Ravens Place DTs Nnamdi Madubuike, Broderick Washington On IR
It’s doubly bad news for an already struggling defense. In addition to the semi-expected placement of Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike on injured reserve, Madubuike’s draft classmate Broderick Washington is joining him there. Baltimore will now face a four-game stretch that includes the Chiefs, Texans, Rams, and Bears without two key pieces on their defensive line. 
The Madubuike move was semi-expected after head coach John Harbaugh expressed some concern about the two-time Pro Bowler’s long-term availability in a media session yesterday. Now, those concerns have been realized as the veteran lineman will embark on an extended absence with the aim to heal his troubling neck injury. His presence was greatly missed on Monday as the Ravens went sackless for the first time in 57 games without their 2023 team sack-leader.
Things won’t get much better with Washington joining Madubuike on IR because of an ankle injury. The Texas Tech product has not been nearly as productive as his A&M counterpart, Madubuike, but Washington has established himself as a dependable depth piece for Baltimore over six years with the team. Out of a possible 87 career games, Washington has started 22 of 73 game appearances and is usually good for a sack or two per year.
To make matters worse, another starting defensive tackle, Travis Jones, is currently listed as questionable for tomorrow’s trip to Kansas City with an ankle injury, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Playing on the final year of his rookie deal, this could be a big opportunity for Jones to gain some bargaining power for the offseason, but he’ll need to be on the field to make that a reality.
With Madubuike and Washington definitely out and Jones questionable, the Ravens are bringing up three defensive linemen for tomorrow’s game. Veteran lineman Brent Urban will be promoted to the 53-man roster after a short stay on the team’s practice squad. Recent practice squad signee Josh Tupou and C.J. Okoye will join Urban on Sunday, but as standard gameday practice squad elevations, they will revert back to the practice squad after the game.
That still leaves one open slot on the 53-man roster, and the Ravens will utilize it to promote practice squad tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden. This may be additional bad news as there was hope yesterday that Isaiah Likely would be ready to make his 2025 debut tomorrow. This doesn’t necessarily indicate that Likely won’t be available, but it could hint at Baltimore’s confidence in his likelihood to play.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/27/25
Here are Saturday’s minor moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations:
Buffalo Bills
- Elevated: DT Jordan Phillips
Carolina Panthers
- Elevated: OLB Boogie Basham, G Brandon Walton
Chicago Bears
- Signed to active roster: LB Carl Jones
- Elevated: TE Stephen Carlson, DT Jonathan Ford
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys
- Elevated: WR Jalen Cropper
Detroit Lions
- Elevated: WR Jackson Meeks
- Placed on IR: S Daniel Thomas
Green Bay Packers
- Elevated: G Lecitus Smith
Houston Texans
- Elevated: CB Myles Bryant, CB D’Angelo Ross
Indianapolis Colts
- Elevated: CB Mike Hilton, G Josh Sills
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Elevated: TE Quintin Morris, WR Austin Trammell
Kansas City Chiefs
- Elevated: CB Kevin Knowles, DT Brodric Martin
Las Vegas Raiders
- Elevated: TE Albert Okwuegbunam, TE Carter Runyon
Los Angeles Chargers
- Elevated: T Foster Sarell, RB Kimani Vidal
Minnesota Vikings
- Elevated: RB Cam Akers
New England Patriots
- Elevated: LB Darius Harris, C Brenden Jaimes
New Orleans Saints
- Elevated: DE Fadil Diggs, LB Nephi Sewell
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Elevated: RB Trey Sermon
San Francisco 49ers
- Elevated: CB Eli Apple
Tennessee Titans
- Elevated: LB Curtis Jacobs, RB Jordan Mims
Washington Commanders
- Elevated: CB Antonio Hamilton, WR Tay Martin
With Colts cornerback Kenny Moore presumed to potentially miss a few weeks, the recent signee, Hilton, will get his opportunity to supplement the team’s secondary. He may be able to earn an official spot on the 53-man roster with an impactful game. Similarly, Cropper may be able to get into his first NFL game since going undrafted in 2023 as he gets elevated to a receiving corps that will sorely miss CeeDee Lamb.
