Cowboys Open Up Practice Windows For Three Players
The Cowboys are dangerously close to being eliminated from the playoffs, but they haven’t stopped fighting yet. With three weeks left in the season, now’s the time to open 21-day practice windows for players hoping to make a return from injured lists this year.
To that point, Dallas opened the practice window for defensive end Payton Turner, who had been designated to return at the roster cut deadline in August, designated seventh-round rookie running back Phil Mafah to return from injured reserve, and designated cornerback Josh Butler to return from the reserve/physically unable to perform list, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. The three players have been on their respective injured lists since before the season began.
The Cowboys signed Turner to a one-year deal early into free agency to build depth behind a group that, at the time, consisted of Micah Parsons, Sam Williams, and Marshawn Kneeland. To date, only Williams remains after the Parsons trade and Kneeland’s tragic passing. Turner’s depth ended up being a non-factor, considering he spent the first 15 weeks of the season on IR, but if he returns, he’ll now add depth behind Donovan Ezeiruaku, Dante Fowler, Jadeveon Clowney, and Williams.
Butler went undrafted out of Michigan State all the way back in 2020, and after a short stint in the short-lived The Spring League and a strong season in the USFL, Butler earned himself a chance in Dallas in 2023. The next year, he made his NFL debut and, two games later, made his first of three consecutive starts. His quick rise came to an unfortunate end, though, when he tore his ACL, ending his debut NFL season.
Mafah, a two-year starter at Clemson, was one of two rookies the team drafted this year. He suffered a shoulder injury in the Cowboys’ final preseason game, and it was announced that he would eventually be put on IR. With the team opting to assign its two allotted pre-deadline return designations to Turner and wide receiver Jonathan Mingo, they opted to keep Mafah on the initial 53-man roster, so they could immediately place him on IR the next week and give him a chance to return later into the year, as well.
There is no longer the usual pressure to get activated within the 21-day window as we only have three weeks remaining in the regular season. The 21-day window will take them past the Week 18 slate of games, so being reverted to season-ending IR would not the worst fate. Still, these three will be working hard to get onto the field in 2025 and help their team push for a still technically possible playoff berth, and at worst, they’ll give the Cowboys three more bodies at practice for the remainder of the season.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/17/25
Wednesday’s NFL practice squad transactions:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: RB Montrell Johnson
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: C Wesley French
Denver Broncos
- Signed: G Nash Jones
Houston Texans
- Signed: DT Marcus Harris
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: WR Jimmy Holiday
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: G McClendon Curtis
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OLB Andre Carter II
- Released: TE Tanner Conner
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: T Caleb Etienne
New England Patriots
- Signed: LB Amari Gainer
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR John Rhys Plumlee, RB Trey Sermon
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: QB Adrian Martinez
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: S D’Anthony Bell
- Released: CB Tyler Hall
Martinez parted ways with San Francisco a week ago and signed with the Jets, who elevated him on Sunday to back up undrafted rookie quarterback Brady Cook. New York released him from their taxi squad yesterday, so Martinez has found his way back to the Bay Area.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/17/25
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Designated for return from IR: LB Jay Higgins
Buffalo Bills
- Designated for return from IR: WR Mecole Hardman
Carolina Panthers
- Designated for return from IR: WR David Moore
Cleveland Browns
- Designated for return from reserve/PUP: LB Winston Reid
Denver Broncos
- Designated for return from IR: LB Karene Reid
Detroit Lions
- Designated for return from IR: T Giovanni Manu
Green Bay Packers
- Designated for return from reserve/PUP: G John Williams
- Placed on IR: LB Micah Parsons (story)
Houston Texans
- Designated for return from IR: LB Darrell Taylor
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on IR: QB Patrick Mahomes (story)
- Opened practice window: TE Jake Briningstool, DB Nazeeh Johnson
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed to active roster: DE Jahfari Harvey
Miami Dolphins
- Signed off Texans’ practice squad: LB Jackson Woodard
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Activated from IR: S Rashad Wisdom
Tennessee Titans
- Designated for return from IR: LB Ali Gaye, LB Oluwafemi Oladejo, WR Bryce Oliver
Probably the most overqualified transaction we’ve ever listed in this space, Mahomes is heading to IR for the first time. The superstar Chiefs quarterback suffered ACL and LCL tears and has undergone surgery. Generally, Chiefs IR-return moves are impactful at this stage of the season. In the cases of Briningstool and Johnson, they are returning to practice for a 6-8 team. The Chiefs designated both for return in August, meaning both have already counted toward the team’s eight-activation total. As our IR return tracker shows, Kansas City has not used any other injury activations this season.
