Here are Saturday’s only taxi squad moves:
Seattle Seahawks
Akers and Griffin are staying in Seattle days after getting waived by the Seahawks. After having cleared waivers, the two have returned to the team on p-squad deals.
Here are today’s minor moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations for Week 15’s Sunday slate of games:
Arizona Cardinals
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Cleveland Browns
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Rams
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Seattle Seahawks
Tennessee Titans
Washington Commanders
Bryant makes his return to the Texans offense to replenish a thinned out tight ends group, while in Seattle, the Seahawks place their second-round rookie tight end, Arroyo, on injured reserve with a knee injury.
In Buffalo, this will be Jackson’s third and final standard gameday practice squad elevation. If the team wants to see him in another game this season, they’ll need to sign him to the 53-man roster. The same is true for Strong in Green Bay, Jackson and Mafi in Las Vegas, Smyth in New Orleans, Sam in Philadelphia, and Jones in Seattle.
On the flip side of that, in Denver, Turner has been signed to the 53-man roster after running out of elevations last week.
If there were any chance at reconciliation between the 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk before today, it’s likely gone now. Today, San Francisco placed the former first-round pick on the reserve/left squad list, per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. As a result, he will be ineligible to play for the remainder of the season, making an offseason departure all the more likely. 
Aiyuk hasn’t played since tearing his right ACL, MCL, and meniscus in Week 7 of 2024. The injury came a couple of months after he signed a four-year, $120MM extension with the 49ers. The relationship between the two sides has fallen apart since then. Aiyuk didn’t attend offseason appointments to rehab his knee in the offseason, leading the 49ers to void his 2026 guarantees last July. While Aiyuk had a 50-day window to file a grievance through the NFLPA, he didn’t take any action during that span. He lost out on over $26MM as a result.
Still recovering from last year’s injury, Aiyuk spent the season on the reserve/PUP list before today. Earlier this month, general manager John Lynch expressed hope that the team would open Aiyuk’s practice window at some point. Doing so would have given the playoff-contending 49ers 21 days to evaluate Aiyuk. That will not happen, though, and this will go down as a lost season for Aiyuk.
The placement on reserve/left squad list is a unique one, usually reserved for players who plan to retire or quit on their team. In addition to all of the money Aiyuk has already lost throughout this season-long saga, Jason Fitzgerald of Overthecap.com claims that the 49ers may be allowed to go after Aiyuk’s signing and option bonus money in the wake of how things have now played out.
There was already plenty of speculation that Aiyuk’s time in the Bay Area was coming to an end, but this all but confirms it. Whether through offseason trade or an outright release, it’s just hard to picture Aiyuk playing in red and gold again.
In addition to the transaction that effectively ended Aiyuk’s tenure in San Francisco, the 49ers also announced that linebacker Jalen Graham and defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez would serve as standard gameday practice squad elevations for tomorrow’s game. This will be Graham’s third and final elevation of the season. If the team wants to see him play in another game this year, they’ll need to sign him to the 53-man roster.
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.
The Ravens are getting some defensive reinforcements for the closing stretch of the regular season. Baltimore is activating veteran safety Ar’Darius Washington from the reserve/physically unable to perform list and third-year pass rusher Tavius Robinson from injured reserve. Both players held starting roles before being placed on their respective injured lists. 
It was seven months ago, to the day, that Washington suffered an Achilles tear that was expected to hold him out for the entirety of the 2025 NFL season. A former undrafted free agent out of TCU, Washington was a strong special teamer and a role player on defense. When Baltimore’s defense was struggling throughout defensive coordinator Zach Orr’s first season, the team jettisoned veterans Marcus Williams and Eddie Jackson and placed Washington as a starter next to star Kyle Hamilton.
With Washington and Hamilton manning the defensive outfield, the Ravens defense rebounded, becoming one of the league’s strongest in the back half of the season. Shortly after suffering the offseason injury, Washington made a late-season return the target of his recovery. By arriving with four weeks left in the regular season, he’s more than met that goal. In Washington’s shorter-than-expected absence, the Ravens have become accustomed to fielding a three-safety defense. At any one time, the team will usually have rookie first-rounder Malaki Starks and trade acquisition Alohi Gilman in the secondary as the versatile, All-Pro Hamilton roams to places of most need.
With so many assets in the secondary, the Ravens may slow-play Washington’s return to the field. Alternatively, they may attempt to utilize him in a similar role to Hamilton. In the past, they’ve moved Washington back and forth between nickel and safety, so he holds a versatility of his own that the team could easily utilize out of their talent-rich safeties room.
