Giants LT Andrew Thomas Out For Season
4:19pm: The Giants have since placed Thomas on IR, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Regarding a replacement plan, Ezeudu will indeed have the first chance. No firm plan appears to exist, but the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz indicates Ezeudu worked as the team’s first-string LT in practice while Eluemunor remained at RT.
9:12am: After playing through a significant foot injury to close out the Giants’ Sunday-night matchup, Andrew Thomas has opted for surgery. As a result, the talented left tackle is not expected to return in 2024.
Thomas suffered a Lisfranc injury, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports the fifth-year blocker’s Charlotte trip has led to a surgery. This procedure will force the Giants into other options, removing an otherwise healthy unit’s best player. The Giants feared this outcome, and they will now be faced with playing 11 games without an All-Pro blocker.
Sustaining the injury during a third-quarter drive, Thomas did not miss a snap during the Giants’ loss to the Bengals. He indicated an issue postgame, however, and the Giants will need to regroup after seeing their Thomas-Jon Runyan Jr..-John Michael Schmitz–Greg Van Roten–Jermaine Eluemunor line not miss any snaps this season. Although the Giants’ line is much healthier than it was at this point last year, Thomas’ injury deals a crushing blow to the unit.
Thomas, 25, signed a five-year, $117.5MM extension just before training camp last year. He joined Dexter Lawrence and Daniel Jones as Dave Gettleman-era acquisitions paid during the Joe Schoen GM regime. While Lawrence has become one of the NFL’s best defensive tackles, Jones and Thomas have run into steady injury issues that have slowed them. This is Thomas’ most notable injury as a pro, and it both casts doubt about his long-term durability and the capability of New York’s O-line moving forward this season.
Last season, a hamstring injury sidelined Thomas — a second-team All-Pro in 2022 — for seven games. An earlier return was expected, but the former No. 4 overall pick sustained a setback during his rehab process. Thomas has also undergone two ankle surgeries previously, though he only missed three games due to injury prior to last last season. The Giants will hope for a smooth recovery, but by season’s end, they will have seen the standout Georgia product miss 18 games since signing his extension.
The Giants used Joshua Ezeudu as Thomas’ primary replacement last season, and the 2022 third-round pick — a converted guard — has been the team’s swingman this year. New York initially turned to Ezeudu when Evan Neal was in place at right tackle. Neal has been a healthy scratch this season, seeing poor play and extensive rehab sidetrack his career. The Giants have installed Eluemunor at RT; the recent Raiders starter was initially set to play left guard on a first-string line including Neal. The Giants changed that plan early in training camp, as Neal was not yet ready to debut.
It would stand to reason Ezeudu would receive the first crack at replacing Thomas. Neal could factor in, and this injury would at least position him to receive a game uniform again. Eluemunor does have a history at left tackle, playing on the blind side sparingly during his career. Though, the recent free agency pickup has never played more than 200 snaps at LT in a season. He did see time there for the Patriots and Raiders, but the Giants had viewed the journeyman best at LG or RT.
Ezeudu made five starts at left tackle last season but went down with a season-ending toe injury. Thomas reclaimed his starting gig soon after, but the Giants will need to turn to either Ezeudu or Neal — potentially in a scenario in which Eluemunor changes positions for a second time this year — to replace their anchor. Either way, the team is likely set to see a steep downgrade from Thomas.
Cowboys Not Expected To Be Active At Trade Deadline
Jerry Jones has continually been asked to explain his franchise’s 2024 inaction regarding outside augmentations. Most recently, the longtime Cowboys owner/de facto GM fired back at radio hosts — during his 105.3 The Fan appearance — when this topic came up.
Issues at running back and at both defensive end and defensive tackle have come up since training camp, with the pass-catching situation beyond CeeDee Lamb being an issue essentially since the team’s post-Amari Cooper offense revealed itself. The Cowboys checked on Davante Adams but quickly bowed out when it became clear the Raiders wanted a team to pick up his full salary.
The Cowboys still managed a 12-5 record in each of the post-Cooper seasons, but they have been on the wrong side of two NFC blowouts this year and sit 3-3 after the second — a 47-9 Lions dismantling — brought more concerns about Mike Zimmer‘s defense.
