Transactions News & Rumors

Patriots To Place LT Will Campbell On IR

November 26th, 2025 at 1:15pm CST by Connor Byrne

The Patriots will go at least four games without starting left tackle Will Campbell. After Campbell sprained his MCL in a win over the Bengals in Week 12, the Patriots will place him on IR on Wednesday, head coach Mike Vrabel announced (via Mike Reiss of ESPN).

The good news for the Patriots is that this does not appear to be a season-ending injury. Campbell will be eligible to return for the Patriots’ regular-season finale in Week 18. If he’s not back then, it could be shortly after that, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

With the Patriots off to a 10-2 start and atop the AFC standings, it’s doubtful their season will conclude in Week 18. They’re on track to break a four-year playoff drought, and Campbell’s among the reasons for their success. The Patriots used the fourth overall pick in last spring’s draft on Campbell, a former LSU Tiger who has started in all 12 of the Pats’ games during their red-hot start.

With Campbell out for the next few weeks, Vrabel said that Vederian Lowe will take over on star second-year quarterback Drake Maye‘s blindside (via Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald). Lowe, who played the final 28 offensive snaps against the Bengals, was a 13-game starter for the Patriots in 2024.

With the Patriots installing two new starting tackles in Campbell and Morgan Moses, Lowe came up in trade rumors before the season. No deal came to fruition, though, and Lowe has spent 2025 as a backup. He’ll now have to step up in Campbell’s absence.

The Patriots’ injuries along the line don’t end with Campbell. Starting left guard Jared Wilson is also likely to miss this week’s game against the Giants, Vrabel said (via Kyed). Wilson, a third-rounder from Georgia, has joined Campbell in emerging as a full-time rookie starter. While Wilson suffered a high ankle sprain early against Cincinnati, there’s hope he’ll return sooner than the typical four- to six-week timeline, according to Rapoport.

Ben Brown, a 10-game starter last year, came on in relief of Wilson in Week 12. He seems likely to line up next to Lowe on Sunday against the Giants’ Brian Burns-led defensive front. With the Patriots on a bye after that, it’s possible they’ll only go one game without Wilson.

Panthers Sign Robert Rochell, Place Corey Thornton On IR

November 26th, 2025 at 12:36pm CST by Connor Byrne

The Panthers are signing cornerback Robert Rochell off the Cowboys’ practice squad, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. He’ll immediately join the Panthers’ active roster.

A fourth-round pick in 2021, Rochell started five regular-season games as a rookie for the Super Bowl-winning Rams. Rochell intercepted the lone pass of his career that season, but he didn’t factor into the Rams’ playoff run.

Now 27 years old, Rochell hasn’t started a single game since his rookie campaign. He has mostly served on special teams throughout his career. He worked as a reserve for the Rams over 17 games in 2022 before totaling 20 appearances over the next two seasons with the Packers.

Rochell signed with the Cowboys last June, but he didn’t survive final cuts. He hooked on with their practice squad after that and ended up appearing in two of the Cowboys’ games this season. All 16 of his snaps came on special teams.

The addition of Rochell will help the Panthers replace fellow corner Corey Thornton, who broke his fibula in a loss to the 49ers on Monday. With Thornton set to miss the rest of the season, the Panthers placed him on IR on Wednesday, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. The undrafted rookie from Louisville played in all of the Panthers’ first 12 games and made 14 tackles. He totaled 210 snaps (127 on defense, 83 on special teams).

In other Wednesday transactions, the Panthers signed linebacker Krys Barnes from their practice squad to their active roster. They also signed cornerback David Long to their taxi squad.

Barnes has received the maximum of three standard gameday elevations this year, meaning the Panthers had to sign him in order to use him again. Over 112 snaps (69 on defense, 43 on special teams), Barnes has made 12 tackles.

Long was previously with the Colts, who released him from their practice squad on Nov. 4. The 27-year-old hasn’t played in any games this season, but he combined for 79 appearances and 12 starts from 2019-24. Long had a three-game stint with the Panthers in 2023.

Broncos, Malcolm Roach Agree To Extension

November 26th, 2025 at 11:46am CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Broncos are signing defensive tackle Malcolm Roach to a three-year contract extension, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport.

The deal has a base value of $24MM, including $14M in guaranteed money, with another $5.25MM available via incentives, according to 9News’ Mike Klis. Roach’s $8MM APY represents a substantial raise for the sixth-year defensive lineman, who arrived in Denver after signing a two-year, $7MM contract in 2024. He is now tied to the team through 2028.

Roach, 27, began his career as an undrafted free agent with the Saints in 2020. He made the 53-man roster and served as a member of the D-line rotation for the next four seasons. However, he only appeared in 41 games due to a handful of injuries, three of which forced him on injured reserve.

