Today’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: S Benny Sapp III
- Released: S Dane Cruikshank
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: OL Michael Jordan
- Released: OT Spencer Rolland
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: S Travion Fluellen
Derek Carr is not in the picture for the time being after he fractured his non-throwing hand yesterday. The veteran Saints passer could still be an option to see time at the end of the campaign, however. 
When addressing the matter on Monday, interim head coach Darren Rizzi said time will be needed for the swelling in Carr’s hand to subside. Options are being sought out he added (h/t ESPN’s Katherine Terrell), while noting the wrist is affected as well. Rizzi said (via Terrell) a move to injured reserve is not expected at this point.
An IR stint would ensure a four-game absence and guarantee – unless New Orleans were to make the postseason – Carr would be sidelined until 2025. The door is still open to a comeback at the end of this season as things stand, with Rizzi adding (via Terrell’s colleague Adam Schefter) surgery will not be needed. For the time being, though, the Saints will again look to their other QB options.
Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener are the team’s available passers with Carr out of the picture for the immediate term. Rattler has logged three starts, but he was unable to make a notable impact in any of them. Haener, meanwhile, has made a total of seven appearances this season, including Sunday when he took over following Carr’s injury. The 2023 fourth-rounder has also failed to put up encouraging numbers during his limited time at the helm on offense.
The Saints are 5-8 on the year, so a run at the postseason is unlikely at this point. That was already the case given the team’s other injuries on offense, let alone Carr going down for at least a few weeks. Provided New Orleans does not move him to IR, however, the possibility will remain that he could return to the lineup before the season is over.
DECEMBER 9: Carr is in fact dealing with a fracture in his left hand, per Rapoport and colleague Tom Pelissero. A multi-week absence is expected as a result, which could very well mean Carr will be out for the remainder of the season.
DECEMBER 8: The Saints’ 2024 NFL season has been a frustrating one full of streaks. Despite breaking up the streaks today with a win, an injury today could lead to another streak of losses to close the season. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, quarterback Derek Carr suffered a fracture in his left, non-throwing hand during today’s win over the Giants. 
In an effort to dive over several players to reach the first down marker, Carr was upended and landed directly on his hand and wrist. This led to the initial fear that he had suffered the fracture in his nondominant hand. He ended up leaving the stadium with the injured hand in a cast, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football.
The Saints began their season with two dominant wins, with the second coming against a team most thought would be a contender in the NFC. Looking back, the win over the Cowboys wasn’t quite as impressive as was initially thought, which was well-reflected in the six-game losing streak that would follow.
Part of the reason for that losing streak was the loss of Carr at quarterback. An oblique injury forced him to miss three games — all lopsided losses. With Carr out, the Saints opted to start rookie fifth-round pick Spencer Rattler out of South Carolina. In the three losses, Rattler averaged about 190 yards per game, throwing one touchdown to two interceptions. In the second and third starts of his career, Rattler saw second-year passer Jake Haener enter the game in relief of him.
It’s unclear if Carr will miss any time yet, but it’s highly likely. We often see defenders play with a club cast on an injured hand, but even though it’s not his throwing hand, it would be extremely difficult for Carr to receive the snap under center or catch a snap in shotgun with a cast on his left hand. Add in the risk of further damage with little left to play for as a 5-8 team with a difficult path to the playoffs ahead of them, and we may have seen the last of Carr this season.
If that’s the case, New Orleans will have to make a decision of whether to give Rattler or Haener more starting opportunities to close the year. Rattler has been deemed the investment piece so far but has ceded his responsibilities to Haener twice in three starts. Regardless, it does seem that Carr’s injury makes the outlook for the remainder of the Saints’ season a bit grim.
The Saints’ offense will once again have another option in the backfield starting tomorrow. Running back Kendre Miller has been activated from injured reserve, per a team announcement. 
Miller made a pair of appearances in October upon returning to action the first time this season. He was given the IR/designated for return designation many other players received during roster cuts this summer, ensuring missed time at the start of the campaign. Miller healed in full from his offseason hamstring injury, but he was again sidelined not long after making his season debut.
