Texans Place Nico Collins On Injured Reserve
The Texans have placed wide receiver Nico Collins on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury suffered in Houston’s Week 5 win over the Bills, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
His absence will be a blow to the Texans offense, but Collins is expected to be back “sooner, rather than later,” according to Rapoport.
Collins is the NFL’s leading receiver with 567 yards through five weeks despite going down in the first quarter last week. Now, he’ll be sidelined until at least Week 9, depriving Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud of his most efficient and explosive offensive weapons.
Houston will lean on its receiver depth to withstand Collins’ absence, starting with offseason acquisition Stefon Diggs. The former Bill started out slow with 70 yards through two games, but he’s averaged 85 yards per game in Weeks 3 to 5 as his chemistry with Stroud improves. He will have to keep up the pace to help replace some of Collins’ production.
The Texans will also be hoping that second-year wideout Tank Dell can recapture some of his explosive rookie form now that he is recovered from the fractured fibula that ended his 2023 season and an offseason shooting. He is only averaging 34.3 yards per game after posting nearly double that last season, which is partially due to Collins’ emergence as an alpha and the arrival of Diggs. Dell could also be dealing with some physical limitations from his fibula surgery; Tony Pollard and Mark Andrews suffered similar injuries in recent years and had to work back up to their Pro Bowl level of play.
Collins’ injury could also mean more opportunities for third-year receiver John Metchie, who sat out his rookie year after a leukemia diagnosis. Metchie has been unable to carve out a role in the Texans offense since returning to the field in 2023, catching just 16 of his 30 targets for 158 yards. He has just one catch for seven yards in 2024 after watching the first three weeks from the sidelines as a healthy scratch. While the Texans are likely to rely on veteran Robert Woods as a known quantity and strong run-blocker, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik could take the opportunity to expand Metchie’s role and help him find his footing in the NFL.
The Texans signed tight end Teagan Quitoriano off the Bears’ practice squad to fill Collins’ spot on the 53-man roster, per Rapoport. Quitoriano was originally a Texans fifth-round pick in 2022 but struggled to stay healthy across his first two seasons. A preseason calf injury ultimately led to Quitoriano’s before the start of the regular season, and the Bears signed him to their practice squad a few weeks later. Now, Quitoriano will return to Houston after his brief stint in Chicago where he will take up a depth tight end role in the Texans’ offense.
Seahawks To Place Uchenna Nwosu On IR
The Seahawks are expected to place edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu on injured reserve after injuring his thigh in Seattle’s Week 5 loss to the Giants, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
This is a disappointing setback for Nwosu after he missed the Seahawks’ first four games with a sprained MCL suffered at the end of the preseason. He avoided a stint on injured reserve after that injury, debuting Sunday against the Giants, but his thigh will sideline him for four more games and potentially longer.
Nwosu has struggled with injuries over the last two seasons, landing on season-ending injured reserve with a pectoral injury in October 2023. He played all 17 games in 2022, his first year in Seattle, with career highs in tackles (66), tackles for loss (12), sacks (9.5), and forced fumbles (three). That earned him a three-year extension off of an initial two-year deal, but Nwosu has appeared in just six games since.
The Seahawks will rely on a trio of young outside linebackers to replace Nwosu in head coach Mike Macdonald‘s defense: Derick Hall, Boye Mafe, and Trevis Gipson. Macdonald also has multiple potential options on the practice squad, including former fifth-round pick Tyreke Smith.
The Seahawks had ex-Ravens linebacker Tyus Bowser on their practice squad last week, but he was signed to the Dolphins’ active roster on October 3. Seattle could take a look at Yannick Ngakoue, who is currently on the Ravens’ practice squad. He played his first 11 snaps of the season against the Bengals on Sunday with a strong first step and one quarterback pressure on eight pass-rushing snaps, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Macdonald briefly coached Ngakoue during the 2021 season when Baltimore acquired the veteran edge rusher at the deadline while Macdonald was the team’s linebackers coach.
Tom Brady Raises Offer For Raiders Ownership Stake, Could Be Approved As Part-Owner By 2025
Tom Brady has moved one step closer to joining the Raiders’ ownership group after raising his offer for a reported 10% stake in the team, Mark Maske of The Washington Post reports.
Brady originally received a hefty discount from Raiders owner Mark Davis, but concerns from the NFL finance committee forced Brady to improve his bid. The finance committee can now recommend approval of the deal to the rest of the owners ahead of its meeting in Atlanta on October 15, Maske adds.
