Here are the latest practice squad transactions from around the NFL:
Atlanta Falcons
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
San Francisco 49ers
Rumored early as a Daniel Jones suitor, the Vikings are indeed making the move. The six-year Giants starter is set to land in Minnesota, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports.
Ten-plus teams were connected to Jones, though money was not believed to be a factor. His first rebound spot will emerge in the Twin Cities, where he will step in as Sam Darnold‘s backup. Jones is expected to sign for the prorated veteran minimum, per ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano. That amount will provide a small offset for the Giants, who are eating eight figures in 2024 guarantees from their release and Jones then clearing waivers.
Although Jones will be positioned to back up Darnold, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Cameron Wolfe note this will first be a practice squad agreement. The Vikings would have the option to elevate Jones three times, but given his experience, it would surprise if the former Eli Manning successor is on Minnesota’s taxi squad for too long. That $375K number from the Vikings will cover Jones once he is on the active roster, though veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson indicates the sides are still finalizing compensation — perhaps a bump from a standard practice squad salary for the near term.
This contract’s active-roster salary will indeed be just $375K, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, who confirms this is the expected one-year agreement. Jones could still technically bolt Minnesota’s practice squad if another opportunity — via an injury — opens up in the near future. Teams attempted to poach Joe Flacco from Cleveland’s P-squad last year, but with plenty of interest coming in for Jones already, it would surprise if he left the team he carefully selected in order to learn a new playbook elsewhere.
Jones, 27, enjoyed his finest hour as a pro at U.S. Bank Stadium, piloting the Giants to a wild-card upset to eliminate a 13-4 Vikings team in Kevin O’Connell‘s first season. O’Connell, however, has shown an ability to coax quality play from quarterbacks. Darnold’s bounce-back season has most recently revealed this, and Schultz adds Jones wanted to end up in a QB-friendly system with a coaching staff capable of generating the best from passers.
While Baker Mayfield ended up in Sean McVay‘s QB-friendly system via waiver claim, Jones having $13.81MM in remaining 2024 salary made that route a non-starter for teams. This situation resembles Mayfield’s in terms of a fit, with Jones likely hoping he can use a Vikings stay as a springboard to a 2025 starter opportunity. Contractually, this reminds of Russell Wilson‘s Steelers signing. Wilson’s Denver deal covered him, and after he visited the Giants, the 13th-year veteran landed in Pittsburgh for the veteran minimum.
Jones, whose comeback from ACL surgery began with a Vikings matchup in Week 1, will join a Minnesota team that has two backup QBs on its active roster. Nick Mullens is Darnold’s backup, while late-summer addition Brett Rypien sits as the team’s emergency option. It looks like Rypien’s roster spot will be threatened by the Wednesday agreement.
The Vikings joined nearly a dozen teams in being connected to Jones. The Ravens, Lions, Dolphins, 49ers and Raiders were among the closely tied teams. Jones was believed to have preferred a contending team, and despite the Raiders losing Gardner Minshew on Sunday (thus opening a potential starting role), the free agent was believed to have ruled out Las Vegas. Dan Campbell said Tuesday (via DetroitFootball.net’s Justin Rogers) the Lions had not engaged in serious internal discussions on the newly available QB, praising Hendon Hooker‘s development behind Jared Goff. While some in the league viewed the 49ers as a viable Jones destination, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, he will instead join a 9-2 Vikings team on its way to a second playoff berth under O’Connell.
The Giants benched Jones after he was unable to position this year’s team among the NFC’s contender contingent. For the season, Jones ranks 28th in QBR (Darnold is 14th) and threw eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions in 10 starts. Jones also averaged only 6.1 yards per attempt — 33rd this season — and has never ended a season north of 7.0. The Giants still gave the scrutinized starter six seasons to prove himself, representing a much longer runway than Jones’ performance warranted. Big Blue has turned to Tommy DeVito, though it would not surprise to see UFA addition Drew Lock see time as well. Jones now will get to work developing in O’Connell’s offense.
