49ers QB Brock Purdy Could Return In Week 11
The 49ers could get quarterback Brock Purdy back on the field next week.
After San Francisco’s loss to the Rams on Sunday, head coach Kyle Shanahan said (via The Athletic’s Vic Tafur) that Purdy “could have gone today.” However, the 49ers deactivated Purdy before the game and did not designate him as the emergency third quarterback. Doing so would not have affected the team’s game day roster, but Purdy would have been able to play had starter Mac Jones and backup Adrian Martinez both gotten injured. That decision runs contrary to Shanahan’s postgame pronouncement that Purdy was ready to play.
It seems like the 49ers are trying to avoid a repeat of Purdy’s first return from injury in Week 4. He played every snap, but re-aggravated his toe injury in the process and hasn’t played since. A similar incident this week or next could sideline him until the last few games of the regular season. He would likely be dropping right into the heat of a playoff race with little time to re-acclimate to the field before the win-or-go-home games begin. Instead, the team will wait until he is at 100%, so when he comes back, he comes back for good.
The 49ers’ success in Purdy’s absence is another reason not to rush his recovery. The team has gone 5-2 in his seven absences, keeping them firmly in playoff contention. Mac Jones‘ stats that aren’t far off from Purdy’s last season and outpace his two starts this year. Shanahan has made it clear that Purdy will retake the starting job once he is healthy, but Jones’ capable stewardship of the offense is a primary reason that he can take his time.
Texans S M.J. Stewart To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
The Texans managed to win on Sunday thanks to a miraculous fourth-quarter comeback. They will be shorthanded in the secondary for the remainder of the campaign, however. 
Safety M.J. Stewart was injured in the first half of today’s contest against the Jaguars. An air cast was placed on his left leg before he was carted off the field. Further testing has revealed Stewart tore his quadriceps, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports. As a result, season-ending surgery will be required.
This news means Houston will be without a key contributor on defense moving forward. Stewart hardly saw the field during the first three weeks of the season, but the decision to release C.J. Gardner-Johnson created a vacancy in the starting lineup. Stewart was tasked with filling that spot, and the eighth-year veteran saw a major uptick in playing time after that switch.
Now, the Texans will be forced to find another new first-team option at the safety spot. The team sits at 4-5 on the year thanks to today’s win, so a push into a wild-card spot remains possible. If Houston is to reach the postseason, continued strong play on defense – the team entered Week 10 ranked top-six in the NFL against the run and pass – will be required. Without Stewart in the fold, however, a veteran presence will be missed.
The former second-rounder has been with the Texans since 2018. Stewart remained in place via a one-year, $2.5MM deal this offseason. His free agent market was not in line to be particularly robust anyway, but this injury will obviously hurt his earning potential on the open market.
With the trade deadline having come and gone, Houston’s opportunities to add depth will be limited. The Texans have $7.71MM in cap space, though, so a modest free agent signing will be feasible.
Giants QB Jaxson Dart Suffers Concussion
A late blown lead resulted in another loss for the Giants. The team’s ability to rebound next week could be hampered by an injury at the quarterback spot. 
Jaxson Dart fumbled late in the third quarter of today’s game against the Bears. He was not initially evaluated on the sidelines after his head hit the field on the play and returned to the game during New York’s next possession. During the period between quarters, however, the rookie was tested in the medical tent before being taken to the locker room.
Shortly thereafter, Dart was officially ruled out of the contest with a concussion. The Giants’ offense was led by Russell Wilson the rest of the way. Despite leading by 10 points with less than four minutes remaining, New York wound up losing 24-20. That marks another close loss on the part of the Giants, a team whose offense is already without top receiver Malik Nabers and impressive running back Cam Skattebo.
It is likely Dart will be unavailable as well for Week 11. A path exists for players in concussion protocol to clear the required steps in time to play the following week, but absences spanning at least one game are commonplace. Presuming Dart is indeed sidelined for the next contest, the Giants will turn to Wilson as their starter once again.
