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Minor NFL Transactions: 6/20/25

June 20th, 2025 at 6:44pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves as we head into the weekend:

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

New Orleans Saints

Addington’s placement on the waiver wire comes as a corresponding move to cornerback Damon Arnette‘s signing. Addington was presumed to be Houston’s starting long snapper after they allowed Jon Weeks to depart in free agency. That presumed role will now be assigned to Austin Brinkman. With Weeks and Addington gone, the undrafted rookie out of West Virginia is the only long snapper left on the roster.

Kansas City and New Orleans each announced corresponding moves to recently announced signings, as well.

Texans Sign CB Damon Arnette

June 20th, 2025 at 11:33am CST by Sam Robinson

JUNE 20: The Arnette deal is now official, per a team announcement. To no surprise, Wilson notes this pact is worth the veteran minimum. It will be interesting to see if Arnette’s showing in training camp and the preseason earns him another NFL roster spot.

JUNE 18: Both the Raiders’ 2020 first-round picks flamed out of the NFL quickly, but Damon Arnette will receive another chance. After drawing NFL interest, the recent UFL cornerback is signing a one-year deal with the Texans, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson reports.

This will allow Arnette to remain in Houston, as he played with the UFL’s Houston Roughnecks during the league’s second season. The Texans brought Arnette in for a visit earlier this month, and they saw enough from his UFL tape to sign off on what is a fourth NFL chance. Arnette has not played in the NFL since 2021.

Already struggling to justify his first-round value in Las Vegas, Arnette saw his NFL path change when he was shown brandishing a gun in a social media video during the 2021 season. The Raiders waived Arnette not long after cutting Henry Ruggs, whose involvement in a fatal drunk-driving accident led to a prison sentence. This came during a period in which the Raiders missed on a few first-rounders, with Clelin Ferrell, Johnathan Abram and Alex Leatherwood significant missteps during the Jon Gruden 2.0 period.

Multiple teams gave Arnette opportunities following his Vegas exit, as the Dolphins and Chiefs added him. But the Ohio State product did not make his way into any games following his Raiders tenure. Known for having a rather strong tolerance for off-field trouble, the Chiefs quickly cut bait on Arnette after a 2022 arrest for assault with a deadly weapon. He had been off the NFL radar since that January 2022 transaction. Arnette reached a plea bargain that led to community service as a result of that arrest, and Wilson adds another arrest — for possession of methamphetamine and the unlawful carrying of a firearm — occurred in January 2024, leading to uncertainty the UFL would provide him an opportunity.

Arnette started seven games as a rookie but did not lock down a starting job in Year 2; the Raiders used him in just four games during the latter season, as it became clear they needed to make other plans at corner. His rebound opportunity with the Roughnecks, however, will at least garner him another shot. This comes a year after the Cowboys signed former Raiders first-rounder Gareon Conley, though the ex-Buckeye did not make Dallas’ 53-man roster after his UFL stay.

Now 28, Arnette is coming off a UFL season in which he broke up five passes and notched a pick-six against the Birmingham Stallions. He joins a Texans team that recently saw Ronald Darby backtrack on a free agent signing and ultimately retire. The Texans have Kamari Lassiter and Jalen Pitre in place at corner alongside Derek Stingley Jr. Arnette joins Tremon Smith and Myles Bryant as notable backup options, as Houston did not draft a corner this year.

Court Date Set For Texans S Jimmie Ward

June 20th, 2025 at 10:02am CST by Adam La Rose

JUNE 20: Ward’s court date has now been revised to August 13, per Wilson. The court proceedings will take place well into training camp and midway through Houston’s preseason schedule as a result.

JUNE 19: Last week, Jimmie Ward was arrested and charged with assault family violence impeding breath/circulation. The Texans safety now has a court date scheduled.

Ward will have his initial court hearing on July 16, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 notes. The 33-year-old’s charge is a third-degree felony stemming from an alleged incident which took place at his home in Magnolia, Texas. During a pre-trial hearing, Ward was informed a guilty verdict could lead to a sentence up to 10 years in length and a $100K fine.

