HEADLINES

NFL Upholds Ja’Marr Chase’s Suspension

November 18th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

NOVEMBER 18: Hearing officer Jordy Nelson has upheld the Chase suspension. The All-Pro Bengals wide receiver will miss the team’s Week 12 contest against the 9-2 Patriots.

NOVEMBER 17: The NFL has investigated yesterday’s Ja’Marr Chase–Jalen Ramsey incident. To little surprise, supplemental discipline has been handed down.

Chase has been issued a one-game suspension, per a league announcement. The news means he will be unavailable for Week 12 against the Patriots barring a successful appeal. Ramsey was ejected on Sunday for his retaliation to being spat on by Chase. The latter initially denied such actions, but video of the incident has since confirmed Chase spat on Ramsey as tensions between the two came to a head during the game.

Presuming the suspension stands, Chase will see a notable financial loss. He is due to forfeit a game check of over $448K along with a per-game roster bonus of nearly $59K. The Bengals, meanwhile, are set to be without their top wideout for one week. Chase declined to speak to the media on Monday.

Chase will appeal the ban, veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports. It would certainly come as a surprise in the event the suspension were to be overturned considering the precedent set earlier this season. Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was disqualified from the team’s Week 1 game after spitting on Dak Prescott. No suspension was handed down, because Carter’s time out of the game amounted to a one-game absence.

As Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes, Chase is pursuing a different route than Carter despite their similar situations. Carter did not appeal the fine he received (and therefore the punishment which was treated as a one-game suspension). Chase, on the other hand, could point to the precedent which existed in the NFL prior to the Carter decision – one which included fines, rather than suspensions, for spitting incidents.

In any event, clarity on this situation will likely emerge in the next day or two. The case will be heard by one of the three hearing officers jointly appointed by the NFL and NFLPA before a final decision is made. If Chase is out for Week 12, a Bengals offense which is still without Joe Burrow will be notably shorthanded in the passing game. Reigning NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson is also in danger of missing Cincinnati’s next game through injury.

Efforts to work out a monster extension in time for the 2024 season were unsuccessful, and Chase played out the season without a deal in hand. This past spring, he and Tee Higgins each signed their new pacts. Chase landed a four-year, $161MM pact and he is on the books through 2029. The four-time Pro Bowler’s yards per reception average is the lowest of his career, but he has remained a focal point on offense even with Burrow unavailable for much of the season.

Chase led the NFL in receptions, yards and touchdowns in 2024. A second ‘Triple Crown’ campaign does not appear to be in store, although the LSU product’s 79 catches currently pace the league. Missed time through this suspension being upheld will hinder Chase’s chances of remaining the NFL leader in that regard; it will also deal another blow to the 3-7 Bengals’ playoff chances.

Ravens Could Tag TE Isaiah Likely; DT Travis Jones Expected To Draw Strong FA Interest

November 18th, 2025 at 9:57pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Ravens’ 2022 draft class is one of the best in the franchise’s history. First-rounders Kyle Hamilton and Tyler Linderbaum have grown into two of the league’s best players at their respective positions, and several other picks have developed into key contributors, too. Among them are tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar, defensive tackle Travis Jones, punter Jordan Stout, and right guard Daniel Faalele.

Hamilton is Baltimore’s only 2022 draftee that has been locked up past 2025. The rest are set to hit free agency and could draw significant interest on the open market. Linderbaum, Likely, and Jones are thought to be the team’s priorities, though negotiations with Linderbaum have not progressed during the season.

The Ravens were hoping to extend Likely before the season, but a broken foot suffered early in training camp may have put negotiations on pause. The 25-year-old missed the first three games of the season and has yet to heat up since returning to the field. After averaging at least 20 yards per game in each of his first three seasons, he has cleared that mark in just one game this year.

Volume has never been Likely’s game, though, as he has shared tight end duties with All-Pro Mark Andrews for his entire tenure in Baltimore. In that time, he has been one of the most efficient tight ends in the league, averaging 7.9 yards per target in his career. For comparison, Trey McBride, who reset the positional market via a $19MM per year extension with the Cardinals this offseason, has averaged 7.55 yards per target since he was drafted, like Likely, in 2022.

That could create a standoff between the Ravens and their fourth-year tight end as they try to come to an agreement. If Likely is looking for a McBride-level deal, Baltimore may opt to use the franchise tag, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, locking him in at $15.8MM in 2026. The Ravens have not been afraid to place the franchise tag on key players before, and it is worth noting that their last two tagged players – Lamar Jackson and Nnamdi Madubuike – eventually signed long-term extensions with the team.

