HEADLINES

Bengals Unlikely To Trade Trey Hendrickson

October 22nd, 2025 at 10:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bengals deviated from their general stance against in-season trades for players by acquiring Joe Flacco from the Browns. To the chagrin of Mike Tomlin, that trade has already proven beneficial — after the Bengals upended the Steelers in Week 7.

Prior to that game, a host of Trey Hendrickson rumors emerged. Cincinnati is not typically helpful for buyers at the trade deadline, either, though Hendrickson’s contract-year status naturally influenced contenders to closely monitor this situation. With the Bengals now 3-4, do not expect them to part with their best defensive player.

A Hendrickson trade will not happen, according to The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. The Bengals would lose their right to keep Hendrickson via the franchise tag by moving him now, and with the team having narrowed its AFC North deficit (in a season that has brought a stunning 1-5 Ravens start), it makes sense for the typically rigid team to hold tight here.

If a club were to acquire Hendrickson, the Bengals also may not be especially helpful in terms of picking up salary. With Hendrickson on a $16MM base salary in his walk year, game checks come in at nearly $1MM apiece. That is a big haul for a team to add halfway through a season. As it stands, that appears a moot point.

Endless Hendrickson-Cincy rumors related to the All-Pro defensive end’s extension talks did not produce a deal this offseason, with the team circling back on a late-August raise rather than agreeing on a post-2025 contract. This came after a host of trade rumors at multiple junctures. The Bengals set a lofty asking price in March, seeking more than a first-round pick for the 30-year-old edge rusher. Although they were believed to have dropped that price by August, no trade commenced. This led the sides to come back to the negotiating table.

Hendrickson sought guarantees beyond Year 1 of an extension; the Bengals’ offers did not include such terms, leading the sides to compromise with this raise. That bump will make Hendrickson harder to move, but his consecutive 17.5-sack seasons naturally still make him an appealing commodity on the trade market.

The 49ers came up as a suitor and have been expected to check in. The Colts, who employ longtime Hendrickson DC Lou Anarumo now, join the Eagles and Cowboys as other teams with interest. Those teams are almost definitely going to need to pivot to other options. While the Bengals slipping up against the Jets or Bears at home before the deadline could change the equation, they are set to stand pat right now.

Hendrickson’s ninth season has brought a team-high four sacks and eight QB hits. The Bengals still rank 31st defensively, struggling to start Al Golden‘s DC tenure. Seeing as Cincinnati’s defensive struggles last year prevented an MVP-caliber Joe Burrow season and a Ja’Marr Chase triple-crown effort from producing a playoff berth, Golden’s unit will need to improve quickly. Hendrickson, though, will remain as the team’s centerpiece player on that side of the ball.

Patriots Expected To Search For Edge Help

October 22nd, 2025 at 10:09pm CST by Connor Byrne

While it’s up in the air how much activity will take place before the trade deadline, pass rushers and wide receivers are the positions that are the most in demand leading up to Nov. 4, according to Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports. At 5-2 and leading the AFC East, the Patriots are among buyers expected to push for an edge rusher, Chad Graff of The Athletic reports.

Led by new head coach Mike Vrabel, the Patriots have already surpassed the four wins they posted during Jerod Mayo‘s lone season at the helm in 2024. They’ve won four in a row to set themselves up as deadline buyers. With the most cap room in the league (around $55MM), the Patriots are in prime position to make a splash over the next couple of weeks.

The Patriots have been effective at taking down opposing quarterbacks this year, which has helped lead to their successful start. They rank 11th in the league in sacks with 18, but most of those have come from three players – offseason additions Harold Landry (5.5), K’Lavon Chaisson (4.5), and Milton Williams (3.5).

Landry and Chaisson have been among the league’s best edge players when it comes to pass run win rate, per ESPN Analytics. The same is true of Williams and fellow Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore, though the latter hasn’t picked up a sack yet.

While it’s unclear which edge players the Patriots have targeted to join their pass-rushing group, it’s unlikely they or anyone else will pry prized defensive end Trey Hendrickson from the Bengals. Likewise, the Raiders aren’t trading Maxx Crosby.

The division rival Jets (Jermaine Johnson, Will McDonald) and Dolphins (Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, and former Patriot Matt Judon) could have edge help for sale, but they may be reluctant to deal with the Patriots. The Saints’ Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson have come up as trade candidates. Meanwhile, the Titans’ Arden Key and Dre’Mont Jones might be part of a pre-deadline fire sale. Key played under Vrabel with the Titans in 2023.

