DeMarquis Gates

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/3/24

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

  • Activated from IR: DL Viliami Fehoko
  • Placed on IR: RB Deuce Vaughn

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Troy Andersen is eyeing a return for the regular season finale after having been sidelined since late September with a pectoral injury. The 2022 second-round pick started five of his 17 appearances as a rookie, finishing with 69 tackles. Andersen had 19 tackles in a pair of appearances this season, with the linebacker missing Week 2 while sitting in concussion protocol.

An ankle injury will end Deuce Vaughn‘s rookie season early, with the sixth-round pick finishing with 80 yards from scrimmage on 30 touches. Regular backup RB Rico Dowdle missed last week while dealing with a lingering ankle injury, but Vaughn’s removal from the active roster probably bodes well for Dowdle’s availability. Of course, this move will also lead to even more speculation surrounding a potential Dalvin Cook pursuit.

After starting five of his 23 appearances through his first four seasons in the NFL, Phil Haynes entered the 2023 campaign as Seattle’s starting right guard. He started each of Seattle’s first eight games this season before landing on injured reserve with a toe injury. Anthony Bradford has been starting at the position in Haynes’ place, and he could keep his starting gig with Jason Peters sidelined with a foot injury.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/16/23

Today’s minor transactions and standard gameday elevations for the Sunday slate of games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Wilkinson returned to practice this week, and will be eligible to return to the lineup on Sunday given today’s activation. The addition of a starter up front will be welcomed by the Cardinals by giving them stability at the left guard spot in particular and by providing an upgrade in protection ahead of a matchup against the stout 49ers defensive front in general. The Cardinals now have four IR activations remaining.

Street was acquired from the Eagles at the trade deadline after he failed to find playing time this season. The 27-year-old has started all five of his appearances in Atlanta, however, racking up 14 tackles (including four for a loss) and one sack. Those numbers will help his free agent market this offseason, but a pectoral injury will sideline him for at least four weeks. If the Falcons fall short of the postseason, therefore, Street will not return in 2023.

McCain was a full-time starter with the Commanders over the past two seasons, but his release led to a one-year Giants agreement. The former fifth-rounder has 87 starts to his name, but he has been unable to carve out a role in New York’s secondary, playing only 19 defensive snaps. McCain has logged a 50% snap share on special teams, however, so his absence in the third phase will be notable if he is claimed off waivers or signed as a free agent by an interested team.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/23

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Waived from reserve/retired list: WR John Ross

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Ross signed a reserve/futures deal with the Chiefs in January but retired before training camp. The Combine 40-yard dash record holder now intends to resume his career, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo. Ross, who turned 28 today, has not played in a regular-season game since 2021 with the Giants.

A Raiders spring signee, Shelley did not make Las Vegas’ 53-man roster. The Rams picked him up before the season and have used him mostly on special teams. Shelley, who Bears and Vikings prior to this two-team 2023, has logged 76 defensive snaps this season. But the veteran cornerback has been on the field for 65% of Los Angeles’ special teams plays.

Justin Fields To Play In Week 11; Bears To Activate RB Khalil Herbert From IR

NOVEMBER 18: The Bears made it official today, activating Herbert for the team’s Week 11 matchup in Detroit. It remains to be seen what Herbert’s role will be after he seemed to be firmly establishing himself as the lead back in the two games before his absence. Foreman has had a few decent performances since then while rookie Roschon Johnson has remained a change of pace back and Travis Homer has remained a special teamer.

The activation is the team’s eighth off of injured reserve this year, which is the limit for a season. If any other players are placed on IR, they will be forced to remain there for the rest of the year.

In addition to Herbert’s activation, the Bears announced their standard gameday practice squad elevations for tomorrow. They have selected linebacker Micah Baskerville and outside linebacker DeMarquis Gates to dress up against the Lions.

