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Bears Officially Make LT Switch

October 11th, 2025 at 9:45pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Caleb Williams has a new blind side protector coming out of the Bears’ Week 5 bye. Head coach Ben Johnson announced (via The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain) that second-year offensive lineman Theo Benedet will start at left tackle on Monday against the Commanders.

Benedet started at right tackle in Week 4 against the Raiders with Darnell Wright nursing an elbow injury. Partway through the game, Johnson flipped Benedet to left tackle to replace Braxton Jones and inserted rookie Ozzy Trapilo on the right side. Chicago’s offense did not roar to life as Johnson may have hoped, but they were able to hold on for a 25-24 win in Las Vegas.

Benedet apparently performed well enough to hang onto the left tackle job, despite poor grades from Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Jones also dealt with an ankle injury this offseason and may not have gotten all the way back to 100% before the season starter, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Though he has not popped up on the injury report, some rest may still be necessary to get him back to full strength, as his play has taken a hit relative to previous seasons.

In the meantime, the Bears will move forward with Benedet, who played college football in Canada for the University of British Columbia before arriving in Chicago as an undrafted free agent in 2024. He spent his first season on the practice squad and emerged as a surprising factor in the Bears’ left tackle competition during training camp this past summer.

It will be very interesting to see if Jones gets a chance to win his job back, as it is a contract year for the 2022 fifth-round pick. He was a rare Day 3 draftee to start at left tackle as a rookie, but regime change always brings roster turnover. The Bears can hold onto Benedet through the 2027 season, and both Trapilo and Kiran Amegadjie could be long-term options at left tackle. That would make it difficult to justify re-signing Jones after the season, especially if Chicago intends to hang onto Wright, their 2023 first-round pick.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/11/25

October 11th, 2025 at 8:31pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the minor moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations heading into the sixth Sunday of the NFL season:

Baltimore Ravens

Signed to active roster: DT C.J. Okoye
Elevated: QB Tyler Huntley, S Keondre Jackson
Waived: S Reuben Lowery

Carolina Panthers

Elevated: CB Keion Crossen, G Brandon Walton

Cincinnati Bengals

Elevated: G Jaxson Kirkland

Cleveland Browns

Elevated: CB Tre Avery

Dallas Cowboys

Signed to active roster: WR Jalen Cropper
Elevated: WR Parris Campbell
Placed on IR: RB Miles Sanders (story)

Detroit Lions

Signed to active roster: S Erick Hallett, DT Quinton Jefferson, CB Nick Whiteside
Elevated: T Devin Cochran, CB Arthur Maulet
Placed on IR: T Giovanni Manu (story)
Waived: C Kingsley Eguakun, DT Chris Smith

Indianapolis Colts

Elevated: RB Ameer Abdullah, CB Cameron Mitchell

Los Angeles Rams

Elevated: CB A.J. Green, LB Elias Neal

Miami Dolphins

Elevated: LB Quinton Bell, CB Isaiah Johnson

New England Patriots

Elevated: RB Terrell Jennings, DE Truman Jones

New Orleans Saints

Elevated: LB Nephi Sewell

New York Jets

Elevated: WR Brandon Smith, WR Isaiah Williams

Pittsburgh Steelers

Signed to active roster: WR Ke’Shawn Williams

Seattle Seahawks

Elevated: CB Shaquill Griffin, S Jerrick Reed II

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Elevated: RB Owen Wright

Tennessee Titans

Signed to active roster: TE Thomas Odukoya
Elevated: LB Curtis Jacobs, K Matthew Wright
Waived: T John Ojukwu

Manu was ruled out for this week with a knee injury after making the first start of his career with Detroit. Unfortunately, he’ll miss the team’s next three games, as well, after being placed on injured reserve.

Wright will fill in as placekicker for the Titans in Week 6. Regular kicker Joey Slye has been ruled out with a calf injury after missing practice all week.

Avery in Cleveland and Walton in Carolina are both being called up as standard gameday practice squad elevations for the third time this year. If either of their respective teams want them to be active for another game, they will need to sign them to the 53-man roster.

Broncos Activate Malcolm Roach, Place Ben Powers On IR

October 11th, 2025 at 7:57pm CST by Adam La Rose

Malcolm Roach returned to practice recently, a development suggesting he could be available to the Broncos for Week 6. That will indeed be the case.

[RELATED: IR Return Tracker]

The veteran defensive tackle was activated from injured reserve on Saturday, per a team announcement. Given the timing of when Roach had his 21-day practice window opened, it was expected Denver would make this move. He is now in line to make his season debut during the Broncos’ matchup with the Jets in London.

Roach is one of several former Saints who reunited with Sean Payton upon arrival in Denver. The 27-year-old logged a full campaign last year, setting new career highs in tackles (43) and sacks (2.5) along the way. Roach also recorded a personal best in terms of usage rate with a 42% snap share. A similar workload could be in store upon his return.