Jones already responded in the negative when asked about potential coaching or coordinator changes, showing faith this batch will craft a turnaround. Though, the owner already put Mike McCarthy in a rare lame-duck season due to how poorly the team played in a wild-card loss to Green Bay. As far as roster improvements at the deadline, however, Cowboys fans should not be expecting much. Jones told The Athletic’s Dianna Russini the team will not be active in deals before the Nov. 5 deadline.
Although the Cowboys beat the Bills by six years in trading for Cooper to spark a midseason turnaround, Jones said this Dallas team has “great personnel” and is not leaning toward an aggressive direction he once did. The Cowboys then considered the 2019 receiver free agent class to be shaky, leading to the team giving up a first-rounder for Cooper. That acquisition helped Jones’ perception given what happened following the Joey Galloway and Roy Williams trades. The Raiders import helped turn Jason Garrett‘s team from 3-4 to a making a divisional-round appearance.
That round has been a rather infamous stage for Jones’ franchise in the years since Super Bowl XXX, as the team’s streak of seasons without an NFC championship game berth has reached 28. Thanks to the Lions’ cameo last season, only Washington surpasses Dallas’ run of active seasons without an NFC title game berth. McCarthy has gone 36-15 during the past three regular seasons but is now 1-3 in the playoffs in his second-chance HC gig.
Zimmer’s defense, which has played the past two games without Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence while going the full season without DaRon Bland, ranks 27th in DVOA. More damning, McCarthy and Brian Schottenheimer‘s offense is 25th despite Lamb’s big- ticket extension and Dak Prescott‘s market-resetting payday hours before Week 1’s kickoff. Following those deals, the Cowboys hold $21.7MM in cap space — seventh-most in the NFL. They are in the bottom 10 for projected 2025 cap space, however, and Parsons will then be due a monster extension.
The Cowboys ranked first in scoring offense last season; they now sit 19th. The run game, which the team did not reinforce this offseason, ranks last in total yardage and YPC (3.5). Dallas added Dalvin Cook to its practice squad but has yet to elevate the former Vikings 1,000-yard rusher. Jones has famously said he could not afford Derrick Henry, to whom the Cowboys were connected dating back to 2023, but beyond the Ezekiel Elliott signing (which has produced scant production), the team punted on the backs in free agency and did not draft one. Pro Football Focus also ranks the Cowboys’ O-line 22nd after Week 6.
Although Parsons will have a chance to come back in Week 7, both Lawrence and second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland have gone down with injuries expected to sideline them into November. Third-year DE Sam Williams is out for the season. The Cowboys signed K.J. Henry off the Bengals’ practice squad, doing so after trading for Jordan Phillips (now on IR) and signing Linval Joseph in August. Departing DC Dan Quinn also poached regulars Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler and Tyler Biadasz in free agency. Dallas’ run defense ranks 26th.
The collection of Cowboys rostered will face significant pressure following the team’s bye week, but Jones has said McCarthy is safe for at least this season. The team will begin its inward-focused post-bye mission in San Francisco.
Jets Work Out Riley Patterson, Cade York
Greg Zuerlein‘s third Jets season has not started off well. Albeit in suboptimal conditions, Zuerlein combined to miss three field goals in home losses to the Broncos and Bills. As a result, the Jets are looking into other options.
Riley Patterson, Cade York and Matt Coghlin worked out for the team today, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. Zuerlein is 8-for-12 this season, missing one of his two kicks Monday night from inside 40 yards. Zuerlein previously missed a game-winning 50-yarder in the rain against the Broncos.
The Jets re-signed Zuerlein in March, agreeing to a two-year, $8.4MM deal. That contract included $4.2MM guaranteed and included three void years for cap purposes. While the Jets would eat more than $2MM in dead money by moving on from the established option, they have certainly attempted to shake things up as of late. No signings have been made, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo, but Zuerlein may be running out of time to bounce back.
Robert Saleh is out, while Nathaniel Hackett has been demoted. Todd Downing is in the play-calling role, and Davante Adams is set to debut for the team in Week 7. Mike Williams is on the trade block. The Jets have not tampered with their special teams core just yet, but Zuerlein is clearly on notice.
