The Raiders signed free agent tight end Qadir Ismail, the team announced Thursday.
It is the third position Ismail has played, having converted from a quarterback at Villanova to a wide receiver after the Wildcats changed offensive coordinators. He played two seasons at wide receiver for Samford before going undrafted in 2024.
Ismail signed with the Ravens as a free agent after a tryout at their rookie minicamp. He then signed with the team’s practice squad after being waived out of the preseason.
He is the son of Qadry Ismail, who won a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens in 2000, and the nephew of Raghib Ismail and Sulaiman Ismail. Qadry Ismail played 10 NFL seasons with the Vikings, Saints, Dolphins, Packers, Ravens and Colts.
Defensive lineman LaBryan Ray will return to the Panthers for the 2025 season.
Ray signed his exclusive rights tender Monday.
He will make $1.03 million in 2025.
He has played 33 games and made 10 starts for the Panthers the past two seasons. Nine of those starts came in 2024, and Ray finished the season with 41 tackles and a sack.
Ray went undrafted in 2022, signing with the Patriots as a free agent. He ended up on the team’s practice squad as a rookie before joining the Panthers in the 2023 offseason.
Ravens safety Ar’Darius Washington has not signed his tender, but he also did not sign an offer sheet before Friday afternoon.
As Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Banner reports, the deadline now has passed for restricted free agents to sign with another team.
The Ravens had placed a right-of-first-refusal tender on Washington. That assured him a one-year, $3.26 million deal for 2025 but allowed him to negotiate with other teams with no compensation granted to the Ravens if Washington left.
Washington, an undrafted free agent in 2021, replaced Marcus Williams in Week 8 last season and had a career year. He played all 17 games and made 10 starts, totaling two interceptions, a forced fumble, a sack and 64 tackles.
He played only eight games with one start in his first three seasons, recording 14 tackles, two passes defensed and a sack.
Broncos safety Devon Key signed his exclusive rights free agent tender Friday.
Key, 27, was one of five exclusive rights free agents the team tendered on March 4. Tight end Lucas Krull, outside linebacker Dondrea Tillman, cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian and defensive lineman Jordan Jackson also will return on one-year deals.
Key has spent time on the practice squad of the Chiefs (2021), Falcons (2022) and Broncos (2022-24).
Last season, Key played all 17 games with two starts. He saw action on 251 defensive snaps and 251 on special teams, totaling 33 tackles, a sack and a quarterback hit.
Irv Smith Jr. is headed back to Houston.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the tight end has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Texans on Friday.
Smith, 26, joined the Texans’ practice squad last September and was signed to the active roster in December. He appeared in five games for the club, playing 85 offensive snaps and 15 special teams snaps. He did not record a reception in 2024.
Smith started his career as a Vikings second-round pick in 2019. In 54 games for Minnesota, Cincinnati, and Houston, he’s caught 109 passes for 973 yards with 10 TDs.
The Bills have agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $6.8 million with cornerback Tre’Davious White, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
White returns to the team that made him a first-round pick in 2017.
The Bills cut him before the start of the 2024 offseason in a cost-cutting move, and White signed with the Rams. Los Angeles traded White to the Ravens on Nov. 5.
In 11 games last season, White totaled 22 tackles and five pass breakups.
He made two Pro Bowls in his seven seasons with Buffalo, recording 311 tackles, 18 interceptions and 68 pass breakups.
Offensive guard Austen Pleasants and tight end Jake Tonges signed their one-year exclusive rights contracts to remain with the 49ers, the team announced Thursday.
Pleasants originally signed with the 49ers on Dec. 17 after his release from the Bears, and he saw action on 67 offensive snaps and 14 on special teams in three games.
Pleasants entered the league in 2020 as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio, signing with the Jaguars. In four NFL seasons, he also has spent time with the Panthers, Chargers and Cardinals.
Tonges, 25, played 16 games for the 49ers last season, seeing action on 34 offensive snaps and 232 on special teams. He recorded two tackles.
Tonges signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He joined the 49ers’ practice squad on Sept. 27, 2023, and signed a futures contract with the team on Feb. 13, 2024.
Free agent defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs is seeking to return to the NFL after having the remaining charge against him dismissed.
Buggs’ attorney, Greg Gambril, released a statement Wednesday.
“The cruelty to dogs charges filed against Isaiah Buggs in May 2024 were dismissed with prejudice today on motion of the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney’s Office,” Gambril wrote. “In its motion to dismiss the dog cruelty charges, the state noted that it was presented with evidence from defense attorney Greg Gambril that exonerated Mr. Buggs. This follows last month’s reduction of domestic violence and burglary charges against Mr. Buggs from June 2024 that was part of a plea agreement, whereby Mr. Buggs pled guilty to misdemeanor criminal trespass — a charge that more accurately reflects the nature of that incident. The resolution of these matters brings closure to all criminal proceedings involving Mr. Buggs in Tuscaloosa.
“On July 19, 2024, Mr. Buggs entered into a ‘stipulate and appeal’ arrangement with the district attorney’s office regarding the dog cruelty charges in the court in which the charges were initially brought. This decision was strictly procedural as it allowed Isaiah to secure his release from custody and obtain medical care following emergency gallbladder removal surgery while he was in jail awaiting trial. Isaiah immediately took steps to appeal the case to circuit court, where the matter would be tried in front of a jury if need be.”
The Chiefs cut Buggs last June 24 after his second offseason arrest in Alabama.
Buggs, 28, has not played a regular-season game since 2023 when he was with the Lions. He hopes to get another chance now that his legal issues have been resolved.
“We are grateful to the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney’s Office for its careful review of the facts and evidence and for working toward a fair and just outcome,” Buggs said in a statement. “I am focused on moving forward and continuing my football career.”
The Seahawks hosted fullback Adam Prentice on a free agent visit, according to the NFL’s transactions wire.
Seattle wants to add a fullback to its roster, and Prentice played for new Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak last season in New Orleans.
Prentice, 28, spent the past four seasons with the Saints.
He played 25 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in 17 games in 2024, making seven starts. Prentice’s only stats came on special teams, where he made seven tackles in 218 snaps.
Prentice began his career with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2021 and then moved to the Saints as a waiver claim after final cuts. He played 623 offensive snaps and 575 special teams snaps in 48 games with the Saints.
Prentice has nine carries for 26 yards and eight catches for 37 yards in those appearances. He’s also been credited with 16 special teams tackles.
The Packers re-signed tight end John FitzPatrick on Monday, according to the NFL’s transaction wire.
He originally joined the Packers on Oct. 10 after the team signed him off the Falcons’ practice squad.
In 2024, FitzPatrick appeared in nine games and caught one pass for 2 yards. He played 73 offensive snaps and 50 on special teams.
FitzPatrick, 25, entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick of the Falcons in 2022.
He made his NFL debut in 2023, playing nine games with the Falcons. He caught one pass for 12 yards, while playing 18 offensive snaps and 83 on special teams.
