Transactions News & Rumors

Raiders Place QB Aidan O’Connell On IR

The Raiders have announced the placement of injured quarterback Aidan O’Connell on injured reserve today. The transaction comes a day after many thought it would.

Each NFL team is allotted two players that it can place on injured reserve before the roster cut deadline with a designation to return, allowing them to be activated to the 53-man roster four weeks after the start of the regular season. Any other players placed on IR before the deadline will remain on IR for the entire year.

When news came out two days before the deadline that O’Connell was expected to miss six to eight weeks with a fractured wrist, it was expected that he would be one of the two for Las Vegas. It came as a bit of a shock when the team only placed one player — safety Lonnie Johnson — on IR with a designation to return, keeping an injured O’Connell on the 53-man roster and giving the team one less spot with which they could have held on to a borderline player.

Instead, it appears they wanted to reserve a spot on the 53-man roster for a player outside the building. None of the players they waived appear to have been claimed elsewhere, so all are available if the team wanted to bring them back. The team chose, instead, to claim linebacker Brennan Jackson, who was waived yesterday by the Rams; the team also did an add-drop of two linemen. Still, the Raiders knew O’Connell was headed to IR, so when they claimed a new player, it was an easy transaction to bring them on and move O’Connell off.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC 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 BengalsBrownsRavens and Steelers moves are noted below.

Baltimore Ravens

Signed to practice squad:

Cincinnati Bengals

Signed to practice squad:

Reverted to IR:

Cleveland Browns

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Signed to practice squad:

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC West

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 BroncosChargersChiefs and Raiders moves are noted below.

Denver Broncos

Signed to practice squad:

Kansas City Chiefs

Signed to practice squad:

Las Vegas Raiders

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Chargers

Signed:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC East

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 BillsDolphinsJets and Patriots moves are noted below.

Buffalo Bills

Signed to practice squad:

Released from IR via injury settlement:

Miami Dolphins

Waived:

  • S Jordan Colbert

Signed to practice squad:

New England Patriots

Claimed:

Waived: 

Signed to practice squad:

New York Jets

Claimed:

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Steelers Place QB Will Howard On IR, Re-Sign S Chuck Clark

Will Howard‘s rookie season will begin on injured reserve. Although the Steelers carried their sixth-round quarterback onto their 53-man roster Tuesday, they will move him to IR today.

Rookie cornerback Donte Kent, a seventh-round pick, will also be shifted to IR, ESPN.com’s Brooke Pryor tweets. To replace the duo on the roster, Pittsburgh will bring back safety Chuck Clark and guard Max Scharping.

A broken hand sends Howard to IR. The 2024 national championship-winning QB suffered the injury early in camp and missed the preseason slate. That certainly stunts Howard’s development, as he will be unable to practice until at least Week 5. It will be interesting to see if the Steelers activate him, with those eight slots fairly important to teams as the season drags on.

The team used one if its IR slots on DB Cory Trice, dropping its in-season activation number to seven. Howard and Kent, since they were not placed on IR until today, do not count against Pittsburgh’s activation total. As it stands, the Steelers do not have a third healthy QB behind Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph. The team’s initial practice squad does not include one.

Clark was a somewhat surprising inclusion on Pittsburgh’s list of Tuesday cuts. Veterans often reach an agreement to immediately return on the 53-man roster or practice squad once the dust begins to settle, however, and this is another example. Clark is once again part of a safety group which also includes returnee DeShon Elliott, free agent signing Juan Thornhill and special teams ace Miles Killebrew

Scharping, 29, made two appearances with the Steelers last year. He is now positioned to continue in a backup capacity along the team’s offensive line. With 33 starts to his name, Scharping will offer Pittsburgh an experienced fill-in option along the interior.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC South

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 BuccaneersFalconsPanthers and Saints moves are noted below.

Atlanta Falcons

Signed to practice squad:

Carolina Panthers

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

New Orleans Saints

Claimed:

  • WR Trey Palmer (from Buccaneers), G Xavier Truss (from Broncos)

Signed to practice squad:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Signed to practice squad:

49ers Re-Sign P Thomas Morstead, Place WR Jacob Cowing On IR

After their moves to get down to 53 on their roster, the 49ers were temporarily without a punter. Thomas Morstead is back in the fold today, however.

Morstead was re-signed on Wednesday, per a team announcement. The move means he will be able to handle punting duties at the start of the campaign. In a corresponding move, San Francisco’s receiver depth has been dealt another blow. Jacob Cowing is now on injured reserve.