Morris is getting called up for the third time for Jacksonville. If the Jaguars intend for him to appear in another game after this week, they’ll need to sign him to the 53-man roster.
Giants Place K Graham Gano On IR
After nearly becoming an early scratch on Sunday night, Giants kicker Graham Gano will miss at least the next four games. The Giants announced today that Graham has been placed on injured reserve after suffering a groin injury in warmups before last week’s game. Practice squad kicker Jude McAtamney will kick for the team this weekend. 
Graham’s injury put the G-Men in a tough position on Sunday night. Despite rostering McAtamney as a backup on the practice squad, the timing of Gano’s injury came far too close to the start of the game for the Giants to have had time to bring up the taxi squad kicker. Instead, the team tried a number of alternative measures in the kicking game.
After driving down the field on the first possession on the game, New York faced a fourth-and-three at the Kansas City 28-yard line. Though they might have gone for it anyway, the lack of a primary kicker perhaps made the decision a bit easier; they did not convert. When the team actually did score a touchdown later on in the game, lefty punter Jamie Gillan came on for the extra point, kicked it too low, and had it blocked. In the fourth quarter, the offense got the ball to the seven-yard line and rushed the field goal team out onto the field, including a clearly ailing Gano. Gano made the 25-yarder but showed significant discomfort.
Now, Gano will be unable to come back to the field for at least four games. McAtamney hears his name called once again, after filling in as a backup kicker once last year for the Giants. In his only NFL game appearance, McAtamney converted both his only extra point attempt and his only field goal attempt — a 31-yarder.
Joining McAtamney from the practice squad as active players for the weekend will be outside linebacker Tomon Fox, defensive tackle Elijah Garcia, and linebacker Neville Hewitt. Fox and Garcia will be officially joining the 53-man roster, while Hewitt and McAtamney will be standard gameday practice squad elevations who will revert back to the practice squad after tomorrow’s game.
Garcia needed to be signed to the active roster in order to appear in another game for New York. He was elevated the maximum three times on a single practice squad contract through the first three weeks of the season. If New York chooses to do so, they could release Garcia after this week’s game and sign him back to the practice squad, and his three-game limit count would revert back to zero.
Latest Details On Fallout Between Cowboys, Micah Parsons
This weekend, star pass rusher Micah Parsons will return to the stadium in which he played the first four years of his NFL career. As many revisit the dramatics that led to his exit from Dallas, a few interesting new details and retellings have emerged. 
As many surely remember, the inciting incident that led to some contention between Parsons and the team that drafted him was a one-on-one meeting with team owner/president/general manager Jerry Jones. Jones thought that the result of the meeting was a handshake agreement on a contract extension that would’ve netted Parsons $150MM of guaranteed money. Parsons had a different view of the meeting, which he claimed was focused on leadership.
“Nah, obviously he wants to know where I’m at, what I think,” Parsons responded when asked last week if he viewed the meeting as a negotiation, per ESPN’s Todd Archer and Dan Graziano. “I’m thinking, ‘He wants to know where I’m at with the process,’ and that’s what I thought. Obviously, none of that matters now. I’m (in Green Bay).”
Following the meeting, Parsons came back to the table asking executive vice president — and son of the owner — Stephen Jones for more money. The younger Jones took the request to his father and, reportedly, convinced the general manager to increase the offer. Then — according to a report from Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News that contradicts previous reports claiming that Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, never laid eyes on the handshake offer — team officials sent the increased proposal to Mulugheta, and the agent rejected it.
Watkins adds how, at the time, officials with the NFL Players Association explored the idea of discussing Jones’ tactics of cornering players without their agents with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Ultimately, no action was taken, considering the Collective Bargaining Agreement doesn’t forbid owners or general managers from negotiating directly with players, as long as a certified agent is present to finalize a deal with the team.
The reason the NFLPA was concerned was based on this not being the first instance of Jones and his son cornering players without their lawyers. The two defend the tactic, claiming that agents are impartial third parties that may not be around the player for very long, so their goals may not align with the long-term vision of the player like the owner’s might. They contend that the conversations go beyond the numbers, something that Parsons’ former teammate, quarterback Dak Prescott, can attest to with fond memories.
