Chargers To Activate J.K. Dobbins
The Chargers are planning to activate J.K. Dobbins from injured reserve to play in Saturday’s matchup with the Patriots, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport.
Dobbins landed on IR at the end of November with a sprained MCL that forced him to miss significant time for a fourth year in a row. Unlike his previous injuries, however, Dobbins recovered within his mandatory minimum of four weeks on IR, setting him up to resume lead back duties in Los Angeles.
Dobbins was averaging a career-high 69.6 rushing yards per game before he hurt his knee. If he returns to that pace over the next two games, he’ll finish 2024 with the most regular-season rushing yards in his career. The former Ravens second-round pick totaled 805 as a rookie; he is sitting on 766 entering Week 17.
The Bolts have certainly missed their starter over the past few weeks, and the team has run into more injury trouble at running back in that span. Already one of the team’s IR activations this season, Gus Edwards has been ruled out with an ankle injury. This makes Dobbins’ return all the more important for a Chargers team that could climb to the AFC’s No. 5 seed over the final two weeks of the season. Though, the Bolts have yet to clinch a playoff berth.
That will help the Chargers clinch a playoff spot while improving Dobbins’ free agency stock. He signed a one-year, $1.61MM in Los Angeles this offseason to prove that he could still be effective after tearing his Achilles last year. While his MCL sprain reignited concerns about his durability, Dobbins has remained a dangerous ballcarrier when healthy. No other Chargers running back has broken 70 yards in a single game during his absence.
The Chargers also used standard practice squad elevations on safeties Eddie Jackson and Kendall Williamson for this weekend’s game, per ESPN’s Kris Rhim.
Dan Campbell, Hendon Hooker Address Teddy Bridgewater Signing
Usually, a Super Bowl contender signing a new backup quarterback in Week 17 signals a glaring lack of faith in the club’s usual No. 2.
But Lions head coach Dan Campbell insisted that adding Teddy Bridgewater “doesn’t mean we’re disappointed” in 2023 third-rounder Hendon Hooker, who has spent the season backing up Jared Goff.
“It’s just a different world that we’re getting ready to walk into,” Campbell said (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “We felt like this was the right thing to do, especially with somebody that I have a tremendous amount of trust with and for. He understands our offense well.”
Campbell’s comments could be read as a subtle acknowledgement of the obvious experience disparity between Bridgewater, a nine-year veteran with 65 career starts, and Hooker, a 2023 third-rounder who has played 33 total snaps in the NFL.
Bridgewater has more passing attempts in the playoffs than Hooker has in his entire career. Campbell said that either quarterback could see the field if Goff misses any time in the playoffs and mentioned Bridgewater’s ability to lead the scout team offense as well. Hooker, who has stayed in touch with Bridgewater since his retirement last year, isn’t taking the signing personally.
“I figured Teddy was going to come back here this season,” Hooker said. “I didn’t know when. I knew when his season was over he was going to come back. I mean, we’ve been talking about it since the summer. He’s still my mentor at the end of the day, so any questions I have about life or this game of football or being a pro always seem to lean on Teddy.”
A Lions team that has seen injuries deplete its depth chart at other positions is now further protected at quarterback. While Goff has been one of the NFL’s most durable players during his nine-year career, the experience gulf between he and Hooker likely prompted this reunion. Bridgewater may well return to coaching soon after this season, but he also could be the QB the Lions call on if something were to happen to Goff during the playoffs. That makes this one of the more interesting late-season signings in recent memory.
QB Teddy Bridgewater Rejoins Lions
10:25pm: This is an active-roster deal, Rapoport adds. Rather than take the practice squad route like so many veterans have upon signing in-season, Bridgewater will be on the Lions’ 53 immediately.
Teams also showed recent interest in the successful high school coach/part-time QB for assistant positions, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. While coaching at the NFL level may be in the experienced passer’s future, Bridgewater preferred the chance to try to win a Super Bowl as a player first.
