Jets Expected To Make Change At QB
After Jets owner Woody Johnson made remarks following the team’s latest loss criticizing the play of starting quarterback Justin Fields, there was plenty of speculation that the team could be close to demoting him from his starting role. According to the latest from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, most people believe that veteran Tyrod Taylor will be starting for New York this weekend. 
Fields’ boom or bust performances this season have been dramatic in their dichotomy. In three strong performances, Fields has averaged 294 yards and three touchdowns when combining passing and rushing stats. In three poor performances, two of which contained early exits, Fields has averaged 73 combined yards with no scores.
Fields has done an impressive job of limiting turnovers — something he’s struggled with in the past — despite being on pace to get sacked a career-high number of times this season. He’s yet to throw an interception but has lost two of three fumbles. The most important stat — the one that has team ownership taking shots at him to reporters — is that over six starts to open the season, Fields has yet to win a game with the Green & White.
To be fair, neither has Taylor. In his lone start and in the times he’s spelled Fields after early exits, Taylor hasn’t seen much more success than Fields. But he also hasn’t been working with the first-team offense, something that changed this week as the two split reps on the first team. Taylor has seen more success than Fields elsewhere in his career, though.
While Fields career outside of a six-game run as an injury replacement for the Steelers has seen losing stints with the Bears and Jets, Taylor has seen winning campaigns — and even a Pro Bowl campaign — in his years of experience. The only problem is that this came during his three-year stretch with the Bills — the only years in which he was ever a full-time starter — that took place eight years ago.
At this point, it’s difficult to say which passer gives New York the best chance at earning its first win: the obviously struggling Fields or the 36-year-old Taylor. In fact, nothing has been announced as to who will start for Gang Green this weekend. Rapoport posits that rookie head coach Aaron Glenn is, perhaps, purposely shrouding what his decision will be on Sunday, in order to give his opponents as little information to prepare with as possible as he seeks any advantage in an attempt to win for the first time as an NFL head coach.
It looks like Glenn will keep his cards close to the chest, making this a game-time decision. Rapoport has called out the first-year coach’s poker face, though, voicing many people’s belief that Taylor will replace Fields as the starter on Sunday.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/24/25
Here are today’s minor moves as we head into the eighth weekend of the regular season:
New Orleans Saints
- Claimed off waivers (from Ravens): TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden
- Waived: RB Velus Jones
New York Jets
- Claimed off waivers (from Vikings): LB Kobe King
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: TE Eric Saubert
Tennessee Titans
- Signed from practice squad: WR Mason Kinsey
Mitchell-Paden, an undrafted free agent back in 2022, saw the first regular season snaps of his NFL career earlier this year as the Ravens dealt with the absence of a then-injured Isaiah Likely. Mitchell-Paden was waived yesterday in order to make room for practice squad quarterback Tyler Huntley, and New Orleans took the initiative to bring him on, cutting Jones, who had been promoted from the practice squad on Tuesday, to make room on the 53-man roster.
King was waived so that Minnesota could make room for running back Aaron Jones to come off of injured reserve, and Kinsey is getting promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster in Tennessee after appearing as an elevation is last week’s game. Saubert’s brief stint on the free agent market appears to have had some procedural purpose. Seattle released the veteran on Wednesday, and no other roster spot juggling was done before the team signed him back today.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/24/25
Here are Friday’s only practice squad transactions:
Dallas Cowboys
- Released (with injury settlement): WR Jalen Brooks
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Tyrone Broden
- Released: WR Tyler Scott
The Seahawks made the opposite transaction last Wednesday, cutting the undrafted rookie out of Arkansas to bring in Scott. This time, Broden will displace Scott as the two trade places.
Jets Designate LB Quincy Williams For Return From IR
The Jets are hoping to see the return of an All-Pro on defense soon after designating linebacker Quincy Williams for his return from injured reserve. Williams has been out since New York’s Week 3 loss to the Buccaneers, and will now face a 21-day practice window, during which he can return to the active roster at any time. If he fails to be activated, though, he will revert to season-ending IR. 
That likely is not a possibility, or at least, not an expected one. When the 29-year-old suffered a shoulder injury, the Jets realized that he would likely be out for a good stretch of time, but they did not consider him to be in danger of missing the remainder of the season. New York has been quiet on Williams’ progress coming back from injury so far, but his return to practice this week should provide some insight. He was a full participant today, and if that continues throughout the week, the team may not hesitate to get him back in the game.
The Jets typically run with two linebackers on defense, though a third starter is designated for formations that don’t require an extra defensive back. During Williams’ All-Pro year in 2023, he played next to C.J. Mosley, while Jamien Sherwood served as the occasional third starter. Last year looked to be a similar lineup, until Mosley saw toe and neck injuries limit him to only four games. With Mosley out, Sherwood stepped up next to Williams, and former college quarterback Chazz Surratt played the third-man role.