A Division II success story known as one of the NFL’s strongest-legged kickers, the 37-year-old specialist has never been cut in-season. The Cowboys did release him after the 2021 campaign, however. Zuerlein made 35 of 38 field goals in his second Jets season — including a 5-for-6 connect rate from 50-plus yards — to lead to the two-year contract, but he may be kicking for his job soon.
Patterson entered training camp as the Commanders’ kicker, having been claimed following a Jaguars cut, but did not make it to the regular season in that role. York came in via trade as a replacement for Patterson, who struggled during the preseason.
Split between Detroit and Cleveland, Patterson went 16-for-18 on field goals last season; he made 30 of 35 tries as the Jaguars’ kicker in 2022. A 2022 Browns draftee, York has kicked in one game over the past two seasons. It did not go well. York did not make it to Week 2 in the Commanders role, being waived after missing two kicks in a season-opening loss. Coghlin spent six years at Michigan State but has yet to kick in an NFL game; the 49ers worked him out last week before signing Matthew Wright.
AFC West Notes: Raiders, Chiefs, Harbaugh
Tom Brady‘s playing days are officially over, as his near-two-year odyssey toward becoming a Raiders part-owner is now complete. Brady’s broadcasting restrictions remain firmly in place, and a note coming out of Tuesday’s approval (h/t Bleacher Report) indicates Brady is prohibited from publicly criticizing officials and other clubs. That will make his Sunday FOX gig quite challenging, as the now-Raiders-affiliated broadcaster already cannot attend practices, appear at other teams’ facilities or take part in virtual or in-person pregame production meetings with personnel from the teams he will cover that week. Brady is also subject to the league’s anti-tampering policy, as all coaches and execs are. Nevertheless, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes Brady’s Raiders stake purchase was approved 32-0 by owners Tuesday.
The subject of Brady’s participation regarding ownership has gone from “passive” to rumors he will play a big role as a part-owner. Mark Davis offered a hint the latter path will come to fruition, indicating (via NFL.com’s Judy Battista) Brady can help the Raiders select their quarterback of the future. Brady playing a central role in player acquisitions would certainly be of interest, as the Raiders just hired a new GM (Tom Telesco). It will be interesting to see how much input the Raiders want Brady to provide their football-ops department.
Here is the latest from the AFC West:
- As the Jets and Bills took their wide receiver swings Tuesday, the Chiefs have thus far stood pat. The two-time defending champions have gotten by — thanks largely to a reliable defense — with holdovers. Scheme familiarity remains a priority for the Chiefs, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, who writes Kansas City has not been overly active in the receiver market thus far. The Chiefs have been linked to DeAndre Hopkins, whom they pursued in a 2023 trade and later in free agency that summer, and Jaguars slot cog Christian Kirk. Thus far, no traction has (knowingly) occurred. The Chiefs saw reacquisition Mecole Hardman catch the Super Bowl LVIII game-winning pass and just observed JuJu Smith-Schuster — re-signed shortly after his Patriots release — post 130 yards against the Saints. It could then be realistic the Chiefs re-sign the recently cut Marquez Valdes-Scantling on the cheap. Though, the Marquise Brown– and Rashee Rice-less team still has a deep threat — in first-rounder Xavier Worthy. A higher-profile add should still be considered in play before the November 5 deadline.
- While the Chargers might be more likely to deviate from their Telesco-era pattern of not acquiring players at the deadline, The Athletic’s Daniel Popper notes Jim Harbaugh‘s high salary stands to contribute to how the organization proceeds. The Bolts are 27th in cash spent on players this year, as Harbaugh is on a five-year, $80MM deal. Coaching contracts, of course, do not factor into the salary cap, but those expenses are part of a team’s cash outlay. The Bolts, who obtained Taylor Heinicke and Elijah Molden via trade in August, also figure to pay more attention than usual to compensatory selections. After all, GM Joe Hortiz comes from the comp pick-obsessed Ravens. If a buyer’s trade does commence, it should be expected the return will be a low-cost performer.
- Harbaugh needed to leave the sideline for a medical evaluation in Week 6, and while the new Bolts HC returned not long after, he confirmed the exit was due to an atrial flutter episode. As a result, the 60-year-old coach will wear a heart monitor for two weeks before a reevaluation commences, Popper tweets.
