Saturday’s NFL taxi squad moves:
Dallas Cowboys
Flournoy was waived on Thursday, but he went unclaimed yesterday. That allowed for the 25-year-old to remain in Dallas via a practice squad agreement. Charles – who was retained on the taxi squad following roster cuts – is out of the organization for now, but ESPN’s Todd Archer notes he could return at some point.
The Panthers are swapping out receivers on their 53-man roster on Saturday by re-signing veteran Hunter Renfrow and placing Jalen Coker on injured reserve, per FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz and Joe Person of The Athletic.
Renfrow, 29, sat out the 2024 season as he dealt with a case of ulcerative colitis. He signed with the Panthers in April and spent training camp with the team before being released during final roster cuts. They wanted to keep him in the building, but as a vested veteran, Renfrow was free to sign with any team. Multiple were interested, per Schultz, but Coker’s IR placement allowed the Panthers to give the veteran wideout a spot on the active roster.
Coker pulled his quad chasing a deep ball during a 1-on-1 drill in a fully-padded practice on Thursday and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks, according to Person. The injury happened one day after the Panthers traded Adam Thielen, their primary slot receiver for the last two years, to the Vikings.
Panthers general manager Dan Morgan said on Thursday (via Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer) that Coker would “step into the slot” after Thielen’s departure. Morgan also said that he had enough confidence in the team’s trio of young receivers – Coker, Xavier Legette, and Tetairoa McMillan – to trade Thielen.
We have guys that we’re really excited about,” explained Morgan, “and that definitely made me feel more comfortable pulling the trigger and trading [Thielen].”
Renfrow’s “peaks and dips” in the preseason were the reason the Panthers cut him this week, according to head coach Dave Canales (via Person). However, his experience in the slot – where he’s played 72.8% of his career snaps, per PFF (subscription required) could give him a role right away.
The 2019 fifth-round pick leveraged interest from other teams and the Panthers’ need at the psoition into a stronger deal than the $1.3MM deal he signed in April. Renfrow’s new contract is worth $2.25MM ($2MM guaranteed), according to Person. It includes a signing bonus as well as incentives that can bring his compensation to $3MM, per Kaye.
The Panthers may also give sixth-round rookie Jimmy Horn Jr. after he led the team in slot snaps during the preseason (via PFF) and made the 53-man roster. Coker, meanwhile, will spend at least four weeks on the IR as he rehabs his quad and looks to regain his role in the slot upon his return.
The Patriots are releasing veteran safety Jabrill Peppers, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Peppers, 29, was set to enter his fourth season in New England before he was cut. As a vested veteran, he is not subject to waivers and is free to sign with any team (or their practice squad) right away.
The eight-year veteran was acquired by Bill Belichick in the legendary coach’s second-to-last season in New England. Peppers had a rotational third safety role in 2022 before emerging as a full-time starter the following year. He signed a three-year extension before the 2024 season, but missed eight games due to a suspension and three more to a hamstring injury.
The suspension stemmed from an arrest and subsequent charges for domestic violence and drug possession and cast doubt on Peppers’ future. In January, he was acquitted of the former and admitted to the latter without penalty. Given that he was suspended after the initial arrest but before legal proceedings played out, the league opted not to punish Peppers again.
With his legal issues behind him, it seemed like Peppers would return to a starting role in New England, but new head coach Mike Vrabel had other ideas. While the off-field issues were no longer a concern for the Patriots, per Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal, Peppers saw a role reduction in training camp and appeared in the team’s third preseason game, two signals that his spot wasn’t safe. With trade rumors swirling around Kyle Dugger, who had started at safety for the last four years, it seemed like Peppers was more likely to stick around. However, with no trade partner materializing for Dugger, he stayed on the 53-man roster with Peppers hitting free agency and looking for a new team.
Peppers was of the team’s remaining holdovers from the Belichick years. He was also one of six team captains under Jerod Mayo in 2024; the other five had been sent packing by May, per Ben Volin of The Boston Globe. His release is a confirmation of Vrabel’s desire to move on from the Patriots’ teams that struggled over the past few seasons and establish a new era of football in New England.
The Patriots defense will move forward with six-year veteran Jaylinn Hawkins and fourth-round rookie Craig Woodson as their starting safeties. Hawkins took over a starting role in Peppers’ absence last year, while Woodson has impressed since arriving in New England in the spring. Brenden Schooler and Dell Pettus will provide depth, but this does feel like a position that could use some veteran reinforcement before the regular season.