This season, following Mosley’s retirement and Surratt’s departure in free agency, it looked to be Williams and Sherwood reprising their roles with third-year linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball as the occasional third. McCrary-Ball had almost exclusively been a special teamer in his first two seasons, only appearing on the field for three defensive snaps before this year, and he had already set new career highs through three weeks of play when it was announced that he would be joining Williams on IR with a hamstring injury.
With both Williams and McCrary-Ball out, New York has turned to Miami (FL) fifth-round rookie Kiko Mauigoa. The 22-year-old has gone from appearing in a couple snaps here or there in the first two weeks to playing nearly full game snap shares alongside Sherwood. Over the last two weeks, former practice squad linebacker Mykal Walker has stepped into the third role of this thin linebacking corps.
If Williams is able to come back soon, Mauigoa will likely shift into the third-man role, at least until McCrary-Ball can also return from IR and compete for the job. Once he’s back in the starting lineup, Williams will work to get back up to the level of play he’s displayed over the past two years for the Green & White.
Ravens Activate Rookie OL Emery Jones
While returns to practice for quarterback Lamar Jackson and linebacker Roquan Smith garnered much of the attention in Baltimore today, Wednesday also saw the Ravens put in a transaction that could benefit the team’s attempts to turn this season around in another way. Today Baltimore activated rookie offensive lineman Emery Jones from the reserve/non-football injury list, on the very last day of his 21-day practice window, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. 
The third-round pick out of LSU was placed on the list due to shoulder surgery that he underwent when he was still a draft prospect just a week separated from the NFL Scouting Combine. The Ravens selected him near the end of Day 2 partially aware of the time it would take him to return and potentially contribute. Originally, Jones was expected to return sometime around training camp, but as it became clear that a regular season deadline was going to be a stretch to make, Baltimore opted to wait until he could be fully healthy and ended up using all four required weeks from opening the year on the NFI list plus the entirety of his three-week practice window before activating him.
Early hopes concerning Jones’ use on the offensive line were that he may be able to step into the swing tackle role left vacant by the exit of Patrick Mekari or that he would compete for one of the starting guard spots. Despite projecting as an interior lineman as a left tackle in high school, Jones played solely at right tackle for the Tigers and saw projections at guard once again in the draft. Upon Jones’ return to practice, head coach John Harbaugh claimed they would be working him at both tackle and guard.
If Jones could step in as a swing tackle, it would provide a younger, cheaper option to current backup tackle Joe Noteboom, who has struggled filling in for Ronnie Stanley at times this year. What could really impact the Ravens would be if Jones can displace one of the team’s starting guards, Daniel Faalele or Andrew Vorhees. Faalele is a physical specimen on the interior — listed at 6-foot-8, 370 pounds — but has struggled to find consistent play as a starter. Vorhees was a projected second- or third-rounder whose draft stock fell when he tore his ACL during drills at the combine. He’s earned a starting role in his third year in Baltimore but has commonly been grouped with Faalele as weak spots on the line.
It may be too soon to expect Jones to displace any of Noteboom, Faalele, or Vorhees from their current roles just yet, but at this point, he’s finally healthy and has three weeks of practice under his belt. Activating Jones puts him on the 53-man roster, and to open up a spot for him, the Ravens placed third-year pass rusher Tavius Robinson on injured reserve, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Another third-year player in a new starting role, Robinson recently broke his foot and will now join Adisa Isaac, Nnamdi Madubuike, and Broderick Washington as front-seven defenders on IR.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/22/25
Here are today’s midweek minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Opened practice window: T Storm Norton
Cincinnati Bengals
- Opened practice window: DE Cedric Johnson
Denver Broncos
- Signed from practice squad: QB Sam Ehlinger
Detroit Lions
- Placed on IR: LB Zach Cunningham
Houston Texans
- Designated to return from IR: CB Jaylin Smith
Miami Dolphins
- Designated to return from IR: CB Jason Marshall
New Orleans Saints
- Activated from IR: DT John Ridgeway
Philadelphia Eagles
- Designated to return from IR: CB Jakorian Bennett
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Designated to return from IR: QB Will Howard
- Waived (with injury settlement): T Gareth Warren
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed from practice squad: DE Robert Beal Jr.
- Designated to return from IR: OL Spencer Burford
- Released: DE Trevis Gipson
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: TE Eric Saubert
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed from practice squad: G Michael Jordan
- Placed on IR: WR Mike Evans (story)
While several players were designated to return from injured reserve today, Norton and Johnson’s designations took place back on 8/26, the roster cut deadline. The Texans are in danger of being without their top three receivers in Week 8. Tank Dell is already on IR, but Nico Collins and Christian Kirk’s statuses for the weekend are up in the air as Collins deals with a concussion and Kirk has been dealing with n hamstring injury.
