Retired DE Brandon Graham Mulling Return To Eagles
OCTOBER 20: Graham is expected to be back in the fold “soon,” per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. He adds thoughts about a return to action in this case predate Za’Darius Smith’s retirement. As such, a trade for pass rush help could certainly still be in store regardless of the role Graham plays in 2025.
OCTOBER 19: Retired defensive end and Eagles icon Brandon Graham is mulling a return to the team. Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network were the first to report the news, and they confirm Graham and Philadelphia brass have had conversations about a comeback.
This is not a terribly surprising development. Less than a month after announcing his retirement in March, Graham left the door open to a possible return, saying he was “90 percent retired.” While he did clarify that he intended to keep his cleats in the closet, there was speculation at the time that the 2010 first-rounder could rejoin the only club he has ever known to aid in another championship push.
Now 37, Graham is the longest-tenured Eagle in franchise history, having played for the team for 15 seasons. He was part of both of Philadelphia’s Super Bowl-winning outfits, and his strip-sack of then-Patriots QB Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII has become an enduring image in Eagles lore.
Nostalgia aside, the Eagles would welcome Graham’s on- and off-field presence. After a 4-0 start to the 2025 season, the team has lost two in a row, and Rapoport and Garafolo characterize the team’s locker room as “splintered.” Graham has long been respected as a steadying influence and leader among both defensive and offensive players, which the club could use at the moment.
This offseason, Graham retired, Josh Sweat left in free agency, and Bryce Huff was traded to the 49ers. That left the Eagles with a number of question marks in the pass rush department, and as of the time of this writing, the team’s nine sacks are the eighth-fewest in the NFL. Those troubles have been exacerbated by Za’Darius Smith’s surprise retirement and the fact that both Nolan Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo are on injured reserve.
From a raw statistics perspective, Graham was never a dominant pass rusher, as he reached double-digit sacks just once in his lengthy career. He could nonetheless stabilize the team’s play along the edge, but even if he returns, it would be fair to expect GM Howie Roseman to continue exploring the trade market for pass rush help.
Browns Expected To Make One Or Two More Deals Before Deadline; Fire Sale Unlikely
The Browns have swung two trades in October, dealing quarterback Joe Flacco to the Bengals as part of a Day 3 pick swap in 2026 and trading contract-year cornerback Greg Newsome II to the Jaguars for fellow cornerback Tyson Campbell (that deal also included a 2026 Day 3 pick swap). Zac Jackson of The Athletic (subscription required) unsurprisingly believes Cleveland, which is currently sitting at 2-5, will continue to operate as a seller as we approach the November 4 trade deadline.
Jackson does not expect a full fire sale, however. Instead, he anticipates one or two more trades as the Browns attempt to extract some value for their older players while looking ahead to 2026 and beyond. As Jackson observes in a separate subscribers-only piece, Cleveland already has 10 picks in next year’s draft, which is probably too many to be useful, even for a rebuilding club. That is presumably one of the reasons why he does not expect a flurry of trade activity.
As for who could be on the move, Jackson identifies running back Jerome Ford, whose name has already cropped up in trade rumors, as a clear trade candidate. Tight end David Njoku has also been rumored as a player who could be dealt, and Jackson confirms the longtime Brown may be in the final stretch of his Cleveland tenure (though he also leaves open the possibility that player and team could work out another contract extension).
Both Njoku and Ford have seen rookies (Harold Fannin and Quinshon Judkins, respectively) eat into their playing time, and as both veterans are on expiring deals, their status as potential trade bait is apparent. Offensive linemen Wyatt Teller, Ethan Pocic, Joel Bitonio, and Jack Conklin are also impending free agents whom Jackson names as potential targets for OL-needy clubs. Jackson views a Bitonio trade as improbable since the front office would need to negotiate with an interested team as well as the 12th-year Brown – who is considered likely to retire at season’s end – and his family.
