Buccaneers Place Jordan Whitehead On IR
The Buccaneers are placing Jordan Whitehead on injured reserve, per The Athletic’s Greg Auman, sidelining the veteran safety for at least four games.
Tampa Bay feared that Whitehead suffered a torn pectoral in their Week 12 win over the Giants, but an initial MRI indicated that he would not require surgery and should be able to return this season. Still, the injury is severe enough to knock Whitehead out until at least Week 17. The Buccaneers are currently one game back of the Falcons in the NFC South, so they will be hoping Whitehead can return in time for a playoff push.
Whitehead does not have the salary or pedigree of a star safety, but he started every game for the Buccaneers so far this season with a 91% snap share on defense. Mike Edwards, who took replaced Whitehead in Week 12, will likely start at safety in Week 13, though rookie Tykee Smith could take some of Whitehead’s snaps in the box.
Tampa Bay has already given up the fourth-most passing yards in the NFL this year, and Whitehead’s absence will only make it harder to stop opponents through the air.
The Buccaneers signed practice squad linebacker Vi Jones to the 53-man roster to fill the opening created by Whitehead’s move on injured reserve. Jones was out of game day elevations, so Tampa Bay promoted him to the active roster so he can continue his role on special teams in Week 13.
Lions To Sign Jonah Williams Off Rams’ Practice Squad
After several injuries on Thanksgiving, the Lions are signing defensive lineman Jonah Williams off the Rams’ practice squad, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Four Lions defensive linemen – Mekhi Wingo, Josh Paschal, and Levi Onwuzirke – suffered injuries during Thursday’s win. Wingo (knee) was able to return to the game, but Paschal (knee) and Onwuzirke (hamstring) missed the entire second half. Za’Darius Smith, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and DJ Reader were able to pick up the slack with 22 combined quarterback pressures, per Next Gen Stats, but Detroit still needed additional depth to weather the injuries.
Williams has appeared in just seven games this year – one for the Vikings and seven for the Rams – but he played in 33 games with 22 starts across 2022 and 2023 in Los Angeles. The versatile defender can line up off the edge or on the interior, so he could play a similar role as Paschal and John Cominsky, according to Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers.
Williams began his career as an undrafted free agent with the Rams in 2020 when current Lions general manager Brad Holmes was the Rams’ director of college scouting, so Holmes “would have been heavily involved in scouting the lineman,” per Rogers.
The Lions currently have 53 players on their active roster, so they will need to make a move to accommodate Williams. That will likely be placing linebacker Malcom Rodriguez on injured reserve after his ACL tear on Thursday.
Lions To Sign LB Kwon Alexander Off Broncos’ Practice Squad
In the wake of Malcolm Rodriguez‘s ACL tear, the Lions are in need of linebacker reinforcements. One is incoming by way of the Broncos’ practice squad. 
Kwon Alexander is set to head to Detroit, per his agents (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). Alexander saw his 2023 season come to an end with an Achilles tear, the second of his career. Interest was still present once he was healthy, and in the end the 30-year-old took a deal with the Broncos in September after working out for other suitors.
Of course, that agreement allowed Alexander to reunite with Sean Payton as many former Saints have over the past two years. He has made three appearances so far in 2024, registering eight tackles and a fumble recovery. Rather than remaining in the Mile High City and awaiting the chance to sign to Denver’s active roster, though, Alexander has received the opportunity to do so with the Lions.
Detroit’s LB corps has been ravaged by injury this season, and Rodriguez will not return in 2024. Jalen Reeves-Maybin is on injured reserve, and the same is also true of Derrick Barnes; the latter will likely not be able to suit up unless a deep playoff run is made. Alex Anzalone, meanwhile, is recovering from a broken forearm and he will miss at least the next few games as the Lions look to remain atop the NFC.
Alexander has spent time with six teams in his career, logging 90 starts in 107 games. That experience will be welcomed on a Lions team lacking in healthy veterans in the front seven down the stretch. After playing only 65 defensive snaps during his time with the Broncos, the former Pro Bowler could be in line for a notable role relatively soon on his latest team.
