Today’s practice squad transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
Kansas City Chiefs
Tuesday’s minor NFL moves:
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Detroit Lions
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
Today’s minor moves:
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Rams
New Orleans Saints
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
Denver Broncos
Green Bay Packers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington Redskins
5:42pm: Ware needs back surgery, Arnie Stapleton of the Associated Press reports. This could threaten to end Ware’s career, per Stapleton. The Broncos’ blind-side pass-rusher and vital instrument to the team claiming its third Super Bowl title last season, Ware has dealt with significant back issues over the past two seasons — missing almost all of this offseason and five games last season as a result of this issue. 
Although Ware’s contract with the Broncos is up after 2016, he expressed desire to play one more year, with Mike Klis of 9News reporting the outside linebacker wants to do that in Denver. The Broncos chose Shane Ray in the first round of the ’15 draft and have fellow backup Shaquil Barrett playing a steady role off the bench, so a Ware reunion might not be in the cards for the Broncos, at least not at the price he signed for in 2014 (three years, $30MM). The team has some cap space but has bigger issues to deal with this offseason than addressing a pass rush that still would rank toward the top of the league without Ware.
3:17pm: The Broncos are placing DeMarcus Ware on injured reserve, the team announced. Ware was unable to go in practice on Wednesday as he deals with a back injury.
This may mean that Ware has played his final game with Denver and his final NFL game. He’s slated for free agency at the end of the year and it may be time to call it a career at the age of 34. This year, Ware appeared in 10 games and totaled 15 tackles and four sacks. That’s a step down from his previous two Pro Bowl seasons with the Broncos and several notches down from his best years with the Cowboys.
From 2005-2012, Ware was a staple in Dallas’ front seven. He earned four first-team All-Pro nods and seven Pro Bowl selections during that time and he did not miss a single regular-season game. He posted double-digit sack totals for the Cowboys in every season there, except for his first and last. In 2008, he led the entire league with 20.0 sacks. If this is the end of the line for Ware, he’ll leave behind a legacy of terrorizing quarterbacks while being a mensch off the field.
In other Broncos news, defensive back Kayvon Webster was also placed on IR with a concussion. The Broncos promoted nose tackle Kyle Peko and cornerback Taurean Nixon from the practice squad to the active roster.
The Broncos reached a multiyear agreement with Marlon Brown on Monday, per NFL.com’s James Palmer (on Twitter), with the former Ravens wide receiver becoming the Broncos’ seventh on their roster. It’s a two-year deal, according to Troy Renck of Denver7 (on Twitter).
Denver cut second-year cornerback Taurean Nixon to make room.
The Broncos cut Brown during training camp. However, as the Denver Post’s Cameron Wolfe tweets, the 6-foot-5 target likely would have made the team had a back injury not intervened. Wolfe adds Brown is likely to contribute if he can stay healthy, possibly in red zone situations given his size.
Brown played three seasons with the Ravens after arriving in Baltimore as a UDFA in 2013. He played under Gary Kubiak in 2014 during the current Broncos coach’s one-year stay in Maryland. The 25-year-old receiver has 87 career receptions for 849 yards and seven touchdowns. Brown hasn’t played in a game this season, with the Broncos’ August cut being his most recent NFL transaction.
Brown will join an Denver auxiliary wideout corps that has not seen one of its members stand out much over the past two seasons, with Jordan Norwood, Bennie Fowler, Cody Latimer and Jordan Taylor representing the current supplementary cast. Norwood leads this group with 203 receiving yards this season.
Nixon saw his first NFL action in the Broncos’ loss to the Raiders during a game in which Aqib Talib and Kayvon Webster did not play.
Following their acquisition of A.J. Derby from the Patriots before the trade deadline, the Broncos became deep enough at tight end to release their corps’ most veteran member. The team cut John Phillips and promoted cornerback Taurean Nixon in advance of its Week 9 clash with the Raiders, Mike Klis of 9News reports.
The eighth-year veteran became a fill-in while both of its primary options, Virgil Green and Jeff Heuerman, struggled with injuries this season. But both Green and Heuerman are now healthy, with Derby set to be active against Oakland, per Klis, after acclimating sufficiently to the Broncos’ playbook.
Phillips signed with the Broncos just before training camp and beat out slightly higher-profile addition Garrett Graham for a backup tight end job but ended up starting three games and playing all eight Denver contests. A former Cowboys sixth-round pick in 2009, Phillips has started 35 games in his career — starting at least one game in each of the seasons in which he’s been healthy. He played alongside Antonio Gates and Ladarius Green for the Chargers from 2013-15. This season, the 29-year-old Phillips rated as Pro Football Focus’ No. 21 tight end, mostly on the strength of his blocking.
The defending Super Bowl champions have not received much from their tight end position this season, with Green’s 150 receiving yards leading the way. Phillips has five receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown this season.
Aqib Talib‘s injury induced this move as well, with the standout corner being ruled out for the pivotal road tilt due to a back injury. Kayvon Webster‘s questionable status leaves the Broncos with three healthy corners, so Nixon — a seventh-round pick last year — will be summoned as a result.
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC West teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, and Chargers are noted below.
Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s AFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:
The Broncos are making their way to 53. Here’s the list of cuts: 
Thompson, an undrafted free agent, clawed his way on to the 53-man roster in each of the last two season. Unfortunately, he was not able to make the final cut this year thanks to the numbers crunch in the backfield and his lingering injuries. In 2014, the Duke product ran for 272 yards off of 54 carries with three rushing touchdowns. He also added four catches for 25 yards. Last season, Thompson appeared in 15 regular season games but carried the ball only 18 times for 48 yards while adding six catches for 51 yards. Andy Janovich will likely serve as Denver’s fullback with Thompson gone.
Peko got the highest bonus of any undrafted rookie free agent this year so it is a mild surprise to see him cut. The defensive tackle and other players on today’s cut list should find their way to Denver’s taxi squad.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.