11:37am: Teddy Bridgewater enjoyed tremendous success in his first season as a high school head coach, leading his team to a state championship. He had announced intentions to explore an NFL return, however, and a familiar team will take him up on that effort.
The Lions are bringing Bridgewater back, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo report. Bridgewater spent last season in Detroit, announcing last December would retire and pursue coaching. As the Lions attempt to reach their first Super Bowl a year later, they have secured veteran QB depth via a reunion.
This will give the Lions more familiarity, as Bridgewater rejoins a quarterback room housing Jared Goff and Hendon Hooker. Bridgewater, 32, had played ahead of Hooker during the latter’s rookie season — one spent mostly on the reserve/NFI list thanks to a college ACL tear — but the second-year passer has worked as Goff’s backup this year. Goff and Hooker are the only two QBs on Detroit’s active roster. Unless Bridgewater is joining the NFC North leaders’ practice squad, the team will carry three QBs again.
Upon retiring, Bridgewater landed an interesting gig. He became the head coach of his alma mater, Miami Northwestern High, and he led the school to a state championship. This might not be a long-term move, as Bridgewater hinted at returning to the league before potentially stepping back into the role of head coach at his former high school. It appears Bridgewater and the Lions had kept in contact, and the sides have at least agreed on a short-term partnership for a second straight year.
The Lions had initially signed Bridgewater during their 2023 training camp. They then placed Nate Sudfeld on IR, clearing the way for the veteran passer to back up Goff. Detroit did not need Bridgewater last season, as Goff continued to display durability, and has not needed Hooker to make any starts this year. During his Lions stint, Goff has only missed time due to injury in 2021. His rebound has been one of the defining NFL stories this decade, and the sides agreed on a long-term extension this offseason. Bridgewater, however, would supply experience Hooker does not.
It would stand to reason Bridgewater has kept himself in good shape during his initial stint coaching at the high school level. The former first-round pick was unable to stay healthy during his 2022 Dolphins stint, but he held up in a backup role with the Lions. Bridgewater has made 65 starts over the course of his career, one that included a recovery from a severe knee injury. The 2014 draftee has since worked as a full-time starter for the Panthers and Broncos. Two concussions ended his run in Denver; that 2021 season marked the last time Bridgewater was a starter.
Dan Campbell said during training camp Sudfeld was outperforming Hooker, but the Lions did not keep three QBs on their active roster. They instead cut Sudfeld, adding Jake Fromm to their practice squad a day later. Fromm serves as Detroit’s No. 3 quarterback; his status will be worth monitoring now that Bridgewater is back.
The Lions drafted Hooker in last year’s third round, signing off on a rehab project that included a lengthy NFI stay. Three Detroit blowouts this season gave Hooker some playing time; he has thrown nine passes after sitting last season. If Goff were to go down now, Bridgewater’s season in Ben Johnson‘s offense may well move him back into the role of the immediate backup. Two more seasons remain on Hooker’s rookie deal. While the Tennessee alum may well go back to the role of top Goff backup entering the offseason, it is certainly worth wondering if he has lost that job for the season’s remainder.
Campbell confirmed he and Bridgewater have stayed in touch, adding (via Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers) this does not mean the team has lost faith in Hooker. Having both players active sounds like it is in the cards for the Lions, with Campbell indicating the team taking advantage of the emergency QB rule in the playoffs was a factor in the Bridgewater reunion.
Extension Candidate: Nik Bonitto
As the Broncos reconstructed their pass-rushing corps following the Von Miller trade, high-profile veterans Bradley Chubb and Randy Gregory headlined the team’s depth chart. Baron Browning and fellow Ohio State alum-turned-2021 Broncos draftee Jonathon Cooper loomed as rotational pieces as well. The team’s plans changed fairly quickly to start its first post-Miller season.
