NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/30/25
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: TE Messiah Swinson
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: WR Mecole Hardman
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Ross Dwelley
Denver Broncos
- Signed: OL Calvin Throckmorton
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: RB Damien Martinez
Houston Texans
- Signed: DE Solomon Byrd
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Wyett Ekeler
- Released: OL Zachary Thomas
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: LB Kam Arnold, DT Marcus Harris
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: S Brandon Hill
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DT Simeon Barrow Jr.
New England Patriots
- Signed: TE Marshall Lang
- Released: RB Jashaun Corbin
New York Giants
- Signed: CB Myles Purchase
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LS Charley Hughlett
- Released: DE Titus Leo
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Josh Williams
- Released: RB Michael Wiley
Rico Dowdle, Calais Campbell, Von Miller Among Players Pursuing Incentives
The Panthers will face the Buccaneers in Week 18 with the NFC South on the line. Running back Rico Dowdle, one of the Panthers’ most important weapons, is dealing with a toe injury. It doesn’t appear it will sideline him, though, as head coach Dave Canales said he expects Dowdle to play Saturday (via Joe Person of The Athletic).
Along with winning the division, there’s a lot at stake financially for Dowdle, who’s seven scrimmage yards away from 1,350. If he reaches that total, Dowdle will earn a $1MM bonus, per Devon Henderson and Tobias Bass of The Athletic. Dowdle has rushed for 1,066 yards and added another 277 as a receiver while appearing in all 16 of Carolina’s games. The former Cowboy has given the Panthers plenty of bang for their buck on a one-year deal worth up to $6.25MM.
Dowdle isn’t the only veteran aiming to boost his earnings in Week 18. Here’s a look at several others (via Henderson and Bass):
- Chiefs wide receiver Hollywood Brown has hauled in five touchdowns in 15 games. He’ll earn an extra $750K if he grabs touchdown No. 6 against the Raiders on Sunday. It’s a long shot, but Brown will add an extra $1MM if he catches three TDs. After re-upping with the Chiefs on a one-year pact worth up to $11MM last offseason, he’s on track to reach free agency in March.
- Cardinals defensive lineman Calais Campbell needs one sack to hit 7.5 for the season. If he gets it done against the Rams on Sunday, Campbell will rake in a $500K bonus. That would be a nice way to go out for Campbell, who said before the season that this will likely be his last year. Campbell began his storied career with the Cardinals in 2008 and spent his first nine seasons in Arizona. After playing for four other teams, the six-time Pro Bowler returned to the desert last April on a one-year, $5.5MM guarantee.
- Jaguars defensive lineman Arik Armstead will collect a $1MM bonus if he picks up 1.5 sacks and reaches seven for the season against the Titans on Sunday. Armstead has piled up 5.5 sacks in 15 games in 2025, the second season of a three-year, $51MM deal.
- While little has gone right for the Commanders in 2025, last summer’s Von Miller signing has worked out. After inking a one-year pact worth up to $6.1MM, Miller has recorded eight sacks in 16 games. The 36-year-old will secure a $1MM bonus if he registers his ninth sack in Sunday’s meeting with the Eagles.
- With 70-plus catches and over 700 yards, Saints tight end Juwan Johnson has already maxed out his $750K incentive package for 2025. The 29-year-old has pulled in 74 catches for 828 yards and three touchdowns in the best season of his career. He’ll earn a fully guaranteed $9MM in 2026, the second season of a three-year, $30.75MM accord.
Updated 2026 NFL Draft Order
Aside from tonight’s Rams-Falcons game, Week 17 is in the books. Most of the playoff field has been set in both conferences, but there is still plenty to be determined regarding the first-round draft order.
By virtue of their loss on Sunday, the Raiders are now in pole position to secure the No. 1 pick. Vegas sits at 2-14 on the year, with four teams sporting a record of 3-13. Only one of those, however – the Giants – is still in contention to land the top selection. Vegas will play against Kansas City in Week 18, while New York’s season will end against Dallas.
Fernando Mendoza looms as the projected top quarterback option in the 2026 class, with the futures of Dante Moore and Ty Simpson still uncertain. Demand usually outweighs supply at the top of the draft when it comes to signal-callers, and scarcity at the position could very well come into play in April. Mendoza may find himself on the radar of teams not immediately in need of a quarterback depending on how things play out.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2025 standings plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. Playoff squads are slotted by their postseason outcome and the reverse order of their regular season record.
