By Thursday of this week, the Ravens knew they would be down two defensive players, and by Friday, they had already placed one of them on injured reserve.
The Ravens acknowledged a finger injury to first-team All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey last week, even though it didn’t actually keep him from being a full participant in practice. In the team’s win over the Vikings, though, Humphrey only played 45 of the team’s 65 defensive snaps, when he normally only takes a handful of snaps off. This week, the finger injury kept him out of practice all week.
Head coach John Harbaugh acknowledged that Humphrey may require surgery on his finger the day after the game, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. On Wednesday, Kevin Oestreicher, who writes for USA Today as part of the publication’s NFL Wire Network, quoted Harbaugh’s report that Humphrey had gotten “his finger pinned.” Pins are usually placed in broken fingers unstable or misaligned fractures to help them heal and set properly. Pins remain until the bones are healed, then are taken out in a minimally invasive procedure.
This does make Humphrey inactive for today’s game, but he is not the player who was placed on IR. Harbaugh relayed to the media that the 29-year-old quarterback will likely only miss a week or two. The player who was placed on IR yesterday was undrafted rookie linebacker Jay Higgins IV. Not to be confused with the second-round Iowa State wide receiver in Houston, Jayden Higgins, Jay played for the rival Iowa Hawkeyes and signed with the Ravens after falling out of the draft.
While making the initial 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent is an impressive feat, though a common one in Baltimore, Higgins hasn’t actually seen any time on defense, instead working as a core special teamer throughout his young career. Per Zrebiec, Higgins sustained a “notable knee injury” sometime during the team’s trip to Minnesota and left the locker room after the game with a significant brace on his right leg. Harbaugh informed the media on Monday that the injury is not season-ending but that it would take a few weeks for Higgins to come back from.
With Humphrey out, the Ravens head to Cleveland with Nate Wiggins, Chidobe Awuzie, T.J. Tampa, and undrafted rookie Keyon Martin as the only healthy corners on the active roster. Martin is the one listed as the second-string nickelback, the position Humphrey most often frequents. The team did call up veteran cornerback Amani Oruwariye as a standard gameday practice squad elevation for added depth at the position.
The Ravens utilized the other elevation to call up another undrafted rookie linebacker in Chandler Martin out of Memphis. Martin and Higgins were frequently viewed as competitors for a 53-man roster spot throughout the preseason, and Martin ended up on the practice squad while Higgins made the team. Now, Martin will get his chance to fill in for Higgins on special teams today.
With the 49ers set to see their starting quarterback return, Martinez’s presence on the 53-man roster is no longer necessary. He’ll likely find his way back to the team’s practice squad.
The Panthers’ two elevations, Barnes and Mukuamu, are direct reflections of injury absences for tomorrow’s game. With Trevin Wallace and Lathan Ransom ruled out for Sunday, Carolina made the decision to call up another player at each position.
Mevis will once again be called upon for kicking duties in Los Angeles. In his NFL debut last week, he was untested in terms of field goal attempts, but he converted all six extra point attempts in a blowout win in San Francisco.
Kamara in Tampa Bay is being called up for the third time this season. If the Buccaneers intend to play him in another game this year, they’ll need to sign him to the 53-man roster, much as the Ravens did after Bryan exhausted all three of his standard gameday practice squad elevations.
The Ravens have signaled their desire to sign center Tyler Linderbaum to an extension before he hits free agency, but the two sides “are not within striking distance of a deal,” per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The Ravens did not pick up the fifth-year option for Linderbaum this offseason, making 2025 a contract year for the 2022 first-round pick. Because the NFL groups all offensive linemen together for contract designations, Linderbaum’s fifth-year option would have come in at $23.4MM. That’s an appropriate price for a top tackle, but far too much money for a center.
Linderbaum, a two-time Pro Bowler, is likely looking to reset the center market, which is currently topped by Creed Humphrey at $18MM per year. Inflating Humphrey’s contract to match the 2025 salary cap would yield a $19.7MM APY for Linderbaum. That feels a little high given Linderbaum’s struggles in pass protection this year, not just relative to Humphrey, but to the entire league. The fourth-year Raven has allowed 16 pressures this year, the fifth-most among all centers, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He is on pace to eclipse the 29 pressures he allowed as a rookie; in 2023 and 2024, he allowed 18 and 19 pressures, respectively.