- Similar to Harbaugh’s penalty for his Michigan violations, Raiders HC Antonio Pierce received a show-cause penalty stemming from recruiting infractions while he was at Arizona State. While Harbaugh’s show-cause penalty covers four years, Pierce’s spans eight. Due to recruiting violations during a COVID-19 dead period, a school that hires Pierce over the next eight years would need to suspend him for the first full season. Pierce’s lack of cooperation with the NCAA during its investigation since he resigned from the then-Pac-12 program (just before his Raiders arrival) contributed to the penalty.
- In addition to Brady, owners approved Pistons owner Tom Gores‘ Chargers stake. Gores purchased a 27% stake in the Dean Spanos-owned franchise, which has been in the Spanos family since 1984.
Browns Trade Amari Cooper To Bills
The receiver market is heating up. Hours after the Jets finalized their deal to acquire Davante Adams, the team that won Monday night’s game will also strike for a pass-catching weapon.
Amari Cooper is headed to Buffalo, with Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reporting the Bills and Browns have a deal in place. A recent report indicated Cleveland was not expected to unload Cooper, but after the Browns did not reach an extension with the accomplished wideout this offseason, he remains in a contract year. It appears that campaign with finish in New York. The teams have since announced the trade.
This deal includes the Browns receiving a third-round pick, though NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport classifies it as a pick-swap agreement. That will send a lower pick back to the Bills. Here is how the trade breaks down, via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero:
Bills receive:
- Cooper
- A 2025 sixth-round pick
Browns receive:
- A 2025 third-round pick
- 2026 seventh-rounder
This is the second time Cooper has been traded in-season, with the 2018 campaign including the Raiders sending him to the Cowboys for a first-round pick. After re-signing the former top-five pick in 2020, the Cowboys dealt him to the Browns during the 2022 offseason. Cooper, 30, has produced in Cleveland, but with Deshaun Watson well off his Texans pace, he has not fared especially well this season. Given the QB upgrade he is set to see, Cooper is likely to see a production uptick soon.
[RELATED: Bills Cut WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling]
Sean McDermott said last week Buffalo’s receiver situation had become a concern. The Bills’ plan of moving on from Stefon Diggs and not replacing him with a comparable wideout was passable early, but teams had limited the team’s receivers in recent weeks — a period that bottomed out with a woeful Josh Allen stat line in Houston. Even after the Bills prevailed over the Jets on Monday, they are loading up with one of the best wideouts on the market.
“Andrew Berry called me and told me what was going on,” Cooper said (via veteran insider Josina Anderson) of the trade. “As far as playing with Josh, I’ve always been fan of his game. I’m sure to see it up close and personal and play alongside him, I’m sure it’s going to be great.”
This Cooper swap comes after the Bills had monitored the Adams market. In on Adams from the beginning, Buffalo never appeared in pole position — or even in the front row — for the Raiders trade chip. It does not appear to be a coincidence that the Jets’ Adams trade went down shortly before this one. The Bills snaring Cooper gives them a weapon in an effort to hold off the Jets in the AFC East while taking away a potential Chiefs solution in the wake of Rashee Rice‘s season-ending injury.
Although Cooper is in his age-30 season and is averaging only 10.4 yards per catch this year (24/250), the Bills needed to include a third-round pick likely due to both his past production and the Browns having slashed his 2024 base salary to the veteran minimum. Cooper’s offseason restructure included an incentive package and his 2024 base dropping to $1.21MM.
That works out to just $783K to be transferred to the Bills’ payroll. The Browns, conversely, will take on $7.9MM in dead money this year and $22.6MM in dead cap in 2025. The total sum nearly matches Diggs’ receiver-record figure the Bills ate earlier this year.
Cooper’s route-running chops are on Diggs’ level, making it interesting Buffalo targeted the former No. 5 overall pick. Cooper has seven 1,000-yard seasons on his resume, with the most recent — 2023’s 1,250-yard showing with an aid from Joe Flacco — doubling as a career-high number. Cooper has never quite settled in as a top-tier receiver, but his credentials easily place him on the second rung. The refined pass catcher is a five-time Pro Bowler who has surpassed 1,100 yards in a season five times. Cooper totaled nine touchdowns in his first Browns season, doing so despite the team using Jacoby Brissett for 11 games and Watson (who re-emerged in concerning form) for the final six.