Here is an updated look at the first-round order:
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-14)
- New York Giants (3-13)
- New York Jets (3-13)
- Tennessee Titans (3-13)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-13)
- Cleveland Browns (4-12)
- Washington Commanders (4-12)
- New Orleans Saints (6-10)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-10)
- Cincinnati Bengals (6-10)
- Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons)
- Miami Dolphins (7-9)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9)
- Dallas Cowboys (7-8-1)
- Detroit Lions (8-8)
- Baltimore Ravens (8-8)
- Minnesota Vikings (8-8)
- New York Jets (via Colts)
- Carolina Panthers (8-8)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
- Dallas Cowboys (via Packers)
- Los Angeles Chargers (11-5)
- Philadelphia Eagles (11-5)
- Buffalo Bills (11-5)
- Chicago Bears (11-5)
- Houston Texans (11-5)
- Los Angeles Rams (11-4)
- Cleveland Browns (via Jaguars)
- San Francisco 49ers (12-4)
- New England Patriots (13-3)
- Denver Broncos (13-3)
- Seattle Seahawks (13-3)
Cardinals Place LT Paris Johnson On IR
With two weeks left in their season, the 3-12 Cardinals are shutting down their best offensive lineman for the rest of 2025. The team placed left tackle Paris Johnson on IR on Saturday.
Johnson suffered a sprained PCL in Week 14, the last time he took the field this season. He started in all 12 appearances and played every offensive snap before his injury. Pro Football Focus ranks his performance 21st among 82 qualifying offensive tackles.
Johnson originally joined the Cardinals as the sixth overall pick in the 2023 draft. The former Ohio State Buckeye was Monti Ossenfort‘s first selection as Arizona’s general manager. Johnson, who began as a right tackle with the Cardinals before shifting to the left side in 2024, has started in 43 straight games since entering the NFL.
It’s up in the air whether Ossenfort will keep his job in 2026. Either Ossenfort or a different GM will have to make a key decision on Johnson’s future in the offseason. The Cardinals will choose whether to pick up Johnson’s fifth-year option, which should check in around $19.95MM, for 2027. The 24-year-old will also be eligible for a contract extension after the season. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Cardinals attempt to retain him for the long haul.
Along with placing Johnson on IR, the Cardinals made a few other moves on the eve of a Week 17 meeting with the Bengals. The team signed defensive lineman Zachary Carter from its practice squad to its 53-man roster. Additionally, the Cardinals elevated cornerback Jaden Davis and wide receiver Steven Sims from their taxi squad.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/24/25
NFL minor moves this Christmas Eve:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from IR: DE L.J. Collier
Atlanta Falcons
- Designated for return from IR: CB Clark Phillips
Cincinnati Bengals
- Designated for return from IR: C Matt Lee
Cleveland Browns
- Signed off Steelers’ practice squad: G Kendrick Green
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed from practice squad: CB Corey Ballentine
- Elevated: LB Justin Barron
Detroit Lions
- Elevated: OL Kingsley Eguakun, TE Giovanni Ricci
Indianapolis Colts
- Designated for return from IR: WR Ashton Dulin
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed from practice squad: S Terrell Edmunds, WR Shedrick Jackson
Los Angeles Rams
- Designated for return from IR: CB Roger McCreary
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed from practice squad: G Henry Byrd
- Elevated: LB Sione Takitaki
- Placed on IR: TE Gavin Bartholomew, C Ryan Kelly
New York Jets
- Claimed off waivers (from Rams): S Chris Smith
Washington Commanders
- Signed from practice squad: QB Sam Hartman
- Elevated: DT Ricky Barber, WR River Cracraft
A month after coming off injured reserve, Kelly is headed right back to the injured list. Kelly was initially placed on IR after two concussions limited him to only three games in the early stages of the season. It is unfortunately a third concussion this season — and the sixth of his career — that will end his 2025 campaign. This will conclude the first half of Kelly’s two-year deal with the Vikings, who will once again turn to backup Michael Jurgens in his absence.
Also in Minnesota, Byrd’s contract to join the 53-man roster will not just be a two-week deal. According to a post from the X account of his agency, JL Sports, Byrd is joining the active roster on a two-year contract.
In Detroit, these will be the third and final standard gameday elevations for Eguakun and Ricci. If the Lions want to see them in the regular season finale, they will need to sign them to the 53-man roster. That’s what Dallas is doing with Ballentine, who exhausted his third elevation last week.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/24/25
Here are today’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: QB Logan Woodside
- Released: S Patrick McMorris
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: OL Richard Gouraige
Chicago Bears
- Signed: TE Thomas Gordon
- Placed on practice squad/injured list: TE Qadir Ismail
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LS Luke Elkin, T Joshua Miles
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: C Josh Kaltenberger
- Released: TE Tanner McLachlan
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR Brandon Johnson
- Released: DT Kyler Baugh
Cardinals CB Garrett Williams Suffered Torn Achilles
DECEMBER 24: Gannon confirmed on Wednesday that Williams tore his Achilles. The 2023 third-rounder will likely see his rehab stretch into the Cardinals’ offseason program next May and June. Achilles recovery rates have accelerated appreciably over the last few years, so Williams should have a shot at playing in Week 1 in 2026, provided he doesn’t suffer any setbacks.