“We believe that Jimmie will be vindicated,” a statement from Ward’s attorney, Steve Jackson, reads (via Wilson). “We just ask that the public reserve judgment so that we can show everyone that the Jimmie Ward they all know is the same person and did not do this.”

During a reading of the charges, the assistant district attorney noted how the alleged victim in the case – Ward’s fiancé – told police Ward “slapped her in the face, strangled her and threatened to kill her.” She filed for and received an emergency protective order in the wake of the incident. Ward was released from prison on a $30K bond and his movements will be monitored via GPS.

A longtime starter with the 49ers, Ward joined DeMeco Ryans and the Texans in 2023. He has operated as a team captain during each of his two years in Houston while handling a notable defensive workload. Thanks to an extension signed last offseason, the former first-rounder is under contract for 2025 and is owed $3.25MM this year. That could obviously change in the wake of legal developments taking place and/or an NFL suspension being handed down before the start of the season.

Traded Draft Picks For 2026

June 18th, 2025 at 10:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Many months remain before teams know where they are picking in the 2026 draft, but many clubs have made moves to acquire 2026 draft capital. Headlined by the Browns and Rams’ efforts, here are the 2026 picks to have changed hands thus far. When more deals involving picks are made (or conditions on moves already completed become known), that information will be added.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

AFC Workouts: Snead, Texans, Mims

June 15th, 2025 at 7:41pm CST by Ely Allen

Willie Snead hasn’t seen much success in the NFL since his departure from Baltimore following the 2020 season. The 32-year-old veteran receiver bounced around over the next two years, splitting his 2021 campaign between the Raiders and Panthers before spending two seasons in San Francisco. After an injury placed him on the Dolphins’ injured reserve in last year’s preseason, resulting in him getting cut and sitting out the entire season, Snead is attempting a comeback with a recent tryout with the Chargers.

Los Angeles attempted to improve their receiving corps this offseason through the draft with additions like Ole Miss’ Tre Harris in the second round and Auburn’s KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the fifth. Their top returning wideouts from last year include Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, and Derius Davis, and an aging Mike Williams has returned after a year away. The team hosted Snead for a veteran tryout earlier this week, per ESPN’s Kris Rhim.

Adding Snead would provide some veteran depth to the group. Though he had some resurgent seasons catching balls from Lamar Jackson in Baltimore, he was never able to reach the heights of his surprising first two campaigns in New Orleans. Since leaving the Ravens, his production has been minimal, so it will likely take a stellar tryout to convince the next team to sign him.

Here are a few more workout updates from around the AFC:

  • The Texans continue to work out cornerbacks as the offseason carries on. After the team hosted former Raiders first-round pick Damon Arnette on Monday, Houston welcomed Duke Shelley and Keenan Isaac in the days after, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Shelley, a six-year veteran, has 11 starts in his career over time with the Bears and Vikings. The last two years, though, have seen him relegated to specials teams with the Rams and the practice squad of the Giants. Isaac, a former undrafted signee for Tampa Bay in 2023, spent this past United Football League season with Arnette on the Houston Roughnecks.
  • Lastly, the Browns worked out former Saints running back Jordan Mims, per Wilson. With a deep, young group of rushers already on the roster, Mims potential signing would add some camp depth with the possibility of him contributing on special teams as a returner.

Texans S Jimmie Ward Arrested On Family Violence Charge

June 12th, 2025 at 9:45pm CST by Adam La Rose

9:45pm: Providing further details on the matter, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 notes the alleged victim in this case is Ward’s fiancé. She informed police she had been “assaulted, strangled, and threatened” by Ward. The latter’s official charge is assault family violence impeding breath/circulation, which is a third-degree felony in Texas.

Ward’s fiancé has filed an emergency protective order in the wake of the incident. Meanwhile, Wilson adds Ward has since been released on $30K bail.

9:41am: Texans safety Jimmie Ward was arrested early Thursday morning following an incident at his home in Magnolia, Texas, as detailed by the Houston Chronicle’s Catherine Dominguez and Jonathan Alexander.

Ward is facing a felony assault family violence charge after being arrested around 5:30am. Per records from the Montgomery County Jail, the 33-year-old stands accused of strangulation stemming from the incident in question. Ward is currently being held without bond.

