Minor NFL Transactions: 12/10/25
Here are today’s midweek minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed to active roster: CB Tre Avery
- Signed off Cardinals’ practice squad: T Jeremiah Byers
- Waived: S Chris Edmonds
Houston Texans
- Designated for return from IR: TE Harrison Bryant, WR Justin Watson
New York Giants
- Designated for return from IR: WR Beaux Collins
- Practice window opened: OL Joshua Ezeudu
New York Jets
- Signed to active roster: DE Eric Watts
- Placed on IR: DE Tyler Baron
Philadelphia Eagles
- Designated for return from IR: LS Charley Hughlett
- Reverted to season-ending IR: T Myles Hinton
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed to active roster: T Dylan Cook
- Placed on IR: T Calvin Anderson
Seattle Seahawks
- Designated for return: TE Eric Saubert
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: DT C.J. Brewer, WR Ryan Miller
Washington Commanders
- Signed to active roster: RB Chase Edmonds
- Placed on IR: TE Zach Ertz (story)
The Texans’ offense is getting healthy at just the right time. Despite not making much of an impact in the passing game, Bryant started three of eight game appearances earlier this year for the Texans and returns to a thin position group. Watson is coming back from a 13-week absence and will hope to continue working his way into a new offense.
The Eagles waived replacement long snapper Cal Adomitis yesterday, so it stands to reason that Hughlett will find himself back on the 53-man roster soon. Hinton’s 21-day practice window closed today, so he’ll add insult to injury in Philadelphia as he reverts to injured reserve without the ability to be activated while still using up one of the team’s eight allotted activations, since they designated him to return before final roster cuts.
Browns C Ethan Pocic Suffers Achilles Tear
DECEMBER 8: Stefanski confirmed on Monday (via Easterling) Pocic has indeed torn his Achilles. His season is over as a result, and free agency will no doubt produce little in the way of strong offers while Pocic recovers.
DECEMBER 7: It was a difficult scene in Cleveland this afternoon, where, despite a big statistical day for rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the Browns were officially eliminated from postseason contention. In addition to that loss, Cleveland’s already banged up offensive line experienced another loss as center Ethan Pocic was carted off the field early in the fourth quarter of today’s game, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. 
Cabot’s early report noted Pocic grabbing his ankle, and the team’s associate editor & staff writer Kelsey Russo called it a calf injury shortly after he left the field of play. According to Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal, though, head coach Kevin Stefanski told the media following the game that “it’s likely an Achilles injury.” The 30-year-old veteran will undergo further testing to determine the extent of the injury.
Once the first center (and fifth offensive lineman) taken in the 2017 NFL draft out of LSU, Pocic played out his rookie contract in Seattle, not earning a full-time starting role until his final year with the team, though he did start 16 games over his first three seasons as an injury replacement. The Seahawks were unwilling to commit to Pocic long-term but signed him for an additional, fifth year. He ended up losing the starting job to Kyle Fuller, who handed the job right back eight weeks into the season.
After that year, Pocic decided to test the free agent waters and landed himself in Cleveland on a veteran minimum one-year deal. Starting 13 games for the Browns that year, Pocic played the best football of his career, with Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranking him as the 3rd best center in the NFL that season. Cleveland rewarded Pocic with a three-year, $18MM commitment, and though he hasn’t quite played to the same level over the course of that deal, he’s been a mostly dependable presence on the offensive line.
In truth, Pocic has not played in every game of a season since his rookie year, be it due to injury or benching. His last three years in Cleveland have been his most consistent, seeing him only miss three games from the start of the 2023 season to today, but if this truly is an Achilles injury that sidelines him, he’ll fall five games short of a full season this year, continuing the streak of incomplete campaigns.
As a result, it will be interesting to see what the future brings for Pocic. This was a contract year for the nine-year veteran, and it looks like he’ll be limping into free agency. Cleveland will likely look to get younger across the line as they move forward, and Pocic will have a long road to recovery, if his Achilles tendon has indeed ruptured, as suspected. It will be a long time before he’s able to start working out for teams again.
When Pocic exited the game today, the Browns turned to Luke Wypler, a sixth-round pick out of Ohio State two year ago. Earlier this year, Wypler got a start against the Dolphins as a sixth offensive lineman, eventually subbing in to replace Cornelius Lucas at right tackle. Despite a fumbled snap that cost the team a two-point conversion today in their two-point loss to the Titans, Wypler will likely be the man in the middle for what’s left of the Browns’ season. If right guard Wyatt Teller and right tackle Jack Conklin, who missed today’s game with injury, are unable to play again next week, left guard Joel Bitonio will be the only Day 1 starter left standing in Cleveland.