Now, the 2023 third-rounder will again have the opportunity to see playing time upon being activated from IR. Miller only received nine carries when he was in the lineup, but veteran Jamaal Williams has seen between zero and three carries per contest each game since Week 3. At least a somewhat notable workload could be in place for Miller moving forward while serving as a complement to Alvin Kamara.
In a corresponding move, guard Nick Saldiveri has been moved to IR. The 2023 fourth-rounder made only four appearances (and no starts) during his rookie campaign, but he has been a much more prominent O-line figure this year. Saldiveri has made six starts amongst his 11 total games in 2024, all of which have come at left guard. He currently ranks 60th out of 73 guards in terms of PFF grade, but his absence will add further to the injuries which have been felt at multiple spots up front this year in New Orleans.
The Saints have only two IR activations remaining for the season, and with five games left in the campaign Saldiveri (who will miss at least the next four contests) will likely not return in 2024. New Orleans’ latest changes on offense come as the 4-8 team prepares to play the Giants on Sunday.
Saturday’s minor transactions, including gameday practice squad elevations:
Atlanta Falcons
- Elevated: WR Chris Blair
Buffalo Bills
- Activated from IR: DT DeWayne Carter
- Elevated: S Lewis Cine, TE Zach Davidson
Carolina Panthers
- Elevated: WR Dan Chisena, LB Jacoby Windmon
Chicago Bears
- Elevated: S Adrian Colbert, RB Darrynton Evans
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Elevated: WR Joshua Cephus
Las Vegas Raiders
- Elevated: WR Kristian Wilkerson
Los Angeles Chargers
- Activated from IR: LB Junior Colson
- Elevated: RB Jaret Patterson, S Kendall Williamson
Los Angeles Rams
- Elevated: CB Charles Woods
Miami Dolphins
- Elevated: LS Zach Triner
Minnesota Vikings
- Activated from IR: LS Andrew DePaola, K Will Reichard (story)
- Elevated: OLB Gabriel Murphy
- Waived: K John Parker Romo
New Orleans Saints
- Signed to active roster: WR Kevin Austin, Dante Pettis
New York Giants
- Signed to active roster: DT Elijah Garcia, DE Casey Rogers
- Elevated: T Tyre Phillips, CB Greg Stroman
- Placed on IR: DT D.J. Davidson
- Waived: QB Tim Boyle
New York Jets
- Activated from IR: WR Allen Lazard, G Wes Schweitzer (story)
- Elevated: CB Kendall Sheffield
- Placed on IR: LB C.J. Mosley (story)
- Waived: C Connor McGovern
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed to active roster: TE E.J. Jenkins
- Elevated: FB Khari Blasingame, S Andre’ Sam
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed to active roster: LB Antonio Grier
- Elevated: P Jack Browning, CB Dallis Flowers
Tennessee Titans
- Signed to active roster: WR Mason Kinsey, DB Kendall Brooks
- Elevated: G Arlington Hambright, TE Thomas Odukoya
Eagles starting tight end Dallas Goedert has been placed on injured reserve, so Jenkins will come up from the practice squad for a little added depth.
Today’s minor NFL transactions:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Placed on IR: LB Logan Wilson (story)
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on IR: TE Taysom Hill (story)
New York Giants
- Claimed off waivers (from Seahawks): CB Dee Williams
Williams, an undrafted rookie out of Tennessee, had appeared in every game for Seattle so far this year. While he only managed four snaps on defense in that time, Williams was the team’s primary punt returner and was back on kickoffs, as well.
