Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC North
Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Bears, Lions, Packers and Vikings moves are noted below.
Chicago Bears
Claimed:
- LB D’Marco Jackson (from Saints), CB Jaylon Jones (from Cardinals)
Released:
- LS Scott Daly, WR Devin Duvernay
Signed to practice squad:
- WR Maurice Alexander, WR Miles Boykin, RB Brittain Brown, TE Stephen Carlson, DL Xavier Carlton, LB Power Echols, LS Luke Elkin, CB Tre Flowers, DL Jonathan Ford, DB Mekhi Garner, DL Tanoh Kpassagnon, DL Jamree Kromah, OL Jordan McFadden, WR JP Richardson, OL Ricky Stromberg
Detroit Lions
Signed:
Claimed:
- DT Tyler Lacy (from Jaguars), DE Tyrus Wheat (from Cowboys)
Signed to practice squad:
- DL Myles Adams, WR Ronnie Bell, C Trystan Colon, DL Keith Cooper, DB Erick Hallett, TE Zach Horton, WR Tom Kennedy, WR Jackson Meeks, OL Mason Miller, OL Michael Niese, LB Anthony Pittman, RB Jacob Saylors, S Loren Strickland, T Dan Skipper, DL Isaac Ukwu
Green Bay Packers
Signed:
- LB Nick Niemann
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
- RB Israel Abanikanda, DL Deslin Alexandre, DB Johnathan Baldwin, T Brant Banks, DL James Ester, WR Mecole Hardman, LB Jamon Johnson, K Mark McNamee, DL Arron Mosby, WR Isaiah Neyor, WR Will Sheppard, DB Jaylin Simpson, LB Kristian Welch
Minnesota Vikings
Signed to practice squad:
- G Henry Byrd, WR Dontae Fleming, S Kahlef Hailassie, DL Jonathan Harris, WR Lucky Jackson, WR Jeshuan Jones, WR Tim Jones, G Vershon Lee, CB Fabian Moreau, OLB Gabriel Murphy, TE Bryson Nesbit, T Max Pircher, DL Taki Taimani, RB Xazavian Valladay, TE Nick Vannett, CB Zemaiah Vaughn
2025 NFL Waiver Order
Many of the players cut Tuesday were subject to waivers, giving teams a chance to pick them up (along with the rest of their contract). Teams can claim as many players as they want before the next team gets their remaining targets.
It’s also worth noting that relatively few players are claimed off waivers during final roster cuts each year. Waiver claims will be processed at 11am CT in the following order (via NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo). In reverse order of the 2024 NFL standings, here is how the waiver priority sits:
- Titans
- Browns
- Giants
- Patriots
- Jaguars
- Raiders
- Jets
- Panthers
- Saints
- Bears
- 49ers
- Cowboys
- Dolphins
- Colts
- Falcons
- Cardinals
- Bengals
- Seahawks
- Buccaneers
- Broncos
- Steelers
- Chargers
- Packers
- Vikings
- Texans
- Rams
- Ravens
- Lions
- Commanders
- Bills
- Chiefs
- Eagles
Lions Shift Alim McNeill, Malcolm Rodriguez To Reserve/PUP List; Team Sets Initial Roster
In stashing two injured starters on the reserve/PUP list, the Lions also made a host of cuts to move down to 53. Here are the moves the two-time reigning NFC North champions made at today’s cutdown deadline:
Released:
- DL Myles Adams
- OL Trystan Colon
- WR Tom Kennedy
- OL Netane Muti
- LB Anthony Pittman
- OL Dan Skipper
- WR Malik Taylor
Waived:
- DE Mitchell Agude
- CB Luq Barcoo
- WR Ronnie Bell
- OL Gunner Britton
- DL Keith Cooper
- CB Allan George
- LB DaRon Gilbert
- S Erick Hallett
- TE Zach Horton
- RB Deon Jackson
- OL Zack Johnson
- WR Jakobie Keeney-James
- S Ian Kennelly
- DE Nate Lynn
- WR Jackson Meeks
- CB D.J. Miller
- OL Mason Miller
- OL Michael Niese
- S Morice Norris
- TE Gunnar Oakes
- CB Tyson Russell
- RB Jacob Saylors
- TE Steven Stilianos
- S Loren Strickland
- DE Isaac Ukwu
- CB Nick Whiteside
Placed on IR:
- LB Zeke Turner (story)
Waived (injury settlement):
Placed on reserve/PUP list:
- OL Miles Frazier
- DL Alim McNeill
- LB Malcolm Rodriguez
Placed on reserve/NFI list:
- DE Josh Paschal
McNeill is believed to be ahead of schedule, but the standout interior D-lineman will still be stashed on the PUP list — requiring a four-game absence. The Lions lost McNeill to an ACL tear — in their bloodbath of a season on defense — to a Week 15 ACL tear. This came weeks after the Lions and the four-year veteran hammered out an extension. McNeill, who has been pegged as most likely to return around midseason, is signed through 2028.
