Broncos Sign Marcedes Lewis To Practice Squad
Tight end Marcedes Lewis is continuing his long-running career at the age of 41. Lewis has agreed to join the Broncos’ practice squad, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
With backup tight end Lucas Krull set to undergo foot surgery, the Broncos have been in the market for help at the position. They placed waiver claims on Brenden Bates and Ben Sims in recent days. Bates, whom the Texans waived, wound up with the Browns. The Vikings won out on Sims after the Packers cut him.
Unable to reel in either Bates or Sims, the Broncos brought in Lewis for a workout on Tuesday. Already the oldest tight end in NFL history, Lewis did enough to secure a practice squad spot and will now attempt to log his 20th season in the league.
After playing his college football at UCLA, Lewis entered the pros as a first-round pick (No. 28) of the Jaguars in 2006. He played with them through 2017, securing one Pro Bowl nod along the way, before stints with the Packers (2018-22) and Bears (2023-24). The 6-foot-6, 267-pounder combined for 437 catches, 5,155 yards, and 40 touchdowns with those three teams.
During the waning years of his career, Lewis has seen his impact as a pass catcher drop off significantly. He totaled just 11 receptions from 2022-24, but along with his blocking skills, Lewis is a durable option. He appeared in 17 games in each of the previous four seasons.
Having already missed the Broncos’ first eight contests this year, another 17-game slate isn’t in the cards for Lewis. Nevertheless, he could work his way into the mix for the AFC West contenders during the second half of the campaign. Lewis would give the Broncos a third tight end behind Evan Engram and Adam Trautman.
Steelers Amend Kyle Dugger’s Contract
The Steelers made a notable addition to their secondary on Tuesday in acquiring safety Kyle Dugger from the Patriots. While Dugger entered the day under contract through 2027, that is no longer the case. The last two years of his deal “have been wiped out,” according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. He’ll reach free agency after the season.
Then an important part of New England’s defense, Dugger inked a four-year, $58MM extension with the team in April 2024. Dugger remained a full-time starter last year, the lone season of the Jerod Mayo era. Things changed this season under new head coach Mike Vrabel, who demoted Dugger to a backup role.
Dugger, who entered the season with a $9.25MM base salary, is still owed around $5.4MM (plus $1MM in per-game roster bonuses). The Patriots will pay the majority of it, per Rapoport.
With Dugger now on track to hit the open market in the offseason, he’s a low-cost rental for the AFC North-leading Steelers. Not only did the Steelers (4-3) drop their second straight game in Week 8, but they lost starting safety DeShon Elliott to a knee injury. They placed Elliott on IR to make room for Dugger. Elliott is set to miss at least four games, which will leave Dugger, Juan Thornhill, Jabrill Peppers (previously teammates with Dugger in New England), and Chuck Clark as Pittsburgh’s healthy options at safety.
With 81 NFL games, 69 starts, and nine interceptions on Dugger’s resume, the Steelers are hopeful that he’ll aid their last-ranked pass defense. Dugger is in line to make his Steelers debut this Sunday against the 7-1 Colts, owners of the best record in the league and the top-ranked offense.
Bears Sign S C.J. Gardner-Johnson
Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson is joining his third organization of the 2025 season. The Bears are signing the 27-year-old to their active roster, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Gardner-Johnson appeared in 16 of the Eagles’ regular-season games in 2024 and tied a career high with six interceptions. He was also part of the Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning playoff run, but they parted with him after the season.
In a trade that hasn’t worked out for either side, the Eagles sent Gardner-Johnson and a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Texans for offensive lineman Kenyon Green and a fifth-rounder in next year’s draft.
Green, who couldn’t crack the Eagles’ roster, is now a member of the Ravens’ practice squad. Gardner-Johnson lasted just three games in Houston before the team released him. He reportedly clashed with teammates and was unhappy with his role in the Texans’ defense.