The Broncos’ defensive line also includes Zach Allen, D.J. Jones and John Franklin-Myers, of course. That trio has remained healthy through the early stages of the 2025 campaign and as long as that continues, each of its members will handle a large workload. Even in that case, Roach will be counted on to fill in on a part-time basis moving forward. As a pending free agent, his performance upon retuning to action will be key in determining his market value.

To make room on the roster, the Broncos moved starting left guard Ben Powers to injured reserve. The 2023 free agent signing suffered a biceps injury in Week 5, and shortly after that game it became clear an IR stint would be necessary. Powers has not missed a game to date in his Denver tenure, but that will now change. A return to action in December is the team’s target in his case.

With Powers sidelined for at least the next four games (but quite probably more), depth up front will be something to monitor. The Broncos have elevated Calvin Throckmorton from the practice squad for tomorrow’s game. The former UDFA played two games last season with Denver, and he is now in position to make his season debut on Sunday.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/11/25

October 11th, 2025 at 7:28pm CST by Adam La Rose

Saturday’s taxi squad moves:

Green Bay Packers

Signed: T Brant Banks
Released: DL Deslin Alexandre

Bears CB Kyler Gordon To Play In Week 6

October 11th, 2025 at 6:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

Coming off their bye week, the Bears will find themselves in a better position on the health front than their previous game. Most notably, cornerback Kyler Gordon is set to make his season debut on Monday.

Gordon has dealt with a hamstring injury since training camp, and he missed each of Chicago’s first four games as a result. The recently-extended cover man was a full participant in practice today, however, and he is not listed on the Bears’ injury report. Gordon will thus make his first regular season appearance of the year against the Commanders in Week 6.

Chicago’s secondary has been without Jaylon Johnson for essentially the entire campaign. He is currently on injured reserve while recovering from surgery after suffering a groin injury during his Week 2 debut. Johnson could return to action late in the year, but for the foreseeable future he will remain unavailable. That makes Gordon’s health particularly important.

The 25-year-old was a high priority this past offseason with respect to his contract situation. It came as no surprise when a long-term pact was worked out in April. Gordon landed a three-year, $40MM extension, cementing his status as a core member of Chicago’s defense moving forward and making him the latest slot corner to land an eight-figure AAV. Gordon was tapped as a candidate to see time on the outside in 2025, and with Johnson out of the picture it will be interesting to see if defensive coordinator Dennis Allen follows through with his summer plan on that front.

In other Bears injury news, linebacker T.J. Edwards is also back to full strength after suffering his own hamstring ailment. Edwards exited Week 2 as a result of the injury and he missed the following two games. When Chicago takes on Washington, though, the second level of the team’s defense as well as its secondary will have a key figure back in the fold.

Cardinals Place P Blake Gillikin On IR, Promote Third QB

October 11th, 2025 at 6:02pm CST by Ely Allen

Cardinals punter Blake Gillikin avoided missing any time after a brief appearance on the team’s injury report in Week 2, but the back injury that ailed him then appears to have returned with a vengeance. The injury forced him to reappear on the injury report as a limited practice participant on Thursday, and yesterday Gillikin didn’t practice at all. Now, he’ll miss the next four games, at least, after being placed on injured reserve today.

Arizona addressed Gillikin’s potential absence yesterday by signing veteran punter Pat O’Donnell. O’Donnell punted for the Bears for eight years after Chicago drafted him in the sixth-round in 2014. He spent one year after Chicago with the Packers but remained a free agent throughout the 2023 season. Last year, he got a similar call from the 49ers, who held on to him for eight games after Mitch Wishnowsky was sidelined for the second half of the season with a back injury of his own.

It now makes sense that the Cardinals signed O’Donnell directly to the 53-man roster instead of stashing him on the practice squad first. Practice squad players can only be called up three times on a single practice squad contract, and with Gillikin forced to miss four games, at least, Arizona would’ve needed to add O’Donnell to the active roster at some point.

Taking Gillikin’s slot on the 53-man roster will be practice squad quarterback Kedon Slovis. Teams are allowed to have a third quarterback suit up as an emergency option but only if all three passers are on the active roster. Starter Kyler Murray is questionable to play tomorrow after missing nearly all of practice this week with a foot injury. If Slovis had just been called up as a standard gameday practice squad elevation, then Murray would likely have been ruled out, since only two quarterbacks could’ve been active. But with Slovis on the active roster, Murray still could start with Jacoby Brissett serving as the primary backup and Slovis suited up as an emergency third option.

With both gameday elevations available, the Cardinals will call up defensive linemen Zachary Carter and Anthony Goodlow from the practice squad.