Rodriguez went down with an ACL tear during the Lions’ Thanksgiving win over the Bears. It was reported previously the young linebacker would be expected to miss regular-season time, and that will come to pass.
The Lions became the extraordinarily rare team to drop down to 50 players on roster-cutdown day, as opposed to the required 53. That will keep options open. The team can bring vested veterans back without the waiver process being involved, and teams occasionally wait until after the vested-veteran guarantee deadline passes in early September to re-sign vested performers to avoid fully guaranteeing salaries.
Lions To Waive QB Hendon Hooker, DL Brodric Martin
5:37pm: The 2023 third round did not go well for the Lions. After playing in just five games from 2023-24, Brodric Martin will be waived, per AtoZSports.com’s Mike Payton. Martin and Hooker each have two years left on their rookie deals.
Chosen 96th overall in 2023, Martin played in three rookie-year games and two 2024 contests. He did not see any playoff action. The Lions did use one of their IR activations on Martin, despite an injury-battered season making those rather valuable, but the team has not gotten much from the pick. Martin could be retained on a practice squad deal if he clears waivers.
3:02pm: Technically given three offseasons to take flight, the Lions’ Hendon Hooker is experiment is over. Detroit is waiving the former third-round pick, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo reports.
Rehabbing a major injury during his first year in Detroit, Hooker has not progressed to the point the Lions have felt comfortable with him as Jared Goff‘s top backup. Discussing the young QB over the weekend, Dan Campbell signaled a separation was likely.
Campbell said a change of scenery would probably benefit the Tennessee alum at this point, and that will happen. Hooker does not appear a candidate for Detroit’s practice squad. Two years remain on his third-round contract. Hooker, 27, is due just more than $1MM in 2025 base salary. That figure is nonguaranteed, but the former Heisman candidate’s shaky Detroit stint may not make it a lock he is claimed. The Lions would eat less than $600K in dead money if Hooker goes unclaimed. The team will know by 11am CT Wednesday if the QB is claimed.
The Lions will give their backup job to Kyle Allen, who signed a one-year, $1.27MM deal this offseason. Although Allen spent last year as the Steelers’ third-stringer, he outplayed Hooker in the preseason after the latter committed five turnovers during Detroit’s exhibition slate. After the Lions reunited with Teddy Bridgewater to close last season, Allen’s arrival brought another challenge for Hooker.
The Bridgewater move came after Hooker did serve as the Lions’ top backup for most of last season. Hooker played in three games, completing 6 of 9 passes for 62 yards. That represents his only NFL game action, as the former Virginia Tech recruit spent most of his rookie year on the Lions’ reserve/NFI list due to the ACL tear sustained in November 2022. Hooker was mentioned as a candidate to be drafted earlier than he was (No. 68), but he has thus far proven skeptics — due partially to a Tennessee offense that brought questions about the formerly productive passer’s transition to the pros — right to this point.
Detroit does not have a third QB on its roster, making it logical the team will pursue one for its practice squad as the emergency option. The Lions carried Goff, Bridgewater and Hooker to close last season. Allen, 29, is now on team No. 6. He has worked as a backup or third-stringer — and fill-in starter, occasionally — in Carolina, Washington, Houston, Buffalo and Pittsburgh.
