Harrison Mevis

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/8/25

Several teams around the NFL made tweaks to their rosters on Saturday in preparation for Sunday’s slate of games. Here are all the latest moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Week 10 will mark the debut for both players the Chargers gave the IR-designated for return label during roster cutdowns in August. Their activations had already been accounted for, but Hand’s had not. With those three now back in the fold, the Bolts have three IR activations remaining on the season.

Harrison Mevis To Kick For Rams In Week 10, Team Keeping Joshua Karty

The results of the Rams’ midseason kicking competition are in.

Head coach Sean McVay announced that Harrison Mevis will get the nod over Joshua Karty on Sunday, per ESPN’s Sarah Barshop. Mevis was signed this week after Karty converted just 10 of his 15 field goal attempts in the first eight games of the season. Three of his five misses came inside 40 yards, a clear step back from his 2024 rookie season that featured just five misses all year. Karty has also missed three extra points on 26 attempts this season after missing only four on 32 attempts last year.

However, McVay also that Karty “isn’t going anywhere,” indicating that the kicking job may be assigned on a week-to-week basis until one of the two clearly wins the job.

The Rams will be going with a different long snapper in Week 10, as well. Alex Ward has held the job for the last three seasons, but 14-year veteran Jake McQuaide was re-signed by the Rams this week and will play on Sunday. McQuaide was the Rams’ long snapper from 2011 and 2020, a period that included the franchise’s move from St. Louis to Los Angeles.

Los Angeles is clearly trying to experiment with a new kicking battery to figure out their best combination for the rest of the season. Karty has two years remaining on his rookie contract, but it would cost the Rams virtually nothing to move on from him this year. That could give Mevis, who has never kicked in the regular season, a chance to secure the kicking job this year and potentially into the future.

Ward, meanwhile, is in the final year of his UDFA contract and will not be worth a restrict free agent tag in the spring. Like Karty, his contract is not an obstacle to releasing him. However, McQuaide is 37 years old and may be close to retirement, which would force the Rams to find another long snapper next year and potentially put them in a similar position to their current one.

Rams’ Joshua Karty, Harrison Mevis Competing For Kicker Job

After a decorated run at Stanford, where he was a two-time All-American, kicker Joshua Karty joined the Rams as a sixth-round pick in 2024. Karty went on to enjoy a productive rookie season in Los Angeles, but the 23-year-old is now in the midst of a disappointing sophomore campaign. His job is in jeopardy as a result.

The Rams added Harrison Mevis, undrafted out of Missouri in 2024, to their practice squad on Wednesday. Head coach Sean McVay has since revealed that Mevis and Karty will compete for the position ahead of a crucial matchup with the NFC West rival 49ers on Sunday (via Adam Grosbard of the Los Angeles Daily News).

The Rams’ kicking woes helped lead to a 26-23 overtime loss to the 49ers in the teams’ first matchup in Week 5. Karty missed one of his two field-goal attempts in that game, and the 49ers blocked one of his three extra-point tries.

While the Rams have since won three in a row to climb to 6-2, Karty’s struggles have continued. He missed his lone field-goal attempt and one of five extra points in a 34-10 blowout over the Saints last Sunday.

The Rams’ kicking operation has accounted for eight misses or blocks, the most in the NFL. A blocked field goal against the Eagles cost the Rams a buzzer-beating road win in Week 3. Overall, Karty has converted just 10 of 15 field goals – his 66.7% success rate ranks last in the league – and 23 of 26 extra points.

The Rams coasted against the Saints, but McVay was frustrated with their kicking issues after the game, saying: “It’s going to cost us — it’s cost us already. It’s been a momentum killer. It does take the air out of our sails” (via Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk).

Although McVay added that “this is not sustainable to continuously go where we want to go,” he went on to express confidence in Karty. Now, however, Karty will have to fend off Mevis to remain the Rams’ starter.

Mevis, a 5-foot-11, 243-pounder who’s also known as “Thiccer Kicker,” previously spent time with the Panthers and Jets. He doesn’t carry any regular-season experience in the NFL, however. Mevis impressed last year as a member of the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions, cashing in on 21 of 23 field goals (including playoffs).