While Jones is an excellent defensive lineman, the $25.6MM defensive tackle franchise tag is too high a price given his lack of elite production (five sacks, 13 tackles for loss in 58 games). He may, however, be the best player at his position available and should still have a strong valuation. One comparison, per Fowler, is Dalvin Tomlinson, who received a four-year, $57MM deal when he hit free agency in 2023.

However, though the two players are both primarily run-stuffing nose tackles, their situations appear to be quite different. Tomlinson’s 2023 deal was his third contract, while Jones’ next contract will be his second. Tomlinson also had stronger production in the years before signing that deal relative to Jones, but Jones may have more long-term upside.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/18/25

November 18th, 2025 at 9:27pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest practice squad moves around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: OL Andrew Steuber

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

  • Signed: DL Fabien Lovett Sr.

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: WR John Rhys Plumlee
  • Released: S Jack Henderson

Seattle Seahawks

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: S Marcus Banks

Tennessee Titans

Reeves-Maybin, the current NFLPA president, spent most of his career with the Lions but was released this offseason. He worked out with the 49ers in October and now returns to the NFC North with the Bears.

Odum began his NFL career in Indianapolis and is now returning to the Colts after a three-year stint with the 49ers. He will likely provide depth on special teams when elevated from the practice squad.

Kpassagnon, meanwhile, will be looking for his third team this season. He signed in Chicago this offseason to reunite with Dennis Allen, the Bears’ defensive coordinator and Kpassagnon’s former coach in New Orleans. He played 89 snaps across five games in Chicago before he was released. He then signed with the Colts’ practice squad, but did not make any appearances in blue and white.

The Seahawks signed Jones to their practice squad, but he was released the following day in a health-related move, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson. Rice, the son of NFL legend Jerry Rice, will get to play for one of his father’s former teams. Jerry Rice played for the Seahawks during his last season in 2004.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/18/25

November 18th, 2025 at 8:09pm CST by Connor Byrne

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves from around the NFL:

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Las Vegas Raiders

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

After winning the Senior Bowl MVP in 2022, Winfrey entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick of the Browns a few months later. He totaled 22 tackles and a half-sack in 13 games as a rookie. That proved to be Winfrey’s lone season in Cleveland, which waived him a few months after a misdemeanor assault charge in 2023.

Winfrey played in one game with the Jets in his second season before a stint with the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions last year. The 290-pounder earned All-UFL honors, leading the Cowboys to sign him in June, but a back injury forced him to IR in early September. Now that they’ve brought Winfrey back, the Cowboys have just three activations remaining.

Winfrey’s return comes at the expense of Clark, a Cowboy since they took him in the fifth round in 2022. The former LSU Tiger was a 17-game starter who racked up 109 tackles in 2023, but his playing time drastically fell off after that. While Clark appeared in eight of Dallas’ games this year and made two starts, 138 of his 217 snaps came on special teams.

The Cowboys swung a trade with the Bengals for linebacker Logan Wilson earlier this month and recently welcomed back fellow LB DeMarvion Overshown from injury. With those in-season reinforcements in the fold, the Cowboys deemed Clark expendable.

Nikhil Mehta contributed to this article.

Steelers Work Out QBs Jason Bean, Tanner Mordecai Amid Aaron Rodgers Injury

November 18th, 2025 at 7:13pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

With Aaron Rodgers dealing with a left wrist injury, the Steelers worked out veteran quarterbacks Jason Bean and Tanner Mordecai on Tuesday, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.

Pittsburgh currently has three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster and zero on their practice squad. Backup Mason Rudolph, and third-stringer Will Howard will both move up a spot on the depth chart for at least a week, leaving the Steelers without a third option should either of them get injured.

Bean, 26, signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Kansas in 2024. He did not make the 53-man roster, but stuck around on the practice squad for the entire season. He was waived during final roster cuts this year and did not draw practice squad interest from the Colts or any other team.

Mordecai is also a 26-year-old who entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie in 2024. Mordecai finished his college career at Wisconsin and signed with the 49ers last spring. He spent the season on San Francisco’s practice squad and was repeatedly cut and re-signed during training camp as the team balanced their other roster needs. He was waived due to injury a final time during roster cuts.

The Steelers did not sign Bean or Mordecai, though that could be coming in the next few days as they continue to assess Rodgers’ wrist. They could also work out other available quarterbacks later this week.

The Steelers also worked out wide receivers Cole Burgess, Elijah Cooks, and Cornell Powell on Tuesday, per Cardswire’s Howard Balzer.

WR Odell Beckham Jr. Reinstated From Suspension

November 18th, 2025 at 5:24pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The NFL reinstated wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on Tuesday after he completed a six-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Beckham, 33, was suspended in October for a failed drug test from his time with the Dolphins last season. He said that he never knowingly took a performance enhancing substance, but accepted the league’s discipline without an appeal.