NOVEMBER 17: The Bears’ offense will see two significant reinforcements in time for Week 11. As expected, quarterback Justin Fields will suit up on Sunday as he was taken off the injury report. Running back Khalil Herbert, meanwhile, will be activated off IR, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes.

Fields has missed the past four games due to a thumb injury, but it was learned earlier this week that Chicago intended to bring the former first-rounder back into the fold. With that now confirmed, Fields can embark on a late-season stretch in which plenty of his post-2023 future will be determined. Recent indications have suggested Fields will need to convince the Bears’ brass – which was not in place when he was drafted – of his worth to avoid having the team draft a new signal-caller in April.

2023 has seen the 24-year-old continue to put up inconsistent numbers, and the thumb injury has added to his missed time. Fields is under contract through at least 2024, though the Bears could add one year to his rookie pact by exercising his fifth-year option this spring. Doing so would represent a sign of confidence in his progression, but the team is slated to have two high first-rounders in April’s draft. That would provide an opportunity to acquire a Fields successor and move on from the Ohio State alum. His play down the stretch will thus be worth watching closely.

Herbert was one of three players the Bears designated for return last week. The others – wideout Equanimeous St. Brown and cornerback Josh Blackwell were activated, but Herbert was not. The latter will notably represent the eighth and final IR activation used by Chicago this season. While their aggressiveness with using injured reserve as a means of stashing injured players has carried risk, Herbert’s return will be welcomed on the Bears’ offense.

The unit has struggled in a number of categories, although running production has not been one of them. The Bears rank fifth in the NFL with an average of 135 yards per game on the ground, and Herbert sits second on the team with 272 on the year. Free agent addition D’Onta Foreman has taken the lead in that department while logging a heavy workload in Herbert’s absence. It will be interesting to see how the RB snaps are divided with the team’s backfield returning to health.

The 3-7 Bears will aim to ride the return of Fields and Herbert to an uptick in offensive efficiency late in the year. With plenty at stake for the former (along with several members of the coaching staff and/or front office, in the view of many), Chicago will be a team to monitor in the closing weeks of the campaign.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/23

We have our first flood of pregame transactions of the season today as teams across the league with games tomorrow utilize their two permitted practice squad elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Promoted from practice squad: LB Brevin Allen

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: RB Myles Gaskin, OLB Benton Whitley

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC North

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Bears, Lions, Packers and Vikings moves are noted below.

Chicago Bears

Placed on IR:

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Detroit Lions

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Green Bay Packers

Claimed:

Released:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Minnesota Vikings

Placed on IR:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Bears Set Initial Roster, Waive DE Trevis Gipson

The Bears have been slowly trimming down their squad over the past few days, and the front office has now officially landed on their initial roster. The Bears announced the following moves, some of which were previously reported:

Placed on IR:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

The moves actually reduce Chicago’s roster to 52 players, so additions are certainly coming.

Trevis Gipson is a bit of a surprise cut after the former fifth-round pick got into 33 games (19 starts) for the Bears over the past two years. The defensive lineman showed some pass-rushing prowess during his rookie season, compiling seven sacks, seven tackles for loss, and seven QB hits. His numbers took a bit of a step back in 2022, with the Tulsa product finishing with only three sacks. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter), the Bears worked on a trade for Gipson and had “teams involved” in the bidding but couldn’t come to terms before today’s roster deadline.

Trestan Ebner was another Bears draft pick that got into 17 games last season. The 2022 sixth-round pick ended up getting 26 touches on offense, collecting 62 yards from scrimmage while coughing up two fumbles. Ebner also returned 10 kickoffs for Chicago last season. The running back has been in concussion protocol since the early parts of the preseason, and there’s a chance he reverts to the Bears’ injured reserve if he goes unclaimed.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/4/23

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

  • Placed on IR: LB De’Jon Harris

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/31/22

Today’s roster moves heading into gameday:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: G Kyle Hinton, DL T.J. Smith

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/26/22

The league’s minor moves and standard gameday elevations for Week 12:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders