NFL Player News

The Jaguars released Jones on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old's release comes shortly after Jacksonville's selection of Brian Thomas in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Jones played only nine games last season due to a PCL injury, and while he seems to be healthy now, his release saves the Jaguars $4.2 million in cap space. In addition to Thomas, Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis will make up the top three wideouts for Trevor Lawrence, while Jones will work to find a landing spot elsewhere.

Pearsall may not see the field often as a rookie after being drafted by the 49ers, who have three starting wideouts returning for 2024, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

San Francisco's selection of Pearsall at the tail end of the first round of the 2024 Draft came as a bit of a surprise, both in terms of draft slot and roster needs, as Pearsall was mostly projected as a Day 2 pick rather than Day 1. Perhaps the front office drafted the Florida product with an eye on next offseason, at which point Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings are expected to hit free agency and Deebo Samuel will be entering the final year of his contract. Pearsall is an explosive talent with a good chance to put up fantasy-worthy numbers at some point during his career; it just may not happen right off the bat in a loaded 49ers offense.

Gallup agreed to terms on a one-year, $3 million contract with the Raiders on Monday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

After a six-year stint in Dallas to start his career, Gallup will get a fresh start in Las Vegas. His second year with the Cowboys generated plenty of optimism, as he tallied 1,107 yards receiving to go along with six touchdowns. However, he has failed to replicate those types of numbers since. With Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers locked in as the Raiders' top pass catchers, Gallup will compete with the likes of Tre Tucker and DJ Turner, among others, for the No. 3 pass-catching role.

Samuel has a new teammate in the receiving room after the Bills took Keon Coleman out of Florida State with the first pick of the second round Friday.

Samuel, signed as a free agent in March, was never going to be a No. 1 or even a No. 2 in Buffalo, but now we at least know who's been brought in ahead of him on the depth chart. It's a mild surprise the Bills chose only one receiver with their 10 draft picks, so for now the versatile Samuel likely sits No. 3 in the pecking order behind Khalil Shakir and Coleman. That said, this is a perfect offense for Samuel's skill set, and he'll be a weapon of some sort once things get going, just not the primary receiving option.

Hebert was waived by the Eagles on Monday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Hebert joined Philadelphia's practice squad late last season and turned that into a reserve/future contract with the team in January. However, the Louisiana Tech product's time with the team will come to an end for now, and he'll have the chance to pursue new opportunities.

The Dolphins officially exercised Waddle's fifth-year option Monday.

Miami has made no secret of plans to pick up Waddle's fifth-year option this offseason, and the move is now official prior to Thursday's deadline. That keeps the third-year standout under contract for two more seasons and provides the Dolphins more time to negotiate a long-term deal with Waddle. The team added depth to the wideout room in the form of late-round rookies Malik Washington and Tahj Washington during the 2024 NFL Draft, but Waddle and Tyreek Hill remain the clear top targets for Tua Tagovailoa, with incumbents Braxton Berrios and River Cracraft available to split No. 3 duties.

Williams is part of a WR room that didn't add any new bodies during the 2024 NFL Draft.

It's a subtle vote of confidence in the 12th overall pick from the 2022 NFL Draft, as Detroit's roster otherwise has a slew of fourth-receiver types behind Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown, namely Kalif Raymond, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Antoine Green and Tre'Quan Smith. The No. 2 receiver spot may not be a high-volume task in an offense with ARSB, TE Sam LaPorta and an excellent RB duo, but it's nonetheless a positive sign for Williams that the Lions didn't prioritize adding competition for him this offseason. While he made a bunch of big plays down the stretch last season, Williams has played only 522 regular-season snaps on offense to this point in his career and has never caught more than five passes in a game.

Shaheed is in an excellent position for a starting job after the Saints waited until the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft to select a wide receiver, taking Bub Means at No. 170 overall.

Shaheed worked his way into a starting role as an undrafted rookie in the second half of 2022, and he then entered 2023 as the Saints' No. 3 receiver behind Chris Olave and Michael Thomas. While Thomas missed the final seven games of last season with an injury, Shaheed dealt with an injury of his own during that stretch and never really progressed to a full starter's workload. With Thomas gone and not replaced, Shaheed is in better position than ever before to pile up snaps/routes/targets, though his value on special teams as both a kick and punt returner could offer part of the explanation for New Orleans limiting his workload on offense even when the other WR options have been lacking. A.T. Perry and Cedrick Wilson look like the top candidates for wideout snaps after Olave and Shaheed this year.

Powell, Jalen Nailor and Trent Sherfield are the leading candidates for the No. 3 receiver role after the Vikings did not take a wide receiver in the 2024 Draft, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

It was a mild surprise the Vikings didn't draft a wide receiver after the departure of K.J. Osborn (New England) in free agency, leaving Powell as the leading candidate for the No. 3 receiver role. The Vikings could add a veteran free agent later this spring to compete for the job. Whoever wins the role could get a significant number of targets early in the season with tight end T.J. Hockenson likely to miss several games in coming back from January surgery for a torn ACL.

Pierce and 2024 second-round draft pick Adonai Mitchell will compete on the outside for the No. 3 receiver role in training camp, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

Pierce has been the starting deep threat for the Colts the last two campaigns but without much production (just 32 receptions for 514 yards and two touchdowns last season). While that may have been due to poor quarterback play and a game plan that didn't throw the ball deep, it has opened the door for a dynamic talent like Mitchell to compete for his job. Mitchell, the former Texas and Georgia receiver, dazzled at the NFL Scouting Combine (4.34-second 40-yard dash, 136-inch broad jump) following a productive end to his Longhorns career (55 catches for 845 yards and 11 touchdowns on 92 targets in 2023).