HEADLINES

Jack Sanborn

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/12/25

March 12th, 2025 at 10:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the minor moves from the first day of the 2025 league year:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Yes, a few of these players have graduated from our minor-moves sector, but today’s signing blitz being what it was, they land here. Ford highlights the batch contractually, agreeing (per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter) to a two-year, $4MM deal. Ford played on more than 70% of Cleveland’s special teams snaps over the past two seasons.

Trask will reprise his role as Baker Mayfield‘s backup, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicating the former second-round pick is staying on a one-year, $2.79MM contract. Trask and Mayfield competed for the job in 2023, but as was the case with the Drew Lock–Geno Smith battle a year prior, the winner never looked back. Trask will be in place for a fifth Bucs season, having moved from third-stringer during the Tom Brady era to QB2 in the Mayfield years.

Hawkins will stay with the Patriots on a two-year deal worth up to $2.2MM, according to the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed. A 2022 full-time Falcons starter, Hawkins saw Jessie Bates replace him in 2023. The Falcons later waived Hawkins, who ended up on the Chargers in 2023. The Pats used him as a seven-game starter in 2024, when he made 48 tackles (three for loss).

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/3/25

March 4th, 2025 at 9:37pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

More teams made tender/non-tender decisions on restricted and exclusive rights free agents today. Here are the latest updates:

RFAs

Non-tendered: 

Despite 48 appearances, 19 starts, and 1,794 total snaps over the last three years, the Bears will not tender Sanborn, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. While not considered a starting defender, Sanborn could draw interest in free agency as a backup linebacker and core special teams contributor.

ERFAs

Tendered: 

Non-tendered:

Hoffman started the Cowboys’ last seven games of the 2024 season after Zack Martin went down for the season. He primarily played right guard, though he played 109 snaps at center and 19 at left guard, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Martin retired last month, so Hoffman will likely compete for a starting role in 2025 while earning $1.1MM.

Bears LB Jack Sanborn Expected To Be “Full Speed” For Training Camp

June 27th, 2023 at 9:24pm CST by Ben Levine

Jack Sanborn was an unexpected contributor for the Bears last season, with the undrafted rookie getting into 14 games. An ankle injury ended his rookie season prematurely, but it sounds like the linebacker will be good to go for the start of training camp. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, Sanborn is expected to be “full speed” when the team gathers for training camp next month.

Sanborn ended up making the Bears roster out of the preseason, and he was eventually elevated to the starting lineup when Chicago moved star Roquan Smith. When all was said and done, the rookie ended up starting six of his 14 appearances last year, finishing with 64 tackles and a pair of sacks. Pro Football Focus ranked him 41st among 81 qualifying linebackers, and they handed him one of the top grades at his position for pass rushing.

Sanborn’s recovery from his season-ending knee injury extended into minicamp, forcing the second-year player to the sideline. As a result, rookie fifth-round pick Noah Sewell got a chance to work with the starters. While the Oregon product seemed to impress during his initial practices, coach Matt Eberflus was quick to point out that the starting gig still belongs to Sanborn.

“We’ll see where he goes,” Eberflus said of Sewell (via Biggs). “With rookies, it’s always ‘Know what to do first.’ So he knows his assignment so he can do it fast. He’s getting better at it. We love his instincts. He’s a very instinctual player.

“And so is Jack. Jack is a very instinctual player, plays multiple positions for us. But Jack will be the starter there going into (training camp) and then we’ll see what Noah can do to press him.”

Bears Place LB Jack Sanborn On IR

December 20th, 2022 at 9:32pm CST by Ben Levine

Jack Sanborn‘s season has come to an end. The Bears have placed the linebacker on injured reserve, according to The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain (on Twitter).

Sanborn suffered an ankle injury during Chicago’s loss to the Eagles on Sunday. With only three games remaining on the schedule and the Bears out of playoff contention, Sanborn won’t be eligible to return this season.

The undrafted rookie has been a bright spot on Chicago’s defense this year. The Wisconsin product mostly played on special teams to start the season, but following the trade of Roquan Smith, Sanborn took on a larger role on defense.

Since Smith was shipped to Baltimore, Sanborn has started six games while collecting 60 tackles and a pair of sacks. For his efforts, the rookie was ranked 37th among 84 qualifying linebackers, per Pro Football Focus, with the website giving him a top-10 mark at the position for his pass-rushing prowess.

The Bears quickly filled Sanborn’s spot on the roster by signing linebacker Elijah Lee off Kansas City’s practice squad. The six-year veteran got into 16 games for the Browns in 2021 before catching on with the Chiefs this past offseason. He ended up appearing in five games this year, collecting six tackles. The Bears also added linebacker Kuony Deng to the practice squad today.