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Rideau’s injury could cost him a job as Chicago’s sixth wide receiver and a special teams player. He was battling Mike Hass for the role.

Another special teams ace finds a late-offseason landing spot. This will be Hardee’s ninth year in the pros — he made the Pro Bowl in 2022 with the Jets — and he has played 2288 special teams snaps compared to 116 on defense. The trend should continue in 2025, which means we will be blurbing him for his next one-year deal next offseason.

“It’s kind of funny to put all that time into him for the draft and wait five years later but having him on our team five years later, we’re excited to get to work with him. I just loved how he played the position, especially in college. He got the ball to the right spot, didn’t take sacks, would hang in there and get hit to distribute the ball to his playmakers,” Shanahan told reporters. We’re pretty sure this is just complimentary coachspeak rather than some deep Brock Purdy Will Be Punished for Holding Out lore, but as Sam Darnold’s 49ers tenure taught us, anybody with a pulse in the 49ers quarterback room is going to get some public love.

The Week 15 ACL tear for McNeill will cut into his 2025 season as well, which isn’t surprising. McNeill is probably aiming for an October or November return at this point. The Lions will run out a trio of D.J. Reader, Levi Onwuzurike, and Roy Lopez in the interior until McNeill is cleared to return.

“Will it happen? I can’t dictate the draft,” Ballard continued. The Colts lost Kylen Granson to the Eagles in free agency and have not yet brought back Mo-Alie Cox, leaving them with a room of Drew Ogletree, Will Mallory, and Jelani Woods. Ogletree projects as the returning starter and profiles mostly as a blocker. Indianapolis feels like one of the surest bets in the league to take a tight end at some point in the draft, and more than a few draftniks have linked them to Penn State’s Tyler Warren in the first round.

“So, for me, the goal for Xavier Legette is let’s just take that next step. This is going to be his first offseason with us, from phase one all the way through, and I just love to see where that goes,” Canales continued. Legette certainly could be a post-hype sleeper candidate given the injuries he played through last year, but it wasn’t exactly an inspiring rookie year with a 49/497/4 receiving line in 16 games. The Panthers have every reason to want their 2024 first-rounder to be the man, but he’ll have to take a major leap forward in 2025 to become that caliber of player.

A ringing endorsement. “And obviously, Dallas Goedert has meant a lot to us. We’ll see how that plays out. He’s a heck of a football player, heck of a leader. Want to be able to have back as many guys as you possibly can, but that’s not the reality of the NFL,” Sirianni continued. There have been rumors of a Goedert trade all offseason and it wouldn’t be surprising — despite the fact that it would cost the Eagles cap space if it happened before June — if it happened soon.

After Moody missed 10-of-34 field-goal attempts last season, it would be a little silly not to. The 49ers’ kicker appears to be yet another cautionary tale against drafting kickers early. The former third-rounder was acceptable in his rookie season, hitting 21-of-25 attempts and a league-high 60 extra points, but has made just 16-of-29 attempts beyond 40 yards in his first two years. The competition is not on the roster yet, but the 49ers are likely waiting for the draft at this point to see if anyone they grade highly shakes loose.

In other words, the postseason format is coming to the regular season, guaranteeing both sides a chance to possess the ball once. Overtimes will remain 10 minutes in the regular season. NFL owners also approved bringing Sony’s Hawk-Eye technology to spot the ball in 2025, expanding instant replay assist, bringing touchbacks up to the 35-yard-line, and (on a trial basis) allowing free agents more contact with teams during the Two-Day Negotiation Period. These rule changes all seem broadly good for the game, though it remains to be seen how tedious instant replay will become in 2025 with even more expanded opportunities.

Shanahan expressed no concerns about McCaffrey’s 2025 status after he missed much of the 2024 season with an ongoing Achilles injury. CMC totaled 348 yards over four games last season, posting the lowest rushing success rate of his NFL career. Shanahan complimented Isaac Guerendo, who “ran harder as the year went, which is a good sign.” The team this offseason parted ways with RB Jordan Mason, who was traded to the Vikings. Guerendo started three games and averaged a healthy five yards per carry on 84 rushing attempts last season. He could be used as a complement to McCaffrey in 2025 if the Niners are intent on keeping the veteran healthy and upright in his ninth NFL season.

Rooney pointed to “positive signs” that Rodgers could finally be ready to sign with Pittsburgh after flaming out with the Jets last season. He added that the team would not wait “forever” for Rodgers to make his final decision. Rodgers, entering his age-41 season, reportedly meshed well with Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith in a March visit to the team facility. With the Giants signing Russell Wilson, the Steelers are the last viable landing spot for the mercurial veteran. The Vikings could change that calculus if they don’t commit to JJ McCarthy as their Week 1 starter, however.