Denver traded Chubb for a big haul, collecting first- and fourth-round picks from the Dolphins for the 2018 first-rounder. The team, which had dealt two firsts and six more assets to the Seahawks for Russell Wilson, then sent that first to the Saints for Sean Payton‘s rights. Immediately coming in as the lead decision-maker in Denver, Payton bailed on Gregory and has since traded Browning — a 2021 third-rounder. That trade with the Cardinals came days after the Broncos extended Cooper at what looks like a team-friendly rate, considering what the emerging edge defender could have made if he tested the 2025 free agent market.
While Cooper’s four-year, $54MM deal locks the seventh-round success story in through 2028, the Broncos’ other OLB starter has become one of the NFL’s top 2024 breakthroughs. Chosen with the second-round pick obtained from the Rams in the Miller trade, Nik Bonitto has produced a season that will price him well north of the range into which Cooper settled. Eligible for an extension next month, the third-year EDGE will provide an interesting case for a Broncos team that is both building around a rookie-quarterback contract while still paying the penalty for its previous QB mistake.
Coming to Denver as a pass rush specialist deemed a work-in-progress against the run, Bonitto has delivered the Broncos’ first double-digit sack season since Miller and Chubb both did so in 2018. The Broncos kept seeing injuries derail further efforts to deploy Miller and Chubb together, but thus far, Bonitto and Cooper have been catalysts for the team’s defensive turnaround. With Cooper locked in, the focus will shift to Bonitto, whose rookie contract runs through next season.
Bonitto’s 11.5 sacks are tied for fourth in the NFL; the Oklahoma alum’s 20 QB hits match his full-season total from 2023. Bonitto’s 32 pressures are tied for 11th leaguewide. The improved defender also has memorably produced two defensive touchdowns, recording a pick-six against the Browns and then snatching a backward pass — on a slow-developing Colts trick play — and adding a second score. While Bovada gives Patrick Surtain the only realistic chance to overtake T.J. Watt as Defensive Player of the Year, Bonitto sits third among the odds for this award.
For a Broncos team that made three of this century’s worst personnel decisions (hiring Nathaniel Hackett as HC, trading for Wilson and then extending him), Bonitto has provided a vital spark — particularly with regards to GM George Paton‘s job status. Continuing to fight off rumors he might be jettisoned, Paton has given the now-Payton-led team integral pieces via the draft. Bo Nix obviously headlines the Broncos’ roster right now, but Surtain, Bonitto, Cooper and Quinn Meinerz have been important pieces to the team turning its operation around despite carrying a staggering $90.1MM in dead money.
Paton has extended Surtain, Meinerz, Cooper and John Elway-era draftee Garett Bolles this year. Bonitto’s 2024 season may be good enough that the Broncos cannot realistically entertain not paying him by 2026. The franchise tag could come into play for the former No. 64 overall pick at that point, as Bonitto’s value has climbed to an interesting place. But the Broncos would be wise to engage in earlier extension talks with their top pass rusher.
Cooper’s deal only made him the league’s 22nd-highest-paid edge rusher. It would seem unrealistic the Broncos could present Bonitto an offer outside the top 10 in that market. Anything beyond the top five ($25MM AAV and up) may also be a stretch, as both Brian Burns and Josh Hines-Allen each reached $28MM per year on their 2024 extensions. Those pacts rank second and third among edge players, and the market will change soon.
Fireworks are also likely coming in this market next year, with the likes of Watt, Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons and Trey Hendrickson entering contract years. Bonitto would be wise to wait to see what the market looks like late next summer, while the Broncos would be better off making an early move — as they did with Surtain this summer — and paying their ascending OLB before the top of the market changes.
The team took on the bulk of the Wilson dead money this year, carrying $53MM in dead cap on its payroll, but $30MM-plus is due to hit next year. That undercuts a Broncos effort to capitalize on Nix’s rookie deal. The Broncos’ 2026 cap sheet will look a bit better, with Nix still on rookie terms and Wilson’s contract removed from the equation, but a Bonitto extension — assuming Nix’s upward trajectory continues — would stand to overlap with a monster QB extension by the late 2020s. That would be a good problem for a Broncos team that whiffed many times trying to replace Peyton Manning, however.