That setup was in place at the start of the campaign, but as expected Dart took over QB1 duties in short order. Sunday marked the first-rounder’s seventh start of the season, although it included a continuation of a playing style many feared would result in an injury. In part due to the absences of Nabers and Skattebo, Dart has taken plenty of hits during his time in the lineup. Observers warned about injuries being an increased risk in his case, and he is now on track to miss time. The Giants were fined for their handling of Dart’s previous trip to the medical tent, but a repeat of that discipline should not be expected.
Wilson is a pending free agent, but the Giants elected to keep him past the trade deadline. Fellow veteran Jameis Winston – who is under contract through 2026 and hopes to remain with the team – will handle backup duties provided Dart is unable to suit up. Attention will turn to the latter’s recovery process before the Giants look to continue his development.
Von Miller Hopes To Play In 2026
Von Miller took a one-year pact to play for the Commanders in 2025. If the future Hall of Famer has his way, he will continue his career for at least one more season. 
“Hopefully I can still be here with the Washington Commanders,” Miller said during an episode of his new Free Range podcast (via The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala). “If I’m able to be in an environment like this with the coaching staff, like [Dan Quinn]… I can definitely play next year.”
Miller’s Broncos tenure ended when he was traded to the Rams in 2021. After winning his second Super Bowl, the final chapter of his career seemed to be in place with a six-year, $120MM Bills contract. Miller enjoyed a strong debut campaign in Buffalo (eight sacks in 11 games), but an ACL tear brought that season to an end. He was unable to live up to expectations upon returning to action.
In a move which came as little surprise, Miller was released this past offseason. Free agent interest was shown by a small number of suitors before a pact was worked out with Washington. The 36-year-old is attached to a $6.1MM contract with nearly $5MM guaranteed. Miller has played in each of the Commanders’ nine games this season, collecting four sacks while handling a 35% snap share.
A return to Buffalo via trade became something to watch for at the trade deadline, but no swap was worked out. The Commanders did not wind up operating as sellers despite their record. That will allow Miller to finish the campaign in the nation’s capital. His performances over the closing stages will be key establishing his market value.
It will be interesting to see if a mutual interest arises this spring in terms of Miller and the Commanders maintaining their relationship through 2026. Failing that, retirement will be delayed at least one more year provided another deal can be lined up.
Seahawks Place DT Jarran Reed, WR Dareke Young On IR
NOVEMBER 9: General manager John Schneider said on a Seattle Sports radio appearance (via Condotta) Reed recently underwent surgery on his wrist. Recovery from the procedure has not gone as planned, so instead of continuing to play through the issue (as he did last week) Reed will look to fully heal while on IR.
NOVEMBER 8: The Seahawks announced that they have placed defensive tackle Jarran Reed and wide receiver Dareke Young on IR. Reed is dealing with wrist and thumb issues, while Young has a quadriceps injury. Both players will miss a minimum of four games.
Reed, a 10th-year man who began his second stint with the Seahawks in 2023, has once again been a significant contributor this season. Appearing in all eight of the 6-2 Seahawks’ games before his IR placement, Reed has logged a 47.3% snap share with 17 tackles and 1.5 sacks. The 6-foot-3, 315-pounder’s wrist injury limited him to a season-low 17 snaps in a blowout win over the Commanders last week.
Although Reed’s wrist has bothered him, the IR placement comes as a surprise after he was a full participant in practice during the week. Reed’s thumb problem seems to be a new development, though, and it will help lead to a lengthy absence. As Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes, only Reed’s wrist malady was listed on the injury report throughout the week. The team announced his thumb injury on Saturday.
Young has totaled just four catches in 39 games since the Seahawks used a seventh-round pick on him in 2022. The 26-year-old has picked up a pair of receptions for 48 yards in six games this season. Most of Young’s impact has come on special teams, where he has played 48.4% of snaps in 2025.
