NFL Player News

Heinicke announced his retirement Thursday, Ben Standig of Big 100 Washington D.C. reports.

Heinicke signed with the Chargers last year but lost the backup job battle to Trey Lance, leading to his release in August of 2025. The Old Dominion product never found a new landing spot, and he chose to hang up the cleats after an unlikely but highly interesting NFL career. Heinicke went undrafted in 2015 and didn't start a game until 2018 with the Panthers. He ended up joining the XFL in 2020 where he reinvigorated his career, eventually signing with Washington and starting 15 games during the 2021 season. Heinicke finished with a career record of 13-15-1 while completing 62.5 percent of his passes for 6,663 yards, 39 touchdowns and 28 interceptions through 42 games (29 starts).

Prentice signed with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent Thursday, Kassidy Hill of the team's official site reports.

Prentice had a decent freshman season at Alabama with a 31-337-2 line over 13 games, but he never really progressed from there, topping out at 380 yards and six touchdowns as a senior at Baylor. He's undersized (5-foot-10, 184 pounds) but showcased 4.37 40-yard dash at his pro day, and he'll need to make an impact on special teams to have a chance at the 53-man roster.

The Cardinals waived Baccellia (neck) with a failed physical designation Thursday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Baccellia played five games with the Cardinals last season before he was stretchered off the field in Week 15 due to a neck injury he sustained while returning a kick. The 29-year-old has been unable to shake off this injury and will head to waivers.

Rourke (knee) will participate in rookie minicamp starting Friday, David Lombardi of SFStandard.com reports.

Rourke was drafted in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but because he spent the entire season on the reserve/non-football injury list as he recovered from a torn ACL he suffered in his final year at Indiana, he'll be eligible to participate in rookie minicamp. According to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, Rourke is competing with Adrian Martinez -- who has played one snap since entering the league in 2023 -- to be the No. 3 QB behind Brock Purdy and Mac Jones.

Harris (foot) reported to the Saints' rookie minicamp Thursday, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports.

Harris underwent foot surgery in March and isn't expected to participate this week after having signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent. If he's unable to suit up this week, his next chance will be in OTAs starting May 27.

The Colts released Moore on Thursday, JJ Stankevitz of the team's official site reports.

Back in April, Moore and the Colts mutually agreed to seek a trade for the veteran cornerback. With a $13.2 million cap hit in tow, the Colts were unable to find a taker, so they cut Moore outright. Moore was one of the league's premier slot corners in his prime. While he's set to turn 31 years old in August, he still averaged 50.9 defensive snaps per game last year, finishing with 55 tackles, six pass breakups, 1.5 sacks and a pick-six through 14 games. The undrafted cornerback who started his pro career in 2017 should have plenty of interested parties in free agency.

Pitts signed his franchise tender with the Falcons for the 2026 season Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Pitts thus is locked in for the coming campaign at a salary of $15.045 million. After posting 1,026 receiving yards as a rookie first-round pick in 2021, the tight end has fallen short of 1,000 yards in each of his subsequent four seasons, but he bounced back last year with an 88-928-5 line on 118 targets in 17 regular-season games. Pitts' potential signal-callers for 2026 are Michael Penix (knee) and newcomer Tua Tagovailoa, who will be competing for the starting job during the offseason program through the preseason.

The Bears waived Frazier on Thursday, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Frazier, whom the Bears took in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, subsequently sat out all of last season after being placed on the non-football injury/illness list due a personal issue. Finley notes that in January, GM Ryan Poles said that Frazier had a "mountain to climb" to contribute in 2026 because he missed so much time last season. "He needed to play." Since then, the Bears added depth at Frazier's position by making fellow cornerback Malik Muhammad a fourth-round selection in last month's NFL Draft.

With regard to the right shoulder issue he managed ahead of Super Bowl LX, Maye noted Wednesday that he's doing "great," ESPN.com reports.

Mike Reiss of ESPN previously reported that Maye said he received a pain-killing injection for his throwing shoulder before his team's loss to the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, a game in which the QB completed 27 of 43 passing attempts for 295 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Since then, Maye indicates that he's had "no problems at all" on that front while confirming that he didn't require an offseason procedure. As the coming campaign approaches, the Patriots return a number of the key skill players that Maye worked with in 2025, with free-agent addition Romeo Doubs representing a notable addition to a wide receiver corps that no longer includes Stefon Diggs. Additionally, there's plenty of speculation that A.J. Brown could be headed to New England (via a trade with Philadelphia) on or after June 1, and if that ends up being the case, Maye's 2026 fantasy prospects would be boosted by the addition of a true WR1.

The 49ers' selection of Stribling at No. 33 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft was partially motivated by the organization's strong belief in his personality, leadership and work ethic, according to Matt Barrow of The Athletic.

It also doesn't hurt to have 4.36 speed at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds. Mock drafters nonetheless projected Stribling as a mid-round pick, for the most part, due to concerns about age (24 in December) and his lack of an elite statistical season in college (career highs of 882 yards and six TDs). Reasonable arguments both, though the latter concern is somewhat mitigated by his combination of early success (44-471-5 in 2021 at Washington State) and strong cumulative production (2,964 career receiving yards across three schools). It sounds like the 49ers are even more impressed by Stribling's intangibles/personality, having given him their "gold helmet" label -- a designation they use each year for a handful of prospects viewed as the best culture fits. The franchise clearly is invested in Stribling's success, but his immediate future may entail a not-so-glamorous competition for the No. 3 WR job in an offense that prefers FB Kyle Juszczyk over a third WR outside of clear passing situations. The 49ers also have Christian Kirk, Demarcus Robinson and 2025 fourth-round pick Jordan Watkins hoping to compete for depth roles behind Mike Evans and Ricky Pearsall, both of whom missed large portions of 2025.