Allen’s most notable NFL work came in 2019, when he quarterbacked a mediocre Panthers team — Christian McCaffrey‘s historic 1,000-1,000 season notwithstanding — to a 5-7 record in his starts replacing an injured Cam Newton. Allen made two more starts with a bad 2022 Texans squad but has attempted one regular-season pass since 2023. Goff’s durability continues to benefit the Lions, but they will likely replace Hooker soon.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/25
Here are today’s minor transactions that may have slipped through the cracks with a day full of mass cuts:
Buffalo Bills
- Released: CB Tre Herndon
Denver Broncos
- Released: OLB Andrew Farmer
- Waived: CB Micah Abraham, WR Joaquin Davis, G Clay Webb
- Waived (with injury settlement): CB Joshua Pickett
Detroit Lions
- Released (with injury settlement): CB Dicaprio Bootle
New England Patriots
- Waived (with injury designation): G Layden Robinson
New York Giants
- Placed on IR: CB TJ Moore
- Released: S K’Von Wallace
Philadelphia Eagles
- Reverted to IR: S Lewis Cine
- Waived: QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: WR Malik Knowles
Thompson-Robinson continues to struggle to find his place in the NFL. A fifth-round pick for the Browns out of UCLA, Thompson-Robinson was asked to make a number of spot starts in Cleveland. In five starts, he went 1-4, averaging about 150 passing yards per game. Over those two seasons, he scored only one touchdown while throwing 10 interceptions. He was sent to Philadelphia along with a 2025 fifth-round pick in exchange for Kenny Pickett, but the Eagles seemingly do not have a place for him.
Moore was hospitalized with a leg injury suffered in the Giants’ final preseason game but has been discharged following a successful surgery. Barring an injury settlement, he’ll spend the 2025 season on New York’s injured reserve.
Webb received a large signing bonus to sign with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent. While other teams will get their chance to claim him, the Broncos will hope to be able to bring him back to their practice squad.
Lions LB Ezekiel Turner May Have Suffered Torn Achilles
Lions linebacker Ezekiel Turner suffered what head coach Dan Campbell believes is a “significant” injury during the team’s final preseason game on Saturday, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Turner himself said he may have sustained a torn Achilles.
Turner, 29, has carved out a niche as a respected special teams contributor. The Washington product signed with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2018, and he impressed enough in his third phase work to earn an RFA tender in 2021. He remained with Arizona through the end of the 2023 season.
He signed with the 49ers last March but did not make it to the end of training camp with the club. He caught on with the Texans’ practice squad and appeared in one game for Houston before being cut and landing on the Seahawks’ taxi squad. He did not see game action with Seattle and eventually joined Detroit’s p-squad.
Despite appearing in only nine regular season games with the Lions, Turner set a career-high with 111 defensive snaps, as the injury-decimated team was in desperate need of bodies. He continued to operate as a key special-teamer, and he did enough to earn a new contract this offseason. The Lions were presumably counting on him to carry on his work on ST, and he was also in the backup linebacker mix.
“That could be tough,” Campbell said of Turner’s injury. “We’re getting tests on that. That was a significant injury it looks like.”
Turner, who has 90 regular season appearances to his name, has recorded 95 total tackles, a half-sack, and a forced fumble. He also appeared in the Lions’ lone playoff game last season.
Another one of the Lions’ special teams standouts, RB Sione Vaki, has dealt with hamstring injuries throughout camp. He is still sidelined with an injury that Campbell says is “not a major thing,” but it sounds as if he could be available for Week 1 (via Birkett).
Kyle Allen Leading Hendon Hooker In Lions’ QB2 Battle
AUGUST 24: Hooker struggled in Detroit’s final preseason contest on Saturday, connecting on six of 11 passes for 70 yards. He also turned the ball over for the fifth time in the preseason, and Campbell did not mince words when asked whether Hooker would stick on the roster.
“How much development do you believe there is?” Campbell said (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk). “We’re talking about Hooker right now, how much development do you believe there still is? Sometimes, does the player need a change of scenery?”
It seems Hooker is likely to be waived prior to Tuesday’s deadline for teams to reduce their rosters to 53 players. While he could be stashed on the practice squad if he clears waivers, Campbell’s change-of-scenery comments suggest Detroit may not take that route even if it becomes available.
AUGUST 17: The Lions brought Teddy Bridgewater out of his quasi-retirement last December, clearly feeling the need to fortify their QB room for the end of the regular season and the playoffs. While head coach Dan Campbell tried to downplay the notion that the Bridgewater addition signified a lack of faith in 2023 draftee Hendon Hooker – who had served as Jared Goff‘s backup to that point in the 2024 campaign – Hooker was not automatically returned to the QB2 post this year.