Chiefs K Spencer Shrader Out Friday; KC To Elevate K Matthew Wright
Kansas City will be employing their third kicker of the year this Sunday. After primary kicker Harrison Butker got placed on injured reserve two weeks ago, the Chiefs executed some emergency procedures, signing kicker Spencer Shrader to their active roster from the Jets’ practice squad. With Shrader not expected to play this week, Kansas City will be using one of their two standard gameday practice squad elevations on kicker Matthew Wright to fill in for Butker and Shrader. 
Shrader has filled in admirably since being signed, hitting all three of his field goal attempts and all six extra point tries. He played till the end of last week, hitting a 31-yard field goal to walk off the Panthers. Following the victory, though, Shrader has been absent from team activities. Per the team’s injury report, Shrader has not practiced all week, as he’s been dealing with a hamstring injury on his kicking leg.
To replace Shrader, Wright will continue making the rounds in the NFL. Wright has made appearances for five teams in as many years during his NFL career. He rejoins a Kansas City team that saw him kick in two games in 2022, signing to their practice squad two days ago. Wright has appeared in one game this year already for the 49ers, converting three field goals and three extra points in a Week 6 win over the Seahawks.
If Shrader continues to miss time after this week, the Chiefs can continue elevating Wright for an additional two games before he reaches his limit under a single practice squad contract. By the time Wright is out of activations, though, Butker should be eligible to return from IR, granted he’s healthy enough to play. Regardless, Kansas City should have a solid plan in place to cover the kicker position over the next few weeks.
Joining Wright as the other practice squad elevation will be tight end Anthony Firkser. The veteran tight end will be appearing in his fifth game this season, appearing in four games earlier in the year for the Jets.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/28/24
Thanksgiving Day minor moves from around the NFL:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: G Jovaughn Gwyn
Baltimore Ravens
- Designated to return from IR: CB T.J. Tampa
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: G Andrew Stueber
Houston Texans
- Signed to active roster: CB Myles Bryant
- Placed on IR: TE Teagan Quitoriano
Las Vegas Raiders
- Elevated: CB Kyu Blu Kelly, RB Sincere McCormick
Miami Dolphins
- Elevated: LS Zach Triner
Quitoriano’s injury struggles continue. The depth tight end who often appears in running plays and multi-tight end sets has yet to prove he can stay on the field for much more than half a season. After appearing in 16 games (11 starts) over his first two years in the NFL, Quitoriano was only able to appear in seven games (four starts) before hitting injured reserve this year. Signed off the Bears’ practice squad to make up for the season-ending loss of Brevin Jordan, Quitoriano’s loss leaves Dalton Schultz and Cade Stover as the only healthy tight ends on the active roster as Quitoriano joins Jordan and Dalton Keene on IR. Houston has veteran Irv Smith on the practice squad, as well.
Dolphins Activate QB Tyler Huntley, Place OLB Tyus Bowser On IR
Tua Tagovailoa will handle starting duties for the Dolphins tonight, but a different backup quarterback option will be in place. Tyler Huntley has been activated from injured reserve, per a team announcement. 
[RELATED: Dolphins Decline To Activate Shaq Barrett]
A shoulder injury led Huntley onto IR in October, just as Tagovailoa returned from his concussion. The latter has remained healthy since, helping guide Miami to three straight wins as part of the team’s push for the postseason. He will of course continue operating as the Dolphins’ starter, but now Huntley will be available to serve as the backup.
The former UDFA began the season on the Ravens’ practice squad, but in the wake of Tagovailoa’s concussion he joined Miami’s roster. That move allowed Huntley to make three starts for the Dolphins prior to suffering his own injury, and in that span he did not put up notable production through the air or on the ground. Expectations will be tempered if the 26-year-old sees the field again in 2024, but he could take over from Skylar Thompson in the QB2 role. This move leaves Miami with three IR activations on the year.
