The Jacksonville Jaguars are releasing defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi, NFL Network reported Monday on the veteran’s 29th birthday.
The move would save the team $3.5 million on the 2024 salary cap.
Fatukasi started 16 games in 2023 and recorded 24 tackles and two quarterback hits.
He has 163 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 19 QB hits in 75 games (52 starts) with the New York Jets (2018-21) and Jaguars. The Jets drafted him in the sixth round in 2018.
–Field Level Media
The New York Jets and running back Dalvin Cook mutually decided to part ways, NFL Network reported on Tuesday.
Cook, 28, is trying to catch on with a Super Bowl contender before the playoffs begin, according to the report.
The four-time Pro Bowler was linked to the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys during his free agency last summer, but he signed with the Jets to serve as a complementary back to Breece Hall with Aaron Rodgers helming the offense.
After Rodgers’ Achilles injury on the Jets’ first drive of the season, the team has stumbled to a 6-10 record with one week left in the regular season.
The Jets barely used Cook after giving him a one-year, $5.8 million guaranteed contract. After playing 27 offensive snaps (50 percent) in Week 1, Cook never played more than 19 snaps in a game again. He did not see the field in the Jets’ Week 17 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Cook had 67 rushing attempts for 214 yards this season and added 15 receptions for 78 yards over 15 games (one start). He did not score a touchdown.
In 88 career games (73 starts) for the Minnesota Vikings (2017-22) and Jets, Cook has rushed for 6,207 yards and 47 touchdowns and caught 236 passes for 1,872 yards and five TDs.
–Field Level Media
The Indianapolis Colts are reportedly cutting wideout Breshad Perriman, a former first-round draft pick.
Multiple outlets reported Monday on the impending release of Perriman, who signed with the Colts in June.
Perriman, who turns 30 on Sept. 10, caught four passes for 34 yards during the preseason.
The Baltimore Ravens selected Perriman with the 26th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
He has 145 receptions for 2,343 yards and 16 touchdowns in 80 games (25 starts) with the Ravens (2016-17), Cleveland Browns (2018), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019, 2021-22) and New York Jets (2020).
NFL teams have until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday to reduce their rosters to 53 players.
–Field Level Media
The Las Vegas Raiders released veteran tight end O.J. Howard, multiple outlets reported Tuesday.
The Raiders signed Howard to a one-year deal as a free agent in March, presumably to compete for the No. 1 tight end role following the trade of Darren Waller to the New York Giants.
But second-round draft pick Michael Mayer and returnee Jesper Horsted reportedly have impressed in the early days of training camp, sending Las Vegas in a different direction.
Howard, 28, a former first-round draft pick, caught 10 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games (10 starts) for the Houston Texans in 2022.
He has 129 catches and 1,882 yards receiving to go with 17 TDs in 72 career games (56 starts) with the Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2017-21), who selected him No. 19 overall in the 2017 draft.
Howard won Super Bowl LV with the Buccaneers following the 2020 season.
–Field Level Media
The Minnesota Vikings officially released running back Dalvin Cook on Friday after an unsuccessful last-ditch effort to trade the four-time Pro Bowl selection.
Coming off four straight 1,000-yard seasons, Cook is now free to sign with any other team after 4:01 p.m. ET on Friday.
Cook had $2 million guaranteed remaining on his contract with the Vikings, who will take a $5.1 million dead cap hit this season.
A second-round pick in 2017, Cook rushed for 5,993 yards and 47 touchdowns and added 221 receptions for 1,794 yards and five scores in 73 career games (72 starts) in Minnesota.
“I hold Dalvin in the highest regard and am grateful for his contributions on and off the field. Dalvin is a tough, dynamic player and a respected leader by his teammates, which was evident by his multiple seasons as a team captain,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said.
“… We appreciate Dalvin’s positivity, energy and leadership and will be pulling for him in the future.”
Rumored landing spots for Cook during the past couple of months have included the Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos.