After the Texans said goodbye to him, Gardner-Johnson joined Green on the Ravens’ practice squad. It was a short-lived stay, however, as the Ravens moved on a week later. Gardner-Johnson signed with Baltimore before the team acquired safety Alohi Gilman from the Chargers. With Gilman’s arrival blocking a path to playing time, Gardner-Johnson’s agent asked for his client’s release. The Ravens granted it.
After a couple of weeks on the open market, Gardner-Johnson will indeed find a clearer avenue to playing time on Chicago’s active roster. He’ll also reunite with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who coached Gardner-Johnson in New Orleans from 2019-21. Those were Gardner-Johnson’s first three NFL seasons, a 43-game span in which he picked off five passes. Allen left a positive impression on Gardner-Johnson.
“He got my career going. I appreciate him,” Gardner-Johnson told the CHGO Bears podcast last February.
While the 4-3 Bears have two established starting safeties in Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard, who lead their defense in snaps, their secondary is dealing with multiple significant injuries. Cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon are on IR. A groin injury has kept Johnson out since Week 1, while Gordon landed on the shelf with calf and groin issues before the Bears’ loss to the Ravens last Sunday. Gordon is Chicago’s top nickel corner, but the addition of Gardner-Johnson could help fill the void during his absence. The Bears plan to use Gardner-Johnson as a slot corner, head coach Ben Johnson announced (via Courtney Cronin of ESPN).
Broncos CB Patrick Surtain To Miss Time
OCTOBER 29: The Broncos are not planning to place Surtain on IR, according to Rapoport. It appears Surtain will miss three games, but he could return after the Broncos’ bye.
OCTOBER 28: Surtain is indeed in line to miss at least the Broncos’ next game, ESPN’s Jeff Legwold confirms. He adds Denver will approach this situation on a “week-to-week” basis beyond the Texans matchup. That will of course change if an IR stint is deemed necessary.
OCTOBER 27: The Broncos soared to 6-2 behind a dominant performance against the Cowboys, but they played the second half without their top player. That is expected to continue moving forward.
Patrick Surtain is expected to miss time with a pectoral injury sustained in the second quarter Sunday, veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports. A four- to six-week timetable is being floated here, via Schultz, though the reigning Defensive Player of the Year is ticketed for a second opinion. Either way, it appears the Broncos’ defense will be dealt a significant blow.
Surgery is not in the cards here, per Schultz, obviously representing good news for the AFC West leaders. It is a pec strain, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. While this is being labeled “week to week,” the NFL.com duo notes IR is possible here. ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds Surtain is indeed an IR candidate. Additional testing introduced IR here, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adds, noting the team had initially hoped for a one- or two-week timetable. The Broncos’ bye comes in Week 12.
This comes at a pivotal point on the Broncos’ schedule, as the team has games against the Texans and Chiefs in the next four weeks. An IR stay would shelve Surtain for the first of the Kansas City matchups, along with games against the Raiders and Commanders. The Broncos have used three injury activations this season; they would certainly save one for Surtain should IR be necessary. The team could go week to week here as well, keeping the door open for the impact defender to return without missing four games.
While this can be viewed as positive news, as a torn pec could have ended Surtain’s season, it threatens to limit the Broncos during their best stretch in probably 10 years. Surtain regularly travels with teams’ top receivers, usually getting the best of them and providing a tremendous boost to a vaunted Broncos pass rush — one that leads the NFL in sacks. Denver adjusted against a high-powered Dallas offense in the second half, but teams game-planning for a Surtain-less defense will provide an advantage.
Surtain, 25, has been a top-tier cornerback for most of his career. The three-time All-Pro was initially a bright spot on slumping Broncos teams early in his career. Denver rejected trades for the impact defender at the 2023 deadline and extended him just before the 2024 season. That $24MM-per-year deal proved to represent great timing for the Broncos, who saw the Alabama product leap onto the DPOY perch last season (before Jaycee Horn, Derek Stingley Jr. and Sauce Gardner eclipsed his AAV this offseason). Surtain intercepted four passes and picked up his second first-team All-Pro nod in 2024, helping the Broncos rank third defensively and set a franchise record with 63 sacks.