“We are aware of the report involving Jimmie Ward,” a team statement reads. “We are gathering more information and have no further comment at this time.”

Ward spent the first nine years of his career in San Francisco, spending plenty of time working with DeMeco Ryans along the way. Player and coach have continued their relationship over the past two years with Ryans at the helm of the Texans. Ward has been limited to 10 games in each of the 2023 and ’24 campaigns, but he has operated as a starter when healthy, logging a notable defensive snap share and totaling three interceptions during that time.

The Northern Illinois product originally joined the Texans on a two-year deal, but he received an extension last offseason. Ward is thus under contract for 2025 and is owed $3.25MM for the campaign. A foot injury ended his 2024 season in December, and while he has continued to recover Ward has been sidelined from spring practices. As he continues to work toward full health, his Texans future could now depend on this legal situation.

Texans Officially Sign RB Nick Chubb

June 9th, 2025 at 5:17pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Texans’ Nick Chubb agreement is now finalized. The parties agreed to terms, with a passed physical greenlighting a one-year deal with a base value of $2.5MM (per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport).

Chubb’s contract can reach a maximum value of $5MM with incentives, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, but it remains a far cry from the three-year, $36.6MM deal he signed with the Browns in 2021.

The four-time Pro Bowler took a significant pay cut to remain in Cleveland last year after his season-ending ACL tear in September 2023. (Chubb played for $2.28MM in 2024.) He returned to the field a little over a year after his ACL injury but was not the same prolific runner, posting a career-low 3.3 yards per carry in eight games before ending the season on injured reserve due to a broken foot.

Health will no doubt be a factor in Chubb’s ability to compete for touches in Houston, both for him and the rest of the Texans’ backfield. Joe Mixon ranked ninth in the NFL with 72.6 rushing yards per game in 2024, but missed three games due to injury. His backup, Dameon Pierce, was sidelined for the same three weeks, plus three more, and finished the season with just 111 offensive snaps. Pierce was efficient when healthy; even discounting his season-long of 92 yards, he averaged 5.15 yards across his 39 regular-season carries. No other Texans running back had more than 40 attempts or 150 rushing yards on the year.

Chubb passed his physical on Monday, but his ability to return to his pre-injury form remains to be seen. It’s not surprising that the 29-year-old struggled to hit the ground running last year, but he’ll be just shy of two years removed from his knee injury when the 2025 season starts. Provided that his foot is no longer an issue, Chubb will have plenty of time across the next three months to learn the Texans’ playbook and carve out a role in the offense.

That process will start at Houston’s mandatory minicamp this week.

Texans To Sign RB Nick Chubb

June 9th, 2025 at 4:10pm CST by Ely Allen

JUNE 9: Chubb passed his physical today, Russini reports. As a result, he is in position to suit up for the Texans in 2025.

JUNE 8: Shortly after reports that the Texans would be looking into the potential of signing veteran running back Nick Chubb, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Chubb is now expected to sign with the Texans on Monday, assuming everything goes well with a workout and physical.

We’ve seen two full NFL seasons come and go since we last saw Chubb at his best. Once a perennial Pro Bowler and a constant threat to rush for 1,500 yards and double-digit touchdowns, a serious knee injury that resulted in a torn MCL and damaged ACL has plagued Chubb in the past two seasons. The 29-year-old intends to not let it keep him down, though, and he has remained an attractive free agent option as a result.

The Texans are just three seasons removed from a year in which they had the worst rushing offense in the entire league and their top rusher had 427 yards. Before Joe Mixon rushed for 1,016 yards last year, the team hadn’t seen a 1,000-yard rusher since 2019. So even after a season of relative success, in which they had a Pro Bowl running back with over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns but still finished 15th in the league in rushing, Houston sees room for improvement.

Until this potential move, the team hadn’t touched the position in free agency, mostly because they didn’t lose anyone to free agency, but they did add Woody Marks in the draft. Marks, as a fifth-year transfer at USC, had a breakout season for the Trojans, rushing for 1,133 yards and nine touchdowns while showing a decent ability to catch out of the backfield. Perhaps the Texans believed Marks could compete to be an improved RB2 after Dameon Pierce rushed for only 117 yards before the team’s season finale which featured Mixon for only a single starting drive.