Given a one-year, $4.75MM deal by the Texans, Taylor worked as a backup in four games before going down with an ankle injury. Despite his contract, the former Seahawks second-rounder played just 64 defensive snaps before hitting IR.
Cardinals Waive DT Justin Jones From IR
The Cardinals waived defensive tackle Justin Jones from injured reserve on Wednesday, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. The move came without an injury settlement, according to Howard Balzer of CardsWire.
Jones, 29, was placed on injured reserve before the regular season due to a knee injury suffered in training camp. He will now go on waivers and can be claimed by any team except the Cardinals, though his interest will depend on the state of his knee. Even if he is healthy, Jones has barely played in the last two seasons, so he may be a better fit on a practice squad as he gets up to speed.
Despite an injury to first-round pick Walter Nolen, the Cardinals’ defensive line has largely remained healthy this year otherwise. Dante Stills, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Calais Campbell have all played more than 400 snaps, while Darius Robinson has chipped in 382 of his own. That rotation has not thrived, though, as Campbell leads the group with 5.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss. The other three have combined for just one sack and five tackles for loss.
Jones began his career as a Chargers third-round pick in 2018 and emerged as a starter in his second year, though he did not play a full season on his rookie contract. He signed a two-year deal with the Bears in 2022 and played in every game over the next two seasons with the best statistics of his career. That earned him plenty of interest in free agency last offseason, culminating in a three-year deal from the Cardinals worth just over $30MM.
The seven-year veteran was only three games into his Cardinals tenure when he suffered a season-ending torn triceps. A parting of ways between player and team was expected in the offseason, but the team decided to make the move before the end of the 2025 season. He will leave Arizona after playing just 100 snaps after earning just over $20MM.
By waiving Jones, the Cardinals freed up $8.8MM in 2026 cap space with $3.25MM in dead money, per OverTheCap.
Jets Waive WR Allen Lazard
DECEMBER 17: Lazard cleared waivers Wednesday, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes. Unlike Adam Thielen recently, Lazard will have a chance to select his next destination. The Steelers will certainly be a prime candidate here, but as of now, Lazard is unattached after a disappointing Jets tenure.
DECEMBER 16: Allen Lazard‘s Jets tenure is coming to an end. The veteran wideout has made a request to be let go, and New York is willing to grant it. 
The Jets are waiving Lazard, as first reported by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. He will hit the waiver wire once the transaction is processed. Provided Lazard clears, he will become a free agent. To no surprise, Florio adds Lazard aims to land with a contending team for the stretch run. The move is now official, per a team announcement.
After a strong showing in Green Bay while playing with Aaron Rodgers, expectations were high when Lazard signed with the Jets in 2023. Things largely did not go according to plan with New York, however. Last season – when Rodgers was healthy – Lazard managed to score six touchdowns in 12 games, but it came as little surprise when talk of a trade or release took place ahead of the 2025 campaign.
Even though Rodgers was not in the fold any longer, Lazard and the Jets worked out a pay cut agreement allowing him to remain in place. The former UDFA has made just 10 catches so far in 2025 with New York struggling on offense. As the 3-11 team turns to planning for the coming offseason, Lazard will seek out a fresh start. The 30-year-old was a pending 2026 free agent, but he will now reach the open market early.
Developing into a starter over the course of his Green Bay tenure, Lazard scored eight touchdowns in 2021. The following year, he set new career highs in receptions (60) and yards (788). That helped land the Iowa State product a four-year, $44MM pact in free agency. Given his and the Jets’ struggles this season, a trade (including to Rodgers’ Steelers) remained something to watch for leading up to the deadline. Nothing took place on that front, but Lazard will now become available to interested teams.
Pittsburgh has once again been in the market for receiver help this offseason. That has led to the additions of veterans Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Adam Thielen. Bringing in Lazard for the closing stages of the campaign would thus come as a surprise. Other teams in the playoff hunt could look to him as veteran depth, though, so it will be interesting to see if Lazard manages to generate a market in the coming days.
