Raiders Could Pursue Seahawks CB Tariq Woolen
Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen was mentioned as a trade candidate earlier this season, and Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline confirms that the 2022 fifth-round pick could be on his way out of Seattle.
Woolen is entering the final year of his rookie deal. He has been a full-time starter for the Seahawks since his dazzling debut season with a league-high six interceptions on his way to a Pro Bowl nod and a third-place finish in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. He was not as dominant in 2023, but still played very well, and his performance did not take a noticeable dip under new head coach Mike Macdonald in 2024.
However, Woolen has struggled in his five starts this season, allowing catches on 66.7% of his targets and 9.1 yards per target, both career-worsts. He was reportedly facing a role reduction heading into October, but it never materialized. Woolen played almost every snap for the Seahawks defense in their first five games until a concussion knocked him out of the game in Week 5. He remained sidelined in Week 6, when veteran Shaquill Griffin started in his place.
Based on reports about his availability, it seems like Seattle is not planning to re-sign Woolen and will instead see what they can get for him on the trade market. It would still be a somewhat surprising move for a 4-2 team with playoff aspirations to part ways with a starting-caliber cornerback. Even if Macdonald wants to de-emphasize the former UTSA standout, Woolen is still an excellent insurance policy in case of injuries, which have already been a constant problem in Seattle this year.
Still, if the Seahawks put Woolen on the trade block, the Raiders are expected to come calling, per Pauline. Las Vegas needs a cornerback, and head coach Pete Carroll is plenty familiar with Woolen after drafting and developing him in 2022 and 2023.
Pauline also mentions Seattle’s interest in Dolphins running back De’Von Achane, but such a player-for-player swap seems far-fetched. The Dolphins are expected to be sellers ahead of the deadline, but Achane is a foundational piece of Mike McDaniel‘s offense who is under contract through 2026. Reports have generally indicated that the Dolphins will be patient with McDaniel this season, but he is still on the hot seat. If he is coaching for his job, he will not want to move such an important offensive weapon, especially with Tyreek Hill already gone for the year.
Raiders TE Brock Bowers Returns To Practice, Doubtful For Week 7
Raiders tight end Brock Bowers returned to practice on Friday, but he is not expected to play in Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.
Bowers missed the Raiders’ last two games with a knee injury – reportedly a bone bruise and a PCL injury – that has been limiting him for much of the season. The second-year tight end is listed as doubtful on Las Vegas’ final injury report, aligning with a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport earlier in the week that Bowers was unlikely to to return until Week 9. The Raiders have a bye in Week 8, so another absence this week would give the 2024 first-round pick plenty of time to recover.
Bowers hurt his knee in Week 1 against the Patriots, but played through it for three weeks. It did have a noticeable impact on his performance; after 103 receiving yards in his first game, Bowers failed to top 50 yards in his next three. The Raiders are now hoping that he can return to his All-Pro form after some extended rest.
With Bowers sidelined, 2023 second-rounder Michael Mayer will take over a starting role for a second week in a row. Mayer was also out in Week 5 due to a concussion, but emerged as a reliable target in Week 6 with five catches on seven targets for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Raiders wide receiver Jakobi Meyers is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game due to knee and toe injuries suffered in Week 6. He missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but returned in a limited capacity on Friday to give him a shot at playing against the Chiefs. Absences from both Bowers and Meyers would deprive Geno Smith of his two best pass-catchers and likely lead the Raiders to lean on rookie running back Ashton Jeanty this week.
49ers To Activate George Kittle, Rule Out Brock Purdy
The 49ers ruled out quarterback Brock Purdy for Week 7, per The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, meaning that Mac Jones will make his fifth start of the season.
Purdy was still limited in practice this week due to a re-aggravation of his toe injury. Jones, meanwhile, progressed to full participation despite dealing with knee and oblique injuries. He has led the 49ers to a 3-1 record in his four starts with a league-high 313 passing yards per game.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan also said (via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner) that tight end George Kittle would be activated from injured reserve for Sunday’s game, ending his four-game absence due to a Week 1 hamstring injury. Kittle is not expected to be on any kind of snap count, according to Tafur.
San Francisco created the space for Kittle’s activation on Friday by placing wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on injured reserve, per Wagoner. The eight-year veteran will now be on the shelf for at least four games with a calf injury and becomes the latest 49ers wideout to miss time. Ricky Pearsall has been out for the last two games with a knee issue that will sideline him for Sunday’s contest as well. Jacob Cowing is on IR, though Shanahan said (via Wagoner) that he is “getting close” to returning to practice. Jauan Jennings has missed two games and played through four others with a litany of injuries. That’s not even mentioning Brandon Aiyuk, who will not be back until November at the earliest.
