NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/19/25
Here are today’s practice squad transactions in the NFL:
Chicago Bears
- Released from practice squad/injured list (with injury settlement): DE Xavier Carlton
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Cody White
- Released: RB Damien Martinez
With White getting released from the 53-man roster today and brought back to the practice squad, the rookie out of Miami becomes a free agent. Martinez himself has been dropped and brought back to the practice squad in Seattle before, so he may be a candidate to return if things open up again.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/13/25
Here are Saturday’s practice squad moves:
Chicago Bears
- Placed on practice squad/injured list: DE Xavier Carlton
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Trey Washington
- Released: S Darrick Forrest
Washington Commanders
- Signed: TE Lawrence Cager
- Released: P Mitch Wishnowsky
The Commanders needed Wishnowsky as insurance with regular punter Tress Way dealing with back issues throughout the week, but having made it through Week 2 with a heathy Way, Washington brings back Cager, whom they dropped to make room for Wishnowsky.
Carlton was moved off the practice squad to make room for former third-round kicker Jake Moody, who cleared waivers after getting cut from San Francisco this week and signed a practice squad deal in Chicago.
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
Claimed:
- LB D’Marco Jackson (from Saints), CB Jaylon Jones (from Cardinals)
Released:
- LS Scott Daly, WR Devin Duvernay
Signed to practice squad:
- WR Maurice Alexander, WR Miles Boykin, RB Brittain Brown, TE Stephen Carlson, DL Xavier Carlton, LB Power Echols, LS Luke Elkin, CB Tre Flowers, DL Jonathan Ford, DB Mekhi Garner, DL Tanoh Kpassagnon, DL Jamree Kromah, OL Jordan McFadden, WR JP Richardson, OL Ricky Stromberg
Detroit Lions
Signed:
Claimed:
- DT Tyler Lacy (from Jaguars), DE Tyrus Wheat (from Cowboys)
Signed to practice squad:
- DL Myles Adams, WR Ronnie Bell, C Trystan Colon, DL Keith Cooper, DB Erick Hallett, TE Zach Horton, WR Tom Kennedy, WR Jackson Meeks, OL Mason Miller, OL Michael Niese, LB Anthony Pittman, RB Jacob Saylors, S Loren Strickland, T Dan Skipper, DL Isaac Ukwu
Green Bay Packers
Signed:
- LB Nick Niemann
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
- RB Israel Abanikanda, DL Deslin Alexandre, DB Johnathan Baldwin, T Brant Banks, DL James Ester, WR Mecole Hardman, LB Jamon Johnson, K Mark McNamee, DL Arron Mosby, WR Isaiah Neyor, WR Will Sheppard, DB Jaylin Simpson, LB Kristian Welch
Minnesota Vikings
Signed to practice squad:
- G Henry Byrd, WR Dontae Fleming, S Kahlef Hailassie, DL Jonathan Harris, WR Lucky Jackson, WR Jeshuan Jones, WR Tim Jones, G Vershon Lee, CB Fabian Moreau, OLB Gabriel Murphy, TE Bryson Nesbit, T Max Pircher, DL Taki Taimani, RB Xazavian Valladay, TE Nick Vannett, CB Zemaiah Vaughn
Bears Move CB Zah Frazier To Reserve/NFI List, Cut 11
The Bears were among the teams which moved early in beginning their roster cuts. Chicago has announced another batch of moves today while continuing to move toward the requisite 53:
Placed on Reserve/NFI list:
- CB Zah Frazier
Released:
- DB Tre Flowers
- RB Royce Freeman
- OL Joshua Miles
Waived:
- S Millard Bradford
- DL Xavier Carlton
- S Alex Cook
- LB Power Echols
- CB Kaleb Hayes
- QB Austin Reed
- RB Ian Wheeler
- TE Joel Wilson
As a result of today’s transactions, the Bears are down to 73 on their roster. Like all other teams, they have until tomorrow afternoon to reach the roster limit.
Frazier will be required to miss at least the first four weeks of the season given his spot on the non-football injury list. Losing the fifth-round rookie until at least October adds further to the injury issues at the cornerback position for Chicago. Terrell Smith was placed on injured reserve yesterday, ending his season.
