Lions Designate CB D.J. Reed, DE Marcus Davenport To Return From IR
The Lions are designating cornerback D.J. Reed and defensive end Marcus Davenport to return from injured reserve, per Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers. Both defenders are expected to practice with the team on Wednesday.
Reed landed on IR at the beginning of October due to a strained hamstring. He signed in Detroit this offseason and was off to an excellent start with his new team. Through four games, he allowed receptions on only eight of his 16 targets with four passes defended, putting him on pace for the best season of his career. Rock Ya-Sin has seen an increase in playing time in Reed’s absence and will likely return to a backup role upon his return. However, Terrion Arnold is dealing with a concussion, so Ya-Sin could still start this week even if Reed is ready to play.
Davenport suffered a Week 2 injury for the second year in a row. In 2024, it was a season-ending elbow injury, but he avoided disaster this time with a pectoral strain. The veteran defensive lineman has taken longer to return than the four-game minimum stay on IR, but he could be a late-season boost to the Lions’ pass rush.
The team has 30 sacks on the season, which ranks fourth in the league, though most of that production has come from four players. Edge rushers Aidan Hutchinson and Al-Quadin Muhammad both have eight sacks, while linebackers Jack Campbell and Derrick Barnes have chipped in four apiece. Davenport will add some depth on the edge and potentially allow defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard to come up with some more creative pressure packages.
Packers C Elgton Jenkins Suffers Lower Leg Fracture, Ligament Damage
NOVEMBER 12: Jenkins also suffered ligament damage, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Set for surgery, the versatile offensive lineman hopes to return late in the 2025 season. But Fowler cautions that might be overly optimistic.
Losing Jenkins for the campaign’s duration would deal a blow to a contending team while also hurting Jenkins’ cause. The former Pro Bowl guard pushed for a contract adjustment this offseason but did not receive one. Jenkins would now head into a contract year coming off a major injury.
NOVEMBER 11: The Packers’ offensive line was dealt a significant blow during yesterday’s game. Center Elgton Jenkins departed the contest and it appears he is in store for a notable absence. 
Jenkins suffered an injury late in the second quarter when quarterback Jordan Love rolled into his leg. Jenkins went to the sidelines at first but he was later carted to the locker room. X-Rays have revealed a lower leg fracture, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reports.
No timeline is initially in place regarding Jenkins’ absence, but a lengthy period out of the fold is likely in store. The team termed the ailment an ankle injury when ruling him out for the remainder of the game. Head coach Matt LaFleur said it “doesn’t sound promising” when asked for an update on Jenkins. The Packers have dealt with a number of absences up front in 2025, and that will now continue at the center spot.
Left guard Aaron Banks as well as right tackle Zach Tom – who each signed big-money deals this offseason – have missed time this year. Both were healthy in time for Week 10, and the Packers had their preferred starting five available up front. Jenkins going down will require further shuffling along the O-line, though. Sean Rhyan took over at center to finish the game, and he could continue in that role moving forward.
Jenkins has earned a pair of Pro Bowl nods over the course of his career, but his best seasons have come at left guard. The Packers moved him to center ahead of the 2025 campaign, something which prompted discussions about a potential contract adjustment. Nothing was worked out on that front, meaning the 29-year-old remains on the books through 2026. His future beyond this season is not particularly in doubt, but it will be interesting to see how much time Jenkins is set to miss down the stretch due to this injury.
Broncos To Bring Back Lil’Jordan Humphrey
A day after adding tackle Geron Christian off the Cowboys’ practice squad, the Broncos are raiding another NFC East team’s P-squad to add more offensive help.
The team is bringing back Lil’Jordan Humphrey, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, adding him off the Giants’ taxi squad. Humphrey, who played for Sean Payton in New Orleans and Denver, is likely to play against the Chiefs on Sunday.