Denver is fairly deep at corner, but Surtain’s absence will obviously be difficult to match. Riley Moss is the team’s other boundary corner, with Ja’Quan McMillian manning the slot. First-round pick Jahdae Barron, who played inside and outside at Texas, has been eased into action (24% snap share). While Barron could be an option to see some time outside in place of Surtain, the Broncos used second-year player Kris Abrams-Draine in his place in the second half against the Cowboys.
The Broncos also have not needed to play much without Surtain during the former top-10 pick’s career. He missed one game his rookie year and one last season, playing in all 17 contests in 2022 and ’23. The Broncos held the Cowboys’ first-string offense to just one touchdown after halftime sans Surtain on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how Vance Joseph arranges his pieces without his ace cover man during this expected absence.
Steelers To Acquire S Kyle Dugger From Pats
The Steelers saw starting safety DeShon Elliott go down with a knee injury in a Week 8 loss to the Packers. They’re acting quickly to address the position. Pittsburgh will acquire safety Kyle Dugger and a 2026 seventh-round pick from New England for a 2026 sixth-rounder, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
This is the second trade of Tuesday for the Patriots, who previously sent defensive end Keion White and a seventh-rounder to the 49ers for a sixth-rounder.
At 5-2 and atop the AFC East, the Patriots aren’t in position to sell leading up to the Nov. 4 trade deadline. However, both Dugger and White fell out of favor this year under new head coach Mike Vrabel.
A second-round pick of the Bill Belichick regime in 2020, Dugger quickly emerged as a key cog in the Patriots’ defense. He started between 13 and 17 games in each season from 2021-24 and racked up nine interceptions during that span.
The Patriots handed Dugger a four-year, $58MM extension with $32.5MM in guarantees in April 2024, locking him up through 2027. Despite that expensive commitment, Dugger emerged as a trade candidate late last summer when it became clear he was no longer a clean fit in the Patriots’ defense.
The Patriots held on to Dugger for the first couple months of the season, but he experienced a significant dip in playing time during the team’s hot start. Before the trade, Dugger saw action in a meager 38.4% of defensive snaps while working behind starting safeties Craig Woodson and Jaylinn Hawkins. Pro Football Focus ranks Dugger’s 2025 performance 62nd among 88 qualifying safeties. With Dugger gone, Dell Pettus and Brenden Schooler are now the Patriots’ main reserves at safety.
The 29-year-old Dugger will now have a chance at a larger role with another division leader in Pittsburgh, which will place Elliott on IR, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Elliott will miss at least four games, which left the Steelers in the market for immediate help at safety. Pittsburgh will face four straight postseason contenders – the Colts, Chargers, Bengals, and Bears – with Elliott on the shelf.
The 4-3 Steelers have dropped two games in a row, largely as a result of an inability to stop the pass. Quarterbacks Joe Flacco (Bengals) and Jordan Love (Packers) combined to shred the Steelers for 702 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions over the past two weeks. Typically known for boasting a vaunted defense, the Steelers rank dead last in the league in passing yards per game allowed (273.3).
Dugger will now join a Steelers safety group consisting of Juan Thornhill, Chuck Clark, and former Patriots teammate Jabrill Peppers. He and Peppers often started next to each other in New England from 2022-24. Peppers has taken on a reserve role in his first season in Pittsburgh, but Dugger could regain a starting job now that he’s headed to the Steel City.
49ers Acquire DE Keion White From Patriots
10:29pm: The 49ers did, in fact, end up signing Ferrell to a practice squad deal after today’s workout, per Schultz. Since leaving San Francisco, Ferrell’s seen his fair share of struggles — failing to make Washington’s initial 53-man roster this year then signing to and getting cut from the Chargers’ practice squad — but with so many injuries plaguing the 49ers’ defensive ends room, a familiar face will be a welcome one as Ferrell joins White as new reinforcements.