In a corresponding move, edge rusher Tyus Bowser has been moved to injured reserve. Bowser made a pair of appearances with the Seahawks this season, his first regular season action since the 2022 campaign. The 29-year-old took a deal to join Miami’s active roster in October, though, reuniting with former Ravens staffer (and current Dolphins defensive coordinator) Anthony Weaver in the process.
Bowser has been a key figure at his position since arriving in Miami, logging a defensive snap share of 52%. He will now be sidelined for at least the next four games, and his absence will be felt given the team’s other injuries along the edge. Jaelan Phillips is out for the season, while Bradley Chubb has yet to suit up in 2024 as he continues rehabbing the ACL tear which ended his campaign last year. Chubb could suit up at some point this season, and with Bowser now out of the picture he could immediately step into a significant role.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/28/24
Here are Thanksgiving’s practice squad moves around the league:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Sam Pinckney
Houston Texans
- Signed: FB Andrew Beck
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Myles Adams
- Released: DT Quinton Bohanna
Chiefs Activate RB Isiah Pacheco, DE Charles Omenihu
NOVEMBER 28: To no surprise, Pacheco and Omenihu will be back in the fold tomorrow. Both players have officially been activated, per a team announcement. Kansas City still has plenty of flexibility with respect to future IR activations over the closing weeks of the campaign.
NOVEMBER 27: One game up on the Bills but lacking the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Chiefs have some work to do in their pursuit of earning home-field advantage for a fourth time in the Patrick Mahomes QB1 era. They look set to have some reinforcements coming soon.
Respectively in the IR- and PUP-return windows, Isiah Pacheco and Charles Omenihu are expected to play Friday against the Raiders, Andy Reid said (via ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher). The Chiefs are in good shape for injury activations, and since Omenihu is coming off the PUP list, he will not count toward the eight-activation total. Pacheco coming back will still leave Kansas City with six such moves available.
Pacheco has been out since Week 2, suffering a fractured fibula, while Omenihu has not played since going down with a torn ACL in last season’s AFC championship game. The Chiefs opened both contributors’ practice windows November 13. While this would have given the duo another week to return before re-emerging on the active roster, the team is prepared to deploy both against the Raiders.
Pacheco’s comeback represents a more important development, as the Chiefs have turned to retread Kareem Hunt in his place. A former seventh-round pick, Pacheco underwent surgery but had been a candidate to come back in late November. His return will check in within that timeframe and provide the Chiefs with the option of either turning back to Pacheco in a full-time role or forming a committee with Hunt — reacquired in the wake of Pacheco’s injury — down the stretch. Hunt leads the Chiefs with 577 rushing yards, though he is averaging just 3.7 per carry and ranks last in rush yards over expected (minus-74), per Next Gen Stats.
Quickly usurping Clyde Edwards-Helaire as Kansas City’s top back in 2022, Pacheco will have a chance to make a push for a second contract in the coming weeks. The Chiefs have Pacheco — a two-time 800-plus-yard rusher, combining for 12 rushing TDs from 2022-23 — signed through the 2025 season, but the Rutgers alum becomes extension-eligible in January. The Chiefs have not signed off on a notable RB contract since Jamaal Charles‘ two-year, $18MM extension in 2014, though they were believed to have pursued Josh Jacobs this offseason. Pacheco will bring an eventual decision for the AFC power, having provided tremendous value from his No. 251 overall draft slot.
Attached to a three-year, $24MM deal, Omenihu has started the past two seasons late. The Chiefs signed the defensive end with the expectation he would be suspended for a domestic violence arrest, and Omenihu made an impact during an abbreviated first season in Kansas City. He registered a career-high seven sacks last season, adding another in the Baltimore matchup before the ACL tear. No Chief has more than four sacks thus far this season, with George Karlaftis leading way (four) on a Chris Jones-centered D-line. Offseason re-signing Michael Danna continues to start at Kansas City’s other D-end spot, but Omenihu stands to provide a potentially impactful rotational presence alongside trade addition Josh Uche.
