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Hypothetical NFL expansion: Which players would be unprotected?

It seems inevitable that, one day, the NFL will add at least one expansion team. Probably more than one—maybe four or more. Cities like San Antonio, London, Toronto, Portland, Salt Lake City and St. Louis all seem like top candidates to earn a new squad.

Our writer Wendell Ferreira is prepared for this exact scenario, and plans to do a mock expansion draft soon for a hypothetical 33rd NFL team. In the meantime, we’ve had several staffers analyze a handful of teams, noting which players would be “unprotected” in a potential expansion draft.

Before highlighting notable players, here’s a look at what an expansion draft would look like:

• Each NFL team would leave 12 players unprotected.
• ⁠Players with 0-1 accrued seasons and players with no-trade clauses would be automatically protected.
• Players taken would have their future salaries and signing bonus prorations absorbed by the new team.
• ⁠The expansion team would get a maximum of two players from each NFL team, and a maximum of 40 players total.

With those rules in mind, let’s look at some notable players that’d be available:

Chicago Bears: Receiver Tyler Scott and defensive tackles Chris Williams and Johnathan Ford stood out. “There were some tough calls such as Zacch Pickens getting kept over Chris Williams and Johnathan Ford,” said A to Z Sports writer Kole Noble. “Or Tyler Scott getting left off the list in favor of Devin Duvernay and Olamide Zaccheaus. Overall, these 12 players aren't critical pieces to this roster. Any of the final six protected players could have easily been left unprotected as well, making this a difficult process.”

Cincinnati Bengals: Linebacker Germaine Pratt stood out as the biggest name here. “The most notable name here is Pratt, who requested a trade earlier this offseason and is currently away from the team,” writer John Sheeran said. “Writing is all over the wall regarding his eventual release, but Cincinnati is clearly still holding out hope another team swoops in with an offer.”

Dallas Cowboys: Lots of notable names here, including running back Miles Sanders. Cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. was an interesting one, too. “Booth Jr. was a Mike Zimmer addition and he didn't do great on the field in 2024,” our guy Mauricio Rodriguez noted. “He's probably one of the cornerbacks the Cowboys would be willing to risk.”

Detroit Lions: Defensive lineman D.J. Reader was the biggest name for writer Mike Payton. “The Lions don't really have any big contracts with veteran players that they would struggle to get out of, other than this one,” he said. “Reader is a solid player, but it's not hard to think that he would potentially be a surprise cut this summer if he didn't have a contract that would require the Lions to pay a little over $5 million in dead cap if they made the move. He also has three void years attached that the Lions would probably love to get out of. This fake team would be their chance, and they'd take it.”

Green Bay Packers: Wendell put this one together, highlighting guys like WR Mecole Hardman and long snapper Matt Orzech. “This is probably a little bit riskier, since Orzech is the only starter on the list,” he said. “However, long snapper is not the biggest example of a valuable position, and hopefully other teams would expose their long snappers as well.”

Minnesota Vikings: Players like quarterback Brett Rypien, RB Ty Chandler and WR Rondale Moore were on this list. “One element the Vikings can't take advantage of is trying to dump a bad contract,” says writer Tyler Forness. “Right now, the Vikings don't have any bad contracts on their books to try and dump, as it's been a classic move for teams to do in previous expansion drafts.”

San Francisco 49ers: Wendell also threw this one together. He highlighted edge rusher Yetur Gross-Matos as the biggest name from the Niners: “Gross-Matos is probably better than the usual exposed player, but this has a financial motivation. The expansion team would absorb not only what the 49ers have to pay him, but also the prorated cap hit as well. The move would clear up $9.473 million in cap space for the Niners in 2025 and $4.959 million in 2026, a void year, so it's a big incentive.”

➡️ Keep an eye out for our next newsletter on Tuesday, June 3, which will highlight Wendell’s full mock expansion draft.

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Projected Team USA flag football roster

With NFL owners voting to allow active players to participate in flag football during the 2028 Summer Olympics, speculation has run rampant on which players could end up representing the U.S. in the games.

Our guy Tyler Forness considered the rules of the game as well as the size of the Olympic rosters to project Team USA’s 2028 squad. Here’s a few highlights from his assembled team:

Quarterback

• Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)
• Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders)

“I don't love the idea of having two roster spots dedicated to quarterback, but you can't enter the Olympics a single injury from losing the gold medal. What we did here is prioritize athletic, accurate quarterbacks who can throw on the move and give you some flexibility to use them in other roles. Jackson and Daniels fit the exact prototype you'd want in a flag football setting. They can attack you down the field while also being great with the ball in his hands.”

Wide receiver

• Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings)
• Tyreek Hill (Miami Dolphins)
• Malik Nabers (New York Giants)

“There are two top wide receivers who didn't make the list. A.J. Brown and Ja'Marr Chase. Both are great players in their own right and arguably the second and third-best receivers in the NFL, but they lack the elite lateral movement skills that these three have. Jefferson, Hill, and Nabers can play all across the line of scrimmage, juke defenders out of their shoes, and challenge you both horizontally vertically. Those elements are all important in making an impact in the passing game.”

Hybrid player

• Travis Hunter (Jacksonville Jaguars)

“When you play NFL Street, you have to have players who can play both ways. The easiest way to accomplish this is by adding a Heisman Trophy winner who thrived in both areas. Hunter won the Biletnikoff Award as the best wide receiver in college football last year and has some of the best instincts in coverage that I've ever seen coming out of the college game. Being able to play on both sides of the football is incredibly important when constructing such a small roster.”

Pass rushers

• Micah Parsons (Dallas Cowboys)
• Fred Warner (San Francisco 49ers)

“This is a very interesting group, especially because one of the players isn't a traditional pass rusher. However, You want players who can both pressure the quarterback and also play in space. Parsons is one of the best edge rushers in the NFL, but he started out his college career playing off-ball linebacker. He can drop into coverage and attack the quarterback. Warner is a tremendous coverage linebacker who can also thrive as a blitzer. Want someone who can chase down the quarterback and run the pole in Tampa-2? Warner is your guy.”

Projected US Olympic men’s Flag Football team highlighted by Lamar Jackson and Justin Jefferson, including some surprises

This team could take the gold medal in 2028

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