New Names Emerging For Potential Day 1 QBs
Recent expectations that standout underclassmen quarterbacks Dante Moore (Oregon) and Ty Simpson (Alabama) will stay in college for at least another year have reduced the number of likely first-round quarterbacks in the class from three to one. With the value of quarterbacks tending to vary drastically in relation to the scarcity at the position and the demand in the league, new names are sure to rise. 
Dane Brugler of The Athletic released his updated prospect rankings about a month ago and gone from the top of the rankings were former projected prospects like Texas’ Arch Manning, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Penn State’s Drew Allar, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, and several others. Only Indiana Heisman-favorite Fernando Mendoza remained as a prospect widely considered to be a Day 1 pick.
Mendoza was joined by a new pair of names, though, as the two emerging new starters at the powerhouse programs mentioned in the first paragraph proved to be more productive than expected in their first seasons as starters. With Moore and Simpson no longer considered surefire 2026 prospects, Mendoza is the lone name atop the class with first-round considerations. Rarely does that stay the case as the pre-draft process goes on, though. Desperation for savior arms tends to elevate names considered worthy of later rounds to the early rounds based on scarcity alone.
We saw this two years ago, when Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels were considered the only two first-round worthy passers of the class early on in the pre-draft process. When it became clear that several teams were looking to draft a top quarterback in the first round, other names quickly started climbing the board. Drake Maye, considered a late-first-rounder at best early on, elevated all the way up to No. 3 overall. Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy, and Bo Nix were all considered Day 2 or 3 picks early on, but all three ended up in the top 12 picks of the draft.
Last year, Cam Ward was widely seen as the only first-round passer in the class, though Shedeur Sanders was seen as a possible late first-round possibility. Sanders’ wildly unprecedented slide aside, Jaxson Dart found his way into the first round after spending much of the pre-draft process as a likely Day 2 pick.
According to ESPN’s Matt Miller, a name to look for in that same vein is Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby. Sorsby started his collegiate career at Indiana, serving as the main starter as a redshirt freshman in 2023. When then-head coach Tom Allen was fired, Sorsby made the move to become a Bearcat. Sorsby has just finished his third year as a full-time starter and his second in Cinci.
Sorsby showed promise starting for the Hoosiers, throwing 15 touchdowns to just five interceptions, but his accuracy left a lot to be desired. In his first year with the Bearcats, he improved his completion percentage but got a bit undisciplined throwing 18 touchdowns to seven interceptions. This season, Sorsby put up his most efficient campaign with 27 touchdowns to just five interceptions. He also has impressive mobility averaging about 500 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns in each of his two seasons at Cincinnati.
It’s far too early to call Sorsby a first-round prospect, but he’ll have plenty of time to improve his stock if he decides to declare after his redshirt junior year concludes. Plus, several other names are sure to emerge as teams dust off every possibility hoping to find a diamond in the rough. As names continue to drop out of first-round consideration for 2026, history has told us that others are sure to rise in their place.
Buccaneers WR Mike Evans Pushing For Week 15 Return
When the Buccaneers saw veteran wide receiver Mike Evans return to practice this week for the first time since suffering a broken clavicle in October, many anticipated seeing him come off of injured reserve this weekend. Unfortunately, after a series of limited practices, Evans was ultimately ruled out for Week 14, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter assured us today that an Evans return to play is on the horizon. 
Per Schefter, Evans has been “pushing to play as soon as” Tampa Bay’s Week 15 matchup with the Falcons on Thursday. His return to practice five days ago opened up a 21-day practice window, but he can be activated at any point over those three weeks. Many expected that, once he returned to practice, he would quickly get back in football shape and return, but it seems a more realistic date required at least a few more days of practice.
If Evans is unable to make his return after the short week in the coming days, the team’s Week 16 trip to Carolina would be the next more reasonable, realistic date. Evans’ window would close three days after that game, at which point, the 32-year-old pass catcher would need to be activated for the final two games of the regular season and a postseason run or be reverted to season-ending IR.
The Buccaneers are fully in the playoff race at present, as they sit tied with the Panthers for the division lead at 7-6. They’ll play Carolina twice in the last three weeks of the season, and winning those two games alone would be enough to secure their berth in postseason play. Getting Evans back at any point before the postseason could do wonders for a Tampa Bay team that has overcome a litany of injuries en route to their current situation. If Evans has his say, though, we’ll see him suit up as early as Thursday.