Kittle’s return will obviously go a long way in relieving the pressure on the 49ers’ injured receiving corps. Backup tight end Jake Tonges has performed well in his absence, giving Shanahan the options of using more two-tight end formations until the rest of his offense gets healthier.
Shanahan also said that defensive tackle Kevin Givens will “most likely” be activated from IR as well, which would add depth to a defensive line that has also dealt with a number of injuries this year. The 49ers can easily create a roster spot for Givens by placing linebacker Fred Warner on injured reserve after an ankle injury that is expected to end his season.
Vikings To Start Carson Wentz Vs. Eagles
The Carson Wentz revenge game is officially happening.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced that Wentz will start on Sunday against the Eagles, his former team. The Eagles traded up to draft Wentz with the No. 2 pick in the 2016 draft with the hopes that he would be their long-term franchise quarterback.
It didn’t quite work out that way. Wentz struggled as a rookie before a breakout 2017 season that was cut short by an ACL tear. The Eagles went on to win the Super Bowl with Nick Foles under center. Injuries remained an issue for Wentz, though the team still signed him to a four-year, $108MM extension in 2019. By the end of the next season, he was benched for Jalen Hurts, and during the offseason, he was traded to the Colts. That kicked off a series of one-year stints with the Commanders, Rams, and Chiefs before signing with the Vikings this offseason.
O’Connell has repeatedly made it clear that J.J. McCarthy will be the Vikings’ starting quarterback when he’s fully healthy, but that has not been the case for weeks. Wentz started the last two games, and though he picked up a shoulder injury last week, he will be under center once again on Sunday.
McCarthy has still been limited in practice this week as he works his way back from an ankle injury, but O’Connell said that the second-year quarterback will be active as the Vikings’ emergency third quarterback in Week 7, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. Max Brosmer will still be the team’s primary backup, but O’Connell indicated that he was comfortable with McCarthy taking the field in an emergency.
49ers, Colts, Eagles, Cowboys Among Potential Suitors For Trey Hendrickson
All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson has emerged as a popular name in trade talks following an offseason contract saga with the Bengals and their subsequent 2-4 start to the season.
The 49ers are among the teams interested in trading for Hendrickson, though Cincinnati is reportedly not interested in moving him. Other expected suitors include the Colts, Eagles, and Cowboys, per Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline. Hendrickson is owed $9.8MM for the rest of the season if traded after Week 8 ($8.9MM if after Week 9, per OverTheCap), and the Bengals will likely want an acquiring team to pick up all of his remaining salary.
We noted when the Colts restructured Kenny Moore‘s contract earlier this month that general manager Chris Ballard could be clearing space for a big swing ahead of the trade deadline to take advantage of a surprising 5-1 start. Going after Hendrickson, one of the league’s premier edge rushers, would certainly fall into that category. Indianapolis does not necessarily need the pass rush help – their 16 sacks are tied for seventh-most in the NFL – but no individual player has more than 3.0 sacks. Instead, they have 11 defenders who have contributed to a sack this year; adding Hendrickson to that group would give them an elite individual sack-getter on top of a well-schemed pass rush.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has a reputation of being a big-name hunter on the trade market, but most of his higher-profile deals have come during the offseason. However, Philadelphia has a bottom-10 pass rush with only nine sacks as a team and no player with more than two. Nolan Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo are already on injured reserve, and Za’Darius Smith just retired, so the Eagles defense could definitely use reinforcements on the edge. Roseman’s aggressive cap management has given the team enough room to absorb’s Hendrickson’s contract, though it would tighten their budget for the rest of the season.
The Cowboys pass rush has predictably struggled following the departures of Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, leading to one of the worst defensive units in the NFL. Jerry Jones recently hinted that he could be active ahead of the trade deadline, and he acknowledge that every asset would be on the table, including the picks acquired from Green Bay in the Parsons trade. The Cowboys could certainly use a player of Hendrickson’s caliber, as they currently have the ninth-fewest sacks in the NFL (11).
We heard recently that the 49ers see Hendrickson as “an ideal fit for their defense.” The team lost star pass rusher Nick Bosa to a season-ending ACL tear in Week 3, and 49ers general manager John Lynch has made it known that he’s looking for help on the edge. That front office hasn’t been afraid to take in-season swings, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the team acquired a player of Hendrickson’s talent as they look to maximize their current core.
As mentioned, the Bengals have resisted any trade inquires for their star pass rusher. However, if the team doesn’t improve as the trade deadline inches closer, there’s a chance the team starts fielding offers.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.
