Giants Place Four On IR
The Raiders have moved Brock Bowers to injured reserve and shut down Maxx Crosby for the remainder of the season in advance of their Week 17 game. The Giants will likewise be shorthanded tomorrow. 
New York has placed left tackle Andrew Thomas, center John Michael Schmitz, safety Tyler Nubin and defensive lineman D.J. Davidson on injured reserve, per a team announcement. IR stints require an absence of at least four weeks. The Giants have long been out of playoff contention, so today’s news ensures none of the four players listed will play again in 2025.
Thomas and Schmitz had already been ruled out for Week 17, leaving the Giants thin up front for their critical game against the Raiders. Both teams are currently 2-13, and the loser will have pole position for the No. 1 selection in April’s draft. It comes as no surprise both Vegas and New York are proceeding with rosters at less than full strength for the closing weeks of the season.
Nubin has remained a full-time starter during his second season with the Giants. The 2024 second-rounder’s campaign ends with 78 tackles and a pair of pass deflections, although he has struggled in coverage compared to his rookie year. Nubin, 24, has allowed a passer rating of 132.2 and four touchdowns as the nearest defender in 2025.
Davidson has totaled 47 appearances and four starts across his time in New York. The 26-year-old’s rookie contract is set to expire in March, so unlike the other players sidelined the rest of the way his attention will now turn to free agency. The Giants, meanwhile, will look elsewhere on the roster for Weeks 17 and 18.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/27/25
Here are today’s minor moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations for the penultimate weekend of the regular season:
Baltimore Ravens
- Activated from IR: LB Jay Higgins IV
Buffalo Bills
- Signed from practice squad: TE Keleki Latu
- Elevated: K Michael Badgley, DE Andre Jones Jr.
- Waived: WR Mecole Hardman Jr.
Chicago Bears
- Activated from IR: G Luke Newman
- Elevated: CB Dallis Flowers, WR JP Richardson
- Waived: DT Jonathan Ford
Cincinnati Bengals
- Elevated: DT Howard Cross III, CB Bralyn Lux
Cleveland Browns
- Elevated: TE Sal Cannella, QB Bailey Zappe
Green Bay Packers
- Elevated: TE Drake Dabney, QB Clayton Tune
Indianapolis Colts
- Activated from IR: WR Ashton Dulin
- Signed from practice squad: DT Chris Wormley
- Elevated: C Jimmy Morrissey, G Josh Sills
- Placed on IR: WR Anthony Gould, TE Andrew Ogletree
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Elevated: G Jerome Carvin, S Juan Thornhill
Miami Dolphins
- Activated from IR: OL Andrew Meyer
- Signed from practice squad: WR Theo Wease Jr.
- Placed on IR: WR Dee Eskridge, CB Isaiah Johnson, DT Benito Jones
- Elevated: LB Derrick McLendon, OL Josh Priebe
New Orleans Saints
- Elevated: WR Ronnie Bell, TE Treyton Welch
New York Giants
- Signed from practice squad: DE Elijah Chatman, C Bryan Hudson, S Raheem Layne, K Ben Sauls
- Elevated: TE Zach Davidson, RE Dante Miller
New York Jets
- Signed from practice squad: CB Tre Brown, G Marquis Hayes, WR Quentin Skinner
- Elevated: QB Hendon Hooker
Philadelphia Eagles
- Elevated: CB Brandon Johnson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Elevated: T Jack Driscoll, CB D’Shawn Jamison
San Francisco 49ers
- Elevated: LB Eric Kendricks, TE Brayden Willis
Seattle Seahawks
- Elevated: RB Cam Akers, T Amari Kight
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Elevated: OLB Jason Pierre-Paul
Tennessee Titans
- Elevated: CB Kemon Hall
- Placed on IR: CB Marcus Harris
With Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox both dealing with injuries, the Bills add Latu to the 53-man roster for depth. To make room, Buffalo has parted ways with the veteran, Hardman, just a week after activating him from injured reserve.