Packers RB MarShawn Lloyd Unlikely To Play In 2025
3:46pm: Green Bay is activating Lloyd off injured reserve today, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein. This is a procedural move, as the team will then place the running back on IR a second time due to the aforementioned hamstring aggravation. This would give the Packers the option to activate Lloyd after four games. Had they not done this, Lloyd’s initial IR-return window would have closed to end his season.
Lloyd already counts toward the team’s eight-activation total since he was designated for return August 26. As it stands, however, the second-year running back — who has proven to be incredibly injury-prone — is unlikely to be part of the Packers’ activation puzzle should they make the playoffs. The Pack still have five injury activations remaining.
11:58am: Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd has been on IR with a hamstring injury all season. The Packers opened his 21-day practice window on Dec. 1, but Lloyd recently suffered another hamstring injury, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Green Bay has just a few more days to activate Lloyd, whose chances of playing in 2025 may have “derailed,” Schefter notes. If so, it will end up as a lost season for Lloyd after he barely factored in as a rookie last year.
Lloyd impressed over three years between South Carolina and USC, leading the Packers to use a third-round pick on him in 2024. The idea was for the 5-foot-9, 220-pounder to immediately complement big-ticket free agent acquisition Josh Jacobs. Instead, multiple injuries and a bout of appendicitis limited Lloyd to one game last season.
With Lloyd largely unavailable a year ago, Emanuel Wilson emerged as a capable backup to Jacobs, who made his third Pro Bowl. That one-two punch remains in place. Jacobs leads the NFC with 13 rushing touchdowns and is just 110 yards away from hitting 1,000 for the fifth time in his career. Wilson has scored three times on the ground after doing so on four occasions last season.
Filling in for an injured Jacobs, Wilson hit the 100-yard mark (107 and two TDs on 28 carries) for the first time in his career in a win over the Vikings in Week 12. He has combined for just nine carries and 27 yards in three games since Jacobs returned, though, and Wilson’s YPC has fallen from 4.9 in 2024 to 3.9 this year.
Wilson has been less efficient in 2025, but he’ll continue as second in the Green Bay backfield pecking order as the 9-4-1 team gears up for a potential playoff run. Meanwhile, already almost halfway through his four-year rookie contract, Lloyd has tallied a meager 15 yards on six carries.
Vikings S Josh Metellus To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery
The Vikings lost outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard to a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 15. Safety Josh Metellus will join Greenard on the shelf for the rest of the year. Metellus will also undergo shoulder surgery, head coach Kevin O’Connell announced (via Kevin Seifert of ESPN). The team plans to place him and Greenard on IR.
Now in his sixth season (all with the Vikings), Metellus worked as a full-time starter for the third straight year. After signing a three-year, $36MM extension last July, he notched 86 tackles, two interceptions, six passes defensed, and a half-sack in 14 games this season.
Metellus currently ranks second among Vikings defenders in snap share (96.5%), trailing only cornerback Byron Murphy. Pro Football Focus hasn’t been enamored of Metellus’ play this year, though, ranking him 78th among 98 qualifying safeties.
Metellus was on the field for 69 of 70 defensive snaps in a win over the Cowboys in Week 15. Fellow safety Harrison Smith played all 70. The 6-8 Vikings will have to plug someone else in alongside Smith over the final three weeks of their season. Jay Ward, Theo Jackson, and Tavierre Thomas are the remaining options on their roster.
Along with the Metellus news, the Vikings announced that they’ve opened tight end Gavin Bartholomew‘s 21-day practice window. Bartholomew hasn’t played this season after landing on the reserve/PUP list at the end of August. The Vikings selected the former Pitt Panther in the sixth round of last spring’s draft.
Dolphins Cut Matt Judon
The Dolphins are shaking things up ahead of Week 16. Along with making a change at quarterback, the team has cut pass rusher Matt Judon, veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports. He’ll go through waivers before potentially reaching free agency.
Now in his 10th NFL season, Judon hit free agency after a 17-game, 15-start, 5.5-sack campaign with the Falcons in 2024. The four-time Pro Bowler went without a contract until August.
The Dolphins added Judon a one-year deal worth up to $6MM just a couple of weeks before the start of the regular season. The pact came with a $1.5MM base salary. A claiming team would assume the prorated portion of that figure.
Also a former Raven and Patriot, Judon joined the Dolphins with 72 sacks on his resume. Surprisingly, that number has not changed this year. Judon has never finished a season with fewer than four sacks, but he’sin danger of going without one in 2025. The 33-year-old appeared in 13 of the Dolphins’ games, made three starts, and recorded 19 tackles and three quarterback hits. Pro Football Focus ranks Judon dead last (112th) among qualifying edge defenders.