DECEMBER 22: The list of major injuries appears to have grown for the Cardinals yesterday. Cornerback Garrett Williams was carted off the field after suffering a non-contact injury. 
Williams was ruled out shortly thereafter, and he is unlikely to return in 2025. The team fears an Achilles tear occurred, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network report. An MRI will take place to confirm the presumed diagnosis.
Provided follow-up tests produce the expected result, Williams will be in store for a lengthy recovery period. The Syracuse product made nine appearances as a rookie upon recovering from the ACL tear which ended his college career. Afterwards, Williams became even more of a first-team regular and logged a defensive snap share of 76% in 2024.
Through 10 appearances this season, Williams remained a key figure in the secondary. The 24-year-old started each of those contests, handling a snap share of 81%. His absence will be acutely felt as a result, although the timing of the injury could allow for Williams to return to action in time for the start of next season. 2026 will be critical considering it marks the final year of his rookie contract.
Arizona has been ravaged by injuries on both sides of the ball this season. With a record of 3-12, questions have been raised about changes being imminent on the sidelines or in the front office. The latest update on head coach Jonathan Gannon indicated he will be safe, but losing another contributor for the closing stages of the campaign will of course be an unwanted development.
Williams struggled in coverage this season compared to 2024, allowing five touchdowns as the nearest defender. Still, he posted 56 tackles, one interception, five pass deflections and one forced fumble prior to being injured. An extension could be worked out in this case as early as the coming offseason, but a major injury such as an Achilles tear would no doubt lead to caution on the team’s part regarding a long-term commitment.
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray Unlikely To Generate Large Trade Market
Kyler Murray has been sidelined since Week 5, and he will not play again this season. Naturally, speculation continues to swirl about the former No. 1 pick’s future in Arizona. 
Murray’s contract runs through 2028; more importantly, it includes $36.8MM in guarantees for next season. Suitors will of course not be enthused about taking on that figure in the event of a trade, and it would come as no surprise if the Cardinals were to retain salary to facilitate a swap. Even so, a large market may not exist in this case.
Multiple executives informed Jeff Howe of The Athletic (subscription required) Murray is viewed as having little or no trade value at this point. The two-time Pro Bowler underperformed when on the field in 2025, his seventh season as a Cardinal. Murray has largely avoided lengthy absences in his career, aside from his 2023 ACL tear and the current ailment which will keep him sidelined until the offseason. His latest injury will no doubt hinder Arizona’s ability to receive any substantial value in a trade.
The Cardinals beat the Dolphins to the punch here, with momentum toward a separation from Murray emerging weeks before the Tua Tagovailoa benching. It would surprise if Murray did not land somewhere with at least a chance to start next year, but he has struggled to reprise his early-career form.
Murray, 28, was also not playing especially well in Kliff Kingsbury‘s system before suffering an ACL tear in December 2022. A two-time original-ballot Pro Bowler (2020, 2021), Murray ranked 19th in QBR before his tear that season. He ranked 22nd in 2023 and saw his QBR and yards-per-attempt numbers (46.6, 6.0) drop to career-low figures in his five-game 2025. That said, Murray did place ninth in QBR last season. And the Cardinals’ 8-9 record in 2024 has suddenly aged pretty well.
That said, Murray has also missed 30 games due to injury. He came up as a shutdown candidate well before it was determined the Cards were sticking with journeyman Jacoby Brissett. While it is worth wondering if Murray would be ready to go now had the Cardinals not taken the direction they have, he has missed 10 contests this season.
The diminutive dual-threat performer has made 87 starts since the Cards became the rare team to draft first-round QBs in back-to-back years. He commanded a five-year, $230.5MM extension — a deal framed around the Browns’ Deshaun Watson re-up (albeit without guarantees rivaling the embattled Cleveland arm) — in summer 2022. The extension featuring the early guarantee triggers has proven beneficial to the former top-10 MLB draftee. The Cardinals will need to move on before the fifth day of the 2026 league year, a date that brings another $19.5MM guarantee — this one covering 2027 money.
A handful of teams, per usual, will be looking for a quarterback soon. That should give Murray a chance. The Vikings and Jets surfaced as potentially interested parties weeks ago. If the Cardinals truly do not have a buyer, they would eat $53.26MM in dead money, a figure which would surely be halved via a post-June 1 designation. Tagovailoa’s dead cap hit ($99.2MM) dwarfs this, and both the Jets and Saints took on this much in parting with Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr this year.
A free agent market would certainly emerge if Murray were jettisoned via release, but even considering the seven-year veteran’s inconsistency and injury issues, the QB supply-and-demand cycle will undoubtedly lead to teams showing some trade interest. With the mid-March vesting date, we still have a ways to go before finality on this topic surfaces.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Cardinals Sign K Joshua Karty
The Cardinals have turned to a division rival for some extra depth at kicker. The team announced that they’ve signed Joshua Karty to the 53-man roster.