Chargers Place DT Da’Shawn Hand On IR

October 11th, 2025 at 5:35pm CST by Ely Allen

Chargers defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand left last week’s loss to the Commanders after only appearing for four defensive snaps. The groin injury that forced Hand out of the game kept him from practicing all week, but instead of just an “out” injury designation for the weekend, the Chargers have ensured he’ll be out for the next four games after placing him on injured reserve today.

Hand looked to be having a career year in his eighth year of NFL play, but his production will certainly be hindered by this elongated absence. The 30-year-old had been working as a full-time starter for the first time in his career. Hand started eight games in his rookie campaign with the Lions but only logged five starts in the six seasons between then and now. He had already matched those five starts in his time with the Chargers this year.

Hand’s eight rookie starts were well-earned for the fourth-round pick out of Alabama, but the promising start was marred by ending the season on IR. From there, injuries continued to dictate the course of his career. He started two of the three games he was able to appear in for his sophomore campaign and was relegated to a rotational role in Year 3.

In 2021, the final year of his rookie contract, after missing the first seven weeks of the season, the Lions saw him active for three games before sending him to IR once again. Ultimately, they released him, and he spent the remainder of the year in short stints with the Colts and Titans. He played two snaps for the Titans in 2022 before being placed on IR for the remainder of that season.

After only appearing in five games over two full seasons, Hand signed with the Dolphins and had his first mostly healthy season, appearing in a career-high 16 games. Miami held onto him for 2024, and he had, perhaps, the strongest year of his career. Appearing in every game of the season for the first time in his career and making his first two starts since 2020, Hand delivered career highs in total tackles (31), tackles for loss (5), and quarterback hits (4) that season.

The strong two seasons in Miami led to a decent contract in Los Angeles, where he would finally get his chance to start full time. With 10 total tackles, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, and a sack through only five games, Hand was on track to set multiple new career highs. Considering he wasn’t placed on IR immediately following his injury diagnosis, it seems likely that he’ll be a strong candidate to return to the active roster once his practice window has been opened after four games have passed.

Taking Hand’s slot on the 53-man roster will be practice squad offensive tackle Bobby Hart. A former starter for the Giants and Bengals, Hart hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2022. Hart was added to the practice squad recently as Los Angeles deals with injuries to starting tackles Rashawn Slater (season-ending) and Joe Alt and backup tackles Trey Pipkins and Savion Washington.

Joining Hart to reinforce the offensive line off the practice squad this weekend will be David Sharpe. Unlike Hart, as a standard gameday practice squad elevation, Sharpe will revert back to the practice squad following Sunday’s game. The team’s other elevation will be used on recent practice squad addition Nyheim Hines, who will back up Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal as they fill in for Omarion Hampton and Najee Harris, who both currently reside on IR.

49ers Activate Malik Mustapha From Reserve/PUP List

October 11th, 2025 at 3:31pm CST by Connor Byrne

The 49ers will get a key defender back in time for their Week 6 matchup with the Buccaneers. The team announced that it has activated safety Malik Mustapha from the reserve/PUP list.

Mustapha will return to the field on Sunday for the first time since he suffered a right ACL injury in Week 18 last year. That was a sour ending to an impressive rookie season for Mustapha. The former Wake Forest defender played in 16 games (12 starts) and totaled 72 tackles, five passes defensed, and an interception in 2024.

Without Mustapha (and several other injured players) around this year, the 49ers have still managed a 4-1 start. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has deployed safeties Marques Sigle and Jason Pinnock on 100 percent of snaps in Mustapha’s absence. Ji’Ayir Brown has seen action on just over 15 percent of snaps. Mustapha should reemerge as an important part of the back end of San Francisco’s defense, leading to less playing time for any or all of Sigle, Pinnock, and Brown.

Along with activating Mustapha, the 49ers elevated defensive lineman Trevis Gipson from their practice squad and waived fellow D-lineman Robert Beal Jr.

Gipson is getting his second standard elevation of the season after playing 14 snaps (eight on defense, six on special teams) in a win over the Rams in Week 5. Beal has appeared in one game this year, the 49ers’ loss to the Jaguars in Week 4, and played 30 snaps (12 on defense, 18 on special teams).

AFC Workout Rumors: Burks, Simmons, Ravens

October 11th, 2025 at 2:49pm CST by Ely Allen

The Titans finally gave up on their 2022 first-round pick earlier this month when they waived wide receiver Treylon Burks with an injury settlement. Burks cleared waivers without getting claimed, but now that teams have an opportunity to kick his tires, there’s been plenty of interest in the 25-year-old.

Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Broncos appear to be the first team that will host the Arkansas product, whom Rapoport calls one of the top free agents available. Burks first jumped on NFL radars during a COVID-shortened season in his sophomore campaign with the Razorbacks. In only nine games, Burks caught 51 passes for 820 yards and seven touchdowns. He took another step forward in his junior year with a stat line of 66-1,104-11 and heard his name called on the first night of the draft as the 18th player off the board.

Injuries limited Burks in his rookie season, holding him out for six games, but he still showed a ton of promise in the games he did play. He boasted a stat line of 33-444-1 with six starts in 11 games. He missed six games again in Year 2, and though he earned more starts (9), his effectiveness plummeted. He caught barely over half his targets for a 16-221-0 stat line. The start of Year 3 saw him falling down the depth chart, only seeing eight targets in five games before being placed on injured reserve needing ACL surgery.

Burks was recovering well and starting to turn heads in training camp before a diving catch led to a fractured collarbone and placement on IR. Burks received his medical clearance, got released, and will now follow up on all the reported interest. If his visit with the Broncos goes well, he could join a Denver receiving corps that lacks depth behind Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin, and Marvin Mims.

Here are a few other workout reports from around the NFL:

The Steelers worked out former first-round pick Isaiah Simmons earlier this week, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. A versatile defender at Clemson with projections at both safety and linebacker, Simmons was utilized as a linebacker after Arizona drafted him eighth overall in 2020. He started 37 games over his first three years with the team, often showing impressive pass defense but struggling to stop the run. He even requested a move back to the secondary, and though it was announced, his usage remained largely the same. After declining his fifth-year option, the Cardinals traded him to the Giants, who rotated him in at linebacker and played him on special teams. He signed with the Packers in the 2025 offseason but failed to make the initial 53-man roster. Simmons looked to earn an opportunity in Pittsburgh, where Malik Harrison‘s placement on IR has thinned out the linebacking corps a bit, but no deal appears to have resulted from the visit.
Cashing in on reported interest from earlier in the week, the Ravens hosted cornerback Tre Hawkins for a workout yesterday, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Currently on track to give up the most points in NFL history with an extremely injury-riddled defense, Baltimore has recently made three veteran additions to their secondary, trading for former Chargers safety Alohi Gilman, signing cornerback Amani Oruwariye, and adding safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to their practice squad over the last two weeks. Hawkins could be next to join Baltimore’s ailing defense. After getting significant run as a sixth-round rookie for the Giants, earning three starts while appearing in every game of the 2023 season, Hawkins’ sophomore campaign was hampered by injuries, most notably a spine injury that ended his season. New York let him go with an injury settlement shortly after the start of the season, and after clearing waivers, multiple teams have expressed interest. No deal immediately resulted from the Baltimore workout, but his situation is worth keeping an eye on.

NFC Injury Updates: Commanders, Lions, Mooney

October 11th, 2025 at 2:21pm CST by Connor Byrne

The Commanders will head into a Monday night showdown against the Bears with a shorthanded receiving corps. Terry McLaurin (quad) and Noah Brown (groin) will miss the game, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic.

This will be the third straight absence for McLaurin, which isn’t what the Commanders had in mind when they signed the two-time Pro Bowler to a three-year, $87MM extension in late August. The agreement came after a well-publicized standoff between the two sides. The 30-year-old has caught 10 of 17 targets for 149 yards and no touchdowns in three games this season.

Washington has gone even longer without Brown, who hasn’t played since a Week 2 loss to the Packers. After a 35-catch 2024, his first season with the Commanders, Brown has hauled in three of seven targets for 36 yards in two games this year.

First-year Commander and former 49er Deebo Samuel has served as the team’s top target in McLaurin’s absence. Luke McCaffrey, who’s behind Brown on the depth chart, pulled in a 50-yard reception in a win over the Chargers last week. While McCaffrey only has seven catches this year, he has averaged 20.9 yards per grab and scored a pair of TDs.

More NFC injury updates heading into Week 6:

The Lions will face the Chiefs on Sunday without starting left tackle Taylor Decker. The 10th-year man will miss his second game in a row as a result of a shoulder injury. Worsening matters for the Lions, they’ve also ruled out backup tackle Giovanni Manu. After making his first career start in place of Decker last week, Manu is down with a knee injury. With Decker and Manu unavailable, Dan Skipper is expected to start at left tackle in Kansas City.
The Falcons will go without receiver Darnell Mooney on Monday against the Bills, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reports. Mooney, who’s dealing with a hamstring injury, will miss his second game of the season. He missed a Week 1 loss to the Buccaneers after suffering a shoulder injury in late July. With 64 catches, 992 yards, and five touchdowns in his first season with the Falcons in 2024, the former Bear enjoyed one of the best years of his career. His production has dropped over three games this year, though, with Mooney having caught seven of 16 targets for 79 yards. No. 1 receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts, and running back Bijan Robinson are the only Falcons with double-digit receptions this season.