Turning 30 earlier this year, Cooper is several months younger than Diggs. The Bills had tired of Diggs’ antics, but they were beginning to miss his production. Drafted four rounds before Diggs in 2015, Cooper has not proven to be a locker room issue, as he has seamlessly transitioned to new teams via trade before.
The Alabama alum’s 2018 Dallas assimilation made a key difference in turning a sub.-500 Cowboys team into the NFC East champions. Cooper will now try to replace Diggs and help the Bills book a fifth straight division title. Set to anchor a receiving corps previously fronted by Khalil Shakir and second-round pick Keon Coleman, Cooper strengthens the Bills’ hopes of threatening the Chiefs’ AFC vice grip as well.
No stranger to splashy WR trades as the 2020 Diggs swap and the near-deal for Antonio Brown in 2019 shows, Bills GM Brandon Beane will attempt to equip his superstar quarterback with a weapon that will help him better maximize his age-28 season. Diggs moved the needle significantly in Allen’s development. With Allen much closer to a finished product now, the Bills are adding a similar playmaker. Buffalo received a 2025 second-round pick from Houston for Diggs, helping make parting with a Day 2 asset easier.
This deal comes barely two months after the Browns offered Cooper to the 49ers in a swap that would have sent Brandon Aiyuk to Cleveland. Aiyuk did not want to be traded to the Browns, who have struggled in the passing game for most of the decade despite obtaining Watson in 2022. Cooper, however, wanted to be traded to the 49ers, TheLandOnDemand.com’s Tony Grossi offers. That San Francisco proposal, which included second- and fifth-round picks as well, always made Cooper a trade chip to watch. With the Browns now 1-5 and Watson in terrible form, cashing out now with a Day 2 asset — which is more than the Browns initially gave up to acquire him from the Cowboys — can be viewed as a savvy move.
Cleveland sent just fifth- and sixth-round picks to Dallas to acquire Cooper in March 2022. The Cowboys have missed the midrange weapon’s presence, even as CeeDee Lamb has ascended to the All-Pro level. The Browns traded for Jerry Jeudy this offseason and gave the ex-Broncos first-rounder a three-year extension that brought more in guarantees ($41MM) than Cooper’s Cowboys-constructed pact (five years, $100MM, $40MM guaranteed at signing) did. The Browns also have Elijah Moore on their roster, but the ex-Jets second-rounder joins Cooper in being in a contract year.
Jeudy suddenly represents the Browns’ receiver centerpiece, as he is tied to the team through the 2027 season. Jeudy, however, is 0-for-4 in 1,000-yard seasons; Cooper is 7-for-9. A Bills team gunning for its first Super Bowl berth since 1993 will soon deploy Cooper as part of its championship effort, while the Browns — thanks to their historic Watson guarantee tying them to the embattled QB through 2026 — will pick up an asset as they reassess their passing game.
NFL Approves Tom Brady’s Raiders Ownership Stake
Nearly 18 months after Tom Brady agreed to buy a stake in the Raiders, NFL owners have finally approved the measure. The all-time QB great-turned-broadcaster is now a part-owner of the AFC West franchise, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.
Brady’s ownership effort receiving the necessary 24 votes Tuesday both finishes his long-running bid to become a part-owner and ensures he will not make a comeback as a player. Brady, 47, had teased the idea as being on his radar — a late-season comeback, that is — but owners were not open to the idea of the 23-year veteran being a part-owner who also plays for a team. The current lead FOX analyst is OK with this and will move into the unique position of being an NFL owner who is also a broadcaster.
Brady is in at roughly 5% of the Raiders, with SI.com’s Albert Breer noting another 5% going to business partner/Knighthead Capital Management co-founder Tom Wagner. With Wagner part of Brady’s group, the latter technically holds a 10% stake in the Las Vegas NFL franchise. Brady had recently raised his ownership bid, doing enough to move this journey into the end zone.
Providing financial details on this transaction, Ben Fisher and Austin Karp of the Sports Business Journal report the deal will see Brady and Wagner pay $220MM in equity along with $24MM which will go to the league’s other owners as a condition of the franchise’s move to Vegas. The Raiders’ valuation for the purpose of Brady and Wagner’s addition is roughly $3.5 billion, per the report. Forbes’ most recent valuation checked in at $6.7 billion.
