Today’s practice squad moves:
Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay Packers
Indianapolis Colts
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
New York Giants
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Indianapolis Colts
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
Minnesota Vikings
San Francisco 49ers
Adams, Dulin, Ellefson, Galeai, Washington and Willis each have until Nov. 30 to be activated from IR. Should they not be activated, they would revert to season-ending IR. The Colts and Vikings are in solid shape regarding activations, having only used one apiece. The Bears, Cardinals, 49ers and Packers have used three such moves apiece. Teams are allotted eight injury activations this season.
The Cowboys dangled Basham in trades before last week’s deadline, but no takers emerged. While the team cut the other D-lineman they were hoping to deal — Trysten Hill, who has since been claimed by the Cardinals — they ended up using one of their injury activations on Basham. A former Colts third-round pick, Basham notched 3.5 sacks during his first Cowboys season last year. He played in one game this season (Week 1) before going down with a quadriceps injury. The Cowboys, who have Tyron Smith and James Washington on their IR-return radar, have used two injury activations this season.
Johnathan Abram will not reach free agency. The Packers stepped in with a successful waiver claim to land the former Raiders safety, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
The Raiders cut bait on the former first-round pick Tuesday, but he will have a chance to make a better impression in Green Bay. Abram’s rookie contract runs through season’s end, after the Raiders did not pick up his fifth-year option. Just more than $1MM is now the Packers’ responsibility.
Green Bay rosters an experienced safety tandem; Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage have started together for the past four seasons. Abram will, however, reunite with former Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, who is now the Pack’s special teams coordinator. Abram also rejoins ex-Raiders safety/special-teamer Dallin Leavitt with the Packers.
Abram, 26, will trek to Wisconsin with 34 career starts under his belt. Six of those came this season. The former Mississippi State prospect began 2022 in the Raiders’ starting lineup, under ex-Packers assistant Patrick Graham, but saw his playing time reduced over the past two games. The Raiders did not use Abram on special teams over the first five weeks but began using him in that capacity in October; he played 52% of Las Vegas’ special teams snaps Sunday in Jacksonville.
Drafted with the No. 27 overall pick the Raiders obtained in the Amari Cooper trade, Abram suffered shoulder injuries that forced him to miss 15 games as a rookie. He bounced back to be a full-timer under Jon Gruden and Bisaccia from 2020-21. In going to the Packers, Abram will now be part of a fourth defensive scheme since 2020. The Raiders went from Paul Guenther to Gus Bradley to Graham from 2020-22; Abram will now work under second-year Packers DC Joe Barry.
Issues in coverage were a major part of Abram’s failure to pan out with the Raiders, who have made significant changes since adding a new regime this offseason. Pro Football Focus ranks Abram outside the top 75 at safety this season. He made 116 tackles in 2021 — second on the Raiders — and has 48 stops this year. The Packers now have six safeties on their active roster, with Abram and Leavitt joining Rudy Ford and seventh-round rookie Tariq Carpenter. That is on the high side, so it will be interesting to see if Green Bay keeps that sextet on its 53-man roster going forward.
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
Cleveland Browns
Denver Broncos
Green Bay Packers
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Packers have received another set of updates regarding more of their injured players from yesterday’s loss to the Lions. Wideout Romeo Doubs is the latest at that position to be headed for an extended absence. 
[RELATED: Packers’ Gary Tears ACL]
The fourth-round rookie suffered a high ankle sprain on Sunday, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). While more testing will be needed to confirm an exact timeline for his return, the news is likely to keep him sidelined for between four and six weeks. Assuming that is the case, the Packers will be even more shorthanded at the position.
Green Bay was already without veteran Randall Cobb, who is currently on IR. He, like nearly every other Packers receiver, has missed at least some time during the season, one in which the team’s offense has struggled mightily to find a rhythm in the passing game. Doubs had been the only WR who suited up for every game prior to this injury.
The 6-2, 200-pounder put himself on the NFL draft radar with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to close out his college career at Nevada. Part of an infusion of young talent at the position alongside Christian Watson, Doubs has managed 314 yards and three touchdowns in his rookie campaign. He ranks second on the team in receiving yards amongst wideouts, and third overall.
Given the team’s struggles on offense, Green Bay was involved in discussions to bring in notable additions at last week’s trade deadline. They offered a second-rounder to the Steelers for Chase Claypool, but found themselves runners-up to the Bears on that front. It was reported yesterday that they also tried to land tight end Darren Waller, and put a first-rounder on the table for the Panthers in their attempt to acquire wideout D.J. Moore. With nothing materializing, though, the team’s shorthanded group of in-house options will continue to be relied on.