While the Rams could have a new kicker this Sunday, a change at long snapper appears likely. Alex Ward has held the role since 2023, but McVay said he expects Jake McQuaide to take over in San Francisco. McQuaide is a 14-year veteran whose career began with the St. Louis Rams in 2011. He stuck with the organization through 2020 and made a pair of Pro Bowls during that span. After seeing action with four other teams since then, McQuaide reunited with the Rams on a practice squad deal on Tuesday.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/5/25

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Detroit Lions

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: LS Peter Bowden

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed: DT Coziah Izzard

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: OL Karsen Barnhart
  • Placed on IR: OL Tyler McLellan

Washington Commanders

Jets Add CB Nik Needham To Practice Squad

The Jets have added some veteran depth to their secondary. The team announced that they’ve signed defensive back Nik Needham to the practice squad. To make room, the team released kicker Harrison Mevis.

Needham burst onto the scene as an UDFA with the Dolphins in 2019, when he collected 54 tackles, 11 passes defensed, and a pair of picks. He settled into more of a part-time role in 2020 and 2021, although he still hauled in another four picks between those two seasons.

The defensive back started five of the first six games for Miami in 2022 before a torn Achilles ended his season early. When he returned in 2023, he was relegated to a bottom-of-the-depth-chart role, and he got into only a pair of games in 2024 while spending most of the campaign on the practice squad. Needham joined the Browns this past offseason before getting cut at the end of the preseason.

Michael Carter suffered a shoulder injury on Sunday that could put his Week 3 status in doubt, so Needham provides the organization with some extra veteran depth. Rookie third-round pick Azareye’h Thomas and 2024 fifth-round pick Qwan’tez Stiggers would likely get the first shot to soak up any leftover CB snaps.

The Jets weren’t finished. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, the team also worked out veteran cornerback Arthur Maulet. The veteran spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons in New York, starting 11 of his 23 appearances.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC East

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 BillsDolphinsJets and Patriots moves are noted below.

Buffalo Bills

Signed to practice squad:

Released from IR via injury settlement:

Miami Dolphins

Waived:

  • S Jordan Colbert

Signed to practice squad:

New England Patriots

Claimed:

Waived: 

Signed to practice squad:

New York Jets

Claimed:

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Jets Pare Roster To 53

The Jets waived Malachi Corley after one season. Beyond that move, here is how Aaron Glenn‘s first roster moved to 53:

Waived:

Waived/injury settlement:

Placed on IR:

Placed on IR (return designation):

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

The Jets will use one of their IR-return slots on a rookie UDFA. This expresses confidence Weston, who played at Florida for six seasons, will be a contributor. While Weston will drop the Jets’ injury activations number to seven, Cowart heads to season-ending IR. Gang Green has changed up significantly at defensive tackle over the past week, acquiring Jowon Briggs and Harrison Phillips before trading Derrick Nnadi back to the Chiefs and now placing Cowart on IR.

Cook’s release leaves only two quarterbacks on New York’s active roster. While the Missouri product could be kept on a practice squad deal, Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor are the active-roster passers. The Jets do intend to circle back to Jordan Clark — son of ex-Steelers safety-turned-ESPNer Ryan Clark — on a P-squad deal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Ditto Skinner, per veteran reporter Jordan Schultz.

Jets To Sign K Harrison Mevis

JUNE 18: The Jets officially signed Mevis on Wednesday and waived Carlson in a corresponding move, per a team announcement. That sets up Mevis and Davis to compete for New York’s starting kicker job this summer. Removing Carlson from this competition creates the rare kicker matchup consisting of two UDFAs without any regular-season experience. This marks the second time a team has waived Carlson in 10 months, as the Packers moved on just before last season.

JUNE 17: Moving on from Greg Zuerlein after three seasons, the Jets are set to hold a competition between far less experienced players. One of them is coming in from the UFL.

The spring/summer league finished its season Saturday, leaving players free to explore NFL opportunities. The Jets will look into one such performer. Birmingham Stallions kicker Harrison Mevis is signing with the Jets, according to NFL Draft Diamonds. ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini confirmed the signing, which will give Mevis another chance after he failed to make a roster in 2024.