Additionally, some combination of Cam Akers, Dare Ogunbowale, J.J. Taylor, and British Brooks only added a combined 305 rushing yards and one touchdown. All this while sixth-round rookie Jawhar Jordan, out of Louisville, failed to make the initial roster and spent his rookie campaign on the practice squad.

So, ultimately, the potential of adding a veteran like Chubb to this sea of bodies has very little risk of hurting the team, while providing the potential that they can add a savvy, veteran rusher almost two full years removed from the serious injuries that sidelined him. Requiring a workout and physical will provide the team with the ability to walk away while also giving them significant information with which to inform the terms of a contract offer.

Expect a low-risk deal for the team with a potential for high rewards for Chubb should he reach certain benchmarks, if the two sides to put pen to paper tomorrow. This expectation is supported by a recent post by Dianna Russini of The Athletic, who reports that “Chubb received more lucrative offers from other teams but could sign a more incentive-laden contract to join (Mixon) in Houston.”

Texans To Promote James Liipfert, Chris Blanco To Assistant GM

June 9th, 2025 at 3:27pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Texans are the latest team to line up promotions with respect to upper management positions. James Liipfert and Chris Blanco will have new responsibilities in 2025.

Both of those executives are being promoted to assistant general manager, as first reported by Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. Liipfert began his front office career with the Patriots before being hired by the Texans as their director of college scouting. He and GM Nick Caserio worked together in New England, and today’s news confirms their partnership will continue in Houston.

After overseeing the Texans’ college scouting department, Liipfert took on the additional title of assistant director of personnel in 2022. The following offseason, he was promoted to executive director of player personnel. This latest move is an illustration of his success in his previous Houston positions, and an elevated role in the organization could put Liipfert on the general manager radar around the NFL.

Blanco began his time with the Texans as a pro scout. His time in that capacity was followed by a two-year stretch with the Vikings as their director of pro personnel in addition to assistant director of college scouting. When Blanco returned to the Texans’ front office in 2023, he took on the title of assistant director of player personnel. He too has seen his stock rise over the past two years, and added responsibilities will now be in play under Caserio.

The period after the draft often sees plenty of front office movement around the league. A number of teams have new front office setups in place, and the Texans are now among them as Caserio and Co. look to build off the success of the past two seasons.

Texans Host CB Damon Arnette

June 9th, 2025 at 10:49am CST by Adam La Rose

Damon Arnette‘s efforts to return to the NFL have resulted in at least one visit. The former first-round cornerback worked out with the Texans on Monday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports.

Arnette was unsuccessful in his bid to play in the UFL last year, but he did manage to do so this spring. While operating as a key member of the Houston Roughnecks’ defense, he totaled 18 tackles, five pass breakups and a pick-six. That production led to recent inquiries from multiple NFL teams.

With the Roughnecks’ season over, Arnette is free to join an interested suitor at any time as he looks to return to the NFL. The 28-year-old played a total of 13 games with the Raiders across the 2020 and ’21 seasons. He was released after a video surfaced which showed him threatening a person while brandishing a handgun. Arnette wound up signing with the Dolphins before taking a futures deal with the Chiefs, but he never saw any game time with those teams.

The Ohio State product was indicted by a grand jury on assault with a deadly weapon and firearm-related charges in May 2023. Arnette wound up reaching a plea bargain agreement and has not faced charges since then. As Wilson details, he was arrested in January 2024 but that stemmed from a matter in which Arnette did not have the proper documentation for prescription medication with him at the time.

With the UFL and (to an extent, at least) the NFL satisfied in Arnette’s ability to avoid a repeat of his legal issues, it would come as no surprise if he were to land a deal before training camp. The Texans have a strong cornerback duo in the form of Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter, but the recent retirement of Ronald Darby has created the need for a depth addition. Depending on how today’s workout went, Arnette could be in line for the opportunity to earn a backup role this summer.

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