Teams finalized 53-man squads, sparking rapid fantasy football shifts across multiple franchises.
NFL front offices faced a strict Sunday deadline to trim their rosters from 90 players down to the mandated 53-man limit, forcing difficult personnel choices across the league.
The deadline for all 32 NFL teams to finalize their 53-man rosters was Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. Waiver claims are due by Monday at 1 p.m. ET. This means plenty of decisions are being made at football headquarters in order to trim the roster from the 90-man squad mandated during training camp to 53 players.
Josh Jacobs Placed on Commissioner’s Exempt List in Green Bay
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs will not practice or play for the team for the foreseeable future. Brown County prosecutors formally charged Jacobs with misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor criminal damage to property after an altercation at his residence involving a woman. Those charges followed an initial arrest on five counts, including one felony, which prosecutors later reduced. Jacobs was originally arrested May 26 on five counts, including one felony.
The NFL has placed Jacobs on the commissioner’s exempt list, according to ESPN ‘s Adam Schefter. That status means Jacobs can’t practice or play for Green Bay while the legal and disciplinary process continues, though he’ll still receive his salary during that stretch. Last week Jacobs was charged with battery and criminal damage to property, both misdemeanors, by the Brown County (Wis.) district attorney,
Schefter wrote.
Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, time spent by a player on the commissioner’s exempt list counts toward any subsequent suspension imposed by the league, provided the player return and shall have no further right to any salary for the games for which he was paid while on the commissioner exempt list that were credited to the suspension.
In layman’s terms, Jacobs could be credited with “time served” if he is on the exempt list during the season and a suspension is later handed out. While Jacobs continues to collect his salary during his absence, his legal troubles leave his status with the franchise entirely uncertain. Jacobs ranked 37th in rush yards over expected last year and was not efficient, with his calling card previously being reliability.
Packers Backfield Shifts to Marshawn Lloyd and Kaleb Johnson
Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst admitted that the franchise had anticipated potential disciplinary action against their veteran running back. We’ve obviously been preparing for that in case that happens,
Gutekunst said. But at the same time, I feel really good about the guys we have in that room.
That preparation included trading for former Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson. Head coach Matt LaFleur had stopped short of guaranteeing Jacobs would play Week 1 even before Sunday’s ruling, telling reporters Friday, I can’t really comment on that, because I don’t know.
Green Bay now turns to a backfield built around Johnson, MarShawn Lloyd, and Chris Brooks.
In the meantime, Marshawn Lloyd will serve as the Packers’ starting running back. Lloyd has had an excellent, and more importantly, healthy offseason. Lloyd only ran the ball 116 times in his final season of college ball, but at 7.1 yards per carry, he turned that workload into 820 yards on the ground. Lloyd also averaged 17.8 yards per catch, going for 232 yards on just 13 grabs.
Cowboys Trade for Broderick Jones and Cut Jaydon Blue
In other significant roster maneuvers, the Dallas Cowboys engineered a notable trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are trading Broderick Jones and a future fourth-round pick to the Cowboys in exchange for a third- and sixth- round selection, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Saturday. Jones, a 2023 first-round pick, underwent spinal fusion surgery after suffering a Week 12 neck injury that ended his 2025 season, but he was cleared for the start of training camp. Last week’s game against the Jets was particularly ugly with five QB pressures and two sacks allowed, per Next Gen Stats.
Meanwhile, Dallas parted ways with running back Jaydon Blue. The Cowboys cut list also featured running back Phil Mafah, alongside Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Traeshon Holden, Denzel Mims, Jaden Smith, Israel Abanikanda, Jashaun Corbin, Zack Kuntz, Mitch Van Vooren, Michael Trigg, Chris Glaser, Trevor Keegan, Sebastian Gutierre, Shiyazh Pete, DJ Wingfield, Marcellus Johnson, Langston Patterson, Sam Williams, Kelvin Gilliam, Jay Toia, Josh Butler, Zion Childress, and Reddy Steward.
