Second-year Saints tight end Dallin Holker announces his retirement
Instead, Holker announced on his personal Instagram account that he is retiring from football:
I can't thank God enough for the opportunity to live out my dream. I'm incredibly grateful for my amazing wife and family — your love and support have meant everything throughout this journey.
After a lot of prayer and conversations with my family and representatives, I've decided to retire from football.
I want to thank the New Orleans Saints, Colorado State, BYU, and Lehi High School for believing in me and giving me the chance to chase a dream I've had since I was a kid.
Over the past 15 years, football has given me unforgettable memories and lifelong relationships with teammates and coaches — things I'll always hold close.
Football will always be a part of me, but I'm excited to see what this next chapter holds.
This year should've been Holker's best chance to stick around with injuries to both Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill, who will start training camp on PUP. It's worth mentioning that Holker dealt with his own ankle injury during minicamp earlier this offseason, and that may have played a part in his decision.
Holker's most notable moment came in last season's finale, when he caught two of his three total receptions on the year for 11 yards against Tampa Bay. He ends his brief tenure in New Orleans with three catches for 21 yards and no touchdowns. Good luck to him in what's next.
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After Shelton took their relationship public with his March 18, 2025 Instagram post, Rodman returned the favor by posting an adorable photo on social media, too. The picture showed Rodman gazing up at her tennis pro boyfriend, whose face was hidden by a baseball cap. Tagging Shelton in the photo, Rodman captioned her March 27 Instagram post, 'Dibs.' Shelton commented on the post, writing, 'Whoever that is he won [for sure].' From that point on, the romance between the two athletes seems to have only grown stronger. For instance, in an Instagram carousel posted on April 5, 2025, Shelton shared a short clip as he walked alongside Rodman, captioning the post, 'In n out of times zones,' suggesting they were traveling together. The public's excitement about the romance wasn't lost on Rodman and Shelton. 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The same month, Rodman shared a TikTok video of herself hugging her boyfriend, with the caption, 'My safety make everyday better.' In April 2025, celebrated Olympian Rodman traveled to Munich in support of Shelton, who made it all the way to the men's singles final in the BMW Open 2025. Rodman made her debut in the player's box when Shelton beat Francisco Cerundolo in the men's singles semi-final, and was spotted talking to her boyfriend's dad, Bryan Shelton, during the competition. 'She's a good luck charm,' @tennischannel wrote on Instagram. Although Shelton ultimately lost the final to Germany's Alexander Zverev, Rodman's presence at the tournament made their relationship status quite clear. In July 2025, Shelton made it to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, where he ultimately lost to Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner. Rodman supported her boyfriend at the tournament in London, and she also criticized commentators for calling her the wrong name and mentioning her estranged dad, former NBA player Dennis Rodman. 'For those who don't name is TRINITY not Tiffany,' Rodman wrote on her Instagram Stories, via Sports Illustrated. 'Also, for Ben's matches he has his family there as his support system, which includes his dad... my dads not even in MY life no need to bring him up during HIS matches when I don't even want him talked about during mine.' As well as competing across Europe throughout the summer, Shelton still found time to savor some vacation days with his girlfriend. On May 20, Shelton shared two sweet photos on Instagram, which he captioned, 'Happy birthday beautiful girl...I love you.' The Olympic gold medalist responded in the comments, writing, 'I luhhh you.' The following month, Rodman shared footage showing her holding hands with her boyfriend as they walked around Europe. 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I would not expect him to make the 53-man roster, but he could be a candidate to stick on the practice squad throughout the season. For the sake of his health, staying safe on the practice squad for at least a couple months would probably be a good idea to make sure no further seizure activity occurs. Mekhi Wingo - right knee meniscus (November 28, 2024) The meniscus is suspected to have been repaired which carries a longer recovery than a simple trim. Even still, this is turning into a long recovery timeline even for a repair. There hasn't been any detail about his injury or his surgery. Wingo is on PUP and likely stays on it into the season. Josh Paschal - unspecified cleanup surgery Paschal is on NFI (non football injury) list which suggests he may have been injured on personal time. Trystan Colon - right elbow (August 8) This injury didn't look overly concerning on video but is keeping him out for a little while. He has not been placed on IR which means the Lions are hoping he's back this season. _________________________ OCTOBER ESTIMATED RETURN Ahmed Hassanein - right pectoral (August 16) "Going to be down for a while, he's got a pec." I'm putting Hassanein in the October category optimistically. Campbell today provided the first confirmation of the pec suspicion seen on video. Reading between the lines suggests that the pec is not a full rupture requiring surgery, but I can't say this for sure. If he does require surgery, it's likely at least a 4-month recovery which would mean a mid-December return or a season-ender. For comparison, CJ Gardner-Johnson in 2023 with the Lions returned in 16 weeks from pec rupture surgery. Defensive line is a more upper-body demanding position than the secondary so the recovery could be longer. If this is a partial tear (aka strain), then he could be back within a few weeks depending on the severity and the location of the tear (muscle belly vs tendon). Last year, Frank Ragnow returned in 3 weeks from a pec strain, missing just one game plus the bye. Miles Frazier - knee It's unknown when this unspecified knee injury occurred. Dan Campbell previously offered a September to October return timeline. He is currently on PUP and almost certainly stays on PUP into the season. Malcolm Rodriguez - ACL (November 28, 2024) On PUP and will very likely stay on it into the season. All signs suggest recovery is going well. _________________________________________ NOVEMBER ESTIMATED RETURN Alim McNeill - ACL (December 15, 2024) On PUP and will almost certainly stay on it into the season. ________________________________________ INJURED RESERVE (OUT FOR YEAR) Of these players, the biggest losses are Onwuzurike and Rakestraw who were both definitely making the 53-man roster. Yeboah also had a good chance to make the roster as tight end #3, because he was given $482k guaranteed for this season as a free agent. _________________________ RETURNED TO ACTION