Mevis made 20 of 21 field goals with the Stallions this season. He did not capture attention with 60-plus-yard makes like Jake Bates did last year, with the Birmingham kicker’s longest make being 54 yards. But the Lions seeing Bates make a considerable difference in his debut likely helped Mevis, who joined former NFL kickers Rodrigo Blankenship, Lucas Havrisik and Tristan Vizcaino in being UFL regulars this season.

Known as the “Thiccer Kicker” at Missouri, Mevis received an opportunity as a Panthers UDFA last year. That chance ended midway through training camp, however, as Carolina moved on and went with Eddy Pineiro, who played out his contract. Although Pineiro is a historically accurate option, he remains a free agent. The Jets are going younger post-Zuerlein.

New York has former Green Bay draftee Anders Carlson and rookie UDFA Caden Davis on its 90-man offseason roster. Carlson worked as a five-game Zuerlein fill-in for the Jets last season, after failing to keep his job as the Packers’ kicker during the preseason.

While Mevis did not produce Bates-like makes in the UFL, he has a strong leg that broke a near-40-year-old SEC record. He made a 61-yard field goal to lift Mizzou past former Big 12 rival Kansas State in 2023. Mevis’ best college season came in 2021, when he made 26 of 28 field goal tries for the Tigers. He is Mizzou’s all-time record holder with 86 career makes, and he earned second-team All-SEC acclaim as a senior in 2023.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/24

Today’s minor transactions to wrap up the weekend:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

  • Waived: RB Jacob Saylors

New York Jets

Trice will unfortunately see his rookie season come to an end before it began. The third-round pick out of Washington exited Atlanta’s first preseason game with a knee injury that was later confirmed to be a torn ACL. Trice had been working his way into to outside linebacker rotation with the Falcons.

With Mevis getting cut, it seems the Panthers’ kicking battle has been decided. The rookie kicker, known as the “Thicker Kicker” at Missouri, was brought in to provide incumbent kicker Eddy Pineiro with competition for the job. Mevis’ departure leaves Pineiro as the only remaining kicker on the roster, putting an end to any competition.

Panthers Sign 19 UDFA Rookies

The Panthers were able to address some weak spots on the roster with their draft picks last month but weren’t able to add much help to the offensive and defensive fronts. Thanks to a number of departures and a relatively small, seven-man draft class, Carolina was able to add a large, 19-man undrafted free agent group that does just that. Here’s the list of new UDFAs:

On offense, the Panthers add a little depth and a bit of potential, as well. Plummer was a journeyman in college, playing at Purdue for four years before spending a year each at Cal and Louisville. After a quiet tenure with the Boilermakers, Plummer delivered back-to-back 3,000-yard, 21-touchdown passing seasons for the Golden Bears and Cardinals.

At running back, Shirden doesn’t have much size or power, but his quick burst and speed are great attributes. In 2022, he led the FCS in rushing with 1,722 yards and 13 touchdowns while averaging 8.4 yards per carry. He followed that up in 2023 with 1,478 yards and 10 touchdowns. Coker was another small school phenom at Holy Cross. In his final two years, Coker caught 109 balls for 1,952 yards and 26 touchdowns. The jump in competition will be large for both players, but if they can make the adjustment, they could each earn roster spots.

Raym could be an underrated addition as a backup center after 29 starts at the position for the Sooners. He lacks perfect technique and athleticism but has toughness and instincts that could help him succeed in the NFL, and we’ve seen other linemen out of Oklahoma with similar limitations strive in the league.

On defense, Carolina brings in the try-hard Husky Mitchell. In all three years as a full-time starter, Mitchell led his team in tackles with 120, 140, and 113 from 2021-23. He stuffed the stat sheet over his collegiate career with 25 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, 10 passes defensed, and three interceptions. He struggles to overcome blockers and doesn’t cover well, but his above-average play recognition could make him a nuisance.

The Panthers added a small school phenom on defense, as well. Drew comes in from Virginia State, where he dominated in his last two seasons as a starter. He showed elite ball skills, racking up 34 passes defensed and 11 interceptions in those two years. Like Shirden and Coker, he’ll need to trust his abilities and develop to compete with much tougher competition.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.