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NFL Injury Updates: Fisher, 49ers, Samuel

August 23rd, 2025 at 11:14am CST by Nikhil Mehta

Texans right tackle Blake Fisher is dealing with a mild ankle sprain that will sideline him for an indeterminate amount of time, according to KRPC2’s Aaron Wilson.

Fisher suffered the injury in last Saturday’s preseason matchup against the Panthers and missed practice this week. His absence, if it extends into the regular season, will add another wrinkle to Houston’s plans at tackle.

The Texans already overhauled the position this offseason. They traded Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders and replaced him by aqcuiring Cam Robinson from the Vikings. Houston also signed veteran Trent Brown in free agency and drafted Aireontae Ersery in the second round of April’s draft. Along with Fisher and Tytus Howard, who combined to play every snap at right tackle in 2024, the Texans have a variety of options on either end of their offensive line.

Robinson returned to the field this week after missing a few practices with a minor leg injury. He has been splitting first-team LT reps with Ersery. The rookie has been cross-training at right tackle as well, but only lined up on the blind side during the preseason. With Brown still on the physically unable to perform list, Howard has been playing right tackle in camp and sat out both preseason games, suggesting he will start in Week 1. Fisher started both preseason games at right tackle; if his ankle has recovered by the start of the regular season, he’ll likely be the Texans’ swing tackle.

As teams prepare to finalize their initial 53-man rosters by the Tuesday deadline, here is the latest from the injury front:

49ers To Acquire RB Brian Robinson From Commanders

August 22nd, 2025 at 10:53pm CST by Adam La Rose

Brian Robinson‘s tenure in Washington is coming to an end as expected. The fourth-year running back will spend the coming season in San Francisco.

The 49ers and Commanders agreed to terms on a Robinson trade Friday, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. A 2026 sixth-round pick will head the other way as a result of the swap. San Francisco had been in the market for a backfield addition, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Efforts to pull off a move have now paid off ahead of roster cutdowns. Washington will retain a portion of Robinson’s 2025 salary ($3.4MM), Garafolo adds.

It recently became clear Washington was looking to move on from Robinson, who did not dress in the team’s second preseason game with a trade looming. The team’s Dan Quinn-Adam Peters regime has been open to a trade since last year, and with a swap now agreed to it will proceed with its other in-house RB options. Washington has veteran Austin Ekeler in the fold along with 2023 draftee Chris Rodriguez and seventh-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who has enjoyed a strong training camp.

Quarterback Jayden Daniels led the Commanders in rushing last year, and today’s deal indicates he will once again be counted on as a central element of the team’s ground game. Expectations are high after Washington made a surprise run to the NFC title game during Daniels’ rookie campaign. Robinson will not play a role in the team’s efforts to duplicate that success, though.

Racking up 570 carries across his three seasons in the nation’s capital, Robinson was a key figure on offense with the Commanders. The former third-rounder saw his touchdown total and yards per attempt figure increase with each passing campaign. That included eight scores and 4.3 yards per carry in 2024. Instead of retaining Robinson on the final year of his rookie pact, however, Washington will proceed with a less expensive backfield.

The Commanders will recoup draft capital in this swap, something which is needed given the number of veterans on their roster. For the 49ers, meanwhile, today’s deal marks another addition on offense for the 2025 season. A trade was worked out on Wednesday for Skyy Moore, giving San Francisco a healthy receiver option. Moore, like Robinson, is a pending 2026 free agent.

The 49ers have Christian McCaffrey atop the RB depth chart, and all parties involved will aim for a healthier season this time around than 2024. After trading away Jordan Mason, the team was in position to have 2024 fourth-rounder Isaac Guerendo handle backup duties. Now, he and Robinson will compete for playing time in the backfield (although using McCaffrey and Robinson on the field together could be an option, per Garafolo). Robinson’s market will of course be dictated in large part by the level of success he has with his new team.