If the vote does not happen then, the matter would likely be taken up at the December ownership meeting in Dallas. Of course, owners meetings have repeatedly come and gone without Brady’s ownership bid being addressed. Recent reporting has pointed to that pattern changing, and the all-time QB great is zeroing in on joining the league’s ownership ranks.
Brady is still receiving a discount on his ownership stake relative to market price, but his revised offer is significantly greater than the original and should be enough to sway the finance committee as well as the full ownership body. Now that Brady has cleared this financial hurdle, he is expected to be approved by at least 24 of the NFL’s 32 owners, who view the seven-time Super Bowl champion as a strong ambassador for the league.
The restrictions imposed on Brady’s new FOX broadcasting gig before the start of the regular season were an early signal that Brady would eventually succeed in his bid to join Davis in Las Vegas. Brady is not permitted to enter any team’s facilities other than the Raiders’, nor can he take part in production meetings leading up to games he covers to avoid any conflicts of interest. He will also be subject to league rules prohibiting public criticism of referees or other teams as well as the NFL’s gambling and tampering policies.
Brady’s ownership stake will also close the door on any late-40s return as a player. He attempted to join the Dolphins as a player/owner during his first retirement in 2022, which ultimately ended with a return to Tampa Bay for his age-45 season. Since his second retirement in 2023, he has hinted at the idea of a comeback but declined to take an opportunity with the 49ers last year.
49ers To Add K Matthew Wright
The 49ers look to have their temporary kicker selected. After a five-specialist workout, San Francisco is going with Matthew Wright. The veteran fill-in will be added to the team’s practice squad, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets.
The 49ers lost starting kicker Jake Moody to a high ankle sprain during their Week 5 loss to the Cardinals, and their next game on Thursday gave them little time to find a replacement.
Wright has spent four years in the NFL as a mercenary kicker for teams in need of stopgap solutions due to injury like the 49ers. He played 14 games for the Jaguars in 2021 after Josh Lambo went down, and has also spent time with the Steelers, Chiefs, and Panthers. Wright has made 40 of his 47 career field goal attempts (85.7%), with a long of 59, and his PAT conversion rate is 94.6%.
Wright beat out Randy Bullock, Anders Carlson and Matt Coghlin for San Francisco’s kicking job, per Schefter. Riley Patterson also auditioned for the gig, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Wright will have to quickly get on the same page as punter/holder Mitch Wishnowsky. Wishnowsky hit a 26-yard field goal against Arizona, but 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan declined to give him a chance from 44 yards, instead electing to attempt a fourth-and-23. The conversion failed, and the Cardinals would go on to score 10 unanswered points to win.
Wright is expected to be elevated from the practice squad for the 49ers’ Thursday matchup with the Seahawks. He will need to overcome a raucous Seattle crowd to help San Francisco keep up in the NFC West.
Browns Not Benching Deshaun Watson
After an embarrassing 34-13 loss to the Commanders dropped the Browns to 1-4, head coach Kevin Stefanski insisted that Deshaun Watson would remain the team’s starting quarterback despite his struggles to start to the season.
“We’re not changing quarterbacks,” Stefanski said, via ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi. “We need to play better. I need to coach better.”
But many of the Browns’ problems seem to start with Watson, who has posted a league-low 23.9 Total QBR (among current starters) this season while averaging fewer than 175 passing yards per game. The high-priced QB has thrown five touchdown passes and two interceptions, but his 26 sacks are a league-high. Cleveland has yet to score more than 20 points in a single game this season.
The Browns’ turmoil under center for the past two decades may have conditioned them to poor quarterback play, but Watson is reaching a new low in Cleveland. He started last year with a -0.20 EPA per dropback through Week 5, the lowest of any Browns QB to start the season since 2000, according to The Ringer’s Austin Gayle. That number has dropped to -0.30 EPA per dropback in 2024, severely hindering a Browns offense that is still without Nick Chubb as he recovers from last year’s season-ending knee injury.
But Stefanski is adamant that replacing Watson would not be a cure-all for the anemic offense, despite the presence of viable veteran backup Jameis Winston on the roster. Watson’s latest rough outing came as emergency Browns 2023 replacement Joe Flacco, who wanted to re-sign but was not part of Cleveland’s 2024 plans, posted a 359-yard passing day in a shootout loss to the Jaguars. The Browns did not make Flacco an offer and did not have a Watson benching on their radar despite his poor start through three games. While this latest effort will only intensify the calls for Winston to have a chance, Stefanski intimated this problem is beyond merely his QB1.
“This is not a one-person issue on offense,” Stefanski continued. “We have the guys. We have the coaches. We will get it fixed.”
