NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/2/25
Twenty-one different teams made practice squad transactions on Tuesday. Here are the latest updates:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: RB Montrell Johnson, RB Sincere McCormick
- Signed: LB Eku Leota
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: LB William Kwenkeu, RB Jonathan Ward
- Placed on practice squad IR: LB Chandler Martin
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: DE Andre Jones
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Jalen Kimber
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DT Simeon Barrow, G Jack Conley, RB Ahmani Marshall, LB Mark Robinson
- Placed on practice squad IR: DE Julian Okwara
- Released: LB Eugene Asante
Denver Broncos
- Released: WR Kyrese Rowan
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: CB Shemar Bartholomew
- Released: CB Tyron Herring, WR Michael Woods
Houston Texans
- Signed: OLB Xavier Thomas
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released: K Greg Joseph
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: C Josh Kaltenberger, OT Foster Sarell
- Released: WR Luke Grimm, OT David Sharpe
Los Angeles Rams
- Released: OL Wyatt Bowles
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OL Kion Smith
- Released: OL Braeden Daniels
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: QB Desmond Ridder
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: CB Beanie Bishop
- Released: RB Ian Wheeler
New York Jets
- Signed: CB Samuel Womack
- Released: WR Brandon Smith
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: DB Parry Nickerson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DB Daequan Hardy
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: OLB Ja’Markis Weston
- Released: C Doug Kramer, WR Brenden Rice
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Owen Wright
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Kristian Wilkerson
Washington Commanders
- Signed: WR Robbie Chosen
- Released: LS Zach Triner
With J.J. McCarthy close to a return from his concussion, the Vikings parted ways with Ridder. He was signed last week after McCarthy entered concussion protocol, but was not elevated to back up Max Brosmer in Week 13. That responsibility instead went to John Wolford, who remains in Minnesota.
Bishop was released by the Steelers at the beginning of November. After appearing all 17 games last year with a 50% snap share, he did not make the 53-man roster this season and remained on the practice squad. He will now join the Saints in the hopes of making his 2025 debut in New Orleans.
Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson Likely To Miss More Time
The Bengals have gone four games in a row without star defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who’s dealing with a hip/pelvis injury, and a return does not appear imminent. Hendrickson is “doubtful” to face the Bills on Sunday, head coach Zac Taylor said (via Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Taylor doesn’t seem sure if Hendrickson will return this season.
“We’ll just keep taking it week to week,” Taylor said.
After back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons, Hendrickson and the Bengals engaged in a lengthy contract standoff that dragged deep into the summer. The Bengals ultimately revised Hendrickson’s deal in August, giving him a $14MM raise for 2025. The pending free agent is earning $30MM this season, though the Bengals haven’t gotten enough bang for their buck as a result of his injury issues.
Hendrickson has played in seven games, none since Oct. 26, and totaled four sacks. He drew interest leading up to the Nov. 4 trade deadline, but nobody was willing to meet the Bengals’ asking price of a second-round pick. With Hendrickson still out a month later, his post-deadline contributions have been nonexistent.
Having gone without Hendrickson for a significant period, the Bengals rank 30th in the league in sacks, 31st in total defense, and dead last in points per game allowed. To its credit, the unit complemented quarterback Joe Burrow‘s long-awaited return from IR with a strong performance in a 32-14 win over the AFC North rival Ravens on Thanksgiving.
Upsetting the Ravens on the road boosted the Bengals’ chances of a miraculous playoff run, but there’s likely no room for error. At 4-8, they’re two games behind the Ravens and Steelers in the division. Another loss would guarantee a sub-.500 season, which could close the door on a playoff spot, and continuing to go without Hendrickson won’t help matters.
Set to turn 31 on Dec. 5, Hendrickson’s injury woes aren’t doing him any favors with an offseason trip to the open market looming. The Bengals may prevent Hendrickson from reaching free agency via the franchise tag, which would mean giving him another pay bump. He’d cost around $35MM in that scenario.
Deciding Hendrickson’s future will be among the Bengals’ pressing offseason tasks. In the meantime, it appears they’ll have to continue trying to keep their faint playoff hopes alive without him.
Updated 2026 NFL Draft Order
Week 12 saw the Giants become the first team in the NFL to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Based on Sunday’s results, another two teams from each conference saw their postseason chances officially come to an end.
The Titans, Saints, Raiders and Cardinals have now been eliminated as well. Attention in the case of those teams will increasingly turn toward the offseason. For some, questions about changes at the quarterback spot will be ongoing through the spring. Free agency is not expected to include many notable options, so the draft will be sought out in several instances as a means of finding a 2026 starter.