Eagles Shifting Blame Away From OC Kevin Patullo
9:45pm: Sirianni has taken on a larger role in offensive meetings this week, ESPN’s Tim McManus reports. Patullo has also been present, but it will be interesting to see if a heavier hand on the part of the head coach will yield the desired results against the Chargers. If not, the Eagles’ dynamic on that side of the ball will no doubt remain a major talking point.
2:28pm: Coming out of their Week 6 bye, the Eagles felt good about their season, winning two more games against some top competition in the NFC right out the gates, but concerns were really starting to build amidst some struggles on offense. Naturally, much of the initial external blame fell to offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, but head coach Nick Sirianni was quick to defend the first-time play-caller. 
Sirianni has reportedly not been alone in his support of the first-year coordinator. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, even recently challenging wide receiver A.J. Brown has stood up, vocally, behind Patullo. When asked if a coaching change might improve the team’s recent offensive struggles, Brown called it a “crazy question.” Staying in line with the veteran receiver, the sentiment appears to be constant throughout the locker room, as Garafolo claims to see no signs of mutiny from the players.
Instead, the team has had a series of what they’ve called “no-BS discussions” in anticipation for a Monday night trip to Los Angeles, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic. The objective of these meetings has been to put an end to the blame game, to “stop pointing fingers.” Instead of pinning fault solely on missed throws from quarterback Jalen Hurts, the health and execution of the offensive line, careless, undisciplined penalties negating big plays, or simply, the play calling from Patullo, the team has been forced to reckon with the fact that all of these issues plaguing the reigning Super Bowl champions have jointly contributed to the offensive struggles amidst this two-game slide.
In addition to some group accountability, Sirianni hinted that actual adjustments are still happening behind the scenes. “Everything was being evaluated,” the head coach told media earlier this week (via Zach Berman of The Athletic). “We’ll think about some different things, what we want to do, scheme, everything.” The fifth-year skipper declined to go into detail on just what adjustments fans may expect to see, claiming that it probably wouldn’t “benefit” him to share.
It remains to be seen whether or not these adjustments or the team’s ability to hold everyone accountable will improve an offense that ranks 20th in points scored, 24th in total yards, and 22nd in rushing yards after ranking seventh, eighth, and second, respectively, in those categories last year. After this week’s showdown with the Chargers, a trip to Buffalo remains the only true test as a home matchup against the Raiders and a home-and-home with the Commanders should give Philadelphia a decent opportunity to get into a rhythm before the postseason.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/6/25
Here are the minor moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations for the Week 14 Sunday slate:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed to active roster: LB Channing Tindall
- Elevated: WR Jalen Brooks, WR Trent Sherfield
- Placed on IR: WR Greg Dortch
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed to active roster: WR Deven Thompkins
- Elevated: CB C.J. Henderson
- Placed on IR: S DeMarcco Hellams
Baltimore Ravens
- Elevated: S Sanoussi Kane, DT Josh Tupou
Buffalo Bills
- Elevated: DE Morgan Fox, LB Baylon Spector
Chicago Bears
- Signed to active roster: OL Jordan McFadden
- Elevated: LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin
- Waived: LB Carl Jones Jr.
Cleveland Browns
- Elevated: DE K.J. Henry
Denver Broncos
- Signed to active roster: TE Marcedes Lewis
- Elevated: LB Jordan Turner
- Waived: LB Garret Wallow
Houston Texans
- Elevated: CB Alijah Huzzie, DT Haggai Ndubuisi
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed to active roster: S Mike Edwards
- Elevated: G C.J. Hanson
- Placed on IR: S Christian Roland-Wallace
Las Vegas Raiders
- Elevated: WR Shedrick Jackson, WR DJ Turner
Miami Dolphins
- Elevated: OL Kion Smith
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed to active roster: QB John Wolford
- Elevated: CB Dwight McGlothern Jr., DT Taki Taimani
New Orleans Saints
- Elevated: WR Kevin Austin, K Charlie Smyth
New York Jets
- Signed to active roster: QB Brady Cook, CB Jordan Clark
- Elevated: CB Tre Brown, CB Nik Needham
- Placed on IR: CB Jarvis Brownlee, LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Elevated: T Dylan Cook, WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Seattle Seahawks
- Elevated: RB Velus Jones
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Elevated: S Marcus Banks
Washington Commanders
- Elevated: DE DeMarcus Walker
Dort becomes Arizona’s 26th placement on injures reserve this year. The Cardinals’ receiving corps has been stretched thin with Marvin Harrison Jr. out with a heel injury and Zay Jones on injured reserve with an injured Achilles tendon.
