Thayer Munford

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/15/25

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: T Isaac Alarcón

Seattle Seahawks

Both Jacksonville and San Francisco had their practice squads filled up with 16 players apiece, but Zierer and Alarcón were both able to be added as players in the league’s International Player Pathway Program. Zierer is a German-born lineman, and Alarcón was born in Mexico.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/13/25

Here are the latest moves from around the NFL,including practice squad elevations for all four teams playing on Monday Night Football:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Signed off Ravens’ practice squad: S J.T. Gray

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

  • Waived: OL Isaac Alarcon

Washington Commanders

The Bears elevated Moody to kick in their Monday night matchup with the Commanders with Cairo Santos sidelined by a quad injury.

Browns Exploring LT Options After Dawand Jones Injury

The Browns are looking for help on the blind side after losing offensive tackle Dawand Jones to a season-ending injury in Week 3. After Jones underwent surgery on his knee, the team placed him on injured reserve.

Jones opened the season as Cleveland’s starting left tackle but flipped to the right side in Week 3 with veteran Cornelius Lucas was struggling to fill in for an injured Jack Conklin. Lucas allowed five pressures in each of the Browns’ first two games of the season, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), so the team moved him to the blind side hoping for some improved play until Jones and Conklin could move back to their normal spots.

That approach did not go to plan, as Lucas struggled even more at left tackle in Week 3, allowing nine pressures, while Jones went down just four plays into the game. Even if Conklin is able to return in Week 4, Lucas doesn’t seem like a viable starter on either side. As a result, the Browns are already exploring other left tackle options with several weeks until the trade deadline, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

The trade route would be an interesting one for Cleveland. The best targets are going to likely be aging veterans on expiring deals, especially if they aren’t playing to the levels of their prime. The teams with those players are likely either expecting them to leave in free agency or not planning on re-signing them. Players like Rob Havenstein with the Rams or Colts tackle Braden Smith come to mind. As opposed to letting good players walk away and getting nothing in return, Los Angeles and Indianapolis could instead attempt to bring in some trade value for their potentially departing assets.

But then again, one has to look at Cleveland and how the Browns are set up. The team is clearly not in a win-now mode, so how much good would it do to part with valuable draft assets in exchange for a short-term rental. With so many young players throughout the roster and an intriguing pick collection next year, the Browns may be hesitant to part with any draft capital solely for a temporary fix.

They’ll have plenty of time to explore that avenue, though, and others. Just this morning they signed Thayer Munford to their active roster off the Patriots’ practice squad. A former seventh-round pick for the Raiders, Munford started 18 games over the first three years of his rookie contract in Las Vegas. Munford appears to be the first of many options that Cleveland will explore as they work to rebuild their offensive line on the fly.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 8/29/25

NFL teams continue adjusting their practice squads as we close in on the regular season:

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: S Jordan Colbert

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Anderson cleared waivers after being cut and can now be assigned to the 49ers’ practice squad. The reason San Francisco can add two while only dropping one from a full practice squad is because Zierer is from Munich, Germany, qualifying him to be a part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. While practice squads are capped at 16 players, teams can keep a 17th player if they are a part of the IPPP.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC West

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 BroncosChargersChiefs and Raiders moves are noted below.

Denver Broncos

Signed to practice squad:

Kansas City Chiefs

Signed to practice squad:

Las Vegas Raiders

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Chargers

Signed:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Raiders Make Final Moves Down To 53 Players

After making 18 cuts on Monday, the Raiders the following 22 moves to trim their roster down to 53-players, per a team announcement:

Waived

Released

Placed on IR (designated for return)

Backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell is projected to be out for six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery for a fractured wrist, but curiously, he will not land on injured reserve with a return designation. The Raiders may be waiting to make that move in case they need to open up a roster spot for a waiver claim, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review Journal. Las Vegas also kept offensive tackle Thayer Munford, who was a risk to get claimed on waivers, according to Bonsignore.

Despite a pre-draft endorsement from Tom Brady and O’Connell’s injury, Miller was unable to hang on the 53-man roster as a third-string quarterback. The Raiders will need a backup quarterback to start the year, and Miller is an obvious candidate to return to the practice squad for early-season elevations as O’Connell heals. They could also scour the waiver wire and then transfer O’Connell to the IR.

Johnson suffered a broken fibula in early August, but it was not expected to end his season. His designation to return confirms that projection, but he will still be sidelined for a minimum of four games to start the year.

Raiders’ WR Dont’e Thornton Jr., OL Thayer Munford Pushing For Starting Gigs

A pair of recent late-round draft picks could work their way into the Raiders starting lineup. Tashan Reed of The Athletic predicts that fourth-round rookie wideout Dont’e Thornton Jr. will be a starter, and the writer recently noted that former seventh-round offensive lineman Thayer Munford could be an option at left guard for Las Vegas.

Thornton had a breakout campaign during his second and final season at Tennessee, finishing with 26 receptions for 661 yards and six scores. That performance helped make him the 108th-overall pick in this year’s draft, and there’s a good chance he’ll have an opportunity to immediately earn starting reps for his new squad.