Raiders Activate QB Aidan O’Connell, Place CB Jakorian Bennett On IR
Aidan O’Connell will indeed be in place for the Raiders for their Black Friday contest. The second-year quarterback was activated from injured reserve on Thursday, per a team announcement. 
O’Connell was designated for return earlier this week with the expectation he would be activated in time to start against the Chiefs tomorrow. The QB1 gig will be his the rest of the way this year given Gardner Minshew‘s broken collarbone. Minshew was officially moved to IR in a corresponding move.
The Raiders have been linked to a quarterback pursuit this offseason given their struggles on offense, although both Minshew and O’Connell are under contract for 2025. The latter has made 12 total starts in the NFL, but after showing a degree of promise late last season the current campaign has not gone according to plan. O’Connell, 26, will be joined on the depth chart by Desmond Ridder over the coming weeks but it would come as no surprise if one or more new signal-callers were to be added this offseason.
Vegas also placed cornerback Jakorian Bennett on IR Thursday. The 2023 fourth-rounder handled rotational duties as a rookie but he has been a mainstay in the secondary this season. Bennett has logged a defensive snap share of 71% this season, posting 26 tackles and eight pass deflections. In coverage, the Maryland product has allowed a completion percentage of just 52.3% and has yet to surrender a touchdown as the nearest defender. His absence (which will last at least the next four games) will be acutely felt in the Raiders’ secondary.
The Bennett move opened up a spot on the active roster, and it has been filled by wideout Terrace Marshall. The former Panthers draftee was waived during roster cutdowns and he briefly spent time on the 49ers’ practice squad. Marshall has most recently been with Vegas, and has been used as a gameday elevation once already. The former second-rounder will now get a look on the roster as he looks to carve out a role in the team’s receiving corps.
Vikings Sign QB Daniel Jones
Rumored early as a Daniel Jones suitor, the Vikings are indeed making the move. The six-year Giants starter is set to land in Minnesota, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports.
Ten-plus teams were connected to Jones, though money was not believed to be a factor. His first rebound spot will emerge in the Twin Cities, where he will step in as Sam Darnold‘s backup. Jones is expected to sign for the prorated veteran minimum, per ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano. That amount will provide a small offset for the Giants, who are eating eight figures in 2024 guarantees from their release and Jones then clearing waivers.
Although Jones will be positioned to back up Darnold, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Cameron Wolfe note this will first be a practice squad agreement. The Vikings would have the option to elevate Jones three times, but given his experience, it would surprise if the former Eli Manning successor is on Minnesota’s taxi squad for too long. That $375K number from the Vikings will cover Jones once he is on the active roster, though veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson indicates the sides are still finalizing compensation — perhaps a bump from a standard practice squad salary for the near term.
This contract’s active-roster salary will indeed be just $375K, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, who confirms this is the expected one-year agreement. Jones could still technically bolt Minnesota’s practice squad if another opportunity — via an injury — opens up in the near future. Teams attempted to poach Joe Flacco from Cleveland’s P-squad last year, but with plenty of interest coming in for Jones already, it would surprise if he left the team he carefully selected in order to learn a new playbook elsewhere.
Jones, 27, enjoyed his finest hour as a pro at U.S. Bank Stadium, piloting the Giants to a wild-card upset to eliminate a 13-4 Vikings team in Kevin O’Connell‘s first season. O’Connell, however, has shown an ability to coax quality play from quarterbacks. Darnold’s bounce-back season has most recently revealed this, and Schultz adds Jones wanted to end up in a QB-friendly system with a coaching staff capable of generating the best from passers.
While Baker Mayfield ended up in Sean McVay‘s QB-friendly system via waiver claim, Jones having $13.81MM in remaining 2024 salary made that route a non-starter for teams. This situation resembles Mayfield’s in terms of a fit, with Jones likely hoping he can use a Vikings stay as a springboard to a 2025 starter opportunity. Contractually, this reminds of Russell Wilson‘s Steelers signing. Wilson’s Denver deal covered him, and after he visited the Giants, the 13th-year veteran landed in Pittsburgh for the veteran minimum.