In reality, from the outside, it looks like the Joneses are attempting to utilize a familiarity and fondness with the player to earn more favorable teams for themselves with a potential hometown discount for an agreement. Also, by cutting out the agent, Jones removes a person knowledgeable on all aspects of a contract and its negotiation. As Parsons’ agent framed it, Parsons is an All-Pro defender in the NFL, and it’s unreasonable to expect him to also be an expert contract attorney.
The Joneses defend themselves, claiming that they will only proceed with the negotiations as long as the player is comfortable with it, but it requires them to ask. They say that those players are willing to discuss visions of their future with the team and what that looks like, but once numbers start getting thrown around the players will defer to their agent on those details. Still, negotiating any aspect of a contract without someone fully knowledgeable on the topic, is a bad look in the eyes of many players and agents.
The result of the incidental meeting was a trade request. First, Dallas called the Jets, checking in on the availability of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Green Bay and Miami were thought to be potential destinations, but the Cowboys looked also at Denver, whose head coach Sean Payton had worked with the team as a Cowboys assistant coach years ago. When Payton didn’t make an offer and a call from the Eagles’ was quickly nixed because of their divisional relation, the Packers emerged as the winner of the sweepstakes.
Parsons reportedly knew his days in Dallas were coming to an end when the team called on him to attend a treatment session on his ailing back. Parsons informed the team that he would need to reschedule, and the Cowboys threatened to fine him if he failed to attend. Two days later, he was headed to Green Bay.
At the start of it all, Mulugheta was seeking a $200MM deal for his star client. The Packers, after giving up defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks, continued to invest in Parsons with a four-year, $188MM extension. Both teams had early letdowns last week with the Cowboys getting blown out in Chicago and the Pack losing to the lowly Browns. While tons of focus will be centered on Parsons, both teams will be looking towards this week’s game as an opportunity to move on in multiple ways.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/26/25
Here are today’s only minor moves:
Houston Texans
- Placed on IR: FB Jakob Johnson
Tennessee Titans
- Signed to active roster: T Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson
- Placed on IR: RB Kalel Mullings
Johnson’s time on the active roster was short-lived. After getting called up as a standard gameday practice squad elevation in the first two weeks of the season, Johnson was officially signed to the 53-man roster this past weekend. A hamstring injury will remove him from the active roster as he’ll require at least four weeks to recover.
It’s an ankle injury that will land the Titans’ sixth-round pick on injured reserve. Though they used the open roster spot on the offensive line, Turron Davenport of ESPN claims one of their two gameday practice squad elevations will be used to bring up taxi squad rusher Jordan Mims, who was also called up in Week 2.
As a struggling offensive line in Tennessee continues to deal with injury, Crenshaw-Dickson finds his way back to the 53-man roster. The undrafted rookie out of Florida — after four years at San Diego State — started games at both tackle spots throughout college. The majority of his starts came on the right side of the line, though, so his addition to the active roster provides some depth at the right tackle spot as JC Latham is set to miss another game with his hip injury.
Latest On Texans’ Safety Plan
For the second time, after spending a season with the Eagles, safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson only played three games with his new team. The first time, in Detroit, an injury in the second game of the season forced him to the sideline until the regular season finale. This year, Houston released the veteran defensive back and will now need to fill his role on the defense. 
According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, another veteran defensive back, M.J. Stewart will be the next man up at the position. A second-round pick out of North Carolina in 2018, Stewart started his career as a slot cornerback for the Buccaneers. He made six starts in his first two seasons but missed 11 games and was waived before the start of his third year.
The Browns picked Stewart up off waivers, and while splitting time at nickelback with Kevin Johnson, Stewart snagged the only two interceptions of his career. He stuck around with the Browns for the final year of his rookie contract, and Cleveland began to give him a bit of run at safety. Though he was still splitting his time between the slot and the defensive outfield, Stewart began to look more comfortable as a defender, grading out as the team’s third-best defender that 2021 season, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
As a free agent, Stewart signed with the Texans, and though he’s mostly been a special teamer during his time in Houston, when the depth piece did appear on defense, he was lining up the most as a safety. In those first three years with the team, he was always an available option to sub into the first team defense in case of injuries, and he was called to do so a few times. That’s why head coach DeMeco Ryans feels comfortable turning to him now, in the wake of Gardner-Johnson’s departure.