Jets Designate LB Quincy Williams For Return From IR

October 22nd, 2025 at 10:02pm CST by Ely Allen

The Jets are hoping to see the return of an All-Pro on defense soon after designating linebacker Quincy Williams for his return from injured reserve. Williams has been out since New York’s Week 3 loss to the Buccaneers, and will now face a 21-day practice window, during which he can return to the active roster at any time. If he fails to be activated, though, he will revert to season-ending IR.

That likely is not a possibility, or at least, not an expected one. When the 29-year-old suffered a shoulder injury, the Jets realized that he would likely be out for a good stretch of time, but they did not consider him to be in danger of missing the remainder of the season. New York has been quiet on Williams’ progress coming back from injury so far, but his return to practice this week should provide some insight. He was a full participant today, and if that continues throughout the week, the team may not hesitate to get him back in the game.

The Jets typically run with two linebackers on defense, though a third starter is designated for formations that don’t require an extra defensive back. During Williams’ All-Pro year in 2023, he played next to C.J. Mosley, while Jamien Sherwood served as the occasional third starter. Last year looked to be a similar lineup, until Mosley saw toe and neck injuries limit him to only four games. With Mosley out, Sherwood stepped up next to Williams, and former college quarterback Chazz Surratt played the third-man role.

This season, following Mosley’s retirement and Surratt’s departure in free agency, it looked to be Williams and Sherwood reprising their roles with third-year linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball as the occasional third. McCrary-Ball had almost exclusively been a special teamer in his first two seasons, only appearing on the field for three defensive snaps before this year, and he had already set new career highs through three weeks of play when it was announced that he would be joining Williams on IR with a hamstring injury.

With both Williams and McCrary-Ball out, New York has turned to Miami (FL) fifth-round rookie Kiko Mauigoa. The 22-year-old has gone from appearing in a couple snaps here or there in the first two weeks to playing nearly full game snap shares alongside Sherwood. Over the last two weeks, former practice squad linebacker Mykal Walker has stepped into the third role of this thin linebacking corps.

If Williams is able to come back soon, Mauigoa will likely shift into the third-man role, at least until McCrary-Ball can also return from IR and compete for the job. Once he’s back in the starting lineup, Williams will work to get back up to the level of play he’s displayed over the past two years for the Green & White.

Ravens Activate Rookie OL Emery Jones

October 22nd, 2025 at 9:06pm CST by Ely Allen

While returns to practice for quarterback Lamar Jackson and linebacker Roquan Smith garnered much of the attention in Baltimore today, Wednesday also saw the Ravens put in a transaction that could benefit the team’s attempts to turn this season around in another way. Today Baltimore activated rookie offensive lineman Emery Jones from the reserve/non-football injury list, on the very last day of his 21-day practice window, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.

The third-round pick out of LSU was placed on the list due to shoulder surgery that he underwent when he was still a draft prospect just a week separated from the NFL Scouting Combine. The Ravens selected him near the end of Day 2 partially aware of the time it would take him to return and potentially contribute. Originally, Jones was expected to return sometime around training camp, but as it became clear that a regular season deadline was going to be a stretch to make, Baltimore opted to wait until he could be fully healthy and ended up using all four required weeks from opening the year on the NFI list plus the entirety of his three-week practice window before activating him.

Early hopes concerning Jones’ use on the offensive line were that he may be able to step into the swing tackle role left vacant by the exit of Patrick Mekari or that he would compete for one of the starting guard spots. Despite projecting as an interior lineman as a left tackle in high school, Jones played solely at right tackle for the Tigers and saw projections at guard once again in the draft. Upon Jones’ return to practice, head coach John Harbaugh claimed they would be working him at both tackle and guard.

If Jones could step in as a swing tackle, it would provide a younger, cheaper option to current backup tackle Joe Noteboom, who has struggled filling in for Ronnie Stanley at times this year. What could really impact the Ravens would be if Jones can displace one of the team’s starting guards, Daniel Faalele or Andrew Vorhees. Faalele is a physical specimen on the interior — listed at 6-foot-8, 370 pounds — but has struggled to find consistent play as a starter. Vorhees was a projected second- or third-rounder whose draft stock fell when he tore his ACL during drills at the combine. He’s earned a starting role in his third year in Baltimore but has commonly been grouped with Faalele as weak spots on the line.

It may be too soon to expect Jones to displace any of Noteboom, Faalele, or Vorhees from their current roles just yet, but at this point, he’s finally healthy and has three weeks of practice under his belt. Activating Jones puts him on the 53-man roster, and to open up a spot for him, the Ravens placed third-year pass rusher Tavius Robinson on injured reserve, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Another third-year player in a new starting role, Robinson recently broke his foot and will now join Adisa Isaac, Nnamdi Madubuike, and Broderick Washington as front-seven defenders on IR.

