HEADLINES

Rams Place Rob Havenstein, Tyler Higbee, Quentin Lake On IR

November 19th, 2025 at 4:14pm CST by Connor Byrne

The Rams are losing a trio of key contributors for at least four games apiece. The team has placed right tackle Rob Havenstein, tight end Tyler Higbee, and safety Quentin Lake on IR, head coach Sean McVay announced (via Sarah Barshop of ESPN). McVay is hopeful all three will return this season.

Lake’s IR placement comes as no surprise after it was revealed Wednesday that he underwent elbow surgery. Havenstein played 100% of offensive snaps in a win over the Seahawks last Sunday, but McVay said he’s dealing with knee and ankle issues. Higbee suffered an ankle injury of his own against Seattle.

Havenstein’s ankle issue kept him out of three games earlier this season. When healthy enough to play in 2025, the 11th-year Ram has continued to serve as a full-time starter. Havenstein has started in all 148 regular-season games since the then-St. Louis Rams picked him in the second round of the 2015 draft.

Warren McClendon, who has made three starts this year, is likely to step in for Havenstein again. Meanwhile, the Rams will turn to tight ends Davis Allen, Colby Parkinson, and Terrance Ferguson to pick up the slack in Higbee’s absence.

Higbee, who has totaled 20 catches, 190 yards, and two touchdowns in nine games, leads Rams TEs with 318 offensive snaps. Allen (293) and Parkinson (248) aren’t far behind. Those two have combined for 28 receptions, 237 yards, and five scores. Ferguson was a second-round pick in last spring’s draft, but the rookie from Oregon hasn’t been a significant contributor so far. While Ferguson has averaged a whopping 27.6 yards per catch, he has only picked up five grabs through his first eight games.

Thanks in part to Havenstein, Higbee, and Lake, the Rams have gotten off to an 8-2 start. They’re right behind the Eagles, also 8-2, for the No.1 seed in the NFC. Aside from the NFC West rival Cardinals in Week 14, the Rams will face nothing but playoff contenders (the Buccaneers, Panthers, and Lions) during their four-game stretch without those three players.

NFL’s Paris Debut Expected To Include Saints, Could Take Place In 2026

November 19th, 2025 at 3:57pm CST by Adam La Rose

Europe remains a key target for the NFL’s ongoing international expansion. One of the cities yet to host a regular season game is Paris, but that could change soon.

France has been on the league’s radar since at least 2022. A number of new European markets have been explored in recent years, including debut regular games in Ireland and Spain taking place in 2025. Dublin and Madrid could very well continue to serve as host cities moving forward, and Paris could join them as early as next year.

“You might hear in the next couple weeks that we might be having a game internationally, and that game may be in Paris,” Saints president Dennis Lauscha said (via NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan). “We have the rights to the country of France and Monaco, so that makes so much sense, we think. We’re really excited about that [possibility].”

The Saints are currently the only NFL team with international marketing rights in France. As such, it would come as no surprise if they were to be the designated home team for the league’s first ever Paris contest. Lauscha added a game there could take place as early as next season. That timing would align with the NFL’s process in terms of evaluating venues and logistical matters relative to other new host cities.

The league hopes to stage eight international games in 2026. Broadly speaking, one of the league’s goals for continued growth outside the United States is to eventually have each team play one game overseas per year. That setup could very well include Paris on a regular basis. France’s largest venue is the Stade de France, and it would presumably play host to any games held in the country.

Divisional matchups have taken place in international games, but they are rare. As such, New Orleans’ opponent for any 2026 game to be held in Paris would likely come from the team’s remaining slate of home game. That leaves the Browns, Steelers, Packers and Vikings among the potential candidates to play in the league’s first France contest.

Cardinals Open RB Trey Benson’s Practice Window, Sign P Matt Haack

November 19th, 2025 at 3:19pm CST by Connor Byrne

A knee injury has kept Cardinals running back Trey Benson out for most of the season, but a return is on the horizon. The Cardinals opened his practice window on Wednesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. They’ll have 21 days to activate him from IR.

Benson totaled 29 carries and 160 yards (5.5 YPC) in four games before landing on the shelf on Oct. 1. The 2024 third-round pick went down the week after the Cardinals lost starting running back James Conner to a season-ending foot injury.

With Benson and Conner out of commission, the Cardinals have turned to Zonovan Knight, Emari Demercado, and Michael Carter as their top three backs. Knight and Carter have each averaged under 3.5 yards per carry on a combined 93 attempts.

Demercado has totaled just 31 carries, but he has managed an outstanding 7.8 yards per rush. However, he’ll miss this Sunday’s game against the Jaguars with an ankle injury. It’s unclear whether Benson will be available to help fill the void.

