury that required offseason surgery. With that operation successful, Johnson alerted fans this week (via Twitter) he is good to go. This injury was not expected to threaten Johnson’s training camp availability, and the Eagles are on track to have their right tackle back — and on a new deal — well in time for the season.
Commanders linebacker Jamin Davis will miss offseason time after undergoing a cleanup procedure on his knee, Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets. This procedure occurred earlier this year and should be considered unlikely to threaten the third-year defender’s chances of starting the season on time. A 2021 first-round pick, Davis worked as a full-time starter in Washington last season, making 104 tackles (nine for loss) and tallying three sacks.
The Giants are making some changes to their scouting department. D.J. Boisture, a second-generation Giants staffer who had been with the team for a decade, is no longer in place as its West Coast area scout, Neil Stratton of InsidetheLeague.com tweets. Pro scout Steven Price is also out, per the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz, who notes this may be a case of neither’s contract being renewed. Price spent the past three years with the Giants. GM Joe Schoen did not make many changes to Big Blue’s scouting staff last year, but the post-draft period often sees shuffling in these departments. The Giants are also promoting Marcus Cooper — an ex-Bills exec — to a national scout role. Cooper has been with the Giants for five years. Blaise Bell, who has been in the organization since 2019, will also rise to an area scout role.
Oshane Ximines‘ deal to stay with the Giants will be worth the league minimum. The fifth-year outside linebacker will be tied to a one-year, $1.1MM deal, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, who notes the Giants are guaranteeing the former third-round pick $200K (Twitter link).
Keanu Neal will be part of a fourth team in four seasons. Per his agency, the former first-round pick is signing a two-year deal with the Steelers (Twitter link). Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was the first to report Neal was on the verge of signing with Pittsburgh (Twitter link).
The five-year Falcons starter has bounced to the Cowboys and Buccaneers since his Atlanta run ended after the 2020 season. Going into his age-28 season, Neal will soon have a chance to make his mark in the AFC. Neal, a former No. 17 overall pick, met with the Eagles recently. But Philly ended up signing former Steelers first-round pick Terrell Edmunds.
During an offseason in which they also added versatile veteran Logan Ryan, the Bucs added Neal on a one-year deal worth the league minimum. He played all 18 Tampa Bay games, starting eight, and finished with 63 tackles (two for loss), an interception and four pass deflections. Neal added a career-high five QB hits.
The Cowboys used Neal more at linebacker in 2021, after he finished with three 100-plus-tackle seasons with the Falcons. Aligned more at safety with the Bucs, Neal ranked 70th at the position (in the view of Pro Football Focus). PFF, which did not like Neal’s linebacker work in Dallas, did rank him as a top-12 pass rusher (among safeties) in Tampa.
In Atlanta, Neal started 48 games and earned a Pro Bowl nod as an alternate in 2017. In his 2020 Falcons contract year, the former Florida Gator registered nine tackles for loss. Despite high tackle numbers, Neal has been unable to parlay his run as a Falcons starter — a stretch that included a Super Bowl LI outing — into a long-term contract.
Neal will join a Steelers team that has made some changes at linebacker and safety. The Steelers have made some adjustments at the Minkah Fitzpatrick-fronted position group and moved on from both Myles Jack and Devin Bush on their defensive second level. They made an offer to keep Edmunds, The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly notes (subscription required), though it likely was a low-end proposal. The Eagles added Edmunds on a one-year, $2MM deal with just $600K guaranteed. Pittsburgh also reached a two-year agreement to retain Damontae Kazee, who will collect nearly double the guaranteed money Edmunds will. The Steelers gave Kazee a two-year, $6MM deal with $1.75MM guaranteed.
Neal will join Fitzpatrick and Kazee on the Steelers’ back line. His experience as a box defender and in coverage could give Pittsburgh some options.
Besides brief offseason stints with the Raiders and Patriots, Waitman spent the majority of his first two NFL seasons in Pittsburgh, getting into a pair of games during the 2021 campaign. He got a full-time gig with the Broncos in 2022, appearing in all 17 games while pacing the NFL with 96 punts. He earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors in Week 3 of that season after placing six of his 10 punts inside the 20.