Stewart may not need to be relied upon for long, though. Veteran safety Jimmie Ward was recently removed from the commissioner’s exempt list as he distances himself from an assault family violence charge. Despite the removal, Ward still isn’t quite ready to return to the field as he remains on the reserve/physically unable to perform list following a pair of offseason foot surgeries. Per Wilson, Ward is expected to be ready to return to practice activities in the next few weeks, barring any disciplinary action on behalf of the NFL concerning the resolution of his legal situation.
Houston will add a bit of depth to the position, as well. Wilson reports that undrafted rookie Zion Childress has been signed to the team’s active roster off of the Cowboys‘ practice squad. Childress has been called up twice by Dallas as a standard gameday practice squad elevation but has only appeared on special teams, so far. With Stewart stepping into the starting role, Childress may stand to fill Stewart’s special teams role with an ability to step up, if necessary.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/24/25
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad transactions:
Baltimore Ravens
- Released: RB D’Ernest Johnson, WR Anthony Miller
Denver Broncos
- Signed: CB AJ Woods, WR Michael Woods
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DT Quinton Jefferson
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: G Lecitus Smith
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Quintez Cephus
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: WR Tim Jones
New England Patriots
- Signed: G Royce Newman, TE Gee Scott Jr.
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: WR Kevin Austin
- Placed on practice squad/injured list: QB Hunter Dekkers
New York Giants
- Signed: OLB Tomon Fox
New York Jets
- Signed: RB Lawrance Toafili
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DE William Bradley-King, S Jaylen Mahoney
- Released: S Derrick Canteen
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: S Jerrick Reed II
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/24/25
Here are today’s midweek minor moves:
Denver Broncos
- Signed to active roster: FB Adam Prentice
Detroit Lions
- Signed to active roster: TE Ross Dwelley
Los Angeles Chargers
- Placed on IR: RB Najee Harris (story)
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed to active roster: DE Robert Beal Jr.
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed to active roster: S D’Anthony Bell
- Placed on IR: FB Robbie Ouzts
Free Agents
- Suspended: WR Jahmal Banks
Prentice had been called up as a standard gameday practice squad elevation the maximum three times under a single practice squad contract. The Broncos may allow him to stick around for a bit, as he takes linebacker Dre Greenlaw‘s roster spot while he recovers on injured reserve, but they can always release Prentice and sign him back to the practice squad, resetting his elevation count back to zero under a new deal.
Ouzts heads to IR after suffering an ankle injury in the team’s win over New Orleans this past weekend. The fifth-round rookie out of Alabama converted to the position from the tight end role he played in Tuscaloosa, and he had started two of his first three games in the NFL in his new role.
Banks, currently a free agent, has received a six-week suspension from the NFL. Originally an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska, Banks spent the offseason in Baltimore before getting cut in the days leading up to the roster cut deadline.
Cardinals RB James Conner Out For Season
September 23: Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said on Tuesday (via Weinfuss) that Conner’s season-ending injury was actually to his foot, not his ankle.
September 21: In a close loss to the 49ers today, the Cardinals saw a core player suffer a season-ending injury. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Arizona running back James Conner will require season-ending surgery on his right ankle. 
In an extremely competitive matchup with the Niners today, disaster struck when Conner got twisted up while getting tackled. It was immediately apparent that the ankle injury was serious in nature as players from both teams took a knee, and a cart eventually came out to remove Conner from the field of play.
The speculation on the severity of Conner’s injury didn’t show much optimism. After a couple hours, ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss reported that a source had told ESPN that Conner’s ankle injury was “severe enough to end his season,” though an official prognosis had not yet been made. Schefter’s official breaking report followed 16 minutes later.
Today’s injury is yet another bump in the road for Conner, who has endured quite a few. As a junior at Pitt in 2015, Conner suffered a torn MCL and, during his rehabilitation process, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. After being declared cancer-free, Conner returned for his senior year and, though not as strong as his incredible sophomore campaign with the Panthers, it was good enough for him to be selected in the third round by the team that shares a stadium with his alma mater.
Injuries continued to dog Conner throughout his years in the NFL. Though, until today, he’s never appeared in a single-digit number of games over a full season, he’s never appeared in every game of a season. Out of a potential 135 games, Conner has been available for 110, making 84 starts over nine years in the NFL.
His production from season to season has always been a bit of a mixed bag. In his second year with the Steelers, Conner broke out with 973 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns in only 13 games, making his first Pro Bowl. In injury-shortened seasons over the remainder of his rookie contract, Conner didn’t surpass 721 yards or six touchdowns in either season.
In Conner’s first year with the Cardinals, Conner only started six of 15 game appearances and totaled 752 rushing yards, but his 15 touchdowns helped him to secure his second Pro Bowl bid. In the three years since, Conner has totaled 2,916 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns in 42 starts.
With Conner out for the year, the Cardinals will turn to second-year rusher Trey Benson as their new lead back. The former third-round pick out of Florida State only totaled 291 yards and a touchdown on the ground as a rookie, but through the first two games of the year, Benson was outpacing Conner 83 yards to 73 despite having 12 fewer carries — most of that yardage came in a 52-yard sprint.
Arizona also rosters Emari Demercado, who started two games as an undrafted rookie in 2023 and had 223 rushing yards behind Conner and Benson last year. They also roster Bam Knight, though he’s yet to be active for a game this year, and hold veteran rusher Michael Carter on their practice squad.
Chargers’ Najee Harris Suffers Torn Achilles
SEPTEMBER 22: When speaking to the media on Monday, Harbaugh confirmed (via ESPN’s Kris Rhim) Harris has indeed suffered an Achilles tear. His debut season with the Bolts has thus ended after 43 snaps. Today’s news will also obviously deal a blow to Harris’ market value next spring.
SEPTEMBER 21: Chargers running back Najee Harris appeared to suffer an Achilles injury in today’s victory over the Broncos, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. That much was confirmed by head coach Jim Harbaugh after the game. Harbaugh’s exact answer to the media seemed to resonate differently with a couple reporters. 
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport had the most conservative report, stating that Harris was undergoing imaging but that there wasn’t “a lot of optimism.” Daniel Popper of The Athletic took Harbaugh’s comments a bit further, asserting that Harbaugh told them how “preliminary tests indicated a torn Achilles.” Regardless, both versions of Harbaugh’s comments point in the same direction, towards a likely lengthy absence for the veteran rusher.
Harris has been extremely consistent throughout his NFL career. A first-round pick out of Alabama in 2021, Harris started every possible game for the Steelers over the course of his rookie contract. After a Pro Bowl rookie campaign in which he rushed for 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns (with 467 more yards and three more scores receiving), Harris’ next three season rushing totals of 1,034 yards, 1,035 yards, and 1,043 yards perfectly demonstrate that consistency. His touchdown totals in those three years of seven, eight, and six continue that trend, as well.
Harris was going to be hard-pressed to find that same consistency in Los Angeles. Signing with the Chargers on a one-year, $5.25MM contract, Harris seemed the apparent new starting rusher for his new team. Los Angeles drafting Omarion Hampton in the first round of the draft and a fireworks incident both threw a wrench in those plans.
The incident at a 4th of July event saw Harris sustain a superficial eye injury that would force him to open camp on the active/non-football injury list. Though he was activated in time for Week 1 of the season, Hampton was the one getting all the touches and experience with the first-team offense throughout training camp. It may have been that way regardless of Harris’ availability, but the injury guaranteed that Harris would be making up ground upon his return.
That appeared to be the case in the Chargers’ first two games. Through two weeks, Hampton has out-carried Harris 23-9, and Hampton’s snap share on offense (88) more than doubled that of Harris (32) over that time. Hampton will continue in that role as Harris is likely to miss extended time. No other backs have taken carries yet this season for LA, but fourth-year running back Hassan Haskins stands to step into the RB2 role.
The team also holds Kimani Vidal and South Dakota State rookie Amar Johnson on the practice squad. Vidal, a sixth-round pick for the Chargers last year, spent his rookie season on the team’s active roster and could be a candidate to move up to the active roster in Harris’ absence.