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Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC North

August 27th, 2025 at 3:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

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:

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Detroit Lions

Signed:

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Green Bay Packers

Signed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Minnesota Vikings

Signed to practice squad:

Bears Activate Jaylon Johnson, Cut Roster Down To 53

August 26th, 2025 at 5:44pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Bears made a flurry of move to trim their roster down to 53 players on Tuesday, per a team announcement, headlined by the activation of Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson from the physically unable to perform list.

Johnson missed all of training camp after injuring his leg during offseason training. Chicago is hoping that he can be ready for Week 1, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, but the 26-year-old still hasn’t returned to the practice field. Keeping him on the 53-man roster suggests that the team believe he has a good chance of coming back in the first four weeks of the season.

The Bears also activated Tory Taylor to the roster in a procedural move. The Australian-born punter was given an international exemption to give Chicago an extra, 91st roster spot during the offseason, but he cannot keep the exemption and remain on the 53-man roster.

Here are the rest of the Bears’ roster moves:

Placed on injured reserve (designated to return)

Waived/injured

Waived

Released

Homer appeared in 10 games for the Bears in 2024, primarily on special teams. He re-signed in Chicago this offseason and will spent a minimum of four games on the sidelines to start the year as he deals with a calf injury, per Biggs. Ogbongbemiga, also a returning special teams ace, will also be out for at least four weeks after injuring his shoulder.

The Bears tried to trade McFadden before final roster cuts, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, but were unable to find a partner and waived the former Charger.

Pickens and Scott are two 2023 draft picks that will not survive the team’s coaching change. Pickett, the first pick of the third round, started three games last year and appeared in six more with minimal production. Scott, a fourth-round pick, started four games as a rookie before fading into the background with just one reception in 2024.

Richardson is a practice squad candidate after a strong training camp, per Biggs. So is Stromberg, according to Adam Jahn of CHGO Sports. The former Commanders third-round pick will provide depth at center behind Drew Dalman and Ryan Bates.

Kpassagnon followed Dennis Allen to Chicago this offseason and signed a one-year deal with no guaranteed money, making him an ideal candidate to be released and re-signed to the practice squad via a handshake agreement. That appears to be the plan, according to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times, which will keep the veteran linemen available for early-season elevations to the active roster.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/24/24

December 24th, 2024 at 5:23pm CST by Adam La Rose

Tuesday’s taxi squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: K Andre Szmyt

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Tennessee Titans

Szmyt spent time on the Bears’ practice squad last year before playing with the USFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks recently. The 26-year-old terminated his pact with the spring league club to take a deal in Cleveland. A former All-American and Lou Graza winner as the country’s top kicker during his college career, Szmyt could see time late in the year given the Browns’ kicking struggles in 2024.

Thomas appeared to be on his way to join the Colts after he was claimed off waivers by Indianapolis. The veteran corner failed his physical upon arrival with his new team, however, leading to another trip to the waiver wire. No teams put in a claim this time around, but shortly after reaching free agency Thomas has landed a deal. The former 49er has 42 games and 11 starts to his name, and he will provide Minnesota with cornerback depth through the closing stages of the campaign.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/21/24

December 21st, 2024 at 7:34pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor transactions and standard gameday practice squad elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

After being activated from injured reserve in early November, Bates only played two games before suffering a concussion. The 27-year-old has not played since Week 11 and will now miss the remainder of the season on IR. Bates is under contract through 2025.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/5/24

December 5th, 2024 at 7:31pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest moves from around the league, including game day elevations for Thursday Night football:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Designated to return from injured reserve: CB Elijah Jones

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Elevated to the active roster from the practice squad: CB Kalen King

Houston Texans

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

The Lions signed Adams to their practice squad on Sunday after a slew of injuries on Thanksgiving. The onetime All-Pro played 20 snaps across three games for the Titans this year before he landed on the Non-Football injury list and requested his release. Though he’s still listed as a defensive back, Adams is likely to play in the box after Malcolm Rodriguez joined three other Lions linebacker on injured reserve.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/3/24

December 3rd, 2024 at 7:50pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

With Trevor Lawrence currently in concussion protocol, the Jaguars have added some QB depth to the organization. John Wolford brings four games of starting experience to Jacksonville, all coming with the Rams between 2020 and 2022. The Wake Forest product went 2-2 in those appearances, tossing one touchdown vs. five interceptions. He’ll slide in behind Mac Jones and C.J. Beathard in the franchise’s QB pecking order.