A number of players are being called up as standard gameday practice squad elevations for the third and final time on their current contracts. This is the case for Flowers in Chicago, Zappe in Cleveland, Sills in Indianapolis, Driscoll in Pittsburgh, and Kight in Seattle. If their respective teams wish to see them appear in another game this year, they will need to be signed to the 53-man roster, as was done with Wormley in Indianapolis and Chatman in New York this week after they exhausted their three elevations already this year.
Injury Updates: Wright, Giants, Adams
A handful of notable injury updates heading into Week 17:
- Set to face the 49ers on Sunday in a battle of NFC heavyweights, the Bears may go without right tackle Darnell Wright. The 24-year-old is questionable with an illness, and he will not join the team in traveling to San Francisco on Saturday, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. Since going 10th overall in the 2023 draft, Wright has started in all 47 NFL appearances, including 14 this year. If Wright can’t go on Sunday, it’s likely Theo Benedet will start in his place.
- Giants tight end Theo Johnson (illness) and center John Michael Schmitz (finger) are the latest starters the team has ruled out for Sunday, joining left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring). The Giants and Raiders, both 2-13, will square off with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft likely at stake. The Raiders decided earlier this week to shut down their two best players, defensive end Maxx Crosby and tight end Brock Bowers, ahead of what could be a franchise-altering game.
- The Rams are likely to go a second straight week without star wide receiver Davante Adams. He’ll be listed as doubtful for Monday’s matchup against the Falcons, Schefter relays. With the postseason nearing, the Rams are playing it safe with Adams, who aggravated a hamstring injury in Week 15. Adams, the Rams’ top Puka Nacua complement, leads the league with 14 touchdown grabs.
- The Jaguars have downgraded running back Bhayshul Tuten from questionable to out for Sunday’s meeting with the Colts. Tuten suffered a finger injury in a Week 15 win over the Jets and subsequently underwent surgery, keeping the rookie fourth-rounder out of last Sunday’s victory in Denver. Tuten ranks second among Jaguars RBs in carries (78), yards (284) and touchdowns (four), trailing Travis Etienne in those categories. LeQuint Allen will back up Etienne on Sunday as the hard-charging Jags go for their seventh win in a row.
Giants DL Coach Andre Patterson Battled Cancer This Season
Giants defensive line coach Andre Patterson recently revealed (via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan) that he has been battling prostate cancer this season.
He was diagnosed earlier this year and opted to continue coaching while undergoing treatment, though assistant defensive line coach Bryan Cox was on hand for any of Patterson’s absences. Cox was fired at the beginning of December due in part to his objection to a seating rearrangement on the Giants’ plane home from their Week 13 loss in New England, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan.
Patterson, 65, has coached football for more than 40 years with time at the high school, college, and professional levels. He has been in New York since Brian Daboll was hired in 2022; prior to that, he spent 2014 to 2021 as the Vikings defensive line coach under Mike Zimmer. This is his 21st season coaching in the NFL.
Patterson shared his diagnosis with the Giants’ defensive line room, but not with the entire team. Players said that they did not notice a difference in Patterson’s energy or demeanor during his ordeal.
“There’s no drop-off. So he’s still the same dude,” defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris said. “If he didn’t tell us anything, we wouldn’t have known. That’s what kind of dude he is. There’s no drop-off. Like I said, he’s the same guy every day.”
Patterson revealed his diagnosis publicly to raise awareness about prostate cancer and encourage others to get checked. He has also used this personal struggle to teach his players.
“I tell my guys all the time, if all I do is teach you how to be a good football player, I’m cheating you,” Patterson said. “I have to help you with life’s journey. So we talk about things other than football a lot because my job is to also prepare them for what life is going to give them when they are no longer a football player.”
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/26/25
Today’s few taxi squad transactions:
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: TE Tanner McLachlan
New York Giants
- Signed: S Patrick McMorris
After spending the summer with the team that drafted him in Miami and failing to make the Dolphins’ initial 53-man roster, McMorris spent nearly three weeks with New York’s practice squad. Since then, the second-year Cal product has been off and on with the Cardinals’ taxi squad up until his release on Christmas Eve. He’ll now revisit the Giants as a member of their practice squad in the closing weeks of the regular season.