Along with Young, the Seahawks are dealing with injuries to fellow receivers Cooper Kupp (hamstring, heel), Tory Horton (groin, shin), and Jake Bobo (calf) ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the NFC West rival Cardinals. Kupp is questionable, Horton is doubtful, and Bobo is out.
To replenish their depth, the Seahawks signed D-tackle Quinton Bohanna and receiver Cody White from their practice squad to their 53-man roster on Saturday. They also elevated receiver Ricky White III and linebacker Patrick O’Connell from their practice squad.
Chiefs, Seahawks Nearly Completed Boye Mafe Trade
Boye Mafe is a pending free agent and it was reported not long before the trade deadline he is unlikely to remain in place with the Seahawks. As a result, a trade would have come as little surprise. 
One was nearly worked out. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Seattle was in talks about a Mafe trade with the Chiefs. He adds the teams came close to finalizing a swap, with one source thinking a trade was actually in place at one point. Instead, the Seahawks elected to keep the fourth-year edge rusher in the fold.
That was known to be Seattle’s preference. As such, the Chiefs must have submitted an enticing offer for a trade to receive serious consideration on the part of the Seahawks. Kansas City had been identified as a candidate to add along the defensive front before the deadline, and the team could still do so on the free agent market.
Any acquisition at this point would not be expected to make a major impact, although the same may have been true of Mafe given his struggles this season. The former second-rounder totaled 18 sacks in his first three campaigns (including nine in 2023) but he has been held without one so far this year. Mafe has nevertheless logged a regular role and totaled eight quarterback pressures.
The 26-year-old will look to chip in as part of one of the league’s top defenses down the stretch. The Seahawks are near the top of the league with 27 sacks, and Mafe adding to that total could prove to be key as they compete for top spot in the NFC West. Seattle made a notable move on offense by adding wideout Rashid Shaheed, and it will be interesting to see how the decision to keep Mafe (along with cornerback Tariq Woolen for that matter) plays out as they approach free agency.
Steelers Believed They Were Close To Acquiring WR At Trade Deadline, Inquired About Jaylen Waddle
The Steelers were reportedly one of the most aggressive clubs in pursuing a wide receiver at this year’s trade deadline, and they were in on the Raiders’ Jakobi Meyers before Las Vegas shipped the contract-year wideout to the Jaguars. Ultimately, Pittsburgh did not swing a trade for a player to complement Aaron Rodgers’ contingent of pass catchers.
Pittsburgh did sign Marquez Valdes-Scantling shortly before the deadline, and according to Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show, the club was at least somewhat close to adding a receiver. However, that unnamed player ultimately stayed with his current team.
The Titans’ Calvin Ridley or the Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle could have been the receiver in question, as both players were connected to the Steelers in the run-up to the deadline but were not traded. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Pittsburgh did call Miami to discuss Waddle, joining the Broncos and the Bills as known suitors of the 2021 first-rounder.
We heard just this morning that the high price that Dolphins interim GM Champ Kelly set on Waddle was a first- and third-round pick (and, in the case of the division-rival Bills, who did offer a package including those selections, Kelly wanted even more). Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports believes multiple non-Buffalo teams would have been willing to make the deal if the third-rounder were not part of the equation, and despite some chatter that the ‘Fins may have been prepared to lower their asking price as the deadline got closer, they obviously could not come to terms with any interested clubs.
We may never know if the Steelers were one of the teams prepared to pony up a first-rounder for Waddle. In any event, Rodgers & Co. will have to content themselves with the Valdes-Scantling addition as they seek to retain control of the AFC North.
Per Kaboly, the Steelers thought MVS would sign with them in August, after he was released by the Seahawks. The 31-year-old had previously acknowledged he had to choose between San Francisco and Pittsburgh, and at the time, he saw the 49ers as the better fit.
He wound up playing in five games with the 49ers, catching four balls for 40 yards. He eventually was released with an injury settlement.