Hall of Famer Richard Seymour, who was believed to have been separated from the Brady stake, is a part-Raiders owner at 0.5%, Breer adds. Seymour did not need to wait nearly as long as Brady did on the ownership front, with a few owners meetings coming and going without the matter being part of an official discussion. That changed Tuesday.
Mark Davis agreed to sell a stake to Brady in May 2023; the two were already partners in the WNBA, with Brady buying a piece of Davis’ Las Vegas Aces franchise. Owners took issue with Brady’s stake price and then expressed concerns about the conflict of interest FOX’s first-team color commentator also owning part of a team. The price issue was ironed out months ago, and going into this season, the NFL imposed a round of Brady-only restrictions that prevent him from attending team facilities or taking part in player and coach broadcast meetings.
The restrictions certainly limit Brady’s ability to do his FOX job, but he did not back down from this Raiders ownership pursuit. As a result, Brady will continue to broadcast without going through the usual pregame work his contemporaries do. Owners’ concern also included Brady appearing at a Raiders practice late last season, putting the eventual limitations in motion, but the recently retired quarterback had said he planned to play a passive role as an owner. That also may be subject to change.
Brady should be expected to have a prominent voice as a Raiders part-owner, an NFL source informed the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore. He was linked as being involved in the Raiders’ HC and GM searches, though not to the extent Seymour eventually was. If Brady indeed becomes an integral figure in Raiders football decisions, his FOX role may come under additional scrutiny. And Tom Telesco‘s GM power may be conceivably worth questioning. For now, however, the former Patriots and Buccaneers passer is set for dual NFL citizenship of sorts.
A Brady effort to become a player/owner — with Sean Payton as the coach — for the Dolphins produced significant punishment for the AFC East franchise, though at that point, a player/owner effort was not completely off the table. A rule passed last summer, in the wake of Lionel Messi being given equity in Miami’s MLS club, now nixes any NFL player/owner crusades. As a result, Brady’s playing career will officially end.
The 49ers had pursued Brady after his second retirement, seeking to have him start and mentor Brock Purdy. Brady turning down his hometown team, which presented a loaded roster that eventually pushed the Chiefs to the brink of double overtime in Super Bowl LVIII with Purdy at the controls, effectively confirmed he was done playing. While he unretired once and made mention of doing so in an emergency circumstance again this offseason, the book — barring an about-face on an ownership bid he has spent the better part of the past two years pushing for — is closed on Brady the player.
It will now be interesting to see if Brady indeed takes on an active role with the Raiders. Seymour, Brady’s Patriots teammate who played for the Raiders from 2009-12, has been a Davis confidant for a while and was part of the team’s interview process that produced the Telesco-Antonio Pierce pairing. A Hall of Fame defensive lineman, Seymour will now work with his most prominent former teammate in Vegas.
Chiefs Activate RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire From NFI List
OCTOBER 15: The Chiefs’ running backs room is starting to show life. After the recent signing of the veteran Hunt to make up for Pacheco’s injury, Kansas City is now also able to add Edwards-Helaire to the roster again at long last. Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 announced that the team has officially activated Edwards-Helaire from the reserve/non-football illness list today.
The former first-round pick is far-removed from his impressive rookie season, but in a year where the Chiefs’ rushers have been continuously banged up, they’ll take whatever Edwards-Helaire has to offer.
OCTOBER 2: Presently associated more with skill-position players who are not available, the Chiefs will have one of their pieces back. Clyde Edwards-Helaire returned to practice Wednesday, joining many around the league coming back from an injured/illness list.
With Edwards-Helaire hitting the Chiefs’ reserve/non-football illness list after roster cutdown day, an activation will count toward the defending champions’ in-season limit. Though, the Chiefs are among the few teams that did not take advantage of the NFL’s new IR-stashing tweak this summer, keeping their activation total at eight for the time being. Given the way Kansas City’s skill corps has deteriorated, the team will undoubtedly be fine using an activation on CEH.
The Chiefs have seen Isiah Pacheco go down with a fibula fracture, leading to a committee of unwanted veterans and rookie UDFA Carson Steele. Andy Reid parked Steele after an early fumble against the Chargers, opening the door for recently signed Kareem Hunt to make his in-game return. Hunt and Broncos castoff Samaje Perine represent the top Chiefs RB options presently; Edwards-Helaire returning would at least bring a player in the champs’ offseason plans back into the mix.
