• Travis Hunter logs snaps on defense at Jaguars camp: After spending most of his time with the offense in OTAs and minicamp, Hunter got his first significant defensive work Friday.

• Raiders cut ties with star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins: Wilkins, a prized free agent last offseason, was released just one year into a four-year, $110 million contract after a reported dispute with the team about how to handle his foot injury.

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The Las Vegas Raiders released defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, just one year into a four-year, $110 million contract he signed with the team last offseason.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, “the Raiders voided the remaining $35.2 million of guaranteed money left on Wilkins’ contract last month.” Wilkins appeared in just five games in 2024 before he was shut down for the season. He endured some complications in his rehab heading into this year after he denied undergoing surgery to correct the injury, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Prior to last season, Wilkins was one of the most durable players in the NFL. The former first-round pick out of Clemson did not miss a game across three seasons from 2021 to 2023. The Raiders drafted two interior defenders in this year’s draft (Tonka Hemingway and JJ Pegues), and will need immediate contributions from them if they are going to improve their 30th-ranked team PFF defense grade (57.3) from last season. 

LB Jordan Hicks retires after 10 NFL seasons

Cleveland Browns linebacker Jordan Hicks announced his retirement after 10 seasons with four different organizations.

The former third-round pick had an excellent career, ranking among the top 12 linebackers in PFF overall grade four times. The best year of his career came as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2016, when he finished with a career-high 88.4 PFF overall grade and recorded eight combined interceptions and pass breakups while allowing just a 53.7 passer rating into his coverage.

Hicks’ retirement leaves the Browns shorthanded at linebacker heading into the season. The team already lost Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah for the year to a neck injury. Rookie second-round pick Carson Schwesinger will likely be asked to step in and play a pivotal role from day one.

Jaguars WR/CB Travis Hunter splitting reps between offense and defense at camp

Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter worked with the defense Friday after spending the first two days of training camp on offense.

The Jaguars traded up to select Hunter second overall in this year’s draft. The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner spent most of his time with the offense in OTAs and minicamp because of the complexity of the offense. 

In his last season at Colorado, Hunter played 753 snaps on offense and 776 snaps on defense, making him one of the most elite, and versatile, talents the college game has ever seen. Players who can line up on both sides of the ball at the NFL level are a rare breed, but the Jaguars are giving Hunter every opportunity to earn those reps early on in camp.

Steelers sign veteran S Chuck Clark

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed safety Chuck Clark on Friday.

Clark will help shore up the team’s safety unit following the trade of Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins earlier this month. Currently, DeShon Elliott (71.1 PFF grade last year) and Juan Thornhill (65.5) are projected to be Pittsburgh’s starting safeties heading into the season.

Clark struggled in his only season with the Jets last year, finishing with a 50.2 PFF overall grade, which ranked 92nd out of 98 qualifying safeties. He was a strong run defender (70.5) but notched a career-low PFF coverage grade (45.1) after allowing four touchdowns through the air.

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