If Beckham was trying to illicitly boost his performance, it did not show up on the field. 2024 was a year of career-lows, starting with 120 snaps played and continuing through virtually every receiving category. In nine appearances with the Dolphins, he put up lower numbers than he did in four games in 2017 and seven games in 2020 before suffering season-ending injuries in both years.

Beckham did not have many opportunities in Miami, as four other Dolphins received at least 80 targets last season. But in 2023 with the Ravens, he drew the second-most targets on the team and put up 565 receiving yards, his most since 2019, to go along with a career-high 8.8 yards per target. Beckham may not be the high-volume, high-production wideout he once was, but he could still be an efficient part of an NFL receiving room with plenty of experience and veteran savvy.

Beckham said in August that he intends to play in 2025, but no reports of interest in the 10-year veteran have surfaced in recent months. He did mention a conversation with Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Pittsburgh did not land a wide receiver at the trade deadline despite an apparent desire to do so.

Cardinals Release Punter Pat O’Donnell

November 18th, 2025 at 4:55pm CST by Connor Byrne

The Cardinals will need to find a new punter before they face the Jaguars on Sunday. The team released Pat O’Donnell on Tuesday, per Zach Gershman of the team’s website.

O’Donnell was the second punter of the year for Arizona, which placed starter Blake Gillikin on IR with a back injury on Oct. 11. The Cardinals brought in O’Donnell as a result. Gillikin is is still on the shelf a little over a month later, leaving the Cardinals to look outside the organization for their next punter.

In five games with the Cardinals, O’Donnell punted 12 times and averaged 42.2 yards per try with a net of 36.2. He checked in well below the 2025 league averages of 47.7 and 41.2, respectively. Also a former Bear, Packer, and 49er, the 34-year-old has posted a 45.0-yard average and a 39.2 net since he made his NFL debut in 2014.

Along with the O’Donnell move, the Cardinals cut linebacker Jared Bartlett from their active roster on Tuesday. The team also released defensive lineman Anthony Goodlow from its practice squad.

Bartlett worked exclusively on special teams in his two games with the Cardinals this year. Goodlow has made three appearances in 2025 and totaled three tackles on 36 defensive snaps.

Lions Activate LB Malcolm Rodriguez From PUP List

November 18th, 2025 at 4:23pm CST by Connor Byrne

The Lions have activated linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez from the reserve/physically unable to perform list, per a team announcement. Rodriguez is now eligible to make his season debut on Sunday against the Giants.

Rodriguez is returning a little less than a year after he tore his ACL in a Week 13 win over the Bears last Thanksgiving. The Lions opened Rodriguez’s 21-day practice window on Oct. 27. The belief then was that the 26-year-old would need the full three weeks before the Lions activated him, and that proved to be the case.

A sixth-round pick from Oklahoma State in 2022, Rodriguez started in 15 of 16 appearances as a rookie. He recorded 87 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble that year, though it wasn’t enough to hold a full-time starting job.

Rodriguez came off the bench in 18 of 27 appearances from 2023-24. He picked up a career-high two sacks in 10 games last season.

Rejoining a 6-4 Detroit team that’s pushing for a playoff spot, Rodriguez will once again work as a defensive reserve and a special teamer. The Lions are in enviable shape at linebacker with Jack Campbell, Alex Anzalone, and Derrick Barnes as their top three. Campbell, Anzalone, and Barnes have each played over 90% of defensive snaps this year. Rodriguez’s return will give the Lions some quality depth behind them.

Raiders’ Pete Carroll Backs QB Geno Smith

November 18th, 2025 at 3:34pm CST by Connor Byrne

After they finished 4-13 in 2024, the Raiders entered this season hoping the new head coach-quarterback tandem of Pete Carroll and Geno Smith would produce far better results. While the two previously had success in Seattle, it hasn’t transferred to Las Vegas. The Raiders are now 2-8 after dropping their fourth straight game – a 33-16 beating at the hands of the Cowboys – on Monday.

Smith posted his latest subpar stat line in Week 11, going 27 of 42 for 238 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. The 35-year-old has completed 66.3% of passes for 2,082 yards and more interceptions (13) than TDs (12) through 10 games. Smith owns an 80.9 passer rating, a far cry from his 95.9 mark in 54 games and 52 starts as a Seahawk, while his 32.6 QBR ranks 31st in the NFL.

Although Smith has performed more like the early career Jets version than the solid Seahawks starter, Carroll is standing behind the 12th-year man (via Ryan McFadden of ESPN).

“I continue to really believe in him,” Carroll said. “I have no hesitation in telling you that. He’s an incredible player, and he’s busting his tail [off]. …He’ll come through for us. We gotta help him out more.”