While Edwards-Helaire has not come especially close to living up to the Chiefs’ hopes when they drafted him in the 2020 first round, he suddenly could be a more important figure while Pacheco rehabs. The player who usurped CEH as a Kansas City starter, Pacheco is set to be sidelined for at least five more weeks. A two-month recovery period could be on tap for the former seventh-round pick, leaving a makeshift backfield behind for a team suddenly dealing with two major wide receiver injuries — those affecting Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice.
Brown is out for at least the regular season’s remainder, while Rice is feared to have torn an ACL. The Chiefs have not confirmed Rice’s injury yet, but a return this season appears unlikely. Although Kansas City still has future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce, first-round pick Xavier Worthy and Super Bowl-era tertiary targets JuJu Smith-Schuster, Justin Watson and Mecole Hardman, but this offense has largely lacked explosiveness over the past season and change.
Edwards-Helaire, 25, re-signed on a one-year, $1.7MM deal, doing so on the same day the Chiefs hosted J.K. Dobbins on a visit. CEH played behind Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon during most of the past two seasons; he accumulated just 411 scrimmage yards in 2023. (McKinnon is no longer with the team.) He has not cleared 500 in a season since 2021 and played just four offensive snaps in Super Bowl LVIII. The Chiefs’ current situation, however, could make the LSU alum more valuable than he has been in a few years.
Packers Sign K Brandon McManus, Waive K Brayden Narveson
7:11pm: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Packers have gone forward and signed the veteran kicker, McManus. In order to make room on the roster, Green Bay has officially waived the undrafted rookie, Narveson, after his five missed kicks in the first six games of his NFL career, per Tom Peliserro of NFL Network.
Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel adds that the Packers don’t intend to release practice squad kicker Alex Hale. This is a likely indication that Narveson will not be expected to return as a practice squad signee. Also an undrafted rookie, Hale may have gotten the nod due to his Australian roots which qualify him for an international roster exemption, allowing him not to count toward the team’s 16-man limit on the practice squad.
4:20pm: Kicker issues have gripped the Packers for a bit now, with the team unable to find a stable option following Mason Crosby‘s exit. As a result of their most recent kicker’s struggles, Brandon McManus is back on the NFL radar.
Brayden Narveson has missed five field goals this season, and while the rookie UDFA was on Green Bay’s radar while it waged an Anders Carlson–Greg Joseph offseason competition, the team’s support looks to be wavering. McManus auditioned for the Packers on Tuesday, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo.
The NFL recently revealed McManus would not be suspended for his role in an alleged sexual assault that occurred on a plane last season while he was a member of the Jaguars. A civil suit against the veteran kicker is on going, but he is back under consideration to return to the league soon after the NFL’s statement.
Green Bay added Narveson via waivers from Tennessee, doing so after cutting both Joseph and Carlson. The rookie swooped in to win a competition he was not part of, with the Packers having eyed him for a bit before that transaction. But Narveson’s miss count ballooned from three to five during the Pack’s win over the Cardinals; Narveson has gotten there without attempting a 50-plus-yard try.
McManus signed a one-year, $3.6MM deal with the Commanders in March, but the team dropped him after the civil suit emerged. The Broncos had cut McManus after nine seasons, leading to the Jaguars agreement. Last season, McManus made 81.1% of his field goal tries (30-for-37, with five of the misses from beyond 50 yards) and did not miss an extra point. Narveson has not missed a PAT, either, but the Packers appear close to ending this experiment.
McManus, 33, denied the two flight attendants’ allegations and is aiming to resume his career. The Commanders paid the 10-year veteran his full $1.5MM signing bonus. This audition comes after the Packers worked out Chad Ryland and Lucas Havrisik earlier this month.
Texans To Trade Cam Akers To Vikings
While not quite on the level of the two receiver trades from earlier Tuesday, the Vikings and Texans will collaborate on another swap during a busy NFL day. Cam Akers is on the move again.
The Texans are trading the fifth-year running back to the Vikings, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. This will mark the second year Minnesota has acquired Akers in-season; the team brought him in from Los Angeles early last season.