Not that they’ve needed him, since Aaron Rodgers has looked a bit more effective than he was in his days with the Jets, but Howard is nearing a return to the roster for the remainder of his rookie season. It will be interesting to see where the sixth-rounder slots in on the depth chart as he adds another level of security behind the 41-year-old Rodgers.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/22/25
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad transactions:
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: CB Zion Childress
- Placed on practice squad/injured list: WR Jalen Brooks
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Kyrese Rowan
New York Giants
- Signed: K Jude McAtamney
New York Jets
- Signed: S J.T. Woods
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: G Sua Opeta
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Brandon Johnson
After getting cut from the roster earlier today, McAtamney returns to his usual post on the practice squad. No corresponding move is necessary to make room for him on the practice squad, since McAtamney hails from Northern Ireland and qualifies for the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program and doesn’t count against the 16-man limit.
Potential Fire Sale In Tennessee?
We are just over two weeks away from the NFL’s trade deadline, and as teams look around and assess what needs to be done in order to make the playoffs, phone calls are being made. One team perhaps receiving more calls than the rest of the league is the Titans. 
Starting the season with a 1-6 record and less than a week removed from firing ex-head coach Brian Callahan, Tennessee is clearly being counted out by the rest of the league. Despite the lack of elite talent that has put the Titans in this position, there are players that contending NFL teams are interested in. Most notably, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, “seemingly everyone called the Titans to see if star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons was available ahead of the…trade deadline.”
Unfortunately for those calling, the answer was a resounding no. Simmons is off limits, and he’s not the only one. The other player who would be a complete non-starter in any trade deal out of Nashville, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, is recent No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward. Tennessee drafted Ward with intentions of building their team around him, and they’re not going to give up on him after only seven games. Despite the team’s struggles early and Ward’s lack of production, the 23-year-old quarterback has shown flashes of brilliance and a drive and dedication that has others in the building excited.
As for Simmons, they’ve seen their 2019 first-round pick become one of the top players at his position. He’s currently in the second year of the four-year, $94MM extension that was tacked on to the end of his rookie deal, but many expect that he’s headed for a raise in the coming offseason. Simmons did leave today’s game with a hamstring injury, though, per ESPN’s Turron Davenport, so there’s a chance the calls for him might have slowed depending on the severity of the injury.
Essentially, Ward and Simmons will serve as the offensive and defensive pillars around which the team plans to build around. Aside from those two, though, Russini asserts that “the Titans are open for business on every” other player. At the moment, the most attractive trade targets in Tennessee appear to be on the defensive side of the ball. Cornerback Roger McCreary and outside linebackers Arden Key and Dre’Mont Jones could be players on the move soon, with Rapoport confirming that trio has drawn interest around the league.
A second-round pick in 2022, McCreary is playing in the final year of his rookie deal. McCreary has established himself as one of the league’s stronger nickelbacks, though he’s shown the ability to play on the outside, as well. Expecting that he’ll price himself out of Tennessee in free agency, the Titans would be hoping to get something for him now as opposed to losing him for nothing in the offseason.
Key looked early in his career to be a bit of a bust as a third-rounder out of LSU. Racking up only three sacks in his first three years of play, Key eventually found success in his fourth season and grew in his role more and more until he landed a three-year, $21MM deal with the Titans and became a full-time starter in the second season of that deal last year. Now in the contract’s final year, Key’s services will likely be shopped off with the hopes that he will continue his success with the contender to whom he gets traded.
Jones landed in Tennessee on a one-year, $8.5MM deal. He’s had consistently solid production at previous stops in Denver and Seattle and, so far this season, has been worth his money so far in Nashville. Like McCreary and Key, nothing appears to be awaiting Jones in the offseason but free agency, so the Titans will hope that somebody bites with an offer worth trading him for.
And what exactly would that offer look like? While the Titans have a lot of work to do in building up the roster around pillars Ward and Simmons, it would appear they prefer to do so with young players that they choose. Per Russini, Tennessee isn’t looking for players in exchange for any trade assets; the team wants draft capital. The Titans are hoping to stockpile future draft picks so they can move their rebuild plans forward with youth. We’ll see how well negotiations go over the next 16 days.
Commanders QB Jayden Daniels Leaves Game With Hamstring Injury
The Commanders were just beginning to enjoy the return of quarterback Jayden Daniels after a two-week absence earlier in the season, but they may be looking at another absence in Daniels’ sophomore campaign. Daniels was knocked out of today’s game in Dallas with a hamstring injury, and there’s a chance the injury could affect him long term. 