San Francisco entered Friday with with nearly $49MM in cap space. Taking on Robinson will eat into the figure, and it will be interesting to see how much Washington retained on his pact to finalize the trade. The Commanders, meanwhile, should see partial cap savings and thus add to their roughly $17MM in available funds ahead of cutdowns. As both NFC teams prepare for the campaign in the coming days, they will do so with differences in their backfields.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/21/25

August 21st, 2025 at 9:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: CB Bruce Harmon

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Out for most of the Panthers’ preseason workouts due to offseason back surgery, Tremble can begin ramping up in earnest for Week 1. A debut on time will be the goal, Dave Canales said Thursday. Tremble re-signed with Carolina on a two-year, $10.5MM deal this offseason.

Brown joined the 49ers after starting 10 Seahawks games from 2023-24. The team had aimed for the former fourth-round pick to play a backup role this season, but he instead has become the corresponding move following the Skyy Moore trade. The team has ex-Colts starter Dallis Flowers and preseason standout Chase Lucas as options, while veteran Fabian Moreau is in the mix as well.

Harris joins the Commanders after starting six Browns games from 2020-24. Harris had signed with the Seahawks last year, before being traded back to Cleveland ahead of Week 1. He ended up on the Browns’ IR list by October. Harris, 26, worked out for the Saints earlier this month. Watson suffered a biceps tear, according to cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. The Browns drafted Watson in the 2024 sixth round; he played 14 games and made one start as a rookie.

Brock Purdy: Setting NFL Salary Record Was Not Goal In 49ers Extension Talks

August 21st, 2025 at 7:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers made it clear to Brock Purdy‘s camp early during extension talks no NFL salary record would be set with this contract. Although a spring report indicated Purdy had aimed to smash Dak Prescott‘s AAV record, the fourth-year 49ers quarterback offered a conflicting rundown of how talks proceeded.

Though, Purdy’s assessment of his goal for his second contract did confirm prior reporting on benchmarks. The cashflow and guarantee components certainly mattered greatly to the seventh-round success story, who is now tied to a five-year, $265MM extension ($100MM fully guaranteed). But he disputes the May offering that suggested he pursued a $65MM-per-year deal.

“Everyone talks about what you’re getting paid per year and that’s important to a degree, but obviously if you can manage to get money that’s guaranteed, that’s something that everyone values a lot,” Purdy said, via ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner. “We didn’t need to break the market by getting 60-plus and have all this record-breaking stuff. That’s not what we were aiming for.”

Matching Jared Goff‘s $53MM-AAV number, Purdy secured more in total guarantees ($182.55MM-$170.61MM) than the Lions QB. Though, he needed to bend on short-term cashflow as well. Purdy’s $165.1MM cashflow through four years betters Goff’s number, but the Lions QB has Purdy’s deal beat at the second- and third-year marks.

Purdy secured a Patrick Mahomes-like rolling guarantee structure, representing an important component — along with a no-trade clause — in this deal. A $55.1MM 2028 payout will become guaranteed April 1, 2027. The 49ers are due to pay out a $7.2MM guarantee for 2029 on April 1, 2028. These key dates follow the $100MM at-signing guarantee.

Purdy also referenced Trevor Lawrence‘s five-year, $275MM Jaguars deal as a possible comp. While the 49ers did not go to the $55MM-per-year level the Jaguars did for their passer — one who does not have a season like Purdy’s 2023 on his resume — they provided the no-trade clause Lawrence lacks. The Purdy camp also saw the Bills reward Josh Allen, despite four more seasons remaining on his previous contract, after his MVP season. Those two deals, unlike last year, became the only two top-market QB contracts handed out this offseason. Allen secured what amounted to a two-year add-on, but the Buffalo superstar is now at $55MM AAV.

“Josh Allen was going into his third contract, and I’m going into my second contract and obviously looking at Trevor and what he got done last year with his deal,” Purdy said. “You look at contracts and you compare, and you’re not disrespecting any [other quarterbacks] or anything. … You look at all those things and you negotiate ’em and you try to meet in the middle somewhere.”

To help find a middle ground, Kyle Shanahan stepped in. The ninth-year 49ers HC is not a regular in contract negotiations, even though he is the 49ers’ top decision-maker, Wagoner adds. As Purdy considered skipping the start of the 49ers’ offseason program, Shanahan called to provide reassurance for the ascending player regarding his long-term status with the franchise.