Today’s minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed to active roster: OT Andrew Stueber
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: WR Jaelon Darden
Dallas Cowboys
- Designated for return: CB Amani Oruwariye
Detroit Lions
- Waived: S Loren Strickland
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed to active roster: K Matthew Wright
- Placed on IR: K Spencer Shrader
Miami Dolphins
- Signed to active roster: OT Jackson Carman
- Designated for return: LS Blake Ferguson
- Placed on IR: CB Cam Smith
New Orleans Saints
- Suspended: S Roderic Teamer
New York Giants
- Designated for return: LB Dyontae Johnson
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed to active roster: TE C.J. Uzomah
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on IR: DT Kevin Givens
- Signed to active roster: RB Patrick Taylor
Tennessee Titans
- Designated for return: OT Jaelyn Duncan
Spencer Shrader‘s hamstring injury will knock him out for the next four weeks, and with Harrison Butker eventually set to return, the fill-in kicker’s stint with the Chiefs has likely come to an end. Temporarily, the team will turn to their third kicker in Matthew Wright. The veteran filled in for Shrader this past weekend, connecting on four of his five field goal tries.
Former Dolphins second-round pick Cam Smith landed on IR today, likely ending his disappointing sophomore campaign. The cornerback did get more run in 2024 vs. his rookie season, but he was still limited to only 16 tackles in six games thanks to a pair of IR stints. This time, it’s a shoulder issue that will put the South Carolina product on the shelf.
Saints safety Roderic Teamer was hit with a three-game ban today for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston. Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.football notes that Teamer’s unpaid ban is “the conclusion of his DUI arrest” in 2023 (when he was with the Raiders). Teamer was limited to only a pair of appearances this season, with all of his snaps coming on special teams.
Titans lineman Jaelyn Duncan returned to practice today after missing the past six games while nursing a hamstring injury. The former sixth-round pick could actually see a significant role upon his return, with Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com noting that the second-year player could get a look at right tackle once he’s fully healthy.
A popular name on this year’s head coaching carousel, Aaron Glenn will almost definitely reprise that role in 2025. The Lions have fared much better defensively this season, remaining on course despite losing early Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner Aidan Hutchinson. How the unit performs after more injuries have occurred will further shape Glenn’s candidacy.
One team that is expected to be in on Glenn next year will be the one that launched him onto the coordinator radar. The Saints are not expected to move on from GM Mickey Loomis, and that would strengthen the chances of Glenn receiving extensive consideration to return to New Orleans. The Saints are indeed expected to show interest in Glenn, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes. He was on the radar for the team back in 2022 as well.
Glenn, 52, worked as the Saints’ defensive backs coach from 2016-2020. This period coincided with New Orleans changing course on defense, rocketing from one of the league’s worst units to helping Drew Brees during his final seasons. The Saints made four straight playoff berths from 2017-20, with Glenn overseeing the development of Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Williams. The Lions took note, with ex-Saints tight ends coach Dan Campbell bringing him to Detroit.
Glenn’s Lions defenses have been a mixed bag. Detroit ran into consistent struggles on this side of the ball during its rebuild, with Glenn coming up as a coordinator on the hot seat early in 2022. Last season brought a collapse in the NFC championship game, as Detroit’s pass defense struggled down the stretch. The Lions ranked 23rd in scoring defense last season. This year, however, Glenn’s unit sits second despite the losses of Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport. The team has continued to play well despite losing linebacker regular Derrick Barnes, though recent injuries piling up at linebacker will test the unit ahead of a tough schedule sector.
The 2025 HC interview cycle could be crucial for Glenn, who has been a regular candidate for the past two offseasons. Glenn interviewed for four HC jobs last year, meeting with the Commanders twice. Though, Washington was widely believed to covet Glenn coworker Ben Johnson, who bowed out of the running late. He met with two teams about their vacancies in 2023 and two others in 2022. The 2022 cycle proves most relevant here, as the Saints conducted an interview ahead of their Dennis Allen promotion. Glenn worked under Allen throughout the latter’s run as New Orleans’ DC.
Considering Allen’s shortcomings, it would be interesting to see if the Saints again showed significant interest in another of Sean Payton‘s former lieutenants. This organization, however, has prioritized familiarity more than most this century. Holding his job for 23 years, Loomis is the NFL’s longest-tenured active GM — among non-owners who hold de facto GM titles — but the team is heading toward its fourth season missing the playoffs. It would stand to reason a reset of some sort would be strongly considered, but with Loomis on track to stay, Glenn appears firmly in play to come back.