In more positive news, running back Aaron Jones appears to have avoided any major injury. Testing on his ankle – which required him to wear a walking boot after the game – came back negative, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). As a result, he should be able to practice this week and play on Sunday against the Cowboys. A strong running game will be crucial moving forward, with another key piece of Green Bay’s passing attack unavailable.
The Packers lost their fifth straight game yesterday, but any turnaround of their season will come without one of their top defenders. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported this morning that edge rusher Rashan Gary was feared to have suffered a torn ACL; Ian Rapoport of NFL Network confirms that that is indeed the case, meaning Gary will miss the remainder of the season (Twitter links). An MRI will be conducted to determine if any further damage has been caused. 
Gary was one of several Packers who had to leave Sunday’s contest early, leaving the team with a number of question marks from a health perspective. Gary was seen on crutches after the loss to Detroit, joining cornerback Eric Stokes and wideout Romeo Doubs in that regard (Twitter link via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky).
Green Bay will be hard-pressed to replace Gary, 24, for the remainder of the season. He was in the midst of another productive campaign off the edge, recording 6.0 sacks and seven tackles for loss. That marked a continuation of last season, during which he broke out with 9.5 sacks while taking on a full-time starting role. The former first-rounder drew plenty of scrutiny during his first two campaigns, as he showed only flashes of the athleticism he was renowned for coming out of college.
After things turned around in 2021, however, it came as little surprise when the Packers picked up Gary’s fifth-year option this spring. That move will keep him on the books for 2023 at a cost of just under $10.9MM. Given his play last year, and his continued career ascension until yesterday, the Michigan alum was setting himself up as a prime extension candidate this offseason.
That held especially true since the Packers released Za’Darius Smith in a cost-cutting move in March. The veteran ultimately landed with the division rival Vikings as a high-priced free agent. So far, he has enjoyed another productive season, and he ranks second in the NFL with 8.5 sacks. Gary had filled in for Smith (as he did last season, with the latter sidelined through injury), with fellow veteran Preston Smith chipping in with 3.5 sacks on the campaign.
Now, the Packers will need to regroup defensively with the elder Smith leading the way in terms of pass rushers. Green Bay is also rostering Day 3 draftees Kingsley Enagbare and Jonathan Garvin, along with former UDFA Tipa Galeai as potential Gary replacements.
A mentioned, Green Bay lost a number of key players on both sides of the ball yesterday. Joining Gary, Stokes and Doubs are lead running back Aaron Jones (who was seen in a walking boot, per Demovsky) and rookie wideout Christian Watson, who exited to be evaluated for a concussion after suffering one last week. As crushing as the Gary diagnosis is for the team, then, there could very well be more bad news coming today as the Packers continue reeling.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, as well as Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, the Packers attempted to acquire Raiders tight end Darren Waller prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline. We already knew that Green Bay had offered a second-round choice for Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool — whom Pittsburgh ultimately sent to the Bears, as it believed the second-rounder it received from Chicago would be more valuable than the Packers’ selection — and we also learned previously that the team was interested in potential TE upgrades. We now know that Waller was one such TE target.
Waller, 30, signed a three-year, $51MM extension with the Raiders in September, but he is dealing with serious injury issues for the second straight season. The 2020 Pro Bowler was limited to 11 games in 2021, and he is expected to miss his third consecutive game on Sunday as a result of a hamstring ailment. Plus, after catching 10 balls for 129 yards and a score in the first two games of the 2022 campaign, he was limited to six catches for 46 yards in the next two contests. He played just eight snaps in Week 5 before injuring his hamstring.
Still, a healthy Waller is one of the game’s better receiving tight ends, and assuming he gets back to full strength soon, he would have been a nice weapon for a Packers offense that is just outside the bottom-10 in passing yards per game. Part of that disappointing ranking is due to a rash of injury problems that have impacted the club’s pass-catching contingent; Allen Lazard missed Green Bay’s Week 8 loss to the Bills due to a shoulder injury, Randall Cobb is on IR with an ankle injury, Sammy Watkins has missed time with hamstring troubles of his own, and Christian Watson exited the Buffalo game with a concussion. Injecting another player with health concerns into that mix might have been something of a risk, but GM Brian Gutekunst was clearly hoping a bold move might save Green Bay’s season.
