NFL Player News

Randolph (6'4/296) is a deliberate mover who is solely focused on his single gap assignment, resulting in 144 tackles over the last three years. He lined up as the 4i away from the back for Illinois, holding down a spot across from Jer’Zhan Newton. The two-time All-Big Ten honoree does not have the burst to be a disruptive penetrator. Rather, his go-to approach is to work a blocker with technique and maintain gap integrity. Randolph is only an average athlete with average size, scoring below the 60th percentile in all of the standard Combine events for a middling 4.83 RAS. Without a true winner of a trait, he will have to demonstrate versatility and leadership to stick on the roster of whichever team drafts him. While the motor runs hot, Randolph’s closing ability leaves much to be desired. This likely resulted from the rapid physical development he experienced since high school, gaining almost 80 pounds. This development does show up in his anchor, however, as he maintains good play leverage and rarely gives up his body leverage. Randolph projects best as a rotational early-down run stopper from the three tech in an even front. Perhaps losing weight will allow him to better fit as a five tech in an odd front.

Per ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, Waddle viewed his hand-eye coordination as an area that “needed immediate improvement.” We agree. Although Waddle’s six drops last year tied for his career low, they led all Dolphins pass catchers and his 9.4 percent drop rate was just 0.2 percent under his career high. Louis-Jacques also notes, “these practices have also proven to be valuable reps for Waddle with Tagovailoa. Waddle is operating as the team’s No. 1 WR with Tyreek Hill (wrist) sidelined, which Tagovailoa said has allowed him and Waddle to “grow [their] chemistry.” Head coach Mike McDaniel adds that Waddle’s offseason performance is an “example of the culture the team is trying to build in 2025.” If Waddle can continue asserting himself as the team’s No. 1 WR in training camp and the preseason, a WR1 season-long finish is possible.

Both Poles and head coach Ben Johnson are now under contract through the 2029 NFL season. Ownership was evidently pleased by the duo’s first offseason together and decided to keep the partnership intact for the foreseeable future. Poles still had two years left on his past deal, at the time of today’s signing.

How the Jaguars will utilize Hunter’s two-way ability remains a mystery. Still, Robinson believes the No. 2 overall pick will see more than his fair share of snaps on offense after spending “the majority of minicamp lining up as receiver.” Robinson adds that Hunter is also adding weight after weighing in at 188 pounds at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine. Hunter caught 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns during his final season at Colorado while averaging 13.1 YPR. He figues to be featured on most passing plays opposite Brian Thomas Jr. and could earn a significant role early in Liam Coen’s passing attack.

The buzz continues to build around McCaffrey, who battled through bilateral Achilles tendinitis last season and was limited to just four games after suffering a PCL sprain in Week 13. McCaffrey, 29, totaled just 348 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown last season, but totaled 2,023 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2023. Assuming he stays healthy this season, McCaffrey has the chance to be poised for another big season. The veteran running back has averaged 22.1 PPR points per game in 31 games with the 49ers since being traded to them midway through the 2022 season. He’s still a three-down threat who possesses elite pass-catching upside, and could see a workload similar to 2023, when he led the league with 339 touches. As McCaffrey’s ADP continues to creep higher into the first round, it sounds like there is little reason to fade him at this point in time.

Maiocco said Aiyuk is doing well in his ACL and MCL injury recovery, saying the knee is ahead of schedule. However, the 49ers “want to be extra cautious with him” and “the feeling inside the organization has always been don’t take any chances.” Maiocco expects Aiyuk to be placed on the PUP list when veterans report to training camp on July 22 and to remain on the PUP list when the regular season begins. Returning in Week 5 or Week 6 is “quite possible” and Maiocco believes Aiyuk will get up to speed quickly.

There is more to learn about Harris’ injury specifics and his road to recovery, but this is good news. A surface-level injury suffered by the eye is, of course, different than an elbow abrasion. But from a vision standpoint, Harris is seemingly expected to be in football shape come September after suffering an eye injury that resulted in two hospital visits just last weekend. We will wait for more details to fully assess his 2025 outlook, though it stands to reason that the coaching staff would ease him into action in training camp.

The incident reportedly occurred at 12:20 a.m. on July 5. Per the report, “the nature and severity of Harris’ injury could not immediately be verified” and “officials said that other people had been hurt in the blast, but did not specify their number or how severely any of them had been injured.” Harris reportedly visited two hospitals following the accident. Neither the mode of transport nor the reason for the relocation was shared. Rumors swirled online and locally earlier today about the nature of the injury, but details have been difficult to come by and Antioch police said on Thursday they were still investigating the incident actively.

Robinson was ordered to pay a $390 fine and to complete court-mandated programs, including a three-month alcohol education program. He was arrested in November 2024 after being observed by police officers driving more than 100 MPH. The arrest occurred while Robinson was a member of the Rams. Robinson could still be suspended by the league, but the commissioner’s office hasn’t taken any action yet. The 49ers reportedly knew that a suspension was possible when they signed him this offseason.

Last August, the NFL approved just “three private equity firms and a consortium of firms” as potential NFL-team investors, for minority stakes that are not to exceed 10.0 percent. The Carlyle Group is one such firm, where Howell works as an “operations executive in The Carlyle Group’s aerospace and defense investment team.” He earned $3.4 million in the role last year. Although Howell’s department does not directly overlap with a potential NFL investment, a union lawyer asked him “to consider resigning from the private equity firm to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.” Howell also notably serves on three boards of directors, including GE HealthCare, Moody’s and ManTech, earning six-figure compensation with at least two of them. Per the report, “longtime union observers and executives said they find it baffling that Howell would continue to work at The Carlyle Group while leading the union,” and Jim Quinn, the NFLPA’s former lead outside counsel, notes that neither of Howell’s predecessors were allowed to be paid for outside work. The NFLPA recently “struck a confidentiality agreement with the NFL to keep the details of a January arbitration ruling under wraps from players,” following an investigation into potential top-down collusion regarding player salary guarantees. Last month, the union reportedly hired a law firm “to work with a special committee of players to review Howell’s activities as the executive director,” after ESPN broke, in May, that “the FBI and federal prosecutors are investigating the union’s financial dealings related to a multibillion-dollar group-licensing firm,” which Howell holds a board seat on.

Undrafted free agents always have an uphill climb toward a spot on the 53-player roster. Nash intrigued the dynasty community by leading 2024 FBS wide receivers in targets (171), receptions (104), yards (1,382) and receiving touchdowns (16). McElhaney projects Drake London, Darnell Mooney, Ray-Ray McCloud and KhaDarel Hodge are locked in as the Falcons’ top four wide receivers. WR/KR Jamal Agnew “could be the Falcons’ return man.” WRs Chris Blair and Casey Washington could also be ahead of Nash. He is not relevant in re-draft formats at this time.