Jones, whose comeback from ACL surgery began with a Vikings matchup in Week 1, will join a Minnesota team that has two backup QBs on its active roster. Nick Mullens is Darnold’s backup, while late-summer addition Brett Rypien sits as the team’s emergency option. It looks like Rypien’s roster spot will be threatened by the Wednesday agreement.
The Vikings joined nearly a dozen teams in being connected to Jones. The Ravens, Lions, Dolphins, 49ers and Raiders were among the closely tied teams. Jones was believed to have preferred a contending team, and despite the Raiders losing Gardner Minshew on Sunday (thus opening a potential starting role), the free agent was believed to have ruled out Las Vegas. Dan Campbell said Tuesday (via DetroitFootball.net’s Justin Rogers) the Lions had not engaged in serious internal discussions on the newly available QB, praising Hendon Hooker‘s development behind Jared Goff. While some in the league viewed the 49ers as a viable Jones destination, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, he will instead join a 9-2 Vikings team on its way to a second playoff berth under O’Connell.
The Giants benched Jones after he was unable to position this year’s team among the NFC’s contender contingent. For the season, Jones ranks 28th in QBR (Darnold is 14th) and threw eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions in 10 starts. Jones also averaged only 6.1 yards per attempt — 33rd this season — and has never ended a season north of 7.0. The Giants still gave the scrutinized starter six seasons to prove himself, representing a much longer runway than Jones’ performance warranted. Big Blue has turned to Tommy DeVito, though it would not surprise to see UFA addition Drew Lock see time as well. Jones now will get to work developing in O’Connell’s offense.
Both Jones and Darnold are due for free agency in 2025, still clearing the runway for J.J. McCarthy. Minnesota’s first-round pick has undergone a second surgery on his injured meniscus but remains on schedule to be ready for the 2025 season. The Vikings are fine with Darnold pricing himself out of town next year, Graziano adds, as it will mean a successful season for the team. Jones could also provide potential cover and a McCarthy insurance option beyond 2024, though it would stand to reason the former No. 6 overall pick’s primary aim will be to land somewhere with a chance to start next year.
O’Connell saw his 2022 team’s defense struggle to contain Jones twice. The then-fourth-year quarterback played well in a narrow loss to the Vikings in Week 16 that season then return to Minneapolis to deliver a versatile effort to propel the Giants to the divisional round. In that first-round playoff tilt, Jones was 24 of 35 for 301 yards through the air — despite the Giants not having much of note in terms of pass-catching help at the time — and offered a 17-carry, 78-yard rushing performance. That keyed a 31-24 upset win, one that brought long-term repercussions for the Giants.
Prioritizing Jones over Saquon Barkley due to positional value, GM Joe Schoen authorized a four-year, $160MM deal that included $81MM guaranteed at signing. The latter figure will be paid out this year, but the Giants will eat $22.2MM in 2025 dead money due to prorated signing bonus money. Jones did not remotely justify the contract on the field, playing poorly — albeit behind an injury-riddled offensive line — before suffering an ACL tear last season and not rebounding at the level the Giants hoped this year. As the Giants’ effort to land Drake Maye as a Jones replacement failed, Barkley has become an MVP candidate with Philadelphia.
Darnold and Jones will be two of the top free agent QBs available come March, though the Vikings will now hold exclusive negotiating rights with both until the legal tampering period begins March 10. Should Darnold suffer an injury or see his play decline significantly, the Vikings now would have Jones to deploy rather than Mullens, who was among the three QBs to make a Minnesota start last year after Kirk Cousins‘ Achilles tear.
As Jones hopes a stay in a strong offensive system can boost his long-term value, the Vikings have a much better QB2 option as they assemble their pieces for a potential playoff run this season.