Surtain and four of the team’s five offensive line starters are all now signed through at least 2026. Courtland Sutton and D-lineman Zach Allen‘s contracts go through 2025. Like Nix and this contingent, Bonitto has established himself as a core performer. When his extension talks start will be a key Broncos storyline to monitor during the upcoming offseason.
49ers Targeted Terry McLaurin In Potential Commanders Trade
The 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk saga brought countless rumors last summer. The what-ifs involved a host of teams and other wideouts — Amari Cooper, Justin Jefferson and Courtland Sutton among them — as San Francisco ultimately stayed the course with a player who snared second-team All-Pro acclaim last season.
Aiyuk talks with the Steelers became the 49ers’ top contingency plan, as the Browns and Patriots also made aggressive trade and extension offers. Given permission to explore trade avenues, Aiyuk was not interested in a deal to Cleveland or New England. And he eventually nixed a Pittsburgh path, signing a four-year, $120MM San Francisco extension. That deal soon became even more important for Aiyuk, who suffered a torn ACL that ended what had already been a disappointing season.
Throughout the process, the Commanders loomed as a stealth destination — dating back to Aiyuk suggesting the fit in June. It later came out that Aiyuk would have indeed been interested in being moved to Washington to team up with Jayden Daniels, Aiyuk’s teammate in 2019 with Arizona State. The Commanders were not believed to have been overly interested, despite an apparent need for a player to complement Terry McLaurin. New information sheds some light on why Washington did not dive into the Aiyuk sweepstakes.
The 49ers would have been open to appeasing Aiyuk by dealing him to the Commanders had the NFC East team included McLaurin in the deal, The Athletic’s Matt Barrows notes (subscription required). Unlike the Browns, the Commanders were not offering their No. 1 target for Aiyuk. Incongruous plans presumably doomed a 49ers-Commanders swap this summer.
It would have stood to reason the Commanders would have wanted Aiyuk to play alongside McLaurin, as the Steelers did by eyeing an Aiyuk-George Pickens combo. Rather than offer Pickens to the 49ers in an Aiyuk package, the Steelers offered picks and eventually agreed to trade parameters. That opens the door to Washington potentially being able to have done the same, but reports did not have the NFC East club nearly as far down the road on a trade this summer.
Cleveland offered Cooper, along with second- and fifth-round picks, to San Francisco for Aiyuk, who would have paired with Jerry Jeudy. The Patriots discussed Kendrick Bourne with the 49ers. McLaurin, however, appeared to represent a bridge too far; moving their perennial leading receiver for Aiyuk would have not stood to produce much of a gain for the Commanders.
At 29, McLaurin is three years older than Aiyuk. But he had already been working with Daniels for months by the time serious Aiyuk trade talks commenced. The former third-round pick is having his best season, averaging a career-high 63.3 receiving yards per game.
McLaurin, who has only missed three career games, now has five 1,000-yard seasons, having crossed that barrier most recently in Week 16. His contract, one that helped shape the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel extension, runs through 2025. The Commanders will need to navigate extension talks soon, but they appear quite happy with McLaurin, whose third contract would complement Daniels’ rookie deal.
McLaurin has outplayed Samuel by a significant margin this season and would stand to have more 2025 trade value, but no indications have surfaced Washington plans to seriously entertain a move. Aiyuk’s 49ers deal runs through 2028.
49ers LB Dre Greenlaw Out For Season
Dre Greenlaw‘s outlook for 2024 took a massive hit when he suffered an Achilles tear during Super Bowl LVIII. The 49ers linebacker managed to work his way back this year, but his season has already come to an end. 
Greenlaw will be shut down for the remainder of the campaign, as noted by Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News. He was activated earlier this month, paving the way for a late-season run of action at a time when the 49ers still had a chance at the postseason. Greenlaw exited his first game back in the lineup after logging 30 snaps, however, and he managed only four defensive plays on Sunday.