Other contract-year veterans with varying degrees of trade-worthiness include DE Alex Wright – whom Jackson views as a player who will generate some interest given his position and the fact that he profiles as an inexpensive rental – DT Shelby Harris, LB Jerome Baker, S Rayshawn Jenkins, and P Corey Bojorquez. And, while Jackson acknowledges a trade of WR Jerry Jeudy or DE Myles Garrett is unlikely, he does include them on his list of trade candidates.
Despite an offseason trade request and a report that he was not open to a new deal with the Browns, Garrett and Cleveland came together on a record-setting contract in early March. Cleveland did not really consider moving Garrett even after his trade demand, and given that the ink is barely dry on his mega-deal, the dead money cost of a trade within the next couple of weeks could be prohibitive. That said, if a team were to pony up three first-round picks, that could change Cleveland’s calculus.
After a Pro Bowl performance in 2024, in which the former first-round pick of the Broncos finally lived up to his considerable potential, Jeudy has been a disappointment in 2025, largely as a result of his struggles with dropped passes and penalties. Cleveland would be selling low on the Alabama product, whom they signed to a three-year, $52.5MM deal ($41MM guaranteed) last March. Jackson therefore thinks a trade probably will not come together, but if a team thinking Jeudy just needs another change of scenery came calling, Jackson suggests GM Andrew Berry would listen.
Given Cleveland’s glut of 2026 draft picks, Jackson says Berry could target players under club control at least through next year — rather than more draft capital — as he navigates the trade season. That is what happened when he traded Newsome for Campbell, who is signed through 2028.
As Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal writes, Campbell was shocked by the deal, perhaps because he signed a lucrative extension with the Jaguars in July 2024. Clearly, the playoff-hopeful Jags believed Newsome offered an immediate upgrade to aid in their postseason push, while Cleveland will hope to provide Campbell something of a longer runway to find the form that earned him a big-money deal just last year.
NFL’s Rehearing Request In Brian Flores Suit Denied
The NFL is currently reeling in its active, high-profile legal battles. In a post on X earlier this month, Wigdor LLP – one of the firms representing Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores in his class-action suit against the league and six of its teams – said the NFL’s petition for a rehearing of a recent Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Flores’ favor was denied.
In August, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit affirmed a lower court holding that Flores’ claims against the league and three teams – the Broncos, Giants, and Texans – were allowed to proceed to court rather than remain in arbitration. The appellate court reasoned that Flores never signed contracts containing mandatory arbitration language with those clubs (the basis for his claims against those three outfits is that they allegedly conducted sham head coaching interviews to comply with the Rooney Rule). As such, the Defendants could not force those particular claims to arbitration.
The NFL subsequently sought a rehearing before the Second Circuit’s full 13-judge panel, but as noted by Wigdor LLP, that attempt was unsuccessful. It is unclear whether the league will appeal to the United States Supreme Court, but even if it does, the odds of any party securing a review before the highest court in the nation are quite slim.
So for now, Flores – whose suit includes as co-Plaintiffs current Jets defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and former NFL staffer Ray Horton, who worked as a DC for three different clubs – will have the opportunity to air a portion of his claims in the forum of an open court instead of the sheltered, league-friendly arbitration setting. The motion he recently filed in a renewed effort to remove his and his co-Plaintiffs’ claims against the Dolphins, Cardinals, and Titans from arbitration to open court is still pending.
This decision comes on the heels of another failed arbitration-related attempt on the league’s part. The Nevada Supreme Court recently held that former Bucs and Raiders head coach Jon Gruden’s suit against the NFL could proceed to open court, and the league’s motion to have a rehearing of that ruling was also denied.
Given these recent developments, there soon may be some substantive movement in both matters. Gruden’s suit was filed in November 2021, and Flores filed his action just a few months later, in February 2022. As of yet, however, neither proceeding has moved to a trial on the merits of the disputes.
Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle Drawing Interest; Miami Does Not Plan To Deal Waddle, RB De’Von Achane
At 1-5, the Dolphins look like obvious sellers as the November 4 trade deadline approaches, and sharks are smelling blood in the water. Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, several teams have called Miami to inquire about wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
However, the ‘Fins have told those clubs that they have no interest in moving Waddle. Although Miami will surely entertain offers on players on expiring deals, Waddle is under contract through 2028 by virtue of the three-year, $84.75MM extension he signed last year. Moving him would suggest the Dolphins are seeking to rebuild rather than reload for 2026, and it does not appear the team is ready to do that.
Waddle, who will turn 27 next month, was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2021 draft, and he lived up to his draft status right away, catching 104 balls for 1,015 yards and six TDs as a rookie. His yards-per-reception rate (9.8) was a bit underwhelming, but he more than made up for that with a sophomore campaign in which he caught 75 passes for 1,356 yards – good for an NFL-best 18.1 YPR rate – and eight scores.
He landed the above-referenced extension after his third professional season in 2023 (which was the first time he was eligible for a second pro contract). Despite missing three games that year, he still managed to top the 1,000-yard mark while maintaining a solid 14.1 YPR average, so the Dolphins seemingly had no issue authorizing a big-money deal.
His production took a downturn in 2024, as he tallied 58 receptions for 744 yards and just two TDs. In fairness, Tua Tagovailoa played just 11 games last year, but Miami’s QB1 has played more than 13 contests just once during Waddle’s tenure (2023).
Through the first six games of the current slate, Waddle has posted 29 catches for 390 yards and three TDs. It seems WR-needy teams have no qualms about his abilities, though the Dolphins are understandably taking the stance that the Alabama product is staying in South Beach.
They are saying the same thing about running back De’Von Achane. The 2023 third-rounder’s rookie pact runs through 2026, and his body of work includes a career average of 5.5 yards per carry. He is averaging nearly 100 scrimmage yards per game this year, to go along with six total scores.
As such, it is not surprising that rival teams would have interest, and the Seahawks have been named as a potential suitor. But as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald wrote even before Rapoport’s report, the Dolphins are not looking to move either Waddle or Achane.
Rapoport says it is more likely that the Dolphins look to trade an edge rusher like Bradley Chubb or Jaelan Phillips, who have already surfaced in trade rumors. While Chubb is technically under contract through 2027, his deal contains no more guaranteed money beyond this year, which will make a swap manageable from a dead money perspective. Phillips is currently on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal and is therefore an obvious trade candidate.
Matt Judon, whom Miami signed in late August to serve as a complementary pass rusher, has yet to tally a sack in six games. He is a healthy scratch for the Dolphins’ Week 7 contest against the Browns, and both Rapoport and Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports consider him trade fodder (with Jones saying a Day 3 pick swap is likely enough to get a deal done).
Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell Will Not Name QB1 Until J.J. McCarthy Is 100%
Carson Wentz will serve as the Vikings’ starting quarterback again in Week 7, as presumptive QB1 J.J. McCarthy is still dealing with a high ankle sprain that has kept him on the sidelines since Week 3. Head coach Kevin O’Connell previously stopped short of confirming McCarthy would be back in the starting lineup when he is fully healthy, and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reiterates O’Connell will continue his wait-and-see approach (video link).
While making clear that McCarthy is not yet recovered from the ankle injury – meaning the Vikes are not overstating the ailment to allow the second-year passer to save face – Rapoport says O’Connell will not make a true Wentz-or-McCarthy decision until McCarthy is 100%. And it is certainly possible that Wentz forces O’Connell’s hand.
McCarthy has underwhelmed in seven of the eight quarters he has played in 2025. That is perhaps not surprising given that the 2024 first-rounder missed his entire rookie campaign because of a knee injury and then practiced just one time after Minnesota’s Week 1 victory this year due to the birth of his son (h/t Rapoport). Considering the Vikings’ investment in him and obvious faith in his abilities – despite his lost rookie season, the team allowed both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones to depart in free agency – they obviously want to give him every opportunity to succeed.
On the other hand, Minnesota is 3-2 and has postseason aspirations after narrowly missing out on the NFC’s No. 1 seed last year. Wentz, a 10-year veteran with 97 starts to his name, has played reasonably well in relief of his younger counterpart, guiding the club to a 2-1 record during his three games at the helm (he came up just short of a comeback victory in the one loss and posted quarterback ratings of 102.1 and 129.8 in the two wins).