While Benson’s Week 12 status is up in the air, the Cardinals are guaranteed to debut a new punter. After cutting Pat O’Donnell on Tuesday, the team signed veteran Matt Haack to its active roster on Wednesday, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. Haack has played for five teams since his career began in 2017. His most recent action came over four games with the Giants last season. The 31-year-old owns a career average of 44.2 yards per punt with a net of 39.7.

Haack will be the third punter of 2025 for Arizona, which placed starter Blake Gillikin on IR with a back injury on Oct. 11. The Arizona State alumnus spent part of the 2023 offseason with the Cardinals. He tried out with the Cardinals when they were looking for Gillikin’s replacement, but they signed O’Donnell instead.

Raiders Activate QB Aidan O’Connell From IR

November 19th, 2025 at 2:37pm CST by Adam La Rose

Aidan O’Connell has yet to play this season while recovering from a fractured wrist. The third-year quarterback is now in position to return to the Raiders’ gameday lineup, however.

O’Connell was activated from injured reserve on Wednesday, per a team announcement. The 27-year-old suffered his injury in training camp, ensuring missed time during the regular season would be in store. Many expected the Raiders to move O’Connell to IR during roster cutdowns and in doing so make hi m one of many players around the league who were designated for return at that point.

Instead, Vegas carried O’Connell on the roster until moving him to IR one day after cutdowns. In need of a backup option, the team traded for Kenny Pickett in a move which cleared some of Cleveland’s quarterback logjam ahead of the season. Pickett has made a pair of appearances so far this year.

Geno Smith has handled QB1 duties in 2025, his reunion season with head coach Pete Carroll. Things have not gone according to plan on offense for the 2-8 Raiders, but no change under center is currently receiving consideration. Smith will continue in the starter’s role as a result. O’Connell could replace Pickett as the Raiders’ backup, though. Pickett is a pending free agent while O’Connell’s rookie deal runs through 2026.

Taken in the fourth round of the 2023 draft by a previous Raiders regime, O’Connell has made 17 starts to date in his career. The Purdue product – whose practice window was opened three weeks ago – is not in position to add to that total any time soon. Still, it will be interesting to see how O’Connell is handled by the Raiders under Carroll and first-year general manager John Spytek moving forward.

Today’s move leaves the Raiders with six IR activations on the year. O’Connell’s first game action could come as early as Week 12 against the Browns.

Bears Designate Kyler Gordon To Return From IR

November 19th, 2025 at 2:03pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Bears designated cornerback Kyler Gordon to return from injured reserve on Wednesday, per a team announcement.

Gordon has dealt with multiple injuries already this season. His hamstring sidelined him for the first five weeks of the year, though he was not placed on an injured list. He went down again in Week 7 with groin and calf issues that landed him on injured reserve in late October.

The Bears expressed optimism last week that Gordon would return this year (along with fellow injured cornerback Jaylon Johnson). That optimism has materialized in the form of a return to practice, bringing Gordon one step closer to re-joining his team on game days.

Gordon broke out in 2024 as one of the league’s top slot corners and earned a three-year, $40MM extension this offseason. During his first stint on the sidelines this year, Nick McCloud stepped up as the Bears’ nickel. During his second absence, the Bears have relied on C.J. Gardner-Johnson in the slot, who arrived in Chicago shortly after Gordon was placed on injured reserve.

Head coach Ben Johnson praised Gardner-Johnson on Wednesday when asked about the team’s plans for Gordon’s return, saying (via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin) that the veteran safety is “a guy we’re going to want on the field.”

The Bears have a few different options to use both Gordon and Gardner-Johnson once Gordon is ready to play. Obviously, rotating the two early on would be an effective way to ease Gordon back into action, which may be a key consideration after multiple injuries this season. Gardner-Johnson has also played 47 snaps in the box (and 16 off the edge) in his last two games in Chicago, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), so he could take on a prominent role in

Gordon will have 21 days to practice with the team before he must be activated to the 53-man roster or revert to season-ending injured reserve.

Jets CB Kris Boyd Upgraded To Stable Condition

November 19th, 2025 at 1:56pm CST by Adam La Rose

NOVEMBER 19: Boyd has been upgraded to stable condition, an NYPD spokesman announced Wednesday (via Rich Cimini of ESPN). Jets teammates Jamien Sherwood and Irvin Charles were with Boyd when the shooting occurred, Cimini reports. No arrests have been made.

NOVEMBER 18: Jets cornerback Kris Boyd remains in hospital at this time as he continues to recover from the gunshot wound he suffered over the weekend. More details on his situation have emerged.