Latest On Sauce Gardner Trade; Jets HC Aaron Glenn’s Job Is Safe
The Jets’ deadline trade sending cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Colts in exchange for a 2026 first-rounder, a 2027 first-rounder, and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell caught many by surprise. However, the foundation for those types of deals is typically laid well in advance of the agreement itself. That is exactly what happened here, as multiple reporters, including Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic (subscription required), detail that the framework of the Gardner deal – and the other swaps New York made – began to take shape in Week 4.
At that time, GM Darren Mougey and his staff began to hold weekly meetings to discuss, among other things, the trade value of each player on the roster. The idea was to avoid recency bias as the November 4 deadline approached and other clubs began making trade offers.
So, although ESPN’s Rich Cimini says the Jets never intended to move Gardner – whom they signed to a four-year, $120.4MM contract extension in July – they did establish what it would take to consider trading him if an offer came in. Per Cimini and Albert Breer of SI.com, that price was indeed two first-rounders and a quality player.
After the Colts’ Week 6 victory over the Cardinals improved their record to 5-1, Breer says Indianapolis’ assistant GM, Ed Dodds, placed calls around the league seeking CB help (Charvarius Ward suffered a concussion prior to the Arizona contest and landed on injured reserve as a result, and rookie Justin Walley sustained a season-ending ACL tear in August). Dodds’ efforts led him to Mougey, who indicated he would listen to offers on anyone on the roster, even if he was not actively looking to trade certain players.
Mougey and Colts GM Chris Ballard then discussed the possibility of a Gardner trade. While Cimini says Ballard initially balked at the asking price, Mougey himself noted Indianapolis’ offers “kept getting richer and richer.” The Colts inquired on the Giants’ Deonte Banks (per Cimini) and the Saints’ Alontae Taylor (as previously reported), but Gardner is on an entirely different tier.
As Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon put it during a conversation with Ballard on the eve of the deadline, “[d]o you want to Band-Aid [the cornerback position] or fix it for the long-term?” (via Breer). When Ballard explained how valuable Gardner could be, particularly considering the importance of CBs in defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s scheme, Irsay-Gordon agreed the long-term fix was the right choice.
According to Cimini, the Jets were emphatic about including Mitchell in the trade. Breer adds Indianapolis grew increasingly amenable to moving the 2024 second-rounder, who had become an afterthought in the team’s offense. With the Jets high on Mitchell and the Colts prepared to move on, all of the pieces for the Gardner trade were in place.
Of course, Gardner was not the only elite defender Mougey jettisoned at the deadline. Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was sent to the Cowboys in a swap that netted the Jets DT Mazi Smith, a 2026 second-rounder, and the higher of Dallas’ two 2027 first-rounders. Per Breer, Mougey knew the Cowboys would not give back everything they had gotten in the offseason Micah Parsons trade, which is one of the reasons why the GM began to consider a first-rounder in 2027 instead of 2026. The other reason is that he and his staff believe the ‘27 draft class offers more promise than the ‘26 crop. Now, thanks to the Gardner and Williams deals, the Jets have three first-round selections (including their own) in a year they consider to be rife with quality prospects.
Both Brian Costello of the New York Post and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network write that head coach Aaron Glenn was heavily involved in the trade discussions, which bolsters Rapoport’s report that Glenn will not be a one-and-done coach. Owner Woody Johnson recently called Glenn “the real deal,” and sources tell Rapoport that Glenn will not be judged by the Jets’ 2025 record and will be given a chance to guide the club through its rebuild.
Johnson has a history of being something of a meddlesome owner, but Cimini suggests that was not the case at this year’s deadline. Instead, when his first-year GM and HC told him of the plan to trade Gardner mere months after authorizing a lucrative extension for him, Johnson simply reaffirmed his faith in his top power brokers.
Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue Passes Away
Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Roger Goodell‘s predecessor, passed away Sunday morning, per Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer and others. Tagliabue was 84.