Morstead is entering his 17th NFL season but his first in the Bay Area. The former Saint, Dolphin, Falcon and Jet was released shortly after the draft this spring. He quickly managed to line up a new deal, signing with the 49ers. Morstead took a one-year pact to head to San Francisco, and that will no doubt be the case again on his post-release contract with the team.

Cowing is set to miss at least the first month of the season. The 2024 fourth-rounder was not a factor on offense despite playing 15 games as a rookie, but he entered the summer as a candidate for an increased workload. Instead, Cowing’s second NFL campaign will be delayed at the start. This news adds further to the lack of availability at the receiver position the 49ers are currently dealing with.

Brandon Aiyuk will be sidelined through at least September, while Demarcus Robinson will start the campaign by serving his three-game DUI suspension. San Francisco has been busy adding wideouts with those looming absences in mind, and any more moves will now come with the knowledge Cowing will be unavailable early on.

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 BearsLionsPackers and Vikings moves are noted below.

Chicago Bears

Claimed:

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Detroit Lions

Signed:

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Green Bay Packers

Signed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Minnesota Vikings

Signed to practice squad:

Browns To Sign WR Malachi Corley, G Cole Strange

Waived by the Jets after one season, Malachi Corley went unclaimed today. But the 2024 third-round pick will land elsewhere, joining the Browns (per veteran reporter Jordan Schultz).

This practice squad agreement comes about after Corley had multiple suitors to choose from, per Schultz. He will head to Cleveland in the hopes of rebuilding his value following a poor rookie campaign. The Jets’ new regime elected to move on despite depth questions at the WR position.

Corley managed just three scoreless receptions last year. The Western Kentucky product was seen as a project given his skillset, but his efforts to develop into an NFL regular will take place in a new home. It will be interesting to see if Corley finds himself amongst the Browns’ early taxi squad elevations or makes his way onto the active roster in September.

Cleveland’s receiver room will once again be led by Jerry Jeudy in 2025. The former Broncos first-rounder set a new career high in catches (90) and yards (1,229) during his first Browns campaign, and he will be relied on to duplicate that production as the team sorts out its quarterback situation over the course of the year. The likes of Cedric Tillman, Jamari Thrash and undrafted rookie Isaiah Bond are also in place on the depth chart.

Corley will be joined on the Browns’ taxi squad by guard Cole StrangeThe latter was waived by the Patriots yesterday, marking an unceremonious end to his time in New England. Strange is heading to Cleveland with the expectation of also being elevated to the active roster at some point, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. A backup gig along the interior could be in store by the fall.

Strange’s entry to the NFL was marked by his surprising status as a first-round pick. The Chattanooga product was hampered by injuries, and he was limited to 13 appearances across the past two seasons. When on the field, Strange was part of a Pats O-line which struggled mightily in 2024. With plenty of changes taking place up front under head coach Mike Vrabel, he found himself amongst the team’s roster cuts yesterday.

Now, Strange will join Corley in seeking to take advantage of a change of scenery. At the ages of 27 and 23, respectively, both players could wind up offering upside to the Browns’ offense in time.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.

Chiefs To Re-Sign RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire

The Chiefs already reunited with Derrick Nnadi via trade recently; they will now add another familiar face on offense. Clyde Edwards-Helaire is returning to Kansas City, veteran reporter Jordan Schultz tweets. The deal bringing Edwards-Helaire back will be a practice squad arrangement.

Edwards-Helaire spent the offseason with the Saints, who had picked him up after the Chiefs waived him late last year. The former first-round pick, however, will follow Kareem Hunt in booking a second stint with the Chiefs.

Selected 32nd overall in 2020, Edwards-Helaire posted 1,100 scrimmage yards as a rookie while operating as a starter. He missed three games along the way, however, and injuries remained an issue across his first Kansas City stint. By 2023, the LSU product had seen a major drop in usage, and it will be interesting to see where his role in the 2025 backfield pecking order shakes out.

Edwards-Helaire managed 13 scoreless carries in two regular season Saints appearances last year. New Orleans elected to move on yesterday in a move which came as little surprise based on that sparse workload. Changing teams just before Week 1, Edwards-Helaire will now reacclimate to a familiar offense while looking to chip on offensively. The Chiefs still have Hunt along with Isiah Pacheco in place; they also added Elijah Mitchell in free agency.

Mitchell and Hunt are both pending 2026 free agents. Pacheco is entering the final year of his rookie contract, so he too could depart on the open market next spring. With plenty of future uncertainty in the backfield, Edwards-Helaire could play his way into a larger role for next season. For now, he will aim to regain his previous form during a second Kansas City stint.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.