That call preceded the mid-May agreement, one the 49ers hammered out well before their usual extension endpoint. This offseason brought a welcome change for the team in that regard, as George Kittle and Fred Warner‘s re-ups were done before June.

The 49ers lost three All-Pros on offense last season, with Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams going down. Purdy still ranked seventh in QBR, though his season did not closely remind of his breakthrough 2023 campaign. Locking in a deal now also proves beneficial, as the 49ers will not have Aiyuk for a chunk of this season. Jauan Jennings is also battling an injury (amid an extension quest), while Demarcus Robinson received a three-game suspension. As a result, Purdy’s skill-position crew will again be shorthanded, underlining the importance of the early guarantee.

Vikings, Jets, 49ers Seeking WR Help

August 21st, 2025 at 10:10am CST by Nikhil Mehta

AUGUST 21: To little surprise, Pelissero names Adam Thielen as a potential Vikings target (video link). Nothing is imminent, and the Panthers elected to keep him in the fold at last year’s trade deadline. Reuniting with Thielen would nevertheless allow for Minnesota to bring the former Pro Bowler back to where his first nine seasons took place as a starting-caliber option for 2025.

AUGUST 20: The Vikings are exploring a trade for a veteran wide receiver, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. The Jets and 49ers are also interested in adding a wideout, per Russini.

Minnesota will be without 2023 first-round pick Jordan Addison for the first three games of the season due to a DUI-related suspension. Justin Jefferson (hamstring) has returned to practice after missing much of training camp, but offseason signing Rondale Moore (knee) is out for the year and fourth-year receiver Jalen Nailor (hand) is currently “week-to-week,” according to head coach Kevin O’Connell.

Those absences would likely elevate tight end T.J. Hockenson to the No. 2 pass catcher role in the offense, but the Vikings seem to want more support for second-year quarterback (and first-year starter) J.J. McCarthy.

The Jets similarly have a clear WR1 (Garrett Wilson), a young quarterback (Justin Fields), and a veteran dealing with an injury (Allen Lazard). The hype surrounding veteran Josh Reynolds has faded over the course of the summer, and the rest of the team’s pass catchers are unproven as full-time starters. New York would love to see one of their young wideouts – particularly Malachi Corley, Xavier Gipson, Arian Smith, or Brandon Smith – emerge as a reliable secondary receiver, but it seems like none of the four has impressed in training camp as hoped.

The 49ers’ receiver room is still without Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings. The former is expected to be back around Week 6, while the latter is still nursing a calf injury (and seeking a new contract). The next man up, 2024 first-rounder Ricky Pearsall, seems poised for a Year 2 breakout, but his would-be running mate, nine-year veteran Demarcus Robinson, could begin the year on a suspension stemming from a 2024 DUI arrest.

Fourth-round rookie Jordan Watkins is also dealing with a high ankle sprain and may not be ready for Week 1. That would leave Pearsall to pair up with Jacob Cowing or Robbie Chosen, who barely played last year, or Russell Gage, who didn’t play at all last year. The 49ers are likely to make a move here before Week 1, with The Athletic’s Matt Barrows predicting multiple additions — for active-roster and practice squad spots — will unfold.

It’s unclear which receivers would be available on the trade market. An Adam Thielen reunion with the Vikings will likely be a popular mock trade in the coming weeks, and the Eagles may be willing to move 2022 first-round pick Jahan Dotson after acquiring John Metchie last week. The Bills also have a surplus of depth receivers and could move one before cutdown day for draft capital and cap relief, per The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia.

49ers To Acquire WR Skyy Moore From Chiefs

August 20th, 2025 at 10:10pm CST by Ely Allen

A busy day of breaking trades continues as Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports reports that the Chiefs are sending Skyy Moore to the 49ers along with a 2027 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2027 sixth-round pick. San Francisco has been vocally searching for some help at wide receiver, and Kansas City had enough bodies in the room to move on from a once-promising second-round pick.