Robinson has missed the last eight weeks after suffering a broken foot. Logging two sacks in his first six games of the season, Robinson led the team before landing on IR. The Ravens have attempted to make improvements to their pass rush this season, giving Robinson a starting job across from Kyle Van Noy, drafting Mike Green in the second round, and making two trades that saw Odafe Oweh sent to Los Angeles (in exchange for Gilman) and Dre’Mont Jones arrive in Baltimore.
It hasn’t amounted to much, considering the Ravens currently rank 30th in the league with only 19 sacks this season. They’ll hope that adding Robinson back to the fold will help in that regard. The Ravens have been working with 51 players on their active roster since placing running back Justice Hill and defensive tackle Taven Bryan on IR in late-November, so no corresponding moves were needed to activate Washington and Robinson.
Kyler Gordon‘s regular season is over. The Bears are placing the cornerback on injured reserve, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
This is the second IR stint of 2025 for Gordon, who’s dealing with a groin injury. A hamstring injury sidelined Gordon for the first four games of the season. Groin and calf issues then forced Gordon to IR for the first time on Oct. 25.
After establishing himself as one of the league’s premier nickel corners from 2022-24, Gordon signed a three-year, $40MM extension in April. Gordon missed nine games during his first three years in the league. He’ll add another 14 to the total this season. In three appearances, Gordon totaled seven tackles and a sack.
Despite minimal contributions from Gordon, the Bears are 9-4 and in possession of the last playoff in the NFC. The team has little room for error over the final four weeks of the season, though, and losing Gordon again is an unwelcome development. He missed the Bears’ loss to the NFC North rival Packers last Sunday after injuring himself in pregame warmups.
Fortunately for Chicago, it has a capable and battle-tested in-house replacement in veteran C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Since joining the Bears in late October, Gardner-Johnson has chipped in 33 tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception in six games.
Along with announcing Gordon’s return to IR, the Bears elevated running back Brittain Brown and and linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin from the practice squad ahead of their Week 15 matchup with Cleveland. Both players have now reached the maximum of three standard elevations this season. The Bears will have to sign either player to their active roster if they want to use them again.
DECEMBER 13: Los Angeles officially made the move today to activate Atwell from injured reserve. After sitting out the last seven weeks, the speedy wideout will return for the closing stretch of the regular season in time for a nice runup to a likely postseason run.
Additionally, the Rams have announced that they will call up safety Tanner Ingle as a standard gameday practice squad elevation for tomorrow’s game.
DECEMBER 11: The Rams have one of the league’s best receiver tandems in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. The team will soon be even healthier at the position. 
Tutu Atwell had his 21-day practice window opened on November 26. He is now set to suit up in time for Sunday’s contest against the Lions. Head coach Sean McVay said (via ESPN’s Sarah Barshop) Atwell will be activated from injured reserve this week.
The fifth-year Ram landed on IR in late October due to a hamstring injury. There was initial optimism Atwell would only miss the minimum four games while recovering and then return to the lineup in Week 13. Instead, he has been absent for the past six contests. During that span, Los Angeles has gone 5-1 to remain in strong contention for the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
Nevertheless, getting Atwell back in the fold will give the Rams a boost on offense. The former second-rounder posted a career high in catches (42) and yards (562) last season. That resulted in a one-year, $10MM pact being worked out in March. With the deal being guaranteed in full, expectations were high in the case of a player who had previously been linked to trade speculation.
To date in 2025, Atwell has only managed four receptions in six games. The Louisville product will look to serve as a complementary option in the passing game down the stretch and into the postseason while he approaches free agency. The Rams, meanwhile, will continue to reply heavily on Nacua (who leads the league with 93 catches) and Adams (who is pacing the NFL with 14 receiving touchdowns).
Having only brought back Ahkello Witherspoon so far this season, Los Angeles still has seven IR activations remaining at this point. That figure will drop to six in the near future when Atwell is officially returned to the active roster.
In his first game back from four-plus seasons in retirement, Colts quarterback Philip Rivers will not have a fully healthy offensive line on Sunday in Seattle. The Colts have placed starting right tackle Braden Smith on injured reserve, per a team announcement.
At 8-5 and fighting for its playoff life, Indianapolis will go the rest of the regular season without Smith. The 29-year-old suffered a concussion and a neck injury in a loss to Jacksonville last Sunday.
Along with the Seahawks, Smith will miss games against three other playoff hopefuls in the 49ers, Jaguars, and Texans in the next four weeks. He’ll be eligible to return if the Colts make the playoffs, but they’re on the outside looking in at the moment.