5:48pm: In need at edge rusher since Nick Bosa suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Week 3, the 49ers have since lost Bryce Huff to a short-term hamstring malady. They are making an effort to upgrade in the meantime, swinging a deal with the Patriots.
The Pats are sending Keion White to the 49ers, veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports. Signed through 2026, White is on a second-round contract. This is a pick-swap agreement, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. New England will add a 2026 sixth round pick; San Francisco receives White and a 2026 seventh-rounder in a move which is now official.
Months after giving Huff a much-needed fresh start, the 49ers will do the same for White. The former high-end EDGE prospect did not play in Week 8, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicating the Pats were attempting to trade him. Rather than an injury scuttling that, White rested Sunday and is now headed west.
During Jerod Mayo‘s year in charge in 2024, White worked as a 13-game starter. That brought a mixed bag, as the Georgia Tech alum tallied five sacks and 16 QB hits. Those numbers were far better than his rookie-year showing (1/5) in those pass-rushing categories, even as the Pats played most of Bill Belichick‘s finale without then-lead rusher Matt Judon.
This year, White has started just one game. He does not have a sack or a QB hit, being among those to have fallen out of favor under head coach Mike Vrabel. Offseason free agent additions Harold Landry and K’Lavon Chaisson have taken over as the Patriots’ top EDGE players, making White expendable during the first year of the Vrabel regime.
While this might not be the end of the 49ers’ trade effort, the NFC West team had attempted to make an upgrade here for a while. Trey Hendrickson came up as a name the team asked about; the Bengals are not interested in moving the contract-year sack ace. General manager John Lynch confirmed the 49ers were interested in making a move, and the team can add White to its list of in-season EDGE pickups in recent years. The 49ers acquired Chase Young, Randy Gregory and Charles Omenihu via trade in recent seasons, and Huff rejoined defensive coordinator Robert Saleh via trade this offseason.
Huff recorded a career-high 10 sacks when he played under Saleh, then the Jets’ head coach, in 2023. The 27-year-old now leads the 49ers with four sacks this season, but Bosa still ranks second with two despite missing the team’s past five games. With a lack of complements to Huff, the 49ers were in dire need of pass-rushing help. It remains to be seen whether White will provide it, but the 49ers are left to hope a change of scenery will yield positive results.
Before agreeing to land White, the 49ers worked out free agent defensive ends Clelin Ferrell, Casey Toohill, Kingsley Jonathan, and Andrew Farmer on Tuesday, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic. The 49ers have plenty of familiarity with Ferrell, who was a 17-game starter for them in 2023. He finished with 3.5 sacks that year. While the 49ers could still circle back to Ferrell, Toohill, Jonathan, or Farmer, White has emerged as their newest acquisition.
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.
Patriots, Marcus Jones Agree To Extension
10:20pm: The deal’s base value checks in at $36MM over three years, Rapoport and Pelissero add. It could max out at $40.5MM, making Jones one of the three highest-paid slot cornerbacks in the NFL, per Field Yates of ESPN. Jones is now the Pats’ second-highest-paid corners — behind free agency addition Carlton Davis. While the deal’s structure is not yet known, this provides security for the corner/return man for the mid-2020s at the very least.
11:27am: Marcus Jones will not reach free agency upon the upcoming conclusion of his rookie pact. The cornerback/punt returner has agreed to a Patriots extension. 
Jones has a three-year deal in place to remain in New England, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report. Financial terms are not yet known. It is nevertheless safe to assume a raise is in store for Jones, who is now on the books through 2028. The team has now announced the news.
