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Minor NFL Transactions: 2/24/25

February 24th, 2025 at 7:23pm CST by Ben Levine

One minor move to pass along:

Miami Dolphins

After getting waived by the Seahawks last week, “Bump” Cooper has already found a new home in Miami. The cornerback bounced around a bit during his rookie season. The UDFA earned a spot on the Ravens practice squad and even got into a game with the big-league club before getting waived. He spent the rest of the 2024 campaign on Seattle’s practice squad, and he was retained via a reserve/futures contract before getting cut.

 

Raiders Re-Sign S Isaiah Pola-Mao

February 24th, 2025 at 12:30pm CST by Adam La Rose

Isaiah Pola-Mao was on track to be a restricted free agent this offseason, but that will not be the case. The Raiders safety signed a new deal on Monday, per a team announcement.

Providing details on the pact, Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report this is a two-year deal. The maximum value of the contract is $8.45MM, making this a notable raise compared to Pola-Mao’s previous deals. The former UDFA has spent each of his first three years with the Raiders.

Pola-Mao did not log any starts during his first two seasons with Vegas, operating instead as a key special teams presence. The USC alum’s third phase success made it little surprise when he was re-signed last March. That move set up the potential for an RFA tender being necessary this spring, but such a scenario has now been avoided. Pola-Mao will be able to continue as a first-team presence on defense, a role he took on in 2024.

The 25-year-old started 14 of the Raiders’ 17 games last season, and to no surprise he set career highs across the board from a statistical standpoint. Pola-Mao totaled 89 tackles, five pass deflections and a pair of forced fumbles in 2024. While his performance in coverage (129.6 passer rating and three touchdowns allowed as the nearest defender) left plenty to be desired, it comes as little surprise the Raiders have opted to keep him in the fold for the next two years.

Tre’von Moehrig has operated as a full-time safety starter during his time with the Raiders, and he enjoyed a career-year in 2024. A lucrative free agent deal sending him to a new team in free agency is therefore on the table, and it will be interesting to see if Vegas’ new regime looks to keep him in the fold. Regardless of what happens on that front, Pola-Mao will remain in the team’s plans moving forward.

Browns To Release S Juan Thornhill

February 24th, 2025 at 9:11am CST by Adam La Rose

After a pair of seasons with the Browns, Juan Thornhill is set to be on the move. The veteran safety will be released, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

As Garafolo notes, team and player discussed the situation in recent days with the decision being made to part ways. Now, Thornhill and his camp will begin searching for suitors. Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot adds this will be a post-June 1 release.

As a result, the Browns will generate $3.4MM in cap savings and a dead money charge of $2.28MM for 2025. The move cannot be made until the new league year begins, though, and the money it frees up will not be available until June 2 (Cleveland will have his $5.68MM cap charge on the books until that point). One year remained on Thornhill’s pact, with a $2MM option bonus due in August; instead of retaining him and paying out that money as part of the $7MM he was owed, the Browns will look for a safety replacement this offseason.

Thornhill spent his first four seasons with the Chiefs, serving as a key starter during the first and final years of his rookie contract in particular. The former second-rounder earned a Super Bowl ring during his Kansas City tenure before landing a three-year, $21MM deal on the open market. That pact set him up to operate as a full-time starter in Cleveland, although in 2023 and again in ’24 Thornhill was limited to 11 games. After racking up eight interceptions as a Chief, the Virginia product was held without one as a Brown.

The safety spot has not seen the upward movement of many other positions in recent years, something which will hinder Thornhill’s market (especially given his missed time). At the age of 29, though, he could still land a multi-year offer from a team seeking a veteran starter in the defensive backfield. While he will not reach free agency until next month, Thornhill will be able to gauge his market over the coming weeks.

Cleveland has Grant Delpit on the books through 2026, but Thornhill’s departure will create the need for a first-team replacement at the other safety spot. Veteran Rodney McLeod made it clear last spring he viewed the 2024 campaign as his last, so barring a change of heart he will not be in the fold moving forward. The Browns will need to make multiple additions at the position this spring.

NFL Minor Transactions: 2/21/25

February 21st, 2025 at 6:51pm CST by Ely Allen

Friday’s minor moves across the NFL:

Cincinnati Bengals

New England Patriots

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Brown and Jacobs were both tendered by the Patriots yesterday and have agreed to their tenders today. As exclusive rights free agents, their options were to accept the tender offered to them or not play football in 2025.

Bengals Release DT Sheldon Rankins

February 21st, 2025 at 5:55pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Bengals have released veteran defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, per a team announcement. Rankins was an expected cap casualty after missing most of the 2024 season.