San Francisco is officially out of the hunt for the playoffs, so finishing out the final two weeks of the season on the mend is sensible in Greenlaw’s case. His absence will, of course, leave the team thin at linebacker given De’Vondre Campbell‘s team-induced suspension for refusing to enter the game in Week 15. Greenlaw’s return resulted him reprising his first-team role, something which relegated Campbell to backup duties. Now, neither will see the field the rest of the way.
Greenlaw has spent his entire six-year career with the 49ers, and when healthy he has been a mainstay on defense. The 27-year-old was limited to only three games in 2021, but in each of his other campaigns prior to this one he amassed at least 86 tackles (topping out at 127 in 2022). Greenlaw landed a two-year, $16.4MM extension after that season, but he is now on track for free agency.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan recently confirmed the 49ers hope to re-sign Greenlaw, with the same also being true of safety Talanoa Hufanga. Both defenders have dealt with major injuries leading to signficant missed time in 2024, though, a factor which could hurt their respective markets. As San Francisco prepares for a Brock Purdy extension, it remains to be seen how much of a commitment the team will be able to make to retain Greenlaw, Hufanga or the other names on its list of pending free agents.
Sitting at 6-9 on the year and managing several notable injuries at other positions, very little has gone right for the 49ers this year and attention will increasingly shift to 2025. With Greenlaw out of the picture for the final two games of the campaign, his health status and his future with San Francisco will become a notable storyline.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/26/24
Thursday’s minor moves around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Reverted to season-ending IR (practice window expired): CB Elijah Jones
Chicago Bears
- Elevated: G Chris Glaser
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on IR: DT Shelby Harris
- Signed to active roster: WR James Proche
Detroit Lions
- Waived: LB Kwon Alexander
New York Jets
- Designated for return: K Greg Zuerlein
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on IR: LT Trent Williams (story)
- Signed (to two-year deal): OL Matt Hennessy
Seattle Seahawks
- Elevated: CB Artie Burns
Harris’ second season with the Browns saw him play a key role with 13 starts and a 59% snap share on defense. The 33-year-old remained consistent against the run (37 tackles) while chipping in as a pass rusher (1.5 sacks), but his campaign is now over as he deals with an elbow injury. One year remains on Harris’ contract, although none of his scheduled $1.26MM base salary is guaranteed.
Alexander joined the Lions late last month as part of the team’s bid to add healthy options at the linebacker spot. He made a pair of appearances with Detroit prior to today’s move, one which may not mark the end of his time with the team. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Lions hope to be able to sign Alexander, 30, to their practice squad provided he clears waivers. Teams will be able to put in a claim until tomorrow afternoon, by which point he will become a free agent if no interested parties emerge.
Zuerlein has been on injured reserve since the end of October, spurring the Jets to turn to other kicking options. If the veteran is activated in the near future, he will be able to make a late-season return in 2024, his third campaign with the Jets. Failing that, New York will still have Anders Carlson and recent practice squad addition Greg Joseph in place at the position.
LB David Long Fails Titans Physical
David Long was placed on waivers by the Lions Tuesday. The veteran linebacker was claimed by the Titans yesterday, setting him up to close out the campaign via a reunion with Tennessee. 
However, the team announced on Thursday that Long has failed his physical. As a result, he will not be joining the Titans’ active roster and he will return to the waiver wire with an injury designation. Teams will once again be able to add him through that route, although given today’s development it would come as no surprise if Long were to reach free agency.
The 28-year-old began the season with Miami, but partway through the year he lost his starting role. Shortly thereafter, Long was waived; the Lions moved quickly in adding him on a practice squad deal to provide needed linebacker depth. The West Virginia product wound up making a total of five appearances with Detroit, including one start. Long only logged a snap share of 23% (albeit with a regular special teams role), though, and his time in the Motor City came to an end with other several roster changes taking place as certain defenders return to the lineup.
