Commanders S Will Harris Suffers Leg Fracture
As the Commanders overcame one injury to tally a win this weekend, they unfortunately suffered another. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, safety Will Harris suffered a fractured fibula in today’s game. He’ll reportedly undergo further tests to determine the full extent of the injury, but a multi-week absence is likely and could lead to a placement on injured reserve. 
Harris is in his first season with the Commanders. A third-round pick for the Lions in 2019, the Boston College product immediately became a strong rotation piece in Detroit’s secondary behind then-starters Tracy Walker and Tavon Wilson in Year 1 and Walker and Duron Harmon in Year 2. By Year 3, it was Harris’ turn to start next to Walker, and in 17 starts, he finished second on the team in total tackles.
As useful as Harris’ versatility in playing snaps all over the field was, it also allowed him to be moved when new starters came in to occupy his position. This happened in 2022, when Harris was utilized more as a cornerback and nickelback after new additions to the roster put him fourth in the pecking order at safety. His role as a safety continued to diminish in 2023, and he saw severely reduced playing time overall on the Lions defense in his final year with the team.
Last year, Harris signed a veteran minimum contract with the Saints and won a camp competition for the starting strong safety job next to Tyrann Mathieu. In 13 starts with New Orleans, Harris had a resurgent season with 74 total tackles, five passes defensed, and an interception. Harris leveraged the strong year into a two-year, $8MM deal with the Commanders to start next to Quan Martin, replacing Jeremy Chinn.
The Commanders aren’t terribly deep at the safety position. Former All-Pro special teamer Jeremy Reaves holds the most experience in the group as an eighth-year veteran, but he hasn’t played significant snaps on defense since 2022. Percy Butler could step into a role as a starter that he held for most of 2023, but Butler fell down the pecking order at safety over the last year and a half. He’ll likely have to do, though, since Tyler Owens — an undrafted rookie last year who played solely on special teams — is the only other safety on the roster.
While Reaves or Butler fill in on defense, Washington will keep a close eye on Harris. If Harris’ fracture is minor enough, there’s certainly a chance that he’ll be able to make a return later on in the year. Until then, the Commanders will have to continue to overcome injury issues early in the season.
Giants K Graham Gano Injures Groin Minutes Before Game
The Giants may be working without their primary placekicker in tonight’s matchup with the Chiefs. Minutes before kickoff, kicker Graham Gano was seen heading back into the locker room before being announced as questionable with a groin injury, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic. 
New York does have backup kicker Jude McAtamney on the practice squad, but McAtamney is not active to play tonight. That would mean the likeliest option to kick field goals and extra points would be punter Jamie Gillan. Gillan is the field goal formation’s usual holder and return man Gunner Olszewski is the backup holder. One wonders, though, if part of Olszewski’s responsibilities as backup holder requires practicing on both sides, considering Gillan is a lefty.
Per a narrative timeline from Connor Hughes of SportsNet New York, Gano came back from the locker room with his helmet and started kicking into the net on the sideline. After a few kicks, though, Gano went to talk to a trainer, and Gillian began taking reps in the kicking net, leading one to believe that Gillan may be the man tapped to fill in for Gano if the veteran kicker truly can’t go.
Through one quarter of play, no field goals, extra points, or kickoffs were attempted by the Giants. It will be interesting to see if Gano ends up being inactive or if his absence affects the way New York calls plays in situations where field goals make sense. Whenever they do kick, it looks like the punter Gillan will be called on for the try.
Giants LT Andrew Thomas To Make 2025 Debut
Following rumors throughout the week that Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas may finally make his way back to the field again this season, the team officially announced that Thomas is active for tonight’s matchup with the Chiefs. The question remains, though, just how active Thomas will be. 
Thomas was limited to six games last season due to a Lisfranc injury, one which required a screw to be inserted into his foot. The screw has since been removed, something which caused a slight delay in his rehab process. Thomas also underwent an ankle scope this offseason, resulting in plenty of uncertainty in his regular season availability.