Peppers’ contract had $4.32MM in guaranteed salary for this season, per Volin. His deal also included offset language, so the Patriots’ dead cap charge will be reduced by whatever Peppers signs for elsewhere (if that happens). He will most likely receive a veteran minimum salary of $1.255MM, so the extra savings would be minimal.
The road to a desired NFL return for free agent defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs just got a bit rougher. Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Buggs has received a suspension from the NFL that will last the first 10 weeks of the season. 
A former JuCo and Alabama grad, Buggs was drafted by the Steelers in the sixth round of the 2019 draft. He got a chance to start six games in his third year with the team but was cut near the end of the season. He signed the following summer with the Lions and started 13 of 17 game appearances for Detroit, recording career highs in tackles (46), sacks (1.0), and quarterback hits (10). The Lions signed him to a two-year, $6.2MM extension, as a result, but he was released before the end of the 2023 season.
The Chiefs brought him on for defensive line depth for a postseason run, and though he didn’t appear in any games, he won a Super Bowl ring with Kansas City and signed a reserve/futures deal to remain with the team. That summer saw Buggs turn himself in after two arrest warrants were issued for him citing a charge for misdemeanor animal cruelty.
Two weeks later, Buggs was arrested a second time on charges of domestic violence and burglary after he unlawfully entered the apartment of his child’s mother with the “intent to commit a crime” and dragged her down the stairs. Kansas City quickly parted ways with Buggs, and he’s been working to return to the NFL ever since. Most recently, he spent time in the UFL this spring, playing for the San Antonio Brahmas.
It seemed unlikely to begin with that Buggs would receive another chance in the NFL, despite having the charge for animal cruelty dismissed and the charges for domestic violence and burglary reduced to a misdemeanor criminal trespass charge. The 10-week ban levied by the league today will make a return that much more unlikely for Buggs.
Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Detroit Lions
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
New England Patriots
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tennessee Titans
Free Agent
Manoa will be suspended for the first two weeks of the season, if he lands with an NFL squad. While details of the suspension have not been disclosed, it may be linked to an incident that led to him being kicked out of Allegiant Stadium in the spring after some alleged property damage.
NFL teams continue adjusting their practice squads as we close in on the regular season:
Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay Packers
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
San Francisco 49ers
Tennessee Titans
Anderson cleared waivers after being cut and can now be assigned to the 49ers’ practice squad. The reason San Francisco can add two while only dropping one from a full practice squad is because Zierer is from Munich, Germany, qualifying him to be a part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. While practice squads are capped at 16 players, teams can keep a 17th player if they are a part of the IPPP.
AUGUST 29: Hamilton’s fully guaranteed money includes a signing bonus, his 2025 and ’26 base salaries, and a 2026 option bonus, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes. More significantly in the long term, Hamilton secured a rolling guarantee structure. His $17MM 2027 base salary shifts from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in 2026. His $17MM 2028 base salary makes that shift in 2027, providing advanced security for the young standout.
While Hamilton’s 2029 base salary ($17.9MM) is nonguaranteed, he will collect a $1MM roster bonus on Day 5 of the ’29 league year, Florio adds. Since the deal tacks four years onto his through-2026 rookie contract, Hamilton is signed through 2030. There is also a $1MM roster bonus on Day 5 of the 2030 league year. This marks the second time (in the fifth-year option era) the Ravens have paid a first-rounder with two years left on a rookie contract; they did the same with Marlon Humphrey in 2020.
AUGUST 27: The Ravens have eyed a Kyle Hamilton extension for a lengthy stretch. As the season nears, Baltimore has one of its 2022 standout first-rounders locked in long term.
Hamilton has agreed to a deal that makes him the NFL’s highest-paid safety, the team announced (via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec). While fellow 2022 first-rounder Tyler Linderbaum remains on his rookie deal, Hamilton has reset the safety market.
This extension will move the bar far north at safety, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting the Ravens are giving Hamilton a four-year, $100.4MM deal. Of that amount, $82MM is guaranteed, including $48MM in fully guaranteed money, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. While this is a significant increase over the top of the safety market – set earlier this year by Kerby Joseph just over $21MM – it’s also somewhat reflective of increase in cornerback pay this offseason.
More than anything, of course, Hamilton’s contract is a reflection of his status as one of the best – if not the best – safeties in the NFL. He’s coming off back-to-back Pro Bowls and a ninth-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting after turning around Baltimore’s pass defense with his move to a more traditional safety role in 2024. His versatility and impact can be felt at all three levels of the field, similar to the Chargers’ Derwin James.