A third-round pick in 2022, Jones entered the league with experience on offense and defense in addition to his strong showings in the return game. He has not been a factor as a receiver with New England, but the 27-year-old has taken on a larger workload with each passing season as a corner. Jones has been on the field for three-quarters of the Patriots’ defensive snaps in 2025 as a standout slot contributor. That can be expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
Jones notched double-digit pass deflections for the first time in 2024, and with nine so far this season he is comfortably on track to set a new career high in that regard. The Houston product has added a pair of interceptions and his first sack in 2025. In terms of coverage, Jones has surrendered a completion percentage of 61.1% and a passer rating of 81 so far; both of those marks are the best since his rookie season.
Special teams allowed for Jones to make an immediate impact in the NFL. He led the league in total and average punt return yards, earning first-team All-Pro acclaim along the way. This season, Jones already has one touchdown on 10 returns. He is once again topping the NFL with an average of 21.6 yards per runback. Especially if he can continue to serve as a standout figure in the third phase, this extension will be one the Patriots feel comfortable with.
The cornerback market as a whole has experienced surges in recent years, but the main beneficiaries of that trend has been perimeter cover men. Slot corners – a label which will no doubt remain accurate for the 5-8, 188-pound Jones throughout the remainder of his career – by contrast have not seen as much in the way of upward movement. Kyler Gordon moved the bar to $13.33MM in terms of average annual compensation for slot corners this offseason, so it will be interesting to see how Jones compares with this pact.
The Patriots already have one notable CB contract on the books in the form of free agent addition Carlton Davis. He is attached to an $18MM-per-year pact through 2027. Meanwhile, Christian Gonzalez will be eligible for an extension as soon as this coming offseason. The 2024 second-team All-Pro will be in line for a monster accord if he continues to perform as one of the top young corners in the league and a foundational member of New England’s defense. If/when Gonzalez has his second contract in hand, he will join other figures in the Patriots’ secondary attached to notable deals.
Ravens Buyers Or Sellers At Trade Deadline?
As the NFL’s trade deadline approaches a week from today, franchises are taking a candid look in the mirror to determine if they are a few key pieces short of a championship roster or if now is the time for them to unload restrictive or burdensome contracts en route to a rebuild, big or small. At several different points in this young season, the Ravens have appeared to reflect both teams in that mirror. 
The team started as a Super Bowl favorite in the eyes of Vegas, coming in with one of the league’s more talented rosters. They came out the gates swinging, looking much like the class of the AFC they had been billed to be, before crashing back to reality at the hands of the team that had ended their season eight months prior. They rebounded with a win over former franchise quarterback Joe Flacco — who they’ll somehow get to play against two more times this regular season — but saw injuries derail their vaunted roster over the next several weeks.
Coming out of their Week 7 bye with a 1-5 record, the Ravens faced a crossroads. While the odds aren’t phenomenal, there have been multiple teams to come back from that same record to make the playoffs; a 1-6 record has only ever been overcome once in NFL history. This statistic put immense weight on the Ravens’ Week 8 game against the visiting Bears.
If the Raven ended up falling to Chicago, it was thought that they might begin to prepare for future seasons. Per Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda, with things looking dire, there were rumors Baltimore could look to move players on the final year of their contract. This likely wouldn’t include younger players expecting new deals in the future like center Tyler Linderbaum or tight end Isaiah Likely, but more likely would be the case for veterans like tight end Mark Andrews, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, or pass rusher Kyle Van Noy. It could also encompass young players who might price themselves out of Baltimore in free agency like defensive tackle Travis Jones.
After Lamar Jackson was ruled out for the weekend, though, a 1-6 record seemed a likely destination. Facing a team that came into town sporting the only offense in the NFL to put up at least 21 points in each game this season, the Ravens were averaging 6.5 points per game in contests without Jackson. Newly anointed QB2 Tyler Huntley had other ideas in mind, and Sunday’s victory may have forced general manager Eric DeCosta to shift strategies for the trade deadline.
According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the Ravens were already making calls concerning trades for a cornerback, even before their win changed their immediate outlook. Coming into the season, the new-look secondary was looking strong with Marlon Humphrey coming off a resurgent, first-team All-Pro season, first-rounder Nate Wiggins looking to take the next step, and newcome veterans Chidobe Awuzie and Jaire Alexander appearing to provide significant upgrades to the depth of the room.
Awuzie and Wiggins have certainly played their parts early in the season, but Humphrey has had perhaps the worst half of a season of his career. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) grades Humphrey as the 110th-best cornerback in the NFL out of 113 players graded at the position. And, though Alexander has not appeared on the injury report since Week 2 nor been put on any injury list, he has been inactive from Week 3 on.
Russini’s colleague at The Athletic, Jeff Zrebiec, helped identify pass rusher and offensive guard as two more areas of interest for the Ravens over the next week. Zrebiec saw the team’s Week 8 win, which put the ailing team just two games out of the division lead, as a strong indicator that Baltimore could look to make some acquisitions. If the team were to win again two days from now in Miami, Zrebiec would see that as a green light for DeCosta, who has a history of being aggressive this time of year, previously bringing in contributors like Roquan Smith and Marcus Peters.
Zrebiec focuses the possibilities on athletes Baltimore can realistically acquire, quickly ruling out Maxx Crosby, Trey Hendrickson, and other alike expensive stars whose names have frequented trade rumors. He also steers away from possibilities who wouldn’t provide enough of an upgrade over their current situation, avoiding options like Azeez Ojulari, Arden Key, Evan Neal, and Deonte Banks. Instead, he circles the names of players with tremendous upside who may have some limiting factor keeping their costs down. 
First, he suggests reunions with defensive lineman Calais Campbell and guard Kevin Zeitler. Despite the advanced age of both players — 35 years old for Zeitler and 39 years old for Campbell — each has maintained a high level of play since their respective departures from Baltimore. Upon their potential return, either lineman would immediately find their place on the first team.
Two pass rushers he identifies as likely are Jaelan Phillips and Jermaine Johnson — two 26-year-olds. Neither player will be as affordable on the trade market as the aforementioned veterans, but there are reasons Baltimore has a chance at acquiring each of them. Phillips and Johnson have both struggled with injuries in their young careers. When healthy, though, both players have shown impressive production, but their injury history has made their current teams skeptical about the idea of a long-term deal.
So, what can we expect from the Ravens in the coming days? If Baltimore loses Thursday night in Miami Gardens, that question becomes harder to predict. But if the Ravens show signs of heating up in the oddly still within reach AFC North, look for DeCosta to get aggressive in finding assets to help fix the team’s biggest weaknesses. Also, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise is some of those veterans on contract years make their way into potential deals in order to lower Baltimore’s draft compensation.
Saints Open To Trading WR Rashid Shaheed
The Saints have two receivers drawing heavy trade interest and another who has been dealt four times in a well-traveled career. New Orleans also turned to the trade market to acquire a wideout, having sent fourth- and seventh-round pick to obtain Devaughn Vele from the Broncos in August.
As the deadline nears, however, the Saints are 1-7. The team appears prepared to retain Chris Olave, who is under contract (via the fifth-year option) through 2026. At this point in his career, Brandin Cooks is unlikely to fetch much (if anything) in a trade. The former New Orleans first-round pick has not shown much in his return to Louisiana. This leaves Rashid Shaheed as the trade chip to monitor, and it does appear New Orleans is ready to seriously listen to interest.
Expecting at least one of the Saints’ wideouts to be traded by the Nov. 4 deadline, ESPN’s Adam Schefter points to Shaheed as the player interesting most WR-needy teams. With an Olave extension appearing more likely than a trade, Shaheed appears the consolation prize. The speedy Olave sidekick is in a contract year, and his production — in a trade market lacking big names — provides natural interest to clubs hoping to upgrade their respective situations. Teams have been in on Shaheed for multiple weeks.