Thomas took part in practice for Weeks 1 and 2 but was listed as doubtful for both contests. With an increased workload this week, some optimism arose that keeping him off of any type of injured lists to open the season was, perhaps, a good move. While things were certainly improving, Thomas was reportedly still not at 100-percent health. This led to some speculation on what might be the best way to get Thomas back up to speed.
Yesterday saw reports that Thomas could certainly make his season debut tonight, but it may not be as a full-time starter. As he focuses on longevity on his way back, it had been proposed that Thomas may play in a rotation on the offensive line. Marcus Mbow has been helping to fill in on the blindside for Thomas and would likely be the one rotating with him at left tackle, especially considering that the team is not considering moving Mbow inside to guard with Thomas’ return.
Regardless of how much time he sees, the Giants will certainly be happy to get Thomas back on the field tonight. It will be interesting to see just how much he can go as he continues to ramp his way back up to full health.
Broncos LB Dre Greenlaw Lands On IR
Broncos veteran linebacker Dre Greenlaw was a known scratch to open up the season as he dealt with a quad issue, but with Week 3 about to be played out, Greenlaw is still nowhere close to coming back. Denver had been hoping to avoid placing Greenlaw on any injured lists, but it was forced to bite the bullet today and make the decision to land Greenlaw on injured reserve. 
The quad issue came about five months ago and has continued to limit the team’s offseason addition. Per Mike Klis of 9NEWS, the new target date for Greenlaw’s return is a Week 7 matchup against the Giants in mid-October.
It’s hard to say if he would’ve had to sit out that long regardless of when he was placed on an injured list, but by not placing him on IR sooner, the Broncos have ensured that Greenlaw will now miss almost half of the regular season. This comes after Greenlaw missed almost all of the 2024 season — an absence stemming from the Achilles tear he sustained in Super Bowl LVIII.
Denver gave Greenlaw a three-year, $31.5MM deal on Day 1 of the legal tampering period. The veteran linebacker kept his Broncos pledge despite a last-ditch 49ers push, but largely due to his 2024 absences, the longtime Fred Warner sidekick only received $11.5MM guaranteed at signing. The Broncos can get out of this deal for just $4.33MM in 2026 dead money by releasing Greenlaw before a $2MM roster bonus is due on Day 5 of the 2026 league year. As it stands, Greenlaw looks likely to need a strong second half to remain on this contract next season.
The Broncos returned a top-five defense but were counting on two starting ILBs coming back from injury. While Alex Singleton has returned to regular duty following his September 2024 ACL tear, Greenlaw remains sidelined. Denver has not made any linebacker additions in-season, relaying on 2024 Singleton fill-in Justin Strnad — re-signed in March — to take Greenlaw’s place. That combination did not fare especially well against the Colts in Week 2, and Greenlaw’s absence will likely continue to be felt moving forward.
The team could have some help by Week 5, with ILB Drew Sanders on short-term IR, but the oft-injured defender is not certain to be ready to return from foot surgery by then. Practice squad linebacker Garret Wallow will help provide some depth at the position as a standard gameday practice squad elevation for the second week in a row. Fullback Adam Prentice will also be elevated from the practice squad again.
This is actually Prentice’s third time getting called up as an elevation. Because of the three-game limit for practice squad elevations, if Denver would like to see Prentice in any more games after this, they’ll need to sign him to the active roster. After doing so, they can cut him after the game and re-sign him back to the practice squad, at which point he would be eligible for three new elevations.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/20/25
Here are today’s minor moves and Week 3’s standard gameday practice squad elevations:
Arizona Cardinals
- Elevated: T Jake Curhan, DE Anthony Goodlow
Carolina Panthers
- Elevated: G Brandon Walton
Chicago Bears
- Signed to active roster: DE Tanoh Kpassagnon
- Elevated: CB Dallis Flowers, LB Carl Jones
- Placed on IR: T Kiran Amegadjie, CB Jaylon Johnson (story)
Cleveland Browns
- Elevated: WR Kaden Davis, CB Dom Jones
Green Bay Packers
- Placed on IR: WR Jayden Reed (story)
Houston Texans
- Signed to active roster: FB Jakob Johnson
- Elevated: CB Myles Bryant, CB D’Angelo Ross
- Placed on IR: CB Jaylin Smith
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Elevated: TE Quintin Morris
Kansas City Chiefs
- Elevated: CB Kevin Knowles
Las Vegas Raiders
- Elevated: WR Alex Bachman, CB Greedy Vance
Los Angeles Chargers
- Elevated: LB Emany Johnson
Minnesota Vikings
- Elevated: RB Cam Akers, G Henry Byrd
New England Patriots
- Elevated: CB Kobee Minor, LB Mark Robinson
New Orleans Saints
- Signed to active roster: WR Kevin Austin
- Elevated: DE Fadil Diggs, TE Treyton Welch
- Waived: TE Moliki Matavao
New York Giants
- Signed to active roster: OLB Tomon Fox
- Elevated: DT Elijah Garcia, LB Neville Hewitt
- Waived: WR Xavier Gipson
New York Jets
- Elevated: S Dean Clark, QB Brady Cook
Philadelphia Eagles
- Elevated: S Marcus Epps, TE Cameron Latu
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Elevated: RB Trey Sermon
- Placed on IR: G Max Scharping (story)
San Francisco 49ers
- Elevated: QB Adrian Martinez, WR Malik Turner
- Placed on IR: OL Spencer Burford
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed to active roster: S Jerrick Reed II
- Elevated: S D’Anthony Bell, RB Jacardia Wright
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Elevated: T Tyler McLellan
Washington Commanders
- Elevated: CB Antonio Hamilton
- Released from reserve/retired list: OL Nate Herbig
There were some eyes on whether or not the Browns would add a kicker for the weekend after Andre Szmyt needed to undergo some MRI testing, but no such moves were made and Szmyt heads into the weekend without an injury designation. The team did report a workout with veteran kicker Matthew Wright, though, per Howard Balzer of CardsWire.
The 49ers will lose some additional offensive line depth as they place their intended swing tackle, Burford, on injured reserve. Additionally, with Martinez not getting signed to the active roster, it appears that injured starter Brock Purdy will not be active as an emergency option, as was rumored a bit yesterday. Purdy should be inactive as a result.
Herbig announced his retirement at the end of July after spending a good portion of the offseason with the Commanders. The 27-year-old was coming off a 2024 season in which he missed the entirety of the year with a shoulder injury. Washington’s release of Herbig from the reserve/retired list gives him an opportunity to sign with a new team as a free agent. There’s no guarantee that he’s headed anywhere specific, but he likely initiated the transaction in order to explore his options.
Titans Place DT T’Vondre Sweat On IR
The Titans defensive line took a larger hit than expected today when it was announced that the team was placing second-year nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat on injured reserve. He’ll now be forced to miss Tennessee’s next four games, at least. 
A second-round pick out of Texas last year, Sweat was an impressive rookie, stepping in to start every game but one in his first year of NFL play. Among full-time starters on the defense, Sweat graded out as the team’s second-best defender, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), behind only his neighbor on the line, Jeffery Simmons.
Sweat had missed the Titans’ Week 2 matchup with an ankle injury but had been working his way back onto the field this week. Per NFL writer Paul Kuharsky, Sweat reinjured his ankle on Thursday, throwing his recovery progress off track. The severity of his ankle injury is unclear at the moment, but Tennessee placing him on IR indicates that it will take at least four weeks for Sweat to recover.
To help fill out the defensive line a bit, the Titans are calling up defensive tackle Carlos Watkins as a standard gameday practice squad elevation. Joining Watkins in that regard will be linebacker Kyzir White.
Practice squad offensive tackle John Ojukwu will also be active for Sunday’s game but as a member of the 53-man roster. With right tackle JC Latham set to miss his second straight game with a hip injury, Ojukwu will continue to fill in as the starter on that side. While Latham not being placed on IR indicates he may not be out for four weeks, signing Ojukwu to the active roster helps the Titans avoid the three-time elevation limit on a single practice squad contract, meaning they likely intend to utilize Ojukwu for more than just three games.
NFL Injury Updates: Penning, Thomas, Seahawks, MNF
The Saints have been dealing with multiple injuries on the offensive line this week. In his first season with the team, guard Dillon Radunz has been spot starting in place of presumed starting guard Trevor Penning, who has been dealing with a turf toe injury since the preseason.
Per Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football, Radunz has been ruled out as he deals with a toe injury of his own. Penning, though, may be available to retake a starting spot. The fourth-year lineman hasn’t played yet in 2025, but he returned to practice on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell.
Formerly the Saints’ starting right tackle, Penning was expected to shift into a starting role on the inside as first-round Texas rookie Kelvin Banks took the starting left tackle job, pushing last year’s first-round rookie left tackle, Taliese Fuaga, to the right side of the line. Penning was a limited participant for the rest of the week of practice, and he’s listed as questionable, but with Radunz out, Penning may be challenged to make his season debut.
Fuaga is also listed as questionable, despite not practicing at all this week as he deals with knee and back issues. Joining Radunz with an out designation is defensive end Chase Young, who like Penning, has not played yet this year.
Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:
- Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas has yet to play in 2025 as he works his way back from a Lisfranc injury from 2024. The veteran lineman is listed as questionable this week and has been rumored as likely to play. He may be able to do so without fully coming back. Per Ryan Dunleavy of New York Post Sports, Thomas hasn’t “ruled out that he could play in a rotation as he works his way back” with a focus on longevity. The team will see how he feels today before making a final decision on his status for tomorrow, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, but the idea of using a rotation to ease him in is seemingly gaining popularity.
- The Seahawks sustained injuries over the last week to running back Zach Charbonnet, cornerback Devon Witherspoon, and safety Julian Love. There was worry that each player could be out for an extended period of time, but The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar reports that none of the three are being considered for stints on injured reserve. All three, though, are doubtful to play in Week 3.
- After tight end Isaiah Likely suffered a foot injury in training camp, the Ravens opted not to place him on any injured lists to avoid a guaranteed four-week absence. The 25-year-old returned to practice this week but won’t be active to play on Monday. They’ll likely aim to have him back in time Week 4. Joining Likely as a scratch this week will be defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Madubuike is dealing with a neck injury, and the team is evaluating some symptoms they’ve seen throughout the week to be safe. Sixth-round rookie Aeneas Peebles is likely to get some increased run this week as a result.
- As for the other Monday Night Football team, the Lions will be without pass rusher Marcus Davenport for their trip to Baltimore, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Davenport declined to give any details about the nature of his injury, but his arm has been seen in a sling. Whatever the situation, head coach Dan Campbell does not see the situation as season-ending.
HC Brian Daboll, DC Shane Bowen On Hot Seats?
Coming into the season, rumors were already hinting that Giants head coach Brian Daboll‘s seat was starting to heat up with pressure to win. An 0-2 start to the year has done nothing to cool things off, and according to Tony Pauline of sportskeeda, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen may be starting to feel the heat, as well. Pauline’s sources claim that both coaches are “hanging on by a thread.” 
Daboll started his career as a head coach on a strong note, going 9-7-1 in 2022 — good for 3rd in the NFC East and a wild card spot in the playoffs, where his team defeated a 13-4 Vikings squad before falling to the Eagles. The next year, a season-ending injury to Daniel Jones derailed New York’s offense, while the defense, despite a high efficiency on third downs, struggled as the sixth-worst unit in the NFL. The resulting 6-11 record led the Giants and then-defensive coordinator Wink Martindale to part ways.