Cook, who turns 28 in August, is recovering from offseason surgery to repair a shoulder injury that was originally sustained in 2019. His agency said in February that Cook is expected to be healthy for the start of the season.
The Vikings appear prepared to enter the 2023 season with Alexander Mattison as their lead back. The 2019 third-round pick rushed for 283 yards and five scores in 17 games last season. Ty Chandler and rookie DeWayne McBride are also on the depth chart.
Cook leaves Minnesota ranked third on the franchise rushing list behind Adrian Peterson and Robert Smith.
“Dalvin has been an incredible leader for this organization for years, and I quickly noticed how respected he is among everyone in our building,” general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. “I’m fortunate to have been around such an enjoyable, talented and hardworking person like him over the last year.
“He’s etched his name in Vikings history with his production on the field but also by consistently giving back to the Vikings Foundation. We are thankful for everything Dalvin brought to the Vikings and sincerely wish him all the best in his future.”
Vikings owner and chairman Zygi Wilf also released a statement following Cook’s release.
“Over the past six years, Dalvin has meant so much to our organization. His love for playing football in front of the Vikings fan base was evident, and that connection branched into the community where he made an impact around the Twin Cities,” Wilf said. “Dalvin helped us launch the Vikings Table food truck and was a constant advocate for the Minnesota Vikings Foundation. His leadership in the locker room and all-out effort on the field was undeniable and a key reason he was a multi-year team captain. We are extremely grateful for all Dalvin has done for the Vikings and look forward to welcoming him back as a Legend.”
–Field Level Media=
The Denver Broncos made a series of cap-saving moves Friday by releasing offensive lineman Graham Glasgow, cornerback Ronald Darby and running back Chase Edmonds, several outlets reported.
The release of Glasgow saves Denver $11 million, Darby saves the franchise $9.6 million and Edmonds saves it $5.9 million, according to reports.
Glasgow, 30, was entering the final year of a four-year, $44 million contract. He has played guard and center during his seven-year NFL career with the Detroit Lions (2016-19) and Broncos (2020-22). He appeared in all 17 games for Denver last season, starting 13.
Darby, 29, was a starting cornerback for the Broncos before suffering a season-ending torn ACL in Week 5. In two seasons with the Broncos, Darby had 67 tackles, a forced fumble and no interceptions across 16 games (all starts). He previously played for the Buffalo Bills (2015-16), Philadelphia Eagles (2017-19) and Washington (2020).
The Broncos acquired Edmonds, 26, from the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 1 in the trade that sent outside linebacker Bradley Chubb to Miami. Edmonds then suffered a high ankle sprain during Week 11 and returned in late December.
Edmonds only made five appearances and one start for the Broncos, taking 26 carries for 125 yards and catching six passes for 61 yards without a touchdown. In 70 career games (18 starts) with the Arizona Cardinals (2018-21), Miami and Denver, Edmonds has 401 rushing attempts for 1,796 yards and 11 touchdowns along with 144 receptions for 1,078 yards and six scores.
–Field Level Media
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will release veteran left tackle Donovan Smith, multiple outlets reported Tuesday.
The team selected Smith with a second-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, and he’s started all 124 games he’s played in. He missed four games to injury in 2022 — eight games in all in his eight seasons in Tampa.
By releasing Smith, the Buccaneers will save nearly $10 million in cap space, according to Spotrac.
The Buccaneers are $58.3 million over the salary cup, per OvertheCap.com.
Smith, 29, was entering the final season of a two-year, $31 million contract extension he signed in March 2021.
The Buccaneers also reportedly will release running back Leonard Fournette and tight end Cameron Brate when the new league year begins March 15.
–Field Level Media
The Atlanta Falcons released practice squad receiver Cameron Batson on Monday following his weekend arrest on five charges.
Batson, 27, was booked Saturday morning on charges of assault, battery, aggravated assault against an on-duty law enforcement officer, removal of weapon from a public official and driving/fleeing to elude capture, according to Fulton County jail records.