He signed with the Bengals on a two-year, $24.5MM deal last March and started the first two games of the regular season before suffering a hamstring injury that sidelined him for three games. He returned in Week 6 and started Cincinnati’s next five games before coming down with a viral illness ahead of Week 11.

Details of the illness were not disclosed during the season, but it was revealed by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Rankins was battling viral meningitis. He was inactive for the next six games before landing on the non-football injury list to end the year. Rankins finished the season with 18 tackles (one for loss) and one sack, the latter being the lowest total of his career.

Cutting Rankins saves $9.6MM against the 2025 salary cap with $2MM in dead money, bringing the Bengals up to $62MM in salary cap space, per Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap. That will leave them with more than enough room to absorb an expected franchise tag for Tee Higgins and a lucrative extension for Ja’Marr Chase while still making much-needed improvements to their bottom-10 defense.

Teams will likely inquire about Rankins’ health before pursuing him in free agency. He joins a crowded defensive tackle market in which pass-rush upside will be prioritized.

The Texans were interested in re-signing Rankins last year after he recorded 6.0 sacks in Houston in 2023 and could renew their pursuit. He could also receive interest from the 49ers given his connection with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and the team’s need along the interior of their defensive line, according to the Bay Area News Group’s Cam Inman. Rankins played under new Bears DC Dennis Allen in New Orleans and could seek a reunion in Chicago.

However, the former first-round pick will be 31 when the 2025 season starts, likely putting him on the back end of his career. Rather than another multi-year contract, Rankins may have to accept a one-year deal to prove his health and rebuild his value this season.

Bears Cut Gerald Everett, DeMarcus Walker

February 21st, 2025 at 2:26pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Bears are releasing tight end Gerald Everett (per ESPN’s Adam Schefter) and defensive end DeMarcus Walker (per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo). The team has confirmed the moves via social media.

Everett’s release saves $5.5MM against the Bears’ 2025 salary cap with $1MM in dead money. Cutting Walker saves an additional $5.25MM with just under $700k in dead money. Chicago entered the day with $69MM in cap space, per OverTheCap, and now has more than $80MM ahead of free agency next month.

The Bears were expected to move on from Everett after he underperformed the two-year, $12MM deal he signed last offseason. He recorded just eight catches for 36 yards and zero touchdowns – all career-lows – despite appearing in all 17 regular-season games. The eight-year veteran will now join plethora of experienced tight ends in free agency and may have to take a contract close to the veteran minimum to rebuild his value next season.

Walker, however, gave the Bears a solid return on the three-year, $21MM deal he signed in 2023. He appeared in all 34 games (29 starts) in the last two seasons with seven sacks and 16 tackles for loss. His consistent production could have justified his $5.9MM cap hit in 2025, but the Bears opted to move on from the 30-year-old as one of their first moves under new head coach Ben Johnson. Walker will likely draw interest in free agency from teams looking for pass-rushing depth.

Both players have bounced around the league, but each has been productive at points. The Bears were Everett’s fourth team, while they were Walker’s fourth as well. Both players were 2017 second-round picks — Everett with the Rams, Walker the Broncos — who have now played into their 30s. Each could certainly land another gig, though Walker might have a better shot given how underwhelming Everett’s latest season under Shane Waldron was.

Everett followed Waldron from the Rams to the Seahawks, only straying from the position coach-turned-coordinator’s path during a two-year Chargers stay. Prior to his dud in Chicago, Everett had been fairly consistent. He had posted between 400 and 480 receiving yards in four of his previous five seasons, deviating in 2022 via a career-best 555-yard showing to help the Chargers reach the playoffs. This is also not a strong tight end free agent class, which should at least give Everett a chance at a one-year accord.

The Broncos did not re-sign Walker in 2020, after he had operated as a 3-4 defensive end and OLB, but the Florida State product ripped off a seven-sack season for the Titans in 2022. This helped him score the Bears pact, and he has totaled 16 QB hits in each of his past three seasons. Although being a surefire starter post-Chicago may not be a lock for Walker, he probably has a path to another notable role after operating as a regular Bears first-stringer during his two-year stay.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

Panthers Release CB Dane Jackson

February 21st, 2025 at 12:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

Dane Jackson joined the Panthers in free agency last offseason, but his time in Carolina has come to an end. The veteran corner was released on Friday, per a team announcement.

Having spent his first four seasons with the Bills, Jackson represented a familiar face for Panthers general manager Dan Morgan. A two-year, $8.5MM deal was worked out early in free agency, and as a result expectations were in place for a first-team role opposite Jaycee Horn in 2024. Jackson’s debut with his new team was delayed due to a hamstring injury, however.