Bowen came in to replace Martindale, fresh off three seasons in the same role in Tennessee. In his first season with Big Blue last year, Bowen’s defense showed improvement, ranking 21st in scoring allowed and eighth in passing yards allowed. In 2025 so far, no defense has given up more yards through their first two games. If things don’t change soon, both Bowen and Daboll could find themselves in danger of becoming the first coaching casualties of the young season.
So, how might things change? Pauline’s sources point to the quarterback position. Unfortunately for starting passer Russell Wilson, despite his 450-yard Week 2 performance, the fate of his starting role could be tied to the security of Daboll and Bowen’s jobs.
Per Pauline, if an expected rout by the Chiefs takes place this weekend at the Meadowlands, rookie first-round quarterback Jaxson Dart may find himself running on the first-team offense as soon as next weekend, when the Chargers come to town. If the presumed bad result against the Chiefs doesn’t boost Dart to the starting role in time for Los Angeles, Pauline’s sources claim Dart should be starting in time for a Week 5 trip to New Orleans at the latest.
If a change at quarterback is as guaranteed as they seem to be implying, it may behoove the team to make the move sooner, rather than later. While the Saints would, perhaps, be a softer test for Dart, the stretch of games immediately following sees matchups with the Eagles (twice), Broncos, 49ers, Bears, Packers, and Lions, who all could make life tough for a first-year starter. With that in mind, it may be smart to get Dart incorporated into the starting lineup with as much time to get up to speed as possible.
Of course, this is all speculation at the moment. Currently, Daboll’s fate is in the hands of Wilson, who led the Steelers to a playoff appearance just last year. Things haven’t gone according to plan so far, but Daboll may view Wilson’s experience as his best chance at turning around the season. If things continue to go poorly, though, showing potential for improvement behind a younger arm may be his only chance at saving his job. As for Bowen, his job may be fully dependent on the defense’s ability to turn things around against a grueling upcoming slate of games.
AFC Injury Updates: Stewart, Worthy, Szmyt
Despite missing most of his first offseason because of a contract dispute, Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart has impressed with his early contributions in the first weeks of the season. Unfortunately, despite his hard work to be ready to contribute early, Stewart could be looking at a multi-week absence, according to what he told Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Per The Enquirer, Stewart is “dealing with a low ankle sprain and could be out a few weeks.” The first-round pick out of Texas A&M was just outpaced by starter Joseph Ossai across from Trey Hendrickson in Week 1, but Week 2 saw Stewart earn his first start and continue to work a strong snap share before getting sidelined with an injury in the fourth quarter. Now Myles Murphy will have to step up for a few games in Stewart’s absence.
While Stewart has been ruled out, cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt is listed as doubtful for this weekend. Taylor-Britt seems to have tweaked a hamstring injury that had held him out for an extended portion of training camp. Cincinnati likely won’t risk anything with something as finicky as a hamstring injury.
Here are a couple other injury updates from across the AFC:
- The Chiefs are desperately hoping to see some reinforcements at wide receiver arrive soon. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, wide receiver Xavier Worthy has been classified as “50-50” to return this weekend for the team’s trip to New York. Worthy was a limited participant in Thursday and Friday practices last week and has ramped up his workload as he attempts overcome an ailing shoulder. He’s still been limited and listed as questionable this week, but there appears to be some optimism that a return could come soon.
- Per Zac Jackson of The Athletic, Browns kicker Andre Szmyt was sent to get an MRI performed today after he “felt something” during practice. No free agent kickers have been called for workouts or signed to the practice squad, though it only occurred earlier today, so it may just have been precautionary. The team’s efforts to bring in other kicking options tomorrow should tell us what we need to know about Szmyt’s health and availability for the weekend.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/19/25
Here are today’s practice squad transactions in the NFL:
Chicago Bears
- Released from practice squad/injured list (with injury settlement): DE Xavier Carlton
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Cody White
- Released: RB Damien Martinez
With White getting released from the 53-man roster today and brought back to the practice squad, the rookie out of Miami becomes a free agent. Martinez himself has been dropped and brought back to the practice squad in Seattle before, so he may be a candidate to return if things open up again.