A graduate of New York University School of Law, Tagliabue was a practicing attorney from 1969 to 1989, and the NFL was one of his clients. League owners selected him as Pete Rozelle‘s successor in 1989.
The league continued its inexorable growth under Tagliabue’s leadership, growth that included the addition of multiple expansion teams during the 1990s (Jaguars, Panthers, Ravens, Browns) and early 2000s (Texans). Baltimore, which had lost the Colts to relocation in the 1980s, was one of the finalists for a new team in 1993, though it lost out to Jacksonville and Charlotte at that time. Tagliabue’s comments that Baltimore should “build a museum” with its proposed stadium funds became a highly-publicized source of bitterness, though then-Browns owner Art Modell moved his franchise to Baltimore shortly thereafter, renaming his club the Ravens.
Tagliabue oversaw that move and the introduction of the current iteration of the Browns — who kept the franchise’s prior history, name, and colors — to the league in 1999. There were several other relocations during Tagliabue’s tenure, including the moves of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Raiders to St. Louis and Oakland, respectively, and the move of the Oilers (now Titans) from Houston to Tennessee.
Tagliabue also laid the framework for the league’s highly-successful forays into foreign markets. While Goodell ended the former commissioner’s NFL Europe league in 2007 (shortly after his ascent to the top job), he quickly replaced it with the current NFL International Series, which continues to flourish.
Goodell’s predecessor has also received praise for his efforts in convincing then-Saints owner Tom Benson to return his team to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and for denying Arizona the opportunity to host the Super Bowl in 1992 due to the state’s refusal to establish Martin Luther King, Jr. day as a state holiday. The Chevy Chase (Md.) native was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
Goodell issued a statement on Tagliabue, which can be found here (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). Tagliabue’s cause of death was heart failure complicated by his Parkinson’s disease, per Schefter. He is survived by wife Chandler, son Drew, and daughter Emily.
We at PFR extend our condolences to Tagliabue’s family and friends and thank him for his numerous contributions to American football, which is why our site exists.
Jets QB Justin Fields To Start In Week 10
It appears Justin Fields’ respectable showing in the Jets’ narrow victory over the Bengals in Week 8 – their first win of the season – bought him a little extra time as New York’s QB1. The team had a Week 9 bye, and although head coach Aaron Glenn held off on an official announcement, ESPN’s Adam Schefter says Fields will get the nod against the Browns in Week 10.
At halftime of a Week 7 loss to the Panthers, Glenn benched Fields in favor of veteran Tyrod Taylor. Taylor did not fare any better than his younger counterpart, but the Jets did plan to have him start their Week 8 contest against Cincinnati (owner Woody Johnson publicly criticized Fields after the Carolina game, which further underscored Taylor’s expected promotion).
Unfortunately for Taylor, a knee injury prevented him from playing in that game. Fields went on to post a 99.0 quarterback rating – against an admittedly poor Bengals defense – and completed 21 of 32 passes for 244 yards and a score in the victory. He also rushed 11 times for 31 yards.
It will not be any easier for the Jets to win games after the trade deadline, as defensive cornerstones Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams have been dealt elsewhere in exchange for future draft capital. The club is clearly in rebuild mode, and while it appears Fields is unlikely to consistently live up to his potential as a former first-round pick, it makes sense for New York to continue evaluating him rather than asking the 36-year-old Taylor to play out the string.
After all, $10MM of Fields 2026 salary is already guaranteed, and a pre-June 1 release this offseason would create a $22MM dead money charge at a time when Aaron Rodgers will already be accounting for $35MM of dead money. The fact that Fields seems destined to be on the Jets’ 2026 iteration anyway further supports the notion that they might as well keep giving him opportunities.
He will at least have a new receiver to work with (eventually, anyway). As part of the Gardner deal, New York acquired 2024 second-rounder Adonai Mitchell, who had been buried on the Colts’ depth chart. Mitchell, however, is inactive for Week 10.
Top wideout Garrett Wilson is expected back in Week 10 after missing the prior two games due to a knee ailment.