The tight end spot is crowded for the Bears, so Wilson being let go comes as little surprise. After leading the team in preseason receptions, though, he could remain in the Windy City through the start of the campaign. KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson reports Chicago plans to retain the 25-year-old via the practice squad provided he clears waivers.
Bears DE Austin Booker Primed For Breakout Season
Chicago’s biggest free agent signings this offseason were on their defensive and offensive fronts. Defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, and center Drew Dalman all earned three-year contracts with values north of $40MM. Odeyingbo will now line up across from Montez Sweat on the ends of the defensive line, which will force a promising, young second-year player to come off the bench in his sophomore campaign. 
According to Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic, Austin Booker seems primed for a breakout season in 2025. A fifth-round rookie last year, Booker didn’t get any starts in his first season, but he became an important member of the defensive line rotation early and often throughout the year. In the first half of the season, he frequently was on the field for a third of the team’s defensive snaps, twice seeing the field for nearly half of the defense’s snaps in games. In his limited time, he tallied 1.5 sacks, four quarterback hits, and three tackles for loss.
Booker benefits most this year from a lack of depth at the position. Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and second-round rookie Shemar Turner both have the flexibility to kick outside in bigger formations, but behind Sweat and Odeyingbo, Booker is competing as a true edge rusher with Dominique Robinson, Xavier Carlton, Daniel Hardy, and Jamree Kromah. Robinson has more experience than Booker, but in three years, he’s struggled to stay on the field and struggled to make an impact whenever he is available. Carlton is impressive but has much to prove as an undrafted free agent rookie. Hardy was a special teamer for most of last year, and Kromah was an undrafted rookie who failed to ever see the field in 2024.
While Booker didn’t jump off the stat sheet in Year 1, he showed lots of promise. With a lack of serious competition behind him, Booker is primed to enter training camp as the first defensive end off the bench. If he can hold that position going into the regular season, the 22-year-old should have plenty of opportunities to get on the field and make a name for himself in Year 2.
Bears Announce 10-Man UDFA Class
The Bears enjoyed a draft that saw them make four of the first 62 draft picks (one in the first round and three in the second). This week, they announced that they have added 10 undrafted free agents to their existing eight-man draft class. Here are the 10 new rookie signees:
- Major Burns, S (LSU)
- Xavier Carlton, DE (California)
- Power Echols, LB (North Carolina)
- Luke Elkin, LS (Iowa)
- Deion Hankins, RB (Texas State)
- Tysheem Johnson, S (Oregon)
- Jonathan Kim, K (Michigan State)
- JP Richardson, WR (TCU)
- Jereme Robinson, DE (Kansas)
- Jahdae Walker, WR (Texas A&M)
The biggest name of note here is Echols. In fact, Chicago was willing to give Echols $130K in total guarantees in order land his signature in undrafted free agency, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Echols is a hard worker who was a three-year starter for the Tar Heels. His first two seasons saw him accumulate 205 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, three forced fumbles, five pass defensed, and two interceptions. While his senior season saw a dip in his tackle numbers (76 total, 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks), his coverage ability showed improvement as he logged 7 passes defensed and a 42-yard interception return for a touchdown.
That coverage ability will be tested at the NFL level, though. Part of the reason Echols slid out of the draft, despite his tenacity and effort, was because his 5-foot-11 frame will make it difficult for him to cover tight ends at the next level and his lack of top end speed (4.73 40-yard dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine) will make it difficult for him to cover running backs at the next level. We’ve seen plenty of undersized backers find success in the NFL, though, and Echols will get his opportunity in Chicago.
The team also will take a chance with two specialists in Elkin and Kim. Kim faces a tall task of landing a roster spot, despite having a collegiate long of 58 yards and coming off of a year in East Lansing in which he made 19 of 21 kicks. Cairo Santos has held down the kicking job in the Windy City since 2020 with admirable consistency. He signed a four-year extension in 2023 intended to keep him in place through the 2027 NFL season, and he rewarded them last year by making eight of nine attempts from over 50 yards.
Elkin, on the other hand, stands a better shot at making a roster. The former Hawkeye will come in to compete with 31-year-old Scott Daly, who will be playing on his second one-year deal with the Bears.