Both Jones and Darnold are due for free agency in 2025, still clearing the runway for J.J. McCarthy. Minnesota’s first-round pick has undergone a second surgery on his injured meniscus but remains on schedule to be ready for the 2025 season. The Vikings are fine with Darnold pricing himself out of town next year, Graziano adds, as it will mean a successful season for the team. Jones could also provide potential cover and a McCarthy insurance option beyond 2024, though it would stand to reason the former No. 6 overall pick’s primary aim will be to land somewhere with a chance to start next year.
O’Connell saw his 2022 team’s defense struggle to contain Jones twice. The then-fourth-year quarterback played well in a narrow loss to the Vikings in Week 16 that season then return to Minneapolis to deliver a versatile effort to propel the Giants to the divisional round. In that first-round playoff tilt, Jones was 24 of 35 for 301 yards through the air — despite the Giants not having much of note in terms of pass-catching help at the time — and offered a 17-carry, 78-yard rushing performance. That keyed a 31-24 upset win, one that brought long-term repercussions for the Giants.
Prioritizing Jones over Saquon Barkley due to positional value, GM Joe Schoen authorized a four-year, $160MM deal that included $81MM guaranteed at signing. The latter figure will be paid out this year, but the Giants will eat $22.2MM in 2025 dead money due to prorated signing bonus money. Jones did not remotely justify the contract on the field, playing poorly — albeit behind an injury-riddled offensive line — before suffering an ACL tear last season and not rebounding at the level the Giants hoped this year. As the Giants’ effort to land Drake Maye as a Jones replacement failed, Barkley has become an MVP candidate with Philadelphia.
Darnold and Jones will be two of the top free agent QBs available come March, though the Vikings will now hold exclusive negotiating rights with both until the legal tampering period begins March 10. Should Darnold suffer an injury or see his play decline significantly, the Vikings now would have Jones to deploy rather than Mullens, who was among the three QBs to make a Minnesota start last year after Kirk Cousins‘ Achilles tear.
As Jones hopes a stay in a strong offensive system can boost his long-term value, the Vikings have a much better QB2 option as they assemble their pieces for a potential playoff run this season.
Wednesday’s minor transactions, including some standard gameday practice squad elevations for the Thanksgiving Day slate:
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cleveland Browns
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.
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad moves:
Denver Broncos
Minnesota Vikings
Philadelphia Eagles
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
The Vikings used an injury activation on Muse but waived him Tuesday. This will at least keep a player they prioritized via the activation around. A 2022 seventh-round pick, Muse played in 10 games as a Vikings rookie but just five over the past two seasons.
Also waived Tuesday, Throckmorton will end up sticking around as one of the many ex-Saints players and coaches on Sean Payton‘s second Broncos roster. The veteran backup O-lineman joins ex-New Orleans starter Kwon Alexander and 2023 Saints draftee A.T. Perry on Denver’s practice squad, with the likes of Wil Lutz, Adam Trautman, Malcolm Roach, Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Lucas Krull comprising the contingent of former Saints on the Broncos’ 53-man roster.
The Giants making the decision to waive Daniel Jones, rather than keep him around ahead of a potential 2025 post-June 1 cut designation, changed their dead money outlook for this year and next. Here is how their new total fits in with the rest of the teams’ numbers for dead money — cap space allocated to players no longer on the roster — entering the final third of the regular season. Numbers courtesy of OverTheCap.
The Jones release moved more than $13MM of dead cap onto the Giants’ 2024 payroll. More significantly, the Giants granting Jones an early exit — after a contract-driven benching — will prevent the team from designating him a post-June 1 cut next year. The Giants will take on $22.2MM in dead money in 2025, rather than being able to split that bill over two offseasons. The team also took on more than $10MM in dead money this year due to the 2023 Leonard Williams trade.