Appropriately, Hamilton’s deal is essentially James’ 2022 extension adjusted for cap inflation. James received $19MM per year, which accounted for 9.1% of the salary cap at the time, per OverTheCap. Hamilton’s $25MM APY represents just under 9.0% of the 2025 cap. Though it’s an expensive deal, the 24-year-old has two years remaining on his rookie contract. Adding four years and $100.4MM to that deal will keep Hamilton in Baltimore through the 2030 season for $20.3MM per year, which could become a steal as the cap continues to rise in the coming years.
The Ravens drafted Hamilton 14th overall in 2022 and have seen him soar to the All-Pro tier. With two original-ballot Pro Bowls on his resume, Hamilton secured the top fifth-year option price at safety ($18.6MM). His new deal checks in well north of that in terms of per-year average, and it will give future impact safeties a price to target.
The recent CB boom — which Patrick Surtain reset last year only to see the deal topped a few times over since — illustrates how quickly a market-setting contract can be eclipsed by others using it as a benchmark. After all, Antoine Winfield Jr. became the NFL’s first $20MM-per-year safety barely a year ago. That said, safety value has fluctuated over the years. As a result, Hamilton’s AAV may top the market for a while — particularly given the Notre Dame alum’s versatile skillset that is so pivotal to Baltimore’s defensive blueprint.
Hamilton is now the second-highest-paid Raven — behind only Lamar Jackson — representing rare status for a safety. The Ravens will now turn their attention to Linderbaum, who did not see his fifth-year option exercised due to the option formula grouping all O-linemen together. The Ravens want to pay their All-Pro center before season’s end.
Nikhil Mehta contributed to this post.
As expected, Javon Baker found himself on the wrong side of the Patriots’ roster bubble earlier this week. The second-year wideout has not needed to wait long to find his next opportunity, though. 
[RELATED: Recapping Eagles’ Offseason]
Baker plans to sign with the Eagles on their practice squad, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports. The 2024 fourth-rounder considered multiple options, per Reiss. One of those was a return to the Patriots on their taxi squad. Instead, a change of scenery will take place.
Leading up to this week’s round of roster cuts, it was clear Baker and fellow 2024 draftee Ja’Lynn Polk were in danger of being waived. Polk has since landed on season-ending injured reserve, preventing a decision on keeping him or letting him go from needing to be made. After making New England’s initial 53-man, meanwhile, Baker was waived on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old made 11 appearances with the Patriots as a rookie, but in that time he made just one scoreless catch. Baker joins veteran Kendrick Bourne as a receiver New England – now led by head coach Mike Vrabel – has parted ways with in advance of the season. As the team moves forward with an altered WR group, Philadelphia will take a flier on Baker.
The Alabama and UCF product will join a receiving corps led once again by A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Jahan Dotson. Philadelphia lost Johnny Wilson last week to season-ending surgery, hindering the team’s depth. Trade acquisition John Metchie is in position to operate as a backup, but Baker will give the Eagles another option on the practice squad. It will be interesting to see if he receives a gameday elevation early in the campaign.
Trade chatter surrounding Micah Parsons has proven to be substantive. Not long after a Thursday report indicated the star edge rusher could be on the move, a blockbuster trade has indeed been worked out. 
The Cowboys have an agreement in place to send Parsons to the Packers, as first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Jane Slater. The package heading back to Dallas includes two first-round picks. Rapoport adds defensive tackle Kenny Clark is also going to the Cowboys as the final part of the trade agreement. The move is now official.
As part of this massive deal, Parsons has worked out a Packers extension. A four-year, $188MM accord has been agreed to, per the NFL Network report (which has since been confirmed by others). The deal contains $136MM in total guarantees. ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds Parsons will receive $120MM fully locked in at signing, including $62MM paid out in 2025. Those figures – along with a $47MM average annual value – easily mark a new high point in compensation for non-quarterbacks.
In recent days, the possibility of a trade has gained steam. Yesterday, it was reported the Packers were among the teams showing interest; as such, it is reasonable Green Bay is where Parsons is now headed. Still, today’s move is a massive development for all involved and marks a departure from standard operating procedure in the Packers’ case. The team has a reputation as a draft-and-develop franchise, and that includes recent first-round investments along the edge in Rashan Gary (2019) and Lukas Van Ness (2024).
