The 2024 second-round pick never fully caught on in Tampa and was buried on the depth chart, with the team’s selection of Reuben Bain in the first round effectively sealing his fate. Braswell is likely to draw interest in the open market and could catch on as a pass rush developmental depth piece in short order.
The No. 204 overall pick of the draft out of Boston College, Bond generated hype during the offseason program before turning in a solid preseason. It’s a bit of a surprise the receiver-needy Texans are passing on stashing him on the 53-man roster, but they will undoubtedly hope he clears waivers and lands on the practice squad.
The Athletic’s Alec Lewis made a Saturday stir when he left McCarthy off his Vikings 53-man roster prediction, but that would have been hasty even if the Vikes are convinced “Nine” has no future with the organization. This keeps open the possibility of some sort of pick swap trade, or perhaps even “development” behind Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz. We doubt coach Kevin O’Connell is holding his breath on that one. A manifest bust through his first two years in the league, McCarthy could also end up waived later this week after the Vikes make a few waiver claims. Even if his time in Minnesota has yet to come to an end, the clock is still ticking.
The Steelers will head into the regular season with Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Drew Allar, who shined in training camp and during preseason outings in Mike McCarthy’s offense. If the 2026 season goes south for Pittsburgh, look for McCarthy to see what he has in Allar and perhaps Howard. Rudolph will likely back up Rodgers to start the regular season.
Joseph is still nursing a knee injury that hampered him last season. He will remain on the PUP list to open the season, meaning he will miss a minimum of four games.
The incentive-heavy deal is worth a maximum of $30 million for the longtime defensive stalwart, who comes out of a two-year retirement to chase another ring with the Rams. Donald worked out at the team facility multiple times throughout the offseason, making the signing less shocking than it otherwise would have been had there been no ties between the two sides earlier this summer. The Rams now carry one of the top defenses in the league after the acquisitions of Myles Garrett, Jaylen Watson, and Trent McDuffie this offseason, in addition to coming off a season in which they led the league in scoring at 30 points per game. The betting favorites to win the Super Bowl in February gain another weapon.
The Pats signed Hudson to a one-year deal in the offseason. He appeared in 11 games for the Giants last year, making two starts. Hudson has 60 career appearances and 19 starts. He should be able to find a new home over the next week or two as rosters shake out.
Tuttle began the 2025 season playing for the Titans and closed it playing for the Commanders, who released him today. He logged just 11 tackles and failed to pressure the opposing passer once.
This move was expected. Parsons himself said a few weeks ago that a Week 6 return was his “most optimistic” timeline. A spot on the reserve PUP list means Parsons must miss at least the first four months of the season. He is still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in Week 15 of the 2025 season. Parsons should still be a force on the defensive front when he’s back, but that won’t happen until at least October.
He didn’t sign until late August after rehabbing a torn Achilles in Week 10. JJones was an emergency signing for the Texans, but they followed up on it by trading for Kayshon Boutte. The Boutte deal made Jones’ path to a roster spot tenuous. He’ll look to catch on elsewhere.
He lasted just nine days with the team. Shepard was signed before the Kayshon Boutte trade and the Boutte trade can be looked at as the end of any real chance for him to make the team. Shepard’s free agency was fairly slow and at 33 years old it wouldn’t be surprising if he had to sign to a practice squad if he wanted to keep playing.
Per 9NEWS’ Mike Klis, the Broncos will sign Murdock to their practice squad if he goes unclaimed on waivers. Murdock made a name for himself as a voluminous tackler and fumble-forcer at Buffalo, leading the MAC twice and the FBS once in the latter category.
Trey Lance will back up Justin Herbert. Uiagalelei was waived by the Chargers at roster cutdowns last year as well. He stuck on the team’s practice squad and signed a reserve/future deal this offseason. He has a shot at landing on LA’s practice squad once again.
The writing was on the wall for Gray pretty much all offseason after Brian Daboll, who helped draft him, was fired. Najee Harris coming in to training camp late was just insult to injury at that point. The 26-year-old was in the final year of his rookie contract and will look to catch on elsewhere.
A 2024 seventh-rounder, Thomas appeared in all 17 games for the Cowboys last season, making four starts. He was supposedly a camp contender for the Cowboys’ blindside gig, but ended up fighting for second-team right tackle status. He’s a body to throw at the Texans’ ever-present OL problems.
Jones is a former undrafted free agent, signing with the Dolphins out of college in 2021. He started 30-of-49 games for the Dolphins across four seasons but spent all of last season on injured reserve with the Cowboys. The 49ers signed him as interior offensive line depth and he got some run with the first-team offense before a calf strain slowed him down. Jones now re-enters the free agent pool.
Patterson had slowly been phased out of the Texans’ OL plans and winds up dealt away after the team spent multiple picks on interior linemen in last month’s draft. He’ll challenge for the backup center position with the 49ers. Patterson started 21 games in three years with the Texans, though it’s fair to admit that it wasn’t exactly good experience.
Reporting had the Browns set to keep four quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster, but this makes a little more sense. Gabriel was not spotted throwing at practice today, and now we know why. We have no idea when he suffered the back injury, but he’ll miss at least the first four weeks of the season. The team also announced the final roster cuts to get down to the final, 53-man roster. Waived or released were DT Travis Bell, RB Davon Booth, DT Elijah Chatman, G Kinsley Eguakun, DE Logan Fano, WR Luke Floriea, WR Gage Larvadain, T K.T. Leveston, RB Ahmani Marshall, P Wes Pahl, DT Tyreak Sapp, DE Khordae Sydnor, LB Edefuan Ulofoshio, S Zion Washington, LB Nathaniel Watson, and WR Kole Wilson.
Jefferson was in the running for a rotational role this summer, but a handful of younger players ultimately passed him on the depth chart. Treylon Burks appears to be the team’s WR3 for Week 1 while Jaylin Lane, Luke McCaffrey, and Antonio Williams are all vying for the WR4 gig.
Grupe, who had a “90% make rate in camp” per Mike Garafolo, has a chance to come aboard late and win a different kicking job. Spencer Shrader will kick for the Colts this year.
Osborn largely spent the 2025 season as a free agent, joining the Falcons’ practice squad late in the year. He last appeared in an NFL game in 2024, playing seven games for the Patriots after spending four years with the Vikings. The Titans decide to part ways with the veteran as they go with younger depth at the wide receiver spot.
Colson was a third-round pick in 2024. He appeared in 11 games with one start, totaling 29 combined tackles and one pass breakup. Colson missed his entire second season with a shoulder injury. Expect another team to take a flyer on him in the next few days because of his draft pedigree.
Beckham’s spot on the depth chart is unclear, but he is unlikely to warrant FLEX treatment this season. Rookie WR Malachi Fields is reportedly slated for WR2 duties, and both WR Darius Slayton and WR Darnell Mooney could play ahead of Beckham. This is more of a feel-good story than an actionable fantasy-related item.
Valdes-Scantling signed a one-year deal with the Cowboys this offseason. He barely garnered more than the veteran minimum and was clearly nothing more than a depth option for the team. With well over 100 career games across six teams to his name, MVS should still find a team willing to carry him on their practice squad in the coming days.