Baltimore is in a tough spot. Pay for interior offensive linemen has exploded in the last few offseasons, and Linderbaum would be one of the best centers to hit free agency in recent years. That could create a bidding war if he hits the open market, something he and his representation are sure to know as they negotiate with the Ravens.
A franchise or transition tag is not an option, either. The first would be $27.2MM, and the second would be $24.6MM, per OverTheCap. Besides the inflated value for a center, the Ravens would also struggle to absorb a one-year cap hit of that size, and their long-term financial situation isn’t pretty, either.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson is set to count for $74.5MM against the cap in 2026, and though the Ravens want to lower than number with an extension, past negotiations indicate such a deal will take time. Defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike has an uncertain future after a season-ending neck injury; if the Ravens have to part ways with him this offseason, they will have to account at least some of the dead money from his contract next year. Defensive tackleTravis Jones and tight end Isaiah Likely are also key young players who the Ravens would like to retain. In fact, Madubuike’s injury and the pending free agency of all three of Baltimore’s tight ends could make those Jones and Likely just as much of a priority as Linderbaum. That’s not even mentioning other contract situations with players like running backKeaton Mitchell and punter Jordan Stout, among others.
As a result, negotiating a Linderbaum extension is only one part of a complicated financial picture for the Ravens. Between a potential Jackson extension, clarity on Madubuike’s future, and negotiations with Jones, Likely, and Linderbaum, general manager Eric DeCosta will have his hands full for the next several months as his team navigates the rest of the 2025 season and prepares for 2026.
Eagles cornerback Jaire Alexanderstepped away from football on Tuesday to focus on his physical and mental health. It turns out that Alexander’s career may be over. The Eagles placed him on the reserve/retired list on Wednesday and activated cornerback Jakorian Bennett from IR in a corresponding move.
Now 28 years old, Alexander entered the NFL as a Packers first-rounder (No. 18 overall) in 2018. The former Louisville Cardinal quickly emerged as one of the league’s best corners. He earned two second-team All-Pro nods and a pair of Pro Bowl invitations during his first five seasons in the league. Alexander totaled 10 interceptions during that 62-game span.
The Packers signed Alexander to a four-year, $84MM extension before the 2022 season, which will go down as his most productive campaign. Alexander picked off a career-best five passes during a 16-start season, but he was unable to stay healthy after that.
After groin, back, shoulder, and knee injuries limited Alexander to 14 of a possible 34 regular-season games from 2023-24, the Packers released him last June. He quickly caught on with the Ravens on a one-year, $6MM deal, but the union didn’t work out for either side. Alexander dealt with a knee injury and appeared in just two games with Baltimore, which traded him and a 2027 seventh-round pick to Philadelphia for a 2026 sixth-rounder on Nov. 1.
Although Alexander expressed optimism about his health after the trade, he wasn’t active for the Eagles’ win over the Packers in Week 10. It now appears his career has come to an end.
While the Eagles are losing Alexander, Bennett is returning to bolster their corner depth. Acquired from the Raiders in August, Bennett played in three games and picked up 44 snaps (24 on defense, 20 on special teams) before the Eagles placed him on IR with a pectoral injury on Sept. 24.
Week 10 will mark the debut for both players the Chargers gave the IR-designated for return label during roster cutdowns in August. Their activations had already been accounted for, but Hand’s had not. With those three now back in the fold, the Bolts have three IR activations remaining on the season.
The NFL’s latest trade deadline featured eight Tuesday trades, but a total of 22 in-season swaps occurred this year. Some teams made multiple trades; several others stood pat. Two of the biggest trades in deadline history went down this week.
As we detailed Wednesday in the latest Trade Rumors Front Office post, the Jets’ perspective brought strong value for young players toiling on a downtrodden team. The three first-rounders plus the 2026 second will give New York’s new decision-makers a chance to retool while having assets to either find a quarterback in the draft or trade for a veteran. While it will be difficult to replace Gardner and Williams, the Jets’ Darren Mougey-Aaron Glenn regime made the decision to cash in their top assets to launch a true rebuild — one that suddenly features plenty of QB ammo.