Instead, Detroit signed Kyle Allen in March, and Campbell said a competition for the backup job would commence. At the moment, Allen is decisively winning that competition and therefore appears to be in line to open the season behind Goff on the depth chart.
In the Lions’ preseason game against the Dolphins on Saturday, Allen got the start and completed 14 of 17 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns, including a score at the end of a well-constructed two-minute drill (h/t Dave Brikett of the Detroit Free Press).
Hooker, by contrast, completed six of 13 passes for 61 yards and an interception. As Birkett observes, the Miami game represented the third time in three preseason contests – Detroit was one of the participants in the Hall of Fame Game – that Allen has outplayed Hooker, a fact Campbell acknowledged when addressing the media afterwards.
“He’s playing better,” Campbell said of Allen (via Birkett). “So I would say that right now, if you’re saying – if you had to go in with a [QB2] right now, who would you trust more? Yeah, I would trust Kyle more because he’s proven more after these two games. But I’m still – we’re still going to coach Hooker up and we’re still going to see what’s there and see if we can get him better. I mean, we still got a little bit here.”
It is fair to wonder how much another week or so of coaching will improve Hooker’s stock with the organization. Entering the NFL after a November 2022 ACL tear dinged his prospect status, Hooker was the fifth quarterback chosen that year. Rumblings about first- and second-round landing spots circulated before that draft, but the once-surging University of Tennessee QB tumbled into Round 3.
Two years remain on Hooker’s rookie contract, and although he is entering just his third professional season, he is now 27. The fact that he seems to be losing ground to the 29-year-old Allen, who has become a nomadic backup/third-stringer since a 12-start audition in 2019, is a disappointing development.
Campbell went on to say Hooker may get the start in next week’s preseason finale against the Texans. At the very least, he will get an extended look as he fights for his place on the club.
Under Campbell, the Lions have made a habit of carrying only two passers on the 53-man roster.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/22/25
As teams begin to whittle their rosters down to the eventual 53 players, here are a few transactions aside from mass cuts:
Buffalo Bills
- Waived (with injury settlement): WR Jalen Virgil
Denver Broncos
- Waived (with injury settlement): CB Gregory Junior
Detroit Lions
- Released (with injury settlement): OL Keaton Sutherland
Houston Texans
- Released (with injury settlement): TE Dalton Keene
- Waived (with injury settlement): WR Xavier Johnson
New York Jets
- Reverted to IR: CB Ryan Cooper Jr.
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DE Jereme Robinson
- Placed on IR: WR Johnny Wilson (story)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: CB Tre Avery
- Waived (with injury designation): WR Jaden Smith
An important note for cuts moving forward: different from the usual 24-hour waiver period, any players waived between now and the roster cut deadline will remain on the waiver wire, available to be claimed, until Wednesday.
Lions’ Alim McNeill Ahead Of Schedule; Josh Paschal Likely To Start Season On NFI List?
One of many impactful injuries the Lions suffered on defense in 2024 was Alim McNeill‘s ACL tear. The fifth-year defensive tackle continues to recover, and his latest update on his status is a positive one. 
“The way we’re trending now, yeah, we’re definitely ahead of schedule,” McNeill said when addressing his rehab process (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “I don’t know timeline-wise, I have no clue. Like a date-wise, I would never say. But I’m feeling really good.”
Earlier this summer, late October or early November was floated as a rough point for McNiell to be back in the fold. The 25-year-old’s injury occurred in December, leading to surgery (which he noted also included a meniscal repair). No setbacks have taken place, though, leading to an encouraging adjustment to the projected return date in this case. General manager Brad Holmes said earlier this summer McNiell could be available earlier than first expected.
If that proves to be the case, Detroit’s defensive line will receive a major boost sometime in the fall. Levi Onwuzurike re-signed on a one-year pact but his ACL tear from last month will sideline him for the entire season. That will leave the Lions without a key presence at the defensive tackle spot and presumably lead to a heavy early workload for first-round rookie Tyleik Williams. D.J. Reader remains in place, but getting McNeill (who is on the books through 2028 thanks to his lucrative extension signed last offseason) back relatively quickly will be welcomed.
