San Francisco also placed offensive lineman Austen Pleasants on injured reserve. Both players will miss at least four games to start the year. Kirk missed most of training camp with the calf issue. Mike Evans, De’Zhaun Stribling, and Deebo Samuel will start for the team in three-receiver sets. Even when Kirk comes back, he’s likely stuck as the WR4 on the depth chart.
The 30-year-old receiver has made a name for himself on special teams and as a blocker. He’s caught five balls over the last two years for the Raiders. Also waived/released by the the Rams on a quiet day of last cuts are: S Nick Andersen, OL A.J. Acuri, OL Austin Blaske, P Jack Bouwmeester, OL Wyatt Bowles, RB Dean Connors, S Alex Cook, OLB Devean Deal, WR Tru Edwards, CB Nyzier Fourqurean, LB Tomon Fox, CB Steven Gilmore, CB Al’zillion Hamilton, OL Blake Hance, OL Bryce Henderson, LB Nikha Hill-Green, S Tanner Ingle, DB Alex Johnson, TE Rohan Jones, DT Tim Keenan III, DB Cam Lamplin, DT Jaxson Moi, OL Larrell Murchison, LB Elias Neal, DL Bill Norton, LB Darryl Peterson III, WR Brennan Presley, LB Monty Rice, DL Tyler Scott and S Nate Valcarcel.
Guerendo, still recovering from a pec injury, will miss at least the first four weeks of the regular season. This helps to clarify the Niners backfield situation headed into the season. Behind Christian McCaffrey will be some combination of Kaelon Black — who has drawn praise from coaches and QB Brock Purdy — and Jordan James, who missed most of training camp with a rib injury. Guerendo is a long way from playing time in the Niners offense.
The designation to return means that Dell is expected to contribute in some capacity this season, although he appears a ways off still. With Jaylin Noel still nursing an injury after experiencing a setback and Jayden Higgins lost for the season, recent acquisition Kayshon Boutte has all the runway to operate as the WR2 opposite Nico Collins to start the season. Xavier Hutchinson should also see an uptick in opportunities while tight end Dalton Schultz should see a significant boost in weekly volume.
It’s something of a surprise considering Dortch was productive in limited opportunities as a member of the Cardinals from 2021 to 2025. Dortch had 66 receptions and six touchdowns over the past two seasons with Arizona, occassionally drawing a start when the team struggled with wideout injuries. Look for Dortch to catch on with another team in the coming days or weeks as receiver depth.
Rouse had been reported as waived, but the Pats swooped in with a Day 3 pick swap to secure his services. One of the last men on a strong overall New England roster, Rouse will have his work cut out for him to remain on the 53-man roster rather than being sent to the practice squad.
An undrafted free agent out of Miami, Restrepo joined the Titans last season and had 41 yards on three catches over his two active games late in the regular season. Restrepo led the Titans with eight catches and 97 receiving yards this preseason and seemed to surprise Titans beat writers with his ability to get open during training camp. He’ll start the season near the bottom of the team’s depth chart.
Tipton will now miss at least the first four games of the season while on the PUP list. He is still recovering from a groin issue that landed him on injured reserve late in the 2025 season. With Tipton and Jordyn Tyson sidelined for the start of the season, Devaughn Vele and potentially rookie Bryce Lance will round out the team’s starting receiver trio for Week 1.
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.