Despite his immense struggles this year, Judon could close out the season with a contender if one claims him on waivers or he lands a deal (likely a practice squad arrangement) in free agency. The Dolphins, eliminated from playoff contention, will finish out 2025 with Bradley Chubb and Chop Robinson as their top edge rushers.
Judon and Jaelan Phillips have been prominent members of the Dolphins’ pass-rushing group this season, but they’ve now moved on from the two of them during a disappointing year. While Miami was able to reel in a third-round pick from the Eagles in a Phillips trade before the Nov. 4 deadline, the Judon pickup will go down as a swing and a miss.
Jets, TE Jeremy Ruckert Agree To Extension
The Jets and tight end Jeremy Ruckert have agreed to a two-year, $10MM contract extension, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The deal could max out at $11MM.
The Ruckert extension is the second one general manager Darren Mougey has doled out since last week. The team previously reached a two-year, $11MM agreement with center Josh Myers on Dec. 12.
Unlike Myers, who joined the Jets as a free agent, Ruckert is a homegrown product. With prior GM Joe Douglas at the helm, the Jets used a third-round pick on Ruckert in 2022. The former Ohio State Buckeye caught just one pass in nine games as a rookie, but his usage and production have increased since then.
After combining for 34 catches and 256 yards in 32 games from 2023-24, Ruckert has racked up career highs in receptions (20) and yards (163) in 14 contests this season. He hauled in his first career touchdown in Week 2.
Ruckert spent the previous couple of seasons working as a complementary piece behind starting tight end Tyler Conklin. While Conklin left for the Chargers in free agency last March, Ruckert has again served as the Jets’ No. 2 TE this year. Rookie Mason Taylor, a second-round pick, has established himself as one of the only real threats in the Jets’ offense. Taylor ranks first among Jets skill players in snap share (75%).
Despite Taylor’s presence, Ruckert has still seen a good amount of playing time in first-year coordinator Tanner Engstrand‘s run-first offense. The 25-year-old has played a career-high 43.2% of snaps. Ruckert has also been on the field for 26.9% of special teams plays.
Ruckert was just a few months from hitting the open market for the first time. Keeping him in the fold takes a little bit off Mougey’s plate ahead of the offseason. Running back Breece Hall, quarterback Tyrod Taylor, guards John Simpson and Alijah Vera-Tucker, and linebacker Quincy Williams are among notable Jets still on track to reach free agency in March.
Commanders Place WR Noah Brown On IR
Noah Brown‘s injury-marred season has come to an end. The veteran receiver has once again landed on injured reserve, the Commanders announced on Tuesday. 
Brown managed to play in Week 15, but that represented just his fourth appearance of the season. It would also prove to be his last. The move back to IR ensures at least a four-week absence. Having already been eliminated from the playoffs, the Commanders’ three remaining regular season games will be the last of their 2025 campaign.
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In his second season with the Commanders, Brown started the first two weeks of the season, drawing a healthy seven targets but only reeling in three catches for 36 yards. A groin injury would sideline him for the next 11 weeks. Injuries are nothing new for Brown, who hasn’t appeared in every game of a single season since 2020. Even that full campaign came on the heels of his 2018 season, in which he missed the first half of the year, and his 2019 season, in which he sat the entire year on the reserve/physically unable to perform list due to multiple knee surgeries.
This hasn’t only been a Brown problem, though. Injuries have been so rampant in Washington that, at one point, the team fielded a starting lineup that featured veteran Chris Moore and fourth-round rookie Jaylin Lane at wideout with Luke McCaffrey and Robbie Chosen coming off the bench. While stars Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel eventually returned, McCaffrey found his way to IR, where he would join running back Austin Ekeler and eventually be joined by tight end Zach Ertz. To really drive the point home, the team shut down starting quarterback Jayden Daniels today with three games left in the season as he recovers from an elbow dislocation on his non-throwing arm.
To fill Browns’ spot on the 53-man roster, the Commanders signed Moore back from the practice squad. Moore was initially signed off the practice squad to fill Ekeler’s spot on the active roster following his season-ending injury. Moore was waived to make room when Brown was activated just 10 days ago, but he’ll make a quick return to the 53-man roster.
Ely Allen contributed to this post.