After being activated in October, the 28-year-old wound up making nine appearances. Only three of those were starts, and his 43% defensive snap share marked the smallest workload of his career. The Panthers released veteran slot corner Troy Hill midway through the campaign in a bid to open up more playing time for their younger options. The same line of thinking resulted in Jackson’s time being reduced when healthy. The former seventh-rounder allowed a completion percentage of 75.9% and a 123.6 passer rating in coverage this season; both figures were the worst of Jackson’s career.

This move will generate a dead money charge of $2.5MM but it will yield $3.35MM in savings for Carolina. The team was already mid-pack in the NFL in terms of spending power as free agency approaches, but additional funds will help Carolina’s efforts in improving a defense which ranked 23rd against the pass in 2024. Jackson, meanwhile, is now free to find a new team prior to the start of free agency (although his market will no doubt be a tepid one).

The Panthers hope to work out an extension with Horn this offseason, and keeping fellow starter Michael Jackson in the fold on a new pact is also a priority. Cornerback could be a position to watch with respect to at least one notable addition over the coming months, but in any case Dane Jackson will not be part of Carolina’s plans.

Panthers Re-Sign QB Andy Dalton

February 21st, 2025 at 8:58am CST by Nikhil Mehta

FEBRUARY 21: The deal is now official, and Over the Cap notes Dalton’s locked in compensation includes a $2.65MM signing bonus. Thanks to a 2027 void year, his cap charges will check in at $3.2MM and $5.85MM for the next two seasons while serving as a cost-effective backup in Carolina.

FEBRUARY 18: The Panthers have signed quarterback Andy Dalton to a two-year, $8MM extension, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal includes $6MM in fully guaranteed money with a maximum value of $10MM.

Dalton will be under contract in Carolina through the 2026 season and can continue his mentorship of former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, with whom he has a “close relationship,” according to Schefter.

Both quarterbacks earned praise from within and without the Panthers organization for how they handled the tumultuous 2024 season. Young was benched after just two games with Dalton starting Weeks 3 through 7. In that span, he completed 106 of his 159 passes for 989 yards, seven touchdowns, and six interceptions.

The Panthers went 1-4 with Dalton under center before a car accident sidelined him in Week 8, giving Young another opportunity to start. Dalton only missed one game, but Young held onto the starting gig on a week-to-week basis. After increasingly positive pronouncements from head coach Dave Canales, Young was finally declared the full-time starter to close out the season.

The Panthers have backed Young as their starter in 2025, but the maturity and experience Dalton demonstrated last season was worth keeping around. He is entering his 15th season and will turn 38 years old in October, so this could be his last contract. With at least $6MM coming his way, Dalton’s career earnings will be at least $115MM, per OvertheCap, and could reach $120MM if he hits the maximum value of the deal.

Dalton’s extension with the Panthers will keep him from hitting free agency, where he was expected to draw interest in the backup quarterback market. The Dolphins explored trading for Dalton last September, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, and were expected to renew their pursuit if he became available in March. Instead, they will likely pivot to Marcus Mariota, provided the Commanders don’t follow the Panthers’ lead and re-sign their veteran backup.

Cowboys G Zack Martin Plans To Retire

February 20th, 2025 at 10:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

One of the greatest interior offensive line careers is set to end. Zack Martin will follow through on retirement, informing the Cowboys he plans to walk away after 11 seasons, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports.

The decorated blocker played out a six-year extension, one adjusted after a 2023 holdout, and was set to hit free agency for the first time. Barring a course change, Martin will pass on testing the market ahead of an age-35 season. This will both strip another O-line constant from Dallas’ roster and tag the team with significant dead money.

Tabbing Martin as a key piece on an offensive line featuring fellow first-rounders Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick, the Cowboys saw him become one of the greatest players in franchise history. He earned seven first-team All-Pro honors and received nine Pro Bowl invites, placing the Notre Dame alum among the very best in NFL history for any O-line position. He was a vital piece for the Cowboys during their Tony Romo– and Dak Prescott-centered periods.

Martin signed a six-year, $84MM contract in 2018, giving the Cowboys seven years of control. As that contract term waned, Martin successfully secured the final two years guaranteed. The Cowboys caved during their top lineman’s 2023 holdout, giving him $36.85MM guaranteed. That covered the 2023 and ’24 seasons. As a result of Martin’s retirement, the Cowboys will be hit with $26.46MM in dead money.

The Cowboys were able to avoid a void years-driven cap crunch with Prescott, giving him a record-smashing extension hours before their Week 1 game. Martin’s money was set to void had he not re-signed with the team before the start of the 2025 league year. This retirement will not help, as it still represents a departure. Although the many restructures the Cowboys performed with Martin’s contract will put them in a bit of a bind thanks to this exit, he rewarded the team for over a decade. Few clubs had comparable options during Martin’s tenure.