Bears Open Practice Window For LB Amen Ogobongbemiga
The Bears have opened Amen Ogbongbemiga‘s practice window, per Marquee Sports Network’s Scott Bair.
The linebacker and special teams ace landed on injured reserve before the regular season with a knee injury. He returned to practice on thursday as a limited participant.
Ogbongbemiga, 27, is in his fifth NFL season and his second in Chicago. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Chargers in 2021 and quickly carved out a spot on special teams. He signed with the Bears in 2024 and impressed enough to earn another two-year deal in free agency earlier this offseason.
Upon his return, Ogbongbemiga will likely return to a core special teams role, as he only has 144 defensive snaps in his career. The Bears do not necessarily need the boost – their special teams grade of 86.6 from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranks seventh in the NFL – but he will add more experience to their coverage and return units.
Ogbongbemiga will have 21 days to practice with the Bears before he must be activated from injured reserve to the 53-man roster. Otherwise, he will revert to injured reserve for the rest of the season.
Dolphins OLB Jaelan Phillips Wants To Stay In Miami
Despite frequently being mentioned as a trade target, Dolphins edge rusher Jaelan Phillips would prefer to stay in Miami this season.
“I love this team,” Phillips said this week (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald). He added that he “ideally” would remain a Dolphin through the Week 9 trade deadline, but acknowledged that a potential move was “completely out of my control.”
Phillips is entering the final year of a rookie deal with virtually no talk of an extension. His expiring contract and the Dolphins’ 1-5 record has made him a frequent inclusion on lists of potential trade assets.
The 2021 first-round pick gave the team a strong return on their initial investment right away with 15.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss in his first two seasons. He seemed to be taking another step in 2023 with six sacks and 11 TFLs in his first eight games before his year came to a sudden end with a torn Achilles. Phillips returned the next season, but only had one sack and one TFL in four games before a partially torn ACL sidelined him for the majority of a second season in a row.
If Miami is not interested in extending Phillips, they should be open to moving him before the deadline. This season, he only has one sack and one tackle for loss, but three or more pressures in five of his six games, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). That should be enough to keep teams in need of pass-rushing help interested in the coming weeks.
Other edge rusher trades this season offer a framework for a potential Phillips deal. Bryce Huff was traded from the Eagles to the 49ers conditional fifth-round pick that can be upgraded to a fourth-rounder, while Odafe Oweh was moved for safety Alohi Gilman and a Day 3 pick swap. Both players had better production in previous years but more recent downswings, like Phillips, suggesting that he could fetch a fourth- or fifth-round selection in a trade.
The Dolphins will have to weigh that against the potential for a 2027 compensatory pick if Phillips signs with a new team in free agency. His strong per-game stats in his career but lack of production in the last two years makes it hard to predict what he might fetch in free agency without some positive regression to the results of his early seasons.
Brian Callahan Fallout: Titans, Adams Strunk, Holz, Carthon, Brinker, Quinn
The Titans made the first major coaching change of the 2025 season this week by firing head coach Brian Callahan.
President of football operations Chad Brinker said (via Main Street Media’s Terry McCormick) the team wanted to give the first-time head coach some time to grow into his role, but the current power structure did not see enough progress with only four wins in his first 23 games.
In fact, the Titans appeared to be regressing in Callahan’s second season in charge. They went 3-14 in 2024 with Will Levis under center, and despite adding No. 1 pick Cam Ward this offseason, they were 1-5 to start this year. That one win was the result of multiple late fumbles by the Cardinals, too.
Desperate to turn things around, Callahan surrendered play-calling duties ahead of Week 4 and gave them to quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree. In doing so, Callahan passed over offensive coordinator Nick Holz, a longtime friend dating back to their high school playing days, believing he was not ready, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. Hardegree will retain play-calling duties under interim HC Mike McCoy.
At that point, the “writing was on the wall” in Tennessee, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, with other coaches preparing for what seemed to be an inevitable firing. In fact, Callahan seemed to be on the hot seat when the Titans fired general manager Ron Carthon during the offseason. Callahan himself “never felt like he was on solid footing after that,” per Jones.
The rapid removal of Callahan less than two years into his tenure begs the question: why did the Titans hire him in the first place? He began his NFL coaching career in 2010 for the Broncos, and after stints in Detroit and Oakland coaching quarterbacks, he was hired to be Zac Taylor‘s first offensive coordinator in Cincinnati.
The Bengals emerged as one of the league’s top passing offenses after adding Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins in 2020 and 2021 with a Super Bowl appearance in the latter year. The unit continued to produce in 2022 before stalling in 2023, largely due to Burrow’s injury.