Of course, the incoming class of passers has largely underwhelmed this season. That has led to uncertainty regarding the ceiling for many of the top prospects at the quarterback position. Nevertheless, supply often outweighs demand at the top of the Day 1 order in the NFL draft. How things shake out over the closing weeks of the season will be key in determining which QB-needy teams find themselves in the best position to select a new QB1.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2025 standings plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. Playoff squads are slotted by their postseason outcome and the reverse order of their regular season record.
Here is an early look at the first-round order:
- Tennessee Titans (1-11)
- New York Giants (2-11)
- New Orleans Saints (2-10)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-10)
- Cleveland Browns (3-9)
- Washington Commanders (3-9)
- New York Jets (3-9)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-9)
- Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons)
- Cincinnati Bengals (4-8)
- Minnesota Vikings (4-8)
- Miami Dolphins (5-7)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-6)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6)
- Carolina Panthers (7-6)
- Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1)
- Detroit Lions (7-5)
- Houston Texans (7-5)
- Baltimore Ravens (6-6)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5)
- Buffalo Bills (8-4)
- Philadelphia Eagles (8-4)
- New York Jets (via Colts)
- San Francisco 49ers (9-4)
- Los Angeles Chargers (8-4)
- Cleveland Browns (via Jaguars)
- Dallas Cowboys (via Packers)
- Seattle Seahawks (9-3)
- Los Angeles Rams (9-3)
- Denver Broncos (10-2)
- Chicago Bears (9-3)
- New England Patriots (11-2)
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/1/25
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: RB Jermar Jefferson
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed from practice squad: CB Jalen Davis
- Placed on IR: LB Brian Asamoah
Detroit Lions
- Claimed off waivers (from Dolphins): TE Hayden Rucci
- Designated for return from IR: TE Shane Zylstra
- Placed on reserve/retired list: C Frank Ragnow
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: WR Will Sheppard
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Waived: WR Austin Trammell
New England Patriots
- Elevated: OL Brenden Jaimes, DT Jeremiah Pharms
New York Giants
- Signed from practice squad: LB Tomon Fox
- Elevated: LB Swayze Bozeman, WR Dalen Cambre
The Lions continue to work through their tight end depth with Sam LaPorta done for the season. The team’s first move today was claiming Hayden Rucci, who was waived by the Dolphins on Saturday. A former UDFA out of Wisconsin, Rucci spent much of the 2024 and 2025 campaigns in Miami. He got into four games with the organization this season, with the majority of his snaps coming on special teams.
The Lions also welcomed Shane Zylstra back to practice today. The tight end has been out since Week 2, when he suffered an ankle injury while blocking on a punt return. The veteran has gotten into 31 games with the Lions since the 2021 season, hauling in 15 catches for 116 yards and four touchdowns.
Otherwise, the Lions placed center Frank Ragnow back on the reserve/retired list after the veteran failed his physical.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/25
Happy Thanksgiving! Here are the holiday’s minor NFL transactions and some standard gameday elevations for today’s night game and tomorrow’s Black Friday game:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: OLB Khalid Kareem
Baltimore Ravens
- Elevated: DE Carl Lawson, LB Chandler Martin
Chicago Bears
- Elevated: OL Jordan McFadden, LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin
- Placed on IR: G Luke Newman
- Waived: RB Brittain Brown
Cincinnati Bengals
- Elevated: RB Gary Brightwell, CB Jalen Davis
Philadelphia Eagles
- Elevated: OLB Patrick Johnson, S Andre’ Sam
- Reverted to season-ending IR: G Willie Lampkin
Newman and Brown were removed from the Bears’ 53-man roster as corresponding moves to make room for their two activations off injured reserve today.
Martin is being called up as a standard gameday practice squad elevation for the third time this year. If the Ravens would like him to play in any more games after this week, they’ll need to sign him to the 53-man roster.
Lampkin was designated to return from IR back on November 6, and his 21-day practice squad window has come and gone without an activation by the Eagles. The undrafted rookie out of North Carolina will spend the rest of his rookie season on IR, as a result of not being activated.
Bengals Activate Joe Burrow From IR
Joe Burrow will indeed return before December. Despite the Bengals’ swoon, they are activating their star quarterback from IR, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport confirms.
This moves Burrow in place to face the Ravens in what looms as a crucial divisional tilt — though, the game is not exactly pivotal for the Bengals at this point. While Baltimore and Pittsburgh are vying for the AFC North crown, Cincinnati has fallen to 3-8. Burrow’s latest injury, along with another woeful defensive effort, has buried the Bengals. With Cincy poised to miss the playoffs for a third straight season, questions about whether Burrow should return from his turf toe malady are valid. But he is coming back anyway.