Earning more and more responsibility over the course of his sophomore campaign, former undrafted free agent Roland-Wallace will unfortunately head to IR after starting in the Chiefs’ two most recent contests. As a roaming safety, he’s been functioning lately as a nickelback alongside the versatile pair of starting safeties behind him.
With Bosa set to miss this weekend’s game with a hamstring injury, Fox has been called up from the practice squad in Buffalo to help bolster a thin group of defensive ends.
Smyth gets the call again this week as the primary placekicker in New Orleans. He’ll be kicking in his second straight game following the team’s dismissal of Blake Grupe.
For Spector in Buffalo, this will be his third elevation this season, meaning the Bills will need to sign him to the active roster in order for him to appear in another game in 2025. The same is true of Turner in Denver, Hanson in Kansas City, and Banks in Tampa Bay. On the other side of that, Tindall in Arizona, Lewis in Jacksonville, and Cook in New York were all signed to 53-man rosters today after they used up their three allotted practice squad elevations.
Texans Sign S Jalen Mills To Active Roster, Place S Jaylen Reed On IR
The Texans’ secondary is really starting to thin out with injuries. Friday’s injury report confirmed that rookie sixth-round safety Jaylen Reed will miss tomorrow night’s game in Kansas City with a forearm injury. With Jimmie Ward still on the reserve/physically unable to perform list and replacement starter M.J. Stewart recently placed on season-ending injured reserve, practice squad safety Jalen Mills has been signed to the 53-man roster to bolster the group. 
In a corresponding move, Reed has been moved to injured reserve. The sixth-round rookie broke a metal plate in his forearm in Week 13, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports. Surgery will be required as a result. Today’s move ensures Reed will miss at least the next four weeks.
Mills signed to the Texans’ taxi squad following an 0-2 start to the season after he had spent two weeks of the preseason with the team but failed to make the initial 53-man roster. The 31-year-old defensive back has been elevated from the practice squad for three of the last four games, so with his presence on the defense still needed, Houston has promoted him up to the active roster.
While two of his elevations have simply seen Mills play in a special teams role with minimal time on defense, three weeks ago, the veteran was asked to start against the division rival Titans next to Calen Bullock. A similar situation can be expected for Week 14 given Houston’s injury situation in the secondary. Mills is of course familiar with heavy defensive workloads as a veteran of 92 starts (many of which, in fairness, came as a cornerback).
The LSU product is a pending free agent. As a result, his play down the stretch will be key in determining his value on a new Texans pact or one sending him elsewhere. In the meantime, Mills will look to chip in on a Texans defense which leads the league in points and yards allowed as the team aims to win the AFC South.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
S Julian Love, DT Jarran Reed Come Off IR For Seahawks
The Seahawks are getting healthy at a good time in the season with two big names coming off injured reserve. The team announced this afternoon that safety Julian Love and defensive tackle Jarran Reed have both been activated from injured reserve. 
Earlier this week, both Love and Reed had their practice windows opened. As such, today’s moves come as no surprise. Wideout Dareke Young also returned to practice on Wednesday, but at this point he remains on IR. Nevertheless, Seattle’s defense will welcome back a pair of key contributors in time for the stretch run.
Love played in the Seahawks’ first three games this season but a hamstring injury has kept him out of the lineup since. Getting the 2023 Pro Bowler back in the fold will be critical for the secondary. Seattle currently ranks 11th against the pass, a relative weak spot compared to the team’s other standout showings on defense. Love, 27, will reprise his starting role upon return.
Ty Okada has made nine starts in Love’s absence, finding success in his elevated role. It will be interesting to see if he manages to remain a regular defensive presence moving forward. In any case, Love’s return will represent a boost for the closing weeks of the season. The former Giant topped 100 tackles and reached double-digit pass deflections during each of his first two Seattle campaigns. A similar impact during the playoffs could go a long way toward a deep postseason run.
Reed has been on IR since November, and he has been recovering from wrist surgery since then. The 10-year veteran posted seven sacks as a full-time starter in 2023, but his playing time and production fell off. This season, Reed has only posted 1.5 sacks in eight games. He has been on the field for less than half of Seattle’s defensive snaps, and that will likely remain the case upon return with Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy set to continue as starters.
With Love and Reed now back on the active roster, the Seahawks have four IR activations remaining for the regular season. Young will account for one of those once he is brought back into the fold.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Jaguars S Eric Murray Activated Off IR
The Jaguars are set to see a key member of their defense return for an extremely important closing stretch of the season. Veteran starting safety Eric Murray is coming off of injured reserve with an activation made by the team today. 