In other Lions injury news, defensive end Josh Paschal is not on the verge of returning to game action. Head coach Dan Campbell said (via Justin Rogers of the Detroit Football Network) Paschal is unlikely to be activated from the non-football injury list in the near future. With roster cuts looming, decisions on injured players and their return designations will need to be made soon. If Paschal remains on the NFI list to begin the campaign, he will be forced to miss at least Detroit’s first four games.
The 25-year-old is entering the final season of his rookie contract, an after handling a snap share of 61% in 2024 Paschal will be expected to remain a key figure on the D-line when healthy. He has only five sacks to his name but a strong showing this year could result in a notable free agent market. For now, though, attention will remain focused on the recovery process.
NFC North Notes: Packers, Lions, Smith
The competition between Rasheed Walker and Jordan Morgan had been tilted toward the incumbent, with GM Brian Gutekunst noting it would take quite the effort from the 2024 first-round pick for the Packers to make a change. It is becoming possible a change does happen, however. Walker has missed time due to a groin injury, and Morgan has benefited from increased LT work. Morgan, who missed 11 games last season, had recovered from shoulder surgery by the offseason program and has worked at left tackle — his college position — after being used primarily at guard (in a “best five” scenario) last year. Sean Rhyan has claimed Green Bay’s RG gig, leaving either Walker or Morgan set to ride the bench to open the year.
Gutekunst said (via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman) Morgan has enjoyed “a good camp.” He has not allowed a QB pressure in 38 preseason snaps, per Pro Football Focus. It would be a significant setback for Walker to be demoted; the former seventh-round pick is in a contract year. (On the other hand, a first-round pick being unable to win a second-year job could sound alarm bells.) Green Bay’s Zach Tom extension, however, laid a path for Walker to leave as a free agent — and Morgan to replace him — in 2026. It is now possible the Packers start the transition early and go into the season with a 32-game starter on the bench.
Here is the latest from the NFC North:
- The Packers may see one of their draft choices start the season sidelined. Fourth-round defensive lineman Barryn Sorrell suffered an MCL sprain, via ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky, but does not expect to miss more than a few weeks. This timetable could convince the Packers to keep him on their 53-man roster, leaving their two IR-return spots for others. If Sorrell lands on Green Bay’s IR before next week’s roster-setting deadline, he must miss at least four games and would count against the team’s injury activation total immediately.
- A player to potentially keep in mind regarding an IR-return spot, MarShawn Lloyd is dealing with another injury. Seeing his first game action since Week 2 of last season, Lloyd left the Packers’ second preseason contest with hamstring trouble, Schneidman adds. Matt LaFleur confirmed Lloyd — a 2024 third-round pick — will miss time. Hip and hamstring issues, primarily the latter, led the way in sidelining Lloyd for 16 games last season. He also navigated appendicitis during a lost rookie year. A groin injury also surfaced earlier during this year’s training camp. The Pack could stash Lloyd on IR to open the season, but at this point, concerns about the RB’s NFL dependability are probably warranted. Lloyd going on IR would allow the Packers to keep both Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks on their active roster, but his return (per Schneidman) would likely leave room for just one of them.
- Staying on the injury subject, the Bears have lost third-year cornerback Terell Smith for the season. The 2023 fifth-rounder suffered a patellar tendon tear in Chicago’s second preseason game, the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs reports. Smith (six career starts) joined Josh Blackwell as a possible second-string Bears CB. Following the upcoming IR move, the Bears have some other options — in veterans Tre Flowers, Nick McCloud and Nahshon Wright. Two seasons remain on Smith’s rookie contract.
- Sixth-round Lions rookie Ahmed Hassanein will miss extended time due to a pectoral injury, Dan Campbell said (via the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett). The defensive end said on Instragram he would not need surgery, but this long of an absence could create a roster issue for the Lions. At best, Hassanein appears an IR stash.
- Given safety reps, Ya-Sin could also save the Lions a roster spot due to his extensive CB past. The second-rounder-turned-nomad is a roster lock, Birkett adds. Ya-Sin started a preseason game at safety, with The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy indeed listing the seventh-year vet on a projected 53-man roster.