Burrow returned to practice November 10, and while Week 14 initially loomed as his most likely return date, the Bengals have seen enough from their centerpiece player to pull the trigger without waiting for a post-Thanksgiving mini-bye. Considering Burrow’s extensive injury history and Cincinnati’s place in the AFC standings, this is a strange decision. But such a move clearly points to team and player being comfortable with this return.
The Bengals have lost four straight since their Joe Flacco-guided upset win over the Steelers. Pittsburgh prevailed in the rematch, with Cincy losses to Chicago, New England and the Jets also commencing. For all intents and purposes, the Bengals are out of the playoff race. Yet, they will redeploy probably the most important player in franchise history with six games remaining.
Seeing his rookie season marred by an ACL tear and his 2023 campaign end early due to wrist surgery, Burrow has already undergone a toe procedure after going down in Week 2 of this season. While it would seem risky for all parties to reinstall Burrow with little at stake now, a recent report indicated the team would proceed in this direction regardless of record.
Joining Chad Pennington as a two-time Comeback Player of the Year, Burrow delivered standout seasons in each of his three healthy NFL slates. He powered the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI upon returning from the ACL tear and then nearly piloted a title defense in 2022. Last season, Burrow put up MVP-caliber numbers — only to see the Bengals’ defensive struggles render that showing moot. The Bengals have Burrow signed through the 2029 season, but they have already seen their QB wield tremendous influence in the building. Burrow’s push to see Tee Higgins extended succeeded, and it will be interesting to learn if the sixth-year passer aggressively lobbied to return to action rather than being shut down.
This season is all but certain to mark a rare occurrence of a superstar quarterback missing the playoffs in three straight seasons. Though, Burrow’s play has little to do with Cincy’s struggles since the 2022 AFC championship game. This is also Burrow’s final season in his 20s; the 2020 No. 1 overall pick will turn 30 late in the 2026 season.
Burrow having missed 22 games due to injury as a pro, along with battling some summer attendance issues for health reasons, has made him an unreliable NFL great. The end of this season could at least provide some positive momentum for the standout passer, though it would also not surprise to see the Bengals reassess this situation if more losses ensued.
The former Heisman winner led the NFL with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns last season. The Bengals finished 9-8 despite All-Pro seasons from Ja’Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson. A 25th-ranked defense — which keyed Lou Anarumo‘s firing — held Burrow back; the Bengals’ first Al Golden-led defense ranks 32nd. Chase will return from his one-game suspension, but Higgins will miss Week 13 due to a concussion. Not practicing again this week, Hendrickson has not played since October because of a hip injury.
For the time being at least, this will both end Flacco’s stay atop Cincinnati’s QB depth chart and inject an interesting wild card into the AFC playoff proceedings. Flacco has played fairly well since being acquired via trade, but the team’s plan of obtaining Flacco to keep its playoff hopes afloat failed. The team is 1-5 in Flacco starts. The Bengals are done with their Steelers matchups but still face the Ravens twice. They also match up with the Bills next week. Burrow certainly will give the struggling team a better chance of pulling off upsets in those games, but the Pro Bowler’s health will be the key element in this equation from a Bengals perspective.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/26/25
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves and some standard gameday practice squad elevations for the annual Thanksgiving slate of games:
Arizona Cardinals
- Opened practice window: T Christian Jones
Cincinnati Bengals
- Activated from IR: S Daijahn Anthony
- Placed on IR: CB Marco Wilson
Dallas Cowboys
- Elevated: CB Corey Ballentine
Green Bay Packers
- Signed from practice squad: WR Will Sheppard
- Elevated: LB Jamon Johnson, S Jaylin Simpson
- Waived: K Lucas Havrisik
Kansas City Chiefs
- Elevated: S Mike Edwards, T Esa Pole
New England Patriots
- Signed from practice squad: CB Miles Battle
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed from practice squad: WR Britain Covey
Seattle Seahawks
- Elevated: CB Shaquill Griffin, LB Patrick O’Connell
- Placed on IR: LB Chazz Surratt
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Designated to return from IR: S Rashad Wisdom
Green Bay’s regular kicker Brandon McManus was off the injury report with three full practices this week, so Havrisik will take his leave after filling in for three games this year. The team had been keeping Havrisik close even during McManus’ healthy stretches, but after the backup missed two extra point attempts at MetLife this weekend, the Packers relinquished him to the waiver wire.
Jones missed most of his rookie campaign due to a knee injury, and the same has been true for most of his sophomore season. This time, though, he’s coming back with a bit more time left in the season.