Stefanski repeatedly emphasized the need for better coaching after Sunday’s loss, but his comments leading up to Week 5 indicate that he will remain the team’s play-caller moving forward. The Browns appeared to have multiple miscommunications on offense against the Commanders, and TV cameras caught Stefanski and Watson exchanging words after the quarterback walked off the field on fourth-and-goal. Stefanski confirmed this summer he would remain the play-caller, installing Ken Dorsey as a non-play-calling OC.
Watson is under contract in Cleveland for two more fully guaranteed seasons, with cap hits of $72.9MM in 2025 and 2026. The Browns’ second restructuring of his contract ballooned those numbers past that $72MM point, which would shatter an NFL record. The former first-round pick is facing another allegation of sexual assault after serving an 11-game suspension in 2022 for violations of the NFL’s personal conduct policy stemming from several lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault. Barring a suspension that could allow the Browns to void Watson’s future guarantees — provided the QB did not inform them of this incident — they remain stuck with this contract.
NFC South Notes: Panthers, Saints, Dennis
Bryce Young may have entered the game in place of Andy Dalton during the Panthers‘ Week 5 loss to the Bears, but head coach Dave Canales told media that Dalton would remain the team’s starting quarterback moving forward.
Canales explained that the quarterback change was more about limiting Dalton’s exposure behind an injured Carolina offensive line than it was about giving Young another opportunity to earn the starting gig, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. The Panthers lost starting center Austin Corbett and starting right tackle Taylor Moton to injuries during Sunday’s loss, forcing Canales to prioritize Dalton’s health with Carolina trailing by four possessions.
“We had a couple of injuries on the offensive line and wanting to get [Young] in there, get some live reps,” Canales said. “It was something where I wanted to get Andy out of there and just give Bryce an opportunity to continue some football in there while we had time.”
Canales confirmed that Dalton would start for the Panthers in Week 6, though it’s worth noting that he made a similar declaration about Young’s job safety after the former No. 1 overall pick struggled in Week 2 against the Chargers. Canales declined to offer any insight on the Panthers’ long-term plans for Young, and though his history as a quarterback-friendly coach suggests he could still get the best out of his young signal-caller, rumblings about a 2025 trade have surfaced. The Panthers rebuffed four trade inquiries already.
Here is the latest from the NFC South:
- The Saints ruled tight end Taysom Hill out of their Monday night matchup with the Chiefs due to a rib injury. Hill missed the Saints’ Week 3 matchup against the Eagles with a chest injury, but returned to full practice participation the following week. He then sustained fractured ribs against the Falcons in Week 4, sidelining him for Week 5 and potentially beyond. Dennis Allen (via ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell) declined to say how may ribs Hill fractured. Foster Moreau and Juwan Johnson will take on a bigger role in New Orleans’ offense with Hill sidelined, but his versatility will be difficult for offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to replace. He may have to take some Hill-focused plays out of his playbook entirely with his unique offensive weapon absent from the lineup.
- The Saints‘ offense stunned the NFL with its explosive start to the year, dropping 91 points on their first two opponents before cooling off in Weeks 3 and 4. Head coach Dennis Allen worked with Kubiak to simplify the offense for Derek Carr after years of complexity became ingrained in New Orleans’ system under Sean Payton and Drew Brees. Carr is making fewer adjustments at the line of scrimmage, while Kubiak has dialed up play action at a league-leading frequency.
- Second-year Buccaneers linebacker SirVocea Dennis is not expected to return from injured reserve anytime soon, per Greg Auman of The Athletic. Dennis injured his shoulder over the summer but played in Tampa Bay’s first three games before leaving in Week 4 after aggravating the issue. The Buccaneers placed Dennis on IR on October 1, sidelining him through at least Week 8. Tampa Bay has relied on K.J. Britt to take on Dennis’ vacated snaps after the duo began the year splitting time on the field alongside veteran Lavonte David.
- The Falcons restructured the contract of veteran defensive tackle David Onyemata recently, per ESPN’s Field Yates, creating $4.85MM of cap space. Onyemata remains tied to the three-year, $35MM deal he signed in March 2023. This update balloons the DT’s 2025 cap number to $16.93MM. For 2024, however, Atlanta now has just under $10MM in cap space, ranking 20th in the NFL.
Dolphins S Jevon Holland Expected To Miss Time
As the Dolphins stopped their losing skid in games Tua Tagovailoa did not finish, another of their top players sustained an injury that is expected to sideline him for a bit.