The bullet which struck Boyd in his abdomen wound up being lodged in his lung, per a report from Bill Hutchinson and Aaron Katersky of ABC News. The report adds that Boyd has undergone “multiple medical procedures” since arriving at Bellevue Hospital in New York. The 29-year-old remains in critical but stable condition at this time.

NYPD detectives were able to speak with Boyd shortly after he was hospitalized, per the report. He informed police he spent Saturday night at Sei Less restaurant with a group of friends. While departing the restaurant after it closed around 2:00am Sunday morning, Boyd and his party engaged in a confrontation with another group. The situation resulted in Boyd being shot by the suspect who has yet to be apprehended.

Detectives hope to be able to speak further with Boyd when he is in position to do so. It remains to be seen when that will be the case, although an update provided on Sunday by one of his friends was encouraging with respect to a full recovery being possible. Keeping in line with their original statement on the matter, the Jets have not commented since the incident.

A seventh-round pick in 2019, Boyd entered the NFL as a member of the Vikings. He spent his first four seasons in Minnesota before splitting the 2023 campaign with the Cardinals and Texans. The Texas product spent all of last year with Houston before joining the Jets in free agency. Boyd was moved to season-ending IR in August, setting him up for a lengthy recovery process on the injury front. The earliest point at which he can suit up is the start of the 2026 season, although attention is of course currently focused on his current situation.

Falcons To Activate LB Divine Deablo From IR

November 19th, 2025 at 1:39pm CST by Connor Byrne

The Falcons opened linebacker Divine Deablo‘s 21-day practice window on Monday, but he won’t need the full three weeks to return from IR. The team will activate Deablo on Wednesday, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Head coach Raheem Morris said he expects Deablo to play on Sunday against the Saints.

Deablo went down with a fractured left forearm in a loss to the 49ers in Week 7, the beginning of a ruinous skid for the Falcons. That was the first of five straight defeats for Atlanta, which has fallen to 3-7. It’s unlikely the team will rally into playoff contention, especially with starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. set to undergo season-ending ACL surgery.

The 2025 campaign has turned into a massive disappointment for the Falcons, who entered it hoping to push for an NFC South title. Deablo was an obvious bright spot before he suffered his injury, however.

A former Raider, the 27-year-old Deablo has started in each of his first six games as a Falcon and notched 24 tackles, four passes defensed, and 0.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus grades Deablo’s performance fourth among 81 qualifying linebackers. The Falcons couldn’t have asked for more when they signed Deablo to a two-year, $14MM contract last March.

Atlanta’s defense ranked second in the NFL in yards and eighth in scoring at the time of Deablo’s injury. The unit has fallen to 16th and 19th in those categories. Deablo’s absence obviously hasn’t been the sole reason for such a drastic decline, but it hasn’t helped. JD Bertrand and Ronnie Harrison have been defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich‘s main Deablo replacements over the past several weeks. Now that he’s returning, Deablo should slot back in alongside Kaden Elliss as the Falcons’ top two LBs.

Rams S Quentin Lake To Miss Time After Elbow Surgery

November 19th, 2025 at 1:10pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

1:10pm: Lake underwent surgery on his elbow, per Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The Rams are hoping their versatile safety is back for the postseason, if not sooner.

10:19am: Rams safety Quentin Lake is expected to miss multiple games due to an elbow injury, per Adam Grosbard of the Los Angeles Daily News.

Head caoch Sean McVay said on Monday that the team is waiting for MRI results to determine a plan for Lake moving forward. McVay left the door open to surgery and/or a stint on injured reserve.

Lake injured his elbow in the Rams’ win over the Seahawks on Sunday. The fourth-year safety has been playing the ‘Star’ role in Los Angeles once held by Jalen Ramsey. Most of Lake’s snaps have come out of the slot with a healthy dose of work as a free safety and a dimebacker in the box, plus a handful of snaps off the edge.

After emerging as a full-time starter in 2024, Lake has grown into an impact player this season. His 61 tackles rank third on the Rams defense and he leads the unit with 10 passes defended, which is a career-high through just 10 games. His two tackles for loss are a career-high, too, and Lake also notched his first-ever interception in Week 6 against the Ravens.

It will be hard for one player to replace Lake given his variety of roles in the defense. Second-year defensive back Josh Wallace stepped up in the slot on Sunday and will likely handle most of those snaps moving forward. Jaylen McCollough – also a second-year DB – can pick up Lake’s work in the box, while Kamren Curl and Kamren Kinchens have been starting at free safety. Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula also likes to move his safeties around and will have a few options to mix-and-match players with different roles during Lake’s absence.

Jets Bench QB Justin Fields; Tyrod Taylor To Start In Week 12

November 19th, 2025 at 12:45pm CST by Connor Byrne

NOVEMBER 19: Glenn confirmed on Wednesday that Taylor, not Fields, would start in Baltimore on Sunday.