Today’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: RB Elijah Dotson
- Released: LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams, K Riley Patterson
Buffalo Bills
- Released: WR Deon Cain
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: RB Emani Bailey, TE Dominique Dafney, LB Thomas Incoom, WR T.J. Luther
- Released: S Alex Cook, WR Sam Pinckney
- Placed on IR: RB Dillon Johnson, TE Stephen Sullivan
Chicago Bears
- Signed: RB Demetric Felton, G Austen Pleasants
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Maurice Alexander
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Liam Anderson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LS Tucker Addington, P Matt Haack, QB John Wolford
- Released: OL Jerome Carvin, DE Joe Gaziano, CB Tyler Hall
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: RB John Kelly
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DT Jack Heflin, NT Kevin Strong, DB Charles Woods
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: RB Myles Gaskin
New England Patriots
- Signed: DE Truman Jones
- Released: G Michael Jordan
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: S Millard Bradford, C Sincere Haynesworth
- Released: RB Jacob Kibodi
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: FB Khari Blasingame
- Released: WR John Ross
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Ronnie Bell, RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: NT Quinton Bohanna, C Mike Novitsky
- Released: TE N’Keal Harry
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.
DECEMBER 2: Hill is indeed out for the rest of the year, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. He suffered an ACL tear in addition to other damage, Rapoport adds. Attention will turn to recovery in anticipation of the 2025 campaign with Hill looking to reprise his role as a versatile figure on offense upon return.
DECEMBER 1: The Saints lost their do-it-all Swiss Army knife in today’s loss to the Rams. Veteran offensive weapon Taysom Hill was carted off with a knee injury, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that the injury is feared to be season-ending. 
Hill hasn’t had much of a history with injury during his NFL career, only missing multiple games due to injury in one of his seven previous seasons. Today’s injury, though, will likely force the BYU product to miss the team’s remaining five games.
Hill’s role with the Saints has evolved over the course of his career. The versatile athlete was claimed off of waivers by New Orleans after initially signing with the Packers as an undrafted free agent. After not appearing much his rookie year, the Saints utilized Hill mostly in the rushing game, sparsely using him as a receiver or quarterback in 2018. 2019 saw him develop as a receiver, with Hill catching a career-high six touchdowns that year.
The 2020 and 2021 seasons saw Hill’s receiving impact reduced as he began finding starts at his college position of quarterback, making nine starts at the position in the two years combined. The team made use of his arm but mostly concentrated on his running ability, allowing him to rack up 13 rushing touchdowns in that time.
In 2022, Hill returned to a primarily rushing role, notching a career-high 575 rushing yards while adding on seven touchdowns on the ground and two receiving, matching his career high in total touchdowns. Last season showed perhaps his most versatile season as his 401 rushing yards (four touchdowns) and 291 receiving yards (two touchdowns) combined for the most scrimmage yards in a season for his career.
This year, Hill is the team’s second leading rusher with 268 yards while matching Alvin Kamara with six rushing touchdowns. In the receiving game, Hill is fifth on the team with 18 receptions and has added 150 yards to his scrimmage yard total. Juwan Johnson will continue to perform as the team’s primary receiving tight end, while Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller are sure to benefit from some additional touches in the run game.
Because of his history at BYU, Hill entered the league at 27 years old and is 34 today. The veteran is due a $10MM base salary in his 35-year-old season, and the Saints don’t have much incentive to cut him as it would only free up $277K in cap space and leave them with $17.71MM in dead money in his contract year. It will be interesting to see how a player of his age and usage will be able to rebound from such a severe injury, but if he can, he has every incentive to return in 2025.
The Saints will have Hill undergo an MRI in order to determine the severity of the injury, but all signs are currently pointing to the initial diagnosis of a season-ending knee injury. If confirmed, a move to injured reserve for the remainder of the season is likely in order to free up a roster spot.