Joining the Giants this offseason (before yoyoing on and off their roster), Humphrey has played in three games. Although he has only seen action in a fraction of New York’s contests, the journeyman wideout started two of those and logged an 81% snap share in the game he has played. The Broncos used Humphrey regularly last season and are making an update to their receiving depth chart ahead of a crucial contest.
The Giants had used the maximum of three gameday elevations on Humphrey this season. With the team needing to give him a spot on its 53-man roster in order to give him a game uniform again this season, Mike Kafka‘s operation will instead see him depart. Humphrey joins a Broncos team loosely linked to wide receiver trades before this year’s deadline, but like the Bills and Steelers, the AFC contender stood pat.
Payton used Humphrey on 50% of the Broncos’ offensive plays last season, giving him the most run of anyone besides Courtland Sutton and Devaughn Vele at the position in 2024. Second-year cog Troy Franklin has seized Denver’s No. 2 wideout role this year, and the team has increasingly used Pat Bryant more as the season has progressed. Bryant’s blocking has appealed to Denver’s coaching staff, but Humphrey was viewed as a plus blocker previously. The Broncos have also missed Marvin Mims for the past two games due to a concussion. With Trent Sherfield rounding out the group, Humphrey will give Denver six WRs on its 53-man roster.
Humphrey, 28, played for Payton from 2019-21 with the Saints. After spending the 2022 season in New England, the big-bodied backup followed Payton to Denver in 2023. Humphrey made 15 starts from 2023-24 and posted a career-high 293 receiving yards last season, doing so after catching three touchdown passes in 2023. He caught four passes for 55 yards with the Giants, who are letting him go despite losing Malik Nabers for the season and having seen Darius Slayton miss time this year.
Cardinals To Place Zay Jones, Simi Fehoko On IR; Marvin Harrison Jr. To Miss Time
The Cardinals are heading into Week 11 with a shorthanded wide receiver room. Zay Jones and Simi Fehoko are both being placed on injured reserve, while Marvin Harrison Jr. will miss at least one game due to a bout of appendicitis, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Josh Weinfuss.
Jones suffered a torn Achilles in Arizona’s loss to the Seahawks on Sunday, which will sidelined him for the rest of the season. Fehoko is dealing with an arm injury and will miss at least four games. His earliest return would come in Week 14 against the Texans.
Harrison had surgery on Monday night. It is unknown when his appendicitis was discovered and diagnosed; he played in Sunday’s game with a full workload (12 targets on a 90.8 snap share).
The trio of receiver absences will push Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch, and Xavier Weaver into bigger roles. Wilson has 22 receptions for 231 this season, which both rank third on the team behind Harrison and tight end Trey McBride. With Jones going on IR, no other Cardinals receiver has more than 15 catches or 75 yards this year. Dortch has just 73 yards on 16 targets this year, but has flashed some playmaking ability in the past. Weaver has only been targeted three times in six games over the last two years.
The Cardinals made one immediate move to bolster their receiver room, promoting Andre Baccellia to the active roster from the practice squad. He appeared in 13 games in the last two years, though his last offensive involvement came in 2023. The team also has Jalen Brooks, Tejhuan Palmer, and Jalen Virgil – the last of whom was signed today – available for practice squad elevations.
Arizona also re-signed cornerback Jaden Davis to their practice squad. He was a Cardinals seventh-round pick a year ago, but has yet to appear in a regular-season game.
Seahawks C Jalen Sundell To Miss ‘Multiple Weeks,’ Could Go On IR
After serving as a backup during his rookie season in 2024, Seahawks center Jalen Sundell has emerged as their top option at the position this year. The former undrafted free agent from North Dakota State has started in every game for the 7-2 Seahawks. Sundell suffered a knee injury in a win over the Cardinals last week, though, and he’ll miss some time as a result.
Head coach Mike Macdonald announced (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times) that Sundell will sit out “multiple weeks.” While Macdonald said Sundell won’t require surgery (per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic), he acknowledged that an IR stint is a possibility. Sundell would miss at least four games in that case.