Reed notes that the receiver handled the majority of the first-team reps on the outside during OTAs, while Levi Edwards of the team’s website notes that the rookie has already become a top target of Geno Smith. Following the departure of Davante Adams last season, the Raiders struggled to find a third receiving option next to Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker. The new front office notably invested plenty of draft assets into the position, but interestingly, it’s not their highest WR selection who’s been stealing headlines.

The Raiders selected TCU’s Jack Bech in the second round (58th overall), and they later used a sixth-round selection on Montana State’s Tommy Mellott. The team was clearly counting on one of their draft picks to step up in 2025, and for the time being, that appears to be Thornton.

“I think Dont’e is unique in terms of he’s just a hair under 6-5 and he ran 4.3. There’s not a lot of humans on this planet that do that,” said new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly (via Edwards). “And I think if you had a draw up an outside receiver, you would pick that type of body type, someone that’s got length, someone that’s got a huge catch radius, but also has speed. Sometimes you can get a big guy like that, but he can’t really run, so they can stay with him. So, you add that speed element to him, his ability to sink his hips, his ability to get in and out of cuts.”

Elsewhere on offense, Munford has been getting some run with the first-team offense. With Alex Cappa inking a free agent deal to play right guard, there will likely be an open competition for LG snaps. While ESPN’s Ryan McFadden believes this competition will ultimately come down to Dylan Parham and Jordan Meredith, it sounds like Munford is firmly in the mix.

The 2022 seventh-round pick has seen an inconsistent role in three seasons in Las Vegas, starting 18 of his 46 games while primarily playing offensive tackle. When Parham didn’t practice during some of the team’s OTA sessions, it was Munford who spent time as the starting left guard (per Reed). This may have simply been to get a longer look at an OL combination, but it’s still notable that Munford was operating ahead of Meredith, who got eight starts for the Raiders in 2025.

With a new regime running the show, Munford should have a fresh opportunity to show what he’s got. Considering his versatility, the fourth-year player can at least rest easy knowing he’s currently in the driver’s seat for a roster spot.

OL Notes: Raiders, Giants, Brewer, Nijman

The Raiders had been planning to have Thayer Munford replace Jermaine Eluemunor at right tackle, but a hand injury early in camp created a competition. Third-round rookie DJ Glaze has earned more first-team reps upon Munford returning. While The Athletic’s Tashan Reed notes Munford — a 2022 seventh-rounder who competed with Eluemunor for the RT job last summer and saw action at both tackle spots during the season — still has the edge, Glaze has created a position battle (subscription required). Glaze’s chances at earning this job may also have increased Tuesday, with Reed adding Munford sustained an injury to his other hand.

Elsewhere on the Raiders’ front, second-round rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson remains on the active/PUP list. The Oregon product has been out of Raiders practice since early in OTAs, with a concussion sidelining him. Considering the timeline here, it is concerning how long the rookie has been out. Antonio Pierce did say (via Reed) he expects Powers-Johnson and LT Kolton Miller to begin practicing next week, but the former’s chances of winning the LG job — which the Raiders appeared to have earmarked for the Day 2 draftee — have taken a hit. The team does have veteran options in Cody Whitehair and Andrus Peat; the latter has been working at tackle while Miller has rehabbed.

Here is the latest from the O-line ranks around the league.

Latest On Raiders’ Offensive Line

After making minimal changes during the Josh McDaniels-Dave Ziegler period, the Raiders made a few moves aimed to bolster their offensive line this offseason. Though, they passed on a clear-cut upgrade effort.

The Raiders did not capitalize on this draft’s deep tackle crop, leaving Taliese Fuaga, Amarius Mims, Troy Fautanu and Co. on the board at No. 13 in order to take Brock Bowers in a best-player-available pick. With two-year right tackle starter Jermaine Eluemunor committing to New York during the legal tampering period, Las Vegas is readying to plug former seventh-rounder Thayer Munford in as a starter.

This has been a rumored scenario for a bit, but coming out of minicamp, ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez points to the Ohio State product being the clear favorite to take over opposite Kolton Miller. Munford was viewed as a player who could push Eluemunor for the gig during training camp last year, but the Raiders passed on elevating the younger player and kicking the veteran to a swing role. This worked out well for Eluemunor, who parlayed his second season as Las Vegas’ RT into a career-best payday (two years, $14MM) from the Giants.

Munford also saw time at left tackle last season, filling in for an injured Miller, who missed four games. Pro Football Focus viewed Munford’s work positively, particularly in the run game, in part-time duty. Ohio State has churned out a number of quality O-line prospects in recent years, and while Munford lasted until pick No. 238 in 2022, he started 45 games for the Buckeyes. He earned first-team All-Big Ten acclaim in 2020 and ’21, providing an interesting background ahead of this starter opportunity.

Raiders offensive line coach James Clegg confirmed (via The Athletic’s Vic Tafur) the team is moving Dylan Parham from left to right guard. This previously rumored move will pair Parham, a two-year LG starter, with Munford and clear a path for rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson on the left side. Though, Powers-Johnson missed most of Las Vegas’ offseason program with an undisclosed injury. Teams are not obligated to specify injuries during the offseason, but the second-round pick missed considerable time ahead of his first training camp.