From the Colts’ perspective, Gardner brings an accomplished starter at a young age. Indianapolis received a player signed through 2030, though New York’s contract structure on the July extension limited the Gardner dead money to $19.75MM — far less than the Dolphins just took on for Ramsey or what the Saints absorbed upon trading Marshon Lattimore last year.
The Colts, after building from within for years, now have three high-cost DB contracts added this year in the Gardner accord and those given to Charvarius Ward and Camryn Bynum. Tied for the best record in the AFC (at 7-2), the Colts made a move and watched the Patriots, Broncos, Bills and Chiefs hold off on buyer’s trades.
Dallas’ stance is a bit more complicated. The Cowboys went from trading Micah Parsons for two first-rounders ahead of his age-26 season to acquiring Williams, who will turn 28 in December. The team still has three first-round picks between 2026 and ’27, but sending the higher-value ’27 first to the Jets strips away a prime asset for a player not on Parsons’ level.
Jerry Jones harped on the team’s run defense upon acquiring Kenny Clark in the Parsons trade, but that unit has faceplanted this season. Williams joins Clark and Osa Odighizuwa in a suddenly pricey Dallas D-tackle corps, and the longtime Jet had angled for a contract rework — something the Cowboys may now have to navigate.
The Cowboys also addedLogan Wilson, after trying to grabQuincy Williams from the Jets in a two-brother trade, but the younger Williams brother represents the obvious talking point here. Dallas’ interior D-line is well stocked. Will Quinnen Williams help transform a sub-.500 Cowboys team in the way Amari Cooper did after the team surrendered a first at the 2018 deadline?
Meyers will help the Jags replace Travis Hunter and provide some stability in a receiving corps also dealing with a Brian Thomas Jr. injury. Shaheed joins a surging Seattle squad, reuniting with 2024 New Orleans OC Klint Kubiak, and will be an interesting complementary piece for All-Pro candidate Jaxon Smith-Njigba. With Smith-Njigba, Shaheed, Cooper Kupp and rookie Tory Horton, the Seahawks look to have one of the NFL’s best receiving cadres.
Jacksonville also engaged in a cornerback swap, prying contract-year cover man Greg Newsomefrom the Browns in October. Newsome has started two games with the Jags and has incentive to perform well this season, as he is uncontracted for 2026. Tyson Campbell is signed through 2028, giving the Browns some cost certainty — albeit now carrying two upper-crust CB contracts, along with Denzel Ward‘s — at a premium position.
Cleveland did not aggressively sell, keeping its guards, David Njoku and other rumored trade assets, though they did do Joe Flacco a solid — to Mike Tomlin‘s chagrin — by trading the demoted QB within the division. Flacco immediately became the Bengals’ starter and has rejuvenated Cincy’s offense.
The Rams quietly bolstered their CB contingent by obtaining Titans contract-year slot playerRoger McCreary, while Tennessee also sent Dre’Mont Jones to Baltimore. The Ravens added Jones and Alohi Gilman, the latter becoming an immediate starter and helping maximize All-Pro Kyle Hamilton. Jones, who has 4.5 sacks this season, replaces Odafe Oweh — traded to the Chargers in the Gilman swap — in Baltimore’s OLB rotation. A former 3-4 defensive end, Jones gives Baltimore some pass rush options after Gilman supplied them with a deep safety. Gilman is also in a contract year.
While the Dolphins did not dive into full sales mode, retaining Jaylen Waddle and Bradley Chubb, after parting with longtime GM Chris Grier, they did obtain a third-round pick for Phillips — who is in his fifth-year option season. The Chargers also added two more trades before the 3pm buzzer Tuesday, most notably addingTrevor Penning — a three-position starter for the Saints — for a late 2027 draft choice. A contract-year blocker, Penning will be an option for a battered Bolts’ tackle corps.
The Steelers’ long-rumored wide receiver quest did not lead to a deal, but the team did add veteran safetyKyle Dugger, who had fallen out of favor with the Patriots despite signing an eight-figure-per-year extension as a transition-tagged player in 2024.
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The trade deadline has come and gone, and rumors continue to trickle in concerning details on potential trades that fell short. One of the latest such rumors concerns Baltimore’s search for a pass rusher which failed to yield a trade for Dolphins outside linebacker Bradley Chubb, an avenue the Ravens explored, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.