Although Pro Football Focus ranks Sundell’s performance an underwhelming 28th among 37 qualifying centers, he’s an important part of a successful line. The Seahawks have allowed the fewest sacks in the league (10). With top-tier protection, quarterback Sam Darnold has performed like an MVP candidate in his first season in Seattle.
Darnold will now have to work with a different center for a key Week 11 matchup with the NFC West rival Rams. That will likely be Olu Oluwatimi, who lost the starting competition to Sundell over the summer. Oluwatimi suffered a back injury during training camp, helping lead to a demotion after he started eight games last year. The 6-foot-6, 309-pounder stepped in at center after Connor Williams‘ abrupt retirement in mid-November.
With Oluwatimi expected to fill in for Sundell, sixth-round rookie Bryce Cabeldue is in line to serve as the primary backup. However, Macdonald pointed out that guard Christian Haynes is capable of playing the position, per Condotta. Haynes has been on IR all season with a pectoral injury, but the Seahawks opened the 2024 third-rounder’s practice window on Oct. 29. Assuming the Seahawks activate him by next week, Haynes could function as depth while Sundell’s out.
Giants Name Tim Kelly Interim Offensive Coordinator; Mike Kafka Remains Play-Caller
After a promotion from offensive coordinator to interim head coach earlier this week, Mike Kafka will continue to call the plays for the Giants. Kafka named an interim offensive coordinator on Wednesday, though, announcing that tight ends coach Tim Kelly will take the reins (via Dan Duggan of The Athletic).
Kafka confirmed that he and Kelly will work with a new starting quarterback this week in Jameis Winston. With Jaxson Dart battling a concussion, Winston will face the Packers on Sunday.
Dart is “right on track and right on pace” in his recovery, Kafka said (via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post). The Giants haven’t ruled Dart out yet, but they’re understandably taking a cautious approach with the prized first-round rookie.
Kelly, who joined the Giants’ staff ahead of the 2024 campaign, is becoming an O-coordinator for the third time. The 39-year-old previously served in that role with the Texans from 2019-21 and the Titans in 2023.
Kelly was at the helm in Houston during quarterback Deshaun Watson‘s final two years of action with the club. Watson went to the Pro Bowl in both 2019 and 2020 under Kelly, who led an offense that was a middle-of-the-pack unit in those seasons. The Texans were a playoff team in 2019, but they fired head coach Bill O’Brien after an 0-4 start the next year. Romeo Crennel finished the campaign as Houston’s interim HC.
After going 4-8 under Crennel, the Texans hired David Culley in 2021. He retained Kelly, but the OC no longer had Watson at his disposal. Watson spent the entire season inactive after sexual harassment allegations came to light. The Texans primarily turned to Davis Mills under center in Watson’s place. Houston’s offense was among the worst in the league that year, and the team moved on from Culley and his coaching staff after the season.
Kelly quickly landed on his feet on Mike Vrabel‘s staff in Tennessee, working as the Titans’ passing game coordinator in 2022 before taking over the offense the next season. With a fading Ryan Tannehill and struggling rookie Will Levis as their QBs, the Titans finished a woeful 27th in points and 28th in yardage during a 6-11 showing in 2023. They didn’t retain Vrabel or his staff beyond then.
The Giants will look outside for a full-time replacement for Brian Daboll, whom they fired Monday, though Kafka will receive consideration for the job. He and Kelly will try to make their cases for promotions over the next several weeks.
Steelers Activate QB Will Howard From IR
After winning the national championship in his lone season at Ohio State in 2024, quarterback Will Howard entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick of the Steelers last spring. Howard broke his hand early in training camp, though, forcing him to begin his career on injured reserve. After opening Howard’s 21-day practice window on Oct. 22, the Steelers activated the 24-year-old to their 53-man roster on Wednesday.