Indeed, while Claypool was, according to Schefter, Gutekunst’s “primary focus,” the team also called the Panthers to discuss D.J. Moore, per Rapoport and Pelissero (though Schefter says the Packers were not interested in Texans receiver Brandin Cooks). Carolina, which rebuffed a massive offer for DE Brian Burns, also turned away the Moore inquiries, even though Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reports the Packers were willing to deal a first-round pick (via Marcus Mosher of Pro Football Focus on Twitter). Schefter adds that, in an effort to close a Claypool trade, the Packers added a late-round pick to the second-rounder it was prepared to send to the Steelers, but apparently Pittsburgh valued Chicago’s Round 2 choice over Green Bay’s two-pick proposal.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who could be in the midst of his final season, publicly expressed his appreciation for the front office’s efforts. “The compensation for whatever players we were going after just didn’t make sense,” Rodgers said. “So I trust [Gutekunst]. We had some good conversations. We were in on some things. It just didn’t pan out.”
Meanwhile, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believes the ESPN and NFL.com reports, which were both published early Sunday morning, were based on leaks from the team designed specifically to appease Rodgers, and that the Green Bay front office did not actually want to make a deal. Regardless of the veracity of that claim, the end result is the same: if the 3-5 Packers are to salvage what could be Rodgers’ last stand, their existing talent will need to get healthy and turn things around in a hurry, as the only receiving help they can add at this point is free agent Odell Beckham Jr.
As an interesting aside, this is the second time this year the Packers and Raiders have discussed Waller, who was part of the talks that culminated in the blockbuster Davante Adams trade in March.
The Packers are adding a key piece back to their defense. Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Green Bay has activated linebacker Krys Barnes from injured reserve.
Barnes suffered a significant ankle injury during Week 1, knocking him off the field for nearly two months. He returned to practice earlier this week, and it didn’t take very long for him to make his way back to the active roster.
The 2020 undrafted free agent out of UCLA has quickly established himself as a starting-caliber linebacker. In 30 career games (23 starts), the 24-year-old has collected 161 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and a pair of fumble recoveries. He’s also started three postseason games, compiling another 20 tackles. Pro Football Focus wasn’t particularly fond of his performance over the past two years, although they did grade him out as an above-average pass-rusher.
Barnes’ return couldn’t come at a better time for the Packers. Star linebacker De’Vondre Campbell suffered a knee injury during Green Bay’s Week 8 loss to the Bills, and he was ruled out for Sunday after missing the entire week of practice. This is a rare absence for the 29-year-old, as he previously missed only a single game over the past five-plus seasons. Rookie first-round pick Quay Walker will take over the ‘communication helmet’ for tomorrow’s game against the Lions.
Once again, the Packers approached the NFL trade deadline with expectations that a move would be made to bolster the team’s pass-catching corps. As Tuesday came and went, 2022 marked another season in which the team stood pat. 
The Packers have struggled with injuries and inconsistencies in the pass game this season, making them a logical suitor for a trade acquisition. They were in on former Steeler Chase Claypool, offering a second-round pick for the wideout, a price which ended up ultimately being enough for Pittsburgh to part ways with him. It was the division rival Bears, however, who landed him (with their second-rounder projected to be more valuable), adding a young pass-catcher and denying Green Bay a new asset in the process.
Part of the reason the Packers maintained the status quo at the position, as explained by ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, was their reluctance to add a rental player at the deadline. Claypool has one year remaining on his rookie contract after 2022; likewise, veteran Brandin Cooks would not have been a short-term addition had the Packers (who were listed among the teams interested in acquiring him) been able to pull off a deal.
Demovsky confirms that Claypool was Green Bay’s top target, but adds that tight end was another position at which they considered making a move. Only one trade took place in that regard, with an intra-divisional swap sending T.J. Hockenson from the Lions to the Vikings for a swap of Day 2 picks. The Packers may not have been involved in talks for Hockenson specifically, Demovsky notes, but GM Brian Gutekunst “explored” possible additions to complement or upgrade on starter Robert Tonyan.
In the end, Green Bay will head into the second half of the season with a less-than-healthy skill position group as they look to improve on their 234 passing yards per game (20th in the league). Given their 3-5 record, the team sits in a much different position with respect to their status as NFC contenders compared to the consecutive 13-win campaigns which began the Matt LaFleur era. The same questions remain, though, about their offensive firepower.
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Buffalo Bills
Denver Broncos
Green Bay Packers
Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
New Orleans Saints
Washington Commanders