Per Rapoport, McCarthy’s injury is also likely to force him out of the team’s Week 8 game with the Chargers, a Thursday night affair that will take place shortly after Sunday’s Week 7 matchup against the Eagles. Both of those will be difficult games, and if Wentz struggles, O’Connell should have no trouble reinserting McCarthy.
But if Wentz leads the Vikings to wins and runs his personal record to 4-1 this season, Rapoport thinks O’Connell will keep him atop the depth chart, irrespective of McCarthy’s health.
Titans’ HC Search Underway; Team To Prioritize Previous HC Experience?
Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker might have final say over roster decisions, but both he and first-year general manager Mike Borgonzi will run the search for the club’s next head coach in the wake of Brian Callahan’s dismissal. As Albert Breer of SI.com reports, the duo is not waiting to begin the process and is already researching potential candidates.
Breer adds that Tennessee is not hiring a search firm to aid in the hunt. He also says Brinker and Borgonzi intend to be open-minded and will not focus on a particular “type” of coach.
It is unclear whether he simply means the Titans will consider offense- and defense-oriented coaches, or if the club’s open-mindedness will extend to candidates without previous HC experience. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the lack of success with Callahan – who had not risen above the coordinator ranks when he was hired in 2024 – makes it likely Tennessee opts for a candidate with a head coaching gig on their resume (along with “strong leadership qualities”).
Several of the names that already have been floated as potential targets, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, do have recent experience in an HC post. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, who first reported Nagy’s and Smith’s candidacy, subsequently added Mike McCarthy and Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to the list, and those coaches have also served as bench bosses in the past (McCarthy with the Packers and Cowboys, Joseph with Denver).
However, both Rapoport and Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required) name Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo as a candidate to watch, with Russini also identifying Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver as someone who could interest Tennessee brass. Both men have interviewed for HC positions in recent history, with Anarumo earning a second interview for the Cardinals’ top job in 2023 and Weaver advancing to the second interview stage with the Saints, Falcons, and Commanders over the last two years.
Although neither Anarumo nor Weaver have landed a head coaching job yet, they could be popular interviewees in the upcoming cycle. Whether the Titans are the club to give them their first HC opportunity in light of the disastrous Callahan tenure remains to be seen, but even though Schefter says the club prefers an experienced hand, the ESPN scribe acknowledges Brinker and Borgonzi will cast a wide net in their evaluation process.
As Schefter also points out, Brinker was part of the Packers’ last HC search, which culminated in the Matt LaFleur hire. Titans assistant GM Dave Ziegler, who worked as a personnel advisor with the Saints last year, was part of New Orleans’ hunt for a new head coach after Dennis Allen was fired during the 2024 campaign. The Saints hired Kellen Moore shortly after Ziegler accepted his current job with the Titans.
Chiefs WR Rashee Rice Set To Return In Week 7
After a sluggish start to the 2025 slate, the Chiefs appear to be rounding into form. They have won three of their last four contests, and since wideout Xavier Worthy returned to the field in Week 4 – the second-year pro had been sidelined since the first quarter of the regular season opener due to a shoulder injury – they are averaging over 31 points per game.
The offense will get another jolt on Sunday, when Rashee Rice will make his 2025 debut (as relayed by ESPN’s Nate Taylor). Kansas City’s top wide receiver served a six-game suspension to open the season due to his involvement in a hit-and-run in March 2024, along with accusations of punching a photographer and another incident during his time as a collegian at SMU in which he or a member of his party fired gunshots into an empty vehicle belonging to an SMU basketball player.
The criminal portion of the hit-and-run matter concluded in July – as part of a plea deal, Rice received five years of probation and deferred adjudication on a 30-day jail sentence – and he and the league ultimately agreed to the six-game ban. He will be eligible for a second contract after the season, so he will now have the opportunity to bolster his future earning power while helping KC make another deep postseason run.