The Eagles added a veteran fullback to their roster in Khari Blasingame. The 28-year-old has appeared in 66 games since entering the league in 2019, collecting 131 yards from scrimmage on 24 carries. The Eagles recently lost part-time fullback Ben VanSumeren for the season, opening a role for a handful of blocking snaps per game.

Lions Place LB Malcolm Rodriguez, DL Mekhi Wingo On Season-Ending IR

November 30th, 2024 at 8:43pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Lions have officially placed linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo on injured reserve, per a team announcement. Head coach Dan Campbell announced that both players were out for the rest of the season, according to team reporter Tim Twentyman.

Rodriguez tore his ACL during Thursday’s win over the Bears, while Wingo injured his knee but managed to finish the game. Further evaluation revealed that Wingo would need surgery, sidelining him for the remainder of the year. Those injuries were two of several suffered by the Lions on Thanksgiving, with Josh Paschal (knee) and Levi Onwuzurike (hamstring) considered day-to-day ahead of another Thursday night matchup in Week 14.

Wingo is a rookie who appeared in all 11 of the Lions’ games so far this season as a reserve defensive tackle with 176 snaps on defense and 44 on special teams. The sixth-round pick recorded nine tackles, but had yet to factor into the pass rush.

Detroit signed Jonah Williams off the Rams’ practice squad on Friday to shore up their defensive line depth. They also added Myles Adams from the Seahawks’ practice squad on Saturday. He appeared in three games for Seattle this year with a total of 36 snaps and three tackles. Both players will join Brodric Martin, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and Pat O’Connor in filling the snaps vacated by Wingo (plus Paschal and Onwuzurike if they can’t play on Thursday).

Trevor Nowaske will be the next man up at linebacker after Rodriguez’s injury. He has played just under 28% of the Lions’ total defensive snaps this season and will see an uptick in the Lions’ three-linebacker formations. Detroit also signed veteran linebacker Kwon Alexander from the Broncos’ practice squad to provide more depth. Additionally, the team has not ruled out a return from Derrick Barnes from his September knee injury that threatened to end his season.

The Lions had two open spots on the roster after today’s IR designations, so they also waived wide receiver Maurice Alexander to make room for all three new signings. He only appeared in one game this season with eight snaps exclusively on special teams.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/24

November 27th, 2024 at 6:50pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s minor transactions, including some standard gameday practice squad elevations for the Thanksgiving Day slate:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

  • Designated to return from IR: CB Myles Harden

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Vikings’ release of Murphy is disappointing one for the organization for sure. The rookie pass rusher out of UCLA was not healthy enough to be on the active roster to start the season, but Minnesota liked him enough to dedicate one of their eight IR activations on him in August. He was activated yesterday but hit waivers today. If he clears the waivers, he’ll be available to sign to the team’s practice squad.

Adams has seen his biggest NFL roles during his time in Pittsburgh. Though he hasn’t gotten the same number of starts as he had in 2022 and 2023, he’s continued the same level of production. After missing the last four games, he’ll be looking to return to the field soon.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/12/24

November 12th, 2024 at 7:09pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

  • Released: LB Cam Johnson

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

The Falcons have added a notable name to their special teams corps in Jakeem Grant. The long-time Dolphins returner has collected six ST touchdowns in his career (four via punts, two via kickoffs), and he’s even hauled in 100 catches. However, the veteran hasn’t seen the field since the 2021 campaign while spending the past few years on Cleveland’s practice squad.

With Dak Prescott done for the season, the Cowboys have added some extra QB depth. In comes old friend Will Grier, who spent the 2021 and 2022 campaigns in Dallas. The former third-round pick has since bounced around the NFL, including stops with the Bengals, Patriots, and Chargers in just 2023. Grier still only has two career appearances on his resume, both coming with the Panthers in 2019.

The Texans have added some experienced OL depth in Cameron Erving. The veteran is coming off a 2023 campaign where he started two of his three appearances for the Saints, and he barely played in 11 appearances with the Panthers in 2022. Still, the 32-year-old brings 98 games (58 starts) of experience to Houston, a factor that could be valuable down the stretch. To make room on the practice squad, the Texans moved on from cornerback Desmond King. The veteran has only seen time in one game for Houston this season, although he’s not far removed from a 2022 campaign where he started 13 games for the Texans.

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