With the four-year, $72MM extension Smith signed in 2021 set to expire after the season, it’s possible he has played his last game with the Colts. The 6-foot-6, 312-pounder has spent his entire career with the franchise since it chose him 37th overall out of Auburn in 2018. Smith has started in 105 of 107 regular-season games, including all 13 in 2025. Pro Football Focus ranks Smith’s performance 45th among 81 qualifying tackles this year.
Looking to protect the immobile Rivers as he returns at age 44, the Colts will count on rookie Jalen Travis to fill in for Smith. Travis, a fourth-rounder from Iowa State, has taken just 73 offensive snaps in his first 13 games. In his starting debut, Travis will face a Seattle defense that ranks fourth in the league in sacks.
In addition to the Rivers and Smith transactions, the Colts elevated defensive tackle Chris Wormley and wide receiver Coleman Owen from the practice squad. It’s the third standard gameday elevation for Wormley, who has picked up five tackles and a sack in two games. If the Colts want to use Wormley again after Week 15, they’ll have to sign him to their active roster. Owen, an undrafted rookie from Ohio, is in line for his NFL debut.
DECEMBER 13: The Colts officially signed Rivers to their active roster from their practice squad, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. They could have used practice squad elevations for the next three games – after this week’s drama, no team would dare poach him – but he seems poised to start for the rest of the season. If that is the case, adding him to the active roster now makes sense.
The move also cements one of the most ironic aspects of Rivers’ decision to come out of retirement. He was a semi-finalist to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year; now, he will not be eligible until 2031.
DECEMBER 12: Once Philip Rivers‘ deal with the Colts was officially in place, attention turned to the matter of when he would play. The now-unretired passer looks to be on course to make his NFL return this Sunday. 
Rivers has practiced each of the past two days, and ESPN’s Stephen Holder notes it is clear which quarterback the Colts are preparing to get the nod for Week 15. Barring an unforeseen development, Rivers will be in place against the Seahawks. Provided that proves to be the case, it will add further to one of the NFL’s most interesting and unexpected stories in recent memory.
Daniel Jones‘ Achilles tear ended his impressive debut season in Indianapolis and left the Colts thin on the QB depth chart. Backup Anthony Richardson remains on injured reserve, while sixth-round rookie Riley Leonard suffered a PCL sprain in Week 14 upon taking over from Jones. Brett Rypien is on the active roster after spending time on the practice squad, but Rivers is viewed as a better option for leading the Colts back into a playoff spot down the stretch.
Comebacks have been considered on more than one occasion in the 44-year-old’s case, but this is the first which has come to bear. Rivers immediately expressed interest in a second Colts stint upon being contacted by the team this past Sunday, as detailed by Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. Rivers and head coach Shane Steichen (who worked together during their shared time with the Chargers) have remained in contact since their time together ended, with the former using the latter’s offense on the high school team he coaches.
Rivers will presumably reprise his role as the head coach of his eldest son’s HS team next fall. Before that point, however, he is in line to briefly resume his NFL playing career. Doing so will restart the eight-time Pro Bowler’s five-year waiting period with respect to eligibility for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In the meantime, Rivers will aim to guide the Colts to a win against a Seahawks defense which ranks near the top of the NFL in several categories.
Indianapolis sits at 8-5, an illustration of how far the team has fallen from a hugely successful start to the campaign. With the Jaguars (9-4) and Texans (8-5) firmly in contention for the AFC South title, a home playoff game is far less certain than it once looked. Securing a wild-card spot will be a strong challenge in its own right, and if the Colts are to achieve that feat it appears Rivers will be tasked with handling QB1 duties right away.
Today’s NFL practice squad transactions:
Cleveland Browns
Denver Broncos
Miami Dolphins
Ever the quintessential veteran, Lewis serves as the perfect example of how we explain the standard gameday practice squad elevation each year. Denver signed Lewis to their taxi squad just before November and was called up as a gameday elevation three weeks in a row. In order to get him into another game this past weekend, the Broncos signed Lewis to their 53-man roster. They waived him yesterday and have now signed him back to the p-squad after he cleared waivers. Under a new practice squad deal, Lewis’ three-elevation limit soul
Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
Miami Dolphins
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles had already waived Hughlett’s injury replacement, Cal Adomitis, when they opened Hughlett’s practice window, so this was a fully expected move in Philadelphia. Shortly after returning to practice, Hughlett resumes his role as the team’s primary long snapper.
In Miami, Isaiah takes Caleb’s spot on the 53-man roster. This is convenient for the Dolphins because Isaiah had run out of standard gameday practice squad elevations back in early-November. With his promotion today, the three-game limit will no longer restrict his ability to suit up.