Martin’s seven first-team All-Pro nods match Hall of Famers John Hannah and Randall McDaniel for most in NFL history among guards. Among guards to begin their careers in the 21st century, the former Fighting Irish tackle is two above anyone else in this area. Only four offensive linemen (Jim Otto, Ron Mix, Anthony Munoz, Jim Parker) are ahead of Martin in terms of first-team All-Pro placements. Of that quartet, only Munoz began his career after the 1970 merger. One of the most distinguished players on the 2010s’ All-Decade team, Martin will be a safe bet to book a Canton invite in 2030.

Last season, Martin landed on IR due to an ankle injury. The seven missed games matched the most of his career. The only seasons that did not end with a first- or second-team Martin All-Pro distinction involved season-ending injuries (2020, ’24). Beyond that, the Cowboys could bank on him elevating their offense. One of the Jerry Jones–Will McClay era’s top finds, the former No. 16 overall pick helped the Cowboys to six playoff berths. Dallas also accomplished a historically rare feat by seeing DeMarco Murray and Ezekiel Elliott win rushing titles three years apart, with Elliott adding a second crown in 2018 as well. Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle also produced 1,000-yard rushing seasons during Martin’s career, though the latter effort came partially while he was down with injury.

Last summer, Martin floated the possibility 2024 would be his last season. Although a rumor circulated earlier this month Martin was waiting for his injured ankle to heal before making a final decision, he will pass on testing the market. While Martin did quite well for himself ($111.6MM in career earnings), he joins Smith in seeing a lengthy contract prevent him from maximizing his value. Excepting Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, the Cowboys had done well to tie their standout performers to five- and six-year deals; Smith’s lasted eight years. But Martin is the last of the Cowboys’ Romo- and Prescott-era core blockers to depart. Frederick retired after the 2019 season, while Smith joined the Jets in free agency last year.

Dallas has identified another guard standout, installing Tyler Smith there after initially having planned for him to succeed Tyron Smith at LT. The team, which struggled to replace the elder Smith and center Tyler Biadasz last year, now must replace the most decorated O-lineman in its history.

Chargers Re-Sign DB Elijah Molden

February 20th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Being traded to the Chargers shortly before last season, Elijah Molden became one of the pieces that helped Jesse Minter‘s defense climb to No. 1. The Bolts will keep this partnership going.

Molden is staying in Los Angeles via a new three-year contract, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. The second-generation NFL DB was on the verge of free agency, but the Chargers evidently made him a good enough offer to pass on the open market. The team has since announced the move.

The deal is worth $18.75MM and includes $13.5MM guaranteed, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler reports. This checks in just north of the contract fellow Bolts safety Alohi Gilman signed last March, as the Chargers continue to commit resources to the safety position.

The son of former Chargers cornerback Alex Molden, Elijah arrived as a late-August trade acquisition from the Titans. The sent only a 2026 seventh-round pick for the contract-year player, who made Tennessee’s 53-man roster but did not stay long after that deadline. Molden, however, showed growth in L.A. and helped the team rebound to make the playoffs.

Seeing more time at safety, the former Titans cornerback joined Gilman and Derwin James in Minter’s three-safety looks and finished the season with a career-high three interceptions. Molden, 26, also deflected a career-best seven passes while eclipsing his previous best with 75 tackles as well. Grading him much better against the pass than the run, Pro Football Focus tabbed the former third-round pick as the No. 16 overall safety last season.

The Chargers obtained two ex-Titan DB pieces last year, signing Kristian Fulton as well. Molden had joined Fulton as a Day 2 pick during former Tennessee GM Jon Robinson‘s tenure, which was filled with lofty CB investments that did not ultimately satisfy the organization. Although Molden was a regular who saw extensive time in the slot while in Nashville, he topped out at a 68% snap share during his three seasons there. After playing 15 games with the Titans in 2023, a new coaching staff signed off on dealing him. That trade ultimately sent the 5-foot-10 defender to a team that had longer-term plans for him.

This deal comes weeks after Molden suffered a season-ending broken fibula. His absence certainly hurt in a one-sided wild-card loss to the Texans. In signing him weeks before free agency, the Chargers clearly have no concerns Molden will be ready well before next season. This deal also gives the Bolts three veteran contracts at safety, with James still the league’s second-highest-paid player at the position and Gilman having been re-signed (on a two-year, $10.13MM deal) early in Jim Harbaugh‘s tenure.

The respective free agencies of Fulton and Asante Samuel Jr. leave the Bolts with some questions to answer at corner, but they are loaded up at safety ahead of the Harbaugh-Minter combo’s second season. Molden, who joined the Chargers 23 years after his father’s two-season San Diego stay wrapped, will keep going in Minter’s system as the Bolts attempt to hold off the Broncos and mount a legitimate challenge to the Chiefs in the AFC West next season.

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