Titans, Others Have Done Research On Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman
With two weeks left in the regular season, it won’t be long before NFL teams begin making head coaching changes. The Giants and Titans got started early when they dismissed their head coaches in the fall. At least a few other teams are sure to join them in the first half of January.
It’s likely the vast majority of HC candidates will bring some NFL coaching experience to the table. Although Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman doesn’t check that box, his name has come up in regards to NFL jobs on a couple of occasions in recent weeks. No team has made an official request to speak with Freeman yet, but he is expected to receive opportunities, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.
Multiple clubs – including the Titans – have done research on the 39-year-old Freeman, per Fowler. Add Freeman to a growing list of possibilities for the Titans, who fired Brian Callahan on Oct. 13. Now 3-12, Tennessee will finish the season with interim head coach Mike McCoy before potentially turning to Freeman.
Briefly an NFL linebacker, Freeman began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Ohio State, in 2010. Later an assistant at Kent State, Purdue and Cincinnati, he took over as Notre Dame’s sideline leader in late 2021. The Fighting Irish have gone 43-12 since then. Pro organizations seem likely to come calling as a result, though multiple coaches with ties to Freeman told Fowler they don’t expect him to make the jump. Freeman, one of college football’s highest-paid HCs, may be content to stay in South Bend, Ind.
If Freeman does entertain a leap to the next level, the Giants figure to have interest, according to Fowler. That jibes with previous reports, though Albert Breer of SI.com doesn’t regard Freeman as a “runaway front-runner” for the job. The Giants are in the market after cutting ties with Brian Daboll on Nov. 10. They’ve since fallen to 2-13 with five straight losses under interim choice Mike Kafka, making it likely their next HC will come from outside the organization.
While Freeman to New York looks like a possibility, Breer “wouldn’t bet” on him moving to the NFL yet. If that proves true, the Titans, Giants and any other franchises that may have interest in Freeman will have to look elsewhere during the upcoming hiring cycle.
Updated 2026 NFL Draft Order
Several dominoes have fallen so far in Week 16 with respect to the NFL’s playoff picture. The Cowboys have been eliminated while the Patriots, Seahawks, Bears, Eagles and 49ers have locked in a postseason berth.
The final two weeks of the campaign will determine the remaining playoff spots, but they will also sort out the top of the draft order. Six teams remain within striking distance of the No. 1 pick, although the Titans’ win on Sunday greatly weakened their chances of landing the top selection for the second year in a row. One contest in particular will be worth monitoring next week with respect to draft positioning.
The Giants and Raiders each sport a record of 2-13. They will play each other in Week 17, meaning the loser of that contest will have the inside track for the No. 1 pick. New York already has a head coaching vacancy while Pete Carroll is in danger of going one-and-done in Vegas. Plenty of incentive for winning will exist for Carroll in particular, but the outcome of that game will have major implications on the draft order.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2025 standings plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. Playoff squads are slotted by their postseason outcome and the reverse order of their regular season record.
Here is an updated look at the first-round order:
- New York Giants (2-13)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-13)
- Cleveland Browns (3-12)
- New York Jets (3-12)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-12)
- Tennessee Titans (3-12)
- Washington Commanders (4-11)
- New Orleans Saints (5-10)
- Cincinnati Bengals (5-10)
- Miami Dolphins (6-9)
- Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-9)
- Dallas Cowboys (6-8-1)
- Baltimore Ravens (7-8)
- Minnesota Vikings (7-8)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8)
- Detroit Lions (8-7)
- New York Jets (via Colts)
- Carolina Panthers (8-7)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6)
- Dallas Cowboys (via Packers)
- Philadelphia Eagles (10-5)
- Houston Texans (10-5)
- Buffalo Bills (11-4)
- Los Angeles Chargers (11-4)
- San Francisco 49ers (11-4)
- Cleveland Browns (via Jaguars)
- Los Angeles Rams (11-4)
- Chicago Bears (11-4)
- New England Patriots (12-3)
- Denver Broncos (12-3)
- Seattle Seahawks (12-3)
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/22/25
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: S Tysheem Johnson
Houston Texans
- Signed: DL Leki Fotu
New England Patriots
- Placed on practice squad/injured: TE Thomas Odukoya
New York Giants
- Released: P Cameron Johnston
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Tyler Hall
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: LB Nick Jackson
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: NT Isaiah Raikes, LB Cam Riley
- Released: WR Kristian Wilkerson
After getting waived by the Bills in November, Cameron Johnston caught on with the Giants as insurance for Jamie Gillan. Johnston ended up getting into one game for his new squad, punting four times for 22.8 net yards per punt. The team held on to the veteran to make sure Gillan made it through his return unscathed. Apparently everything checked out, and the Giants will proceed with just one punter in their organization for the rest of the season.
