NFL Player News

Las Vegas signed Rucker as an undrafted free agent Thursday.

Rucker finished a strong collegiate career by recording over 1,000 receiving yards with Arkansas State in each of his final two campaigns. He scored 11 touchdowns and averaged 72 catches during that two-year span. His biggest claim to fame, however, is his NCAA freshman record of 310 receiving yards in a contest against Louisiana-Monroe in 2020. He has good speed (4.38 40-yard dash) and stands 6-foot tall, but spending almost all of his time during college in the Sun Belt may have hurt his draft status. Regardless, Las Vegas isn't brimming with WR talent, so Rucker could feasibly see NFL action as a rookie if he impresses the organization.

Roberts signed as an undrafted free agent with the Raiders on Thursday.

Roberts played four seasons for BYU and averaged 53 catches for 828 yards and five touchdowns over his final two campaigns. He has good height at 6-foot-4 but lacks vertical speed. Las Vegas has one of the league's least-established WR corps, so Roberts could compete for a roster spot as a depth wideout if he impresses in training camp.

Las Vegas signed Lauter as an undrafted free agent Thursday.

Lauter spent all four of his collegiate campaigns with Boise State and had his best season as a junior, when he caught 47 passes for 619 yards and seven touchdowns over 14 games. The 6-foot-4 tight end took a step back as a senior, however, recording just 330 yards and two TDs on 37 receptions across 13 contests. The Raiders have one of the NFL's best 1-2 combinations at tight end with Brock Bowers (knee) and Michael Mayer, so Lauter probably won't see much game-day action early in his career.

Pittsburgh is declining Jones' (neck) fifth-year option, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

Jones would have been paid $19.1 million for 2027 if the Steelers had picked up the option, but instead his rookie contract will end after this coming season. Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports that Pittsburgh's decision to decline the option was influenced by Jones' neck injury, which cut his season short early last year and may prevent him from being ready for training camp -- and potentially Week 1 of the regular season -- in 2026. When Jones has been healthy he's played well, and he started 37 of the 38 regular-season games in which he appeared over the past two campaigns.

Beatty signed with the Titans on Thursday, Jim Wyatt of the team's official site reports.

The Illinois product caught 64 passes for 826 yards in 2025, ranking in the top five in the Big Ten in both categories. Now, he'll try to compete for a roster spot with the Titans.

Montgomery signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent Thursday, Jim Wyatt of the team's official site reports.

The John Carroll product enjoyed a big season in 2025, recording 119 catches for 1,528 yards and 15 touchdowns. Now, he'll get his NFL chance with Tennessee.

Key signed his exclusive-rights free-agent tender with the Broncos on Thursday, Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette reports.

Once Denver made the tender offer, the safety had no choice but to remain with the team, or sit out the season. Key also was tendered by the Broncos for the 2025 campaign. He has appeared on more than 200 special-teams snaps in each of the last two regular seasons.

Davis was cut by the Raiders on Thursday.

The linebacker appeared in two regular-season games and on 16 defensive snaps for Las Vegas in 2025, making three tackles (one solo). Through a five-year career, the 2021 first-round pick has now played for three teams. Davis recorded 76 or more tackles in each of his first three NFL campaigns, but he has finished with 18 or fewer in each of the last two.

Van Ness had his fifth-year option exercised by the Packers on Thursday, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

The move keeps the 24-year-old under contract through 2027 and guarantees him a salary near $13.8 million. The three-year pro missed half of last season with an ankle injury, which caused him to finish with a disappointing 1.5 sacks and 19 tackles (12 solo) over nine regular-season games. The 2024 season wasn't much better as he recorded 33 tackles (22 solo) and six tackles for loss in 17 regular-season games, but he at least combined for 7.0 sacks over his first two seasons. Green Bay's switch to a 3-4 defensive scheme could impact Van Ness's playing time, but with Micah Parsons still rehabbing back from a December ACL tear and pass-rush depth lost this season in the form of Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare, the new scheme won't be a reason that Van Ness, a 2023 first-round pick, would be kept off the field.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Thursday that Kittle (Achilles) is aiming to be ready for the 49ers' Week 1 game against the Rams, David Lombardi of SFStandard.com reports.

This has been the sentiment all offseason after Kittle suffered a "clean" tear near the soleus muscle higher up on the Achilles in the 49ers' wild-card win over Philadelphia back in January, which typically results in a quicker rehab process. Working against Kittle, however, is his advanced age (32 years old) and just eight months between the injury and Week 1. The 49ers are surely going to be careful with Kittle and not rush him back just to have him at less than 100 percent for the first game of the 2026 season. Jake Tonges (foot) would be next in line at tight end if Kittle isn't ready to face Los Angeles in four months.