The 49ers receiving corps looked good on paper throughout the offseason with assumptions of good luck with health and availability, but in the weeks leading up to the regular season, Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings are still absent from practices. Aiyuk is not set to return from a torn ACL and MCL until around Week 6 of the 2025 season, while Jennings is working his way back from a calf injury and seeking a new contract at the same time.

In addition, fourth-round rookie Jordan Watkins may not be ready for a Week 1 debut due to a high ankle sprain, and last year’s fourth-rounder, Jacob Cowing, reportedly suffered a hamstring injury today, per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, after just returning to practice last week. This means that second-year receiver Ricky Pearsall and veteran Demarcus Robinson are the only healthy receivers in the room’s top six names, and there may have been consolation in that fact, if not for the fact that Robinson will open the season on a three-game suspension.

While quarterback Brock Purdy enjoys the privilege of throwing to phenomenal pass-catchers at other positions like Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Juszczyk, and George Kittle, his actual receivers group had dwindled down to Pearsall, Russell Gage, Junior Bergen, Terique Owens, Isaiah Hodgins, Malik Turner, and Robbie Chosen — an odd mix of aging veterans and young inexperience. Enter Moore.

The former Western Michigan star came to Kansas City at an extremely exciting time for wide receivers. Behind the arm of star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs had played in two Super Bowls in three years — winning one — and were looking for more. The team was also moving on from star wideout Tyreek Hill, and Moore was among a sea of strong options to serve as Mahomes new favorite target, including free agent additions JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Justin Watson and earlier draft picks Mecole Hardman and Kadarius Toney.

Understandably, Moore failed to make much of an impression among that group throughout the regular season, catching only 22 passes for 250 yards and no touchdowns, but he did catch his only target in the Super Bowl with a four-yard touchdown that gave Kansas City a seven-point lead with just over nine minutes left in an eventual win. Year 2 showed more promise, with Smith-Schuster and Hardman departing, but a new second-round rookie, Rashee Rice, stole all the thunder available by becoming the room’s new top receiver. Though fewer wideouts were ahead of him in the pecking order, Moore still only accumulated 21 catches for 244 yards and a touchdown, missing the final three games of the regular season and the entire postseason that resulted in a second straight Super Bowl victory.

Last year, Moore saw three targets (zero catches) in the first six weeks of the season before being placed on injured reserve with a core muscle injury and missing the remainder of the season. Without Moore, Mahomes and company still can rely on Rice, Xavier Worthy, Marquise Brown, Smith-Schuster, and others.

In San Francisco, Moore will get a new chance to make a name for himself. At this point, the 49ers can’t afford to be choosers, and Moore is the offer they got from a beggars’ market. Moore will have just under a week to show the team flashes of his breakout redshirt sophomore season with the Broncos and prove that he’s worth keeping on the 53-man roster in 2025.

NFL Minor Transactions: 8/20/25

August 20th, 2025 at 9:58pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s midweek minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Reverted to IR: T Gareth Warren
  • Waived (with injury settlement): LB Devin Harper

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Commanders

Waller will now be able to officially return to the field today as he attempts to shake off a year’s worth of retirement. Head coach Mike McDaniel expects him back at practice “very soon,” potentially even this week, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

The Bears have landed the services of the veteran Freeman as they deal with absences from D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, Kyle Monangai, and Travis Homer. Hankins had gotten the starting nod in the team’s last preseason game for that same reason, and he’ll now hand off that role to Freeman.

Ferguson, the Dolphins’ former long snapper of the past five years, finally gets a job after his release from Miami. The Texans were really liking what they were seeing out of undrafted rookie Austin Brinkman, but a minor, short-team injury will keep him from the team’s final preseason game, requiring at least a short stay from Ferguson.

NFL Hands 49ers’ Demarcus Robinson Three-Game Suspension

August 20th, 2025 at 5:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL’s Demarcus Robinson ruling has emerged. As expected, a suspension will commence in connection with the veteran wide receiver’s DUI case.

Robinson received a three-game suspension Wednesday, Kyle Shanahan said (via KNBR). Although this is certainly not surprising, it deals another blow to a depleted 49ers receiving corps. Robinson launched a preemptive appeal, but his suspension matches Jordan Addison‘s three-gamer for a DUI arrest.

