Chairshot NFL News Report (9/4/2026): Wilson Gets Paid, Bears Get Scared & Richardson Settles for QB2

Michael Wilson lands a $75M extension, D’Andre Swift and Rome Odunze leave Bears practice and Anthony Richardson wins the Colts backup job.

Arizona made sure one of its breakout offensive players isn’t going anywhere.

Michael Wilson signed a three-year extension with the Cardinals on Thursday after producing the first 1,000-yard season of his career. Meanwhile, Chicago received a double injury scare when D’Andre Swift and Rome Odunze left practice, Baltimore welcomed Zay Flowers back and Indianapolis finally determined where Anthony Richardson sits on its quarterback depth chart.

It’s the Chairshot NFL News Report for September 4, 2026!

Cardinals Give Michael Wilson a $75 Million Extension

The Arizona Cardinals signed Michael Wilson to a three-year contract extension Thursday that keeps the wide receiver under contract through the 2029 season. ESPN reported the deal is worth $75 million with $47 million guaranteed. Wilson earned the extension after catching 78 passes for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025, including 56 receptions for 775 yards and six touchdowns over Arizona’s final eight games.

Arizona is paying for what Wilson became rather than what he was originally expected to be.

The 2023 third-round pick spent his first two seasons looking like a useful complementary receiver before exploding once Jacoby Brissett took over at quarterback last season. That second-half production changed the conversation entirely.

There is risk in guaranteeing $47 million based heavily on one breakout season, but there is also risk in waiting another year and discovering the price has gone significantly higher.

Arizona chose its side. Wilson is now being paid like a core offensive piece, which means 2026 becomes the season where he proves that last year’s finish established his new baseline rather than representing the best eight-game stretch of his career.

D’Andre Swift and Rome Odunze Leave Bears Practice

Chicago received a pair of scares Thursday when running back D’Andre Swift and receiver Rome Odunze both left practice. Swift exited late after experiencing what was reported as cramping, while Odunze left with an apparent injury after being examined by trainers. The Bears do not play Carolina until September 13, giving both players more than a week before the opener.

Chicago has enough time to evaluate both players without immediately making a game-status determination, and the early information on Swift sounds much less alarming than it initially appeared when he left practice.

Odunze is the one worth watching more closely simply because the exact nature of his issue remains unclear.

Week 1 injury reports haven’t even begun yet, but Chicago just received a reminder that getting through the preseason healthy doesn’t guarantee everybody reaches opening weekend that way.

Anthony Richardson Is Officially Indianapolis’ Backup

Colts coach Shane Steichen announced Thursday that Anthony Richardson will serve as Indianapolis’ backup quarterback behind Daniel Jones after beating Riley Leonard for the QB2 job. Richardson, the fourth overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, requested a trade during the offseason but remained with Indianapolis and completed 63.6 percent of his preseason passes for 249 yards while adding 68 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Four years after Indianapolis drafted Richardson to become its franchise quarterback, winning the backup competition qualifies as progress.

Richardson deserves credit for handling an uncomfortable summer professionally after requesting a trade, but the larger story hasn’t changed. The Colts once built their future around his physical upside and now enter another season with Daniel Jones ahead of him.

There are worse backup quarterbacks to have because Richardson’s athletic ability can change a game immediately. There are also few backup situations carrying this much unresolved history.

If Jones struggles, every incomplete pass will make Richardson’s presence on the sideline more noticeable.

Zay Flowers Returns to Ravens Practice

Baltimore receiver Zay Flowers returned to practice Thursday for the first time in roughly two weeks after dealing with an injury. Defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike also progressed into team drills while working back from a neck issue and remains day-to-day ahead of Baltimore’s opener against Indianapolis.

Flowers returning now gives Baltimore plenty of runway before Week 1.

The Ravens don’t need him proving anything during practice in early September. They need their most explosive receiver healthy once the games count.

Madubuike’s progression is similarly encouraging because Baltimore can begin increasing his workload without compressing the process into the final few days before the opener.

For a team with legitimate AFC expectations, Thursday was exactly the kind of boring injury update Baltimore wanted.

Cowboys Create More Than $19 Million in Cap Space

Dallas restructured the contracts of Jake Ferguson, Kenny Clark and DaRon Bland on Thursday, creating a little more than $19 million in salary-cap space. The Cowboys also confirmed that veteran pass rusher Von Miller will wear No. 40 during his first season in Dallas, while rookie safety Caleb Downs will remain in No. 13.

Creating cap room in September does not automatically mean another major move is coming. It does, however, give Dallas flexibility.

The Cowboys can carry unused space forward, accommodate an in-season acquisition or absorb unexpected roster needs once injuries begin reshaping depth charts. That’s considerably easier than trying to manufacture flexibility after another team already knows Dallas desperately needs it.

The interesting part now is whether Dallas actually intends to spend any of it.

49ers Head to Australia Without Sam Okuayinonu

San Francisco departed for Australia on Thursday without defensive end Sam Okuayinonu, who is dealing with a foot injury and is considered questionable for the 49ers’ Week 1 game. The trip comes as Nick Bosa continues working his way back after returning to practice this week.

The unusual travel schedule makes every injury slightly more complicated.

A normal Week 1 road game allows teams to keep evaluating a questionable player almost until kickoff. Australia requires San Francisco to make logistical decisions much earlier, and leaving Okuayinonu behind makes his chances of playing fairly obvious regardless of the official designation.

That places a little more importance on Bosa’s continued progress.

San Francisco doesn’t need peak Nick Bosa immediately. It would certainly prefer not to enter an international opener simultaneously short on pass-rush depth.

Thursday’s NFL Roster Moves

Teams continued adjusting practice squads and creating flexibility Thursday as Week 1 preparation moved closer.

• Arizona Cardinals – Signed CB D’Shawn Jamison to practice squad
• Baltimore Ravens – Signed OL Chuma Edoga to practice squad
• Baltimore Ravens – Signed CB Lardarius Webb Jr. to practice squad
• Baltimore Ravens – Released OL Nick Dawkins from practice squad
• Baltimore Ravens – Released CB Amani Oruwariye from practice squad
• Carolina Panthers – Signed RB Ahmani Marshall to practice squad
• Cleveland Browns – Signed Michael Coats Jr. to practice squad
• Dallas Cowboys – Signed QB Joe Milton III to practice squad
• Houston Texans – Signed OL Max Pircher to practice squad through the International Player Pathway Program
• Seattle Seahawks – Signed OL Bobby Hart to practice squad
• Seattle Seahawks – Released DL Uso Seumalo from practice squad

Arizona decided Michael Wilson is part of its future and paid accordingly. Indianapolis officially acknowledged where Anthony Richardson stands in its present. Baltimore got healthier, while Chicago suddenly has two offensive starters worth watching over the next several practices.

The NFL has reached the point where every practice absence, contract restructure and depth-chart decision begins carrying consequences that extend beyond August roster construction. The next round of updates will be the official Week 1 injury reports, and that’s when “probably fine” starts turning into actual game-status designations.

This report includes information from: AZCardinals.com, NFL.com, Reuters.com, CBSSports.com, and YahooSports.com.