Safety Jevon Holland suffered a broken bone in his hand in Sunday’s win over the Patriots, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. It is not yet known if IR will be in play here, but the Dolphins are readying to play without their top safety.
Holland’s left hand was in a cast following the game, with some discussion of surgery between he and his teammates, per Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald. An extended absence by the star safety would be a significant blow to a Miami defense that entered Week 4 allowing just 162.5 passing yards per game, the fifth-lowest in the NFL.
The Dolphins also played their Week 5 game without their other starting safety, Jordan Poyer, who missed his first game of the season due to a shin injury. Elijah Campbell is listed as Holland’s backup on the Dolphins’ depth chart, but he started just two games across his first four NFL seasons. Mike McDaniel could instead turn to veteran Marcus Maye, who signed with Miami in June. Maye has 77 starts across his eight year career, though he has played just 25% of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps this season.
Holland is also in the final year of his rookie contract, so his broken bone could impact his upcoming negotiations with the Dolphins. The two sides had yet to make progress on extension talks entering the season, and Holland’s injury may throw another wrench into this matter.
The former second-round pick was active for every game in his first two NFL seasons before a concussion sidelined him in Week 8 last year. A knee malady held him out from Weeks 12 to 15 in 2023 and recurred in Week 18 to keep him out of the Dolphins’ wild-card loss to the Chiefs. Holland will be looking to capitalize on the recent boom in safety salaries, so a smooth recovery will be important to ensure that Miami (or a free agency suitor) will be getting its money’s worth.
49ers’ Jake Moody Suffers High Ankle Sprain
Jake Moody was carted off the field after attempting a tackle on a kickoff return in the first half, sidelining him for the remainder of the game. He was replaced by punter Mitch Wishnowsky, who converted a 26-yard field goal before halftime but did not attempt a kick in the second half. This hindered the 49ers in a narrow loss to the Cardinals.
San Francisco’s kicker suffered a high ankle sprain during Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals, according to The Athletic’s Matt Barrows. This injury is to Moody’s right kicking leg and introduces a scenario in which the 49ers will need to add a kicker. Moody is expected to miss multiple games, per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco.
Moody’s injury certainly impacted Kyle Shanahan‘s decision-making as the 49ers attempted to hold onto a 23-10 halftime lead. The 49ers tried to convert for a fourth-and-23 from the Cardinals’ 27-yard line in the third quarter instead of sending Wishnowsky out for a 44-yard field goal attempt. Brock Purdy‘s pass fell incomplete, and the Cardinals took advantage of the opportunity with a touchdown drive that cut the lead to three points.
Moody was wearing a walking boot following the game, per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. The second-year kicker told media in the locker room that he would get an MRI to determine the severity of his injury. Chosen in Round 3 last year, the Michigan alum played in every 49ers game as a rookie.
“It rolled underneath me, spun a little farther than it should. Nothing’s broken thankfully,” said Moody, via KNBR.
With a visit to Seattle on Thursday night ahead, the 49ers will need to move quickly to evaluate their kicking situation and sign a stop-gap replacement for Moody if needed. Shanahan pointed to a replacement coming in.
“They’ll work on that stuff right away,” said Shanahan in his postgame press conference. “We’ll get them in as fast as possible, and pick the best guy we can.”
The Cardinals faced a kicker crisis of their own this week with veteran Matt Prater dealing with a left knee injury. Arizona signed ex-Patriots kicker Chad Ryland to its practice squad on Wednesday and elevated him for Sunday’s game. Ryland made three of his four field goal attempts against the 49ers, including a 35-yard game-winner with 1:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. Prater remains on the Cardinals’ 53-man roster, with the team going with two kickers for the time being. The 49ers will need to weigh Moody’s recovery timetable with other roster needs, as a Moody IR move would sideline him for four games.
Raiders To Insist On Second-Round Pick For Davante Adams; Team Willing To Pay Part Of WR’s Salary?
Davante Adams has emerged as the early crown jewel of the NFL’s trade deadline, with multiple interested teams reaching out to the Raiders to gauge their desired compensation for the three-time All-Pro.
Adams’ market is impacted by his hefty contract, ongoing injury, and desire to reunite with either Aaron Rodgers in New York or Derek Carr in New Orleans. The veteran receiver is owed just shy of $1MM per week for the remainder of the season with $35.6MM and $36.6MM salaries in 2025 and 2026, respectively, though neither future year features any guaranteed money. While several teams, including the Jets, could afford Adams’ remaining 2024 salary without any other financial moves, others, like the Saints, would have to free up enough cap space to afford him.
