NFL Player News

Bryant spent four seasons with the Patriots after signing on as a 2020 undrafted free agent. He signed with the Texans last offseason, debuting in Week 6 and logging 156 defensive snaps through their Divisional Round playoff loss to the Chiefs. He tallied 15 tackles and three forced incompletions during that span. The Texans also signed undrafted free agent DB Keydrain Calligan and waived OG Jerome Carvin and DE Kingsley Jonathan.

Davis is a former first-round pick by the Commanders who will now be looking for his fourth organization in four years. The Steelers also released WR Levi Wentz.

The score and the bulk of the yardage came on one play, a 97-yard connection with Tyson Bagent. Thomas has some of the best speed of any rookie wideout — or any wideout regardless of age — and while he’s dealt with injuries in camp, the ability to grab and go is apparent. He’s not likely to be a significant contributor to begin the year, but he’s someone who has to be monitored in this Chicago passing attack.

Rypien was signed shortly after Graham Mertz suffered a torn ACL in the middle of August. The 30-year-old seems likely to make the practice squad, unless Houston finds a signal-caller they like more for that spot.

Rattler will remain the backup signal-caller behind Tyler Shough, it appears. The 25-year-old showed some flashes — short flashes, but flashes — when operating as the starter with New Orleans, but it’s hard to see him being more than a depth option going forward.

The team waived or released 10 players ahead of Sunday’s roster cut deadline, including WR Ronnie Bell, S Elliott Davison, EDGE Garrett Nelson, DL Brien Taylor, OT Xavier Truss, QB Hunter Dekkers, WR Bub Means, TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden, DE Khalil Saunders, and DE Malakai Williams. The team will need to trim further Sunday.

Means was a fifth-round pick who showed some potential fantasy intrigue coming out of Pitt in 2024, but it hasn’t worked out. The same can be said for Bell. Both players and Dekkers are candidates for the practice squad. Everyone is a candidate for the practice squad, to be fair.

It’s an extremely low-wattage list as the Falcons work to get down to 53 players. 27-year-old Stueber has not appeared in a regular season game since 2024 in Cincinnati.

A linchpin NFL special teamer since 2020, Chisena had been with the Panthers since 2024. He made only seven regular season appearances in Charlotte, suggesting he might ultimately be a poor bet to land back on the 53-man roster this year.

27-year-old Hodgins has found himself on the periphery of the G-Men’s 53-man roster since 2022, making 35 appearances during that timespan. He provided some crucial snaps for an undermanned receiver corps but never did quite enough to crack the targets rotation. He could end up back on New York’s practice squad, though those odds are decreased by this being a new coaching staff.

Smith was one of the key pieces in the trade that sent Quinnen Williams to Dallas. The Jets declined his fifth-year option in April before eventually releasing him at final roster cuts. Smith graded as one of the worst defensive linemen in the league in 2025, per Pro Football Focus, and will likely be forced to settle for a depth role moving forward.