However, he may not enjoy a full workload right away, as head coach Andy Reid implied in advance of his team’s Week 7 tilt with the Raiders.
“How many snaps he gets, [I don’t know],” Reid said (via Taylor). “He’s excited to be back in and going. I think getting through practices [this week] will be good for him to get into the swing of things. He’s been working hard. He’s in good shape. … There’s one ball, and somebody isn’t going to get every snap. They got to check that ego and I appreciate that.”
Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network hears there is an air of selflessness and excitement in Kansas City’s wide receivers room at the moment. And while the coaching staff will indeed monitor Rice’s snap count in Week 7, Garafolo says the 25-year-old is expected to play “a bunch” (video link).
Per Taylor, the Chiefs believe Rice will begin to look like his usual self sooner rather than later. Over the course of his suspension, Rice has been doing individual workouts in which he has focused on his route running, strength and conditioning, and quickness.
As Taylor also points out, Sunday will mark the first time that Rice, Worthy, and Marquise Brown – who joined the club in free agency in 2024 and who re-upped this offseason – will all be active in the same game.
Jon Gruden’s Lawsuit Against NFL Allowed To Proceed To Open Court
Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden has scored a key victory in his ongoing lawsuit against the league and commissioner Roger Goodell. As relayed by ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr., the Nevada Supreme Court rejected the league’s petition seeking a rehearing of the court’s August decision that the league could not force Gruden into arbitration.
Gruden, 62, filed his suit in 2021, after he resigned as the Raiders’ head coach following a leak of emails containing racist, sexist, and anti-gay comments he sent when he was an on-air analyst for ESPN from 2011-18. He alleges the NFL selectively leaked those emails to force him out of the league, thereby sabotaging his coaching career and endorsement contracts.
When we last wrote about Gruden’s legal battle in July 2024, he had just lost a hearing conducted by the Nevada Supreme Court’s three-judge panel, which determined that the NFL could, in fact, remove Gruden’s case from the public forum of a state courtroom into the league-friendly arbitration setting (in which Goodell himself could serve as the arbitrator).
However, Gruden was ultimately successful in securing a rehearing in front of the court’s full seven-judge panel, which held in a 5-2 decision that the league’s efforts to force a claim against the league filed by a former employee into arbitration proceedings overseen by the league commissioner (and named defendant) was “unconscionable.”
The seven judges were unanimous in their denial of the NFL’s request for a rehearing, and now the league’s only recourse in its quest for arbitration is to note an appeal to the United States Supreme Court. Although the NFL has declined to comment on the matter, Van Natta’s sources have said such an attempt is unlikely.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk details the difficulty that an appealing party in any case has in convincing the nation’s highest court to hear their appeal, and he also observes that Gruden has gained a tremendous amount of leverage. The NFL could try to make Gruden a settlement offer he cannot refuse in order to make the case go away, but Gruden has previously promised to “burn the house down” in pursuing this action.
In other words, he may rebuff any offer the league makes as he seeks to uncover the party or parties who leaked the emails.
“I’m looking forward to having the truth come out and I want to make sure what happened to me doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Gruden told ESPN. “What happened wasn’t right, and I’m glad the court didn’t let the NFL cover it up.”
Gruden has gotten back into league circles to some extent. In 2023, he worked as a consultant with the Saints, and he was seen doing work for the Chiefs in the 2024 offseason. It was reported last December that he could garner some NFL coaching interest in the 2025 cycle, but he did not land an interview.
Ravens TE Mark Andrews Could Draw Trade Interest
Ravens tight end Mark Andrews surfaced as a trade candidate this offseason, and he generated some interest from other clubs. GM Eric DeCosta clearly did not receive an offer compelling enough to deal the franchise’s receiving TDs leader, but Andrews nonetheless could be on the move in the coming weeks, per Eric D. Williams of Fox Sports.