This year’s most egregious dead money offender has been known for months. The Broncos’ contract-driven Russell Wilson benching last year preceded a historic release, which saddled the team with more than $83MM in total dead money. A small cap credit is set to come in 2025 (via Wilson’s veteran-minimum Pittsburgh pact), but for this year, $53MM in dead cap hit Denver’s payroll as a result of the the quarterback’s release.
The Broncos more than doubled the previous single-player dead money record, which the Falcons held ($40.5MM) for trading Matt Ryan), and they will be on the hook for the final $30MM-plus in 2025. Beyond Wilson, no other ex-Bronco counts more than $7.5MM in dead money. In terms of total dead cap, however, the Broncos barely check in north of the Buccaneers and Rams’ 2023 totals. Denver is trying to follow those teams’ lead in rallying back to make the playoffs despite nearly a third of its 2024 payroll tied up in dead cap.
Twenty-two players represent dead money for the Saints, who have seen their total updated since the Marshon Lattimore trade. Rather than restructure-crazed GM Mickey Loomis using the Lattimore contract once again to create cap space next year, the Saints will take on the highest non-QB dead money hit in NFL history. Lattimore counts $14MM in that category this year before the contract shifts to a whopping $31.66MM in dead cap on New Orleans’ 2025 payroll. Considering the Saints are again in their own sector for cap trouble next year ($62MM-plus over), the Lattimore trade will create some issues as the team attempts to rebound post-Dennis Allen.
Two 2023 restructures ballooned the Vikings’ figure toward $70MM. Void years on Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter‘s deals combined for more than $43MM in dead money. Minnesota also ate nearly $7MM from the void years on Marcus Davenport‘s one-year contract, while the release of 2022 first-rounder Lewis Cine (currently on the Bills’ practice squad) accounted for more than $5MM.
Free from the Tom Brady dead money that comprised a chunk of their 2023 cap, the Bucs still have eight-figure hits from the Carlton Davis trade and Mike Evans‘ previous contract voiding not long before the sides agreed on a new deal. Elsewhere in the NFC South, three of the players given multiyear deals in 2023 — Vonn Bell, Hayden Hurst, Bradley Bozeman — being moved off the roster in GM Dan Morgan‘s first offseason represent nearly half of Carolina’s dead cap.
The Vikings made a handful of changes to their linebackers corps today. The team’s newest addition is Jamin Davis, who was signed to the 53-man roster from the Packers practice squad. The team also activated linebacker Gabe Murphy off injured reserve and placed linebacker Ivan Pace on IR.
A former first-round pick by the Commanders, Davis was let go by Washington last month. The linebacker showed flashes through his first three seasons in the NFL, including 2022 and 2023 campaigns where he started 28 games while compiling 193 total tackles, six sacks, and two forced fumbles. With a new staff in Washington, Davis found himself on the outside looking in with his squad. After having his fifth-year option declined, the fourth-year player only saw time on 86 defensive snaps in five games this year.
Davis was quickly scooped up by the Packers, who stashed the new addition on the practice squad. After spending almost one month on Green Bay’s taxi squad, Davis will return to an active roster in Minnesota.
The newest addition will likely be taking the spot held by Pace, who has started all nine of his appearances in 2024. The former UDFA has settled into an important role as a sophomore, collecting 59 tackles and three sacks. Pace suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday that limited him to only five defensive snaps. He’ll now have to miss at least the next four games, with his earliest return marked for December 29 against the Packers.
Blake Cashman will continue to lead the linebackers depth chart, with Kamu Grugier-Hill and Brian Asamoah mixing in with Davis for the leftover snaps. The team clearly likes Murphy, a UDFA out of UCLA, but the rookie will likely be eyeing a special teams role for the stretch run of the season. Murphy landed on IR before the season with a knee injury.
The Week 12 slate of games is in the books. For many teams, attention is increasingly turning toward the offseason with a playoff berth no longer in reach.