Murray joined Jacksonville early into free agency, after five years with the division-rival Texans. He had first arrived in Houston as a full-time starter, but he got benched for a five-week stretch in his second season with the team. He spent the 2022 season essentially as a special teamer and depth piece for the Texans before returning to a starting role the next year, just to have his season ended after six games with a knee injury.
Murray rebounded well last year in Houston, starting 14 games while playing in all 17. That strong final campaign as a Texan helped Murray land a three-year, $22.5MM deal in Duval, and he was looking pretty good to start his first season with the Jaguars before going down with injury.
In Murray’s absence, Antonio Johnson has stepped into the starting lineup. Johnson’s seen plenty of playing time over his three years in Jacksonville, often coming off the bench and making 10 starts in 30 games played. He looked to be shaking off some rust in his first start of the season in place of Murray, but over the last four weeks, Johnson has looked like one of the Jaguars’ best players on defense.
Luckily for Johnson, he won’t likely be demoted immediately upon Murray’s return to the field. Fellow starting safety Andrew Wingard has been ruled out this weekend with a concussion, so Johnson may be lined up next to the man he replaced as the team hosts the division-rival Colts tomorrow. Even once Wingard is healthy, Jacksonville may need to work on finding packages that put all three safeties on the field if the three continue to play at a starting level.
In order to make room on the 53-man roster, the Jaguars waived reserve running back Cody Schrader, who failed to appear in any games after joining the roster in early-October. Additionally, the team announced that undrafted rookie safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig and wide receiver Austin Trammell will be called up tomorrow as standard gameday practice squad elevations. This is Silmon-Craig’s third such elevation, so if Jacksonville wants to see him in another game after this week, they’ll need to sign him to the 53-man roster.
Packers Activate WR Jayden Reed From IR
After 12 weeks of waiting, the Packers will finally see the 2025 return of wide receiver Jayden Reed. After placing Reed on injured reserve only two weeks into the season, Green Bay has activated him off the injured reserve list. The team waived wide receiver Malik Heath in order to make room for Reed on the 53-man roster. 
Reed still had six days remaining on his 21-day practice window, but an early activation is a huge indicator that the 25-year-old pass catcher will be playing tomorrow afternoon against the Bears. It was a broken collarbone that sidelined the third-year receiver in Week 2, but the team utilized the extended absence to address another issue Reed had been dealing with. With clavicle surgery already on the books, Reed also underwent a foot operation for a Jones fracture he had been attempting to play through coming into the season.
It turned out to be a great move as reports came out about a month ago that Reed’s foot issues had been fully healed. There was no action bringing him back to practice just yet, since his clavicle still had some healing to do. It wouldn’t be until about two weeks ago that the Packers would designate Reed to return, and here he comes, just in time for Week 14.
The Packers’ young receiving corps mostly came in together, with Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs getting drafted in 2022 and Reed and Dontayvion Wicks hearing their names called the next year. Quarterback Jordan Love has done a great job of spreading the ball around to the talented quartet over the last three seasons, but Reed has proven to be a top target in the Green Bay offense.
As a rookie, Reed led the team in receptions (64) and receiving yards (793) and tied with Doubs for the team-lead in receiving touchdowns (8). He certainly benefitted from the absence of Watson for eight games that season, but where Watson might’ve had him on scores (five in nine games), Reed averaged more yards per game over the course of the season. Watson missed two games in Reed’s second season, giving Reed the team-lead in receptions (55) and receiving yards (857) once again, but Reed’s six touchdowns were second on the team behind Watson as the two established themselves as WR1a and WR1b in the Packers offense.
This season, injuries have permeated throughout the receivers room; Doubs is the only wideout to have played in all 12 games thus far. Watson missed the first seven weeks of the season, Wicks missed two games just as Watson returned, and even first-round rookie Matthew Golden has struggled to stay on the field as of late. Doubs perfect attendance has helped him to be the No. 1 target for Love this year as he and tight end Tucker Kraft have kept the passing game afloat.
Watson has been a huge factor since returning from injury, and Reed may still add more on to that. An extremely challenging upcoming four-game stretch that sees the Packers faceoff against the division-leading Bears twice, in addition to the Broncos and Ravens, makes Reed’s timing all the more clutch. Love is looking to have a near full arsenal to throw to as the team attempts to chip away at Chicago’s hold on the NFC North.