Roach produced seven tackles for loss and only one sack in New Orleans, but immediately stepped up his play as a member of the Broncos’ top-ranked defense in 2023. His 43 tackles, 2.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, and eight quarterback hits were all career-highs. He also played a full season for the first time in his career.

Roach started the 2025 season on injured reserve due to a grade 2 calf strain. He missed the first five games of the year before his designation to return and activation from IR shortly after. In his six games since, he has recorded 21 tackles and two sacks, putting him on pace to best his 2024 numbers in those categories.

The Broncos waited a month after Roach’s return to the field to engage him in extension talks after ensuring he was back at his usual level of play. His average annual value appropriately puts him in the company of DaQuan Jones, Harrison Phillips, and A’Shawn Robinson. It is also similar to the $7.5MM APY deal signed by Roach’s teammate, John Franklin-Myers, last offseason.

With $14MM guaranteed in his new deal, Roach will almost double his current career earnings of $7.35MM, per OverTheCap. The Broncos, meanwhile, will have a core part of their defensive line rotation under contract for another three years at an affordable price. Denver is already paying Zach Sieler and D.J. Jones a combined $38.5MM, and they seem unlikely to re-sign Franklin-Myers. The Roach contract ensures they will have three veteran starters through the 2027 season.

Titans Sign CB Kaiir Elam

November 26th, 2025 at 11:37am CST by Connor Byrne

A few days after the Cowboys released Kaiir Elam, the cornerback has found a new team. The Titans are signing Elam, veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports.

The Cowboys moved on from Elam on Saturday, which was a disappointing result after they acquired him from the Bills in May. The Bills parted with Elam three years after trading up to draft him 23rd overall in 2022.

The former Florida Gator struggled to live up to his first-round status during a 29-game, 12-start tenure with the Bills. The only two regular-season interceptions of Elam’s career came during his rookie campaign.

The hope was that a fresh start in Dallas would benefit Elam, but it didn’t work out that way. While Elam started in seven of 10 appearances with the Cowboys, he had difficulty as part of one of the league’s worst-ranked pass defenses.

Opposing quarterbacks posted a 105.0 rating when they targeted Elam. He was charged with giving up 25 completions, 372 yards, and three touchdowns. Elam began losing playing time as a result. He didn’t play a single defensive snap in what proved to be his last game with the Cowboys, a Week 11 win over the Raiders.

After going through waivers unclaimed, Elam drew interest from the Jets, who hosted him on Tuesday. He’ll instead attempt to break through with the 1-10 Titans, owners of the league’s worst record.

The Titans have gone over a month without starting corner L’Jarius Sneed, who’s on IR with a quad injury. They also lost Roger McCreary and Jarvis Brownlee in trades earlier this season. Those in-season changes have left Jalyn Armour-Davis, Darrell Baker, and Marcus Harris as their main options at the position. That group will now welcome in Elam.

To make room for Elam, the Titans waived corner Samuel Womack, per Jim Wyatt of the team’s website. Womack started in eight of 17 games during a two-interception showing with the 49ers in 2024, but they waived him last August. The Colts claimed Womack before quickly waiving him. The Titans claimed him in late August, and he wound up appearing in five of their games this season. Womack played 91 snaps (54 on defense, 37 on special teams) and made four tackles.

Bills Waive WR Elijah Moore

November 26th, 2025 at 10:50am CST by Connor Byrne

The Bills signed wide receiver Brandin Cooks to their active roster on Tuesday. The addition of Cooks will cost fellow veteran wideout Elijah Moore his roster spot. The Bills cut Moore on Wednesday, per a team announcement. He’ll become a free agent if he passes through waivers unclaimed.

The Bills and Moore reached a mutual decision to split, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. The slot receiver eyed more reps, and the Cooks acquisition was set to impede that path in Buffalo.

Moore had a highly productive three-year run at Mississippi, leading the Jets to take him 34th overall in the 2021 draft. After Moore combined for 80 catches and six touchdowns in 27 games during his first two NFL seasons, the Jets traded him and the 74th pick in the 2023 draft to the Browns for the 42nd selection. The deal came several months after Moore requested a trade out of New York.

Moore went on to amass 120 receptions and score three touchdowns during a two-year, 34-game stint in Cleveland, where he earned 25 starts. However, after Moore averaged a career-low 8.8 yards per catch on 61 grabs last year, the Browns didn’t re-sign him. Over a month after free agency opened, Moore settled for the Bills’ one-year offer worth up to $5MM (including $2.5MM in full guarantees) in late April.