After finishing with the second-most sacks in the NFL in 2024, Baltimore’s defense has been unrecognizable from last year’s. Currently, the Ravens are tied with two other teams for the second-lowest sack total in the NFL. Their current sack leaders — Nnamdi Madubuike (2.0) and Tavius Robinson (2.0) — both currently sit on injured reserve; Madubuike has sat atop the Ravens’ sack leaderboard since hitting the IR after Week 2. Madubuike was joined on IR by fellow interior defender Broderick Washington.
Additionally, both of the team’s Penn State pass rushers are not available to them. Former first-round pick Odafe Oweh was traded to the Chargers in an exchange that brought safety Alohi Gilman to the secondary. Adisa Isaac, last year’s third-round pick, has yet to make his 2025 debut after only appearing in four games his rookie year. The team used one of two preseason designations to return from IR on Isaac, so he’s clearly expected to be a factor at some point this year, but nine weeks into the season, we haven’t even seen his 21-day practice window open.
There were plenty of attractive pass rushing options on the trade market. The Dolphins, alone, had three in Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, and Matt Judon. There were also big names coming out of New York — Quinnen Williams and Jermaine Johnson II — and a familiar name from Arizona in Calais Campbell. Some of these options were going to be much more expensive than the others, and the Ravens are known for valuing fit over pure talent.
A top-tier option like Williams was likely never on the table for Baltimore. Johnson and Phillips were going to be a stretch, as well, but they were certainly available for teams willing to shell out some higher draft picks. The Ravens opted for a middle-of-the-road option in Tennessee’s Dre’Mont Jones.
Over six years with the Broncos and Seahawks, Jones proved to be a middling performer with career highs of 6.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, and 13 quarterback hits. Through only nine games with the Titans this season, Jones’ totals — 4.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, and nine quarterback hits — have him on pace to set some new career highs, especially considering he’ll get to 18 games by coming to Baltimore before the Titans’ bye week but after the Ravens’.
Chubb and Judon were seemingly around a similar tier as Jones — Judon less so, considering his age (33) and declining production over the past few years. Chubb is two years removed from his strongest season since his 12-sack rookie campaign, but one of those removed years was spent sitting out the 2024 season with a torn ACL. That wasn’t the only time Chubb has missed extensive time, either. Over his eight years in the NFL, Chubb has missed over half of the season three times. Considering that injuries are the reason Baltimore was shopping at this position at all, an injury history like Chubb’s may have weighed heavily on their ultimate decision.
The Dolphins could also have been a factor in the deal not getting done. Despite rumors of a fire sale following the departure of former general manager Chris Grier, when it came to the team’s major assets, there didn’t appear to be any discounts. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Dolphins held firm on their asking prices, meaning that Chubb was not going to be a cheap acquisition.
Ultimately, it appears both Chubb and the Dolphins are pleased with how things played out. The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson quoted Chubb talking about the conversations that interim general manager Champ Kelly made sure he was privy to. While Chubb got to stay in Miami for now, the team made no promises for what happens after the season.
Chubb’s contract has no more guarantees after this year, and base salaries over the next two years of $19.45MM and $18.48MM are accompanied by $31.2MM and $31.54MM cap hits. The prospect of inheriting a contract with such heavy commitments likely hindered Chubb’s tradability, as well. Ultimately, a release with a post-June 1 designation following the season has the potential to put Chubb back on the free agent market.
Kane, a seventh-round pick last year, was waived after undrafted rookie Keondre Jackson proved to be a recent factor on special teams. Having cleared waivers, Kane’s back in Baltimore, but his rookie contract is gone.
The modern NFL features four clear trade windows. While the Cowboys and Steelers’ George Pickens swap showed moves can be made at other points on the NFL calendar, early March, the draft, the late-August 53-man roster-setting date and the November deadline reside as the primary points trades occur around the league. On that note, it is a good time to check in on what has transpired on the trade market ahead of today’s deadline.
Excluding pick-for-pick trades, here are the moves NFL teams have made thus far in 2025:
The Texans are bringing Wright on as an emergency option as regular kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn works through an injury. Wright has plenty of experience in this role as this will be his fourth team this year alone.