Atlanta police pulled Batson over on Interstate 75 at about 2 a.m. Saturday for allegedly speeding and failing to maintain his lane. Police attempted to take him into custody after determining he was inebriated and he “resisted and violently fought with the officer,” police said.
The officer fired his weapon during the altercation, hitting no one, before Batson returned to his truck and left the scene. Police say he crashed the vehicle a short time later and attempted to flee on foot before being arrested and taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
Undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2018, Batson spent four years with the Tennessee Titans (2018-21) and caught 22 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns in 27 games.
He was on Atlanta’s practice squad all season but was never activated for a regular season game.
–Field Level Media
The Las Vegas Raiders released safety Johnathan Abram, relegating the former starter to the waiver wire, multiple outlets reported Tuesday.
NFL Network said the team tried to trade Abram but couldn’t complete a deal before the Nov. 1 trade deadline.
Abram, 26, started the first six games of the season but lost his starting job, coming off the bench the past two games. On the season, he has 48 tackles and one pass defensed.
In 36 career games with the Raiders (34 starts), Abram has 255 tackles, 12 passes defensed and three interceptions.
The Raiders selected Abram, who played at Mississippi State, with the No. 27 overall pick in 2019. He was one of three first-round selections that year, after defensive end Clelin Ferrell (fourth overall) and running back Josh Jacobs (24th). The team also had declined Abram’s option.
At the conclusion of this season, the Raiders will have nothing to show for six first-round selections from the three drafts beginning in 2019.
Las Vegas declined the fifth-year options of both Jacobs and Ferrell. Their two first-rounders in 2020, Henry Ruggs III and Damon Arnette, were released amid off-field issues, and 2021 pick Alex Leatherwood also was cut for lack of production.
–Field Level Media
The defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams will open the 2022 NFL season at home against a leading contender in the AFC, the Buffalo Bills.
That was one of many missing pieces finalized Thursday when the NFL revealed the complete 272-game regular-season schedule. For the second straight season, the slate covers 18 weeks.
Teams have known the 17 opponents they will face since the end of the 2021 season, but the schedule reveal, complete with bye weeks and primetime broadcast assignments, has become a made-for-TV offseason event for the league.
The league announced a series of select games in the week-plus leading up to Thursday, including five international games to be played across London, Munich and Mexico City, and the Rams’ game against the Denver Broncos as part of the first-ever Christmas Day tripleheader.
Among other Week 1 fixtures, the unretired Tom Brady and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers will hit the road to play the Dallas Cowboys for the first “Sunday Night Football” game of the year, and the Broncos will visit the Seattle Seahawks on “Monday Night Football,” making quarterback Russell Wilson’s first game with the Broncos coincide with his return to Seattle after 10 seasons.
The Kansas City Chiefs will host the Bills in Week 8 in a rematch of the 2020 AFC Championship Game and a 2021 AFC Divisional Round playoff game, both of which were high-scoring instant classics. The Chiefs won both meetings, the latter in overtime.
The Chiefs will also get another swipe at the Buccaneers when they play at Tampa Bay in Week 4 on “Sunday Night Football” in a rematch of Super Bowl LV, in which Brady’s Bucs defeated Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs.
The rest of the Christmas tripleheader will contain the Green Bay Packers at the Miami Dolphins and the Buccaneers at the Arizona Cardinals. Broncos-Rams will be the second game of the three.
The full Week 1 schedule is below (all times ET):
Sept. 8
Buffalo at L.A. Rams, 8:20 p.m.
Sept. 11
New Orleans at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Cleveland at Carolina, 1 p.m.
San Francisco at Chicago, 1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Philadelphia at Detroit, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis at Houston, 1 p.m.
New England at Miami, 1 p.m.
Baltimore at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.
Jacksonville at Washington, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at Tennessee, 4:25 p.m.
Kansas City at Arizona, 4:25 p.m.
Las Vegas at L.A. Chargers, 4:25 p.m.
Green Bay at Minnesota, 4:25 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Dallas, 8:20 p.m.
Sept. 12
Denver at Seattle, 8:15 p.m.
–Field Level Media