One of the veteran blockers the Raiders added later in free agency, Cody Whitehair primarily filled in for Powers-Johnson, Gutierrez adds. Miller, who underwent shoulder surgery earlier this offseason, gave way to the other notable UFA O-line addition — Andrus Peat — during minicamp, per Tafur. While Whitehair and Peat look to be insurance options, they each have started more than 100 games. The Raiders received some quality stopgap work from mid-offseason pickup Greg Van Roten — at right guard — last season but did not re-sign him. Powers-Johnson’s training camp status will be worth monitoring, and his offseason absences stand to help Whitehair, who signed a one-year deal worth $2.5MM ($1.4MM guaranteed).

Peat’s extensive past, which includes Pro Bowl nods, at left guard would help his cause. But the Raiders using him as Miller’s fill-in opens the door for Whitehair. Peat also spent much of last season at LT, replacing an ineffective Trevor Penning.

The Raiders plan to manage Miller to keep him healthy this season, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore. This could lead to Peat, whose $2MM contract only includes $450K guaranteed, being prioritized as veteran insurance. Two years remain on Miller’s three-year, $54MM extension, though no guaranteed money is left on the veteran LT’s deal.

Peat in a swing role would make sense, given his past at guard and tackle. Whitehair has played extensively at guard and center. The Raiders also drafted Delmar Glaze in the third round, crowding a depth chart that was thinner in 2023. Glaze has backed up Munford this offseason, per Gutierrez. For now, though, left guard may be the only job up for grabs going into training camp.

Andrus Peat Sought Saints Exit; Raiders Making O-Line Changes

Andrus Peat spent nine seasons with the Saints, the last four attached to a contract he signed as a free agent in 2020. Peat played out what became a four-year deal and signed a one-year, $2MM deal with the Raiders shortly after the draft.

The Saints are believed to have shown interest in another Peat contract, but NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill writes he preferred a fresh start elsewhere. Peat figures to vie for a starting job in Las Vegas, while New Orleans is holding a competition to see who will start at guard opposite Cesar Ruiz.

The Saints initially signed Peat to a five-year deal back in 2020, but they voided the former first-rounder’s final year and gave him a pay cut in 2023. Peat, 30, missed 17 games due to injury from 2021-22 but ended up being the team’s replacement for struggling first-rounder Trevor Penning at left tackle last season.

Not much interest came his way this offseason, which also included a Titans visit. Pro Football Focus ranked Peat 56th among tackles last season; the former Pro Bowl guard will attempt to rebound with the Raiders. Though, Las Vegas is far from certain to turn to the mid-offseason pickup as a first-stringer. The team made some moves to bolster its front after multiple low-key offseasons regarding this position group.

In addition to Peat, the Raiders added Cody Whitehair in free agency and then used both their Day 2 picks on blockers — second-rounder Jackson Powers-Johnson, third-rounder DJ Glaze. The Raiders may view Peat as a swingman, making it rather interesting he would select Las Vegas as his free agency destination. It is unclear, however, if New Orleans made an offer. Given the Saints’ situation at tackle and left guard, it would make sense for the team to bring Peat back. But the sides separated. The 10th-year blocker is now on an O-line set for significant change.

Kolton Miller and re-signed center Andre James will reprise their roles, but the other three positions stand to see change from 2023. The Raiders are shifting two-year left guard Dylan Parham to the right side, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore, while Thayer Munford is the favorite to replace Jermaine Eluemunor at right tackle. Eluemunor signed a two-year, $14MM Giants deal in March.

A 2022 third-round pick, Parham logged 110 snaps at right guard as a rookie. But he has primarily played on the left side as a pro. Munford pushed Eluemunor during the Raiders’ 2023 training camp, but the veteran remained the Silver and Black’s right tackle when available. He also saw time at left tackle, filling in for Miller, who missed four games. PFF viewed Munford’s work positively, particularly in the run game, last season. This will still be a big jump for a former seventh-round pick.

Peat’s tackle history in the NFL has mostly come on the left side; he has logged all of 80 snaps at RT (78 of those as a rookie in 2015) as a pro. Glaze, who also could settle in as the Raiders’ swing tackle, will be part of the team’s RT battle as well, Bonsignore adds.

The Raiders are expected to use Powers-Johnson at left guard, but he missed much of the team’s OTA sessions, Bonsignore adds. Powers-Johnson played center at Oregon last season, replacing 2023 Broncos seventh-rounder Alex Forsyth as Bo Nix‘s snapper and winning the 2023 Rimington Award (given to Division I-FBS’ top center). The Raiders, who re-signed James to a three-year deal worth $24MM, are converting their second-round pick to guard. Powers-Johnson played 350 snaps at right guard as a sophomore in 2022.

Las Vegas, which did not re-sign primary 2023 RG Greg Van Roten, suddenly features both experience and a collection of early-round picks up front. It will be interesting to see how the team uses its host of offseason additions, as Peat (102) and Whitehair (118) have combined for 220 career starts. New Raiders OC Luke Getsy coaching Whitehair for two seasons in Chicago makes his status as a projected backup — as of now, at least — rather interesting as well.