NFL Minor Transactions: 10/22/25

October 22nd, 2025 at 7:36pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s midweek minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Designated to return from IR: QB Will Howard
  • Waived (with injury settlement): T Gareth Warren

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

While several players were designated to return from injured reserve today, Norton and Johnson’s designations took place back on 8/26, the roster cut deadline. The Texans are in danger of being without their top three receivers in Week 8. Tank Dell is already on IR, but Nico Collins and Christian Kirk’s statuses for the weekend are up in the air as Collins deals with a concussion and Kirk has been dealing with n hamstring injury.

Not that they’ve needed him, since Aaron Rodgers has looked a bit more effective than he was in his days with the Jets, but Howard is nearing a return to the roster for the remainder of his rookie season. It will be interesting to see where the sixth-rounder slots in on the depth chart as he adds another level of security behind the 41-year-old Rodgers.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/22/25

October 22nd, 2025 at 6:46pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad transactions:

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After getting cut from the roster earlier today, McAtamney returns to his usual post on the practice squad. No corresponding move is necessary to make room for him on the practice squad, since McAtamney hails from Northern Ireland and qualifies for the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program and doesn’t count against the 16-man limit.

Seahawks CB Riq Woolen ‘Strong Trade Candidate’

October 22nd, 2025 at 5:01pm CST by Connor Byrne

With the Nov. 4 trade deadline approaching, a change of scenery could be in store for Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen. Multiple executives believe Woolen is a “strong trade candidate,” according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.

“They’ve been wanting to move him for a while,” an executive told Fowler, adding that Woolen isn’t a fit in the Seahawks’ defense under head coach Mike Macdonald.

A fifth-round pick in 2022, Woolen was at his best early in his career under head coach Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt. Woolen went to the Pro Bowl as a rookie and tied for the league lead with six interceptions. He added another two picks in 2023, the last year of the Carroll/Hurtt regime.

While Woolen continued to flash his playmaking skills last year with three INTs under Macdonald and D-coordinator Aden Durde, his production has gone backward this season. Woolen has continued to log significant playing time (he ranks fourth among Seahawks defenders), but he hasn’t registered a pick through six games. Pro Football Focus ranks his performance 101st out of 112 qualifying corners.

Although Woolen may not be an ideal fit for Macdonald’s defense, the Seahawks’ cornerback depth would take a hit in the event of a trade. The team has already gone without two-time Pro Bowl corner Devon Witherspoon in five of seven games (including three in a row) because of injuries, though Macdonald expects him back after a Week 8 bye (via John Boyle of Seahawks.com). A Woolen-less Seattle defense would rely on Witherspoon, Josh Jobe, and Derion Kendrick as its top options at corner.

If a team pries Woolen from the 5-2 Seahawks by the deadline, that club would be acquiring a pure rental. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder is due to reach free agency in the offseason. He’s earning a $5.35MM base salary and carries a $5.44MM cap hit.

The Raiders are unlikely to contend for a playoff spot, but with Carroll as their head coach, they’ve come up as potential Woolen suitors. Unlike the Raiders, the 6-1 Colts and 5-2 Patriots are front-runners for playoff berths. Those two are among teams looking for corners in advance of the deadline. Either could be a fit for Woolen, whose days as a Seahawk may be numbered.

Giants Sign Ray-Ray McCloud To Practice Squad

October 22nd, 2025 at 4:02pm CST by Connor Byrne

Just one day after his rocky tenure with the Falcons ended, wide receiver/returner Ray-Ray McCloud has already found a new team. He’s signing with the Giants’ practice squad, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

McCloud entered 2025 off a career year with the Falcons, his first season with the team. He set personal bests across the board with 17 games played, 13 starts, 62 catches, 87 targets, and 686 yards.

McCloud was unable to carry last year’s improved production into this season. He caught just six of 14 targets for 64 yards in the Falcons’ first four games, and his role in the offense decreased after the firing of receivers coach Ike Hilliard on Sept. 22.

Head coach Raheem Morris made McCloud a healthy scratch in Week 6; he then dismissed the slot target from practice on Oct. 17. Two days later, the Falcons scratched McCloud for the second week in a row. They officially cut ties with McCloud when they released him Tuesday.

Morris said the Falcons moved on from McCloud over performance-based concerns, per Ledbetter, but the 29-year-old will try to rebound with his sixth NFL franchise. He’ll reunite with Giants head coach Brian Daboll, McCloud’s first offensive coordinator when he entered the league as a sixth-round pick of the Bills in 2018. McCloud caught five passes as a rookie under Daboll. He later spent parts of 2019 and ’20 on the Bills’ practice squad while Daboll was still on their staff.