Both of those players will remain in place even with Parsons arriving. Green Bay’s defensive front has nevertheless been dealt a blow with Clark heading the other way. The three-time Pro Bowler has spent his entire nine-year career with the Packers, and he will provide the Cowboys with a needed upgrade at the DT spot. Clark, 29, has three years remaining on his contract. The former first-rounder posted a career-high 7.5 sacks in 2023, but that figure fell to one last season. Even without a bounce-back in that department, stable play against the run would be welcomed by the Cowboys.
Dallas has a reputation for dragging high-profile negotiations deep into the offseason. Many observers viewed the Parsons situation as the latest example of that, but relations between the 26-year-old and owner Jerry Jones have taken a turn for the worst this summer. Informal talks between the two produced a handshake agreement during the spring, one Jones maintained a desire to stick to in the process of finalizing an extension. When Parsons went public with his trade request at the start of the month, though, he stated he did not want to be held to the terms mentioned in that conversation. No formal offer is known to have been made by Dallas, and negotiations came to a halt in the wake of Jones’ comments on agent David Mulugheta.
Per Rapoport, this trade was agreed to earlier this week. Negotiations then turned to the matter of an extension, with Mulugheta negotiating this monster accord. The Packers’ financial outlook will be altered considerably with this deal in place, especially since quarterback Jordan Love is attached to one of the league’s most expensive accords. The team’s window to contend for a Super Bowl is obviously viewed as being open given this trade.
Dallas, meanwhile, still has a core headlined by Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. They both signed major extensions of their own last offseason, and Clark joins Osa Odighizuwa (re-upped this spring on a $20MM-per-year deal) as a key figure on defense for 2025 and beyond. The Cowboys are thus not in a position to turn away from contention in the near future, but with one week remaining in the offseason they have moved on from arguably their best player.
The Cowboys lost DeMarcus Lawrence during free agency, so today’s blockbuster means both of their starting edge rush spots will have new occupants. Sam Williams, Dante Fowler, Marshawn Kneeland, James Houston and second-round rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku are in position to handle pass rush duties moving forward. How that group fares will be key in determining the success of the post-Parsons Dallas defense. 
The Packers went 9-8 during Love’s first season as their starting quarterback, and they improved to 11-6 last season. A step toward the NFL’s elite was targeted in their roster moves this offseason, and that process has extended deep into August. Parsons was already on the books for 2025 due to his fifth-year option (the value of which is yet to be finalized). The All-Pro is now under contract through 2029.
“I never wanted this chapter to end, but not everything was in my control,” a statement from Parsons reads in part. “My heart has always been [in Dallas], and it still is. Through it all, I never made any demands. I never asked for anything more than fairness. I only asked that the person I trust to negotiate my contract be part of the process.
“Thank you, Cowboys Nation, for every cheer, every moment, and every ounce of love you showed me. Wearing the star has been the honor of my life.”
As Schefter notes, 29 players drafted since 1970 have been named to the Pro Bowl in each of their first four seasons. Parsons will be the first name on that list to play for a different team in their fifth NFL campaign. Dallas and Green Bay will meet in a Sunday Night Football matchup in Week 4. It goes without saying what the top storyline for that contest will be.
Teams around the NFL continued to adjust their practice squads as new players came free from Wednesday’s transactions. Here are all the latest updates:
Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Falcons
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos:
Detroit Lions:
Green Bay Packers:
Houston Texans:
Indianapolis Colts:
Jacksonville Jaguars:
Kansas City Chiefs:
Los Angeles Chargers:
Miami Dolphins:
Minnesota Vikings:
New England Patriots:
New York Giants:
New York Jets:
Philadelphia Eagles:
San Francisco 49ers:
Seattle Seahawks:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
Tennessee Titans:
Washington Commanders:
Signed: RB Donovan Edwards, CB Darius Rush
Ismail was one of 17 players to work out for the Giants on Thursday, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan. He won the practice squad spot over more notable players like former Broncos safety Caden Sterns and former Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Canadian quarterback Taylor Elgersma also attended the workout, per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, suggesting that the Giants might be looking for extra depth at the position.
Wallace worked out for the Vikings on Thursday, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. It must have gone well, as he was signed to the practice squad hours later as extra depth both in the secondary and on special teams.
Griffin returned to the Seahawks this offseason, eight years after they made him a third-round pick in the 2017 draft. He did not make Seattle’s 53-man roster, but as a vested veteran, he was able to re-sign to the practice squad without going through waivers.