Shanahan said the appeal process is not over, but the team is bracing for the three-game ban to stick. Robinson was arrested in November 2024 for suspicion of a DUI; by January, a formal charge emerged. In July, he pleaded no contest to set the stage for this suspension. Signing a two-year deal in free agency, Robinson is in line to miss games against the Seahawks, Saints and Cardinals.

This further limits the 49ers at receiver. San Francisco has Brandon Aiyuk on its active/PUP list, and a shift to the reserve/PUP list is all but assured for a player who did not suffer a clean ACL tear last season. Aiyuk recovery issues are set to delay his return until at least mid-October. That takes two 49ers weapons out of the mix, and it is not yet certain when Jauan Jennings will return from a calf injury.

Jennings has missed most of training camp due to his calf issue, with a contract push — a year after signing an extension as an RFA — clouding the 49ers wideout’s near future as well. Fourth-round rookie Jordan Watkins is also dealing with a high ankle sprain that could keep him off the field to open the season.

As a result, the 49ers are looking for help at receiver. The team traded Deebo Samuel in March, doing so while knowing Aiyuk’s outlook. At the time of the Samuel trade, San Francisco certainly expected to have Jennings available in Week 1. But that is not certain. This would place plenty of pressure on 2024 first-rounder Ricky Pearsall. While Pearsall — who recovered from a gunshot wound sustained last summer to play in 11 rookie-year games — could be complemented by the 49ers’ hopeful WR cast by midseason, the team will start shorthanded.

Robinson, 31 in September, spent the past two seasons with the Rams as their third receiver. Playing ahead of Tutu Atwell for most of his time in Los Angeles, Robinson combined for 57 receptions, 876 yards and 11 touchdowns from 2023-24. That stretch garnered the ex-Alex Smith/Patrick Mahomes Chiefs target an $8MM deal with a $6MM guarantee. This suspension would threaten to void that guarantee, which would affect Robinson’s 2026 money (as a vested veteran, his 2025 pay will lock in next month).

NFL Minor Transactions: 8/19/25

August 19th, 2025 at 8:47pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Reverted to IR: DL Keith Randolph

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Ameer Abdullah landed on IR earlier this month with a rib injury, but he’ll now have an opportunity to play in 2025 following his release. The veteran is coming off one of the most productive seasons of his career in 2024, when he compiled 572 yards from scrimmage in 16 games (three starts) with the Raiders. The 49ers filled his spot on the roster by signing veteran Jeff Wilson.

Equanimeous St. Brown will also have a chance to play in 2025, as the WR was previously ruled out with a foot injury. The veteran wideout only has five catches over the past two seasons.

49ers To Sign QB Nate Sudfeld

August 19th, 2025 at 5:44pm CST by Ben Levine

With Mac Jones nursing a knee injury, the 49ers are adding a familiar face to their roster. According to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, the team is signing quarterback Nate Sudfeld. The veteran QB worked out for the team yesterday.

Sudfeld spent the 2021 campaign in the 49ers organization. After starting the season on the practice squad, he was elevated to the active roster after Trey Lance went down with a knee injury. Sudfeld stuck around for the rest of the season, although he didn’t get into a game as Jimmy Garoppolo‘s backup.

A former sixth-round pick, Sudfeld still hasn’t started a game through his eight seasons in the NFL. He did have an extended outing with the Eagles in 2017, when he completed 19 of his 23 pass attempts for 134 yards. Otherwise, the QB has attempted 14 other passes in his NFL career.

The veteran spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons in Detroit, although he missed that latter campaign thanks to a torn ACL suffered during a preseason game. He was among the Lions final cuts at the end of the 2024 preseason.

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo notes that Jones suffered his knee injury during Saturday’s loss to the Broncos, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter says the QB2 is out for the team’s preseason finale. Still, there’s hope that Jones will be ready to be Brock Purdy‘s primary backup for Week 1. If Jones can’t go, Sudfeld would be an option to be the QB2, although he’d have to compete with UDFA Carter Bradley. Seventh-round rookie Kurtis Rourke is expected to start the season on NFI as he works his way back from a torn ACL.

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