The Saints are using Shaheed a bit differently this year. Having averaged at least 15.6 yards per catch in each of his first three seasons (and over 17 in two of them), the former UDFA is at just 11.1 per reception this year. The Weber State product, though, is on pace to smash his career high for receptions. He already has 39 grabs for 431 yards. The 2023 season (46 catches, 719 yards) represents his best thus far, but WR-needy teams are on the lookout. And Shaheed’s situation could be upgraded soon.
New Orleans has seen flashes from Spencer Rattler, but after last week’s benching, the team is transitioning to second-round rookie Tyler Shough. Olave, Cooks and Vele would represent a workable trio for Shough (even if Vele has disappointed post-trade), and compounded with the Dolphins keeping Jaylen Waddle out of trade talks, Shaheed could command a nice return for a Saints team in need of cost-controlled talent (as the restructure-heavy franchise’s annual cap troubles are coming again in 2026).
Coming up in our previous offering about Saints wideouts, the Bills, Broncos and Steelers are among the teams who have made calls on wideouts recently. Pittsburgh’s Marquez Valdes-Scantling pickup is unlikely to deter more trade interest from the AFC North leaders, and the Bills’ Week 8 dismantling of the Panthers did not feature much in the passing game. The Broncos did see Troy Franklin produce his best career game Sunday, but they do not have a consistent second option — even if Franklin is emerging — behind Courtland Sutton. Shaheed did not overlap with Sean Payton, but the Broncos’ roster has many ex-Saints, and Shaheed did play under Pete Carmichael (in a system closely resembling Payton’s offense) for two seasons. Carmichael is a senior offensive assistant in Denver.
Shaheed and the Raiders’ Jakobi Meyers may be the top options for receiver-focused teams. Both profile as rentals, though an acquiring team would obviously hold exclusive negotiating rights until the March tampering period, but Shaheed is two years younger. Playing an age-27 season, Shaheed will be a key free agent to monitor — that is, if an acquiring team does not extend him — come 2026.
The Saints will need to make a decision soon. They could collect a possible Day 2 pick for a player obtained after the 2022 draft. That would help the Mickey Loomis–Kellen Moore operation ahead of the 2026 draft.
Jets S Andre Cisco Suffers Pectoral Tear
The Jets may have earned their first win of the season this weekend, but it didn’t come without its lumps. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, starting safety Andre Cisco has sustained “a pectoral tear that needs repair.” 
Cisco came to New York on a one-year, $8.5MM deal following the expiration of his rookie contract as a third-round pick in Jacksonville. Over his time with the Jaguars, Cisco quickly inserted himself into the defensive gameplan, earning a full-time starting job by his sophomore season. He showed impressive ball skills, logging seven interceptions and 15 passes defensed in his first two years as a starter, but failed to capitalize on a contract year, leading to the one-year contract he signed.
New head coach Aaron Glenn brought his defensive mindset from Detroit, and star cornerback Sauce Gardner has looked strong alongside a career year for newcomer Brandon Stephens and a strong sophomore campaign for Jarvis Brownlee Jr. The team has been decently middle-of-the-road in passing yards allowed, but they’ve given up the fourth-most passing touchdowns in the NFL, and they’re the only team in the NFL without an interception.
So far this season, the safeties have been a weak spot for the Jets defense. Tony Adams, who began the season as the starter next to Cisco, was benched after Week 4 in favor of fourth-round rookie Malachi Moore, who hasn’t fared much better. The only other player currently labeled as a safety on the roster is former nickelback Isaiah Oliver, though undrafted rookie Dean Clark resides on the practice squad.
The severity of the repair is not apparent from Fowler’s report. With a complete tear, the “repair” in question would be a surgical one requiring months of recovery and rehabilitation. If Cisco suffered only a minor tear, though, the team may be able to treat it non-surgically and have him back quicker after some rest.
Either way, if Cisco is forced to miss any time, it will be at the detriment of an already thin position group. New York will likely need to seek reinforcements, though they’ve been identified pretty clearly more as sellers than buyers in the trade market. More likely, they may look to add depth out of the existing free agent pool.