After playing through fractured ribs in his rookie season, Daniels has spent quite a bit of his sophomore campaign working to get healthy. He first appeared on the injury report in Week 2 with a reported injury to the wrist on his throwing hand. He would play in that game, but he would come away from it with a knee sprain that would cause him to miss the next two games. Daniels was eventually able to return to the field, though, and continued to look like his usual, mobile self.
Things took a turn in today’s loss to the Cowboys, though, when linebacker Shemar James strip-sacked him, and Daniels was left on the ground grabbing at the back of his leg. The team took Daniels straight to the blue medical tent to be evaluated, and he was eventually seen jogging to the locker room. While seeing him put active weight on his leg seemed a good sign, he was soon diagnosed with a hamstring injury and listed as questionable to return, getting ruled out for the rest of the game 30 minutes later.
There may be nothing to fret about yet, but the team has scheduled an MRI for Monday in order to determine the severity of Daniels’ injury, per JP Finlay of NBC Sports. The fact that they find an MRI necessary at all could be cause for concern. If bad enough, hamstring injuries can easily require multi-week recoveries, which means Daniels could be in danger of missing even more time this year.
If the MRI brings back unfortunate results, Washington does employ one of the league’s more formidable backup quarterbacks. By the time Marcus Mariota entered today’s game, a 41-15 deficit was too much to overcome. Earlier in the season, though, Mariota split his two spot starts, winning big against the Raiders at home but losing by a touchdown in Atlanta. In those two starts, he completed just under 65 percent of his pass attempts for three touchdowns and an interception. He added another touchdown on the ground, along with 60 yards on eight carries.
Washington will hope for the best news to come out of tomorrow’s MRI, but either way, they will have a quarterback who can give them a chance to win games. With a 3-4 record and a daunting three-game stretch on the horizon, there’s very little room for error if the Commanders want to make the playoffs. We’ll likely find out over the next couple of days whether or not it will be Daniels behind center for a Monday night trip to Kansas City followed by back-to-back home games against the Seahawks and Lions.
49ers Host LBs Workout
Last week, the 49ers suffered the loss of their best defensive player for the remainder of the season when Fred Warner‘s ankle was fractured and dislocated. The team officially placed him on injured reserve yesterday while, at the same time, hosting five free agent linebackers for workouts. Per Howard Balzer of CardsWire, linebackers Ben Niemann, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Chandler Wooten, and two others were in San Francisco for the tryout yesterday. 
One of the worst parts about losing a player as talented and reliable as Warner is that, considering he’s missed one of a possible 122 regular season games in his career, there usually isn’t much incentive to stack talent at the position behind him. The 49ers typically run two off-ball linebackers in their base defense. The starters are Warner and Dee Winters, and before last week’s game, there had only been five defensive snaps all season in which both were not on the field.
It was Tatum Bethune that subbed in for Warner in the remainder of last week’s game. Bethune was a seventh-round draft pick out of Florida State last year who played almost exclusively on special teams as a rookie. Appearing in 11 games, he saw defensive snaps in just five. He only saw more than four snaps in one game — the 6-11 team’s regular season finale in which Bethune was given a chance to start. The Week 18 start was not a sign of things to come, though. When Bethune entered for Warner last week, he was seeing his first defensive snaps since the three he played in Week 1 of this year.
So, while the 49ers may be comfortable moving forward with Bethune as the starting middle linebacker based on his familiarity with the defense over the past year and a half, one can hardly blame them for trying out some potential help. Niemann is the most experienced of the crowd. Starting his seven-year career in Kansas City, Niemann has been a dependable rotation defender for the Chiefs, Cardinals, and Lions over his career. He’s played in 103 total games, starting 25, and aside from his rookie season and a down year in Denver in 2023, Niemann’s averaged just over 50 tackles per season.
Reeves-Maybin is the next most experienced linebacker. Though he spent many years (seven in Detroit, one in Houston) as a depth piece and special teamer, Reeves-Maybin has shown he can perform as an injury replacement with 14 spot starts for the Lions, including 11 in 2021. He and Niemann were actually on the same defense in Detroit last year. Wooten was a depth piece and special teamer for the Panthers the last few years, earning two starts last year. He had signed briefly to San Francisco’s practice squad last year, returning to Carolina after a week.
The other two linebackers attending the workout were undrafted rookies Stone Blanton and Kam Arnold. Blanton signed with San Francisco out of Mississippi State, spending the offseason with the 49ers before failing to make the initial 53-man roster. Arnold, coming out of Boston College, followed a similar path with the Commanders. No contracts came immediately from yesterday’s workouts, but it will certainly be something to keep an eye on, depending on how Bethune performs in place of Warner as the season goes on.