When asked why he made the call, Glenn responded, “Because I wanted to,” per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. While he may be continuing a somewhat adversarial relationship with the New York press corps, he may also be signaling that he, not notoriously meddlesome owner Woody Johnson, made the decision to bench Fields for Taylor.

NOVEMBER 17: The Jets are making a change at quarterback. Tyrod Taylor will start over Justin Fields in Week 12 against the Ravens, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports.

The Jets signed Fields, previously with the Bears and Steelers, to a two-year, $40MM contract last offseason. The former first-round pick got off to a solid start in a Week 1 loss to the Steelers, but his production has nosedived since then.

Owner Woody Johnson publicly criticized Fields’ performance after a Week 7 loss to the Panthers. Expectations were that Taylor would take over in the wake of Johnson’s scathing remarks, but a knee injury temporarily prevented that from happening.

At 0-7 when Johnson called out Fields, the Jets proceeded to win back-to-back games. Fields threw for 244 yards in a 39-38 victory over the Bengals. He managed just 54 in a 27-20 win over the Browns the next week, though a tremendous special teams showing helped make up for it.

Even though Fields finally strung together a couple of wins, last Thursday’s outing was enough to convince first-year head coach Aaron Glenn to go in another direction. In a 27-14 loss to the AFC East rival Patriots, Fields went 15 of 26 for 116 yards and a touchdown. As has typically been the case, the mobile Fields was more impressive on the ground, totaling 67 yards and a TD on 11 rushes.

Fields will head to the bench with a 62.7% completion rate, 1,259 yards (6.2 YPA), seven TDs, and an interception through nine games. He has added 383 more yards (5.4 per carry) and four TDs as a runner, but his 37.7 QBR ranks 30th in the NFL. The Jets are last in the league in passing and 25th in scoring.

Regardless of whether Fields plays again this year, the Jets will have to determine his future in the offseason. He’s owed a guaranteed $10MM in 2026, and releasing him would add $22MM in dead cap. They’re already on the hook for $35MM in dead money for next year after releasing Fields’ predecessor, Aaron Rodgers, last offseason.

Now that he’s taking over for Fields, Taylor will face the Ravens 14 years after he began his career with them as a 2011 sixth-round pick from Virginia Tech. The 36-year-old has appeared in games with six other teams since then. Taylor made one start earlier this year, a Week 3 loss to the Buccaneers, while filling in for an injured Fields. He has completed 62.3% of passes for 379 yards, three TDs, and three INTs in three appearances this season.

Colts Designate CB Charvarius Ward, LB Jaylon Carlies For Return

November 19th, 2025 at 12:15pm CST by Connor Byrne

The AFC South-leading Colts are off to an 8-2 start and vying for the No. 1 seed in the conference. Their chances to secure the AFC’s top spot could increase if they welcome back corner Charvarius Ward and linebacker Jaylon Carlies in the coming weeks. The team announced that it has designated both players to return from IR.

The Colts will have 21 days to activate Ward and Carlies. Ward has been on the shelf with a concussion since Oct. 18, while Carlies hasn’t played at all this season as a result of an ankle injury. He landed on IR with a designation for return in August.

After spending three seasons in San Francisco, Ward joined the Colts on a three-year, $60MM contract last March. Two concussions have limited the former Pro Bowler to four games (all starts) this season, but he has thrived when healthy.

Pro Football Focus rated Ward as the league’s second-best cornerback at the time of his IR placement. The 29-year-old has recorded 13 tackles and three passes defensed this season.

Just under three weeks after they put Ward on IR, the Colts swung a blockbuster deal for Jets star corner Sauce Gardner at the Nov. 4 trade deadline. If Ward comes back this year, he will join Gardner and nickel corner Kenny Moore to comprise one of the league’s best trios on paper. Gardner led Colts CBs in snaps in his debut with the team in Week 10, a 31-25 win over the Falcons in Berlin. Mekhi Blackmon started opposite Gardner on the outside.

With the Colts coming off a bye, Ward could return as early as this Sunday for a highly anticipated matchup with the Chiefs – one of his former teams. Carlies may join him as a reinforcement.

A 2024 fifth-round pick from Missouri, where he played safety, Carlies started in six of 10 appearances and made 36 tackles as a rookie. Although Carlies missed seven games with a leg injury in 2024 and underwent offseason shoulder surgery, the Colts expected him to work as a full-time starter alongside Zaire Franklin this year. Carlies’ ankle issue has prevented him from factoring in, however.

Germaine Pratt, who signed with the Colts in October, has taken over as a starter next to Franklin. Even if Pratt continues to hold down that spot, Carlies’ comeback would give defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo another intriguing option.

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