Long was drafted by the Titans in 2019, and during his first two seasons in the league he was a mainstay on special teams while handling rotational defensive duties. The former sixth-rounder emerged as a full-time starter for the final year of his rookie contract, and he landed a two-year, $10MM free agent deal with Miami as a result. Long set a career high with 113 tackles last season, but his Dolphins tenure came to an abrupt end once he was relegated to backup duties.
With a Long reunion now off, the Titans will finish out the year with their current LB corps. Kenneth Murray suffered a wrist injury on Sunday, and Tennessee placed him on injured reserve yesterday. His debut Titans campaign is over as a result, and losing the team’s leading tackler made the waiver claim on Long an understandable move. The latter will not return to the Titans, though, and it will be interesting to see if he manages to catch on with a different team before the end of the season.
Trent Williams Will Not Return This Season
DECEMBER 26: Williams has visited multiple specialists about the injury, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle notes. Shanahan confirmed the issue has not been resolved as quickly as hoped, but he added there has been no indication the injury is career-threatening. Needless to say, Williams’ ability to recover in full in time for next season will be imperative for the 49ers.
DECEMBER 23: Trent Williams did well to secure strong terms via a reworking completed just days before the season. The perennial All-Pro tackle will not be back to close out Year 1 of this revised agreement.
Kyle Shanahan announced Monday (via ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner) that his future Hall of Fame blindside blocker will not return from injury this season. Considering the 49ers have been eliminated, this is not especially surprising. Williams, who has been rehabbing an ankle injury, has not played since Week 11. Shanahan had said last week (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport) Williams would need to be close to healthy to come back this year, and he is not yet at that point. Two years remain on Williams’ contract.
This marks the second straight year in which Williams has missed multiple games due to injury. The 49ers went 0-2 in those contests last season; they are 1-4 without Williams this year. Though, San Francisco has seen other valuable cogs miss time during this disastrous stretch as well. The team sits 6-9 as another woeful NFC title defense winds down.
Williams, 36, has not made reference to a 2025 retirement yet. After securing a wave of guarantees midway through his six-year contract, it would represent a modest surprise if the former top-five pick walked away after this season.
Ending a lengthy holdout via the summer adjustment, the 49ers have moved all but $1.26MM of Williams’ 2025 base salary into void years and option bonuses. He received a $25.69MM signing bonus upon inking his updated deal in September and will not be moved in 2025, as such a move would be punitive for the 49ers, who would take on $55MM-plus in dead money by doing so. Although Williams is wrapping his age-36 season, he has remained one of the best linemen in football. San Francisco would benefit by having him back for what would be a 16th NFL season come 2025.
Williams came back this season in a partial effort to set the tackle record for Pro Bowl nods. He is sitting on 11 going into this year’s unveiling; Hall of Famers Anthony Munoz, Jonathan Ogden and Willie Roaf join him at that number. Pro Football Focus slotted Williams seventh overall among tackles this season, a slight drop-off from his usual place, but ESPN’s pass block win rate metric ranks him first. It would not surprise to see Williams, despite missing five games, to be selected to his 12th Pro Bowl soon.
The lucrative contract the 49ers gave to Williams has influenced their decision-making up front. The team has a midlevel deal at center (Jake Brendel) and a lower-end contract at right tackle (Colton McKivitz) and rookie pacts at guard (Aaron Banks, Dominick Puni). San Francisco is unlikely to re-sign Banks, and Williams’ contract should be expected to shape the team’s contractual blueprint — especially with Brock Purdy still on track to be paid in 2025 — with regards to its O-line. Williams announcing he is coming back would all but confirm this approach.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/26/24
Thursday’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Matthew Jones
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: QB Emory Jones
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LB DaRon Gilbert
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Michael Tutsie
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DL Jonathan Harris
- Released: CB Kelvin Joseph
New York Giants
- Signed: DB Alex Cook, DT Casey Rodgers
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OL Sebastian Gutierrez
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: K Matthew Wright
- Released: T Kellen Diesch
Washington Commanders
- Signed: WR Chris Moore