Buffalo’s decision to sign the 25-year-old Moore came after it largely struck out in the draft at the receiver position. The Bills selected just one wideout, seventh-rounder Kaden Prather, who’s no longer with the organization. As a result, they opened this season with Moore joining Keon Coleman, Josh Palmer, Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, and Tyrell Shavers as their choices at receiver.

The Bills were likely optimistic Moore would emerge as a solid target for Josh Allen, by far the best quarterback he has ever paired with in his career. It didn’t work out, though. Moore logged two starts over nine appearances with the Bills and caught just nine of 17 targets for 112 yards. His only touchdown came on a four-yard run against the Jets in Week 2.

While Moore could land elsewhere down the stretch, the 7-4 Bills will hope Cooks provides a much-needed boost to their receiving corps. The Moore pickup didn’t yield positive results, while no one from the Coleman-Palmer-Samuel-Shavers group has emerged as a consistent complement to Shakir and currently injured tight end Dalton Kincaid.

Jaguars Open Eric Murray’s Practice Window

November 26th, 2025 at 10:29am CST by Connor Byrne

Jacksonville’s defense has gone without Eric Murray for over a month, but the starting safety appears to be nearing a return. The Jaguars opened his practice window on Wednesday. The AFC South contenders will have 21 days to activate Murray from IR.

Murray has already missed the minimum of four games since a neck issue forced him to the shelf on Oct. 31. He’s eligible to play this week against the Titans, but it’s unclear if that will happen.

After dividing the first nine seasons of his career among the Chiefs, Browns, and Texans, Murray joined the Jaguars last March on a three-year, $22.5MM deal. The 31-year-old opened his Jags tenure with seven straight starts before suffering his injury. He totaled 31 tackles, four passes defensed, and an interception during that stretch. Pro Football Focus rates his play a solid 42nd among 94 qualifying safeties.

With Murray unavailable over the past few weeks, the Jaguars have turned to Antonio Johnson as a starter alongside Andrew Wingard. Johnson has flashed as a playmaker with two interceptions and a pair of sacks, and PFF ranks his performance an impressive 14th among safeties.

It seems likely Johnson will continue to garner playing time even when Murray comes back, especially with Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile willing to use three safeties. The Jags deployed current No. 3 safety Rayuan Lane on a career-high 26 snaps in a win over the Cardinals in Week 12. The sixth-round rookie from Navy wasn’t targeted on 23 coverage snaps, per Jim Wyman of PFF.

Along with designating Murray to return, the Jaguars added more safety depth with the practice squad signing of Trevian Thomas on Wednesday. The undrafted rookie from Arkansas State was previously with the Panthers, who cut him on Tuesday. He appeared in one of the Panthers’ games this season and made one tackle on special teams.

Bills Sign WR Brandin Cooks

November 25th, 2025 at 10:28pm CST by Connor Byrne

One day after becoming a free agent, Brandin Cooks has quickly found a new home. The Bills announced that they’ve signed the veteran wide receiver to their active roster.

The Saints and Cooks mutually agreed to part ways last Wednesday, but there was a slight holdup over “contractual technicalities.” After the Saints amended Cooks’ contract, he passed through waivers unclaimed and became free to sign anywhere on Monday.

A first-round pick of the Saints in 2014, Cooks is now heading to his sixth NFL destination. The 32-year-old has been part of a record-tying four trades during his career, but the Saints didn’t find a taker for him before the Nov. 4 deadline. Cooks has endured a down year with just 19 catches and 165 yards (8.7 YPC) over 10 scoreless games, which explains why teams weren’t eager to trade draft compensation for him.

While Cooks didn’t produce much in New Orleans with quarterbacks Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler this season, he may have a better chance in Buffalo with reigning MVP Josh Allen at the helm. Cooks is easily the most accomplished receiver on the Bills’ roster, having amassed 729 catches, 9,697 receiving yards, and 60 touchdowns in 168 regular-season games.

The receiver position has been a sore spot throughout the year for the Bills, who tried to address the issue at the deadline. They reportedly made a significant offer to the AFC East rival Dolphins for Jaylen Waddle, but they failed to reel in him or anyone else. With receiver remaining a problem area, the Bills have dropped two of three since the deadline to fall to 7-4. They’re unlikely to chase down the 10-2 Patriots for a sixth straight division title, and a wild-card berth doesn’t look like a guarantee in a conference loaded with playoff contenders.

The Bills’ need at receiver became even more glaring over the past couple of weeks with head coach Sean McDermott making second-year man Keon Coleman a healthy inactive twice in a row. Coleman sat out a 44-32 win over the Buccaneers in Week 11 after he was consistently late to meetings. He also didn’t play in the Bills’ 23-19 loss to the Texans last Thursday. It’s unclear if he’ll return to the lineup this Sunday in a crucial meeting with the Steelers. Regardless, it’s fair to say Coleman has not panned out as hoped since going 33rd overall in the 2024 draft.