The Raiders are willing to eat some of Adams’ remaining salary to facilitate a trade, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, who adds they are determining how much they are onboard with paying. General manager Tom Telesco is seeking a second-round pick in exchange for Adams, possibly as a directive from Raiders owner Mark Davis, who has repeatedly stated a desire to keep Adams in Las Vegas. Other league decision-makers believe that a third-round pick plus additional Day 3 capital or a depth player could be enough to get a deal done.
The Raiders were approached about Adams at last year’s trade deadline, including an offer worth more than a second-round pick, per Jones. Las Vegas never seriously entertained moving its star wideout, a decision the team could regret in hindsight if Adams is traded for less in the coming weeks. Last year’s trade deadline brought an interesting Davis decision to keep Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler running his team before firing the HC-GM duo hours later. Meanwhile, Adams stayed and also expressed a continued preference to stay in Vegas this offseason. That has since changed, and his hamstring injury may ensure he is done in Silver and Black.
Adams’ trade saga is further complicated by the injury that will sideline him for a second straight game after not practicing this week. The injury is minor, but legitimate, so any acquiring team will want to ensure they are getting the best, most healthy version of Adams possible. Waiting for him to fully recover would also reduce the financial burden for Adams’ next team, as the Raiders will continue to pay his salary and per-game roster bonuses as long as he is on the active roster.
Adams is angling for a reunion with Rodgers after the duo’s success in Green Bay, and the Jets are one of the few teams that can afford his 2024 salary outright. The Raiders, however, are intent on inciting a bidding war to push their compensation closer to the second-round pick they desire. Another half-dozen teams have been linked with Adams, including the Saints, Steelers, Bills, Cowboys, Ravens, 49ers, and Chiefs. While the Cowboys have disavowed any interest, Adams should still have a robust list of suitors that should help drive up his trade value.
Team expectations will play a role in negotiations as well: if multiple teams have made similar offers, the Raiders will try to predict which one will finish with the worst record and accept their deal, resulting in better draft pick. The Steelers operated this way with Chase Claypool at the 2022 deadline.
If the Jets are able to acquire Adams, some around the league believe they could look to dealing veteran receiver Mike Williams to open up roster space and wide receiver snaps for their new All-Pro, according to Jones. Trading Williams would also clear $1.2MM in cap space for the Jets, making it slightly easier to fit Adams into their budget, though they would be responsible for Williams’ $1.5MM dead cap hit in 2024 and $5.9MM dead cap hit in 2025 (due to void years), per OverTheCap.
Patriots Shopping WR Tyquan Thornton
The NFL trade market has heated up in the last week, with Davante Adams and Christian Kirk headlining the list of available (or potentially available, in the Jaguars WR’s case) names.
Teams looking for a younger, cheaper option at wide receiver could call the Patriots, who have “let it be known that Tyquan Thornton is available,” according to Jason La Canfora of The Washington Post. Return on investment will be impossible for the Patriots, given Thornton’s production. But the team is certainly attempting to dangle a player chosen in Bill Belichick‘s penultimate draft running the team.
Thornton, a 2022-second round pick, has just two catches for 27 yards in four appearances this year as the Patriots have struggled to establish a rhythm through the air with Jacoby Brissett under center behind a depleted offensive line. New England currently sits tied for last place in the AFC East at 1-3, so it could attempt to move Thornton for future draft picks as rebuild around No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye commences.
Thornton’s lackluster start to the season will deplete his trade value in a receiver-heavy market, and his limited NFL pedigree offers little hope that he will be an impact addition for any interested team. He averaged just 15.3 receiving yards per game with three total touchdowns in his first two seasons, though most of his production came as a rookie. Thornton was then outplayed by Demario Douglas in 2023 before the Patriots added veteran K.J. Osborn and rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker this offseason, pushing the Baylor alum even further down the receiver depth chart.
Thornton has also struggled with injuries in the NFL, with IR stints in 2022 and 2023 that limited him to just 12 appearances across both seasons. His lack of availability, as well as his lack of production when he does play, will be significant concerns for any potential trade partner.
Still, Thornton is just 24 years old with two years remaining on his rookie contract, making him an affordable if unspectacular trade target. An acquiring team would owe Thornton $75K per week for the remainder of the 2024 season; his $1.7MM 2025 base salary is not guaranteed, per OverTheCap. The former Big 12 standout’s 4.28 40-yard dash at the 2022 Combine may have stuck in the mind of some NFL decision-makers who are willing to send a Day 3 pick to try to unlock Thornton’s upside. It appears we will soon find out if that is the case.