Marcus Freeman’s Desire To Depart Notre Dame Unclear; Latest On Giants’ Interest
Not long after the Giants dismissed head coach Brian Daboll, Marcus Freeman emerged as a potential replacement candidate. The Notre Dame coach is still under contract, though, and he is positioned to remain among the best-compensated college staffers in the country moving forward. 
It was reported earlier this month that Freeman is indeed on New York’s list of interview targets for the head coaching spot. The 39-year-old’s stock has risen throughout his time leading the Fighting Irish, making him one of the top candidates for the upcoming hiring cycle. The Giants remain a team to watch closely regarding Freeman at this point.
SNY’s Connor Hughes confirms as much, although he adds to no surprise the matter of New York’s interest is not the only factor in play. It remains to be seen how willing Freeman will be to depart Notre Dame to take an NFL gig in general and the Giants’ in particular. The Irish have gone 43-12 during his four full seasons at the helm, and expectations will remain high for the 2024 national runners-up for years to come.
Of course, things could change on that front if Freeman were to jump to the NFL. Interest from teams other than the Giants would come as no surprise once interview season begins. In the event New York were to land Freeman, Hughes notes Mike Kafka could remain in the organization. Kafka – who began the year as the Giants’ offensive coordinator – took on the interim HC role after Daboll’s firing. Per Hughes, he could return to the OC spot if Freeman were to be hired as head coach.
Kafka himself represents one option for the Giants in their upcoming HC search, along with current NFL defensive coordinators such as Jeff Hafley (Packers) and Lou Anarumo (Colts). The future of general manager Joe Schoen is unclear at this point, although he expects to continue in his current capacity for a fifth season. Whether or not his presence – should that expectation be met – proves to be a deterrent for the top candidates will make for an intriguing storyline.
In the meantime, Freeman’s attention will turn to his NFL suitors. His decision on accepting a pro job (in New York or elsewhere) will represent one of the key dominoes in the 2026 hiring cycle.
Giants Place OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux On IR, Activate CB Art Green
Kayvon Thibodeaux will not return in 2025. The fourth-year edge rusher has been placed on injured reserve, the Giants announced on Saturday. 
A shoulder sprain has kept Thibodeaux sidelined for the past three games. He has yet to practice during that period, meaning today’s move comes as little surprise. A stint on IR requires at least a four-week absence, and (having been eliminated from playoff contention) the Giants only have three games remaining.
With Thibodeaux now out for the remainder of the campaign (one in which he posted just 2.5 sacks and 11 pressures), attention will turn to his upcoming contract year. The former No. 5 pick had his fifth-year option picked up, leaving him in place for 2026. He is due to collect $14.75MM next year as a result.
The Giants already have one big-money pass rusher on the books in the form of Brian Burns. Abdul Carter – drafted third overall in April – profiles as a potential Thibodeaux replacement in the long term, although his rookie season has not gone as planned. Carter (who, in a recent uptick, has posted one sack in each of his past two games) should continue to see an elevated role to close out the year.
In a corresponding move, the Giants have activated Art Green from IR. The second-year corner returned to practice last week, and he will now be available to play tomorrow. Green has yet to play on defense this season; that will likely remain the case down the stretch, but he can be expected to reprise his role as a key figure on special teams.
Today’s news means New York has three IR activations remaining for the year. The Giants will close out their schedule with games against the Vikings, Raiders and Cowboys.