The Titans, meanwhile, appeared to be searching for an offensive coach after parting ways with the defensive-minded Mike Vrabel. Then-Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald offered a strong interview, but the Titans wanted to move in another direction.
Former Falcons head coach and then-Cowboys DC Dan Quinn also interviewed, but owner Amy Adams Strunk was put off by past defensive collapses in the playoffs, including the 28-3 Super Bowl loss to the Patriots and, more recently, a 48-point performance by the Packers offense in Dallas, Jones adds. Quinn’s lack of a vision for his offensive coaching staff – which, at the time, did not include Kliff Kingsbury – further pushed him out of consideration.
So, largely due to the Bengals’ success on offense, the Titans added Callahan to their shortlist, and his resume and experience impressed the team’s decision-makers enough for him to win the job. It is not hard to imagine Tennessee looking for a young, offensive-minded disciple of a successful head coach to help find the long-term quarterback stability that eluded the club for the last decade.
It is worth noting, however, that Taylor called the offensive plays throughout Callahan’s Cincinnati tenure, an early sign the five-year OC may not have been ready for the big job. In Tennessee, he was learning to call plays as he took on the complex, all-encompassing duties of a head coach, and it showed.
Adams Strunk’s influence cannot be understated, either. She has not been in the team’s facility this week and rarely presents herself as the face of the franchise, per Jones, but her fingerprints are over their recent decisions. Adams Strunk restructured the front office last year, moving Brinker from assistant GM under Carthon to his current role over him. Hired by Carthon in 2023, Brinker now controls the Titans’ 53-man roster.
This offseason, Adams Strunk fired Carthon and replaced him with Mike Borgonzi, who brought in his own personnel team. Brinker and Borgonzi said they would lead the search for the next head coach, with Callahan’s firing described as the “last cleanup” before the duo can establish their own era of Titans football, per Fowler.
However, Adams Strunk and her desire to avoid negative media coverage will still play a role. The Titans just drafted a new franchise quarterback with the No. 1 pick and are opening up a new stadium in 2027, but their on-field woes have drained the excitement out of Nashville, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano. Their new coach will be expected to get the best out of Ward and start winning games quickly, but would-be hires may not want to operate under such expectations, especially given the Titans’ short leash for their leadership.
Furthermore, McCoy does not seem the kind of high-profile, energizing hire that Tennessee is looking for, but the franchise’s last three interims (Mike Mularkey, Jeff Fisher, Jerry Glanville) have taken over the full-time gig, per veteran Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky. Though, teams have gravitated away from elevating interims to full-time status. It has only happened once (Antonio Pierce) in the past eight offseasons.
The Titans have months to organize and conduct their head coaching search, likely with the intention for a more thorough process than last time and potentially with the desire for more experience and stability in the top job.
MetLife Turf Played Role In Jalen Carter’s Week 6 Absence
MetLife Stadium, home of the Giants and the Jets, has once again entered the spotlight due to injury concerns about its turf.
Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers suffered a season-ending knee injury during a Week 4 game at home after landing awkwardly on the field, re-igniting players’ objections to MetLife’s playing surface.
Then, this past week, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was a surprise inactive for a visit to MetLife Stadium on Thursday Night Football. The turf “played a part” in Carter’s decision to sit out, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Carter is the first player known to specifically avoid playing a game at MetLife, though other players may have made similar choices in the past. Future game day inactives at MetLife may draw questions about the turf’s influence in their decision not to play.
Those events fueled a widespread belief among players that grass is safer to play on than turf. One team is “petrified” of playing at MetLife, with an executive noting that players may be less inclined to play through injury when visiting the New York teams. Leaguewide, more than 90% of players have said they prefer grass in the last two NFLPA surveys, according to The Athletic’s Diana Russini. Of particular confusion is the decision by several stadiums to switch from turf to grass for upcoming soccer tournaments with plans to switch back to turf for football.
However, injury data from the league tells a different story. Since installing a new FieldTurf Core system in 2023, injuries have at MetLife have decreased; last year, it had one of the lowest injury rates in the NFL, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Research from the Jets indicates that players have suffered more knee ligament or Achilles tears on grass compared to turf fields, and league data also shows that lower-extremity injuries are actually less common at MetLife.
NFLPA executive director David White mentioned players’ concern about MetLife’s turf to the Giants during a pre-planned visit that took place after Nabers’ injury, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. Still, neither the NFL nor either of the home teams plan to make any changes to the playing surface at MetLife, though it seems to be a point of contention that players will continue to raise.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/13/25
Here are the latest practice squad moves from around the NFL:
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: TE Jordan Akins
- Released: TE Qadir Ismail
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Tariq Castro-Fields
- Released: CB Eli Ricks
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: OL Kilian Zierer