The Raiders took away some of Smith’s help when they shipped wide receiver Jakobi Meyers to the Jaguars before the Nov. 4 trade deadline. With Meyers gone, Smith’s only real weapons are the tight end duo of Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, receiver Tre Tucker, and running back Ashton Jeanty.

The Cowboys erased Jeanty as a rushing threat on Monday, which made it all the more difficult for Smith. Jeanty, the sixth overall pick in last spring’s draft, managed a microscopic seven yards on six carries. Smith doubled Jeanty’s output with a team-high 14 yards.

While the Raiders’ Smith-led offense ranks 30th in the league in both yards per game and scoring, a poor line has been a key contributor. The Raiders lost cornerstone left tackle Kolton Miller to a high ankle sprain in late September. Right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson suffered an ankle injury of his own in Week 10 and might not return this season. Miller and Powers-Johnson are missed on a line that surrendered four sacks on Monday. Having allowed 31 sacks this season, the Raiders rank 25th in the league.

The Raiders could have more difficulty blocking for Smith this Sunday against the Browns, who have piled up the NFL’s fourth-most sacks. Superstar Myles Garrett, coming off a four-sack showing in a loss to the Ravens last week, has amassed a league-high 15.

Smith could spend a good portion of Week 12 trying to evade Garrett, but he’ll attempt to bounce back and justify Carroll’s public vote of confidence. In the event Carroll eventually makes a change, Kenny Pickett, Aidan O’Connell, and Cam Miller represent the team’s other in-house signal-callers.

Pickett has disappointed and spent time with a total of four teams since the Steelers selected him 20th overall in the 2022 draft. The Raiders traded a 2025 third-rounder for Smith last offseason because O’Connell failed to establish himself as a capable starter from 2023-24. O’Connell has been on IR all season with a fractured wrist. The Raiders opened his 21-day practice window on Oct. 29, meaning they’re running out of time to activate him. Miller, a sixth-round rookie from North Dakota State, is on the practice squad.

Regardless of whether Smith finishes 2025 as the Raiders’ starter, they’ll have a decision to make on him in the offseason. The Raiders signed Smith to a two-year, $75MM extension when they acquired him, but they’ve already paid most of that. Moving on after the season would leave the Raiders with his fully guaranteed 2026 salary of $18.5MM as dead money. Smith’s remaining $8MM in guarantees will vest early in the league year next March. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Raiders cut the cord before that happens.

C.J. Stroud Returns To Practice; Texans QB Ruled Out For Week 12

November 18th, 2025 at 2:23pm CST by Adam La Rose

2:23pm: The Texans have officially ruled out Stroud and Pitre for Week 12, according to Wilson.

1:15pm: Davis Mills has started each of the Texans’ past two games. He is in line to handle QB1 duties for a third straight week, but C.J. Stroud is making progress in his recovery from a concussion.

Stroud has returned to practice on Tuesday, something ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime first reported was expected to take place. That is an encouraging step on Stroud’s path to returning to the lineup, although he is not expected to play in Week 12. The former No. 2 pick remains in concussion protocol, and the Texans are on a short week as they prepare to play the Bills on Thursday.

Stroud was concussed midway through Houston’s Week 9 loss to Denver. The team has managed to win each of its two contests since then with Mills at the helm. The Texans are 5-5 as a result, meaning a playoff berth is certainly attainable. Of course, having Stroud back to full health relatively soon will be key in determining their chances of making the postseason.

In an encouraging update, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports Stroud’s symptoms of headaches and sensitivity to light have subsided. That suggests the 24-year-old will be able to clear the remaining stages of the protocol relatively soon. If that proves to be the case, a return in time for a Week 13 matchup with the Colts could very well be in store.

Stroud played in all of Houston’s 19 combined regular and postseason contests last year, and he missed only two games as a rookie (although that absence was also caused by a concussion). The Ohio State product has not managed to replicate the production seen during his sensational debut campaign, but he profiles as Houston’s franchise passer for the foreseeable future. This coming offseason will be the first in which Stroud will be eligible for an extension.

Mills has thrown for 292 and 274 yards during his two starts so far, posting three touchdowns and one interception along the way. On Thursday, he will take on a Bills defense which has struggled mightily against the run in 2025 but ranks second in the NFL in terms of passing yards allowed per game. It will be interesting to see how Mills fares in what will be his final start provided Stroud continues to progress through his recovery.

Jalen Pitre returned to practice yesterday, and Wilson notes he is taking part in Tuesday’s work as well. Pitre, like Stroud, remains in concussion protocol at this time. Both players are working their way back, though, and a return by Week 13 would come as no surprise.

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