Taken 185th in the draft, Howard was always regarded as a developmental project for the Steelers. Even if he didn’t succumb to an injury over the summer, Howard was unlikely to see meaningful playing time this season.
Howard joined a team that brought in future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers as its new starter and the experienced Mason Rudolph as its primary backup during the offseason. Rodgers has stayed healthy during the Steelers’ 5-4 start, leaving just six snaps for Rudolph thus far.
The Steelers reportedly hope to retain Rodgers, who will turn 42 in December, next season. Rudolph is already under contract for 2026 after signing a two-year, $8MM deal. The Steelers will have plenty of time to figure out their QB setup for next year. In the meantime, they’ll get Howard back as an emergency third option.
As PFR’s IR tracker shows, Howard’s activation leaves the Steelers with five for the rest of the season. To make room for Howard, the Steelers waived running back Trey Sermon from their active roster. The former 49er, Eagle, and Colt signed a one-year pact with the Steelers last May. Sermon has appeared in four games this season, his fifth in the league, but 47 of his 48 snaps have come on special teams.
Commanders Designate S Will Harris For Return; Latest On Terry McLaurin
The Commanders have gone without safety Will Harris for most of 2025, an injury-ravaged season for the team. Harris is closing in on a return, though, as the Commanders opened his practice window on Wednesday. They’ll have 21 days to activate him from IR.
A former Lion and Saint, Harris signed a two-year, $8MM deal with the Commanders as a free agent last March. He started in Washington’s first three games and made 11 tackles before suffering a broken fibula in a Week 3 win over the Raiders. The Commanders were 2-1 at the time, but they’ve since fallen to 3-7 and drifted out of the NFC playoff race.
After Harris went down, the Commanders quickly added the experienced Darnell Savage to their secondary. Savage entered Washington with 82 career starts, and that number hasn’t changed. He has worked as a backup and played just under 22% of defensive snaps in seven games with the Commanders.
With Savage in a reserve role, Jeremy Reaves has gotten the lion’s share of playing time at safety alongside Quan Martin. Reaves is better known as a special teams contributor, but he has made six starts in 10 games and totaled 56 tackles and three passes defensed. Pro Football Focus ranks his performance a decent 41st among 91 qualifying safeties.
While it appears the Commanders’ defense will welcome Harris back in the coming weeks, wide receiver Terry McLaurin could rejoin their offense soon. McLaurin, who’s dealing with a quad injury, will not play when the Commanders face the Dolphins in Madrid on Sunday. However, head coach Dan Quinn said McLaurin will begin on-field rehab work this week (via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk).
Washington has a bye in Week 12, but McLaurin may be ready after that. After posting his fourth straight 17-game, 1,000-yard season and scoring a career-high 13 touchdowns in 2024, the two-time Pro Bowler has played in just four contests this year. That partially explains Washington’s precipitous drop in the standings after a 12-5 finish and a conference title game berth last season.
Eagles Place CB Jaire Alexander On Reserve/Retired List
Eagles cornerback Jaire Alexander stepped away from football on Tuesday to focus on his physical and mental health. It turns out that Alexander’s career may be over. The Eagles placed him on the reserve/retired list on Wednesday and activated cornerback Jakorian Bennett from IR in a corresponding move.
Now 28 years old, Alexander entered the NFL as a Packers first-rounder (No. 18 overall) in 2018. The former Louisville Cardinal quickly emerged as one of the league’s best corners. He earned two second-team All-Pro nods and a pair of Pro Bowl invitations during his first five seasons in the league. Alexander totaled 10 interceptions during that 62-game span.
The Packers signed Alexander to a four-year, $84MM extension before the 2022 season, which will go down as his most productive campaign. Alexander picked off a career-best five passes during a 16-start season, but he was unable to stay healthy after that.