Plenty of time remains for the draft order to change over the coming months, and it will be interesting to see which teams wind up in position to add at the quarterback spot in particular. The crop of prospects for 2025 is not held in high regard after Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward, meaning the demand for potential franchise passers is set to outweigh demand at the top of the board. Of course, players like Sanders’ Colorado teammate Travis Hunter will be among the ones worth watching closely as well.
The Jets have moved on from head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas, inviting questions about a reset under center as well. Aaron Rodgers wants to play in 2025, but it remains to be seen how his relationship with the organization will take shape down the stretch and if a new regime will prefer to move on at the position. The Giants, meanwhile, confirmed they will be in the market for a new signal-caller with Daniel Jones no longer in the fold.
Teams such as the Raiders have long been mentioned as a team to watch regarding a rookie QB pursuit. Jayden Daniels was a target for head coach Antonio Pierce last spring, and it would come as no surprise if Vegas were to make a push for a long-term starting option this time around. Other franchises not on track to qualify for the playoffs figure to give the Raiders plenty of competition in that department, though.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2024 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. Here is an updated look at the current draft order:
The Panthers have moved on from their co-leader in sacks. The team announced that they’ve waived linebacker Charles Harris. The move was made to accommodate cornerback Akayleb Evans, who was claimed off waivers from the Vikings.
The Panthers added Harris ahead of Week 2, and the veteran linebacker came in and immediately played a role for his new squad. After coming off the bench in his debut, the 29-year-old proceeded to start the next six games for Carolina. But with D.J. Wonnum recently returning to the lineup, Harris found himself quickly falling down the depth chart.
Harris was suddenly inactive for Week 10 when Wonnum returned to the lineup. Following the team’s bye week, Harris returned to the field and played 33 snaps yesterday. However, his Week 12 appearance coincided with D.J. Johnson‘s absence with a concussion. The Panthers now have their full edge rusher grouping, and Joe Person of The Athletic notes that the team wants to give young players like Cam Gill and Kenny Dyson more reps. That meant there was no spot left for a temporary veteran like Harris.
The linebacker’s Panthers tenure will end with him having compiled three sacks, 21 tackles, and seven QB hits. Harris hinted at some top-end pass-rush ability when he collected 7.5 sacks with the Lions in 2021, but his three-sack cameo with Carolina represents his highest total in three years. Harris should find another gig elsewhere, but he may be hard pressed to earn significant playing time with a new squad.
A 2022 fourth-round pick by the Vikings, Evans started all 15 of his appearances as a sophomore, finishing with 65 tackles, seven passes defended, one interception, and three forced fumbles. Minnesota brought in Stephon Gilmore and Shaq Griffin this offseason, and Evans found himself buried on the depth chart. After getting into only three defensive snaps (along with 83 ST snaps) in seven games, the defensive back was waived by the Vikings this past weekend.
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings reduced their tight end depth today by moving on from Nick Muse. The 2022 seventh-round pick has spent the past three seasons in Minnesota, appearing in 15 games. He was limited to only nine offensive snaps in 2024, and he has a single catch on his career resume. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Muse will land back on Minnesota’s practice squad if he clears waivers.
Daniel Jones saw his Giants tenure end due to poor performance on a four-year, $160MM contract — a deal that included a $23MM 2025 injury guarantee. The latter number led the Giants to bench their longtime starter, and Jones’ remaining base salary will allow him to clear waivers. A lengthy free agency stay is not expected.
While Jones is leaving New York after enduring a wave of scrutiny in the years following Eli Manning‘s retirement, other teams are on track to pursue him. This market could be crowded. In addition to rumored Vikings and Raiders landing spots, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter names the Ravens as an interested party. Teams’ Week 12 results are expected to influence Jones’ decision, Schefter adds.
Jones is believed to be interested in joining a contender, and Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz points to several teams outside the NFL’s purple bastions as potential destinations. The Lions, 49ers and Dolphins are also expected to pursue Jones once he hits the open market at 3pm CT Monday. Schultz also mentions Minnesota and Baltimore as teams who will be in the mix for a player who would check in as a high-end backup at the very least this season.