Coleman has joined the majority of the Bills’ receiving corps in underwhelming this season. Slot target Khalil Shakir has put together another productive campaign, but Josh Palmer, Elijah Moore, Curtis Samuel, and Tyrell Shavers have all caught fewer than 20 passes apiece.

While Gabe Davis played in the Bills’ past two games and picked up four receptions for 62 yards, he’s not on their active roster. The Bills can only elevate him from their practice squad one more time before they have to sign him. Mecole Hardman, also on the practice squad, played in one game before going on IR with a calf injury last week.

It’s unknown how many other teams joined Buffalo in vying for Cooks, but Denver was not among them. The AFC West leaders had a connection to Cooks in head coach Sean Payton, who was in charge in New Orleans when the wideout entered the league. Despite that, the Broncos weren’t in the mix for Cooks, according to Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette.

Broncos Sign C Luke Wattenberg To Extension

November 25th, 2025 at 9:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Less than a week after inking kicker Wil Lutz to an extension, the Broncos are committing to another player for the long haul. According to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver, the Broncos have agreed to a four-year extension with center Luke Wattenberg.

The pact is worth $48MM, including $27MM in guaranteed money, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. We heard yesterday that the team had “preliminary” talks with Wattenberg about a long-term deal, and the two sides must have made some significant progress during the team’s bye week.

Wattenberg’s contract vaults him towards the top of his position in both value and guarantees. The fourth-year player now ranks fifth at his position in both contract value and AAV, while the $27MM in guaranteed money only trails the whopping $35MM Creed Humphrey got from the Chiefs.

A 2022 fifth-round pick, Wattenberg only got into 128 offensive snaps through his first two seasons in the NFL. Since then, he’s started all 24 of his appearances for the Broncos, with an ankle injury keeping him sidelined for four games last season. Pro Football Focus currently ranks him 20th among 38 qualifying centers, although he finished 18th on the site in 2024.

Clearly, the Broncos believe in his upside, and the organization is intent on providing Bo Nix with some offensive continuity. The front office committed to both Garett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz in 2024, and with Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers also attached to sizable pacts, Denver has seemingly locked in their offensive line for at least the next few years.

With Lutz and Watternberg having signed extensions over the past week, we’ll now see if the Broncos can pull off a deal with Malcolm Roach. We heard yesterday that the front office had initial extension talks with the defensive lineman, although the veteran surely wouldn’t command the same payday as his teammates.

Steelers DT Daniel Ekuale Suspended Five Games

November 25th, 2025 at 9:05pm CST by Ben Levine

Daniel Ekuale was already out for the season, but now the Steelers defensive tackle will have to forego a paycheck over the next five weeks. That’s because Ekuale was slapped with a five-game suspension today, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Ekuale earned his temporary ban for violating the league’s Performance-Enhancing Substances Policy, per Dulac. This represents the third suspension of the player’s career; Ekuale earned a four-game ban in 2018 and a two-game suspension in 2022 for the same violation.

The Washington State product bounced around the NFL a bit to begin his career before finding a home in New England. He spent four seasons with the Patriots, but he didn’t emerge as a key player until 2024. Ekuale finished that season having started all 16 of his appearance, with the defensive lineman setting career-highs in tackles (52) and QB hits (three). In 64 career games, the 31-year-old has collected 97 stops and six sacks.

His performance with the Patriots earned him a one-year, $2.8MM deal from the Steelers this past offseason. He got into seven games with his new squad, appearing in about 14 percent of his team’s defensive snaps. Ekuale suffered a torn ACL back in Week 8 that ended his season prematurely. Considering that injury and his continued bans from the league office, the defensive lineman may face an uphill battle to find a job in 2026.

NFL Minor Transactions: 11/25/25

November 25th, 2025 at 6:35pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Detroit Lions

Waived: DL Quinton Jefferson, CB Nick Whiteside

New England Patriots

Signed off Browns’ practice squad: OT Thayer Munford
Placed on IR: CB Alex Austin

New Orleans Saints

Activated from IR: OT Barry Wesley
Signed to active roster: RB Evan Hull

Seattle Seahawks

Waived: CB Derion Kendrick

In addition to waiving cornerback Arthur Maulet, the Lions also moved on from defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson and cornerback Nick Whiteside. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, these moves were likely made in anticipation of upcoming activations from IR and PUP.

The Patriots started preparing for Will Campbell and Jared Wilson‘s absences by adding some experienced offensive line depth, as the team snagged Thayer Munford off the Browns practice squad today. The former seventh-round pick was mostly a part-time starter during his three seasons with the Raiders, although he did start a career-high 10 games for the organization in 2023.

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