NFL teams had until 6 p.m. ET Sunday to trim their rosters from 90 players down to the 53-man regular-season limit, a day earlier than the usual Tuesday deadline because the San Francisco 49ers need extra travel time ahead of their season-opening trip to Melbourne, Australia. More than 1,100 players were expected to be released, waived, or placed on other roster designations across the league by the deadline.
Aaron Donald Is Coming Out of Retirement
The biggest story of the day had nothing to do with cuts: eight-time All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald is unretiring to rejoin the Los Angeles Rams, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $20 million that can rise to $30 million with incentives, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Donald, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, hasn’t played since the 2023 season. His return pairs him with Myles Garrett, whom the Rams traded for this offseason, giving Los Angeles two of the most decorated defensive linemen in NFL history on the same line.
Donald had been weighing a comeback for weeks. In July, he texted NFL insider Jordan Schultz that he was “for sure flirting with the idea,” citing the chance to play in a Super Bowl hosted at SoFi Stadium, the Rams’ home field, this season:
Josh Jacobs Placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs will not play or practice to start the season after the NFL placed him on the commissioner’s exempt list Sunday. Jacobs was arrested in Wisconsin in May on five counts, including one felony; the Brown County district attorney’s office later reduced the charges to two misdemeanors, battery and criminal damage to property. Jacobs will continue to be paid while on the list and can attend meetings and use team facilities, but cannot play until the league lifts the designation.
The Packers had already traded for running back Kaleb Johnson from the Pittsburgh Steelers shortly before the exempt-list announcement, a move that now reads as insurance against Jacobs’s absence.
Odell Beckham Jr.’s Roster Bubble
Odell Beckham Jr., the three-time Pro Bowler now nearly two years removed from his last NFL snap, entered cutdown day firmly on the bubble with the Giants, who carried a crowded receiver room. Head coach John Harbaugh praised his training camp performance, saying “his best week of camp has come this week,” but wouldn’t commit to Beckham making the roster, with special-teams contributor Dalen Cambre seen as his closest competition for a final receiver spot.
Other Notable Cuts
The Dallas Cowboys released wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, a two-time Super Bowl winner who had signed with the team in April, after their receiver room got crowded around George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. The Buffalo Bills released longtime punter Mitch Wishnowsky, 34, after one season in Buffalo. The New York Jets released former first-round pick Mazi Smith, originally a Dallas Cowboys draft pick in 2023. Miami Dolphins pass rusher Emmanuel Ogbah, a Super Bowl champion with Kansas City who posted back-to-back nine-sack seasons, also faced roster uncertainty heading into the deadline.
Trades Around the League
Cutdown weekend also produced a wave of trades as teams reshuffled ahead of the season: the Packers acquired running back Kaleb Johnson from the Steelers; the Miami Dolphins acquired quarterback Kyle McCord from the Packers for a 2028 sixth-round pick; the Chicago Bears acquired cornerback Clark Phillips III from the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for defensive lineman Gervon Dexter and a fifth-round pick; the Indianapolis Colts acquired center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger from the Buffalo Bills; the New York Jets acquired center Jordan Meredith from the Las Vegas Raiders; and the Arizona Cardinals acquired tight end Hunter Long from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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