Akers and a 2026 seventh-round pick are going to the Vikings, with Pelissero adding a 2026 sixth-rounder — as part of a standard pick-swap agreement — is coming back to the Texans. With Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce missing time this season, Akers had worked as a fill-in starter. Mixon and Pierce returned in Week 6, and pass-down specialist Dare Ogunbowale is on Houston’s roster as well. This gave the AFC South leaders some flexibility, and it will lead to Akers heading back to the Twin Cities.
The former Rams second-round pick will head to a team with a recent running back issue, as Aaron Jones left the Vikes’ Week 5 game due to a hip injury. This deal is not a reflection on Jones’ availability, per Pelissero, as the starter has a shot to play coming out of Minnesota’s bye week. Akers will join Jones and reunite with Ty Chandler in the Vikings’ backfield. Akers, 25, is tied to a one-year, $1.18MM deal. With five Vikings games in the books, the team will add Akers at less than $1MM in base salary.
Akers’ previous Minnesota stay did not end well. The former Super Bowl starter suffered the second Achilles tear of his career. While the first of those injuries sidetracked Akers in L.A., he has rebounded from the second one to play a role for a division-leading team. He signed with the Texans just before training camp. As Akers heads to another, he will bring a 40-carry, 147-yard, one-touchdown stat line with him. The Texans used Akers as a two-game starter, with Ogunbowale receiving extensive time as well. Akers caught a touchdown pass against the Vikings in Week 2 — the Texans’ only points in a 34-7 loss — and The Athletic’s Alec Lewis notes the Florida State alum was popular with the coaching staff last season.
This move may well be a lateral transition for Akers, who would top out as a Vikings third-stringer if Jones returns to full strength soon. Jones not being ready for Week 7, however, would give the Vikings a need behind Chandler. Akers totaled 208 scrimmage yards and a touchdown in six Vikings games last season, rejoining ex-Rams OC Kevin O’Connell in Minneapolis. The 5-0 Vikes will bring him back for some insurance.
Giants’ Andrew Thomas To Visit Foot Specialist; LT’s Season In Jeopardy
After an injury-limited 2023 season, Andrew Thomas has not missed a snap for the Giants this year. But the standout left tackle is dealing with a foot injury that will soon change that.
Thomas is visiting a foot specialist in Charlotte, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who indicates surgery is under consideration. A procedure to repair Thomas’ unspecified injury would likely be season-ending, Rapoport adds. As such, Thomas’ season is considered “up in the air” as of Tuesday.
No scenario appears to exist in which Thomas returns for Week 7 or in the immediate future. Thomas will miss an extended period due to this foot injury, ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan tweets. Based on the information presented, it would stand to reason a Thomas IR placement is coming.
Thomas suffered the injury during the Giants’ third-quarter touchdown drive, the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz adds. The team fears he suffered a significant malady. This would be a crushing blow to a Giants team that has seen Daniel Jones play better compared to his 2023 form. Although New York is 2-4, it has seen improvement from its offensive line. Thomas anchors that unit, which has otherwise remained healthy this season.
The Giants have seen all five of their O-line starters — Thomas, Jon Runyan Jr., John Michael Schmitz, Greg Van Roten and Jermaine Eluemunor — log 100% snap rates this season. The team has ex-starters on its second string, with Evan Neal a potential option. Though, the 2022 top-10 pick’s stock has nosedived due to poor play and injury issues. Neal has not suited up for a game this season, leaving Joshua Ezeudu as the swingman.
Neal did not return from his ankle surgery until midway through training camp. By that point, the Giants had scrapped their plan of using Neal as their right tackle and Eluemunor at left guard. Van Roten was signed to start, kicking Runyan to the LG post. The front five the Giants have deployed ranks 23rd, per Pro Football Focus, through six games. Though, the advanced metrics website slots Thomas 16th among tackles.
The Giants had expected Ezeudu to win a starting guard job last year, but they plugged him in at LT following Thomas’ Week 2 hamstring injury that ended up costing him seven games. Ezeudu started five contests but was lost for the season due to a toe malady. Thomas, who secured a lucrative extension that includes $67MM guaranteed last year, has two ankle surgeries on his medical sheet. A foot operation may be added to the list soon, though that is not yet confirmed.