Further adding to what looks like a hot market (in terms of team volume, not price), CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones first mentions the Bills as a team many around the league point to as a landing spot. Other sources, however, have viewed teams like the Chargers, Broncos and Browns as being in this equation. We are now at nearly a third of the NFL, showing the value a high-quality backup could bring to a team at this juncture.
A landing with a contender makes sense, but Jones will also have a true market should be hit free agency in 2025. With Jonathan Jones noting a deal for the sixth-year vet now will be for the prorated $1.1MM veteran minimum — with the Giants still owing Daniel Jones $13.81MM in guaranteed 2024 salary — a team could get a jump on the QB’s 2025 market by landing him now. On that note, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds the Raiders are believed to like Jones as a player. With Las Vegas set to shop for a quarterback again in 2025, an early audition now would be a way to conduct a more thorough evaluation. That said, Jones having many potential options and seeking a contender now would stand to impede the Raiders here.
The Lions have seen Jared Goff display durability since missing three games in 2021, but the team is carrying only developmental second-year player Hendon Hooker on its active roster behind its recently extended starter. No quarterback resides on Detroit’s practice squad. Staying in the NFC North, Minnesota does carry two active-roster backups (Nick Mullens, Brett Rypien); Jones would mark an insurance upgrade — though, joining a system in late November will be a challenge, Joe Flacco‘s 2023 Cleveland surge notwithstanding — by comparison.
Jones will count toward the 2025 compensatory formula, as ESPN.com’s Field Yates adds, helping to explain the Ravens’ interest. Not only has Baltimore dealt with several Lamar Jackson absences in recent years, the team has long benefited from its interest in comp picks. Jones would be in position, depending on a team’s 2025 free agency activity, to net a club a Day 3 choice if he again switches cities come March. With the Dolphins having added Tyler Huntley off the Ravens’ practice squad earlier this season, 38-year-old Josh Johnson stands as Jackson’s top backup.
Miami has obviously dealt with more concerning health issues with its starter, with Tua Tagovailoa‘s concussion trouble set to be a central storyline in Miami for the foreseeable future. Huntley is on IR, leaving Skylar Thompson — who proved overmatched when given the keys earlier this season — as the team’s only backup on its 53-man roster. The Bills have Mitch Trubisky as Josh Allen insurance, though the MVP frontrunner has not needed such protection due to a durable run. Allen’s run-game usage, however, invites risk, and many within the league view Buffalo — thanks to Brian Daboll having brought the Bills’ system to the Big Apple — as a live option here.
While Jones would upgrade the Broncos’ QB room, Sean Payton tampering with what has become a promising Bo Nix setup would be an interesting dice roll. The Chargers also obtained Taylor Heinicke via trade to bolster their depth chart behind Justin Herbert. The AFC West clubs are contending teams, however, presenting a draw the Raiders currently do not. Las Vegas does bring a wild card as a team that could use an immediate starter, thanks to Antonio Pierce‘s Gardner Minshew benching habit.
Lastly, the 49ers would offer considerable intrigue due to Brock Purdy‘s shoulder injury. The team ruled out Purdy for Week 12, though the blossoming starter is in play to return in Week 13. Jones, 27, would still stand to be interested in joining Kyle Shanahan‘s team due to the coach’s play-calling acumen. Following the likes of Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold as a late-season addition who parlayed a West Coast Offense stopover into a future starting role would naturally appeal, and Jones would in turn give San Francisco more cover than Brandon Allen and Josh Dobbs.
The Giants would pick up a small offset based on Jones’ vet-minimum salary this year, but they will still be on the hook to see all $22.2MM of his through-2026 contract hit the books next year. As Tommy DeVito prepares to return to New York’s starting lineup, the Jones market has become an interesting storyline. One team will receive an unexpected upgrade soon, with another Jones free agency trip likely come March.