Karty was previously on the Rams practice squad, where he’s been lingering since getting replaced by Harrison Mevis in late November. The 2024 sixth-round lived up to his draft billing as a rookie, converting on 85.3 percent of his field goal tries. However, he struggled as a sophomore, converting 10 of his 15 FG tries before getting benched.
Now in Arizona, Karty will provide some competition for Chad Ryland. The former Patriots draft pick has served as the Cardinals’ full-time kicker for the better part of the past two years. He had a standout performance in 2024 but has similarly struggled in 2025, missing eight field goals. That includes a showing from this past weekend when Ryland miss two of his six field goal attempts.
“It’s disappointing when it doesn’t happen for whatever reason – operation, protection, kicker, whatever,” special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers said of Ryland’s performance (via the team’s website). “[The Falcons game] did start off well … there were positives and negatives. I try to not focus too much on results and being consistent on technique, process, reps. I thought last Thursday was one of [Chad’s] better days striking the ball. On game day, we’ve got to be able to make those kicks, and we have to be good around him as well.”
With two games remaining, it seems likely that Karty will get the majority of the looks at kicker over Ryland. However, considering the incumbent’s restricted free agent status after this season, there’s a good chance he sticks around the roster for the remainder of the 2025 campaign.
The Cardinals weren’t done making moves today. The team officially placed defensive lineman Walter Nolen III and cornerback Garrett Williams on injured reserve, moves that were anticipated. The team also signed cornerback Kalen King from the Panthers practice squad. The former seventh-round pick got into one game for Carolina this season.
Jonathan Gannon’s Cardinals Seat Hotter Than GM Monti Ossenfort’s?
While the Cardinals being unable to sustain momentum is not exactly new, given the franchise’s history of slim contention windows, this year’s step backward has been rather alarming. Arizona sits 3-11 after a 2-0 start, inviting obvious questions about the current regime’s future.
Last year’s Cards finished 8-9, representing a substantial improvement from the 2022 and ’23 campaigns — both featuring 4-13 records — as a rebuild commenced. But this move down the standings will keep Gannon’s seat hot until season’s end. A Sunday report indicated Jonathan Gannon is more likely than not to stay, but the Cardinals lost yet again — a 26-19 home blemish to the struggling Falcons.
[RELATED: Kyler Murray Likely To Bring Limited Trade Market]
Monti Ossenfort certainly bears some responsibility for this season, but as it stands, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer views Gannon as being in a bit more trouble than the GM. Front office bosses typically receive longer leashes than coaches, as second-chance GMs have become a rare commodity in today’s game. This season has featured 32 first-time GMs/de facto GMs.
The Cardinals have operated this way as well. Steve Keim received the chance to work with three HCs — Bruce Arians, Steve Wilks, Kliff Kingsbury — while predecessor Rod Graves was on staff with three as well (Dave McGinnis, Dennis Green, Ken Whisenhunt). Both GMs were in-house promotions, and both lasted 10 years. Ossenfort was tasked with launching a rebuild in 2023, and the Cards’ history points to him being retained even if Gannon is fired.
Gannon, however, has overseen a seven-game losing streak during a stretch featuring 11 losses in 12 games. Eight of those losses have come by one score, but Arizona’s defense has regressed despite notable offseason investments. A defense-oriented coach, Gannon has seen he and Nick Rallis‘ unit sink to 26th in scoring and 29th in yardage. A 2024 group lacking the front-seven talent this year’s team possesses finished 15th and 21st in those categories, respectively.
This Cards regime also has not had the opportunity to acquire its own starting quarterback. Though, Gannon and Ossenfort praised Kyler Murray at nearly every turn between being hired and Week 1 of this season. Murray has since been shut down and is widely expected to be elsewhere in 2026.
Ossenfort’s first-round picks have been a mixed bag as well. Paris Johnson Jr. has performed well, playing both tackle spots during his career, but Marvin Harrison Jr. has not taken off as a No. 1-level wideout yet (though, 2023 third-rounder Michael Wilson has flashed brightly during this season’s second half). Pro Football Focus ranks Darius Robinson 128th out of 128 qualified interior D-linemen. Fellow first-round D-tackle Walter Nolen did not debut until November this season due to injury.
Michael Bidwill has given three of his past four HCs at least four seasons, but Whisenhunt, Arians and Kingsbury produced playoff trips by Year 3. The exception was Wilks, whom the team canned after a 3-13 season. This Cards edition has not been as bad as that 2018 squad, which was outscored by 200 points (it is at minus-93 presently), but this group’s struggles leave Gannon’s future up in the air.