The Ravens have stumbled to a 1-3 start, and with quarterback Lamar Jackson expected to miss at least the next two games, the prognosis for a turnaround is not favorable. Plus, Andrews is in the final year of his contract, and fellow TE Isaiah Likely – who is five years younger than Andrews and who has established himself as a capable weapon – looks like the club’s future at the position. Likely is in the last year of his rookie deal, and the team reportedly has begun extension talks with his camp.
Likely missed the first three games of the season due to injury, and he failed to record a statistic in the 26 snaps he played in last week’s loss to the Chiefs. Andrews, meanwhile, has secured 15 of 18 passes for 128 yards and two TDs in 2025, though his 8.5 yards-per-reception rate would be the lowest of his career by a wide margin.
Now 30, Andrews has struggled in the playoffs during his Ravens tenure, struggles that include a lost fumble and dropped two-point conversion in last season’s divisional round loss to the Bills. That said, he has been one of the NFL’s preeminent pass-catching tight ends since he broke out with a Pro Bowl campaign in 2019, his second year in the league. He also earned Pro Bowl acclaim in 2021 – he was named a First Team All-Pro that year – and 2022.
As such, teams in need of help at the TE position may continue working DeCosta’s phone. Williams’ source who says Andrews could draw interest does not name a specific club, but the Chargers and Seahawks are speculative fits. Both teams presently profile as deadline buyers and could stand to upgrade their tight end rooms with a proven performer, and both also have ties to the Oklahoma product.
The Bolts employ former Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman as their OC, and Los Angeles GM Joe Hortiz was Baltimore’s director of college scouting when the Ravens drafted Andrews (to say nothing of the obvious Jim Harbaugh–John Harbaugh connection). Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was the Ravens’ defensive coordinator from 2022-23.
49ers, Rams, Seahawks, Bills, Patriots, Jaguars, Eagles Seen As Possible Buyers At Trade Deadline
We are a month away from the November 4 trade deadline, and the league’s contingent of buyers and sellers is starting to take shape. Eric D. Williams of Fox Sports identifies a handful of teams that league sources believe could be active buyers.
That includes a trio of NFC West clubs: the 49ers, Rams, and Seahawks. All three of those teams currently sport winning records, and even the division’s fourth-place outfit, the Cardinals, are 2-2 (their two losses have come by a combined four points). It therefore stands to reason that the combatants in what could be a tightly-contested division will be seeking any possible advantage at the deadline.
Moving over to the AFC East, Williams’ sources name the Bills and Patriots as potential buyers. The Bills, who have become a perennial contender in the Josh Allen era, are just one of two undefeated teams left after the first four weeks of the campaign, and Buffalo may be on the lookout for upgrades as it tries to break through to the Super Bowl after a number of recent postseason heartbreaks.
New England, at 2-2, was not necessarily expected to contend this year. New head coach Mike Vrabel and second-year quarterback Drake Maye presented reasons for optimism in Foxborough, but the general consensus was that the club — which underwent more than 50% roster turnover from 2024-25 and which entered the regular season as the league’s fifth-youngest team (h/t ESPN’s Mike Reiss) — was still at least a year away from true competitiveness.
And that still may be the case. After all, much can change between now and the first week of November, and even tonight’s matchup with the division-rival Bills could go a long way towards solidifying the Pats’ status as legitimate contender or otherwise.
After a last-second loss to the Bengals in Week 2, the Jaguars bounced back with victories over the Texans and Niners to improve their record to 3-1. As Williams notes, the rookie GM/HC duo of James Gladstone and Liam Coen both cut their NFL teeth with the Rams, whose Les Snead/Sean McVay operation has developed a reputation for making bold strikes.
Ditto Eagles GM Howie Roseman, and Philadelphia – the league’s other undefeated club – is unsurprisingly named by Williams’ sources as another team that could look to acquire talent in advance of the deadline. Per OverTheCap.com, the Eagles also have just shy of $12MM in cap space, so they should have the flexibility to make a move or two.
The Patriots, 49ers, and Seahawks are all in the top-five in terms of cap room as of the time of this writing, and the Rams are just outside the top-10. The Bills, with just $2.57MM of space, could have a harder time making a splash acquisition.