After groin, back, shoulder, and knee injuries limited Alexander to 14 of a possible 34 regular-season games from 2023-24, the Packers released him last June. He quickly caught on with the Ravens on a one-year, $6MM deal, but the union didn’t work out for either side. Alexander dealt with a knee injury and appeared in just two games with Baltimore, which traded him and a 2027 seventh-round pick to Philadelphia for a 2026 sixth-rounder on Nov. 1.
Although Alexander expressed optimism about his health after the trade, he wasn’t active for the Eagles’ win over the Packers in Week 10. It now appears his career has come to an end.
While the Eagles are losing Alexander, Bennett is returning to bolster their corner depth. Acquired from the Raiders in August, Bennett played in three games and picked up 44 snaps (24 on defense, 20 on special teams) before the Eagles placed him on IR with a pectoral injury on Sept. 24.
Bennett will give the Eagles another option on the outside behind starters Quinyon Mitchell and Adoree’ Jackson. Slot standout Cooper DeJean, Michael Carter II, Kelee Ringo, and Mac McWilliams comprise the rest of the Eagles’ corners.
Jaguars WR/CB Travis Hunter Undergoes Season-Ending Knee Surgery
Travis Hunter remains on the Jaguars’ injured reserve at this time, and he will not return in 2025. The two-way rookie recently underwent season-ending knee surgery, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Rapoport specifies this was an LCL repair. No other ligaments were damaged in Hunter’s recent injury, he adds. As a result, a six-month timeline is in place for Hunter to receive full medical clearance. The Jaguars have since confirmed the expectation for Hunter to be ready for full football participation again in six months. In the meantime, Jacksonville will move forward without a key contributor on both sides of the ball.
Considering Hunter’s injury sequence — on a noncontact play at practice — and his importance to this Jaguars regime’s mission, this shutdown is not too surprising. The 2024 Heisman winner is under contract through 2028, and barring the two-way player entering full-on bust territory, the deal will run through 2029 once his fifth-year option is exercised. Jacksonville will take a big-picture approach at this stage of the former college phenom’s pro career.
The Jakobi Meyers trade hinted at this IR stay lasting longer than the four-game minimum, and the Jags also played without Brian Thomas Jr. in Week 10. Thomas is not on IR, and the team has seen promising work from Parker Washington. Though, this season has not brought the Trevor Lawrence turnaround the organization hoped. The former No. 1 overall pick has remained inconsistent, and the Jags’ loss Sunday hurt their chances of booking a wild-card berth. The team remains in playoff contention, but Lawrence will need to play better for the club to realize those aspirations.
With a lengthy rehab process ending Hunter’s rookie season, his NFL debut will go down as a disappointment. The Colorado product finishes the year with 28 receptions for 298 yards. He finishes Year 1 with a 67% snap share on offense and a 34% participation rate on defense.
The Jags steadily used Hunter more on defense, where many thought he should end up as a pro. Jacksonville, however, was among the franchises that viewed Hunter as a better receiver. GM James Gladstone declared that would be the 6-foot-1 prospect’s primary position, and coming out of the team’s bye week, buzz about Hunter seeing a bigger offensive role emerged. This injury nixed those plans.
A six-month recovery timetable would move Hunter on track for a minicamp cameo, though it would not surprise to see the Jags exercise caution and give him an onramp toward a training camp reemergence. It will be interesting to see if the team’s usage plans for Hunter change in 2026, given his struggles to make an impact this season. The team did not begin using Hunter on both sides of the ball in the same workouts until training camp last year, and his in-game cornerback participation spiked in Week 2.
Hunter’s best stat line came in a London loss to the Rams before the Jags’ bye, as he caught eight passes (on 14 targets) for 101 yards and his first career touchdown. But the Rams had set a blowout game script in place by the time the Lawrence-to-Hunter connection got going. Considerable work is ahead for that duo, but the Jags certainly remain high on a player that cost them their 2026 first-round pick to acquire. The duo’s next chance to work together on the field will come during OTAs — at the earliest.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.