While McCloud will begin his tenure with the Giants on their practice squad, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him earn an elevation to the active roster sometime soon. The Giants’ receiving corps took a massive hit when they lost No. 1 option Malik Nabers to a season-ending ACL tear in Week 4, and Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton are their only other wideouts with double-digit catches this season. Slayton missed the Giants’ previous two games with a hamstring injury, but he returned to practice on a limited basis on Wednesday. It’s unclear if he’ll play Sunday against the Eagles as the Giants go for a season sweep of their division rivals.

Saints CB Alontae Taylor Drawing Trade Interest

October 22nd, 2025 at 3:36pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor is “on the radar of a few teams,” according to ESPN’s Matt Bowen and Jeremy Fowler, making him a surprise trade candidate two weeks before the deadline.

“The Saints don’t want to trade Taylor but would consider it if they receive a strong offer,” added Bowen and Fowler.

Recent comments from Saints general manager Mickey Loomis align with that reporting. He revealed on Tuesday that he had received inquiries regarding multiple players.

“We’ll look at each thing individually. We’ll discuss it.” Loomis said (via ESPN’s Katherine Terrell). “But I’m not in the business of trading away good players unless the deals are just too good to refuse.” He declined to comment on any specific players.

Taylor, 26, has been a starting cornerback for the Saints since he entered the league, logging 31 pass defenses in his first three years. The 2022 second-rounder has spent almost equal time in the slot and on the boundary, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He could be upgrade to a playoff hopeful in need of cornerback help, especially one that could use a nickel with some playmaking ability. The Colts, Raiders, and Patriots are among the teams with reported interest in adding a cornerback who could be in on Taylor.

The Saints’ cap situation will likely make it hard for them to retain Taylor after an explosion in the cornerback market this offseason. They could probably find a way to free up enough money to offer him a competitive deal with another round of seemingly endless restructures, but the team has invested in multiple young defensive backs in the last two drafts.

Furthermore, data from OverTheCap shows that the Saints have not spent heavily on the cornerback position under Loomis. In fact, Marshon Lattimore is the only homegrown corner the Saints have signed to a multi-year extension in Loomis’ tenure. They later traded Lattimore and also let Paulson Adebo walk in free agency this year.

A bigger consideration for the Saints might be Taylor’s value on the trade market relative to his value in free agency. The Saints’ financial issues may prevent them from making any aggressive moves in free agency, in which case their top departing free agents are more likely net them compensatory picks in the 2027 draft. The front office will have to weigh Taylor’s future earning potential and how that would factor into the compensatory formula against the offers they’re getting for a trade right now.

Bengals Open To Trading Logan Wilson

October 22nd, 2025 at 2:43pm CST by Connor Byrne

While the Bengals are unlikely to trade superstar pass rusher Trey Hendrickson before the Nov. 4 deadline, they could move another longtime defensive linchpin in the next couple of weeks. They’re “open to dealing” linebacker Logan Wilson, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

Now in his sixth season, Wilson joined the Bengals as a third-round pick from Wyoming in 2020. After mostly working as a reserve during his rookie campaign, Wilson has started in all 65 of his appearances since his second season.

In his most productive season, 2023, Wilson tallied 135 tackles, four interceptions, and two forced fumbles over 17 games. The Bengals signed him to a four-year, $37.25MM extension prior to that season. He’s under team control through 2027 as a result.

Despite the long-term commitment the Bengals made to Wilson, and despite his past production, the team has reduced his role this season. Wilson has played in all seven of the Bengals’ games and notched 41 tackles, but fourth-round rookie Barrett Carter has begun eating into his playing time under first-year defensive coordinator Al Golden. While Golden coached Wilson and the rest of the Bengals’ linebackers from 2020-21, Lou Anarumo ran the defense during the first five years of his career. Anarumo is now the D-coordinator for the Colts, who are looking for defensive help.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor indicated last week that Carter will continue to get more reps than Wilson, per Ben Baby of ESPN.com, saying: “I just felt he’s shown enough to [have us] continue to work through it. We’re going to see constant improvement every single game.”

With Carter usurping Wilson’s role alongside Demetrius Knight, the Bengals’ other primary linebacker, a deadline trade looks like a realistic possibility. Fowler and colleague Matt Bowen name the Colts as a potential fit, which would enable Wilson to reunite with Anarumo. They also identify the Cowboys, 49ers, and Bills as other teams that could swing a deal for Wilson.

Although the Cowboys boast an elite offense, they’re in dire need of defensive help, whether that’s Wilson or a more splashy acquisition. The 49ers could have interest in Wilson after losing four-time first-team All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner to a season-ending ankle injury. The Bills extended LB Terrel Bernard on a four-year, $50MM pact last March, but the oft-injured Matt Milano and Shaq Thompson aren’t under contract past this season, and third-year man Dorian Williams has struggled in 2025.

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