O’Connell had already been called up as a gameday elevation three times this year, so if Seattle wanted to see him on the field again, this move was necessary. In his most recent elevation, O’Connell was asked to play a much bigger role, staying in for over half the team’s defensive snaps. In his first extended opportunity, O’Connell finished second on the team with nine tackles and even logged his first career sack.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/25/25
Tuesday’s practice squad updates from around the NFL…
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: QB Sean Clifford
Detroit Lions
- Signed: S Erick Hallett
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: CB Cameron Mitchell
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: DL Boogie Basham
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: OL Wyatt Bowles
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Jimmy Ciarlo
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: CB Shemar Bartholomew
New England Patriots
- Signed: OL Bill Murray
- Released: RB Jonathan Ward
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: WR Samori Toure, RB Ian Wheeler, K Cade York (story)
- Released: WR Jha’Quan Jackson, LB Eku Leota
New York Giants
- Signed: CB Myles Purchase
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DE Anthony Goodlow, WR Cornell Powell
- Released: DB Daequan Hardy, LB Mark Robinson
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: OT Chandler Brewer
- Released: WR Kristian Wilkerson
Joe Flacco Hoping For Starting Opportunity In 2026
With Bengals franchise quarterback Joe Burrow expected to return from injured reserve in Week 13, Joe Flacco‘s short run as the team’s starter is likely over. As a soon-to-be free agent, Flacco’s time with Cincinnati may be running out.
Although Flacco will turn 41 years old in January, it doesn’t appear he’s eyeing retirement. On the contrary, the former Super Bowl MVP believes he’s capable of serving as a starter in 2026, according to Ben Baby of ESPN.
Flacco began this season as a stopgap Browns starter in front of rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. After a 1-3 start, they benched Flacco in favor of Gabriel. Six days later, Cleveland sent Flacco to in-state rival Cincinnati in a surprising Oct. 7 trade.
The Bengals took a cheap flier on Flacco, giving up a fifth-round pick in exchange for him and a sixth-rounder. They deemed the move worthwhile after backup Jake Browning flopped filling in for Burrow, who suffered a toe injury in Week 2.
Flacco struggled over four starts this year in Cleveland, where he completed 58.1% of passes, averaged 5.1 yards per attempt, threw more interceptions (six) than touchdowns (two), and posted a ghastly passer rating of 60.3. His production has markedly improved since the trade. Flacco has started six games as a Bengal and connected on 61.6% of throws with 6.5 YPA, 13 TDs against four INTs, and a 91.3 passer rating. He has gone over the 300-yard mark twice (which he didn’t do at all with the Browns), including a jaw-dropping 470 in a Week 9 loss to the Bears.
Discussing his performance as Cincinnati’s starter, Flacco told Baby: “Hopefully it reinforces it in somebody’s mind that I can do it. I do still want to do it. I still feel like I can do it. This obviously does help with the confidence of being able to do it and all that stuff.”
Flacco’s comments came before a 26-20 loss to New England on Sunday. He tossed a costly pick-six and finished a lackluster 19 of 37 for 199 yards and a TD against the Patriots. It was the second straight subpar outing for Flacco, who fared similarly in a 34-12 loss to the Steelers in Week 11.
Although Flacco has been a clear upgrade over Browning, the Bengals have won just one of his six starts. They acquired Flacco with the hope that he’d help keep them in the hunt until Burrow’s return. It didn’t work out, however. Thanks in large part to defensive ineptitude, the Bengals are 3-8 and heading for a third straight season without a playoff berth.
The Bengals will have a chance to rebound next year with a healthy Burrow and a better defense. Meanwhile, if he leaves Cincinnati and continues his career, Flacco could end up with his seventh organization since his 11-year run with the Ravens ended in 2018. That’s assuming he doesn’t rejoin one of his ex-teams. The former first-rounder from Delaware has spent time with the Broncos, Jets, Eagles, Colts, and both Ohio teams since 2019. Flacco may land yet another contract in the offseason, though it remains to be seen if he’ll receive any starting offers.
“I would like an opportunity, but you just never know,” Flacco told Baby.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/24/25
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Practice window opened: OL Tylan Grable
Carolina Panthers
- Elevated: LB Krys Barnes, RB DeeJay Dallas
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: QB Sean Clifford
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: S Tanner Ingle
San Francisco 49ers
- Elevated: K Matt Gay, LB Jalen Graham
The Bills should soon get some extra OL depth, as Grable returned to practice today. The former sixth-round pick landed on IR before the start of the season thanks to concussion symptoms, and that ended up keeping him off the practice field for months. Now, the Bills will have 21 days to consider adding the second-year player to the active roster. As a rookie in 2024, the UCF product got into four games (one start).